SHORE LEAVE | S.1.E.15
Star Trek - The Original Series
Original air date: December 29,1966
Captain’s Log, Stardate 3025.3
SYNOPSIS
The past three months have left the crew of the Enterprise exhausted and in desperate need of a break, but does this explain McCoy's encounter with a human-sized white rabbit or Kirk crossing paths with the prankster who plagued his days at Starfleet Academy?
CANON CONTEXT
At the time of this episode, Gene had not had a break from creating and writing shows for over two years. His wife and doctor insisted he take a vacation and leave the writing to someone else. One issue was that the fantasy element was too heavily used in the original script to which Gene promised it would be reduced, but no one told the writer. When Gene returned from vacation he was tasked with doing quick rewrites while filming was taking place, meaning scenes like the samurai and tiger stayed in during final edit. There was also meant to be an elephant but that’s an inside joke meant for conventions…
RECAP
I gotta say, whoever wrote this had to be trippin’ on something. It’s not everyday you see a large white rabbit running around complaining that they’re late for something.
And yet, that is where we are when this very strange episode begins. What makes it stranger is just how seemingly calm and laid back the captain is when he sees the footprint evidence of the rabbit after thinking Bones just might be seeing things. It gets stranger as the story continues, but only just after someone on the planet mentions how the location reminds them of a person or fairytale. For instance, when the captain sees a flower and thinks of “Ruth” whoever she is? My guess is that she is his first love? There is this sense that it’s quite unbelievable that she should be there. As if maybe she should be dead? Not sure. But what a lady.
After Bones is killed by one of these things that appear out of nowhere and the captain shoots dead whoever committed the crime, they uncover the mask to see it’s nothing more than a dummy. Not real. Nothing on this planet is real. It’s all being created as instantly as the crew can think it.
The ending all seems a bit rushed and slapped together as there is no real danger. No one is really dead and the person who lives there, pulling all the strings to create whatever the crew thinks up of, makes his presence known to explain himself. The captain asks who or what he is but gets no answer, except to say their race is much too advanced for Kirk or anyone else to understand and Spock agrees. So, that’s that. Really? We don’t care how this guy manages to pull off creating all these things out of thin air and words? I swear sometimes this show frustrates me with how it demands answers in one instance but then is very passive about life in others.
In the end, the crew is allowed to have shore leave on this planet where the owner agrees to give the crew a vacation to remember.
And boy is it ever implied that Kirk had a very nice time there.
DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?
Tonia Barrows: [about to change clothes in the bushes] Don't peek.
Dr. McCoy: My dear girl, I am a doctor. When I peek, it's in the line of duty.
Mr. Spock: I picked this up from Dr. McCoy's log. We have a crew member aboard who's showing signs of stress and fatigue, reaction time down 9-12%, associational rating norm minus 3.
Captain James T. Kirk: That's much too low a rating.
Mr. Spock: He's becoming irritable and quarrelsome, yet he refuses to take rest and rehabilitation.
Captain James T. Kirk: Mm-hm.
Mr. Spock: Now, he has that right, but we've found...
Captain James T. Kirk: A crewman's right ends where the safety of the ship begins. Now, that man will go ashore on my orders. What's his name?
Mr. Spock: James Kirk. Enjoy yourself, Captain.