A very simple story. They are trapped and captured. Again. And again they face hostile lizard people. What is this with Star Trek and reptiles and amphibious beings? (This time they even wear furry monokinis!) Again, there's a higher being protecting the planet's inhabitants. I like the episode though. For reasons I don't understand myself I quite like Cmd. Bem. Sometimes this guy reminds me of Master Yoda. I also like some scenes in particular: when they discover that they carry fake devices. When they realize that they are trapped very often and Spock says that's fate. In a sense, this episode is the answer why writes always wrote such stories: in captivity you can learn and observe alien cultures extensively.
Damn, Uhura runs a tight ship ....
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-07-30T02:39:52Z
[7.1/10] Can an episode be carried into “good’ territory by one hilarious, self-aware joke alone? I don’t know, but Kirk and Spock getting captured, and the captain wondering how this always seems to happen to them, made me laugh out loud. It’s the kind of nigh-winking dialogue this series doesn’t do very often, but it worked for me.
Otherwise, this is the usual “planet with a primitive culture protected by a god-like being” shtick that we’ve seen several times before with a few interesting twists. For one, the titular Bem was a neat addition. The fact that he was a “colony creature” who could separate his various limbs made for an interesting wrinkle. But more than that, I like that he seemed genuinely alien, not just in his bodily capabilities, but in his dialogue and perspective and approach to the planetary adventure. In brief, Bem really seemed like someone totally divorced from the human experience, which isn’t something we always get.
Still, the rest of the episode was the usual “get captured, escape, arrange a rescue” business that’s old hat by now. There’s some good humor that comes from Kirk and Spock’s remarks to one another, and some decent stuff involving Bem. That said, the “go in peace” “you have learned much” “additional generic deity comment” business from the protector entity on the planet was a bridge too far for my tastes.
Overall, there’s some interesting stuff in this one, particularly with the sort of genre savvy humor that seemed to be in play, but take that away and you have a standard-issue Trek episode.