Why didn't they just send a shuttle to pick Sulu and the others up ? (according to imdb the shuttle was introduced in episode sixteen so at this point there actually wasn't a concept for the ship having any. Plus the whole part with the team being stranded on the surface was not in the original script)
Putting that obvious flaw aside I think this is a great episode. The concept of having a good and an evil side is part of being human is what I love about Star Trek. It takes two sides to make a coin. I believe everyone of us has the cabability to do good or bad things. Is it, like Spock said, our intelligence that helps us deal with that and make the right decisions? I don't know. I once read a quote that being evil is easy, but being good takes an effort.
We also see that Spock really cares for Kirk when he tells him he can't afford to appear weak in the eyes of the crew. The attempted rape of Rand was really creepy and a massive thing for that time period. That could not have been easy to run by the studio. And Janice saying: "what was I supposed to do - he's the Captain" sends another wave of shivers down my spine. (another bit of information from imdb: Grace Lee Whitney said she got slapped across the face by Shatner to recreate the emotions from the rape scene that got shot days earlier. Whew, that's a disturbing piece of info.)
Shatner helps sell this with his perfomance and for once his overacting (yes, he does) actually is favorable. And this isn't really about if it is good or bad. I think it just worked. It's not nuanced but at the extrem ends of the spectrum. Which is Shatner's acting ability in a nutshell.
Review by FinFanBlockedParentSpoilers2022-04-29T23:40:51Z
Why didn't they just send a shuttle to pick Sulu and the others up ? (according to imdb the shuttle was introduced in episode sixteen so at this point there actually wasn't a concept for the ship having any. Plus the whole part with the team being stranded on the surface was not in the original script)
Putting that obvious flaw aside I think this is a great episode. The concept of having a good and an evil side is part of being human is what I love about Star Trek. It takes two sides to make a coin. I believe everyone of us has the cabability to do good or bad things. Is it, like Spock said, our intelligence that helps us deal with that and make the right decisions? I don't know. I once read a quote that being evil is easy, but being good takes an effort.
We also see that Spock really cares for Kirk when he tells him he can't afford to appear weak in the eyes of the crew. The attempted rape of Rand was really creepy and a massive thing for that time period. That could not have been easy to run by the studio. And Janice saying: "what was I supposed to do - he's the Captain" sends another wave of shivers down my spine.
(another bit of information from imdb: Grace Lee Whitney said she got slapped across the face by Shatner to recreate the emotions from the rape scene that got shot days earlier. Whew, that's a disturbing piece of info.)
Shatner helps sell this with his perfomance and for once his overacting (yes, he does) actually is favorable. And this isn't really about if it is good or bad. I think it just worked. It's not nuanced but at the extrem ends of the spectrum. Which is Shatner's acting ability in a nutshell.