Series 1
Episode 23 The Spores Broadcast June 12th 1967
On mission date 881.6, the Endeavour arrives at Mendel III, where a Commonwealth research station started several months earlier. Later it was discovered that the planet is showered by Berthold rays, a deadly form of radiation, which causes severe tissue damage within a few days of exposure. To make matters worse, there had been no communication with the station for quite a while. The Endeavour's sad mission is to retrieve the scientist's remains and their equipment.
Braun, along with Spock, Acting Chief Medical Officer Fynely, and other crewmen, beam down to the planet's surface and make the startling discovery that the scientists are still very much alive. The crew is greeted warmly by David Thompson (guest star Ian Bannen), the Research Team Leader who assures them that there have been no problems other than a faulty communications system. They encounter another scientist, Dr.Kurt Schmidtt (special guest star Horst Buchholz), with whom Braun fell in love twelve years earlier back on Mars. At a loss to explain why these people are still alive, Dr. Fynely arranges For M’Beke to perform medical exams on a number of the scientists while other crewmembers search the vicinity for answers.
The puzzle deepens as M’Beke finds the colonists in flawless health; in reviewing the scientists' medical records, he finds that, although the records indicate that Thompson had had his appendix removed, his own examination of Thompson indicated the researcher had an intact appendix. The other members of the landing party discover that there is no animal life present — no livestock, no birds and no insects. Evading Spock and M’Beke’s questions about the general absence of animal life on the planet, Thompson explains simply, "We're vegetarians."
As Braun is searching the surrounding area for clues, the Kurt meets with her and agrees to show her how the scientists have survived. He takes her to a place where there are strange flowers, which spray her with spores.
Being a committed follower of the Hanovarian Way, Braun doesn't normally express her emotions, but moments after exposure to these spores; she is able to say to Kurt, "I love you." Now free to find bliss with Kurt, Katharina laughs and with her head in Kurt's lap she lolls under a tree with him as they contemplate the clouds. When Spock attempts to contact her, it is not Katharina but Kurt who opens the communicator. Unwilling for a moment to stop embracing, nuzzling, and kissing Kurt, Katharina answers Spock's questions with amused curtness.
Katharina shows the strange flowers to Spock and other crewmen, but at this point Spock escapes being hit by their spores as he is just out of their range. When Spock returns to the ship, it is full of the flowers and their spores. The entire crews, in an open but peaceful mutiny, begin to beam down to the planet. Before she leaves, Ensign Colt sabotages the ship's communications system to prevent contact with the Fleet or the Navy.
Soon, Spock is the only person remaining aboard the ship. Since the ship is filled with the plants Spock finds himself within range of one of them on the bridge, and it shoots its spores at him. Spock begins to feel at peace and makes plans to beam down to the colony, but as he is about to leave the Endeavour, he has problems in operating the transporter, causing him to feel a wave of violent emotions, which overwhelms and destroys the effect of the spores.
Spock now realizes the spores cannot survive the presence of strong feelings. He asks Decker to come up to the ship ostensibly to help him with some things that they won't be able to retrieve once the last of them leaves. Spock actually wants to revert Decker's change of personality.
Spock is uncertain that his plan will work. Vulcanians were once ferocious warriors, with violent emotions (much more intense than Humans), before they embraced “The Circle” and ended the wars that were destroying their world. He is not certain that even intense human emotions will be enough to overcome the influence of the spores.
Nonetheless, when Decker arrives, Spock insults him with a stream of racist abuse and taunts him as not being worthy to command the Endeavour. He only got the command by being at the right place at the right time and he knew that. Decker is angered and a brawl ensues but fortunately, his rationality returns to him. They collaborate and create a device to send a subsonic frequency through the communicators that will irritate everyone in the colony.
Soon after the subsonic frequency is sent, fights break out quickly ending the spores' influence.
As the Endeavour, with the scientists safely on board, prepares to exit the planetary system, Braun comments about her experiences saying: "For the first time since I was a child, I was emotionally happy."
On mission date 881.6, the Endeavour arrives at Mendel III, where a Commonwealth research station started several months earlier. Later it was discovered that the planet is showered by Berthold rays, a deadly form of radiation, which causes severe tissue damage within a few days of exposure. To make matters worse, there had been no communication with the station for quite a while. The Endeavour's sad mission is to retrieve the scientist's remains and their equipment.
Braun, along with Spock, Acting Chief Medical Officer Fynely, and other crewmen, beam down to the planet's surface and make the startling discovery that the scientists are still very much alive. The crew is greeted warmly by David Thompson (guest star Ian Bannen), the Research Team Leader who assures them that there have been no problems other than a faulty communications system. They encounter another scientist, Dr.Kurt Schmidtt (special guest star Horst Buchholz), with whom Braun fell in love twelve years earlier back on Mars. At a loss to explain why these people are still alive, Dr. Fynely arranges For M’Beke to perform medical exams on a number of the scientists while other crewmembers search the vicinity for answers.
The puzzle deepens as M’Beke finds the colonists in flawless health; in reviewing the scientists' medical records, he finds that, although the records indicate that Thompson had had his appendix removed, his own examination of Thompson indicated the researcher had an intact appendix. The other members of the landing party discover that there is no animal life present — no livestock, no birds and no insects. Evading Spock and M’Beke’s questions about the general absence of animal life on the planet, Thompson explains simply, "We're vegetarians."
As Braun is searching the surrounding area for clues, the Kurt meets with her and agrees to show her how the scientists have survived. He takes her to a place where there are strange flowers, which spray her with spores.
Being a committed follower of the Hanovarian Way, Braun doesn't normally express her emotions, but moments after exposure to these spores; she is able to say to Kurt, "I love you." Now free to find bliss with Kurt, Katharina laughs and with her head in Kurt's lap she lolls under a tree with him as they contemplate the clouds. When Spock attempts to contact her, it is not Katharina but Kurt who opens the communicator. Unwilling for a moment to stop embracing, nuzzling, and kissing Kurt, Katharina answers Spock's questions with amused curtness.
Katharina shows the strange flowers to Spock and other crewmen, but at this point Spock escapes being hit by their spores as he is just out of their range. When Spock returns to the ship, it is full of the flowers and their spores. The entire crews, in an open but peaceful mutiny, begin to beam down to the planet. Before she leaves, Ensign Colt sabotages the ship's communications system to prevent contact with the Fleet or the Navy.
Soon, Spock is the only person remaining aboard the ship. Since the ship is filled with the plants Spock finds himself within range of one of them on the bridge, and it shoots its spores at him. Spock begins to feel at peace and makes plans to beam down to the colony, but as he is about to leave the Endeavour, he has problems in operating the transporter, causing him to feel a wave of violent emotions, which overwhelms and destroys the effect of the spores.
Spock now realizes the spores cannot survive the presence of strong feelings. He asks Decker to come up to the ship ostensibly to help him with some things that they won't be able to retrieve once the last of them leaves. Spock actually wants to revert Decker's change of personality.
Spock is uncertain that his plan will work. Vulcanians were once ferocious warriors, with violent emotions (much more intense than Humans), before they embraced “The Circle” and ended the wars that were destroying their world. He is not certain that even intense human emotions will be enough to overcome the influence of the spores.
Nonetheless, when Decker arrives, Spock insults him with a stream of racist abuse and taunts him as not being worthy to command the Endeavour. He only got the command by being at the right place at the right time and he knew that. Decker is angered and a brawl ensues but fortunately, his rationality returns to him. They collaborate and create a device to send a subsonic frequency through the communicators that will irritate everyone in the colony.
Soon after the subsonic frequency is sent, fights break out quickly ending the spores' influence.
As the Endeavour, with the scientists safely on board, prepares to exit the planetary system, Braun comments about her experiences saying: "For the first time since I was a child, I was emotionally happy."
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