This episode tackles one of the traditional big issues in science fiction, and mostly does it justice. It's round one of man versus machine in TOS, with Captain Kirk naturally emerging as the victor. That he is individually able to overcome the androids might help in building his legend, but his victory here comes perhaps a little too easily to make for compelling drama. The flaws Kirk identifies in the various android intellects are so glaring as to undermine their own claims to superiority in the first place. If the androids are indeed simpletons, then the stakes were never very high to begin with. To craft a truly formidable opponent, both intellectually and physically, while not making victory impossible for the protagonist, poses a considerable challenge to any writer, and it seems here that there was some difficulty in overcoming this.
Nevertheless, it brushes upon some very interesting issues along the way, making What Are Little Girls Made Of? a decently intriguing outing in spite of its narrative difficulties.
Nevertheless, it brushes upon some very interesting issues along the way, making What Are Little Girls Made Of? a decently intriguing outing in spite of its narrative difficulties.
