The Man Trap
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 8 September 1966
- ON
- NBC
- STARDATE
- 1513.1
- DIRECTED BY
- Marc Daniels
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 06
WRITTEN BYWritten by George Clayton Johnson
A routine medical check at a lonely archaeological outpost turns deadly when Enterprise crewmen begin dying mysteriously, and Dr McCoy's old flame may not be what she seems.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
The Enterprise calls at planet M-113 for a routine medical check on archaeologist Professor Robert Crater and his wife Nancy, who was once romantically involved with McCoy. Strangely, everyone who meets Nancy sees her differently. When crewmen are found dead, their bodies drained of salt, Kirk uncovers the truth: the real Nancy died a year earlier, and her form has been taken by a shape-shifting creature, the last of M-113's native species. Desperate for salt, it slips aboard the Enterprise disguised as a crewman, and the crew must hunt something that can look like anyone. In the end McCoy, facing a creature that wears the face of the woman he loved, must fire to save Kirk's life.
- 01The first Star Trek episode broadcast on NBC, on Thursday 8 September 1966.
- 02It was the sixth episode filmed. NBC reportedly preferred it for the premiere because it was “scarier and more exploitable” than the alternatives.
- 03It won its timeslot on the night, according to the Nielsen ratings.