Admittedly I am far from a Trekkie, in fact if it were not for this episode I would never have watched any of the rest of the series. This episode allows the actors to break character, although I am not sure why it happened so early on in the series. It would've been more welcome, I think, later on once the characters were more developed and fleshed out. One problem Star Trek has always had for non-Trekkies is that it takes itself so seriously. It is science fiction. Have some fun with it once in a while!