Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 19, Episodes 37 & 38: The Changeling/ The Apple
"The Changeling"After destroying 4 billion people in the Malurian star system, a 21st-century NASA probe called Nomad--carrying friendly greetings to whatever unknown, extraterrestrial race might find it--has a violent encounter with theEnterprise, nearly blowing the starship out of the skies. Hoping to sidestep another attack, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock invite the diminutive, computer-driven, impossibly powerful spacecraft aboard to learn how its peaceful mission was supplanted by a program to destroy life. Written by John Meredyth Lucas, who was intrigued by the idea of a sentient, almost godlike machine that turns against its creator, "The Changeling" transcends, fortunately,Star Trek's cash-strapped special effects department (let's just say Nomad looks like a cross between the Tin Man and a 1960s beach radio) to become a compelling drama. Particularly memorable is Spock's mind-melding scene with Nomad, in which the Vulcan is shaken by the probe's chaotic memories of being captured and given destructive impulses. FrequentTrekdirector Marc Daniels was particularly proud of the way his crew made Nomad appear capable of independent movement: there was one model for hanging from a wire, a second for standing on a floor, and a third for riding on a dolly (to get a sinister, point-of-view traveling shot). If "The Changeling" sounds vaguely familiar, it should: the script was rewritten as the basis forStar Trek: The Motion Picture.--Tom Keogh"The Apple"A landing party beams down to Gamma Trianguli VI, a lush planet that's just like paradise... or is it? This isnotthe episode to be caught wearing a red shirt in: dangers abound and crew members drop like flies. Soon the party discovers a seemingly unspoiled tribe of innocents who spend their lives serving the god Vaal. Can it be that it's time to disobey the prime directive? The natives are all beautiful people with loincloths and entertaining hairdos, and of course Mr. Scott has an engineering dilemma. Another highlight is the sequence in which the natives learn a few facts of life from a particularly randy Mr. Chekov. Skip this one at your peril.--Ali Davis