"Wink of an Eye" deserves about that much time for proper inspection. Most of the episode is bottled so little redeems it from the standpoint of impressive sets. In fact, adding to that semblance of sloppy production are simply redressed sets, reused scenes, and mismatched stock footage. The costumes however, both male and female, are some of the best Theiss designs, and the acting overall maintains its expected high quality (except for perhaps a few trembling moments during the "unaccelerated" moments).

The plot is straightforward enough, resembling a mix of "Mark of Gideon" and "By Any Other Name." Trying to make scientific sense out of it is difficult however, as this episode sets one of the lowest bars of the entire series. Deela assures there's an explanation for the effect but, taking all the elements together, that's hard to believe. Some sort of "volcanic radiation" in the Scalosian water that accelerates people to where they can be heard and felt but not seen? And its ease of administration is matched by similar ease in detection (Spock's tricorder over Kirk's coffee) and not only that, reversed by a simple concoction with no apparent harmful effects? Think of its potential as a weapon! The timescales between those effected and those not is glaringly inconsistent it hurts to analyze.

Mrs. Kolchak is certainly fetching enough as an alien queen desperate for a good looking space passerby to leave her gravid. She approaches Kirk with single minded precision, to the point of suspecting all the remaining Scalosians have gone insane. (That's what dwindling from almost a million to five will do to you!) Jason Evers as Rael delivers a lackluster performance but he wasn't given much to work with. The crew musters a little better and Shatner carries more than a few scenes, particularly the "docile" scene luring Deela to her defeat.

Another of the third season Gene Coon stories written under the pseudonym Lee Cronin (with ideas stolen wholesale from other shows), this one certainly looks and feels like TOS but deserves a place near the bottom of stories deserving that honor. Few things redeem it, but at least crewman Compton gets what any traitor to the Enterprise (for a girl?) should get, namely grisly death. Threats of scratches aside, at least Kirk manages the mission well, up to and including the infamous "her with her hair, him with his boots" moment shocking in its innocuousness. At times being a starship commander can be a tough job, but someone's got to do it!


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