The premise of the thing was that everyone on the Enterprise takes LSD. What would happen? In effect, that's what this was. They go down to the planet and they all get the spores in them and turn into different people.

We always played Bill, at least back then, as the man whose real love affair was with his ship. He was a dedicated officer and a man who really did want to go down to the sea in ships. In this case it was a sea of stars. That ship was truly his love.