Television Review: The Survivor (Star Trek: The Animated Series, S1X06, 1973)

The Survivor (S01E06)

Airdate: October 13th 1973

Written by: James Schmerer
Directed by: Hal Sutherland

Running Time: 22 minutes

The Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS), despite its inherent limitations in budget and scope, proved to be an unexpectedly fertile ground for experimentation and innovation within the Star Trek canon. While the live-action The Original Series (TOS) had carved out its legacy through groundbreaking themes and character-driven storytelling, TAS offered a creative playground where the production team could push boundaries unshackled by the constraints of practical effects. This experimental spirit is exemplified in episodes like The Survivor, a sharp reimagining of TOS’s underwhelming premiere The Man Trap. Whereas the latter relied on a humanoid salt vampire and lukewarm emotional stakes, The Survivor injects intrigue, moral complexity, and a shapeshifter whose grotesque design and ideological transformation elevate the premise into something more inventive—and more representative of the franchise’s potential.

The episode opens with the Enterprise patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone, where it encounters a derelict spacecraft. Captain Kirk orders the salvage of the vessel, discovering a sole survivor: Carter Winston (voiced by Ted Knight), a celebrated humanitarian and explorer who vanished five years prior. The crew’s curiosity deepens when it is revealed that Lt. Nored (voiced by Nichelle Nichols), a Enterprise crew member, was Winston’s former fiancée. His abrupt rejection of Nored remains unexplained, a detail that soon takes on sinister undertones. Winston’s true identity as a Vendorian—a shapeshifting octopus-like alien—is exposed when he incapacitates Kirk and assumes his form. Under this guise, the impostor steers the Enterprise toward a Romulan trap, luring the ship into a confrontation with two cruisers. Yet the Vendorian’s allegiance falters as Kirk regains command. Having absorbed Winston’s memories—including his lingering affection for Nored—the creature experiences a moral awakening. Choosing to ally with the crew, it sacrifices itself by morphing into a shield to protect the Enterprise during the battle. The resolution sees Nored, though still grieving her lost love, hint at a reluctant acceptance of Winston’s doppelgänger, framing the Vendorian’s transformation as a redemptive arc rather than a mere villain’s defeat.

Written by veteran TV scribe James Schmerer, The Survivor cannily repurposes the core premise of The Man Trap while refining its narrative efficiency. The original episode’s reliance on a romantic subplot and a morally simplistic antagonist feels sluggish by comparison, bogged down by its episodic runtime and lack of stakes beyond the immediate crew’s survival. Here, Schmerer condenses the story into a brisk, action-oriented framework, embedding the shapeshifter’s presence within a larger geopolitical conflict involving the Romulans. The Vendorian’s enhanced abilities—its fluid, non-humanoid form and capacity to absorb memories—add layers of intrigue, transforming it from a mere mimic into a character grappling with identity and ethics. This shift aligns with Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a future where empathy and moral growth transcend biology, even in adversaries. The ending, too, is more satisfying: rather than resolving with a tidy romantic reunion, the Vendorian’s self-sacrifice and Nored’s tentative forgiveness underscore a theme of redemption that feels both uplifting and appropriate for younger viewers, who might otherwise find the bleak finality of The Man Trap’s conclusion less palatable.

The Vendorian’s design, while undeniably grotesque, marks a significant departure from TOS’s humanoid-centric aliens. Its amorphous, tentacled form—possible only through animation—challenges the series’ frequent reliance on “rubber forehead” aliens, offering a more biologically plausible extraterrestrial. This choice not only broadens the scope of Star Trek’s universe but also reinforces the episode’s thematic focus on the fluidity of identity. Unlike the salt vampire of The Man Trap, whose humanity-like appearance undermines her otherness, the Vendorian’s alienness is unambiguous, yet its capacity for compassion complicates the viewer’s assumptions.

Another notable addition is Lt. M’Ress, a cat-like alien voiced by Majel Barrett, who serves as a bridge officer. While her role here is minor, her inclusion exemplifies TAS’s ability to explore non-humanoid characters without the practical limitations of live-action. M’Ress’s presence hints at a richer, more diverse crew than TOS often permitted, though her underutilisation here leaves room for speculation about what might have been.

The Survivor also subtly enriches Star Trek lore by referencing Captain McCoy’s daughter, Joanna, a character introduced in TOS but never revisited in later canonical works. This fleeting nod underscores TAS’s willingness to expand the franchise’s mythology, even if its contributions were often sidelined by subsequent series.

While The Survivor is far from a masterpiece, it remains a commendable entry in the Star Trek canon. It demonstrates how the animated format could revitalise familiar tropes, inject fresh creativity into the franchise, and explore themes that live-action constraints had stifled. Though overshadowed by the legacy of TOS, TAS episodes like The Survivor prove that, even in its earliest days, the franchise had the potential to evolve beyond its own expectations.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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