This is the episode I think of when I think of original series Star Trek. It’s not the greatest story, or the most entertaining. But it’s the one that I remember seeing first.
I suspect the story probably had its origins in trying to keep the budget down – only a couple of guest stars, only one additional set. But the result is a very good bit of exploration science fiction. It doesn’t do a lot for character development, but it does a lot of good development for the Enterprise and the crew. You get a real sense of the Enterprise as a ship on a mission here.
One other side note: it seemed to me that he camera work in this episode was far more adventurous than usual. Handheld tracking shots, a nice crane shot at the start of the episode. It made me notice how static a lot of the old series Trek can be.
Important Trek moment: Bones’ “What Am I, a Doctor or a Moon Shuttle conductor”. Not quite the quote, but close enough.
10 down, 727 to go.