Planet of the class struggle! This is a pretty straight forward episode where the high minded elites live in a city in the sky and torture the troglodytes who live below to keep them from rebelling. They even go ahead and call them troglodytes to keep it from being too subtle. It doesn't feel cheaply made like so many third season episodes with several original costumes and some sets that aren't the enterprise!
The Enterprise is on a mission to Ardana to get a rare mineral the is the key to stopping a plague that will kill millions. Ardana is a starkly divided world with most of the population toiling in mines away from the sun while a few elites live in a floating city in the sky pursuing art and philosophy. Kirk beams down with Spock to the mines where the rare zenite is produced. Instead of finding the zenite they instead find a trap. While struggling with the troglytes (see what I am saying about the subtle names?) three men from Stratos, the city in the sky, appear and blast one of the troglytes driving the others away. They teleport up to the city with the high adviser and meet with his daughter who is quite taken with Spock. While they talk the guards bring in a rebel troglyte, a disrupter, and rather than be held he jumps of the balcony and off the floating city. The high adviser promises to get the zenite no matter what!
While Spock flirts with the daughter of the adviser Kirk takes a nap and is attacked by a beautiful female disrupter named Vanna. Vanna fails kill him and is taken to be tortured. When Kirk objects to her torture he is forced to leave the planet. Back on the ship Kirk learns that the zenite gas is damaging the intellects of the troglytes and that simple masks could cure their condition. The adviser refuses to listen to him so Kirk beams down to Vanna's cell. She promises him the zenite in exchange for the masks and they escape, but she turns on him as soon as their are free and takes him prisoner. Kirk manages to get his phaser back and caves in the mine section they are in trapping him and Vanna with the zenite gas. He has the adviser beamed down long enough for them all to be messed up pretty good by the gas.
Kirk starts fighting with the adviser after the gas takes full effect and Vanna has to use Kirk's communicator to call the ship and get them beamed back up. Vanna manages to convince the disrupters give them the zenite in exchange for the masks after having seen the effect of the gas, but the adviser seems determined to stop it. Spock and his lover exchange a few words before the Enterprise heads off with the vital zenite.
Review: Other than being a little boring in the middle this episode is fairly well executed direct social commentary. It isn't entirely successful, but I will at least give it credit for being a solid effort.
6 out of 10
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