Star Trek TOS-The Devil in the Dark

Joseph Pevney, who directed more television shows in his life than I can list here and even helmed an Oscar nominated film, MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES, worked on many of the now considered favorites of the STAR TREK series and this is one of them. William Shatner claims this is his all-time favorite episode which is odd as he also claims at times he's never ever seen a full show! Must be the Denny Crane character seeping though and speaking of characters, THE DEVIL IN THE DARK was important in establishing new depth to the main cast in the first season. Sadly, the budget restrictions were all too obvious when it came to the "devil" itself being the silicon based lifeform known as the Horta which looks like a giant pizza surrounded by shag carpet! It is interesting to note the Horta was actually played by Janos Prohaska who carved a carreer out for himself playing apes, monkeys and his specialty bears. This episode also provided a chance for DeForest Kelley to say what may be his most famous line in the entire series...."I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer". A fine achievement in the canon and next to THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES Pevney's best known episode.