This is the first installment of my own personal Classic Trek nits. I will update each episode as soon as I get the chance to see them again, in order.

The stardate given at the beginning of this episode is 1513.1. This would place it in the middle of the events of "The Corbomite Manuever," which starts off at Stardate 1512 and moves on up into the 1514's. But this is not possible.

After Crater is hit by the stun beam of Spock's phaser, he is dazed and disoriented but remains concious. Just about every other person in the series who takes a phaser stun beam is knocked out and remains so for some time. Crater must have an amazing constitution.

By Nat Hefferman on Wednesday, October 14, 1998 - 01:26 pm:

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you, Phil, when you describe the salt vampire as a shape-shifter (as you mention in various places in your Nitpickers' Guides). The first time we see it, it appears to McCoy as the young Nancy Crater, to Kirk as a middle-aged Nancy Crater, and to Darnell as the blonde girl from Rigley's Pleasure Planet - this while all three men are standing in the same room! A more likely explanation is that it creates illusions in people's minds, like the Talosians.

By Chris Cornell on Monday, October 19, 1998 - 08:12 pm:

I sent these two in to Phil, but I thought I'd post them here.

When Darnell is killed, Kirk rushes to the scene, responding only to Nancy's scream. He looks at Nancy, she says nothing. He then leaps up to the rock where Darnell's body is lying and immediately begins rooting around in Darnell's mouth! Why does he do this? Nancy has not told Kirk that Darnell ate anything (not until later, anyway). What made Kirk think it was a case of poison?

A little later, Sulu comes across a crewman lying in a hallway, dead. At this point, nobody has any idea what killed him. The shot cuts to a close up of Sulu rudely probing the man's cheeks with his fingers! Is this wise? First of all, I'm not aware that Sulu had any medical credentials. What is he doing with this probing? But more importantly, wouldn't the logical assumption be that the crewman might have died from sort of disease? Touching the body seems foolhardy at best.

My first nits! What do you think, folks?

Chris

By Phil Farrand on Monday, October 19, 1998 - 09:22 pm:

Chris! Sounds good to me!
And Nat . . . (to pull a Clinton) I suppose it just depends on your definition of the term "shape-shifter"! What really is a shape afterall? Is it that which is or that which is perceived? Or does our perception influence what is? And what is "is" anyway? (Snicker, snicker.)

By Johnny Veitch on Friday, December 11, 1998 - 03:09 pm:

Also regarding the phaser blast- The sound effect is not the general phaser sound, it is more lasery-sounding.

By Johnny Veitch on Saturday, December 26, 1998 - 01:36 pm:

Another of Todd M Pence`s nits I want to add to - the stardate 1513.8, the last one in "The Man Trap" is also used in "The Corbomite Manuever"!

By Mf on Sunday, December 27, 1998 - 12:41 pm:

Gadzooks!!! well, that just ruins it for me.

By Johnny Veitch on Thursday, February 18, 1999 - 02:07 pm:

Because episodes were shown out of production, several nits are created. For instance, the uniforms suddenly changing and then going back again. Or smaller nits such as Uhura changing the colour of her uniform all the time.

When Kirk makes an extra log entry, he says "Captain`s log - additional". In later episodes he, and later captains, will say "supplemental".

While down on the planet McCoy says he last saw Nancy Crater 12 years ago. Back on the Enterprise he says it was 10 years ago.

Why doesn`t Spock use the Vulcan neck pinch on the salt creature?

M-113 looks a lot like Alpha 177, doesn`t it? (since Phil dealt with episodes in air date order, he should have said planets look like M-113, not Alpha 177)

At the very end of the episode, we can just barely make out that the navigator wears a blue shirt. However, when we cut to a scene of the helm and nav stations in front of the viewscreen, the navigator wears a gold shirt! (That`s because it`s a stock scene - like the one I mentioned for "The Tholian Web" and "Wink of an Eye")

By Andy Zollicoffer on Tuesday, December 29, 1998 - 12:12 am:

Throughout the episode, the Salt Vampire displays a certain degree of caution and intelligence (such as stopping its attack on Uhura when Yeoman Rand appears). So why does it attack Kirk in full view of Spock and McCoy and with a phaser trained on it? Can the creature really be THAT hungry, considering it had just devoured the salt of three crewmen on the planet, one on the ship, and Professor Crater? Crater must have had a LOT of salt tablets over the preceding year.

By Hans Thielman on Wednesday, February 24, 1999 - 10:24 pm:

Professor and Nancy Crater have been on the planet for about 5 years. What university or other research institute would authorize Crater to be on the planet for that long? If Professor Crater was relying on a research grant of some kind, the grant money should have run out by the time the events depicted in the episode are shown.

Has Professor Crater produced any schololarly writings to justify the time he has spent on the planet?

If Crater is a college professor, how would he be able to satisfy his school's teaching requirements? He's been on the planet for five years. Maybe he can teach college level courses via subspace radio.

It also seems that Professor and Mrs. Crater are alone on the planet. Shouldn't Professor Crater have assistants, graduate students, and or other archeological workers on the planet, or is all that digging done only by the Professor and his wife (or salt vampire)?

By Mike on Thursday, March 04, 1999 - 12:40 pm:

Guest Star Patrol--

Michael Zaslow, who plays the ill-fated Crewman Darnell, was on the soaps for a bit. I believe he passed away (or retired).

By Sharon Jordan on Thursday, March 04, 1999 - 04:23 pm:

Michail Zaslow, who did play Crewman Darnell, did past away December 12, 1998 of Lou Gerig's disease. He is most known as wonderfully playing the villian Roger Thorpe on the soap opera 'Guiding Light' He also was on "One Life to live" He has done other film roles including the love interest in 'You Light Up My life'. As a long time watcher of Guiding Light, I was deeply saddend, and believe Mr. Zaslow will be missed!

By Todd M. Pence on Friday, March 05, 1999 - 01:22 pm:

Zaslow also appears briefly as an Enterprise crewman in the teaser for "I Mudd," I believe.

By Sharon Jordan on Friday, March 05, 1999 - 05:41 pm:

to Todd M. Pence, your right! He did appear on the teaser of 'I Mudd'. He was in charge of Auxillary(sp?) control. He was knocked out by an android. I don't think he died in this one, just knocked unconcious.

By D.K. Henderson on Tuesday, January 19, 1999 - 06:33 am:

"The Man Trap" was the very first episode shown. Kirk's is the first voice you hear, but the first person, center screen, that you see is...Spock! (Wonder what Shatner felt about that.)

On beaming down to the planet, Kirk never mentions Darnell in the log. I can just see someone at Starfleet reviewing the logs, and thinking, "Who the heck is this Darnell that was killed on the planet? When did he go down?"

I have to agree with Kirk on one point. Plum? I mean...PLUM?

Why would "Nancy" want Kirk to see her as aged? The idea is to attract anyone and everyone she can. So why didn't Kirk see her as young and gorgeous?
Another point. From what McCoy said about her, I calculate her age as either 35 or 37. I'm around that age, and I do not look anywhere near that old. My mother, in fact, looks younger than "Nancy." This is set in the future, where presumably people are living longer, healthier lives. Not to mention the most up-to-date beauty products and techniques. Why does she look so haggard? Even living on a deserted planet, she could have brought appropriate supplies with her.

What was the beeping sound when McCoy covered up Darnell? If he's dead, the bed shouldn't make any sounds.

I wouldn't want Yeoman Rand waiting on me. She gave Sulu a stalk of celery that was half eaten! Yuuuch!

"Nancy" seems absolutely insatiable for salt--so why didn't she just kill McCoy before assuming his form? Did the sleeping pills make him taste bad?

Why did they want McCoy on the bridge, anyway?

Kirk's phaser must have been set VERY low.

Prof. Crater said it could have been two years since Nancy died. It had to have been less than a year, because they make ANNUAL checkups.

When did the "Dispensary" become "Sickbay"?

By Hans Thielman on Tuesday, January 19, 1999 - 12:35 pm:

Why is Rand waiting on Sulu anyway? Rand is Kirk's yeoman. Does Sulu get to borrow Rand as his personal yeoman when Kirk and Spock leave the ship?

What is Sulu doing in the botany room? Is he on his break?

By Johnny Veitch on Thursday, January 21, 1999 - 12:07 pm:

Not only was Spock the first person to be seen in airing order, he was the first to speak in all of Trek! the very first line in "The Cage" is "Check the circuits!", a line spoken by Spock!

By Mf on Thursday, January 21, 1999 - 05:27 pm:

Don't you know the most important character left standing gets the LAST line - but almost never the first. That way he gets to make an entrance.

By Jeff on Tuesday, February 16, 1999 - 09:40 pm:

Cheese Award!!!

Sulu's frightened, shrieking plant - a fanciful foliage-frocked hand. Too much!

By Keith Alan Morgan on Monday, April 12, 1999 - 07:02 am:

So why don't research teams have their own medical doctor?

After Darnell's death Kirk tells the transporter chief, "Three to beam up.", but the transporter chief tells Spock, "The landing party reports one dead."

Boy, Dr. McCoy is trusting. Robert Crater shows them the container of salt tablets and McCoy just takes one out and tastes it without running a scanner over it.

So why did Kirk just leave Sturgeon on the planet when they beamed up? Earlier when Darnell was found dead they beamed his body up.

Why is Yeoman Rand schlepping food around the ship? Doesn't it have a commissary for hungry crewmen?

Well, I think I found evidence that homosexuals do exist in the future. The creature's preferred method of attack is to take on the appearance of someone that the victim would be attracted to. The creature has assumed the appearance of a black man for Uhura, when she escapes the only other crewmember around is Barnhart. Since Barnhart's back is to the creature it could easily change appearance without being caught, but it doesn't. Therefore Barnhart must be a homosexual who would be attracted to a black man.

When Spock finds Green's body, why does he just tell Kirk that he has "found something here.", instead of what he found?

I'm not certain if it was accidental or intentional, but when Crater is shooting at Kirk and Spock he is holding one of the older type phasers while Kirk and Spock hold the sleeker, newer models. Since Crater has been on this planet for years, it seemed right that he would not have an up-to-date phaser.

Crater says that thousands of the creatures used to roam the planet, however the Craters went to this planet to examine archeological ruins. So how could a civilization form if these things were roaming around sucking salt out of various creatures? Or were these creatures the creators of this civilization? Of course, since salt is just sodium chloride then why couldn't the civilization create its own salt? (Hmmm, didn't the four-armed woman in the NextGen episode Unification "s u c k salt"?)

Crater says the creature killed Nancy a year or two earlier, but I believe the Craters had been on the planet for around five years. Did it just take the creature that long to find them or what?

Spock explains his survival of the creature's attack because his "blood salts are quite different." I'm not a medical expert, but isn't salt salt. The formula for salt is sodium chloride, any other formula would be something else. If Spock has salt in his system then the creature should be able to absorb it and considering that Spock is half-Human then he must have salt in his body.

If the creature can absorb salt through its fingers, then why did 'Nancy' swallow the salt tablet?

On page 4 of the Classic Trekkers Guide, Phil wondered why Kirk screams, but the other victims apparently did not. Possibly it was because Kirk knew this creature would kill him, while the other victims were 'hypnotized' by their attraction to the image it presented. (Perhaps this is why Darnell ran after 'Nancy' like a horny teenager, instead of standing there like a disciplined officer.)

Through most of the show the nacelles have spherical ends, but at the end of the show it has the grill ends.

By Mike Konczewski on Monday, April 12, 1999 - 10:46 am:

Salt refers to a variety of chemical compounds formed by replacing all or part of the hydrogen ions in an acid with one or more cations of a base. Sodium chloride is just a type of salt.

By MattS on Thursday, May 13, 1999 - 10:32 am:

The salt vampire casts a new shadow after changing from the black man to Mrs. Crater.

Multiple shadows are cast on the planet. (i.e., due to multiple light sources. Happens a lot on Classic Trek planets - how many suns are nearby?)

By David Batchelder on Tuesday, June 29, 1999 - 02:44 pm:

When did the vampire learn Swahili?

According to Crater, there used to be thousands of these vampires. How did they live? There seems to be a serious lack of, well, salt.

Why doesn't the vampire kill Crater? It sure seems hungry!

By Keith Alan Morgan on Tuesday, June 29, 1999 - 07:40 pm:

It probably learned Swahili from Uhura, since it had to discover what kind of man she would be attracted to. On the other hand, maybe it only made Uhura think it was speaking Swahili.

By David Hensley on Monday, July 26, 1999 - 08:27 pm:

Does anyone have a transcription (and translation!) of the Swahili exchange between Uhura and the creature?

By Nick Angeloni (Nangeloni) on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 01:01 am:

To "?": You may have noticed that your message has disappeared. That is because this board is for discussing the episode "The Man Trap," not for discussing what you find wrong with the actor Leonard Nimoy. Please do not post here again unless you have anything relevant to add to the topic.

Thank You,
Nick, ClassicTrek moderator

By Nick Angeloni (Nangeloni) on Friday, August 20, 1999 - 11:12 pm:

To "?" again: You may also have noticed all your other messages have been deleted, as will all your other contributions to this board, positive or not. Please do not post again.

On a side note, thanks to all the people who alerted me to this individual.

Thank You,
Nick

By David Hensley on Saturday, August 21, 1999 - 10:56 am:

David Batchelder wrote on June 29 1999:

According to Crater, there used to be thousands of these vampires. How did they live? There seems to be a serious lack of, well, salt.

Perhaps the vampires ingested all the salt off of the planet and became (nearly) extinct.

By Padawan Nitpicker on Friday, January 14, 2000 - 03:06 pm:

What exactly is Darnell doing on the planet at the beginning of the episode? The same for Sturgeon and Green. They could be security guards, but they wouldn`t need any, at least on the first mission. And if they`re security personnel, then why aren`t they wearing red shirts? Did they learn that was unlucky and put on inappropriate outfits because they thought they would survive? NO SUCH LUCK!

When Sulu calls red alert (General Quarters 3) one scene in the corridors shows crewmembers in pilot uniforms! Also, NANJAO: A few scenes later we can see Sulu and Uhura on the bridge, Sulu giving the alert. Uhura is at the next station down. At first glance it seems Uhura is at the communications console but she can`t be, because Sulu is. She`s filling in for Spock! (This is definitely her day)

Speaking of Spock, he seems very emotional when the creature first attacks Kirk. Talk about loyalty!

By Charles Cabe (Ccabe) on Saturday, January 15, 2000 - 12:37 pm:

>What exactly is Darnell doing on the planet at the beginning of the episode?>

He's the guy that proves the planet is dangerous. Duh!

By John A. Lang on Saturday, January 29, 2000 - 09:07 pm:

In this episode, Spock recommends using
"truth serum" on Professor Crater in
regards to the creatures location.

Why doesn't Spock use the mind meld on
Professor Crater when he refuses to cough up
the info on if he can spot the creature in any form?

By John A. Lang on Saturday, January 29, 2000 - 09:09 pm:

RUMINATION

This episode PROVES that "red shirts"
don't "always die"

Darnell & Sturgeon are wearing blue
Greene is wearing...well....a greenish outfit.

By Padawan Nitpicker on Saturday, February 05, 2000 - 03:33 am:

There`s no E at the end of Green. Hmm. Read my comments earlier about Darnell, Sturgeon and Green.

By John A. Lang on Thursday, March 23, 2000 - 09:10 am:

At least we know what happened to one of salt vampires' bodies...it's in the foyer of Trelane's
castle in "The Squire of Gothos"

By Mike Ransom on Monday, April 10, 2000 - 11:30 pm:

Isn't it more than a little creepy that Crater lives with the creature that killed his wife, and the creature assumes the form of his wife for him?

The actor who played Crater, Alfred Ryder, often played somewhat twisted characters. Is there an implication that the creature actually functions as Crater's wife?

Maybe his personal vehicle has a bumper sticker, "Salt-suckers pucker better".

By Todd Pence on Wednesday, April 12, 2000 - 03:13 pm:

Yeah, that is pretty creepy that Crater let the creature function as his wife (probably a few other women as well).

>The actor who played, Crater, Alfred Ryder, often played somewhat twisted characters.

Yeah, he played a Nazi war criminal on the lam once.

By Will S. on Thursday, April 13, 2000 - 11:03 am:

An the ghost of a German submarine captain on 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea', too.

By Padawan Nitpicker on Thursday, April 13, 2000 - 12:43 pm:

When Kirk contacts the ship from the planet at one point, some guy responds. Then Kirk says something. Then the responding voice is undeniably that of Scott. But he`s nowhere to be seen elsewhere in the epsiode and isn`t in the end credits.

And the scene of M-113 on the viewscreen at the end looks like the`yre heading away from it backwards. Looks like they have found reverse!

By Richard Davies on Friday, April 14, 2000 - 04:36 pm:

You must have been listening to Star Treking by The Firm, which features the lyrics "Boldy (or only) going forward 'coz we can't find reverse".

By Padawan on Saturday, April 15, 2000 - 03:36 am:

I have heard of it, I have heard (or read) a large amount of the lyrics, but I ahven`t actually listened to it.

By Richard Davies on Sunday, April 16, 2000 - 04:43 pm:

I've available on a Dr Demento CD, & if your in the UK you could find in a Charity shop.

By Matt on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 11:27 am:

Although Crater obviously loved his wife, and the idea of her still living, whose to say just who or what the Salt Creature turned into, to please Crater? He could have had her turn into his high school sweetheart, his favourite movie actress, a green Orion woman, or anybody. Is it any wonder why Crater is so cranky, having these others invade his own little paradise? Kinda like having your Mom come into your bedroom to bug you about your chores, just as you were about to get to the more...interesting...parts of the Playboy magazine you've had to hide under your bed.

By Adam Bomb on Tuesday, August 08, 2000 - 05:57 pm:

Why was Wrigley's Pleasure Planet never mentioned again? Could it have turned into the famous Risa from "Next Gen?"

By KAM on Wednesday, August 09, 2000 - 12:24 am:

Starfleet officers got tired of Wrigley's and stuck it on the underside of a table where it was eventually forgotten about.

;-)

By Derf on Wednesday, August 09, 2000 - 07:27 pm:

Wrigley's Pleasure Planet built a second one so you could "Double your pleasure, double your fun" and THEN it was stuck under the table (or school desk). (nyuck-nyuck)

By John A. Lang on Friday, August 11, 2000 - 01:24 am:

The second one can be found at your local movie theatre under the seats.

The guy who did Crater should've gotten an award for his performance...according to the "Star Trek Compendium" the man played thru the entire episode with a broken arm.

By MikeC on Thursday, August 17, 2000 - 10:40 am:

Alfred Ryder was also the Invader Leader on "The Invaders", and he did receive an award in 1959 (the Obie) for his performance in "I Rise in Flame, Cried the Phoenix". He died in 1995.

By Will Spencer on Monday, September 11, 2000 - 11:23 am:

I think Next Gen's political correctness is rubbing off on me, since I watched this last Friday (September 8, 2000; the 34th anniversary of Star Trek premiering with this episode), and I found it a little strange how violent Spock and the crew in general are against the Salt Vampire. Considering it speaks and has intelligence, shouldn't they simply incarcerate this alien, who was simply, as it says in McCoy's guise, trying to survive? Sure, stun it to get it away from Kirk, but was the second phaser shot really necessary?
I have no problem with Darnell being there; he's probably a medical intern, under McCoy's command.
As for a nit, what the heck is Kirk doing throwing away EVIDENCE? He tosses the piece of plant he found in Darnell's mouth, rather than having it scanned for poison!

By John A. Lang on Monday, September 11, 2000 - 01:27 pm:

Kirk didn't have to save the piece...all tha data on the Borgia plant was in the ship's computers...also...there were other berries to pick...they could scan one of those

By Will S. on Tuesday, September 12, 2000 - 10:19 am:

True, but that's like saying ; "This man was stabbed to death with a knife. Instead of looking for finger prints, we'll check our computer records for the lethalness of similar knives." Kirk and McCoy only had Nancy's word that Darnell had bitten into a Borga plant. I say scan the piece in his mouth to prove it. Personally, I blame the writer or director for being sloppy when it comes to Kirk throwing away the evidence, as nothing changes in the script from McCoy getting an analysis of the plant-- Darnell is dead from something they don't understand rather than the plant.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, September 12, 2000 - 11:21 am:

Valid point. I concurr.

Great line: "How would you like her for your personal yeoman?" Crewman A to Crewman B about Rand.

My reply? Yes! Yes! Yes!

By Padawan on Saturday, September 30, 2000 - 04:35 pm:

The opening scene has Spock in command, Uhura at navigation and Ensign Leslie at the helm. It looks a lot like it was taken from The Naked Time, which was the next episode filmed. Did they stick it in this episode in post-production once both had been filmed?

Kirk says "Plum... I mean, Dr McCoy". Obviously the creators wanted Kirk to call him "Plum" but have Prof Crater know the name Dr McCoy. So not only do we have Kirk correcting himself (bringing down the humor IMO) but by not using the name he normally calls him: Bones!

Sulu sure takes his time telling Kirk about finding Crewman Barnhart in the corridor!

Concerning the phaser - perhaps he was using a "light tranquilise" setting?

Spock speaks as if he`s a full Vulcan - but doesn`t act like it! As I said earlier, he`s very emotional during that scene with the creature. "Shoot it!" Thwack! Thwack!

By John A. Lang on Monday, December 11, 2000 - 01:38 am:

WHY does Sulu say to Rand, "May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless YOUR planet"?

I know that the "Great Bird" is a reference to Gene Roddenberry..but why say to Rand (from Earth)
"bless YOUR planet"....Sulu's from Earth too...at least...according to STIV he is.

By Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Tuesday, December 12, 2000 - 01:18 am:

Actually the saying was written first, then people started referring to Roddenberry as 'The Great Bird of the Galaxy.'

Also we don't know from what planet the saying originated. So it is possible Earth people started using the saying regardless of which planet they were blessing.
Also I know people who will sneeze, then say 'Gazoonhite' (Yes, I don't know the spelling & the Discus spell checker is useless.)

IIRC Sulu is being somewhat lighthearted, as well as thankful to Rand, so saying "May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless OUR planet" wouldn't convey a sense of being grateful to her.

By margie on Wednesday, December 13, 2000 - 03:06 pm:

Gesundheit! (Always happy to help!)

By KAM on Thursday, December 14, 2000 - 12:44 am:

Thanks.

By Adam Bomb on Saturday, March 03, 2001 - 03:45 pm:

I think it was in this ep that it was established, in a conversation between Uhura and Spock, that Vulcan has no moon. In "Star Trek-TMP", in a wide, establishing shot of Vulcan, there is a huge moon plainly visible. (Maybe the DVD will fix that.) I think Trek IV stayed consistent, though; i.e.-no moon.

By D.K. Henderson on Tuesday, March 06, 2001 - 06:11 am:

In various places the "moon" was explained away as being not a moon, but a planet--T'kuht (sp) with an orbit that brought it close to Vulcan at regular intervals.

By Adam Bomb on Tuesday, March 06, 2001 - 07:46 pm:

Where did you hear this? Is this canon? I don't remember it from the novelization of ST-TMP.

By D.K. Henderson on Thursday, March 08, 2001 - 06:05 am:

Not canon, no. I first saw it in THE VULCAN ACADEMY MURDERS. Apparently the author also questioned the discrepancy, and decided to offer an explanation. Makes as much sense as any.

By John A.Lang on Monday, March 12, 2001 - 12:23 am:

OK...from this episode we find out that the REAL Nancy Crater called McCoy "Plum"....so....how did the FAKE Nancy Crater (AKA the Salt Vampire) know that McCoy's pet name was "Plum"?

By ScottN on Monday, March 12, 2001 - 11:48 am:

The same way it learned Swahili to interest Uhura.

By Anonymous on Monday, March 12, 2001 - 01:28 pm:

One fact about the The Salt Vampire from the Star Trek Encyclopedia is that it has E.S.P.

By John A. Lang on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 08:45 pm:

McCoy's medical scanner has a different sfx than other episodes later in the season.

Some of McCoy's close-ups are blurry when Kirk enter's McCoy's quarters with a phasor.

I think the planet moving backward on the screen can be explained...in STTMP, Sulu had control of the angle of the viewer camera which is hooked up to the main viewer...that same control & camera must be present on the original Enterprise!

I love Uhura at the nav position in this episode...it gives her some versatility.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 07:36 pm:

Why in the world is this episode called, "The Man Trap"? The Salt Vampire attacked Uhura too...and she is DEFINATELY a woman (MUCH WOMAN!!!!!!!!)

By Rene on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 08:16 pm:

Ayiyi. John is a really one dimensional character.

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, September 05, 2001 - 05:46 pm:

GREAT MOMENT: When Kirk is paged to come to the Dispensary (Sic), HE RUNS DOWN THE HALLWAY AT BREAKNECK SPEED! (Vrooom!)
Why, oh why doesn't this occur in other "Trek" incarnations?

I believe this episode gives us our "first look" at McCoy's quarters.

By Austin Danger Powers, International man of Mystery and Secret Trekkie Agent on Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 11:04 am:

Re. The Salt Vampire attacked Uhura...and she is DEFINITELY a woman:
She's a MAN, baby!
Oh, behave!

By GlennofNas on Saturday, September 22, 2001 - 09:39 am:

Why didn't they take the salt monster to a planet that had a lot of salt?

By John A. Lang on Sunday, January 13, 2002 - 10:12 pm:

I believe this episode marks the first and last time we see McCoy's quarters.

By John A. Lang on Sunday, January 13, 2002 - 10:18 pm:

When Kirk hails the Enterprise after Darnell dies, Scotty acknowledges. Funny...Scotty is never seen in this episode.

By Anonymous on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 05:22 pm:

At one point, Kirk tells Bones to "stop thinking with your glands."
Well, Kirk's done plenty of that since then, hasn't he?

By kerriem on Friday, February 22, 2002 - 08:10 pm:

Yeah...wonder if McCoy picked up that particular line of conversation again after the events of 'Requiem for Methuselah'.

Actually, it's a pretty goofy line in and of itself - the only time I've ever heard 'glands' used in this context, anyway. (I'm fairly certain the body part Kirk would more usually reference couldn't be mentioned on 60's TV!)

By Joe King on Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 03:55 pm:

I think I know what you're thinking of but it doesn't have a d on the end!

By Todd Pence on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 09:28 am:

Both Jeanne Bal (Nancy Crater) and Vince Howard (Uhura's dream man) had regular roles as teachers on the mid-sixties public high school drama Mr. Novak, a series in which familiar Trek faces like Walter Koenig, George Takei, and Robert Walker Jr. also guested as students.

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 09:46 pm:

Help! Woman missing! ;)

In Kirk's opening log, Kirk says that Nancy Crater "is that ONE WOMAN in McCoy's past"

What about McCoy's ex-wife? Doesn't she count?

By Sir Rhosis on Friday, March 29, 2002 - 12:32 pm:

Re: the title. The original title of the episode was "The Unreal McCoy." Which is worse?

Sir Rhosis

By kerriem on Friday, March 29, 2002 - 01:24 pm:

Well...the original more or less gives the final plot twist away, which is, I suspect, why it was dropped.
But I always liked it a lot better than the silly 'Man Trap' (which give the creature's scenes with Uhura isn't even very accurate...)

By Pat Cassidy on Saturday, May 11, 2002 - 08:50 pm:

Why wasn't Spock able to disarm McCoy? Vulans are supposed to have superhuman strenth.

By John A. Lang on Sunday, May 12, 2002 - 06:46 am:

"Strenth"? I think you mean "strength"..Anyway, It was indeed poor writing just so McCoy would be the one to pull the trigger.

By Will on Tuesday, May 14, 2002 - 11:08 am:

And why did the phaser have to be set on 'kill'? Why not stun the alien, since it's obviously intelligent, and not a 'creature' as everyone calls it. Spock wanted to save the life of the last Horta, claiming it would be a crime against science to kill it, so why not the salt vampire? The ship's fabricators could surely have created a suitable substitute for human salt to sustain it. One thing is for sure; there's no way this episode would have ended the way it did, had it been made today.

By Todd Pence on Thursday, December 19, 2002 - 07:44 pm:

The Craters in this episode were originally named the Bierces in earlier versions of this script. Both of these are surnames of people in history famous for mysterious disappearances. If they had decided to change the name again, would they have wound up being called the Earharts?

By Weapons Section on Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 08:36 am:

personally, I liked the way that everyone wanted to kill the vampire after its secret was revealed. That's the way the universe works.

By Jimmy Neutron on Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 09:50 am:

Question for John A. Lang: who was the very first redshirt to die in TOS,and who was the last?

It's not a quiz, I just was curious.

By ScottN on Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 10:33 am:

Wouldn't Darnell in this ep be the first? Of course, I don't remember if he wore red.

By Adam Bomb on Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 03:06 pm:

Re: John Lang's post of 9/5/01-Wasn't the footage of Kirk running down the hallway taken from "Naked Time," which I believe was filmed before but aired after this ep?

By John A. Lang on Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 04:30 pm:

I >THINK< D'Amato was the last Redshirt to die. (That Which Survives)

By Adam Bomb on Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 05:56 pm:

I don't think so, John, at least not technically. D'Amato was a geologist, from the Science division, and therefore had a BLUE shirt on. (Am I being anal, or what?)

By John A. Lang on Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 09:35 pm:

Nope. You're just the average nitpicker catching another one of my errors.

By Adam Bomb on Friday, January 31, 2003 - 11:12 am:

I pored over the listing of third season episodes, John et al. I think the last real redshirt to die in TOS was Compton in "Wink Of An Eye." A case could be made for Watkins (Kenneth Washington,) also from "That Which Survives." He was assigned to Engineering. He didn't wear a standard uniform, however, but one of those worksuits that looked like a bathrobe (was it red?)

By Jimmy Neutron on Friday, January 31, 2003 - 12:16 pm:

well, I was thinking 'security guy' when I said 'redshirt', not other specialties who wear red.

Maybe someone with vast knowledge and time to compile this info could report on:

1. the mortality rates between the different color shirts in TOS. Whats the death rate when compared between red, blue, and yellow shirts?

2. whats the most common form of death? phaser? falls? alien activity? interstellar combat? engineering accident? other?

We need charts! graphs! The world must know!

Aint I a pest? ;)


Thanks for the info!