The Alternative Factor

According to "Star Trek; the Inside Story" by Solow and Justman (the two original producers of the Star Trek series) there were some contractual issues with the actor who was supposed to play the guest lead, and thus this caused some scheduling issues which cascaded into other areas of production.

Result; this episode.

Well, what can a guy say about an installment that was supposed to be the crown jewel of Trek, but wound up being a bucket of swill? An "A" for effort... err... maybe.

Things that I spotted; there's an exterior shot showing Kirk and Spock leading a search team, but the actors are their stunt doubles, and not Shatner and Nimoy. The lead character seems prone to injury, and the science fiction in this episode is more fiction than science.

I'll say this, the reason I tend to prefer classic 1960's Trek to the TNG+ era, is because the first season of TOS Trek is psychological; the second season is sociological, while the third season is more interpersonal (with all its flaws). This episode really strove to be a true science-fiction story, and not some encoded amalgam conveying a comment on contemporary society.

No, this episode really wanted to post the question of sacrifice to save two realms of existence. As stated earlier, director Gerd Oswald wanted the son of a famous actor who had star power (the name escapes me). Said actor was drunk and didn't show up for the shoot. SAG threw the book at the actor for breaking his contract, and torpedoing what could've been an interesting, and a true first pure sci-fi masterpiece for this very memorable series.

But, blaming the guest star for all the foibles isn't fair. Truth is the writing was a little weak in this episode. Without a psychological formula to rely on this episode was truly trying to break new ground. But, because the author(s) did not know enough about the science they were dealing with, and only the philosophical dilemma of what they wanted to pose for the audience, the story falls flat.

Even so, it's still fun to see our favorites run around on the screen to save the Federation (and everyone else in this case) from a fate worse than death.

Not a sterling installment. Watch only in passing... if at all.

One thing that must be considered is that the show didn't have any single dedicated writer or writers, there were many different writers of any one episode to the next.

The person who wrote this particular episode was Don Ingalls, who was a fairly prolific television writer from the early 1960's to mid 1980's. If not prolific, he received a lot of work. It's the only Star Trek episode he is credited with "written by." He is also has a "story by" credit for the 'A Private Little War' episode. That's it.

There were numerous other writers in the series, many for just one episode, so there almost has to be a few misfires, just based on simple probability. This one isn't the strongest, admittedly. It was probably too ambitious and ended up spinning it's wheels. To start with, there's some goofy special effects. Interesting sci-fi themes are explored, but the explanations are vague (or wrong) and unfortunately never tied up. Guest star Robert Brown as Lazarus is in some scenes brilliant, and in others seems over the top. Still, I feel there's enough done well here to make it a worthwhile watch. If nothing else, it's memorable.

I have to be contrarian and admit that I like this episode more than most. It's a refreshing bit of hard science fiction with a wonderful mystery setup. The script hints at the possibility of an invasion from the antimatter universe and/or the destruction of all existence due to the collision of both. The execution, however, leaves much to be desired. This riveting premise unfortunately boils down to several encounters with Lazarus, a young man who keeps habitually falling off cliffs in Vasquez Rocks.

The plot of this episode feels paper-thin with plenty of holes. If the very fabric of the universe is at stake and only one (mentally unhinged) person has any information about it, why let him roam around freely about a starship? There's plenty of laughs to be had as well, especially Spock's unemotional accusation of Lazarus being a liar right to his face, complete with an embarrassing musical sting.

It's mostly the incidental music and Robert Brown's over-the-top performance that gives this episode much of its particular charm. It has that Season 1 innocence to it, hinting at a sort of sinister scientific space mystery approach to exploring the Star Trek universe that the show slowly abandoned as it went along. Watch with the un-altered special effects if possible.

This episode of TOS suffered from a mediocre script and very average directing. Robert Brown does a fair job of performing the rather maniacal Lazarus -an interesting biblical allusion, but a bit difficult to interpret the meaning given the character. The cinematography and the script impose limitations that inhibit dramatic development.

The Alternative factor is essentially a sci-fi mystery (hence the choice of Gerd Oswald, known for Perry Mason, as the director). It presents a plot with some interesting, though somewhat impossible, roots in theoretical physics. The known universe is, apparently, about to be destroyed by a malevolent humanoid from the universe of antimatter. Lazarus has been chasing this being for years - to exact revenge for the destruction of his world. The Enterprise crew is stymied and confused (as will be most members of the audience), until the identity of the would-be destroyer is revealed.

Basically, the story line could have been interesting given an hour or so more explanation. As it stands, it appears to be strafed with plot-holes and inconsistent characterization. The franchise, however, learned from its mistakes and did better with similar approaches in a few episodes of TNG and DS9.

There is a solid sci-fi premise here, though the stakes should have been dialed way back. I hated this as a kid and now just see it as extremely silly.

But turkey though it may be, EVERYBODY remembers this one. I actually liked the George Jettson personal spaceship.

To be fair, any potential this episode had was destroyed by the original actor cast as Lazarus not showing up. The replacement went directly from casting to shooting with no time to prepare. Despite being handed a quite complex role.