Kirk’s style has always been bordering on reckless, with enthusiasm and determination pushing him to the limits. Spock is the iceman, the cool and logical voice of reason. Yet when united with a common goal they work as a flawless team and always succeed. They even cross over into each other’s territory sometimes. Kirk is smarter than people give him credit for and can be decisive at the most crucial moments. With his half-human lineage, Spock can smile and let himself go from time to time, although in Vulcan fashion will always find some way to rationalise it.

The middle ground between them has always been McCoy, the grumpy-yet-lovable ship’s doctor who can argue with the both of them. Originally a replacement character, it didn’t take long for fans to warm up to him. If Kirk went on gut instinct and Spock was the brains, McCoy was pure heart. In these episodes, Dagger of the Mind and The Corbomite Maneuver, these characters would get their times to shine, with moments including a lovesick Kirk and Spock’s first mind-meld, to the ultimate gamble and McCoy laying down the law as to who’s in charge in sickbay.

Dagger of the Mind – Summary: Orbiting Tantalus V, The Enterprise transports supplies to the rehabilitation colony for the criminally insane and receive a cargo container to. However, inside the container is an escaped inmate who overpowers the transporter officer and threatens the crew on the bridge with a phaser. The inmate appears deranged and refuses to go back, but is subdued by Kirk and Spock and taken to sickbay. Despite physical pain every time he has to answer personal questions, the inmate reveals he’s Simon van Gelder, assistant to the director of the facility, and warns them about the colony. Kirk communicates with the director of the facility, Dr Tristan Adams, who tells him that van Gelder was experimenting on himself with a device called the Neural Neutraliser and was driven insane by it. Bones is suspicious, and though Kirk dismisses his concerns he is forced to investigate.

Kirk beams down with psychiatrist Dr Helen Noel, and while Adams seems pleasant his staff seem emotionless. Adams shows them the Neural Neutraliser, maintaining that it’s harmless at low intensities. Back on the Enterprise, Spock mind-melds with van Gelder and learns the truth: that Adams is insane and has been using the staff and inmates as guinea pigs. He prepares a security team but they can’t beam through the security field around the colony. Back on Tantalus V, Kirk examines the Neural Neutraliser and decides to test it on himself with Dr Noel at the controls. Dr Adams seizes the controls and turns up the power, brainwashing Kirk into believing that his and Noel’s previous romantic meeting at a Christmas party meant more to him than it really does and that he’s in love with her.

After Kirk’s first “treatment” Dr Noel manages to escape, sabotages the complex’s power supply and overpowers a guard. With the power knocked out, Kirk escapes the treatment room and Spock beams down, reactivating the power. The Neutraliser switches back on in the treatment room and Dr Adams suffers the same fate he’s subjected his human guinea pigs to, emptying his mind and killing him through loneliness. With van Gelder’s sanity returned he takes over the facility, and destroys the Neutraliser. Thinking about Adams’s death, Bones remarks how it’s hard to imagine a person dying of loneliness. With Kirk’s feelings for Dr Noel disappearing, he sadly points out that he can believe it…

The Corbomite Maneuver – Summary: After a third day of mapping stars the Enterprise encounters a large spinning cube floating in space. While McCoy notices the alert being raised, he fails to mention it to Kirk who is undergoing a physical. Kirk is annoyed at McCoy, but the curmudgeonly doctor refuses to back down. On the bridge, crewman Bailey makes his aggressive feelings vocal but is cut down by both Spock and Kirk. Scotty fails to explain the cube, and Kirk gives the order to outmanoeuvre it, but they can’t. The cube emits radiation, and with it drawing closer Kirk has no choice but to destroy it. Things on the Enterprise return to normal, and afterwards Kirk is served a salad under McCoy’s orders and the bridge crew engaging in combat drills. However, a massive glowing sphere now approaches the Enterprise.

The sphere is a vessel and makes contact with the Enterprise. The ship’s commander, Balok, is a strange-looking blue alien with a menacing voice. The alien tells them that due to their hostile actions with the cube they will be destroyed. Balok, broadcasting throughout the Enterprise, allows them ten minutes to say their final prayers. With the Enterprise crew on the verge of panic, Kirk urges everyone to remain calm. Bailey cracks, and is relieved of his duties. Once he’s removed, Kirk tries to explain their actions but with no success. Spock likes the situation to an inevitable defeat in chess and can find no logical solution, but Kirk wonders if the solution is a less-logical action such as bluffing in poker. He lies to Balok and tells the alien that the Enterprise contains a substance called Corbomite, a fail safe device that will destroy whoever attacks them fatally. After a tense countdown, during which Bailey returns to the bridge, it becomes evident that Balok has fallen for the ruse.

Balok demands more information on Corbomite, but Kirk refuses. Using a tug ship, Balok tries to pull the Enterprise inside the sphere and informs them that he will keep them as prisoners. Kirk orders the Enterprise to try to pull away and after a struggle they manage to. The tug loses power and is helpless. Instead of fleeing, Kirk picks an away team to render assistance to the tug. As they prepare to beam over, Scotty tells them to bend down as the tug seems to have a low roof. Once on board the tug they learn why: the being they thought was Balok was just a dummy used to intimidate people, and the real Balok is a small, harmless alien who’s lonely and wants to learn more about humans. Bailey happily accepts the role as an ambassador and remains behind, and Kirk learns that Balok isn’t that far removed from humans after all…

Star Trek episodes can be like a lucky packet, you never know quite what you’re going to get. In this case you’ve got two totally contrasting episodes that both work. Dagger of the Mind is a by-the-numbers tale of the lunatic taking of the asylum, with no real surprises. However, it’s still a step up from What Are Little Girls Made Of two episodes before. While there are no shocks, everyone gives great performances and it’s nice to see the personal lives and opinions of the crew creeping in. Kirk, McCoy and Spock trade some interesting observations, and Dr Noel is more than just a pretty face. Kirk’s interaction with her is intentionally awkward, and she handles herself in a fight too. Plus, of course, there’s the first appearance of the Vulcan mind-meld…

The Corbomite Maneuver (proving that Tarantino isn’t the only one who can misspell titles) shows the Enterprise crew doing what they’re supposed to, which is exploring. We also see Kirk do what he does best, which is get himself out of the no-win scenario by simply cheating. If there’s one episode that shows what Kirk is truly about at his core, it’s this one. Despite the numerous women Kirk would be associated with over the years, here we see that his real love is the Enterprise, and his command style may be fast-and-loose but he’s always in control. There are plenty of fun moments with Kirk and Bones verbally sparring, while Sulu has a good chuckle at Bailey’s emotional moments being brushed aside by Spock. This episode is the perfect self-contained “bottle” show and became a template for episodes in every Trek series since, although it’s never been duplicated quite as smoothly.