Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 29: Operation-Annihilate! [VHS]
"Operation: Annihilate" is undoubtedly the only science fiction drama in  history in which the requisite Scary Monster resembles a three-dollar item  from a novelty store--specifically, a rubber puddle of fake vomit. Moreover, the  shooting locale for much of the story, which is set in a research community on  the Federation planet Deneva, brings to mind the plush, friendly, L.A. exotica  of Frank Capra's Shangri-La inLost Horizonrather than an  extraterrestrial outpost. Having said all that, however, this episode is  deservedly a minor classic that becomes most interesting in its final act.  Rushing theEnterpriseto Deneva is Captain Kirk (William Shatner), whose  brother Sam and his family are among the victims of an unknown invader that  feeds on human nervous systems, driving people wild with pain and ultimately  killing them. Once arriving, Kirk's problems are compounded when Mr. Spock  (Leonard Nimoy) is attacked by one of the nasty "flying pancake" killers (blobby  critters of the aforementioned fake-vomit variety). The script (by Steven W.  Carabatsos) feels as if it did not survive the series' editorial committee  process intact. There's a certain amount of obvious padding in the action, while  next to nothing is made, dramatically speaking, of Kirk's discovery of his brother's fate. The best bits are reserved for a story twist in which Dr. McCoy  (DeForest Kelley) develops a cure for Spock's ailment that is almost as bad as  the affliction.--Tom Keogh