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'Merak' captive, Cloud William stalked Capt. Kirk.

That out of the way, Capt. Tracy had plans for Jim Kirk!

"Your Dr. McCoy has a keen mind. He'll stay at his work. I'll control this planet, Jim, once I've found the 'fountain of youth'! Tomorrow - the universe. And you can be part of it. I need your help."

Kirk refused Tracy's offer. "Not if it means murder! The Meraks are human, Captain!"

Tracy shoved Kirk and Spock into twin jail cells. Jim was placed in one already shared by the two savages he'd seen when they first arrived on Omega. "You'll find it's kill or be killed with those beasts - they're what I said they are."



NOTES:

  • The Viewmaster picture is basically the same pose, but taken from farther away, and showing Kirk's arms up higher, like he's balancing.

  • The televised episode revolved heavily around a Starfleet rule known as "The Prime Directive" that Captain Tracy was said to have violated. This was a rule that prohibited Starship captains from "interfering" in a planet's society. However, it was an amazingly nebulous rule that seemed to mean different things in different episodes and be ignored completely in other ones. In the episode Bread and Circuses, for example (filmed a few weeks before this one), we're told that it's a violation of the directive for Starfleet personnel to reveal that there are other worlds, or that they come from one. However in the televised version of this episode, Kirk cheerfully reveals that fact to Cloud William at the end, without batting an eye. Viewmaster must have figured that if adults couldn't figure out how this silly rule worked, that kids couldn't be expected to, and wisely struck all references to it. Smart move.
              Unfortunately with the Prime Directive gone, some other villainy had to be cooked up for Captain Tracy, so they came up with this half-baked idea of him trying to build an army to conquer the Meraks (and tomorrow the universe! Doncha love it?), for no reason in particular. It certainly doesn't seem to further his goals in any way.
             Okay, let's recap the differences. In the televised version, Tracy wants the fountain of youth, and is a bad guy because he violated the Prime Directive... MAYBE! Kinda sorta. We think he probably did, at least. But it doesn't really matter because he also "phased out" Galloway, which certainly proves he's a rotten guy, if nothing else does.
             In the Viewmaster Version, he also wants the fountain of youth, but he's whiling away the time by building an army to attack a bunch of aliens for no particular reason. He wants Kirk's help, but Kirk refuses to help on the grounds that these aliens are really HUMAN!
             And you thought the Prime Directive was confusing.



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    by Graeme Cree

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