Miri
Stardate 2713.5: A remarkably Earthlike planet is the home of a human-like civilization whose entire adult population was wiped out by a virulent disease. The children remain, although their growth has been slowed down to the point that Miri – a teenage girl found by Kirk and a landing party – could easily by 300 years old. Miri develops a crush on Kirk, but at the same time reports back to a gang of unruly children who plot to kidnap the landing party, beginning with Yeoman Rand. Kirk, Rand and even Miri begin to show signs of the disease, which gives Kirk a chance to prove that the disease will eventually kill all of the children – but they are unwilling to admit they need help or the “stuffy” advice of an adult.
written by Adrian Spies
directed by Vincent McEveety
music by Alexander Courage
Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), Kim Darby (Miri), Michael J. Pollard (Jahn), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand), Keith Taylor (Jahn’s Friend), Ed McCready (Boy Creature), Kellie Flanagan (Blonde Girl), Steven McEveety (Redheaded Boy), David Ross (Security Guard #1), Jim Goodwin (Farrell), John Megna (Little Boy)
LogBook entry by Earl Green
Notes: Though she’s generally better known for her movie roles, particularly those in which she appeared alongside her real-life love interest Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke was a familiar face on early ’70s TV, also appearing in Night Gallery, Kung Fu and Barnaby Jones, among others. The medical infomation in the story – battling malaria by deriving quinine from the bark of cinchona trees – is actually accurate, though that method of battling malaria was phased out in the 1940s with the advent of more reliable medicines.
The narration was performed by actor Mike Road, who had provided the voice of the Source in the show’s first two episodes.
The “futuristic” model of the Alpha 2 spaceship from Scott’s future is indeed from the future… a few years in the future. It’s a model of the Space Shuttle, attached to its external tank with solid rocket boosters, with an exotic red-and-white paint job. Though the Shuttle’s design was well known in 1977 (if Scott was the child of someone who moved in scientific circles, he really should’ve recognized it), the test orbiter Enterprise was only just getting off the ground for proving flights to test the Shuttle’s ability to glide to a safe, unpowered landing at the time that The Fantastic Journey was on the air. The first Space Shuttle launch wouldn’t happen until 1981. Also, the highly advanced futuristic audio surveillance equipment used by Tarrant’s underlings has a prominently-positioned, highly advanced futuristic parallel port. As the first mass-market home computers didn’t arrive until later in 1977, this would’ve been an exotic piece of equipment to most TV viewers.
familiar flying saucer design. Willaway says he once worked for NASA. This is the second episode not to feature Katie Saylor; there’s no mention of Liana’s whereabouts, even though she remains in the opening credits. This was one of the last guest starring roles for Cheryl Ladd before she became one of the stars of Charlie’s Angels, while fellow guest star Gerald McRaney was still a few years away from gaining fame as one of the stars of Simon & Simon. The Innocent Prey is a rare example of The Fantastic Journey trying to step into Star Trek’s issue-based storytelling, in this case touching on the hot-button topic of capital punishment. This was the final episode produced, and it aired nearly two months after the rest of the series.