Given the relative lack of success in Star Trek’s third season, “The Cloud Minders” might seem like a better episode than it actually is. As a point of fact, the episode is an improvement – it just isn’t an outright classic. Of course, all of the elements are in place for such a classic to exist, from a suitably profound and conflicted society, to memorable characters, and classic Trek drama. But with the season, and the series, drawing to its close, nothing is working at a very high level. The result is an episode which is worth watching, but otherwise struggles to be praiseworthy.

Once again, the Enterprise is on a desperate, time-sensitive mission and, yet again, the planet they need to visit poses serious problem to completing their mission. In this case, the planet features a society split into Troglytes, a lower class who works in the mines under the surface and the Stratoses who live on a city in the clouds and spend their time in leisure, creating complex works of art. The course of the episode is then fairly simple to predict: there is indeed a tension between the two classes, a growing insurgency, and Kirk is caught in the middle of it all while he tries to simply get his materials and leave.

But the episode’s successes aren’t dependent on the “suspense” of the unfolding plot. Rather, the strengths of the story come from some universal themes – such as the privileged taking advantage of the downtrodden, prejudice, and the use of violence as a means to force social change. In many respects, this episode is a precursor to TNG’s “The High Ground.” And the elements of insurgency (though presented very lightly in the episode) are definitely relevant in today’s era, decades after the episode was produced.

Tucked neatly into the episode is an enjoyable subplot between Spock and Droxine. Her attraction to him, and to his rigidly logical mind, as well as Spock’s subsequent interest in her, is a nice additional layer to the story. But even here, things don’t work seamlessly with the issues coming from, of all places, Spock’s performance (it isn’t horrid, it’s just a bit too awkward).

That Kirk ultimately intervenes in this social conflict is, yet again, another instance of Trek cliché getting the upper hand. And indeed, the final resolution to the conflict is just too neat and tidy, particularly after such a melodramatic sequence in the mines – where Kirk literally kidnaps the leaders of the two factions so that they become “poisoned” by the noxious gas they both deny exists. Put simply, it’s all just a little bit too contrived.

That being said, “The Cloud Minders” does offer some fascinating commentary on those who seek personal gain from the labors of others – who treat labor as simply a means to an end. Additionally, the underlying factors behind the “Disruptors” are worth exploring, particularly when viewed in light of modern geopolitical violence.

Filed under: Original Series