Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.08 Miri (10-27-66)
Rating: 4.5/5
Redshirt Status: surprisingly 0/16
Notable Guest Stars:
Kim Darby – Miri
Michael J. Pollard- Jahn
The Cast of Children – The children were played by children of the cast and crew.
Review:
Oddly, this episode seems to have mixed reactions. Several reviews over the years place this as a favorite, yet it was banned for airing on BBC for 30 years. They felt it was a children’s show, and this episode dealt with too dark of an issue. I can’t say I understand what they mean by that.
The episode, plot wise, is generally good as is the acting, although Shatner has his over-dramatic moments. The general idea is that the planet, which looks identical to Earth, has suffered a outbreak that has killed the adult population – over three hundred years ago. The beam down crew, which for some reason contains three senior officers at the same time, have only days to figure out what happened, and how to fix it so they can return home and the children on the planet won’t grow up just to die of the same disease.
Of course, with a plot like this, it leaves a few questions. Why wasn’t Spock effected? What happens to the children afterwards? Are they still going to age at a slower rate, or has the cure made them age normally?
But I suppose that is the purpose of science fiction – make you ask questions.
I also liked that Yeoman Rand got to have a more extensive storyline in this episode, although it was nearly negated when they returned her to being a love possibility for Kirk. It wouldn’t have been anything had it not been part of a pattern with this character. Knowing what happened to the actress during this time also doesn’t help the matter.
TOS has a tendency to focus on the main three alot, and this episode gave some time to Rand. It also is one of the first to suggest there is a wider medical team on Enterprise then just McCoy and Chapel.
Interesting Notes:
- Written by Adrians Spies
- Directed by Vincent McEveety
- was banned in the UK till the 90s.
- They used the set of the Andy Griffith show, so if you think it looks familar, that is why. They also state it is 1960s, which allows a more present day set design.
- This idea has been used in other sci-fi shows, such as Stargate Atlantis (a planet where no one lives over 24), and Andromeda (also a planet full of children with no adults). Neither have the same plot that it was a science experiment gone wrong.
- SG-1 has a episode about a planet that does an experiment that causes everyone to be younger, and forget their past life. In a sense this episode is a reverse of this episode as its all young adults with no children.
Pros:
- Jan has a storyline, abit small.
- No redshirts appeared to be hurt in the making of this episode.
Cons:
- Nothing really stands out as a con in this episode.
Sokorra Lewis 