"The Enterprise Incident" could redeem the entire third season if it had to. This thrilling combination of drama, intrigue and action appears on most best-of lists as it should, coming as it does from Trek masters Fontana, Lucas, and Courage. The dramatic beginning using McCoy's Medical Log, as Kirk dresses down his bridge crew and flies headlong into the neutral zone, leaves us wondering about our bonkers captain until the over-the-top "Vulcan Death Grip" forces the ruse out. (The more you think about it, how lucky he was the Romulans didn't perform an autopsy!) The camaraderie of this group then kicks into completing their impossible mission, centered on the dynamic duo but also encompassing McCoy and Scott to a smaller but no less significant degree.

McCoy takes to the charade eagerly and convincingly in the Romulan brig, but it's Scott who shines as his reputation as a miracle worker earns another mark installing the "alien contraption" under pressure and with no assistance. (At least he gets a little pleasure separating a uniform from its Romulan owner!) Treknically cloaking must place no requirements on a ship's hull and would likely therefore be a high-powered anti-sensor device. It's a shame we didn't see any weird effects on the bridge from its use, nor get an explanation on why Starfleet didn't invent the thing in the first place.

The acting here is rugged and up to the challenging script. Jack Donner as Tal deserves mention, eclipsed understandably by one of the strongest female roles in Trek. Joanna Linville rules her scenes as the powerful yet sensitive unnamed Commander. Her ambition has clearly brought rewards but now blinds her with the tempting prize of Enterprise. In fact if there's anything wrong with the Commander she's not sufficiently apprehensive with an enemy captain obviously notoriously well known (where Spock is not) to the Romulan upper ranks. Compounding this Spock quite logically compromises her lack of caution at every opportunity, from his coy romantic fencing to his bald-faced lie ruthlessly misinforming her confidence: "It is no myth."

Starfleet must have considered the risks carefully to assess the potential loss of their best ship and crew against the gain of the cloaking device. The fascinating and self-propelling backstory of the Romulan/Klingon technology exchange established herein demonstrates a real concern to the Federation followed through coherently by TNG. The galaxy's longest turbo-elevator ride (from Deck 1 to Deck 2) may glare as a Persian flaw, but anyone who says the third season offers nothing hasn't seen this treat.