(by Collin R. Skocik) Season finale time! Attention TV networks: do you notice anything different about this episode from season finales today? Give up? Okay, I’ll clue you in. NO CLIFFHANGER! That’s right, here’s a season finale that has an ending! And Star Trek went on to become the biggest science fiction franchise of all … Continue reading Operation – Annihilate!
Season One
The City on the Edge of Forever
(by Collin R. Skocik) Almost universally considered Star Trek’s best episode—not just of the original series, but all the many Star Trek series—“The City on the Edge of Forever” was penned by science fiction legend Harlan Ellison. When Dr. McCoy accidentally injects himself with a heavy dosage of powerful cordrazine, he flees the ship in … Continue reading The City on the Edge of Forever
The Alternative Factor
(by Collin R. Skocik) The galaxy is rocked by a series of calamitous events, “disruptions of physical law on an immense scale,” all of them centralized on the planet the Enterprise is now exploring. On the planet, Kirk and Spock find a humanoid named Lazarus, a raving maniac who claims to be chasing a “beast” … Continue reading The Alternative Factor
Errand of Mercy
(by Collin R. Skocik) Four episodes from the end of the first season, we’re finally introduced to Star Trek’s most famous and popular villains...the Klingons! With the outbreak of war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, the Enterprise is ordered to the peaceful, agrarian planet Organia in order to prevent the Klingons from using … Continue reading Errand of Mercy
The Devil in the Dark
(by Collin R. Skocik, adapted for this article) There’s a monster on the loose in the mines of Janus VI! An isolated colony, a network of underground tunnels on an uninhabitable planet, kept pressurized and heated by an antiquated pergium reactor. And the miners are being killed, their bodies found burned into steaming marks on … Continue reading The Devil in the Dark
This Side of Paradise
(by Collin R. Skocik) The Enterprise voyages to Omicron Ceti III to learn what became of the agricultural colony established by Elias Sandoval three years ago. In the years since the colony was established, it has been learned that the Berthold rays that constantly bombard the planet are deadly—and therefore the colony could not have … Continue reading This Side of Paradise
A Taste of Armageddon
(by Collin R. Skocik) David Gerrold described Star Trek as “science fiction on training wheels.” In other words, it’s not really true science fiction, but it’s enough to indoctrinate the uninitiated to go out and pick up science fiction at the bookstores. Well, in my opinion, Star Trek is often more than that. Often watching … Continue reading A Taste of Armageddon
Space Seed
(by Collin R. Skocik) Hitler believed in the genetic superiority of the “Nordic” race, and used his theories of eugenics to promote a feeling of nationalism among the Germans that gave them the birthright to rule the world. In Star Trek’s future (when the 1990s still seemed a long way away), a new kind of … Continue reading Space Seed
The Return of the Archons
(by Collin R. Skocik, adapted for this article) Gene Roddenberry thought of Star Trek as Gulliver’s Travels in space. The alien worlds visited by the starship Enterpriseare not really scientific portrayal of the nature of extraterrestrial life or the conditions on extrasolar planets (although the show tried to be scientifically accurate), but rather allegories for … Continue reading The Return of the Archons
Court Martial
(by Collin R. Skocik) I’m starting to think there’s something unlucky about Starbase 11. Last time the Enterprise went there, Spock abducted Captain Christopher Pike, stole the Enterprise, and wound up standing court martial for mutiny. This time, Kirk is accused of negligently or maliciously causing the death of a crew member and is court … Continue reading Court Martial
Principled Thoughts 