ST: TOS The Man Trap

The Enterprise arrives at planet M-113 to hand over some medical supplies to Dr. Robert Crater, when McCoy identifies the Doctor's wife as "Nancy", the woman with whom McCoy used to be romantically involved with. Kirk finds this a bit odd, but he doesn't really start to question it until a couple crewmen on the planet are found dead with several hickeys on their heads.

Kirk pays a visit to the props warehouse

Known to the audience, but not known to the crew, Nancy is actually a creature that can take the shape of any being. The reason that it has been attacking the crew members is that it needs salt to survive. It lures men by changing into an appealing woman, catching them with a hypnotic stare, and then sucking the salt out of them. Hence, "the man trap".

In the middle part of the episode, the creature finds its way onto the Enterprise and wanders around, looking for its next victim. It takes the form of various crew members in order to stay under cover, and it's a wonder that the rest of the crew don't put much thought into it's strange behavior. There is some very strange dialogue during this part, such as "go chase an asteroid", "he must have gone Space Happy", and "your own personal Yeoman". Despite this, however, we get an interesting look into how the crew operates on a daily basis and a feel for the unique space-venturing atmosphere of the show.

Insert your own "Sulu is gay" joke here

While McCoy goes back to his quarters and rests, Kirk and Spock hunt down Dr. Crater and question him about death of his crewmen and "Nancy". Dr. Crater tells them all about the creature, but claims that it's only trying to survive. The creature, who has now taken the form of McCoy, also agrees with this viewpoint, but this only leaves Spock suspicious about McCoy. Dr. Crater reveals that the creature and him have developed a sort of symbiotic relationship ever since the creature killed the really Nancy Crater for salt.

But the stress from the lack of salt and the investigation starts to get to the creature, and it kills Dr. Crater. It nearly kills McCoy when Kirk and Spock rush in, having discovered the creature's secret. McCoy is eventually forced to kill the creature to save himself and the rest of the crew.

This episode was not great by any means, but it still had the atmosphere and character interactions that would be prevalent throughout the rest of the series. Most importantly, though, this episode showed how original Star Trek could be when written and acted correctly.

Score: 7

Best Quote: "It needs love as much as it needs salt."

Best Moment: The creature begins to suck the salt out of Kirk, and McCoy is forced to kill it.

Red Shirt Deaths: Still 0, but there could have been at least 4 this time...