Star Trek: The Animated Series S2E04 – Albatross
Star Trek’s Animated Series shifts gears into courtroom drama and medical mystery with Albatross, an episode that places Dr. McCoy at the centre of its story – at least in theory. While it sets up an intriguing situation, it ultimately sidelines its supposed protagonist, leaving Kirk and Spock to do most of the heavy lifting while DeForest Kelley has surprisingly little to do.
The episode begins with the Enterprise visiting the planet Dramia, where McCoy is unexpectedly arrested for mass murder. The charge? Decades earlier, he had treated a plague on Dramia II, and the authorities now believe he was responsible for the deaths that followed. With McCoy imprisoned, Kirk and Spock set out to uncover the truth, retracing his past medical efforts to determine whether the accusations hold any merit.
The premise is classic Star Trek, exploring themes of justice, scientific responsibility, and the consequences of well-intended intervention. However, while the episode may now find favour with Robert Kennedy Jr for its pronounced anti-vax stance, for an episode that should be a showcase for McCoy, it feels oddly detached from his character. Most of the real investigation and action fall to Kirk and Spock, with McCoy spending much of the episode languishing in a cell off-screen rather than actively defending himself or contributing to the resolution.
Where Albatross does score points is in being one The Animated Series‘ more atmospheric episodes, with moody, ominous settings that reinforce the gravity of the situation. The depiction of the plague itself, with its eerie glowing effects, is certainly distinctive, adding a sense of genuine peril and not a little colour to the mystery. However, the animation struggles to service the weight of the story’s themes, often undercutting tension with its stiff character movements and limited expressiveness.
The resolution, while in keeping with Star Trek’s hopeful outlook, feels both rushed and contrived. The truth behind the plague comes to light just in time to exonerate McCoy, but the episode spends so little time with him that his vindication feels less impactful than it should. The courtroom setup is a dramatic staple for a reason but Albatross never quite delivers the dramatic tension or character moments that could have elevated the story.
A solid episode on paper, for sure, but in execution Albatross stumbles by pushing its central character to the sidelines and spending too much time in set-up and not enough in credible resolutions. For an adventure about McCoy’s past and medical ethics, it ends up being more about Kirk and Spock trying to unravel a conundrum only to serendipitously stumble across the solution thanks to a deus ex machina.
