incomprehensible plotting Archive

12

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch: “The Pirates of Orion”

The Pirates of Orion
Written by Howard Weinstein
Directed by Bill Reed

Season 2, Episode 1
Production episode: 22020
Original air date:  September 7, 1974
Star date: 6334.1

Mission summary

Aboard the Enterprise, an outbreak of some nasty disease called choriocytosis is finally under control. The good doctor assures the crew it’s no longer “even as serious as pneumonia”–which is, um, actually pretty serious? In any case, Kirk tries to drum up excitement for the dedication ceremony they’re en route toward at Deneb V:

KIRK: It’ll be nice to play diplomat for a change, eh, Spock?

And then Spock keels over. Diplomacy is intolerable.

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12

Star Trek Re-Watch: “The Alternative Factor”

“The Alternative Factor”
Written by Don Ingalls
Directed by Gerd Oswald

Season 1, Episode 27
Production episode: 1×20
Original air date: March 30, 1967
Star date: 3087.6

Mission summary
The Enterprise is orbiting an “iron-silica” planet: uncharted, lifeless, arid. Just as they are about to complete their survey they get a case of the wooglies—cue shaky-cam and a film overlay of a nebula. Once things return to normal Spock explains that the universe just “blinked” briefly out of existence. But before he can explain (or maybe just because he can’t), he finds that a human is on the surface of the planet, where moments ago there was no one.

Kirk, Spock, and four redshirts beam down to the surface. They come across a tiny little spaceship pod, complete with bulbous dome-shaped cockpit.* But no one’s inside. Suddenly, a crazy man with an even crazier beard appears on top of a cliff face and shouts at them: “You came! Thank the heavens. There’s still time. It’s not too late. We can still stop him. But I, but I, need, need your help.” He then stumbles and falls down the rocky cliff face.

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