Star Trek 1.27 (The Alternative Factor)

Cast:
Eddie Paskey (Lt. Leslie)

Robert Brown (XI) (Lazarus)

Janet MacLachlan (Lt. Charlene Masters)

Richard Derr (Commodore Barstow)

Arch Whiting (Assistant Engineer)

Christian Patrick (Transporter Chief)

Writer: Don Ingalls

Hey, I'm back. (Wanting to watch a Trek episode on my new TV had nothing to do with it, honest!) This is an interesting episode. It's one of those average shows - it's not awful but it's not great. The central idea, that two identical looking guys from opposite universes (presumably one ours, one other) are locked in a fight, the ramifications of which are creating instability across the entire galaxy and beyond. The Enterprise is closest, so they draw the short straw to investigate.

Obviously, what is happening is not immediately revealed - Lazarus initially just looks like a schizoid nutter - but I liked the idea that they cross the universes though what is described as a tunnel that is like a "safety valve". Having watched the Doctor Who story "Logopolis" recently, the concept sounds rather like the CVE that is used to cross into another universe, but I suspect that they didn't nick it from here as the way the idea is used is very different.

Some silly stuff here. Lazarus is supposed to be this violent, dodgy geezer, yet they let him run around the Enterprise rather than keeping him locked up. And curiously, the scene set in the alternative universe is filmed on a soundstage rather than the location used for the scenes set in our universe. I don't really understand why - surely it would have been cheaper just to film this sequence when they were on location? Or maybe someone thought the look had to be different enough so that even the stupid viewed could pick up on what was actually going on.

So, an okay concept averagely executed.

Crew Deaths: 0
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26
Score: 6/10