The first season of the American science-fiction television series Star Trek, originally created by Gene Roddenberry, premiered on NBC on September 8, 1966, and concluded on April 13, 1967. The season debuted in Canada on CTV two days before the US premiere, on September 6, 1966. It consisted of 29 episodes, which is the highest number of episodes in a season for the original series of Star Trek. It features William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock, and DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy.
Broadcast history
The season originally aired on Thursdays at 8:30pm (ET) on NBC.
Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel: The ship's head nurse (Barrett, who played the ship's first officer, Number One, in "The Cage," also voiced the ship's computer.)
The Enterprise visits planet M-113 for routine medical examinations of the husband-and-wife archaeological team stationed there, but the woman has been replaced by a shape-shifting creature, forced to survive by extracting the salt from the bodies of the members of the crew, killing them.[2]
The Enterprise picks up Charlie Evans, an unstable 17-year-old boy, who spent 14 years alone on a deserted planet and lacks the training and restraint to handle his superhuman mental powers wisely.[2] This episode serves as the backstory for the unofficial miniseries Star Trek: Of Gods and Men.
After the Enterprise attempts to cross the Great Barrier at the edge of the galaxy, crew members Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner develop "godlike" psychic powers, which threaten the safety of the crew.[2]
A strange, intoxicating infection, which lowers the crew's emotional inhibitions, spreads throughout the Enterprise. As the madness spreads, the entire ship is endangered.[2]
While beaming up from planet Alpha 177, a transporter accident splits Captain Kirk into two beings: one "good", who is weak and indecisive, and one "evil", who is overly aggressive and domineering.[2]
Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Stephen Kandel
October 13, 1966 (1966-10-13)
04
The Enterprise pursues a vessel and rescues its occupants; Harry Mudd, an interstellar con man, is transporting three mysteriously beautiful women to become the wives of dilithium miners.[2]
In search of Nurse Chapel's fiancé, renowned exobiologist Roger Korby, the Enterprise visits the icy planet Exo III, where Korby has discovered an ancient machine that allows him to duplicate any living person with an android replacement. Korby plans to use the machine to spread controlled androids throughout the Federation, and replaces Captain Kirk with such a duplicate in an effort to take over the Enterprise.[2]
After discovering what appears to be a duplicate of the planet Earth, Captain Kirk and his away team find a population ravaged by a strange disease, which only children appear to have survived.[2]
While the Enterprise is on a resupply mission to a rehabilitation colony for the criminally insane, a former doctor — now insane — sneaks on board the ship. Beaming down to the planet, Kirk and a female crew member discover that the chief doctor has been using a device that destroys the human mind. Spock performs a mind meld for the first time in this episode.[2]
The Enterprise is menaced by a gigantic alien ship whose commander condemns the crew to death. The alien ship appears all-powerful, and the alien commander refuses all attempts at negotiation, forcing Kirk to employ an unorthodox strategy to save the ship.[2]
November 17, 1966 (1966-11-17)November 24, 1966 (1966-11-24)
16
Part I: Spock hijacks the Enterprise to take his crippled former captain, Christopher Pike, to the forbidden world of Talos IV. He then demands a court martial, where he uses the events of "The Cage" to tell the tale of Pike's captivity on the planet years earlier.[2]Part II: After witnessing the Talosians' capabilities of mental illusion, Kirk realizes that Spock intends to return Pike to the planet to live a life of illusion, unencumbered by his crippled condition.[2]
While visiting an old friend, Kirk suspects a Shakespearean actor may actually be the murderous former governor of Tarsus IV, where Kirk grew up. Kirk invites the acting troupe aboard the Enterprise to investigate, but soon, assassination attempts are made on Kirk and another crewman, who was an eyewitness to the murders.[2]
While investigating a series of destroyed outposts, the Enterprise discovers a lone Romulan vessel with a cloaking device. The Romulans, having never been seen by humans, are revealed to visually resemble Vulcans, casting doubt on Mr. Spock's loyalty, as the two ships become locked in a cat-and-mouse battle through space.[2]
Captain Kirk orders shore leave for the Enterprise crew on a seemingly uninhabited planet in the Omicron Delta system. The landing parties begin to see strange sights, such as a White Rabbit a la "Alice in Wonderland", Don Juan, and a sword-wielding samurai. Also, Kirk sees (and fights) an image of Finnegan, a rival from his Starfleet Academy days. Spock discovers that the planet seems to be drawing a large amount of energy from the ship's engines, placing the Enterprise in danger.[2]
Story by : Oliver Crawford Teleplay by : Oliver Crawford and Shimon Wincelberg[a]
January 5, 1967 (1967-01-05)
14
Spock and a scientific party are sent to study the Murasaki 312 quasar aboard the shuttle Galileo. During the survey, the Galileo is forced to make an emergency landing on the planet Taurus II, where the crew fights the planet's dangerous inhabitants. As the crew begins to make repairs, Scotty determines that the shuttle does not have enough fuel to reach orbit carrying all seven passengers, and Spock must contemplate leaving some of his fellow crew behind.[2]
The Enterprise discovers a rogue planet drifting through space, inhabited by an eccentric being named Trelane, who uses his apparently unlimited power over matter and form to manipulate the crew.[2]
The Enterprise comes under attack by unknown aliens while investigating the near-destruction of the Cestus III colony. While chasing the aliens into unexplored space, both ships are captured by the powerful Metrons, who force Kirk and the alien captain (later identified as a member of the Gorn race) to trial by combat; the winner's vessel will be set free, while the loser's ship will be destroyed.[2]
After accidentally traveling back in time to 1969, the Enterprise rescues USAF Captain John Christopher from his crippled fighter jet. The crew struggles to return to their own time, while simultaneously returning Christopher to the Air Force, removing his knowledge of the future and all record of contact with the Enterprise.[2]
Captain Kirk is placed on trial for negligence after a crewman is killed during a severe ion storm. Kirk maintains that his actions were proper and should not have led to the officer's death, but the evidence seems strong against him.[2]
Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Boris Sobelman
February 9, 1967 (1967-02-09)
22
The Enterprise discovers a planetary population controlled by a powerful being called Landru. While investigating, Captain Kirk and his landing party are taken captive, and discover that the Enterprise crew will be the next to be "absorbed" into Landru's control.[2]
Story by : Robert Hamner Teleplay by : Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon
February 23, 1967 (1967-02-23)
23
On Eminiar VII, the Enterprise finds a civilization at war with its planetary neighbor. Unable to discern any signs of battle from orbit, Captain Kirk leads a landing party to the surface, where he discovers the entire war is fought by computer. Though the war is simulated, citizens who are listed as virtual casualties still report to termination booths to be killed for real. After the Enterprise is destroyed in an attack simulation, Kirk must fight to keep his crew from death.[2]
Story by : Jerry Sohl[b] and D. C. Fontana Teleplay by : D. C. Fontana
March 2, 1967 (1967-03-02)
25
Despite exposure to fatal radiation, the Federation colony on Omicron Ceti III appears to be thriving. A landing party from the Enterprise investigates, finding the colony's population to be healthy beyond explanation. Leila Kalomi, an old friend of Mr. Spock's, shows the landing party strange flowers that seem to impose a state of pure bliss and perfect health on all exposed to its spores (even Spock), but at the cost of ambition and self-discipline. [2]
Dispatched to the mining colony on Janus VI, the Enterprise is to investigate rumors of a strange, subterranean creature responsible for destruction of equipment and the deaths of 50 miners. Kirk and Spock discover a silicon-based life form, a Horta, which lives in the surrounding rock. After Kirk and Spock find the strange creature, Spock performs a mind meld, discovering the reason behind the Horta's attacks.[2]
Peace negotiations have collapsed between the Federation and the warlike Klingon Empire. The Enterprise is ordered to protect Organia, a peaceful planet located near the Klingon border. Kirk and Spock beam to the surface to warn the Organians about the Klingons, but a Klingon fleet soon arrives, forcing the Enterprise to abandon the duo on the planet. The natives protect Kirk and Spock, even as Kor, the new Klingon governor, orders mass executions of the Organian people. As both Federation and Klingon fleets converge above the planet, Kirk and Spock execute a daring raid on the Klingon headquarters in an effort to destabilize their control over the planet.[2]
While orbiting an apparently dead planet, the Enterprise seems to experience a strange moment of "nonexistence". Captain Kirk discovers a man named Lazarus on the planet below, who claims the effect was caused by his "enemy", later revealed to be an insane version of Lazarus from an alternate dimension. The sane version of Lazarus asks for Kirk's help in defeating his counterpart.[2]
After accidentally overdosing on a powerful stimulant, Dr. McCoy becomes unbalanced and disappears through the Guardian of Forever, a newly discovered time portal on a remote planet. Kirk and Spock follow after learning that McCoy somehow changed history, removing everything they once knew, including the Enterprise. Arriving in the 1930s, the duo meets Edith Keeler, a New York social worker, who gives them a place to stay. As the days pass, and McCoy is nowhere to be seen, Kirk finds himself falling in love with Keeler, but Spock discovers that Keeler must die to restore the timeline.[2]
In 1997, TV Guide ranked this "Hugo Award"-winning episode number 92 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[3] In 2009, it moved to #80.[4]
The Enterprise arrives at Deneva - the home of Captain Kirk's brother, Sam, and his family - and discovers that the entire planet has been infested with large, amoeba-like aliens that have attacked and killed much of the human population. One of these aliens attaches itself to Spock, who volunteers to become a subject in Dr. McCoy's medical tests. McCoy and Kirk find a cure in time to save Spock and the remainder of the Denevan population.[2]
In early 1980, Paramount Home Video issued a limited series of VHS tapes with two episodes per volume, pursuant to the theatrical release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, with a selling price of $79.99 per volume.
Beginning in March 1981, a handful of season-one episodes debuted on CED. With the release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in theatres in June 1982, Paramount Home Video took a gamble on releasing the season-one episode "Space Seed" (along with a handful of theatrical titles) on public sale for a reduced price of $29.99, at a time when videotape titles typically sold for around $80.[5] The move put the episode into the top sales position for the remainder of the year (helping to establish the “sell-thru” retail market), and into 1983, when Star Trek II went on public sale for $39.95. A complete set of season-one episodes debuted from 1985 through 1989 on laserdisc, VHS, and Betamax formats, typically with two episodes per volume (“The Menagerie”, Parts 1 and 2 appeared the year prior on laserdisc). Columbia House began issuing mail-order volumes featuring episodes in "star date" order in 1986.
The original series pilot, "The Cage", was released to home video in 1986, consisting of black-and-white workprint footage combined with color footage from the season-one, two-part episode "The Menagerie" with a run time of 73 minutes. In 1988, the excised color footage was found and the full-color version of the episode debuted on television and was later given a home-video release for the first time, with a shorter run time of 64 minutes.
Beginning in August 1999, season-one episodes debuted on DVD, with two episodes per volume, completing the entire series, including both versions of "The Cage", in November 1991. A complete-season box set with new bonus features, but without either version of the pilot, was released in August 2004.
Season one was released on the HD-DVD format as a 10-disc set in late 2007.[6] The set included the series with remastered effects on hybrid DVD/HD-DVD combo discs, which play in DVD players at standard definition, but also on appropriate HD-DVD players.[7] HD-DVD was overall discontinued, so only season one was released on HD-DVD, although the later two seasons were still released as remastered DVD versions. By purchasing a HD-DVD player and a remastered HD-DVD Star Trek season one, buyers of this special promotion could acquire a remote control shaped like Star Trek original-series phaser prop.[8] Toshiba had partnered with Paramount to release the original series in remastered format, to support its then-new HD-DVD optical video disc format.[9]
The Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier documentary was included with the season-one HD DVD box set of Star Trek: The Original Series.[10] However, the documentary was included in the DVD component of the set, not the HD portion.[11]
The first season, with remastered effects, debuted on Blu-ray on April 28, 2009. On September 6, 2016, it was re-released as part of the Star Trek 50th Anniversary set, which included the three seasons of the original series, original-cast films up to Star Trek VI, and the 1970s animated series on Blu-Ray optical discs.[12]
Reception
In 2019, CBR rated season one of Star Trek (1966–1969 series) as the 10th-best season of all Star Trek seasons up to that time, comparing it to seasons of later series.[13]
