Rating: 
Summary: Meanwhile, Unbeknownst to Our Principal Characters...
Review: "For the World Is Hollow..." is a hackneyed plot - a Star Trek staple plot, for that matter - but well done. The Enterprise encounters an asteroid that isn't an asteroid - it's a hollow, artificial planet, carrying the descendants of a distant race to their eventual new home, run by a computer that overdoes its protective job of caring for them and has gone a little megalomaniacal. The high priestess of the artificial planet - who, like her people, does not know she is inside a hollowed out asteroid, or that her god is a computer - takes a fancy to Dr. McCoy, who has recently discovered (will the cliches never end?) he has only a few months left to live, and as a result accepts her proposal of marriage and retires from Starfleet service to spend his final days with her. Needless to say, Kirk and Spock have to rectify the entire situation. The episode is nicely produced, for how [inexpensive] it is - the entire third season was [inexpensive] - and Kate Woodville is endearingly naive and regal as Natira, the asteroid-planet's priestess/McCoy's new bride. The sets and costumes are quite attractive and colorful."Day of the Dove" is great fun, more for its cast and the gusto with which they perform their roles than for the story itself. Kirk and Co. find themselves lured by a fake distress signal to a planet where only a half dozen Klingons survive. The Klingons blame the Federation for having lured them to the same planet with a fake distress signal, and killing most of his crew. After Kirk gets them safely rounded-up and under guard aboard the Enterprise, all hell breaks loose: an unseen power hijacks the ship outside the solar system at Warp 9, in circles, and releases and arms the Klingons and the Enterprise crew with swords; the two rival races fight to the death, over and over again, since the same unseen third party seems also somehow to keep repairing their injured bodies. Kirk, one way or another, has to gain the trust of the Klingon leader to identify and eliminate the alien invader responsible for the carnage, before they are trapped in eternal warfare with each other. "Dove" is a real scenery-chewer, and one of the [least expensive]-ever episodes of the series. Only the Enterprise core cast and a handful of Klingons are ever seen - everyone else, we are informed, has been sealed off (conveniently and cheaply) below decks - leaving them to roll their eyes and gnash their teeth in artificially induced fury for most of the hour. Michael Ansara, who never disappoints, is ideal as the Klingon captain, Kang, and Susan Howard - in one of her final performances before permanently retiring from acting - is appealing and interesting as his emotionally torn wife, Mara.
Rating:
Summary: Meanwhile, Unbeknownst to Our Principal Characters...
Review: "For the World Is Hollow..." is a hackneyed plot - a Star Trek staple plot, for that matter - but well done. The Enterprise encounters an asteroid that isn't an asteroid - it's a hollow, artificial planet, carrying the descendants of a distant race to their eventual new home, run by a computer that overdoes its protective job of caring for them and has gone a little megalomaniacal. The high priestess of the artificial planet - who, like her people, does not know she is inside a hollowed out asteroid, or that her god is a computer - takes a fancy to Dr. McCoy, who has recently discovered (will the cliches never end?) he has only a few months left to live, and as a result accepts her proposal of marriage and retires from Starfleet service to spend his final days with her. Needless to say, Kirk and Spock have to rectify the entire situation. The episode is nicely produced, for how [inexpensive] it is - the entire third season was [inexpensive] - and Kate Woodville is endearingly naive and regal as Natira, the asteroid-planet's priestess/McCoy's new bride. The sets and costumes are quite attractive and colorful. "Day of the Dove" is great fun, more for its cast and the gusto with which they perform their roles than for the story itself. Kirk and Co. find themselves lured by a fake distress signal to a planet where only a half dozen Klingons survive. The Klingons blame the Federation for having lured them to the same planet with a fake distress signal, and killing most of his crew. After Kirk gets them safely rounded-up and under guard aboard the Enterprise, all hell breaks loose: an unseen power hijacks the ship outside the solar system at Warp 9, in circles, and releases and arms the Klingons and the Enterprise crew with swords; the two rival races fight to the death, over and over again, since the same unseen third party seems also somehow to keep repairing their injured bodies. Kirk, one way or another, has to gain the trust of the Klingon leader to identify and eliminate the alien invader responsible for the carnage, before they are trapped in eternal warfare with each other. "Dove" is a real scenery-chewer, and one of the [least expensive]-ever episodes of the series. Only the Enterprise core cast and a handful of Klingons are ever seen - everyone else, we are informed, has been sealed off (conveniently and cheaply) below decks - leaving them to roll their eyes and gnash their teeth in artificially induced fury for most of the hour. Michael Ansara, who never disappoints, is ideal as the Klingon captain, Kang, and Susan Howard - in one of her final performances before permanently retiring from acting - is appealing and interesting as his emotionally torn wife, Mara.
Rating: 
Summary: Miss and Hit
Review: 'For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky' may well be one of the reasons that the Original Series was cancelled. It is a very ordinary story which you cannot really feel part of. Yes it does allow McCoy to have a romance, but everything is so uninvolving you feel it is a waste of resources all round. 'The Day of the Dove' is much better. It perhaps shows for the first time that there is more to the Klingons than just being the enemy, looking for advantage over the Federation at any opportunity. They only do this of course once they realize that they are being manipulated by a malevolent creature. I gave three stars but by episode it should be 1.5 for the first and 4 for the second.
Rating:
Summary: Miss and Hit
Review: 'For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky' may well be one of the reasons that the Original Series was cancelled. It is a very ordinary story which you cannot really feel part of. Yes it does allow McCoy to have a romance, but everything is so uninvolving you feel it is a waste of resources all round. 'The Day of the Dove' is much better. It perhaps shows for the first time that there is more to the Klingons than just being the enemy, looking for advantage over the Federation at any opportunity. They only do this of course once they realize that they are being manipulated by a malevolent creature. I gave three stars but by episode it should be 1.5 for the first and 4 for the second.
Rating:
Summary: More amazing third-season Trek megacheese!
Review: After finally seeing the "For The World Is Hollow..." for the first time ever, all I can say is: it's about time! After two-and-a-half seasons featuring either Captain Kirk baggin' the babe or Mister Spock playing 'hard to get', ignoring the advances of would-be love interests (the tease!), it's about time McCoy got a bit of romance thrown his way! Even Scotty got a few dates in before Bones' love connection! Unfortunately, I discovered the reason why Cupid hasn't been too kind to the good doctor: he's a cold fish when it comes to kissing! His two lip-locks with Natira were about as romantic as taking your date to see the latest 'Friday The 13th' sequel. But, on the bright side, his one brush with couplehood is one more than most Trekkies could ever hope to attain... heh. Then there's "Day of The Dove", a showcase of Star Trek's third-season production budget cutback woes. This is especially apparent with the Klingon makeup- the swarthiness is uneven, and a bit too shiny. And the destruction of Kang's abandoned ship is cheesier-looking than the usual silly outer space FX one has come to know and love about the series. But, on the upside, if you're looking for some of that infamous over-the-top Kirkian halting dialogue full of heavy-handed moralizing, this particular eppie's got it in spades! 'Late!
Rating:
Summary: McCoy gets married and Kirk has to make nice to the Klingons
Review: At the start of "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" the Enterprise discovers an "asteroid" that is really a large spacecraft which Spock calculates is going to crash into a large planet. Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam over and meet Natira, the high priestess of Yonada (I am not sure if that qualifies as the name of the ship or the "planet"). She explains that their ancestors build the spaceship to move her people from one star system to another. Meanwhile, McCoy has an incurable disease and decides to stay on Yonada as Natira's husband and have a little fun before he drops dead. However, as soon as the "Oracle," Yonada's computer/god, makes McCoy one of the people (via an implanted device), he discovers that the sacred book of knowledge is really the owner's manual for the spacecraft. Of course, this little development has major ramifications for Yonada crashing into that populated planet and McCoy's fatal illness. The problem is that in terms of the latter this is just too convenient for my tastes. Then again, in terms of the former, did we not already see this during the third season in "The Paradise Syndrome"? I mean, we have one of the big three getting married while stuck someplace other than the Enterprise and an oblisk (yes, I know what word I could have used) of great power erected by an advanced alien civilization. Still, putting them on the same DVD would have been a bit much. Certainly they could have come up with something more interesting for an episode focusing on Bones. In "The Day of the Dove," the Enterprise finds a colony that has been destroyed. Then a Klingon cruiser shows up and Kang, its captain, insists the Enterprise has slaughtered his crew. Unbeknownst to both parties, an energy being has set them up so it can feed off their violence. Back on the Enterprise the entity makes it so that most of the ship's crew is trapped, leaving an equal number of Klingons and Starfleet personnel running around with swords (phasers would kill people and spoil the fun, so the entity changed them into swords). I sort of expected the Organians to show up and deal with the entity, but that is not to be the case. There is something to be said for Kirk and Kang making peace with each other once they realize the alien threat, especially when Spock stands by and encourages them all to make the entity flee from their laughter, but in the end this is an average episode of Star Trek at best.
Rating:
Summary: One classic schmaltz, one classic action episode
Review: For the World is Hollow and I have touched the sky-This episode, featuring an oracle and a McCoy romance, is fairly weak.
The episode has a schmaltzy, soap opera feel, and not much happens. The predictable, Oz-like ending doesn't help. Don't call me a hater, but one of the biggest problems-along with the dialogue and lack of action-is Deforest Kelley's passionless performance as a man in love. (2 stars) Day of the Dove-This action-packed and creepily atmospheric episode concerns a fight to the death (and beyond?) aboard the Enterprise against the Klingons. We are dropped right into the episode, with immediate violence, which pulls us into the episode's urgency and ominousness. The parties really appear quite powerless to stop their decent into total warfare. We are given our richest depiction of Klingons here, most notably in the thoughtful Kang (played by Michael Ansara). The lighting and nervous score contributes to the sense of doom and insanity aboard the ship. This episode also has a stronger moral foundation than many 3rd season shows. We see people forced to set aside their differences and mutual suspicion in order to break the cycle of violence. Also present are the ideas that some entities thrive on hate, hate corrupts absolutely, and that laughter is sometimes the best medicine. One of the few negatives to be said about this episode is that the conclusion is ho-hum, convenient, and rushed. Better handled, it could have been one of the few 3rd season episodes to end on an uplifting note. By this point in the show, however, momentum was starting to build, as opportunities were allowed to slip away. more on this in reviews of later episodes. Tidbits: A fraction of the scene in the corridor between Chekov and Kang's daughter shows up in the movie Koyaniskatsi. (4 stars)
Rating:
Summary: One classic schmaltz, one classic action episode
Review: For the World is Hollow and I have touched the sky-This episode, featuring an oracle and a McCoy romance, is fairly weak.
The episode has a schmaltzy, soap opera feel, and not much happens. The predictable, Oz-like ending doesn't help. Don't call me a hater, but one of the biggest problems-along with the dialogue and lack of action-is Deforest Kelley's passionless performance as a man in love. (2 stars) Day of the Dove-This action-packed and creepily atmospheric episode concerns a fight to the death (and beyond?) aboard the Enterprise against the Klingons. We are dropped right into the episode, with immediate violence, which pulls us into the episode's urgency and ominousness. The parties really appear quite powerless to stop their decent into total warfare. We are given our richest depiction of Klingons here, most notably in the thoughtful Kang (played by Michael Ansara). The lighting and nervous score contributes to the sense of doom and insanity aboard the ship. This episode also has a stronger moral foundation than many 3rd season shows. We see people forced to set aside their differences and mutual suspicion in order to break the cycle of violence. Also present are the ideas that some entities thrive on hate, hate corrupts absolutely, and that laughter is sometimes the best medicine. One of the few negatives to be said about this episode is that the conclusion is ho-hum, convenient, and rushed. Better handled, it could have been one of the few 3rd season episodes to end on an uplifting note. By this point in the show, however, momentum was starting to build, as opportunities were allowed to slip away. more on this in reviews of later episodes. Tidbits: A fraction of the scene in the corridor between Chekov and Kang's daughter shows up in the movie Koyaniskatsi. (4 stars)
Rating:
Summary: The Good with the Maudlin
Review: For the World is Hollow... is too lacking in action and has too much melancholy for me. McCoy has two problems... he's both dying AND in love. If you like love drama, go for it. I'll pass. Day of the Dove - now that's action. Many reviews trash it as a weak story line. Perhaps they are right, but it has plenty of hand-to-hand action. Doesn't hold a candle to many of the 1st and 2nd seasons' best, but in a dismal 3rd season, this episode stands out as one of the more exciting. Where there are Klingons, there is action!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Good with the Maudlin
Review: For the World is Hollow... is too lacking in action and has too much melancholy for me. McCoy has two problems... he's both dying AND in love. If you like love drama, go for it. I'll pass. Day of the Dove - now that's action. Many reviews trash it as a weak story line. Perhaps they are right, but it has plenty of hand-to-hand action. Doesn't hold a candle to many of the 1st and 2nd seasons' best, but in a dismal 3rd season, this episode stands out as one of the more exciting. Where there are Klingons, there is action!!!
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