From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos   
   From Address: jphalt@gmail.com   
   Subject: The Eye of the Beholder (TAS): my review   
      
   THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: PLOT   
   When a six-member science crew vanishes on the planet Lactra VII, the   
   Enterprise is sent to investigate. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to the   
   planet's surface. After running from a few strange creatures, all of whom seem   
   to have been transplanted from other worlds, they are captured by the dominant   
   life form - a hyperintelligent, telepathic race that promptly puts them in a   
   zoo.    
   Now united with the surviving members of the science crew, Kirk and Spock must   
   hatch a plan to either communicate with the Lactrans or escape from their zoo.   
   But as Spock observes, they appear to be on display... for life!   
   CHARACTERS   
   Kirk is subjected to a mental attack, allowing William Shatner to unleash the   
   full force of his ham - a formidable spectacle, even in voice over. Leonard   
   Nimoy gets a rare chance to indulge in ham as well, as Spock telepathically   
   attempts to form a mental shield around Kirk.    
   THOUGHTS   
   A genuinely bizarre episode, even by the standards of the often weird animated   
   series. Also a dizzyingly stupid one, centered around an alien race that is   
   alternately hyper-intelligent and utterly idiotic depending on the needs of   
   the plot. My favorite example of this is that we are specifically told that   
   the Lactrans have surely identified the purpose of every piece of equipment   
   the landing party brought with them. Nevertheless, when Kirk feigns illness   
   (surely unnecessary when one of the science crew is genuinely ill, but   
   nevermind), the brilliant plan is to focus on the communicator as the means to   
   cure him. This plan... works. On a creature who is stated to have an IQ of   
   6,000 - itself a meaningless comment, apparently the result of a writer   
   saying, "Let's throw in a really big number so that it'll sound impressive!"   
   The artwork is among the series' worst. Not only is the leader of the   
   scientific team clearly just the Kirk artwork with a few added wrinkles, but   
   there is one scene in which Kirk and the scientific team leader have a   
   conversation - in which Kirk's giant head is framed opposite the guest   
   character's full body. No real perspective at all, making it appear that   
   Kirk's head has expanded to truly staggering proportions.    
   It's all quickly resolved through the magic of plot convenience, which at   
   least allows a bad episode to come to a merciful end. Still, I'm not going to   
   give it a rock-bottom rating. Though bad, it's so utterly bizarre that the   
   sheer strangeness keeps it from being in the same league as the series' worst.   
   Also, dumb as this is, it is still a lot more watchable than The Infinite   
   Vulcan.   
   Besides, it's the first episode of the series to have human casualties.   
   Off-screen, but it's still left in no doubt that some of the science team   
   died. Now if only we can get an on-screen redshirt death before the series'   
   conclusion!  (Not to sound bloodthirsty. But what's Star Trek without the   
   zapping of the occasional redshirt?)   
   Rating: 3/10.    
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