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(No stardate given in episode.) U.S.S. Enterprise, en route to the Vega colony, detects distress call from spaceship S.S. Columbia, which records indicate had disappeared near the Talos Star Group some 18 years ago. Investigation leads to discovery of the Columbia's crash site on planet Talos IV, and contact with the planet's indigenous inhabitants. The Talosians attempt to capture Pike in an effort to insure survival of their race, but Pike and the Enterprise escape by convincing the Talosians of human unsuitability for captivity. Editors' Note: Captain Pike's greeting to the illusory survivors on Talos IV gives his ship's name as the 'United Space Ship Enterprise', establishing what 'U.S.S.' stands for. |
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Stardate 1312.4. The Enterprise encounters recorder buoy of the S.S. Valiant, which had disappeared near the galaxy's edge two centuries ago. Evidence from the buoy's record tapes suggest the ship was destroyed by her captain. Kirk orders the Enterprise to explore beyond the galaxy's rim, where the ship encounters a strange energy barrier, resulting in the deaths of nine personnel. Gary Mitchell, Kirk's friend from his Academy days, is somehow mutated by the barrier, and gains tremendous psychokinetic powers. It is later learned that psychiatrist Elizabeth Dehner had been similarly mutated as well. An attempt to quarantine Mitchell at the Delta Vega mining facility is unsuccessful, and Kirk is forced to kill him to protect the ship. Dehner is also killed in the incident. Editors' Note: Assumes the episode was six months to a year prior to Star Trek's first season. This is to allow sufficient time to account for the costume and set changes between this pilot episode and the costumes and sets seen in the series. The tombstone created by Gary Mitchell for Kirk gives the captain's name as 'James R. Kirk'. The captain's name would later be changed to 'James T. Kirk'. Dorothy Fontana notes that Kirk's middle initial changed because Gene Roddenberry simply forgot that this episode had established it as 'R', but noted that Gene was also fond of giving his characters the middle name 'Tiberius'. (Gary Lockwood's character in Roddenberry's series The Lieutenant was named William Tiberius Rice.) This episode (and 'Mudd's Women' (TOS)) establishes that the Enterprise uses 'lithium crystals' in its engines, although later episodes changed this to 'dilithium crystals'. According to Fontana, RAND Corporation physicist (and Star Trek technical adviser) Harvey Lynn suggested the change. The reason was that lithium is real, but dilithium is not, thus giving Star Trek's writers more freedom to tell stories without being scientifically wrong. Fontana further suggests that the change might have been a technological upgrade to the ship's engines. |
| Stardate 1512.2. The U.S.S. Enterprise, on a routine star-mapping mission, makes first contact with the spaceship Fesarius of the First Federation. Although Fesarius commander Balok is initially wary of the Enterprise, presenting a false image, he eventually accepts the assurances of good intentions by Enterprise personnel after Kirk offers assistance when Balok's ship appears to be disabled. Kirk assigns Lieutenant Bailey to cultural exchange duty aboard the Fesarius. |
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Stardate 1329.8. The Enterprise attempts to rescue a small Class-J cargo ship that has strayed too close to an asteroid belt. The attempt fails, although the crew of the vessel is successfully beamed aboard the Enterprise before the smaller ship is destroyed. In the rescue attempt, however, the Enterprise lithium crystal circuits are damaged, nearly crippling the ship. The captain of the transport, Harcourt Fenton Mudd, is later coerced into assisting Kirk in dealing with lithium miners on Rigel XII to provide crystals to save the Enterprise from a decaying orbit. Three women traveling with Mudd, who had apparently been recruited by Mudd as wives for settlers on planet Ophiucus III, elect instead to remain with the lithium miners on Rigel XII. Harcourt Fenton Mudd is turned over to Federation authorities for illegal operation of transport vessel. Just after 'Mudd's Women' (TOS). |
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Stardate 1672.1. The U.S.S. Enterprise on routine geological survey to planet Alfa 177. Magnetic ore contamination from landing party site causes a transporter malfunction, resulting in a partial replication of Captain Kirk. The duplication is nearly perfect, but each copy has only part of the personality traits of the original, thereby threatening the survival of both copies. Science Officer Spock and Engineer Scott successfully modify the transporter to recombine Kirk to his original form. Remaining members of the Enterprise landing party are trapped on the surface of Alfa 177 until the repair of the transporter, resulting in severe frostbite and exposure to those personnel. Upon return to the Enterprise all landing party members are treated by medical personnel and are given excellent prognoses for a full recovery. Editors' Note: This episode marks the invention of the Vulcan nerve pinch, used to neatly (and nonviolently) render the 'evil' Kirk unconscious. Star Trek production staffers (and several scripts) would later refer to the trick as FSNP, the 'Famous Spock Nerve Pinch'. To the question of why Spock couldn't have sent a shuttlecraft down to the planet surface after the transporter broke, the answer is that at this relatively early point in the series the show didn't yet have a shuttlecraft. |
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Stardate 1513.1. The U.S.S. Enterprise is assigned to perform routine health examinations of archaeological personnel at planet M-113. An investigation is conducted when three members of the Enterprise crew are discovered dead on the planet, killed under unknown circumstances. It is learned that the killer is the last specimen of a species indigenous to M-113. The creature, which is later found to possess an unusual hypnotic ability to cause its prey to see it as someone else, is also discovered to live on sodium chloride that it extracts from its victims' bodies. Two additional casualties are discovered on board the Enterprise, including archaeologist Robert Crater, before the creature is killed while it is attempting to attack Captain Kirk. Editors' Note: Spock tells Uhura that his home planet of Vulcan has no moon, although we see several moons around that planet in 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture'. Curiously, none of these satellites were seen when the Starships Enterprise visited that planet in 'Amok Time' (TOS) or 'Sarek' (TNG). 'The Man Trap' (TOS) is also the source of the fannish blessing, 'May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless your planet', spoken by Sulu, which was itself derived from Star Trek associate producer Bob Justman's gag nickname for producer Gene Roddenberry. |
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Stardate 1704.2. U.S.S. Enterprise assigned to pick up science team from planet Psi 2000. Landing party discovers all researchers to be dead under unusual circumstances, later determined to have been caused by an alien virus. The landing party accidentally brings back the virus to the ship, infecting most of the crew, and threatening the Enterprise when the virus causes personnel to lose emotional control. Among those most seriously affected is Lieutenant Kevin Riley, who commandeers the ship's engine room. McCoy develops a serum that enables personnel to regain emotional stability. An emergency restart of ship's engines using a theoretical intermix formula results in the accidental regression of the Enterprise and all ship's personnel through time, some 71 hours into the past. Editors' Note: This episode marks the first appearance of Christine Chapel, played by Majel Barrett, the future Mrs. Gene Roddenberry. Chapel appeared in the original series and in several of the movies. Barrett had previously portrayed the mysterious 'Number One', second in command of the Enterprise in the pilot episode, 'The Cage'. Barrett also lent her voice to the Enterprise computer in both the original Star Trek series as well as in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and also played Lwaxana Troi. 'The Naked Time' (TOS) was originally planned to be the first part of a two-part story. According to Dorothy Fontana, episode writer John D. F. Black left the series without doing the second part, so Fontana eventually did that story as a separate episode, 'Tomorrow is Yesterday' (TOS), 'The Naked Time' does not clearly describe the nature of the Psi 2000 infection, but it is established to be a virus when the same malady strikes the crew of the Tsiolkovsky and the Enterprise -D in 'The Naked Now' (TNG). This episode establishes the Enterprise warp drive to be powered by antimatter reactions. Prior to this point, the motive power of the ship's engines was not specifically described. |
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Stardate 1533.6. First contact with mythical Thasians. U.S.S. Enterprise assigned to rendezvous with the spaceship Antares to transport the orphaned Charles Evans to his nearest living relatives on Colony 5. Evans is found to exhibit unusual telekinetic powers, evidence of the existence of the Thasians, previously believed to be purely mythical. Evans eventually returns to Thasus, where his powers, given to him to aid his survival, would not be a threat as they would be in normal human society. Evans is believed to have been responsible for the destruction of the science vessel Antares shortly after its rendezvous with the Enterprise. Editors' Note: The term 'Starfleet Command' had not yet been decided on when this episode was filmed. In these early episodes, various terms were used to describe the operating authority for the Enterprise, including 'United Earth Space Probe Agency'. In this episode, Kirk referred to this as UESPA Headquarters, which he pronounced as 'you-spah'. |
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Stardate 1709.2. Neutral Zone outposts 2 through 4 are reported destroyed in apparent Romulan attack. The Enterprise responds, determining the Romulan action to be a measure of Federation resolve, untested by the Romulans since the establishment of the Neutral Zone a century ago. The Romulan spacecraft, while capable of sublight speeds only, is discovered to be equipped with a cloaking device that can render a ship nearly invisible to sensors, as well as a powerful new plasma energy weapon used to destroy the Neutral Zone outposts. The Enterprise, acting in direct violation of Starfleet orders, enters the Neutral Zone under the authority of Captain Kirk and successfully destroys the Romulan ship, thereby repelling a potential Romulan incursion. The sole casualty aboard the Enterprise is phaser specialist Robert Tomlinson. He is survived by his fiancé, Angela. Their wedding ceremony had been in progress when interrupted by news of the Romulan attack. |
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Stardate 2712.4. U.S.S. Enterprise at planet Exo III on a search mission for missing scientist Dr. Roger Korby, fiancé of Enterprise nurse Christine Chapel. Korby is discovered alive, but it is learned he had imprinted his personality into an android body, using ancient alien technology he had discovered on the planet. Also transferred to an android body is Korby's assistant, Dr. Brown. Korby ultimately discovers that the process somehow diminishes his human emotions, and he destroys himself. Nurse Christine Chapel elects to remain on board the Enterprise. Chapel had given up a promising career in bioresearch to sign aboard a starship in the hopes of someday finding her lost fiancé. |
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Stardate 2715.1. The Enterprise, on a resupply mission to Tantalus V penal colony, accidentally takes on an inmate attempting to escape. The inmate is later discovered to be Dr. Simon Van Gelder, associate director of the rehab colony. Investigation by Kirk and psychiatrist Helen Noel reveals Van Gelder to be suffering from adverse effects of an experimental neural neutralizer device developed by colony director Dr. Tristan Adams. The device, intended for treatment of violent patients, had induced temporary mental disorders in Van Gelder. The device is destroyed, and Van Gelder is apparently promoted to colony director. Dr. Adams is reported to have died as a result of overexposure to the neural neutralizer. Editors' Note: This episode is the first time we've seen Spock perform the Vulcan mind-meld. |
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Stardate 2713.5. The Enterprise responds to a distress call, discovered to be from a Class-M planet virtually identical to Earth. Indigenous humanoid inhabitants determined to be nearly all dead, found to be victims of a disastrous research project whose goal, ironically, was to prolong life. Investigation reveals the only survivors are a group of children, who are discovered to be aging at a rate equivalent to one month for every century of real time. A native child, a young woman named Miri, provides information from which Enterprise personnel determine that these children die upon reaching puberty. The Enterprise landing party, infected with the same disease, is quarantined on planet surface until a viable antitoxin can be developed by Dr. Leonard McCoy. Federation authorities dispatch a sociological team to help the children on Miri's planet. Just after 'Miri' (TOS). Enterprise summoned by scientist Dr. Thomas Leighton to Planet Q to investigate reports of a new synthetic food process. Because of the hope that this development will end the threat of famine at the Earth colony on planet Cygnia Minor, Kirk orders the Enterprise to divert three light-years off course to meet with Leighton. Just prior to 'The Conscience of the King' (TOS). |
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Stardate 2817.6. Kirk learns that Dr. Thomas Leighton's report was an effort to inform Kirk covertly of a suspicion that actor Anton Karidian, currently performing on Planet Q, is in fact the infamous Kodos the Executioner. These allegations are eventually borne out, but not before Karidian's daughter is found to be responsible for a series of murders, an attempt to eliminate all remaining witnesses of Karidian's crimes 20 years ago. Among Lenore Karidian's victims is Dr. Thomas Leighton, killed shortly after he revealed his suspicions to Kirk. Attempts are also made against James Kirk and Kevin Riley, the last surviving eyewitnesses to Kodos's killings. A serious plague threatens the inhabitants of the New Paris colonies. The U.S.S. Enterprise is assigned to transport emergency medical supplies to planet Makus III for transfer to New Paris under the direction of Galactic High Commissioner Ferris. Prior to 'The Galileo Seven' (TOS). |
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Stardate 2821.5. The Enterprise is on an emergency medical supply mission to Makus III. Mission is delayed when Shuttlecraft Galileo is lost investigating Murasaki 312, a quasar-like phenomenon. Galileo, under command of Science Officer Spock, is later discovered to have crash-landed on planet Taurus II, but attains a suborbital trajectory sufficient for detection by Enterprise sensors before criticality of New Paris mission forces ship to leave the system. Galileo crew members Latimer and Gaetano are reported killed by indigenous life-forms on Taurus II. The U.S.S. Enterprise proceeds at warp speed to Makus III to deliver emergency medical supplies for the New Paris colonies. Just after 'The Galileo Seven' (TOS). Stardate 2945.7. The Starship Enterprise encounters ion storm, Records Officer Benjamin Finney is reported killed when sensor pod is ejected. Just prior to 'Court Martial' (TOS). |
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Stardate 2947.3. The Enterprise makes an unscheduled layover at Starbase 11 for repairs from ion storm. Kirk is accused of negligent homicide in the death of Ben Finney, but court-martial investigation reveals Finney to be still alive. Kirk, who becomes the first starship captain to stand trial, is exonerated of all charges when it is revealed that Finney had tampered with Enterprise computer records. Kirk's case is prosecuted by Areel Shaw, with Samuel T. Cogley serving for the defense and Commodore Stone presiding. The Enterprise departs Starbase 11. Editors' Note: The term 'Starfleet Command' was used for the first time in 'Court Martial', during the computer records of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Kirk refers to his former assignment, the U.S.S. Republic, as being a 'United Star Ship', offering a second possible meaning to the letters 'U.S.S.' Kirk repeats the term United Star Ship in 'The Squire of Gothos' (TOS) as well. (Captain Pike, in 'The Cage' (TOS), said the Enterprise was a United Space Ship.) Spock receives a promotion from lieutenant commander to the rank of full commander. His rank was given as lieutenant commander in 'Court Martial' (TOS) but he's a full commander in 'The Menagerie' (TOS). U.S.S. Enterprise First Officer Spock reports orders for the ship to return to Starbase 11, although no computer record is found of the message. Just prior to 'The Menagerie, Part I' (TOS). |
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Part I Stardate 3012.4. The Enterprise arrives at Starbase 11, but investigation by Commodore Mendez fails to reveal source of orders to return to starbase. Further investigation shows the orders to have been falsified by Commander Spock, who kidnaps Fleet Captain Pike, then commandeers the Enterprise to planet Talos IV in violation of General Order 7, which prohibits such contact. Pike had been seriously injured several months prior in an accident aboard a training vessel. Kirk and Mendez, who had been left behind at Starbase 11 when the Enterprise departed, are successful in pursuing the ship aboard a shuttlecraft. Once Kirk and Mendez are aboard the Enterprise, Spock submits himself for arrest, and Mendez orders a general court-martial convened against Spock. Part II Stardate 3013.1. The Enterprise, en route to Talos IV, is site of court-martial proceedings against Commander Spock on charges of commandeering the Enterprise, sabotage, abduction of Captain Pike, and attempted violation of General Order 7. All charges are dropped when it is determined that Spock had been acting on behalf of the Talosians in the best interest of Captain Pike. Captain Kirk, under special authority from Starfleet Command, permits Captain Pike to accept an offer from the Talosians to live the remainder of his life on their planet, where he need not suffer the infirmities of his injured body. |
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Stardate 3025.3. The U.S.S. Enterprise surveys a newly discovered planet in the Omicron Delta region for possible shore leave. Initial studies suggest a near-idyllic environment, but later reports indicate some highly unusual phenomena. The ship is briefly incapacitated due to crew unfamiliarity with the planet's technology, which is determined to have been built as a vast amusement park. Enterprise crew personnel (except for Spock) enjoy R&R on the 'amusement park planet'. Just after 'Shore Leave' (TOS). U.S.S. Enterprise on resupply mission to colony on planet Beta VI. Just prior to 'The Squire of Gothos' (TOS). |
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Stardate 2124.5. U.S.S. Enterprise bridge personnel are abducted by an unknown alien agency to Gothos, a newly discovered 'rogue planet' in a star desert. Investigation reveals the alien to be an entity named Trelane, who is learned to be a child member of an extremely advanced and powerful race who possess the ability to create and manipulate planets. Editors' Note: Trelane indicated that he had observed Earth history of nine centuries ago, but described events in the early nineteenth century. If Trelane is correct, then this episode (and Star Trek's first season) would be set in the early twenty-eighth century. Since this is inconsistent with the preponderance of other dating information, we assume that it was an error, perhaps another example of Trelane's fallibility and youth. A Federation outpost on planet Cestus III is destroyed by a Gorn spacecraft. The Gorn ship reportedly approached at sublight speeds along standard Federation approach lanes before knocking out the outpost's phaser batteries with their first salvo. One day prior to 'Arena' (TOS). This was apparently the first contact between the Gorns and the Federation. Commodore Travers of Cestus III base apparently invites Captain Kirk and senior Enterprise staff to dinner. It is not discovered until later that the message had been falsified by the Gorns, and that the Cestus III outpost had already been destroyed at the time the messages were sent. Just prior to 'Arena' (TOS). |
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Stardate 3045.6. The U.S.S. Enterprise arrives at planet Cestus III, discovering the base destroyed by an apparently unprovoked Gorn attack. The Enterprise pursues the attacking vessel, but chase is interrupted by intervention and first contact with the Metrons. The Enterprise crew learns that Gorn hostilities may have been due to Federation ignorance of boundaries of Gorn space. Ultimately, the Metrons decline to establish diplomatic relations with the Federation. Editors' Note: This episode established for the first time that warp factor six was the normal maximum cruising speed of the Enterprise, and that things get really hairy when you reach warp eight. This was also the first time it was shown that the transporter can't work when shields are in place. The Federation evidently ironed out its differences with the Gorns at some point between this episode and the year 2371, when 'Family Business' (DS9) established that there was a Federation colony on that planet. The Starship Enterprise returns to Cestus III. After 'Arena' (TOS). |
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Stardate 3087.6. The U.S.S. Enterprise detects a violent time/space discontinuity while surveying an uncharted planet. Investigation suggests the time/space phenomenon was triggered by Lazarus, a being from our universe, and his mentally unstable counterpart from a parallel continuum composed of antimatter. Their conflict threatens the existence of both universes, but the Lazarus from the alternate universe succeeds in sealing himself and his counterpart in an isolated time pocket. The U.S.S. Enterprise puts in for general repair and maintenance at Cygnet XIV. The technicians at Cygnet XIV, a society dominated by women, reportedly felt the Enterprise computer lacked character, and gave it a stereotypically female personality. 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday' (TOS). Kirk explained to Captain Christopher about the repair stopover at Cygnet XIV. We speculate that it was after 'The Alternative Factor' (TOS) because the giggling computer didn't seem to be a problem in that episode. Dorothy Fontana insists the computer wasn't so much giggling as it was sexually teasing the good captain. U.S.S. Enterprise heads toward Starbase 9, but suffers near collision with a black hole. Full reverse warp power is successful in pulling the ship away, but the resulting whiplash effect propels the Enterprise across space and backward in time. Just prior to 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday' (TOS). |
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Stardate 3113.2. The Enterprise is accidentally thrown back in time to 1969 after near collision with black hole, where the starship's appearance results in potential disruption of Earth history. This potential disruption is in the form of U.S. Air Force Captain John Christopher, accidentally taken aboard the Enterprise when the ship is sighted as a UFO in Earth's atmosphere. Research suggests Christopher's inadvertent abduction would prevent him from fathering a child who, according to records, will lead the first successful Earth-Saturn probe. Kirk leads a landing party to Earth's surface to avoid altering history before the Enterprise can employ the light-speed breakaway factor to return to present day. Editors' Note: When Air Force Captain Fellini threatens to lock Kirk up 'for two hundred years', Kirk wryly responds, 'That ought to be just about right'. If taken literally, this conflicts with the basic assumption that the original Star Trek series is set 300 years in the future. One might, on the other hand, grant Kirk a bit of poetic licence in what seemed to be a pretty tough situation. (See also the Editors' Note after 'Space Seed' (TOS)). Kirk's line to Captain Christopher establishes that there were only twelve Constitution class starships in the Starfleet at this point. Despite the fact that the term 'Starfleet Command' had been established several episodes earlier, the operating authority for the Enterprise is described in this episode as being either Starfleet Control (heard in a Starfleet comm voice over the radio) or the United Earth Space Probe Agency (mentioned by Kirk to Christopher). See also the Editors' Note following 'The Naked Time' (TOS). |
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Stardate 3156.2. The U.S.S. Enterprise investigates the loss of the Starship Archon, which disappeared near planet Beta III in 2167. Landing party discovers the Archon had been destroyed by a sophisticated computer that acts to protect and provide for the planet's inhabitants. The self-aware computer system, known as 'Landru' to the planet's inhabitants, self-destructs when it realizes it has become harmful to the society it was designed to protect. Enterprise sociologist Lindstrom and a team of experts remain on planet Beta III to help the native inhabitants, now free of Landru's control, guide their culture back to a more normal form. After 'Return of the Archons' (TOS). The Enterprise heads for star cluster NGC 321 under orders from Federation Ambassador Robert Fox. Thousands of Federation lives have been lost in the region over the past twenty years, and it is hoped that a treaty port can be established at planet Eminiar VII to help avoid future loss of life. Just prior to 'A Taste of Armageddon' (TOS). |
| Stardate 3192.1. The U.S.S. Enterprise is warned to remain away from planet Eminiar VII, where the Starship Valiant had disappeared in 2217. Despite a Code 710 forbidding contact, Ambassador Fox orders the Enterprise to make contact with the local planetary government. The ship's crew is declared a casualty in a computerized war with neighboring planet Vendikar, according to Eminiar official Anan Seven. Kirk, acting to protect his ship, causes the war agreement to be abrogated, resulting in both sides suing for peace rather than facing actual armed combat. |
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Stardate 3141.9. The Starship Enterprise detects a distress signal from old DY-100 interplanetary space vehicle, adrift near the Mutara sector. Investigation determines the craft to be the S.S. Botany Bay, a sleeper ship carrying refugees from Earth's Eugenics Wars. One surviving passenger on the ship is identified as Khan Noonien Singh, former dictator of one-quarter of planet Earth. Captain Kirk renders an administrative ruling permitting Khan and his shipmates to settle on planet Ceti Alpha V. Also choosing to settle on Ceti Alpha V is Enterprise historian Marla McGivers, charged with acting improperly in rendering aid to Khan during an unsuccessful bid to take control of the ship. Editors' Note: There is a possible inconsistency in Kirk's mention to Khan that the Botany Bay had been in transit for about two centuries. Given a 1996 launch, this would put the episode at about 2196, instead of 2267. One might rationalize that Kirk was not giving an exact figure, or that he was making a deliberate effort to avoid giving Khan accurate information. It is likely that the producers of the original Star Trek series had not yet tied down a specific date for the Enterprise's adventures at this relatively early point in the show's production. Another point: If the first season of the original Star Trek series was indeed two hundred years in the future, it would mean that the S.S. Valiant (from 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'), which was lost 200 years prior to the episode, would have been launched around 1965. The notion that the Botany Bay was found near the Mutara Sector is, of course, purely based on circumstantial evidence from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. An inconsistency is the fact that the character of Chekov was not yet part of the Star Trek cast when 'Space Seed' was filmed, although Khan claimed to remember him in Star Trek II. Writer Ron Moore speculates that Kirk may have been breaking the rules in releasing Khan, and that he therefore never told Starfleet about the settlement on Ceti Alpha V. This could explain why the Reliant's crew knew nothing about Khan. |
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Stardate 3417.3. The U.S.S. Enterprise investigates the Omicron Ceti III colony, believed to be seriously endangered by prolonged exposure to lethal Berthold rays. Medical tests show all colonists to be in perfect health, a phenomenon later found to be due to the effects of a symbiotic alien spore which also protected the colonists from the Berthold rays. The spores also had unusual psychological effects upon their hosts. Enterprise personnel are also affected by these spores, but exposure to intense subsonic energy is found to nullify their effects. Fifty mining personnel on planet Janus VI are killed by a mysterious subterranean entity. The Starship Enterprise is summoned by colony administrator Vanderberg to help investigate the deaths. Prior to 'The Devil in the Dark' (TOS). |
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Stardate 3196.1. The U.S.S. Enterprise arrives at Janus VI pergium mining colony to probe mysterious deaths. Investigation determines the deaths to have been caused by a silicon-based indigenous life-form known as a Horta. Further investigation reveals the Horta to be intelligent and the killings to have occurred in self-defense after miners inadvertently damaged the Horta's underground egg chamber when opening a new level three months ago. Peaceful relations are established with the newly discovered life-form. Negotiations with the Klingon Empire over disputed areas of space are reported in danger of breaking down. Starfleet Command anticipates a possible surprise attack by the Klingons, who have just issued an ultimatum to withdraw from disputed areas. Starfleet learns the Klingons have invaded the planet Organia, and orders the Enterprise to intervene. Prior to 'Errand of Mercy' (TOS), according to Kirk. Editors' Note: This back story was also alluded to in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which suggested that hostilities with the Klingons had extended back as far as 2223, 70 years prior to that film and in 'Day of the Dove' which together suggest that first contact with the Klingons had taken place in 2218. |
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Stardate 3198.4. The Starship Enterprise is assigned to prevent an anticipated Klingon incursion at Organia, a planet believed to be inhabited by an agrarian humanoid culture of relatively low technical sophistication. This incursion becomes the focal point of the long-simmering dispute between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, threatening to erupt into interstellar war. Local planetary government declines offer of Starfleet assistance, at which time the true noncorporeal form of the Organians is discovered. The immensely powerful Organians announce the imposition the Organian Peace Treaty on both the Klingons and the Federation, predicting that the two adversaries would become friends. Editors' Note: This episode marks the first appearance of the Klingons in Star Trek. It is interesting to note how the Klingons evolved over the years from being relatively simplistic villains into a complex, aggressive, yet highly honorable and tradition-bound society. Similarly, it is interesting to note how the look of the Klingons continually evolved as makeup and costuming techniques (and budgets) improved over the years. Dorothy Fontana tells us that the Klingons were used more often than the Romulans in the original series because their makeup was simpler, and therefore less expensive. Fontana notes that she felt the Romulans offered more interesting elements as adversaries, but that the tightly budgeted show just couldn't afford all those pointed ears! Nearly three decades after 'Errand of Mercy' (TOS) was filmed, actor John Colicos reprised his role of Kor in 'Blood Oath' (DS9). |
| (No stardate given in episode.) The U.S.S. Enterprise investigates a time/space distortion phenomenon, later discovered to be a time portal, an artifact of an ancient dead civilization. While treating helmsman Sulu for injuries suffered during a shipboard mishap, ship's surgeon Leonard McCoy is accidentally injected with an overdose of cordrazine. Suffering from the resulting paranoid delusions, McCoy flees through the time portal, effecting disastrous changes in Earth's history. Kirk and Spock follow in an attempt to undo the damage. While searching for McCoy in the past, Kirk falls in love with a social worker named Edith Keeler. Although Kirk and Spock are ultimately successful in restoring the time continuum, the mission is made infinitely more difficult when Kirk learns that to repair the damage, he must permit the death of Keeler. |
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Stardate 3287.2. The Starship Enterprise makes an unsuccessful attempt to save the pilot of a small spacecraft on a course directly into the sun of the planet Deneva. Further investigation reveals that the entire population of the Deneva colony (approximately 1,000,000 individuals) had been infected by a parasite that dominates its host through control of the nervous system. Among the victims are Kirk's brother, George Samuel Kirk, and his sister-in-law, Aurelan Kirk. They are survived by their son Peter Kirk. This same parasite, which was apparently of extragalactic origin, was also believed responsible for planetwide infestations in the Beta Portalan system, on planet Lavinius V, and on Ingraham B. McCoy develops a means of eradicating the parasites by exposing them to high levels of ultraviolet radiation. Planetwide treatment of Deneva is effected through the use of 210 ultraviolet satellites placed into orbit around the planet. Editors' Note: In 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' James Kirk says his brother Sam has three sons. This seems to suggest that Sam has two other surviving sons besides Peter. That episode also indicated that Sam had wanted to transfer to the Earth Colony Two research station. Since Sam was apparently older than James, these other two sons may have been old enough to have been away at college, or pursuing careers of their own. The reason why Sam Kirk's body bears such a family resemblance to his brother is that the part was 'played' by William Shatner! |
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