"Amok Time" begins the second season with an unexpected visit to Vulcan, perhaps the most anticipated planetfall ever. Driven by the "biology of Vulcans" (not the birds and the bees!) Mr. Spock must return to his home planet to mate or die, though in the end he does neither. To save his first officer and friend Captain Kirk disobeys direct orders from Starfleet only to find himself locked in mortal combat with unfamiliar weapons against a disturbingly familiar opponent. Trying to save face before "all of Vulcan in one package" may not have been the best idea and Kirk ends up paying for it by "dying." Not exactly why we came to Vulcan, right?

This visit also introduces T'Pau, symbol of the equally imposing Vulcan climate long before their mutual younger appearance later on. Other highlights of their culture include the improvised hand salute, the launchable plomeek soup, and of course the entire pon farr experience. The kal-if-fee enters television lore with its cruel combat (and way cool lirpa and ahn-woon!) highlighted by Gerald Fried's immediately recognizable score with its incredible emotional range.

The acting is top notch and delivers innumerable great scenes. Celia Lovsky perfectly portrays the impassive T'Pau. Arlene Martel as T'Pring exemplifies a coupling of beauty and logic. Her reasons to prefer Stonn and choose Kirk as her champion are acknowledged by Spock as flawless and she appreciates the honor. Let's see Stonn do that! (Poor Lawrence Montaigne must make do with a brief outburst and wacky ears.) Spock's warning to the happy couple, that they may find having not so pleasing as wanting, seems a likely prediction.

Making his first appearance Chekov gets a little comic relief (and seasickness) reversing course repeatedly, and Spock's complex relationship with Nurse Chapel gets filled out a little. But most of the regulars get brief screen time as the story focuses on the big three. In that focus Kirk is honest with McCoy, owing his life to Spock many times over and willing to sacrifice everything, even his career (meaning his ship!) to save his friend. Spock asks McCoy to attend the ceremony and defends him there to T'Pau, disclosing how deeply he feels about his (verbal) sparring partner. And in the end McCoy saves Kirk by a little trick with tri-ox leading to the most heartfelt "Jim!" ever to bring the house down. After outsmarting Spock and T'Pau and Kirk and the rest of the Vulcans, if Bones doesn't get the last word he certainly gets the last laugh.


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