Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 73: The Lights Of Zetar [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The Lights of Zetar" isn't that bad of an episode. A woman is onboard the Enterprise and Scotty falls for her instantly. However, Scotty and the rest of the Enterprise crew soon find out that she is affected by some flashing lights that have parked themselves in front of the ship's path. The lights use her as a talking device, (like in The Exorcist), to talk to the captain. Kirk and the crew must find a way to get rid of the flashing lights while also trying to save their own lives.

"The Lights of Zetar" might not be one of the top 10 episodes of the classic Trek series, but it's not a bad one either. If you're a fan of Star Trek, I would recommend getting this episode to add to your collection.

I'm sorry, but it doesn't get any worse than The Lights of Zetar. I have always thought this one was neck-and-neck with The Mark of Gideon for worst episode, but I watched it recently and really tried to like it. But come on... First of all, Spock says one ridiculous non-Vulcan thing after another through the whole episode. The whole cast appears to have given up...Scotty's assessment that one more phaser blast will kill Mira is thereafter taken as fact, even by Spock. The first half has some potential to be spooky...a planet full of dead people, a dying lady turning colors and talking weird (nice respect for the dying, Kirk, as he points at her like she's a freak). But nothing is ever developed, and it's not like they didn't have time...that scene in the briefing room where they match the brain waves is interminable! Seriously, that has to be the longest, most boring scene they ever shot. The whole episode drags on with pointlessness instead of exploring any interesting storyline. Even affectionate Scotty, endearing at first, get a little old. Weak.

As a kid, I always thought this episode was one of Star Trek's scariest, with pseudo-demonic possession, malevolence galore, and the ever-present Star Trek drama. As an adult, I find the episode still scary, but you must be willing to suspend disbelief and ignore the gaping plot holes.

"Lights of Zetar" had the potential to be one of the best episodes ever, but I believe third-season budget constraints and the pressure to deliver the script on time may have damaged it's credibility. How could a hyperbaric chamber "kill" gaseous entities capable of warp-speed? Too many plot holes; nevertheless, this episode still gives you the willies. A Trek-lover must-have.

Season Three suffered from a slump which lasted from Wink of An Eye to The Way to Eden (Let That Be Your Last Battlefield and The Mark of Gideon being exceptions). The Lights of Zetar showed how the low budget of Season Three hampered many episodes that had the potential to be great. The Lights of Zetar is one such episode.

The episode started off with a promising teaser. Unfortunately, the episode went downhill from there. First, it would have been better if Scotty or a member of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triad had been possessed. Lt. Romaine was a likable character but the audience wouldn't care if she lived or died. Secondly, why did the Zetarians kill everyone at Memory Alpha and not on the Enterprise? It was sad seeing how the Zetarians portrayed as an evil alien that had to be destroyed. This is clearly a step down from The Devil in the Dark. The idealism of the show suffered in this Season Three slump.

The biggest weakness of this episode is the introduction of the new character of Mira Romaine with nothing provided in the way of background. She is a major love interest of Scotty, so overplayed that he is absent from his beloved engines. Some background about her should have been provided to explain why Scotty has fallen for her in such a way. There are some good points, in my opinion the best is where Spock is at the science station trying to determine what the energy storm is. You can see Kirk's impatience in his eyes and mannerisms, yet he waits quietly for Spock to complete his analysis.
Another high point is the introduction of the idea of Memory Alpha, a repository of all the knowledge possessed by the Federation. However, this concept is somewhat poorly handled when the knowledge is destroyed. In the future world of Star Trek, it would not be easy to destroy knowledge and the planners of the archives would have made certain that it was hardened against all possible destructive forces. I also am a fan of the garbled speech patterns of the people infected by the energy creature, the first time I saw it I thought it quite spooky.
While this is a poor episode, it does have some good points, and in the relative weakness of the last episodes of the third season, that makes it somewhat of a standout.

This episode to me is interesting if just for one important fact. The script was written by the extremely talented puppeteer, Shari Lewis along with her husband. With her famous puppets Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse, she raised a generation of American children with her Saturday morning television show.
It is not an expected project from so talented an entertainer, and says much for the daring of Star Trek's producer in those early seasons. Star Trek was always about pushing the limits of television subject matter. This is just one more example. Don't criticize the episode without doing a search for Shari Lewis and her famous "critters". Dr. J. P. Schwartz

The Lights of Zatar is probably one of the most unnerving Star Trek episodes. I have always believed that this episode was the source of some of the ideas utilized in "The Exorcist"

I am sorry, fellow Trek fans. This is one episode that I simply can't stand. Don't be mad! Maybe I have no taste! But I do find it schlocky and the music is so terribly repetetive!

I have made these comments before for what they are worth but I have always loved the incidental music on Star Trek on some episodes <Journey to Babel is my favourite> but I find this episode is overkill.

For fans only. Not particulalrly bad but definitely not a masterpiece.

The U.S.S. Enterprise's mission is to take Lt. Mira Romaine to Memory Alpha, the central library for the United Federation of Planets. There she will supervise the transfer of new equipment to the facility. Mr. Scott is immediately attracted to the pretty lieutenant, and the feelings are returned. While in orbit, an energy storm destroys all the inhabitants of Memory Alpha, wiping its computer memory banks. As a result of the storm, Lt. Romaine can predict where the storm will strike next; the Enterprise. Despite evasive tactics by the starship, the storm enters the Enterprise where it is seen as brilliantly flashing colored lights. The lights enter Lt. Romaine and there is no way to remove them without killing the officer. Perusal of her file reveals a high susceptibility to empathic transmissions, making her an excellent home for the lights. The lights turn out to be non-corporeal entities from the long-dead planet, Zetar. They maintain that they have the right to inhabit Lt. Romaine's body, but Kirk doesn't agree. When Mira is placed in a pressure chamber, the Zetars, who are used to the vacuum of space, die. Lt. Romaine is free and presumably returns to Memory Alpha to help rebuild the great library.

THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE TOS EPISODE, AND DEFINITELY ONE OF DOOHAN'S BEST ACTING PERFORMANCES. IT IS A CLASSIC. SEEING 'SCOTTY' PORTRAY A HERO FOR THE LIFE OF A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, WAIT BEFORE I GO TO A KICKBAKC WITH MY FRIENDS. OH MAN, I'M GONNA GO WATCH THIS ONE RIGHT NOW!!!

ANYONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE THIS EPISODE IS EXTREMLEY RETARDED.