The Savage Curtain

Episode Summary & Review

Summary

The Enterprise surveys the planet Excalbia. As its surface is the temperature of molten rock, no landing party is possible, so when the orbital survey concludes, Kirk orders the ship to leave. And then… Abraham Lincoln appears, and at the same time a region forms on the planet suitable for human life. Kirk and Spock beam down and discover Yarnek. It seems the Excalbians are struggling to understand the concepts of good and evil; the help themselves they have constructed an experiment: four examplars of good, including Kirk and Spock, will battle four exemplars of evil, notorious figures from history. And if good loses, the Enterprise will be destroyed…

Our Take

A silly premise that somehow works because everyone plays it straight, with the Lincoln material landing better than it has any right to. The fight scenes are cheap and the villains barely register, but the Excalbian debate about good and evil gives Kirk some decent material. Worth watching for the audacity alone.