Ep 6. The Counter-Clock Incident

The Star Trek: The Animated Series season 2 episode 6, titled "The Counter-Clock Incident," takes the viewers on a fascinating journey through time and space. The episode begins when the Enterprise receives a distress call from a Federation transport vessel. Upon arriving at the location, the crew discovers a ship that is not only ancient but also made up of antiprotons, a substance that should not exist in the normal universe.

As the crew investigate the ship, they soon realize that they are dealing with something more profound than just an unusual vessel. The ship is carrying a group of beings who are known as the "senior officers" of science, art, and politics. They are hundreds of years old, and have lived beyond their natural cycle. These beings have voluntarily been traveling in antiproton vessels to a region of space where time moves backward. In this region, they undergo a process of "reverse aging," gradually growing younger and younger until they are reborn as infants, to be once again returned to the universe.

However, something goes wrong on their journey, and their ship ends up in the wrong region of space. The Enterprise crew must now find a way to help these beings return home before they die of old age, and the universe loses their knowledge and expertise.

As they try to find a way to reverse the course of the ship, they also struggle with their own aging process, as they begin to age backward, just like the senior officers. They face many physical and mental challenges, and it becomes a race against time to find a solution before they become children again, incapable of saving their new friends.

The crew encounters various challenges along the way, such as losing their perspective of time, experiencing confusion and loss of motor skills. However, they manage to work together and even make new discoveries, including a revolutionary new plot which has the potential to transform life as they know it.

The episode features some of the most beloved characters from the original Star Trek series, such as Captain Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. In this animated format, the iconic characters come to life in a unique way, and the story takes advantage of the possibilities of the animated medium to depict new worlds and beings that would not have been possible in the live-action show.

Overall, "The Counter-Clock Incident" is an engaging and entertaining episode that offers a lot of excitement and action, as well as thought-provoking philosophical questions about the human condition and the nature of time itself. Fans of the Star Trek franchise will undoubtedly enjoy this animated adventure, and it offers a great opportunity for new viewers to discover the world of Star Trek in a fun and accessible way.