The Lights of Zetar

DVD, Star Trek S3 (The Lights of Zetar)

Another one that doesn't quite make it. I'm talking of the episode here, not the love interest, Mira Romaine, since amazingly she survives. But then she was 'only' in love with Mr. Scott, not Kirk, so maybe that gave her a better chance. I realised what it is I really like about Scotty. In the recent, eleventh, film they played him completely for laughs, but James Doohan imbibed him with a real sureness in himself, and the ability to give reassurance to others that makes him so much more than a parody of a Scot.

While Mira was a little spiky to begin with, flaring up at authority early on, she became more likeable, and the actress did an accomplished job on being the Zetarians inhabiting her, as well as being Mira. The episode was improved by small appearances by Chapel (doing a Scotty impression!), and Lt. Kyle who hasn't been in it for a while. The main bulk of the episode, however, was a slow... I can't call it a runaround because that would imply more urgency and action than was on show. It was a slow walkaround, and that's about it. Most characters were pretty passive, and the scene in the middle where Mira and the aliens are compared was ill-judged and over-long - I found myself zoning out a bit!

In many ways the episode felt like a rehash of things we'd already seen, and only the gravity vacuum was to buck this trend. It almost seemed as if it was too good an effect for the rest of the episode's level, although it was such a great moment when Mira's been purged and as she floats she looks over at Scotty through the glass and smiles. At least Scotty gets thrown across the room, as he has so often been! And the weird burbling as the victims are taken over by the Zetarians, with rapid skin colour changes worked well in an eerie way. And another Andorian pops up onscreen albeit dead. I never realised the blue guys were in so many episodes!

As another Trek segment it just doesn't hold up to others. Perhaps the curse of Season Three has finally come true? Top marks for the ending though, as Mira survives and Kirk jokes that Scotty, Spock and McCoy finally agree on something! One more thing - Sulu was left in charge, we even see him leap out of the captain's chair, but then in another shot when Kirk talks to him it's from his usual seat.

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