Turnabout Intruder
In this episode, the finale of the third season of the original series, Captain Kirk and others beam down to the surface of Camus II following g a distress call from a team of scientists on the planet. Upon arrival they discover that the entire team but two have died of radiation poisoning. Janice Lester, one of the survivors, attacks Kirk and swaps minds using an ancient machine. Janice proceeds to take over the Enterprise in Kirk’s body and attempts to murder the real Kirk. However, Spock and Bones have their doubts and soon discover the impostor. Spock, Bones and Scotty are accused of mutiny by the false Captain and they are imprisoned with the real Kirk. Eventually the mind swap wears off and in Janice’s last attempt to kill Kirk, They are returned to their original bodies.
This episode aired during the height of the feminist movement in the sixties and focused on the fight for gender equality, even in the future. It depicted a hysterical woman who pursued a plan to take over the Enterprise at all costs. Although the display of the female characters in the episode did not seem to be in favor of the feminist movement, it didn't specifically disempower women. It also showed the struggles of a woman working to gain power, even if with malicious intent.
I really liked the glowing-wall thingy that switched Kirk's and Lester's entities. Something I found interesting is that Kirk commented on how Lester could have become a happy person in life, had she not hated herself. This also shows the power of a placebo at work.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if Janice Lester had not been malicious, perhaps she would have gained legitimate command of a starship (even if not the enterprise). However, she allowed her hatred to drive her insane and, after returning to her own body, nearly collapses in hysteria and rage. This depiction of a woman may to some seem sexist, but I think that it shows how unfair women's rights were at the time.
ReplyDeletethe special effect were the worst of any star trek episode we've watched. the idea of mind is separate from body is in the episode. i don't think the doctor could have gotten used to kerk's body as quickly as she did and vice verse for kerk in the doctors body.
ReplyDeleteStar Trek has often teetered between empowering and diminishing women and their accomplishments. The implications of Janice's choice to switch bodies with Kirk shows the presence of a distorted self image. Perhaps it would have been better to focus on being content within herself and achievement made on her own.
ReplyDeleteI think that this episode implies that the body and the mind are to different things I strongly disagree because when someone loses part of there brain there personality is affected which shows that the body and the mind are connected directly. Also I believe that this episode was slightly sexist in the fact that woman cant be captain and that janice lester tries her best but is taken down by men, men ok men. not other woman, men.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't the best episode. A few of the most interesting things about Star Trek are alien life and new planets. While this episode did feature a planet, Camus II, it appeared for only a few minutes for the mind swap sequence, and there was no alien life. The machine was interesting, sure, but they did one single thing with it, for a single minute in the entire hour-long show. I, personally, would have liked to see some backstory about the planet, the machine, or the team of scientists.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I did like about the episode was the very thing I was just complaining about: the machine. It's a very interesting piece of technology, and I would've liked to know more about it.
What was interesting to me was the fact that Dr. Lester was originally dying of radiation poisoning and "Kirk" was trying to get her to a medical facility. Shortly after "Kirk" said that, came "Dr. Lester's" escape attempts, where "Dr. Lester" did not seem as though she was dying at all, in fact it looked as if she was in perfect heath. My question would be what happened to Dr. Lester's radiation, or was it still there throughout the whole of the episode?
ReplyDeleteI think that the episode may have been more interesting if the "Mind Swap Machine" had a more significant role in the episode because it did have an importance in the beginning, but it may have made the episode more interesting if it was featured more prominently throughout the episode instead of just a brief moment in the beginning of the episode.
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