One of the absolute all time bests. We open with nostop action: an ambush on land and on the ship. Redshirts are dropping left and right. Then a high-speed chase to hunt down and kill (Mr. Spock does not approve, Kirk bitchslaps him in the ready room.) And then — screech — a force stops everyone dead in their tracks. A psychedelic lightshow on the viewer straight out of the Fillmore (yet the reverses clearly show that someone is just wiggling their hand in front of a light.) “We are the Metrons!” a voice shouts. And they clearly say “MetRAHns,” yet Kirk, McCoy & Spock will all independently mispronounce this as “MetROWnes.” Anyway, Kirk must fight the captain of the other ship — a Gorn! — to the death on a barren rock. (But not so barren, as those of you who have seen it know.) The loser of the fight will have their ship destroyed. The winner will be granted the ability to take his ship and buzz the hell off. (I guess the Metrons are sleepy and don’t like all this high warp flying in their backyard.) From here on in, it is hand-to-hand combat with a giant lizard man. Sweet! Kirk’s cunning saves the day, his innate mercy impresses the fey little Metron boy, and the Enterprise crew gets to watch it all live. . .somehow miraculously edited all together. This was the second episode of Trek I ever saw. I may have been 11 or 12.
