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| - Behind the scenes changes resulted in the season being poorly received by many fans and cast members. The season opener was based around the unlikely premise of Spock's brain being removed and then reattached without any adverse effects, which received much derision. (In his 2008 autobiography Up Till Now, William Shatner sarcastically calls the episode's plot a "tribute" to the top brass at NBC.) The cast also seemed to be unhappy with "The Way to Eden" , in which the Enterprise was visited by a group of "space hippies". Other episodes however continued to serve as political parables. "Day of the Dove" carried a strong anti-war message, while "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" dealt with racial hatred, ending with the Enterprise unable to prevent the destruction of a civilization or even dissuade the two survivors from continuing their feud. "The Empath" dealt well with new budget restrictions, telling a tightly constructed morality play with minimal sets and characters as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy teach an alien woman the value of self-sacrifice. "Plato's Stepchildren" may not have featured television's first interracial kiss as is often claimed, but was still groundbreaking enough to be banned in some states. Kirk had one of his most significant romances in "The Paradise Syndrome" , one of the longest Star Trek episodes in terms of fictional time, as he spent three months stranded on a planet, fell in love, and married, only for his pregnant wife to be killed in a tragic misunderstanding. He also fell in love with an android in "Requiem for Methuselah" , inadvertently bringing about her death. Spock attracted female attention in episodes like "The Enterprise Incident" , "The Cloud Minders" , and "All Our Yesterdays" , and even McCoy and Scotty found love in "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" and "The Lights of Zetar" , respectively. Of the junior crewmembers, Chekov had significant roles in "Spectre of the Gun" and "The Way to Eden" , the latter giving a rare insight into his past. Sulu was given a chance to command the ship in "Spock's Brain" , for the first time since "Errand of Mercy" , and accompanied Kirk and McCoy on an away team in "That Which Survives" , while Uhura and Christine Chapel finally had an opportunity to get closer to the two leads in "Plato's Stepchildren" , albeit at the behest of telekinetic aliens. The Klingons made two major appearances in "Elaan of Troyius" and "Day of the Dove" . The latter introduced the character of Kang, who was later seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. The Romulans appeared in person for the first time since "Balance of Terror" when they returned in "The Enterprise Incident" , and the Tholians were introduced in "The Tholian Web" . "The Savage Curtain" saw Kirk and Spock forced to play out the battle against good and evil, with three of the other participants, Colonel Green, Kahless, and Surak, reappearing in later series. The episode also marked the last appearance of Uhura on the show. The season closed with "Turnabout Intruder" , in which Kirk found himself trapped in the body of bitter former lover Janice Lester, who proceeded to charge his comrades with mutiny. Although it provided little of a sense of closure, it was a strong enough note for the show to go out on, and, although no one knew it at the time, the adventures of the crew of the Enterprise were far from over...
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