"Star Trek" The Deadly Years (1967)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

David P. Harmon (written by)
Gene Roddenberry (creator)

TV Series:

"Star Trek" (1966)

Original Air Date:

8 December 1967 (Season 2, Episode 12)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A landing party from the Enterprise is exposed to strange form of radiation which rapidly ages them.

Plot Keywords:

Commodore | Comet | Competency Hearing | Scientific Expedition | Adrenaline

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Charles Drake	...	Commodore Stocker
Sarah Marshall	...	Janet Wallace
James Doohan	...	Scott
George Takei	...	Sulu
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Majel Barrett	...	Nurse Chapel
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Felix Locher	...	Robert Johnson
Carolyn Nelson	...	Yeoman Atkins
Laura Wood	...	Elaine Johnson
Beverly Washburn	...	Arlene Galway

Runtime:

USA:60 min | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

William Shatner reportedly threatened producer 'Bob Justman' with bodily harm after enduring many torturous hours during the old-age makeup process. "Who's afraid of such a wrinkled, feeble old coot!" scoffed Justman. Nevertheless, Justman locked his office door and hid under his desk until shooting was finished.

Goofs:

Plot holes: After the crew's nearly disastrous experience on "Miri", their lack of concern about beaming back up with the casualties seems odd.

Quotes:

Chekov: Give us some more blood, Chekov. The needle won't hurt, Chekov. Take off your shirt, Chekov. Roll over, Chekov. Breath deeply, Chekov. Blood sample, Chekov. Marrow sample, Chekov. Skin sample, Chekov. If I live long enough, I'm going to run out of samples.
Sulu: You'll live.
Chekov: Oh yes, I'll live, but enjoy it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Star Trek: New Voyages: To Serve All My Days (#1.2)" (2006)

Star Trek ages gracefully

I'm totally impressed by the makeup job for the landing party characters (with the exception of the aged Lt. Galway, who looks pretty fake). Kirk, McCoy and Scotty REALLY DO look old, especially McCoy. I'm not sure today's makeup artists could do a better job of making someone appear 30-40 years older. And the acting jobs by Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley and Doohan are top notch. They ACT like they're old...especially McCoy, who is even crustier than ever in old age and has his southern drawl magnified. One note, however: Kirk appears to be balding pretty bad when he's "between the ages of 60-72," but he actually has MORE hair at the end when he's gotta be in his 80s.

"The Deadly Years" is an all-around solid episode. The script is well-conceived, the makeup is excellent, and the actors give arguably their best performance of the series. There are a lot of other TV shows that have an episode where the main characters are really old (Cheers, The Brady Bunch), but they never seem very convincing. In "The Deadly Years," I really felt like Kirk and company were 30 years older. There are several episodes I like better, but this episode definitely makes my Top 20 list. I'm giving "The Deadly Years" a B+ grade and admitting I'm getting a little gray – but radiation will do that to you.