written by J. M. Winston
STORY OUTLINE, dated June 29, 1969
report & analysis by David Eversole

TEASER

The Enterprise arrives at Altair III to pick up a supply of Placidene, a rare drug which is used to treat cases of brain damage. Spock remains in command as Kirk, McCoy and Scotty beam down to the capitol city of Altaira and arrange to have the Placidene beamed aboard the Enterprise.

Jeb (the copy of the outline I own is a bit faded -- I think the character’s first name was Jeb) Barker, an old friend of McCoy’s, is in charge of the Federation offices in the city, so all three decide to pay him a visit. En route, they notice that the streets are garbage-strewn.

Suddenly, a mob of screaming, adoring women attack them and proceed to tear Kirk’s clothes off.

ACT ONE

Bruised and badly shaken, Kirk, minus most of his uniform, McCoy and Scotty manage to escape the women and make it to the Federation Headquarters building. Spock beams down a fresh uniform for the captain, and Barker explains that Kirk looks exactly like Tommy Thompson, an actor who is on Altaira with a company named "Daydreams." Seems that through drugs and stereo-electrodes, the audience can take part in these virtual Daydream performances. The drug, a derivative of Placidene, robs people of their will to do anything constructive, hence the garbage-littered streets. All they want to do is Daydream with Tommy Thompson.

Barker has ordered the actors to leave Altaira. He would arrest them, but the owner of the troup has very powerful friends in Federation high places. Since Kirk is here, Barker orders the Enterprise to take them to their next port of call and drop them off there.

Kirk meets the gypsy-like company. Tommy Thompson, or "TT" as he likes to be called, is a weak-willed man of no character, but projects manly qualities when acting. The Daydream owner, Zena Grayson, is a man-hungry, money-hungry, stunningly beautiful woman. She makes no bones of her attraction to Kirk.

From the outline:

Suddenly Kirk feels a queasiness in his gut which tells him hard times are acomin’.

ACT TWO

Once the Daydream players arrive onboard the Enterprise, trouble begins almost at once. The female members of the company are very attracted to the virile Enterprise crewmen, and fights break out. TT gets his hands on a uniform and as a "joke" begins passing himself off as Kirk, causing great confusion when the captain is reported to be in two different locations at once.

Worst of all, Zena Grayson sets up several "Daydream" performances and gives out the drugs and stereo-electrodes to Enterprise crewmen. Soon they are spending all their leisure time and all their credits to hook into Daydreams.

Kirk confronts Zena, tells her it must stop. She attempts to seduce him, and fails. She attempts to bribe him, and fails. Kirk orders Spock to confiscate their drugs and place them in the narcotics safe with the Placidene.

Later, in Sickbay, Spock, strangling, turning a deep dark green, stumbles in, collapses.

ACT THREE

Spock reports that while placing the drugs in the safe he discovered that the entire supply of Placidene had been stolen. A small amount was spilled, and as Vulcans are very susceptible to the drug, he was overcome and almost died. The sensors cannot detect the drug so there is no way to track it down. McCoy gives Spock an antidote which, predictably, upsets his stomach.

Zena denies any knowledge of the missing Placidene. Kirk has no other evidence to detain her but promises he will get to the bottom of this and leaves her cabin.

Zena confers with TT. They devise a plan. What if they gave Kirk a powerful Daydream that would make him forget his suspicions of them? They could dope him so much that he would implicate someone else in the drug theft.

TT asks Kirk to visit him in his guest quarters. Kirk enters, and a few seconds later exits. But of course it is TT who exits. In the room, Kirk has been injected with the drug and has stereo-electrodes placed on his head. Soon he is deep in a Daydream.

Again, from the outline:

If this doesn’t change Kirk’s mind it may well blow it permanently.

ACT FOUR

Spock calls Kirk’s quarters asking about a routine matter. TT tries to brazen his way out, but Spock becomes suspicious of his vague answers, goes there and confronts him. The weak TT confesses everything. Spock, McCoy and a bevy of security guards rush to TT’s guest cabin.

Inside, Kirk is in agony and is weakening fast. Zena has ingeniously locked the door in such a manner that it cannot be overridden. Spock orders the security guards to cut through the door with their phasers.

Zena, enraged as the door begins to slag, cranks Kirk’s stereo-electrodes to the highest setting. Suddenly, the power goes out. Spock has had it shut off. The guards enter and capture Zena. McCoy frees Kirk and then calls Sickbay. He orders a stretcher sent, and tells his staff to stand by for surgery. Not waiting for the stretcher, Spock carries Kirk to Sickbay.

McCoy and Chapel operate, and McCoy gives Kirk a dose of the recovered Placidene. All breathe a sigh of relief as Kirk comes around.

In a humorous tag, Kirk decrees that from this moment forth, no one on the Enterprise will be allowed to daydream.

Okay, this is goofy and silly, and some parts don’t make a lot of sense, but ya know what? I like it. It’s another 60's hippie/drug metaphor, though with addictions that go beyond drugs and narcotics to sex, gambling, the internet, you name it, it is always timely.

I think Shatner would have jumped at the chance to ham and mug his way through the Tommy Thompson role.

Only a couple mild complaints: Why send someone into a narcotics safe who is extremely susceptible to the effects of the drugs stored there? Wouldn’t this have been Security’s job? Perhaps overseen by Spock, but he wouldn’t be doing the grunt work. And if TT confesses that Zena is at this moment putting Kirk under, why wouldn’t Spock shut the power down then? Also, how reasonable is it that Zena and TT would have friends in high places in the Federation?

But these are points that could have been solved as it went to teleplay. It’s a fairly short 9-page outline. I think a subplot (the good old Klingons want the Placidene as well, or the Placidene must be delivered to so and so within X number of hours or else) would probably have been attached to counter the comedic TT elements.

But all in all, a fine first effort at a professional outline by one of the First Ladies of Star Trek Fandom.

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