"The Cage"
Stardate Unknown. The USS Enterprise arrives at the planet Talos IV to answer a distress signal. Captain Pike is taken prisoner by the telepathic Talosians who want him to mate with another human being named Vina, so that they can repopulate their nearly lifeless world. To accomplish this goal, they use their abilities to plunge Pike from one fantasy into another, attempting to blur his hold on reality and creating a false sense of security. Number One, Mr. Spock and other crewmembers work together to free him and, together, they end the Talosian plan.
This was the first pilot for Star Trek. It was produced in 1964 and rejected by the network. It had a significantly different cast from the series, featuring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike. A second pilot episode ("Where No Man Has Gone Before"[TOS]) was produced the following year, starring William Shatner as Captain Kirk. In fact, the only character from "The Cage" to carry over into Star Trek's first season was Mr. Spock; portrayed by Leonard Nimoy.
Robert C. Johnson, who provided the "1st Talosian" voice, gained fame as the tape-recorded assignment voice in Mission: Impossible. Bob Justman, who was the associate producer of the pilot for Mission: Impossible, was responsible for selecting Johnson for both roles.
Portions of "The Cage" were later incorporated into flashback scenes in the two-part episode "The Menagerie"(TOS). Years later, a restored version of "The Cage" was released for home video and syndicated broadcast.
"The Menagerie" won the World Science Fiction Society's Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1967.
"The Man Trap"
Star Dates: 1513.1-1513.8 The Enterprise is asked to proceeding to planet M-113 to deliver medical supplies to the planet's two only residents, Doctors Robert and Nancy Crater. Dr. McCoy had been romantically involved with Dr. Nancy Crater at one time. To their surprise, this Nancy Crater turns out to be a shape-changing salt "vampire" who seduces its victims by appearing as someone they know and then attacking, draining their bodies of natural salt content. The creature somehow gets aboard the Enterprise and must be destroyed, despite the fact it is the last of the species.
"Charlie X"
Star Dates: 1533.6-1515.8 Not long after the Enterprise picks up a young Charlie Evans from the captain of the Federation ship Antares, the Antares is mysteriously destroyed. After other unexplained incidents, they blame Charlie who reveals himself to have incredible supernatural powers to alter matter and cause people to "go away" or vanish. The powers were given to him by a race of people called the Thalasians. Without them he would not have survived on their planet. Charlie, who lets his immaturity govern his actions, becomes even more of a threat to the Enterprise when he falls in love with Yeoman Janice Rand and will stop at nothing to have his affections returned by her.
"Where No Man Has Gone
Before"
Star Dates: 1312.4-1313.8 As the Enterprise attempts to broach an energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy, crewman Gary Mitchell -- a close personal friend of Kirk's -- is transformed into a god-like being who must be killed before he can inflict his power on the universe.
This was the second pilot episode of the original Star Trek series. It was the first episode in which most of the regular original cast (including Captain Kirk) appear. Spock was, in fact, the only character to be carried over from the first pilot. The designs of the costumes and many sets were changes somewhat between this episode and "The Corbomite Maneuver"(TOS), the first regular series episode. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" prompted NBC to buy Star Trek as a weekly series.
"The Naked Time"
Star Dates: 1704.2-1704.4 While attempting to remove a group of scientists from the doomed planet Psi 2000, an Enterprise landing party is infected with a disease which they bring back aboard the starship and quickly spread. The result is that the crew's inhibitions are stripped away, as though by alcohol, and they start living out their fantasies or confronting their darkest demons. Lieutenant Riley, who establishes himself as"captain," tampers with the engines and the Enterprise is threatened with destruction as it moves closer to the planet's atmosphere. Dr. McCoy labors to find a cure before it's too late.
This episode was originally planned as the first of a two-parter, although the second half eventually became an independent story, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"(TOS). The first regular episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Naked Now"(TNG}, was sort of a sequel to this episode. "The Naked Time" was the first episode to establish that the Enterprise warp engines are powered by matter and antimatter. It was also the first episode in which the tricorder was used.
"The Enemy Within"
Star Dates: 1672.1-1673.1 A transporter malfunction splits Kirk into two beings: one pure evil and the other good. What follows is a battle between the two as each battles for supremacy at the expense expense of the other, though it becomes obvious that they need each other. Spock and Chief Engineer Scott attempt to devise a method of combining the two Kirks into one. Meanwhile, a landing team is trapped on the surface of Alpha 177 and sub-zero temperatures. The Enterprise cannot beam them aboard for fear that what happened to Kirk would happen to them as well.
This episode marks Spock's first use of the Vulcan nerve pinch.
"Mudd's Women"
Star Dates: 1329.8-1330.1 The Enterprise beams aboard interstellar conman Harry Mudd and the three incredibly beautiful women he has along with him as cargo. Kirk regrets saving them from their doomed vessel when he cripples the Enterprise in the process, and the only why for the ship to continue on its way is to make it to a mining world to replenish their dilithium crystal supplies. Harry manages to contact the miners first and manipulates them with the women, thus hoping to achieve his freedom from the authorities. As time goes on, it becomes obvious that the women's beauty has been achieved artificially.
This episode marks the first appearance of Harry Mudd, who would reappear in "I, Mudd"(TOS).
"What Are Little Girls Made
Of?"
Star Dates: 2712.4 Nurse Christine Chapel is to be reunited with her fiance, Dr. Roger Korby, who is on the planet Exo III. When she and Kirk beam down to the planet's surface, they learn that Korby has discovered an ancient technology that allows him to create androids which are an exact duplicate of people. He uses this technology to make an android of Kirk, with the intention of using the Enterprise to spread this new race throughout the galaxy.
James Goldstone also directed the second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before."
"Miri"
Star Dates: 2713.5-2717.3 Upon Enterprise discovering an Earth-like planet, a landing team that includes Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Rand beams down and discovers a group of 300 year old children. They learn that a disease prolongs youth, but upon reaching adolescence -- no matter how long it takes -- it triggers madness and then death. Infected, the landing party is trapped there unless McCoy can devise a cure. In the meantime, a young woman named Miri develops a strong crush on Kirk, and is extremely jealous of the captain's affection for Rand.
"Dagger of the Mind"
Star Dates: 2715.1-2715.2 While delivering supplies to penal colony Tantalus Five, Kirk happens upon the madness of Dr. Tristan Adams, who is using a revolutionary neural neutralizer to control and manipulate his patients. Fearful of exposure, he uses the device on the captain.
"The Corbomite Maneuver"
Star Dates: 1512.2-1514.1 The Enterprise destroys a dangerous alien probe while exploring an uncharted region in space. Moments later, they are locked in the tractor beam of a ship identifying itself as the Fesarius, which has threatened them with destruction. All attempts at escape fail, and Kirk develops an ingenious plan to trick his opponent. What's even more ingenious is the episode's denouement, in which the true identity of the Fesarius'captain is revealed.
This was the first regular episode produced for the original Star Trek series after the two pilot episodes. It features the first appearances of McCoy, Uhura, and Rand. Numerous costume and set designs seen in this episode were changed from the way they originally appeared in Star Trek's two pilot episodes.
"The Menagerie, Parts I and
II"
Part I Star Dates: 3012.4-3012.6; Part II Star Dates: 3013.1-3013.2; When a crippled and paralyzed Christopher Pike is beamed aboard the Enterprise, Spock commandeers the vessel to Talos IV, a world deemed off-limits by the Federation. As a result, the Vulcan is placed on court martial for mutiny, and during the trial the ship's viewscreen flashes back to footage from "The Cage," which details Pike's connection with the Talosians. It is Spock's hope that Pike will find some happiness amongst the illusionary abilities of that alien race.
This two-part episode represented one of the most ingenious uses of old footage ever devised, effortlessly maintaining the audience's attention while utilizing Star Trek's rejected pilot. The concept was Gene Roddenberry's, and it was a brilliant stroke on his part. Use of "The Cage" footage helped the tightly budgeted series to control costs and stay on schedule. Marc Daniels directed the 'envelope' scenes of Spock's trial, while Robert Butler received screen credit for directing the scenes from "The Cage" which took up the majority of the second segment. Despite being a two-parter, the wrap-around 'envelope' segment was treated as single episode by studio accounting, so it is listed here as one segment.
"The Conscience of the
King"
Star Dates: 2817.6-2825.3 A traveling Shakespearean troupe led by Anton Karidian is being transported to their next performance by the Enterprise. Prior to this, Kirk has been contacted by Dr. Thomas Leighton, who tells him that Karidian is actually Kodos the Executioner, former governor of Tarsus IV who masterminded the deaths of many of his people when it seemed that they were threatened with starvation. No sooner has these deaths (which included members of both Kirk and Leighton's families) been carried out than the Federation supply ships arrived. Kodos disappeared and Karidian's career began at roughly the same time. The captain has agreed to provide transportation for the actors on the sheer chance that Karidian and Kodos are one and the same. The noose tightens around the man's neck when a series of deaths begin to occur on the Enterprise.
"Balance of Terror"
Star Dates: 1709.2-1709.6 In a game of interstellar cat and mouse, the Enterprise comes up against a flagship of their unseen enemy, the Romulans, which has the ability to cloak itself. The episode takes on the feel of a submarine war film as the two commanders try to outthink each other and achieve victory.
This episode features the first appearance of the Romulans and their cloaking device.
"Shore Leave"
Star Dates: 3025.3-3025.8 Captain Kirk grants shore leave for the crew on an idyllic Earth-like planet, and it turns out to be one of the most incredible leaves anyone has ever had. Those Enterprise people who are among the first are amazed to discover that their every wish is coming true; they are meeting people from their past and living out fantasies. Things turn dangerous, however, when these apparitions turn deadly.
"The Galileo Seven"
Meanwhile, on the planet's surface, Spock uses his purely logical mind to deal with their situation in a hostile environment,and comes across as a cold-blooded monster. With McCoy's encouragement he is ultimately forced to take a very human chance to ensure that they survive and are found by the Enterprise.
S. Bar-David was the pen name of dramatist Shimon Wincelberg who also wrote "Dagger of the Mind"(TOS) using the same personal cloaking device. The Enterprise shuttlecraft made its first appearance in this episode. Earlier episodes (like "The Enemy Within"[TOS]) did not use the shuttle because it had not been built until this point. Stephen Whitfield represented model toy manufacturer AMT and negotiated the deal to market the original Enterprise model kit. He also made a deal for the studio for AMT to fund construction of the full-sized Galileo mockup for filming in return for the rights to market the shuttlecraft model kit. With Gene Roddenberry, Whitfield wrote "The Making of Star Trek." Now known as Stephen Poe, he has written many books, videos, and films.
"The Squire of Gothos"
Star Dates: 2124.5-2126.3 The Enterprise is captured by an alien being named Trelane who is equipped with a wide variety of powers that enable him to manipulate the world around him. Having grown bored with loneliness, he as chosen Kirk and his crew to stay on his world to provide him with entertainment. Coming across as an impudent child (and turning out to be just that), Trelane grows furious when Kirk disrupts his plans, and he puts humanity on trial.
Many fans have noted the similarity between Trelane and Q, speculating that Trelane and his parents may have been members of the Q Continuum, although this actually has not been established in an episode. Paul Schneider also wrote "Balance of Terror"(TOS).
"Arena"
Star Dates: 3045.6-3046.2 When a Federation starbase is destroyed, the Enterprise sets off in pursuit of the attackers. Enroute they enter an uncharted sector of space where Kirk and the commander of the other vessel, the lizard-like Gorn, are transported to a planet's surface where they are forced to carry out their barbarism against each other in a battle to the death, with the loser's ship and all aboard being destroyed. What follows is a savage struggle, with Kirk's ultimate humanity sparing both him and the Enterprise.
"Arena" is the first episode in which the original Enterprise's warp factor six maximum speed was established, and the first episode to show that you can't beam through shields.
"Tomorrow Is Yesterday"
Star Dates: 3113.2-3114.1 After an encounter with a black hole (here referred to as a black star), the Enterprise is hurled backwards in time to the 20th Century and in Earth orbit. There they are photographed by the Air Force's Captain Christopher, who is flying by in his jet when the starship enters the atmosphere momentarily. Kirk has the craft placed in the ship's tractor beam, but it proves too frail and breaks up. Christopher is brought aboard before the fatal moment, and is the world's first man to see the future. Kirk's dilemma: how to return Christopher without threatening the course of history.
The episode does not make it clear exactly when in the 20th Century the Enterprise was, but the radio reference to the first moon-landing mission to be launched "next Wednesday" would seem to place it about a week before July 16, 1969, when Apollo 11 was launched.
"Court-Martial"
Star Dates: 2947.3-2950.1 A computer malfunction implicates Kirk in the death of crewman Ben Finney, and he stands trial for negligence. It's up to Spock and Kirk's lawyer, Samuel Cogley, to prove his innocence as well as the truth about Finney.
"The Return of the Archons"
Star Dates: 3156.2-3158.7 While checking up on the crew of the Archon, who transported down to Beta III, the Enterprise learns that the people there are being controlled by a computer named Landru who takes over their minds to make them all a part of the body. Kirk takes it upon himself to destroy the mechanism and bring freedom back to the world's people.
"Space Seed"
Star Dates: 3141.9-3143.3 The Enterprise comes across a derelict "sleeper ship" named the Botany Bay, which contains a crew of approximately 70 men and women in suspended animation. Led by Kahn Noonian Singh, these people turn out to be the result of genetic experimentation on Earth in the 1990s. Basically a race of supermen, with strength and intelligence nearly ten times that of an average person, they had attempted to take over the Earth and triggered World War III, the Eugenics War. They managed to flee in the Botany Bay, and are now revived in the 23rd Century.
Kahn seizes the moment and, using historian Marla McGivers, nearly takes over the Enterprise. Kirk and company manage to gain the upper hand (barely) and sentence Kahn and his people to the somewhat savage Ceti Alpha V. At least it will give Kahn, McGivers and the others a chance to tame a world, rather than waste their lives in a Federation penal colony.
This episode was the predecessor to the feature film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn.
"A Taste of Armageddon"
Star Dates: 3192.1-3193.0 Ambassador Robert Fox is on board the Enterprise to negotiate a peace treaty with the planet Eminiar VII, despite that world's obvious lack of interest in such a treaty. Kirk himself points out, "It is their planet, Mr. Ambassador," but Fox arrogantly forces the starship forward. It is a short matter of time before they find themselves immersed in an interplanetary war between Eminiar and Vendikar which is being fought by computers. Said computers pinpoint the location of theoretical bombings, and people living in those areas voluntarily march into disintegration chambers so that their respective societies will live on.
Enterprise unwittingly becomes a target and Eminiar's leader, Anan 7, expects Kirk to have his crew enter the disintegration chambers to keep the peace. Kirk, naturally, has his own ideas and sets about carrying them out.
"This Side of Paradise"
Star Dates: 3417.3-3417.7 The Enterprise investigates the status of a group of Federation colonists on Omicron Ceti II, who are presumed dead after being exposed to the deadly radiation of Berthold rays over the past three years. Instead, what they find are the colonists in absolutely perfect health, and in a peaceful bliss. Both are chalked up to spores on the planet which strip away the more negative feelings, resulting in an idyllic state of mind.
Kirk's problems begin quickly s the influence of the spores spreads through the ship, with everyone wanting to remain on the planet. Even Spock is affected, as he lets down his veneer of logic and expresses the love he feels for colonist Leila Kalomi, with whom he had had a relationship. Kirk, who is alone on the Enterprise, must snap his first officer out of the state he's in, before the starship burns up in the planet's atmosphere.
Nathan Butler was the pen name of science-fiction writer Jerry Sohl. His original story, entitled "Sandoval's Planet," was submitted in June, 1966. His nest story treatment, two months later, was entitled "Power Play,"as was his first draft screenplay. Shortly thereafter, the script was assigned to D.C. Fontana, and was retitled "The Way of the Spores." On October 27, 1966, Bob Justman wrote a memo to Gene Roddenberry, objecting to the latest title. His memo concluded with: "This is probably the nicest thing I've said to you in weeks, and no doubt you are and will be eternally grateful for this, as it is one of the shortest memos I have ever written to you." Fontana's version was retitled "This Side of Paradise." In a later memo, Justman observed that Fontana's work was "[a]s usual, a shootable and well-constructed first draft from the mysterious D.C. Fontana." The script went into production on January 15, 1967 and has become regarded as pivotal in the development of the Spock character. The shot of Kirk entering the empty bridge of the Enterprise in this episode was later re-used as the establishing shot for Scotty's holodeck re-creation of the bridge in "Relics"(TNG).
"The Devil in the Dark"
Star Dates: 3196.1 When miners on Janus VI are being murdered by a creature that can move through solid rock, chief engineer Vanderberg contacts the Enterprise and asks for assistance in hunting it down and putting an end to the threat. The starship arrives with Kirk and Spock leading a landing party to investigate the situation. What they discover is actually an intelligent being known as the Horta and that it has only killed to protect its young, which are encased in silicone shells that the miners mistook for worthless rocks.
Stuntman Janos Prohaska not only played the Horta, he designed and built the creature.
"Errand of Mercy"
Star Dates: 3198.4-3201.7 Tensions between the Federation and one of their arch enemies, the Klingon Empire, are growing more intense, and Kirk is told to secure an alliance with the people of the strategically located Organia. No sooner have Kirk and Spock beamed down than the Klingons arrive, with their military commander, Kor, commandeering the world as the latest possession of the Empire.
Kirk is frustrated by the absolute complacency of the Organians, and his frustration turns to anger when he learns that things have grown worse between the Federation and the Klingons. It appears that an intergalactic war is about to begin, when the Organians reveal themselves to be something far removed from human, with the power to stop both sides from warring....permanently (though this fact was later forgotten in the Star Trek feature films).
This episode features the first appearance of Klingons in Star Trek. The Klingons seen here are simpler in design than the elaborately made-up Klingons in the Star Trek features and in the Star Trek spin-off series.
"The Alternative Factor"
Star Dates: 3087.6-3088.7 Easily one of Star Trek;s most convoluted and least appealing episodes, "The Alternative Factor" was the 20th episode shot but was held up to air as the 26th. The Enterprise encounters two versions of a man named Lazarus, one of them seeming perfectly rationale and the other a snarling madman from an anti-matter universe. The latter is planning on opening a rift between the two dimensions, damning both to a form of Armageddon. It is up to Kirk and the rational Lazarus to set things straight before its too late.
John Barrymore, Jr. was originally cast as Lazarus but, when he failed to report for work on the first day of production, Robert Brown was hurriedly recast in the role.
"The City on the Edge of
Forever"
Star Dates: Unknown The Enterprise is in the midst of studying time disturbances in the area of a particular world, when McCoy accidentally injects himself with an overdose of cordrazine. As a result, he becomes a paranoid madman and beams down to the planet's surface to avoid everyone's attempts to sedate him.
Kirk and Spock lead a landing party in pursuit, and there they find an ancient stone structure which identifies itself as the Guardian of Forever, a time portal into the past. When the moment presents itself, McCoy leaps through it's center and does something in the past that causes history to be changed: the Enterprise is no longer in orbit. To try and counter this, Kirk and Spock pursue him to Earth in the year 1930, where they meet the focal point in time: Edith Keeler, social worker.
Keeler, we learn, is meant to die in a traffic accident but something McCoy does alters that. As a result, all of history is changed and in the altered history she leads a pacifist movement that delays America's entry into the second world war, thus giving Nazi Germany the chance to capture the world. Kirk's decision is simple: he must allow Edith Keeler to die as she was intended to. The one thing he had not counted on, however, was falling in love with her.
This episode won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1968. Harlan Ellison's original version of the script also won the Writers' Guild of America Award.
"Operation - Annihilate!"
Star Dates: 3287.2-3289.8 Responding to a report of mass insanity on Deneva, the Enterprise arrives and Kirk is stunned to learn that his brother George, is dead as a result of the disease. Further investigation leads them to amoeba-like creatures about the size of large rodents, which become one with a "host's" nervous system. OUr heroes must discover a way to rid Deneva of this, and the answer comes from their apparent sensitivity to intense light. McCoy begins experimenting and Spock volunteers as a test subject, but things backfire when the Vulcan is blinded in the tests. Bones is devastated to later learn that the creatures can be destroyed by ultra-violet light, so Spock was blinded for no reason.
Needless to say, Spock's blindness is temporary, as he was protected by an additional eyelid that all Vulcans have to cope with the sunlight of their homeworld.
This was the last episode of the original series' first season.