Next up on our voyage through the original series. Is the Naked Time. Recently parodied by the Lower decks, the crew are exposed to an infection that causes intoxication and removal of certain inhibitions. The source of the infection, a research base, meets its grizzly end due to the effects on the crew.
The effect threatenes to repeat itself, as the antics of the intoxicated Enterprise crew leave the ship in a vulnerable position over a dying planet. Now the crew must keep their unstable emotions in check as they spiral towards their death.
Aside from Chekov, who doesn’t join the crew until season 2, this is the first episode where the core characters, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Soctty, Sulu and Uhura, are present in an episode at the same time
In my opinion, having an early episode in which the crew have their inhibitions removed is a fantastic way to show us who they really are. TNG, DS9 and Enterprise all did the same thing. Although portrayed as an unfeeling human machine, Spock is shown to have very real emotions. Sulu is shown to be an adventurous free spirit, and briefly, Kirk is shown to be a sensitive soul, upon whom the burdens of command weigh heavily. Of course, hard work shines through, and eventually, the Enterprise crew are able to find their way out of danger, by getting the infection under control, and the ship out of the decaying orbit. In the process, the Enterprise travels back in time, giving us a time travel device that would be used later in the series on 2 occasions, in the fourth movie and, most recently, Star Trek Picard.
The cast relish the opportunities they are given, and the switch between “happy” drunk and “morose” drunk is brilliantly done. Leonard Nimoy in particular is a revelation as Spock, as he gives us a tour de force while he struggles with his released emotion. The repeated slaps to bring him into focus does, unfortunaly stray into the silly, but this is one of the few examples of Star Trek being of its time.
The method of infection was also somewhat ridiculous as a crewman removes a glove in order to scratch his nose. Putting aside the fact that we never see the crew wearing those hazmat suits more often, surely a serving Starlfeet officer would know to keep the suit on?
Of course, this is a conceit for the story, and it is more interesting to see one crewman get infected to due error. But at a time when people are citing inconsistencies in modern Trek, I always feel it is important to point them out in the classic series too.
Those minor issues aside, I really enjoyed this show. It peels back the masks of our crew and we see who they really are.
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