Star Trek: The Original Series - Man Trap *

 

I apply an asterisk because I never know when I might return to these episodes again.

I have always been fascinated with the decision by NBC to air Man Trap first considering it feels like it would be the sixth episode produced. You aren't really introduced to the crew of the Starship Enterprise as much as get dropped into a random mission. Oh, still, despite that puzzlement, I have always enjoyed Man Trap as an action and thriller episode. It does have a grotesque monster eventually revealed, but I also appreciated how the writing, direction, and performance establish that the hunger and need for salt drives the "last of its kind" much like an overwhelming addiction fueling every part of its body. Jeanne Bal, as Dr. McCoy's former love from ten years prior, especially shows you that hunger. Others she imitates do as well, such as Bruce Watson, as an officer killed on the planet, or a Swahili man drawn from the mind of Uhura. That yearning for salt causes the creature in the form of Watson to even follow Yeoman Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) around as she delivers a tray of vegetables to Sulu in his quarters. I loved the little things in this episode. Such as Uhura addressing Spock's "communication issues" and his seeming inability to care about the report that someone was dead on the surface -- Spock was in command while Kirk and Bones were down on the surface of the ancient civilization planet -- or Sulu's quarters with all the alien plant species, once of which realizes Watson is a salt creature. I do think the problematic scenes featuring ogling male officers getting an eyeful of Yeoman Rand and Uhura might turn off some viewers. Even a visionary like Roddenberry still featured women in the future as desirable figures to lust after and gaze at without blinking. And the uniforms for women of that time perhaps are one of the classic show's main issues for some audiences of today. As a series in the 60s, it was still dated by when it was made, so even as it looks at a future with a diverse group of crew, there was still that era of how sexuality might be perceived as neanderthal. Whether or not that bothers me is unimportant: how future generations look at the Original Series might be seen through a very scrutinizing and critical lens. 

Being that this is the first season, murdered crew members weren't dying in red uniforms as much. The salt creature wasn't concerned with whether or not an officer was wearing red...it wanted salt.

What always amused me is that while the series consistently addresses the human side of Spock, trying to repress emotion as much as possible, he was certainly expressing annoyance and irritation when crew confront him with his cold reaction to situations that might warrant something other than that. That was why I appreciated Uhura confronting Spock about his analytical dissection of her performance on the Bridge, notating an error, brushing aside any attempts by her to connect with him. And that is an ongoing process and challenge Spock has: avoiding the human side that seems to interfere with the Vulcan side. Later in the episode, to Spock's credit, he attempts to come to Kirk's rescue, with McCoy so in lockstep with his love and passion for Nancy, it takes the Vulcan's getting through to Bones that she's no longer there...that Nancy isn't killing Kirk, the creature imitating her is.

This episode is really exciting when down on the planet, with the rock formations and ruins allowing for Kirk and Spock to engage with the archaeologist Kramer in an attempt to stand him down, not to mention, how it would be easy for the creature to attack members of the away team due to the many places to hide.

One other thing that really stood out to me: Kirk taking Bones to task for his "love haze" while a dead member of the crew lies on a "dispensary" bed under a sheet. Yeah, that "dispensary" was used instead of Sick Bay, I noticed. 4/5