Category Archives: Star Trek

Kirk wrestles with a bizarre pair of near-duplicate antagonists whose meeting threatens to wipe out the entire universe. This is in the running for worst Trek episode ever, with an incoherent premise, overwrought acting, and sloppy writing and direction. The … Continue reading →

Kirk is pitted in a one-on-one contest with the reptilian alien captain of a starship that destroyed a Federation outpost. This is the famous episode, filmed on location (again at Vasquez Rocks), in which Kirk battles this green reptilian (though … Continue reading →

The Enterprise encounters a remote planet where a foppish ‘squire’ insists on entertaining (and studying) them and challenging them to the death when they refuse. I’m fascinated in retrospect by how episodes open, about what is going on before the … Continue reading →

The Enterprise visits a lovely planet where they discover that their daydreams and memories become instant reality. This is a fun episode, but also sort of a kitchen-sink episode, in which many colorful things happen without much relationship to one … Continue reading →

In the second half of this two-part episode, revelations from an earlier Enterprise visit to Talos IV reveal why Spock has hijacked the Enterprise to take earlier Captain Pike, now crippled, back to that forbidden planet. The second half of … Continue reading →

In a clever 2-part story within a story that uses footage from the first Star Trek pilot, “The Cage”, Spock hijacks the Enterprise to take the earlier captain of the Enterprise, Captain Pike, to the forbidden planet Talos IV.   … Continue reading →

Kirk faces court martial over the death of a crewman with whom he had a history, in a confrontation that pits human rights against a computerized culture.   The enhanced graphics are especially effective in this episode, showing both the … Continue reading →

The shuttlecraft Galileo, commanded by Spock, crash-lands on a planet in the midst of a quasar-like phenomenon, where the crew fends off hostile aliens as Kirk on the Enterprise is forced to abandon its search for them.   This has … Continue reading →

As noted a couple posts ago, in my series of Star Trek Rewatch posts, I’ve just reread James Blish’s first Star Trek book – published just over 50 years ago! – to note the changes he made from the original … Continue reading →

Kirk must determine if a Shakespearean actor is the same man as the infamous “Kodos the Executioner,” whose crimes Kirk witnessed 20 years before.   This is an offbeat, exotic episode, with strong characters and a powerful moral dilemma, that … Continue reading →