Jim Goodwin

A magnetic ore brought back from Alfa 177 causes a beam break-up in the transporter, splitting Captain Kirk into two different beings: one "good" and one "evil." The malfunction must be repaired before Sulu's stranded landing party freezes to death -- and Kirk's separated "halves" perish.

Just as his ship is destroyed by an asteroid field, conman Harry Mudd and his "cargo" of three beautiful wives for lonely miners are rescued by the Enterprise and arrested. The rescue burns out the big starship's dilithium crystals, but Kirk's unhappy reliance on Mudd's clients for replacements is in jeopardy when the women's real secret is exposed.

On a planet just like Earth that is populated only by children, Kirk's landing party contracts the virus that killed adults while stretching the youngsters' lifespan to hundreds of years. Enduring the natives' bizarre and violent tactics, the trapped party must cure themselves and the children — including one who has a crush on Kirk.

A widowed mother named Julia Sanderson learns she has a terminal illness and has no close relatives willing to care for her three children, John Jr., Carl and Alicia. Charles promises Mrs. Sanderson the children will find a new home. Meanwhile, the relationship between Mr. Edwards and Grace Snider begins to really blossom.

Chip manages to outwit the machine age when a computer is used to select partners for a school picnic.