The Enterprise finds a planet inhabited by aliens who were once followers of the Greek philosopher Plato.
Summary
Summoned by an urgent request for medical help, the Enterprise crew finds a group of aliens who supposedly model their society on the teachings of Plato. Their leader is suffering massive infection and is close to death. The crew discovers the Platonians' powerful psychokinetic abilities, as the man's delirium has violent effects on his surroundings. Another Platonian trait is extreme longevity, as well as frail physical immunity seemingly caused by their emphasis on mental prowess. This is what caused their powerful ruler to be so vulnerable to what should have been a minor injury.
Dr. McCoy's treatment is effective, and the Platonians seem grateful. It soon becomes apparent, however, that the Platonians regard the outsiders as inferior, and they intend to force McCoy to stay and render medical services. Their extreme life of the intellect has transformed them into strangely Machiavellian beings. They use all their mental powers to intimidate and humiliate Captain Kirk and Spock into compliance.
Fortunately, the crew is able to deduce that the psychokinetic abilities are a side-effect of eating the planet's kironide-rich food. McCoy isolates the compound and fortifies Kirk, enabling him to overpower the Platonian leader.
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Log Entries
- Captain’s log, stardate 5784.2. We are responding to desperate distress calls from an unknown planet. My science officer, Mr. Spock, is unable to account for this, since he reported no signs of life on the planet. It is rich in kironide deposits, a very rare and long-lasting source of great power.
- Captain’s log, stardate 5784.3. Dr. McCoy is endeavoring to treat the leader of a strange group of people. When their planet novaed, millennia ago, they transported themselves to Earth during the time of Socrates and Plato. After the death of the Greek civilization they idolized, they came to this planet and created for themselves a utopia patterned after it.
Memorable Quotes
- "They're going to kill you after a while, you know that!"
"In that case, what's the point in you dying, too, Alexander?"
(pause) "That's the first time anyone's ever thought of my life before his own..."
-- Alexander and Kirk
- "I feel so afraid."
"That's the way they want you to feel -- it makes them think that they're alive."
-- Uhura and Kirk before "The Kiss."
- "Pituitary hormones confirm the hypothesis; they also regulate body growth."
"Oh, you mean the same thing that kept me from having the power made me a... dwarf?"
-- Spock and Alexander
- "You think that's what I want? Become one of them? Become my own enemy? Just lie around like a big blob of nothing and have things done for me? No, sir -- if I want to do something, I'll do it for myself! If I want to laugh or cry, I'll do it for myself; you can keep your precious power! All I ask is one thing; if you do make it out of here, take me with you!"
-- Alexander, after being offered to be given the psychokinetic ability by McCoy
- "Don't stop me -- let me finish him off!"
"Do you want to be like him?"
-- Alexander (with Parmen at knifepoint) and Kirk
- "Parmen, listen to me; I could have had your power, but I didn't want it. I could have had your position-- your place, right now! But the sight of you and your academicia sickens me. Despite your brains, you're the most comtemptable beings who ever lived in this universe."
-- Alexander
Background Information
- This episode is famous for featuring the first interracial kiss on American network television, between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura, although the kiss itself was not shown in the final edit.
- After being absent from the second season because of a dispute with Gene Roddenberry, Alexander "Sandy" Courage returned to compose the music for this episode, his last score for 'Star Trek.'
- The episode pioneers the use of psycho-kinetic energy to strangle Alexander, almost a decade before Darth Vader's famous force-choke.
- George Takei (Sulu) does not appear in this episode.
- Story outline was originally titled "The Sons of Socrates" and produced 13 June 1968. The episode was filmed early to mid-September.
- In the United Kingdom, the BBC skipped this episode in all runs of the series though to the early 1990s, due to the controversial kiss between Kirk and Uhura. It was finally shown for the first time on 22nd December 1993.
- For some Star Wars fans, this episode probably showed the inspiration for Sith and Dark Jedi. The Platonians who could use their psychokenetic abilities used them for dark desires, and to prove they were superior to people who didn't have their power.
Links and References
VHS edition available through Amazon under ISBN 6300988635.
Main cast
- William Shatner as Kirk
- Leonard Nimoy as Spock
- DeForest Kelley as McCoy
- James Doohan as Scott
- Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
- Majel Barrett as Chapel
Guest Stars
- Michael Dunn as Alexander
- Liam Sullivan as Parmen
- Barbara Babcock as Philana
- Ted Scott as Eraclitus
- Derek Partridge as Dionyd
- William Blackburn as Hadley (uncredited)
References
chess; Hippocrates; kironide; kithara; "Maiden Wine"; Pericles; Plato; Platonian; Platonius; psychokinesis; Sahndara; Sahndara system.
DVD Media Information
- Star Trek: The Original Series, Volume 34 (original two episode single-disc release) ASIN B00005N5SF
- Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete Third Season (disc 3 of the set)
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