“The Lights of Zetar” is yet another in a string of barely competent, unremarkable episodes. It’s as if the production were so focused on avoiding an embarrassment that very little was done to take chances and reach for something much grander – let alone realize such an achievement. The result is plain to be seen in an episode such as this one which, by all counts, is constructed well enough but ends up being a bit like watching paint dry.

The premise is that, on the way to newly created “Memory Alpha” station, the Enterprise encounters a strange series of lights which turn out to be the remnants of a long dead civilization. Along the way, there are a number of elements which add some interesting wrinkles to the episode. For starters, “Memory Alpha” is a nice nod to Terminus, the planet from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series which was designed to collect and maintain all the knowledge of the galaxy. Along for the ride is the episode’s guest crewmember, Lt. Mira Romaine (Jan Shutan), who has caught Scotty’s eye (and heart) and is the source of a lovely little romance.

As the episode unfolds, it does its best to center on the mystery of the lights – their origins, their intent, their strengths, their purpose, and their weakness. But even as the Enterprise is attacked, even as Memory Alpha is attacked (and everyone on it is killed), even as we discover that Mira is slowly becoming “possessed” by the lights, the episode manages to create very little tension or suspense.

For example, the Scotty-Mira love story is “cutesy” in its almost innocent portrayal. But it doesn’t lend a whole lot to unfolding of the episode. True, Mira’s affections for Scotty will eventually become a plot point, but the love itself doesn’t enrich the episode or deepen our understanding of either Scotty or Mira in any particular way.

Likewise, the whole moral “dilemma” surrounding the lights of Zetar – as non corporeal beings who are looking to live again is as perfunctory as the solution on how to exorcise their influence from Mira. It is as If the episode was simply content to have all the pieces in place, but wasn’t at all concerned about putting them together in such a way as to elevate the episode, the characters or the series.

“The Lights of Zetar” is, simply, a substandard episode. It isn’t repulsive or horrid. And fans looking who are simply looking for as many chances to spend some time with the crew of the Enterprise will find enough here to be worthwhile. But as a whole, it’s rather bland

Filed under: Original Series