Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.27 The Alternative Factor (3-30-67)
Rating: 2/5
Redshirt Status: 0/23
Notable Guest Stars:
Robert Brown – Lazarus. Starred in the 1968 series Here comes the Brides.
Janet MacLachlan- Lt. Charlene Masters. Known for her roles in The Rockford Files and (a little more recently) Alias.
Richard Derr – Commodore Barstow. Character actor on several series in the 1960s, and a WWII veteran.
Review:
This…is not a great episode. I had a hard time paying attention to this episode. You could skip it and not loose any important information. I even tried watching this episode twice and couldn’t quite pay attention.
The only element of note is that this is the first episode that shows a parallel universe. So it’s a set up for the Mirror universe and the various other universes of the Star Trek franchise.
Interesting Notes:
- Directed by Gerd Oswald
- Written by Don Ingalls
- John D. Barrymore was supposed to be Lazarus, but he failed to show up to work and they had to recast.
- The nebula shown is the Trifid Nebula
- Originally there was a romance between Lazarus and Lt. Masters, but it was cut by Roddenberry for being too similar to Space Seed. Which was a very good decision considering how I viewed that one.
Pros:
- Direct contact with Starfleet Command.
Cons:
- Costuming. That must be the world’s worst fake beard. Or maybe it was a style in the sixties. I don’t know.
- Their stardates in TOS make no organizational sense.
- The scene in the transporter where Lazarus disables a tech is not very good stage fighting
Sokorra Lewis 