Wink of an Eye

I am currently watching this episode. The clever plot has always intrigued me but now I notice that Kathie Browne as Deela really steals the show. Her costume is extremely well done, being half-on and half-off at the same time. Her performance is just as well done.

There have been other lovely women on Star Trek but she really sweeps Kirk off his feet in this episode. His wistful look at the end looks genuine - because I feel the same way myself. She has a calm and serene attitude that is pleasant to see and hear.

Many of the female guest stars are merely eye candy, but Kathie Browne brings elegance to her role. Even Kirk is subdued in his desire to get his ship back, rather than his usual bluster. It's a nice change of pace.

Star Trek always had what I called the "Macy's Parade" approach to working within a budget--especially in season three. Matte paintings, props,sets, visual effects shots, all were fair game for the producers to utilize, repaint and reconfigure to save money. They must have thought viewers had short memories. Not "Trek" fans. With that said, this episode did a great job of pulling off a lot with the barest of essentials. The Enterprise's landing party transports down to the planet's surface to find a deserted city. This is odd because they were recently sent a distress signal by the inhabitants of this world. A crew member, planet-side, stupidly, takes a drink from a cascading water fountain and disappears. Kirk and the others hear (but don't see) buzzing insects. They are, needless to say, a little perplexed by this turn of events. They scurry back to the ship. On the bridge, Kirk drinks a cup of coffee and he too disappears. The Scalosians, you see, have been able to accelerate themselves into a state of hyper-space. Their motives are not good--it's a trap. I wonder if one of the ideas for this wacky story, may have sprung from a movie titled "The Time Travelers," and it's low-budget remake, "Journey to the Center of Time." Something to keep in mind when you watch this episode, one of the best from Star Trek's final season. Space trivia alert: Kathie Browne, Kirk's love interest in this story and female leader of the Scalosians, was married to the "Night Stalker" himself, Darren McGavin. Sadly, Ms.Browne and her husband passed away in the last few years. But their cult status as icons of 60's television remains intact.

This was an entertaining episode, well played out by a great cast. Kathy Brown was great, and Kirk could easily fall for her. The idea, though, was first used in the H. G. Wells short story, "The New Accelerator," published in 1901 in the Strand magazine. Well's story was later adapted into the 1966 Wild Wild West episode, "Night of the Burning Diamond" written by Ken Kolb, two years before the Star Trek episode. I liked all of them. Dr. McCoy and Spock came up with the ideal solution to Kirk's disappearance and how to bring him back. The ending was bittersweet, as were so many episodes in which Kirk fell for a woman (or android).

This is a case of clashing cultures caught in conflicting time accelerations. After a visit to a barren planet, people begin to disappear on board the enterprise. Kirk and one of the unfortunate red shirted crewman have been moved to a ship where time is passing at an alarming rate. This is with coffee that's not on Starbuck's menu. A small group of aliens wearing shiny Mylar suits (well, I take that back. The women wear almost nothing) are on the brink of extinction and must bring people from a different time designation to mate with. Kirk, of course, gets the queen of the whole bunch. She likes him because he is a "pretty" one. She is quite sexy and doe eyed. Because they don't fear Kirk, he is allowed access to the ship. This is a mistake because he is nothing but trouble. There is also jealousy at work on the ship. Kirk's mission is to get a message to the crew who are moving at an indecipherably slow speed. This is a good concept. It comes up short but is engaging enough to keep one's attention.

Living life in the super-fast lane, a rapid accelerating speedy domain, express and fleet, they've very quick feet, flying along like a swift bullet train.

A fast forward race of aliens in a hurry have designs on the crew of the Enterprise.