need to find a way to free the Enterprise. In the evening, Chekov and Landon go to a secluded area to kiss, and a young native couple observe and copy their behavior. Vaal is instantly aware, and through Akuta, orders the natives to kill the strangers in the morning. During their attack the last of the security men is killed, but the rest of the crew subdue the villagers and place them in a hut. Landon in particular distinguishes herself in the fight using impressive hand to hand combat skills to disable two of the villagers. Scott reports that an attempt to use all available power to free the ship has failed. Kirk orders his crew to prevent the villagers from feeding Vaal, and instructs Scott to fire the ship's phasers on the rock formation, hoping to drain Vaal's remaining power. Vaal is overloaded and the Enterprise is freed from the tractor beam. Kirk tells a distraught Akuta that his people will now be able to experience normal life. Aboard the ship, Spock suggests that their actions were the equivalent of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge - driving the villagers from their Garden of Eden. Production The episode guest stars a young David Soul (of Starsky & Hutch fame) as one of the Feeders of Vaal. The episode makes the only TOS in-series reference to the saucer section being able to separate from the rest of the Enterprise when Kirk is discussing options for Scotty to save the ship. Reception Zack Handlen of the A.V. Club gave the episode a "B−" criticizing Kirk's interference in the planet's culture. In 2009, GameRadar+ noted this episode for death of crewman Hendorff (actor Mal Friedman) by a deadly plant during the away mission to the planet's surface. In 2017, Den of Geek ranked "The Apple" the ninth worst episode of the original Star Trek television series. References External links "The Apple" Review of the remastered version at TrekMovie.com Star Trek: The Original Series (season 2) episodes 1967 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Joseph Pevney