Return To Tomorrow

Star Trek ClassicStardate 4768.3: The Enterprise visits a planet long thought uninhabited, and finds globes that contain the consciousness of the last survivors of the planet, Sargon, Thalassa and Henoch. The three remaining beings wish to “possess” the bodies of willing Enterprise crew members, leaving the crew members’ minds in the globes briefly as Sargon and his companions use the human bodies to construct android bodies for their minds. Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Mulhall agree to this procedure, but Henoch, occupying Spock’s body, has other plans than building an android frame for himself. In the meantime, Sargon and Thalassa, in the bodies of Kirk and Mulhall, fall in love all over again. One way or another, though, the humans’ bodies must be vacated since their metabolism is incapable of withstanding the levels of activity taken on by Sargon and the others.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by John Kingsbridge
directed Ralph Serensky
music by George Duning

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Ann Mulhall), Majel Barrett (Christine Chapel), Cindy Lou (Nurse)

Notes: Diana Muldaur made a later appearance (as a different character) in Star Trek’s third season, and then replaced Gates McFadden during the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing Dr. Katherine Pulaski.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Patterns of Force

Star Trek ClassicStardate 2534.0: On arrival at Ekos, the Enterprise is the target of a nuclear missile attack, a technology which didn’t exist the last time a Federation ship visited the planet. Kirk and Spock beam down to investigate, discovering that the government on Ekos has been transformed into a Nazi police state which came about when Federation teacher John Gill tried to simply increase the efficiency of the government on Ekos. Gill is now under the control of the people he has tried to educate, and anyone who tries to reveal the truth about Gill or rescue him – including Kirk and Spock – are hunted men.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by John Meredyth Lucas
directed by Vincent McEveety
music by George Duning

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Richard Evans (Isak), Valora Noland (Daras), Skip Homeier (Melakon), David Brian (John Gill), Patrick Horgan (Eneg), William Wintersole (Abrom), Gilbert Green (S.S. Major), Ralph Maurer (S.S. Lieutenant), Ed McCready (S.S. Trooper), Peter Canon (Gestapo Lieutenant), Paul Baxley (First Trooper), Chuck Courtney (Davod), Bart LaRue (Newscaster)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

By Any Other Name

Star Trek ClassicStardate 4657.5: The Enterprise responds to a distress call, finding only a trap set by a small group of aliens from the Andromeda galaxy who are assessing the potential of the Federation’s home galaxy for colonization. The aliens successfully take over the ship, reducing all aboard except for Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty to dehydrated cubes so the ship’s supply of food and oxygen can be used by the hijackers and Kirk’s command crew for the staggering 300-year return to Andromeda. The aliens, having assumed human form, also gain attributes such as emotions, which may be just the weakness Kirk and the others need to attack to regain control of the Enterprise.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxteleplay by D.C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby
story by Jerome Bixby
directed by Marc Daniels
music by Fred Steiner

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Warren Stevens (Rojan), Barbara Bouchet (Kelinda), Majel Barrett (Christine Chapel), Stewart Moss (Hanar), Robert Fortier (Tomar), Lezlie Dalton (Drea), Carl Byrd (Lt. Shea), Julie Cobb (Yeoman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Omega Glory

Star Trek ClassicStardate not given: The missing starship Exeter is spotted in orbit of an inhabited planet. Kirk, Spock and McCoy board the Exeter, finding only the remains of the crew, wiped out by a disease which likely affects the boarding party now. Transporting to the planet, Kirk finds that Captain Tracey of the Exeter escaped his crew’s fate, and the atmosphere on the planet is capable of eliminating the disease from the Enterprise landing party’s bloodstreams. But more problems arise as Tracey discards his loyalty to the prime directive in an attempt to gain power in the planet’s government.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Gene Roddenberry
directed by Vincent McEveety
music not credited

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Morgan Woodward (Captain Tracey), Roy Jenson (Cloud William), Irene Kelly (Sirah), Morgan Farley (Yang Scholar), David L. Ross (Lt. Galloway), Lloyd Kino (Wu), Ed McCready (Dr. Carter), Frank Atienza (Kohm Villager)

Notes: This was one of three pilot scripts originally proposed to launch Star Trek, and was generally considered the weakest of the three; in their book “Inside Star Trek”, original Trek producers Herb Solow and Bob Justman admit to having stroked Gene Roddenberry’s ego by telling him that NBC executives liked The Omega Glory more than the other pilot scripts that was presented.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Ultimate Computer

Star Trek ClassicStardate 4729.4: Kirk is ordered to relinquish command of the Enterprise to Dr. Daystrom’s new M-5 computer, which, according to Daystrom, can make all the decisions that a starship captain would encounter correctly and more quickly than any human. The Enterprise, with Kirk and a few others aboard, is engaged in Starfleet wargames, but the M-5 begins to treat the other ships as a serious threat and retaliates with full salvos of phasers and photon torpedoes, destroying one ship. Believing Kirk may have lost his mind, Starfleet gives the remaining ships permission to destroy the Enterprise.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxteleplay by D.C. Fontana
story by Laurence N. Wolfe
directed by John Meredyth Lucas
music by Sol Kaplan and Fred Steiner

Star TrekCast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), William Marshall (Dr. Daystrom), Sean Morgan (Harper), Barry Russo (Commodore Wesley)

Notes: Dr. Daystrom’s disastrous experiment with the M-5 didn’t completely tarnish his legacy; there are numerous references in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager to the Federation’s Daystrom Institute of Technology.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Bread And Circuses

Star Trek ClassicStardate 4040.7: Trying to track down the crew of the downed Federation starship Beagle, Kirk, Spock and McCoy arrive on a planet populated by a society that mixes savage ancient practices with 20th century technology. Enemies of the Roman Empire-like state are rounded up and forced to participate in televised coliseum battles. Kirk and Spock briefly encounter a peaceful group of people, but all are captured and prepared for their duels – including one event which will pit Spock against McCoy. Kirk must hope that he and his landing party can survive long enough for help to arrive from the Enterprise.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Gene Roddenberry & Gene L. Coon
directed by Ralph Serensky
music not credited

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), William Smithers (Merik), Logan Ramsey (Claudius), Ian Wolfe (Septimus), William Bramley (Policeman), Rhodes Reason (Flavius), Bart LaRue (Announcer), Jack Perkins (Master of Games), Max Kleven (Maximus), Lois Jewell (Drusilla)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Assignment: Earth

Star Trek ClassicStardate not given: After warping back in time to the late 20th century for a glimpse of Earth’s past, the Enterprise intercepts a mysterious man who simply calls himself Gary Seven. Although Gary and his ever-present black cat Isis appear like inhabitants of the 20th century, Gary knows what kind of ship he is on and recognizes Spock as a Vulcan, and ascertains that the Enterprise is from the 23rd century. Gary Seven evades security officers and resumes his journey to Earth. Kirk and Spock assume 20th century disguises and pursue him, finding that Gary is a time traveler from the future who is here to influence Earth’s history – but whether or not his influence will be benign is another question altogether.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxteleplay by Art Wallace
story by Gene Roddenberry and Art Wallace
directed by Marc Daniels
music not credited

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Robert Lansing (Gary Seven), Teri Garr (Roberta Lincoln), Don Keefer (Cromwell), Lincoln Demyan (Sergeant), Morgan Jones (Col. Nesvig), Bruce Mars (First Policeman), Ted Gehring (Second Policeman), Paul Baxley (Security Chief)

Notes: At the time Assignment: Earth was written, Gene Roddenberry was uncertain that Star Trek would make it to a third season. Indeed, there was every indication that it wouldn’t, though a major fan letter-writing campaign to NBC helped save the show. In any case, Roddenberry was hedging his bets for future employment by trying to create a series based on Gary Seven, Isis and Ms. Lincoln – making this the first attempt at a Star Trek spinoff.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Spock’s Brain

Star Trek ClassicStardate 5431.4: The Enterprise is intercepted by a starship of unknown design and a woman from the ship beams directly into the bridge and uses a device to render the Enterprise’s crew unconscious. She then walks over to Spock… When the crew awakens, McCoy summons Kirk to sick bay and informs him that the alien visitor apparently removed Spock’s entire brain without even performing surgery. After Spock’s body is fitted with a device that allows McCoy to control the Vulcan’s motor functions with a remote control, Kirk starts a search for Spock’s brain, hoping it can be recovered and somehow returned to Spock before his body decays.

Season 3 Regular Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy)

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Lee Cronin
directed by Marc Daniels
music by Fred Steiner

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Marj Dusay (Kara), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel), James Daris (Creature), Sheila Leighton (Luma)

Notes: Generally considered the original Star Trek’s lowest ebb, Spock’s Brain – and every other third season episode attributed to “Lee Cronin” – actually came from the pen of Gene L. Coon, who has laid much of the series’ groundwork, including the Klingons and the Prime Directive.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Enterprise Incident

Star Trek ClassicStardate 5031.3: Captain Kirk, acting tense and irrational, orders the Enterprise straight into the Neutral Zone for no reason. Romulan warships (identical to Klingon ships due to sharing of technology) capture the Enterprise, and Kirk and Spock beam aboard the Romulan flagship. When Spock admits that Kirk may be unfit to command, the Captain lunges at Spock – and receives a “Vulcan death grip.” Kirk, actually alive, is beamed back to the Enterprise and reveals to McCoy and Scott that their actual mission is to steal one of the Romulans’ cloaking devices and escape intact.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by D.C. Fontana
directed by John Meredyth Lucas
music by Alexander Courage

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Joanna Linville (Romulan Commander), Jack Donner (Tal), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel), Richard Compton (Technical Officer), Robert Gentile (Technician), Mike Howden (Romulan Guard), Gordon Coffey (Romulan Soldier)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Paradise Syndrome

Star Trek ClassicStardate 4842.6: Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to a planet to inform any inhabitants that they must evacuate the planet due to an approaching asteroid’s imminent collision. A society similar to Native American Indians has arisen on the planet, but near their villages, the landing party finds a strange obelisk whose design and construction is far beyond the capabilities of the planet’s natives. Kirk finds that the monolith can be opened by the combination of sounds found in the order “Kirk to Enterprise,” but when he enters the obelisk, he is attacked by waves of energy that erase his mind. With no time to spare, Spock and McCoy have to return to the Enterprise without Kirk, and begin trying to use the ship’s tractor beam to divert the asteroid. Meanwhile, Kirk becomes the tribal chief, takes a wife and even expects to become a father, but the Enterprise may not be able to save her former captain’s future.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Margaret Armen
directed by Jud Taylor
music by Gerald Fried

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Sabrina Scharf (Miramanee), Rudy Solari (Salish), Richard Hale (Goro), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel), Naomi Pollack (Indian Woman), John Lindesmith (Engineer), Peter Virgo, Jr. (Warrior), Lamont Laird (Indian Boy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

And The Children Shall Lead

Star Trek ClassicStardate 5029.5: Kirk and the crew, visiting a scientific colony manned by several human families, are shocked to find that all but the children have died violently – and the children do not seem to care about anything but playing. Aboard the Enterprise, the children gradually begin to influence and take over the minds of the crew as part of a plan by their “friendly angel,” a seemingly benevolent alien called Gorgon who uses children as a means of spreading his influence, and unless he can find some way to expose Gorgon’s true intentions, Kirk will become a prisoner on his own ship.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Edward J. Lasko
directed by Marvin Chomsky
music by George Duning

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Craig Hundley (Tommy Starnes), James Wellman (Professor Starnes), Melvin Belli (Gorgan), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel), Pamelyn Ferdin (Mary), Caesar Belli (Steve), Mark Robert Brown (Don), Brian Tochi (Ray), Lou Elias (1st Technician)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Is There In Truth No Beauty?

Star Trek ClassicStardate 5630.7: Miranda Jones, a telepath who studied mental disciplines on Vulcan, arrives with Ambassador Kolos, a Medusan – an alien life form whose physical form is so hideous, humanoid life forms are driven insane if they look upon him. Also beaming aboard is Larry Marvick, one of the original designers of the Enterprise – and hopelessly in love with Miranda, although she has chosen to spend her life serving as a liason between the Medusans and other humanoids. Miranda senses that someone is actively contemplating murder, and suspects Spock is envious of her once-in-a-lifetime mission – but even Miranda is unaware of the real would-be killer and their target.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Jean Lisette Aroeste
directed by Ralph Serensky
music by George Duning

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Diana Muldaur (Dr. Miranda Jones), David Frankham (Larry Marvick)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Spectre of the Gun

Star Trek ClassicStardate 4385.3: A Melkotian warning buoy is unwittingly destroyed by Kirk and the Enterprise. When Kirk beams down with a landing party, the owners of the buoy, fearing that a pointlessly violent race has entered their space, trap the Enterprise officers in a replica of Tombstone, Arizona (drawn from Kirk’s mind) and force Kirk and company to play out the roles of the Clanton Gang – doomed to lose the gunfight at the O.K. Corral at sundown.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Lee Cronin
directed by Vincent McEveety
music by Jerry Fielding

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Ron Soble (Wyatt Earp), Bonnie Beecher (Sylvia), Charles Maxwell (Virgil Earp), Rex Holman (Morgan Earp), Sam Gilman (Doc Holloway), Charles Seel (Ed), Bill Zuckert (Johnny Behan), Ed McCready (Barber), Abraham Sofaer (Melkotian Voice)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Day of the Dove

Star Trek ClassicStardate not given: Having both received distress calls from a besieged planet, the Enterprise and a Klingon ship arrive simultaneously, and Kang, the Klingon captain, forces Kirk to beam a party of Klingons aboard the Enterprise. The ship then runs into an area of turbulence, and automatic emergency systems close bulkheads on most of the ship. The Klingons escape into the Enterprise to battle an equal number of the ship’s crew. Both Klingons and Federation officers blame the ship’s problems on each other, and some individuals even see the opportunity to settle scores with their arch-enemies, but nobody realizes the real catalyst behind the violence.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Jerome Bixby
directed by Marvin Chomsky
music by Fred Steiner

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Michael Ansara (Kang), Susan Howard (Mara), David Ross (Lt. Johnson), Mark Tobin (Klingon)

Notes: Michael Ansara reprised the role of Kang in 1994’s Deep Space Nine episode Blood Oath, and in Flashback, the 1996 30th anniversary episode of Voyager.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Tholian Web

Star Trek ClassicStardate 5693.2: Searching for the missing starship Defiant, the Enterprise eventually finds the lost ship enshrouded in a strange glow. A landing party beams aboard, finding that the entire crew of the Defiant went mad and murdered one another. While Kirk and the landing party inspect the Defiant, they notice the ship’s solid surface are becoming ghost-like, while the crew of the Enterprise see the Defiant fading away. With the Enterprise’s transporters confused by the fading, Kirk waits while the others beam back, but he cannot be retrieved as the Defiant disappears. Waiting for the next “interphase” during which the Defiant might return to the Enterprise’s dimension, members of the crew begin to go insane, like the Defiant’s crew. To make matters worse, a Tholian vessel arrives, and its commander refuses to believe that the Enterprise is assisting a damaged ship since the ship in question has disappeared. Tholians begin to weave a web of energy around the Enterprise, holding the ship in place as more of the crew lose their minds, and Spock and McCoy debate Spock’s ability to command in Kirk’s absence.

Order this episode on DVDDownload this episode via Amazon's Unboxwritten by Judy Burns and Chet Richards
directed by Herb Wallerstein
music by Fred Steiner

Guest Cast: James Doohan (Mr. Scott), George Takei (Lt. Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel), Sean Morgan (Lt. O’Neil)

LogBook entry by Earl Green