Review 28 - Episode 29The One with the flying jellyfish
Silly monster this episode, but there are a few things that make this worth watching. The crew visit a planet that had been infested with flying parasites that attach themselves to a host and infect them, spreading madness. Actually, this is slightly garbled, as they mention that they want to build ships and infest the galaxy, but at the same time they seem randomly violent amd kill their hosts, so slightly confusing.
The monsters look awful, like rubber vomit that is being thrown like a Frisbee. There's no getting round the fact they are so comical that it ruins any suspense or danger.
So what is good about it? Well, important from Kirks point of view as his brother, Sam and his wife are killed (again, by the monsters? What is their M.O.) and have left a child, Peter, Kirks nephew. To be honest this is quite a traumatic day for Kirk, but it doesn't really come across that he's upset much.
The other key scenes are Spock, who's now infected, and McCoy debating, squabbling and ultimately McCoy feeling guilty when he thinks he's blinded Spock for no reason. Spock and McCoy onscreen together are always good value.
It's enjoyable enough, but forgettable all the same and impossible to take seriously. Even the title is camp.
2/5
(So, here we are at the end of Season 1 of TOS. Indeed, the 1st season of ANY Trek. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. When I decided to do this trek marathon, TOS was a series that I'd never seen properly and had never had much interest in watching, even though the films and various media always referenced it. I still think you have to be in the right frame of mind to watch it and ignore the blatant sexism, dodgy special effects and clunky dialogue at times. But on the whole, it's more sophisticated than you might think and some of the technology still seems pretty future proof even now. Right, onto Season 2!)
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