FORMULA: Equal parts water, The Cloudminders and The Omega Glory
WHY WE LIKE IT: An original setting that would never have been possible in live-action.
WHY WE DON'T: The premise is just this side of preposterous.
REVIEW: An underwater episode could not have been a possibility effects-wise until rather recently, and even more recent forays into the deep don't go to the extremes depicted in The Ambergris Element, i.e. have the main characters swimming and talking underwater. Silly premise? Yes. But the sheer originality of the world it creates is worth watching. The underwater cities are interesting, the alien animals, though fantastic are cool enough, and there's something at least amusing in having Kirk and Spock play Aquaman, complete with webbed fingers.The Starfleet side of this equally holds my interest, with the aquashuttle a nice idea (there's also a Starfleet boat), and sickbay having a fishtank. As Kirk says: "I can't run the ship from an aquarium!" The crew gets to solve many problems by their involvement, tying all loose ends very neatly (too neatly? Well, each episode has no more than 22 minutes to do its thing). It's quite well plotted in that sense.
If I had a problem with the episode (accepting the premise at face value), it's that it scans a bit too much like a fantasy quest, with old dungeons, magical animals that hold a cure to mutations, etc. It's got its science-fiction rationale though, so that's only a matter of structure, I think. Not much of a complaint after all. Surprisingly likeable!
LESSON: Nature has yet to give up all its medical secrets.
REWATCHABILITY - High: Campy, yes, but there's a lot of originality here, and the story is at least internally logical. A good, if weird, little adventure.
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