PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *sociological*
"Hollow" is one of TREK's many ventures into cultures that have become badly stratified by their own perceived priorities. Usually these cultures take place on new worlds, whether inhabited by humanoid aliens or descendants of Earth-people. "Hollow" has the distinction of being the Enterprise's only encounter with a generation ship that has been disguised as an asteroid, and whose denizens believe that they live not on a ship, but on their home planet Yonada. The ship is operated by a computer that also serves as a tyrannical overlord, programmed to discourage Yonadans from questioning their status.
Because the ship is on a collision course with an inhabited Federation world, the usual Gang of Three beams aboard the foreign vessel. However, this time Doctor McCoy is set up to be the focal point of the story, for he's contracted a fatal disease for which there's no cure. The interlopers are received politely enough by Natira, high priestess of the computer-oracle, but no Yonadan believes the strangers' story that they're really on board a big ship (aside from one old man who knows the truth, and dies as a result of the computer's dictates). To further complicate matters, right at the moment when McCoy thinks his life is over, he promptly falls in love with Natira, and she with him. Though McCoy wants to help avert the collision, he also wants to marry Natira and live with her despite her ignorance. Naturally, this is not possible, though to the episode's credit, Natira isn't just casually knocked off to get her out of the way. By episode's end the crisis is avoided and McCoy, whose disease is banished by Yonadan science, goes back to the service.
It's a fairly workmanlike episode, not bad but never inspired, except for an excellent perf by Kate Woodville, who keeps Natira from being just another pagan princess.
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