“A black star sends the Enterprise back on time to 1960s Earth. Before they can turn back, Kirk and crew must destroy all evidence of their visit.”
We open on a 1960s-era Air Force base. They’ve spotted a UFO on their radar. Cut to an exterior shot of the Enterprise wobbling through the Earth’s atmosphere.
On the bridge, power is wonky and everyone is on the floor. Fortunately, there are no major injuries. Kirk tells Uhura to contact Starfleet Command who warn them about the black star that they encountered, but there’s nothing on the Starfleet frequency. They pick up a radio broadcast saying the first manned moon mission will be launching on Wednesday (which is interesting to me because a quick google search says Apollo 11 launched on a Wednesday, but this episode premiered 2 years prior).
A plane is approaching and the Enterprise tries to get out of the atmosphere before they’re seen, but the plane is too fast. They try to use their tractor beam to slow him down but damaged the plane, so they beam the pilot aboard.
The pilot, John Christopher, is naturally very confused to be aboard the Enterprise, but Kirk reassured him that he’s safe. They pass a female crew member and Christopher stares like he’s never seen a woman before. Kirk explains that they’re from the future, which Christopher accepts, saying that he never has believed in little green men. Spock overhears and says “Neither have I.”
Kirk allows Christopher to look around but not touch anything. Christopher stares at another female crew member. Spock tells Kirk that they can’t return Christopher to Earth because he knows too much about the future by being aboard the Enterprise.
***
Kirk meets with Christopher and Spock in his quarters. He is recording a log entry when they enter, and for some reason the computer keeps calling him “dear.” Turns out when they docked at Cygnet 4, a planet dominated by women, they decided the Enterprise’s computer needed personality, so they gave it one. OK.
They tell Christopher that they can’t send him back, which is very upsetting to him, as he has a wife and two kids back home. He points out that he might be important to the timeline, but Spock says there’s no record of him being influential in any way, which is, to put it mildly, not something anyone ever wants to hear.
Scotty contacts Kirk to say that the engines are repaired, but there’s nowhere for them to go in this timeline. Christopher points out that this makes Kirk just as much a prisoner as he is, and we dramatically cut to commercial.
***
Spock has new information about Christopher and wants to speak to him and Kirk as soon as possible, but Christopher has disappeared. Meanwhile, Christopher overpowers a member of security and steals his phaser, and tried to get the transporter operator to send him back to Earth. However, using the power of Wandering Up Behind People, Kirk knocks Christopher out and takes the phaser back.
***
In sick bay, McCoy asks what Kirk plans to do if they run out of supplies. They can’t send Christopher back because he could change the future, but there are 430 people on the Enterprise, making 430 chances to screw up the future. They can’t stay in the past. But Kirk says Christopher would be useless in the future, which is kinda dumb considering the man is bright enough to be a captain in the Air Force - I’m sure there are people who know way more about the military than me who might disagree, but I don’t imagine they’d give you that rank and trust you with a fighter jet if you were a bug. Kirk is kind of shitting on him for no reason here. McCoy says he could be retrained, but Kirk is skeptical. This is the man who brought a 20th century marine biologist to the future because of the Power of Boners, but doesn’t have confidence this guy? It seems unKirklike.
Spock enters and says he was mistaken, and Christopher’s son Sean will make a major contribution to the space program, but Sean doesn’t exist yet. Christopher is delighted to hear about this future son, and now they need to figure out how to return him.
***
Christopher’s plane was destroyed, but there are still audio recordings of his contact with his base, and video from his wing cameras. Kirk needs to retrieve them. Christopher wants to go with them, but Kirk says that for his and his future son’s sake, he can’t allow that. I have to say, Christopher’s little smile at the thought of his future son makes him one of my favorite TOS single-episode characters - that was instantly endearing. He wants to help anyway and offers to draw a map of the base.
***
Kirk and Sulu beam into the base in their totally inconspicuous uniforms and begin sneaking. They find the records room and comment on the ancient computer, which is equally ancient to us in 2020 (I mean...tape reels?) They remove one reel but are discovered by an Air Policeman. The Enterprise tried to contact them but gets an emergency signal, and beams the AP aboard. This gives Kirk and Sulu the opportunity to continue sneaking around and destroying the evidence of the Enterprise, but now they have to figure out what to do with the AP.
Kirk and Sulu destroy evidence in the darkroom, but when Kirk goes to make sure there are no files on them, he is discovered by three more APs. He then uses the technique of Jumping Around Like a Goddamn Lunatic to defeat them. This works until one pulls a gun.
Sulu beams aboard, but Kirk is stuck and they can’t beam him up without his communicator.
Spock, Sulu, and Christopher beam down to find Kirk. After a great deal of punching and dramatic collapses, they find Kirk and prepare to beam up. Christopher, however, takes an unconscious AP’s gun and refuses to beam back aboard. Spock mysteriously appears behind him and knocks him out with the Vulcan neck pinch, and they beam aboard.
***
Spock lays out the plan: if they slingshot around the sun, it should send them forward in time. They should be passing Earth at a point just before they pick up Christopher and can drop him and the AP off then.
***
They begin the slingshot. The chronometers start running backwards. Kirk sends Christopher to the transporter room to prepare to beam down. We don’t have an “Admiral, there be whales here!” moment while white CGI busts of the cast appear, but that’s ok.
Christopher is returned to the exact moment where he was beamed aboard, and the Enterprise is gone. The AP is similarly returned to where they beamed him aboard. It looks like their memories have been erased to that point as well, which makes no sense whatsoever.
The Enterprise continues going forward in time until they get to their own time. The computer still calls Kirk “dear,” and they’re talking to “Starfleet Control” instead of Starfleet Command, but for the purposes of the show, they’re home.
***
This is another DC Fontana episode, and I think that explains why I like it. The only thing that pulls me out of it is Christopher and the AP losing their memories of the Enterprise. That’s weird. The rest is actually pretty entertaining and well done.
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