Defending The Lights of Zetar

[tomswift2002]

Even though this is not the best episode of TOS, at the same time it's a 100 times better than the remake "The Wisp" that Enterprise tried to make.

 

[TLOZ Lover]

I always liked this one. Much as I don't love how Scotty acts whenever he has an affair of the heart, this episode has a lot going for it. Like much of the 3rd season, this is a VERY spooky episode. One of the few to really feel like a dip into the horror genre. Going back to the WNMHGB score was a great touch in selling the chills. Jan Shutan has a creepy vibe to her, the way her eyes take on an icy stare. The low growl, the glow, the dead bodies on Memory Alpha and the voice of the Zetarians really scared the crap out of me as a kid. Other great moments: the revelation of the matching brainwaves and the invasion of the ship. Watching this one at 2 am is a great way to feel unnerved.

One piece of continuity that always bothered me was Spock saying the Zetarians will answer questions "using her voice." But when they speak again, it's the alien voice...

Scotty finally finds the woman he has longed for all of his life in this episode. Good for him! He acts far less foolishly in this episode than he did in Who Mourns for Adonais?, and thankfully Mira is the one woman who sees all of Montgomery Scott's wonderful qualities and returns his love at last. Such a beautiful and fitting love story!

I guess I never saw a creepy vibe to her--just a lovely young woman on her first Federation assignment who has fallen deeply in love and who now must deal with a totally unknown and deadly alien trying to take possession of her. I was never creeped out by the Zetarians themselves (the original was better than the remastered version IMO); however, I always hated the deep, gutteral, garbled sounds they made through the female technician and Mira. Incredibly ugly and the one thing that mars this episode to me. Yes, I always thought Spock's comment was strange, too. They are obviously able to speak through her body and yet use a voice different than Mira's.

One of the things on my bucket list has always been to meet, or at least be able to tell Jan Shutan, while she is still with us, just how wonderful she was in this episode. God smiled on me recently when I was finally able to locate and contact one of Jan's children who forwarded my e-mail on to her. Hope she enjoyed my blog!

 

[The Old Mixer]

This is one of those episodes with a half-hour premise stretched out to fill the hour by keeping the characters a couple of commercial breaks behind the viewer in figuring out what was going on.

 

[TLOZ Lover]

TLOZ Lover, excellent blog! I like TLOZ, although it has never ranked among my ultimate favorites. The love story is very cool, and I think Spock summed it up quite well, "Humans do claim a great deal for that particular emotion."

Oh yeah, Day of the Dove... fantastic!

Thank you, geotrek, for your kind comments!