‘WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF?’ (TOS)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is an episode about androids. Captain Kirk and Nurse Chapel get trapped and imprisoned on an alien planet with a mad scientist named Dr. Roger Korby, who was once in love with Nurse Chappel.
This episode is interesting to entertaining to watch. It’s also an episode where we get to see more development of Majel Barret’s character as Nurse Christine Chapel in this original ‘Star Trek’ series.
The Enterprise visits the icy planet of Exo III so to re-establish contact with Dr Roger Korby. It was interesting to find that Christine Chapel was once in love with Dr. Korby and how it gets developed.
Upon arrival on the planet, Kirk and Chapel hope to find Korby alive and well and that nothing has gone wrong. They eventually find him and there’s a reunion of Chapel and Korby kissing each other.
But Korby has changed since the last time Chapel saw him. Korby has now become cold-hearted and is now building androids on Exo III. Some of Kirk’s security men have been killed during the process.
Korby states it to be necessary as he’s determined to keep his android operations a secret before he reveals them to anyone. This makes Chapel uncomfortable since Korby isn’t the man she once loved.
Michael Strong guest stars as Dr. Roger Korby, former love interest of Nurse Chapel. I liked Michael Strong’s performance as Korby, as he adds depth to the character when he turns out to be a villain.
Working for Dr. Korby is the lovely Sherry Jackson as Andrea. Andrea seems like a beautiful girl at first, but she’s really an android and doesn’t show feelings when she’s kissing or hurting somebody.
There’s also Ted Cassidy as Ruk. Ruk too is an android, but he’s rather unusual as he’s like a giant and very fierce-like. He’s got a deep voice and can throw Captain Kirk across the room when he can.
This episode also features two Captain Kirks in this episode. But unlike ‘The Enemy Within’ before this, one Captain Kirk is an android. It was confusing to tell which was the android and who was real.
The process of making an android was quite dizzying, as Kirk is laid inside a machine and it goes round and round. I wondered how Kirk managed to cope after being through that dizzy experience.
But Kirk manages to find a way in order to send a message up to Spock on the Enterprise to warm him about his and Chappel’s predicament. The trick works when Spock suspects something’s wrong.
There is a nice scene when Kirk asks Andrea to kiss him and she does. He tries to kiss her further, but she seems reluctant to let him. This raises questions about whether she has feelings after all or not.
Later on there is the shocking revelation which I did not expect. Dr. Korby turns out to be an android. It’s something that Kirk and Chappel did not expect and they question about Korby’s sincerity here.
The cave sequences in this episode are gripping to watch, especially when Kirk and Chappel walk through them. I was anxious for Kirk, especially when he was being chased by Ruk through the caves.
‘What Are Little Girls Made Of?’ is an enjoyable and entertaining ‘Star Trek’ episode about androids. I enjoyed the development of Nurse Chappel’s character in this one and to watch Kirk as an android.
The DVD special features for this episode are as follows. On Disc 2 of both the original and re-mastered DVDs of ‘Star Trek: The Original Series – Season 1’, there is a preview trailer for this episode.
‘What Are Little Girls Made Of’ (TOS) rating – 6/10
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