"Turnabout Intruder" Originally Aired This Day in 1969

"If only...if only".

With those words, TOS ended, only to come back with a vengeance in syndication in the 1970s. I liked Scotty's recitation of Kirk's moods ("I've seen the captain feverish, sick, drunk..." etc.)

 

Indeed!

 

I always liked this one. I think Shatner gives a great performance as the cuckoo Lester.

 

As always, there are things to be admired from every episode, no matter how bad it may have been overall. Yes, Scotty's "mutiny" discussion with McCoy ranks right up there as one of my favorite Trek scenes, along with the similar discussion Sulu and Chekov have on the bridge.

If only, indeed.

 

One thing that has always bugged me about "Turnabout Intruder" is the death sentence Lester as Kirk gave to his senior officers. Would security really have carried out the order? Wouldn't someone like Sulu at the very least contact Starfleet Command about what was happening?

 

I think "Turnabout Intruder," while a good episode, could have benefited with a little more thought and some rewriting.

 

And also, "Turnabout" suffered from the same logical defect as "Whom Gods Destroy." I mean, if not hobbled by a plot necessity, Spock could determine real versus fake Kirk very easily with one or two specific questions. Like: what did you eat at our working breakfast yesterday, and who else attended that meeting?

McCoy or Scott could have done the same thing at the hearing. Under the guise of trying to destroy a woman's ridiculous claim of being Kirk, they could have vindicated "her" and destroyed fake Kirk on the spot.

 

I don't hate this episode. It's not one of the best, but it's not the worst.

Shatner, in my humble opinion, did a great job playing Janice-playing-Kirk. That said, I've always liked Shatner's over the top style.

Add to that, in the scenes with Janice and the transfer machine he was ill and was sweating off the makeup as fast as they could put it on. That's a trouper, right there.

Did I mention that I like Shatner?

 

I always thought it interesting that Janice as Kirk sentenced McCoy to be executed for the same crime as Scotty and Spock, even though at no point did McCoy say he was joining the mutiny. “You’re talking about mutiny, Scotty…Yes, I’m ready for the vote.” And at no point did McCoy (or anyone else) jump up and say “Um, but I didn’t agree to anything…” Granted, that’s probably the least of the story problems here, but every time I watch that scene, I think of it.

 

Any chance we can use a temporal anomaly to un-air this sexist piece of crap?

 

I like any time Scotty gets more time, this was a great example. I thought it was good performances all around. I didn't care for Dr. Coleman, but it could have been the character and not the actor, sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing.

I think besides being the last episode, this also is a no win episode and that can tend to leave you feeling down. You could say Kirk regains his body and ship as "winning" as in it's a positive outcome to regain what was lost, but he doesn't feel triumphant and therefore neither do we. The fact still remains that this person that Kirk had an involvment with, who certainly belongs in the same facility with Lord Garth being that she is criminally insane, is still a bitter ruined person that killed her own people just to trick him there and wants him dead. I think finding out someone wants to kill you is not a positive thing. Further more that said individual actually has killed many people to do so is even worse. And then Kirk, being himself, feels regret at her condition and wonders if he couldn't have done more to help her, even though it's clearly not his fault. And then it ends without so much as, "they will get her help at the hospital" or something to look forward with. So, it really is gloomy, not the kind of thing people shoot to the top of the list.

I also thought the rehashing of the footage of the transfer over and over was repetitive and wearing. I mean we got it.

 

I’m a huge fan of Shatner as Kirk and even superior episodes like The Tholian Web don’t get visited by me as often because he’s hardly in it. But Turnabout Intruder, which is a badly written over the top piece of Gorn Guano is one I just LOVE to watch because Shatner is mesmerizing. He was sick with the flu throughout, but his energy never wavered and even though it’s stereotypical in its depiction of women at the time, it’s just so much damned fun to watch him let loose. The control his has over his voice and body is to be greatly admired. I always enjoy his utter meltdown during the trial. I’m an actor and I could never come close to that intensity and control on my best day.