32 – The Changeling

Grade: B-

Summary

The Enterprise comes across a probe named Nomad. At first, it isn’t clear if the probe is named Nomad or if there is a being inside the probe with that name. It becomes clear enough when the Enterprise beams aboard the object, which is apparently on a mission to destroy things it believes to be impure.

Commentary

This isn’t my favorite episode in the series, but it certainly is memorable. In this one, Spock actually mind-melds with a robot, which I would have thought would be impossible. After all, robots don’t have minds. If he can mind-meld with this robot, does that mean he can do the same with the ship’s computer? This kind of skill would have come in handy many times by now.

While we’re on the subject of mind-melds, I’m not a huge fan of them, in general. It seems whenever something weird is happening, Spock has to suggest a mind-meld. It’s not bad once in a while, but too often, it feels like a lazy way of getting information to the viewer. I would have preferred to have seen this information get to the Enterprise differently.

Of Note

This storyline seems to have been the basis for the first Star Trek movie. Well, it sure looks that way, even if it isn’t true. Actually, the story is so similar that some people say the first film should have been called “Where Nomad has Gone Before.”