Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 12: Miri [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was a rather underappreciated episode of the original series. The Enterprise comes in contact with a planet that is an exact repica of Earth and beam down to a deserted, probably Midwestern American town reminiscent of the 1960's. It is found that the only inhabitants are children who have aged very little in over a 300 year period and that all the adults were killed as a result of a medical expirement that failed. The idea behind this story is great, but the storyline is lacking in interest and the acting is mediocre. Plus the children are a total nuisance. Production design is interesting portraying a decaying town that has not changed in 3 centuries, but the model of Earth is too artificial and map-like.

While reviews of this Star Trek episode are usually negative and while it is a sad example, it has to be taken with on it's own terms. It is certainly one of the least viewable and unenjoyable, though the potential was there. The budget was not. I find it unfair that so many harsh words were said of Grace Whitney. Anyone who has done any genuine research into the history of the series will know she was not dropped because of poor acting ability, her appearance or any of the other harsh and sometimes cruel stories that have been circulating over the years. It was partially a production decision on behalf of the network and because of some very difficult personal problems in her life. It would have been interesting to see her character develop, but dreadful writing and sad circumstances prevented that from ever happening. With that said, this episode is a sad reflection on a very interesting idea gone completely wrong. As with "Plato's StepChildren", this episode is among the worst in being overdone in terms of acting and production. Definitely stay away if you are not a Trekkie and try to bear with it if you are. Worth wondering what it would be like if it were interpreted differently. Like a Ken Russel nightmare. Suprising it was ever released at all, but despite horrid production, a very interesting story line.

If there is an overall weakness to the original Star Trek series, it is that the theme is often technology run amok. This not only occurs in the Federation, but on planets outside the Federation as well. In this episode, the Enterprise encounters an Earthlike planet broadcasting a distress beacon. Upon beaming down, Kirk and the landing party find only a small group of children are present and everything in ruins.
After investigation, they discover that the scientists were working on a formula to prolong life and the formula caused children to age very slowly, but when they reached puberty, they aged quickly, went mad and died a horrible death. This led to the rapid extinction of all adults, leaving only the children.
Unfortunately, the disease also infects the humans of the landing party. Spock is immune, although he remains a carrier. Dr. McCoy battles time and manages to create an antidote to the disease, saving the lives of the landing party. As the Enterprise leaves, Kirk and company discuss the changes that will take place on the planet now that the children will have adult overseers.
Miri is the name of one of the children, a girl who is about to enter puberty. She is experiencing the first hints of becoming a woman and that is expressed in her affection for Captain Kirk. He tries to remain aloof, but Miri is their only link to the children, who have stolen their communicators. Miri has become jealous at the kindness and concern Kirk expresses for Yeoman Rand and wants to punish him for "alienation of affection."
This episode has many flaws, the most pointed is the fact that the disease also affects the landing party, yet the half-human Spock is immune. The genetic code of the planet's inhabitants would be quite different from that of the Enterprise crew, certainly more different from Kirk's than Spock's would be. However, the interplay of emotions between Kirk and Miri is very well done. It is hard to tastefully execute a plotline where there is a romantic involvement between an adult and a child and this episode manages to do that.

The U.S.S. Enterprise answers an old distress signal to find an unnamed planet that is almost an exact duplicate of Earth in the 1960s. A landing party beams down and discovers that 300 years before, the natives of the planet had conducted experiments to prolong life, but had, instead, created a deadly virus. The virus had killed all adults by rapid aging and madness. In children, the virus slowed the natural aging process greatly, providing centuries of prepubescence. There are no adults on the planet, only children, and they survive the best that they can without adults to aid them.

About Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney): She was later written out not for script reasons but because of the actress' personal problems. But she's good in this episode. Clearly Kirk is attracted, but she has a maternal quality that -- despite the mini skirt -- makes her seem more adult than many of the space bimbos that Kirk got his hands on later.

"Miri" spans genres. When Kirk and co. beam down to a planet of wild children and no adults, they contract a disease that will kill them in seven days (think horror flick) -- driving them insane after giving them really, really bad skin. They race to find a vaccine. Meanwhile, POV shots from the children's perspective convey a feeling of menace that's positively Hitchcock.

This episode showcases some superb acting. Shatner runs the risk of being slightly smarmy in his tender, delicate scenes with Miri (Kim Darby), the no-longer-a-girl-not-yet-a-woman smitten with Kirk. He is not bad in those scenes, but he is outstanding in the later scenes in which he must convince the scary children who've stolen the communicators to give them back. Without the communicators, McCoy can't use the ship's computers to test the vaccine. Kim Darby is beautifully cast as the shy, vulnerable Miri. Also among the "children" is character actor Michael J. Pollard -- definitely too old to be a pre-adolescent, but so quirky and interesting he sorta pulls it off.

The one implausible thing about this episode is that it uses an unnecessary "parallel Earth" premise. I suppose the function of that premise is to explain why everyone on the planet speaks English... although later seasons and the the ST spinoffs just ignored the issue. If you look past that, however, you'll see that this episode demonstrated how Trek could develop more serious and adult stories than "Lost in Space" ever could.

This episode was entertaining, but not one of the best. As stated in other reviews, it was the obnoxious kids that really detracted from the other particulars including: curing the disease and, the budding feelings of Miri for Kirk.

"Miri" takes the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise to a land where there is nothing but children. There's a virus that has been going around for centuries that keeps the kids from growing up and once it gets a hold of them, it starts making scars that look like deep cuts appear all over them until they die. Shatner and the rest of the crew try to help the children. The main enemy is the children's inability to listen. They have never had any adults around, so they have no discipline whatsoever. One of the girls falls in love with Shatner and sticks around him the whole time and learns to listen to him and to trust him. He warns her of the disease and eventually she takes him to meet all the other children. The other kids try to beat him up and yell to keep from listening until the girl shows them a scar that she's got on her leg. Dr. McCoy and Captain Kirk are also suffering from the virus. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and the captain try to develop a formula that will cure the virus. But it gets to be a major challenge to cooperate with each other once they start to get the virus. The virus makes them fierce and impatient with each other.

I recommend any Star Trek fan to watch or buy this episode. It's interesting to see how Shatner will get the kids to listen and how Dr. McCoy and the others will develop a formula to cure the virus. Great job by all the actors and actresses.

There are some good ideas and concepts within this episode, but they are drowned out by the annoying chants of too many children.

Yoeman Janice Rand has a decent role in the story. Unfortunately, it was probably this episode that helped the producers to decide to writer her out of the show.

This episode is mediocre. The annoying kids in it make it somewhat difficult to enjoy. Too many obnoxious kids in the episode.

One of the first episodes i saw of the old show when i was growing up