History Recap / StarTrekS2E12TheDeadlyYears

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Robert and Elaine Johnson, and soon the bulk of the landing party.

* UnfinishedUntestedUsedAnyway: The adrenaline serum. [[JustifiedTrope With the Romulans attacking the ship, they really couldn't wait to test it properly.]]

* RapidAging: Several of the Enterprise crew (including Kirk, Spock, [=McCoy=] and Scotty) come down with a form of radiation poisoning that causes them to age rapidly (about ten years per day). It also hits the crew differently. While Kirk physically ages relatively slowly, his mental capabilities are almost immediately impaired. Bones is the opposite, physically aging quickly but keeping his intellect fully intact(aside from a SeniorSleepCycle). Spock is hit the least, but still loses confidence in his own abilities and refuses command. RedShirt Lt. Galway is hit the worst, almost immediately aging into oblivion. Scotty just gets old and sleepy. Chekov isn't affected at all, so he is bombarded with tests to find out why.

It all starts when Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Chekov and Lt. Arlene Galway (A {{Redshirt}} who knows how to rock a pixie cut and a blue mini dress) beam down to Gamma Hydra IV to check up on a colonization party. It looks as though everyone died of old age, though they haven't been there that long. They find a couple still alive who claim to be in their late twenties, but they look positively ancient. The couple is brought aboard the ''Enterprise'' for examination, but little can be done for them. It becomes even more imperative to learn how to halt this RapidAging when the landing party begins to do the same. Commodore George Stocker moves to have the rapidly aging Kirk relieved of duty- and command transferred to him, seeing as how all other senior officers are likewise suffering. He holds a hearing where the crew is forced to admit that, yes, Kirk's absent mindedness has been affecting his ability to command. [[TooDumbToLive Stocker]] takes command and drives the ship straight into the Romulan Neutral Zone. Fortunately, Bones has discovered the antidote just in time and Kirk is ready to save the day.

It all starts when Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Chekov and Lt. Arlene Galway (A {{Redshirt}} who knows how to rock a pixie cut and a blue mini dress) beam down to Gamma Hydra IV to check up on a colonization party. It looks as though everyone died of old age, though they haven't been there that long. They find a couple still alive who claim to be in their late twenties, but they look positively ancient. The couple is brought aboard the ''Enterprise'' for examination, but little can be done for them. It becomes even more imperative to learn how to halt this RapidAging when the landing party begins to do the same. Commodore George Stocker moves to have the rapidly aging Kirk relieved of duty- and transferred to him, seeing as how all other senior officers are likewise suffering. He holds a hearing where the crew is forced to admit that, yes, Kirk's absent mindedness has been affecting his ability to command. [[TooDumbToLive Stocker]] takes command and drives the ship straight into the Romulan Neutral Zone. Fortunately, Bones has discovered the antidote just in time and Kirk is ready to save the day.

* RussianGuySuffersMost: Possible inversion since Chekov isn't affected at all. Played straight when he becomes annoyed at the uncomfortable tests being performed to find out why he's immune.
-->'''Chekov''': "Some more blood, Chekov." "The needle won't hurt, Chekov." "Take off your shirt, Chekov." "Roll over, Chekov." "Breathe deeply, Chekov." "Blood sample, Chekov; marrow sample, Chekov; skin sample, Chekov." If -- ''if'' -- I live long enough, I'm going to run out of samples!\\
'''Sulu''': You'll live.\\
'''Chekov''': Oh, yes, I'll live, but I won't enjoy it!

-->'''Bones''': Now, [[YouWontFeelAThing this isn't going to hurt a bit]].\\
'''Chekov''': [[FalseReassurance That's what you said last time.]]\\
'''Bones''': Did it hurt?\\
'''Chekov''': Yes!

* WomenAreDelicate: Dr. Wallace spends the entire episode acting as if speaking loudly enough to be heard and displaying more strength than an orchid against a typhoon will literally cause her to fall to pieces. Perhaps evidence that Kirk really ''will'' bang [[AnythingThatMoves anything that moves]]. Although it's probably a stretch to imagine her moving at all.

It all starts when Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Chekov and Lt. Arlene Galway (A {{Redshirt}} who knows how to rock a pixie cut and a blue mini dress) beam down to Gamma Hydra IV to check up on a colonization party. It looks as though everyone died of old age, though they haven't been there that long. They find a couple still alive who claim to be in their late twenties, but they look positively ancient. The couple is brought aboard the ''Enterprise'' for examination, but little can be done for them. It becomes even more imperative to learn how to halt this RapidAging when the landing party begins to do the same. Commodore George Stocker moves to have the rapidly aging Kirk relieved of duty- and transferred to him, seeing as how all other senior officers are likewise suffering. He holds a hearing where the crew is forced to admit that, yes, Kirk's absent mindedness has been affecting his ability to command. [[TooDumbToLive Stocker]] takes command and [[WhatAnIdiot drives the ship straight into the Romulan Neutral Zone.]] Fortunately, Bones has discovered the antidote just in time and Kirk is ready to save the day.

** The last shot of the episode, with Sulu and Chekov glancing at each other is recycled from "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS2E1AmokTime}} Amok Time]]". Chekov's longer hairstyle is clearly noticable.

It all starts when Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Chekov and Lt. Arlene Galway (A {{Redshirt}} who knows how to rock a pixie cut and a blue mini dress) beam down to Gamma Hydra IV to check up on a colonization party. It looks as though everyone died of old age, though they haven't been there that long. They find a couple still alive who claim to be in their late twenties, but they look positively ancient. The couple is brought aboard the ''Enterprise'' for examination, but little can be done for them. It becomes even more imperative to learn how to halt this RapidAging when the landing party begins to do the same. Commodore George Stocker moves to have the rapidly aging Kirk relieved of duty- and transferred to him, seeing as how all other senior officers are likewise suffering. He holds a hearing where the crew is forced to admit that, yes, Kirk's absent mindedness has been affecting his ability to command. Stocker takes command and [[WhatAnIdiot drives the ship straight into the Romulan Neutral Zone.]] Fortunately, Bones has discovered the antidote just in time and Kirk is ready to save the day.

* TooDumbToLive: Stocker, who nearly gets the ship destroyed by Romulans.

* ImprobableAntidote: Good old fashioned adrenaline!
* InsaneAdmiral: Not so much insane as ''monumentally'' stupid. Commodore Stocker assumes command of the ''Enterprise'' because everyone else above the rank of Lieutenant[[note]]Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lieutenant Commander Scott, and Lieutenant Commander [=McCoy=][[/note]] has been struck by the RapidAging disease. Spock recommends Sulu take command as the most experienced bridge officer but Stocker refuses, apparently his pride prevents him from standing idly by while a ''single-striper'' is at the conn.[[note]]The episode doesn't make clear who falls next in the chain of command after the established order of Kirk-Spock-Scotty, but Sulu would later take command in [[Recap/StarTrekS3E1SpocksBrain "Spock's Brain"]] when all three were off-ship. Fanon generally has Sulu, then Uhura; or Sulu, De Salle, Uhura.[[/note]] It should be noted that Stocker wears a RedShirt, indicating that he works within the ''operations'' division of Starfleet, and it is explicitly mentioned that he has no command training or experience. He subsequently proves himself to be a living example of TheDilbertPrinciple some decades before that term was even coined, since the rookie mistakes he makes in command (crossing into the Romulan Neutral Zone in violation of treaty and against Starfleet regulations[[note]]Kirk crosses into the Neutral Zone in [[Recap/StarTrekS3E2TheEnterpriseIncident "The Enterprise Incident"]], but that's under orders from Starfleet as part of a black ops mission to steal Romulan cloaking technology[[/note]], attempting to hail the Romulans who intercepted them[[note]]'''Uhura''': "The Romulans are notorious for ''not'' listening to explanations"[[/note]], and then preparing to surrender to them once it's clear the ''Enterprise'' has been beaten[[note]]'''Chekov''': "Sir, the Romulans do ''not'' take captives"[[/note]]) are called out by Sulu, Uhura, and even Chekov, an EnsignNewbie not even a year out of the academy. Stocker clearly hasn't been promoted ''above'' his level of competence so much as he's been promoted to the place he could do the least harm - at least until his ReassignmentBackfire.
** He's incompetent, not really stupid or prideful. He's from the operations division and appears to not have had any ship command training. Basically, he doesn't understand command well enough to realize he should defer to other officers.

* YouWontFeelAThing: Chekov was assured this before the testing. Was he told this when they performed a scenectomy for the remastered episodes?

[[caption-width-right:350:It's funny looking back on this one, since Creator/WilliamShatner is now 90 and ''still'' [[OlderThanTheyLook doesn't look at all like this.]]]]

* RapidAging: Several of the Enterprise crew (including Kirk, Spock, [=McCoy=] and Scotty) come down with a form of radiation poisoning that causes them to age rapidly (about ten years per day).

-->'''Bones''': Now, [[YouWontFeelAThing this won't hurt a bit]].\\

'''Bones''': Well, did it hurt?\\

-->'''[McCoy=]:''' It's advanced arthritis, and it's spreading.

* UnfinishedUntestedUsedAnyway: The adrenaline serum. [[JustifiedTrope With the Romulans threatening the ship, they really couldn't wait to test it properly.]]
-->'''Spock:''' Doctor, [[IfMyCalculationsAreCorrect I made the necessary computations]] and [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist produced this serum]]. It is crude and dangerous, but [[ItsTheOnlyWay we have no time for refinements]].
* WhamShot: Scotty walking into Sickbay with ''very'' gray hair.

* TheCasanova: Oh, look, it's ''another'' of Kirk's ex-girlfriends. How did he manage to graduate from the academy and rise to command a starship while simultaneously loving and leaving what seems to be at least half the women in the galaxy?