YMMV / Star Trek S1 E5 "The Enemy Within"

• Harsher in Hindsight: Evil Kirk's assault of Rand is pretty awful in light of the fact that Grace Lee Whitney was later sexually assaulted by one of the Trek producers, implied in her book to be Gene Roddenberry.
• Narm Charm: Evil Kirk is over-the-top hammy even by William Shatner's usual standards. And it works! Evil Kirk comes across as completely unhinged, and thus actually kind of scary.
• Values Dissonance: Rand's first instinct after Evil!Kirk tries to rape her is to cover for him. And note that she actually thinks it was Kirk himself! Even the blocking of the scene is unnerving these days, with the three guys all looming over the distraught Rand in what certainly seems like the position most likely to dissuade her from talking about it. In one magazine interview, Grace Lee Whitney points out that Spock even seems to be a little turned on by the whole situation, as during Rand's public apology to Kirk at the end of the episode (and yes she apologizes to Kirk and not the other way around) he states the imposter had some interesting qualities wouldn't you say? before obviously leering at her as she gives him the stink-eye and walks away. She also states in another interview that her directions for the rape scene from Gene were to make it real but glamorous, which frankly are two words that go together like fire and water.^note Gene may have been thinking of rape scenes in The Pre-Code Era movies. These were often lit and shot in ways that made it clear the victim was innocent as well as beautiful.

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