An astronaut (not an astrodummie this time, thank God, at least not entirely) returns from Venus, and finds himself suddenly reacting strangely to normal temperatures. Venus, of course, is an extremely hot planet so I'm glad they got this right, because it'd be ludicrous if he found himself sweating excessively upon his return i.e. The opposite.
Of course, it's a little goofy that there can even be a debate i.e. Any uncertainty over whether Venus is a habitable planet (since not even machines can survive the temperatures and pressures there), but that isn't a real criticism because this is just a sci-fi story. Admittedly, in 1965 they did know about Venus being a hellish planet, but they picked it over Mercury or Mars anyway.
What is a little more iffy is that the Mars mission, which is up next, will again feature Shatner as the explorer. NASA can't find any other men they can send? Shatner's the only one capable of flight in a tin can? NASA sends GENERALS into space? Why didn't General Schwartzkopf attack Iraq from space then? But this too is a very minor point, and not any major criticism. Nor am I going to make a big stink over the fact that NASA only sends a single-man crew each time, which is far riskier than sending a proper crew. Judging from the aircraft, they could easily have crammed one more person in there, a move which would drastically improve the odds of mission success. (Though I do realize the writer chose this option because otherwise there might not be a story, or it would be too complicated for a 50-minute format to include another crew member.)
What is more troublesome is that Shatner lies to his doctor that he is "regularly examined by his (NASA) medics" which means that not only is he a big fat liar (just like the real Shatner, funnily enough: there's some realism for ya!) but he isn't getting any follow-up check-ups. It takes his WIFE'S urging to finally discover the changes such as the low temperature!
Why is he even withholding so much information from his bosses? He doesn't even tell them about the strange creature he has in his visions.
The WHOLE POINT of a manned mission is to INFORM the scientists and engineers of EVERYTHING you'd gone through, not keep silent about things, otherwise they could have sent a chimp instead, or even better - a robot. (A robot programmed to tell the truth, i.e. An anti-Shatneric android.) I don't understand how a serious professional astronaut such as this guy could possibly expect to be approved for the upcoming Mars mission if his health was so dodgy and if he was proven to be dishonest and secretive. This make little sense. Wouldn't Kirk, I mean Shatner, be concerned about his own health - precisely because he so badly wants to fly to Mars? His behaviour is highly unprofessional, given the circumstances and not very intelligent either because so reckless. His personal physician advises him to get checked by his "space doctors" yet he refuses to do this time and time again. Even after he starts turning into an amphibian he still doesn't turn to his NASA team for help and advice! Unlike the other minor issues, this is a major script problem.
As is his knocking out of a security guard.
Nor does it make sense that Kirk "disregarded procedures, disobeyed orders and went off course" - which is why he disappeared for those crucial 8 minutes. Why NASA would spend millions sending such an undisciplined man to Mars is beyond me.
Shatner: "Right then he understood his purpose, it was to lead to new worlds, to new life..." where no man had gone before?...
This line isn't the only weird similarity to "Star Trek". The mission to Mars is called "Project Vulcan". It isn't impossible that Roddenberry had seen this episode while casting for ST hence decided to make Spock a "Vulkan".
Or how about "you are going at 20,000 feet, repeat - 20,000 feet." An intentional allusion to the famous TZ episode?
The fact that Project Vulcan is completely reliant on Shatner is utterly absurd. The NASA people and the military say that the project wouldn't be possible without him. So are lead to believe that one man is engineer, program chief, rocket designer and astronaut for a space mission??? You frigging kidding me? No space mission is reliant on just one astronaut nor ever will be, except in pulp fiction. Space exploration is a huge team effort, not some one-man-genius extravaganza.
Also illogical is his wife's insistence that the project not be postponed unless absolutely necessary. It makes no sense that this dedicated wife is even slightly interested in the Mars mission considering the extreme situation her husband is in. I mean, he was morphing into an alien being, yet she is worried about the next mission not getting funded! Which next mission? The one he would head as an amphibian alien crossbreed?
Eventually, all it took for Kirk to be fixed is to undergo a sort of "emotional exorcism" of sorts, after which he starts reverting back to normal. It's rather absurd that he is sent to the important meeting with project investors while still with amphibian hands.
Let's recap. This great hero disobeyed orders which lead to a Venusian alien implanting him with its own DNA. Then, upon returning to Earth, Shatner fails to inform his bosses of crucial info, refuses to go to his medical team until the very last moment... Yet, somehow, Project Vulcan can't do without him? I believe he'd betrayed the trust of his colleagues and superiors enough to be banned from any future missions. Get him a desk job already, frcrrsakes...
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