kevinolzak

"Requiem for Methuselah" (Feb. 14, 1969) Old TV Guide synopsis: 'The crew intrudes on a private paradise inhabited by two individuals: a man of extraordinary accomplishments; and his ward, superbly educated - but unacquainted with human emotions.' Another conflicting episode (the last of four written by Jerome Bixby) that presents Kirk as a captain who can forget about the fever aboard the Enterprise to inexplicably fall in love at first sight. Louise Sorel is fine as Rayna, but the standout is James Daly's emotionally wrenched performance as Flint, and his various guises throughout human history, from Da Vinci to Brahms, still composing after an astonishing lifetime of 6000 years. A great confrontation between Spock and McCoy, who laments that the Vulcan won't be able to share Kirk's experiences regarding both the pain and joy of love; once the doctor is out of sight, Spock uses a quiet mind meld to ease his captain's anguish, a nice touch to close things out.

"The Way to Eden" (Feb. 21, 1969) Old TV Guide synopsis: 'The Enterprise captures six spaceship-snatching rebels who are led by a long-robed fanatic determined to reach the mystical planet Eden.' A wrong headed attempt to do 'space hippies' that offers a more substantial role for Skip Homeier ("Patterns of Force") as a maniacal guru carrying a disease that could kill all his followers. Imagine viewers dismissing this episode mere months before Charles Manson became front page news with the brutal slayings of actress Sharon Tate and all of her houseguests, the utopian ideal held by the hippie movement turned on its head in distasteful fashion. These rebels insist on deriding Kirk as 'Herbert' (don't ask), and find a kindred spirit in Spock, essentially a half human outcast who has already found his own Eden aboard the Enterprise, finally rejecting the undisciplined methods involved in their journey. The climactic revelation that it's not the paradise they believed it would be is another cruel reminder that "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (the upcoming B-side of The Rolling Stones #1 hit "Honky Tonk Women").

"The Cloud Minders" (Feb. 28, 1969) Old TV Guide synopsis: 'On the planet Ardana, Kirk and Spock are drawn into a class struggle when they try to obtain zeenite, the only antidote to a botanical plague.' When the consignment of zeenite is not delivered by the Troglytes, the surface dwelling miners of Ardana, Kirk and Spock must depend upon high council member Plasus (Jeff Corey) to secure it from his cloud city of Stratus. Diana Ewing sports one of the show's most breathtaking outfits as Plasus' daughter Droxine, introduced by her father as 'a work of art,' a compliment shared by Spock. Not to be outdone in the revealing costume department is Charlene Polite as Vanna, rebel leader of the Troglyte resistance, unaware of the reason for her people's mental retardation due to the unfiltered gas emissions that accompany the excavation. Plasus proves to be just as stubborn and intractable as the Troglytes he disparages (among whom can be spotted Fred Williamson), a part well suited to the bluster of veteran Jeff Corey.