Star Trek -- Season 1 Episode 27 (The Alternative Factor)

Some science-fiction stories are heavy on the science.  Others are heavy on the fiction.  Either you rely on science to explain things or you use science as a backdrop to differentiate it from pure fantasy.  The Alternative Factor would seem to lean towards the latter rather than the former

The episode starts with existence winking out for a moment or two at a time.  The Enterprise traces the cause to a planet, where they find a man named Lazarus.  Mr. Lazarus is chasing a planet-killing monster.  He’s chased this monster across all of time and space.  What does this monster look like?  We soon find out that the monster looks exactly like Lazarus.

You see, both versions of Lazarus come from different versions of Earth, each in a parallel dimension.  It’s not clear if those universes are products of our own, as both men come from the future.  However, only one can exist in our universe at a time. If both meet, they annihilate each other.  One is said to be matter while the other is antimatter.  I suspect that this is meant not to be taken literally, as antimatter doesn’t need to meet its exact opposite to have a destructive reaction.

It’s the goal of one Lazarus to trap both of them in a corridor between dimensions.  If this happens, the two of them will fight each other for eternity, but both universes will be safe.  (It’s not clear why they won’t annihilate each other in the corridor or what they’ll do for food.)  However, they do end up in the corridor and all is well.

I think this may be one of those episodes where the story got lost in the message.  Both versions of Lazarus look the same.  One acts crazier than the other, but it becomes harder to tell which is which towards the end of the episode.  That may have been the point, though.  We’re always the sane one in any argument.  It’s the other guy who’s crazy.

The episode seemed a little rushed.  Take, for instance, the effect when the two Lazaruses switch places.  It looked like one of those animations where the newspaper comes up to reveal a headline, but is reversed before we get the text.  And what, exactly, is this blinking out of existence?  The episode could have been better.

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Star Trek -- Season 1 Episode 13 (The Conscience of the King)

I’ve always hated when someone says, “Oh, but he’s such a nice guy.”  Usually, the person that’s supposed to be such a nice guy really isn’t.  Maybe it’s someone accused of a crime.  Maybe it’s someone who’s a jerk.  There’s usually someone who knows that he’s not such a nice guy.

Anton Karidian would seem to be a nice guy.  He has a loving daughter.  He’s part of a Shakespearian acting troupe.  He seems friendly enough.  However, Dr. Thomas Leighton is on to him.  Leighton things that Karidian is actually Governor Kodos, referred to as Kodos the Executioner.  This is because, as governor of Tarsus IV, he killed thousands of people.  Food shipments were late and sacrificing part of the population would have saved the rest, except that the food arrived on time.

Kirk doesn’t believe Leighton at first, even though Kirk was on Tarsus IV at the time.  Kirk becomes concerned when Leighton shows up dead, so he arranges to have the Enterprise bring the troupe to their next destination.  Also on board is Lt. Kevin Riley, who was also present on Tarsus IV.

Riley manages to survive what looks like a attempt at poisoning.  There’s also an attempt made on Kirk’s life.  Kirk is hesitant to confront Karidian about it, even after getting a voice match.  At this point, does it really matter?  Kodos is believed dead and Karidian doesn’t show any intent to harm anyone.  Is bringing him to justice that important?

I think the episode may have faltered a little bit.  There would seem to be a parallel between Karidian and Nazi war criminals.  Does it matter how many people he killed?  Granted, what Kodos did wasn’t genocide, but he did still kill people.  I would think that many of his victims would probably have families who would want closure.  It’s also not as if Kirk would have to pass judgment on Kodos.  Kirk would simply be turning in someone suspected of being Kodos.

Letting him go seems like the easy way out.  There are only two people left who could identify him, so it’s not like anyone would know.  Right?  I can’t really think of a good reason to let him go.  Even if we were to say that he’s dying, wouldn’t punishment be for the courts to decide?  Get the man a good lawyer and let the justice system sort it out.

There is some debate within the episode on the potential merits of what he attempted.  Had the food ships not arrived, it would have cast Kodos in a better light.  He would have saved people that might have died otherwise.  However, Kodos did kill people and he was selective about it.  He saved the people that he thought were better.

I can see where the episode might be trying to show both sides of the argument.  Kirk is hesitant to do anything.  Riley is quick to take action.  Is it understandable that Riley would want revenge or is Kirk right to think it through?  Once someone like that has been caught, what would be the correct way to treat them?  My only problem is that the question would be better posed in a courtroom.

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