30 – Amok Time

Grade: B+

Summary

Much to the surprise of everyone on the Enterprise, Spock hears from his fiancée on Vulcan. He will have to return there and either marry her or give her up to marry someone else.

Commentary

For a second-season premiere episode, this isn’t too bad. In part of the episode, it looks like either Kirk or Spock will die, and we obviously don’t want that. But there’s never really much fear that it will happen. The last scene after the Enterprise leaves Vulcan is priceless.

Of Note

This is the first time we see Chekov in the entire Star Trek franchise. Apparently, they wanted a younger character who could appeal to more viewers than the typical 16-40 year old males who were watching the series exclusively.