Spock-blocking Archive

Star Trek: The Animated Series Re-Watch: “One of Our Planets is Missing”

– May 31, 2011 8:00 amPosted in: Animated Series Re-Watch

“One of Our Planets is Missing”
Written by Marc Daniels
Directed by Hal Sutherland

Season 1, Episode 3
Production episode: 22007
Original air date: September 22, 1973
Star date: 5371.3

Mission summary

Starfleet Command has commissioned the Enterprise to investigate a cosmic cloud heading through the Pallas 14 system. Over 800,000 km across and half as deep, the cloud is immense and unlike anything the crew has ever seen. It seems to move intelligently, and sets its sights on the planet Alondra. Before they can say “horta,” it rapidly engulfs the planet Alondra and breaks it into tiny pieces. Soon it’s changed course and heads directly to a new target: Mantilles, the Federation’s most remote inhabited planet, with over 82 million residents. Do they warn those people so that a handful can escape? Is it worth it to risk full-blown panic? They decide to let the governor, Bob Wesley, in on the threat. It’ll be up to him to decide who lives and who dies.

As soon as the message is sent, however, tendrils from the cloud reach out and wrap themselves around the Enterprise.

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Tags: cosmic clouds, handwaving mumblemumble, heavy stuff, mind meld, moral complexity, scotty being awesome, Scotty works a miracle, seances, space bulls, Spock is a Jedi, Spock-blocking, spockblocking, tough choices, wonders of the universe

Star Trek Re-Watch: “The Cloud Minders”

Eugene Myers & Torie Atkinson

– February 24, 2011 8:00 amPosted in: TOS Re-Watch

“The Cloud Minders”
Written by Margaret Armen
Story by David Gerrold and Oliver Crawford
Directed by Jud Taylor

Season 3, Episode 21
Production episode: 3×19
Original air date: February 28, 1969
Star date: 5818.4

Mission summary

To combat a devastating botanical plague that threatens the non-botanical life on Merak II, Enterprise heads to Ardana, a Federation world that possesses unobtainium zenite, the only thing in the universe that can save the trees. Upon arrival, they’re invited to the cloud city Stratos for an audience with the High Advisor Plasus, but they’re in too much of a hurry for pomp and circumstance. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock beam down directly to the zenite mine entrance to pick up the prescription they ordered from drugstore.com and get on their way. However, they do spare some time to gaze admiringly at the city floating above and discuss its utter devotion to art and purely intellectual pursuits.

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Tags: antigravity, botany, class issues, cloud city, fully clothed man-wrestling, funny masks, magical minerals, maguffin, metropolis, mining, plague, rocks, sexy ladies, shower cap security, Spock-blocking, Troglytes, Vulcan sex

Star Trek Re-Watch: “The Tholian Web”

Eugene Myers & Torie Atkinson

– December 2, 2010 8:00 amPosted in: TOS Re-Watch

“The Tholian Web”
Written by Judy Burns and Chet Richards
Directed by Herb Wallerstein and Ralph Senensky (uncredited)

Season 3, Episode 9
Production episode: 3×09
Original air date: November 15, 1968
Star date:5693.2

Mission summary

On the Enterprise bridge, Chekov and Sulu look like they regret whatever they had for lunch, but it turns out that space itself is disagreeing with them–Spock reports that it’s “literally breaking up.” Kirk is used to bad breakups, but this is causing all sorts of wonky sensor readings and the warp engines are inexplicably losing power. Then Chekov notices a ghostly ship ahead on the main viewscreen: the U.S.S. Defiant, a Constitution-class Federation ship which has been missing for three weeks. In this case they can only trust what they see with their own eyes, because sensors indicate their sister ship isn’t actually there. There’s no response to hails, so there’s only one thing to do–beam aboard to check things out.

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Tags: big heads, dead crews, emmy award, fisheye camera, fully clothed man-wrestling, ghosts, handwaving mumblemumble, interphase, mad russian, parallel universes, space madness, Spock-blocking, tholians, tractor beam, transporter malfunction, web

Star Trek Re-Watch: “Return to Tomorrow”

Eugene Myers & Torie Atkinson

– May 20, 2010 1:38 amPosted in: TOS Re-Watch

“Return to Tomorrow”
Written by John Kingsbridge
Directed by Ralph Senensky

Season 2, Episode 19
Production episode: 2×22
Original air date: February 9, 1968
Star date: 4768.3

Mission summary

Enterprise is drawn to an unexplored star system by a strange distress signal…or is it? The signal doesn’t seem to exist, yet it’s affecting Uhura’s channels—but there’s definitely something, maybe, trying to get their attention and… Oh look! There’s a planet up ahead. It’s a formerly-Class M planet now with a dead atmosphere, and completely lifeless. Or is it? A voice speaks to the crew using only the power of his mind; he identifies himself as Sargon, and directs them to kindly park their ship in orbit. Kirk’s understandably hesitant since the planet’s dead and all, but Sargon’s invitation is ominous, if not compelling: “And I am as dead as my planet. Does that frighten you, James Kirk? For if it does, if you let what is left of me perish, then all of you, my children, all of mankind must perish, too.”

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Tags: alien possession, androids, body-swapping, diana muldaur, hot alien loving, love triangles, Spock-blocking

Star Trek Re-Watch: “Metamorphosis”

Eugene Myers & Torie Atkinson

– February 25, 2010 9:21 pmPosted in: TOS Re-Watch

“Metamorphosis”
Written by Gene L. Coon
Directed by Ralph Senensky

Season 2, Episode 9
Production episode:
Original air date: November 10, 1967
Star date: 3219.8

Mission summary

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are escorting Assistant Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford in the shuttlecraft Galileo to the Enterprise for emergency medical care. In the middle of delicate negotiations on Epsilon Canaris III, she contracted Sakuro’s disease, a rare illness that is fatal if left untreated. She’s anxious to get back to prevent a war, but when they’re only four hours away from rendezvous with the ship, scanners pick up a weird cloud in space blocking their way. Hedford whines about the situation, but that has no effect. The cloud sucks the shuttle in and whisks them off course.

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