Robert Bloch came to Star Trek with a long list of writing credits to his name. He was primarily a horror writer, having been mentored by H.P. Lovecraft and writing tales of otherworldly evil, before moving on to write tales of normal people with disturbed minds like Psycho. After an initial stint in Hollywood where he found his darker work for television finding limited support from the studios, he finally landed jobs working for shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and ultimately Star Trek. However, his stories were still dark and he found his scripts being fixed up by Gene Roddenberry to take away some of their true horror. However, What Are Little Girls Made Of? still kept the core horror concept of people not being what they appear.
Strangely, Miri is more terrifying and shows better writing. Here the horror plays on a smarter level. The initial mutated appearance of a being is a masterful piece of deception, before we realise that the children in the story are far more dangerous even if they’re only playing “pranks”. The contagion on the planet is a perfect ticking clock that helps to up the tension. It’s also a far more emotional piece of writing, showing everything from teenage crushes and jealousy through to frustration and helplessness…
What Are Little Girls Made Of? – Summary: The Enterprise arrives at the icy planet of Exo III looking for Doctor Korby, a gifted exobiologist and Nurse Chapel’s missing fiance. Kirk makes contact with him and agrees to beam down with Chapel to the underground complex where he is. When Korby isn’t there to meet them, Kirk beams down two security officers, who are killed by a giant android called Ruk. Korby’s assistant Doctor Brown explains that the caves and the android-making machinery within it were left there by an ancient race. Korby soon explains that Brown and their female companion Andrea are androids he has created.
Kirk tries to escape and kills the Brown android, but is captured by Korby’s protector Ruk. Korby’s plan is to replace Starfleet personnel with android duplicates that serve him. He creates a duplicate of Kirk, but the real Kirk has planted thoughts in is duplicate that will make Spock suspicious of it. When Korby sends the duplicate to the Enterprise, it insults Spock’s Vulcan lineage which convinces Spock that things are not what they seem. The android Kirk returns to Exo III, and Spock and a security team give chase.
The real Kirk has been sowing seeds of doubt which convince Ruk that Korby will destroy him, and makes Andrea kill the android Kirk. Korby is attacked by Ruk, but kills the giant. It’s revealed that Korby has an android body and a human brain. Kirk points out that whatever humanity was in Korby died a long time ago, and Nurse Chapel is repelled by him in every way. Finally the insane Korby kills both himself and Andrea. As the Enterprise leaves orbit it is revealed that Nurse Chapel will stay on board.
Miri – Summary: Following a distress call, the Enterprise discovers a world that looks similar to Earth. However, the city the landing party beam to is a ruin and they are quickly attacked by a mutated person who has amazing strength. Despite this, the attacker dies of a seizure after Kirk retaliates. They then spot a young girl who runs into a building, and follow her in. Her name is Miri and she tells them that the grown-ups, or “grups”, contracted a disease that drove them mad before all dying. Kirk and his away team soon show the symptoms of this disease, except for Spock. Bones races against the clock to find a cure before they all die within a week.
Spock learns that the disease stemmed from an attempt to increase longevity. While the children only age one month for every hundred years, it wiped out every adult and that once the children hit puberty they will die too. Bones’s research is halted when a group of children steal their communicators, cutting them off from the Enterprise’s computers. Yeoman Rand becomes hysterical at the situation, and when Kirk tries to comfort her Miri becomes jealous and helps the children kidnap Rand.
Kirk confronts her about it, pointing out that Miri is becoming sick too. She takes Kirk to the children, but they refuse to listen and Kirk is beaten down by them. He implores them to trust him, since their supplies are running low and that he wants to help them. They finally side with him, but Bones couldn’t wait and has developed an experimental serum without the Enterprise computers to assist him. With no way to test it other than on himself, Bones injects himself and passes out. Despite signs of initial failure, it turns out his serum works. After they’re all cured, they return to the Enterprise and Kirk informs Starfleet to dispatch advisers and teachers to help the children rebuild their world…
These are two episodes that have divided the fans and critics alike. What Are Little Girls Made Of? is a wonderful concept but by being an episode that focuses on Kirk without Spock or Bones it becomes flat and seems to tread over the same ground several times. Miri is a brilliant story that shows the team working together, but watching little children behave savagely is distasteful, and it’s no wonder that it was banned in Britain for over 20 years.
That being said, the performances are wonderful. The Addams Family’s Lurch, Ted Cassidy, stars as Ruk and his physical presence and strength make Kirk seem truly small. The children in Miri are completely menacing, a contrast made even more obvious when you realise that these are the children of Roddenberry, Shatner and other cast and crew members. The writing is smart, and the directing is fluid too.
Neither of these episodes is a particular standout, although there are moments to treasure. Nurse Chapel gets her start here, and when she asks Spock if he’s ever been engaged he seems flustered, something that would come back into play later. Bones gets his chance to shine in Miri but you also see how his relationship with Spock and Kirk falls apart only to be rebuilt later. They’re both decent episodes and are worth a look, but they’re a little below par for Classic Trek.
