Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 26: The Devil In the Dark [VHS]

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This episode features the "horta", which I like to call the "giant pepperoni pizza". In this episode, the giant pizza wrecks havoc on the crew and equipment of a mining operation and it's up to Kirk and Spock to set things right.

The story moves along fairly briskly, though the suspense seems a little light and the mystery isn't all that intriguing. Still, the pizza dispatches its share of technicians and redshirts and there are some funny lines uttered by Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and especially McCoy. These actors have, by this time, grown comfortable with their roles, and it shows in a very positive manner.

The best parts are near the end. I don't want to give anything vital, but this episode demonstrates why Star Trek has been considered as ground-breaking television.

Very nice episode.

"The Devil In The Dark" is about a monster called a Horta that can melt metal and burn people to a crisp that has killed about 500 miners deep underground in a colony by the name of Janus VI. The main crew from the Enterprise go down to investigate. The leader of Janus VI tells them to kill the monster the first chance they get. While still talking to the mine's leader, Spock spots a round ball made completely of silicon that he finds fascinating. Soon afterwards, the Horta destroys a part of the reactor and steals the circulating pump that provides heat and air in the mining area. Spock and Captain Kirk think that the Horta might be an intelligent, silicon-based life form.

As soon as their expedition to find the Horta starts, the monster burrows through a metal wall close to Spock and Kirk. The monster looks like a solid mix of dried lava and rock. It also has a white spot on its back where it could easily be shot and killed. It's resistant to the phasers, but it can be hurt by them. Spock and Kirk both shoot it and it burrows away from them. Then the real adventure begins to try to find and kill the Horta.

"The Devil In The Dark" has some of the most memorable sequences of the original Star Trek series. Kirk and the Horta monster wind up in the same room after Kirk and Spock decide to split up. Kirk discovers that the monster is not as harmful as once thought. It trots close to the captain, then when Kirk raises his phaser, it backs away and just stares at him. Spock tells Kirk to kill it, but Captain Kirk refuses saying the creature is not making any threatening moves. Spock then joins Kirk and the Horta. The Horta moves over and writes a message on the rock saying, "No Kill I." Captain Kirk and Spock don't know what it means. What Spock decides to do next is classic. He performs the Vulcan Mind Meld on the creature. While doing this, he speaks the monster's mind. Spock continues doing the Vulcan Mind Meld on the monster throughout most of the rest of the episode. The Horta says things such as, "The civilization must end here." It then tells Captain Kirk where to go to find what he's looking for. Surprisingly, he finds the circulating pump and a bunch of broken eggs. The whole time, the Horta monster had been killing the miners because these cannonball-looking silicon balls are the creature's eggs and it's the mother. Captain Kirk makes an agreement with the leader of Janus VI to not harm the monster and for them to live in peace, and he agrees.

"The Devil In The Dark" is without a doubt one of the best written and most entertaining episodes of Star Trek. William Shatner has some great lines such as, "There's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal." It also has a few parts that are somewhat humorous like at the end of the show when Captain Kirk asks Spock if the creature said anything about Spock's ears. "Devil In The Dark" is a true classic and one of the best episodes of the original Star Trek. I recommend it to any Star Trek fan. When I start collecting all the original Star Trek episodes, "The Devil In The Dark" will be one of the first ones I get.

Star Trek was a wonderful series despite not ever being able to live up to its awesome potential due to serious financial limitations. Granted the special effects don't measure up to today's wowing computer graphics, but the talent of the cast made up for it. How I wish that Paramount had caught the true potential and had committed to it. What a series it would have been!

In this episode, Star Trek was at its best. The tensions between McCoy and Spock in this case, disagreeing over life based on silicon vs carbon. And between Spock and Kirk over the dangers of new beings vs the sanctity of preserving life. Definitely the strength of Star Trek was in the heart of the relationships between the three main characters and their actor counterparts.

This is definitely an episode to acquire and treasure.

Star Trek Poster ~ Kirk, Spock, Sulu ~ Original 70's TV Cast ~ 24x36"

The Devil In The Dark. Is the Best of the best!.
I seen all of the "TREKS". Like most shows. once you seen them
one dosn`t want to see them again. The Original Trek
One can watch it again and again. The Devil In The Dark.
One can get hook on it. It is that Watchable.
The Devil In The Dark. Is the Best Episode of the best
Star Trek!. Because, This Episode has it all. Eveything one
likes about Stark Trek is in this Episode. This is a must
have for any fan of the original Star Trek Series!.

When Star Trek first began, they occasionally had very good episodes. But it was toward the end of Season One where TOS produced some of its finest episodes.

This episode is thoughtful and very entertaining. It shows how misunderstandings between different creatures (read people) can cause serious problems.

A planet that has so many rare minerals that it is considered a miner's paradise sends a distress call to the Enterprise. Some kind of monster is killing the miners and it appears to be invulnerable to phaser fire. When the Enterprise arrives, the "monster" enters the main reactor and steals a circulation pump, which will cause the reactor to go critical. Since shutting down the reactor will cause the air to cease circulating in the tunnels, this will force the humans off the planet. Scotty is able to rig up a temporary solution so that the hunt for the creature can begin, although it does not last long.
Spock very quickly surmises that the creature is made of silicon, so he modifies their weapons to be more effective against silicon. Kirk and Spock confront it and severely injure it. Spock also determines that it may be the last of its' species, so he argues that they should try to capture it. He is able to make mind-to-mind contact with it and learns that it is called a Horta. The Horta live in the rock and digest it for food. Nearly their entire species experiences a cyclical dying, with only one remaining alive. It cares for the eggs and when the young Horta hatch, the remaining adult Horta cares for them and mothers them. The mother Horta felt forced to instigate the war against the humans when they broke into the hatchery and destroyed thousands of the Horta eggs.
Since the Horta is severely injured and on the verge of dying, Kirk sends for McCoy and tells him to treat the Horta. McCoy responds with, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer." This has no affect on Kirk, who orders him to cure the Horta. McCoy manages to succeed, announcing that he feels that he may even be able to cure a rainy day. At the end, the Horta and humans agree to co-exist on the planet and the young Horta help the miners find new deposits of valuable ores.
This is one of the best episodes in the series, because it shows the Enterprise crew as ambassadors as much as policeman. Even though over fifty miners have been killed, Kirk and Spock hesitate to kill the Horta, understanding that it is intelligent and perhaps additional deaths can be avoided. I contrast it with the much weaker episode, "The Galileo Seven", where the crewmembers criticize Spock for being unwilling to kill the humanoid creatures. It also contains one of the oldest mottoes in human fables. `Once you conquer your fear and learn more about your "enemy", you may find that there really is no reason to be enemies and it may be easy for both of you to coexist.' One can only hope that any beings with an advanced technology that humans encounter in space will follow the same set of ethical standards.

The original "Star Trek" television series certainly boasts a number of episodes which are rightly labeled "classics" by fans of science fiction. "The Devil in the Dark," written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney, is one of the most memorable of those classic shows.

In this installment of the series, the crew of the Starship Enterprise investigates the deaths of a number of workers on a mining colony. They discover the killer to be a frightening creature that can burrow through solid rock as easily as a hot knife through butter. But, this being the "Star Trek" universe, all is not necessarily as it seems, and Captain Kirk's investigation results in a number of stunning revelations.

"The Devil in the Dark" boasts one of the series' most memorable aliens in the "monster" of the title. The episode also features memorable dialogue between principal characters Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. But what makes this show most special is its embodiment of the central "Star Trek" worldview. As our heroes struggle to understand the alien creature which is locked in conflict with the human miners, they uncover truths which are relevant not only in the fictional "Star Trek" universe, but in the "real world" as well.

This is one of the finest early efforts at "alien reversal" plots. The use of the humans, usually seen as victims in the "Monster of the Week Club", as the unwitting villains creates a tremendously satisfying psycho-drama in sci-fi trappings. "Star Trek" was coming of age when this episode hit the air!

this is my favorite TOS episode. I liked the idea and the fact that there is a silicon based life form is intriguing. I recommend this toany fan.

Spoiler Alert for those who didn't see the episode.......

Turns out this creature that's eating the employees of this mining company is only protecting it's young. While Kirk and Spock find out about the creature we find out something about humanity. I thought this was a mindless creature that radomly killed only to discover it was acting on parental instinct. This is a must see for any Trek fan. Orginal or Next Generation, you name it.