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The Immunity Syndrome (TOS episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Immunity Syndrome" is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series
first broadcast January 19, 1968 and repeated June 7, 1968. It is episode #47, production #48, written by Robert Sabaroff and directed by Joseph Pevney
.
Overview: The crew of the Enterprise
encounters an energy-draining space creature.
4307.1, the USS Enterprise is en route to Starbase 6 for rest and relaxation
. The communications officer, Lt. Uhura
, receives a garbled distress call, but all she can make out are the sector coordinates and the name of the ship, the USS Intrepid, which is manned entirely by Vulcans
. Suddenly, the signal is gone and Mr. Spock shudders and feels uneasy. When asked what is wrong, he replies that the Intrepid has "died".
Starfleet
sends a priority message to Captain Kirk and orders him to investigate Sector 39J where contact has been lost with the colonies in the Gamma 7A system. This is also the last known position of the Intrepid. Arriving there, Mr. Chekov
reports that the sensors show no life readings in the system of a billion inhabitants.
Spock is checked out by Dr. McCoy in sickbay where he explains he was nauseated when he felt the combined shock and terror in the minds of 400 of his fellow Vulcans aboard the Intrepid as they died. McCoy is amazed that Spock felt anything with the great distance involved between the two ships, but admits there is a lot about Vulcans he still doesn't understand.
Spock returns to the bridge just as Uhura announces she has lost contact with Starfleet. Kirk has Spock scan a dark ominous form that appears on the main view screen. Spock reports it is some kind of energy turbulence; probably responsible for the death of the system inhabitants and the Intrepid crew. Kirk launches a sensor probe into the void. Suddenly a painful, high pitched noise fills the ship that renders half the crew sickened or faint.
Sensor scans from the probe reveal nothing, so Kirk orders the ship to get in closer. When it does, the piercing sound returns and all the stars disappear from the main view screen. The ship is now in a desolate void of nothingness. Dr. McCoy then reports that the sick crew are getting worse and it appears everyone seems to be dying. Spock surmises that the ship has crossed some kind of negative energy boundary where their physical properties cannot exist. All ship's energy, as well as the crew's life force, is being drained away.
Kirk orders full reverse, but the ship moves forward deeper into the void. If forward thrust is applied the ship slows down. Chief engineer Scott
, frantically tinkers with controls to give the ship the power it needs, but nothing seems to respond.
The huge expenditure of ship's energy attracts what appears to be an 11,000-mile (~17,700 km) wide amoeba
, which appears on the main screen. Kirk launches another sensor probe which reveals the creature is protoplasm
ic in nature. McCoy believes it is a massive single-celled entity that feeds off raw energy but he needs more data to confirm this.
Spock decides to get the information McCoy needs and requests to pilot a shuttlecraft in closer to the creature. Kirk reluctantly accepts Spock's suicidal request and allows him to launch. He pilots the shuttle up to the creature and penetrates the outer skin, then he makes his way toward the cell's nucleus. Spock transmits data and keeps a log of his progress during the journey. He believes the creature may be ready to reproduce and suggests it can be destroyed from the inside, but his details become garbled and then cuts off. Kirk and McCoy determine that if the creature begins to reproduce, it will spread rapidly and pose a serious threat to the galaxy. They must do something now, but the Enterprise only has an hour left until all energy is expended. As Kirk and McCoy meet together to have a drink and discuss various topics, Kirk suddenly realizes that if various activities in the zone have an opposite effect, then using antimatter on the organism should kill it but realizes the Enterprise will have to journey into the creature.
Kirk then takes the Enterprise into the cell's body to look for Mr. Spock who is nowhere to be found. Kirk orders Scotty to prepare an antimatter
bomb with a timer set for a seven minute delay. The bomb is fired into the cell's nucleus and the Enterprise heads out using what little power that remains to slink away. With seconds remaining, Spock's shuttle is finally located and Kirk tells Scotty to retrieve it in a tractor beam. With power levels nearly exhausted, the ship makes its way out of the void just as the bomb explodes. The creature is annihilated, and the shock throws both the Enterprise and the shuttle back into normal space. Both ships survive with only slight damage and Mr. Spock returns his craft to the ship.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
first broadcast January 19, 1968 and repeated June 7, 1968. It is episode #47, production #48, written by Robert Sabaroff and directed by Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney was an American film and television director.-Biography:Pevney was born on September 15, 1911 in New York City, New York.He made his debut in vaudeville as a boy soprano in 1924...
.
Overview: The crew of the Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
encounters an energy-draining space creature.
Plot
On stardateStardate
A stardate is a date in the fictional system of time measurement developed for Star Trek, commonly heard at the beginning of a voiceover log entry such as "Captain's log, stardate 41153.7...
4307.1, the USS Enterprise is en route to Starbase 6 for rest and relaxation
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
. The communications officer, Lt. Uhura
Uhura
Nyota Uhura is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and the 2009 film Star Trek...
, receives a garbled distress call, but all she can make out are the sector coordinates and the name of the ship, the USS Intrepid, which is manned entirely by Vulcans
Vulcan (Star Trek)
Vulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
. Suddenly, the signal is gone and Mr. Spock shudders and feels uneasy. When asked what is wrong, he replies that the Intrepid has "died".
Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
sends a priority message to Captain Kirk and orders him to investigate Sector 39J where contact has been lost with the colonies in the Gamma 7A system. This is also the last known position of the Intrepid. Arriving there, Mr. Chekov
Pavel Chekov
Pavel Andreievich Chekov is a Russian Starfleet officer in the Star Trek fictional universe. Walter Koenig portrayed Chekov in the original Star Trek series and first seven Star Trek films; Anton Yelchin portrayed the character in the 2009 film Star Trek.-Origin:Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry...
reports that the sensors show no life readings in the system of a billion inhabitants.
Spock is checked out by Dr. McCoy in sickbay where he explains he was nauseated when he felt the combined shock and terror in the minds of 400 of his fellow Vulcans aboard the Intrepid as they died. McCoy is amazed that Spock felt anything with the great distance involved between the two ships, but admits there is a lot about Vulcans he still doesn't understand.
Spock returns to the bridge just as Uhura announces she has lost contact with Starfleet. Kirk has Spock scan a dark ominous form that appears on the main view screen. Spock reports it is some kind of energy turbulence; probably responsible for the death of the system inhabitants and the Intrepid crew. Kirk launches a sensor probe into the void. Suddenly a painful, high pitched noise fills the ship that renders half the crew sickened or faint.
Sensor scans from the probe reveal nothing, so Kirk orders the ship to get in closer. When it does, the piercing sound returns and all the stars disappear from the main view screen. The ship is now in a desolate void of nothingness. Dr. McCoy then reports that the sick crew are getting worse and it appears everyone seems to be dying. Spock surmises that the ship has crossed some kind of negative energy boundary where their physical properties cannot exist. All ship's energy, as well as the crew's life force, is being drained away.
Kirk orders full reverse, but the ship moves forward deeper into the void. If forward thrust is applied the ship slows down. Chief engineer Scott
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...
, frantically tinkers with controls to give the ship the power it needs, but nothing seems to respond.
The huge expenditure of ship's energy attracts what appears to be an 11,000-mile (~17,700 km) wide amoeba
Amoeba
Amoeba is a genus of Protozoa.History=The amoeba was first discovered by August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof in 1757. Early naturalists referred to Amoeba as the Proteus animalcule after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his shape...
, which appears on the main screen. Kirk launches another sensor probe which reveals the creature is protoplasm
Protoplasm
Protoplasm is the living contents of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a general term of the Cytoplasm . Protoplasm is composed of a mixture of small molecules such as ions, amino acids, monosaccharides and water, and macromolecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and...
ic in nature. McCoy believes it is a massive single-celled entity that feeds off raw energy but he needs more data to confirm this.
Spock decides to get the information McCoy needs and requests to pilot a shuttlecraft in closer to the creature. Kirk reluctantly accepts Spock's suicidal request and allows him to launch. He pilots the shuttle up to the creature and penetrates the outer skin, then he makes his way toward the cell's nucleus. Spock transmits data and keeps a log of his progress during the journey. He believes the creature may be ready to reproduce and suggests it can be destroyed from the inside, but his details become garbled and then cuts off. Kirk and McCoy determine that if the creature begins to reproduce, it will spread rapidly and pose a serious threat to the galaxy. They must do something now, but the Enterprise only has an hour left until all energy is expended. As Kirk and McCoy meet together to have a drink and discuss various topics, Kirk suddenly realizes that if various activities in the zone have an opposite effect, then using antimatter on the organism should kill it but realizes the Enterprise will have to journey into the creature.
Kirk then takes the Enterprise into the cell's body to look for Mr. Spock who is nowhere to be found. Kirk orders Scotty to prepare an antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
bomb with a timer set for a seven minute delay. The bomb is fired into the cell's nucleus and the Enterprise heads out using what little power that remains to slink away. With seconds remaining, Spock's shuttle is finally located and Kirk tells Scotty to retrieve it in a tractor beam. With power levels nearly exhausted, the ship makes its way out of the void just as the bomb explodes. The creature is annihilated, and the shock throws both the Enterprise and the shuttle back into normal space. Both ships survive with only slight damage and Mr. Spock returns his craft to the ship.
40th Anniversary remastering
This episode was re-mastered in 2006 and was first aired April 7, 2007 as part of the remastered 40th Anniversary original series.. It was preceded a week earlier by the remastered version of "The Tholian Web" and followed a week later by the remastered version of "And the Children Shall Lead". Aside from remastered video and audio, and the all-CGI animation of the Enterprise that is standard among the revisions, specific changes to this episode also include:- The zone of darkness fluctuates and moves more smoothly.
- The Enterprise appears more shadowed in the zone of darkness with its interior and exterior lights more luminous.
- The organism is more enhanced and detailed.
- An exterior shot of Spock's shuttle craft leaving the Enterprise bay, and an image of the organism during the explosion was added to the shuttle's viewscreens (previously left black in the original).
- The Enterprise's impulse engines are illuminated red to depict its' struggle against the organism's pull.
- An exterior shot of the Enterprise going through turbulence when penetrating the organism.