Obsession
Obsession (Memory Alpha; SD Video) is really, really good.
The Enterprise is looking for tritanium when they stumble upon a monster made of mist. It kills by sucking all the red blood corpuscules out of the victim, and it’s crazy quick. And Kirk has seen it before.
The first half of this episode deals with Kirk’s Ahab-like quest to kill the thing. He can’t explain why, but he knows that the thing is alive and intelligent. McCoy and Spock are so confused by his irrational behavior that they consider relieving him of duty. This upside-down interplay between the three primary characters makes this episode so radically different than any other episode that it’s a welcome and refreshing change of pace.
This episode is also just leaps and bounds better than the normal episode on a technical level. The lighting is more pronounced, upping the contrast visually and making everything more pronounced. The camera angles are tighter, giving the episode a unique claustrophobic feeling that pulls you into the characters as they struggle with what’s going on around them. And the writing is spot on:
Spock: “I need your advice.”
McCoy: “Then I need a drink.”
Spock: “I do not understand your reasoning.”
McCoy: “You need advice from me? You must be kidding.”
The acting, as always, could use a little work. It’s the weakest link in the chain, here, with Shatner giving his usual uneven performance. In some scenes you can sense that confusion and obsession; in others he plays it too heavy and just shouts it. (He’s also looking a little heavy in this episode.) But the acting is better than average, especially from Kelley, who hits the conflicted but determined note just right.
Grade
A+
