TAS: Eye of the Beholder

            Even though it has a similar plot to The Cage, this episode covers enough different ground to be interesting and is in fact quite exciting. I love that TAS embraces being animated and has way more interesting aliens than any other Trek series. The hyper-intelligent slug monsters who run the zoo in this episode are not what anyone thinks of when they think of intelligent aliens, and that's just fine. There is certainly some Shatner over acting in this episode, but to be fair he is voicing having his mind ripped apart by slugs so I guess that is ok this time.
            The episode opens with the Enterprise investigating a missing science team on an unexplored planet. They find the teams logs and learn that the second half of the team beamed to the surface of the planet a month ago to try and help the first part of the team, but evidently was unable to get back to their ship. Logically the best way to check this out is to send captain Kirk along with Spock and McCoy to investigate. What they find is a planet with wildly different ecosystems every kilometer or so populated with animals that seem to come from all over the galaxy. They follow the signal from the other teams communicators but are captured by giant slug creatures that take away their weapons and communicators. 
            They are then taken to a zoo enclosure built to mimic the environment on earth. There they find the three survivors of the first ship also living in the zoo. One of them is sick and McCoy can't help her without his medical kit that the aliens are keeping on the far side of the a forcefield. Spock learns the aliens are telepathic and all of them concentrate on thinking about the medical kit until the aliens give it to them allowing McCoy to treat the sick navigator. Kirk then decides to try getting a communicator and manages to get one of the aliens to give it to him, but when he calls the ship to get beamed up the alien grabs the communicator from him and is beamed up instead.
            It is then that they learn that the alien who just got beamed up was the child of two aliens who captured them and the parents are pissed. They start trying to tear Kirk's mind apart to get the information. On the Enterprise Scotty has to try and work with the young alien. Fortunately he has better luck than Kirk and allows it to probe both his mind and the ships computer. The alien decides they aren't smart yet, but are on their way and beams itself down along with Scotty. The child convinces it's parents the humans are going to be smart someday and they agree to release them.

            Review: I really enjoyed this episode. It has lots of adventure but also a solid scifi concept. Lots of stuff happens but unlike yesterdays episode this one doesn't feel rushed. 

8 out of 10