Great and familiar memories, only at various times in the early 70s, the syndicated TOS would run at 8 PM, at the same time some favorite first run network series were airing. TOS usually won out, as it was just that much more of a creative draw.
The Alternative Factor
- Thread starter Terok Nor
- Start date
Great and familiar memories, only at various times in the early 70s, the syndicated TOS would run at 8 PM, at the same time some favorite first run network series were airing. TOS usually won out, as it was just that much more of a creative draw.
He was falling down because he was fighting with his counterpart in the parallel word. Come on, man.
See that's the type of thing that just angers me. People are criticizing something solely because they didn't understand it.
Don't be angry KevinGrem, it's not good for you.
Dramatic, well melodramatic, line readings are more important than precision. It's funny though, how Spock can go from precision of tenths of seconds to saying it's "a few miles" in various episodes.
Dramatic, well melodramatic, line readings are more important than precision. It's funny though, how Spock can go from precision of tenths of seconds to saying it's "a few miles" in various episodes.
Don't get mad at me, I'm one the few that are trying to help you out here, and I understand the episode perfectly. The episode HAS weaknesses, and the repetitive nature of Lazarus falling off the rocks is one of them. The repetitive nature of Kirk and his men wandering around the rocks.
It's the episode's premise that fascinates me, two universes in opposition, one man who has the key to that, not so much the actual execution of those ideas with the script. Budgetary concerns surely limited the episode and the casting issues are well documented.
Harry
I never liked this as a kid and haven't sat through the whole thing since about 1999, so I also gave it another try. It's still a mess.
As Maurice mentioned above, they make some big conclusion-leaps with little justification. The universe winked out of existence? Must be an invasion coming. An invasion by whom? The alternate universe people that they don't even know exist yet? Some aliens with the well-known MO of winking out the universe before they invade?
So there's a negative universe and Kirk and Spock have a big talk about it. If the negative universe comes into contact with its opposite, Spock says, it creates a "warp" where physical laws don't apply. OK. Same scene a couple minutes later, if the antimatter universe comes into contact with the matter universe, it's the end of the entire universe. Forget what was established in "The Naked Time" about matter/antimatter reaction powering the Enterprise, just take this one scene: Is the "minus universe" the same as the "antimatter universe"? Did they come into contact or not? Has an anitmatter guy already been roaming around the ship?
Well somebody has. "Security reports Lazarus missing." Well no shit, that's what happens when you let him wander off whenever he feels like it. Kirk finds him himself once, but they don't learn their lesson: McCoy doesn't want a security man hanging around sickbay, so Kirk obligingly dismisses the guard. Lazarus is alone for about two seconds before he gets up and leaves and finds an electrical box where he can start a fire.
Then there's the additional angle that Lazarus is a time traveler. Interesting, how will that bear on the story? The answer is, it won't. AT ALL. It might as well not have been brought up. Although I guess one good thing about it is that it's nice to think that Lazarus's Jetson-car craft is a time-ship, rather than a spaceship as it has no sign of a close-able door. Of course it also has a chair inside it, like for a pilot, which seems a little odd as apparently all you have to do to use it is enter the doorway.
I'm not sure how much to lay at the director's door but so much of the episode seems off. Coming back from commercial with Kirk in negativeland always seemed such an odd choice to me because you can't tell it's Kirk unless you happen to notice his shirt has a badge. All the negative/nebula overlay/newspaper spinning sequences really start to feel like padding.
None of the stars seem on their game, but that could just be the script. McCoy seems especially off, with his "I'm a bright young medic" talk. He seems almost deliberately obtuse when he declares he doesn't know where Lazarus is because it's a big ship and he's just a country doctor. The dialogue is needlessly jargony, too: "Red two message." "Code Factor one." "Security red." "Crystal power."
I liked LT Masters, it was a strong role for a black woman. I liked that they showed protective gear for the firefighting party. That's about it. I guess it could be said that I "don't understand" the episode, but I didn't find much there to understand.
As Maurice mentioned above, they make some big conclusion-leaps with little justification. The universe winked out of existence? Must be an invasion coming. An invasion by whom? The alternate universe people that they don't even know exist yet? Some aliens with the well-known MO of winking out the universe before they invade?
So there's a negative universe and Kirk and Spock have a big talk about it. If the negative universe comes into contact with its opposite, Spock says, it creates a "warp" where physical laws don't apply. OK. Same scene a couple minutes later, if the antimatter universe comes into contact with the matter universe, it's the end of the entire universe. Forget what was established in "The Naked Time" about matter/antimatter reaction powering the Enterprise, just take this one scene: Is the "minus universe" the same as the "antimatter universe"? Did they come into contact or not? Has an anitmatter guy already been roaming around the ship?
Well somebody has. "Security reports Lazarus missing." Well no shit, that's what happens when you let him wander off whenever he feels like it. Kirk finds him himself once, but they don't learn their lesson: McCoy doesn't want a security man hanging around sickbay, so Kirk obligingly dismisses the guard. Lazarus is alone for about two seconds before he gets up and leaves and finds an electrical box where he can start a fire.
Then there's the additional angle that Lazarus is a time traveler. Interesting, how will that bear on the story? The answer is, it won't. AT ALL. It might as well not have been brought up. Although I guess one good thing about it is that it's nice to think that Lazarus's Jetson-car craft is a time-ship, rather than a spaceship as it has no sign of a close-able door. Of course it also has a chair inside it, like for a pilot, which seems a little odd as apparently all you have to do to use it is enter the doorway.
I'm not sure how much to lay at the director's door but so much of the episode seems off. Coming back from commercial with Kirk in negativeland always seemed such an odd choice to me because you can't tell it's Kirk unless you happen to notice his shirt has a badge. All the negative/nebula overlay/newspaper spinning sequences really start to feel like padding.
None of the stars seem on their game, but that could just be the script. McCoy seems especially off, with his "I'm a bright young medic" talk. He seems almost deliberately obtuse when he declares he doesn't know where Lazarus is because it's a big ship and he's just a country doctor. The dialogue is needlessly jargony, too: "Red two message." "Code Factor one." "Security red." "Crystal power."
I liked LT Masters, it was a strong role for a black woman. I liked that they showed protective gear for the firefighting party. That's about it. I guess it could be said that I "don't understand" the episode, but I didn't find much there to understand.
I thought that was just, yet another Lazarus lie to get Kirk to give him the crystals. You know, "Ok, fine. I'll tell you the real truth. Now, that I've told you the real truth; *wink* you can trust me and give me the crystals."
I feel similarly, in as much as both often stimulate lively debate!
I never believed that Lazarus was a time traveller either.
I find McCoy's attitude towards the security guard questionable ("get that muscleman out of my sickbay"), if only because, as he's the Chief Medical Officer, everyone on the ship is one of his patients. Even if this one was a new transfer whom he hadn't met yet, it seems odd for him to treat anyone on the ship like a total stranger and have such an antagonistically dismissive attitude towards them.
Yeah, that might actually make Lazarus more interesting. But they didn't do anything to establish it from that angle, either, so again it's pointless.
Yes, i agree that even with the liar Lazaraus perspective it did seem fruitless as well.
If you think the characters of the two Lazurus's were confusing think of us poor fans in the UK who had to watch it with all the cuts made by the BBC! It took me years to try and figure out which Laz was which! I'm still not sure even today!
JB
JB
Even after watching the complete episode it is still confusing to say the least! HaHa.
JB
JB
Because it's so poorly made! You never have a problem distinguishing between the two Kirk's in "The Enemy Within".
Neil
Why do people have a problem distinguishing between calm reasonable Lazarus and off-balance emphatic Lazarus? While there was a small mystery during the first viewing when they kept switching places, on second viewing it perfectly clear from the start as to which one is which.
At least to me.
At least to me.
I suppose it's good that "The Alternative Factor" exists, if only to provide an answer to the question, "What if Ed Wood had made an episode of Star Trek?" 
Heck, Spock's Beard (there's a real band by that name, IIRC) could even qualify. Watching "Mirror, Mirror" in HD makes me painfully aware that the fake goatee that Nimoy wears is a bit browner than his natural hair color.
I would totally go see a band by the name of Inconsistent Beard.The inconsistent beard (there's a band name) further confuses matters.
Heck, Spock's Beard (there's a real band by that name, IIRC) could even qualify. Watching "Mirror, Mirror" in HD makes me painfully aware that the fake goatee that Nimoy wears is a bit browner than his natural hair color.
But does it vary greatly in thickness from minute to minute?
