The Alternative Factor

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.

I love these old STAR TREK episodes but this must be one of the lamest ever. I couldn't figure out what on earth was going on - nor could Kirk and Spock by the sound of them. Spock keeps making strange and frankly incomprehensible statements like "it's possible...very possible." It's either possible or not, make up your mind, Mr Spock.

Meanwhile, a man falls off a cliff, again and again, and is cured by a small plaster, though blood drips from his mouth. The best parts are Kirk's line "I want facts, not poetry!" and the Enterprise crew hanging out in the recreation room smirking at the state of the canteen coffee while the goatee man prowls about looking ragged. Couldn't Bones have loaned him a spare suit at least?

It's still all splendid fun, of course, and I recommend it wholeheartedly over all modern TV programmes.

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.

Enterprise encounters a violent and unusual physical phenomenon.

This is an interesting episode based on a brilliant idea, but unfortunately the screenplay does not translate to the screen very well.

The plot must have sounded fantastic when it was first discussed and its introductory scene is very intriguing. Unfortunately it unfolds in a sometimes boring way, with several long winded, repetitive visuals and some big exposition dialogues.

I love parallel universe stories and the matter v antimatter concept is a great idea, unfortunately what presents on screen makes little sense by the description of it's own technobabble.

There are also some plot points that are ludicrous. Lazarus is obviously a threat yet has free run of the ship on more than one occasion.

It's not all bad. Some visuals work well, like Lazarus's spacecraft on the planet surface, along with the cinematography and acting. Also it finishes strongly with Kirk helping to save two universes and leaves on poignant note about the poor guest character.

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Robert Brown are solid, particularly Brown playing the two versions of the guest character.

For me it's a 5.5/10, but I round upwards.

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.