Amph To Boldly Trek Where Many Geeks Have Gone Before- VOY: Drive, Repression & Imperfection

214: Wolf in the Fold:
-Premise: Scotty is the prime suspect in a series of murders he remembers nothing about.
-T2Q Comments: An ok, if a tad cheesy, murder mystery- it's obvious it's not Scotty throughout the episode though and the allowance of circumstances that permitted the followup murders was a bit silly (how about we keep Scotty locked up instead of next to women who have a tendancy to end up dead when alone with him?). I liked Hengist as a character, though he devolution into villian takes away from him- especially once he becomes your typical "woooo-oooo!" dismebodied ghsot-like voice; though I rather like having the voice of Piglet playing a killer, hehe.
And, much like how Stargate did the aliens-as-gods thing better than "Adonais", Babylon 5 did the whole "Jack Ripper is still alive" concept much better (albeit in a much different manner) than "Wolf". Not too cringe inducing, and not relevant to other episodes (outside of, apparently, an offhand comment made by Scotty in his TNG episode) so it gets ranked as "Average".


215: The Trouble With Tribbles:
-Premise: Kirk must defuse a Klingon scheme to destroy a grain shipment...and cope with a seemingly benign creature known as a tribble, which reproduces at amazing speed.
-T2Q Comments: Definitely one of the better humor-centric episodes, but also notable for at least connection with the events on Organia. Kirk's "I want these things off the ship I don't care if it takes every man we've got I want them off the ship." delivery kills me. And, not to mention these events are revisted in the well-known DS9 episode, so certainly a new entry amongst "Definite Essentials".

216 - The Gamesters Of Triskelion:
-Premise: Kirk, Chekov, and Uhura are kidnapped and forced to participate in a series of gladiatorial games by gambling beings called The Providers.
-T2Q Comments: Didn't really care for this one- more of the same, really. You've got the female character made to look foolish at Kirk's initially false advances, a search for the missing crew, gladiatorial combat, and aliens with highly evolved mental powers that capture other lesser beings for their entertainiment. There's at least half a dozen other episodes that contain one or more of those elements, hell, the latter concept is from the pilot and shown again in The Menagerie.
McCoy's line "Can people live that long as dissembled atoms in a transporter beam?" struck me as particularly prohetic, given what will eventually happen to Scotty down the road. Scotty and McCoy's constant objections to Spock's course of action got annoying too- especially since it was McCoy who prodded him to find some kind of lead to begin with, so it doesn't make sense that he'd complain about Spock actually following one that he did find.
Also, the final gladiator battle's rules are that Kirk can only stay in the yellow regions while the other slaves have to stay in the blue areas. And yet Kirk's first step of the fight is literally into the blue area, and error he repeats several times throughout the fight. Not much of a rule, hehe.
Not completely terrible though, and if you've got a honkering for three colorfully glowing brains in a bubble, this is your episode
"Ok Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential"


Up next, 217: A Piece Of The Action, 218: The Immunity Syndrome and 219: A Private Little War.

 

217: A Piece of the Action:
-Premise: Kirk, Spock and Bones are caught in between rival criminal syndicates on a world that has developed around the notions of 1920s Earth gangsters.
-T2Q Comments: First of a few "time period planet of the week" episodes, essentially having an implausible scenario of a planet mimicing some period of Earth culture as a means to avoid doing another time travel story, even thoguh they are essentially some form of time travel story at heart.
This particular one is silly (particularly when Kirk assumes the dialect), but funny and overall enjoyable. Apparently there is a setup to this episode in Enterprise with the Horizon being shown (including a copy of the Gangsters book aboard).
Potentially Essential, But Not Necessarily Good. (though it's borderline with the Good category as well)


218: The Immunity Syndrome:
-Premise: The Enterprise must destroy an enormous space amoeba before it reproduces and threatens known space
-T2Q Comments: Good space creature problem type episode. Though yet another entire star system or two destroyed. Tarkin would be proud.
Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential, though potentially average.

219: A Private Little War:
-Premise: Klingon interference on a previous Eden-esque planet, through the introduction of firearms, begins a conflict amongst the locals that Kirk and McCoy must attempt to resume a balance between.
-T2Q Comments: Ok, that first Evil White Horny Monkey jumping outta nowhere made me jump a bit, I'll admit. Slap, your Spock up. Slap, your Spock up. A nice downer ending that they don't try to lessen by adding last second cheap humor, though the Eden parable gets a little heavy handed.
I'll also place this one aongst the "Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential" category, though the Klingon presence makes it borderline Essential.


Up next, 220: Return to Tommorow, 221: Patterns of Force and 222: By Any Other Name.

 

Gonna break sequence here for one moment and jump ahead afew episodes to this past weekend's remastered episode, because I just had to comment on it now:


223: The Omega Glory:
-Premise: After discovering the USS Exeter adrift and her crew reduced to crystalized remains, Kirk, Spock and McCoy (ok, and a Red Shirt- guess what happens to him ) are infected by the same agent that killed the Exeter's crew and are forced to stay on the planet below where natural immunization elements can keep them alive- if the Exeter's captain's search for immortality or the warring native factions don't kill them first.
-T2Q Comments: Starship captains seem to be a bit wobbly for people who apparently supposed to be the best and most incorruptible- we've met three so far, one's a hounddog prone to acts of violence, anothers gone dark and murderous in the search for immortality and another who just went bat**** crazy. Wonder what the other 10 are like
Good bit between Kirk and Spock- "Don't they ever rest?!" "Not that I have observed, Captain. However, should they wish to do so, one of them could rest while the other keeps you occupied." "Thank you , Mr Spock..."
I don't recall there being other uses of Spock's little voodoo hypnosis ability- especially when it seems it'd had been useful to use in other situations they encountered.
The episode's been actually pretty decent so far, though this communist/yankee parable seems forced in here at the end but as long as they don't take it too far...and nevermind...What. The. ****. Seriously? Seriously? The American flag? The pledge of allegiance? The Constitution? In an alien world's history? You don't think you might want to, I dunno, EXPLAIN all that?!
This episode seems to be two stories rolled into one, and this second half just sent this episode out into the far reaches of Just Plain Stupid (12 parsecs southeast of the rishi maze ), plummeting down the classification ladder. Only saving grace is the amusement of Shatner's over the top recitation of the constitution, so I'll be merciful and merely label this episode as "Forgettable", though I don't think I wish to subject myself to such idiocy again.


[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/omega/new_omega_glory_04.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/omega/new_omega_glory_05.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/omega/new_omega_glory_06.jpg]

 

Well, unfortunately I don't have a category titled "Stupid".

The topper to the whole thing is that Gene was so proud of his script for this episode that he personally submitted it for Emmy consideration. Obviously, the man isn't quite the genius some say he is

 

220: Return to Tommorow:
-Premise: The Enterprise discovers three discorporeal intelligences who seek their help in gaining physical bodies...but one of them has plans of his own.
-T2Q Comments: There's a female crewmember! Quick! Romantic music ASAP! gasp! Spock seems surprised to have encountered a being of energy- but, they've encounetred, like, 4 already... Kirk's little board room speech is delivered just as ham-fisted as his Constitution delivery in The Omega Glory, but with the music, it just about works as a cheesy uplifting leader speech...until it ends with "get ready to beam aboard three recepticles" ; though it has a weak setup, the middle part of this episode almost plays out like an average episode of Stargate, until the inevitable "saw it coming" betrayal. Also, where do Kirk and the chick's mind go at the end while their bodies are being used? The two beings choosing to kill themselves also seems out of character- you don't fight for survival for a million years and then just give up like that. Come to think of it, this episode is basicly a less annoying remake of What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Still, it's not a bad episode overall, so I'll classify it as "Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential"
Interesting sidenote- the actress playing the Dr. Anne Mulhall character would later play Dr. Pulaski on TNG.

221: Patterns of Force:
-Premise: The Enterprise seeks out a historical researcher with whom the Federation has lost contact, and discover he has contaminated a culture, remaking it into a near-duplicate of Nazi Germany
-T2Q Comments: Ah, the Nazi episode. While having the potential to be bad, actually end sup being the best of the three" time-period planet of the week" episodes in this season. At least it's explained and not just merely coincidental (as in theupcoming Bread and Circuses), dependent on a specific alien trait (as in the A Piece of the Action mimicing traits of that planet's people) ir just plain frelling stupid (The Omega Glory, oh how you'll never hear the end of that from me, yes, my little pet, your pain shall be unending for my eternal amusement. Wait, where was I again? Oh yeah, Nazis.). Amusing line from Spock to Kirk: "You should make a very convincing Nazi".
Gonna also go with "Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential" for this one.

222: By Any Other Name:
-Premise: The Enterprise's command crew must thwart an invasion by aliens from another galaxy called Kelvins who plan to conquer this one.
-T2Q Comments: There's mention of the galactic energy barrier and how Kirk and crew had been there already (from Where No Man Has Gone Before, which might retroactively upgrade that episode's status) and a less obvious reference to A Taste of Armageddon" when Spock used a mind ability to trick a guard through a wall; The "gold Kelvin chick" looks like DS9's Dax's daughter; Kirk's "are you mad?" reaction to the suggestion they destroy the enterprise to stop the enemy that has taken over her is amusing given Star Trek III's events. Gotta wonder why Scotty doesn't just beam either the transmitter or the Kelvins into space. So they try to stimulate human senses in the Kelvins- McCoy through food, Scotty through liquor, Spock through psychological manipulation and Kirk...through seduction that's just so silly it's great.
The episode overall is pretty good, though, but is harmed by a semi-abrupt ending which has a "we're not sure how to really resolve this so lets just finish here" sense to it. The episode actually has a near-series-finale feel to it, what with the Enterprise coming full circle to the galactic barrier and all from the 2nd pilot.
Gonna stretch things a bit and give this a "Definitely Essential" classification.

223: The Omega Glory: See earlier post

Up next, the final three of Season 2! 224: The Ultimate Computer, 225: Bread and Circuses and 226: Assignment Earth.

 

224: The Ultimate Computer:
-Premise: Starfleet uses the Enterprise to test a new super-sophisticated computer, but it soon develops a mind of its own.
-T2Q Comments: Hmm, with this episode title, I wonder what Kirk's gonna do in this episode...yep, you guessed it- he'll talk the computer to death- Kirk: 5, Computers: 0. So yeah, basicly we have a Skynet situation aboard the Enterprise, with the computer's creator slowly going nuts because he's so devoted to it. The direction and camera angles are a bit too over the top and cheesy, but is a bit different than the norm for this series. There's actually some very good character inetraction and dialogue between the main three that works very well. Daystrom,the scientist, goes from being an interesting character to just pathetic, so that's a bit of a dissapointment. It was neat to see 4 Constitution ships on screen at once, and this whole war games scenario could be quite awesome when they get to it in the remastered series.
So this ends up beinga bit mixed in the end, but still entertaining. With Daystrom apaprently being mentioned a lot in later Trek shows, I'll note this one as "Potentially Essential, But Not Necessarily Good"

225: Bread and Circuses:
-Premise: The Enterprise encounters a planet whose culture is patterned on ancient Rome... and holds gladiatorial games that Kirk, Spock, and McCoy must fight in.
-T2Q Comments: The third "time frame planet of the week" episode. Funny how in "Patterns of Force", Spock said it'd be almost impossible for a planet to develop exactly like a period in Earth history, using the same uniforms and iconography, yet here he has no problem with it happening. The episode isn't too bad- less annoying than "A Piece of the Action", as ludicris as the episode's premise is and it's blatant mnature as an excuse to get the characters into another gladiatorial-type battle.
Potentially Essential, But Not Necessarily Good

226: Assignment Earth:
-Premise: Kirk must decide whether to thwart or help a traveller sent to 1960s Earth on a secret mission.
-T2Q Comments: This one was obviously a potential spinoff pilot, but not in a bad way- I would have liked to have seen this series happen. Overall this is a very solid little time travel episode, though it seems to treat time travel as a bit more routine than usual.
Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential


Up next- Season 3!

So, as I come to the end of this season, I'll recap my journey so far:


Definite Essentials:
110: The Corbomite Maneuver
114: Balance of Terror
119: Tommorow is Yesterday
122: Space Seed
126: Errand of Mercy
201: Amok Time
204: Mirror, Mirror
206: The Doomsday Machine
210: Journey to Babel
215: The Trouble With Tribbles
222: By Any Other Name

Potentially Essential, But Not Necessarily Good:
118: Arena
209: Metamorphosis
211: Friday's Child
212: The Deadly Years
217: A Piece of the Action
224: The Ultimate Computer
225: Bread and Circuses

Good Episodes, But Not Necessarily Essential:
127: The Alternative Factor
128: The City of the Edge of Forever
203: The Changeling
207: Catspaw
213: Obsession
218: The Immunity Syndrome
219: A Private Little War
221: Patterns of Force
220: Return to Tommorow
226: Assignment Earth

Will Be Revisited & Reclassified:
107: What Are Little Girls Made Of?
109: Dagger of the Mind
113: The Conscience of the King
116: The Galileo Seven
117: The Squire of Gothos
121: The Return of the Archons
123: A Taste of Armageddo
125: Devil in the Dark

Average Episodes:
129: Operation-Annihilate!
214: Wolf in the Fold
225: Bread and Circuses

Ok Episodes, But Not Necessarily Essential:
100: The Cage
104: The Naked Time
105: The Enemy Within
111: The Menagerie
112: The Menagerie
124: This Side of Paradise
202: Who Mourns For Adonais
205: The Apple
208: I, Mudd
216: The Gamesters of Triskelion


Forgettable:
103: Where No Man Has Gone Before
108: Miri
115: Shore Leave
120: Court Martial
223: The Omega Glory


Trash:
101:

 

Digging though episode guides, it actually had two correct predictions- the launch of a saturn rocket, as well as the political assassination.

 

Ah, that was the earlier time travel episode (which actually took them back further ahead in time than the second trip...)

 

The files I'm being lent, at least in TOS's case, are, presumably, DVD rips (I may have easier access to the actual DVDs for subsequent series). I went that route mainly because it's easier for me to track my comments in a stream of conciousness type way as I view them, as well as making it easier for me to conform them to the episode order lists I'm referencing on tv.com.

However, I have caught a few episodes I've reviewed via the Remastered airings on NBC; but as those air out of order, I usually record my assessment but save it until I reach that point in the episode order before psoting it.

 

301: Spock's Brain:
-Premise: When a mysterious woman invades the Enterprise and removes Spock's Brain, the crew rush to recover it before his body decays.
-T2Q Comments: Well, I knew what I was getting into with this episode, as it's reputation preceeds it. Oddly enough, I don't think this episode was as bad as people make it out to be. Despite being a fairly ridiculous concept (particularly Remote Control Zombie Spock (tm) ), it's a surprisingly cringeless episode, which is more than I can say about many other TOS episodes. The surgery montage of facial expresisons being a notable lowpoint- especially how they focus on Spock at least twice, despite him not being capable of any expresison at that point.
This one, while bad, doesn't make me want to throw my shoe through the screen, so I'll label this one merely "Forgettable".
Some remastered shots:

[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/spocksbrain/ionship_approach.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/spocksbrain/new_sb_03.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/spocksbrain/new_sb_07.jpg]

302: The Enterprise Incident:
-Premise: Captain Kirk becomes increasingly erratic and orders the Enterprise into Romulan space...where the ship is captured by a beautiful Romulan commander.
Heh-Romulans using Klingon designs, aka "we needed to save cash". Nice hammy "I'll......kill you!". Romulan Kirk- oh, they'll never be able to tell! Other than that, this one was pretty good though, and brings the Romulans to the forefront again as villians. On that alone, this one gets a "Definitely Essential" label.

303: The Paradise Syndrome:
-Premise: A stranded and amnesiac Kirk is mistaken as a god among a race of Ntaive American-like people while the crew work to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with the planet.
-T2Q Comments: This continues Season 2's habit of having time-period of the week episodes, this time with the "Native American Planet" (which, i kid you not, was apparently named "Amerind" in the script, though not identified as such on screen...thank god). But at least they bother to come up with a Stargate-like explaination of the "Wise Ones"/"Preservers" seeding human life across the galaxy, further explaining the abundance of humanoid aliens in the Trek universe. Anyone know if they elaborate on The Preservers elsewhere?
So Kirk is a God in this episode- Shatner musta loved this one, ha. Jealous Medicine Man plotline telegraphed and cliched though does have a genuine moment with him asking the chick if she'd choose him if permitted. Shatner in tribal paint and smiling, then to serious look with zoom, oh boy. Why bother stoning them? Worlds gonna end anyways. "This (tricorder) is familiar, yet unfamilair..." ...so i'll just drop it on the ground.
The asteroid plotline is actually quite good though, despite a rather awful "imagin this rock is a..." visual aid scene early on. Nice little bit with Spock faking going to sleep to placate McCoy. Really have to applaud the one FX shot that dollys in from behind the Enterprise forward towards the asteroid...it's unlike any other ship shot in the series so far, and rather dynamic in a subtle way. Scotty's frustration at the stress Spock is putting the ship through was amusing...btw, just what the hell is behind Scotty anyways? a nacelle interior?
Anyways, this one ended up being better than I had feared, so I'll group it in with the other so-so time-planet episodes, as it's at least equal to them: Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential.

Remastered shots (love the deflector beam shot; though I think they made an error changing the obilisk deflector to red, as it's described as the "blue flame" by the natives):
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/paradisesyndrome/new_ent_approach_asteroid.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/paradisesyndrome/new_ent_deflector_beam.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/paradisesyndrome/new_ent_in_front_asteroid.jpg]
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-

 

As a catch-me-up, pics from various Remastered episodes that have aired over the past few months which I've reviewed previously:

Squire of Gothos:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/squire/new_squire_04.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/squire/new_squire_06.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/squire/new_squire_08.jpg]

This Side of Paradise:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tsop/new_tsop_04.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tsop/new_tsop_08.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tsop/new_tsop_10.jpg]

The Conscience of the King:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/conscience_king/new_tosr013_01.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/conscience_king/new_tosr013_02.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/conscience_king/new_tosr013_03.jpg]

The Man Trap:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/mantrap/new_tosr006_4.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/mantrap/new_tosr006_9.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/mantrap/new_tosr006_10.jpg]

The Gamemasters of Triwhatselion:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/gamesterstriskelion/new_tosr046_3.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/gamesterstriskelion/new_tosr046_5.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/gamesterstriskelion/new_tosr046_6.jpg]

Dagger of the Mind:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/daggermind/new_tosr011_2.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/daggermind/new_tosr011_3.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/daggermind/new_tosr011_6.jpg]

What Are Little Girls Made Of?
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/whatlittlegirls/new_tosr010_4.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/whatlittlegirls/new_tosr010_5.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/whatlittlegirls/new_tosr010_6.jpg]

The Galileo Seven:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_02.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_06.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_07.jpg]
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_11.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_13.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_15.jpg]
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_18.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_20.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/galileo_seven/new_galileo_22.jpg]

Charlie X:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/charliex/new_charliex_01.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/charliex/new_charliex_05.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/charliex/new_charliex_06.jpg]

Miri:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/miri/new_miri_03.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/miri/new_miri_04.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/miri/new_miri_06.jpg]
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/miri/new_miri_07.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/miri/new_miri_08.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/miri/new_miri_09.jpg]

Bread & Circuses:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/breadcircus/new/03.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/breadcircus/new/12.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/breadcircus/new/14.jpg]

Patterns of Force:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/patternsforce/new_pof_03.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/patternsforce/new_pof_04.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/patternsforce/escaping.jpg]

Tommorrow is Yesterday:
[image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tiy/new_tiy_01.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tiy/new_tiy_02.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tiy/new_tiy_04.j

 

306: Spectre of the Gun:
-Premise: When coming to an exaphobic isolationist planet, Captain Kirk and his landing party are punished for trepassing. They are sentenced to death in a surreal recreation of the Gunfight at the OK Corral with the landing on the losing side.
-T2Q Comments: Now, I love time travel and all, but by this point in the show it seems like they really should have just made the show about time exploration instead of space exploration, because half these shows are either time travel epsiodes, time travel episodes in all but name, or an excuse to use essentially a time period set. Time Trek in all but name, really.
That said, once you get over the western elements, this was a pretty good episode, unhindered by any 60's syndrome issues, though it is harmed by the obvious budget-saving partial sets, regardless how they explained it away. Creepy looking alien- really wish I could see a modern version actual moving.
I find it annoying that Chechov would allow himself to be provoked into a confrontation over and with what they knew to be illusionary people.
Despite knowing that the people aren't real, it does seem as if the Matrixy "if your mind doesn't think the bullets are real, they can't kill you" conlusion is reached in a rushed manner, though that's a minor issue. Guns sure had a lot of ammo in them (though since its an illusion, I suppose that doesn't matter).
The "you did not kill?" bit from the aliens is a retread of Arena's ending, though this episode is executed a lot better than that one. Additionally, the subsequent moral conclusion aboard the bridge feels like "time for the obligatory lesson of the episode" and thus feels a bit forced in there.
In the end, there's not much to really complain about, but it's certainly not an essential episode, but does fit right in with the time period planet of the week pattern of episodes throughout most of this series, so it gets a "Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential".

 

American Indian was what struck me first. It's like calling the Nazi Germany planet Naziger.

 

Chekov was amusing in the episode, definitely.

For the most part, I'd equate this with the other time-planet TOS episodes- they're certainly notable and (usually) fun, but they're not particularly relevant to the rest of the franchise, and so you don't have to watch them, technically.