There’s a lot about this episode that feels like a repeat.  We’ve got a mix of the Doomsday Machine and an Obsession-level cloud devouring planets.  We even have an appearance by Bob Wesley, last seen in The Ultimate Computer, to round out the repeated elements from the parent series.  And yet, for 22 minutes, I found myself enjoying this episode even with the repeat motifs.  That doesn’t mean I want a season of these but I could still take some pleasure in the series anyway.

I could take issue with the premise if I wanted to pick nits: the Enterprise is ordered to investigate a cloud, as one might expect of the flagship of the Federation.  Isn’t that a bit like asking General Patton to help kids walk across the street?  Sure he can do it, and probably rather well, but it seems a poor use of his time.  Anyway… upon arriving at the location, they find a planet-eater, and of course, it’s heading straight for a populated planet. 

Alright, so nothing unexpected here.  We know Kirk and crew will save the day, but the idea of this creature as a thinking entity that Spock is able to communicate with really made me happy.  Sure they have to teach a creature the whole of the English language in mere minutes, but come on… this is the Enterprise crew. It’s all a bit silly how they go about this process really.  Uhura is able to link up the communications system so that Spock can mind-meld with the cloud.  Apparently, this means we can all hear the conversation.  Which in turn means that they have effectively figured out how to spy on people in the future.  Hook up the comms equipment to read people’s thoughts!  “Listen to me.  Listen to me!”  Spock sits with arms outstretched and allows the entity to take him over.  It examines the bridge, realizes it’s wrong to eat worlds and goes home.  How sweet!

If we’ve ever doubted it, we can be sure this is the miracle crew.  McCoy’s presence on the bridge finally seems to yield results which may be the biggest miracle of all.  Let’s call a spade a gardening tool: one time McCoy was on the bridge, he injected himself with hallucinogens and nearly unraveled history.  I’m amazed Kirk didn’t have a general order banning him from being there.  Not to mention, Uhura is skilled!  She can program computers to read minds, but the award for the top spot of miracle worker unsurprisingly goes to Scotty.  Kirk acknowledges they have 15 minutes to live  before shields fade, while trapped within the cloud.  Scotty has an idea: he can build a containment unit then get a part of the creature, beam it in and use it to power the antimatter systems.  I’m thinking just getting from one end of the Enterprise to the other might take a while, but with 10 minutes to go, Scotty has done it.  Meaning, that whole plan took 5 minutes!  Phew.  Thank good for Speedy McGuffin! 

Kirk is the only one who doesn’t fare very well in this episode, convinced the best course of action is to kill the living thing; an act which may very well be genocide if this creature is unique in the cosmos!  We’ve come a long way with our storytelling capabilities, I can tell you.  Kirk tries to regain some points by quoting himself from A Taste of Armageddon when he rehashes the “I will not kill… today!” line.  Sadly, it doesn’t win him any points.  Spock ends the episode talking about the Wonders of the Universe and I’m left to wonder how many of the upcoming episodes will be wonderful… and how many will be repeats of past glories…  ML