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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: CBS Paramount International Television
Salesrank: 92100
Released: June 5, 2001 |
| Our Price: $19.99 |
| Used Price: $1.42 |
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MPAA Rating:
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
"Obsession," Ep. 47 - A "vampire" cloud, which Kirk failed to destroy 11 years ago, has returned to stalk the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. "The Immunity Syndrome," Ep. 48 - Kirk, Spock, and McCoy frantically try to devise some means of stopping a gigantic single-celled creature that has destroyed an entire solar system.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 24, Episodes 47 & 48: Obsession/ The Immunity Syndrome Reviews:
Gravitational propulsion and time travel vampire 
2006-12-20 - The landing party has beamed down and began exploring the planet surface when they discover tritantium ore deposits. Kirk wants a sample removed and brought back to the enterprise, so Spock fires a phaser cutting a portion of the deposit and extracting with with a clamping device. Kirk smells a sweet odor like honey and vaguely remembers the same smell on another planet. Kirk tells the landing party security guards to scan for choronium and to fire phasers at disruptive power at any gaseous cloud. Spock is bewildering how a laboratory experiment can be intelligent; Kirk tells Spock, that what he is proposing is impossible, yet it exists; Spock then reasons the gaseous cloud must be able to change itself into some different molecular structure. Two security guards are killed by the alien intelligence and every red corporal cell in their body gone, drained like the victims of a space vampire. The third security guard, Ensign Rizzo survives barely alive, after 50 percent of his blood has been drained. Kirk instructs both McCoy and Spock to the "medically impossible" events of Farragut. Ensign Rizzo is revived and he describes the alien as "cold" and he noticed an odor, a sickly sweet strange smell, like being smoother in honey and drawing the strength from him. The alien has the ability to hide from the molecular scan; Spock explains the alien can change its molecular structure; the crew still is not convinced that a gaseous cloud can be intelligent. Ensign Garrovick, the son of Captain Garrovick greets Captain Kirk on the bridge. Kirk asks Ensign Garrovick, if he is interested at getting a crack at the monster that has killed his friend Ensign Rizzo. Garrovick enthusiastically acknowledges the invitation to hunt the monster. Garrovick fires his phaser at the gaseous cloud, but the other two security guards die despite Garrovick's efforts. Garrovick admits to hestitating; Kirk convenings a hearing and dismissing Garrovick to quarters threatening him of derelict of the duty; Kirk as a young ensign under Captain Garrovick also frozen, as the alien killed over two hundred members of the crew; at the time, the review board held Kirk innocent and stated that he acted in the best manner possible; Kirk just can't forgive himself, nor Garrovick. The alien moves to space and travels at speeds approaching warp six; the alien can travel through time using gravitation propulsion; Spock immediately deduces that neither Kirk nor Garrovick firing of the phraser would have made a different because of the time shifts, meaning that alien would have been at a different time, at the moment they fired their weapons; the alien stops course and turns back on the Enterprise; the crew finally believes they are fighting an intelligent being; Kirk orders a spread of phrase and photon fires sequences with not affect; the alien kills two more crew as it enters impulse engine 2. Spock tries to reason with Garrovick with logic like, "hestitation is an inherited trait of your species". Spock seems be believe that an logical response to encountering something a intelligent being does not understand is to destroy it without thought. Basically, "hesitation can not be helped because humans are weak". Classic Spock logical nonsense. While talking the alien enters through a ventilation duct in Ensigns Garrovicks quarters; Spock attempts to block the vent with his hands (why not a blank or pillow?) illogical behavior; Kirk orders a reverse pressure on the ventilation shaft and Spock emerges uninjuried from the room; Kirk asks Spock, "why aren't you dead"; Spock replies that his blood is composed of copper unlike the iron in human hemoglobin; Spock finally tells Kirk that his actions today would have had the same results 11 years ago and that Kirk was not responsible for the deaths. Kirk tells the crew that the Enterprise is commited to the destruction of the alien; the medicine will need to wait even if lives are lost; and the alien is going "home" to breed. The Enterprise races to the fourth planet of the Tycho system. Kirk and Garrovick bait the alien with a container of hemoglobin which the alien devours; Kirk and Garrovick use themselves near the anti-matter bomb and beam out justs as the alien is about to strike; McCoy complains to Spock that transportation technology is a terrible way to travel - "spreading a mans molecules all over the universe"; Spock manages to complete the transportation and in humour tells McCoy, "what save the Captain was his cross circuiting to B".
Average First Episode But Very Poor Second Episode! 
2006-11-27 - If you are picking and choosing which volumes to keep, this falls into the "give this a miss" category but only just as the first episode, "Obsession" is actually not too bad but the second episode, "The Immunity Syndrome" is really one of the poorest episodes in the entire Trekdom.
The first episode explores the theme of guilt and self-recrimination and how much we should let this affect our judgement and hence influence the lives of others. Although this is not one of the better episodes of the season, it definitely isn't one of the worst and hence falls into the average category.
The second episode is a great disappointment in every respect as the plot is weak and the storyline is very draggy and even evoked a few yawns from me as I tried to stay awake through it all. The scriptwriting is also very poor and you could see the actors struggling with trying to make the dialogue sound natural making this a very forgettable and regrettable episode.
In conclusion, unless you really need to complete the set, give this volume a wide berth!
TWO STAR TREK EPISODES WITH A SCI-FI TWIST!... 
2002-10-19 - Volume 24 of the Star Trek DVD series contains two episodes that deal with the second season's ...plot. Unlike some of the less successful attempts at this kind of story in the second season the two episodes here have their moments and are quite good.
OBSESSION deals with Kirk's past and one of his greatest fears that has somewhat haunted him over the last 11 years. A mysterious vampire cloud, that feeds off the red bloods cell of humans, attacks the Enterprise crew. With it's distinct sickly sweet smell Kirk realizes it is the same monster that attack and killed his crew mates years ago when he was a Lieutendant. Upon realizing that this monster is alive Kirk drives himself into obession (hence the title) in an attempt to destroy this creature. He even disregards his orders to deliver greatly needed drugs to another planet. Kirk also punishes Ensign Garrovick (played by Stephen Brooks) (which Kirk sees a younger version of himslef in him) after the Ensign attempts and fails to kill the monster when disobeying Kirk. This episode really developes Kirk character and how (at times) he can be so self critical. OBSESSION is a slightly above average episode of Star Trek but barely. Without the nice dramatic moments between Kirk and Garrovick, plus Spock and McCoy's confronting of Kirk's actions, this episode wouldn't be so special.
THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME has stood up suprisingly well over the last thirty years. The story was very well written and scientifically accurate. The concept of The Enterprise discovering a single celled organism of massive size in the body of space is a really creative idea. To think that space is a body, that single cell is a virus and humans are mere antibodies in the whole thing is such a diverse concept. As the Enterprise encounters this massive cell that drains energy out of everything (including humans), the crew gains information of the cell and realizes it begins to reproduce like a virus, and pretty soon it will plague the depths of space unless it is destroyed. THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME is another one of those Star Trek episodes that would've been average had it not had a few special moments. This episode is actually very good the acting is well done and the story was well written and concieved.
In conclusion Star Trek Volume 24 has two good episodes with a few special moments. This DVD is worth getting but you may want to check out other more classic Star Trek episodes before this. Recommended.
Immunity Syndrome: Best Episode?
2001-12-12 - "Obsession" is a great episode (particularly for those interested in the origins of the Matt Decker character in the first movie). However, for my money, "T.I.S." is among the very best episodes in the original series. Why? One of the most compelling sci-fi statements of all time coming from the mouth of Dr. McCoy: that humans are mere anitbodies in the organism that is our galaxy.
Perfect examples of Original Series at its best
2001-08-05 - This disc has two great episodes of the original series:
In "Obsession" Kirk pursues a mysterious, if clearly deadly life-form - a cloudlike being that sucks the life out of men. As Ahab encountered "Moby Dick", Kirk has had a fatefeul run-in with the cloud-beast, years earlier. Men died and Kirk was too slow to pull out his phaser and despatch the beast. Unsure whether the mysterious beast would have even succumbed to phaser fire, Kirk is left only with his doubts, guilts and an obsession - something he had practically forgotten....until the good captain re-econcounters the evil cloud.
"Obsession" excels because the guilt and fear are convincingly etched on Kirk's face, but also for another reason hard to forget: the beast has its own scent, something like honey, and its effect on Kirk surpasses the cheesy effects of the show.
"Immunity Syndrome" is also an excellent epsiode - the Enterprise seeks the story behind the mysterious dissappearqance of a Vulcan starship, and discovers a huge space-born amoeba. The life form surrounds itself with a dark zone that nothing can escape from. Rather than make the nature of the creature and the ship's predicament (once the Enterprise enters the zone, it's trapped) immeidately obvious, the story builds gradually. Once inside, the beast sucks the ship and its crew of their energy - rapidly diminishing the crew's ability to deal with the problem. I remember this episode especially for the desperation clearly etched on the crew - when Kirk decides that somebody has to fly a shuttlecraft into the mysterious creature, You just knew that it was a one-way trip. The episode culminates in excellent exchange with Spock - calling out from his dying shuttle - for the Enterprise to leave him behind and save itself. "Dammit, Spock" McCoy shouts over the speaker "We're trying to save you!" Spock responds, registering perhaps the most surprise he's ever displayed - "why thank you....Captain McCoy." A True TOS moment and one more reason to get this video.
