Wink of an Eye 

A group of aliens who exist in a state of incredible acceleration invade the Enterprise and abduct Capt. Kirk.

Director:

Jud Taylor

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Arthur Heinemann (teleplay by)

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
William Shatner	...	Capt. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Kathie Browne	...	Deela
Jason Evers	...	Rael
James Doohan	...	Scott
George Takei	...	Sulu
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Majel Barrett	...	Nurse Christine Chapel
Erik Holland	...	Ekor
Geoffrey Binney	...	Compton

Storyline

The Enterprise responds to a distress call from the planet Scalos, but when Kirk and a landing party beam down to the planet they find no living beings. It turns out that the Scalosians live at a much higher rate of acceleration, rendering them invisible to the human eye. One of the Scalosians, the beautiful and seductive Deela, accelerates Kirk so they can interact, where she tells him he cannot return to his normal life. For the crew, Kirk has virtually disappeared before their eyes. The Scalosians want to turn the Enterprise into a cryogenic storage facility for the crew. Kirk learns that at his current state of acceleration, they are subject to cellular degeneration and rapid aging should they suffer the slightest cut. He leaves a message for the crew but it is left to Mr. Spock to find a way to decipher it.

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Plot Keywords:

episode begins with narration | ship to shore communication | exoplanet | four word episode title | man disappearing | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 1968 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television, Norway Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a note from Gene Roddenberry to Fred Freiberger dated May 29th, 1968, he calls the water "Scalian water", which may be a mistake on his part or a indication that the name was changed to "Scalosian" later.

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Goofs

After Kirk is accelerated, he converses with Deela for a time, then attempts to stun her with his phaser, which she easily evades because the phaser itself is not accelerated. She then uses her own weapon to remove the phaser from his hand. And yet, in "real time," nobody on the bridge notes the sudden firing of a phaser, or the appearance of the weapon itself.

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Quotes

Captain James T. Kirk: It is my belief that they are turning the Enterprise into a gigantic deep freeze for purposes only the Scalosians know.
Deela: Quite correct.

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Alternate Versions

Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song

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Connections

Featured in Bring Back... Star Trek (2009)

User Reviews

Don't drink the Scalosian water before bed.

Star Trek always had what I called the "Macy's Parade" approach to working within a budget--especially in season three. Matte paintings, props,sets, visual effects shots, all were fair game for the producers to utilize, repaint and reconfigure to save money. They must have thought viewers had short memories. Not "Trek" fans. With that said, this episode did a great job of pulling off a lot with the barest of essentials. The Enterprise's landing party transports down to the planet's surface to find a deserted city. This is odd because they were recently sent a distress signal by the inhabitants of this world. A crew member, planet-side, stupidly, takes a drink from a cascading water fountain and disappears. Kirk and the others hear (but don't see) buzzing insects. They are, needless to say, a little perplexed by this turn of events. They scurry back to the ship. On the bridge, Kirk drinks a cup of coffee and he too disappears. The Scalosians, you see, have been able to accelerate themselves into a state of hyper-space. Their motives are not good--it's a trap. I wonder if one of the ideas for this wacky story, may have sprung from a movie titled "The Time Travelers," and it's low-budget remake, "Journey to the Center of Time." Something to keep in mind when you watch this episode, one of the best from Star Trek's final season. Space trivia alert: Kathie Browne, Kirk's love interest in this story and female leader of the Scalosians, was married to the "Night Stalker" himself, Darren McGavin. Sadly, Ms.Browne and her husband passed away in the last few years. But their cult status as icons of 60's television remains intact.