I\u2019ve liked this episode since the time I saw the original broadcast.\u00a0 The story can be considered science fiction but I prefer to think of it as comedy.<\/p>\n
The Enterprise is in route to some star base when in the middle of a starless void they detect a planet where none should be.\u00a0 Attempting to avoid it both Sulu and Kirk disappear from the bridge.\u00a0 Spock assumes command and even the planet has a poisonous atmosphere he beams down a rescue party headed by McCoy.\u00a0 They find themselves in an Earth-normal environment and enter a building that appears to be a medieval castle.\u00a0 There they find Sulu and Kirk statue-like in an apparent stasis.\u00a0 Then they hear someone playing the harpsichord and someone calling himself General Trelayne, the Squire of Gothos, introduces himself to them and releasing Kirk and Sulu to consciousness invites the crew to be his guests.\u00a0 But guest is just a euphemism for captive. \u00a0He toys with the crew members but meanwhile Spock has located Kirk and company on the planet and beams them to the Enterprise.\u00a0 Trelayne shows up on the bridge of the Enterprise and returns Kirk and the landing party back to Gothos.\u00a0 He also adds Spock and Kirk\u2019s new Yeoman Teresa Rose who, of course, is a fetching blonde played by an actress named Venita Wolf.<\/p>\n
Realizing that Trelayne doesn\u2019t intend to release them Kirk figures out an escape plan.\u00a0 He guesses that the device that Trelayne uses to perform the various miraculous transformations of matter and energy is hidden in the ornamental mirror in the castle hall.\u00a0 Kirk uses Trelayne dancing with Yeoman Ross as an excuse to challenge Trelayne to a duel.\u00a0 When Trelayne fires his pistol into the air Kirk diverts his own shot to destroying the mirror and the mechanism behind it.\u00a0 Transporting back to the ship while Trelayne is powerless Kirk orders the Enterprise depart the vicinity of Gothos at top speed but before he can warp out of the system, they observe the planet Gothos somehow in front of them again.\u00a0 After several more futile attempts at escape Kirk heads back to the planet instructing Spock to wait a short time and then leave the system at full speed.<\/p>\n
Trelayne is dressed as an English magistrate and he condemns Kirk to death for treason.\u00a0 But Kirk convinces him that hanging would be boring and instead Trelayne should hunt Kirk for an exciting experience.\u00a0 While Kirk is hiding, he tries desperately to call the Enterprise on his communicator and tell them to run while Trelayne is distracted but the signal is blocked.\u00a0 Finally, Trelayne traps Kirk and prepares to kill him with a sabre.\u00a0 But Kirk knocks the sword out of Trelayne\u2019s hand and slaps him in the face calling him a child.\u00a0 Just then two voices, a man\u2019s and a woman\u2019s, are heard and Kirk and Trelayne look up to see two shining globes of light.\u00a0 The voices come from these globes and they turn out to be energy beings and in fact Trelayne\u2019s parents.\u00a0 They berate Trelayne for mistreating his \u201cpredators,\u201d meaning the enterprise crew, and tell him that play time is over and he must come home.\u00a0 Then Trelayne assumes the tone and diction of a petulant child who doesn\u2019t want to quit playing.\u00a0 He tells his parents that they promised him he could have Gothos for his plaything and that he was winning against Kirk.\u00a0 The voices continue to berate him and repeat, \u201cNo Trelayne,\u201d to all his entreaties. At least he keeps repeating, \u201cBut I woulda won,\u201d over and over again as he slowly fades away.\u00a0 Afterwards, the voices apologize to Kirk for their son\u2019s misbehavior and promise to let him return to the enterprise without further interference.<\/p>\n
Back on the bridge Spock asks Kirk how Trelayne should be characterized in their report.\u00a0 When Spock rejects the title of God of War, Kirk suggests a little boy, and a very naughty little boy at that.<\/p>\n
As I stated above, I\u2019ve always enjoyed this episode as a pure comedy and nothing else.\u00a0 The Trelayne character is enjoyable as a selfish petulant child who loves play acting and posturing.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing much to this story but the clash of Trelayne\u2019s and Kirk\u2019s personalities and even that is just a pretense to allow Trelayne to perform his tour de force.\u00a0 There is the pretty girl hanging around which is nice.\u00a0 But these things and the payoff joke at the end are enough.\u00a0 I give this a 9.\u00a0 On the Kirk side, he does a shoulder roll or two and some minor acrobatics but nothing really embarrassing so let\u2019s call it a 9 \/\/ 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve liked this episode since the time I saw the original broadcast.\u00a0 The story can be considered science fiction but I prefer to think of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[237,4,244,2149,240],"tags":[2150,38,1355,44,309,265,1691,293,2300,2301,154,1692,837],"class_list":["post-9792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-sff","category-sff-tv-reviews","category-star-trek","category-tv-reviews","tag-gene-roddenberry","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-sci-fi","tag-sci-fi-tv-review","tag-science-fiction","tag-sff-tv-show-reviews","tag-star-trek","tag-the-squire-of-gothos","tag-trelayne","tag-tv-review","tag-tv-reviews","tag-william-shatner"],"yoast_head":"\n