Closet Sci-Fi Geek

One of the early episodes, this one lays the groundwork for a romantic interest out of McCoy’s past. It’s a highly creative episode, with a message (don’t destroy all the buffalo, that kind of thing – hinting at the fact that as humans spread like a virus into the galaxy and start colonizing planets one of those risks is what happens to the creatures native to those planets.).

The salt-sucker creature was fairly scary to me as a kid. I can remember having bad dreams about it.

Now it looks slightly absurd. Although if I look too closely I could have bad dreams again. Shiver. However, the morphing effect when Nancy would take on (Nancy was McCoy’s ex-girlfriend who is really the creature) a new guise was neat even for then.

The acting is somewhat stilted and a little over the top in this one (imagine that – over the top!). Captain Kirk goes off on one of his moralistic tirades too at poor lonely Professor Crater:

Kirk: You bleed too much, Crater. You’re too pure and noble. Are you saving the last of its kind…or has this become Crater’s private heaven here? This thing becomes wife, lover, best friend…wise man, fool, idol, slave. It isn’t bad to have everyone in the universe…at your beck and call. You win all the arguments.

Jeez, Jim, whatever happened to walking a mile in a man’s moccasins before you condemn him?

Also in the climatic scene McCoy hesitates badly while the salt-sucker is trying to suck the salt out of Captain Kirk and Spock nearly goes hysterical telling him to shoot it but doesn’t even try to pull it off him, which is kind of bizarre, considering that he’s already told everyone that it doesn’t have a taste for him. The whole thing is a little awkward. Eventually Spock intercedes and tries to beat the stuffing out of Nancy. This is very humorous, watching Spock beat up this rather petite woman who is actually the salt-sucker creature.

Of course it all comes down to McCoy pulling the trigger on his ex-girlfriend which is a bit horrendous to watch. But she fortunately turns into the salt-sucker creature in her death throes, so he doesn’t feel so bad, though I bet he needed a nice big glass of Saurian brandy. I know I sure did.

The Kirk Factor: Is there anything my Captain can’t do? Though here he is not really a sensitive ecologist. I did feel a little bad about them killing the creature. They could have just sent her back to the planet with a five year supply of salt tablets. She did kill crew members but only by instinct and only to feed. They could have had a better plan. But I forgive you Captain Kirk.

September 22nd, 2006 | Category: Star Trek, Television, The Original Series | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL