CS Weekly Archive > The Big Picture > 09/15/06

Boldly Going:
The Seven Best Original Series
Star Trek Episodes

By jason davis

As the original Star Trek returns to syndication with newly remastered episodes enhanced with new CGI effects (check your local listings), CS Weekly celebrates the show's 40th Anniversary with a look back at the writing that made "To boldly go where no man has gone before" an iconic phrase.

Forty years after the USS Enterprise set off on its five-year mission, the original Star Trek continues to set the bar for compelling television storytelling in the science fantasy genre. Trek's combination of science fiction concepts with solid character-based drama secured it recognition by M.I.T. as one of three seminal U.S. science fiction television series, alongside The Twilight Zone and Babylon 5. Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's filled the mid-1960s airwaves with extraordinary tales penned by both skilled television dramatists like D.C. Fontana and Gene Coon and famous science fiction scribes like Richard Matheson and Theodore Sturgeon. In honor of the show's 40th anniversary, CS Weekly has compiled a list of the seven best-written episodes from the three-year run of the original series, episodes that show, four decades later, what it takes to create a pop culture phenomenon. (Note: episodes are in order of original airdate.)

"Where No Man Has Gone Before"
Written by Samuel A. Peeples
Aired: September 22, 1966
Star Trek's second pilot, despite issuing from the pen of prolific television scribe Samuel A. Peeples, was deeply rooted in one of creator Gene Roddenberry's favorite themes -- that of mankind's power advancing beyond his wisdom. At the edge of the Milky Way, an energy barrier causes navigator Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) to develop extrasensory capabilities that increase exponentially. Faced with a choice between killing his best friend or bowing to the god-like Mitchell, Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) encounters the first of the series' many no-win scenarios. Deeming the show's initial pilot "too cerebral," NBC executives were won over by Peeples' script, which effortlessly wove complex philosophical ideas, such as man's unbridled potential, together with more traditional action fare.

"The Menagerie" Parts 1 & 2
Written by Gene Roddenberry
Aired: November 17 & 24, 1966
With production of the show massively behind, Roddenberry pulled an unbelievable ace out of his sleeve when he penned "The Menagerie," a story that took place entirely on the sets of the proceeding episode while utilizing abandoned footage from Trek's unaired original pilot, "The Cage." The pilot, concerning former Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike's (Jeffrey Hunter) duel of wills with the telepathic inhabitants of planet Talos IV, had explored Roddenberry's other pet theme of mankind rebelling against any prisonment, even if it's pleasant. Framing the unused footage within a trial that finds First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) accused of breaking quarantine to return Pike to Talos IV, Roddenberry deployed his earlier story as evidence to the court while using Spock's narration to explain the story's more esoteric aspects. An amazing feat of re-purposing combined with production economy, the two-part story not only became a stopgap that kept the series on the air, it also picked up a prestigious Hugo Award for dramatic writing in the field of science fiction.

"The Devil in the Dark"
Written by Gene L. Coon
Aired: March 9, 1967
Written by one of the fastest writers in the TV business, "The Devil in the Dark" epitomizes the optimistic outlook of Star Trek when Kirk and company investigate a dangerous creature that is killing the inhabitants of a mining colony. Coupling imaginative science fiction concepts such as silicon- based life with emotional drama that asks the viewer to consider the perspective of the story's antagonist, the episode is only the tip of the iceberg of Coon's contributions to the franchise. Having created the warlike Klingon race, the genetically engineered villain Khan (Ricardo Montalban) -- a character who would return in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan -- and even the Prime Directive (a rule governing the Enterprise crew's dealings with primitive cultures), Coon's work on the series is still best defined by this story, which exhibits the writer's respect for humanity in even the most alien of creatures.

"The City on the Edge of Forever"
Written by Harlan Ellison
Aired: April 6, 1967
Widely regarded as the best episode of the original Trek, Harlan Ellison's teleplay is a work of magical realism that finds Kirk and Spock propelled back to Depression-era New York, where they must ensure that humanitarian Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) is killed in a traffic accident, or else face an alternate future where the Nazis win World War II. Ellison's catch? Kirk has fallen hopelessly in love with Keeler. A controversial episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever" was rewritten by numerous in-house staffers, leading Ellison to publish his original WGA Award-winning draft in 1995 along with a lengthy introduction detailing the story's history. Originally set in motion by the actions of a degenerate Enterprise crewman whose one selfless act -- saving Keeler -- condemns history to a fascist-ruled alternative, the story was revised to highlight the show's emerging third lead: Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Despite the differences of opinion regarding the tale's specifics, there can be no doubt that the power of the writer's original concept still resonates today. The story won a second Hugo for the series and entered the pop culture conscience, spawning allusions in work as diverse as the comic strip Foxtrot to the rock group Edith Keeler (Must Die).

"Amok Time"
Written by Theodore Sturgeon
Aired: September 15, 1967
Prolific science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon's second teleplay for Star Trek finds Kirk and McCoy compelled to return to Spock to his home planet of Vulcan, where he must endure an ancient mating ritual or die. Sturgeon's trademark use of sexuality to explore character is front and center in this season two opener, as Spock's intended mate (Arlene Martel) demands that Spock kill his captain before he be allowed the coital release he requires. Yet another story that demands sacrifices of the show's heroes and offers no apparent compromise, "Amok Time" was the first glimpse at Vulcan culture -- finally contextualizing Commander Spock in terms of his species. Daringly provocative in terms of late '60s mores, the narrative is even more astonishing in its implicit assertion that an act of extreme violence fulfils the same ends as sexual gratification. Sure, this was the following on the heels of the Summer of Love but it was also 8:30pm Friday night on NBC.

"Journey to Babel"
Written by D.C. Fontana
Aired: November 17, 1967
A political thriller that finds the Enterprise playing host to assorted dignitaries en route to a top secret conference, "Journey to Babel" by series story editor D.C. Fontana manages to spin an engaging murder mystery around an even more compelling family drama. When an antagonistic envoy is found dead, suspicion logically falls on the Vulcan Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard) with whom the deceased had previously had an altercation. Complicating matters is Sarek's medical condition, akin to a human heart attack, which will kill him without a lifesaving operation. Unfortunately, the only available blood donor aboard the Enterprise is Sarek's estranged son, Spock. While Kirk ferrets out a conspiracy to derail the conference, Spock agrees to aid his father, but reneges when his captain is wounded and command of the Enterprise falls to him. Further refining the character of Spock, as did "Amok Time" before it, Fontana's script illustrates its author's affinity for the three lead characters and makes excellent use of the established dramatic tensions between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to drive the action of the script.

"The Trouble With Tribbles"
Written by David Gerrold
Aired: December 29, 1967
Echoing the ecological disaster presaged by the introduction of rabbits to the predator-free Australian Outback, Gerrold's teleplay finds the Enterprise crew at the mercy of the adorably cuddly, but rapidly breeding Tribbles when an eccentric trader (Stanley Adams) unleashes the pests on a space station. Exacerbating the scenario is a hostile crew of Klingons who demand shore leave on the station, which is harboring a vital grain supply. First-time scribe David Gerrold's dream came true when he found himself in a position to pitch a story to his favorite TV show. Chronicling the episode's origins and production in a book of the same name, the 23-year-old Gerrold extols the virtues of preparedness and persistence in young writers while reporting his experience. Easily one of the best-known stories to those with only a passing familiarity with the series, "The Trouble With Tribbles" illustrates the tonal range inherent in the series format, with moments of hilarious comedy punctuating the more serious espionage plot. The episode is so iconic that spin-off Deep Space Nine used the story as a starting point for a 35th anniversary tribute wherein the space station's crew must foil an attempt to assassinate Captain Kirk during the events of this episode. Combining original series footage with newly shot scenes, "Trials and Tribble-ations" provides an engaging counterpoint to the action of Gerrold's original story.

Of course, limiting any list of this kind to seven precludes any number of gems. Whether it's the submarine-style warfare of "Balance of Terror," the sinister parallel universe of "Mirror, Mirror," or Psycho novelist Robert Bloch's stellar take on Victorian serial killers ("Wolf in the Fold"), the series boasted an embarrassment of riches as evident in its non-stop syndication (soon to be re-energized by newly restored episodes featuring CG makeovers for the show's special effects), vast propagation (one animated series, four live-action spin- offs, 10 movies, and countless media tie-ins of all description, not to mention merchandising…), and devoted following (which is certain to swell when Lost creator J.J. Abrams' planned film hits movie screens).

Jason Davis is the DVD Manager for CS Weekly, a contributing editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, and writes "TV Wasteland" for Cinescape.com. He lives and writes in Burbank.

Star Trek: The Original Series courtesy Paramount Home Video

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