Star Trek 2.12 (The Deadly Years)

Cast:

Charles Drake (Commodore George Stocker)

Sarah Marshall (Dr. Janet Wallace)

Felix Locher (Robert Johnson)

Carolyn Nelson (Yeoman Doris Atkins)

Laura Wood (Elaine Johnson)

Beverly Washburn (Lt. Arlene Galway)

Writer: David P. Harmon

I remember this episode as a kid - I think it was one of the very first ones that I saw. I recall being terrified at the obvious ageing of the characters.

Many many years on you do tend to look at this episode a little differently. Firstly, we know what the actors actually looked like when they were that much older, and whilst some of the ageing makeup is quite good for it's day, they do look rather different in this episode than they do for real now.

The story is going okay then takes a massive nosedive when they do a competency hearing. Of course Kirk isn't fit for command - we see that he is forgetting stuff very early into the episode. Why the hell McCoy didn't declare him unfit for command (something we know for later stories is the prerogative of the chief medical officer) I don't know. This portion of the episode is a waste of time. As are the arguments of the main crew. It would have been far better to have them lucid and just having the odd memory lapse (enough to get them declared unfit for command) and

having to deal with what comes next...

Then when Commodore Stocker takes command (as everyone else is too senile) he makes the decision to go the most direct route to the Starbase - and this happens to be through the Romulan Neutral zone.

We don't see the Romulans properly in this one - we see their ship trying to blow the crap out of the Enterprise, but luckily McCoy (even in his advanced aging state) comes up with a suggested drug that might reverse the effects, and luckily Jim is able to take command of the ship again before they are blown to kingdom come (using the corbomite bluff used in the first season!)

Ooh, and the radiation drug hyronalin gets mentioned, I think this is the first reference but we get to hear a lot about if in future generations...

This is okay fair, there is much better, there is much worse...

Crew Deaths: 1

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 35

Score: 6/10