“Return to Tomorrow” is an unfortunately clumsy and awkward episode centered around some otherwise compelling ideas. There really is quite a bit to this episode that is both thought-provoking and emotional. But there’s almost no restraint to the approach and as a result, most of what the episode has to offer is buried under bad acting, scripting and directing. It’s almost as if this episode is a caricature of the series as a whole.

The premise, that some god-like energy beings want to use human bodies to construct androids so that they can leave their home planet, is a bit of a stretch to sell. But the episode makes the sale by way of Sargon – a being who generates awe and empathy for the story he tells about how his people sealed their doom with their own hubris. This entity, called Sargon, wants to temporarily “borrow” the bodies of Kirk, Spock, and the week’s guest star Dr. Mulhall (Diane Muldaur, who would later play Dr. Pulaski during the second season of TNG). And while the idea is difficult to swallow, it does manage to spark a debate on the Enterprise about the nature of taking a risk – particularly the nature of taking great risks for the sake of great rewards. And it’s a fantastic idea to explore.

The scene itself, however, is a mess.

The performance of Kirk is so ham-handedly over-the-top that you simply cannot take his serious argument seriously. Seriously.

But of course, Kirk’s eloquence (not) wins out and the trio make ready to play host to the beings. The episode then shifts to Spock’s character who is inhabited by a being who turns out to be the episode’s villain, Henoch – wanting to remain in his corporeal body, rather than being forced into the cold, mechanical shell of an android. It sets up a conflict between fleshly desires and stoic resolve. That Sargon’s wife, Thalassa, is the one to inhabit Mulhall’s body only adds to the conflict of desire and forbearance. The two clearly love each other, and wish to continue to not only express their love, but indulge in the acts of love. But their bodies belong to others.

I do find it intriguing that the desire to feel, to experience the full measures of life, is given as the villain’s motivation. And when Thalassa is likewise tempted to give in to such desires the story compliments her for relinquishing them. The implicit message is that, somehow, the act of feeling is to be controlled and squashed. And I wonder if the episode’s creators realized that was happening.

In any event, the ending sequences become bizarre and disjointed – and rushed. The result is that by the time Sargon and Thalassa share their “final kiss” most of the impact of the episode has been lost. It’s almost as if the episode itself wanted to sabotage its own emotion and feeling.

“Return To Tomorrow” gets credit for some of its more interesting concepts. But it loses almost all of that credit due to some bad acting, and poorly constructed story, and a message which seems to dampen the human spirit, rather than lift it up. Though, admittedly, Spock handled his role as “villain” with a great deal of deftness. It was the one bright spot – from a production standpoint.

Filed under: Original Series