The Enterprise travels to Beta III to learn what happened to the U.S.S. Archon, which went missing a century earlier. A crewman in the landing party disappears, while another (Sulu) returns in a strange state. The word “Archon” was the title of certain Greek heads of state, incl. those in the Athenian Republic. It comes from Greek root “arch”, meaning “leader, highest, chief” (found in monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy).

Kirk beams down w/ another landing party just before the chaos of “Festival” (or “Red Hour”) begins at 6PM. They say they’re visitors from “The Valley,” escape the streets for a hotel, where the owner (Reger) and town elders ask if they are “Archons.” To learn more, Kirk has to convince some citizens to disobey Landru (who has ruled this society for 6,000 years). There are Lawgivers (wearing brown robes w/ long staffs in hand) everywhere; they are watching and waiting for those who disobey.

Spock: This is a soulless society, Captain. It has no spirit, no spark. All is indeed peace and tranquility – the peace of the factory, the tranquility of the machine, all parts working in unison.

Kirk: Mr. Spock, the plug must be pulled.

Spock: Sir?

Kirk: Landru must die.

Spock: Captain, our prime directive of non-interference…

Kirk: That refers to a living, growing culture. You think this one is?

This ep contains the first mention of the Prime Directive. This is also the first ep where Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and their landing party are disguised in the clothes of the native society. Nimoy looks a but more elegant than usual w/ a black cape (to cover up Spock’s Vulcan ears). Spock is seen sleeping with his eyes opens- another element of the alien side of his character. In the dungeon, Spock punches a guard in the face w/ his fist (first time we see) instead of using the Vulcan neck pinch.

This story is the inspiration for The Purge (2013) and its sequels; I haven’t seen those movies yet. Ben Stiller named his production company Red Hour; he is a huge fan of ST: TOS. The location scenes were filmed at the 40 Acres backlot in Culver City, CA. This is the same place where Miri and The City on the Edge of Forever were shot. The sets were featured prominently on The Andy Griffith Show and originally constructed to portray 19th century Atlanta for Gone with the Wind (1939). Westerns were very big in the ’60s, so it was cost-effective to use the sets, as well as the costumes.

[1] Some rather deep and sophisticated concepts were presented in this episode, quite sophisticated even for this show; the drawback was an unexciting narrative, even a drab pace. 

[2] This episode always makes me wonder if this was the inspiration for the Borg. The planet has 1 ruler/leader, who’s name is Landru. But he is really just a computer. This was a common theme in the original Star Trek… computers gone awry.

[3] There’s also Roddenberry’s intriguing symbolism of ‘the three’, those elder statesmen, who were immune to ‘absorption’. They were among the last remaining citizens who understood that ‘freedom is never a gift’.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

Time travel is one of the most common (and popular) topics in sci-fi. No doubt many of you have watched the Back to the Future movies (starring a young Michael J. Fox) and/or the TV series Quantum Leap (starring Scott Bakula- the captain in Star Trek: Enterprise). In this ep, Capt. Kirk says the first moon shot was in the late ’60s (which turned out to be accurate)! A fan noted that the day after this ep originally aired astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee perished in a flash fire in their Apollo Command module during a launch rehearsal.

When the Enterprise is flung back in time while trying to escape the gravitational pull of a black star (black hole), they find themselves in orbit around Earth- late 1960s. When they are seen by a U.S. Air Force pilot, Capt. John Christopher (guest star Roger Perry), they beam him aboard. They face the dilemma of what to do with him, as he learns more and more about the future. Lucille Ball (who started Desilu Productions) chose Perry for this role; he was a Broadway actor and had guest roles on many TV series.

Spock: We cannot return him to Earth, Captain. He already knows too much about us and is learning more. I do not specifically refer to Captain Christopher; but suppose an unscrupulous man were to gain certain knowledge of man’s future. Such a man could manipulate key industries, stocks, and even nations, and in so doing, change what must be. And if it is changed, Captain, you and I, and all that we know, might not even exist.

Kirk: Your logic can be most… annoying.

There is also some humor (as we expect) in this ep. The ship’s computer (voiced by Majel Barrett) has a glitch; it’s addressing Capt. Kirk as “dear” in an “affectionate” tone. Roddenberry was fascinated by the potential of a matriarchal society, and explored this theme in later eps and series.

Capt. Christopher: I take it that a lady computer is not routine.

Spock: We’d put into Cygnet XIV for general repair and maintenance. Cygnet XIV is a planet dominated by women. They seemed to feel the ship’s computer system lacked personality. They gave it one. Female, of course.

Capt. Christopher: [laughing] Well, you, you people certainly have interesting problems. I’d, uh… I’d love to stay around to see how your girlfriend works out, but…

Of course, Capt. Christopher is surprised to see the advanced tech, women working onboard, and (esp.) an alien- Spock. Capt. Kirk is fascinated by the pilot; he is probably much like what he would be (if he’d grown up in the 20th century). Later in the story, when Capt. Kirk is in danger, Spock and Capt. Christopher have to work together to rescue him. Spock’s response (and delivery) were very effective in this little scene.

Capt. Christopher: You don’t trust me, do you Spock?

Spock: In fact, I do. [Pause] But only to a certain point.

In the book, Q-Squared, author Peter David wrote that Trelane was an adolescent Q entity. This is questionable to some fans, as Trelane requires support equipment to perform his type of magic and makes mistakes (which implies he is not omnipotent). I’m a big fan of ST: TNG; John de Lancie is introduced as Q in that series. Roddenberry was channeling Trelane when he created Q, the actor thought; he said “I only filled out the character.”

When Kirk (William Shatner) and Sulu (George Takei) vanish into thin air from the bridge of the Enterprise, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) sends a landing party to the planet below to locate them. They find an 18th c. castle and a foppish/aristocratic man, Trelane (William Campbell), who seems to know a great deal about Earth (though in the wrong time period). Trelane acts like a spoiled child, w/ Kirk and his crew as (unwilling) playmates. Trelane comments about the beauty of Lt. Uhura and another female in the crew, Yeoman Teresa Ross (Venita Wolf), who looks like a real-life Barbie doll. Later, he puts Yeoman Ross in a pink princess-type of gown and dances w/ her (while Uhura- magically- plays the piano). Spock finds Trelane to be an incredible pest; Nimoy’s weary/annoyed looks are just the right touch. Our heroes soon realize that to free themselves, they must locate and destroy Trelane’s source of power!

The Squire of Gothos is one of the “sillier” episodes of Star Trek, and therefore one of the most entertaining ones.

Spock intrigues Trelane. He has studied Earth, but has only gotten as far as the 18th century. A Vulcan like Spock is something he can’t account for.

The antique-cluttered set is the perfect setting for Campbell’s performance: we see the artifacts from a dozen cultures (including an apparently stuffed specimen of the “salt vampire” seen in The Man Trap), which Trelane casually disintegrates.

So what is this episode really about? Are we just the playthings of the gods? Are we on a plane so far below other beings that even their children can discard the human race on a whim? A scary thought!

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

In his fight with Shatner in the forest, Campbell fell and dislocated his shoulder. As he flung his arm up in his instinctive reaction to the pain, the shoulder popped back into its socket! Due to Campbell’s injury, the ep finished shooting a day over schedule. The actor said: “It was just a great role. It was sensational. I’ll never forget it. It would be very easy for any actor who had any training to play the Squire of Gothos. The character was so well written and, of course, it was the show.” Look for Campbell as a Klingon in the fan fave ep- The Trouble w/ Tribbles in S2.