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Star Trek – Season 3, Episode 4

And the children shall lead, where to watch, star trek — season 3, episode 4.

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Cast & crew.

William Shatner

Capt. James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy

DeForest Kelley

Dr. Leonard McCoy

James Doohan

Engineer Montgomery Scott

Nichelle Nichols

George Takei

TOS Season 3

• View history

The third and final season of Star Trek: The Original Series was produced and filmed from May 1968 to January 1969 by Paramount Television and premiered on NBC on Friday, September 20, 1968 and concluded on Tuesday, June 3, 1969. In the United Kingdom, the season premiered on the ITV network on Sunday, March 25, 1984 as a mid-season replacement, and ended on September 2, 1984 with the final episode " Turnabout Intruder " as part of the beginning of the Autumn season and just before the film's premiere is held on September 3, 1984. It consists of 24 episodes. Star Trek: The Original Series is an American science fiction television series produced by Fred Freiberger , and created by Gene Roddenberry , and the original series of the Star Trek franchise. It features William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk , Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy .

• 3.2.1 Uncredited crew
• 4 Background information
• 6 External links

Episodes [ ]

Summary [ ].

With Star Trek having narrowly avoided cancellation, the basic format remained the same as Season 2. The season opened with " Spock's Brain ", a story in which Kara , the priestess-leader of the underground Eymorg city, steals Spock's brain and transfers it to a receptacle so that he can rule their society.

Other episodes continued to serve as political parables. " Day of the Dove " carried a strong anti-war message, while " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield " dealt with racial hatred, ending with the Enterprise unable to prevent the destruction of a civilization or even dissuade the two survivors from continuing their feud. " The Empath " told a tightly constructed morality play with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy teach an alien woman the value of self-sacrifice. While " Plato's Stepchildren " may not have featured television's first interracial kiss, it was still groundbreaking enough to be banned in some states.

Kirk had one of his most significant romances in " The Paradise Syndrome ", as he spent three months stranded on a planet, fell in love, and married, only for his pregnant wife to be killed in a tragic misunderstanding. He also fell in love with an android in " Requiem for Methuselah ", inadvertently bringing about her death. Spock attracted female attention in episodes like " The Enterprise Incident ", " The Cloud Minders ", and " All Our Yesterdays ", and McCoy and Scott found love in " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky " and " The Lights of Zetar ", respectively.

Of the junior crewmembers, Chekov had significant roles in " Spectre of the Gun " and " The Way to Eden ", the latter giving a rare insight into his past. Sulu was given a chance to command the ship in " Spock's Brain ", for the first time since " Errand of Mercy ", and accompanied Kirk and McCoy on an away team in " That Which Survives ", while Uhura and Christine Chapel finally had an opportunity to get closer to the two leads in " Plato's Stepchildren ", albeit at the behest of telekinetic aliens.

The Klingons made two major appearances in " Elaan of Troyius " and " Day of the Dove ". The latter introduced the character of Kang , who was later seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager . The Romulans appeared in person for the first time since " Balance of Terror " when they returned in " The Enterprise Incident ", and the Tholians were introduced in " The Tholian Web ". " The Savage Curtain " saw Kirk and Spock forced to play out the battle against good and evil, with three of the other participants, Phillip Green , Kahless the Unforgettable , and Surak , reappearing in later series as their original selves. The episode also marked the last appearance of Uhura on the show.

The season closed with " Turnabout Intruder ", in which Kirk found himself trapped in the body of bitter former lover Janice Lester , who proceeded to charge his comrades with mutiny.

Credits [ ]

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk
• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy
• James Doohan as Scott
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• George Takei as Sulu
• Walter Koenig as Chekov
• Majel Barrett as Nurse Chapel
• See : TOS Season 3 performers
• " Spectre of the Gun "
• " Spock's Brain "
• " Wink of an Eye " (Story)
• " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield " (Story)
• " Elaan of Troyius "
• " That Which Survives " (Teleplay)
• " The Paradise Syndrome "
• " The Cloud Minders " (Teleplay)
• " The Enterprise Incident "
• " That Which Survives " (Story)
• " The Way to Eden " (Story)
• " And the Children Shall Lead "
• " Is There in Truth No Beauty? "
• " All Our Yesterdays "
• " The Empath "
• " The Tholian Web " (co-wrote)
• " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky "
• " Day of the Dove "
• " Requiem for Methuselah "
• " Plato's Stepchildren "
• " Wink of an Eye " (Teleplay)
• " The Way to Eden " (Teleplay/Story)
• " The Savage Curtain " (Teleplay)
• " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield " (Teleplay)
• " The Cloud Minders " (Story)
• " Whom God's Destroy " (Teleplay/Story)
• " Whom God's Destroy " (Story)
• " The Mark of Gideon "
• " The Lights of Zetar "
• " The Savage Curtain " (Teleplay/Story)
• " Turnabout Intruder " (Story)
• " Turnabout Intruder " (Teleplay)
• " Wink of an Eye "
• " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield "
• " The Cloud Minders "
• " The Tholian Web " (uncredited)
• " The Tholian Web "
• " That Which Survives "
• " Whom Gods Destroy "
• " Turnabout Intruder "
• " The Way to Eden "
• " The Savage Curtain "
• Gene Roddenberry
• Fred Freiberger
• Robert H. Justman (" Spectre of the Gun " – " That Which Survives ")
• Edward K. Milkis
• Gregg Peters
• Arthur H. Singer
• Alexander Courage
• Fred Steiner
• Gerald Fried
• Jerry Finnerman (" Spectre of the Gun " – " The Empath ")
• Al Francis (" The Tholian Web " – " Turnabout Intruder ")
• Walter M. Jefferies
• Fabien Tordjmann
• Donald R. Rode
• Claude Binyon, Jr.
• Gene De Ruelle
• John M. Dwyer
• William Ware Theiss
• Westheimer Company
• Howard Anderson Co.
• Vanderveer Photo Effects
• Douglas H. Grindstaff
• Richard Lapham
• Gordon L. Day , CAS
• Carl W. Daniels
• George A. Rutter
• Glen Glenn Sound Co.
• Joseph D'Agosta
• William J. Kenney (" Day of the Dove ", " Wink of an Eye ", " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield ", " The Mark of Gideon ", " The Cloud Minders ", " Requiem for Methuselah ", " All Our Yesterdays ")
• Fred B. Phillips , SMA
• Pat Westmore
• George H. Merhoff
• George Rader
• Irving A. Feinberg
• Paramount Television
• Norway Corporation
• Douglas S. Cramer

Uncredited crew [ ]

• Larry Abbott – Makeup artist ("The Way to Eden")
• George Barr – Makeup artist ("The Way to Eden")
• Larry Bunker – Percussionist ("The Way to Eden")
• John Caleffie – Guitarist ("The Way to Eden")
• Julian Davidson – Orchestra Manager ("The Way to Eden") [1]
• Kellam de Forest – Research
• John Finger – Director of Photography ("Requiem for Methuselah")
• Al Francis – Camera Operator ("Spectre of the Gun" – "The Empath")
• Ernest Haller – Director of Photography ("Requiem for Methuselah")
• Arthur Heinemann – Composer ("The Way to Eden")
• Al Jacoby – Assistant Property Master
• Willard W. Jones – Orchestration ("The Way to Eden") [2]
• J. James Lidner – Copyist ("The Way to Eden") [3]
• Mike May – Props
• Bill McGovern – Clapper/Loader
• Mike Minor – Additional Designs/Effects Artist ("Spectre of the Gun" – "The Tholian Web" – "Day of the Dove")
• Charles Napier – Composer ("The Way to Eden")
• William K. Pitman – Guitarist ("The Way to Eden")
• Craig Robertson – Composer ("The Way to Eden")
• Denis Russell – VFX Artist ("The Tholian Web" – "The Cloud Minders")
• Tiger Shapiro – Second Assistant Director
• Clark E. Spangler – Organist ("The Way to Eden")
• Charles Washburn – Second Assistant Director
• Andrea Weaver – Women's Costumer

Background information [ ]

The blue logo in Season 3

• Some production staff members were disappointed with season three. In a 2006 interview, Leonard Nimoy called it " very weak in general, but it was especially not good for Spock . " [4]
• Ira Steven Behr once said that both he and his sister were disappointed with this third season. [5] (X) He also commented that his disappointment with the season was similar to the reaction of "most fans." ( AOL chat , 1997 )
• For the third season, the title and credits were in a light blue color, much like the credits of Star Trek: The Next Generation .
• Kirk no longer wore a green wrap-around shirt in any of the episodes, though officers were seen wearing the full dress uniform in " Is There in Truth No Beauty? " and " The Savage Curtain ". Also in the third season, Scott's dress uniform was accompanied by a traditional Scottish kilt . The uniforms were no longer made of velour (which shrank every time it was cleaned), but of double-knit polyester.
• Each episode of the third season now cost about US$175,000, the budget having been reduced even further, while the salaries of the main cast increased. Consequently, only two episodes out of the twenty-four this season (" The Paradise Syndrome " and " All Our Yesterdays ") featured location scenery.
• Gene Roddenberry was initially promised an early evening time slot (Mondays at 7:30 pm) by NBC. However, this would have required their top-rated series Laugh-In to be moved from its 8 pm time slot to 8:30. Laugh-In Producer George Schaltter threatened to take his show to another network unless it was guaranteed the 8 pm slot. NBC capitulated, forcing Star Trek to air its third season in the only remaining slot on the schedule – Fridays at 10 pm. Roddenberry threatened to leave Star Trek entirely if it wasn't put back to the promised time slot, but NBC rejected his threats due to the show's low ratings. He technically kept the post of executive producer for this season, but had actually left for MGM to work on other projects.
• Because of Roddenberry's withdrawal, scripts were no longer revised or re-written by him, nor by either Gene L. Coon or D.C. Fontana , who both left the series earlier. Script quality greatly suffered because of this. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story )
• After Roddenberry and most of the writing staff left after the second season, Fred Freiberger took over as producer, with Arthur H. Singer replacing D.C. Fontana as script consultant. According to Fontana, Singer came to the set one day, and asked, " By the way, what does that transporter thing do again? " [6]
• Robert H. Justman was promoted to co-producer, but left the series after " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield ". Gregg Peters became the new associate producer.
• A most important change was the departure of cinematographer Jerry Finnerman after " The Empath ", and his replacement with his former camera operator, Al Francis , which affected the visual style of the series.
• Several new writers were brought in. Many of them were non-professionals, who sent in story outlines, which were read and recommended by Justman. These included Jean Lisette Aroeste , Joyce Muskat , and Judy Burns .
• While a few directors from prior seasons returned, none of them (save for John Meredyth Lucas and Ralph Senensky , the latter of whom was fired midway through his second episode) worked on more than one episode. The season was therefore mostly handled by a new set of directors, with Jud Taylor and Herb Wallerstein being the two most frequent.
• According to Star Trek Lives! writer Joan Winston , NBC passed on an option for two additional episodes (a twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth) for the third season. William Shatner would have directed the twenty-fifth episode, " The Joy Machine ". Ultimately, it was another two decades before Shatner got the opportunity to direct a Star Trek production (the film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , which was released almost twenty years to the day after TOS series finale " Turnabout Intruder ") and twenty-one years before a Star Trek episode would be directed by a member of the cast ( TNG : " The Offspring ", directed by Jonathan Frakes ).

See also [ ]

• TOS Season 3 UK VHS
• TOS Season 3 DVD
• TOS-R Season 3 DVD
• TOS Season 3 Blu-ray

External links [ ]

• Star Trek: The Original Series season 3 at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• The Original Series Season 3 episode reviews  at Ex Astris Scientia
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein

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Star Trek: The Original Series - Episode Guide - Season 3

Surely you’ve heard of CBS’s reticence to renew Star Trek for a third season in 1968, slashing its production budget by half and pushing it out of prime time into a 10pm slot. But then the EEEvil executives’ hesitance must be reconsidered after viewing episode 1 of the nearly-nonexistent TOS season three, “Spock’s Brain.” If this is the level of story line that the ST creative team was pushing, well, you’d probably think twice about giving these apparent LSD junkies valuable air time, too.

Unfortunately, “Spock’s Brain” is all too representative of what is, on average, one of the worst ST seasons ever. Surely a few of these writers had grander visions and more revolutionary ideas than those presented, but these ideas clearly died early in pre-production. The result is a season that only a fanatic could love, and a study in TV-as-business, circa 1968.

1. Spock's Brain – Hoo boy. After Star Trek fandom rose en masse to get their favorite TV program back on the air, this is the debut for the demanded new season. Aliens steal Spock’s brain (dude), but the Vulcan is still able to walk around, understand and, you know, *live*, while the Enterprise crew seeks out the thieving bad guys. 0

2. The Enterprise Incident – See, if CBS had cared about the future of Star Trek, they might’ve started season 3 was this far more interesting story about the Enterprise crew’s attempts to steal cloaking technology from the Romulans, a plotline that would never go down in Picard’s day, let me tell you! ***

3. The Paradise Syndrome – Remember that time when Spock was captain of the Enterprise for a few months? In the cold open, Kirk is laid unconscious and trapped inside an alien device. The away team leaves, returning months later to find that the captain has lost his memory and has settled in with Native American-looking folks as Kirok. **

4. And the Children Shall Lead – In response to a distress call, Kirk et al find a Federation survey team completely wiped out save for five children, who are brought aboard the Enterprise. Once there, they summon a being who is essentially an evil marauder. (No really: Even Spock addresses “evil” as though in his logical terms.) **

5. Is There in Truth No Beauty? – An alien ambassador whose very face can drive people insane (How did this guy get to be an ambassador in the first place? And how did this species ever make first contact?) boards the Enterprise. Insane shenanigans ensue, including a quality Spock freakout. **

6. Spectre of the Gun – Sheer goofiness seemingly done on a budget of about $23. For trespassing on an alien world, Kirk & Co. get a sentence of … having to reenact the OK Corral shootout? Um, yeah. **

7. Day of the Dove – A glowing cloud which feeds on … aggressive energy I guess…? – stirs up conflict between the Enterprise bunch and Commander Kang’s Klingon crew. Only when Kirk can convince the Klingons that both parties are being manipulated is a truce reached. ***

8. For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky – Standard stuff for TV in the 1960s: McCoy diagnoses himself with a terminal disease. Good thing the Enterprise’s next stop is a generational ship that’ perhaps the only place in the galaxy which has a cure for “xenopolycythemia.” Plus, something about “The Oracle,” the Insane God! who runs the ship. *

9. The Tholian Web – In an area of space controlled by the Tholians, Kirk is lost “between dimensions” (the dimensions themselves are never specified) while crewmembers slowly go insane (not because of Kirk’s disappearance, necessarily, but because of conditions and all). ***

10. Plato's Stepchildren – Right, right, this is the one in which Kirk and Uhura kiss at the behest of humanoids given psychic abilities thanks to the planet’s environment itself. Amazing that everyone remembers *that* kiss, but no one recalls the inane dialogue beforehand. ***

11. Wink of an Eye – Lady aliens in a state of hyperacceleration through time due to radiation (sounds likely). And then, “Most of the women found they could not have more. All of our men had become sterile. So we had to mate outside our own people. Whenever a spaceship came by, we'd send our calls for help.” You get the idea: Mars Needs Women, in reverse. **

12. The Empath – Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to a research station wherein (get this) everyone has been killed. Soon the Enterprise guys are being tortured by aliens, with only a sympathetic and comely empathy helping them out. **

13. Elaan of Troyius – The Enterprise plays host to the title character, a queen who is to be married off for peace between two planets. Kirk can’t help himself, however, and engages in hanky panky with Elaan. In addition, her bodyguard/assistant is a Klingon sympathizer. ***

14. Whom Gods Destroy – Kirk attempts to visit an old friend recovering at an interplanetary psychiatric ward, but upon arrival is quickly embroiled in a plot by a shape-shifter. Lots of body swappy stuff going on here. ***

15. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield – Dude, it’s the black-and-white guys in this very pretentious and clunky diatribe about the evils of racism. *

16. The Mark of Gideon – Kirk is used as a tool to assist in a planet’s overpopulation problem and, whoa, talk about your convenient, too-pat resolutions. Gee, I guess questions of overpopulation which seemed difficult are actually really easy… **

17. That Which Survives – Let’s run through the checklist: An “abandoned” outpost, a space virus, a mysterious yet babelicious killer, a wacky computer … this one ticks every cliché box, doesn’t it? **

18. The Lights of Zetar – A sort of intelligent electrical storm – which somehow also affects human senses, bodies and emotional states – threatens the Memory Alpha library that Kirk and his away team are visiting. ***

19. Requiem for Methuselah – If ever were any doubt that the movie Forbidden Planet was the most immediate precursor to and inspiration for Star Trek, this episode blows it away. Like Forbidden Planet, “Requiem for Methuselah” is essentially Shakespeare’s Tempest set in space, but without the additional layer of Freudian pop psychology added. ***

20. The Way to Eden – Hey, man, this is a new day. Like, it’s the 2260s and it’s our time so we’re gonna hijack the Enterprise and turn the cafeteria into a hash bar… **

21. The Cloud Minders – The Enterprise is sent to the planet Ardana to retrieve a mineral that will help cure a plague on planet Merak (how that’s possible is beyond STG, but we’ll run with it). Kirk and Spock are seduced in turn, ol ‘James T. engages in some fisticuffs and the Enterprisers even solve the planet’s worker’s revolution. ***

22. The Savage Curtain – Just in case you thought things couldn’t get sillier than “Spectre of the Gun”, how about aliens playing virtual Mortal Kombat with Kirk, Spock, Abraham Lincoln and the top Vulcan intellectual of all-time on a team. The “so bad it’s good” factor is really wreaking havoc with the ratings factor here … ***

23. All Our Yesterdays – Spock, Kirk and McCoy arrive on a deserted planet to be informed by a hologram that they are “very late.” Mysterious portals then bring Kirk into the doomed planet’s past to an era looking suspiciously like Elizabethan England (must be “parallel evolution” sigh), while Spock and McCoy are sent some 5,000 years into the past. ***

24. Turnabout Intruder – Body swap! A Dr. Janice Lester, psychotically jealous of Kirk’s success, switches consciousnesses with the swaggering captain. This is really the last episode of Star Trek: The Original Series? Yeesh. *

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• Seasons & Episodes
• TV Listings
• Cast & Crew

Star Trek Season 3 Episodes

• 73   Metascore
• Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, Dr McCoy and the USS Enterprise crew seek out new civilisations in this seminal sci-fi series.

Season 3 Episode Guide

24 Episodes 1968 - 1969

Spock's Brain

Fri, Sep 20, 1968 60 mins

Following a woman's mysterious appearance on the bridge, it is discovered that someone, using advanced medical technology, has stolen Spock's brain.

The Enterprise Incident

Fri, Sep 27, 1968 60 mins

Spock finds himself in the unlikely position of being wooed by a Romulan Commander when the Enterprise is captured after entering Romulan space.

The Paradise Syndrome

Fri, Oct 4, 1968 60 mins

On a mission to save a planet from an asteroid, Kirk loses his memory and gains a wife, Miramanee (Sabrina Scharf)--a consequence of accidentally activating a cryptically inscribed obelisk. Salish: Rudy Solari. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Scott: James Doohan. Sulu: George Takei. Chekov: Walter Koenig.

And the Children Shall Lead

Fri, Oct 11, 1968 60 mins

Attorney Melvin Belli stars as Gorgan the Friendly Angel, the incarnation of pure evil who uses children to unleash the beast in human souls. Tommy: Craig Hundley. Prof. Starnes: James Wellman. Mary: Pamelyn Ferdin. Nurse Chapel: Majel Barrett. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

Is There in Truth No Beauty?

Fri, Oct 18, 1968 60 mins

Jealousy is the catalyst when the Enterprise picks up two passengers: an alien whose appearance drives humans mad, and his woman companion (Diana Muldaur). Marvick: David Frankham. Scott: James Doohan. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

Spectre of the Gun

Fri, Oct 25, 1968 60 mins

For violating Melkotian space, the crew is made to appear as the Clanton gang, to be met---and massacred---by the Earps and Doc Holliday at the OK Corral. Wyatt Earp: Ron Soble. Morgan: Rex Holman. Sylvia: Bonnie Beecher. Doc: Sam Gilman. Virgil: Charles Maxwell. Johnny: Bill Zuckert. Ed: Charles Seel. Barber: Ed McCready. Rancher: Gregg Palmer. Rider: Richard Anthony. Voice of Melkotian Buoy: James Doohan. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

Day of the Dove

Fri, Nov 1, 1968 60 mins

The Enterprise is invaded by an alien life-form that transfers Klingons to the starship---and arms the Klingons and the Enterprise crew with swords. Michael Ansara reprised his role as the Klingon Kodos in the episode "Blood Oath" of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Kang: Michael Ansara. Mara: Susan Howard. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Chekov: Walter Koenig. Sulu: George Takei. Uhura: Nichelle Nichols. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky

Fri, Nov 8, 1968 60 mins

The Enterprise encounters a spacecraft ruled by a computer oracle that prevents the occupants from knowing they are on a collision course with a Federation planet. Natira: Kate Woodville. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. Kirk: William Shatner.

The Tholian Web

Fri, Nov 15, 1968 60 mins

Spock takes command when Kirk vanishes and is feared dead in a hostile segment of space where matter disintegrates, and men are seized by madness. Tholian Voice: Barbara Babcock. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Scott: James Doohan. Chekov: Walter Koenig. Sulu: George Takei. Uhura: Nichelle Nichols.

Plato's Stepchildren

Fri, Nov 22, 1968 60 mins

A literal battle of wills ensues when the arrogant, telekinetic inhabitants of Platonius order the Enterprise officers to remain on their planet, forcing them to perform humiliating acts for their amusement. Alexander: Michael Dunn. Parmen: Liam Sullivan. Philana: Barbara Babcock. Eraclitus: Ted Scott. Dionyd: Derek Patridge. Uhura: Nichelle Nichols. Nurse Chapel: Majel Barrett. Kirk: William Shatner.

Wink of an Eye

Fri, Nov 29, 1968 60 mins

After visiting the planet Scalos, Kirk begins to notice unusual happenings aboard the ship---and discovers something unseen has beamed up with him from the planet's surface. Deela: Kathie Browne. Ekor: Eric Holland. Compton: Geoffrey Binney. Rael: Jason Evers. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. Scotty: James Doohan. McCoy: DeForest Kelley.

Fri, Dec 6, 1968 60 mins

While on a mission to pick up a pair of researchers, Kirk, Spock and McCoy encounter two robed figures who subject them to horrible tortures, and an enigmatic woman who may hold the key to their salvation. Gem: Kathryn Hays. Thann: Willard Sage. Lal: Alan Bergmann. Dr. Linke: Jason Wingreen. Dr. Ozaba: Davis Roberts. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

Elaan of Troyius

Fri, Dec 20, 1968 60 mins

Kirk must tame a shrew when he undertakes a stormy mission of peace: taking the high priestess (France Nuyen) of a warrior people to marry an enemy ruler. Lord Petri: Jay Robinson. Kryton: Tony Young. Evans: Lee Duncan. Watson: Victor Brandt. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

Whom Gods Destroy

Fri, Jan 3, 1969 60 mins

Kirk and Spock fall into the hands of Garth (Steve Ihnat), the murderous, shape-shifting leader of an inmate revolt at an intergalactic insane asylum. Marta: Yvonne Craig. Cory: Keye Luke. Andorian: Richard Geary. Tellarite: Gary Downey. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

Fri, Jan 10, 1969 60 mins

Parable about racial intolerance in which Frank Gorshin portrays an alien named Bele, who's white on his left side and black on the right, hunting Lokai, whose coloration is reversed. Lokai: Lou Antonio. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. Kirk: William Shatner. McCoy: DeForest Kelley.

The Mark of Gideon

Fri, Jan 17, 1969 60 mins

Kirk vanishes while beaming down to the planet Gideon. But from the Captain's point of view, he's still on the Enterprise---and the entire crew has disappeared. Odona: Sharon Acker. Hodin: David Hurst. Krodak: Gene Dynarksi. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Scott: James Doohan. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. Kirk: William Shatner.

That Which Survives

Fri, Jan 24, 1969 60 mins

An Enterprise landing party is stranded on a planet replete with inexplicable phenomena, and a lethal siren (Lee Meriwether) whose touch means instant death. D'Amato: Arthur Batanides. Lt. Rahda: Naomi Pollack. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Scott: James Doohan.

The Lights of Zetar

Fri, Jan 31, 1969 60 mins

The Enterprise is caught in an energy phenomena of twinkling lights that enters the ship, and then the mind of a crew member, revealing that the lights are actually noncorporeal beings from a long-dead planet.

Requiem for Methuselah

Fri, Feb 14, 1969 60 mins

While searching for the antidote to a plague, the crew discovers a planet inhabited by two people: a man of extraordinary historical accomplishments, and his female companion.

The Way to Eden

Fri, Feb 21, 1969 60 mins

The Enterprise captures spaceship-snatching counter-cultural rebels who are led by a fanatic named Sevrin (Skip Homeier) determined to reach the planet Eden. Adam: Charles Napier. Irina: Mary-Linda Rapelye. Tongo Rad: Victor Brandt. Mavig: Deborah Downey. Lt. Palmer: Elizabeth Rogers. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Kirk: William Shatner.

The Cloud Minders

Fri, Feb 28, 1969 60 mins

On the planet Ardana, Kirk and Spock are drawn into a class struggle between a cloud-dwelling bourgeois society and its repressed worker class, who toil underground in dangerous mines. Plasus: Jeff Corey. Droxine: Diana Ewing. Vanna: Charlene Polite. Anka: Fred Williamson. Midro: Henry Evans. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Scott: James Doohan.

The Savage Curtain

Fri, Mar 7, 1969 60 mins

Kirk and Spock fight alongside Abe Lincoln and Vulcan leader Surak against Genghis Khan and Klingon founder Kahless, so a powerful alien called Yarnek can observe "good and evil." Khan: Nathan Jung. Lincoln: Lee Bergere. Col. Green: Phil Pine. Kahless: Robert Herron. Surak: Barry Atwater. Zora: Carol Daniels Dement. Yarnek: Janos Prohaska. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy.

All Our Yesterdays

Fri, Mar 14, 1969 60 mins

Kirk, Spock and McCoy are sent through time by a machine called the Atavachron, with Kirk landing in the Middle Ages, where he's accused of witchcraft, and Spock and McCoy in the Ice Age. Zarabeth: Mariette Hartley. Mr. Atoz: Ian Wolfe. Kirk: William Shatner. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. McCoy: DeForest Kelley.

Turnabout Intruder

Tue, Jun 3, 1969 60 mins

Kirk is victimized by paranoiac scientist Dr. Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), who transfers her mind into his body---and his mind into hers. Dr. Coleman: Harry Landers. Angela: Barbara Baldavin. Spock: Leonard Nimoy. Dr. McCoy: DeForest Kelley. Kirk: William Shatner.

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The 10 best Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, ranked

It’s hard to imagine today, but back in the late 1960s, the original Star Trek was not considered a hit. The ambitious science fiction series was constantly on the brink of cancellation and was cut short only three years into its planned five-season run.

10. Mirror, Mirror (season 2, episode 4)

9. a taste of armageddon (season 1, episode 24), 8. the menagerie, parts i and ii (season 1, episodes 12 and 13), 7. the doomsday machine (season 2, episode 6), 6. the corbomite maneuver (season 1, episode 11), 5. the devil in the dark (season 1, episode 26), 4. the trouble with tribbles (season 2, episode 15), 3. where no man has gone before (season 1, episode 4), 2. the city on the edge of forever (season 1, episode 29), 1. balance of terror (season 1, episode 15).

However, it’s important to put Trek ’s apparent failure into historical context as, given that most markets in the U.S. had only three television channels to choose from, even a low-rated show like Star Trek was being watched by about 20% of everyone watching television on a Thursday night, or roughly 10 million households. This year’s season of HBO’s Succession was viewed by roughly 8 million households a week , which makes it a hit by today’s standards. Star Trek ’s audience only grew once it went into reruns in the early 1970s, and by the time Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit theaters in 1979, it was a genuine cultural phenomenon. Today, the Star Trek franchise is considered one of the crown jewels of the Paramount library.

Though arguably outshined by its most prosperous spinoff, Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: The Original Series holds up remarkably well for a vision of our future imagined nearly 60 years in our past. It’s a space adventure series that tackles social or political issues from what was, at the time, a daring and progressive perspective informed by the contemporary civil rights movement, sexual revolution, and backlash against the Vietnam War. Conveying these values through fanciful science fiction didn’t only allow its writers to get away with a lot of subversive messages, it also delivered them in a way that remains fun to watch decades later — fun enough that fans are willing to forgive when its ideas, or its special effects, crumble under modern scrutiny.

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These 10 episodes, however, unquestionably stand the test of time, and thanks to the continuity-light nature of mid-20th century television, any one of them could be your first Star Trek episode. (Be aware, however, that the order in which classic Trek episodes are listed varies depending on the source. For our purposes, we’re using the numbering from streaming service Paramount+ .)

Even if you’ve never seen an episode of Star Trek , you’re bound to be at least a little familiar with Mirror, Mirror through cultural osmosis. In this 1967 classic, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Lt. Commander Scott (James Doohan), and Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) are accidentally transported to an alternate universe, where they encounter dastardly evil versions of their beloved shipmates. Instead of the benevolent United Federation of Planets, this ship serves the fascist Terran Empire, which threatens to annihilate a peaceful planet for refusing to submit to itsrule. Our heroes are forced to pose as their evil counterparts while they search for a way home and try to avert the genocide they’ve been ordered to perform.

This all sounds heavier than it is — like much of classic Trek , Mirror Mirror is very camp, with brightly colored costumes, over-the-top performances, and a general sense of fun. The cast is clearly having a ball playing the wicked versions of their characters (or playing the good versions of their characters playing the wicked versions), and it’s no wonder why multiple future incarnations of Trek would return to the Mirror Universe, usually for wacky adventure episodes. (For a more grim and brutal take on this same concept, visit the back half of Star Trek: Discovery ’s first season.) However, Mirror, Mirror still comes complete with Trek ’s famous humanist optimism, as Kirk tries to convince this universe’s menacing, bearded Spock (Leonard Nimoy) that regimes ruled by fear are unsustainable and, therefore, illogical. Given enough time, peace and cooperation will always win out over hate and violence.

A Taste of Armageddon may not appear on many “Best Of” lists, but it’s 100% pure, uncut Star Trek . In this episode, Kirk and company visit Eminiar VII, a seemingly peaceful planet that is, in fact, embroiled in a centuries-long war with a neighboring world. Rather than fire actual bombs at each other, the combatants conduct simulated attacks, determine the hypothetical death toll, and then order the “dead” citizens to report to disintegration chambers. When Kirk and his landing party are recorded as casualties, they decide to put an end to Eminiar VII’s supposedly “civilized” method of warfare.

While Kirk arguably has no right to interfere with how this sovereign planet conducts its affairs, the point of A Taste of Armageddon is to reflect on America’s attempt to make constant military conflict more palatable, or even invisible to the average American. Or, in a larger sense, it’s a commentary on the ease with which a culture can become accustomed to death and violence, so long as it’s part of an established routine. Because these simulated bombings leave homes, industry, and even the military infrastructure itself totally unharmed, it’s easy to forget that Eminiar VII is even at war — that is, until it claims your life or the life of someone you love.

When even these losses are framed as necessary sacrifices to maintain normalcy, it minimizes the incentive to make peace. Kirk (and, by extension, writers Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon) argues that war is revolting no matter how much you dress it up, and that it must be brutal, terrifying, and omnipresent for all involved, or else it will never stop. The past half-century of perpetual U.S. military intervention abroad has proven this thesis to be chillingly accurate.

If you’re watching Star Trek on Paramount+, you’ll notice that the episode it has listed as “season 1, episode 1,” The Cage , isn’t exactly the show you were expecting. Instead of the famous Captain James T. Kirk, the USS Enterprise is under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter), and apart from Mr. Spock — who smiles?! — the rest of the crew is also unfamiliar. That’s because The Cage is Star Trek ’s original pilot episode, which was rejected by NBC, leading to a second pilot being commissioned with a new cast and modified tone. The Cage wouldn’t air as its own episode until 1988, but during production of Star Trek ’s first season in 1966, a budget crunch led to writer/creator Gene Roddenberry repurposing footage from the already-completed pilot into a new script in the form of flashbacks.

This fiscally minded decision endowed Star Trek and its characters with a history, instantly making the universe a bigger and more interesting place. The two-part Menagerie sees Spock, the only remaining character from the original cast, commandeer the Enterprise for the sake of its previous captain, Christopher Pike. On the way to a forbidden planet, Spock uses mysterious footage from an adventure 13 years in the past to explain his rash actions.

If you’ve already watched The Cage , then The Menagerie will seem like a glorified clip show, in which Kirk and company spend half the runtime watching a previous episode. However, before the streaming era, The Cage was usually the last episode of The Original Series that a fan would see, rather than the first. In recent years, however, The Cage and The Menagerie have taken on a new role, as bookends to the adventures of Christopher Pike, as portrayed by Anson Mount on modern spinoff Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . Strange New Worlds (as well as the second season of Star Trek: Discovery ) take place after The Cage , but before The Menagerie , allowing us to get to know Kirk’s predecessor in his own context, as well as developing the bond between Pike and Spock that will eventually drive the Vulcan to mutiny. Even without any of this context, however, The Menagerie is an exciting two-hour event, an eras-spanning mystery that will make you wonder why NBC passed on the Star Trek pilot in the first place.

Due to the production constraints of 1960s television, the original Star Trek didn’t often aim for large-scale, awe-inspiring space action. The Doomsday Machine is the closest that classic Trek ever came to “epic,” and as compelling a story as it is, it’s also Exhibit A as to why such a thing was impractical with the resources available. Though its original effects required no small amount of ingenuity (they couldn’t afford to give their Enterprise model battle damage, so they bought one off the rack from a toy store and distressed it), the results look mighty corny on a modern high-definition television.

Still, the episode gained fame as boasting the largest-scale action of the series, as the Enterprise teams up with her badly damaged sister ship, the USS Constellation, to take on a huge planet-eating weapon. It also presages a theme that would become common in Star Trek feature films , as the Constellation’s grief-stricken Commodore Matt Decker (guest star William Windom) embarks on a foolhardy quest for revenge against the monster that bested him. (Trek would revisit Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: First Contact .)

The episode still works in a cheesy B-movie sort of way, which some fans would argue is the way it should still be enjoyed. However, when the series was remastered for high definition in the mid-2000s, the decision was made to recreate most of the special effects shots for the series using modern technology, since the originals were never expected to hold up to modern standards. Most of these recreations are very faithful, to the extent that uninitiated viewers might not even realize they’d been replaced. In the case of The Doomsday Machine , however, the producers and effects artists returned to the episode’s original script and attempted to realize writer Norman Spinrad’s initial vision for the space battle sequences. The team at CBS Digital doesn’t sacrifice the overall aesthetic of the series, but they do give us a peek at what The Doomsday Machine — and by extension, the entire Original Series — might have looked like with a feature film budget.  

There may be no better introduction to the character of James T. Kirk than The Corbomite Maneuver . The first episode produced after the series was picked up (though it didn’t air until later in the season), The Corbomite Maneuver finds the Enterprise at the mercy of a massive alien vessel and accused of trespassing in its territory. Unable to outrun or outgun his mysterious adversary, Kirk does what he will later become famous for doing — he cheats. Or, rather, he changes the conditions of the contest from one of technological superiority to one of cunning and guile. In the process, we get to learn a bit about how each of the main characters handles the intense stress of a seemingly hopeless scenario, contrasted against the more relatable Everyman Lt. Bailey (guest star Anthony Call). Though the action rarely leaves the bridge of the Enterprise, it is, in its own way, one of the most thrilling episodes of the series.

Moreover, The Corbomite Maneuver sets the tone for Star Trek as a series. It’s an hour of adventure that is punctuated by moments of thoughtful introspection, warm friendship, and corny jokes. Its depiction of Starfleet and the Enterprise are clearly inspired by military tradition, but the message of the episode is one of compassion and patience rather than conquest. These are scientists, not soldiers, and while they experience fear and doubt, none of their human frailties are a match for their curiosity. If this is what the future of humanity looks like, we want to be a part of it.

When Star Trek is running on full thrusters, it is equal parts silly and profound. In The Devil in the Dark , the Enterprise is sent to the aid of a mining colony where workers are being hunted and killed by an unstoppable monster made of rock. We know that the monster is made of rock because the characters say so; It looks a lot more like it’s made of spray-painted Styrofoam and a shag rug. But as the tension rises and the mystery deepens, the goofiness of the rock monster becomes irrelevant, or even a boon to the story.

Though it begins as a hunt for a merciless alien creature, The Devil in the Dark becomes a story about prejudice and the universality of what we (in our limited earthly experience) would call “basic human rights.” This message is conveyed through cheesy 1960s TV production values and some very hammy acting, but the results are pure and unpretentious, the sort of storytelling that is equally impactful on a jaded adult and a wide-eyed child.

Here in the post-post-postmodern 2020s, we’re all total pros at deconstructing genre tropes. The practice of subverting the audience’s expectations as to what kind of story they’re watching or who the good guys and bad guys are wasn’t new in 1967, either, but in the sci-fi film and television of the era, the big scary monster is usually just a big scary monster. The Devil in the Dark  exemplifies one of Star Trek ’s most enduring themes: that the unknown might seem terrifying, but if you take the time to understand it, it’s actually beautiful.

Star Trek is always science fiction, but its format offers a lot of flexibility in terms of how to interpret that genre. Even within the course of a single series or season, most Star Trek shows alternate between a variety of tones and secondary genres, from grim political drama to steamy romance, or in the case of this episode, kooky workplace comedy. The Trouble with Tribbles pits Captain Kirk and his gallant crew against their most stubborn foe yet — bureaucratic red tape. Assigned to look after a container of grain that Federation administrators insist is gravely important, the Enterprise becomes entangled in a very silly misadventure involving an invasive species of adorable, self-replicating furballs. For a captain accustomed to dealing with high-stakes diplomacy and galactic defense, this is his worst workweek ever.

As lousy a time as Kirk is having, The Trouble with Tribbles is tremendous fun. It is neither the first, nor the last broadly comedic episode of Star Trek , but it is the gold standard by which all Trek comedies are measured. Like any good Trek, it has stakes, a fun science fiction premise, and charming moments of character, but everything is set just a little bit askew, and the characters have noticed. It isn’t parody, it’s situation comedy, only a situation that you’re unlikely to find yourself in unless you’re the crew of a Federation starship. Almost every subsequent Trek series would chase that Trouble with Tribbles heat at least once ( Star Trek: Lower Decks  is basically The Trouble with Tribbles: The Series ), with varying levels of success, but the original remains an untouchable classic.

After The Cage was rejected by NBC, Desilu Studios (under the leadership of comedy queen Lucille Ball herself) took a second swing at the series, with a new cast and a faster paced action-adventure story. This second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before , introduces William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, as well as George Takei as Lt. Sulu, James Doohan as Scotty, and Leonard Nimoy’s new, more stoic interpretation of science officer Spock.

The episode sees Kirk’s friend and mentee, helmsman Gary Mitchell (guest star Gary Lockwood), bombarded with cosmic radiation that grants him increasingly godlike powers. As Gary grows more dangerous and cruel, Kirk must weigh his love for his friend against his duty to his crew. The scenario immediately establishes the dynamic between Kirk and Spock (compassionate leader versus his coldly practical advisor), though Spock’s regular debate partner, the emotionally driven Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), would not appear until Trek was ordered to series.

Where No Man Has Gone Before  is a little less fun and colorful than the episodes that followed, with a tone more closely resembling heady 1950s sci-fi films like Forbidden Planet or The Day the Earth Stood Still . In a way, it’s the classic Trek episode that feels the most like Star Trek: The Next Generation ; It’s talky, deliberately paced, just a little bit sterile. In Where No Man Has Gone Before , the galaxy is not only wondrous, but also eerie and unsettling. Had this been the tone the series stuck with, it might not have become a global sensation, but as a single episode, it stands out as one of the very best.

To some Trekkies, ranking The City on the Edge of Forever anywhere but at No. 1 is unthinkable. This time travel tale – written by sci-fi author Harlan Ellison and then heavily revised by Trek story editor D.C. Fontana — won Star Trek its first Hugo Award, and is widely considered to be the finest hour in the history of the series, if not the franchise as a whole. The episode’s legendary status is well-deserved, but we don’t quite have the heart to declare it the ultimate Star Trek episode, on account of how little of it takes place in the 23rd century or aboard the Starship Enterprise. The City on the Edge of Forever  is an outlier, and as such, naturally stands apart from the pack, giving it an edge in any conversation about Star Trek . Its placement here at No. 2 is sort of a counter to that advantage.

Make no mistake, however — despite mostly being set in New York in the year 1930, City on the Edge is Star Trek to its core. Sent back in time to correct an accidental alteration of Earth’s history, Kirk and Spock take up residence in a homeless shelter run by idealistic philanthropist Edith Keeler (guest star Joan Collins). Keeler turns out to be the key historical figure whose destiny must be fulfilled, but there’s a problem — Kirk has fallen in love with her. This romance complicates the mission, as Kirk and Spock are confronted with a grave moral dilemma with their entire reality hanging in the balance. Keeler is a visionary who believes in the beautiful future that Kirk calls home. But, in order for that future to exist, must something terrible be allowed to happen in her present? It’s an emotionally gripping tale that, if it had been told on a modern television show, would have changed its characters forever.

Star Trek is built on a central contradiction. It’s an adventure series about officers in a fleet that we are told, unconvincingly, is not a military organization, aboard a vessel that carries enough firepower to demolish a continent. It’s a show about peace in which things have a habit of blowing up. To reconcile this cognitive dissonance, one need only look to this key episode of The Original Series , Balance of Terror . In this early chapter, the Enterprise witnesses an Earth base being destroyed by an old enemy, the Romulan Empire. The Romulan ship has the ability to become invisible both to scanners and the naked eye, and attempts to escape to its own side of the neutral zone between their two territories before it can be apprehended.

The Enterprise is ordered to capture or destroy the Romulans before they make it home. Whether or not they succeed, there may be war. Kirk has his orders, and as we soon discover, so does the Romulan commander (guest star Mark Lenard), who is no happier about this turn of events than Kirk is. Throughout the episode, we cut back and forth between the action on the Enterprise and aboard the Romulan vessel, as two keen military strategists attempt to outmaneuver each other and stay alive, both locked in a struggle they’d rather had never begun.

Balance of Terror is a sci-fi twist on a submarine battle, but more than that, it’s a commentary on war, the rivalries between nations, and the wounds and prejudices they create. The Enterprise isn’t loaded with photon torpedoes because Starfleet is itching for a fight — it’s armed because sometimes it has to be, and when Kirk and his crew ride into battle, there’s nothing glorious about it. On the other side of any conflict is a person or people who have their own mission, their own values, and perhaps even their own reservations about fighting. It is not possible to avoid every fight, to preempt every war with diplomacy. But when blood is shed, there is no victory and there are no winners. There is tragedy, and there are survivors. And, finally, there’s the hope that the next time these two nations clash, they’ll be a little more willing to talk to one another.

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In the Futurama episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before, the wisecracking robot Bender describes Star Trek as having “79 episodes — about 30 good ones.” And, if we're being honest, Bender's not wrong. Across the franchise, there are now roughly 900 canonical installments, and out of a field that large, there are naturally dozens, even hundreds of entries that you can simply disregard. Of course, like any fanbase, Trekkies contain multitudes, and we don’t all agree on which episodes deserve the scrap heap. One fan’s space junk is another fan’s latinum, and there’s no accounting for taste. We’ve selected ten episodes from across the history of the franchise that some fans might tell you to skip, but that we think deserve your attention. Is one of your dark horse faves on our list? Have we gone to bat for an episode you wish would be erased from the space-time continuum? Follow us to the salvage yard and find out…

10. The Time Trap (TAS season 1, episode 12)

This year marks the 30th anniversary of The X-Files, one of the most popular genre shows in the history of network TV. Over the course of nine seasons, from 1993 to 2002, series creator Chris Carter and his team of writers took viewers inside some of the strangest and the most horrifying cases of the paranormal that they could imagine. Anything from aliens to demons and monsters was in play, while the show developed its own mythology and an overarching story.

In honor of the show's 30th anniversary, we're looking back at the 10 best episodes of The X-Files and ranking them from worst to best. Unlike some of the previous best-of lists for this show, we're not focusing only on the standalone episodes or the monsters-of-the-week installments. It's become fashionable to bash the show's mythology episodes because Carter and Company couldn't bring the story to a satisfying resolution. But those episodes were a large part of the reason why this show was so fantastic in its prime, and it would be a disservice to the series itself if we didn't give those stories their due. 10. Requiem (Season 7, Episode 22)

he Hunger Games has remained a surprisingly powerful force in modern pop culture despite the fact that until just recently, there hadn't been a new movie in the franchise in almost a decade. Thanks to a few great slogans ("I volunteer as tribute," "May the odds be ever in your favor," etc.) and a compelling premise, the series still lives on in the imaginations of many people who loved the books and movies when they were initially a phenomenon.

With a new entry, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, now in theaters, the franchise is now back in the zeitgeist. In addition, a recent surge in viewing on streaming platforms like Netflix and now Peacock makes this an ideal time to look back at The Hunger Games and remember the indelible characters that made this franchise so fascinating and moving. 10. Beetee Latier

I’m Glad Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Has Been Renewed For Season 4, But It’s A Shame There’s Also Some Bad News For The Franchise

O ne of the best reasons to have a Paramount+ subscription is so you can access the modern era of Star Trek TV. Ever since Star Trek: Discovery premiered on then-CBS All Access in 2017, the small screen corner of the sci-fi franchise has been revitalized, with some of the other shows including Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks . Well, there’s some good news and bad news that’s come in today. Strange New Worlds has been renewed for Season 4, but Lower Decks will be ending.

For those of you who’ve enjoyed watching the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise in the immediate years ahead of The Original Series , there’s yet another batch of episodes on the way, though it’ll be a while until that specific group arrives since Strange New Worlds Season 3 isn’t expected to premiere until 2025. Unfortunately, those of you who have enjoyed the comedic hijinks of Boimlier, Mariner, Tendi and Rutherford on the animated Lower Decks must now prepare for the last hurrah with Season 5, which will premiere later this year on the 2024 TV schedule . Executive producers Mike McMahan and Alex Kurtzman released the following statement regarding the news:

We wanted to let you know that this fall will be the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. While five seasons of any series these days seems like a miracle, it’s no exaggeration to say that every second we’ve spent making this show has been a dream come true. Our incredible cast, crew and artists have given you everything they have because they love the characters they play, they love the world we’ve built, and more than anything we all love love love Star Trek. We’re excited for the world to see our hilarious fifth season which we’re working on right now, and the good news is that all previous episodes will remain on Paramount+ so there is still so much to look forward to as we celebrate the Cerritos crew with a big send-off. Finally, thank you for always being so creative and joyful, for filling convention halls and chanting “LOWER DECKS!” We remain hopeful that even beyond season five, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford and the whole Cerritos crew will live on with new adventures. LLAP

Now it is worth noting that Star Trek: Lower Decks ending shouldn’t come as a complete shock. Last October, Mike McMahan told CinemaBlend’s own Mick Joest that he wasn’t sure if Season 6 was in the cards , saying that “ you shouldn’t assume that this stuff is gonna stick around unless you vocally and watch it early on.” Sure enough, Season 5 will be the show’s last, so hopefully the writers were able to craft a conclusive ending rather than leave fans with any lingering plot threads.

All this being said, just because Star Trek: Lower Decks is ending doesn’t mean we’ll never see its characters again. After all, Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome played Boimler and Mariner in live-action for last year’s Strange New Worlds / Lower Decks crossover , so perhaps there’ll be another opportunity for them to return to that show or some other live-action venue. Maybe they could even be joined by costars like Noël Wells or Eugene Cordero. And then, of course, these characters could simply keep being explored in books and comic book series.

As for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Season 2 ended with Pike being forced to decide whether he should follow Starfleet’s orders and retreat from the battle with the Horn, or defy them to save his captured crew members. So with Season 3 needing to resolve that plot thread and explore various other stories, it’ll obviously be a while until we learn what Season 4 holds in store.

The upcoming Star Trek TV shows lineup also includes Starfleet Academy , and the Michelle Yeoh-led Section 31 movie will also exclusively play on Paramount+. Meanwhile, the theatrical side of the franchise is beginning development on a Star Trek origins movie , so keep visiting CinemaBlend for the biggest updates on all these projects.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 Recap

Episode 4 of Star Trek: Discovery sees Burnham and Rayner team up to save the Discovery and its crew from a time travel wormhole.

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Episode 4 of Star Trek: Discovery aired on Paramount Plus this week,as it approaches the halfway mark in the fifth and final season. The sci-fi spin-off series consists of ten episodes, with one airing each week until the finale on May 30. The show began in 2017, and Season 5 has been praised for its serialized storytelling and exciting visual effects. Star Trek: Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Callum Keith Rennie, Doug Jones and Anthony Rapp.

The fourth episode of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season sees Burnham and Rayner put their differences aside when they realize they are in a wormhole and have traveled back in time. They must fight to save the Discovery and the crew on board, by facing off with bounty hunters, Moll and Lák.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 3 Recap

Star Trek: Discovery Episode 4 sees Moll and L’ak meeting with a dodgy dealer. They hand him a bag of the latinum and the dealer tries to raise the price of it, and it turns out Moll has poisoned the latinum, and takes the item from the dying dealer. L’ak is uncertain. But Moll assures him they’ll get ahead of the USS Discovery . She continues that once they have the Progenitor’s tech, they’ll be free. She tells him they have to hurry to catch Discovery on Trill. It is revealed that the device obtained from the dealer is the same one planted on Adira Tal in the final moments of the previous episode.

Elsewhere, the device activates in Adira’s quarters on the Discovery, and the device hops off the uniform and runs across the room and disappears into a girder.

In his lab, Stamets spots the bug and watches as it disappears into the wall. Captain Michael Burnham gets a report from Owo, revealing that she’s picking up some odd readings, and something has broadcast a signal from the ship. Burnham and Captain Rayner try to beam to the bridge, but they go nowhere.

The ship is moving but the lights flicker and a klaxon sounds. Rayner asks if they are under attack, as Burnham tries to contact the bridge but nothing seems to be working. Burnham and Rayner head to the bridge on foot and find the rest of the crew unconscious and wearing 23rd-century Starfleet uniforms. Rayner and Burnham realize they’re in a wormhole and have traveled back in time. Discovery follows Burnham as she goes through the wormhole into the future. Turns out, they haven’t just traveled back in time, but they’re actually jumping through time.

Burnham arrives in the future and explains the situation, and that she's undertaking an important mission for the future Discovery . Burnham demonstrates her personal knowledge of several crew members to prove her story , as Airiam, Tilly and the rest of the crew are confused at her appearance.

They remain skeptical of Burnham’s claims, but she says she will convince Airiam, and everyone will trust her judgment in the end. Burnham reveals she saw Airiam die, and she recounts the climax of “Project Daedalus.” Airiam convinces the rest of the crew of Burnham's legitimacy, and asks what help Burnham needs from them. Elsewhere, in the lab, Rayner and Stamets prepare to tackle the temporal shield, but a phaser wielding TB and Rhys interrupt their plans.

YB orders Stamets to shut down the warp core, but Rayner suggests Burnham come down, but there’s no time for that, and she urges Rayner to handle the situation. Rayner convinces Rhys they’re from the future with the knowledge he learned during interviews, but YB is still not convinced.

Rayner tells the story about Burnham arriving at the bridge and not feeling like she belongs. He tells YB she deserves to be there, and pleads with her to trust her instincts, which he knows are currently telling her to stand down, with YB seemingly convinced. Discovery ’s warp bubble is broken, and Rayner puts the device on the chronophage. Another time jump occurs, and they arrive back to the present day, which is fully intact.

Burnham orders Rayner to go to see Culber to tend to his hand injury, while Rayner states that it isn’t lost on him that what made them successful was their closeness with the crew. He admits he can be stubborn like Burnham used to be, but Burnham concludes they make a good team.

Star Trek: Discovery episode 4's ending sees the rest of the crew caught up on the chronophage. In the six hours since the time jumps began, the DOTs have found a warp signature that matches M’ak’s ship. Rayner compliments Rhys on his theory, which proved to be accurate. However, M’ak’s trail disappears, as Burnham orders the bridge crew to get to work on solving the mystery.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star trek 4: paramount needs to let this sequel die.

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery season 5 episode 4 ending explained.

Moll and L'ak send Burnham, Rayner and Stamets hurtling through their past, present, and future as Star Trek: Discovery's treasure hunt continues.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange".

• Captain Burnham and Commander Rayner navigate through time to stop the time bug, showcasing their growth and teamwork.
• A Voyager connection reveals the menacing Krenim "time bug" and its catastrophic effects on the USS Discovery's crew and timeline.
• Burnham reflects on her journey as she faces challenges from her past while navigating through alternate futures in "Face the Strange."

Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) find themselves hurtling through the USS Discovery's past, present, and future in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange". Written by Sean Cochran and directed by Lee Rose, "Face the Strange" demonstrates how far Burnham and Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) have come since Discovery season 1 . It's also a chance for Burnham and her new Number One, Rayner, to finally work as a team, as they literally race against time to get Discovery 's hunt for the Progenitors' treasure back on track.

"Face the Strange" reveals that Moll (Eve Harlow) planted a Krenim " time bug " on Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3 . Having worked its way into the USS Discovery's systems, the time bug traps the crew in their own history, randomly cycling the ship through the past, present, and future, freeing Moll and L'ak to retrieve the next clue . Burnham, Rayner, and Stamets are unaffected and work together to get the USS Discovery back to the 32nd century in time to stop Moll and L'ak from completing the next step in Discovery 's treasure hunt.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

How burnham, rayner & stamets beat star trek: discovery's time bug explained.

The time bug in Star Trek: Discovery is a particularly nasty piece of temporal technology, which proves hard for Burnham, Rayner, and Stamets to beat. Their first attempt to nullify the device fails, because time inside the surrounding field is moving at a rapid pace. Anything that enters the field to remove the time bug will cease to exist within seconds , forcing Stamets to come up with a far riskier strategy.

the warp bubble is what protects the crews of Star Trek 's starships from the effects of relativity...

The trick to beating the time bug is to reduce the flow of time in the surrounding field , but to do that, the USS Discovery has to break the warp bubble and throw relativity out of sync. As they travel faster than the speed of light, the warp bubble is what protects the crews of Star Trek 's starships from the effects of relativity . Abruptly breaking the warp bubble means that the time bug has less time to readjust to relative time outside the USS Discovery. This would weaken the surrounding field for long enough for Rayner to remove the time bug.

The main issue with Commander Paul Stamets ' plan was that the time-traveling trio were in the worst possible time period when it comes to Burnham's standing aboard the USS Discovery. The time bug's final cycle took Burnham, Rayner and Stamets to an early point in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, when Michael was still seen as a dangerous mutineer. For Stamets' plan to succeed, Burnham had to make her way to the bridge, fight and incapacitate her younger self, then successfully convinced the bridge crew to follow the orders of their future captain .

A line of dialog places these scenes at some point between episodes 3 and 4 of Star Trek: Discovery season 1, as Commander Landry is said to still be alive.

Star Trek: Discovery's Time Bug Is A Voyager Connection

Commander Rayner reveals that the time bug is a " Krenim chronophage " left over from Star Trek 's Temporal Wars . The Krenim are a technologically advanced species first introduced in Star Trek: Voyager 's season 4 two-parter, "Year of Hell." The USS Voyager's first encounter with the Krenim went so badly wrong that it created an alternate timeline that descimated the majority of the ship's crew .

This forced Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to make the ultimate sacrifice to restore history. Hailing from the Delta Quadrant, the Krenim had devastating temporal weapons that were capable of removing entire species from existence. While Star Trek: Discovery 's time bug is much smaller, it can still have a devastating impact on its victims , as shown by what will happen if Moll and L'ak get their hands on the Progenitors' technology.

Voyager Is Why Star Trek Is Replacing Discovery’s Spore Drive

Burnham and stamets’ time travel shows how much they've changed on star trek: discovery.

Burnham and Stamets are forced to relive some painful moments from their pasts, but these incidents remind viewers just how far the Star Trek: Discovery characters have come. Stamets hilariously draws on his angrier, snarkier past self from Discovery season 1, which helps him swiftly empty engineering. It's a fun callback to the person that Stamets used to be, before his tardigrade DNA made him more mellow, making him a better husband to Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) and a father figure to Adira. However, Stamets' tartigrade DNA has one drawback; he still experiences the pain of being impaled during the Battle of Control .

Burnham also gets a welcome reminder of how far she's come, courtesy of the Krenim time bug and some words of encouragement from Rayner. Rayner reminds her that she never gave up on her path from prisoner to starship captain , and so she shouldn't give up when faced with their bleak alternate future. Captain Burnham stirring the crew of the USS Discovery on the same day that her younger self came aboard as a prisoner is a strong affirmation of her journey between Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 5.

Burnham's awkwardness around Book seems more rooted in her suppressing her attraction than trying not to change the future

Burnham also gets a chance to reflect on her relationship with Booker (David Ajala), when she meets his past self, fresh out of the shower. Burnham's awkwardness around Book seems more rooted in her suppressing her attraction than trying not to change the future. It's another hint that Burnham and Book's Star Trek: Discovery love story isn't over yet.

Star Trek: Discovery Finally Solves Its Biggest Short Trek Mystery

In the fan-favorite Short Trek , a soldier, Craft (Aldis Hodge) was picked up by the USS Discovery after his escape pod had drifted through space for a month. Craft formed a bond with Zora (Annabelle Wallis) who had been left behind by the USS Discovery a thousand years earlier. For years, fans speculated over where "Calypso" fitted into the Star Trek: Discovery timeline, something that the showrunners promised would come further down the line. Now, Discovery season 5, episode 5 "Face the Strange" provides the answer. "Calypso" takes place in an alternate version of the 42nd century, a thousand years after the Progenitors' technology had fallen into the wrong hands .

Star Trek Needs To Bring Back Short Treks

Burnham and Rayner's jump into the future reveals that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Breen got hold of the Progenitors' technology and used it to destroy Starfleet and the Federation. As the USS Discovery hangs in space, Burnham and Rayner look out at a devastated Federation Headquarters, as Zora pleads with them to change the future. The use of a calypso version of Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera" is Star Trek: Discovery 's subtle confirmation that it's this catastrophe that left Zora abandoned for a thousand years before Star Trek: Short Treks .

Did Star Trek: Discovery Retcon Airiam’s Season 2 Sacrifice?

While convincing the crew of the USS Discovery to help with her plan to return to the 32nd century, Captain Burnham reveals that Lt. Commander Airiam (Hannah Cheeseman) will sacrifice her life to save her crew mates. Airiam accepts Burnham's future knowledge, because she knows that she would sacrifice her life in those circumstances. Airiam's knowledge of her own future is what eventually convinces her to follow Burnham's orders by breaking the warp bubble . In normal circumstances, knowledge given to her by a time-traveling Burnham would mean that Airiam will sacrifice her life in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 because she knows she has to.

However, due to the nature of the Krenim time bug, and Stamets' solution, Burnham telling Airiam about her tragic future doesn't retcon Star Trek: Discovery season 2. By removing the time bug before the next loop, Burnham, Rayner and Stamets negate everything that they did, meaning that, for example, young Burnham won't remember her fight with her future self. This means that Airiam will still make the decision to sacrifice her life in Discovery season 2, independently, not because she was inspired to do so by Captain Burnham .

Rayner Is Finally “Connecting” With USS Discovery's Crew

Callum Keith Rennie's Commander Rayner continues to go from strength to strength in Star Trek: Discovery season 5. Following Burnham's orders to " connect " with the Discovery crew in the previous episode, Rayner demonstrates how much he was paying attention during his brisk one-on-one meetings. Not only does Rayner give Burnham the encouragement she needs not to give up, he and Stamets appear to bond over being " old dogs " who specialize in " gruff candor ".

Why I'm On Rayner's Side In Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Rayner's most notable connection is with Gen Rhys, whose theory about Moll and L'ak he brusquely dismisses at the start of the episode . Thrown back into time when Rhys was just a lieutenant, Rayner gets through to the young officer by bonding with him over a love of Constitution-class starships. Rayner's connection with Rhys is enough to convince the officer to lower his phaser and let him and Stamets proceed with their plan. Back in the 32nd century, Rayner finally acknowledges the value of Rhys' tactical assessment that Moll and L'ak would just follow Discovery to the next clue .

Rayner also tells Rhys that he's lost his family, teasing more about the new Star Trek: Discovery character's backstory.

Where Have Moll And L’ak Gone In Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5?

The Krenim time bug caused the USS Discovery crew to lose six hours to Moll and L'ak in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 . Returned to Tzenkethi space in the 32nd century, Lt. Commander Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) picks up Moll and L'ak's trail, but it quickly stops dead , meaning that they've seemingly disappeared. A starship trail that drops dead just before an episode called "Mirrors" would certainly play into Star Trek: Discovery season 5's Mirror Universe theory . Perhaps the reason that Moll and L'ak's trail stops dead is because they've phased into another reality altogether.

It's possible that Moll and L'ak picked up more than a Romulan puzzle box...

Alternatively, given Star Trek: Discovery season 5's Romulan connection, their ship could have used an interphasic cloak, first seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Next Phase". Interphasic cloaking technology effectively turned Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) into ghosts, unable to be seen by their crewmates. It's possible, therefore, that Moll and L'ak picked up more than a Romulan puzzle box in Star Trek: Discovery 's season 5 premiere, meaning that they could have a considerable tactical advantage over Burnham and the crew in the next stage of the treasure hunt.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Published Apr 12, 2024

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Renewed for Fourth Season

The acclaimed hit original series is currently in production for its third season.

StarTrek.com

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will return for a fourth season.

Co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers and executive producer Alex Kurtzman confirms in a statement, "On behalf of the cast and crew of ‘ Strange New Worlds ’ we are thrilled and grateful to continue our voyages together. We can't wait for you to join us and the crew of the Enterprise on another season of exploration and adventure."

The third season, set to debut in 2025, is officially under way with production continuing in Toronto.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the  U.S.S. Enterprise . The series features fan favorites from Season 2 of  Star Trek: Discovery  — Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. The series follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Una Chin-Riley (Number One) in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the  U.S.S. Enterprise , as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  also stars Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel, Christina Chong as La’An Noonien-Singh, Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, Melissa Navia as Erica Ortegas and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  is produced by CBS Studios, Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers serve as co-showrunners. Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet serve as executive producers in addition to Alonso Myers, Heather Kadin, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth and Aaron Baiers.

Watch the first two seasons of  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  now!

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL SERIES SEASON 3 (1968) (7.9/10)

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Spock's Brain (1968)

TV-PG | 51 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

The crew of the Enterprise pursues a mysterious woman who has abducted Spock's brain.

Director: Marc Daniels | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Marj Dusay

Votes: 3,614

2. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Enterprise Incident (1968)

An apparently insane Capt. Kirk has the Enterprise deliberately enter the Romulan Neutral Zone where the ship is immediately captured by the enemy.

Director: John Meredyth Lucas | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Joanne Linville

Votes: 3,894

3. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Paradise Syndrome (1968)

Trapped on a planet whose inhabitants are descended from Northwestern Native Americans, Kirk loses his memory and is proclaimed a God while the crippled Enterprise races back to the planet before it is destroyed by an asteroid.

Director: Jud Taylor | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Sabrina Scharf

Votes: 3,277

4. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: And the Children Shall Lead (1968)

The Enterprise reaches a Federation colony where the adults have all killed themselves but the children play without care.

Director: Marvin J. Chomsky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Craig Huxley

Votes: 3,400

5. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968)

Lovely telepath Miranda is aide to Ambassador Kollos, in a box to stop insanity when humans see Medusans. She rejects Larry, a designer of Enterprise, and senses murderous intent nearby.

Director: Ralph Senensky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Diana Muldaur

Votes: 3,202

6. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Spectre of the Gun (1968)

As punishment for ignoring their warning and trespassing on their planet, the Melkot condemn Capt. Kirk and his landing party to the losing side of a surreal recreation of the 1881 historic gunfight at the OK Corral.

Director: Vincent McEveety | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Ron Soble

Votes: 3,371

7. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Day of the Dove (1968)

Both humans and Klingons have been lured to a planet by a formless entity that feeds on hatred and has set about to fashion them into a permanent food supply for itself.

Director: Marvin J. Chomsky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Michael Ansara

Votes: 3,363

8. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (1968)

The Enterprise discovers an apparent asteroid that is on a collision course with a planet is actually an ancient populated generation ship.

Director: Anton Leader | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Katherine Woodville

Votes: 3,118

9. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Tholian Web (1968)

With Capt. Kirk and the derelict USS Defiant apparently lost, the Enterprise grapples with an insanity causing plague and an attack by the Tholians.

Directors: Herb Wallerstein , Ralph Senensky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan

Votes: 3,415

10. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Plato's Stepchildren (1968)

After Dr. McCoy helps the leader of a planet populated by people with powerful psionic abilities, they decide to force him to stay by torturing his comrades until he submits.

Director: David Alexander | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Michael Dunn

Votes: 3,280

11. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Wink of an Eye (1968)

A group of aliens who exist in a state of incredible acceleration invade the Enterprise and abduct Capt. Kirk.

Director: Jud Taylor | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Kathie Browne

Votes: 3,156

12. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Empath (1968)

Trapped in an alien laboratory, Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet an empath and are involved in a series of experiments.

Director: John Erman | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Kathryn Hays

Votes: 3,165

13. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Elaan of Troyius (1968)

While transporting an arrogant, demanding princess for a political marriage, Captain Kirk must cope both with her biochemical ability to force him to love her, as well as sabotage on his ship.

Director: John Meredyth Lucas | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , France Nuyen

Votes: 3,162

14. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Whom Gods Destroy (1969)

Kirk and Spock are taken prisoners by a former starship captain named Garth, who now resides at, and has taken over, a high security asylum for the criminally insane.

Director: Herb Wallerstein | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Steve Ihnat

Votes: 3,092

15. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (1969)

The Enterprise encounters two duo-chromatic and mutually belligerent aliens who put the ship in the middle of their old conflict.

Director: Jud Taylor | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Frank Gorshin

Votes: 3,247

16. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Mark of Gideon (1969)

Kirk beams down to the planet Gideon and appears to find himself trapped on a deserted Enterprise. Spock on the real Enterprise must use his diplomatic skills to deal with the uncooperative inhabitants of Gideon and find the Captain.

Director: Jud Taylor | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Sharon Acker

Votes: 3,008

17. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: That Which Survives (1969)

After the Enterprise landing party beams down to investigate a geologically interesting planet, their ship is hurled across the galaxy. Kirk and company find a deserted outpost guarded by the deadly image of a beautiful woman.

Director: Herb Wallerstein | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Lee Meriwether

Votes: 2,937

18. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Lights of Zetar (1969)

A mysterious, twinkling mass of sapient energy ravages an important archive and Scotty's new girlfriend may be linked to it.

Director: Herbert Kenwith | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Jan Shutan

Votes: 2,887

19. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Requiem for Methuselah (1969)

On a planet, looking for an urgent medicinal cure, Kirk, Spock and McCoy come across a dignified recluse living privately but in splendor with his sheltered ward and a very protective robot servant.

Director: Murray Golden | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Daly

Votes: 3,239

20. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Way to Eden (1969)

A group of idealistic hippies, led by an irrational leader, come aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Director: David Alexander | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Skip Homeier

Votes: 3,410

21. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Cloud Minders (1969)

Kirk and Spock are caught up in a revolution on a planet where intellectuals and artists live on a utopian city in the sky while the rest of the population toils in mines on the barren surface below.

Director: Jud Taylor | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Jeff Corey

Votes: 3,026

22. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Savage Curtain (1969)

Kirk, Spock, Abraham Lincoln and Vulcan legend Surak are pitted in battle against notorious villains from history for the purpose of helping a conscious rock creature's understanding of a concept he does not understand, "good vs. evil".

Director: Herschel Daugherty | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Lee Bergere

Votes: 3,063

23. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: All Our Yesterdays (1969)

TV-PG | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

When Kirk, Spock and McCoy investigate the disappearance of a doomed planet's population, they find themselves trapped in different periods of that world's past.

Director: Marvin J. Chomsky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Mariette Hartley

Votes: 3,385

24. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Turnabout Intruder (1969)

Captain Kirk's insane ex-lover Dr. Janice Lester forcibly switches bodies with him in order to take command of the Enterprise.

Director: Herb Wallerstein | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Sandra Smith

Votes: 2,994

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