Plot: What’s it about?
Episode #67- “Plato’s Stepchildren” >>> Airdate 11/22/68
A distress call is received from the planet Platonius and of course, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise plans to answer it and provide assistance. The ever vigilant Kirk, Spock, and Bones beam down the surface to handle the situation, but things are much different than expected, to say the very least. The planet’s leader is Parmen and along with his friends, he has immense psychic powers and plans to use them, but not for good reasons. The powers are used to keep the crew members from returning to the Enterprise, as well as follow through on humiliating displays, against their wills, of course. Can Kirk somehow overcome the mental powers of Parmen and restore order, or has the intrepid crew finally met their match?
The back of the case says this episode contains the first interracial kiss on television, which sort of gives some historical value, I think. Too bad then, as the episode is not that good and in the end, pretty much wastes a decent premise. As with most Trek episodes, it has some moments and of course, William “Evil Eyes” Shatner, but that isn’t always enough to make a complete, enjoyable hour of television. I know Trek nerds will probably disagree with me, but I find this to be one of the weaker episodes in the series, even with a solid enough basic premise. It picks up sometimes and shows signs of potential, but it is always too little, too late with this episode. So Trek fanatics will be interested, but unless you really want to see television’s first interracial kiss, I suggest you check out other episodes instead.
Episode #68- “Wink of an Eye” >>> Airdate 11/29/68
The Enterprise once again fields a distress call and once again, it results in sheer lunacy and of course, Kirk becoming a love slave. This time the call came from Scalos and when the team arrives to check it out, they find nothing but an abandon town, except for these miserable, very annoying insect noises. One of the landing team members pops back a cold drink and for some odd reason, the son of a bitch vanishes into thin air. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Kirk (as played by William “No Toilet Seat is Good Enough For Me” Shatner) gulps down a cup of smooth, rich Colombian coffee (unless someone has replaced his usual coffee with new Folger’s crystals) and of course, he disappears also and that my friends, is called a plot twist. It turns out that Kirk is now inside another dimension, one with accelerated time and a ton of hot babes, one of which is Kirk’s new slave master. Can Kirk avoid being used as a stud service and…wait a second, why in the world would Kirk leave these fine ho’s behind, just to return to the side of that elf eared stiff Spock?
Now this is a Trek episode, complete with Kirk in command and lots of sweet ladies, all at Kirk’s disposal, of course. As always, William “No Man Is An Island, But If Any Man Could Be An Island, It Would Be Me) turns in one hell of a performance and how he was overlooked for an Emmy, I will never understand. I admit the premise is rather weak and seems like an excuse to show some chicks, but it works well enough and remains simple, so the wheels never come off. The women look good and add a lot to the episode, especially with this whole love slave theme and all. I think Trek nerds will be watching this one time and again, but even casual fans should check this one out, as it is a more than solid episode, if you ask me.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame transfers, as intended. Paramount has remastered and enhanced the video here and it shows, as the image is much crisper and cleaner than broadcast level, without a doubt. You’ll still some small flaws of course, but as far as a cheese laden sci/fi show like this is concerned, the video is terrific. The colors look bold, but a tad faded at times and black levels are dead on, no errors in the least to mention. The image here isn’t flawless, but it is good and this is the best these episodes will look for some time, I am sure.
Audio: How does it sound?
In addition to the cleaned up video, this release also sports enhanced audio presence, via new Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. The audio is very solid and should please fans, but as expected, the surround use is minimal, but still effective. You’ll some whizzes, pulses, buzzes, and musical cues in the rear channels, but most of the audio is front based, as it should be. The dialogue is clean and remains the focus of the mix, so no real issues surface to complain about. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes promotional trailers for each episodes, which is keen.
