Plot; A transporter malfunction splits Kirk into two halves; one increasingly meek and indecisive, the other violent and unpredictable.
Starts off a tad campy, with Shatner chewing through the scenery like a rabid beaver as "evil" Kirk, but it quickly settles into a rather thoughtful treatise on the duality of human nature. The subplot, with a landing party stranded on a rapidly freezing planet, offers a nice spotlight for George Takei's Sulu, who takes on the increasingly difficult circumstances with a sense of humor that adds a nice dimension to a character who typically only gets to spout techno-babble.
Starts off a tad campy, with Shatner chewing through the scenery like a rabid beaver as "evil" Kirk, but it quickly settles into a rather thoughtful treatise on the duality of human nature. The subplot, with a landing party stranded on a rapidly freezing planet, offers a nice spotlight for George Takei's Sulu, who takes on the increasingly difficult circumstances with a sense of humor that adds a nice dimension to a character who typically only gets to spout techno-babble.
- Was written by Richard Matheson, who wrote the novel I Am Legend, and six others that would be adapted into films. He also wrote the short story that became Steven Spielberg's Duel (which he himself adapted).
- Was directed by Leo Penn, father of actor Sean Penn.
- The crew are stranded on the planet because the transporter is malfunctioning. That they don't simply send down a shuttlecraft tells me that they hadn't yet created one for the series (this was the fifth episode).