The Immunity Syndrome
- Episode aired Jan 19, 1968
- TV-PG
- 50m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.4K
YOUR RATING
The Enterprise encounters a gigantic energy draining space organism that threatens the galaxy.The Enterprise encounters a gigantic energy draining space organism that threatens the galaxy.The Enterprise encounters a gigantic energy draining space organism that threatens the galaxy.
Bill Blackburn
- Lieutenant Hadley
- (uncredited)
John Blower
- USS Enterprise Lt. Cmdr.
- (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci
- Lt. Brent
- (uncredited)
Bob Johnson
- Starbase 6 Commander
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Jay D. Jones
- Science Division Officer
- (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone
- Yeoman
- (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey
- Lieutenant Leslie
- (uncredited)
Frieda Rentie
- Enterprise Lieutenant
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe space amoeba optical effects were created by Frank Van der Veer of Van der Veer Photo Effects. The amoeba itself was a mixture of liquids pressed between two thin sheets of glass. As the sheets were moved, the liquid would flow, as if the amoeba were pulsating. The same technique was also used to present "psychedelic" light shows in the late 1960s when bands were playing at venues such as the Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.
- GoofsAs Spock is about the enter the shuttlecraft hangar, McCoy presses a button that opens the door. The button's nameplate states "hanger" when it should read "hangar".
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsFeatured in Harlem Theater (1968)
Featured review
A Fantastic Voyage
The plot of this great episode, insofar as the antagonist goes, at least, is something of a combination of the then-contemporary Jules Vernish Sci-Fi film Fantastic Voyage (1966) and past Star Trek episodes of more exotic extraterrestrial life forms, such as Obsession, which immediately preceded The Immunity Syndrome if you follow the production rather than the broadcast order.
That doesn't mean that this is a rip-off (not that I'd deduct points from it just for that fact alone, anyway), but just a very Trekkian way of doing an interesting idea. And at any rate, as with most Trek episodes, what really makes it work are the character dynamics (stemming from both the writing and the performances).
Especially beginning in the second season, Star Trek writers (surely including creator Gene Roddenberry and under his guidance) had a lot of fun exploring a yin-yang dynamic between Spock and Dr. McCoy. Spock, as even many people who aren't Trek fans know, represents a "cold", logical way of looking at everything, although Trek fans know that he's much more complicated than that (providing a bit of his yin-yang opposite within himself), and it's not just because he's half-human--other Vulcans are more complicated than that, too. Whereas McCoy, emphasizing his "I'm just a country doctor" attitude, is often highly emotional--ready to fly off the handle at the drop of a deflector shield, and ready to make a sarcastic crack the moment he sees Spock, at least. The presence of his yin-yang opposite within himself can be more difficult to see, but surely it's in his vocation and vocational activities.
The Immunity Syndrome is as good a place as any in the second season to watch that yin-yang tension and harmony between Spock and McCoy unfold, and it's brilliantly set up and justified here by both an event (the fate of the Vulcan ship) that immediately proceeds our main dilemma and the facts of the main dilemma as they are figured out.
This episode also hits you in the face with a surprising side of Spock that was shown many times earlier, but usually in a way that seemed less contradictory--he basically has psychic abilities, to an extent where some humans around him are highly skeptical of the skill, and where it's obvious that at least as humans and Star Trek viewers understand the mechanisms at this point, the abilities aren't exactly logical.
At any rate, for various reasons, this episode should keep you on the edge of your seat for much of its length. The antagonist, which at first cleverly seems something like a black hole, embodies a fascinating idea, and something that would be very dangerous if it could be true. There are gripping sacrifices being made, near impossible technical/technological difficulties to overcome, and the situation has everyone psychologically strained to a near breaking point.
And there's something else worth watching out for in this episode, especially for those who like to point out some of the shows often-funny quirks on a meta-level, since it's one of the best examples of this--just why did Starfleet not have the foresight to install seatbelts or harnesses on its ships and shuttles? The Immunity Syndrome features many great scenes of actors flailing about, throwing themselves on the floor, and in one case, even doing an impressive flip (watch for a minor character in the background on the bridge towards the end of the episode) as the camera rocks back and forth to represent turbulence.
That doesn't mean that this is a rip-off (not that I'd deduct points from it just for that fact alone, anyway), but just a very Trekkian way of doing an interesting idea. And at any rate, as with most Trek episodes, what really makes it work are the character dynamics (stemming from both the writing and the performances).
Especially beginning in the second season, Star Trek writers (surely including creator Gene Roddenberry and under his guidance) had a lot of fun exploring a yin-yang dynamic between Spock and Dr. McCoy. Spock, as even many people who aren't Trek fans know, represents a "cold", logical way of looking at everything, although Trek fans know that he's much more complicated than that (providing a bit of his yin-yang opposite within himself), and it's not just because he's half-human--other Vulcans are more complicated than that, too. Whereas McCoy, emphasizing his "I'm just a country doctor" attitude, is often highly emotional--ready to fly off the handle at the drop of a deflector shield, and ready to make a sarcastic crack the moment he sees Spock, at least. The presence of his yin-yang opposite within himself can be more difficult to see, but surely it's in his vocation and vocational activities.
The Immunity Syndrome is as good a place as any in the second season to watch that yin-yang tension and harmony between Spock and McCoy unfold, and it's brilliantly set up and justified here by both an event (the fate of the Vulcan ship) that immediately proceeds our main dilemma and the facts of the main dilemma as they are figured out.
This episode also hits you in the face with a surprising side of Spock that was shown many times earlier, but usually in a way that seemed less contradictory--he basically has psychic abilities, to an extent where some humans around him are highly skeptical of the skill, and where it's obvious that at least as humans and Star Trek viewers understand the mechanisms at this point, the abilities aren't exactly logical.
At any rate, for various reasons, this episode should keep you on the edge of your seat for much of its length. The antagonist, which at first cleverly seems something like a black hole, embodies a fascinating idea, and something that would be very dangerous if it could be true. There are gripping sacrifices being made, near impossible technical/technological difficulties to overcome, and the situation has everyone psychologically strained to a near breaking point.
And there's something else worth watching out for in this episode, especially for those who like to point out some of the shows often-funny quirks on a meta-level, since it's one of the best examples of this--just why did Starfleet not have the foresight to install seatbelts or harnesses on its ships and shuttles? The Immunity Syndrome features many great scenes of actors flailing about, throwing themselves on the floor, and in one case, even doing an impressive flip (watch for a minor character in the background on the bridge towards the end of the episode) as the camera rocks back and forth to represent turbulence.
- BrandtSponseller
- Aug 5, 2006
- Permalink
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