I think it's great that Sci-Fi is running the original Star Trek promos at the end of each night's show, cause they're new ground for nitpickers. Case in point: the promo for this episode has Kirk identifying two Argelian men, followed by the Chancellor saying "they were to be married". Now of course, the chancellor is referring to one of the men and the slain dancer, but from Kirk's previous statement, it sounds like the two guys are getting hitched!

Two Nits:

1) Redjac feeds off of fear. Kirk know this. So why does keep Sulu never mind and man his post. That would make him fear the unknown.

2) Why can't Kirk go down to the bar where the women are so... by himself? Does he need a chaperone or something ? (These are both from my Dad)

Piglet as Jack the Ripper. Now there's food for thought.
I wish they would have explained the weird pictures on the monitors. They weren't especially frightening, and even if they were, the crew could just turn them off. In the James Blish story, they were described as visions of Hell--the creature's birthplace. I suppose that if Roddenberry thought that they didn't really need a belief in God, they didn't need Hell, either. Although if they didn't believe in God, then why do they have a chapel on the ship? (Balance of Terror.)

I find it a little frightening that Kirk tells Sulu to remain at his post. The last thing I'd want is people in his condition sitting in front of REALLY pretty buttons, knobs, and switches. You're just asking for more trouble than you already have.

GUEST STAR PATROL (Piglet's Revenge!)

John Fiedler (Hengist) was, as noted, the voice of Piglet, but also appeared in the film "The Odd Couple", and played Emil Peterson on "The Bob Newhart Show".

My favorite John Fiedler role was as J. Nobel Daggett in True Grit, which by the way had at least 4 other TOS guest stars: Miri, Professor Crater, Plasus, and Wyatt Earp.

Doesn't Wyatt Earp count twice? He was the first character we see in STV, wasn't he?

First actor, I mean. Oh, you know what I mean.

Just wondering, is it really necessary to divert almost 1 million tons of starship to save Mr. Scott's libido? The teaser makes it sound like that is the only reason the Enterprise was at Argilius. (IMHO, McCoy, Kirk, possibly even Scotty was using Scotty's injury as an excuse for shore leave.)

Argelius is the only strategic ship port in the whole quadrant. Gosh, didn't they also say that about Organia in Errand Of Mercy and Eminiar VII & Vendikar in A Taste Of Armageddon?

McCoy goes out to check the lock, comes back and says, "It would be hard to tell if the lock had been picked, even with the tricorder." So, Doctor McCoy just went out and looked at the lock? Since when has McCoy been a locksmith? ("And, Bones, how do you pick a lock with a tricorder?" Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Spock says that humans and humanoids only make up a small portion of life. Well, you couldn't tell by watching Star Trek.

If I heard correctly when they are tracing Redjac's steps, it went from Earth, to some colonies to Alpha Eridanus (87 light years away) and it was said to be a straight line. (Of course, that would mean there are stars between Earth and Alpha Eridanus, in which case we wouldn't be able to see Alpha Eridanus.) Then I believe it went to Deneb II practically on the other side of the sky and almost 2,000 light years away, then to Rigel IV. It sure believed in putting a lot of distance between its various killing grounds.

Richie: Maybe the reason why Kirk can't go alone is that the women are so... that they are too much for one man alone?

>Spock says that humans and humanoids only make up a small portion of life. Well, you couldn't tell by watching Star Trek.>

I think Spock was refering to all live in the known universe; not just intelligent life.

Just before Sybo performs the "seance", Spock calls down to Kirk to tell him that while he finds the Argellian empathic contact to be an interesting phenomenon, he does not think it is sound. Yet, later during the hearing on the Enterprise, Spock says that the sensitivities of certain Argellian women is a documented fact (whatever that means). He doesn't precisely contradict himself, but it sure sounds like he's changed his opinion for no good reason.

At one point during the hearing, Kirk says that everything that they've uncovered points to Jack the Ripper. This is a bit of a stretch, since all they did was ask the computer for a meaning of the word Redjac.

"Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a locksmith."

It was pretty dumb of Kirk and Spock to enter a turbolift, fully knowing the entity was controlling the ships computer systems.

Yes, they should have taken the stairs. ;-)

Even if they did use the Jefferies Tubes, couldn't Redjac have closed the hatches to trap them? (I assume that there must be some kind of emergency doors, or hatches, inthe tubes in case of a hull breach or noxious gas leak.) Or possibly Redjac could intentionally blow out some system so that Kirk & Spock are threatened by 10,000 volts of electricity.

This ep establishes that the Federation has some very sophisticated technology for collecting evidence. Not that anybody seems to care very much...probably because the 'psychotricorder' alone would have produced Short Show Syndrome in 'Court-Martial', 'The Trouble With Tribbles' and the NextGen ep 'A Matter of Perspective', among others.
Speaking of which...so the first psychotricorder experiment went awry when Lt. Tracy was killed. Evidently she was the only person in the whole Federation who knew how to operate the thing, because nobody bothers to try the procedure on Scotty a second time.
And why couldn't Spock have simply mind-melded w/Scotty? I know, it's a deeply personal yada yada yada, but 'Dagger of the Mind' seems to indicate that Spock has no difficulty with mind-melding w/mentally disturbed strangers...so why not with a man he considers a friend?

Sorry sorry - I forgot that Kirk does in fact mention that they'll try the psychotricorder test a second time, after the hearing. Which actually raises another nit: If the test was supposed to produce a clear record of everything that happened to Scotty in the last 24 hours, why go to the trouble of a hearing? Or at least, why not run the tricorder test first, and question the others based on any inconsistencies later?

The interrogation chair from "Court Martial" returns in this episode

Funny thought...

At times Mr. Hengist (John Fiedler) sounds like Sterling Holloway...the voice of Winnie the Pooh!....

"Mr. Scott is guilty...oh bother. Could you pass me some hunny?"

Interesting question...

Was Mr. Hengist dead all along in this episode and kept alive all the time and his body was being used by Redjac?

They certainly implied it.

Is this planet a part of the Federation?

If so, someone should get the authorities and arrest the dude in the turban. He said he's been playing for the belly dancer since she was a little girl (I forget what age) Isn't that child exploitation? Isn't it illegal?

Note: The women here must be REALLY erotic, because 2 times Kirk & McCoy talk about going to a place "where the women are so... " and that's it... they never finish the sentence!

It could be some more wholesome type of dancing.

Yeah...I always got the mental image of a (fully-dressed!) little girl just sort of fooling around with the music, the way kids do, as something fun to do with her dad - hence dad gets all choky, remembering it.
I mean, even on a pleasure planet they wouldn't sink THAT low...would they?

Ya' never know...look at Vietnam, Korea, and other 3rd world countries....they exploit their children, even prostituting them for $$$$!

Yeah, but who would call Earth a Pleasure Planet?

I always assumed that Hengist was really dead and his body was used by Redjac. Does that make Redjac a murderer or a grave robber?
Forward thinking-was David Warner acting in 1967? (The earliest I remember him was "Straw Dogs" in '71.) Maybe he should have been cast as Redjac/Hengist. He was Jack the Ripper in Nick Meyer's "Time After Time." Of course, then you eliminate the plot point of the mousy-type being the real killer.

I thought he was more of a Piglet-type. ;-)

During the seance, the members include Kirk, McCoy, Hengist, and Jarvis. Why are they there? Kirk, McCoy, and Jarvis are obviously innocent (at least as far as Lt.Tracy is concerned), but why is Hengist a part? I know he's the murderer, but to everyone else he's just an administrator.

Well, from the script it seems like Sybo's getting her information from any source possible - even trying to get impressions off the murder knife.
Maybe Kirk and McCoy are there as sort of psychic 'character witnesses' for Scotty? At the very least, the duo were the first at the scene of Kara's murder and may have valuable insights stuck somewhere in their subconsciouses. (And barring all else, the Captain would probably insist on being present just on general principles. Ditto McCoy.)

And Hengist, in character as an officious official, probably just pulled rank to make sure he was at the seance. After all, what do the Argelians know from police procedure? ("Really, sir, if you insist on this highly archaic nonsense, duty requires I must be present to record any evidence uncovered...")

Jarvis...you got me there. Emotional support for his wife, maybe?

Re; Kirk, McCoy, and Jarvis your ideas make sense
Hengist must have thought Sybo was a fake, considering she came that close to pointing the finger at him, but still managed to get his former identities right.
I neglected to mention that when Kirk asks McCoy if only he and Jarvis haven't been innoculated, it sounds like Shatner pronounces it as 'Javis'.

Hengist seems to be "the little brother that got away" from the GOD being at the center of the galaxy (ST5). If GOD had gotten off the planet at the center of the galaxy, I think he'd have become just like Hengist.

The idea that Redjac was Jack the Ripper is inconsistent with the Ripper's crimes. The Ripper, like many other serial killers, committed his crimes out of a pathological hatred of women/sexual pathology. All five of his victims were prostiutes. His victims in this episodes span all walks of life, and it's established here that he kills to feed off his victim's fear. If that's his motive, he could've killed ANYONE in Whitechapel in 1888, not just prostitutes.

Well, the Borg changed their modus operandi several times in the years since "Encounter at Farpoint," so perhaps in the few hundred years Redjac (Jack the Ripper) evolved too.

Or better yet, Redjac got tired of killing prostitutes only and went after other women too...to feed on their fear as well.

Redjac sounds like Kirk's kind of guy....."Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am!"

Sorry, guys, I remain unconvinced!

And the Borg first appeared in Q Who, not Encounter at Farpoint. Don't worry, I understood your point, Margie.

There's one more good reason Redjac might have gone after the Whitechapel prostitutes - the ease of the hunt. He had a lot better chance of finding prey - and getting away with it - among vagrant street women than among the snug, closely-chaperoned upper classes.

And it makes sense that he'd go after women first. Yes, Spock's generalizations about us being 'more easily terrified' are silly, but Sybo had earlier spoken of the creature's 'hatred for women'. (Not to mention that a man used to manual labour would probably put up far more of a fight than a drunken woman could.)

Besides, we don't know how long Redjac has been at this, but chances are pretty good he's picked up a few tricks along the way. Why not (repulsive as it is even for me to type) spend a few months posing as a sexual serial killer, the better to inspire deep, unreasoning terror in straitlaced Victorian hearts? Remember that the actual Jack had all London in the grip of a very real panic for awhile - and this ep seems to indicate that Redjac can feed off the fear that comes from the idea of being killed, not just that generated during the act itself.

Not bad. But why would an energy being feel antipathy towards one particular gender of corporeal beings?

The trance scene would have been a more believable one if Sybo had said, "Boratis ... Redjac ... Tesla". Just at the climax of the scene, the lights go out!

>And the Borg first appeared in Q Who, not Encounter at Farpoint. <

D'oh! (smacks self in head) I knew that, really I did!

The high prefect of Argelius is called "Jaris", "Jarvis" and "Javis" by others at various times in the episode.

Jarvis' interior decorators must be from Vulcan...look carefully at the ring of tiles with the urn of fire in the middle.....the ring of tiles is the same ring of tiles that was at the ceremonial mating area on Vulcan in "Amok Time"
(Same symbols too)

CAMERA ANGLE KUDOS:

The overhead shot of the seance room is picture-perfect!

When Kirk and Spock enter the turbolift and it goes haywire, Spock comments "Our friends learn quickly". Friends?? I though there was only one beastie.

Scottie has moved - Blish quotes him as calling himself a Glaswegian pubcrawler, in the ep he was an Aberdeen pubcrawler. The accent certainly isn't Glasgow.. any Aberdonians care to comment?

Spock assigned the Enterprise's computer to the task of computing the "exact" value of Pi. This was to drive out the "Hengist" entity from the computer banks. However, wouldn't the computer realize that the value of Pi was (as far as is known) a number with no absolute solution, and therefore stop computing? Even if it was to take literally Spock's command to "compute to the last digit", how much memory do you need to store a string of several billion digits or so? I'm just having trouble figuring out why the computer needed to use up so much RAM (so-to-speak) so quickly in computing this number ...

And WHY would the memory banks filling up with numbers drive out the entity anyway? Isn't the computer's memory just a collection of 1's and 0's in the first place? If the entity was comfortable in the computer's memory before the calculation began ...

Maybe Redjac was a mathophobe & couldn't stand the idea of being stuck in a place that was doing math for, quite possibly, forever?

I know I would have run like a bat out of hell.

I don't remember the exact dialogue from the ep, but it had always led me to assume that Spock modified the computer (disabled the 'really-pointless-command' failsafe, maybe? ) to a) force the computer to calculate pi and b) force it to use 'all it's resources' on the problem.
In other words, the idea wasn't that Redjac wouldn't have any room, it was that it wouldn't have access to any of the computer's functions, since they were all tied up on the pi thing.

Remember kerriem, this ep was written in the 60's, which, I believe, was before computers could do multi-tasking.
Although that doesn't explain why multi-tasking would disappear by the 23rd century.
(Probably all those people mucking up the time stream.)

Contrary to modern opinions, everything that's "new" in PCs was old hat by the late '60s in the big iron (mainframe) world.

This includes: multitasking, virtual memory, etc...

OK

For such a long-lived entity Redjac seems to have committed mass murder very sporadically. Seems to me that from the time he was Jack The Ripper to Mr.Henghist he would have killed thousands of people.

Maybe he wasn't very hungry very often.

Why didn't Kirk ask Spock to use the Vulcan Mind Meld on Scott?

Good question, John A. - I wondered that too a few posts up.

As I said at the time, even granted that Spock has qualms about using the mind-meld, how is this situation different from the one in 'Dagger of the Mind'?

After they beam back to the ship for the inquest. Kirk strikes Hengist. Note there is nobody behind Kirk in the closeup when he strikes Hengist, But when they show the long shot there is a crewwoman standing in the corner. Also. When Spock helps Kirk subdue Hengist on the floor, Spocks foot is only about 12 inches from the door. When they cut to closeup, Spock is now about 5 feet from the door. Bad Scene Altogether.

maybe Kirk couldn't go alone to the women cause he wanted to go tagsies with his shipmates, like the old sailor traditions...

McCoy was obviously the 'designated driver' to get Kirk home safe and sound after a very special night. No designated driver = no admittance.

I know this is a couple of years late, but I wanted to address the people who question that the dancer would have been belly dancing since she was a little girl.

These people are obviously under the erronous impression that belly dancing is an "adult" form of entertainment. I can assure you it is not. My sister belongs to a belly dance company; it is folk dance, not stag party dance. There are prepubescent girls in the classes, and they do indeed perform.

Very true, Mark, and thanks for the information. But...the point under debate wasn't so much the style of dance as it was the very adult setting that this little girl was potentially dancing in.

I think it's reasonable to assume, though, that her dad was training her privately at home, or in a class as you suggest.

I'll have to see the episode again. I recall the venue in which she was dancing in the episode to be rather cafe-like, and not at all different than the restaurants in which the professional belly dancers around here dance.

Granted, most belly dancers would not go for a walk alone with a man they had met at their venue that day. That certainly is quite a difference between Argelius and here. :0) But that's because we live in a world where laws against violent crime have actually been needed recently.

I recall the venue in which she was dancing in the episode to be rather cafe-like, and not at all different than the restaurants in which the professional belly dancers around here dance.

Mmmmmm...except that this isn't an avowed 'pleasure planet' on which it seems to be the rule that women are more or less available for the taking.

Is there any evidence that this woman was "available for the taking," other than the presumptive attitudes of the Starfleet officers? It's quite possible that if Scotty had tried anything, she would have shoved her zills where the sun don't shine.

The fact that Kirk kept referring to what I presume was a brothel doesn't count, either. There are brothels on this planet too. :0)

True, but even though McCoy calls Argelius a 'completely hedonistic society', I find it hard to believe that every single person occupies their time for pleasure and not work and supporting their families.

Is there any evidence that this woman was "available for the taking," other than the presumptive attitudes of the Starfleet officers?

Yes - the dark look on her father's face when he says his daughter told him her Argelian boyfriend was jealous (ie. possessive) of her.
OK, his isn't the most subtle of performances to begin with...he also keeps pausing oh-so-dramatically before the word...but the point's still valid, since at his accusation Jaris looks upset too and tells Kirk '[this emotion] is so strongly discouraged here,' or words to that effect. Then the boyfriend himself goes all apologetic and says he couldn't help it.

I interpret all this to mean that chances are pretty good Argelian women consider themselves fairly open to possibilities, at least.

EQUIPMENT ODDITY: When Spock grabs & twists the handle inside the Turbolift, it does not light up until after the "free fall" incident...normally, the lights on the handle come on when someone grabs it and twists it.

ALSO...why didn't they have Spock do a Vulcan mind meld on Scott? That is considered evidence too ya know!

OOPS! I asked the question about the Vulcan mind meld before. Sorry. Disregard.

When Kirk & McCoy leave the dance hall, they walk out into the fog. A man is seen walking behind them dressed in a blue shirt...if I am not mistaken, that's the same blue shirt that Finnegan wore on "Shore Leave"

NIT: Uhura is missing from this episode.
Why is it a nit? BISS!*

(*=Because I Said So)

No matter what you say, the absence of a character is NOT a nit. It actually shows they have off duty time. The only time it's a nit is when Sulu was there at the beginning of "I, Mudd" and then vanished for the rest of the episode.

I agree with Rene on that one, John. These people can't be manning their posts 24/7, no matter if that's the way it appears to be in the various series.

John A., really, a joke's a joke and you've taken this one a little bit too far. Say 'Uhura's not in this ep and it bugs me', fine, but as the guys say and have said in the past, it's not a nit in any shape or form.

Sorry. I'll try & tone it down.

I've just re-read James Blish's adaptation of this ep, and a few things have occured to me.

When everyone thought Scotty committed the murders, why didn't anyone inquire as to where he got the knife? I would imagine that any good police investigation would involve tracing the origin of the murder weapon, especially on a planet where such crimes no longer exist.

In part one of "The Menagerie", McCoy notes that science can tap into every organ except the brain, or words to that effect. Yet, IIRC, in this ep, they have a computer through which they can see the recent events of a person's life as etched into his brain (something like that). Medical science should did change in two seasons, didn't it?

I realize that someone else may have brought those points up before I have and my post is redundant. But I thought I'd mention them just in case.

Also interesting since the Federation apparently had a Universal Translator, which according to Metamorphosis reads minds, during the first season.

WRITER PATROL
This episode was written by "Psycho" author Robert Bloch.

I am in no way accusing the late, great Jerome Bixby of plagiarism (he was too good to need to plagiarize), but, really, the seeds of "Day of The Dove" are sown in this episode, especially the solution (stoned/good spirits defeat the bad entity).

Just an observation.

Sir Rhosis

RIP John Fiedler

Who?

The actor that played Hengist.

oh.

It was kind of sad watching this episode on DVD today so soon after James Doohans death

RUMINATION: McCoy adds that taking Scotty to Argelius was his "prescription" for Scotty's injury.

McCoy is my kind of doctor!

The remasterers had one of their easiest jobs so far -- opening and closing orbital shots. They might have replaced the viewscreen Redjac images, but didn't.

Doohan hiding his right hand creates a bit of a continuity error. The close-ups of the five-fingered hand show it flat on the chair's sensor, but the long shots have it curled around the edge of it.

I realize it's been a while since I've seen the ep, but it's one of my faves, so I'm familiar with it. Doesn't someone (Spock?) at one point say that Argelius would be an easy hunting grounds for the creature? Do they consider the Argelians not terribly bright? They obviously have a highly constructed society based around a philosophy. They kept the "death by slow torture" punishment on the books. This would suggest to me that they're pretty serious about people not upsetting thier society.

I know that Redjac is the official spelling, but throughout most of the episode, it sounds like everyone (especially Sybo) are saying "Rejec" or something like it. It also sounds as if the last one is more like Keslack than Tesla.

Redjac is said to be a synonym for Jack the Ripper. I've never heard this term, did some historian at some point decide to re-name Jack The Ripper? There was no way of knowing up until this episode that Jack the Ripper was anything but a serial killer.

In the TNG episode "Darmok" when the computer is asked for the meaning of "Darmok" and "Jalad" and it starts going through a huge list of homophones from various languages. THis makes sense, especially since the interface is entirely verbal. When they ask the computer what Redjac is, shouldn't it start with something like, "A frozen desert on Altus V. . .a score of 17 points in the Klingon card game Tofth-Uk. . . etc?

I do disagree, however, with some of the difficulties y'all seem to be having with the Argelian society. A couple of points:

1) First of all, tehy seem to be formed around some kind of hedonistic philsophy planet-wide. WHy is this so difficult to see? The ST universe presents us with a lot of planets/cultures that are based around a specific philosophy. Vulcan, for example, if nothing else. When one looks at it neutrally, Vulcan is essentially a theocracy based around the teachings of a single spiritual leader. THe Klingons (at least by the time the TNG rolls around) are similiar in following the teachings of Kahless, but less so. These are two of the most important groups besides Starfleet/Earth. Why should it be so strange the Argelians have a similar system?

2) McCoy refers to them as "an almost entirely hedonistic society." Someone suggested that this would prevent them from being able to function in the day to day world and feed thier families, etc. Not necessarily. Just because one feels that seeking pleasure is (the most important or only, of simply a viable) goal in life, does not mean that one cannot function in the daily world. This holds true whether or not we are using "hedonist" in the modern or classic sense. Personally, my own philosophy takes large chucks from the hedonist philosophy, and I have no problems holding down a job, functioning in life, etc. If the Argelians follow the teachings of the classical hedonists (Astrippus, Epicurus, etc) this would hold even more true, as they also believed in moderation. More of a philosophy of avoiding pain, rather than seeking pleasure. THe basic (frist) tenent of hedonism was actually that you cannot fail to know what you percieve. Additionally, the idea that evil and violence are rooted in displeasure goes back to ancient Egypt. Certainly that was a stable society, and a very ordered one at that, in most cases.

3) Not only is belly dancing not intrinsically "adult" in nature, but I seriously doubt that that is the only form of dancing that she knows. She is the daughter or a musician with a talent for dancing. She probably can do 90% of the dances on Argelius, and 20 planets around. I see nothing in the least bit creepy about someone who is a musician encouraging thier daughter to dance, or playing music for her to dance to at a young age. I don't even find it the slightest bit unusual. If he *didn't*, that would be strange.

4) I see it as entirely logical that jealousy, including towards a significant other would be anathema on Argelius. I was watching the ep one time with someone who thought it odd (and creepy) that the dancer's father(DO they ever say her name, I can't remember it.) would find this a non-desirable trait in his daughter's significant other. We have to remember the culture. An Argelian who disapproves of his daughter's love interest because he is prone to jealousy or even uptight or stuffy, would be the same as anyone else who disapproved of someone who is non-conformist in the society. If a Vulcan disliked his daughter's signficant other because they were "illogical, emotional, and unintelligent" or a Klingon because they were "cowardly, weak, and dishonorable," would we find that strange? In all cases, this is a case of the person turning thier back on what thier society values. SO what about the daughter herself? IF she believes in and is a part of the Argelian "hedonistic" culture why would that disturb her father? (The person I was watching this with also had trouble with this point.) She would be acting in the same way in the soceity that most of the society does. The way *he* does, the way her mother does or did, same with any siblings. Nothing unusual or even remarkable would be seen about it. I think that the musician's reactions are spot on.

5) The women being "there for the taking." Again, you're missing the fact that it's a separate culture. If the people of Argelius are non-monogamous or such, this would be entirely normal in thier society. Thus, jealousy would be a big problem, and since the Argelians seem to value stablity *a lot*, it would definately be highly discouraged. That is a big step from teh women being "there for the taking." They would see nothing wrong with hooking up with a hunky off-planet visitor, or vice versa. THis may make Argelius a popular planet for tourism or shore-leave, but it doesn't make it a pleasure planet like Riza from TNG, which seems like a a combination beach-resort/brothel, a specific commercial enterprise. The Argelians probably find it slightly humorous that off-worlders seem to value thier planet so. (And probably is it as proof of the rightness of thier societal philosophy, "Look at all these repressed off-worlders! Well, it's good buisness for the bars. . .") It seems to be me, from my perspective, that if someone off-world did force themselves on a unwilling Argelian, assume they didn't get kicked and kicked hard on the spot, it would be "death by slow torture" time as soon as they were caught.

Wow, that was long-winded. :-)

NANJAO: The musical instruments used by the orchestra during the dance are the same ones used by the orchestra in "The Cage" (The Menagerie)

According to "Memory Alpha", Eddie Paskey (Mr. Leslie) allowed his hand to be filmed when Scotty took the stand and the lie detector went off.

1) As soon as Scotty was a suspect down on that planet, he should have been in handcuffs, or locked up in a cage, or in a cell with a force field.

It was RIDICULOUS the opportunities that Scotty (his body, out of his mind) had to reoffend in this story.

2) Also, plot-wise, if I remember, Captain Kirk
was all to quick to throw Scotty away to the
natives of the planet.

Robert Bloch updated his short story, Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper, for this episode.

The short story had been written by Mr. Bloch about twenty years earlier. It dealt with Jack The Ripper being alive and killing in 1940's Chicago. The premise was that Jack's killings were in fact sacrifices to the Dark Gods, which gave him immortality, thus his being still active nearly sixty years after 1888.

Of course, for Trek, Mr. Bloch took out the supernatural elements and made the Ripper into a non-human entity. Same premise though, the Ripper still being active years, centuries after 1888.

Of course, one has to wonder how many planets the Ripper visited, before coming to Earth. Possibly, hundreds, even thousands. A since the pre-Earth planet happened centuries before, the Federation would have no knowledge of them.

"Yours Truly Jack the Ripper" was adapted for Boris Korloff's Thriller anthology series, which did a lot of adaptation of Bloch's works. Bloch also used another of his short stories as the genesis for "Catspw".

Mr.Henghist, even though he's a Rigelian, would have to be aware of the human/Earth calendar, for him to say that Jack the Ripper 'lived hundreds of years ago', after it's stated that Jack existed in the 19th century, and the Federation is presently in the 23rd. Or was that 'Jack' talking through Henghist?

And speaking of Henghist...
After Kirk punches him, and apparently 'kills' him, McCoy asks for Scotty's help to pick up Henghist's corpse and slump it on top of the table. Does this seem right? Shouldn't they either (A), leave the body on the floor, and /or (B) have someone from sickbay remove the body? It's still there, supposedly decomposing in front of everyone, after Kirk and Spock go up to the bridge, program the computer and have everyone drugged with the happy serum. Never really thought about it, but that's just gross!

Of course, it was all done for the shock value of Jack transferring from Jarvis to Henghist, so he could threaten the yeoman, but logical? Not at all.

I don't think Kirk feels it's proper to go down to Argelius alone, while his crew is forced to remain aboard ship, all drugged-up. At the very least, they have to deal with the Argelian passengers and return them to the planet, as well as explain that it was Jack the Ripper and not Scotty who was the murderer. In fact, one would hope that Jarvis would recall being possessed by Jack, so that he'll believe Scotty's story, since he never saw Henghist beamed into space.

Tania Lemani, who played harem dancer Kara in this episode, played Carla, a harem dancer 2 years ealier in 1965 in a 'Get Smart' episode called 'Survival of the Fattest', but her last name was spelt as 'Lemoni'. Judging by her skill at exotic dancing in 'Get Smart', I'm sure that helped her get this part.
It's weird that she played characters with the names Kara and Carla, which sound so alike.

Here's a page from the blog "Shatner's Toupee", in which Tania Lemani recounts a dinner date (and more) with The Shat. Shatner didn't wear his toupee that night, and there's a recreation of what he might have looked like without it at the time. (I thought The Shat was married in mid-'67, when the episode was filmed. Maybe his marriage was on the rocks than. Or not. Also, the theme for the date could have been "One Toke Over The Line". )

There were two comic sequels to this story, both in which Redjac returned.

The first was a DC comics one, back in the 1980's. The second, written about twenty years later, pitted Redjac against the TNG crew.

As far as I know, Redjac has yet to turn up in any of the Trek novels (he's appeared in the comics, as I've noted above).

Time that was rectified. Hey, Greg Cox, are you listening??

Questioning Scott at the trial, Kirk mispronounces the dancer's name as 'Tara', instead of 'Kara'.
Scotty said that Lt. Tracy was taking her readings, and then he found himself with Kirk, McCoy, and Jaris. Shouldn't the tricorder Tracy was using have some kind of unusual recordings, either computer data or sound that they could check to see what happened between Scotty and Tracy?
If Hengist's body jumps dead when Redjac leaves it, wouldn't the two people holding Hengist's hands have felt him slump in the dark, even for a few moments in the dark during the séance, when Scotty senses some 'thing'?
Watch Henhist's reaction as they narrow in on the name of Jack The Ripper. At first it looked to me like he was surprised that they'd found out who he was, but now it almost looks like Hengist (as Redjac) begins to recall the memory of his former identity as 'Jack The Ripper'.

I'll no doubt be giving this episode a watch, as we move into the Halloween season.

I'll no doubt be giving this episode a watch, as we move into the Halloween season.

Sounds like a good idea. IIRC, H&I ran it within the last two weeks. Keep in mind that "Catspaw" was the designated Halloween episode. Both, of course, were written by fright master Robert Bloch.

I'll watch this on Halloween, along with Catspaw.

Both written by Robert Bloch.

McCoy tells Kirk that the blow to Scotty's head could have caused total resentment towards women. If it had been some Italian guy, would that mean that Scotty would have a total resentment towards Italians?

Whenever Hengist took the knife in Jarvis's home, we didn't see it. Kirk, Jarvis, and Hengist appear in the room with the round seance table in the foreground, and there's no knife there, nor does Hengist ever get close to it, so he must have grabbed it before the three of them returned to the room.

Or Redjac used is hypnotic powers to blind them from seeing him take the knife.