"He's as tight-lipped about it as an Aldeberan Shellmouth."
--McCoy
"You've been called the best first officer in the fleet."
--Kirk
"Vulcan biology - meaning the biology of Vulcans?"
--Kirk
"Humans have no conception."
--Spock
"Doctor, if you don't cease your meddling, I will most certainly break
your neck!"
--Spock
AMOK TIME PLOT
The Enterprise is headed for Altair 6 for some dumb ceremony (that Star
Fleet Command says they must attend or it will cause a disturbance that
will create ripples felt all the way to the Klingon Empire). Spock changes
course of the Enterprise and goes to Vulcan to take a wife (T'Pring,
the woman to whom he was betrothed), due to Pon Far, the instinctive Vulcan
mating cycle which strikes adult male Vulcans every seven years.
Kirk discovers that Spock has changed the course and after he finds out
why Spock wants to go to Vulcan, he defies Starfleet Command and goes to Vulcan.
T'Pring doesn't want to marry Spock, so she calls for Kunut Kalifee, a
fight to the death. Spock and Kirk end up fighting for T'Pring. T'Pau (a
high-ranking (female) Vulcan official) oversees the ceremony.
McCoy complains that the fight wouldn't be fair to Kirk because of the thin
Vulcan atmosphere. T'Pau allows him to give Kirk a triox compound to
compensate, but he gives Kirk a neural paralyzer instead. This makes it
appear as if Spock has actually killed Kirk (since he appears dead). They
beam Kirk's body back up to the ship and McCoy revives him.
FACTS
T'Pau is the only person ever to refuse a seat on the Federation
Council.
Vulcan has 2000 years of history.
They defy Star Fleet Command and Kirk.
Nurse Chapel has the hots for Spock.
The giant eel-bird of Regulus 5 return to their nest every eleven years.
Kirk and Bones make a mockery of Kunut Kalifee (a ceremony where two
people try to kill each other instead of killing the annoying bastards
shaking the big tambourines).
This is the episode where Ensign Chekov makes his debut (1st episode,
2nd season). (Catspaw was the one he was first filmed in, although this
aired after Amok Time).
This was the first episode with the Vulcan "live long and prosper"
salute.
OPINIONS
This is a pretty good episode (and it set up for quite a bit of history for
Mr. Spock).