From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos   
   From Address: jphalt@gmail.com   
   Subject: The Pirates of Orion (TAS): my review   
      
   THE PIRATES OF ORION: THE PLOT   
      
   The Enterprise is en route to attend the dedication of a new science   
   academy at Deneb V when Spock is struck down by an illness. In humans,   
   it would be a relatively minor sickness... but the particular nature   
   of Spock's blood makes it fatal to Vulcans!   
      
   There is a drug available, and Kirk arranges a rendezvous with another   
   Federation ship so that McCoy will be able to treat Spock. But when   
   the rendezvous ship is raided by pirates, Kirk must track the pirate   
   ship down and recover the drug. The clock is ticking. If they can't   
   find the pirates and get the drug back soon, then it will be too late   
   to save Spock!   
      
      
   CHARACTERS   
      
   The character interplay between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, which was   
   stiff and artificial when the animated series began, now feels more   
   naturalistic, almost as it did in the live action series. The acting   
   of the three leads seems more relaxed than in the early episodes, with   
   some of the actors perhaps giving a bit more now that the animated   
   series has earned some surprisingly good reviews. This episode is   
   particularly strong in showing the friendship/rivalry between McCoy   
   and Spock, with McCoy's sarcastic asides about "that pointed-eared   
   encyclopedia" clearly covering his genuine worry. A short character   
   beat in which he fumes that, as a doctor, he's "only as good as (his)   
   drugs and technology" make him, also rings true for the occasionally   
   techno-phobic McCoy.   
      
      
   THOUGHTS   
      
   Strong critical response earned the animated Star Trek a temporary   
   reprieve: A six-episode second season. I do wonder why it only was   
   picked up for six more episodes. Surely a pickup of 13 - 16 shows   
   would have been more economical, given that more episodes means more   
   shots and backgrounds to recycle? But despite the series' frequently   
   uneven quality, I'm glad of what are effectively six bonus episodes.   
   At its best, the series has been very good Star Trek, and the average   
   quality has mostly increased as the show has progressed.   
      
   The Pirates of Orion is a solid second season premiere. The pacing   
   isn't rushed. The problem is clear and simple: Spock's disease and the   
   need for the drug to cure it. There is only one complication: the   
   pirates of the title. With a couple of "Captain's Log" entries   
   papering over transitions, this is one of the better-paced animated   
   episodes. I find myself daring to hope that Season Two will not see a   
   recurrence of the "rushed episode" problem that plagued so much of the   
   first season.   
      
   The little gaffes caused by animation recycling are still evident.   
   There's a scene in which McCoy calls Kirk from sickbay. A cutaway to   
   Spock and back to Kirk shows McCoy in frame, even as he's talking over   
   the speaker. Neat trick, Bones!   
      
   That's more than made up for by a solid script, one that really   
   captures the feel of a Star Trek episode. It's no stretch at all to   
   imagine this being made as a live-action episode, complete with an   
   ending in which Spock and McCoy exchange barbs and then a regular   
   bursts out laughing.   
      
      
   Rating: 7/10. A promising season premiere.   
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