The Man Trap

On the surface of it this is a typical Vamp episode with a sci-fi twist. One might recall "King Lear" and the machinations of the King's daughters. That might partially explain the motivation of the antagonist, but there's more here. There's a basic functionality at work; predator and prey relationships, only this time they're encoded with a kind of intellectual gloss where the subject in question can camouflage themselves amongst the prey.

And that's another theme that's explored here. A man denied of companionship, starved for it, whose occupation doesn't lend himself to mixing with throngs of female suitors, finds that his companion is a subject of interest. What will he do when presented its talents, even though there's a deadly price to be paid? How bendable is a man when it comes to his more basic yearnings.

Another theme explores possible motivations of the creature, though even those are given a healthy amount of light, and we see the creature for all of its worth, when all is said and done.

The distant world of M-113 has ruins of a civilization that once way, but is no more. Dr. Crater is essentially marooned for the sake of his work, and whether it's the heat, his work, or lack of a moral compass, we're given some insight to, but it does not explain the entirety of his decision, and Captain James T. Kirk exposes the truth.

Do you destroy the living vestige of a lost empire? Do you kill off something that is an artifact of days long gone, but could destroy you? What would your decision be?

Again, on the surface it is a silly superficial monster episode. But if you listen to the dialogue carefully, there are some ideas there that should give you pause to think.

Enjoy.

Predating the same mistake they made with Seinfeld's second season (specifically, the last four episodes) by 25 years, NBC aired the first episodes of Star Trek out of order (the approved pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before, was broadcast as Episode 3). Not that it's a major problem: for one thing, the original Trek is famous for not having any significant narrative continuity between episodes (something that changed with the spin-offs); secondly, The Man Trap is just as good an example of what really makes Star Trek a riot to watch - the interaction between the characters.

Starting, like any other episode, with the "Captain's log, star date whatever" narration by Captain James Kirk (William Shatner), The Man Trap takes place on a deserted planet where a scientist (Alfred Ryder) and his wife (Jeanne Bal) are studying the remains of an ancient society. The starship USS Enterprise is orbiting around the planet so that Kirk can give the two new food supplies and the ship's physician, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), can check on their medical condition. This proves to be a bit awkward, since he and the woman were romantically involved once. Greater problems lie ahead, though, as Enterprise crew members are found dead. The cause is salt deprivation, and the strange marks on their necks suggest someone or something is doing this deliberately. Now it's up to Kirk, McCoy and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the Enterprise's half-human, half-Vulcanian scientist, to find out what's going on and how to stop it.

As is the case with most Star Trek episodes, the plot is quite simple: new planet, weird event, people in danger, Kirk and his pals saving the day. It's essentially the blueprint for the monster-of-the-week stories of The X-Files, not to mention the reason NBC agreed to give the show a chance (the original pilot, The Cage, was rejected because it was considered "too cerebral"). The apparent simplicity is used as a tool to conceal deeper issues in later installments, but here it's exactly what it looks like: a very basic script that allows any viewer to access the classic Star Trek universe without worrying about any complicated, underlying "mythology" (an element that has been mandatory in successful genre shows made after 1990). In that sense, the first Trek series is the science-fiction equivalent of Seinfeld: watch a random episode, and you'll enjoy it just as much as if you were viewing them in the correct order (the feature films changed that a little, but it's another story).

But if the stories are that simple, why bother? The answer is equally basic, but not less relevant for that: the leading trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy (even though they weren't acknowledged in that way until the start of Season 2: up to that point, only Shatner and Nimoy are credited in the title sequence; everyone else is listed in the closing credits). The elementary combination of a curious, optimistic leader, a less cheerful doctor and a purely rational, (mostly) emotionless half-alien is the kind of narrative decision that, if played well, can make the fortune of any good story. Granted, this episode doesn't contain many of the typical elements (especially the more alien traits of Spock's personality), but the seeds of all the great things to come (the chess games, the arguments, the incessant exchanges of dry wit between Bones and Spock) are clearly visible here.

In short, this may not be the proper first episode of the series, but given the standalone nature of the original Trek scripts, it works pretty well as an introduction to Gene Roddenberry's seminal TV universe, a place "where no man had gone before". It's the beginning of a small-screen legend, therefore a must-see.

This is really quite good. The crew goes to a planet where Dr. Crater and his wife are due for a required checkup. They have been on the planet for five years. Mrs. Crater is a former love interest of Dr. McCoy and he looks forward with trepidation to seeing her. When the away team gets there each of them sees this woman in different. To McCoy, she appears to be as young as when they last met; Kirk sees her as one of an appropriate age; and the other crewman sees her as a woman from a pleasure colony. Now the bodies start to pile up. The men meet Dr. Crater who is uncooperative and unfriendly. A scream is heard outside and upon investigation, the body of the third crewman lies dead, circular burn-like marks on his skin. The central issue has something to do with salt. The body, when investigated, is lacking salt. Mrs. Crater is really worried that their salt supply is dissipated. Soon even more bodies are found. The thing is a shape-changer and it begins to find ways of attacking crew members to remove its salt.

A shape shifting salt vampire-- okie dokie!

This kind of story is what you'd expect in a series late in its run when it's run out of ideas. In TOS terms, you'd expect this from season three.

But this one works well because it's very well produced and the character interplay is great, even when the character is the shapeshifter.

Professor Crater makes a surprisingly convincing and compelling "villain".

Nancy Crater and Dr. McCoy at one time was very close... it's been years since they've seen each other. Naturally Bones was excited to find out he'll see Nancy again while on the planet M-113. Nancy has gotten married to Professor Robert Crater, a man that knows all about Nancy. Nancy is not quite her old self, trying to harm the Starship Crew for Salt.

Off to a great start with the first season, first episode of ST-TOS. It is taken very much seriously - nothing cutesy or funny about it. Like all Star Trek TOS - you'll either like the Captain and Crew or you simply won't.

Oddly, this episode looks and feels like a later episode... one that you know the characters better rather than the very first episode aired for TV audiences in 1966.

7/10