Star Trek Flashback: The Devil in the Dark

Some people poke fun at Star Trek by pointing out that no matter where they explore in the galaxy, they find aliens that look like humans with bumpy foreheads. But that's not always the case, as demonstrated with the well-known original series episode "The Devil in the Dark."

When a "monster" threatens a mining operation on a remote planet, the Enterprise is dispatched to help. But Kirk, Spock, and company discover a creature with all-too-relatable motives, who may itself be the one who needs help.

I imagine not too many people outside Star Trek fandom know of the Horta, but it looms large within the fandom. As "rubber suits" go, it isn't much more credible than a "salt vampire" or a Gorn; it's part "Pizza the Hut" and part shag carpet. But director Joseph Pevney knows what all good horror directors know: showing the monster less early on makes it scarier. (Even if the parade of miners giving us screaming reaction shots aren't top notch.) It's all just credible enough that, when featured in a solid story like this one, it works. (It "breathes!" It skitters!) And this is a solid story. You might be ahead of "twist" and anticipate that this Horta is protecting its young, but it's a classic star Trek morality play to say that all life, no matter how alien, will have some relatable motives.

There are a few stumbles along the way. I can't understand why the Horta steals the valuable reactor part when it could just use its acid to destroy it. Kirk and Spock switch opinions a bit too quickly and without apparent cause -- one wanting to kill the Horta and the other wanting to save it, then vice versa. I've also recently mentioned that I'm growing a bit tired of convenient mindmelds, and this one may be the most deus ex machina-like yet. (But then, maybe they wouldn't keep going to mindmelds if Leonard Nimoy could hit every pitch thrown at him. Not many actors could scream about "pain!" without it being a laugh line.)

While Spock gets the showiest character moments, he's not the only one who shines in this episode. McCoy is at his most irascible ("I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer"), but then is able to heal a life form he doubted could even exist minutes earlier -- and is charmingly pleased with himself in the aftermath. Scotty's improvised patch on the reactor is able to buy the needed time to get to the bottom of the problem. And Kirk gives a rousing speech to an angry mob that is actually able to calm them down!

Other observations:

• This feels like it might be one of the first episodes where the Enterprise is implied to be "something special" and not just "one of many ships" in Starfleet. At least, that's what I take from the fact that miners on some distant world seem to have actually heard of the ship.

• A lot of the one-off crew members to die in season one have actually worn gold or blue shirts. But in this episode, when Kirk addresses an entire lineup of redshirts, you know what's in store for them. (But actually... you don't! They're going to fall for a miner pulling the old "what's that behind you?!" ruse.)

"The Devil in the Dark" does sometimes show its age. But it's also a reminder that Star Trek has always relied on actors selling the hell out of the unbelievable. (The core cast, in this case. Not so much the guest stars.) I give it a B.