S3E4

And the Children Shall Lead

Aired 1968-10-11 60 min ★ 7.1/10 our take
⚠ Spoiler alert This recap gives away what happens in this episode.

Episode Summary & Review

Summary

A group of orphaned children under an alien’s control take over the minds of the Enterprise crew.

Our Take

A creepy kids premise that should work but mostly doesn’t. The children stare and smile their way through the episode while the adult crew embarrasses themselves, and Melvin Belli’s glittery space villain looks more like a lounge act than a threat. A couple of unsettling moments land, but the pacing drags badly in the middle. Watch it once for curiosity, then move on.