‘Star Trek’ Retro Recap: ‘The Naked Time’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The more time I’ve had to ponder upon the first three episodes of Star Trek, the more I’ve come to realize that this series was genuinely struggling to find its voice in its early days on the air. Because while we’ve seen some neat ideas come to life and enjoyed some fascinating voyages through space, the key things this franchise stands for, the stuff that quite frankly we love the most about it, has been decidedly absent. And while I fully understand that every series needs time to find its direction, I’m a little surprised to see this iconic saga grasping at space straws and that last episode, truly left me wondering exactly how much longer I would have to wait before the series would find its footing.
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As it turns out, the wait wouldn’t be that long after all. For the next episode in this series, ‘The Naked Time’, managed to fit the mold so to speak, since it featured a lot of what we truly love about this storied saga. For starters, we finally got to see a vast majority of the crew on screen and in a functional role in this tale. Since McCoy returned to the roster and was integral to the plot, and Scotty was given more to do than hang out in the scenery and really, the only person missing at this point is Chekov, but we’ve got a way to go before his arrival. But I digress, because what matters here is that having six of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ present in this tale allowed for something truly important to take place in this story.

Because one of the great things about Star Trek, is the sheer fact that the crew always worked together under pressure to solve incredible problems, and there was never a wrong answer, nor was anyone chastised for their suggestion. It was just humanity and an incredibly smart alien, finding a solution as one and that was present here in the most extreme way imaginable, since hey, the ship was spiraling out of control while a deeply ill crew indulged their darker side. But despite the pressure present here, and despite some of the key members of the bridge crew coming down with this twisted illness, everyone did their best to keep their heads level and their emotions in check and if by chance someone slipped out of line when it comes to those elements, they quickly course corrected to stay focused on the real problem at hand.

Granted, while that may not sound like a big deal at first glance, since it is a staple of the franchise that we take for granted, the fact that this is the first time it appears in the saga is a huge deal and it finally allowed for the chemistry between the actors to shine and honestly, this was really our first taste of what Shatner and company could on screen acting wise. Because this wild illness allowed for the actors to let loose and have a little fun, and let’s be honest, there’s something quite incredible about seeing Spock have an emotional breakdown. But let’s be honest, seeing Sulu bust out the fencing foil is the true highlight of this episode and everything it stands for, and kudos to George Takei for his quality performance in this tale.

In the end however, it was nice to finally see the series find its stride. Because this is an episode that outright felt like home, since everything story wise worked here and everything we know and love about this crew was on display. Plus, I honestly forgot how intense this story was and how the sense of danger only grows and grows as the story rolls along and really all of these elements make this a great episode of Star Trek and I’m simply over the moon that the franchise has found its footing at last and it definitely has energized me to dive into the next episode as soon as possible. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to my Netflix app to do just that since the series has finally ‘arrived’. Until next time. 

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