WARNING: This thread WILL contain unhidden spoilers for this entry. Because this re-watch is in a slightly-subjective chronological order and not in production order, please refrain from talking about the content of other episodes or movies in this thread. If you do, please put that content inside spoiler tags. Some people here may be watching Star Trek for the first time.
#26: Star Trek: The Original Series, season 1, episode 25 “The Devil in the Dark”
Written by Gene L. Coon, directed by Joseph Pevney.
Stardate 3196.1 (October 2267)
“I’m beginning to think I can cure a rainy day.” - Doctor Leonard McCoy
*Something has been killing miners on Janus VI, threatening the operation of a vital minerals supplier for the Federation. The Enterprise is sent to offer assistance and discover a giant, living rock - the first known example of silicon-based life. Because it moves so fast and is nearly impervious to phaser fire, the creature cripples the mining colony’s nuclear reactor before anyone could react and retreats deep into the planet. Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, and 100 security officers race against a dying life support system in a maze of mining tunnels to find the creature and stop it from killing anyone else."
Originally released: 9 March 1967
“The Devil in the Dark” on Memory Alpha
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What did you think?
Visual effects comparison of the original broadcast & the Remastered versions.
Frankly, when I was younger, I thought this one was… maybe an interesting topic, but not actually a great story, as a teevee-watcher?
Well, I was a !@(*)&$ idiot.
IME yes, this one is sort of workman-like in a sense, but it also hits back at the idea of what utterly spectacular idiots we naked apes (all dressed up in our StarFleet / authority uniforms, or not) have been about leaving native species and cultures alone… As in, non-interference upon healthy eco-systems, and all that?
Btw, there’s a pretty-funny story about how Shatner absolutely PRANKED Nimoy on this ep, after they’d already become really-good friends.
It’s a powerful and understated bit of acting how when Spock thought Kirk might have been in actual mortal danger he got visibly worried and broke protocol, calling him Jim over the comms. It’s a great display of his human side breaking through in a moment of high stress.
I don’t know how much of that was intentional, but I think this is the first instance of Spock calling Kirk Jim.
This episode has a lot of firsts. The first “I’m a doctor…”, the first distinction between the type 1 and type 2 hand phaser, the first and only episode of TOS to not open on a shot of the Enterprise.
…and the first and only TOS episode that has zero female lines. A fact that prompted Gene Roddenberry to write a letter to Gene Coon reminding him that if Star Trek is a future where women are completely equal and share the same responsibilities as men, then the show needs to reflect that.
While that doesn’t stop this from being one of the better episodes of Star Trek, I thought there should have been a few female miners while watching. But I didn’t realize that Uhura, Chapel, and any other female crew members were also absent from this episode.
Good comments. I’m thankful I circled back to this thread to read them.
I don’t know how much of that was intentional, but I think this is the first instance of Spock calling Kirk Jim.
Yeah, those are some of the most moving moments in the series, and I’d forgotten all about this example. With Spock being delighted to see Jim still alive in Amok Time surely the pinnacle of such moments.
…and the first and only TOS episode that has zero female lines.
Interesting! And I guess that never registed with me, being of the wang-swinging persuasion. That said, I suppose there is a filmic tradition of doing men-only dramas, such Das Boot, 12 Angry Men and all that. Even going back to ancient Greek theatre, I believe. Not a good excuse of course, but something to put in to the equation.
