The 'good' greatly outnumbered the 'bad' in the first season of 'Star Trek,' in terms of episode quality. In fact, one could argue that the only out-and-out stinker in that opening set of shows is 'The Alternative Factor,' which is confusing to the point of being incomprehensible at times. The universe is in danger of 'winking out,' and if you find the explanation of this phenomenon a little weak, join the club. Maybe it's the 23rd century equivalent of 'freaking out.' Anyway, it's not a good thing, and the Enterprise tracks the source of the trouble to a man on a desolate planet and his small spacecraft there on the surface. The man, Lazarus, is not much help in explaining things either, babbling on and on, sometimes hysterically, about how he has to stop somebody and how Kirk and crew must help him. About a half-dozen times during the episode (seems like more) we are treated to a spinning visual effect that settles on a murky, foggy corridor of sorts where two figures are seen locked in a fierce struggle. Also, Lazarus has a bad habit of falling off cliffs. McCoy treats him for a head injury, and even though he is clearly unbalanced and dangerous, turns him loose to wander the ship and steal a couple of dilithium crystals. When Kirk finds out, naturally being a bit perturbed, he asks McCoy where Lazarus went. McCoy shrugs and says, "Oh I don't know, Jim. It's a big ship." Just totally blows Kirk off. Thank YOU, Dr. McCoy. Anyway, the episode meanders along, and between the spinning corridor scenes and Lazarus falling off a cliff here and there, we finally get to the heart of the matter. A parallel anti-matter universe threatens to collide with our own, destroying everything everywhere. Lazarus has a double in the other universe, a madman, and the only hope is to trap Lazarus and his mad double in the corridor for all eternity. Which they manage to do. But by the end of episode, you really don't care anymore.