Search - Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 13, Episodes 25 & 26: This Side of Paradise/ The Devil in the Dark on DVD

Star Trek - The Original Series Vol 13 Episodes 25 26 This Side of Paradise/ The Devil in the Dark
Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan
Genres: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Television

UR 2000 1hr 40min

The Vulcan-born first officer of The Enterprise, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), generally smiles about as often as Greta Garbo. But in "This Side of Paradise," Spock not only smiles but laughs, dangles from a tree, kisses a go... more »od-looking blonde woman, and gets into a fight with his best friend. It all starts when Spock, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Sulu (George Takei), and a couple of crew members beam down to Omicron Ceti III to find out what happened to a group of scientists who built a research colony on the planet. What they discover is a little spooky. The colonists claim they've created a true paradise where everyone is part of a collective mind bent on positivity. Kirk, naturally, argues that paradise robs people of their need to suffer and crawl toward progress.Meanwhile, Spock is zapped by an exotic flower that is the real source of all this community goodwill, and he instantly gets happy, acting like a kid, renewing a romance with a comely biologist (an angelic Jill Ireland), and giving the sputtering Kirk an earful of entertaining insubordination. Story editor D.C. Fontana's script contains some obvious parallels between a chemically induced "paradise" and a drug-induced high in the 1960s. But the real draw here is Spock's uncharacteristic joy and the drama behind Kirk's shattering decision to break his friend's heart. "Devil in the Dark" opens with an emergency on Janus VI, a planet rich in raw materials crucial to the running of Federation operations. There's a lot of money to be made by the mining contractor involved, but a swift, unseen monster is roaming the snaky tunnels of Janus's interior, turning miners into acid-drenched goo. It's up to the Enterprise crew to find the alien culprit and defuse the lynch-mob mentality spreading among the paranoid working stiffs there. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) beam down to initiate the detective work, leading Spock to quickly conclude that the thousands of silicone balls mysteriously strewn about the planet's deepest level might have something to do with the reasons behind the atrocities.Written by series guru Gene L. Coon and directed by mainstay Joseph Pevney (who alternated directorial chores with Marc Daniels during the show's second season), "The Devil in the Dark" is a breathlessly paced episode reflecting a delightful variety of cross-genre influences--Westerns, creature-features, gritty noir. Add one of the most effective and moving instances of the Enterprise's search for new life on Star Trek (plus McCoy's infamous complaint, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"), and this is a memorable program indeed. --Tom Keogh

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Movie Details

Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Genres: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Television
Sub-Genres: Action & Adventure, Classics, Science Fiction, Classic TV
Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
Format: DVD - Color,Full Screen - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 07/11/2000
Original Release Date: 09/08/1966
Theatrical Release Date: 09/08/1966
Release Year: 2000
Run Time: 1hr 40min
Screens: Color,Full Screen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 2
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Languages: English
Subtitles: English

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Member Movie Reviews

Aimee M. (AimeeM)
Reviewed on 2/21/2010...

THIS SIDE OF PARADISE
Ok... I don't personally like this episode. But I just don't like any episode where Spock kisses a girl. Maybe I'm Jealous! :) Ok, it isn't a bad episode at all. In fact most fans of Spock LIKE it. I just think the minute you make Spock a flirt you turn him into Kirk! That is my opinion.

I digress... back to the summary. Worth watching as it is a classic one. You get to see Spock smile again and "for the first time he was happy." So most people find it sweet.

DEVIL IN THE DARK
This episode is great! It was supposed to be suspenseful and shocking... which it probably was at the time. It is true it has a high body count. A lot of unknown people and red-shirts keel over in this one. The little ash pile in the shape of a body is a nice touch too for dramatic affect. :)
This is the classic ROCK MONSTER episode that ends on a positive note when you are forced to realize that the real "monsters" all along were US HUMANS who killed the creatures eggs (on accident) so it ends all well and good. Everyone becomes friends. No more body count.

Shouldn't scare the kids... at least I don't find a guy crawling around under a rug with Styrofoam pieces glued to it as scary.

Also has a classic Spock and Kirk moment where Spock actually seems worried that Kirk is gonna get himself killed.

Silly Note: I always chuckle a bit when Spock says in his communicator while standing still "I shall quicken my pace." Ok... he's really smart... so can't he run and talk into his communicator at the same time? :)

Good Episode WORTH the credit to see.