Obsession (episode)

A survey of Argus X brings the Enterprise crew in confrontation with a vampiric cloud that killed a crew Kirk was on years ago, captained by the father of an ensign currently assigned to the ship.

Teaser
Captain James Kirk, Spock, Ensign Rizzo and a team of security guards are carrying out a survey of Argus X, a planet rich in tritanium, a material 20 times (21.4 according to Spock) harder than diamond. Captain Kirk notices a sweet odor, and orders Rizzo and the security guards to perform a sweep of the perimeter of the landing site, with special instructions to scan for dikironium, and to fire on any gaseous clouds they might encounter. He notifies Chief Engineer Scott, standing by on the ship, that he is conducting an investigation of the area, in spite of the fact that the USS Yorktown (23rd century) expects to rendezvous with them in eight hours time.

Rizzo and the security team report in when they encounter an odd cloud, and are ordered to fire on it immediately. Contact is then lost with the team. When Kirk and Spock investigate, they find two of the security team dead, and Rizzo badly injured. Every red blood corpuscle had been drained from their bodies.

Act One

 * Captain's log, stardate 3619.2. With the mysterious death of two crewmen, all personnel on the planet have been evacuated back to the ship. 

Rizzo is quickly returned to the ship for treatment. Chief Medical Officer McCoy reported that Rizzo remained unconscious for some time, following massive blood transfusions. His autopsy of the deceased crewmen reveals that all red blood cells had been drained from their bodies, without any marks, cuts or incisions of any kind. Captain Kirk suggested that McCoy examine the record of the USS Farragut (23rd century), which listed casualties 11 years earlier from identical causes.

At this point, Captain Kirk decides to investigate the officers' deaths further, in spite of the fact that the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) was scheduled to pick up highly perishable medical supplies from the Yorktown, supplies that are badly needed on the planet Theta VII.

He further requests that McCoy revive Ensign Rizzo for questioning. Although half-conscious, and, in McCoy's medical opinion, unreliable, Rizzo reports that he remembered a sickly sweet odor and that he felt an intelligence when attacked. Kirk then leaves sickbay, requesting McCoy's medical report as soon as possible.

Kirk meets with Spock on the bridge, where Lieutenant Uhura reports an urgent message from Starfleet that was ignored by the Captain. Because scans for dikironium were negative, Spock hypothesizes that the creature might be able to change its molecular structure.

Kirk then receives word that Ensign Rizzo had died. Ensign Garrovick, the new security officer, expresses interest in pursuing the creature that killed Rizzo, as he was close to the late Ensign, having graduated from the Academy with him.

Kirk, Garrovick and a party of four armed security officers beam down to the planet to investigate the phenomenon that killed Rizzo. They split into two parties of three, one led by Kirk, the other by Garrovick. Kirk gave orders that the cloud was to be shot on sight. Garrovick's party encounters the cloud. While it was approaching them, the cloud appeared to hover briefly; Garrovick hesitates before firing. By the time he shot, the cloud was moving. He missed the cloud entirely, and it attacked and rendered unconscious the two crewmen that were accompanying him.

Act Two

 * Captain's log, stardate 3619.6. One of the men in critical condition, the other is dead. And I ... I am now even more convinced that this is not only an intelligent creature, but the same which decimated the crew of the USS Farragut eleven years ago in another part of the galaxy. Both Spock and McCoy are doubtful of this, and I sense they also doubt my decision to stay and fight the thing. Why am I keeping the ship here? 

When the landing party returns to the ship, one of the men is in critical condition, and the other is dead. Kirk is now convinced that not only was the creature intelligent, but it was also the same creature which attacked and decimated the crew of the Farragut 11 years previously.

Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet with Garrovick to hear his report. He details his experiences, including his hesitation before firing. As punishment, Captain Kirk has him relieved of all duties and confined to quarters. He then directs Spock and McCoy to make any observations in official reports.

At this point, Chief Engineer Scott reports that the ship will be ready to leave orbit in half an hour. Kirk replies that they would not be leaving orbit, whereupon Scott reminds Kirk of the urgent nature of their mission to Theta VII. Kirk dresses Scott down, complaining that he was "tired of my senior officers conspiring against me." When pressed, he admits that he should not have used the word "conspire". He also severely admonishes acting science officer Chekov to continue running scans until the gaseous creature was found.

At this point, Spock approaches Doctor McCoy to consult on what he has observed to be a persistent, single minded fixation on the creature on the part of Captain Kirk. Spock informs McCoy that 11 years earlier, Kirk, under the command of Captain Garrovick on the Farragut, had encountered a similar situation. Captain Garrovick was the father of the Ensign of the same name.

Act Three

 * Personal log, stardate 3620.7. Have I the right to jeopardize my crew, my ship for a feeling I can't even put into words? No man achieves Starfleet command without relying on intuition, but have I made a rational decision? Am I letting the horrors of the past distort my judgment of the present? 

Shortly thereafter, Doctor McCoy meets with Captain Kirk to discuss his recent actions. He speaks of the terrible stress a young officer in his first real danger, but when Kirk snaps that punishing Ensign Garrovick was his decision, McCoy reveals that the "young officer" he referred to had actually served aboard the USS Farragut - Lieutenant James T. Kirk. McCoy reminded him that, as a young man, he had hesitated before firing on the creature, causing him to miss it. Shortly thereafter, it had killed 200 crewmen, including Captain Garrovick. McCoy suggests that Kirk's guilt was causing him to become obsessed, and that he was preparing a medical log entry on Kirk's emotional condition. Such a log requires a witness of command grade, so McCoy produces such a witness: Spock.

As per regulations, Spock and McCoy inquire about his recent command decisions. Kirk defends his position by stating that he had sensed that the creature was intelligent, and that he felt it was the same one that attacked them on Argus X. Since this indicated the creature was dangerous and capable of space travel, Kirk had decided to pursue it. At this point, McCoy decides to withhold his judgment on Kirk's emotional state.

Scanners detected the cloud was heading into space, so Kirk orders the Enterprise to follow it. The cloud's speed surpassed Warp 8; if the ship traveled at that speed for a prolonged period, it would damage the engines. After a brief hesitation, Kirk decides to abandon pursuit.

As he could not leave his cabin, Head Nurse Chapel brings Garrovick his dinner. She finds him consumed with guilt over his inability to fire at the creature in time. When he insists he's not hungry, she claims that McCoy had threatened to feed him intravenously if he did not eat; unknown to him, this was a ruse. After she left, Garrovick threw the cover to his plate across the room, causing his ventilation control to jam. A red alert was then called, and Garrovick leaves his room and reports to the bridge in violation of orders.

The red alert was called due to the fact that the creature had decided to turn toward the ship. With Garrovick watching, the Captain orders phasers to fire on it; however, the phaser attack is completely ineffectual, as is a barrage of photon torpedoes. The creature then enters the ship through an impulse engine vent that had been left open for repair. It enters the ship's ventilation system, killing one crewman and severely injuring another in the process, and leaving it with only two hours of remaining air supply.

Act Four
Ship senior officers Kirk, Spock, Scott and McCoy meet to discuss the situation. McCoy feels, more than ever, that the situation was a result of Kirk's obsession, but Spock counters that the question of obsession is now an academic one, as the creature had attacked. McCoy is taken aback by the scientifically-inclined Vulcan's use of "creature," the same description as the "obsessed" human, so Spock responds that this attack - it had significantly changed its course to face the ship - indicated to him that it was, in fact, intelligent. The consensus of the meeting is that radioactive waste should be flushed into the ventilation system to drive out the creature. After the doctor and engineer leave to return to their posts, Spock also reminds Kirk that, as phasers were ineffective, there was no basis for his self-recrimination due to his actions on the Farragut - though the captain responds that he was not the crew member who needed to hear that message.

Later, Spock visits Ensign Garrovick in his stateroom. He informs him that his hesitation was natural, which Garrovick doesn't want to hear, but they are soon interrupted by the sickly smell of the cloud creature, coming through the vent. Spock ejects Garrovick from his cabin, seals the door, and attempts to reverse the vent, which was jammed.

From outside Garrovick's cabin, Kirk orders that the pressure inside be reversed. Garrovick lets the captain know that Spock had saved his life, but when he claims that he was the one who should be dead, Spock appears and informs Kirk that the reverse pressure was effective. When a stunned Kirk asks Spock how he could've survived the encounter, McCoy jokes that his green blood must've left a bad taste in the creature's mouth, to which Spock informed the doctor that the sarcastic nature of his comments did not make them any less accurate. Due to his copper-based blood, he was not affected by the creature. Kirk enters the cabin and is about to report a strange sensation to Spock, when he is interrupted by Scott, who reports that the creature is moving out of the ship the way it came.

Soon after, Kirk meets with Garrovick, recalling that he had been on the bridge during the attack. The ensign apologizes for violating orders, but, after commending his dedication, Kirk instead reminds him that, having been at the captain's side, he would have seen firsthand that phasers were ineffectual against the creature - since his hesitation made, even in Kirk's words, "no difference," he could report for duty.

Sensors indicate the cloud is moving off at high warp speed. Kirk, however, believes the creature had in Garrovick's cabin communicated its intent to go home. Course is therefore set for the planet Tycho IV, where the Farragut had encountered the creature 11 years earlier. McCoy logs his objections to the trip, as the medical supplies being brought by the Yorktown were urgent - and perishable. However, Kirk overrules him, particularly in light of Spock's conclusion that the evidence indicated the creature is going home to reproduce by fission - and by the thousands.

The officers agree to use antimatter to destroy the creature, in spite of the fact that a matter/antimatter blast would rip away half the planet's atmosphere and that transporters might not function in such an environment. They further agree to use hemoplasm to attract the creature. Spock volunteers to go down to the planet's surface since he was resistant to the creature' copuscle-draining attacks. However, Kirk overrules him and transports down with Ensign Garrovick.

Kirk and Garrovick beam down to the surface of the planet with the hemoplasm and one ounce of antimatter, which has the explosive force of more than 10,000 cobalt bombs. Unfortunately, while the antimatter is being primed, the creature takes the hemoplasm. As a result, Captain Kirk decides that he would use himself as bait. He orders Garrovick back to the ship; at this point, Garrovick attempts to overpower Kirk and force him to return to the ship, but is unable to do so. Both men remain on the planet and attract the creature, detonating the bomb just as it approaches them.

On the Enterprise, Spock has some difficulty transporting them aboard. First, the crew tries to reset the transporter, then they cross-circuit to "A." They then decide toto cross-circuit to "B", which enables them to beam the landing party aboard. Once safely aboard, Garrovick joins Kirk to hear some tall tales of his father's adventures.

Memorable Quotes
"I need your advice."

"Then I need a drink."
 * - Spock and McCoy, as McCoy is surprised to learn that Spock needs his advice on something

"Monsters come in many forms. You know the greatest monster of them all, Jim? Guilt."
 * - McCoy, on Kirk's obsession with the cloud creature

"Intuition, however illogical, Mister Spock, is recognized as a command prerogative."
 * - Kirk, on explaining his reasons for hunting the cloud creature

"You know, self-pity's a terrible first course. Why don't you try the soup instead?"
 * - Chapel, convincing Garrovick to eat his dinner

"A survey on Cygnian respiratory diseases? I thought you took Garrovick some food. What were you doing with this?"

"Applying psychology."
 * - McCoy and Chapel, after she tricked Garrovick into thinking she had McCoy's medical orders

"He saved my life, Captain; I should be lying dead in there, not him."

"Fortunately, neither of us is dead, Ensign."
 * - Garrovick and Spock

"Why aren't you dead?!"

"It's that green blood of his...I'll bet he left a bad taste in the creature's mouth..."

"Colloquially expressed. But essentially correct."
 * - Kirk, McCoy and Spock, after Spock is unharmed by the cloud creature

"Crazy way to travel! Spreading a man's molecules all over the universe!"
 * - McCoy, as Spock and Scott have difficulty in beaming up Kirk and Garrovick

"Captain, thank heaven!"

"Mister Scott, there was no deity involved. It was my cross-circuiting to B that recovered them."

"Well, then, thank pitchforks and pointed ears!"
 * - Scott, Spock, and McCoy, after Kirk and Garrovick beam aboard safely

Production timeline

 * Story outline by Art Wallace,
 * Story outline,
 * Teleplay,
 * Teleplay,
 * Filmed, –
 * Original airdate,
 * First UK airdate

Story and production

 * Like, the script for this episode borrowed a page from 's classic "." (Star Trek 30 Years)
 * Director Ralph Senensky noted, "I realized from day one that it was a transferring of the Captain Ahab-Moby Dick battle from the ocean to outer space. But the script was more than the novel's struggle between a man and a big whale; it was a mystery story, if not a "whodunit", a "whatisit". And it was more beyond that; it was a deep penetration into Kirk's psyche, his inner struggle to overcome guilt for his actions in a past incident."
 * This episode reveals that phaser-twos have a disruptor setting, also referred to as setting "disruptor-B".
 * This episode also reveals more about the biochemistry of Spock, which is based on copper, not iron, and found to be distasteful to the creature.
 * This episode also reveals that an explosion of less than one ounce of antimatter has the force of 10,000 cobalt bombs, which is capable of ripping away half of a planet's atmosphere, and may interfere with a transporter beam.

Cast

 * The episode featured the death of Eddie Paskey's character, Leslie, who was killed by the cloud creature, but reappears in a few subsequent scenes very much alive – walking by Kirk's quarters wearing an operations division uniform and walking past sickbay in a command division uniform. According to Paskey, a scene in the script in which Leslie is revived by miracle potion was never filmed. Director Ralph Senensky also confirmed that he did not shoot the scene.
 * Jerry Ayres, whose character Rizzo was killed by the cloud creature, also played Ensign in, another doomed red shirt character. He had his hair dyed lighter in this appearance, to lessen the resemblance.
 * George Takei (Sulu) does not appear in this episode.
 * McCoy's short-sleeved medical tunic bears an engineering insignia instead of the usual sciences division insignia for the entire episode.

Effects

 * The Dikironium cloud creature was created using a smoke-making machine, hidden behind the rocks on the planet soundstage set. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365)

Apocrypha

 * According to the short story "The Greater Good" contained in the anthology Shards and Shadows, the mirror universe $𝜇$, who was then a lieutenant, served aboard the ISS Farragut in 2264. Captain Garrovick took great pleasure in humiliating him in front of the entire crew. In revenge, Kirk arranged for Garrovick and two hundred of his crew to be killed by a dikironium cloud creature. He later claimed that he slept sounder the night after Garrovick's death than he had in years.

Remastered information
"Obsession" was the sixty-fifth episode of the remastered version of The Original Series to air, premiering in syndication on the weekend of.

Aside from the standard CGI replacement footage of the Enterprise, this episode most notably featured new effects shots of the planets Argus X and Tycho IV, as well as revised footage of the dikironium cloud creature and the Enterprise's phaser fire into it while in space.

One piece of new footage was added to this episode, a shot of the crater left from the antimatter blast on Tycho IV, shown at the end of the episode. This replaced stock footage of the Enterprise traveling through space.


 * The next remastered episode to air was .

Video and DVD releases

 * Original US Betamax release:.
 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 25, catalogue number VHR 2360,.
 * US VHS release:.
 * UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.6,.
 * Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 24,.
 * As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection.
 * As part of the TOS-R Season 2 DVD collection.

Starring

 * William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring

 * Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
 * And


 * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Guest star

 * Stephen Brooks as Ensign Garrovick

Co-stars

 * James Doohan as Scott
 * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
 * Jerry Ayres as Rizzo
 * Majel Barrett as Nurse Chapel
 * Walter Koenig as Chekov

Uncredited co-stars

 * William Blackburn as Hadley
 * Frank da Vinci as Vinci
 * Jeannie Malone as Yeoman
 * Eddie Paskey as Leslie
 * Basil Poledouris as Bardoli
 * Unknown actor as Bensen