Plot – It’s easy to forgot just how revolutionary transport technology was when this show started. The idea that you could beam somebody across vast distances in the blink of an eye. It’s something we talk about longingly now when we have to travel vast distances. It was only right that the writers should capitalise on the dramatic possibilities of such technology, and I’m impressed that they do so so early in the shows run. The notion of a man being split in two by the transporter process; one featuring all his virtues and the other featuring all his sin is a juicy one, ripe with dramatic possibilities.
Character – Thank goodness that Spock states, fifteen minutes in, that they have an imposter on board because the only other reasonable explanation is that Captain Kirk isn’t just a sex pest (which we all knew anyway) but has now become a rapist. There’s a very odd moment when Spock suggests that the Captain cannot be anything less than perfect in the eyes of the crew otherwise they will lose faith in him and he will lose command. I’d have no hesitation in suggesting that Kirk shows his vulnerability, his error of judgement and his overly emotional state about five times a week. Who wants a perfect boss? How would that garner any respect? For Kirk this is the ultimate embarrassment – who would want to have their every dark thought, their avaricious nature, their vicious sexual desires laid bare.
Spock takes the intellectual approach to this dilemma and studies the psychology of what makes a Captain tick when he is broken into two pieces. It is because of his investigation of the elements of a man in command that makes this more than a comic book episode about a big bad Captain Kirk. How wonderful is the scene where he talks about his two sides that are constantly at war with each other?
Performance – Shatner goes for it. It’s perhaps the ultimate expression of going for it. I doubt even Avery Brooks could go for it with this much gusto. It’s a really brave performance, and one that scores big because Shatner refuses to hold back in fear of embarrassment.
Production – Hooray for director Leo Penn who goes to extreme lengths to suggest that this is not the Captain Kirk we are used to from the start. The moody close ups, stark lighting and brilliantly overdone piano score all combine to make this dark shadow of Kirk a figure to fear. The Captain’s Log spells this out straight after the cold open but it really wasn’t needed, the director makes it perfectly clear what is happening. Apparently, director Leo Penn went a day over shooting and was never invited back to the show to direct again. A shame because perhaps every Trek episode could have done with an extra day shooting since this episode has some wonderfully atmospheric shots and terrific lighting. It feels like an episode that has been crafted rather than thrown together in a panic as a lot of TOS can.
The poor little dog that is put inside an animal skin and given a giant horn is something that has to be seen to be believed. It’s vital to the plot so it isn’t just a cute piece of apocrypha thrown in. The dog looks properly put out to be suffering such an indignity. It’s really very funny.
This is one time when it would have been a crime not to include the predictable Star Trek fight scene. Who wouldn’t want to see Kirk battling himself?
Worst moment – Let’s be perfectly clear about something that might have fallen into ambiguity over the years – evil Kirk is very much going to rape Yeoman Rand and I would say he gets halfway there in one of the most discomforting scenes I can remember seeing in Star Trek history. For a show this colourful featuring crazy space aliens and exciting explosions and fights it was extremely bold (and probably very foolish) to go down this route but since they do decide to do so then the only way to handle the material (without insulting the poor women and men that have been through such horror) is to show rape as nastily and uncompromisingly as it really is. I was on the edge of my seat because the director never shies away from the fear that Rand feels and the enjoyment on the face of the Kirk. It’s the point where from being a creepy alter ego to a real threat to the crew. It’s worrying that the director feels the need to use the smoky lens on Rand at this moment, which is usually reserved for the moments when women are being romanced. Is the inference supposed to be that she is enjoying this perverse invasion of her space and her body? Grace Lee Whitney had some serious complaints about the lack of fallback about Spock’s comment about how fascinating the duplicate was to Rand, after he has tried to rape her, and I have to agree that there is a massively uncomfortable edge to these scenes that hint at the idea that perhaps Rand might enjoy the abuse. This is an episode stepping into some murky waters and I’m not sure if it is entirely appropriate for any Star Trek show to mix comical strip science fiction ideas and sexual assault (it happens in the episode Violations with far less problems). I applaud their boldness and condemn their approach. He literally tries to bite her face and that is really nasty to watch.
I wish they hadn’t done that – The scenes on the planet are necessary because there is a dramatic reason for needing to get the transporter operational again but there is an element of humour when we keep cutting back to the (obviously fake) surface to see Sulu and crew getting ever closer as the cold gets worse. I’m sure a relationship or two must have arisen out of these circumstances.
A reason to watch this episode again – ‘It’s not really ugly, it’s human…’ First season Star Trek is pretty much entirely wonderful and The Enemy Within is in the upper echelons of the episodes. It takes a vivid concept and directs the hell out of it; giving us a duplicate Kirk that is a monster and completely irredeemable and allows up close and personal as he cuts a wave if terror throughout the Enterprise. William Shatner deserves a lot of credit for delivering such a monstrous alternative to his usual performance and the script earns some stripes for taking the premise to its ludicrous dramatic extremes. I truly had no idea how far that this was going to go, especially after the shocking attempted rape of Yeoman Rand. And that is clearly too far. Like most Original Trek it is about ten minutes too long and so it could do with a little tightening up but it seems to me that most 60s television could do with some judicious editing. Ultimately The Enemy Within is playing with a big idea, gets messy with it, considers it thoughtfully and has some fun with it. If this was a season three episode it would be the best of the best.
**** out of *****
Clue for tomorrow's episode:
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