Written by: George Clayton Johnson
Directed by: Marc Daniels
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Grace Lee Whitney, Alfred Ryder, and Michael Zaslow
During a routine visit to a remote planet, Dr. McCoy reunites with an old acquaintance. But when strange events begin and crew members start dying, the Enterprise crew discovers that not everything is as it seems.
Star Trek does The Thing….sort of.
I’ve watched one episode of the original Star Trek so far, and I’m already having fun discovering how much of the show I recognize.
With “The Man Trap,” we get the classic opening credits, more polished-looking sets, and a crew that seems much more comfortable with one another than the one we met last episode.
We’re also getting to know more of the characters associated with the show, including Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu. The episode feels more action-packed, too, with a different kind of danger facing the crew.
Where “The Cage” leaned into psychological horror, “The Man Trap” takes a more physical approach. It’s a mystery that gradually turns into a story about a creature stalking the Enterprise.
In other words, Star Trek does the creature feature.
Kirk, McCoy, and crewman Darnell (Michael Zaslow) visit a planet on a routine check-in, where McCoy reconnects with an old acquaintance, Nancy (Jeanne Bal), who is now married to Professor Robert Crater (Alfred Ryder).
But when we meet Nancy, each member of the landing party sees a different woman.
When Darnell is found dead with unexplained marks on his face, the episode becomes a murder mystery. As Kirk and Spock investigate, more crew members die, and we see Nancy take the form of one of her victims.
From there, the episode turns into something closer to a slasher film, as whatever is killing the crew makes its way aboard the Enterprise.
Following the creature around the Enterprise is a fun way to explore the ship and meet more of the crew. We encounter Sulu in the botany room, rather than on the bridge where I expected to find him, and see more of Uhura as the creature moves through the ship.
The crew is the biggest difference from the pilot.
Captain Pike seemed weighed down by his responsibilities, questioning whether he wanted to remain in command. Kirk, at least here, seems to be having a ball. He’s comfortable enough with McCoy to tease him about his romantic history, and there’s a sense of camaraderie among the crew.
Spock is also much closer to the character I expected. In the pilot, he seemed more expressive, even smiling at the strange flowers on Talos IV. Here, the episode goes out of its way to establish his emotional restraint.
There’s more humor here too, balancing the mystery and horror with some playful exchanges between the crew.
Uhura has perhaps my favorite joke in the episode. She also gets a scene where she speaks Swahili, another nice detail in a show that’s already putting a diverse crew front and center.
“The Man Trap” takes an interesting turn toward the end. Professor Robert Crater sees the creature as an intelligent being and the last of its kind, while Kirk sees a dangerous predator that’s already killed several members of his crew. Crater’s attachment to it complicates things, though. The creature gives him the companionship of his dead wife, Nancy, so it’s hard to know how much that influences his judgment.
It’s an interesting moral dilemma. The creature is dangerous, but it’s also facing extinction, adding a tragic dimension to what could have been a straightforward monster story.
The final confrontation is genuinely tense, with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy dealing with the creature while McCoy hesitates because of the face he’s seeing.
By the end, Crater is dead, Nancy was already dead, several Enterprise crew members have been killed, and the last member of the creature’s species is dead, too. The Enterprise has survived, but it’s hardly a happy ending.
Overall, this is a great episode and a terrific start to my journey through the original Star Trek. It was fun getting to know the familiar cast, and I liked how the story moved from a murder mystery to a slasher film before ending on a tragic note. The alien itself is a memorable creation, with its strange face, hairy body, and suction-cup fingers.
My one complaint? The title. “The Man Trap” just doesn’t work for me.
Two episodes in, though, I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
Star Trek Verdict: Live Long and Prosper