Star Trek – Is There in Truth No Beauty?

★★★★ October 18, 1968 Season 3 Episode 5

If you want to see where we are…and you missed a few…HERE is a list of the episodes in my index located at the top of my blog. 

This show was written by Gene Roddenberry, Jean Lisette Aroeste, and Arthur H. Singer

A story that would always interest me in school was Medusa. You would turn to stone when you saw her. This one is built off of that story. 

Before I start…I will say that in the 3rd season, the camera crew did a good job. They added some different shots like using a fish-eyed lens. I liked the different angles they used because it made it feel different and it was effective. 

The Enterprise is tasked with transporting an ambassador from a race who is perceived as so ugly, that just the sight of one by human eyes will cause instant madness. The Medusan ambassador Kollos is accompanied by a telepathic human aide named Miranda, who claims that her life of training on Vulcan allows her to see him without insanity ensuing.

A scientist aboard happens to be a scorned lover of Miranda’s. In a fit of jealousy, he attempts to murder Kollos, predictably causing him to go mad. He takes over control of the engines and shoots the Enterprise out of the galaxy into a disorientating patch of space. Only Kollos’s ultra-intelligent mind can bring the Enterprise back.

But he needs control of the bridge, something that is obviously infeasible. Spock must attempt a mind-meld with Kollos, merging the two men into Spock’s body. Miranda feels a special connection to Kollos and attempts to stop this from happening. But Spock wins out and the two merge and help the Enterprise reenter the galaxy.

Miranda sabotages Spock out of jealousy, trying to make him go mad. A now sick Spock needs a mind-meld with Miranda. Kirk is able to convince her to do it.

It’s a very good episode. 

From IMDB:

Diana Muldaur was given a dark wig to wear for the role of Miranda. This was largely to help distinguish the character from her previous guest role as Dr Ann Mulhall in Star Trek: The Original Series: Return to Tomorrow (1968).

Although often cited by some fans as evidence of a “larger message” in Star Trek, the “IDIC” (“Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”) medallion that Spock wears during the dinner scene had much baser origins. Leonard Nimoy was originally supposed to give a lengthy speech about the medallion and what it represented. Nimoy found the speech completely unsuited to the plot, and refused to say the lines until he got an explanation from producer Gene Roddenberry, who had had the lines and the use of the medallion inserted into the script. Roddenberry came to the set and admitted to Nimoy that he was selling the “IDIC” medallions through his personal marketing company, Lincoln Enterprises, and inserted the scene about the “IDIC” purely as product placement to generate sales. Nimoy ultimately refused to say the lines, and instead the scene was re-written with Capt. Kirk and other characters commenting on Spock’s wearing of the medallion instead.

This episode included a rare glimpse of the seldom seen left side of the bridge opposite the turbolift.

Spock/Kollos says to Miranda, “O Brave New World that has such creatures in it.” She replies, ” ‘Tis new to thee.” These are
lines in As You Like It (1908)’s The Tempest, Act V, Sc. 1, whose heroine is named Miranda.

The episode title is from a poem by the 17th century English poet and clergyman George Herbert, from his poem “Jordan (I)”, line 2: “Who says that fictions only and false hair/ Become a verse? Is there in truth no beauty?”

Shots of the Enterprise in the galactic void are recycled from Star Trek: The Original Series: Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966).

The remastered version replaced the Medusan home-world effect with that of a newly-designed Federation vessel. It strongly resembles one of the early sketches that art director Walter M. Jefferies drew of the USS Enterprise, as reproduced in ‘The Making of Star Trek’.

A very rare stock shot of the Enterprise is used when the ship warps towards the barrier under Marvick’s control: it is taken from the opening of Star Trek: The Original Series: The Cage (1966) (just before the “Guest Star Susan Oliver” credit) and shows the Enterprise at high speed blasting towards the camera. The same shot is reused later in Star Trek: The Original Series: That Which Survives (1969).

The name Kollos, is pronounced kàlos, a reference to the Greek word Kallos which means Beauty.

The tartan Scotty wears as part of his dress uniform during the dinner with Amanda Jones IS in fact the dress tartan for the clan Scott.

The arboretum was originally built for Star Trek: The Original Series: Elaan of Troyius (1968), but its appearance ended up as a deleted scene. Apart from this one, it was only seen in Star Trek: The Original Series: And the Children Shall Lead (1968).

The dinner scene marks the first presentation of the Vulcan IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) symbol.

Jessica Walter was offered the part of Dr. Miranda Jones but was unavailable.

In Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) it is explained that Commander Trip Tucker designed the Constitution-class Enterprise warp engines that Doctor Larry Marvick commandeers from Scott.

This is one of only two instances in which Scotty wears a dress uniform complete with ancestral tartan. But whereas he wears white socks here, in Star Trek: The Original Series: The Savage Curtain (1969) he wears red ones.

When David Frankham guest-starred on The Outer Limits: Don’t Open Till Doomsday (1964), his character was also the victim of an alien hidden in a box which injured those who glimpsed it.

This was Eddie Paskey’s last appearance in the series.

This is the last appearance of antigravs in the series.

The pictures of exotic planets seen in the dining room reappeared in Kirk’s quarters in other third-season episodes.

The second mention of Scotty’s first name: Montgomery. The first was Star Trek: The Original Series: Wolf in the Fold (1967)(#2.14).

One of two episodes written by Jean Lisette Aroeste, a UCLA librarian and Star Trek fan whose unsolicited scripts were read and recommended by co-producer Robert H. Justman. Her other story was “A Handful of Dust,” which was produced as “All Our Yesterdays.” (S3E23)

The script was written by Jean Lisette Aroeste, one of four writers of Star Trek who had no prior TV writing credits. The other three were David Gerrold (‘The Trouble with Tribbles’, ‘The Cloud Minders’), Judy Burns (‘The Tholian Web’) and Joyce Muskat (‘The Empath’).

McCoy comments that a blind person couldn’t pilot a space craft. However, in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), the blind Geordi LaForge piloted the Enterprise-D as the ship’s helmsman during the show’s first season. Dr Jones’ neural net can be seen as a precursor to LaForge’s VISOR.

This is the third of five “Star Trek” episodes to feature a question mark in the title. The other four are Star Trek: The Original Series: What Are Little Girls Made Of? (1966), Star Trek: The Original Series: Who Mourns for Adonais? (1967), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Who Mourns for Morn? (1998) and Star Trek: Discovery: Will You Take My Hand? (2018).

Apparently, many people think that members of the Enterprise crew can not walk and listen at the same time. Often, when a ship wide announcement is made, they stop to listen to the announcement. However, is has always been policy that when a captain speaks, the whole crew stops non-essential work to listen, out of respect.

This takes place in 2268.

Miranda Jones wears her hair in a loosely draped style with a toroidal loop on top, very similar to that worn by Kelinda in Star Trek: The Original Series: By Any Other Name (1968). Roses also play an important role in the narrative for each character.

Leonard Nimoy appears to be suffering from nasal congestion during this episode

The first of two times that William Shatner stars with a character who is a blind woman. He would do so again in T.J. Hooker: Blind Justice (1982)(#2.4).

Summary

The Enterprise is tasked with transporting the Medusan ambassador, Kollos, to his home planet along with his human aide, Dr. Miranda Jones, who, for reasons initially understood only by Dr. McCoy, can safely travel be with the Medusan. Medusans are formless creatures, the very sight of whom makes humans go insane. (Like the snake-haired Medusa of ancient Greek mythology whose looks caused humans to turn to stone.) For that reason, aside from Dr. Jones, only half-Vulcan Spock can be in the same room with the ambassador. She expresses envy of Spock. When Engineer Laurence Marvick, unrequitedly in love with Dr. Jones, tries to kill Kollos, he goes insane and dies, after sending the Enterprise beyond the edge of the galaxy. Only Spock and the ambassador (with Miranda’s help) can navigate the starship back to known space.

CAST

William Shatner … Captain James Tiberius ‘Jim’ Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mister Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. McCoy
Diana Muldaur … Dr. Miranda Jones
David Frankham … Larry Marvick
James Doohan … Scott
George Takei … Sulu
Nichelle Nichols … Uhura
Walter Koenig … Chekov
Bill Blackburn … Lieutenant Hadley (uncredited)
Bob Bralver … Yeoman (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci … Lt. Brent (uncredited)
Vince Deadrick Sr. Vince Deadrick Sr. … Engineer (uncredited)
Louie Elias … Engineer (uncredited)
Dick Geary … Security Guard (uncredited)
Roger Holloway … Lt. Lemli (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone … Yeoman (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey … Lieutenant Leslie (uncredited)