Summary:
The Enterprise is visiting the planet Dramia to deliver some medical supplies, in the time-honored Federation tradition of generosity. The Dramians respond to this gesture by demanding the arrest of Dr. McCoy, who had visited the colony Dramia II nineteen years earlier for a program of inoculation, the result of which the Dramians now claim was a devastating plague.
The crew is taken aback by this turn of events, but Kirk is especially troubled given unsavory reports of the Dramian justice system. McCoy is taken into custody pending trial, and the landing party beams back to the Enterprise where Kirk and Spock discuss further action. Kirk is not content to let the Dramian justice system alone determine McCoy's fate, and sets a course for Dramia II to gather evidence.
Just as Kirk expected, the commander of a Dramian starship, Drex, takes issue with Kirk's investigation and begins to pursue. The Enterprise pretends not to notice, and leaves the hangar doors open in order to entice Drex to sneak aboard. He does so, and Kirk impounds his vessel. Drex is annoyed, but accompanies Kirk to the planet's surface, which they find has indeed been devastated by the plague. A few residents are spotted, which Drex informs them had survived the plague by virtue of being offworld at the time of its strike.
One of the residents, Kol-Tai, insists that he was present during the actual outbreak, however, but inexplicably survived. Kirk asks if he remembers McCoy, and Kol-Tai does so fondly, explaining that McCoy saved him from Saurian plague during his visit. Kol-Tai agrees to stand as a witness at his trial, and the Enterprise makes off quickly to deliver him.
En route to Dramia, Kol-Tai suddenly begins to display plague symptoms. It is soon discovered that the rest of the crew is now likewise afflicted, save Spock, who has a natural immunity. He takes command of the ship, and requests that the Dramian authorities temporarily release McCoy so that he may assist in saving the crew. They refuse, however, and Spock initiates a jailbreak, beaming into his holding cell and dispatching his guard with a Vulcan neck pinch. This initially outrages McCoy, who was intent on facing the music in the Dramian court, but he changes his tune when he learns of the happenings aboard Enterprise.
Returning to the ship, McCoy races against the clock to discover a cure before the plague can incapacitate him and kill the crew. The stricken Kirk observes that the skin pigmentation of the diseased has been changing to match that of a nearby aurora. McCoy recalls that a similar aurora had been present during his earlier mission, and determines that it must be the source of the plague. Since the inoculation against Saurian plague had enabled Kol-Tai to survive the auroran plague once before, McCoy adminsters the Saurian plague vaccine to the crew, which indeed proves successful in saving their lives, including those of Kol-Tai and Drex.
This action exonerates McCoy, who the Dramians now hail as a hero. The Enterprise's obstruction of Dramian justice is overlooked, and the ship is sent on its way.
Analysis:
This is a swiftly (but not hurriedly) paced installment of animated Trek, with high stakes and an interesting premise. The Dramians seem already to have credited McCoy with the plague on Dramia II, but have conveniently withheld this information until he is once more present on the planet so that they may carry out their own brand of justice. Even McCoy is willing to entertain the notion that his actions were in some way responsible for the ensuing plague, but Kirk is not as ready as the Dramians apparently are to accept this as a foregone conclusion.
This gives Kirk a classic opportunity to outmaneuver the local authorities, and while his success confirms the purported shortcomings of their legal system, the Dramians are not reduced to caricatures in the process (Drex may be a jerk, but Kol-Tai seems like a pretty stand-up guy). It would be interesting to see if, following the exposure of these glaring flaws, any sort of reform was visited upon their courts as a result, or if this embarrassing incident was merely brushed under the rug. The latter would not be especially surprising, but in either case, it's nice that there's more story to tell here.
Several of the plot contrivances, while instrumental and effective, could stand to be better explained. For instance, what exactly brought the plague hit Dramia II right after McCoy's last visit? If McCoy did indeed bring it, why wasn't he affected too? Can it be that the aurora never had the opportunity to cause outbreaks apart from these two occasions? If not, why would its outbreak be correlated with McCoy rather than with the aurora? If Kol-Tai had an immunity to the plague in the earlier outbreak, why is he susceptible now? The whole scenario could make a lot more sense with a little explanation, but I suppose only so much can be covered in 22 minutes. Regardless, it works to the episode's detriment.
Perhaps less easily explained are why the Dramians waited 19 years to prosecute a genocide, or why the Federation would agree to submit McCoy to the graces of such a suspect legal system. Presumably, the Dramians could not alert McCoy of the charges lest he evade sentencing, but it's hard to believe that this has been the first opportunity in 19 years to lure him into their space, and the notion that they were simply willing to let the matter rest until such a time that he happened across their space for other reasons is even harder to swallow.
As for the Federation, the Dramian Prefect asserts that it agreed to hand McCoy over. We're told that Dramian space it out of subspace communication range however, so if this was negotiated in advance, it seems uncharacteristically treacherous to deliver him into their arms unawares, particularly since the draconian nature of their justice seems to be common knowledge.
Despite these shortcomings, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all get to shine here. This is surely one of the better instances of Kirk sticking it to the man, and Spock capably rises to the challenge when he's the only one left capable to continue the mission. And McCoy, of course, demonstrates his unswerving commitment to the preservation of life not simply by saving the Enterprise, but in his willingness to face trial for his purported hand in the earlier tragedy. In spite of his admirable performance, though, McCoy receives some particularly cruel (and therefore hilarious) barbs from an unsympathetic Spock.
Finally, the Dramians make excellent foils for our heroes, and remain likeable despite the deserved dressing down of their government. They're some cool-looking creatures, too, demonstrating one of the most notable strengths of the animated format.
Verdict:
8/10. If the initial setup is a bit flimsy, the proceeding plot is thoroughly enjoyable and provides great opportunities for our heroes to shine.
The Enterprise is visiting the planet Dramia to deliver some medical supplies, in the time-honored Federation tradition of generosity. The Dramians respond to this gesture by demanding the arrest of Dr. McCoy, who had visited the colony Dramia II nineteen years earlier for a program of inoculation, the result of which the Dramians now claim was a devastating plague.
The crew is taken aback by this turn of events, but Kirk is especially troubled given unsavory reports of the Dramian justice system. McCoy is taken into custody pending trial, and the landing party beams back to the Enterprise where Kirk and Spock discuss further action. Kirk is not content to let the Dramian justice system alone determine McCoy's fate, and sets a course for Dramia II to gather evidence.
Just as Kirk expected, the commander of a Dramian starship, Drex, takes issue with Kirk's investigation and begins to pursue. The Enterprise pretends not to notice, and leaves the hangar doors open in order to entice Drex to sneak aboard. He does so, and Kirk impounds his vessel. Drex is annoyed, but accompanies Kirk to the planet's surface, which they find has indeed been devastated by the plague. A few residents are spotted, which Drex informs them had survived the plague by virtue of being offworld at the time of its strike.
One of the residents, Kol-Tai, insists that he was present during the actual outbreak, however, but inexplicably survived. Kirk asks if he remembers McCoy, and Kol-Tai does so fondly, explaining that McCoy saved him from Saurian plague during his visit. Kol-Tai agrees to stand as a witness at his trial, and the Enterprise makes off quickly to deliver him.
En route to Dramia, Kol-Tai suddenly begins to display plague symptoms. It is soon discovered that the rest of the crew is now likewise afflicted, save Spock, who has a natural immunity. He takes command of the ship, and requests that the Dramian authorities temporarily release McCoy so that he may assist in saving the crew. They refuse, however, and Spock initiates a jailbreak, beaming into his holding cell and dispatching his guard with a Vulcan neck pinch. This initially outrages McCoy, who was intent on facing the music in the Dramian court, but he changes his tune when he learns of the happenings aboard Enterprise.
Returning to the ship, McCoy races against the clock to discover a cure before the plague can incapacitate him and kill the crew. The stricken Kirk observes that the skin pigmentation of the diseased has been changing to match that of a nearby aurora. McCoy recalls that a similar aurora had been present during his earlier mission, and determines that it must be the source of the plague. Since the inoculation against Saurian plague had enabled Kol-Tai to survive the auroran plague once before, McCoy adminsters the Saurian plague vaccine to the crew, which indeed proves successful in saving their lives, including those of Kol-Tai and Drex.
This action exonerates McCoy, who the Dramians now hail as a hero. The Enterprise's obstruction of Dramian justice is overlooked, and the ship is sent on its way.
Analysis:
This is a swiftly (but not hurriedly) paced installment of animated Trek, with high stakes and an interesting premise. The Dramians seem already to have credited McCoy with the plague on Dramia II, but have conveniently withheld this information until he is once more present on the planet so that they may carry out their own brand of justice. Even McCoy is willing to entertain the notion that his actions were in some way responsible for the ensuing plague, but Kirk is not as ready as the Dramians apparently are to accept this as a foregone conclusion.
This gives Kirk a classic opportunity to outmaneuver the local authorities, and while his success confirms the purported shortcomings of their legal system, the Dramians are not reduced to caricatures in the process (Drex may be a jerk, but Kol-Tai seems like a pretty stand-up guy). It would be interesting to see if, following the exposure of these glaring flaws, any sort of reform was visited upon their courts as a result, or if this embarrassing incident was merely brushed under the rug. The latter would not be especially surprising, but in either case, it's nice that there's more story to tell here.
Several of the plot contrivances, while instrumental and effective, could stand to be better explained. For instance, what exactly brought the plague hit Dramia II right after McCoy's last visit? If McCoy did indeed bring it, why wasn't he affected too? Can it be that the aurora never had the opportunity to cause outbreaks apart from these two occasions? If not, why would its outbreak be correlated with McCoy rather than with the aurora? If Kol-Tai had an immunity to the plague in the earlier outbreak, why is he susceptible now? The whole scenario could make a lot more sense with a little explanation, but I suppose only so much can be covered in 22 minutes. Regardless, it works to the episode's detriment.
Perhaps less easily explained are why the Dramians waited 19 years to prosecute a genocide, or why the Federation would agree to submit McCoy to the graces of such a suspect legal system. Presumably, the Dramians could not alert McCoy of the charges lest he evade sentencing, but it's hard to believe that this has been the first opportunity in 19 years to lure him into their space, and the notion that they were simply willing to let the matter rest until such a time that he happened across their space for other reasons is even harder to swallow.
As for the Federation, the Dramian Prefect asserts that it agreed to hand McCoy over. We're told that Dramian space it out of subspace communication range however, so if this was negotiated in advance, it seems uncharacteristically treacherous to deliver him into their arms unawares, particularly since the draconian nature of their justice seems to be common knowledge.
Despite these shortcomings, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all get to shine here. This is surely one of the better instances of Kirk sticking it to the man, and Spock capably rises to the challenge when he's the only one left capable to continue the mission. And McCoy, of course, demonstrates his unswerving commitment to the preservation of life not simply by saving the Enterprise, but in his willingness to face trial for his purported hand in the earlier tragedy. In spite of his admirable performance, though, McCoy receives some particularly cruel (and therefore hilarious) barbs from an unsympathetic Spock.
Finally, the Dramians make excellent foils for our heroes, and remain likeable despite the deserved dressing down of their government. They're some cool-looking creatures, too, demonstrating one of the most notable strengths of the animated format.
Verdict:
8/10. If the initial setup is a bit flimsy, the proceeding plot is thoroughly enjoyable and provides great opportunities for our heroes to shine.
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