Star Trek at 50: The Enemy Within

Season 1

Episode 4: The Enemy Within

Filmed: June 1966

First Air Date: October 6, 1966 (5th episode aired)

Karen: I have to admit, when it came time to review this episode, I approached it with a somewhat dismissive attitude. It had always seemed to me to be one of the weaker episodes, a sort of goofy Jekyll and Hyde story. But I wanted to give it a fair shake, so I watched it again and tried to keep an open mind. I also read Marc Cushman's entry on this episode in his book These are the Voyages (our unofficial guidebook for this series of posts). And although it's still not one of my favorite episodes, I appreciate it more than I did before.

Karen: Of course, the episode shows us what happens when a man's 'good' and 'evil' sides are separated. In this case, it's Captain Kirk's, and we find that the 'evil' side is the one that carries many of the characteristics necessary for command. Of course, that's also the side that attempts to rape Yeoman Rand, so...yeah, there's some real nastiness in this one too. This episode was based off a story written by Richard Matheson, who was already well-known, and had provided scripts for other shows like The Twilight Zone (including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", which starred William Shatner). Matheson's draft was revised by both John D.F. Black and Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry is the one who came up with the idea that the 'good' Kirk would lose his ability to make decisions -giving him all the more reason that he would have to take back his brutal side, despite his ugliness. Roddenberry and his staff also came up with the 'B' plot about Sulu and the other crewman being stranded on the freezing planet, to give even more urgency to the plot.

Karen:The attempted rape of Yeoman Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) by the evil Kirk is a difficult scene to watch.Although Shatner plays the evil Kirk with a vicious glee, this scene is more serious than the others. Kirk's invasion of Rand's quarters, his emerging from the darkness to confront her -one has to complement the work of series director of photography, Jerry Finnerman, for the way he used shadows and lighting, and colors, to highlight the scene. As I watch these first season episodes the unique look of the show that was developed through the lighting is very evident -it sets it apart from any other show. But back to this particular scene. Shatner plays this in an understated way, quietly, and then explodes, grabbing Whitney and struggling with her, then attacking a crewman in the corridor who Rand has flagged down. Cushman quotes Whitney as saying, "It's a violent, scary scene. Bill is a very physical actor and extremely strong...Bill picked me up like a twig and threw me around the room." Despite getting battered for her art, Whitney was a fan of the episode. "I love 'The Enemy Within' because it gave me a chance to really react and act with Bill Shatner." Looking at this (below), it is a wonder it got past the censors.

Karen: I'd like to say after watching several of the early season episodes that the much maligned Shatner was actually a very good actor, at least in these first season episodes. He had the ability to play scenes with subtlety and restraint -except in this episode! As the evil Kirk, he just goes completely over the top and screams lines. "I'M CAPTAIN KIRK!" the double yells at the top of his lungs. He roams the halls, swigging Saurian brandy and looks like a cosplaying convention goer. Absolutely too much! Stuff like this certainly doesn't help Shatner's rep. He did tone it down for the scene with Rand but otherwise, hoo boy.

Karen: While the attack itself was an effective scene, the follow up, where good Kirk, Spock, and McCoy question Rand, was a sad reminder of how different things were in the 60s, even on a futuristic show like Trek. The cowering Yeoman is treated with little sympathy by her superior officers, who seem more intent on questioning her assertion that the Captain attacked her than seeing to her well-being. What's even worse is the close-out of the episode, after everyone has discovered the truth about "the intruder", when Mr. Spock says slyly (and completely out of character) to Yeoman Rand, "The imposter had some interesting characteristics, wouldn't you say, Yeoman?"  Terrible.

Karen: Despite all of this, I come away from it feeling that there were some ideas here worth examining. We have to accept ourselves as imperfect beings, with all our flaws, and sometimes what we see as weaknesses maybe provide us with some inner strength. But always when held in check by our better halves, our moral side. Not a fantastic idea, but they did it well. 

Karen: Of note, this is the first episode where Spock exhibits the Vulcan Neck Pinch, when he uses it on the evil Kirk. This was Leonard Nimoy's suggestion, as he felt the scripted punch was far too uncivilized for Spock. We all know how that worked out. 

Karen: People always wonder why a shuttlecraft wasn't sent down to save Sulu and the others. There's a very practical reason. The life-size prop and the miniature hadn't been built yet as Desilu (the studio that made Star Trek) was putting off construction of both until they were sure the show was going to get a full season. So there wasn't any shuttlecraft to send!

Karen: Finally, we can't close out the post without saying something about the truly awful dog with the horn on its head. They had to have some sort of animal to use as an example, but this orange yapper with the horn on its head (and antenna?) was just the silliest thing ever. It belonged with Bloop the monkey off Lost in Space, not on Star Trek.