I would consider this episode to be one of Star Trek's finest. While many episodes are cartoonish fun without any real sense of danger, this episode combines excellent acting, convincing dialog, and an unpredictable plot in order to give us a suspenseful tour de force. A power hungry woman, Dr. Lester, forcefully and secretly swaps minds with Captain Kirk in order to take command of the Enterprise. Once inside Kirk's body, she must act just like Kirk in order to avoid suspicion, and she must also kill the real Kirk now stuck in the her body. However, the crew knows the real Captain Kirk too well to be deceived for too long. This episode explores an interesting situation: if your mind were transferred to someone else's body to your detriment, how would you convince others of your true identity without them thinking you have gone mad. Kirk quickly discovers the best route: get to someone you know best.
This episode is memorable not only for what it did show but what it didn't. A man-woman mind switch storyline could so easily degrade into sexist farce played for cheap laughs. This episode does not do that. Instead, Dr. Lester in Kirk's body is fully capable of running the star ship from the perspective of training and intelligence, despite being a woman. Dr. Lester's real problem is not that she is a woman, but that she has become mad with jealousy and hunger for power. Her other real problem is that she is not really Captain Kirk down to every last mannerism and thus cannot fool the crew. Dr. Lester's failure comes because of madness and dishonesty, not because of her gender. Also, the theme that she was denied a deserving command years ago because of gender discrimination could have become annoyingly preachy. But instead of insulting the intelligence of the viewer with sermons, the producers just subtlety drop hints that gender discrimination can have far-reaching negative effects. Also, this episode did not show an un-scifi plot that could have happened in any detective or crime show. The final thing that this episode thankfully leaves out was Kirk kissing and schmoozing yet another female. I'm sure some people enjoy this facet of Star Trek, but whenever a romance is thrown into a Star Trek storyline, I find it badly written, poorly acted, and simply distracting to the main plot. It's even worse if the victim of Kirk's affections is an alien. Do you really think a different species would be romantically attracted to aliens? (Do you dream of kissing a squid?) Fortunately, in this episode, instead of the preacy-ness, sexist humor, un-scifi plot, and womanizing of so many other episodes, we get a surprisingly mature and engaging production to close out the series.
The other facet I like about this episode is it's take on the nature of authority in a just society. While it's true that Kirk's authority to command the ship is respected primarily because Starfleet Command backs up his authority, there is something more important and subtle in establishing authority without resorting to being a tyrant: competency. Competency in a command post goes beyond basic fitness for the job according to the rule book; it also entails respecting an unwritten cultural code, working for a greater good, having a knack for insight into the details, and having a leadership persona that projects confidence, restraint, wisdom, and control. The crew of the Enterprise does not follow Kirk's orders so enthusiastically just because Starfleet Command requires it. Rather, they trust him because of his competency and leadership skills. While Dr. Lester had all the training and knowledge to command a ship according to the book, she lacked the competency to be a true leader. The crew quickly picked up on this.
This episode is memorable not only for what it did show but what it didn't. A man-woman mind switch storyline could so easily degrade into sexist farce played for cheap laughs. This episode does not do that. Instead, Dr. Lester in Kirk's body is fully capable of running the star ship from the perspective of training and intelligence, despite being a woman. Dr. Lester's real problem is not that she is a woman, but that she has become mad with jealousy and hunger for power. Her other real problem is that she is not really Captain Kirk down to every last mannerism and thus cannot fool the crew. Dr. Lester's failure comes because of madness and dishonesty, not because of her gender. Also, the theme that she was denied a deserving command years ago because of gender discrimination could have become annoyingly preachy. But instead of insulting the intelligence of the viewer with sermons, the producers just subtlety drop hints that gender discrimination can have far-reaching negative effects. Also, this episode did not show an un-scifi plot that could have happened in any detective or crime show. The final thing that this episode thankfully leaves out was Kirk kissing and schmoozing yet another female. I'm sure some people enjoy this facet of Star Trek, but whenever a romance is thrown into a Star Trek storyline, I find it badly written, poorly acted, and simply distracting to the main plot. It's even worse if the victim of Kirk's affections is an alien. Do you really think a different species would be romantically attracted to aliens? (Do you dream of kissing a squid?) Fortunately, in this episode, instead of the preacy-ness, sexist humor, un-scifi plot, and womanizing of so many other episodes, we get a surprisingly mature and engaging production to close out the series.
The other facet I like about this episode is it's take on the nature of authority in a just society. While it's true that Kirk's authority to command the ship is respected primarily because Starfleet Command backs up his authority, there is something more important and subtle in establishing authority without resorting to being a tyrant: competency. Competency in a command post goes beyond basic fitness for the job according to the rule book; it also entails respecting an unwritten cultural code, working for a greater good, having a knack for insight into the details, and having a leadership persona that projects confidence, restraint, wisdom, and control. The crew of the Enterprise does not follow Kirk's orders so enthusiastically just because Starfleet Command requires it. Rather, they trust him because of his competency and leadership skills. While Dr. Lester had all the training and knowledge to command a ship according to the book, she lacked the competency to be a true leader. The crew quickly picked up on this.