Star Trek: The Original Series

"Operation--Annihilate!"

3 stars

Air date: 4/13/1967
Written by Steven W. Carabatsos
Directed by Herschel Daugherty

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

Alien life seizes control of a Federation colony and its inhabitants, leaving the Enterprise as the last defense from a species of parasitic invaders that induces anguish, madness, and even death in its victims. Among the victims: Kirk's own brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. While investigating on the planet, Spock is attacked by one of the creatures, leaving him in agonizing pain—which he is barely able to control with his Vulcan mental disciplines.

The most appealing aspect of "Operation—Annihilate!" is Spock's struggle of mind over matter—nicely conveyed through Nimoy's balance of wincing, writhing, and snapping back into control. Still, the way TOS plays with the galactic doublespeak can be corny, especially when Kirk and Spock talk about the lifeform coming from another galaxy where "our physical laws wouldn't apply." Come again? Just what galaxy are we talking about? Never mind.

As a body-snatching alien plot, the show is certainly entertaining, if not exactly inspired. I question, however, the wisdom of having an officer say, in regard to one of the fake-looking plastic creatures, "Captain, it doesn't even look real!" Perhaps not, but you never show your cards.

Previous episode: The City on the Edge of Forever
Next episode: Amok Time

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32 comments on this review

Stubb
Thu, Apr 14, 2011, 1:29pm (UTC -6)
One question. What happens to Kirk's nephew in "Operation: Annihilate"? Both his parents (Kirk's brother and sister-in-law) are dead. Assuming the kid survived -- which we aren't told -- shouldn't Kirk feel obligated to care for him? Oh well. It Takes A Village, I guess.
kmghorse11
Wed, Aug 10, 2011, 10:54pm (UTC -6)
I'm with Stubb, I'm dying to know what happened to Kirk's nephew in "Operation: Annihilate!". The last we hear about him in the episode is that he still has an alien living in him, is heavily sedated, and would be in tremendous pain if he woke up. Seems like a pretty significant loose end to me...
Penguinphysics
Wed, Apr 25, 2012, 12:51pm (UTC -6)
Although it is by no means canon, Kirk's nephew is given a large part in the episodes from James Cawley's PHASE II episodes.
Strider
Fri, Jun 1, 2012, 1:29am (UTC -6)
I agree with your comment about watching Spock overcome his pain minute by minute. That was great to watch. I did wonder about Peter, too. I also wondered why the heck McCoy and Spock himself, the ship's Science Officer, didn't know enough about scientific method to wait (what, 10 seconds?) for the results of the first experiment before setting the parameters of the second?
Nic
Sun, Aug 25, 2013, 6:22pm (UTC -6)
The "Captain, it doesn't even look real!" line has got to be one of the greatest laugh-out-loud moments of the entire franchise.
William B
Tue, Mar 18, 2014, 2:25pm (UTC -6)
Well, I didn't write that much on TOS season one, but since I finished it as I did for the TNG seasons I'll include my ratings of episode, where they disagree with Jammer's, with the difference between mine and Jammer's in parentheses.

Charlie X: 3 (-0.5)
The Naked Time: 3.5 (+0.5)
What Are Little Girls Made Of: 2.5 (-0.5)
Dagger of the Mind: 3 (-0.5)
The Corbomite Maneuver: 3.5 (+0.5)
The Menagerie: 3.5 (+0.5)
The Conscience of the King: 3 (+0.5)
Balance of Terror: 3.5 (+1)
Arena: 2.5 (+1)
Tomorrow is Yesterday: 3.5 (-0.5)
The Return of the Archons: 2 (-0.5)
Space Seed: 4 (+0.5)
A Taste of Armageddon: 2.5 (-0.5)
This Side of Paradise: 3 (+0.5)
Errand of Mercy: 3.5 (+0.5)
The Alternative Factor: 1 (-1)

This is a really good season.
Stallion
Tue, Mar 18, 2014, 3:29pm (UTC -6)
Season one was a very good season. They came up with great concepts, alien, and characters. McCoy was obviously the break out character. Sulu and Scotty had some good moments. I actually liked Rand. It's a shame her character left. Uhura did had some good moments in season one, but also got the short stick. I feel like a few roles that went to guest stars could had gone to her character. To be fair season two did do a better job of giving the supporting characters more to do.

Top five episodes of season 1

Where No Man Has Gone Before - A good Kirk and Spock episode and they killed it with the pilot.
The Corbomite Manuever - A good crew under pressure episode.
Errand of Mercy - A good introduction for the Kligons and Kor was a great villian.
The City On the Edge of Forever - Classic nuff said.
Operation --Annihilate - A great way to end a great season.
redshirt28
Thu, Apr 3, 2014, 10:28pm (UTC -6)
Recently watched this, last known condition of peter he was in sick bay stabilized. If he had died im sure we would have found out when kirk did, since they found way to kill parasites its safe to assume he survived. As for kirk caring for his nephew, ncc1701c wont be around for some while.

to me this ep was a bit slow, just ok. 2 stars
stallion
Tue, Nov 18, 2014, 11:14am (UTC -6)
A strong season, but I got a little bit ahead of myself with my top five list.

Top five Season.

The Corbomite Manuever.
The City On The Edge of Forever.
Balance of Terror.
The Enemy within
Tomorrow is Yesterday.
Honorable mention goes out to The Naked Time and Shore Leave.
navamske
Sun, May 29, 2016, 12:09pm (UTC -6)
@Stubbs

"One question. What happens to Kirk's nephew in 'Operation: Annihilate'? Both his parents (Kirk's brother and sister-in-law) are dead. Assuming the kid survived -- which we aren't told -- shouldn't Kirk feel obligated to care for him? Oh well. It Takes A Village, I guess."

In at least one of the (non-canon, of course) novels, it is stated that Peter was sent to Earth to live with and be raised by his paternal grandmother, Winona.
CaptainMetron
Sat, Sep 10, 2016, 4:43pm (UTC -6)
In a scene that was shot but not included, Peter is seen on the bridge in an adorable miniature Captain's uniform sitting in the command chair talking to his Uncle Jim. So he definitely survives. If you search the internet you can find still photos from it but I don't believe the footage exists to be seen.
Startrekwatcher
Wed, Dec 21, 2016, 5:38am (UTC -6)
2 stars. I was pretty much bored by this one. It just wasn't very involving
Rahul
Fri, Feb 17, 2017, 3:16pm (UTC -6)
Really enjoyed this episode -- the creatures flying around and attacking people's backs gave me a good fright after seeing the episode for the 1st time as a kid in the late 70s/early 80s or whenever it was.
It's an interesting story with Spock's acting the strong point - does a great job mimicking what it's like to be fighting through pain while still trying to help the cause. His logic wins out in this episode.
What is puzzling is how it took them so long to figure out that a certain type of light from the sun kills the creature -- from that standpoint the episode dragged a touch, but it was still engaging. Not a huge fan of Shatner's forceful style of acting in storming out of rooms, being very curt with Bones/Spock to figure out the solution. Given that his extended family was killed I think a more vulnerable Kirk would have been better.
Also, the part about Spock being temporarily blinded -- couldn't they have waited for the lab test results? Getting bailed out because of Spock's extra eye-lid is a let-off.
Nevertheless, a solid episode to conclude Season 1 of Trek TOS. I give it 3/4 stars.
lizzzi
Fri, Feb 17, 2017, 7:49pm (UTC -6)
Meh--ok, I guess, but paced very slowly. Definitely needed some resolution for Peter Kirk, if only a throwaway line from someone to the effect that he was sitting up in sickbay eating ice cream, and his grandmother would be waiting for him at Starbase 10 or whatever. A quick google search showed the still shots of him in the Starlet uniform on the bridge with Jim Kirk. Too bad they didn't leave that in.
lizzzi
Fri, Feb 17, 2017, 7:50pm (UTC -6)
Starfleet uniform, of course. Hate autocorrect.
cdczombie
Fri, Apr 7, 2017, 6:42am (UTC -6)
My 2 cents, when Peter's mother died, why didn't Bones try and resuscitate her? They just stood there. At least try and do CPR, right?
Justin
Mon, May 8, 2017, 12:12am (UTC -6)
This is one of those episodes I remember seeing as a kid and capturing my imagination. Lame looking aliens or not I give it a 9 out of 10 based on nostalgia alone. Even without the nostalgia it's still pretty good.
Steve McCullagh
Sat, May 20, 2017, 2:44pm (UTC -6)
I can't believe no one has mentioned the final scene; the whole "Vulcan eyes/Vulcan ears" bit is one of my favourite lines in the history of Trek.
Plot Mechanic
Fri, Aug 4, 2017, 12:02am (UTC -6)
Going through the series for the first time ever. This has a great performance by Nimoy. And for some strange reason, we get hammy bad cliche Shatner. I've found his grounded performance really impressive for most of this season, not at all the caricature that is so often parodied (except when he's pushed by melodramatic material in the episode). As others noted, he was the first to find his character. He was Jim Kirk from day one (unlike Nimoy, who took forever to create one of the best characters in the history of television). But here, most of the line readings have that weird cadence and odd gestures. I wonder if he was susceptible to whomever was directing the episode?
Tanner
Sat, Oct 7, 2017, 8:05am (UTC -6)
Really? 14 science labs couldn't figure out that the sun emits bright light? And then blinded Spock.. Talk about incompetence.
Trek fan
Sat, Oct 14, 2017, 10:20pm (UTC -6)
I found this one cool and freaky as a kid, but now there doesn't seem to be as much to it. It's a good pulpy way to close out Season 1 with a little "Body Snatchers" vibe, a concept that TNG will repeat (as it does with so many things TOS) in its late first season ep "Conspiracy." But there's not much to think about. It's a fairly memorable outing for TOS, which never does another show like this one, bbbut I think Jammer's 3-star rating feels about right.

I do like the location shooting, possessed townspeople shouting warnings as they prepare to attack, the creature design, and Spock showcase struggle to regain intellectual and emotional control -- a welcome and common theme in Season 1 where Spock, except in "Paradise," generally proves victorious. I also appreciate the chance to learn a little bit about Kirk's family, even though they're out of it in the episode, as it makes a good lead-in to the Spock family episodes coming up next season in the opener "Amok Time" and "Journey to Babel." So there's a lot of good and fun stuff here, including the Vulcan second eyelid bit.
Trent
Sun, Nov 26, 2017, 3:47pm (UTC -6)
It's surprising TOS never did another episode like this. Henceforth, battles with bugs and monsters are staged as elaborate bluffs, and we end up sympathising with the beasts. This episode, however, plays the genre straight. It's a US vs THEM narrative.

Anyway, this is the end of Season 1 of TOS. I'm a young viewer and regard is as the best, most consistent season of Trek; lots of original, unique premises, lots of exploring, lots of first contacts, lots of humor, lots of world building, great crew camraderie, cool retro sets, and a very alien, surreal feel. As a huge SF fan, TOS feels like good 1950s pulp SF with a 1960s progressive edge. I feel Jammer rated virtually all the episodes too low; I bet seeing the new remastered copies will change his mind on most of them.

My favourite episodes of the season? Conscience of the King, Balance of Terror, Court Martial, Miri and City at the Edge of Forever. I feel this season only has 2 bad episodes: Squire of Gothos and The Alternative Factor.
Bill
Fri, Feb 16, 2018, 7:13pm (UTC -6)
The mystery of of what happened to Peter Kirk.

A tag scene was removed for time from the final cut where we would have seen Peter on the bridge sitting in the captain's chair in his miniature Starfleet uniform. Kirk would enter and they'd exposit on how Peter would be returning to Deneva to live with his father's research partner and his family.

If you believe that James Cawley's Phase II is canon, Peter SORASed into an Academy graduate who was assigned to the Enterprise late in the five-year mission as a redshirt...oops! I mean security officer.
Joe Menta
Sun, Jun 24, 2018, 8:09am (UTC -6)
There should have been a line at the end where Kirk says something like, “Now it’s time to visit all those other infected planets and see what we can do there, now that we have the antidote.” Would have been a nice bit of closure.
Stork1
Wed, Sep 12, 2018, 7:24pm (UTC -6)
This was an excellent episode, more like true science-ficton than many of the episodes in later seasons and shows. I especially liked the ending dialogue among Kirk, Bones and Spock! I give a 3 1/2 star rating.
Mertov
Wed, Feb 13, 2019, 8:38pm (UTC -6)
Amazing that two red shirts beam down to a hostile environment, spend substantial amount of time in dangerous condition, and neither dies! A rare occurrence.
Good review by Jammer, not a bad episode, even over three decades after the last watch.
Springy
Mon, Apr 8, 2019, 7:42pm (UTC -6)
Standard TOS fare.

I liked the character development for Kirk, though there was an awkwardness to both the the dialogue and the performances as Kirk suddenly looses a brother and a sister-in-law and has an orphaned nephew.

The creatures and the technobabble were also contrived and awkward.

Just not smooth flowing.

Nimoy does a good job with a challenging story for his character.
Sarjenka's Brother
Thu, May 16, 2019, 1:10pm (UTC -6)
A good episode. Better than I remember (this is one of the few that only saw once way, way back in the day).

The yeoman du jour was kind of intriguing.

Kirk got over the loss of his brother and sister-in-law a little too quickly. Such was episodic TV in those days.
Robbie
Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 8:21am (UTC -6)
This episode had its strong points, but I agree with Lizzzi that it was paced slower than many of the other S1 episodes. It *should* have been more exciting than some other episodes, but most of the others in this season never seemed to drag.

- As said before, seeing the California filming locations was very nice.

- I’m surprised the inner eyelid and Spock’s blindness is not more criticized as a cheap way to add drama. I haven’t seen Amok Time in a while but remember that the big twist at the end was done better.
SeanyD
Mon, Sep 30, 2019, 5:52pm (UTC -6)
Although the review is from 2011, I have to agree on a point Stallion made regarding Uhura.

There were a whole slew of guest starring minor roles and red shirts (that ultimately didn't perish) lines of dialogue that could have been given to Uhura. She's such an iconic character that never really did get her just due.
Rahul
Mon, Oct 7, 2019, 10:13pm (UTC -6)
I see an interesting connection here between the alien parasites and the Borg. Spock's description of the "brain cell" that attacks his back is that it's part of a much larger unit, much like a Borg drone is. They don't have to be in physical contact in order to receive orders from some kind of collective mind -- and that's where they draw their resilience/strength from. They essentially assimilate their hosts but they keep control over them using pain and will kill them if they don't cooperate, which is a bit of a difference.

Of course, the alien parasites don't seem to have some kind of affinity for technology and it's not clear what their ultimate goal is. They seem to want to move from star system to star system, rendering inhabitants insane.

I see it less as a body-snatcher show actually. It's more like an infection. Other Trek episodes bring out the body-snatcher theme better like "Return to Tomorrow" etc.
Sleeper Agent
Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:44am (UTC -6)
A spectacular episode to end a fantastic first season.

The story is intriguing, and the way it unfolds with Kirk, Spock and Bones at peak level, leaves almost nothing left to wish for.

I liked that Scotty also had a albeit short, but still memorable scene. Have to agree with some of the comments though that Uhura was way too underused, not only in this episode but in the whole season. She's such a likable character (shame on Kirk for questioning her in the beginning!)

"The yeoman du jour was kind of intriguing." I agree with this as well.

It was very entertaining to see the aliens in action, like flying pancakes XD

4/4, one of the best season 1, and way better than the previous episode.

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