First off, a nit to the Sci Fi channel people who worked on this. In one of the Star Trek Insights, they refer to the little girl as Pamelyn Fordin. It's Ferdin.
And by the way, I've noticed that a few of those "Insights" seem to have nothing whatsoever to do with Star Trek.

Spock said that the Gorgon's race was eventually destroyed by the beings they had preyed upon. Yet earlier, Professor Starnes had stated that the civilization on the planet had been destroyed by some natural phenomenon.
Spock seems to be the only one who knows the "legend" of Triacus.

On the bridge, when Kirk ordered a security guard to take Sulu to his quarters, his voice sounded like gibberish to the guard. Why didn't he just say, "I can't understand you, sir."?? He just stood there like a lump! He didn't even look confused!

Also on the bridge, Spock managed to shake off Tommy's influence. Tommy was unaware of this, since he was concentrating on Kirk and the guard. Why didn't Spock just pinch him? (Yes, yes, it would have shortened the episode.)

Spock also makes a poor showing in Auxilary Control. Three unarmed humans manage to drive Spock and Kirk out of the room. A few minutes later, they easily deal with Chekov and two Security guards, all armed.

They left two Security guards on Triacus, and didn't bother going back for them at the end of the episode! Hope someone remembered before they starved to death.

GUEST STAR PATROL (We're friendly!)

Melvin Belli (Gorgan) was, of course, a famous lawyer known as the "King of Torts" for his less-than-savory cases. He died recently.

More guest star patrol: Two of the kids in this episode later showed up on episodes of "The Brady Bunch." Craig Hundley (Tommy) played the kid who got Greg in trouble with smoking. And Pamelyn Ferdin (Mary) was the girl at whose party Jan wore her infamous black wig to.

It's strange that the children started to show their grief only by watching recorded images of their parents, even though they witnessed firsthand the deaths of their parents. Does this mean children should be watching more television, rather than less?

Also, wasn't Pamelyn Ferdin the voice of Lucy in some of the early Charlie Brown television specials?

Hans--yes, sort of. She was the voice of Lucy in the film "A Boy Named Charlie Brown."

I think Kirk was engaging in a bit of therapy. Gorgon probably blocked out the memories, both good and bad, of their parents. By showing them the good and bad together, Kirk broke the children's conditioning.

Granted, this is TV psychiatry, but it always seems to work.

Evidently the two guards on the surface in the beginning of the episode was replaced by two that didn't get beamed up, since both Leslie and Lemli (the guards in the beginning) are on the ship. (Leslie is the guard who doesn't understand Kirk and Lemli is the one who escorts Mary to the bridge)

When the children summon the Gorgan on the bridge, most of the shots are wide-angles of the bridge. These show a female redshirt at the engineering station and Lelsie standing immediately to her left. One shot from a different angle near the end of the scene shows a male blueshirt at this station, with no Lelsie to be seen.

Peter Kirk has a clone! Tommy Starnes bears a striking resemblance to him!

Hmm...I wonder why?

MAYBE...Peter Kirk still went nuts after "Operation: Annihilate!", changed his name to "Tommy Starnes" and started following the Gorgon

This is one of the worst episodes of Classic Trek. Ugh.

Fred Freiberger is known to have said about this episode-"This is what "Miri" should have been." (I think that was Nichelle Nichols quoted in the '75 book "World of Star Trek." Nichelle was very unhappy with that analogy.)

Craig Hundley (Peter Kirk/Tommy Starnes) changed his name to Craig Huxley and did the music for the Genesis planet proposal transformation sequence in "Wrath of Khan."

Adam said, "Fred Freiberger said, "This is what 'Miri' should of been?" Somebody call Bellview! Fred's insane! "Miri" was a far, far better episode than this tripe! The only redeeming quality of this episode I can remember is the excellent makeup sfx they used on Uhura to make her look older.

O?u,Oh is that it? For a second there, I thought George W. Bush wrote Kirk’s dialogue!}}
To confound Kirk’s orders to the security guard on the bridge to take Sulu into custody, Tommy has the guard’s perception of Kirk’s words jumbled and garbled. But rather than say, "Huh? What, captain? I can’t understand you.", he simply stands there, as if in a trance.

Chalk one up for "gawking & dawdling", Luigi.
(Capt. Harriman's syndrome)

In the Blish adaptation (actually the Lawrence adaptation), the guards act like they can't understand Kirk.

Mr. Leslie- the red shirt who never dies is back again...maybe Kirk should've had him scare the daylights out of the space brats by telling them, "Mr. Lesile died in "Obsession" and is now a living zombie aboard the Enterprise and if they don't behave he's coming to get 'em!"
That'd make the space brats behave real quick.

FUNNY THOUGHT: Instead of calling this episode "And The Children Shall Lead", they should've called it "The Bratty Bunch"

This episode would have been a little better if the Gorgon hurled lightning bolts or spewed fire at the crew instead of standing there and yelling threats.

Since when does Uhura have a mirror at her station? Granted, the brats attacked her vanity, but the scene makes Uhura so vain that she MUST keep a mirror at her station at all times to make sure she looks good. The situation would've been better if Uhura was in her QUARTERS with a brat talking to her...and as Uhura looks in her mirror, the brat then shakes his/her fist at Uhura and creates the illusion of her being 99 yrs. old.
THAT would've been a better idea.

Hans mentioned: "It's strange that the children started to show their grief only by watching recorded images of their parents, even though they witnessed firsthand the deaths of their parents." True...that's what makes the story more interesting....the Gorgon tricked the brats into remembering only the bad things that happened between them & their parents...like the spankings, being grounded, no TV, etc...instead of the good times they had together...like the picnics, the hugs, the kisses, etc. IMHO...this message is desperately needed today...with a lot of kids murdering their parents today. (and vice versa)

Chekov is missing from one of the wideshots of the viewscreen.

Uhura's mirror appears & disappears at random!

Why is Sulu afraid of the swords? The tips of the blades are facing AWAY from him!

RUMINATION: This episode offers us a "first look" at the UFP flag.

The mutated makeup used on the Gorgon looks very good.

Kirk's mixed up commands....I think I got it figured out...the creators played Shatner's voice both forwards and backwards!

Brand new music for this episode!

The following surnames were part of the Starnes Expedition....Starnes, Janowski, O'Connel, Tsing Tao, Linden & Wilkins....both times when they show the close-ups of the tombstones, there's none for Wilkins.

When Kirk offers to take Tommy to his quarters, he refuses by saying "I know the way."
The question remains...HOW does he know the way?
Granted, he MIGHT have come to the planet by Starship, but his quarters MIGHT have been on another deck or another area of that other Starship. So how could he know the way to the quarters Kirk provided for him on the Enterprise?

Obviously children's rights will be extinct by the 23rd century, otherwise Kirk would've had NO CHOICE to take "The Bratty Bunch" to Marcus XII...seeing Tommy's CLOSEST RELATIVES ARE LIVING THERE. Yet Kirk chooses Starbase 4.

When Kirk offers to show the family film to "The Bratty Bunch", Spock disappears...yet, after the Gorgon says, "I forbid it", Spock reappears.

Just how long was the Starnes Expedition at Triacus? Pretty long, I must say...they were there long enough to build a shoe store...because all of "The Bratty Bunch" have brand new shiny boots!

Also, I must point out that it's interesting to see that "Ring Around The Rosey" is still a popular kid's song...even in the 23rd century.
(BTW "Ring Around The Rosey" is a song about The Black Plague)
I suppose with "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" still being sung around campfires (STV)...why not "Ring Around the Rosey" for kids too?

One of the security men that comes and tries to arrest Kirk & Spock looks familiar....AH HA! It's alt-Kirk's body guard from "Mirror, Mirror"

Another possible answer as to how Tommy knows his way around a Starship...his family watched "Star Trek"

That engineer that's with Scotty in auxilary control also bears a striking resemblance to Ensign Mallory, who got blowed up real good back in The Apple. Boy, that McCoy is one brilliant doctor, resuscitating a guy a day later!

This episode gives us our "first look" at the Enterprise's cafeteria. There's a big alien plant in the center. Correct me if I'm wrong...but I THINK it's the last time we see this cafeteria.

At one point Chapel gives Stevie an "unpleasant surprise"...C'mon...was that a nice thing to do? ...I guess you can end that scene by singing.."And that's the way we became the Bratty Bunch"

John A. Lang, I will thank you NOT to refer to Ensign K'tr'a'la as "Big", it offends her.

Much was made about new sets being built for the third season. (The cafeteria set, I think, was redressed as the arboretum in "Is There In Truth No Beauty.") It is a shame that new sets were only used once or twice, then back to same-old same-old, i.e. redresses of the briefing room.

I'd like to nominate the two security guards beaming into space as the funniest redshirt death ever!

One of the trivia questions in the Guide lists the last names of the children, one of which is "Tsingtao," which happens to be the old Romanization for the Chinese city of "Qingdao." Now, this is a nit if the name was meant to be Chinese: Chinese surnames are monosyllabic.

I have always wondered about the combination of events that led to distinguished (if admittedly flamboyant) attorney Melvin Belli standing on the Enterprise bridge in what appears to be a late-Elizabethan nightgown, blurred by bizarrely ineffective FX and calling himself Gorgon the Friendly Angel.

Was Belli a big fan - a la Jean Simmons and NextGen - and this was the only role TOS' creators had available? I hope so, 'cause the only other option is that the creators said "Hey! This evil angel creature should probably be played by a famous attorney! Y'know, I hear that Belli dude looks good in a nightgown..."

I mean, if the California Bar Association didn't have a bylaw, they probably did by the time this ep ended.

It was an attempt to boost the ratings (according to Nimoy)

Yeah, OK, but my point is why Belli of all people?

J. Edgar Hoover was not available (?) :P

I dunno. Your guess is as good as mine.

I don't know why Belli was cast as the Gorgon, either. (Maybe he was handling Shatner's divorce-my guess.) I remember TV Guide giving this episode a "Close-Up" box on its first run, with a photo of Belli as the Gorgon prominently featured.

Maybe he was handling Shatner's divorce-my guess.

LOL.

Chekov, accompanied by two security guards, tries to arrest Kirk and Spock. He is the only one with a phaser. The two security guards are unarmed. Why aren't they armed? I quess to make it possible for Kirk and Spock to overpower them.

Why didn't Kirk just REMOVE Uhura's mirror if the images bothered her so much?

John A Lang,

Obviously children's rights will be extinct by the 23rd century, otherwise Kirk would've had NO CHOICE to take "The Bratty Bunch" to Marcus XII...seeing Tommy's CLOSEST RELATIVES ARE LIVING THERE. Yet Kirk chooses Starbase 4.

Why do you mean, children's rights will be extinct?? I think its a big advancement for children if they aren't immediatley given to people simply because of blood relation, but rather a neutral person takes a close look at what would be the best enviroment for the child. How do you know that the blood relatives of Tommy will accept the child, have room for it or are in any way suited to deal with a child?


kerriem,

I mean, if the California Bar Association didn't have a bylaw, they probably did by the time this ep ended

what kind of bylaw do you mean - Rules of how lawyers should behave in order not to damage the reputance (sp?) of their profession (i would guess their behaviour in court is damaging to the profession ).

Maybe they picked belli because a lawyer will have no problem wearing a long dress (never mind the color) he is accostumed to it.

Just joking, constanze, but yeah, that was more or less the bylaw I had in mind.
Also, great theory! Maybe they wooed him with promises of how dignified he'd look, standing there on the bridge in his 'judicial robes', and only once they got him into them did they spring the whole 'Friendly Angel' bit...

Oh, and wholeheartedly agreed about the children's rights thing. Evidently by the 23rd-century they've discovered that adulthood doesn't automatically translate to parentood, and hurrah for them.
(Besides which it strikes me that even in cases where relatives are willing and eager to take orphans there may be routine debriefings - especially in cases like this - and decontamination procedures, etc etc, that have to be dealt with in a controlled environment before the child can be released to a populated area.)

Also, John, since when is a shoe store required to obtain new boots in Starfleet? Isn't it far more likely that the settlers simply requisitioned new shoes/clothing (for everybody at once, to save time) as part of a routine supply drop?

Why didn't Kirk just REMOVE Uhura's mirror if the images bothered her so much?

Because a)that isn't a mirror, it's a reflective surface on her workstation (OK, yes, the effect was achieved in a mirror, but still ), and more importantly, b)the children via Gorgon evidently possess the power to conjure up the visions regardless of where she looks. Next thing you know, it'd be projected on the viewscreen or something.

I noted the nit about the boots because it seemed rather odd that the boots were brand, spanking new...like fresh from a store.

I concurr on your POV on children's rights.

I forgot to add that the Enterprise was the only Starship to visit the Starnes Expedition. So...where did they get the shiny new boots?

Really, it's stated in the ep that the Enterprise is the only ship to visit the settlement? Just how long have these scientists been out there, anyhow?

(Just in case, an alternate explanation for the boots: They were packed away as part of what would have had to have been a mammoth supply setup - I'm assuming 23rd-century storage technology involves some form of stasis, so as to preserve that 'shiny-new' look - and only broken out a little while before the events of the ep.)

According to the episode, The Starnes Expedition arrived sometime before Stardate: 5025.3 (from Starnes' first log entry seen on the Bridge). The episode takes place on Stardate: 5029.5.

Also, Spock states to Kirk in the Captain's quarters that the Enterprise was indeed the first ones to visit.

Starnes made new boots out of recycled old Tribbles.

pamela ferdyn, she did lucy in the peanuts shows i think

I can guarantee you that if the 2 security guards stuck down on Triacus alone were Spock and McCoy, or if the two guards beamed into space were Spock and McCoy, Kirk would have definitely flown back to retrieve them. The way these four men are casually forgotten about makes Kirk look bad, even though we know we should blame the writer.

Stevie's ice cream bowl is partially full from certain angles, but empty from a closer view.

As bad an episode as this is you gotta feel for the kids as they watch scenes of playing abruptly switch to their parent's corpses, especially the little girl, since the three younger boys have tears running down their cheeks, but aren't bawling like her.

As the kids run around Kirk singing 'Ring Around The Rosey' I can't help but feel that Shatner is thinking, "City On The Edge Of Forever...Amok Time...Journey To Babel...Balance Of Terror...sigh! Those were the good ol' days. Now look at this stinker!"

As the kids run around Kirk singing 'Ring Around The Rosey' I can't help but feel that Shatner is thinking, "City On The Edge Of Forever...Amok Time...Journey To Babel...Balance Of Terror...sigh! Those were the good ol' days. Now look at this stinker!"

True true. And then...slowly...his face brightens, as he reminds himself that "At least I'm not the one in the nightgown!"

I must note that Eddie Paskey (Mr. Leslie) was not noted in the closing credits again. No wonder he quit.

Did he have any lines? If not, then that's probably why he's not listed in the credits.

No lines. However, doesn't the S.A.G. require everyone who is in a TV show or movie to be listed in the credits?

No. That applies to people who having speaking parts. I mean, if you think about it, if everyone in a TV show or movie had to be listed in the credits... well, they'd be awfully long because of crowd scenes. Eddie Paskey was merely an extra in this ep. Extras generally do not get credited if they have no lines.

That stinks. I consider Eddie Paskey to be more than an "extra" in Star Trek". He was in a LOT of episodes. (as the "Leslie alert" messages indicate) If I ever got on TV or the movies, I'd MAKE SURE my name was in the credits...even if I had no lines.

As we all know, the chant to "summon the Gorgon" goes: "Hail, hail, fire and snow....". HOWEVER...when the "bratty bunch" summons the Gorgon on the Bridge, they say: "Fire, fire, fire and snow..." The kids goofed the chant!
(They might be related to the end credits person in Season One...the guy who wrote "Scpipt Supervisor")

TPTB decided to use another musical version of "Wagon Train to the Stars" as the Enterprise leaves Triacus. (Watch "Catspaw" for another musical version of "Wagon Train To The Stars")

"If I ever got on TV or the movies, I'd MAKE SURE my name was in the credits...even if I had no lines."

Um...it wouldn't be up to you.

Yeah, basically, screen credit is determined by the Screen Actor Guild's rules. Unless you had really good connections, it'd be really doubtful that you'd be given credit for a non-speaking role. Unless that part was that of Gem in "The Empath" or a similar role. In other words, Paskey was an extra and did not utter any words. The actress who played Gem, Kathryn Hays, had a far more significant role, though it was a non-speaking part.

Now THAT really stinks!

Why? If you list everyone who appears in say, Armageddon, the cast list is going to be almost as long as the movie itself. It would be impractical to list each and every person who appears on the screen just because they are on the screen. Not to mention financially more expensive, because then you'd have to pay the extras more $$.

That way you could show all your friends that you were indeed in the movie...by having your name emblazoned in the end credits. (It's a matter of pride)

That isn't the basis on which screen credit functions, nor should it be. It's a business. Can you imagine how long the credits for Gandhi would be if they listed all the extras?

Understood. However, it'd still be cool.

When the children first summon the Gorgan in private they chant HAIL HAIL fire and snow. When they are on the bridge later they chant HIGH HIGH fire and snow. When Spock replays the chanting you should hear the one from the bridge session and hear HIGH HIGH, but you hear HAIL HAIL which was chanted in private.

Glenn of Nas....MMM...Now that you mention it, I believe you're right. I didn't hear it quite clearly. All I know is, it was NOT "Hail, hail, fire & snow..." (See my posting on 6 /8/ 03 @ 8:29 PM) Either way, the brats screwed up the chant.

Sorry...that was 8:29 A.M.

Spock seems rather uncurious about Kirk's reaction in the cave. Spock had just been theorizing that some external force triggered the suicides when his tricorder beeped about something in the cave. Once in there, Kirk exhibits an unusual mental state. Wouldn't it be, ahem, logical to reason that the same force that caused the mental state in the scientists was also causing a mental state in Kirk?

This nit happens frequently during the whole Trek series. It's apparently the custom in the 23rd century to be buried near where you die, not on your home world or near your family. In several cases, this is on uninhabited worlds out of the normal space lanes. The relatives of the guys that died in "The Galelio Seven" are sure going to have a tough time visting their graves.

In the Galileo seven they at least had an excuse in that they needed t lighten the shuttle as much as possible so they could take off.

There's a long-time military tradition that soldiers and sailors are frequently buried a long way from home, even continents away. Thousands of Americans, for example, are buried in France from both WWI and WWII, as well as at Gettysburg or in Arlington National Cemetery. For centuries, sailors have been buried at sea.

Gene Roddenberry himself received a space burial when an astronaut 'smuggled' his remains on a shuttle flight.

However, this does NOT explain why the adults of the Starnes expedition are buried there. They just got there a few days ago, judging by the stardate differential. There wasn't enough time for the team to get acclimated and think of the world as home.

Pamelyn Ferdin was on the 70s Saturday morning CBS live-action series 'Space Academy' starring Jonathan (Lost in Space) Harris as the Commander, and I believe that one of the other cadets, Brian Tochi, played one of the other kids in this Trek episode. (This series had a serious contender for yet another Weasley Mary Sue Crusher kid, a space orphan named Loki with some strange mental abilities.) The show was revamped for a second season as the more action-oriented 'Jason of Star Command', led by Commander Carnarvon (played by James Doohan himself). One episode of 'Space Academy' dealt with a Bermuda Triangle-like area, which echoed the Animated Episode "Time Trap"; in a reverse Trek-ism, there was a sole-survivor who was the ships' captain, who got a little wacky but didn't violate the Prime Directive--he tried to save the kids!

I had a crush on Pamelyn when I was about 10..I liked her in this show, her appearance as what I remember as a bratty-reverse-Brady on a Mannix episode, and on Space Academy.

Gene Roddenberry himself received a space burial when an astronaut 'smuggled' his remains on a shuttle flight.

No, he went into space with a commercial service that sends peoples ashes into space. It was all above board and legit.

See here for details.

Now that's interesting, Scott. The story I'd always heard was that he was smuggled up in 1995. That must just be an urban myth. (And a good one, too! LOL) Cool article, thanks for the link!

Pamelyn Ferdin had left acting and went into animal rescue. She recently decided to return to acting, and has appeared at shows such as "Chiller Theater" in New Jersey.
The redshirt piloting the ship in Auxiliary Control was, I believe, one of the staff at Tantalus Penal Colony on "Dagger Of The Mind." Was he paroled, or did he escape from jail?

From what I understand, both instances of Roddenberry's ashes going into space are true. An astronaut (not even a Trek fan, just a nice guy) did Majel a favor and took some of GR's ashes up in his personal effects, then later the rest went up via a commercial rocket or whatever.

Sir Rhosis

Hey, I don't recall anyone having picked this nit, so fill me in if I'm not the first. When Chapel is ordering up ice cream for the kids from the food slot, she has a small number of those blocky things in her hands (sorry I didn't go back to count them)- I always supposed they were pre-recorded requests for specific food items. One would imagine that she grabbed a few at random, or picked one for vanilla, one for chocolate, etc. Then the kid orders that weird combination, and she happens to have the right disk or card or whatever - what are the odds?
And Kirk orders a "very small" dish of vanilla - was he on a diet? And how did the food slot know he ordered a small - was it on the order card (I need to find out what those things are called!)
I never knew if we were supposed to imagine that some transporter-technology was going on inside the slot, producing the requested food,(as in the later shows) or if it is some kind of dumbwaiter leading to a galley. Wasn't a galley mentioned in "Charlie X" - something about Thanksgiving turkeys?

Food / Drink cards (?)

Maybe the cards are voice-activated, or is there something in the episode that contradicts this?

There must be some sort of transporter technology being used. A galley couldn't produce the chicken soup so quickly in "Tomorrow is Yesterday."

Phil covers the food selector card conundrum in the book.

You're right of course - when I went back to the book to look it up I thought it would be under "Equipment Oddities," but I should have read the entire chapter because a the issue is handled nicely, with a focus on the mathematics of combinations; it is in the "Syndication cuts" part, which I often skip because I watch the episodes uncut anyway.
I don't think anything specifically contradicts the idea that the food slot may be voice activated; the cards could then have lots of preselects recorded, and the computer listens for a specific choice. But, the requests are directed to Chapel, so I guess this explanation doesn't really cover it.

MISSING REDSHIRTS...If found, call J.T. Kirk @ NCC-1701

When Kirk plants the UFP flag, there are two Secutity guards standing next to the huge headstone. (One of them is Mr. "Q" Leslie)

When the bratty kid knocks over the UFP flag, both security guards are GONE! Where did they go? Kirk didn't dismiss them!

(Ref. Luigi's funny red postings)

NANJAO: Melvin Belli (Gorgan) looks like he's wearing a shower curtian.

Sometimes it felt like the creators were just making this episode up as they were filming it.

GOOD GRIEF!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-05-26-peanuts-character_x.htm?csp=27

John (or anybody else), if you'd like to own Melvin Belli's shower curtain, it's up for sale. Check out this article.
Christie's Auction

Albert Walker of The Agony Booth has a particular fondness (not) for this episode. He makes particular note of Kirk's histrionics with Spock in the turbo-lift, calling the scene "ShatNervana." Which it is; the scene is undoubtedly the basis for Shatner imitators everywhere. But, he does get some "facts" wrong. He states that Trek's third season aired at 10 p.m. on Saturdays (we all know it was 10 on Friday nights), and he states that Fred Freiberger came from Lost In Space to Trek. (Freiberger had come off The Wild Wild West prior to Trek, and never had anything to do with LIS.)

There's a brand of beer called Tsing Tao that is currently popular in China. I wonder if old Ray owns the brewery.

The lady Kirk and McCoy examine is still alive, even though she supposedly injested poison. McCoy identifies it as cyaladin (sp?), and Kirk askes if it was self-inflicted, to which McCoy nods his head. Watch her palm on the ground, because within 2 seconds of Kirk's question her hand moves an inch forward!

It's no wonder McCoy is scared of the transporter-- no failsafes! How is it possible for the transporter operator to beam two men into space, without coordinates, without a solid planetary surface below the ship? Surely, the system would shut itself down or an alert would flash signalling an incorrect and UNSAFE procedure was being asked of it. And top of that, Kirk is about as upset with the guard's deaths as he would be if he'd misplaced a book! Not only that, but he doesn't blame the transporter operator in the least! He even states 'Then the two guards I beamed down are dead'! The error didn't even occur because the operator was being controlled by one of the kids-- it was total incompetence on his part!

Kirk just let's the three boys scurry off the bridge, after Tommy orders the kids to their stations. Gee, don't you think he should have stood in their way, or ordered the guards to block their exit? Granted, the kids would have started manipulating and controlling everyone, but that hadn't happened yet. And just what 'stations' are they going to? One turns out to be auxilary control-- wouldn't main engineering have made more sense?

Worst fake accident ever; the Linden boy clearly backs up on purpose, lining himself up with the UFP flag so he could knock it down. It didn't look like it was the least bit convincing as an accident. Maybe the kid's part Klingon? Maybe his real name is 'Klindon', which is really close to 'Klingon'!

Best thing about this episode is Gorgan's real appearance-- it still makes me cringe all these years later.

A long, long time ago, on an Earth far, far away (the '70's, actually), a local tv station here actually showed clips of this episode as a promo for the series being shown on Sunday afternoons. In fact, the clip was from Kirk and Spock in the cave, as Kirk has his anxiety attack. 79 episodes and they pick THAT scene from THIS episode? I guess the promoter wasn't a fan, or else he or she would certainy have chosen a better example of the series than that segment!

It's funny you mention that particular scene, since it was almost universally edited out of almost every syndicated version that I've ever seen. In fact, I didn't even see the scene myself until I first got around to seeing the unedited video of the epsiode in the late 1990's. I almost fell out of my chair. Wow, a substantial scene from a Trek epsiode I'd never seen before all these years! Of course, the scene is one of the most badly acted moments in all of TOS.

And one more thing; what's a tiny research colony with several children present doing with a lethal poison like cyaladin in its inventory? What possible use could such a dangerous element serve, and possibly within reach of the kids?

to create some melodrama for what otherwise would be a very dull day at a research outpost...

Remastered version aired this weekend. New orbital shots of Triacus and of the E in space once they left orbit. Sulu's flying knives were not redone.

To add on the nit about the guards being beamed down, there was no communication with the original guards about being beamed up. Were they just going to yank them off the planet? It's possible they had just set an explicit time to beam up, but what the the guards were in the middle of something?

After Kirk gives his orders to the guards beaming down, they don't acknowledge him with a "Yes, sir." This is probably the legendary tight budget at work -- less pay for no lines.

They fudge the timespan over the first commercial break. Although it seems to be just a few minutes later, McCoy has completed all his postmortem exams, graves have been dug, and tombstones manufactured. It would seem that standard procedure would be to beam the bodies up to the ship for full exams. Ten people would take McCoy a fair amount of time to fully examine.

However, the same group is still on the planet for the burial. Seems that Kirk would have brought more than two redshirts to dig, or did he, Spock and McCoy pitch in too?

Anti-nit: as mentioned above, Tommy says he knows the way to his room. If they had been beamed up while the bodies were being examined and back down for the burial, that could be how he knew.

Re: Tommy's relatives being on Marcus XII -- I think he was lying, anyway. As Kirk said, it was out of their patrol area. I would expect them to be dropped off at the Starbase, then use a civilian transport to get to Marcus XII.

>It's possible they had just set an explicit time to beam up, but >what the the guards were in the middle of something?

Like taking a leak behind a rock. Yeah, that could be embarrassing.

Anyone see the enhanced version this past weekend? I missed it. Any changes of note? Like did they replace Melvin Belli with Bruce Cutler or Ron Kuby? .

I missed the first 15 minutes- but it looked like there were no changes minus the standard flybys- plenty of planet-on-the-viewscreen shots, including one added into an extreme wide-angle of the bridge... and, while it's been a long time since I've seen the original, it looks as if they may have taken the original floating knives- which look more like illustrations than real blades- and simply placed it over a enw starfield.

No, comparing the knives shots, they're identical including the old-style stars.

Wow. That really sort of suprises me... I guess they assumed since it was a 'nightmare,' it should remain the original because that was the way Sulu 'saw' it, and it didn't HAVE to look realistic.

Thanks for the info!

Are the knives still flying away from the ship? You'd think he'd be more freaked out if the pointy ends were flying toward him, and not the handles.

Why is Sulu afraid of knives hurting the ship, anyway? Doesn't he think the deflector screens can handle them? Is he worried about them scratching the finish on the Enterprise hull?

I think you're thinking too rationally for a nightmare. :-)

I think it's supposed to be a tunnel of knives the Enterprise is moving through. That's why Sulu thinks he can't change course.

It's easy to view the 2D animation the other way -- knives flying away from the ship. I think they could have fixed this with some nice 3D knives.

You figured out what the flying knives were supposed to mean so why would they need to waste time and money fixing it when the fx works the way it is?

the thing that always annoyed me with this ep is the Kirk's line "play the chat that the kids used to summon the Gorgan" How did Kirk know the being was named that?

When Kirk and Spock got free of the children's influence, why didn't they just grab some phasers and stun the little brats? Surely, that would have reduced the Gorgan's power (and where did Kirk get this name from, aren't Gorgans the same beings that Medusa was in Greek myths).

Poor Chekov, everytime a mind altering event happens, he gets affected. This episode, the madness in the Tholian Web, and the Entity of Day Of The Dove.

The ending of this episode is similar to the Day Of The Dove. In both cases, the evil being just goes away. The crew have not stopped or destroyed them. So, does that mean they're still out there somewhere. Look out, Picard!

When the children first summon the Gorgan in private they chant HAIL HAIL fire and snow. When they are on the bridge later they chant HIGH HIGH fire and snow. - glennofnas

They also seem to be inconsistent on "far to see"/"for to see."

I forgot to add that the Enterprise was the only Starship to visit the Starnes Expedition. - John A. Lang

Also, Spock states to Kirk in the Captain's quarters that the Enterprise was indeed the first ones to visit. - John A. Lang

Actually, he said that this expedition was the first to visit Triacus.

Flying from Triacus (after convincing Uhura they were still in orbit) the Enterprise seems fuzzy & not all there.

The transporter room screen, supposedly showing what's on the main viewer has the default starfield (look for three stars like Orion's Belt), which was seen behind the Enterprise in the previous external shot.

In some episodes the transporter operator can tell at a glance what conditions they are about to beam someone into. One would think this would be an automatic reflex, but the operator here doesn't seem to realize that there is no planet below. Possibly the operator had been doing this multiple times already & had gotten lax or maybe in an offscreen moment one of the kids convinced him the planet was still there?
(Yes, Phil sort of dealt with this in the Guide, but his point focused solely with a transporter sensor & ignored any oversight by the operator. Steve also mentioned something similar up above.)

Here's an analysis of the differences between the script and the completed episode. Which still doesn't answer the question of how or why Melvin Belli got cast. Point your cursor over the picture of Belli as the Gorgon at the bottom of the page; there's an amusing paraphrase of the chant.

Like Tim McCree, while re-watching this ep, I keep wondering why Kirk or Spock don't use a phaser on the kids. Or a Vulcan Neck Pinch or two. Hell, child abuse or not, take the Ramones' advice and "beat on the brat(s)". Break their arms. Do something. Other than run around the ship.

BTW, about the infamous transporter scene, why of all things, while Tommy Starnes and the other kids have taken over the ship, do Kirk and Spock go down to the transporter room to do a changing-of-the-guards in the first place? I mean, five orphaned brats have taken over your ship, Jim, and you're worried about the security officers? Personally, reclaiming the Enterprise would be my prime, hell, my only, goal for the time being. The guards can wait.

And to think, this was the first TREK ep I ever saw.

You know, considering that Uhura had been sitting at the Communications console for what I assume has been hours, paralyzed by her "beast", I can't help but marvel that so soon after Gorgon is defeated, the lieutenant has a report for Captain Kirk to sign at the end of the ep.

In addition to providing the voice of Lucy Van Pelt in some Peanuts toons and movies, Pamelyn Ferdin also played Amy in the movie, The Beguiled. Ferdin's character has the distinction of being the first person to kill Clint Eastwood in a movie. The character is also the youngest to do so.

"Live long and prosper."

D.K. Henderson - "On the bridge, when Kirk ordered a security guard to take Sulu to his quarters, his voice sounded like gibberish to the guard. Why didn't he just say, "I can't understand you, sir."?? He just stood there like a lump! He didn't even look confused!"

and

Luigi Novi - "To confound Kirk’s orders to the security guard on the bridge to take Sulu into custody, Tommy has the guard’s perception of Kirk’s words jumbled and garbled. But rather than say, "Huh? What, captain? I can’t understand you.", he simply stands there, as if in a trance."

I think you've answered your own comment, Luigi-- Leslie is in a trance, or rather, under mind control from Tommy. I believe he came to the bridge alongside Tommy, so it's a fair assumption that before they even got to the bridge Tommy implanted a command inside Leslie's mind to ignore everyone, ignore all orders, and just stand there.

John A. Lang - " Since when does Uhura have a mirror at her station?...and creates the illusion of her being 99 yrs. old."

Actually there isn't a mirror there-- Uhura only thinks there's one there because the brats want her to see her fake reflection, like they want Sulu to see swords in space. Kirk even asks her what she's looking at and there's no mirror in sight.

Chekov and the guards that attacked Kirk and Spock are never released from the brig. Kirk just signs a report from Uhura and they go to the starbase.

Starnes was the only scientist who had his tapes examined by Kirk and Spock. There are nine other adults there-- weren't any of them scientists, and didn't any of them offer any comments or reports while on Triacus?

And most of all-- did Kirk ever get his very small bowl of ice cream??? I don't think Chapel served him one.

---

quote:

Did Kirk ever get his very small bowl of ice cream???

---

ADAM: But, he never ate it. Not even one spoonful.

That's because of continuity in eating scenes. If the actors actually eat the food, the crew have to make it again for new takes and that frays tempers.

Stargate: SG-1 had an episode (Window of Opportunity) where they had a "Froot Loop Wrangler" to make sure that the cereal was consistent between takes.

Why is Sulu so afraid of the swords? Does he think they're going to pierce the ship's hull?

Why is Sulu so afraid of the swords? Does he think they're going to pierce the ship's hull?

We're looking at a BIWLC (Because It Would Look Cool) thing here.

He's being forced to imagine the swords being there, is it really such a stretch to consider the fear is forced to?

Well, we only saw those guards for that one scene. None of them were really developed much, even the seemingly immortal Mr. Leslie.

As Will mentioned in 2003, their deaths were completely brushed off, and Kirk didn't order the ship to turn around and recover the bodies. Very callous.
Or bad writing.

Phil actually talked about the two security guards stranded on Triacus in his book.

Hey, Kirk, go back and pick up those poor guys before they starve to death.

In 2014, I didn't think Kirk ever got his ice cream. I stand corrected. You can see Chapel (a shot of her from just her hips) return to the table, supposedly with Kirk's ice cream, which he doesn't eat.

10 parents, and 2 security guards-- 12 needless deaths. Yikes!

McCoy warned Kirk against traumatizing the kids with questions about their parent's deaths.
So what does he do? He shows their sprawled lifeless bodies and grave stones on a viewscreen for them to look at and be traumatized for the rest of their lives for what they've done.

At the beginning of the episode it was said all life on Triacus was destroyed by a natural catastrophe, but later, Spock says that the people of Triacus (the marauders) were destroyed by the people they preyed on.
Which is it? Natural disaster or an attack?

McCoy warned Kirk against traumatizing the kids with questions about their parent's deaths.
So what does he do? He shows their sprawled lifeless bodies and grave stones on a viewscreen for them to look at and be traumatized for the rest of their lives for what they've done.

Well, he had to do SOMEthing to break Gorgan's hold on them.

And what happened to Gorgan? He was forced off the ship, but is still moping around out there somewhere(the same could be said for the Day Of The Dove entity). Is he now someone else's problem.

I know they don't use money in the Federation, too bad, because some therapist would get rich off treating those kids.

The headstones for the adults in the Starnes party got cut quickly enough; I guess the Enterprise carries a stone mason. When my mom passed away in 2010, it took months for the headstone to get made and placed. And, it took months for the names of my dad and brother, who were laid to rest in the same grave, to be added to the headstone after their deaths.

And why did they bury those people on that rock, in the middle of nowhere.

Shouldn't the bodies have been taken to the nearest Starbase, where arrangements could be made to return them to Earth (or whatever Federation world they came from)?

Why didn't they used that intruder control system that we saw in Space Seed? Kirk, Spock, and McCoy secure themselves in a room, gas the rest of the ship, knocking everyone out, and then sort it all out.

McCoy can sedate the brats, before the gas wears off.

Answer: SSS (Short Show Syndrome).

As an addition to the comments about the parent's burial, the sky is the same near-dusk deep blue when they beam down and when the burial takes place.
Maybe Triacus is a big planet and the days and nights are reeeeally long.

Not all the planets would have the same rotation speed as Earth.

If that's true, imagine bed time with those kids?

Mr. Starnes: Okay, Tommy, it's bedtime.
Tommy; But, Daaad, it's only 28 o'clock! It's the weekend and Mom said I could stay up until 30 o'clock!

Funny.

The redshirt who got zapped into oblivion by a lightning bolt in "The Apple" comes back to life in this episode.

Identical twin?

Clone?

Shape Shifter?

Transporter clone?

All of the above?

D^mn that Section 31!

Two of the actors who played the kids, (Pam Ferdin and Brian Tochi), ended up co-starring on a Saturday morning live action show called Space Academy, in 1977.

Playing the Commander of said Academy was Jonathan Harris AKA Dr. Smith.