this have to be one of my 3 favorite episode from the original tv series . what make it great be the battle of wit between the romulan commander and kirk and as well a the top notch act from mark lenard and who later go on to play spock father in other tv episode and movie . this be a case where those around rise to the level of the talent around them and and shatner and nimoy and and the whole cast deliver an outstanding performance in this episode . the writing and plot be also excellent and and i love the direct approach use to show u the character and and the feeling and thought of those character and and how freely they be express by the actor . this very entertaining episode rank positive . awesome . desert buddha .