As The Enemy Within begins, the camera pans over a mysterious alien world. Hey, there’s Sulu holding cute little pupp… oh my god what’s wrong with that dog?!!!
It’s cold and getting much colder on the planet, so one of the crew beams up to the Enterprise for a warm mug of Bovril and soup. Unfortunately, a strange metallic ore on his clothes causes a transporter malfunction. Scotty attempts to fix it, but doesn’t take the time to test it. Negligent?
When Kirk beams aboard the process takes longer than usual. When he eventually arrives, he feels dizzy and the crew take him to his room. However, as soon as they leave, a second Kirk beams in. This Kirk, however, is strangely lit and wears an unsettling facial expression, the sort that would stop you employing somebody as a babysitter.
Sulu’s weird dog is also beamed aboard (for medical experiments?), but two dogs beam up. One is tame and one is wild.
As the story progresses we discover that we have a “Good Kirk” and a “Bad Kirk”. While Good seems most like the Kirk we know and love, he isn’t quite right, acting indecisive and weak. Bad Kirk, however, is driven by impulse and completely without morals. In one disturbing scene he attempts to sexually assault Janice Rand. This is a much darker scene than any we’ve seen before. Rand defends herself, scratching Bad Kirk’s face and narrowly getting away in time to call out for Mr Spock’s help.
Understandably, Janice is distressed by the experience. She is interviewed by McCoy, Spock and (incredibly, given the nature of the accusation) Kirk! Spock figures out that there is an impostor around.
They decide that they can’t let the crew know that Kirk has been split in two, but instead announce that the crew should keep an eye open for a Kirk impersonator with scratches on his face. When Bad Kirk hears the message, we are treated to a wonderful display of Shatner’s acting as he bellows “I’m Captain Kirk”. It’s as if he’s been possessed by an enraged mute suddenly given the power of speech.
Meanwhile on the planet, Sulu and the team are getting cold. Very very cold. There will be no topless fencing for Sulu today. Unfortunately they can’t beam back to the Enterprise because the transporter would split them all into two. Nobody thinks about using the shuttle, although Sulu makes clever use of his phaser to heat up rocks.
After repairing the transporter, the two dogs are beamed together again, but although they do merge, it dies of shock.
After a run around on the bridge where the crew can’t decide which one is the ‘real’ Kirk in a brilliant scene loaded with camera angles and lighting, the two Kirks get together in a big man hug on the transporter bay. Scotty beams them together. The newly assembled Kirk’s first line is “Get those men aboard fast”. It’s a great way to tell the audience that Kirk is back to his old self.
Parts of this episode do not stand up to the test of time. The way Rand is treated would not be acceptable by a modern audience. After her harrowing experience with Bad Kirk, Spock has the audacity to say “The impostor had some interesting qualities, wouldn’t you say so?” Rand smiles coyly in a way that suggests “Oh, that rascal Kirk and his wandering hands. Oh well, I’ll go darn some socks.”
Cast:
William Shatner as James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as Spock
DeForest Kelley as Leonard H. McCoy
James Doohan as Montgomery Scott
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
George Takei as Hikaru Sulu
Guest Cast:
Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand
Jim Goodwin as Lt. John Farrell
Edward Madden as Tech. Fisher
Creative Staff:
Director: Leo Penn
Written By: Richard Matheson
