Star Trek 1.15 (Shore Leave)

First Aired: December 29, 1966

Cast:

Emily Banks (Yeoman Tonia Barrows)

Oliver McGowan (Caretaker)

Perry Lopez (Lt. Esteban Rodriguez)

Bruce Mars (Finnegan)

Barbara Baldavin (Specialist Mary Teller)

Marcia Brown (Alice in Wonderland)

Sebastian Tom (Samurai)

Shirley Bonne (Ruth)

Writer: Theodore Sturgeon

The first thing I noticed was that Kirks' Yeoman was not Janice Rand. I know she only featured up to a certain point in the first series, so it is possible that we won't see her again (until the movies, of course!) Of course, they were shot in a different order to the one in which they were transmitted, so it is possible that we will see her again.

Kirk says "erm" in the middle of announcing the stardate. I suspect that it was at attempt to show that Kirk was in need of a break, but it just sounds like Shatner fluffed his line and they couldn't be bothered to go for a retake.

There is lots of outside filming in this episode, and it really stands out. There have been others (such as Miri) but it's nice to see actual countryside and not a crappy soundstage.

I was impressed that the tiger was actually there with them - when I first saw it I assumed that it was a stock footage shot, but later you get to see it in shot with Kirk and Spock (only with a bloody big chain round its neck!)

This is a famously silly episode, but it is quite fun. There really isn't enough plot to fill the full fifty minutes, and the long fight at the end (in which, yes, Kirk gets his shirt ripped) just seems like it's there to fill time. A couple of crewmembers die, including McCoy, however they all get bought back to life by the end, so this episode scores zero there!

So, nice use of locations, some good comic moments, but ultimately over long and a bit silly.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 20

Score: 6