This is a stirring and engaging tale about some new aliens we haven't seen before, and letting a comparatively minor character step forward is invariably a good idea. Away from small-screen constraints the writer is allowed to give his imagination free rein, and think as large and complex as he likes. In a series that can certainly be faulted for not having enough key characters it is inevitable that many of the people in this story are not from the ship. More in-depth information about the Thelasians would have been enjoyable, and there is nothing new about this tale of wily governors, warlike unknown races and jailbreaks; but it is entertaining stuff nonetheless, although it could have stood some editing in places. As this series deals with first contacts and a crew that are new to space faring, that "sense of wonder" early SF managed so effortlessly is always lacking.