On the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, in honor of William Shatner’s return to the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, NY, this weekend, Roy made the command decision that we will discuss the original series episode “The Enemy Within” (1966). This is the one in which a transporter malfunction causes Captain Kirk to be split into two people, one “good,” but indecisive and ineffectual, and the other “evil,” impulsive and irrational. Obviously, it was Evil Roy who handed down this unilateral decision.
I’m just kidding, of course. I love this stuff, and it is classic “Trek.” Like the character of divided Kirk, its qualities are many-faceted: at the same time ludicrous, thought-provoking, engaging, and fun.
Shatner is at his histrionic best, underlit and heavy on the eyeliner when evil, and managing to overplay “underplay” when good. But where he really displays his chops is in keeping a straight face while acting alongside a dog in a hairy caterpillar/unicorn onesie.
Famed horror and sci-fi scribe Richard Matheson (“The Incredible Shrinking Man,” “The Legend of Hell House,” “I am Legend”) mines the old doppelganger theme for this exploration of man’s duality. It also happens to be the first episode, thanks to Leonard Nimoy, in which Spock delivers his signature Vulcan nerve pinch.
Join us as my will weakens in the presence of forceful Roy. Saurian brandy will be served in the comments section, as it’s revealed that Roy and I are two sides of the same coin, when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., THIS WEEK AT A SPECIAL TIME, THURSDAY EVENING AT 7:00 EST!
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