The Deadly Years

Season 2, episode 12. The Enterprise is taking Commodore Stocker to Starbase 10 and makes a quick pit stop at Gamma Hydra IV to bring them supplies. Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Chekhov & Galway beam down to the facility where they find no one around. Chekhov goes into one of the buildings and panics & screams out - the rest come running inside to find a dead man. Bones scans him and finds he's died of natural causes, old age. Two seemingly elderly people come in, they are questioned by Kirk about their ages: 29 & 27. The two are beamed aboard ship but they die from old age. Not long after that the group that beam down all started aging rapidly -- all but Chekhov. McCoy estimated they are aging at the rate of about 30 years per day. Galway dies of old age sooner than the others due to her metabolism but the others are aging extremely quickly. To make matters worse, Romulans are in the area. It's a race against time and only their combined wisdom can save them.

Interesting concept were radiation from a comet tail caused the quick aging process. Even more interesting is the reason why Chekhov didn't age and holds the key to the answers.

8/10

Dont listen to some reviews its just some hater who only love Season 1 from every show then the re just here to hate.

" The deadly Years" is a fantastic piece of TV , with every single thing you Can Ask for a TV show, great plot great acting, suspence, Love the judment of Captain Kirk by Spock... You cannot give this episode less than 8.5 , if you do so you re just a haters and you re opinion doesn't matter.

9/10 IS the rating this ep deserve.

I'm at that stage in life where I'm starting to show signs of wear and tear, so watching Kirk and his crewmates rapidly age after being exposed to radiation from a comet is quite uncomfortable viewing (even if the old-age make-up is a bit rubbish). Kirk develops dementia and arthritis, McCoy goes grey and wrinkly, Spock's usually acute mind is a little slower, Scotty look terrible, and Lt. Galway has seen far better days. It's a reminder that getting old can be really sucky (although Shatner in his 90s still has all his faculties and is doing things that most of us only dream of).

After several instances where Kirk's ability to command is called into question, a competency hearing is convened, which results in the captain being relieved of duty by Commodore Stocker (Charles Drake). However, the commodore's inexperience at the helm leads to a stand-off with the Romulans after the Enterprise violates a neutral zone.

After the intriguing set up, The Deadly Years stagnates: half of the episode is spent watching the characters deteriorate, which soon gets old (badum tish!), while the competency hearing simply retreads what we have already seen. Kirk's return to youthfulness and good health after an injection of adrenaline is nothing short of miraculous, the rejuvenated captain bounding onto the bridge to avert disaster by using the Corbomite maneuver, a lazy resolution from the writers.

Naysayers dislike this episode, but I've always loved it and still do. The makeup is brilliant (not perfect, but it was designed for a 480-line TV). The competency hearing shines with its awkward silences. Kirk's swagger gets worse the more he ages. It's fun to see him be proven wrong again and again, which is 180 degrees from what the other episodes depict. "Ask me anything. We're in orbit around Gamma Hydra II."

McCoy turns into a crusty Southern doctor (giving Spock one of his greatest comeback lines). Sure the battle drama is contrived, but It's a nice "back to normal" moment.

I'm currently re-watching the series (on Blu Ray - gorgeous!) and it's so nice to see an episode where they are not fighting super beings with god-like powers. There are waaay too many episodes like that.

I unexpectedly LOVED this ep...particularly Scotty who just wanted to take a nap...all the time! #Who Can Relate

The crew travel down to a planet where everyone is aging mega-rapidly and no one seems to know why. Then they beam back aboard and all of the (except Chekov) start to age rapidly, too. As one of the reviewers so aptly put it...what a drag it is getting old!

Kirk gets forgetful and cranky, McCoy starts drawling like a Southern belle and gets even CRANKIER and Spock would like the thermostat at 200, please...can someone get him a shawl? Nurse Chapel's furrowed brow says it all...these are some grumpy old men!

Commander Stocker does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING under Romulus attack...was he going to talk them to death? Turns out the reason for Chekov's immunity will save the day...AND the Enterprise...but not that awful Monkee wig he wears in the final (recycled) shot.

LAUGHED a lot in this one...which may not have been the intent...but mostly b/c I can relate to all of them...I've never felt more connected to Scotty in my life!

8/10 but it's prolly a 9...I forget...my mind wanders. Time for a nap! 😴