Tonight's episode tries to be hard science fiction, but stumbles a bit when it comes to effects and pacing. The episode starts with the Enterprise performing a routine scan of an empty planet when suddenly a shaking image of a nebula pops on screen and the whole ship is shaken. Spock's scans indicate that the entire universe has winked out of existence for a moment. It has something to do with magnetism and this is as much explanation as we ever really get. Starfleet command contacts the Enterprise, apparently the rest of the universe also noticed blinking in and out of existence.
Spock detects a live human on the planet below and they beam down to investigate. They find a raving madman and some sort of odd ship. They beam him back to the Enterprise and get him patched up. His name is Lazarus and he insists he is in a battle with an evil humanoid creature. Whenever he has one of his battles the universe jumps into and out of existence in a most jarring way. Despite no explanation Lazarus insists they help him destroy the creature. There is a lot of messing around and way too much of the shaking nebula and an inverted color effect with a spinning camera. While in the inverted mode two humans are shown at each others throats.
The audience (in this case me) figures out pretty quick there are two Lazari. Both the good and the bad on seem to need the ships di-lithium crystals which now are some sort of flat plate. The bad Laz steals the crystals and beams down to the planet. Kirk pursue and before Laz can stop him Kirk touches the alien vessel and is sent through the inverted color space and meets the good Laz with an identical ship on a soundstage. He confirms there are two of him and he is anti-matter. This episode suffers from the delusion that matter and anti-matter should only be kept apart if they are in fact the same person. Laz agrees to sacrifice himself to struggling with his alternative self forever in limbo if Kirk will only force the bad Laz into the, "corridor," as they are now apparently calling it. Everything works out and the Enterprise is on its way.
Ruling: This is probably the most dull episode so far. It is filled with technobabble and way way too many shots of the two Laz's struggling in limbo. They tried to make things tense by having the fate of the universe on the line, but it is unclear what is going on most of the episode and when they do reveal what is happening it isn't all that exciting. Certainly not the worst of trek, but a bit sub par for what I have seen so far.
3 out of 10
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