Wednesday 2 July 2008

Star Trek: TOS 2.18 - Obsession

Review 46 - Episode 47

The One with the Killer Cloud

Some interesting ideas in here, but doesn't rise above it's main theme. Kirk is chasing a monster that he encountered 11 years previous and still blames himself for the deaths he feels he caused.

It's good to get some back story on Kirk and his past history in Starfleet. I like that he made mistakes when he was younger on the Farragut, though the writers do bottle it slightly by absolving him of blame. It ruins the impact of the incident as Kirk no longer has the guilty survivor complex. It's also pushing it a bit to have his previous captains son suddenly onboard just as they face the creature and going through the same thing. Ah, yes, the creature is undeniably silly and lessens the emotional tug of Kirks vendetta as it's just so daft. I mean, a VAMPIRE CLOUD that can travel through space and reproduce?! It's played totally straight so just about gets away with it.

There are some excellent scenes with McCoy and Spock confronting Kirk and the B plot of meeting up with the Yorktown gives more rope for Kirk to hang himself and ruin his career.

Solid episode, but the actual monster ruins it a bit.

3/5

Overall Star Trek Franchise Rating so far: 138/230

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