1.25 — “The Devil in the Dark”
Plot: Something is killing the miners on Janus VI. The crew of the Enterprise investigates, and encounters the Horta, a silicon-based life form, the last of it’s race. Why did it suddenly start to attack the miners, and what is it protecting on level 23?
Thoughts: I think it’s cool that the crew of the Enterprise are superheroes to these miners, who have inhabited this remote mining colony for 50 years, using equipment described as “antiquated.” “Is it true that the Enterprise is coming?” The starship is a lifeline to those workers stranded in the final frontier. When its crew arrives, they are expected to be detectives, heroes, exterminators, whatever the situation needs. Love it. It underscores the fragility of civilization in space, and makes the idea of serving on a starship seem that much more appealing.
It’s really refreshing to dig in with an episode with a relatively simple premise that really develops its story to get the most out of the ideas, and the best performance out of the principal cast. No blonde ingenues needed for once, thank goodness. Leonard Nimoy is remarkable as he forms the second mind meld of the series with a creature made of rock. Shatner is the subtle actor for a change, but manages to impossibly convey a man wordlessly using his intuition to make empathetic connection with a silent, blobby sentient mineral.
The sets are beautiful! Ah, geology. Have I told you about our summer trip to visit the amazing mineral museum in Butte?
The Horta is the most non-humanoid alien we’ve seen in Star Trek, besides disembodied lights as in “The Squire of Gothos.” I think it looks great. I’m so glad they didn’t update it somehow in the remastering–it’s like a Jim Henson creation. What it lacks in photorealism it more than makes up for in character.
The turn from the point at which we think of the Horta as a nuisance that obviously, if unfortunately, must be destroyed to the point at which, with the acquisition of greater understanding, destroying the Horta becomes an unthinkable act is handled with so much grace that the writers make it seem easy. Pretty sure it’s not. The philosophy behind this show is defining to Star Trek, infectious and unforgettable. “The Devil in the Dark” may provide it’s purest expression. And without a lot of tedious moralizing. Bravo for that.
Has everyone noticed what a pessimist Scotty is? He never thinks he can fix anything, and usually sounds slightly appalled that he would be asked to try. It’s not hard to develop a reputation as a miracle worker when you start every job with an assessment that it would be a 1,000 to one shot to succeed.
The only character to quote odds in this episode, however, is Mr. Spock. 2,228.7 to 1 against both Kirk and Spock dying sounds like a suspect calculation, especially since sticking close together should cause their fates to be correlated. What say you, R. Alex Reutter? Sham figures or not, this dialogue surely provides the inspiration for much of C-3P0’s dialogue in The Empire Strikes Back. Without Spock, we might have never heard Han Solo say, “Never tell me the odds.” Mind=blown.
I laughed out loud–for real–at the smash cut to Dr. McCoy at the end, holding up hands covered in green goo, saying “It won’t die!” Followed by, “My golly, Jim, I’m starting to think I can cure a rainy day.”
The dialogue at the end between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy is perfect. “I see no reason to stand here and be insulted.”
4.5 pergium geodes out of 5.
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