The Alternative Factor

Lazarus has a bubble car time machine, but he doesn't keep track of just where he's been, not sure who he is, but his whiskers have fizz, depending on the version of him being seen.

Schizophrenic universes that matter and don't come close to colliding and reducing everything to smoke.

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 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.

Yes, it's true, this is one of the worst episodes in the entire series, right down there with "The Empath." Yes, Lazarus is one of the most irritating characters, always falling off cliffs to move the story (such as it is) along.

The *only* thing that's interesting in this episode is when Lazarus finally explains how his cat-and-mouse with his alternate-universe counterpart came about. Both the sci-fi physics element and the madman element of the premise are fascinating. But this explanation comes in the last 5 minutes of the show, after 40 minutes of exhausting shenanigans -- too late to even buy the "r" in the word "redeem."

I would love to know the backstory about how this episode went from fascinating concept to crummy filmed episode. Perhaps that would help ease the pain that this entry's very existence creates in the beating heart of the series.

Another interesting bit about this episode is that with it, the series nearly bottoms out before rocketing to the top with the very next episode, "City on the Edge of Forever." From the very bottom, the only way to go is up.

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.