Writer: David P. Harmon
Director: Joseph Pevney
Producer: Gene L. Coon
Continuing the stretch of fun "high concept" Trek episodes, we get this installment, in which a strange form of space radiation sickness causes certain members of the crew (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty) to age at an accelerated rate, giving the make-up department a chance to have some fun and the actors a chance to do their best performances of cantankerous senility.
But what's the episode really about? There's some stuff in here about how getting older doesn't make you worthless. The Enterprise is ferrying one of those stuffy Federation bureaucrats around again, and when the command crew is deemed incompetent due to senility, he takes command and almost immediately gets them into a deadly fight with the Romulans. But on the other hand, the episode does conclusively prove - through a long "competency hearing" scene - that senility renders Kirk ineffective as a commander and that he needs to be removed from his responsibilities. This, after all, supplies the episode's story and jeopardy. So really there's no comment being made here at all, it's just stuff that happens.
There's also a subplot in here about a former flame of Kirk's who left him for an older man, and now is attracted to him again. Is it because he's "older" now and that's what she has a thing for? It doesn't matter because she serves no purpose in this story other than getting a pretty blonde on the screen.
The fun in this installment is in seeing the character interactions, especially Shatner's over-the-top performance as a grumpy, balding, absent-minded, dictatorial Kirk. De Kelley's over-exaggerated McCoy is great too, with his thicker accent and irascible nature. Chekov, who went on the landing party but wasn't affected, also has great scenes complaining about the battery of tests he has to be put under.
Ultimately, McCoy figures out the cure, and a rejuvenated Kirk bounds up to the bridge and bluffs his way out of the battle with the Romulans with a reprise of the old "corbomite manuever" in a nice bit of continuity. It's a fun moment, coming at the end of a fun episode.
But what was the point? The episode is about aging but is somewhat at a loss to say anything about it. The hour dithers around without a dramatic throughline to hang on.
Rating: 2.5 out of 4
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