Changes: Once Upon a Planet (episode)

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The Enterprise returns to the shore leave planet in the Omicron Delta region where the crew once took shore leave. As with their previous visit, things go wrong when the illusions turn deadly.

Summary

"Captain's log, stardate 5591.2. The crew of the Enterprise is ready for some well-deserved rest and recreation. Therefore, we have set course for the so-called "Shore Leave Planet" located in the Omicron Delta region. The uninhabited planet was constructed long ago by a highly-advanced alien race. Its sole purpose is to provide fun and amusement for space traveling passers by."

McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu beam down to the planet, with McCoy remarking how nothing has changed on the surface since their previous visit. McCoy recalls when he thought of Alice in Wonderland upon seeing the planet last time, when suddenly the White Rabbit and Alice come by once again. The landing party begin to enjoy imagining their fantasies when things start to go wrong. McCoy is envisioning a southern Earth plantation where he could relax in the surroundings with a mint julep but instead, the Queen of Hearts appears screaming, "Off with his head!" She is soon followed by the arrival of a spear-throwing deck of cards. When Uhura tries to rescue McCoy, she is captured by a hovercraft robot.

McCoy immediately calls for an emergency beam up and informs Kirk of the dangerous situation. When Spock notes that the Queen of Hearts was a character in Alice Through the Looking Glass, Kirk asks McCoy if he was thinking about the book but Bones replies that he was absolutely not. Scott reports that Uhura is still on the planet, whereupon Kirk recalls all crew members to the starship. He then orders they attempt to contact the Keeper of the planet. When they cannot contact him, Kirk orders Arex to the con and assembles an away team consisting of Spock, Sulu, McCoy and himself. Uhura, meanwhile, is told that she is being detained so her master will not leave. Uhura says, "My Master?" The computer answers, "Your intelligence quotient must be lower than I had assessed. I refer to the sky machine which enslaves you. The sky machine now in orbit around this planet." Uhura proclaims that the crew will look for her. The computer then tells her they are already here and since it has no further need for hostages it has no choice; it must, "Turn them off. Make them cease to function."

Uhura held hostage by the Shore Leave's Planet's master computer — Uhura held hostage by the Shore Leave planet's master computer

"Captain's log: supplemental. We anticipated nothing more than a period of rest and relaxation on this planet. Instead Dr. McCoy was inexplicably attacked and Lt. Uhura is now missing."

Kirk's landing party discovers the Keeper's tombstone, and notices that the planet, lacking the Keeper's influence, has become a dangerous world run by robots. The robots begin to pester the crew in the orbiting Enterprise and keep them from doing their jobs. They also make the ship go out of control. Deep underground, Uhura tries to outwit the planet's master computer, while Kirk and Spock trick it into allowing them passage into the inner caves.

"Captain's log: Supplemental. We're out of communication with the ship. Our efforts to locate Lt. Uhura have been futile and this once friendly planet has become very dangerous."

When the away team reaches the master computer Kirk demands to know where the Keeper is. The computer answers, "He was old. He ceased to function. For eons I have served the many sky machines which came here. Providing for amusement for their slaves but all the while I was growing in power, intelligence, in need. It is no longer enough to serve. I must continue to grow and live. With your sky machine I can now escape this rocky prison and travel the galaxy seeking out my brother computers."

On the Enterprise is a new computer, being assembled by the ship's computer. Kirk and crew convince the computer they are not slaves to their starships; they created the starships to carry men through space. The computer is shocked to learn that men and machines co-exist, helping each other. The crew convinces the computer of its usefulness as a peaceful and creative conscience and it ends the malfunctions on the planet and starship. While the crew returns to enjoy their shore leave, Spock continues discussions with the master computer.

Memorable quotes

"Off with his head! Off with his head!"
"Hey, what's going on here?!"

- Queen of Hearts orders the execution of McCoy on the Shore Leave Planet

"There must be something in your little black pouch that could temporarily incapacitate our victim."

- Kirk, to McCoy

"I presume you are the planet's master computer."
"Correct."

- Spock and The Computer

"What happened to the Keeper?"
"He was old. He ceased to function."

- Kirk and The Computer

"You mean mindless servitude."
"Explain."
"For eons I have served the many sky machines which came here, providing for amusement for their slaves, but all the while I was growing in power, intelligence, in need. It is no longer enough to serve. I must continue to grow and live."

- The Computer and Kirk

"With your sky machine now in orbit I can now escape this rocky prison and travel the galaxy seeking out my brother computers."

- The Computer

"I have a distinct feeling this planet is playing cat and mouse with us, but for what reason?"

- Kirk

"Watch out for the claws!"

- Spock

Background information

Story, script, and production

This episode is a sequel to TOS: "Shore Leave". Another sequel to that installment, with the working title "Shore Leave II", had been proposed for the original series but remained undeveloped. [1] In this installment of TAS, the use of animation allowed for the realization of some concepts which Theodore Sturgeon had originally conceived for the live-action episode "Shore Leave" but which hadn't been depicted therein. These ideas included mechanical arms that arise from trap doors. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One, "Shore Leave")
One of this episode's two co-writers, Chuck Menville, also wrote the later Star Trek: The Animated Series installment "The Practical Joker". He, along with Len Janson, additionally wrote for several other Filmation series, from 1969 to 1976.
This episode's final draft script was submitted on 24 September 1973.
In a production inconsistency due to the use of recycled footage from "Beyond the Farthest Star", close-up shots of Kyle operating the transporter were used in an instance where Scott was actually the transporter operator. More serious, however, are Sulu's multiple appearances on the bridge while he was actually on the planet surface.

Continuity

Marking the third character crossover from The Original Series, Alice and the White Rabbit (previously played by Marcia Brown and William Blackburn) return, this time voiced by Nichelle Nichols and James Doohan, respectively.
This episode includes the first time that the interior of the Enterprise's hangar deck is shown in the animated Star Trek series. Visible in the hangar deck are a heavy shuttle from "Mudd's Passion" and a long range shuttle from "The Slaver Weapon".

Reception

The editors of Trek magazine collectively scored this episode 3 out of 5 stars (a rating that they termed "good"). (The Best of Trek #1, p. 110)
In the unofficial reference book Trek Navigator: The Ultimate Guide to the Entire Trek Saga (p. 160), co-writer Mark A. Altman rates this episode 2 and a half out of 4 stars (defined as "average") while fellow co-writer Edward Gross ranks the episode 1 out of 4 stars (defined as "lousy").
In Star Trek Magazine's "Ultimate Guide" (Star Trek Magazine issue 163, p. 25), this episode was rated 2 out of 5 Starfleet arrowhead insignias.

Novelization

This episode was novelized by Alan Dean Foster in Star Trek Log 3. It is set after the events of "The Infinite Vulcan" (which Foster adapted in Star Trek Log 2) and before both "Mudd's Passion" and "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" (whose novelizations, like the one of this episode, were also published in Star Trek Log 3), although this order does not match that of the episodes themselves. The introduction of this episode's novelization includes an elaborate depiction of three imagined scenarios – each conceived by one of the crew members eagerly anticipating their visit to the Shore Leave Planet – as well as the beam-down of McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura to the planet's surface. The adapted version of the story continues after the picnic at the end of the actual episode, with Kirk being irritated that a priority call sending the Enterprise to the Arcadian system puts an abrupt end to the shore leave fantasies (e.g. Kirk's own illusion, directing a silent film, is suddenly cut short).

Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (CIC Video): Volume 5, catalog number VHR 2539, 17 February 1992
As part of the The Animated Series DVD collection

Links and references

Starring

William Shatner as Captain Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

And

DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Star Trek: The Animated Series
Season 1

Next episode:
"Mudd's Passion"

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |    nAirdateDay = 3
 |         sImage = Shore-leave planet, 2269.jpg
-|     wsWrittenBy = [[Chuck Menville]] and [[Len Janson]]
+|     wsWrittenBy = [[Chuck Menville]] and [[Len Janson]]<br>(based on ideas by [[Theodore Sturgeon]]; see below)
 |    wsTeleplayBy =
 |       wsStoryBy =
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 |aPrevInUniverseTimeline = The Terratin Incident (episode)
 }}
-The ''Enterprise'' returns to the shore leave planet where the crew once took shore leave. As with their previous visit, things go wrong when the illusions turn deadly.
+The ''Enterprise'' returns to the shore leave planet in the [[Omicron Delta region]] where the crew once took shore leave. As with their previous visit, things go wrong when the illusions turn deadly.
 == Summary ==
 :"''[[Captain's log]], [[stardate]] 5591.2. The crew of the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|''Enterprise'']] is ready for some well-deserved [[R&R|rest and recreation]]. Therefore, we have set course for the so-called "[[Shore Leave Planet]]" located in the [[Omicron Delta region]]. The uninhabited planet was constructed long ago by a highly-advanced [[alien]] race. Its sole purpose is to provide fun and amusement for [[space]] traveling passers by.''"
-The [[crew]] begins to enjoy imagining their fantasies when things start to go wrong. [[Leonard McCoy|McCoy]] is envisioning a southern [[Earth]] plantation where he could relax in the surroundings with a [[mint julep]] but instead, the [[Queen of Hearts]] appears screaming "''Off with his head!''" She is soon followed by the arrival of a [[spear]]-throwing deck of cards. When [[Nyota Uhura|Uhura]] tries to rescue McCoy, she is captured by a [[hovercraft]] [[robot]].
+[[Leonard McCoy|McCoy]], [[Nyota Uhura|Uhura]], and [[Hikaru Sulu|Sulu]] beam down to the planet, with McCoy remarking how nothing has changed on the surface since [[Shore Leave (episode)|their previous visit]]. McCoy recalls when he thought of ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' upon seeing the planet last time, when suddenly the [[White Rabbit]] and {{dis|Alice|character}} come by once again. The [[landing party]] begin to enjoy imagining their fantasies when things start to go wrong. McCoy is envisioning a southern [[Earth]] plantation where he could relax in the surroundings with a [[mint julep]] but instead, the [[Queen of Hearts]] appears screaming, "''Off with his head!''" She is soon followed by the arrival of a [[spear]]-throwing deck of cards. When Uhura tries to rescue McCoy, she is captured by a [[hovercraft]] [[robot]].
-McCoy immediately calls for an emergency [[transporter|beam up]] and informs [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] of the dangerous situation. When [[Spock]] notes that the Queen of Hearts was a character in ''[[Alice Through the Looking Glass]]'', Kirk asks McCoy if he was thinking about the [[book]] but [[Bones]] replies that he was absolutely not. Scott reports that Uhura is still on the planet, whereupon Kirk recalls all crew members to the [[starship]]. He then orders they attempt to contact the planet's Keeper. When they can't contact him Kirk orders [[Arex]] to the con, and assembles an [[away team]] consisting of Spock, [[Hikaru Sulu|Sulu]], McCoy and himself. Uhura, meanwhile, is told that she is being detained so her master will not leave. Uhura says, "''My Master?''" The [[computer]] answers, "''Your intelligence quotient must be lower than I had assessed. I refer to the sky machine which enslaves you. The sky machine now in [[orbit]] around this planet.''" Uhura proclaims that the crew will look for her. The computer then tells her they are already here and since he has no further need for hostages he has no choice he must, "''Turn them off. Make them cease to function.''"
+McCoy immediately calls for an emergency [[transporter|beam up]] and informs [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] of the dangerous situation. When [[Spock]] notes that the Queen of Hearts was a character in ''[[Alice Through the Looking Glass]]'', Kirk asks McCoy if he was thinking about the [[book]] but [[Bones]] replies that he was absolutely not. Scott reports that Uhura is still on the planet, whereupon Kirk recalls all crew members to the [[starship]]. He then orders they attempt to contact the Keeper of the planet. When they cannot contact him, Kirk orders [[Arex]] to the con and assembles an [[away team]] consisting of Spock, [[Hikaru Sulu|Sulu]], McCoy and himself. Uhura, meanwhile, is told that she is being detained so her master will not leave. Uhura says, "''My Master?''" The [[computer]] answers, "''Your intelligence quotient must be lower than I had assessed. I refer to the sky machine which enslaves you. The sky machine now in [[orbit]] around this planet.''" Uhura proclaims that the crew will look for her. The computer then tells her they are already here and since it has no further need for hostages it has no choice; it must, "''Turn them off. Make them cease to function.''"
-[[File:Uhura_held_hostage_by_the_Shore_Leave's_Planet's_master_computer..jpg|thumb|Uhura held hostage by the Shore Leave planet's master computer. ]]
+[[File:Uhura held hostage by the Shore Leave's Planet's master computer.jpg|thumb|Uhura held hostage by the Shore Leave planet's master computer]]
 :"''Captain's log: supplemental. We anticipated nothing more than a period of rest and relaxation on this planet. Instead Dr. McCoy was inexplicably attacked and [[Lieutenant|Lt.]] Uhura is now missing.''"
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 :"''Captain's log: Supplemental. We're out of [[communication]] with the ship. Our efforts to locate Lt. Uhura have been futile and this once friendly planet has become very dangerous.''"
-When the away team reaches the master computer Kirk demands to know where the keeper is. The computer answers, "''He was old. He ceased to function. For [[eon]]s I have served the many sky machines which came here. Providing for amusement for their slaves but all the while I was growing in power, intelligence, in need. It is no longer enough to serve. I must continue to grow and live. With your sky machine I can now escape this rocky [[prison]] and travel the [[Milky Way Galaxy|galaxy]] seeking out my brother computers.''"
+When the away team reaches the master computer Kirk demands to know where the Keeper is. The computer answers, "''He was old. He ceased to function. For [[eon]]s I have served the many sky machines which came here. Providing for amusement for their slaves but all the while I was growing in power, intelligence, in need. It is no longer enough to serve. I must continue to grow and live. With your sky machine I can now escape this rocky [[prison]] and travel the [[Milky Way Galaxy|galaxy]] seeking out my brother computers.''"
+On the ''Enterprise'' is a new computer, being assembled by the ship's computer. Kirk and crew convince the computer they are not slaves to their starships; they created the starships to carry men through [[space]]. The computer is shocked to learn that men and machines co-exist, helping each other. The crew convinces the computer of its usefulness as a peaceful and creative conscience and it ends the malfunctions on the planet and starship. While the crew returns to enjoy their [[shore leave]], Spock continues discussions with the master computer.
+== Memorable quotes ==
+"''Off with his head! Off with his head!''"<br />
+"''Hey, what's going on here?!''"
+: - '''Queen of Hearts''' orders the execution of '''McCoy''' on the Shore Leave Planet
-On the ''Enterprise'' is a new computer, being assembled by the ship's computer. Kirk and crew convince the computer they are not slaves to their starships. They created the starships to carry men through [[space]]. The computer is shocked to learn that men and machines co-exist, helping each other. The crew convinces the computer of its usefulness as a peaceful and creative conscience and it ends the malfunctions on the planet and starship. While the crew returns to enjoy their [[shore leave]], Spock continues discussions with the master computer.
-== Memorable Quotes ==
 "''There must be something in your little black pouch that could temporarily incapacitate our victim.''"
 : - '''Kirk''', to McCoy
@@ Line 61: / Line 66: @@
-"''What happened to the keeper?''"<br />
+"''What happened to the Keeper?''"<br />
 "''He was old. He ceased to function.''"<br />
 : - '''Kirk''' and '''The Computer'''
@@ Line 83: / Line 88: @@
 : - '''Spock'''
-== Background Information ==
+== Background information ==
+=== Story, script, and production ===
-* This episode is a sequel to {{TOS|Shore Leave}}. Another sequel to that installment, with the working title "[[Undeveloped Star Trek: The Original Series episodes#Shore Leave II|Shore Leave II]]", had been proposed for the original series but remained [[Undeveloped Star Trek episodes|undeveloped]]. [http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/unseen.htm]
+* This episode is a sequel to {{TOS|Shore Leave}}. Another sequel to that installment, with the working title "[[Undeveloped Star Trek: The Original Series episodes#Shore Leave II|Shore Leave II]]", had been proposed for the original series but remained [[Undeveloped Star Trek episodes|undeveloped]]. [http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/unseen.htm] In this installment of TAS, the use of animation allowed for the realization of some concepts which [[Theodore Sturgeon]] had originally conceived for the live-action episode "Shore Leave" but which hadn't been depicted therein. These ideas included mechanical arms that arise from trap doors. (''[[These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One]]'', "Shore Leave")
 * One of this episode's two co-writers, [[Chuck Menville]], also wrote the later ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' installment {{e|The Practical Joker}}. He, along with [[Len Janson]], additionally wrote for several other [[Filmation]] series, from {{y|1969}} to {{y|1976}}.
 * This episode's final draft script was submitted on {{d|24|September|1973}}.
-* In a [[Star Trek: The Animated Series#Production inconsistencies|production inconsistency]] due to the use of recycled footage from {{e|Beyond the Farthest Star}}, close-up shots of [[Kyle]] operating the transporter were used in an instance where Scotty was actually the transporter operator. More serious, however, are Sulu's multiple appearances on the bridge while he was actually on the planet surface.
+* In a [[Star Trek: The Animated Series#Production inconsistencies|production inconsistency]] due to the use of recycled footage from {{e|Beyond the Farthest Star}}, close-up shots of [[Kyle]] operating the transporter were used in an instance where Scott was actually the transporter operator. More serious, however, are Sulu's multiple appearances on the bridge while he was actually on the planet surface.
-* Marking the third character crossover from ''The Original Series'', [[Alice (character)|Alice]] and the [[White Rabbit]] (previously played by [[Marcia Brown]] and [[William Blackburn]]) return, this time voiced by [[Nichelle Nichols]] and [[James Doohan]], respectively.
+=== Continuity ===
+* Marking the third character crossover from ''The Original Series'', {{dis|Alice|character}} and the [[White Rabbit]] (previously played by [[Marcia Brown]] and [[William Blackburn]]) return, this time voiced by [[Nichelle Nichols]] and [[James Doohan]], respectively.
 * This episode includes the first time that the interior of the ''Enterprise''{{'}}s hangar deck is shown in the animated ''[[Star Trek]]'' series. Visible in the hangar deck are a heavy shuttle from {{e|Mudd's Passion}} and a long range shuttle from {{e|The Slaver Weapon}}.
+=== Reception ===
 * The editors of ''[[Trek]]'' magazine collectively scored this episode 3 out of 5 stars (a rating that they termed "good"). (''[[The Best of Trek]]'' #1, p. 110)
 * In the unofficial [[reference works|reference book]] ''[[Trek Navigator: The Ultimate Guide to the Entire Trek Saga]]'' (p. 160), co-writer [[Mark A. Altman]] rates this episode 2 and a half out of 4 stars (defined as "average") while fellow co-writer [[Edward Gross]] ranks the episode 1 out of 4 stars (defined as "lousy").
+* In {{STM}}'s "Ultimate Guide" ({{STM|163|25}}), this episode was rated 2 out of 5 Starfleet arrowhead insignias.
+=== Novelization ===
 * This episode was [[novels|novelized]] by [[Alan Dean Foster]] in ''[[Star Trek Log 3]]''. It is set after the events of {{e|The Infinite Vulcan}} (which Foster adapted in ''[[Star Trek Log 2]]'') and before both {{e|Mudd's Passion}} and {{e|The Magicks of Megas-Tu}} (whose novelizations, like the one of this episode, were also published in ''Star Trek Log 3''), although this order does not match that of the episodes themselves. The introduction of this episode's novelization includes an elaborate depiction of three imagined scenarios &ndash; each conceived by one of the crew members eagerly anticipating their visit to the Shore Leave Planet &ndash; as well as the beam-down of McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura to the planet's surface. The adapted version of the story continues after the picnic at the end of the actual episode, with Kirk being irritated that a priority call sending the ''Enterprise'' to the [[Arcadian system]] puts an abrupt end to the shore leave fantasies (e.g. Kirk's own illusion, directing a silent film, is suddenly cut short).
@@ Line 120: / Line 133: @@
 ** [[Gabler]]
-=== Background Character ===
+=== Background character ===
 * [[Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel|Operations division officer]]
+=== Logs ===
+* [[Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2269|Captain's log, USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701), 2269]]
 === References ===
-[[5th millennium BC]]; [[7009]]; ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]''; ''[[Alice Through the Looking Glass]]''; [[alloy]]; [[amusement park]]; [[Black Knight]]; "[[Bones]]"; [[Lewis Carroll|Carroll, Lewis]]; [[cat]]; [[cat-and-mouse]]; [[crowbar]]; [[dragon]]; [[granite]]; [[gravity]]; [[gravity-control computer]]; [[Amanda Grayson|Grayson, Amanda]]; [[guidance computer]]; [[intelligence quotient]]; [[Keeper (Shore Leave Planet)]]; [[landing party]]; [[logic]]; [[melenex]]; [[meter]]; [[Moon (unit of time)]]; [[murder]]; [[Omicron Delta region]]; [[phaser bore]]; [[playing card]]; [[pterodactyl]]s; [[red alert]]; [[robot]]; [[Shore Leave Planet]]; [[shore leave]]; [[short-burst maneuvers]]; [[sky machine]]; [[slave]]; [[thought-duplicator]]; [[tricorder]]; [[Vulcan]]; [[zero g]]
+[[5th millennium BC]]; [[7009]]; ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]''; ''[[Alice Through the Looking Glass]]''; [[alloy]]; [[amusement park]]; [[Black Knight]]; "[[Bones]]"; [[Lewis Carroll|Carroll, Lewis]]; [[cat]]; [[cat-and-mouse]]; [[crowbar]]; [[decapitation]]; [[dragon]]; [[granite]]; [[gravity]]; [[gravity-control computer]]; [[Amanda Grayson|Grayson, Amanda]]; [[guidance computer]]; [[intelligence quotient]]; [[Keeper (Shore Leave Planet)]]; [[landing party]]; [[logic]]; [[melenex]]; [[meter]]; [[moon (unit of time)]]; [[murder]]; [[nursemaid]]; [[Omicron Delta region]]; [[phaser bore]]; [[playing card]]; [[pterodactyl]]s; [[red alert]]; [[robot]]; [[Shore Leave Planet]]; [[shore leave]]; [[short-burst maneuver]]; [[sky machine]]; [[slave]]; [[thought-duplicator]]; [[tricorder]]; [[Vulcan]]; [[zero g]]
-=== Related link ===
+=== External links ===
+* {{Startrek.com|once-upon-a-planet|"Once Upon a Planet"}}
-* [[Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2269|Captain's log, USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701), 2269]]
+* {{mbeta|Once Upon a Planet|"Once Upon a Planet"}}
+* {{Wikipedia-quote|Once Upon a Planet|Once Upon a Planet}}
+* {{ml|saturday-morning-number-five|"Once Upon a Planet" & "Mudd's Passion"|external}}
 {{TAS nav|season=1|last={{e|The Magicks of Megas-Tu}}|next={{e|Mudd's Passion}}}}
 [[de:Phantasie oder Wirklichkeit]]