What Are Little Girls Made Of?

TOS Season 1 Episode 7
Air Date: October 20th, 1966

Many think of Data when thinking androids in Star Trek. But this episode was the one that first introduces them. The Enterprise is tasked to find Dr. Roger Korby on a planet that has been slowly dying, turning into an ice planet. Dr. Korby was researching the remnants of a civilization that used to live on the planet. Kirk beams down to the planet with Nurse Christine Chapel, played by Majel Barrett before she was married to Roddenberry, and discovers that Dr. Roger Korby has been able to use the technology found on the planet to make near perfect duplicates of anyone, right down to memories and personality. All of his expedition had died and he recreated them as androids. Except for Ruk, one of the few remaining androids that survived.

Kirk was able to fool Dr. Korby who created a copy of Kirk by implanting a false memory while his memories were being copied that alerted Spock to the threat. The androids were defeated but they discover that Dr. Korby himself was also and android.

This episode reminds me of the TNG episode "The Schizoid Man" where a scientist uploads his consiousness into Data in an effort to live forever. I also found an interesting similarity between Ruk and Homn, Lwaxana Troi's assistant.

This was the first episode where a red shirt died, but not just one but two. Red shirts are still behind at this point but at least they are on the board now.