A civilisation in danger will only talk to Vulcans, and the nearest Vulcans are too far away…

As the saying goes, comedy is a funny old thing, and have no doubt that this episode is unashamedly playing for laughs, though I’m not sure the jokes land as well as hoped for.

There have been plenty of times over the years when Star Trek crew members have gone under cover as different alien species to serve specific plot points, but in this contrived story, they have to become actual Vulcans.

Having accepted that it’s possible to turn humans into Vulcans in such a convincing way (which opens up a whole minefield of ‘Why didn’t they use that technology before in episodes x, y and z) we have the ‘hilarious’ conceit that Pike, Chapel, La’an and Uhura are now all humourless Vulcans. The half a Vulcan alluded to in the episode title is of course Spock.

The negotiating that required Vulcans happens off screen, and the crew take the reversal serum… except it doesn’t work for everyone. It’s frothy, daft fun, very much for those who thought the best episodes of DS9 featured the Ferengi, but I can’t help think that the cast enjoyed making it more than I did watching it. Oh, and there’s a silly score just to remind you that it’s all a bit of fun.

Verdict: Another high concept episode that might tickle your Vulcan funny bone if you’re in the right mood, but is ultimately disposable. 5/10

Nick Joy