While patrolling near the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Enterprise encounters a one-man ship belonging to a noted Federation philanthropist named Carter Winston, who has been missing in space for nearly five years. No one is happier to see Winston alive and well more than Lt. Anne Nored, Winston's one-time fiancee, but almost as soon as he beams aboard the Enterprise, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy start to notice something strange about him. Their suspicions are soon confirmed when Winston's true identity is revealed to be that of a Vendorian, an alien from a race of shape-shifters who is operating under Romulan orders to sabotage the Enterprise. As with every other episode of "The Animated Series," "The Survivor" packs a lot into its 24-minute running time. In addition to being an exciting action-adventure and a race against time to save the Enterprise, "The Survivor" is also a beautifully-realized love story about compassion, empathy and purpose. It's pretty far-out stuff for a what was then a Saturday morning cartoon, but for anyone looking for a vintage episode of "Star Trek," "The Survivor" was par for the course in all the right ways.

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