Plot: What’s it about?
Episode #79- “Turnabout Intruder” >>> Airdate 6/3/69
A distress call is picked up by Kirk and his crew members, one which will take them to Camus II, where something terrible has happened. Once they arrive, it is discovered that all of Camus II has been demolished by radiation and only two beings have survived, one of which is a woman from Kirk’s sordid past. The woman is Janice Lester, a former friend of Kirk’s, but now she is not that fond of him and sets into motion some wicked events, to say the least. Using a special alien technique, she somehow exchanges bodies with Kirk and as you can imagine, this makes for all kinds of chaos and leaves Kirk’s crew in total confusion. Can Kirk take his new body and warn the others, letting them know the truth in time, or will Janice make sure her revenge is finished, even if that means the demise of Kirk and his entire crew?
This is the best episode of the entire series without a doubt, simply because it was the final episode the public was exposed to. Yes, all the adventures of Kirk (played masterfully by William Shatner) and his intrepid crew come to a close in Turnabout Intruder, though cinema would bring them back in new ones down the road. The wooden acting, the poor special effects, and the paper thin plots of Star Trek all ceased after this episode, which causes a tear to streak for some and for others, cause for true celebration. In true Trek fashion, even this last episode is pretty weak and offers minimal depth, though the whole switch is a decent twist on things. Kirk was known for being a ladies man, so it is a nice final splash to have this series of events, I suppose. Even so, this is a fizzle to the series and not much of a capper, though the rabid Trek nerds will disagree, you can be sure of that much.
Episode #99 & 1- “The Cage” >>> Airdate Various
A mission of high importance is now underway, as the U.S.S. Enterprise steers through space in an effort to rescue some fallen comrades. But these team members aren’t recent losses, they went missing about eighteen years ago and as such, this seems like a golden chance to finally bring those people back home. At the helm is Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and by his side is Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), but they’ll need to use all of their skills and then some, once the path takes a couple of unexpected turns. The rescue mission turns out to be an ambush of sorts, which leaves Pike a prisoner in some odd form of prison, one which somewhat resembles more of a zoo, as opposed to a normal jail center. What will become of Pike and the rest of his crew, as some higher being has him at its mercies?
No Kirk, eh? Who cares then, right? I don’t, but fans of this series should be pleased to have the not often broadcast pilot on DVD. In fact, this disc houses two versions of The Cage and one was restored from a work print, so fans should be thrilled there. The image level dips on the work print one, but for those interested, both versions are more than worth a look. The usual Trek elements are on full parade in The Cage, with some themes that reappear not only in this series, but also future Trek efforts, kind of spooky, I think. I wasn’t bowled over by The Cage, but it was a hoot to watch Jeffrey Hunter in the main role, since we all know how much of a loser he looks like, at least when compared to William Shatner. Even so, I commend Paramount for making these episodes available, as fans should be excited to add them to their collections.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame transfers, as intended. As the alternate version of The Cage was put together from rough sources, it looks less impressive than most Trek episodes, but still not unwatchable. And since this is more of a novelty inclusion, the image flaws can be overlooked by fans, so no real worries there. The other episodes look up to the usual Trek standards on these discs, with a clean and quite sharp visual presence. Of course, this is an older television series and it is not pristine, but Paramount has done their usual more than acceptable treatment, which is enough in this case.
Audio: How does it sound?
As per usual, Paramount has spun new Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes here, although the restored version of The Cage is in mono only, for obvious reasons. It sounds harsh and sometimes downright miserable, but fans should be able to suffer through, I think. The 5.1 mixes sound good as usual and while they won’t push your surround systems, the episodes are well presented and pack more depth than you might assume. The beeps & clicks come through as well as can be expected, while music and dialogue also sound more than solid. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you wish to enable those at some point.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes an original broadcast trailer, and a teaser trailer for the upcoming Star Trek: The Next Generation set on DVD, but no other supplements.
