History Recap / StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The crystals that power the ''Enterprise'' are called "dilithium crystals." In earlier episodes (such as "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E6MuddsWomen Mudd's Women]]") they were called "lithium crystals." Here they appear as blocks of amber rather than actual crystals.

* AndIMustScream: Both versions of Lazarus end up trapped in the same universe with no escape and eternally fighting with each other.

* AlasPoorVillain: Despite all the trouble and threat Lazarus posed, Kirk is left wistfully pondering his bitter fate that will last an eternity.

* BittersweetEnding: Kirk is able to save both universes from destruction, but in order to do so is forced to condemn both versions of Lazarus to a horrific fate, locked in combat with his other half [[AndIMustScream for all of eternity[[, a prospect that leaves the Captain perturbed.

* AbsenteeActor: Scotty and Sulu are absent. For unknown reasons they were substituted in the roles of engineer and helmsman by Charlene Masters and Leslie, respectively.
* AlternateSelf: Lazarus and Lazarus.

* IdiotBall: Held firmly by Kirk and crew of ''Enterprise'' throughout most of the episode. Just when strange phenomenon begins to occur in the universe, they find a not-quite-right-in-his-head stranger who might have something to do with it. However, when he tells them a story about a monster who is supposedly responsible for this, they just go with that as if it expained everything. It never occurs to them to ask some basic questions, like who is that monster, what does it look like or how exactly does it make that strange phenomenon happen. Also, they repeatedly leave an obviously unhinged person with no supervision at all, allowing him to roam freely aboard the ''Enterprise''. They were basically begging for a disaster.

* LargeHam: Lazarus makes Kirk look subtle. It doesn't help that the actor (Robert Brown, later from ''Here Come the Brides'') was a last-minute hire, owning to the original actor, John Drew Barrymore, failing to show up for work the day filming was to begin.

* AndIMustScream: How both versions of Lazarus end up.

* HeroicSacrifice: Anti-Matter!Lazarus views his eternal struggle with his double as this.

* IdiotBall: Held firmly by Kirk and crew of ''Enterprise'' throughout most of the episode. Just when strange phenomenon begins to occur in the universe, they find a not-quite-right-in-his-head stranger who might have something to do with it. However, when he tells them a story about a monster who is supposedly responsible for this, they just go with that as if it expained everything. It never occurs to them to ask some basic questions, like who is that monster, what does it look like or how exactly does it make that strange phenomenon happen. Also, they repeatedly leave an obviously unhinged person with no supervision at all, allowing him to roam freely aboard the Enterprise. They were basically begging for a disaster.

!!Tropes:

* BigNo: Lazarus lets out one of these when Kirk vanishes into a antimatter universe.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The crystals that power the ''Enterprise'' are called "dilithium crystals". In earlier episodes (such as "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E6MuddsWomen Mudd's Women]]") they were called "lithium crystals". Here they appear as blocks of amber rather than actual crystals.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Nearly everything anyone says about antimatter. For one thing, matter-antimatter annihilation happens on a much smaller scale than people and antipeople, so antiLazarus should have exploded the first time he encountered ''any'' matter, not just the lump of it that happened to be shaped like him. Also, while the resulting explosion would have been quite dramatic in human terms, it would be hardly affect anything beyond the planet, let alone threaten the entire universe.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The crystals that power the ''Enterprise'' are called "dilithium crystals". In earlier episodes (such as "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E6MuddsWomen Mudd's Women]]"} they were called "lithium crystals". Here they appear as blocks of amber rather than actual crystals.

* {{Understatement}} Kirk remarks that Lt. Masters has a knack for this when she says that the ''Enterprise'' will be at risk without the power of the dilithium crystals.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: This marks the first appearance of dilithium crystals, the energy source that powers the ''Enterprise'' (in earlier episodes, such as "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E6MuddsWomen Mudd's Women]]", they were called "lithium crystals"). Here they appear as blocks of amber rather than actual crystals.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: This marks the first appearance of dilithium crystals, the energy source that powers the ''Enterprise''. Here they appear as blocks of amber rather than actual crystals.

Opening shot: a lovely view of Spock's back. Just as he's giving his survey analysis of the uninhabited iron-silican planet the ''Enterprise'' is orbiting, everything rocks violently and we get a double exposure image of a nebula. Yeah, get used to this effect, you'll be seeing it a lot. Make a drinking game of it if you wanna get hammered. Once everything stops shaking, they realize that the planet is no longer quite so uninhabited.

Lazarus rants about a "monster" that destroyed his civilization that must be destroyed. According to Spock, there is no other life form on this planet. And...overlay of the nebula again.

* SealedEvilInACan: If Lazarus and his insane counterpart from the antimatter dimension were ever to meet in the same universe, that universe would be destroyed. Both of them are sent into an [[PhantomZone intermediate dimension]] so that this can never happen, and where the two of them will be [[SealedEvilInADuel locked in combat for all eternity]].

* BigNo: Lazarus lets out a BigNo when Kirk vanishes into a antimatter universe.

* EverythingSensor: the ''failure'' of the sensors is sufficient prove that a parallel universe is involved:
--> Spock: ''our ship's instruments are specifically designed to locate and identify any object in our universe, be it energy or matter.''

* TheKlutz: Lazarus makes Creator/ChevyChase look graceful! He falls a total of 3 times and several times looks like he's about to fall if weren't for that handy wall.
* LargeHam: Lazarus makes Kirk look subtle.
** It doesn't help that the actor (Robert Brown, later from ''Here Come the Brides'') was a last-minute hire, owning to the original actor, John Drew Barrymore, failing to show up for work the day filming was to begin.

* SeeYouInHell: "Come! Come! It'll do you no good! I'll chase you to the ''very fires of'' '''''HELL!!!!'''''"