Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 48: The Immunity Syndrome [VHS]

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

 

 

As a kid, this one and "Doomsday Machine" always made me giddy with excitement. They both feature Sol Kaplan's thumping, nail-biting score, and the special FX were outstanding, even by today's standards.

Star Trek has always been ignored by the Hollywood elite, as a sort of Red-Headed Stepchild; nevertheless, no other show in history did so much to further it's genre, and Trek's overall consistency in quality and storyline have made it a pop phenomenon. This episode contains all that made Star Trek great: Terrific acting and writing, intense drama, spectacular FX, and the wonderful "feel" that only Star Trek could produce. It also has a heaping helping of Star Trek's wonderful and quirky humor.

We begin with Spock nearly passing out with pain due to the mental cries of over 400 dying Vulcans, light years away, "astonished" as to the reason for their death. The episode quickly moves along, showing a tired crew fighting for their lives as duty impels them to explore and ultimately meet head-on with one of Sci-Fi's most amazing baddies: A huge space germ -the cause of the death of the USS Intrepid and it's Vulcan crew, and the demise of several nearby star systems.

Of course, the crew of the Enterprise always prevail at the last second.... but what a ride!

A "must have" for all home TV Sci-Fi lovers.

I don't see how anybody could give "The Immunity Syndrome" anything less than 5 stars. I just saw it and I think it's a classic. Spock and the crew must battle an amoeba-like creature before it has the chance to reproduce and destroy the Enterprise as well as the whole universe.

I liked this episode a lot because it has many classic scenes and lines. Spock goes on a mission in a small shuttle to try and destroy the amoeba. Spock and Dr. McCoy exchange many classic lines toward the end of the episode. Plus, the amoeba first shows up as a shadow-looking hole in the galaxy, but when you finally get a glimpse of the amoeba itself, it looks awesome.

I couldn't find anything I didn't like about this episode. If you like the original series of Star Trek, I recommend getting "The Immunity Syndrome."

A starship crewed solely by Vulcans is investigating a strange phenomena, when it is suddenly destroyed. Spock experiences a brief bout of pain when this occurs, showing us yet another aspect of the Vulcan society. Although he professes to be fine, he is ordered to sick bay. While Spock is in sick bay, the Enterprise sensors indicate that an entire solar system with billions of inhabitants has been rendered lifeless. Furthermore, Spock and McCoy engage in some additional banter about how Vulcans are able to truly feel each other's pain.
Spock returns to the bridge and the Enterprise encounters a zone of darkness, where it is clear that it is most likely the cause of all the destruction. It is here where we see the quality of the people who are in Star Fleet. Even though he knows it most likely will lead to the death of all on board, Kirk never hesitates to give the order to penetrate the zone. As he puts it, "their orders are to investigate the phenomenon." Furthermore, once the decision is made, everyone follows through. Despite the seriousness of the situation, there are points of amusement. Nobody has any clue what the zone is and Kirk gets frustrated at being repeatedly told that the problem is unknown. As he says, "We need to start solving problems faster than we encounter new ones."
They eventually find that it is a "single-celled creature" with dimensions of thousands of miles. After points of dispute over whether Spock or McCoy will go in a shuttlecraft, Spock is selected and ventures out. He pinpoints the nucleus of the creature and the Enterprise enters the creature, plants an antimatter bomb in the chromosomes and backs out, pulling the shuttlecraft along. The detonation destroys the creature and the galaxy is once again safe for humanoid habitation.
This episode demonstrates the literal interconnectedness of the Vulcan society. In "Amok Time", we are introduced to the connection between married Vulcans, and in this episode we are shown that they somehow "feel" the pain of other Vulcans. Spock and McCoy both immediately volunteer for a suicide mission and McCoy is angry when Spock is selected. Despite their differences and rivalries, they are friends and fine officers, willing to sacrifice themselves to save their shipmates. Kirk also demonstrates what Star Fleet service is all about, you go where the danger is and your duty is to the beings of the Federation.
The special effects are some of the best of the entire series. The creature actually looks real, with color contrasts that make it look like a living cell. Duty, honor and responsibility are some of the finest virtues that humans possess, and in this episode we see it displayed by humans and Vulcans.

I think "The Immunity Syndrome" is one of Star Trek's best episodes, even though it's always overlooked. The special effects in this episode are top-notch, and hold up extremely well even today, and the buildup of tension in the episode is perfectly paced. But what really makes this episode special is the dialogue between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Spock and McCoy fight for a chance to die studying the creature, leading to some of the most touching lines between the two. My favorite Spock line of all time comes at the end of the show--"Why thank you, CAPTAIN McCoy."

I am so surprised that everyone likes this episode. The acting is Monday morning awful. It seems like the cast needed to take a "shore leave" or something because you could tell that they just weren't in to doing this episode. After Obsession, Star Trek didn't need another "We have to destroy this thing before it multiplies" episode. I don't know how to put it into words but this episode had such a horrible atmosphere. As Scotty said, "It doesn't feel right".

This otherwise undistinguished episode is elevated by the interactions between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. McCoy is his wonderfully irascible self to the bitter end -- playfully insulting Spock even while elated that the Enterprise is saving Spock's life.

The Enterprise encounters a giant amoeba, thousands of miles long. Kirk and co. have to find a way to destroy the thing before it starts dividing and eats our entire galaxy. (You might recall the line "The galaxy owes me a few" from "Star Trek: Generations.") Most of the finest Treks showed the crew coming to terms with some alien life form, learning to understand or help it. This episode is one of a few in which something alien must be destroyed. But as in the superb "The Doomsday Machine," the alien being in this case is mindless and soul-less, and intent on eating multiple civilizations for lunch.

This episode sets up themes utilized in several of the movies. First, much of the plot is retraced by "Star Trek the Motion Picture," including the subplot in which Spock risks his life by going out on his own to gather information about the "thing" (only in this case he uses a shuttlecraft). Also prominent in this episode are the themes that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" and vice-versa. When the Enterprise has seconds left to back out of the giant amoeba before detonating an anti-matter device, they expend what little power they have left to tow Spock's shuttlecraft along with them. Spock says, "Captain, it is illogical to risk the ship to save me." As you might expect, Kirk insists on saving Spock anyway, and McCoy happily tells Spock to shut up.

The phrase "the needs of the many" is not spoken in the script, but you can see how the actions of the characters in episodes like this inspired the plots of Star Trek II, III, and IV, which were the best of the films.

First the Gamma 7A system disappears without a trace...and then Spock receives a mental shock from the loss of the all-Vulcan U.S.S. Intrepid. When the source of the destruction turns out to be an enormous, non-sentient space-going amoeba, Spock nudges out McCoy for the shuttlecraft mission to plant explosives to blow the thing apart. The decision rests heavily on both McCoy and Kirk, who makes the choice knowing full well that he will likely not see his first officer again.

WOW, THIS IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SECOND SEASON EPISODE OF THE TOS. THE STORY WAS WELL WRITTEN AND DIRECTED, IT HAD THE GREATEST SPECIAL EFFECTS OF ALL, AND THE DIALOGUES WERE VERY FUNNY...

THIS EPISODE ROCKS!!!!!

...such as the idea that the Galaxy can be considered as an "organism" and that an external "organism" might try to invade it.

There is some very good Spock/McCoy interplay here as well.