WARNING: This thread WILL contain unhidden spoilers for this entry. Because this re-watch is in a slightly-subjective chronological order and not in production order, please refrain from talking about the content of other episodes or movies in this thread. If you do, please put that content inside spoiler tags. Some people here may be watching Star Trek for the first time.
#79: Star Trek: The Animated Series, season 1, episode 15 "The Eye of the Beholder"
Written by David P. Harmon, directed by Hal Sutherland.
Stardate 5537.1 (early 2269)
(Using the novelization Stardate)
"They appear to be as advanced beyond Earth civilization as you are from a colony of ants." - Commander Spock
The Enterprise arrives at Lactra VII to determine the fate of a science team from the Ariel which disappeared there. Three people disappeared while surveying the planet, then the rest of the team disappeared when they went down looking for them. Despite the dangers, Captain Kirk believes the only way to find out what happened is to also beam down while taking extreme precautions. Once on the surface, they are immediately met with hostile creatures and environments, but the creatures they encounter feel familiar somehow. What's more, there are sudden changes in the biome from one location to the other, suggesting that the environment is artificial in some way. Just as Kirk, Commander Spock, and Doctor McCoy are putting things together, they get captured by slug-like creatures with trunks who take them to a very comfortable facility designed to cater to all their needs. It is there they learn the fate of the Ariel science team, and the exact nature of their prison.
Originally released: 5 January 1974
"The Eye of the Beholder" on Memory Alpha (mirror)
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