1.3 — “One of Our Planets is Missing”
Plot: The Enterprise is called to investigate a spatial anomaly–a giant gaseous cloud heading towards a denesly populated planet. The cloud seems to be digesting planetary matter for food. Realizing that the cloud is a living being, Kirk and crew have limited time to make contact with the entity–or destroy it.
Thoughts: This is a highly competent episode with a good dramatic setup, taut pacing, and one of the most competently managed countdown clocks in the franchise so far. The writer is Marc Daniels, who directed many episodes of the original series, trying his hand at writing here for the first time. There are elements lifted from TOS episodes “Obsession,” “The Doomsday Machine,” “The Lights of Zetar,” and “Devil in the Dark.” For once, they only seem to tie the episode into the series, rather than make it too imitative or derivative.
We hear Lt. Arex talk for the first time (James Doohan provides the voice). The drawing used for Sulu makes him look generically Asian, but not much like George Takei. Animated Sulu actually more closely resembles John Cho (who played the part in Abrams’ reboot Star Trek film).
Again there are pretty pictures. We get our first view inside the warp engines, as Scotty proves he’s an antimatter wizard. Without much time for character moments, the episode is not terribly warm (although I appreciate Kirk’s feelings of uncertainty and asides to Bones), but it is still good Trek.
3.5 out of 5 antimatter villi in a forcefield box.
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