STAR TREK
Catspaw

From Wikipedia:

"Catspaw" is an episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode #36, production #30, and was first broadcast October 27, 1967. It was repeated on May 24, 1968. It was written by Robert Bloch, and directed by Joseph Pevney. Its gothic horror elements are perhaps best explained by the proximity of the episode's release to Halloween.

Overview: Two powerful aliens threaten the well-being of the Enterprise and her crew.

More here.

Okay, the second season begins!

This one, "Catspaw," probably isn't going to make too many top forty lists, but I have a great deal of affection for it. Okay, it's a bit off, I'll admit, even for Star Trek, and doesn't even come close to having some of the more science-oriented ideas that the self-respecting and serious fans go for, but it does have a lot of fun ideas. That is, this is as close to the comic book genre as the show gets.

For instance, Kirk and his landing party are tempted by plates of large and shiny gem stones, which the Captain rejects because he can make them himself with technology on the Enterprise--this comes right out of Superman, who can create diamonds by compressing lumps of coal in his own hands. There are witches and a black cat. There is an ominous castle. A skeleton in a dungeon. Sorcerers. A tiny Enterprise model that, when it is held near a candle, makes the real thing overheat. Stick bug aliens. I mean, "Catspaw" is like a toy box full of nifty concepts pulled straight out of 1960s DC Comics. All it needs is the Flash being turned into a giant paperweight.

It's also extraordinarily well executed, most likely because the guy who wrote it, Robert Bloch, who also wrote the book on which Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho was based, is a total professional. Good solid storytelling. This may not be an episode for the hard science fiction fan, but if your way into scifi, like mine, was through comic books, you'll probably dig this one as much as I do.

And let's not forget that this was the first appearance of Chekov, complete with his weird Beatle wig to make him more appealing to the youth audience!

Go check it out. Like I said, it's fun.


"Bones..."

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