[TOS] The Alternative Factor

[TOS] Season 1, Episode 27 (Netflix: S1 E28): The Alternative Factor

Rating: 1
There are some interesting concepts behind this episode, but it’s just too much of a mess. It’s really difficult to sort out, and has clunky pacing.
Read more at Memory Alpha
Notes:

The ship encounters some craziness

They meet Lazarus. He falls off of a cliff

Starfleet command sends a “code factor one!” Invasion status!

But there’s not actually an invasion. Everyone’s just freaking out about the phenomenon that happened. They think it might be a prelude to an invasion and they want Kirk to check it out.

Lazarus warns us about a hideous monster that destroyed his civilization. He says he’ll get him though

File under: Revenge!

Then they go to the planet and it looks like Lazarus’s wounds return.

Glowing figures fight

“Kill! kill! kill! kill! kill!”

They establish that there are two Lazarus’, one with a bandage that’s crazy and paranoid…

…And one with no bandage, that could probably be really helpful and explain everything to the puzzled crew, but instead just likes to wander around.

Masters is an engineer, but wears blue. And she has no gold wrist bands.

His beard is constantly changing, but don’t get confused, that doesn’t have to do with the character changing (that is only represented by the wounds). It’s just bad wardrobe continuity

 

He seriously falls off of a cliff again?

Bones doesn’t think anyone needs to watch Lazarus. I mean how’s a man supposed to recover if he isn’t in total isolation? …

…So Lazarus starts a fire in engineering, steals the dylithium crystals that power the ship, and heads to the planet surface where he can destroy the universe. Good call, Bones.

But Kirk manages to go through to the parallel universe instead of Lazarus. He meets a nicer Lazarus

They devise a plan to save both universes, and it means the two Lazarus’ have to hang out together for all eternity in the glowing limbo world

 

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