METAMORPHOSIS was my first exposure to the Shuttlecraft, having missed THE GALILEO SEVEN and not seen it until the series turned up in syndication. Between the 2 stories you'd think every time someone from The Enterprise flies one of these things they wind up stranded on an isolated planet. At least this time the locale was pleasant enough. When this episode first aired, the "Space Pod" had made its debut on LOST IN SPACE some weeks earlier, and I recall thinking how both shows having "smaller" craft seemed an interesting parallel.
Like GALILEO (and several other stories), it seems every Federation ambassador is ill-tempered and bossy beyond belief. At least this time the person in question had a fatal disease as her "excuse".
When Glenn Corbett shows up, a man 150 years out of his time, I can't help but think of Buck Rogers (and it seems to me Corbett would have made a terrific Buck!). It's a shame he passed away shortly before his character was "brought back" in ST: FIRST CONTACT, as he probably would have been perfect in that story at an older age. (I find it patently absurd that the later film's version of his character was so COMPLETELY different in appearance and character-- are we to believe they couldn't find an actor who would at least physically resemble the original?)
Considering his track record up to here, it's quite surprising that Gene Coon should do a story that focused almost entirely on ideas, emotions and verbal interaction. While some of his episodes have felt like THE WILD WILD WEST in space, this one's more like BONANZA-- "adult" drama with people just standing around and talk talk talking for most of the hour! (In effect, this could be seen as a fore-runner of many episodes of ST:TNG-- kinda like "IS THERE IN TRUTH NO BEAUTY".) George Duning's moody, romantic score is a perfect fit.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing and compelling aspects of the story involves love between 2 very different beings, and how the "backward"-thinking man describes it as "sick" and "immoral". That sounds all too contemporary even now! Yep, Gene Coon may have written this, but I suspect Gene Roddenberry was very proud of his having done so.
Never one of my favorites... but at least it's one I've always been able to sit thru. While STAR TREK does have a number of episodes that border on unwatchable, fortunately, compared to most TV series over the years, they've always been small in number.
Like GALILEO (and several other stories), it seems every Federation ambassador is ill-tempered and bossy beyond belief. At least this time the person in question had a fatal disease as her "excuse".
When Glenn Corbett shows up, a man 150 years out of his time, I can't help but think of Buck Rogers (and it seems to me Corbett would have made a terrific Buck!). It's a shame he passed away shortly before his character was "brought back" in ST: FIRST CONTACT, as he probably would have been perfect in that story at an older age. (I find it patently absurd that the later film's version of his character was so COMPLETELY different in appearance and character-- are we to believe they couldn't find an actor who would at least physically resemble the original?)
Considering his track record up to here, it's quite surprising that Gene Coon should do a story that focused almost entirely on ideas, emotions and verbal interaction. While some of his episodes have felt like THE WILD WILD WEST in space, this one's more like BONANZA-- "adult" drama with people just standing around and talk talk talking for most of the hour! (In effect, this could be seen as a fore-runner of many episodes of ST:TNG-- kinda like "IS THERE IN TRUTH NO BEAUTY".) George Duning's moody, romantic score is a perfect fit.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing and compelling aspects of the story involves love between 2 very different beings, and how the "backward"-thinking man describes it as "sick" and "immoral". That sounds all too contemporary even now! Yep, Gene Coon may have written this, but I suspect Gene Roddenberry was very proud of his having done so.
Never one of my favorites... but at least it's one I've always been able to sit thru. While STAR TREK does have a number of episodes that border on unwatchable, fortunately, compared to most TV series over the years, they've always been small in number.