Stardate: 3018.2
Synopsis: While beaming back to the ship, Sulu and Scottie go missing and crewman Jackson dies, replaced with a robotic voice saying that the ship is cursed and they'll all die. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to find a haunted house complete with witches, black cats, and other ghoulish imagery. Turns out to be an alien race that can control minds - it's all an illusion - and only an internal feud between Corab and Sylvia makes their escape from captivity possible. Kirk gets the transmuter to destroy the illusion and the two aliens are exposed to be little ankle-high nerf creatures who die shortly thereafter.
Review: There are some cool lines to be found here, but not much substance. "You can't think a man to death" - "I'll bet you credits to navy beans we can put a dent in it" - ghosts, witches, cats belonging to "the twilight world of consciousness".
But all of the haunted house imagery revolved around the notion that they knew what terrified Man the most, at an instinctive level. But the imagery was actually pretty lame and this psychological aspect to fear wasn't explored in any greater detail. This is most evident as the final antagonist chasing Kirk and Spock - a shadow of a giant growling cat - doesn't exactly get your primal adrenaline pumping.
And the transmuter? Hitting the table? WHAT?
And Lasalle talking command of the Enterprise? WHO???
At one point, it's mentioned that Scottie and Sulu have been kept as catspaws to lure Kirk into the illusionary trap from which there was no escape. Felt more like we were the catspaws watching. Or something.
Review: 2 stars
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