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The Alternative Factor (episode)

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Real World article
(written from a Production point of view)
"The Alternative Factor"
TOS, Episode 1x20
Production number: 6149-20
First aired: 30 March 1967
Remastered version aired: 1 December 2007
← 21st of 80 produced in TOS →
← 27th of 80 released in TOS →
← 49th of 80 released in TOS Remastered →
← 27th of 727 released in all →
Written By
Don Ingalls

Directed By
Gerd Oswald
3087.6 (2267)
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Investigating the cause of a massive, galaxy-wide disruption in space, the Enterprise finds a mad scientist who claims that he is being pursued by a hideous being.

Contents

[edit] Summary

[edit] Teaser

In standard orbit around an iron-silica-type uncharted planet, the USS Enterprise prepares to complete its survey, when everything within sensor range suddenly "blinks", almost as if the universe is on the verge of ceasing to exist. And, in the wake of this, a man appears on the surface of the planet, where moments earlier there was no life.

[edit] Act One

Beaming down, Captain Kirk, Spock, and the landing party encounter a man. Dirty, and disheveled, he falls from a rock. The landing party returns to the Enterprise with him, where Kirk learns more news – the strange phenomena drained the dilithium crystals almost completely. Still worse, Starfleet issues a Code Factor 1 message – invasion status. The effect experienced by the Enterprise was also experienced everywhere in the galaxy, and far beyond. Starfleet withdraws all nearby ships – Kirk and Enterprise are the bait.

Kirk talks to his "guest" – a man named Lazarus, who is pursuing a "thing", a monster who destroyed his entire civilization. Beaming down, Kirk learns from Spock that there is no other creature here. Accusing Lazarus of lying, Kirk demands the truth – and the universe turns inside out. The same "winking" phenomenon occurs again. And Lazarus... first he has a bandaged forehead, and then he doesn't, and then he does again.

[edit] Act Two

Strange energy visible on the planet on the viewscreen

Meanwhile, Spock has discovered a source of radiation that is not there – a "rip" in the universe, where regular physical laws do not apply. The key to locating this source seems to be the dilithium crystals – a revelation which excites Lazarus, who demands the impossible: that Kirk give him the crystals.

The captain refuses, but Lazarus overpowers two engineering officers and steals two crystals, nevertheless.

[edit] Act Three

Kirk confronts him, but he denies it, blaming his monster. And the evidence suggests he isn't the thief, for the crystals are not aboard his ship. Back aboard the Enterprise, Kirk confronts Lazarus with his lies, and learns that Lazarus distorted a fact: he is a time traveler. The dead world Enterprise orbits is the distant future of his destroyed homeworld; the place and time he has traveled to in pursuit of the monster.

Speculating, Kirk and Spock conclude that the strange energy must come from a source outside the universe. A source in another universe. There are two copies of Lazarus, and they are periodically exchanging places through a kind of door – and if they ever exist in the same universe at the same time, everything, everywhere, will be annihilated in a cataclysmic matter/antimatter explosion.

Meanwhile, both alternative Lazarus steal the ship's energy crystals, then beams down. Kirk pursues. As he attempts to enter Lazarus' ship, he vanishes, hurled through the corridor into the other universe.

[edit] Act Four

Once there, he meets the other Lazarus, the sane Lazarus, and learns the truth. Anti-Lazarus' people discovered how to pass through the negative magnetic corridor that both connects and protects the two universes. When this happened, Lazarus couldn't bear the knowledge that he had a duplicate, and resolved to destroy his other. He is mad and doesn't care if this causes the death of two universes. Anti-Lazarus and Kirk realize he must be stopped: if Kirk can force Lazarus into the corridor, Anti-Lazarus can hold him there, and Kirk can destroy his ship – which will also destroy Anti-Lazarus' ship. Access to the corridor will be sealed forever, and both universes will be safe. And two men named Lazarus will be at each others' throats for the remainder of eternity. Kirk goes back through the corridor and in a hand to hand combat throws Lazarus into the corridor. Back on board Kirk orders the Enterprise to fire phasers at the time ship which then disappears in both universes; both Lazarus are trapped forever in the corridor and both universes are saved.

[edit] Log Entries

  • "Captain’s log, stardate 3087.6. While investigating an uncharted planet, the Enterprise, and at least this entire quadrant of space, has been subjected to violent, unexplained stress and force. Sensors have reported the presence of a human being on the planet below who might be connected with the phenomenon. With my first officer and a security team, I have set out in search of him."
  • "Captain’s log, stardate 3088.3. We continue to orbit the dead planet, which seems to be the source of the phenomenon which has struck the Enterprise, and all sections of the galaxy, once again. As for Lazarus, the story he tells me about the humanoid continues to trouble me."
  • "Captain’s log, stardate 3088.7. We are no closer to finding an answer to the strange phenomenon than we were at the beginning. Not only have two of my crewmen been attacked, two of our dilithium crystals are missing, and without them, the Enterprise cannot operate at full power. They must be found."

[edit] Memorable Quotes

"He's in a great deal of pain!"
"Sometimes pain can drive a man harder than pleasure, I'm sure you know that, Doctor!"

- McCoy and Kirk


"Why do you give credence to this man?"
"I fail to comprehend your indignation, sir. I have simply made the logical deduction that you are a liar."

- Lazarus and Spock


"Before we picked you up, our ship sustained a number of incredible effects."
"That was He! He's Death! Anti-Life! He lives to destroy!!"

- Kirk and Lazarus


"He'll kill us all if you don't kill him first! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

- Lazarus


"Captain. I beg of you... I plead... I demand! Give me the crystals!"
"Out of the question. Those crystals are the very heart of the power of my ship."
"You fool! There won't be any ship if we don't kill him. He'll destroy all of you!"
"How? Now you tell me how! All I've heard from you is double-talk, lies, threats! Accusations that don't hold an ounce of water; now you tell me... how does it present a danger to my ship?"

- Lazarus and Kirk


"Listen to me! He's humanoid! Well he- he can pilot a spaceship. He can compute formulas to destroy races. He can steal an energy source...for his vehicle...so he can escape from me... are you deaf as well as blind!?"

- Lazarus


"That's just it! That's the key! That's the way to trap him! That's the solution!!"

- Lazarus, regarding dilithium crystals


"Fact: You said you needed the crystals. Fact: An hour after you said you "must have them", they were missing! Fact: Two of my crewman were attacked!"

- Kirk


"This leaping from universe to universe. This wild talk about a murdering creature who destroys civilizations. What's the purpose?"
"Jim... madness has no purpose. Or reason. But, it may have a goal."

- Kirk and Spock


"Find my enemy. Find the Beast! And you'll find the crystals."
"How'd this beast get aboard my ship?"
"He did! Isn't that enough?"

- Lazarus and Kirk


"He must be stopped. Held. Destroyed if necessary."

- Spock, on Lazarus


"Annihilation, Jim. Total, complete, absolute annihilation."

- Spock, on the possibility of two Lazarus' existing in the same universe


"So you're the terrible thing? The murdering monster? The creature?"
"Yes, Captain. Or he is. It depends on your point of view, doesn't it?"

- Kirk and Lazarus/Anti-Lazarus


"Surely Lazarus must realize what would happen if you were to meet face to face outside the corridor."
"Of course he knows – Captain. But he's mad. You've heard him; he's lost his mind. When our people found a way to slip through the warp and prove that another universe, an identical one, existed, it was too much for him. He could not live knowing that I lived. He became obsessed with the idea of destroying me. And the fact that it meant his own destruction, and everything else, meant nothing to him."

- Kirk and Anti-Lazarus


"You'll be trapped inside that corridor with him forever. At each other's throats throughout time."
"Is it such a large price to pay for the safety of two universes?"

- Kirk and Anti-Lazarus


"Welcome, captain!"
"To a parallel universe... anti-matter?"
"Here, yes."
"And if identical particles meet?"
"The end of everything."

- Kirk and Anti-Lazarus, summing up the situation.

[edit] Background Information

[edit] Cast and Characters

The navigator and Leslie
  • James Doohan (Scotty) and George Takei (Sulu) do not appear in this episode.
  • Richard Derr, who plays Commodore Barstow in this episode, later played Admiral Fitzgerald in the episode "The Mark of Gideon".
  • Actor John Drew Barrymore (father of actress Drew Barrymore) was originally contracted to play Lazarus, but didn't show up to work when filming began on November 16, 1966. The grievance filed against him on this account by the Star Trek production team led to him being unable to obtain acting work for six months in 1967. Robert Brown was a last-minute replacement. Herbert F. Solow and Robert H. Justman detail the incident in their book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story.
  • Periodically throughout the episode, the two versions of Lazarus exchange places. One of them has a wound on his head which McCoy treated: this is the 'insane' Lazarus from our universe; the other is his rational counterpart from the antimatter universe.
  • This is the first episode in which Eddie Paskey is featured (as "Lesley") in the ending credits.
  • This is the second time that we see Lieutenant Leslie in the command chair. He takes command over a Lieutenant Commander, who serves as navigator.
  • There is no officer played by Larry Riddle as noted in the Star Trek Concordance. Lieutenant Larry Riddle was Charlene Masters' jealous boyfriend in the first draft of the script. [1]
  • This is the first time that live two-way communication with Starfleet Command is depicted. In previous episodes, communication with Starfleet Command was through delayed radio messsages.

[edit] Sets and Props

  • Part of the dilithium energizer panel uses the same controls as the neural neutralizer from "Dagger of the Mind".
  • The dome of Lazarus' time ship is later reused to encase the Providers in "The Gamesters of Triskelion".
  • The standing engineering set is not used in this episode. When Lazarus attempts to sabotage engineering, he does so to an entirely new set.

[edit] Costumes and Make-up

  • Lazarus' beard goes from very full to almost nonexistent depending on the scene.
  • Lieutenant Masters wears no braid on the sleeves of her uniform, but she is addressed as a lieutenant. A similar wardrobe event happened in "Space Seed" when Lieutenant Marla McGivers also is "braidless."
  • Although Masters works in Engineering, she wears the blue uniform of the Science/Medical branch.

[edit] Effects

The iron-silica planet
  • The visual of the iron-silica planet from orbit is reused footage previously representing Alfa 177 in "The Enemy Within" and M-113 in "The Man Trap". This planet effect was reused again as Argus X in "Obsession" and Ardana in "The Cloud Minders".
  • The shot of the Enterprise destroying Lazarus's ship is unique on three counts. First, it is the only time we see the Enterprise from behind as it fires phasers. Second, it is the only time that the ship fires a single beam (as opposed to the usual two). Finally, it is the only time that the phasers make no noise – at least when the beam is seen in space.
  • The footage of the two Lazaruses fighting was created by filming two stuntmen fighting in a smoke-filled room with orange and purple walls, then double-exposing its color negative footage over an astronomical photograph of the Trifid Nebula.

[edit] Other Information

"AHHHHHHH!"
Lazarus falls off a cliff
  • The original script called for a romantic entanglement between Charlene Masters and Lazarus [2] that was eventually cut for a number of reasons, chiefly an African-American actress was cast as Masters and there was a reluctance by southern broadcast companies to show a "black-white" romantic interlude on network television (a similar problem would come up again in "Plato's Stepchildren" but the southern stations eventually gave in). This removal created a "void" in the plot, which was filled with additional planet side action. This caused a somewhat repetitive theme of Lazarus wandering about the desert planet falling off of cliffs and have multiple encounters with his nemesis "the thing".
  • The episode references Starbase 200; however in The Making of Star Trek, it is established that there are only seventeen starbases during the timeframe of the Original Series. This issue again appears in "This Side of Paradise", in which the colonists are to be removed to Starbase 27.

[edit] Production Timeline

[edit] Video and DVD releases

[edit] Links and References

[edit] Starring

Lazarus (Robert Brown)

[edit] Guest Star

[edit] Featuring

[edit] With

[edit] Uncredited Cast

[edit] Stunts

[edit] References

antimatter; cartographic section; Code Factor 1; dilithium; Fahrenheit; Human; hydrogen; iron; Komack; magnetic field; negative magnetic corridor; oxygen; silicon; Starbase 200; uncharted planet; zero gravity

[edit] External link


Previous episode produced:
"Arena" 		Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1 		Next episode produced:
"Tomorrow is Yesterday"
Previous episode aired:
"Errand of Mercy" 		Next episode aired:
"The City on the Edge of Forever"
Previous remastered episode aired:
"The Deadly Years" 		TOS Remastered Next remastered episode aired:
"The Return of the Archons"
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