"Metamorphosis" is the ninth episode of the
second season of the American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
''. Written by
Gene L. Coon
Eugene Lee Coon (January 7, 1924 – July 8, 1973) was an American screenwriter, television producer and novelist. He is best remembered for his work on the original ''Star Trek'' as a screenwriter, story editor, and showrunner from the mid ...
and directed by
Ralph Senensky
Ralph Senensky (born May 1, 1923) is an American television director and screenwriter. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and worked as a stage director before directing for television.
He directed multiple episodes for dozens of television sh ...
, it was first broadcast on November 10, 1967.
In the episode, a
shuttle crew from the USS ''
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
'' encounters a man out of history and his mysterious alien companion. It is the franchise's first mention, and first appearance, of
Zefram Cochrane.
Plot
Assistant
Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
Nancy Hedford is being
ferried by shuttlecraft to the
USS ''Enterprise'' to be treated for Sukaro's disease - a potentially fatal condition - before resuming a peacemaking mission. A glowing energy field appears in the shuttlecraft's path, and pulls it down to a nearby
planetoid
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...
with an Earth-type
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
. All communications are blocked, and the shuttlecraft is totally
inoperable
Operability is the ability to keep a piece of equipment, a system or a whole industrial installation in a safe and reliable functioning condition, according to pre-defined operational requirements.
In a computing systems environment with multiple ...
.
Soon afterward, a young man calling himself Cochrane appears. He tells the party that he has been marooned on the planet for years and that a damping field is preventing their systems from working. Cochrane takes them to a shelter built from material salvaged from his crashed ship. In the course of their visit,
Kirk and
Spock
Spock is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterprise ...
and
Dr. McCoy
Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, known as "Bones", is a character in the American science-fiction franchise '' Star Trek''. McCoy was played by actor DeForest Kelley in the original ''Star Trek'' series from 1966 to 1969, and he also appears in the an ...
notice a glowing mass resembling the phenomenon that brought them to the planetoid. Cochrane calls this entity "the Companion", and explains that as an old man, he took one last flight, intending to die in space, but his crippled ship was intercepted and rescued by the entity, which
restored him to youth and has been keeping him alive since. The
Starfleet officers are stunned to discover that he is
Zefram Cochrane, the inventor of
warp drive
A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably ''Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" was i ...
. Cochrane then reveals why they were brought to the planetoid: he had told the Companion that he would die without the company of his own kind, believing it would release him. Instead, the Companion hijacked the shuttle.
When the Companion attacks Spock as he works on the shuttle, Spock deduces that the entity is largely composed of electrical energy. Kirk and Spock attempt to disable the Companion with an improvised electrical disruptor, but the Companion retaliates violently, and only Cochrane's intervention saves Kirk and Spock from being killed.
With Hedford's condition rapidly deteriorating, Spock modifies the shuttle's
universal translator
A universal translator is a device common to many science fiction works, especially on television. First described in Murray Leinster's 1945 novella " First Contact", the translator's purpose is to offer an instant translation of any language.
A ...
to communicate with the energy force. Kirk discovers it has a female personality and is in love with Cochrane. The Companion declares that it has stopped all of them from aging, and will keep them there forever as company for Cochrane. Cochrane, for his part, is disgusted by the idea of an intimate relationship with an alien, rejecting the idea of the Companion's love and affection for him. The dying Hedford, on the other hand, expresses her yearning to love and be loved before dying.
Cochrane summons the Companion again, and Kirk explains that it and Cochrane are too different for true love. The Companion hypothesizes about being human and disappears. Moments later, Hedford appears outside the shelter, completely restored to health, and they realize that the Companion has merged with Hedford within Hedford's body, which would otherwise have died within moments. In this way both Hedford and the Companion can experience love. Cochrane excitedly talks about his plans for traveling the galaxy, but the Companion/Hedford reveals that its life-force is bound to the planetoid; it cannot leave for more than a few days, so Cochrane chooses to remain with her out of love for her and gratitude, declaring that they will “have many years“ together. Cochrane then requests that Kirk and his crew refrain from informing anyone about his presence on the asteroid so that he and the Companion/Hedford can be left in peace. When McCoy asks who will complete Nancy Hedford's mission, Kirk shrugs and says, "I'm sure the Federation can find another woman, somewhere, who'll stop that war."
Production Notes and Reception
"Metamorphosis" was the ''Star Trek'' debut of
Zefram Cochrane (created by writer
Gene L. Coon
Eugene Lee Coon (January 7, 1924 – July 8, 1973) was an American screenwriter, television producer and novelist. He is best remembered for his work on the original ''Star Trek'' as a screenwriter, story editor, and showrunner from the mid ...
), one of the key figures in the fictional history of the ''Star Trek'' 'universe'. In this episode, Cochrane is credited as "the discoverer of the space warp — i.e., "
warp drive
A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably ''Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" was i ...
" technology — which enabled Earth to achieve interstellar travel with faster-than-light
starships
A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems.
The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in '' Oahspe: A Ne ...
. This led to Earth's first encounters with alien civilizations and the formation of the United Federation of Planets. In the series timeline (as it had evolved by 1967) Cochrane, "of Alpha Centauri," had vanished 150 years earlier at the age of 87 and was presumed dead. Commissioner Hedford, who embodies "the Companion", was portrayed by
Elinor Donahue
Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue, April 19, 1937) is an American actress, best known today for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''.
Early ...
who was known for the 1950s
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Father Knows Best'', on which she played
Jane Wyatt
Jane Waddington Wyatt ( ; August 12, 1910 – October 20, 2006) was an American actress. She starred in a number of Hollywood films, such as Frank Capra's ''Lost Horizon'', but is likely best known for her role as the housewife and mother Marg ...
's eldest daughter. On the next broadcast ''Star Trek'' episode, Jane Wyatt guest-starred, portraying Spock's mother Amanda.
Guest star Donahue recalls that a number of scenes had to be reshot after flaws were discovered in the film stock during post-production. The reshoots involved calling back actors and rebuilding sets which had been struck.
Director
Ralph Senensky
Ralph Senensky (born May 1, 1923) is an American television director and screenwriter. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and worked as a stage director before directing for television.
He directed multiple episodes for dozens of television sh ...
was dissatisfied with the initial reading of the Companion's lines by
Elizabeth Rogers
Elizabeth Rogers (born Betty Jayne Rogers, May 18, 1934 – November 6, 2004) was an American actress.
Life and career
Born in Austin, Texas, she played minor characters in thirty-seven episodes of a dozen different prime-time network seri ...
and had them re-recorded by Lisabeth Hush.
Cochrane reappears as the focal character of the movie ''
Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), in which he is played by
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...
.
This episode was the first time in the original series that Kirk does not appear on board the ''Enterprise'' at any point.
In 2009, the
.V. Clubrated this episode as a "B."
See also
*
Immortality in fiction
Immortality is a common theme in fiction. The concept has been depicted since the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', the oldest known work of fiction. Originally appearing in the domain of mythology, it has later become a recurring element in the genres of ...
References
External links
*
"Metamorphosis"Remastered version at
TrekMovie.com
TrekMovie.com is a news website about the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. It features news reports about the feature films, television and web series, and other related ''Star Trek'' fandom.
History
The site was founded by ''Trek'' fan Anthony ...
{{Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, 2
Star Trek: The Original Series (season 2) episodes
1967 American television episodes
Television episodes written by Gene L. Coon
Television episodes directed by Ralph Senensky