I thought this was one of the best episodes of the first season. Curiously, Spock is the one, not McCoy, who is the most compassionate and concerned about life, here, at least initially, although Kirk ends up being the one who pushes hardest for communication and a peaceful resolution to the conflict. It seemed a bit odd to give McCoy the job of healing the creature near the end-- it seems like that would be a job better left to an engineer like Mr. Scott, since it was more an issue of materials science than medicine; but I guess they had to give McCoy some important task to do.
Unlike some of the early episodes, this one did not feel padded; the pacing worked very well, with a real and serious threat (hostile life form, immune to standard phaser fire), a significant practical problem (the halting of mining operations critical to many Federation planets), and a careful investigation coordinated by Kirk. I'm also glad that the miners were portrayed fairly sympathetically; once they realize what they've done, they feel remorse and are motivated to make amends.
The episode was also a fascinating early example of environmentalist concerns: industrial activity that threatened to destroy a native creature and its natural habitat. Here, the solution worked out quite nicely for everyone, unlike the 'real world' where, more often than not, there are definite 'winners' and 'losers' economically, when environmental issues are involved. One could argue that protecting the environment is better for everyone in the long run; but someone whose livelihood is at stake might not see it that way, which is understandable enough.
Unlike some of the early episodes, this one did not feel padded; the pacing worked very well, with a real and serious threat (hostile life form, immune to standard phaser fire), a significant practical problem (the halting of mining operations critical to many Federation planets), and a careful investigation coordinated by Kirk. I'm also glad that the miners were portrayed fairly sympathetically; once they realize what they've done, they feel remorse and are motivated to make amends.
The episode was also a fascinating early example of environmentalist concerns: industrial activity that threatened to destroy a native creature and its natural habitat. Here, the solution worked out quite nicely for everyone, unlike the 'real world' where, more often than not, there are definite 'winners' and 'losers' economically, when environmental issues are involved. One could argue that protecting the environment is better for everyone in the long run; but someone whose livelihood is at stake might not see it that way, which is understandable enough.
