Perhaps the Federation should have considered using the planet from this episode (I can't recall the planet's name) to assist the Son'a ("Star Trek Insurrection") in their efforts to rejuvenate themselves.

GUEST STAR PATROL
Jill Ireland (Leila) was the wife of action star Charles Bronson, and acted with him. She was also the wife of British actor David McCallum.

Frank Overton (Sandoval) was on Twilight Zone a couple of times in the episodes "Walking Distance" and "Mute".

Why would the colonists, even if they were vegetarians, have no animals? I would think sheep would be valuable for their wool.

Also, if bees and other insects were not present, how would the plants have pollinated?

Most plants can pollinate without insects, just not as effectively.

hans where you paying attention? the sheep if they had them were killed by the radiation

If the spores could protect the colonists from the radiation, why wouldn't they protect sheep and other animals also? The spores must be speciesists.

Apparently so; remember how violent Spock's reaction was? Also, remember that diseases that affect animals do not neccesarily affect humans. I'm sure the same could be said for alien spores.

In "The Galileo Seven" kelowitz was referred to as a Lieutenant Commander. We didn`t see his sleeve insignia in that episode, but now we do and it`s that of a Lieutenant.

In his second log recording Kirk calls the planet Omicron III instead of Omicron Ceti III.

At one point in the first half of the episode a guy in a red shirt can be seen, but the Starfleet crewmembers on the palnet at this point are Kirk (gold shirt), Spock (blue shirt), McCoy (blue shirt), Sulu (gold shirt), Kelowitz (blue shirt) and DeSalle (gold shirt).

Maybe Kelowitz got busted for flubbing the Taurus II mission!

Those colonists could have used some sheep if you catch my drift. Cows too. Not only will you have a new McDonald's on a paradise planet, you won't have to nuke them, they're already erradiated!
Good point HansT, just another example of Star Trek repeating old ground.

I made a mistake. kelowitz was referred to as a Lieutenant.

Starfleet wants these people removed because of Berthold radiation? What about the fact that they are on a planet orbiting Omicron Ceti a.k.a. Mira the Wonderful, a long period variable star? I don't know about you, but I would be hesitant to colonize a planet orbiting a star that occasionally flares up.

Why are these buildings made out of wood, brick and tile? I should think that by the 23rd century they would have better and more efficient building material that would also be eco-friendly.

Sulu says, that when it comes to farms he wouldn't know what's right or wrong. As a botanist, one would think that Sulu should know something about what belongs on some types of farms?

Sandoval says that the planet has a moderate climate, but I don't see how that is possible since Omicron Ceti is a variable red star. It has a minimum surface temperature of about 1,900 degrees K to a maximum of 2,600 degrees K. Also Omicron Ceti has a blue dwarf companion which is also variable. Our sun is a stable star and Earth's temperature fluctuates up and down.

Starfleet orders the colony to be removed, but isn't a colony an independent group? Neither Starfleet or the Federation has bothered contacting this planet for 3 years and when they finally deign to contact them, it's to force them off of their land? If Starfleet cared anything for these colonists one would assume that they would make sub-space radio contact once in a while. (Or do those Starfleet Admirals get confused trying to figure out the time difference? "Let's see it's 1500 hours, Monday, here on Earth so on Omicron Ceti it would be 0300 hours and Wednesday, or is it Thursday? Oh stuff it, they can call me if it's so important!") Of course, the NextGen episode Conspiracy gives us a clue to the real reason Starfleet wanted these colonists out of there. In that episode it is revealed that the Dytallix Mining Company owns the mining rights to some planets orbiting the star Mira, also known as Omicron Ceti.

To become Captain, wouldn't you think that someone would have to have a familiarity with every system on the ship? So why can't Kirk fix the sabotaged communication system? ("That's women's work!")

Spock hits and bends the metal bar that Kirk holds, but doesn't Kirk have to apply equal force to hold the ends of the bar steady??? I would assume that since Spock is stronger than Kirk, when he hits the bar it should push Kirk's arms back, unless the metal is soft to begin with.

Spock and Sandoval tell Kirk that the plants travel through space and the spores inhabit Human hosts. Problem one, the conditions of space are much different than the conditions of a planet: unfiltered radiation; intense cold; a vacuum trying to pull the plants apart, then when the plant comes to a planet it has to deal with the heat of entry; increasing pressure; a crash landing; and then it has to find a suitable host, then once it has found a suitable host, then how does it get back into space to start the cycle over again? Problem two if it only inhabits human hosts then how did the plants survive before this?

What do the spores get out of this relationship? Normally spores get expelled so they can be carried to other areas where they grow into new plants. If an animal inhales the spores, then sometimes that animal dies and the new plants grow out of it. This spore makes people 'happy' and heals them from sickness and injury, but apparently it stays alive, but doesn't 'take root' like it's supposed to and it is only when someone gets angry that the spores die. That doesn't make any sense. For the spores to make the people healthy and happy implies that the body absorbs and/or digests the spore, which would seem to kill the spores. If the spores stay alive, they should take root, which means that the people shouldn't stay healthy, because the plants should be absorbing nutrients from the people. If the spores are not absorbed or they don't take root, then they must be dormant at which point they shouldn't make the people healthy or happy.

This episode has both grill ends and spherical ends on the nacelles.

One wonders how Kirk would have handled the American Indian settlers in the NextGen episode Journeys End.

He probably would have tried to sell them whiskey for their planet!

(Just kidding, we all know Kirk wouldn't do that . . . would he?)

Kelowitz is definitely a Lieutenant-Commander in other episodes, but in this one Kelowitz is wearing lieutenant's braids, and he calls Sulu "sir".

Spock's alleged other unpronounceable name never comes up again.

Actually, it does come up again in "Return to Babel". Kirk addresses Spock's mother as "Mrs. Sarek"; she tells him to call her "Amanda", as the Vulcan family name is too difficult for humans to pronounce. This does not, however, prevent McCoy from calling her "Mrs. Sarek" later on in the episode.

Supposedly Spock's last name starts with an X and may have been in a script, but since it was unpronouncable, it was never spoken, so it's true spelling is probably non-canonical.

And it's Journey To Babel, not Return To Babel.

I understand the fishing is great there. ;-)

When Kirk is by himself on the Bridge he hails
Scotty....wait a second.....James Doohan (Scotty)
isn't in this episode!

Did anybody who got the DVD version of this episode notice the horrible dubbing? It's been years since I've seen this episode on television and I want to know if its always been this way, or did it start with the DVD?

Just where did Spock get that jumpsuit after he was infected with the spores? There were no houses nearby for him to change. If he went back to the colony, surely someone would've seen him and asked, "What's wrong?" Especially Kirk. Did Leila have a jumpsuit stashed behind a tree so Spock could zip into it? If so, that makes this episode very interesting indeed.

In the start of this episode, Spock theorizes that all the life on the planet should be dead.
Not exactly good news, but they need to investigate anyway. The problem is...
The spores must have effected the Enterprise from a distance...because no one stops and thinks about using the ship's sensors to scan for any life on the planet surface...and if the ship's sensors were on the blink...what's wrong with the tricorders?

I'd like to know where they filmed this episode...it looks like they did it on the set for "Bonanza".

When the landing party first materializes and when Spock scans the crops, you can see whisps of smoke.

In the teaser, Kirk mentions that there's a certain amount of men, women and children that's supposed to be on the planet. Really? Children? Where? I saw no children in this episode.

For some weird reason, Sandoval only introduces Leila to Kirk, Spock & McCoy...yet Sulu and the other members of the landing party are in the same room. Aren't they important enough for an introduction?

The number one, all-time, hands down, undisputed,
BEST LINE by Captain Kirk:

"Maybe we weren't meant for Paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through, claw our way out, scratch for every inch of the way. Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute, we must march to the sound of drums."

In the "Preview Trailer" there's a scene in which Spock & Leila are walking by a creek.....this shot is never seen in the actual episode!

Need I say the end credits are messed up again with "SCPIPT SUPERVISOR"? I've lost count as to how many episodes that makes now.

It's happened so often now that you'll need a
SCPIPT SUPERVISOR COWNTER!

That scene where Kirk was snapped out of the spores' influence by seeing his high school track medal made me cringe. Come on now. Is that really the highest thing Man can achieve? Isn't the Enterprise itself a far grander symbol of human achievment, and the fact that it's still around of Kirk's personal achievement?

Frank Overton was also in the film classic "Fail Safe." One of the few things that Larry Hagman was in that I liked.

To: Anonymous:
Who said it was Kirk's high school track medal?
It could've been one of the medals mentioned in "Court Martial"

MISSED OPPORTUNITY:
Near the end, fights break out amongst the crew....why not show Uhura getting into a catfight with a female Yeoman?

Meow! Hiss!

John A Lang comments on Spock's "quick change" into a non-standard jump suit. Nimoy himself (in "I am Spock") suggests that the intention is to hint at what might have been going on during the commercial break ;) So much for once every 7 years!

not very logical behaviour
Spock must have known about Miss Kalomi being on this colony. He has the records. McCoy even has their medical records. And Spock is the one who chooses the landing party. Given his previous history with the lady, even allowing that Spock did not/could not return her feelings might it not have been at the very least kinder not to include himself with the landing party. Or does he want to make sure she's really dead?

we share 'em around
This colony (and other colonies seen in trek) seem to suffer from a basic ignorance about how to establish a group. Allowing the need for men to do the heavy work of breaking ground and building houses (after all this is the sixties) it is still necessary to have at least as many females as males to establish a colony. Preferably slightly more. And in three years, this colony seems not to have had a single birth... what are the spores going to do when the colonists die of old age?

Kudos: The "love theme" music makes this episode.

PS to my last message... does any else know Shirley Meech's beautiful poem about this episode? sniff

The creators fudged a bit on this episode...they did not show Leila materializing in the Transporter room when Spock beams her aboard.

The end credits list...."Eddie Paskey...Crewman"

Apparently, TPTB haven't come around and called him "Mr. Leslie" yet.

The first beam down sequence is executed almost flawlessly...however, the trees in the background "jump" just a little bit.

Spock wears the very same jumpsuit in "Spock's Brain".

I only saw TWO women on the planet in this episode. The rest were men. Kinda makes ya wonder what goes on this planet on a weekend, doesn't it?

This episode has a very simple but tremendous changed premise which gets even bigger in "Journey to Babel". Spocks Last name ??? In Court Martial he states his name as just "Spock" and a serial number. In this episode Layla asks him if he had a last name and he told her you couldn't pronounce it. Then in "Journey to Babel" Chekov states Spocks fathers first and last name as he comes aboard the ship, what the heck is going on ! Did Spock have a different last name then his own biological father ¿?¿? or is it the same but Chekov was the only human that could pronounce it ¿? maybe Spocks halph brother Cybock from Star Trek V TFF had something to do it ?¿ or maybe different sci-fi authors adding on to the same story didn't consider it ?#@% Or maybe they get a charge out of confusing the viewers !!!

I think the subject is better off left the way it is or it will just get worse ...

My recollection of the ep is a bit different. I thought Chekov refered to Sarek as Ambassador Sarek. Also, I think Amanda said she's learned to say the family name "after a fashion". Maybe I'm wrong.

Then we're both wrong, Benn, 'cause - no offense, qtroassi - but that's exactly how I remember it too. In fact, IIRC Amanda makes that statement specifically in response to a question re: how difficult the family name is to pronounce.

Can you remember when you last saw the episode ? Was it in recent times on Sci-Fi network. Sci-Fi as great as they are supposed to be have actually cut out dialogue and sometimes even entire scenes just so they can show more commercials that NO ONE wants to see to get more money. The last time I watched "Journey to Bable" Chekov's particular dialogue was cut a bit.

A big example of this is the solar system diagram on the main viewer in "Spocks Brain" when they were trying to guess what planet he might be on, that entire scene is gone. There are many cuts Sci-Fi has made-it wasn't like this in the special editions though. Everyone should be enraged protesting this, it cuts the adrenaline out of episodes.

Also what does IIRC ? Star Trek II TWOK ?

IIRC = If I Recall Correctly

The Sci-Fi channel is very bad about their cuts. In The Twilight Zone episode "The Self-Improvement Of Salvadore Ross", they cut a scene which eliminated a plot point which caused the ending of that epsiode to make no sense.

One practical protest to this sort of thing is to keep a list of sponsors who advertise on shows that heavily cut to make room for more commercials. Contact them and let them know you will boycott all products and services sold by anyone who advertises on cut-up shows. If enough people do this, it may cause businesses and networks to re-think this insane practice.

Have you heard of the device that actually trims duplicate image frames from tv shows to make the show move quicker without deleteing any major scenes. I forget the name of it but it was in the cincinnati paper recently as part of a review in the tv column and it does not sound like a good use of tv. Eventually it may be a very max headroom world.

You folks should invest in the DVD versions, the episodes are uncut. Color & sound is better too.

When home video started coming into its own, in 1980, some films were speeded up in order to fit them onto shorter cassettes. "Superman" was the most notorious. Not only was the film accelerated, the end credit roll was dropped entirely. The DVD version makes amends - replacing outtake and improving the soundtrack.
Todd - Do advertiser boycotts really work? That has been tried by groups like the American Family Association - targeting products advertised on shows they find offensive. I don't know if they've been effective.

I don't know how effective it would be - it's just a suggestion.

Why can't the Sci-Fi channel do what A&E does with it's vintage re-runs? A&E digitally speeds up the program to save the five minutes or so needed for the extra advertising. No footage is lost, and the average viewer can't tell the difference.

Kirk: "Are you saying these people made a home here, knowing they wouldn't survive?"
Spock: "I'm saying they knew there was a risk."
(approximate dialogue)
A risk? Berthold rays are lethal. There's no known cure. That was suicide, not just a risk. Why would they found a colony there? (unless they knew about the spores beforehand and didn't tell anyone)

We never saw the plants move from one place to another, but the one that hits Kirk with spores on the bridge wasn't there earlier in the scene.

Equipment Oddity: Kirk must be testing power outlets on the bridge, because in the scene where Spock communicates with Leila on the planet, before she beams up to the enterprise, Kirk is holding a genuine Square D AC tester complete with Probes! (they just painted it red).

**Leslie Alert** Mr. Leslie is the guy who says, "Yes sir, it is!" to Kirk

BTW---I made an error on 10/02/01. Paskey's character Mr. Leslie was indeed called "Mr. Leslie" in "Return of the Archons" D'oh!

CONTINUITY ERROR: At one point, Sulu says that he wouldn't know what was right/wrong to look for on a farm. The other guy with Sulu then opens the barn door he says, "Hey, there's no cows!..." Then Sulu pipes up and says, "...there's no pigs, not even a dog" So much for "not knowing what to look for on a farm!" Hrmph!

I think Sulu may have been exaggerating a bit when he says he wouldn't know what to look for on a farm. Y'know, a city-boy making a joke? (He is from San Francisco.) Surely his interest in botany would have given him a clue or two about farms.

Yeah, John A., this is the same situation as Kirk saying he wanted Spock to check up on every possibility - stuff people say, y'know? Even the most clueless city dweller knows that pigs and dogs live on farms.
You start taking what everyone says absolutely literally and life gets more exciting I grant you, but also a lot more confusing.

Points well taken. Thank you.

Kirk complains in his log that he's 'marooned' in orbit, and doesn't 'know how to get his crew back'.
Why not just beam some of them up? Beam up somebody at random, and just not let them leave until they help with the transmitter or whatever?
Sandoval says they have moderate rain all year, but those cornstalks look fried from the sun, and at times dust can be seen blowing around Spock and Leila.

Kirk complains in his log that he's 'marooned' in orbit, and doesn't 'know how to get his crew back'.
Why not just beam some of them up? Beam up somebody at random, and just not let them leave until they help with the transmitter or whatever?

Great idea in theory, but in practice Kirk's going to run into a solid wall of unwillingness to help him leave Paradise (remember, he not only has to get Spock up to the ship, he has to actively rid him of the spore influence before anything can get done).
I suppose Kirk could just lock Random Crew Guy into the brig without food or water until the spores give up...but then you're making the Amnesty Galactic folks real mad.
Tennyrate, there's probably no way to construct your scenario without sacrificing a whole lot of story coherence.

So when everyone returned to the ship, I wonder how long they had to cope with radio silence? Uhura 'effectively sabotaged communications', so I guess she had her work cut out for her.
And those famed memory banks of the Enterprise didn't include instruction manuals or diagnostics to help Kirk fix the problem? Of course, if he did he'd have a lot of 'splainin' to do to whoever rescued him.
Terrible SFX at one point when the ship orbits the planet, but isn't lined up, creating a large continent-sized shadow across it.
Probably the Scpipt Supervisor's fault.

**LESLIE ALERT II AND A NIT** (2 for 1 sale)

When McCoy begins beaming up the settlers, you can clearly see Mr. Leslie in the background helping out. Later, Kirk encounters Mr. Leslie in line to beam down to the planet surface with the other mutiniers. WAIT A MINUTE! Mr. Leslie was already down on the planet surface! Why did he return to the ship? As far as I know, he has no family on board and he didn't have any luggage with him, so he didn't come back to get anybody or pack anything.
The whole thing is just plain WEIRD!

I feel REAL REAL sorry for Dick Scotter..(AKA Lt. Painter) This episode marks the first AND LAST time Lt. Painter is seen in TOS

NANJAO: This episode marks the first time we see inside the Communications Station.

WOW! McCoy is a muscleman! He takes down Sandoval with one arm...while holding a glass of mint juliep in the other hand!

CG enhancing: Following up on an idea in the Space: 1999 threads, if Star Trek the Classic Series could be enhanced with CG, these are ideas I have for this episode.


This episode is light on opticals, although the spore plant prop was missing from the wide shot when Kirk comes to his empty bridge (after Spock tells him the spores' history).

When the Enterprise is on approach at the beginning, the planet, as usual, is fully lit with equal brilliance. I would suggest it should appear as no more than a gibbous phase, presuming the ship is approaching the side of the planet that is nearing sunset, and assuming that the planet does not have a retrograde rotation.

Perhaps the shingles on the roof of Sandoval's house could be colourized to a different colour so that it better suggests that it was made of native material.

It also doesn't seem likely that the entire area has been terraformed. If the colonists began getting sick soon after arrival, they wouldn't have time or energy. After they entered the symbiotic relationship with the spores, they apparently didn't care to carry out much in the way of ambitious projects, so except for their farm, the rest should be native Omicron Ceti vegetation. Perhaps a much deeper or much lighter shade of green for the grass?

See "Tomorrow is Yesterday" for remarks about the food slots in the transporter room. As in that episode, slot number 1 should be completely wiped from "existence", and number 3 should have "access panel" controls beneath the slot door instead of the four little lights and the microtape slot.

Why "Should" Slot one be wiped and number 3 have "access panel" controls beneath? This is just in your head. Those food slots are not hurting anyone or anything by being there!


The shot of the empty bridge just before Kirk enters was the shot used when the holodeck doors first opened for Scotty in "Relics" (TNG). And that was also followed by the same shot of the bridge with Scotty over the top of the footage, before James Doohan entered what they rebuilt of the bridge for that same Next Generation episode.

At one point, Kirk states that he cannot stop the crew from beaming down to the planet. Really? Well how about shutting the power off to the Transporter & guarding the "ON" switch with a Phaser?

1 man even if it was kirk vs a crew of 400+ with spock, scotty and quite a few other bright folk among them? Sorry but Kirk isnt that good or that powerful.

Set the Phaser for "Wide Field" and on "Stun." OR use the alien intruder gas seen in "Space Seed". That'll fix 'em.

Thats assuming that scotty hasn't taken control of engineering and set the controls to local.

Could have been a totally different episode with the bodies stacked high in the corridors and kirk pulling a die hard running throuhg the ship before the spore catchers find him.

Maybe if Kirk could keep them from beaming down long enough to get them angry, they would shake off the influence of the spores.

Exactly! Good one, Nove!

When Leslie told Kirk he was committing a mutiny, Kirk should have punched him.

Aww...poor Leslie.

Also here Kirk shows us a glimpse of his 'I AM GOD'-syndrome. Past episode he threatened (not only threatened, he ordered) to destroy a complete planet just because he was held hostage there. In this episode he risks his life by starting a fight with Spock without taking some precautions first. He should've started with the doctor or with Scotty (that guy could repair the radio to call for the marines!).
And about the kaputt radio channels, isn't there a 'message-in-a-bottle' device for ships that are in trouble, a probe they can send with a 'help me' tape in it.
Second thought: why doesn't he use the shuttle to send a radio message, did Uhura sabotage that one as well? Even if he stayed on the ship Kirk could have send the shuttle to the nearest starbase (on auto-pilot) to call for help...
And these Starfleet people, are they complete morons? First they allow settlers to settle on a hazardous planet - don't they check these things first on radiation, hazardous plants...? Then when they know everybody is dead anyway they send a captain to fetch the survivors, knowing there can't be anyone of those... Who is running that joint, Bush jr jr jr the 21nd?

Just where did Spock get that jumpsuit after he was infected with the spores?
And, why should he have bothered? The Starfleet uniforms appear more comfortable.

The spore plant that Kirk threw toward the helm console (and that eventually got him) is missing in the long shot of the empty bridge, when Kirk appears on it alone. It re-appears when Kirk is dictating his log, but in an upright position, not the laying-down position it landed in when Kirk tossed it. (And there was no one else on the bridge to right it up.)

When Kirk finishes packing his suitcase, he only closes one of the two latches. And, that type of suitcase is dated, even now. When I traveled to and from Europe recently, I saw very few of that type of suitcase at the airports. Most people traveling used the style of luggage with wheels and collapsible handles (as I did.)

I think that Spock changed his uniform for a jumpsuit to show that he had cast off the military life of Starfleet and had now joined the colonists. Actually, I think that looser jumpsuit would be more comfortable than the tight-fitting Starfleet uniforms.

Just before Kirk gives his "marooned" log entry, he is on the planet and says "I'm going back to the ship!" I thought at this point all the crew members were down on the planet already. If not, then there had to be someone willing to beam him up, and if they were all mutinying, well...

I saw that smoke in the early scene and initially thought it was "atmosphere", but now think it was just an off-camera grip having a cig.

I think this was meant to happen over the course of a couple days, though we never saw a night scene.

I love the way Shatner spits out the word "paradise" every time he says it. And his great delivery after Spock responds "I don't think so" when Kirk tells him to report to him. "You don't think so what!" How in an instant he goes into command mode when faced with insubordination from even his close and longtime friend.

In a sad note, Frank Overton (Sandoval) died shortly after this episode was filmed.

Yes, John. He had turned 51 only the month before. The same age I am now. (gulp!)

The starfield picture that was on the starboard bulkhead of the Transporter Room is missing here. It returns in "The Doomsday Machine," and then, IIRC, it disappears for good.
There is a useless gizmo attached to the left side of the transporter console. It's only reason for being is for it to be punched out. Same goes for the food slots left over from "Tomorrow Is Yesterday." They're only there so Spock can take out one of the three doors. IIRC, we never see them again.

hey Adam, John, I'm 47!, my b-day last week

Trek's favorite number!

Scotty was doubtful yesterday on G4. He wasn't even in the episode.

Poor Mr. Overton. I bet he smoked too much too

This has bothered me since childhood:
Does anyone out there know what Kirk says just after McCoy comments to him, "Would you like to use a butterfly net on him, Jim?" Kirk mutters something which as I recall is interrupted, but to me it is unintelligible.

As I recall, Kirk says, "Nah, I'll think I'll use a--" It's funny because they leave it to your imagination what he was going to say. Kind of like in "The Corbomite Maneuver." McCoy says, "What are you gonna do with that other six percent [on the exercise rating] when they give it to you, Jim?" Kirk replies, "I'm gonna take it and I'm gonna--" Then he's interrupted by Rand's entrance.

I think you're right, Nove. Thanks! That's similar to (but far more interesting and imaginitive) than the old cliche' line, "Why, I oughta..." when one guy is angry at another for some reason! We never seem to learn just what the person "oughta" do!

I'd like to know where they filmed this episode...it looks like they did it on the set for "Bonanza".

According to Memory Alpha, this ep may have been filmed on the Disney Ranch. Or at least part of it.

The shot of the empty bridge is cut from the TV Land airings. I predict it will be cut from the "Remastered" version as well.

Eddie Paskey's pointed sideburns really look like greasepaint.

NANJAO: Spock (Nimoy) gets the last line in this episode.
(It's usually Kirk (Shatner)

I read somewhere that Charles Bronson was on-hand during the filming of this episode to "make sure" no one gets "too fresh" with his wife, Jill Ireland

Nimoy discusses it in "I Am Spock". He was very uncomfortable with Bronson on the set.

Some nice orbital shots of Omicron Ceti III in the remastered version, including a prominent aurora. Other than that, there wasn't much in the way of changes.

Hey, saw the rearview shot of the exiting planet ..mmmmmm..

The scppipt supervizer mispllet my name again, Leslie, not Lesley.

Kirk states he's marooned aboard the Enterprise, which means he can't use a shuttlecraft, because that's the obvious escape route. My guess is that the crew took them planetside, because 1) that's a bunch of crewmen that don't need to use the transporters and can bring supplies and/or personal belongings while they're at it, and 2) Sandoval mentioned they had no vehicles which is just crazy. The colonists were already reckless in choosing this planet, but intentionally leaving yourself without the ability to travel and explore, or get out of harms way (ie storms, earthquakes) is just nuts, and they vetoed vehicles BEFORE the spores made them lazy.

I can't really knock Kirk for his inability to fix communications; there are some pretty smart people in my office at work, but they can't fix a computer that's crashed; that's why we have a Computer Department. Same idea.

Spock theorizes that the spores arrived on Omicron Ceti III from space. Why? O.C. III (The O.C.???) is an alien planet and the spores are alien plant life. I see nothing wrong with them developing on O.C. III.

Kirk decides to leave his medal in his quarters, as if to say that his military/Starfleet career is in the past, and now he's going to enjoy a quiet civilian life on the planet. Only thing is he packed at least one of his green command shirts in his suitcase. Shouldn't he have somekinda personal clothing to pack? Or is he not allowed to wear anything other than Starfleet uniforms for the rest of his life?

Supplemental...I guess Kirk hadn't yet developed an interest in rock climbing, since I didn't see those funky blue climbing shoes he wore in Star Trek V in his suitcase.

Kirk didn't try very hard to talk sense into Spock when the two of them and Sandoval spoke in the colony's kitchen. Had this been later in the series, I could picture Kirk berating Spock for throwing away not only his Starfleet career, but his very culture, as Spock essentially becomes completely human, discarding everything that makes him a Vulcan, and essentially, Spock.

By steve McKinnon (Steve) on Saturday, September 01, 2007

Spock theorizes that the spores arrived on Omicron Ceti III from space. Why? O.C. III (The O.C.???) is an alien planet and the spores are alien plant life. I see nothing wrong with them developing on O.C. III.

Right. And considering that the spores thrived on Berthold rays, it makes even more sense. Life normally develops where there's an abundant food source for it to feed upon.

I always assumed that the colony was set up for the purpose of being a 'first wave' of colonization, i.e., they establish a replenishable food supply to feed an eventually larger colony later on. It's hard to imagine cargo ships flying light-years to this planet for a few dozen cases of green beans and cabbages. Even at warp speeds, just imagine those vegetables arriving at their destination in anything resembling fresh condition. Heck, when I go to the grocery store, I can almost never get bananas that are green enough! I can imagine what they's look like if they came from Omicron Ceti III..!

Who knows, the spores just may have been intelligent, too. Maybe they infected the colonists and took away their ambition so as to keep the "new neighbors" on their planet from spreading. It's not like it was in "Operation Annihilate", where the creatures were forcing their hosts to build ships for them!

The creators seem to equate happiness with laziness, if you take into consideration Sandoval's comment that they've wasted 3 years, and had no accomplishments. Didn't the colonists already enjoy their work? Wouldn't the spores have enhanced their enjoyment of their work as they enhanced the feelings of love?
And speaking of that, as the spores seem to enhance love, wouldn't that have led to more sex, and then children? But, kids aren't seen or even mentioned in any reports by Kirk's crew, or by Sandoval's people.
I think Uhura sabotaged the communications system the way Data did in that TNG episode when he locked out everything on the bridge with a long, complicated serious of numbers and words.
All Kirk had to do was repeat Uhura's secret code;
16548549265494599999Alpha3748888883333333000Beta-Alpha836453981010837Delta3938377655555pickle
and he could have unlocked communications! Simple!

I guess Kirk hadn't yet developed an interest in rock climbing...
In James Blish's adaptation of "The Immunity Syndrome", Kirk was planning to spend his shore leave mountain climbing, before the Enterprise got sidetracked. I'm assuming that was a plot point of the first draft of the script, which of course got cut by the time it got to air.

...The spores seem to enhance love, wouldn't that have led to more sex, and then children...
Maybe one of the side-effects of the spores was sterility??..

All Kirk had to do was repeat Uhura's secret code;16548549265494599999Alpha3748888883333333000Beta-Alpha836453981010837Delta3938377655555pickle

In an exact imitation of her voice!

What was Data doing imitating Picard's voice in Brothers and Picard nodded at Data too, why?

Uhura's Secret Code:Kirk's Beautiful Babe Bypass Button!165485494599999aplha374888883333333000Beta-Alpha836453981010837DElta399387765555pickle

Enter!

One of my favorite little games I play with my 1st season DVD's (the only season I own thus far) is to watch for the dented communicator. In this episode, both Spock and Kirk are using the same one at the same time, during the 'lack of animals and insects' talk, right after McCoy finishes up his exam with the colonist.

The communicator in question is dented across the center of the grille. It's sort of a double-dent, distinctive enough that I'm sure it's the same prop.

It shows up in other episodes, too. Watch for it!

This episode also has one of my favorite Kirk-type shots: When Spock and Leila Kalomi meet, and Leila comments that "Mr. Spock and I have met before", there's that shot of Kirk with his eyes looking from one to the other, as if he's sizing up the situation between them. This happens in a fair amount of episodes, and I always thought it was neat for some reason. It even was included (of all places) in The Final Frontier, when Spock and Sybok met. That, and the "you can't wave pain away with a magic wand" speech Kirk gave in that movie were two real-Trek moments (Hey, I'll take what I can get!).

Also in This Side of Paradise, during the end of the first landing party beam-down, was that perhaps a cloud of cigarette smoke blowing across the air, from right to left? (Perhaps that's the same one that John Lang mentioned above.)

My favorite game is watching for Mr. Leslie.

Naw, that's you're second favorite, John;
Number One is just plain looking at Marina Sirtis!

True.

No new enhanced moments worth mentioning except for the new footage of the Enterprise and the planet. You can see green clouds of radiation surrounding the planet surface.

According to an interview with Nimoy on the new DVDs, he LOVED telling Kirk (Shatner) off by saying, "What do you want?" etc. I read somewhere Eddie Paskie loved his moment in telling Kirk off as well.

The brief shot of the empty Enterprise bridge that someone said was cut out of the episode when it aired on TV Land was reused in the Next Generation episode "Relics"

An anaylsis of missing scenes from this script is here. Note that a few cut lines had (a sprayed) Kirk mentioning that Spock should think about marrying Leila.

The Enterprise scene with Spock and Leila was one of the most romantic ones I have seen in television or movies of any genre.

The remastered "This Side of Paradise" airs next weekend. It's followed by "Operation--Annihilate!" the next week.

Going back to some comments earlier -- Kirk didn't get choked up over his medal; it was when he was preparing to beam down and realized he was leaving the Enterprise for the last time that his emotions got away from him.

Omicron Ceti is probably too far from another starbase or colony for Kirk to fly a shuttlecraft.

Yes, the audio dubbing is fairly noticeable in some of the outdoor scenes. Dubbing is common for outdoor shooting because of wind and other background noise, but usually the sound is matched better. If it's done right, you shouldn't be able to tell. Although the dubbing is done in a sound booth, the sound mixer can adjust it so it sounds like it was recorded in the open. In this case, however, it wasn't adjusted.

As for Spock changing into a jumpsuit, maybe something happened to his uniform when he was with Leila.

So why is there a super bright light on the transporter console that abruptly shines into the operator's eyes? We've never seen it before; maybe Scotty knows not to turn it on. "Ach! Me eyes!"

Right before the action returns to Kirk's lonely log entry on the Enterprise, the bridge background sound effects start while the shot is still on the planet. (No Best Sound Editing Emmy for this episode.)

What exactly does McCoy do to Sandoval during their fight? He ducks Sandoval's punch, then sort of waves his arm around Sandoval who flops to the ground.

NANJAO: Wouldn't someone notice that the Enterprise is missing, or will that take another three years? It's possible that under the influence of the spores, they just aren't planning for that.

The remastered closed-captions misspell Leila's name as Leyla Calomi.

Hey, I tride to post here but it didnt show.
---------------------------------------------

I wrote down the remastered episode was the best planet shots I ever saw.


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Wernt the Uss Archon and Horizon went mia for a 100 years? Also the Ss Beagle with crew of 47.

tried. tride? oh u know what I meant

"Right before the action returns to Kirk's lonely log entry on the Enterprise, the bridge background sound effects start while the shot is still on the planet. (No Best Sound Editing Emmy for this episode.)" - Alan

This happens alot with the music and sound effects, and is a said truth of the remastering- the new effects shots can't just replace the old ones in a splicing machine in the 60s, they have to be overlaid on top of the finished product, since that's all we have to work with today.

That means they can't start the fadein or fadeout to or from the new effects until after the old transition had finished, or you'd see the halfway faded version of the old shot underneath. This is why we don't have those nice, slow fades to the exterior of the Enterprise we used to get, and often have musical moments trampled on by the Enterprise coming in too early before the musical cue starts. (Or background audio issues, as you mentioned.)



As a video editor, I'll try to explain (in ASCII-ish terms...):
Imagine you have your footage, your original episode video, layed out on a line:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXYYYYYYZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Xs are the old special effect shot. Ys are the second or so that it's fading in between. Zs are the shot of Kirk on the bridge.

Now, imagine you have your new Remastered shot:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBB

The As are your new shot, and the Bs represent it's fading out- becoming more transparent so that you can see what's behind it.

Now, imagine you tried to line up your new remastered shot, placing it right on top of the old one:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXYYYYYYZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

See the problem? During your new fadeout (Bs) what you would be able to see underneath is the old fadeout- so you'd see your new Remastered shot fading out to show you a halfway done fade between the original shot and the Kirk-on-the-bridge shot.

So, you have to lay it out this way:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBB
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXYYYYYYZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Now your fadeout (Bs) doesn't start until the old fadeout's finished (Ys) and you can't see the old effects shot shining through... but as a side effect, your new fadeout now overlaps a second of footage (and it's associated music and sound effects) that didn't used to be overlapped before.


Does that make sense? Or am I just confusing things with my primitive ASCII diagrams? :-)

No, it makes sense. I did look at the old version on DVD, and the sound problem doesn't exist. I don't have the remastered version handy right now to compare it to, though, so I can't remember how the shot was reconstructed. In the original, it simply cuts from a shot of Spock to the empty bridge.

In looking at it, I did notice one minor nit. When Kirk pages the areas of the ship, the intercom light on his chair correctly goes on and off. However, they cut to a closeup of him sitting down, it's suddenly on again. It goes out when he presses the button to record his log, and back on when he's done.

Kirk says he can't run the ship alone, so why didn't he do what Spock did in The Menagerie, and turn the ship over to computer control. The computer could fly the ship to the nearest Starbase and Kirk could get help.

Kirk mentions in his log that 'all crew personnel have beamed down to the planet'. 'Crew personnel'? Isn't that the same words apoken twice for the same thing? Kinda like 'boat vessel' or 'cheeseburger hamburger'.

Kirk fears Spock's alien strength if 'aroused'. Shouldn't that have been 'enraged'? Aroused, to me, is only applicable to sexual arousal, and not anger arousal.

When Kirk finds out from Uhuras that she's sabotaged communications, a wide shot that follows the scene shows that she's the noly crewmember on the bridge. Shouldn't Kirk have done a double-take at the lack of all bridge crew except for her, and then spoke to her?

McCoy shirks off his duties, and yet he has a tricorder strung over his shoulder when he gives Leila his communicator to speak to Spock no the ship, and then it's by his side as he's drinking his mint julip when Sandoval shows up.

Hans Thielman on Saturday, December 12, 1998 - 12:26 pm: Perhaps the Federation should have considered using the planet from this episode (I can't recall the planet's name) to assist the Son'a (Star Trek Insurrection) in their efforts to rejuvenate themselves.

Even if the planet hasn't been placed under quarantine, they probably wouldn't want to run the risk of the radiation killing them all before the spores could take effect - after all, two thirds of the original 150 colonists died from exposure to Berthold radiation, and there are likely to be less than 100 Son'a. In addition, they may not be willing to move away from the Briar Patch.

Why are Sulu and DeSalle plowing that bit of farmland prior to their fight? Shouldn't their time be better spent, oh, I don't know, building some shelters and homes for themselves and the 425 other Enterprise crew???!!!
Sandoval's little community is set up for just 45 people. Forty-FIVE! The population just increased by TEN TIMES that! Where is everyone going to sleep? Where will they live? Everyone of those 'mutinous' crewmembers left the ship empty-handed, without so much as an extra pair of underwear or lucky pillow under their arms!

Spock says 'For the first time in my life...I was happy." I always thought of that as he was happy with being with Leilah, but it made me think. it could mean that he was happy, he finally fit in somewhere, or , as I just realized, he actually felt 'happiness' for real, without restrictions of emotion because of his Vulcan upbringing-- but genuine 'happiness', thanks to the spores breaking down his mental conditioning.

Many people have commented that Kirk should have been able to repair the communication systems sabotaged by Uhura. I submit that Uhura did such a good job that those systems were not repairable, they had to be replaced when they reached the nearest starbase. The lady knows her job, Spock even complimented her about it in another episode.

Sandoval says that they left Earth 4 years ago, and Spock said it took their ship one year to reach its destination. So the colony has been in place for three years. Apparently though, the effects of the Berthold rays happen quickly. Spock said that they could only risk a short exposure to them. This means the colony should have been deserted for almost 3 years. The buildings, lawns, fields and other aspects of the colony looked in VERY good condition after supposedly having been abandoned for that long.

Well, Kirk and Co. only had a short time to look around, before Sandoval and his lot showed up.

So appendicitis is still a problem in the 23rd Century. McCoy comments about Sandoval having a new appendix.

All the animals that the colonists brought along died off. What, none of the spores wanted to inhabit cats and dogs?

There were no kids, at least none that I could see. Did the spores make them too lazy to, ahem, you know...

Phil comments in his book that the spores do have one fringe benefit, they can cure major illnesses. Bring someone ill to this planet, let the spores infect them, then, once they're cured, get them mad, and return them to duty.

What was Spock's other "unprouncable" name?

I guess Spock was scanning for Berthold Rays seconds after they beamed down, rather than life forms. He scans for a few seconds after beaming down then shuts it off.

Trelane was correct when he labeled Spock 'ill-mannered'. He just stares at Leilah when they see each other for the first time in years. Not a nod, or a simple 'hello'. Just a cold stare. Not very polite, at all.

Spock specifically implies that living tissue breaks down from the rays, and yet people keep noting that there are no animals on the planet. Yeah, because animal or not, they're composed of living tissue, too, like humans.

Even if organs can regenerate after a person combines with the spores, there's still a chance one could get injuried falling out of a tree or cut by a saw or something. Obviously McCoy would still be needed as a doctor, but just as a part-timer.
Or do cuts and bruises heal at an instantaneous rate right before your eyes because of the spores? Wouldn't it be very painful waiting for several days for a broken arm to heal by itself? Assuming it would heal correctly.

Spock was quick to switch from his uniform to those overalls. Perhaps after he and Leilah went back to her home and had some private time? Didn't the overalls belong to some other male in the colony? And isn't it lucky that she wasn't seeing anybody in the colony at the time? Lucky, since she's probably the prettiest woman there.

After the initial revelation that the 150 personnel of the colony split into three groups, the other two groups are never mentioned again. Were they infected by the spores, too, or are they dead from the Berthold Rays?

And isn't it lucky that she wasn't seeing anybody in the colony at the time?

Why would that be a problem? The spores make everybody so laid-back, whoever her boyfriend was would probably have been "whatev" about the whole thing.

Why did Sandoval and his lot colonized this planet anyway? Didn't anyone tell them about the Berthold Rays?

Shouldn't the sensors of the Enterprise picked up the colonists from orbit. I know they didn't want to ruin the "wham" moment, when Sandoval showed up and said, "Hey, we're still alive" but still...

What would happen if the spores entered the body of an animal, like a cat?

Some have mentioned that Kirk could have sent a log probe to the nearest starbase. Trouble it, depending on how far away that starbase it, that could take months. Kirk is not one to sit around, playing solitaire, waiting. Oh, hell no!

I guess this is another planet that Starfleet will slap an Off Limits on.

Why did Sandoval and his lot colonized this planet anyway? Didn't anyone tell them about the Berthold Rays?

Spock does say in the show's opening that Berthold rays are a new discovery and their effects on living tissue were unknown when Sandoval set out to start his colony.

What would happen if the spores entered the body of an animal, like a cat?

Apparently, the spores have no interest in animals. None of the animals the colonists brought with them survived.

Spock does say in the show's opening that Berthold rays are a new discovery and their effects on living tissue were unknown when Sandoval set out to start his colony.

Yeah, that makes sense. It's been a long time since I've watched this episode.


Apparently, the spores have no interest in animals. None of the animals the colonists brought with them survived.

Gits!

The spores make people not care at all about their old lives, so I guess none of the Enterprise crew woyuld care that they would now be vegetarians for the rest of their lives.

What would happen if the spores entered the body of an animal, like a cat?

What, none of the spores wanted to inhabit cats and dogs?

My son's (and ex-wife's) cat almost always acts like she's inhabited by the spores. Lazy as sin. Except when she's hungry.

Spock was quick to switch from his uniform to those overalls.

McCoy (or Spock) must have hung on to them, as Spock wore them again when he was brainless in "Spock's Brain".

There you go, the spores would love cats!

Of course, did Sandoval and Co. bring any cats (or dogs) with them from Earth?

I would think so, if they had pets while on Earth. People, both now and in the future, get attached to their pets, and think of them as part of their family. Of course, none of the animals survived the Berthold rays.

Because the spores were a bunch of speciest gits.

Not necessarily, maybe they were only compatible with humanoid biology?

I think it's a question of nervous system complexity. Just my own opinion.

I wonder how the spores would affect the Klingons or the Romulans?

Since both these species have extremely short fuses, the effect probably wouldn't last long.

It occurs to me that the colonists are so content with their lives on Omicron Ceti III (as Sandoval makes clear), that it seems like they wouldn't care if they ever saw their relatives back home again.

I wonder if the whole crew would have a charge on mutiny on their career records, or would Kirk look the other way and not note it? Even if he did so in his log.

The lack of further information about the other two colonies irritates me. Did they encounter the spores? There's never any mention about them, either as fatalities or the next ones to be transported away by the Enterprise, when Kirk confronts Sandoval, and tells him about his evacuation order. They're just completely forgotten. Sloppy writing by D.C., if you ask me.

I wonder if the whole crew would have a charge on mutiny on their career records

I doubt it. Once Kirk understood the situation, he no doubt struck the charges, if there were any, from his official logs.


The lack of further information about the other two colonies irritates me. Did they encounter the spores? There's never any mention about them, either as fatalities or the next ones to be transported away by the Enterprise, when Kirk confronts Sandoval, and tells him about his evacuation order. They're just completely forgotten. Sloppy writing by D.C., if you ask me.

It was never stated that all the crew went to stay with Sandoval's lot. It's likely that some went to the other groups as well.

Would have been nice if they'd been more clearer about that.. Ah well.

That's what I mean; did the other two groups die from Berthold rays or not? Their status is never mentioned once after Sandoval mentions that the colonists broke into 3 groups, some of which had kids in them.
Were they saved by the spores or not? No clue. I just don't like it. Don't even write it if you're not going to have a line like,
"But, we never heard from them after we split up."
or "We speak to them every week by simple radio."
or "They're just 10 miles away down in the valley."
Something!

One more thought; Spock and Leilah were aboard the Enterprise all the way back to the starbase. I wonder if she tried to rekindle something in the meantime?

Steve - It occurs to me that the colonists are so content with their lives on Omicron Ceti III (as Sandoval makes clear), that it seems like they wouldn't care if they ever saw their relatives back home again.

Given that they made the decision to live on another planet before they got here they probably made their goodbyes already.

Although logically colonies should have some form of subspace radio even if TPTB tended to treat them more like old west colonists pre-telegraph.

I wonder if the whole crew would have a charge on mutiny on their career records

I should think that being under the influence of alien spores would be a defense against a legal charge of mutiny. They were not in their right minds, so to speak, to make the decision to mutiny.

Were they saved by the spores or not?

If the spore were all over the planet (and nothing said they weren't), then the other groups could have also found them.

Or, given how eager the spores were to spread, once they were infected Sandoval could have sent some of those flowers to the other groups.


This episode has one of the best lines from Mr. Leslie.

Kirk: This is mutiny, Mister!

Leslie: Yes, sir. It is.

Kirk comments about if he beams down, no one would be able to return to the ship. You would think that their technology would have allowed them to develop a method of remote operation. Of course, that would deprive us of all the "Beam me/us up" moments, since there would be no need to make the request.

On that note, why not just fly a shuttlecraft down to the planet? Or would opening the hanger deck doors on a return trip also be impossible to do remotely?

One episode of the animated show said that the transporter could be set to automatically beam someone up after a set time.

Of course, whomever was beaming down would have to set it first.

This episode resembles an episode of "The Outer Limits" called: "Specimen: Unknown"

Well, it was the 60's, after all.

Missing scene;
Leilah has accepted that she's lost Spock, and asks;
"You never told me if you had another name, Mr. Spock?"
Spock looks at her and manages a tiny smile. "You couldn't pronounce it."
Leilah guesses, "It's 'Darryl, isn't it?"
Spock is startled. "Whaaa--??!! When did you learn to speak Vulcan?!"

If there's a joke here, I'm clearly not getting it.

Spock says 'You couldn't pronounce it.' thinking his first name, 'Darryl', is a difficult Vulcan name for humans to pronounce, but it's so common on Earth (which he also doesn't realize) that he's shocked when she says it.
And also that his real name is 'Darryl Spock'.

Yet every Vulcan we've seen has a single name: Spock, Sarek, T'Pau, Tuvok, T'Pol, Soval, etc.

That's because us poor inarticulate humans can't pronounce those complicated consonant-heavy names.
Also, Amanda told McCoy that her name wasn't 'Mrs. Sarek', and it took her some time to master its pronunciation.

And yet no onscreen Vulcan has had a hint of a second name.

In fact, the only Trek aliens we've seen, that have more than one name, are the Bajorans and the Cardassians.

And wouldn't that complicate things like history books or documents that just list 'Ambassador Sarek' or 'First Officer Spock'? It seems to imply that there can only be one person named 'Sarek', one 'Spock', one 'Stonn'-- no name can be used more than once, unlike us humans, and our 500,000 'Bob's and "John's and 'Mary's.
As their first names, it's like saying 'Ambassador Bob' or 'First Officer Fred'. It really should be 'Ambassador Sarek Mhgsftresaojudgbcnmplo', but I think we've been gradually conditioned to think of Vulcans as having only one name.
Rick Berman would be aware of this, but was a family name ever established for Tuvok or T'Pol? I don't think so.
But we have to go by what's seen and heard on the series as canon, and that means Vulcans have a second mostly-unpronouncable name.

And we'll most likely never know what they are.

A missed opportunity; we saw Sulu and DeSalle fight, and some random crewmen.
THere's what was missing; two words...cat fight! Imagine (as John A. Lang might have one day) a fight between Janice Rand and maybe Yeoman Barrows or Angela Martine.
Oh, well. 50 years later we have the WWE for that kind of stuff.

I imagine such fights did happen. We just didn't see them.

Emily Banks (Barrows) and Barbara Baldavin (Martine) are both still alive. They are now 89 an 83 respectively.