Is There In Truth No Beauty? (Episode)

Is There In Truth No Beauty?

"Is There In Truth No Beauty?" (TOS 62)

Series	Star Trek
Season	3
Episode	5
Production Number	62
Release Date	18 Oct 1968
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Stardate 5630.7: The sight of a Medusan ambassador causes insanity.

The Medusans are a race with wonderful mental abilities, including navigational capabilities exceeding those of humanoids. Physically, the Medusans appear as energy patterns arranged in frequencies and colors that are too dazzling for humanoid eyes to behold. In a pioneering experiment, Dr. Miranda Jones beams aboard the Enterprise with Kolos, a Medusan encased within a protective container. Traveling with them is Dr. Lawrence Marvick, one of the men who designed the Enterprise's engines. Marvick is to aid in an exchange of technical information with the Medusan, "translated" by the telepathic Dr. Jones. Jealous of the attention that Jones lavishes on Kolos and infuriated by her refusal to marry him, an irrational Marvick attempts to kill the Medusan, and the sight of the alien renders Marvick insane. In the throes of his madness, Marvick takes control of the Enterprise, plunging the ship into another dimension. Spock dons a protective visor and mind melds with Kolos, in order to guide the Enterprise back home, but Spock forgets to wear his visor while separating from Kolos. The Vulcan's life and sanity are in danger until Dr. Jones puts aside her jealousy of Spock's superior telepathic abilities and cures him by entering into his disordered mind. In the process, her ability to look upon Kolos unharmed is explained: she is revealed to be completely blind, and her dress is actually a complex sensor web that gives her the ability to "see" obstacles and judge distances.