re: Star Trek: TOS Watchers - Season 1 Wrapup *Page 25*

As we wrap up WNMHGB - let's briefly credit the creative team - Samuel Peeples for the script and James Goldstone on direction.

The script gave us just enough ESP jargon to make it credible, without overloading us with new information. While the technical jargon of starship operations was nowhere near fully developed, everything was generally credible and consistent with what we saw.

And, as someone (I think, Kafka) brought up earlier, I thought the opening was perfect - we first see Kirk and Spock (had this episode aired first, it would have been even better), together, playing chess. A game that Spock is dominant at, generally, but is losing to Kirk - the chemistry is pretty well-established right there.

The direction was good, and this is reflected by a fairly good pace and consistently good acting. Had the episode aired first, I think it would have been a stronger entry than "The Man Trap" - but the powers-that-be thought it was a little too cerebral. That wanted a little more action/adventure. Recall that science fiction television was mainly "Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits" before shows like "Lost in Space" and "Star Trek" began to air. Monster stories were at the core of the classic 50s scifi B-movies, and I guess the network didn't see WNMHGB as a monster story (but it clearly was, in hindsight - the monster is us).