Talk:The Enemy Within (episode)

Background note
My cleanup of background noted is continuing. Here is th big one from this one:
 * The voice of the security officer on the intercom sounds like James Doohan, sans accent.

I am removing this one. If it is James Doohan, then it should say that, rather than "it sounds like him." If it isn't him, then it really is of little value. --OuroborosCobra 03:51, 1 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Another recently added:


 * Kirk happens to have a jar of makeup in his quarters which the double uses to mask his scars. But who are we to judge him for using makeup?


 * Background info isn't some form of running commentary. This is an encyclopedia.– Cleanse 10:01, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

No shuttlecraft?
M'just sayin'.... 8-\ -- <216.254.103.174 >
 * Considering the violentness of that atmosphere, including EM, and the fact that a scout ship crashed, my guess us shuttles would not do well. --OuroborosCobra talk |undefined  01:27, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Scout ship? I don't recall a scout ship crashing on Alfa 177... you sure you're not confusing episodes, Cobra? --From Andoria with Love 02:03, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
 * ...same goes for the rest. Nothing of the sort was mentioned. Simple answer: The concept of shuttlecraft was apparently not in the writers mind at the time, at least not for another nine episodes, when we got our first taste of shuttlecraft. --Alan del Beccio 02:09, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
 * CRAP! I was thinking of a different episode, . Stupid me and my not reading very well. --OuroborosCobra talk |undefined  13:44, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Alex Barker
Got any evidence/references to back up this claim? &mdash; Morder 05:18, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

Background Cleanup
I removed the following commentary:
 * Richard Matheson's script is very important to the series, concisely and clearly allowing Spock to explain his mixed heritage and the challenges it causes for him. He also wrote the script for a television movie called "The Stranger Within," starring Barbara Eden as a woman impregnated by an alien.
 * Matt Jefferies' imaginative design made engineering perhaps the most impressive set used for the Enterprise.

And the following for nitpicking/speculation.
 * For years, the first several minutes of this show, up to Fisher's fall, were printed backwards. This has been corrected on the DVD releases, and in the prints currently aired. It is also likely that Shatner and Takei do not wear their insignia on their uniforms because of this.
 * Shatner's command insignia is missing from his uniform through the first five minutes of the episode. Since Shatner interacted with a double when confronting himself, the double's costume was not finished on the front because we only saw him from behind. It's likely that Shatner was given the double's costume by mistake.
 * Also, Lt. Farrell's insignia is missing from his uniform near the end of this episode, when evil Kirk tells him to abandon Sulu, but reappears in five seconds on his chest. Alan Asherman speculated this was due to forgetfulness after cleaning of the early velour costumes, in which insignia had to be removed and then re-attached afterward.
 * Another jump cut allowing two Kirks to appear in the same scene in engineering was spoiled by interspersing a shot of the double on top of one of the engine components, which rendered the edit unnecessary. A similar situation happened in sickbay.
 * Lieutenant Farrell refers to Sulu as "Mr. Solo."
 * When Scott reports from engineering about the destroyed transporter ionizer, new dialog is dubbed in over the original. Even from behind, it is clear that Doohan is speaking different words. This piece of equipment was later recycled as the Janus VI reactor in.
 * It is unusual that this engineering room was an ideal place for a fugitive to hide if he wanted to escape search parties, and also in that it seemed like it was normally unmanned with absolutely nobody in it. The idea that the "engineering deck", as it was called, as a place where people normally are not at is re-iterated in the later episode where Lt. Riley is sent "down" all by himself, which he perceives as some kind of punishment or chastisement for something he did wrong. This is quite a contrast with the busy engine room of the later seasons and of the later series of Trek.
 * During the final confrontation between Kirk and his double on the bridge, the double's cheek scars appear on the wrong side of his face due to reversal of the film.
 * When positive-Kirk and negative-Kirk meet for the very first time down in the engineering room, negative-Kirk is seen holding a Phaser-II pistol, and there is a close-up of this. This is the pistol that he confiscated earlier. For the full-body shots of the actors, negative-Kirk is seen holding only a Phaser-I, and it is this weapon that he discharges to the side somewhere when Spock nerve pinches him. It is also clearly a Phaser-I when negative-Kirk is lying on the floor unconscious.
 * When Spock makes the captain's log entry in lieu of the captain, he erroneously calls himself "second officer Spock".
 * Along with the sign reading "Captain James T. Kirk", there is another sign beneath which begins "3F xxx". This sign could possibly be a carryover from its first appearance in identifying the room number of McCoy's quarters.

And I think the following are not really notable:
 * What looks to be a bottle of liquid detergent is present on the counter top in Kirk's quarters during the evil Kirk's tantrum.
 * This is the only episode when you can see the ceiling of the engineering room, although when the set is redecorated as the phaser control room in, you can glimpse it. Also, in , when the set is re-dressed as the ship's theater, you can see the ceiling.

Also, the "production timeline" seems inconsistent with the uncited note about when the drafts were submitted - could someone clarify or correct this?– Cleanse 05:59, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Uncredited Extras
Looking for confirmation: one of the other geological technicians in the opening scene is played by Sean Morgan.--72.229.231.18 18:32, September 7, 2009 (UTC)Jim in NYC

Removed the following

 * A similar transporter accident happens to Riker in TNG: "Second Chances" - although the resulting duplicates, one continuing as Will Riker while the other became known as Thomas Riker, were perfect duplicates, capable of surviving independently of each other and both being equally valid versions of the original Riker-, and a kind of reverse of this accident integrates Tuvok and Neelix into the entity known as Tuvix for a short time on VOY: "Tuvix".

This information belongs on the pages for the episodes mentioned.


 * Shots of Scotty's hands operating the transporter were reused many times throughout the series as recycled footage. Namely in "The Naked Time", "The Menagerie, Part I", "Arena", "Space Seed", "Operation -- Annihilate!", "Patterns of Force", "Assignment: Earth", "Elaan of Troyius", "The Tholian Web", "The Lights of Zetar" and "The Way to Eden".

Who cares? Lots of shots are reused throughout the series.


 * The visual effect of the planet Alfa 177 from orbit was reused as M-113 in "The Man Trap" (although "The Man Trap" ended up airing first), Tantalus V in "Dagger of the Mind", both Planet Q and Benecia in "The Conscience of the King", Gothos in "The Squire of Gothos", the iron-silica planet in "The Alternative Factor", Beta III in "The Return of the Archons", Janus VI in "The Devil in the Dark", Organia in "Errand of Mercy", Planet Mudd in "I, Mudd", Argus X in "Obsession" and Ardana in "The Cloud Minders".

Once again, who cares?


 * This episode contains a rare glance of the main viewscreen with no picture on it whatsoever. It is just a plain white blank screen with a black frame with no blue glowing strip around it, and can be seen behind negative-Kirk when he is on the bridge.

A nicely phrased nitpick, but a nitpick nonetheless.


 * William Shatner, playing himself on a guest appearance on Saturday Night Live, made a reference to this episode. In the sketch, Shatner had just finished delivering a rant imploring an audience of Star Trek fans at a convention to "get a life", then explained the rant was a "recreation of the evil Captain Kirk from episode 37, the name... The Enemy Within." In fact, the 37th TOS episode produced was "The Changeling" and the 37th aired was "I, Mudd".
 * If you look very closely when Scotty reaches into the cage containing the "negative side" of the alien canine (just before their plan to reintegrate the two halves), you can briefly see the absence of the middle finger on James Doohan's right hand, the result of an injury during World War II.
 * A reaction shot of Spock on the bridge is recycled from "The Naked Time".
 * In the Family Guy episode "The Joe That rocks the Cradle", when Stewie's clone machine makes a duplicate of him and they show the first close up of him, the creators use the same look and music from the evil Kirk's first close up from this episode.

I deleted this entire section of "other information" because a) the SNL and Family Guy references belong on the pop culture/parody page, b) the info about Doohan's hand is worded like a nitpick, and c) Information about recycled shots does not belong in an encyclopedic article. If contributors were to include every instance of a recycled shot, they'd have to include every shot of the Enterprise in the series, as well. --Mrtrekkiedude 22:36, August 6, 2011 (UTC)


 * Perhaps, and there's nothing wrong with doing that. "Who cares [about production reuses]?" I do, and MA often does. It gives an insight into how the episode was produced, much more than just the one-episode visual evidence incorporated in most nitpicks. --Defiant 06:47, August 7, 2011 (UTC)


 * Yes, reuses of shots and props are valid information. I would say that such mentions on the episode page should simply state where the original shot/prop came from, and don't need to state every episode it was reused in- that can be done on the page(or pages) for the item/planet seen, which we usually do.--31dot 08:52, August 7, 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree... in principle. However, I don't see how it could hurt to say something like "this shot was a reuse from TOS: "All Our Yesterdays" (or whatever), and was also used in many other episodes." Another problem is that some of the reuses do not (and can't) have pages, such as the one about Scotty's hands; it wouldn't seem to be very encyclopedic to create an article about Montgomery Scott's hands! ;) Incidentally, another problem with that "Scotty's hands" note is the relevancy to this page, as the note doesn't say anything at all about this episode (though it may be implied, such as if the reused hand shots were originally from this episode, but I'm unsure if that's what the note means). I also find fault with the "blank viewscreen" note being described as a nitpick, as it's clearly not, neither implying nor directly stating that there's anything wrong with the screen being shown in that state. I also don't understand the need for deleting the continuity note about the transporter mishaps. --Defiant 09:27, August 7, 2011 (UTC)


 * The blank viewscreen is often identified as a "blooper" in this episode as, in some shots it appears to be working, and in others it displays nothing. To me, it seemed that the original author intended to emphasize this error (though I admit I may be assuming too much). As I get the impression that pointing out errors is frowned upon on this wiki, I deleted the reference. If I did so in error, feel free to restore it. Regarding the transporter mishaps: these later episodes were separate occurrence from the events of this episode. If they mention "The Enemy Within" in their scripts, then perhaps it would be useful information. If you decide to restore that note, as well, however, should we include notes regarding other pieces of technology also(replicator mishaps, holodeck mishaps, etc.? Mrtrekkiedude 15:56, August 7, 2011 (UTC)


 * I personally think we should give the original writer of the blank-viewscreen note the benefit of the doubt and conclude that he's innocent until proven guilty of nitpicking. However, others may have a different perspective on whether the note does qualify as a nitpick or not. I'd be interested in determining what the consensus is, here. I'd also be curious to find out what the consensus is for the continuity notes, re: technology. My personal belief is that continuity notes should only ever be relevant to plot, so if a duplicate was created in both this episode and due to a transporter mishap and featured large in the episode's plot, we should note that, but not if the transporter accident caused something else to happen that was irrelevant to plot. The connection between the incident in this episode and that in "Second Chances" does seem pretty firm, IMO. --Defiant 16:18, August 7, 2011 (UTC)