"The Conscience of the King" contends for nadir of the first season, a sedentary murder mystery never engaging the viewer with a story from Kirk's past. Compounding an unrelenting dark tone and contrived set of plot circumstances are library computer expositions that not once nor twice but thrice bring the story's momentum to a dead stop. Twenty years ago, far from Iowa, "Caesar of the Stars" was on colony Tarsus IV where half the population was mercifully spared from starvation (supply ships arriving sooner than expected subsequently cast that decision into question). With DNA analysis it's not only inconceivable but laughable that such "Nazi hunting" would require tools like voice prints on paper.

The guest cast is not to blame. Arnold Moss generates incongruous sympathy as "tie-erred" Anton Karidian, left with nothing untouched by a role played long ago. Barbara Anderson plays Lenore as crazy as her wardrobe, with pistol aim as poor as her complexion (knows how to use a phaser, huh?). Fan favorite Bruce Hyde returns as Star Service Lt. Kevin Riley, eating on duty yet wondering why he was demoted. William Sargent puts in a monotonous performance as Kirk's childhood friend Leighton who dampens the spirit of his party by dying (has plastic surgery in an era of starships regressed so far that a man must wear a heavy piece of felt in lieu of a more cosmetic replacement?).

The character of McCoy suffers an odd drinking scene (inconsistently referring to Spock's father's never-before-conquered race and their "immunity" to alcohol) and an irresponsibly careless reveal to Riley in Sickbay. (He abruptly disappears from the captain's quarters during the "double red alert!" phaser overload scene too.) Spock however gets some important development here, as does Uhura playing the Vulcan harp and singing love songs (in Nichelle Nichols' lovely voice). And Janice Rand gets to glare at Lenore good and hard as they pass in Grace Lee's last appearance in the series.

It's not all bad, given the unique and extended views of the ship's observation deck and theater. There's also a priceless line, "I'm the captain," to a bewildered Spock about how he know the players were coming aboard. But like future city "Mojave" on the ridiculously named Planet Q, or focusing on nine survivors instead of four thousand for identification, the overarching details never cohere as Lenore surreptitiously accesses not only an empty, echoic engineering room but also the captain's quarters (to plant her remote control phaser bomb). The King's Conscience is nigh caught but sorely bored.