Star Trek: The Animated Series - Episode Guide
Episode Index:
YESTERYEAR
ONE OF PLANETS IS MISSING
THE LORELEI SIGNAL
MORE TRIBBLES, MORE TROUBLES
THE SURVIVOR
THE INFINITE VULCAN
THE MAGICKS OF MEGAS-TU
ONCE UPON A PLANET
MUDD'S PASSION
THE TERRATIN INCIDENT
TIME TRAP
THE AMBERGRIS ELEMENT
SLAVER WEAPON
BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR
THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
JIHAD
THE PIRATES OF ORION
BEM
PRACTICAL JOKER
ALBATROSS
HOW SHARPER THAN A SERPENT'S TOOTH
THE COUNTER CLOCK INCIDENT
In 1973, NBC and Paramount attempted to revive Star Trek as a weekly series. This time, it would be animated and not live action. Possibly this decision was due in part to the fact that animation was much cheaper than the special effects of the old series. Another reason is the ability to present a far greater range of aliens through animation than are possible with make-up and costumes.
Most of the crew of the original returned except for Walter Koenig (Chekov) and Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand). There was also the addition of two new regular crew members - Lt. Arex and Lt. M'Ress, both non-humans.The most unfortunate thing about the series is that NBC chose to place on Saturday morning as part of its regular Saturday cartoon line-up. I believe this was a mistake and the series would have been much better off at a early evening time slot so that adults could watch it too.
Producers.................Norm Prescott Lou Scheimer
Associate Director......Dorothy Fontana
Director.................Hal Sutherland
Art Director............Don Christensen
Character & Layout............Bob Kline Herb Hazelton
Background Color.............Irv Kaplan
Editor........................Joe Simon
Music & Effects............Horta-Mahana
Camera Supervision...........R. W. PopeWilliam Shatner
Majel Barrett
DeForest Kelley
George Takei
James Doohan
Nichelle Nichols
YESTERYEAR
Original Air Date: 9/15/73
Writer: Dorothy Fontana
Guest Voice: Billy Simpson as the young Spock, Keith Sutherland as the young SepekThis episode was a sequel to "The City on the Edge of Forever." Kirk and Spock return from a voyage through the Guardian of Forever only to find that Spock has been erased from history and the minds of the Enterprise crew. They discover that somehow Spock had died as a child on Vulcan and he must journey back through time to save himself.
ONE OF PLANETS IS MISSING
Original Air Date: 9/22/73
Writer: Marc DanielsA sentient creature which at first appears as an enormous cloud drifts into the galaxy and begins devouring planets. Spock (naturally) needs to communicate with the creature using the Vulcan Mind Meld.
THE LORELEI SIGNAL
Original Air Date: 9/29/73
Writer: Margaret ArmenThe men of the Enterprise get captured by beautiful alien women and have all of their strength sapped. The female crew members, led by Uhura come to the rescue to save the crew.
MORE TRIBBLES, MORE TROUBLES
Original Air Date: 10/6/73
Writer: David Gerrold
Guest Voice: David Gerrold as KoraxThis episode was a sequel to "The Trouble With Tribbles." Cyrano Jones is back with Klingons in pursuit. This time he has tribbles that have been engineered so they can't replicate, but they do grow to enormous size. The Klingons are pursuing Jones because he has stolen a "glommer" which the Klingons invented to eat tribbles.
THE SURVIVOR
Original Air Date: 10/13/73
Writer: James Schmerer
Guest Voice: Ted Knight as Carter WinstonThe Enterprise encounters a battered one-man ship in space and Kirk orders the single survivor aboard. The survivor is Carter Winston who had disappeared some years back. By coincidence, his fiancee, Anne Nored is aboard the Enterprise. Carter informs her that he has changed his mind though and won't marry her. It turns out in the end that Carter is really an alien that has the ability to change shape and is a spy for the Romulans.
THE INFINITE VULCAN
Original Air Date: 10/20/73
Writer: Walter KoenigYes, that's the same Walter Koenig who played ensign Chekov and it seems he has it in for Mr. Spock. In the original series, Spock went insane ("Amok Time"), mutinied ("The Menagerie") and had his brain stolen ("Spock's Brain"). In this episode, he is cloned into an immortal, unfriendly giant. Kirk once again needs to prove that human logic is superior to Vulcan by convincing the cloned Vulcan to save the original who is dying.
THE MAGICKS OF MEGAS-TU
Original Air Date: 10/27/73
Writer: Larry Brody
Guest Voice: Ed Bishop as The ProsecutorThe Enterprise is transported to another dimension where magic works and science doesn't. The systems on board the Enterprise are reactivated by one of the Megans named Lucien who tells them that they too have magical powers. However, when the Enterprise crew attempts to use them, they are captured by the Megans. Lucien is put on trial for helping them and Kirk must defend him. Lucien bears a striking physical resemblance to our concept of Satan.
ONCE UPON A PLANET
Original Air Date: 11/3/73
Writer: Len Jenson and Chuck MenvilleThis one is a sequel to "Shore Leave". The Enterprise returns to the shore leave planet only to discover that the Keeper has died and the computer that ran everything has taken over and is out to destroy all non-computer life-forms.
MUDD'S PASSION
Original Air Date: 11/10/73
Writer: Stephen KandelThis one is a sequel to "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd" from the original series. Our old friend Harry Mudd is back selling fake love potions to miners. If that wasn't bad enough, he is using an illusion-maker to help prove that his goods really work. Kirk rescues him from some angry miners incarcerates him. In escaping, he gives some of the fake potion to Nurse Chapel for her to use on Spock and then steals a shuttlecraft. Chapel tries to capture him but winds up captured herself. The joke is that the potion turns out to be real and the love-stricken Spock sets out to rescue his beloved Nurse Chapel.
THE TERRATIN INCIDENT
Original Air Date: 11/17/73
Writer: Paul SchneiderA bolt of energy hits the Enterprise and shrinks the entire crew. Once again, the transporter comes to the rescue and Kirk is restored to normal size by beaming down to the planet where the bolt came from. The transporter automatically returns him to the ship, where he finds that the entire crew has been taken by the citizens of a miniature city on the planet's surface.
TIME TRAP
Original Air Date: 11/24/73
Writer: Joyce PerryThe Enterprise and a Klingon cruiser enter a time warp where they find an interstellar Sargasso Sea. The dilithium crystals are breaking down and Kirk and the Klingons must cooperate to link their ships together in order to reach the necessary speed to break through back to our universe.
THE AMBERGRIS ELEMENT
Original Air Date: 12/1/73
Writer: Margaret ArmenThis time Kirk gets it along with Spock. On the water planet Argo, a research shuttlecraft is attacked by a sea monster. Both Kirk and Spock disappear underwater with the sea monster. They return five days later after having been mysteriously transformed into water breathers. They must travel underwater to find their benefactors and force them to change Kirk and Spock back again. They are arrested and brought to trial (what else?) because they are air-breathers. Not one of the best episodes.
SLAVER WEAPON
Original Air Date: 12/15/73
Writer: Larry NivenLarry Niven brings his Known Space universe into the Star Trek Universe. The episode is loosely based on his short story, "The Soft Weapon". Spock, Uhura and Sulu are assigned to bring an ancient slaver artifact inside a stasis box to Starbase 25. Slaver stasis boxes have the unique ability to find other slaver boxes and they are diverted on heir way when the box registers another box in the area. They are captured by Kzin who want the the artifact.
BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR
Original Air Date: 12/22/73
Writer: Samuel A. PeeplesThis episode was written by the same person that wrote the second pilot episode for the original series, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." At the edge of the galaxy the Enterprise is captured by the gravitational pull of a negative star mass. In orbit around the object is another ship that was built by an insect-like race. The ship had been apparently invaded by an intelligent, but evil, energy being and the captain of the insect's ship destroyed his own ship rather than let it spread. The energy being makes its way to the Enterprise and takes over the ship. Kirk and crew must figure out how to deal with the being without destroying their own ship.
THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Original Air Date: 1/5/74
Writer: David P. HarmonAnother poor episode combining several elements of earlier episode from the old series. A landing party is captured by slug-like beings and placed in a zoo. The creatures are so far advanced that Spock's telepathy merely amuses them and does not act as a source of communication. The party eventually manages to communicate with one of the children who assists them in escaping.
JIHAD
Original Air Date: 1/13/74
Writer: Stephen Kandel
Guest Voice: Some claim that David Gerrold provided the voice of EM/3 but I haven't seen this episode recently to verify the information.A holy relic is stolen and it must be returned before it is discovered to be missing. A diverse group of beings from various planets are assembled for a top-secret mission to retrieve the relic from its hiding place on a wild, unstable planet. Typical quest adventure episode complete with a traitor as one of the party members.
THE PIRATES OF ORION
Original Air Date: 9/7/74
Writer: Howard WeinsteinThe writers all seem to have it in for poor Mr. Spock. In this episode, he is inflicted with a rare blood disease that strangely enough, is fatal to Vulcans. The only known cure is too far away to reach in time. An arrangement is made with a freighter to meet them half-way with a supply of the drug but the shipment is way-laid by pirates.
BEM
Original Air Date: 9/14/74
Writer: David GerroldOne of the few original ideas used in this series. The Enterprise has on board an independent observer, Bem, from the plane Pandro. He has been sent to test the Federation's usefulness to Pandro. While exploring a newly discovered planet, he arranges to have himself, Kirk and Spock captured by the locals. By disassembling his body, he leaves the cage, returns Kirk's and Spock's weapons to them and then reenters the cage insisting that they must prove their usefulness by rescuing him without any further help from him.
PRACTICAL JOKER
Original Air Date: 9/21/74
Writer: Chuck MenvilleWhile escaping from two Romulan ships that had attacked the Enterprise, Kirk orders the ship into cloud. Afterwards, the computer goes haywire, and turns into a practical joker.
ALBATROSS
Original Air Date: 9/28/74
Writer: Dario FinelliMcCoy is arrested on Dramia for the mass murder of the population of Dramia II. McCoy had been to that planet years before to head an inoculation program to combat a virus. After he left, a plague broke out wiping out half the population. Kirk and Spock travel to Dramia II to find someone willing to testify in McCoy's behalf. The entire crew though (except Spock who is immune) fall victim to the plague.
HOW SHARPER THAN A SERPENT'S TOOTH
Original Air Date: 10/5/74
Writer: Russel Bates and David WiseVery similar to the original series episode, "Who Mourns for Adonis." The Enterprise follows a space probe back to a strange planet where Kirk, McCoy, Scott and Ensign Dawson Walking Bear are captured and forced to solve a puzzle. When they do, they are confronted by the Mayan god, Kulkukan who is angry at having been forgotten. My recollection of this episode is that someone seriously confused American Indian mythology with Aztec and Mayan mythology.
THE COUNTER CLOCK INCIDENT
Original Air Date: 10/12/74
Writer: John CulverThe Enterprise, on route to Babel where their passenger, Commodore Robert April is due for retirement ceremonies, attempts to stop a ship from entering a dangerous nova. Instead, the Enterprise is drawn through the nova into a reverse universe where time runs backwards. Commodore April, now the only adult left on the ship, has to pilot the ship back through to our universe.