This Side of Paradise by: D.C. Fontana from a story by: D.C. Fontana and Nathan Butler and directed by: Ralph Senensky

 

“This Side of Paradise” is written by D.C. Fontana, from a story by D.C. Fontana and Nathan Butler, a pseudonym for Jerry Sohl, and is directed by Ralph Senensky.  It was filmed under production code 25, was the 24^th episode of Star Trek Season 1, and was broadcast on March 2, 1967.

 

Since this was an episode of Star Trek that I quite enjoyed, I’ve decided to open this review with the few issues I have with “This Side of Paradise” because there are quite a few oddities with the way this episode plays out.  Mainly, the messaging is clearly going once again for an anti-collectivist story, though going far enough to create a world and scenario where one’s life is only given meaning by the ability to work and grow.  This is an episode where the Enterprise crew investigate a colony that should be dead, the planet Omicron Ceti III is bombarded naturally with Berthold rays which would cause human tissue degradation after a week’s exposure, however this colony has been perfectly fine outside of a lack of any animal livestock (even insects that would be needed for agriculture).  Agriculture is giving enough for everyone to live perfectly fine and the attitudes are happy just to be existing in this space.  This is where the messaging falls, mainly the idea that to be happy, one must be thriving and producing more than what has come before.  This messaging is framed as being concerned with just producing, although a perfectly valid reading would be the progress that is necessary for one to live is meant to be in bringing society as a whole forward and not just sheer production.

 

“This Side of Paradise”, ending aside, does have the distinction of being some of the absolute best character work the show has done so far.  Mainly it’s focused on Spock being infected with spores that create a symbiotic relationship to negate the Berthold rays, the infection quickly spreading through the Enterprise crew.  One of the colonists, Leila Kalomi played by Jill Ireland, knew Spock once and fell deeply in love, a relationship rekindled once the spores have infected the Vulcan.  Leila is given this beautiful love theme by composer Alexander Courage, a simple flute line that evokes a very human innocence recurring through the episode also matching the idea this is a story about abandoning Eden.  As a theme it feels suitably out of place from the rest of the music Courage in particular has composed for Star Trek (the theme and five other episode scores) because of its pastoral nature.  This goes hand in hand with the performance from Leonard Nimoy who softens as Spock, allowing his human half to influence his actions.  As soon as a flower sprays him with spores, Nimoy’s entire posture and facial expressions soften and the romance while not having any particularly brilliant dialogue, is sold beautifully between Nimoy and Ireland.

 

George Takei’s Sulu and Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura also get some great scenes where they both ham up the infection without going too far over the top.  DeForest Kelley gets to play up McCoy’s Southern side, ignoring any need for medical work since the spores regenerate organs and heal scar tissue, just wants to sit with a mint julip.  Kirk is the first to overcome the spores due to anger and pain felt upon leaving the Enterprise, rioting emotions being how the episode is resolved with no casualties in a nice piece of positive outlook for the future.  Kirk being the last man standing leads to some great Captain’s log monologues, but it is Ralph Senensky’s direction in these scenes which do an excellent job at capturing how empty the ship is.  The lighting on the bridge is heavy with shadows, the consoles lacking any of their usual flashing lights and the crew having abandoned the ship for paradise.  It’s such a stark image despite this also being an episode where the transporter room set gets a hole punched in it during Kirk and Spock fighting in an attempt to destroy the spores within Spock.

 

Overall, “This Side of Paradise” may be an episode with flaws but the character work is impeccably modern, especially for an episode aired in 1967.  It is most definitely among the best episodes for Spock as a character and the drama builds to this beautiful conclusion where Spock of course says goodbye.  8/10.