Star Trek – The Enemy Within (1966)
Reviewed by Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
“I’m Captain Kirk, I’M CAPTAIN KIRK”— Evil Kirk (William Shatner)
The USS Enterprise is sent on a geological exploration mission of the planet Alpha 177. A member of the survey team, Geological Technician Fisher (Edward Madden), is injured falling from an embankment and immediately beamed aboard for treatment. During beam-up the transporter behaves erratically due to a strange colorful magnetic ore that has soiled the crewman’s uniform. Shortly after, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is beamed back aboard, but as we soon find out something very strange has occurred. Dazed from the effects of the beam-up, Kirk is accompanied by Chief Engineer Scott (James Doohan) to sickbay, leaving the transporter room momentarily unattended. Moments later the transporter’s materialization function restarts automatically, producing an almost exact duplicate of Kirk, who goes on a rampage of semi-drunken violence that culminates in the attempted rape of Yeomen Rand (Grace Lee Whitney).
As the episode develops we quickly learn that the transporter has split Captain Kirk into two entities; one good, compassionate and increasingly indecisive, the other, barbaric, paranoid and completely bent on survival at any cost. Complicating matters, the survey team on the planet below is running out of time as the surface temperature drops to100 degrees below zero, after the transporter has been deemed a hazard and unsafe for further use. Racing against time, and with both Kirk’s heading in extreme opposite directions, with the lives of the landing party hanging in the balance, the build-up of drama is punctuated by an over-the-top performance from the series star as the ultra-paranoid, dark evil Kirk. This episode is a must-see for any fan of the original series.
Shatner Factor: 7/10
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Babe Factor: N/A
Ringside Report Rating: 7.5/10