There's an interesting line at the end. Spock arrives and asks "Captain, are you all right? Nurse? Where's Doctor Korby?", and Kirk replies "Doctor Korby was never here." This, in my opinion, makes this episode a kind of ghost story.

I still love the SF Debris jokes about that "I'm not cheating scene." Corby: "Kiss him." Kirk: "Arousal Level 7..." Corby: "Now strike him." Kirk: "Make that 8..."

Ted Cassidy had gigantism like Andre the Giant, but he was also a really good actor but he kept getting type-cast as the monster. Its possible there was NO wire-work when he lifted kirk up, absolutely, i can see the wall helping, i dont think he required any kind of wire-assist, he just really is strong. A gentle giant.

Nothing like starting my working week by listening to LoreRunner talk about Trek!

Title origin: 'What Are Little Boys Made Of?' by English poet Robert Southey (he was also the original author of Goldilocks and the Three Bears). *'What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice And all things nice That's what little girls are made of What are little boys made of? Snips and snails And puppydog's tails That's what little boys are made of.'* One of the many times Star Trek references classical literature in an episode title. I kind of like it, it gives the episodes an air of sophistication that a lot of Berman-era Trek lacked. You're right re: Chapel. I know she was retroactively written into "The Naked Time", but I kind of prefer this as an origin episode for Christine Chapel as it gives her a pretty plausible backstory and motivation for being there. I'd tend to think a reboot/reimagining of TOS could flesh out this whole 'looking for my missing fiance' thing into a satisfying story arc, and its one of the very few times when Chapel is neither just a spare pair of hands for Dr McCoy nor pining for Spock's forbidden love. Sure, it isn't much, but it does a lot to actually give Majel something to act. TOS season one in general seemed to be much more interested in fleshing out it's secondary characters, whether its Uhura's singing or Chapel's backstory or the UST between Rand and Kirk or even second tier characters like Kevin Riley getting pretty significant roles. I'm not saying it gets worse as such, but it's like, the extra effort was being made here. The great Ted Cassidy as Ruk was of course well known as Lurch in the Addams Family TV show, but also provided a few guest alien voices in TOS (including I believe the Balock voice back in The Corbomite Maneuver). A story from the set tells of a suit salesman who came to the lot to try and sell his suits, and Cassidy pretending to be Gene Roddenberry as part of a prank -- the suit salesman had no clothing to fit.

The costumes in this were crazy.. They really pushed the limits of what censorship would allowed. Edit: I remember Lurch Lore! Fret not.

"They ran out of fabric" cracked me up XD XD

I remember him as Lurch and as a genie in I Dream of Jeanie and as a greedy thug in Banacek.

The series of deaths at the end of this episode bugged me because it felt like the writer ran out of ideas of where to go with the plot and needed a convenient way to wrap it up. Also worth noting this is the first instance of a recurring Kirk trope, that of him outwitting various AI’s by pointing out flaws in their logic and programming.

You asked why Kirk would try to strangle an Android. At that time it was still thought that Korby was human. It is amazing how Christine stayed loyal to Korby until she discovered he was an Android. Finally what happened to the Android creating equipment at the end. Did Starfleet confiscate it? That would be valuable technology.

Summary: The Enterprise finds archaeologist Dr. Roger Korby, who has been missing for five years, living underground on a deserted ice planet with a group of sophisticated androids. Dr Korby is nurse Chapel's former fiancée and has invented a copy-machine that creates android-copis of people. He has interesting plans, which are not to the liking to Kirk. (Interesting episode, above average but not one I would view often.)

The two other expeditions found nothing because Korby wasn't ready for them. He kept mum and let them go while he was working on his plan. Kirk gets there when the plan is ready to be implemented so ..

I know it's early days and all that, but I'm genuinely surprised that TOS has been getting steady ruminations vs Enterprise having two Lamentations already. Crazy. Man, Robert Bloch could either make some classic fun stuff (Cats Paw) or complete schlock (Wolf in the Fold). What's crazy is that this is probably the closest we get to Lovecraft in Star Trek or at least a mention of a Cthulhu mythos concept in this. And it's from Lurch of all people! Also.... Am I insane or is this a sort of precursor to Blade Runner? That speech? No spoilers but Lurchs speech reminds me of Blade Runner. Explain it.... Uhhhh.... Reasons?

Since the Androids come up with a evil plan, they must be sapient.

Lurch: You rang?

Corby and Andrea die in each other's arms because she secretly is holding a phaser pistol to her side and both perish when she pulls the trigger. ( Watch closely.)

1. This is not a Chapel-centric episode. In fact, you could omit the character entirely and it wouldn’t change how to story unfolded. She’s only in the episode to give Roddenberry’s girlfriend something to do. 2. It’s possible the previous expeditions did find Korby, but they were killed off by Ruk. 3. Korby pulls the trigger on the phaser Andrea is holding. It’s clear that it was his decision to kill them both. We’re meant to conclude that he was horrified at what he had become and could no longer live with himself.

Korby may have let the two prior rescue parties leave without finding him because the ships were small with few personnel. When the mighty Enterprise shows up, that is a prize worth taking.

Lurch! Definitely unforgettable and fun.. Now if the episode had Morticia and Gomez, with Cousin Itt being the monster Kirk would not kiss and hug and call George... there's a crossover in a crossover of which nobody wanted for either. 😁

I just assumed the two first expeditions didn't find anything because there was no "Corby" yet. Ruk was hiding, the actual Corby was already dead, and Android Corby and Android assistant not yet made.

So Corbie thinks he's superior because he can't process higher level 'grey area' thought, thus he biasy concludes it's because he's cut through all of that in an android body not that he's in a body incapable of handling the intangibles

I want to say deliberate suicide, it's illogical enough for an android going nuts in its ironic inability to comprehend... I honestly need to watch this one again. It wasn't my favorite before, but your insight into the androids has piqued my interest. As had the Uhura moment, early season 1 did try harder to get some moments outside of "the big three".

Korby was in denial that something was lost when a human downloaded into an Android body. At the end, he is trying to convince Chapel that he is the same Korby by demanding that she ask him math questions, which only highlights his machine consciousness. It is stated that the human Korby was a nice warm man who devoted his life to helping others by advancing medicine. Android Korby is fine with having security personnel killed and transforming humans into androids against their will. At the end, Korby realizes that he is not the same person before his transference, and the transference has caused him to lose his humanity. He realizes that he is not really Korby, and that his plan is doomed to fail since the transference is not 100%. He clearly pulls the trigger on the phaser, killing himself and the female Android.

What Are Little Girls Made Of - Yellow (This episode had an interesting vibe. I quite liked the scientist dude and the concept that he transfered his personality into another was fascinating. I think the implication was that it wasn't him anymore, just the approximation of him.)

Funnily enough, I recently read a TOS novel in which Matthews was a Klingon agent (think Darvin from 'The Trouble with Tribbles') on a mission to assassinate Kirk. Whoops.

I remember two things very strongly about this episode. The first is Ruk throwing Kirk around so very easily (and it is a wire: watching the two scenes again, the way Kirk moves when lifted is entirely consistent with a wire from between the shoulders. It's very very hard to see, but it's there.) The second is Andrea. I looked her up: the actress was Sherry Jackson, who did a lot of guest episodes from the 60s to the 80s. Seems her last acting role was 1980. She's still alive though. And yes, she is stunningly hot. I never saw TOS until the 80s, during one of its re-runs, but I remembered her for a long time. It's not just the outfit that's sexy; she was a very very sexy woman. When I re-watch that episode she still distracts the hell out of me. I actually enjoy the episode a lot. It's fun. My sole complaint (apart from Kirk's very phallic "rock") is that Kirk's kisses are apparently so awesome they can cause an android (technically, gynoid) to break her programming. That's just stupid, and makes zero sense. It bugs me a lot. It's very akin to James Bond in Goldfinger kissing Pussy Galore (who is supposed to be a lesbian) into submission. Apparently men's kisses and penises in the 60's were super amazing. Makes one wonder what happened since then. Other than that, good episode.

One interesting thing about this episode is that Ruk says he's creators were humanoid from Andromeda. So does that mean the progenitors in the Chase traveled to Andromeda.

I've felt it's a stretch to even call this a Chapel-centric episode. I mean other Korby being her long lost finance does she actually do anything in this episode? Nope, pretty much just stands there while Korby makes a Kirk android and basically hold her prisoner. Kirk's the one who talks Lurch into turning on Korby, Chapel's just an observer of this incident at best. I don't know if this is the fault of this simply being how women were written in the 1960's, as passive observers, or if this is a result of Chapel just being a character for Majel Barett to play. It's a shame my comment is so negative as with the exception of Chapel's role in this episode I liked this one.

If only Ruk could’ve met Mr. Homm.

On screen they're kind of goofy They're cooler in the movies They're altogether groovy The Star Trek Family

Not much to say about this one other than that I really enjoyed it (cheesiness and all). It's a good early-TOS episode with a good philosophical look at what it means to exist and be yourself, some decent action scenes, and a great guest star performance from Ted Cassidy as Ruk. And, hey, I'll just admit it.... I'm just as shallow as the next guy (probably a lot more so, LOL!). And Sherry Jackson as Andrea was mind-blowingly beautiful! In a series that is stuffed full with gorgeous women, she might very well be the single most attractive of them all! 8/10

Hello, this is one of the episodes that seems destined to be greatly helped I think by Strange New Worlds. I think its fair to say that Jess Bush is the definitive Nurse Chapel and they have worked to make Christine into a fully rounded and complex character, to develop her relationship with Spock especially but the other crewmembers such as Dr M'Benga and Uhura and the end of the second season sets up the circumstances which will drive the meeting between Christine and Dr Roger Korby. My guess is the setup for this episode is going to be a sub-plot in Season 3 and that will make this episode make a bit more sense and depth with retrospect. Being fair to Majel Barrett, she didn't have much to work with, so we don't know what she might have been able to do with better material, but then that's what happens when you are hired despite conducting an extramaritial affair with the boss and the money people are uncomfortable about your presence. Odd that Majel has basically been superceded in both of her TOS characters - and again Number One is much more interesting in SNW than she ever could be in 'The Cage'. At least it seems unlikely anyone will want to recast Lwaxana Troi....

This is interesting in remembering Star Trek history,here!They don’t make show’s like this,anymore!

Your mentioning of Rukk's conflicting directives very much makes me think of one of my all-time favorite Voyager episodes, "Latent Image", where we see The Doctor going through that.

11:57 --- The late Lee Kelso (RIP)

Ifs funny that androids are always so humanlike that it's difficult to tell them apart from the real thing. It's almost like they have to cheat by having real humans play them.

Robots. I, Robot was only published 17 years before this episode was broadcast. Thats like I, Robot being published in 2004 from today's point of view. Point, it's fresh.

It always looked to me that Korby intentionally gripped the phaser

21:00 --- Did Ruk have a conflict because he thought he was fighting with "android Kirk"?

I liked when you mentioned the smaller details that you really enjoy that even though they weren't 'important to the plot' they kept them in anyway as little character moments. Like when Uhura hugs nurse Chapel before she goes down to find Corby. I have a similar one that I always enjoy and appreciate when they decide to include it and that's when they focus on Kirk apologising to members of the crew when he's raised his voice or been unfairly irritable/angry. There are two I've noticed so far, one where he's snapped at Uhura and once at Scotty and the show takes the time to watch him come round and say 'I'm sorry.' And both times we get a reaction shot from the crew member appreciating this. Just a little detail that I really like because it tells us more about the captain and how much he cares. And it's often the little things that are really the big things anyway.

Sherry Jackson is literally the sexiest woman that has ever appeared on any star trek series. And the outfit she has on is amazing. Her flawless skin, flawless everything. Too bad she and I are disconnected by many decades, otherwise, she would be my trophy wife.

Not good, more of a “time well wasted.” Memorable not for quality but for 1) the first time Kirk talks down a computer; 2) one of William Ware Theiss’s most famously “dangerous” outfits; 3) Kirk taking off everything not just the shirt; 4) the rather phallic stalagmites and stalactites; 5) the first mention of the “required reading at the Academy” (partial list on Memory Alpha); 6) the first “official” redshirt dispatched (the previous ones wore other colours); 7) and of course Lurch! Shades of the future Lwaxana when nurse Chapel looks at Andrea. Majel Barrett is best playing bodacious not wistful. I also loved the Chapel/Uhura hug. Notice also the very blond male technician and the Black woman officer in the background smiling together. These things were very revolutionary in 1966 USA… I too love those details.

Love the way your mind works - why mention an incidental (unneeded) plot detail that adds questions about preceding events? 50's and 60's Television was a watch once, maybe twice. then it's all up to your memory. Now that I have the ability to re-watch anytime, I also share your questions about storyline details. Sherry Jackson, as "Andrea", also made a guest appearance on "Lost in Space", with Mercedes McCambridge - the episode with the space hillbillies.

I literally haven't heard of either of the people you made that joke about

I know why the re-writes were necessary, if 'wolf in the fold' and 'catspaw' are the 2 other episodes he's written, those are both the WORST episodes of TOS - EVER! Amazing that this is one of the better episodes (top 20) must be the re-writes

13:25 - It also Looks Like Something eltse.

How does the conversation between Spock and Chapel look now that we know Spock is the X?

I suspect that Roger Corby was faithful to Chapel, but only because he was an android. He may even be fully functional, but without desire. Not that this makes anything any better.

Lt. Kelso was the first "orange shirt" death, since he was wearing the pilot variation of the operations uniform 😅

OK remember six days in a year for season two

26:00 --- I've always believed Korby committed murder/suicide or was it suicide by indidelity?

I'll never forget who Fred Steiner is, because he wrote the music for Code of Honor. I've said before that I like that episode in spite of its glaringly obvious flaws; even people who dislike the episode would probably admit that the music during the combat scene is one of the episode's better (or less bad) aspects. It's definitely a little TOS-y, but I don't think that's inherently a bad thing.

Catspaw is my definition of the absolute worst episode of TOS, and while Wolf in the Fold is a good episode overall, it's not very "science fiction", since it's basically about a ghost. So this episode about killer androids is the only one of Robert Bloch's three writing credits on Star Trek which actually kind of fits the SF genre. And it's kinda funny that this is the one which received extensive rewrites (and is arguably the best of the three, although I would say that Wolf is better overall). It makes me wonder if Bloch originally just wrote Rukk as a zombie and Andrea as being ensorceled, or something of that ilk.

If Ruk is "intelligent and the last of its kind" (Dr Crater will forgive me), what happened to the other "Ruks"?

Thank god for Theiss and his theory. Andrea is the most beautiful woman in any Trek series,yes even more than Seven. I know who I’m simulating when we get the holodeck hahaha.

I still can't believe that's the actual episode title

Adam Family reference :)

Good show.

Costume sexiness ? That certainly explanins the ripped Kirk shirts ! It really must have been done for the female demographic, if you catch my drift .

Besides her outfit being Theiss-tastic, Andrea is one of the biggest sex icons in Trek to me, because when Kirk seizes her and kisses her, you can actually clearly see his handprint blushing on her arm. Even though she's an actress playing a role, Shatner touched her hard enough to affect the blood flow into her flesh, and that's a reality that surpasses the science-fiction foolishness of this cheesy horror story from the HPL-disciple author of "Psycho". Both fear and lust are primal portions of the human psyche which affect us on a biological, hormonal level, and to some extent give the lie to our theory of mind. An image which so perfectly encapsulates that reality is one of the most powerfully affecting moments in television history for me.

Like bell bottoms. It was the dominant style at the time. Explanation enough.

What position would you want on the bridge everyone?

Was "Andrea" a colleague of Korby's prior to her becoming an android or did Korby make her from scratch (can I cook, or can't I)

Listening to Lore talk about this episode makes me want to break out my Blu Ray copies and rewatch this one. I remember first seeing this episode and being interested by the idea of androids replacing people. It's been done better since and similar ideas have been explored in things like Blade Runner and Ghost In The Shell,but this episode did an ok job of it at the time. It would be done far,far worse in garbage that is Picard. Overall it's not an episode that I go back to much but if I see it I'll sit down and watch it.

Troublematic Trek

As im watching TOS for the first time since watching most of the other Trek shows, i found Andrea's outfit to be super distracting. Every time she was in a scene - like WHAT IS THAT?

I don't care much for this episode, the guest stars/characters seem kind of dull. But at least it gave us the famous Star Trek p*nis-rock.

I've never really liked this episode it's 2 on the nose and preachy and a little boring but it's certainly not one of the Bad episodes just one I personally don't really care for

Of course I remember Lurch! "You rang?"

I assumed Corby never actually transfered his conciousness. I think Ruk made him from original Corby (or the remains thereof if that's possible), and Android Corby just assumed he was the real Corby transfered because he had real Corby's memories.