Star Trek: The Original Series - Man Trap **

 

August 20, 2011

IMDb User Comments

"The Man Trap" is a bonafide "Bones episode" where he's the character mainly centered around as a creature which can alter its appearance to any lifeform "she" uses the identity of Dr. McCoy's former flame, a woman who married a grumpy scientist named Professor Robert Crater (Alfred Ryder), living on a planet the Enterprise orbits (Kirk's Enterprise is ordered to make routine stops to ensure that scientists are in proper health). The creature (and boy is this thing ugly when we see what it really looks like!) lives on salt and is compelled to kill humans for what it craves, seemingly unable to control the hunger. When Kirk's men start to become victims of this salt monster, he will seek it out to kill it. McCoy's life could be in grave danger as he still has feelings for the woman he believes is Nancy (Jeanne Bal), not knowing that a monster is merely using her face as a disguise. If you are familiar with Star Trek, then you know that extras were used all the time to accompany Kirk and Spock to service the show as victims for whatever dangers exist on planets they transport to—this show is a fine example of that as many extras wind up dried of their salt at the hands of the creature, little suction spots on their faces to depict where the "sucking" took place. Seeing McCoy grappling with his emotions as the monster, at first in the form of Nancy, is attacking Kirk is quite eyepopping because you see just how much Bones cared for the woman. Funny scene where Uhura complains to Spock about the word "frequency" and interesting exchange between the two when she scolds him for his cold reaction to the death of an officer reported from the planet. Hilarious phaser stun sequence where Kirk must subdue Crater who is firing at them with a laser gun, the way it sounds and how he is knocked for a loop. We get to look inside Sulu's living quarters and see that he has a variety of "alien flowers", one which is frightened of the salt creature who has assumed the disguise of an officer she killed. This is not one of the show's very best episodes, as the monster is a bit silly looking, but I imagine there's plenty of entertainment for fans of creature features. If anything, I thought it was nice to see Bones allowed to have the plot focused more on him for a change.