We were trimming the tree when this episode aired on the Sci Fi channel, so I could't observe it too closely. However....

Has it ever occurred to Starfleet to keep spare dilithium crystals on hand in their vessels? Considering how touchy they seem to be?

I wonder if McCoy offered his formula to the men of Elas. If the men had been able to find one for themselves, would they have relegated their women to subordinate positions, instead of giving them exalted positions like Dohlman?

During an emergency, while using a chancy power source, shouldn't Scott be down in Engineering instead of on the bridge?

Considering the Elasians' habits, they might have actually preferred being under Klingon control.

Phil commented a lot in the book about the royal necklace--was it Troyan or Elasian, etc. I looked in my James Blish book. I don't know if Blish was working from early scripts, or if he was an early nitpicker who decided to fix problems that he found. In his story, the implication was that dilithium--radans--was common in the whole star system, Troyius and Elas. Elaan commented that it was only because of it's antiquity that the royal necklace was prized. Also, as they were leaving, she mentioned to Petri that the missing stones in the necklace had saved all their lives, and Petri bowed in assent.

Blish used to work from several versions of the scripts, and would combine different elements to make a story that he felt worked. Check Harlan Ellison comments in "The City on the Edge of Forever" on Blish's version of that script.

In the Blish version there is a scene in the recreation room that shows Spock playing his harp and Kirk, Uhura and McCoy come in to talk to him. This was also in the original script. I know it was filmed, because I've actually seen a still from this scene, but it was one of those that got cut out of the original print for time. (See my recent comments on "The Omega Glory" for more missing scenes.)

This episode gets my vote as having the best space battle of the original series. Good episode overall.

In this episode, Elaan displays a basic ignorance of science all too common on Earth today with the line "If I have to stay here ten light years . . ." People keep having to explain constantly that light-years are a unit of distance, NOT time, and other people keep insisting on using light-years as if they were a distance of time. Another big pet peeve of mine: When people use the word "schizophrenia" or "schizophrenic" as if the word meant having multiple personalities. It doesn't. Schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are two completely different mental illnesses.

Fans always curse syndication cuts (and rightfully so), but here is one case where I think a syndication cut actually helped the episode. For many years the only version of this episode I saw was the one showed on WPIX in New York. They did their own cutting, and their version omitted the final scene where McCoy steps onto the bridge and tells Spock that he has found a cure for the Elasian tears. In my opinion, without that scene the end of the episode had a much more dramatic impact. The episode is resolved, but Kirk does not "live happily ever after." Not completely any way.

Wrongo, Chris. I have seen this and all other Trek episodes on WPIX when it was the only outlet to see Trek,and the endings were NEVER cut.

Actually we're both right. In the seventies and early eighties WPIX did do their own editing of the show and did omit the final scene of this particular episode. Later on they purchased the syndicated versions used by most stations that contained the scene in question.

I stand corrected. "Trek" was taken out of circulation in 1985 while new prints were made. I taped all the episodes off PIX when I got my first VCR in 1980. I can't bring myself to watch them, though, they were so wretchedly edited.

Great scene: When Elaan beams aboard, the camera pans her body from foot to head.

Why didn't Kirk ask someone about the potency of Elaan's tears before touching them? (short show syndrome)

I love the music during the battle with the Klingons. It is great music, and a shame it doesn't fit into any other episode. The music just gets better and better when the necklace is fitted into the engines and the Enterprise is about to give the Klingons a nasty surprise.

It is great music! Wish I had a CD with the soundtrack, like the ones made for a couple of other episodes.

Does the Klingon ship firing on the Enterprise violate the Organian Peace Treaty, or was Ayelborne all bluster, or did the Organians just doff their referee jackets and slip out after it looked like the Feds and Klings were going to be un-unnice to each other?

(I don't think the brawl on Deep Space Station K-7 counts as a violation of the treaty.)

Why didn't Kirk ask someone about the potency of Elaan's tears before touching them?

Why would he? At that point, nobody knows anything about Elasian tears. He's just being a (begin gagging here) sensitive 23rd century guy comforting a woman!

That was also the point of sending Uhura down in person to deliver a message to Kirk in sickbay, so that he doesn't hear the Ambassador explaining the tears to Chapel.

If that's the case, then diplomatic proceedings certainly haven't improved over the years....In "Insurrection", Troi & Riker were presumably asked to look up stuff about the aliens who were coming to dinner.....So, what happened? They screwed up on those aliens who came to dinner in the film by not knowing they were vegetarians because "that data was not supplied". Whoever supplied the info to Troi & Riker should be fired for not investigating the aliens more throughly....with some cultures any minor screw-up could lead to intergalatic war! The same applies to Elaan's tears....SOMEBODY should've went beforehand, learned EVERYTHING about the culture, learn what is a "yes-yes" & a "no-no" THEN send your flagship into the area to start diplomatic negotiations.

RUMINATION: In this episode, we get our "first look" at the dreaded Klingon D-7 Battle Cruiser in all of its glory....complete with disruptor fire!

This is so cool it's frozen!

This was the last "new" episode I ever saw, sometime around 1982. Meaning that I had a list of all the episodes, and this was the only one I had yet to see at the time. I think my second-to-last was "The Trouble with Tribbles", making it my penultimate episode. Our local station never seemed to show that one for years.

Heathens!

Rumor has it that this episode is based on the famous film, "The Taming of the Shrew"

Uh, don't you mean the famous Shakespearean play, "The Taming of the Shrew"?

He made a play based on that movie?

Shucks!!

To ScottN---I thought the movie version of "Shrew" with Liz Taylor came out around this time and the creators tried to capitalize on it.
I could be wrong and problably am.

France Nuyen played Dr. Paulette Kiem during the last two and a half seasons of "St. Elsewhere." She also was married to Robert Culp ("I Spy") during the time this ep was shot.

Did the Klingon in this ep have a name? We never saw him, before or since. (I think the actor was K.L Smith.)

I don't think we saw a Klingon in this ep, just the ships.
Did the Klingon in "Friday's Child" have a name?

The Klingon shows up on the viewscreen.

I saw the preview trailer on Vol. 28 of TOS DVD.

(The episode is due out in Aug.)

BTW...according to the Star Trek Encyclopedia, the Klingon's name in "Friday's Child" was "Kras"...but the name was never spoken.

Also, the name of the two Vians in "Empath" were Lal and Thann but they also were never spoken during the episode.

I think the actor that played Kras (Tige Andrews) was a good friend of Bill Shatner's, who may have had some influence on his casting. Another example of the Capt. throwing his weight around?

"Taming of the Shrew" with Liz Taylor came out in 1967...just in case anyone is interested.

So I think I may be correct on the capitalizing bit....

But then again, with all the Shakespearean subtleties...it wouldn't surprise me at all if they based it on Shakespeare's play.
(IE "By Any Other Name", "The Undiscovered Country", etc.)

How come Kirk, Spock, McCoy & Scott don't kneel immediately BEFORE Elaan beams up like everyone else? This might be misinterpreted as belligerence and cause a war!

I 3rd the vote that the battle scene between the Enterprise & the D-7 is the best ever in TOS. It's movie quality!

There's also another great overhead shot of the Enterprise in this episode.

RUMINATIONS: This episode gives us a "first look" at Uhura's quarters.
Also, the opening & closing theme has some "pizzazz" added to it.

GREAT MOMENT: Elaan throws the knife at Kirk and it BARELY misses!

Once again, one of the wide shots of the viewscreen has someone else at the helm other than Sulu.

When Spock scans the necklace, there's a familiar noise heard.....EGAD! IT'S THE HEAT RAY HISS FROM "WAR OF THE WORLDS! QUICK! DUCK FOR COVER!!!!
(Bzzzzzzzz KABOOOM!)

The photon sfx come from "Balance of Terror" as well as the explosions on the screen...however the creators included the D-7 in the same shot...KUDOS!

Shatner (Kirk) has really wide sideburns in this episode too.

FUNNY THOUGHT: Have Elaan saying, "I will NOT eat green eggs and ham" (OK...it was chicken, but if I said "chicken", it wouldn't be as funny.

John. here's one that you missed. Right as Elaan starts to cry, befroe Kirk can wipe here tears, Rand rushes in (newly assigned to the Enterprise) and Says (All Together Now)
"HANDS OFF! HE'S MINE!!"

Meg, that should be "reassigned".

Meg...I'm glad I got a "support group"...thanx.

The sfx people went the "extra mile" to add some sparkle to Elaan's tears...KUDOS!

NIT: Why is Spock using a MEDICAL SCANNER to scan the necklace? What happened to the tricorder?

RUMINATION: This episode establishes that Sick Bay is the best protected area of a Starship.

I'm Sorry Mr. Hater of John A. Lang, but I think that John A. Lang is funny, even if his humor seems a bit one-dimemsional. At least he does not insult anyone on this board.

Thanks, Meg. However, I do try and be 2 or 3 dimensional at times.

FUNNY THOUGHT: At one point, Kirk threatens to spank Elaan...Hey, Jim-boy...ya' better be careful...she might ENJOY it! She might even give you a whip to do it with!

Easy Boy!

How come there's no alarm when Kryton messes around with the dilithium chamber? You'd think there'd be an alarm seeing they are so important.

There's no hail whistle when Scott pages Kirk about the bomb.

How come the photon torpedoes look different from the ones we saw in "Obsession"?

RUMINATION: This episode also gives us a "first look" at the Klingon Insignia.

How come there's no alarm when Kryton messes around with the dilithium chamber? You'd think there'd be an alarm seeing they are so important.

Why should there be? There wasn't one in "The Alternative Factor" either.

Touche' ScottN. You'd think Kirk would've learned his lesson after that.

I must admit I was surprised how the censors allowed Elaan's blue dress to be shown on TV...it's got a huge slit on both sides...exposing a great deal of bare skin. The only thing holding that thing together are four straps! (Two on each side) I hope Elaan don't get chilly without any underwear. Elaan musta got her wardrobe from Cher! (Seriously now, bless Bill Theiss for his work.)

I'm not sure about this nit...It appears one of the shots of the D-7 is flipped.
I say that because, for most of the show, the D-7 approaches from the left and goes towards the right of our screen. However, in one shot, it approaches from the right and goes to the left of our screen. If this is a "flipped shot" it's very good, if not, it makes this episode even better because it shows that the creators took some extra time to have the D-7 come from the other way. KUDOS!

By the way, can anyone decipher the Klingon letters on the D-7 warp nacelle? What does it say? (Seriously, now...no flaming or derogatory remarks please)

PS on fashion....maybe it was a good thing that they didn't show Elaan's navel in this episode...any more exposed flesh and all of us males would've melted in our seats!

::By the way, can anyone decipher the Klingon letters on the D-7 warp nacelle? What does it say?::

-- It says "If you can read this, your ship is too close".

When Uhura picks up Kryton's signal, she hails Kirk...when they cut away to Uhura's quarters where Kirk & Elaan are, Elaan is LYING DOWN IN BED and Kirk is sitting next to her.

Did "something" happen in this episode?
It certainly looks like it.

On a simular line...Uhura noted she gave up her quarters so Elaan could sleep there....so the question is: Where was Uhura going to sleep now?
With Kirk? If so, that make the interracial kiss that much more interesting.

From "Plato's Stepchildren"...
Uhura: "Thank you Captain for sharing your quarters with me." (kiss kiss)
Kirk: "Anytime, babycakes." (kiss kiss)

Kryten! What are you doing running a Klingon vessel you smegheaded bogbot!

John-What would Robert Culp have thought of Kirk having his way with Culp's wife? Culp was married to France Nuyen at the time this ep was shot. Also, you may be right if you are implying that Bob Mackie (Cher's designer) ripped Theiss' designs off. Nuyen wore such sensuous costumes here, I am amazed that they didn't cause more problems with the censors. William Ware Theiss was very much ahead of his time.

Adam---if the story called for it, they would do it. (Despite Robert Culp's feelings about it)
Other "somethings"....
Kirk & Miramanee in "The Paradise Syndrome"
Kirk & Deela in "That Which Survives",
Kirk & Odana in "The Mark of Gideon"
Kirk & ..... well, you get the idea.

PS....you've got to remember...in the story, France Nuyen is not Culp's wife, she is "now" Elaan. Actors & actresses so quite a bit of "steamy" scenes in Hollywood, despite who they are married to.

Man, those tears dry fast, don't they?
After Elaan cries, Kirk wipes away a small portion of her tear from her eye, leaving a great remnant of unwiped tears in both eyes. However, after they cut back to Elaan (after showing the closeup of Kirk) Elaan's face is totally DRY!
Not even a trace or a trickle!

GREAT BATTLE MOMENT...cont'd.....

Another note on the battle sequence...when Kirk orders "Hard to Port", the ship turns to our left AND DOWN....in other words...Kirk is deploying
3-D battle maneuvers that we'll see again in STII in the Mutara Nebula
(Z Minus 10,000 meters)

Movie moment: When McCoy comes to the Bridge and announces he found a cure to Elasian Tears, Spock reports that Kirk already found a cure. McCoy then replies, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?"
McCoy will repeat that phrase in STII.
It appears Nicholas Meyer REALLY did his homework on "Star Trek" before directing STII.

NIT: Kirk mentions that the Federation High Commissioner will be attending the wedding (after getting word from Uhura)

Ok...but what's the Commissioner's name? No one mentions it.

WOW! After seeing the "Preview Trailer", they sure cut a lot of footage from this episode! For all those who have the DVD version, you know what I mean...for those who don't, here's what they cut....

* Kirk & Elaan kissing then Spock & McCoy looking at each other after Uhura's door opens. (Probably thinking.."Oh, boy. Here we go again!")
* A close up of Spock's phaser when he shoots the guards
* A view of the Klingon Commander WITHOUT the Enterprise viewscreen SFX...in other words, a view of the interior of the Klingon ship Bridge! (I wish they left that one alone!)
* The sound effects of the Klingon disrupters in the Preview Trailer are different from the sound effects actually heard in the episode. Originally, they sounded like the Enterprise's phasers but changed them to the Eminiar 7 disrupter SFX.

Other nits....

The immortal Mr. Leslie is seen very briefly once again in this episode.

Sometimes the DVD versions can be TOO GOOD....when Elaan (Nuyen) throws the knife, you can BARELY see the WIRE that made it go where it was supposed to...instead of Kirk's (Shatner's) back.

An "OUCH!" Moment...Elaan BITES Kirk's hand in Uhura's quarters...OUCH indeed!

What is wrong with that number 4 shield anyway? It seems to be the weakest shield surrounding the Enterprise...I say that because in "Journey to Babel", the number 4 shield was weakened during the Orion's attack.

NANJAO: Uhura's quarters is next door to computer diagnostics.

The Klingon ship has a cloaking device!
Here's "proof":

One shot has the D-7 on the screen, the picture blurs and the Klingon Commander speaks, "Surrender immediately", the picture blurs again and......THERE'S NO D-7 IN SIGHT! It cloaked!

(OK...it MIGHT be a nit and they forgot to put the D-7 on the viewer again...but it sure makes the episode more cooler the other way!)

I forgot to mention...all new music for this episode...it contains some of the best music I've heard yet in the third season.

Why is there only ONE PERSON in Engineering when Kryton is sabotaging the engines?

After Petri is stabbed, they show a closeup of Elaan...behind her is a PINK WALL...yet, she is SUPPOSED to be standing in the HALLWAY which has a dull GREY or dull BLUE color to it.
(The closeup is from when she was talking to Kirk in Uhura's quarters earlier in the episode.)

I also think there is one scene where Elaan's clothing don't match from the mid-shot to the close-up-what you pointed out, John, is probably the same shot(s).

INTERESTING SCENE: When Kirk orders battle stations, he turns the wall mounted speaker off and hits the red alert button at the same time.

Just before Spock starts scanning for the unusual power source, Sulu notes that the Klingons have broken off the attack. MY! That was certainly nice of them, wasn't it? They stopped attacking so Kirk & Spock could talk and get the necklace from Elaan. They're so thoughtful! The Klingons deserve a cookie!!!!

MISSING SFX: What the creators SHOULD HAVE done is try to put the Enterprise & the D-7 together in the same shot like they did with the Enterprise & the asteroid in "The Paradise Syndrome" MAN...that'd look cool!

What surprises me too was that no one was wearing their dress uniforms before greeting the Dohlman (Elaan) when she beamed up. The crew of the Enterprise USUALLY wears the dress uniforms when important dignitaries come aboard. I guess she just wasn't important enough to get all spiffy.

DUNCE CAP AWARD:

WINNER: THE FEDERATION SCIENTISTS

The Federation scientists who explored Elas and Troyius weren't very bright....
They failed to make note of the fact that Dilithium Crystals were "common stones" in this area. You'd think they would, seeing that they have great power. It seems the Klingon scientists who explored the same area were more brilliant than the Federation scientists, seeing they knew about the crystals.

This is the last episode to feature Mr. Leslie.
(I guess the creators came to their senses.)

This is also the last episode named "Elaan of Troyius."

This is also the last episode to feature the photon torpedoes until ST:TMP

The writers REALLY should've worked closer to the actors in TOS...there's at least two ways Ambassador Petri's name is pronounced....

Sometimes it's said, "Pet-tree" other times it's said, "Pea-Tree"

Re: By John A. Lang on Saturday, August 25, 2001 - 02:44 pm:

That would be Kirk and Deela in "Wink Of An Eye", not "That Which Survives". The woman in "TWS" was Losira and not very user friendly.

Well! (Giving a McCoy-like beaming smile like at the end of "Journey to Babel".) I finally nitted John A. Lang!

Bravo.

Why is there a door next to that one wall INSIDE Engineering (near the main entrance where Kryton lays the dead red shirt after his neck is broken)
There's no need for it. You can walk around the entire wall to get to the same area!

Why does Uhura need Spock's help to triangulate on the transmission? It makes Uhura look dumb. Especially when she triangulated on the Orion's transmission in "Journey to Babel" coming from the Brig.

All this time and I never really thought about how Kirk and Elaan fooled around in Uhura's quarters! Whether or not they had sex or just snuggled, there's no way Kirk is going to admit that it happened to Uhura. So, as a public service announcement, I 've mentioned it in 'Lines you'll never hear in Star Trek # 10'.

Note when Uhura comes to the sick-bay, you see a shadow go across Petri's head.

When Elaan gripes about the quality of the room, Kirk replies that there are none better on the ship.
Does this seem right?
I realise that Uhura is part of the senior staff, but how does she rate the finest room on the whole ship?
Are we to believe that her room is better than Kirk or Spocks?

Maybe he means that her room is just as good as his and that aboard the ship all the officers have similar quarters. As in a standard setup.

**Leslie alert** Mr. Leslie shows up at the Engineer's station on the Bridge. I must note again that this is Mr. Leslie's last appearance in "Star Trek" (Probably got tired of not having any lines & not getting his name posted in the end credits)

I think Kirk was trying to mollify her by blowing a lil smoke on the quality of accomodations. Easier than actually giving in and looking up "Motel 6" in the hallway communicator-panel phone book.

I assume Starfleet has had dealings with the Elasians before, and that Kirk would have been briefed on their culture and preferences before going to Elas to take Elaan to Troyius. So, how did he not know Elaan would be offended to be put up in Uhura's room? Also, why doesn't the Enterprise, a ship that handles first contacts, have nice guest accomodations fit for alien dignitaries, like Elaan, and if they do, why would a junior officer have better quarters than what they make available to VIP's? Also also, why wasn't Kirk informed that these two planets are loaded with diithium, the galaxy's equivalent to oil (Troyians regard it as a precious jewel, and Elasians regard it as a useless rock)? It does explain the Federation's and the Klingons' interest in these two piddling worlds and their war.

When Spock & McCoy stand in the hall outside Elaan's (Uhura's) room to summon Kirk, the hallway seems to be a dark blue color. When Kirk exits, the hallway appears to be a lighter shade of blue.

ALMS FOR THE BLIND! This episode is NOT the final episode for Mr. Leslie! He also appears in "And The Children Shall Lead"!

GUEST STAR PATROL: The extremely tall guard who tries to keep Kirk from entering Elaan's cabin is prolific stuntman and heavy Dick Durock, who has worked on countless notable movies and TV shows. He is most known for his roles as monsters, however and the most famous of these roles is of course that of the "Swamp Thing". He also played an evil version of the Hulk that Harry Townes metamorphosized into in the Hulk episode "The First".

Note: The only "hail whistles" heard in this episode is when Uhura pages Kirk in the Turbolift and when Scotty tells Kirk that the raw Dilithium Crystals are in place. All other times it's gone!

During the teaser, Kirk, Spock and McCoy remain standing while Elaan beams in. After the credits, they're kneeling.

No, Kirk gave the gesture to Spock & Scotty to kneel. They then knelt just before the opening credits started.


(You must have seen this episode on the SCI-FI Channel. You'd have to watch the DVD version to see the whole thing)

France Nuyen was married to Robert Culp ("I Spy") during the time this ep was shot.
In fact, according to IMBD, the marriage was rather brief, from 1967-70. Mr. Culp has had five (!) subsequent marriages.
Ms. Nuyen's given name is France Nguyen Vannga. She was married one other time, but IMDB is a bit confused about whether it was before or after her marriage to Mr. Culp. Also, she had worked with Shatner on Broadway, in The World Of Suzie Wong in the early 1960's.

Sci-Fi has been cutting too much from these episodes. On the plus side, if indeed there is one, some scenes that WPIX had cut were left in by Sci-Fi.

In this episode, we get our "first look" at the dreaded Klingon D-7 Battle Cruiser in all of its glory....
Quite right, John. This was the second episode shot for the third season, before "The Enterprise Incident."
I think I've long forgotten the reason, but...Why did we have to wait until the third season to see a Klingon ship? We saw a Romulan ship in our first encounter with them.

Well....there was a Klingon "Scout Ship" seen on the viewer in "Friday's Child"..but it was nothing more than a glowing triangle.

Or a flashlight shone into the camera . . .

Of course, the simple reason we don't see the full Klingon ship until the final season is because they hadn't built the model until then!

This also brings up a nit for "The Trouble With Tribbles" . . . both the Enterprise and the Klingon ship are supposed to be in orbit around K-7, but all we see in the exterior space shots are the Enterprise!

They never built a Klingon ship until AMT started bugging them for one so they could sell it as a model.

Robert Kennedy was killed while this ep was filming. Nuyen, an avid supporter of his, was both saddened and angered to the point of losing it and cursing a tirade.

Sir Rhosis

Correction to posting on: Friday, September 14, 2001 - 11:54 pm:

In that post I mentioned the "Preview Trailers".

I mentioned:

* A close up of Spock's phaser when he shoots the guards

Upon closer inspection, the sleeve of the person holding the phaser was YELLOW...which would mean KIRK was supposed to be holding the phaser....which he wasn't! So..TPTB caught another blooper before it got on the air! HUZZAH!

D'oh on the Sci-Fi edits. >:-(

Kirk was going to have Spock forcibly mind-meld with Kryton, before Kryton kills himself. We don't see this actually happen until ST VI and Valeris.

When the Security guy pages Kirk on the Bridge, Kirk's hand is at Uhura's station. However, when the camera pulls back, Kirk is standing at the Command Chair.

Chekov turns into Hadley twice during this episode, when that shot from behind of everyone looking at the viewscreen is reused.

The battle is great, and the music is nice...but I really miss the Doomsday Machine music. I'd like to see what this scene would be like if that piece was used.

Since the fans didn't see these episodes in production order when they first aired back in the 1960's, this WASN'T the first time the Klingone ship was seen, but was in fact the 3rd time.

Ive been watching them in air date order on the season set DVDs.

The events of this episode were mentioned by Scotty in "Relics" (TNG).

Forks, spoons, and knives aren't used in all cultures even here on earth. Wasn't Kirk being a little culturally insensitive in making Elaan use tableware? Maybe she would have preferred chopsticks or some other alien utensils. Kirk is supposed to be trained as a diplomat, after all.

Perhaps the Troyans' eating behavior was similar to ours. Kirk was supposed to be teaching her to behave in an alien society.

Maybe she would have preferred chopsticks or some other alien utensils.

I just pictured Kirk teaching her to use Mamosian chopsticks (from Red Dwarf).

They never built a Klingon ship until AMT started bugging them for one so they could sell it as a model.
The Klingon ship model was sold in late 1968, during the third season. AMT didn't market a model of the Romulan ship until 1975. They also released models of the bridge, shuttlecraft, and a combo pack with a (puny) communicator, phaser and tricorder model at that same time.
In late 1968, JC Penney sold a 2-pack of the model kits of the Enterprise and Klingon ship, for four or five bucks.

What were the Troyans thinking anyway, marrying their leader to an Elasian woman? All Elan would have to do is shed a few tears and she would have her new husband so much in love with her he would do anything she asked.

I guess Love is a disease after all...

Little known fact: Ambassador Petri's first name is Rob, and his wife's name is Laura

He is also the inventor of a dish used in lab experiments.

This episode is on next week enhanced..

The remastered "Elaan of Troyius" airs next weekend. The main update will be the battle with the Klingon ship at the end.

Hey, this time the new Klingon D-7 shots are


The cgi Fixit people fixit it!

The Enterprise officers in the transporter should have NEVER knelt down before this female,
before (or just after she transported aboard). It's not as if it's the Queen's subjects in front
of her. The officers have no loyalty to her. I was very disappointed in the captain.

Edited by the Mod to remove link.

RE: Oliver

You should avoid posting your e-mail address here. There's a lot of spammers that visit once in awhile

In the remastered version, Elas appears to be suffering a hurricane.

Lots of new shots of the Klingon ship (in the original version this was the first use of the D-7).

Kryton seems to be looking for threats after he beams aboard, but he's just staring into the empty corner of the transporter room.

As I mentioned above, Kirk threatens to have Spock forcibly mind-meld with Kryton, which we didn't see until Star Trek VI.

Seconding John's message, Oliver. I've removed your link. We get too much attention from spammers as it is without encouraging them.

The scene where Petri gives Elaan the necklace was cut in the re-mastered version.
When we see the rear view in the viewscreen, the re-mastereds now show the nacelles. That's logical.

When Kirk gives orders to travel back from Elas to Troyius using impulse power, Scott asks with surprise "You'll not be using the warp drive?"

Why does Scott act so surprised? Isn't it normal to travel at sublight speed from planet to planet within a solar system? ST:TMP even showed that it would be dangeorous to use warp drive while traveling within a solar system.

I think the issue in TMP was that they were still tuning the warp engines, not specifically that they were in the solar system.

The dead redshirt's name was Fred in Friday's Child!

"I think the issue in TMP was that they were still tuning the warp engines, not specifically that they were in the solar system."

I'd agree if not for the comment by Kira about using the warp engines in the Bajor system in an episode in DS9 in season 5. the one where they were trying to prevent dr. bashir from destroying the sun.

"The Enterprise officers in the transporter should have NEVER knelt down before this female,
before (or just after she transported aboard). It's not as if it's the Queen's subjects in front of her. The officers have no loyalty to her."
--Still, it's a sign of respect to a visiting dignitary. When Queen Elizabeth visits a country it's customary for women to courtsy, (and men to bow, I think). When you meet a Japanese diplomat, you're supposed to bow back at him, out of respect. Same thing here.

When I first saw this episode in the 70s I thought they were not the idiot's subjects..They didn't have to kneel. What would Elaan do? Phaser them?

She could have ordered her servants to do so, which they would had done without question.

Initially at least, they were probably trying to humor her and avoid a scene. They were under orders to make this situation work, so the the initial inclination would be to play along.

I don't see why some people here think its so bad that the crew knelt down before her and why someone said they were disapointed in the Captain. Whats the big deal? Did it kill these men to kneel down before her? It called respect. Show alittle sometime.

Scotty made referance to the events of this episode in The Next Generation episode "Relics".

GREAT ENHANCEMENT:

The battle of the Enterprise VS. The Klingon ship.

It remeinded me of the battle scene from "Star Trek: VI"

The re-mastered "Elaan of Troyius" airs this weekend, with "The Corbomite Maneuver" up the following weekend.

Todd & Torque since your nits for not using warp in a solar system come from later stories they are the nits as this episode establishes that warp in a solar system is normal. (Unless there is an earlier ep which says otherwise.)

Elaan says, "If I have to stay here for ten light years".
On the one hand it's an improper use of the term light years, on the other Elaan isn't that smart so maybe she didn't realize she was using it wrong? ;-)

For most of the episode we see the three stars that look like Orion's Belt, behind the Enterprise, but when the Enterprise arrives at Troyius "Orion's Belt" is behind the planet & in the direction the ship is facing as it goes into orbit.
I guess that not only did Kirk drive slowly to get there, but he took the long way around.

During the battle with the Klingons, Spock and Scotty manage to use the crude dilithium crystals to power the warp drive, which is all well and good, but...what about the bomb?? Scotty said they couldn't dismantle it without being blown up! Not only that, but what did they do about the converter assembly being fused with "no chance of repair?" It's like they just forgot about these two problems.

Right before Kirk orders the photon torpedoes fired, France Nuyen can be seen over his shoulder smiling momentarily, like she was fooling around and missed the director saying "Action."

One line in this episode puzzles me. Elaan tells Kirk that she wants him to destroy Troyius and that Elas will be so grateful they will give him rule of the entire system. Kirk replies, "What kind of a mind could think of such a thing?" Elaan answers, "He's a Troyian." Who is she talking about?

Amy Aston - "What were the Troyans thinking anyway, marrying their leader to an Elasian woman? All Elan would have to do is shed a few tears and she would have her new husband so much in love with her he would do anything she asked.'

Amy, that's one of the best Duh!-Of-Course! observations I've seen in a long time! Elaan cries, her Troyian husband touches the tears, and BOOM! "Yes, dear! Of course I'll allow your soldiers to take over Troyius! Of course I'll desolve my government and give you everything you want! I love you with all my heart, and to show that I'm going to hand over my entire planet to you and your soldiers!"

Wow. 40 years of watching that episode, and that gem never occurred to me!

Ordinarily, I would very rarely tout Picard's method's over Kirk, being a TOS fan from waaaay back, but Kirk's 'diplomacy' in this episode is really terrible.
1. He doesn't respect a world ruler by kneeling upon her arrival.
2. Elaan tells him they can be taken to their quarters, and Kirk is about to make an issue of that perfectly reasonable request (order), until Petri interrupts him.
3. He sneers, "I didn't ask for any!" when Elaan tells him he wasn't given permission to leave.
4. He shrugs off her request for better quarters-- sure they all look alike, but a bigger room couldn't be fitted to her higher standards? She's a world leader.
5. He slaps her. Can you imagine a ship commander slapping Queen Elizabeth or the Empress of Japan?
6. He has her guards zapped by Spock, and he simply barges in and holds her down forcefully until she bites his hand to escape.

Somehow, I don't think Picard would be so rough and disrespectful.

Please correct me if I'm wrong (I'm working from memory here), but I believe this is the only episode where sublight speed is given as fractional warp (I seem to recall Warp 0.33). All other instances are given as fractions of impulse (half-impulse, etc...).

Amy, that's one of the best Duh!-Of-Course! observations I've seen in a long time! Elaan cries, her Troyian husband touches the tears, and BOOM! "Yes, dear! Of course I'll allow your soldiers to take over Troyius! Of course I'll desolve my government and give you everything you want! I love you with all my heart, and to show that I'm going to hand over my entire planet to you and your soldiers!"

Don't forget McCoy found a way to counteract the effects (of course, Kirk did it himself). So it's likely they gave the cure to the Troyan leader, just in case Elaan tried to pull a stunt like this.


He slaps her. Can you imagine a ship commander slapping Queen Elizabeth or the Empress of Japan?

Yes, but neither Queen Elizabeth nor the Empress of Japan are whiny spoiled brats who throw temper tantrums if they don't get their way.

Elaan grew up without anyone ever saying "no" to her, and that is why she turned out the way she did. When she saw that she couldn't push Kirk around, like she had pushed others all her life, she turned into the worse bad tempered brat you ever saw. I applaud Kirk for what he did here. Elaan needed to grow up. It seems he succeeded, at the end of the show, she seemed much more mature than at the start.

Why in blue beams did the security guard have his phaser on disintegrate instead of stun?! It was too neat of a way to keep Spock from reading his mind and finding out what Kryton did to the engines.

While the Klingon ship looks fairly detailed, the warp nacelles look surprisingly bland.

Geoff, I think Kryton pushed the Enterprise guard away, and hit his own self destruct/disintegration button on his own armor. It would make sense that the Elasians have such a drastic device on their person-- if one of her subjects disrespects the Dolman, then ZAP! - the insolent/ineffective/subpar soldier is dealt with instantly.
Or since he was working for the Klingons, they could have installed the self destruct device for him.

Here's some shots of The Shat and France Nuyen while they were doing the play The World of Suzie Wong. The page is from the blog "Shatner's Toupee", so there's a lot of hair-raising analyses of The Shat's ever-thinning dome.

Shouldn't the Organians have intervened once the Enterprise and the Klingon ship started shooting at each other.

They mention that the Federation High Commissioner is going to attend the wedding. If he still has the same job, that would be Ferris, last seen in 'The Galileo Seven' in season one.

There's a desk and viewscreen monitor in that cut-off section in Engineering, where previously in season two there was none, and was a cubby-hole area for Daystrom's M-5 computer. It also doesn't look like the room that Scotty runs into when Losira kills Watkins, later on in season three.

How could Kryton's sabotage not be picked up on the Engineering station on the bridge? His efforts cause the engine tunnel to flicker in light.

I never noticed until now; Tony Young played 'Kryton', and Kryton is the word 'Krypton' minus the 'P'. Was the writer a Superman fan, I wonder?

They mention that the Federation High Commissioner is going to attend the wedding. If he still has the same job, that would be Ferris, last seen in 'The Galileo Seven' in season one.

In that scene, Uhura personally comes down to Sickbay to deliver that message to Kirk, instead of just telling him over the Intercom. I wonder why she did that.


There's a desk and viewscreen monitor in that cut-off section in Engineering, where previously in season two there was none, and was a cubby-hole area for Daystrom's M-5 computer. It also doesn't look like the room that Scotty runs into when Losira kills Watkins, later on in season three.

Well, the Enterprise has had a few upgrades over the five year mission. Perhaps this was one of them.


Kryton is the word 'Krypton' minus the 'P'. Was the writer a Superman fan, I wonder?

Could be

I think Uhura said it was a specially-coded message or something that required her to speak directly to Kirk. The ship was on radio-silence, after all, when it arrived at Troyius.
Of course, the real reason was so that Kirk wasn't present with Petrie and Chapel to learn specifically about the Elasian tears.

Odd that the Enterprise had no guest quarters (Uhura said that she gave up her quarters for Elaan).

Of course, perhaps Elaan, being the spoiled brat that she is, didn't like the guest quarters and threw a tantrum until she was moved Uhura's (and they still weren't good enough in her view).

Odd that the Enterprise had no guest quarters (Uhura said that she gave up her quarters for Elaan).

They arranged guest quarters for Bele a few episodes down the road in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". I guess a Commissioner outranked a mere Dohlman.

John wrote, almost half a generation ago:

I forgot to mention...all new music for this episode...it contains some of the best music I've heard yet in the third season.

It's also the last aired episode with a fresh score. Even though it was the second episode shot for the third season.

I wonder where Uhura stayed while Elaan was occupying her quarters.

I guess she bunked with someone else (Chapel perhaps).

Spock, McOy, Scotty, Elaan and the other Elasians don't seem to exit the transporter room in all the time that Kirk is speaking to Petri in the hallway, and yet when we see Kirk leave and go the bridge, Scotty is there to question Kirk about his very slow ship speed.
Just before Elaan beams up to the ship, Petri tells Kirk that this 'Dohlman' person is the most hated and feared enemy of the Troyians, and Kirk's head snaps back to face him as if to say, "And THAT'S coming aboard MY ship?!"
In the remastered SPX version, Elas is seen as a very blue, Earth-like planet when they orbit there. After Kirk tells Petri to 'go in strong' re. Elaan's training, we see a new shot of the Enterprise flying slowly in space, with an obvious blue dot in the distance between the warp engines. I'm guessing the SFX crew intended that to be Elas, seen at a distance. All the other dots (stars) are white, other than that one.
As much as I agreed with Amy Aston in 2011, I'm starting to think that the tears will have little effect of Elaan's Troyian husband. After all, Petri knows about them, so they're no secret to his people. Would the Troyian government actually risk their world leader becoming her helpless slave? Add to that, they work on Kirk, but he's able to overcome their power as the episode progresses, so maybe they're only completely effective against Elasian males.
Elaan's suitcases must have been beamed up after she came aboard. She's seen in four different outfits in the episode, but beams up without luggage to account for her costume changes.

Elaan's suitcases must have been beamed up after she came aboard. She's seen in four different outfits in the episode, but beams up without luggage to account for her costume changes.

Enterprise's quartermaster proved capable in other episodes of providing clothing appropriate to any circumstances. Elaan would only have had to request, or more probably demand clothes to be provided for her.

Ok, I'm joking, that would not have explained her dilithium necklace.

How can Elas and Troyius fight a war when neither have FTL drive (neither know what dilithium crystals are).

It was mentioned that they have nuclear powered ships. So wouldn't that mean it would take months for one side to attack the other. Hardly worth the effort, IMO (I mean think of the supplies the ships would have to take along, and such).

Unless Elas and Troyius are practically on top of each other. I may not be a scientist, but I find that possibility very unlikely.

Elas's orbit would be smaller, being the inner planet, which means they'd be lined up for only a few months in the year. Rotation around their sun might even place them on opposite sides of their star, even as Earth and Mars get close to each other and eventually get further and further away from each other.
Not much of a war if hostilities can only continue for a month or two every year.

That's the problem, it would be hardly worth the time and effort to have such a war.

It would take them months just to get into position to fight a single battle.

(France Nuyen) also was married to Robert Culp ("I Spy") during the time this ep was shot.

Nuyen and Culp were the guest hosts in the never-aired second episode of Turn-On. ABC cancelled the show after one episode after receiving complaints about its racy content, and the second (of two completed episodes) was never aired. (At least one ABC affiliate dropped the show after the first commercial break.) Both episodes are on YouTube as I write this.

France Nuyen was great here, IMO.

Scotty made reference to this episode in Next Gen's "Relics". He said to the ensign "You never heard anyone whine and complain so much about quarters". What Scotty didn't say was that she whined and complained about everything else as well.

Yup.