The Man Trap

DVD, Star Trek S1 (The Man Trap)

A doppelgänger roams the decks of the Enterprise and all are not whom they seem… Hang on, that sounds familiar, we just had a duplicate of Kirk rattling the peace aboard the good ship Enterprise, and now it's McCoy's turn to be the double preying on the crew. Except this time it's no Transporter accident, but a malevolent creature bent on sucking the salt out of its victims; a terrible salt vampire. Or is it the misunderstood last of its kind, a trapped, ravenous victim of its own desires, only doing what natural instinct calls it to do? Not the last one, if the evil smirk on fake Green's face was anything to go by, or by its indiscriminate killing to sate its salty lust for the crystalline substance of seasoning, whether that be Professor Crater, its companion and protector for many years, or any of the redshirts (which were all either blue or gold shirts, strangely enough, in the same episode that Uhura first wore red, making sure not to take away from her moment, maybe?). There is a romantic bent to the story, and I'm not talking about Dr. McCoy's long lost love for the creature in Nancy Crater's form (or her calling him 'Plum'!), but in the idea of a being that is the last of its species, its race having withered and is no more, forced for companionship's sake to spend it with a lonely human, in a false guise to please him, and never having enough of that silly salt!

The crux of the episode is the creature, and everything is measured comparatively to that (presumably a she, though just because it took Nancy's form after killing her, doesn't necessarily mean it was a female of the species, if they even have gender). It's sad that we don't get to learn much about it, or even what it's called, going down in Trek lore only as 'The Salt Vampire,' or the more scientifically monickered 'M-113 Creature' (though Morlock wouldn't have been too far from the mark). It's a brilliant design (except perhaps the fluffy body which does look a bit fake when it lies dead on the floor, a bit like a monkey suit), with another iconic Trek alien to add to the growing number. It's green, an ugly shade, it has deep ruts in its face, making it look sad rather than malevolent (though as the episode teaches, appearances can be deceiving), and a weirdness to its straggly old woman hair and long, suckered fingers, but you're in no doubt that its circular mouth, the teeth protruding in the shadow of menace, is that of a deadly predator. We never really learn what it feels, beyond its fear at being caught, and an apparent enjoyment in luring the men to their dooms like a Siren - as Nancy, she even sings, though oddly she's not moving her lips when we see her walking towards camera. I thought this was a fault of editing (and it probably was), but now that I think more about it, it could be the first indication of its telepathic powers.

For we're not dealing merely with a dangerous monster from a nightmare, but a telepathic being with the power to appear in different forms at will, and even in multiple forms to at the same time to different people, something rather impressive, and which makes you wonder how such a gifted race failed to survive. It also makes you wonder what Mr. Spock was doing that he didn't notice any unusual telepathic energy in Nancy or any of the other people whose appearance it fakes. Was Uhura really a distraction for him as some claim (more on that later)? Was the creature using Crater all along until it could escape the planet, was that planet its home, and why didn't it leave on one of the other annual doctor's checkups that it was stated is a mandatory requirement of all research personnel? Was it genuinely attached to Crater, was it guilty at having killed his wife, and did that guilt wear off over time? So many questions are there for the speculation and it's a real shame this was not a race that could have been explored more, either in other 'TOS' episodes or the spinoffs. Maybe 'Enterprise' Season 5 would have shown us a happy planet of salt vampires, and revealed their name to us, maybe 'Discovery' will? Any time period set before this episode has the potential to explore this fascinating race in further detail if it wished, though in truth, in the context of this episode it was little more than a monster of the week. It just shows Trek's depth that it encourages such speculation about such a monster.

Things do go towards the more fantastical than science fiction, something not entirely in character for the series, but then this was still early in its development. This episode wasn't the first to be produced (that would be 'The Cage'), nor the first to introduce many of the characters ('Where No Man Has Gone Before'), it wasn't even the first regular episode to be filmed after the pilots ('The Corbomite Maneuver'), but it holds a special place on the pedestal of the Trek museum of history, for being the first ever episode of 'Star Trek' to be shown on TV. That's quite an accolade, and I can see why they selected it: it's a fine example of the kind of planet of the week episodes the series planned to portray in its 'Wagon Train To The Stars' concept, the characters were a little more rounded by this time in production, the technology had been determined (we see the first Tricorder on screen with Dr. McCoy's medical example), and there's plenty of alienness and drama. There's a good balance between planet and ship and, while the planet sets are obviously just that rather than location shooting, they've had some work put into them with a mix of scrub, rocks, and the ruins of an ancient civilisation (was it the last vestiges of the salt vampires' society or another species'?).

So why am I not as drawn to this episode as some of the others? There remain some small inconsistencies of character, mainly with Spock, who shows his extreme Vulcan side by not batting a double eyelid at the news that one of the Landing Party has been killed, Uhura challenging him about it because Kirk is the closest thing he has to a friend. But later, when Kirk is in mortal danger of the salt vampire's sting, mesmerised into submission, while McCoy can't bring himself to shoot what appears to him as Nancy, the woman he loved, Spock bursts in shouting for him to shoot, then proceeds to act more like Mr. Worf, charging headlong into a fight with the thing, battering it with the standard double-fisted club punches that Starfleet must teach at the Academy (shockingly, we see Nancy's head snap from side to side with each blow, exhibiting no pain, much like the scene in 'Conspiracy' on 'TNG' when old Admiral Quinn creepily takes heavy blows from either Riker or Worf without reacting). The ending is the best part, and shows the diabolical nature of the creature, that it isn't something to be pitied for its situation, as it uses pity as a weapon. It has the power over minds, which is where it becomes a little fantasy-led. As well as the mesmeric effect it has on prey, the ability to read minds and project the image of a loved one, I also thought it had a soporific effect on McCoy to send him to sleep, except that it was actually his own 'little red pills' that drop him off.

It's actually rather interesting to see some quite different positions for the recurring characters of the crew. We have Spock left in charge, taking the Captain's chair, and in front of him Leslie in red, at Sulu's position of Helm, with Uhura, also in red, at the Navigator's post. Then we get to see the Botany Section where Sulu is apparently off duty since he likes hanging out with the plants (including the infamous Beauregard - when Janice Rand says she's worried one of his plants will reach out and grab her, there's every possibility since Beauregard is a glove puppet!), with Rand bringing him a tray of healthy salad for lunch (either she's having time off from being Yeoman to the Captain after her previous ordeal in 'The Enemy Within,' since we see another Yeoman serve Kirk his brightly coloured lunch on the Bridge, or she's pals with Sulu - she's definitely more informal with him though, not hesitating to tuck in to some of his food on the way!), and we even see the Helmsman at Uhura's station at one point! And with Kirk munching on the Bridge things are all a little relaxed this time. I like that, and I like a lot of the touches, such as Crater, after being stunned by Kirk on the planet, talking in a slurred, deep voice when they question him, and showing signs of dizziness. Maybe it was the lovey-dovey angle, with McCoy an unfortunate (though unusual), target for the creature's false affections. He and Kirk have a slight blow up thanks to McCoy being too dreamy about Nancy, rather than concentrating on the man Kirk's just lost.

Lesser than the sum of its parts is how I'd describe it, so perhaps it was a little slow, and the same thing happens repeatedly (characters meet the alien in whatever guise it picks from their minds, even creating an imaginary man Uhura was thinking about in one case, and it looked as if she might suffer Rand's fate from the previous episode until they're interrupted), and as I said, the characters aren't fully ironed out. Maybe it's the lack of Scotty to round things off? Scenes such as the one on the Bridge where Uhura wants Spock to say sweet things to her and make her feel like woman have been used in defence of their romance in the Kelvin Timeline, but using that logic you may as well say that Rand and Sulu should be an item for the friendly words they share together! I read it as very slim evidence of Spock's interest in her, and Uhura appears to merely be a bit bored with the routine of the day and uses the lull to get to know her alien Commander a bit more, though she doesn't understand him any more than he does her, since she's so shocked by his reaction to the news of a death. I would suggest she could have had the same conversation with any of her male colleagues, and if Sulu or Scotty had been there it might have been them she approached.

I think what does the episode a disservice is that it's all about the twist, and while 'The Enemy Within' is fairly quick to reveal that, and then deals with the aftermath of what it means, the revelation comes at the end, and it's about whether McCoy will shoot or not. When you know what the creature pretending to be Nancy is there's less to draw you in, in spite of all the variety in sets (even if the life sciences department, botany section, as the old fashioned sign on the door states, is a redress of Sickbay), and the little details that interest. My question is why McCoy didn't simply stun the vampire, why did he have to kill it? Or was the Phaser set to stun and its physiology couldn't take energy blasts? It didn't need to be a life and death moment, but for drama's sake they chose it to be. It might have been more interesting if they'd prevented the attack, but that it had lived, as it might have been able to articulate its needs and be provided with salt without killing - I felt if it had been more intelligent, it would have realised that it should go to the galley or mess, wherever Rand's salt shaker came from, and it could gorge to its heart's content. But that's where I feel it may have been more instinctual in its cunning, rather than an intelligent being in the same way as humans are - perhaps the visual projection was also a projection of what humans would expect it to say, and that it wasn't really that intelligent in itself, which would explain why it reacted to different people in ways that suited them (like Darnell being tempted to go after her, or McCoy feeling protective).

At least it was successful in terms of seeming alien beyond its appearance - the actor that played Green was especially good at looking well out of place in the starship, and having an air of intensity about his reactions to everything, as if concentrating and trying to work out what it all meant. So it was more advanced a concept than a simple man in a rubber suit rushing round attacking people, but had the thoughtful approach of older sci-fi like 'Quatermass.' The ending, suitably, is the most sombre tag scene so far. It was gratifying to see a shot on the Bridge featuring Sulu, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura and Rand all included in camera, but the memorable back and forth between Kirk, Spock and McCoy shows that they'd got the triumvirate down well: Kirk remembers the buffalo, a now extinct animal of Earth, and it's much more introspective than the usual knockabout comedy or wry humour, leading to a bittersweet aftertaste that is as much about the looks they share with each other as what is said. From what I've written it was a good episode, but as I said before, it's the individual parts that are good, and something about the whole doesn't quite stack up.

There are plenty of little morsels to cogitate over or note: when the gooseneck 'desk lamp' monitors from 'The Cage' were phased out I speculated it was because they didn't want to spend valuable time and money on effects to achieve visual communications and would move to audio most of the time, but this episode has plenty of instances of internal ship's comms via monitor, whether it be the Tri-screen in the Briefing Room, or the personal screen that crew have in their quarters, they weren't shy about using them (which was way futuristic back then, but a common occurrence to us now), although I'm pretty sure it drastically reduced as the production rolled on and they realised it was far more cost effective to use audio! Audio that was used effectively in this episode was the mournful background roiling of the planetary music, a signature aural effect that would designate planets as weird and wonderful places, creating the atmosphere far more than the styrofoam boulders and sandy studio floor could ever do: giving it a reality. Sound was used to good effect in the scene where Beauregard screeches at the fake Green (Janice asks him if he's been at the Saurian brandy - she'd know all about that after the previous episode). We do have one noteworthy piece of audio comms: Uhura calls for all doctors and medics to report, our first indication that there are more than one aboard, later confirmed by Dr. M'Benga's presence.

Other trivia includes the use of 'General Quarters 3' in place of Red or Yellow Alert, which is raised to 'General Quarters 4' as the drama demands, when Kirk realises the creature could be anyone. Spock uses Uhura's earpiece when conversing with the Captain over a monitor, though it wasn't to do with that, as Sulu also speaks through a screen without the use of an earpiece. There are some fun little character details such as McCoy showing that his reliance on machines only goes so far, reassuringly, when he chooses to check out Crater's tonsils the old-fashioned way, with his eyes! He's also as big a collector of books as Captain Pike was, to judge by his quarters, though having a Vulcan thrown across them wasn't going to do the collection much good. Spock shows his green blood for the first time, though confusingly it's over a red cut, so which is it? Some leftovers from the pilots reappear, with Crater using the laser gun from 'The Cage,' and a rare shot of a female crewmember in trousers, as well as glimpses of the older style of shirts, both blue and oatmeal. And finally, we have another of Kirk's trusty retrospective Captain's Logs, mentioning the difference in appearances Nancy was pulling off on the Landing Party.

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