Captain’s log: stardate 5121.5 The Empath is an interesting episode, written by Joyce Muskat and with an original airdate of 6 December, 1968, this one uses a bit of minimalist set design to give it an almost surreal feel. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) find themselves trapped in…
Tag: spock
Star Trek: Dwellers in the Crucible (1985) – Margaret Wander Bonanno
Before Star Trek V: The Final Frontier came along four years later with the concept of the Planet of Galactic Peace, Margaret Wander Bonanno presented a similar idea in her non-canon Star Trek novel, Dwellers in the Crucible, which finds its way onto the Book Shelf this week. Set before the events of Star Trek…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – Plato’s Stepchildren and Wink of an Eye
Captain’s log: stardate 5784.2 Plato’s Stepchildren first screened on 22 November, 1968 and was written by Meyer Dolinsky. The episode is of historical note because of the first American broadcast interracial kiss when Captain Kirk (William Shatner) kisses Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). Beyond that, the story is rather basic. The Enterprise is summoned to a…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky and The Tholian Web
Captain’s log: stardate 5476.3 I’ve always loved the title of this episode and the imagery it conjures in my head. Written by Hendrik Vollaerts under a pseudonym this ends up being a solid, if slightly flawed episode, that aired on 8 November, 1968. Things get underway when Dr. McCoy (DeFrorest Kelley) is diagnosed with a…
Star Trek: Ishmael (1985) – Barbara Hambly
My journey with the non-canon Star Trek Pocket Books continues. And this novel from 1985 demonstrates what was happening in Trek pages before Paramount took a stronger stance on what the novels could be about. Previous to this we’ve encountered Trek novels with slash overtones between James T. Kirk and his science officer, the Vulcan…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – Spectre of the Gun and Day of the Dove
Captain’s log: stardate 4385.3 Spectre of the Gun is a bit of an interesting episode. Written by Gene Coon, under a pseudonym the episode premiered on 25 October, 1968. When the Enterprise trespasses into Melkot space, the alien race punishes some of the crew including Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest Kelley),…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – And the Children Shall Lead and Is There in Truth No Beauty?
Captain’s log: stardate 5029.5 And the Children Shall Lead. Written by Edward J. Lasko, this episode aired on 11 October, 1968. It started out with the some good ideas – the Enterprise arrives at a Federation colony to discover that all the adults have taken their own lives, leaving the children, who seem oblivious to…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – The Enterprise Incident and The Paradise Syndrome
Captain’s log: stardate 5027.3 The Enterprise Incident aired on 27 September, 1968 and was written by D.C. Fontana. It’s a fairly strong episode and a huge step-up from last week’s debacle. We see the return of the Romulans as Captain Kirk (William Shatner) behaves in an increassingly erratic manner, taking the Enterprise across the Neutral…
Star Trek: Shadow Lord (1985) – Laurence Yep
I dove into another non-canon Star Trek adventure from Pocket Books, and this one, I have to say, is a swing and a miss. It’s almost like it wants to be a bit of a fantasy tale in the vein of Dumas’ Musketeers, but it is actually just a big misstep, which doesn’t really fit…
Star Trek: The Original Series (1968) – Assignment: Earth and Spock’s Brain
Captain’s log: stardate unknown. Originally written as its own pilot, Assignment: Earth was later rewritten to work it into a Star Trek story. The script was by Art Wallace, and came from a story developed by him and Gene Roddenberry. The episode first aired on 29 March, 1968. 1968. The very year the Enterprise travels…
The Mind Reels 