tos star trek bones

Star Trek: Leonard "Bones" McCoy's 10 Best Quotes

"Bones" McCoy, Chief Medical Officer aboard the USS Enterprise, has some of the funniest, thought-provoking one-liners in the Star Trek franchise.

In 1966, DeForest Kelley embarked on a three-year journey aboard the starship Enterprise as Star Trek 's Leonard McCoy, one of the most iconic characters in the franchise. Over the course of three seasons and 79 episodes, "Bones" gifted audiences with some fantastic, memorable quotes. While McCoy's popularity is often overshadowed by Kirk and Spock, there's no denying that the grumpy doctor was essential in making the trio a team like no other.

Related: Star Trek: All Movies, Ranked According To IMDb

Reliable and experienced, McCoy managed to keep his crewmates in top shape and accompany his commanding officer on dangerous missions at the same time, imparting his wit and wisdom whenever there was trouble on the horizon.

10 "In All The Universe, Three Million Galaxies Like This, And In All Of That... And Perhaps More... Only One Of Each Of Us."

One of Kirk's closest friends and colleagues, McCoy often acted as the captain's advisor and sounding board during the Enterprise's most desperate times. When the starship found itself up against a Romulan warship during the celebrated episode "Balance of Terror," McCoy tried to encourage Kirk while the latter debated how to proceed.

After Kirk confessed he felt burdened by his current responsibility, McCoy wisely reminded him that in the vastness of the galaxy there was only one James T. Kirk, and he should make sure not to destroy him.

9 "Monsters Come In Many Forms. Do You Know The Greatest Monster Of Them All? Guilt."

As the Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer, McCoy was in charge of assessing the crew's physical and mental health, sometimes having to take drastic measures to save his crewmates from themselves. In "Obsession," Kirk was consumed by his desire to destroy a strange, murderous cloud that he had failed to eradicate in his youth, causing the rest of his crew to perish.

McCoy noticed that Kirk's obsession seemed to be rooted in his guilty conscience, calling it the "greatest monster of all" before questioning whether Kirk was fit to stay in command.

8 "A Cage Is A Cage, Jim."

Despite holding Kirk in great esteem, McCoy was never shy to contradict him and give him a different perspective to consider. In "Dagger of the Mind," after Kirk expressed his interest in Dr. Tristan Adams—a renowned psychologist who had revolutionized prisons into hospitals—McCoy carefully reminded him that things may have changed, but a cage was still a cage.

Related: 10 Star Trek Actors Who Played More Than One Role

Ultimately, McCoy was proven right when Dr. Van Gelder, one of Adams's associates, infiltrated the Enterprise and revealed the horrors Adams constantly inflicted on the inmates.

7 "The Chain Of Command Is Often A Noose."

In "The Conscience of the King," Kirk suspected one of the Shakespearean actors aboard the Enterprise might actually be Kodos, the ex-governor of Tarsus IV who had mass-murdered almost his entire colony. As Kirk endeavored to investigate and protect his crew, his strange actions alerted Spock and led him to consult with McCoy.

When asked about Kirk's decision to send Lieutenant Riley back to engineering, a surprising choice given he'd just been transferred, McCoy simply replied that the chain of command was usually a noose and Kirk must have had his reasons for doing so. McCoy often spoke his mind, but he also respected the hierarchy of the Enterprise.

6 "Compassion. That's The One Thing No Machine Ever Had. Maybe It's The One Thing That Keeps Men Ahead Of Them."

Created during the technological boom of the 1960s, Star Trek often discussed the merits and disadvantages of computers in relation to mankind. In episode 53, "The Ultimate Computer," Kirk was temporarily replaced by an uber computer that seemed capable of taking over his role as captain.

After the computer attacked fellow Starfleet ships and shut itself down, McCoy explained that despite its high-tech, it lacked the compassion that kept humanity ahead of any machine. Star Trek was equally of its era and ahead if its time. It was thought-provoking, and "Bones" provided many memorable quotes that forced the viewers to stop and wonder.

5 "I'm Trying To Thank You, You Pointed-Eared Hobgoblin!"

Despite bickering more often than not, McCoy and Spock had absolute respect for one another as Kirk's friends and as two of Starfleet's finest . When Spock saved McCoy from certain death at the hands of a gladiator in "Bread and Circuses," the doctor struggled to thank him as Spock inspects their holding cell.

Various attempts later, McCoy couldn't take more of Spock's logical responses and called him a "pointed-eared hobgoblin." He then tried to break through Spock's aloof exterior by appealing to his humanity, suggesting that Spock might be more afraid of "living" than he let on.

4 "If You Treat Her Like A Lady, She'll Always Bring You Home."

Almost twenty years since the cancellation of The Original Series, Star Trek returned to the small screen with The New Generation in the late 1980s. DeForest Kelley made a cameo appearance in the new series' first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint," as a symbolic passing of the baton for the brand-new crew of the Enterprise.

Related: Live Long & Prosper: 10 Best Quotes From Star Trek's Spock

As an Admiral, a much older McCoy toured the Enterprise-D alongside Data, comparing the android's speech patterns and lack of emotion to a Vulcan's. Just before leaving, McCoy advised Data to treat the Enterprise "like a lady" and she'll always bring the crew home.

3 "The Release Of Emotions, Mr. Spock, Is What Keeps Us Healthy—Emotionally Healthy, That Is."

In "Plato's Stepchildren," the Enterprise found itself up against a race of psychic aliens who followed Plato's teachings. Shortly after being captured by them, Spock was forced to let go of his Vulcan stoicism when he was psychically tortured to show extreme emotions.

Spock was understandably humiliated by the display. To appease him, McCoy mentioned that releasing emotions is what keeps people emotionally healthy, but Spock simply replied that, in his experience, doing so always ends up being 'unhealthy' for those closest to him.

2 "A Man Who Holds That Much Power, Even With The Best Intentions, Just Can't Resist The Urge To Play God."

Since joining the Enterprise, McCoy visited dozens of civilizations ruled by unjust leaders who were corrupted by their own greed. He encountered one of them in "Patterns of Force" when the Enterprise was sent on a rescue mission to the planet Ekos. To the crew's complete shock, its society had modeled itself after Nazi Germany and was led by the man they'd been sent to recover, John Gill.

RELATED: 10 Best Uhura Moments In Star Trek, Ranked

Later in the episode, McCoy explained that, despite Gill's best intentions to organize the Ekosians' chaotic civilization, he eventually succumbed to his absolute power because he couldn't resist the urge to play god.

1 "I'm A Doctor, Not An Engineer!"

McCoy's well-known catchphrase had many variations, but none was as iconic as the one he uttered in the emblematic "Mirror, Mirror" . When Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty accidentally switched places with their counterparts from a parallel universe, they tried to find a way back home without revealing themselves as impostors.

Their only option was to tamper with the transporter and beam back to their reality, so Scotty requested some help from McCoy. The doctor reminded them of his profession, specifically denying his expertise in engineering, but helped Scotty and his crew anyway.

Next: 10 Amazing Sci-Fi Shows With The Worst First Impression

Leonard McCoy (TOS)

Played by DeForest Kelley in Star Trek TOS and subsequent movies, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy served as ship's doctor aboard the starship Enterprise. He provided the emotional voice of the show, concerned with morality and humanity, as a foil to Spock 's cold logic. The two operated as opposing angels on the shoulders of Captain James T. Kirk ; only with their input could he make a proper decision.

McCoy is established as older than most of his crewmates, having left a career as a medical doctor on Earth to join Starfleet later in life. He is acerbic, and rude to Spock sometimes to the point of xenophobia – banter that Spock can give right back to him. Many fans do not interpret Spock and McCoy's relationship as harmful or hateful: the two have been known to defend each other to common enemies, and even Kirk seems amused by their bickering. [1]

The nature of Spock and McCoy's relationship makes McCoy an interesting addition to the popular Kirk/Spock pair, or an interesting substitution for either primary. All configurations of the trio are popular in slash .

McCoy's catchphrases "He's dead, Jim" and "I'm a doctor, not a [bricklayer, escalator, etc]" are iconic to Star Trek, and to an extent, to pop culture at large.

• Spock/McCoy
• Kirk/Spock/McCoy

Gen Relationships

• Kirk & McCoy

A Fan's Comments on McCoy in Fanfic

McCoy. Dear McCoy. My favorite TOS character, if I had to pick. Like I said in the previous post on Contact [2] , McCoy's Eyes are the single greatest narrative device that has ever existed when it comes to analyzing a fictional relationship in fanfic. McCoy's Eyes are the integral to Kirk-Spock -- he's the perfect storm of intimate familiarity and third-party outside perspective and believable curiosity. And without McCoy's Eyes, I'm pretty sure Kirk/Spock would not have come into existence the way it did. It's insane how much of the fans' attempts to put into words the way they feel about the Kirk-Spock relationship - everything that's fascinating and appealing about them - is done via McCoy, with the fans stepping into McCoy's shoes, putting their words into McCoy's mouth, etc. It's partly a thing because it happens so much in canon -- in various episodes, it was already a built-in narrative device (it happens more than once, though the ends of Amok Time and Requiem for Methuselah are probably the biggest examples) for McCoy to bridge Spock's feelings to the viewer. He's also fulcrum of so much fannish tension - not so much outright discord, from what I can see, but a mostly unmentioned, but very obvious, push-and-pull between various cohorts of fans. On one hand, the show is persistently oblique about making clear statements about the various relations between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Is it more of a Kirk-Spock duo, with McCoy as the most prominent member of the supporting cast? Or is it a Kirk-Spock-McCoy trio, just with very different relationship dynamics between Kirk-McCoy, Kirk-Spock, and McCoy-Spock? It seems to change depending on the episode. Either way, very few Kirk/Spock shippers or Kirk&Spock friendship-focus fans seem to actually dislike or devalue McCoy, but at the same time are mostly interested in Kirk and Spock (good thing McCoy wasn't a woman, or she'd have been bashed and demonized to hell and back , no doubt), leading to a lot of "so, how do we address this issue?" discussions. Plenty are thoughtful and interesting but more often are unintentionally hilarious or irritating (like all fanfic - Sturgeon's Law !). Here are the most popular ones I could think of off the top of my head: 1. "Explaining" how McCoy's relationship with them is just different, making a big detailed analytical manifesto of it. Result if written well: a fascinating character study about how people's relationships with different people are all unique. Result if written badly: Methinks The Fan Doth Protest Too Much. 2. Including McCoy or emphasizing his contribution to the triumvirate to go "look, seriously, you guys, he's totally awesome!" Result if written well: Way of showing that love is an inclusive rather than an exclusive emotion, and the amount of love you feel for one person does not diminish the love you are able to feel for another person. Result if written badly: So what you're trying to say is, McCoy's worth as a character is entirely predicated on the extent to which Kirk and Spock deign to include him in their friendship? 3. Making all slash into Kirk/Spock/McCoy rather than Kirk/Spock. Result if written well: awesome complex OT3ness Result if written badly: Making McCoy "just" Kirk or Spock (or both's) best friend inherently devalues McCoy's importance to them! People in successful romantic relationships don't want or need friends! It depends entirely on how the fic is written. Narrowness of scope is key, I think. If you find yourself making broad blanket statements that use the words "inherently," "impossible," or "mere," then congratulations, your fic is rude and stupid. Better luck next time! But if you're writing specific scenarios or ideas or emotions where the various facets of human relationships that the above scenarios tie into are at the core of the story, it's much more likely to work well. [3]

Common Tropes in Fanworks

Mirror mccoy.

Some examples of fanworks where McCoy experiences the Mirror Universe :

• Living in Spite of Logic by Ellen O'Neil (features a Mirror McCoy who is an alcoholic) (1990)
• Mirror Leerer by Paula M. Block from Warped Space #10 (1975) and The Compleat Faulwell/Landing Party 6 #2 (1984)
• Sight Unseen by Kathy Stanis (1995)

McCoy as John Watson and Sherlock Holmes

The popularity of Leonard Nimoy 's appearance on stage as Sherlock Holmes , general interest in Sir Arthur Canon Doyle's characters, Spock's logic and personality, and fannish speculation about Amanda Grayson's possible relationship to Holmes (which was fanned by in 1991 by the motion picture, The Undiscovered Country") [4]

See Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek .

from The Holmesian Federation #1, artist is Gayle F (1978)

from The Adventures of Sherlock Bones #3, artist is Kathy Rao (1980)

from Spiced Peaches #35, artists are Ellen Smock & Melinda (2013)

McCoy and His Daughter, Joanna

Joanna McCoy was Dr. McCoy's only child, and was a character in an unfilmed script . Joanna is often mentioned and portrayed in fanworks.

These fanworks included many poems and stories that portrayed Joanna as a little girl who struggles with her parent's divorce. Some fanworks focus on Joanna who becomes a nurse (often aboard the Enterprise) and/or becomes romantically involved with Jim Kirk. This provides complicated scenarios for McCoy and Joanna.

McCoy and Joanna's relationship is often one of estrangement and anger which turns into one of acceptance and reconciliation. The subject of divorce and abandonment plays a key part. Some fanworks kill off Joanna so that McCoy's grief can be explored.

• Joanna ("McCoy is unexpectedly reunited with his daughter, and they finally reconcile their past. She is attracted to Spock (much to her father's chagrin) and also the unknowing resolver of an ancient Vulcan prophecy.") (1988)
• Forever Apart (Doctor McCoy's daughter, Joanna, falls for Captain Kirk.) (1975)
• To Each His Own (a highly controversial story) (1980)
• All My Crewmen (1976-77) (McCoy's daughter Joanna has seen assigned to the Enterprise on special assignment -- unfortunately McCoy has not told her about Natira.)
• The Hand that Touches by Jacqueline Paciello from Pegasus #2 (1977)
• The Same Wilderness by Beverly Clark ("Joanna McCoy is one of those rescued from a damaged ship. Relations between McCoy and his daughter are strained until McCoy is injured and Joanna's true feelings for her father become apparent.") from Sehlat's Roar #3 (1977)
• The Kinship (features Dr. Joanna McCoy who is half-Vulcan) from Fantasy #4 (1978)
• The Other Side of the Coin by Rochelle Hausman, Robyn Kevelsen, Susan Hochman and Margaret Clark ("Jim Kirk meets Joanna McCoy and becomes romantically involved with her. Neither realize that Leonard McCoy has an important place in the other's life, but when the three learn of the situation, there is plenty of fireworks from the outraged doctor." from Rim of Starlight #2 (1978)

one of the many poems about Joanna and her Daddy

McCoy's Troubled Marriage

Explorations of divorce, incapability, betrayal, the effects of careers on personal life; McCoy is sometimes portrayed as a victim, but just as often as an equal perpetrator in his own failed marriage.

• Angry Sunset (1974)
• Broken Rules, Desperate Chances by Julie McCoy in Cordrazine (1981)
• Not All of Your Laughter, Not All of Your Tears by Ingrid Cross in Odyssey #1 (1977)

McCoy and Original Characters

McCoy as a lover of original characters , see Sadie Faulwell for example

McCoy and Natira

Fiction and art about McCoy and the canon character, Natira .

McCoy and the American Civil War/Time Travel

A common trope was to explore McCoy's adventures and reactions to being sent back in time to the American Civil War. The origin of this scenario was due to McCoy's roots as a "country doctor, something he stated on the show. Fans extrapolated this bit of background, both from McCoy's southern accent and a statement in secondary canon stated in the 1980 book, U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual by Geoffrey Mandel , and ran with the fanon that McCoy's specific place of birth was Georgia, U.S.

• Dr. McCoy's Medical Log contains " Dr. McCoy's Medical Log#The "Lost " Series: Descriptions by the Author|Lost," "a series of 10 stories set to a timewarp theme where McCoy/Kirk/Spock find themselves in a civil war period.
• The Southern Surgeon’s Nightmare by Paula Block in Alpha Continuum #2 (1977) (McCoy wonders what sins have landed him in a purgatory of endless Civil War surgery.)
• Southern Comfort (1982) ("...a McCoy/Kirk/Spock adventure taking place back in the 1800's, where a time-tampering alien will ensure a Confederate victory in the Civil War. The South was never THIS wild! Meet General Sam McCoy and a Confederate soldier who ain't quite what 'he' seems to be." [5] )
• The Tale the Cap Told by Cathy German (2002)

from Delta Triad #3 (1976), for the story To a Time Divided , artist is John Martin

from Alpha Continuum #2, artist is Marty Siegrist , from the story "The Southern Surgeon's Nightmare" (1977)

Whump or Hurt/Comfort

Fanworks where McCoy experiences pain is fairly common, the severity varies. The scenarios are often brought about by common Star Trek tropes like shuttle crashes, capture by hostile aliens, some sort of space born illness, among others. In hurt/comfort fanworks it is most commonly Kirk or Spock providing the comfort, but in rarer stories you will find other members of the senior crew giving him comfort

• The Real McCoy by Leslie Hobart
• The Alphan Primaries by Mary Louise Dodge
• Kith or Kin by Rabble Rouser
• Pegasus and the Starman by Joyce Tullock
• And All My Days Before Me by Ingrid Cross
• Equilibrium by PSW
• To Each His Own , a very controversial 1980 story
• Can I just say Bones does not get nearly enough credit for how well he reads people?? , Archived version by i-dreamed-i-had-a-son
• listen all im saying is we get jims trauma and we get spocks trauma but… , Archived version by ifdragonscouldtalk and fuckyeahspones
• Betrayed (Star Trek TOS zine)
• Bone Diggers Inc.
• Dr. McCoy's Medical Log
• Fear No Evil
• The Honorable Sacrifice
• I finally got... THE LAST WORD
• If Not for Heroes
• I'm a Doctor, Not a...
• Healer of the Wraith
• McCoy (Star Trek: TOS zine)
• The McCoy Files
• McCoy - Examined!
• McCoy's Illegible Log
• The McCoy Tapes
• McCoy's T.O.Y.
• Medical Journal
• Scattered Molecules
• The Stars are Lonely

Additional Art Gallery

from Triskelion #1, artist is Elizabeth Wyble (1968)

Cover art of Inside Star Trek by N. Oriss (1968)

Cover art from Plak-Tow #5 (1968)

from T-Negative #11, artist is Jackie Franke (1971)

Art from Triskelion #4 by Alice Jones (1971)

artist is Ellen Winder, from Voyages #2 (1973)

Cover art of Interphase #3 by Connie Faddis (1975)

Art from Sub-Space #4 by Karin Giblin (1975)

Art from Bellerophon #5/6 by unspecified artist (1976)

Art from Delta Triad #3 by an unspecified artist (1976)

Cover art for I'm a Doctor, Not a... by Laura Virgil (1976)

Art from IDIC by Alice Jones (1976)

Back cover art for Interphase #3 by Gee Moaven (1976)

Art from Stardate #10 by Jane Clinkenbeard (1976)

from Alpha Continuum #2, artist is M.J. Fisher (1977)

Interior art from Berengaria #9, by Mel Shreve (1977)

Art from Contact #3 by Pat Stall (1977)

Art from R & R #3 by Gayle F (1977)

from Farthest Star #1, artist is Pat Stall (1978)

Art from Computer Playback #2 by Mike Eason (1978)

Art from The Other Side of Paradise by Alice Jones (1978)

Art from Galactic Traveler #2 by Rita White (1978)

from Cordrazine , artist is Susan Armstrong (1981)

from Galactic Discourse #4, artist is Lydia Moon (1983)

from Home is Where the Heart Is , artist is Barbara P. Gordon (1982)

from T'hy'la #2, artist is Barbara P. Gordon (1982)

Art from Friends & Strangers, Near & Far by Sherry Greene (1980)

from Fizzbin #12, artist is Linda McGrath (1980)

from Odyssey #5, artist is Marty Siegrist (1981)

Art from Vault of Tomorrow #3 by Chris Grahl (1982)

from Odyssey #7, artist is Suzan Lovett (1983)

from Odyssey #7, artist is Vel Jaeger (1983)

Art from Galactic Discourse #4 by Laura Virgil (1983)

from Fantasy #4, by Christine Myers (1984)

from Beyond Antares #23, artist is Lana Fahey (1984)

from Parallax Ring , artist is Barbara P. Gordon (1984)

from Nome #8, artist is Nan Lewis (1985)

Interior art from Katra: The Living Spirit by Mike McGann (1985)

from In Triplicate , artist is Vel Jaeger (1985)

Art from Odyssey #8 by Lydia Moon (1986)

from Dilithium Crystals #3, artist is Sherry Veltkamp (1986)

Art from McCoy's T.O.Y. #1 by Christine Myers (1989)

Art from Log Entries 83 by unknown artsit (1990)

Art from Encounters #1 by Leah Shaw (1990)

Art from T'hy'la #9 by Sherry Veltkamp (1990)

Art from Nova Trek by Deeb (1990)

Art from Encounters #1 by Leah Shaw (1980)

Art from Spock #59 by Wendy Purcell (1990)

Cover of McCoy #8 by Sherry Veltkamp (1991)

Art from Times Change by Cindy Barnard (1992)

Art from Amazing Grace by Dorothy Laoang (1992)

Cover art for Idylls #10 by Linda Baker (1994)

Art from Shadows of the Mirror by Maggie Symon (1994)

Cover art for the Betrayed (Star Trek TOS zine) by Christine Myers (1998)

from Spiced Peaches #35, artist is T'Prillahfiction (2013)

from Spiced Peaches #34, artist is Mary Barnes (2013)

Cover art for Equilibrium by frangipani-wanderlust (2018)

Mailing Lists

Archives and links.

• Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Original Series at Archive of Our Own
• Leonard McCoy, Original Series and Bones, Original Series at FanFiction.net
• Leonard McCoy at Trekiverse
• The Mint Julep Inn (defunct)
• Leonard McCoy at Memory Alpha
• ^ See this thread on trekbbs.com re Spock and McCoy's relationship (thread started August 2013)
• ^ a review Classic Zines: Contact #2 (Star Trek: TOS) , intrigueing, December 20, 2014
• ^ from Classic Zines: Contact #2 (Star Trek: TOS) , intrigueing, December 20, 2014
• ^ The Undiscovered Country was ritten and directed by Nicholas Meyer, who'd also written The Seven Percent Solution, it gave Spock this bit of dialogue: "When you have eliminated the impossible, everything that is left must be the truth", which he attributes to one of his ancestors. Since this is a quote from the Sherlock Holmes novel, The Sign of Four, it implies that Spock, and therefore his human mother, Amanda Grayson, are descendants either of Holmes or of his creator Arthur Conan Doyle. , interest in Sherlock Holmes ran high with fans. This bled over to McCoy as John Watson , and less common, McCoy as Holmes himself.
• ^ from an ad in Datazine #19
• Star Trek TOS Characters

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Leonard 'Bones' McCoy Was the True Heart of Star Trek

When most people think of Star Trek , they of course think of Kirk and Spock . This isn’t surprising, as they were the star and the break-out character of the series, but it’s easy to forget that they were two members of a triumvirate that made up the essence of the show. Ship’s doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy was the third, and just as integral in making Star Trek a joy to watch.

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While Spock was all cold logic and Kirk was fiery passion, Bones was the heart of the Enterprise crew. He was the one who made the plea to do the right thing, who reminded the others of the potential cost of obeying logic or the Prime Directive. McCoy also was the true audience surrogate of the show, saying the things we yelled at the TV. The crew of the Enterprise did run into some completely ridiculous phenomena, and none of it would have worked if McCoy wasn’t there to say “Of course you save their lives, you idiots!” and “How in the universe is this happening to us?”

What makes Bones so fascinating is that he clearly didn’t want to be there. He wasn’t a full believer in the Starfleet mission. He hated space and ships and Starfleet, but he went out there and did his job every single time, no matter what insanity he encountered. Remember “The Devil in the Dark?” Can you imagine starting out life as a doctor in your home state and then finding yourself being asked to treat this?

McCoy complained, but he did it. Because he was a doctor and that was his job. And Kirk ordered him to. McCoy’s history isn’t epic and tragic like Kirk’s or unique like Spock’s. Which is why he, despite being an actual genius, insisted over and over that he was just a country doctor.

And when I say McCoy complained, I mean he complained all the time. About everything, but mostly Spock. Just think about how much life Star Trek would have lost without Bones for Kirk to talk to or for Spock to spar with:

Spock: I’m happy the affair is over. A most annoying emotional episode. McCoy: Smack right in the old heart. Oh, I’m sorry. [pointing to his side] In your case, it would be about here. Spock: The fact that my internal arrangement differs from yours, Doctor, pleases me no end.

(I would literally watch Spock and McCoy trade barbs over any other duo in all of Star Trek ’s 50 years.)

In between insults, grumpiness, and straight-up bitching, McCoy was also responsible for delivering messages about the human condition more than anyone else on the show. Kirk had the mission, Spock his logic, but what McCoy cared about was his patients—and that made him closer to people than he was to anything else.

One of Star Tre k’s primary messages is about the importance of the balance within ourselves. (It’s why several episodes revolve around characters splitting into two halves.) McCoy was an integral part of that equation for TOS, just like DeForest Kelley was integral is making Bones the perfect mix of grumpy and compassionate, prickly but still so essentially humane.

Kelley may not have received the same level of fame as William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy, and Bones might not have gotten the flashiest scenes. But Dr. McCoy was still the heart of the whole show, and it would have never taken off without him. Bones may not have wanted to be in space at all, but thank goodness he was.

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Published May 3, 2019

8 Times Leonard “Bones” McCoy’s Medical Knowledge Saved The Day

“I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!”

StarTrek.com

He’s a sounding board for the captain and a sympathetic ear for his crewmates. For the audience, he’s a stand-in that reminds us that space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence, but that humanity is going to make it.

He’s assisted in births both humanoid (“Friday’s Child”) and not (the Gorn birth alluded to in Star Trek Into Darkness), cauterized a penetrating wound with a hand phaser (Star Trek Beyond), created a vaccine while the Enterprise is in a death spiral above a dying world (“The Naked Time”) and put up with a certain half-Vulcan science officer continually putting him in his place.

He’s the man of the hour, Doctor Leonard McCoy, and here are eight times his medical prowess saved the day.

Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Janice Rand, and two crewmen beam down to a world that’s an exact replica of Earth in the middle of the 20th Century.  The cities are near-empty, with just two small groups of survivors fighting for life: human children (“Onlies”) and the strange humanoid wretches they call “Grups.” The team discovers that the strange circumstances are the result of a pathogen unleashed by a medical experiment in prolonging longevity gone wrong and they’ve all been exposed.

You can probably guess what happens next: the landing party now has a ticking clock tied to their survival (except for Spock, who’ll get to live the rest of his life as a carrier surrounded by preteens) and McCoy undertakes a desperate quest to isolate the organism responsible for their condition and find a cure.

Despite overwhelming circumstances  — the conditions are primitive and the leader of the Onlies, Jahn, steals the landing party’s  “little boxes” at one point, stranding the doctor without a vital connection to Enterprise ’s computers — Bones manages to find the organism responsible and synthesizes what he thinks may be a vaccine.

When presented with the possible cure, Spock immediately pulls a Spock.  He states flatly that the vial might also be a beaker full of death since they can’t determine dosage and are unable to check their data. McCoy responds by injecting himself to test the cure and prove the Vulcan wrong.

Thankfully, he survived, but how weird would it have been if his Hail Mary pass hadn’t worked and they had to replace McCoy so early in the series?

"The Devil In The Dark"

Miners on Janus VI have been stricken by a series of mysterious melty deaths, and the Enterprise answers their distress call to look into the situation and find the cause. They soon discover the Horta, an acid-emitting, silicone-based creature that’s been wounded in a series of escalating conflicts between the humans and herself. Spock, again, pulls a Spock and decides to go ahead and mind-meld with her and discovers that she’s just trying to protect her babies. Kirk sizes up the situation and calls McCoy down to help the hurt alien.

McCoy examines the rocky-skinned patient and delivers one of the most iconic lines of the franchise: “I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer.”

Ironically, if he left the medical profession, Bones would make a heck of a contractor. After beaming down “a hundred pounds of that thermoconcrete. You know, the kind we use to build emergency shelters out of,” he trowels the silicone-based construction material into the wound, where it will act as a bandage until she heals.

“By golly, Jim, I'm beginning to think I can cure a rainy day,” he informs the captain.

"Amok Time"

Defying orders, the Enterprise diverts to Vulcan to help Spock, who is is suffering from pon-farr, a crippling biological urge that his species undergoes every seven years.  It’s only after reaching the planet that the first officer reveals that he’s married, making it the first time that one of Spock’s familial secrets is revealed, but certainly not the last.

Unfortunately, it’s not just a matter of mind-melding with T’Pring to relieve the plak tow blood fever, because she’s opted for kal-if-fee, in which Spock will have to fight for her love. She chooses Kirk as her champion instead of Stonn, the Vulcan man with whom she wants to be betrothed. (One supposes that this is the sort of thing you do when you want to make the whole infidelity thing just that much more difficult for everyone.)

Kirk and Spock enter combat with one another using traditional weapons and, unsurprisingly, the Vulcan quickly asserts his physical superiority. After the first round, McCoy asks for permission to inject the captain with a tri-ox compound to help him compensate for the planet’s thinner atmosphere. That doesn’t help as much as anyone would like, as Spock still strangles his best friend, whose body is quickly beamed up.

Spock, shocked at the ritual murder he’s just committed, snaps out of the plak tow and lets T’Pring know that it’s fine if she wants to run off with Stonn now, because he’s done with her drama. He returns to the ship and ignores McCoy’s attempts to explain something to announce that he has the intention of turning himself in for court martial. That’s when Kirk steps out from the shadows and asks if the first offer should maybe ask the captain first before doing that sort of thing.

What happened? It wasn’t tri-ox in the doctor’s bag of tricks, but a nerve paralyzer that slipped Kirk into a state that simulated death. This makes us wonder, though - what else is in McCoy’s tote?

"Journey to Babel"

Stardate 3842.3 : Just nine episodes after “Amok Time,” the Enterprise returns to Vulcan to pick up Ambassador Sarek as part of a diplomatic party that’s being transported to Babel, a neutral planetoid perfect for negotiations. To the surprise of Kirk and McCoy, it’s revealed that Sarek is Spock’s estranged father.

(Can’t this guy just talk to his friends sometime? Maybe give them a heads-up on things like fathers and wives and all that?)

The following things occur in short order: a mysterious vessel is discovered trailing the Enterprise ; an argumentative Tellarite diplomat is murdered using a Vulcan technique after twice confronting Sarek about his forthcoming vote; Sarek is questioned about Gav’s death and succumbs to a previously-unrevealed heart condition that can only be cured through surgery that requires Spock’s presence as a blood donor; a signal is sent from the pursuing vessel to somewhere on the ship and Kirk is stabbed and left incapacitated by an Andorian diplomat, Thelev.

Just another Tuesday on the Enterprise .

Thelev is quickly arrested but there’s still that mysterious vessel to deal with. Spock finds himself duty-bound to sit in the center seat against his mother’s and the doctor’s wishes. His dilemma is quickly solved when a seemingly-recovered Captain Kirk shows up with the intention of handing the ship over to Scotty and retiring to his quarters while Spock undergoes the blood transfusion. Of course, it doesn’t work out that easily.

McCoy performs cryogenic open-heart procedure with a donor who’s using an untested Rigelian stimulant to induce blood cell production while the ship is repeatedly rocked by phasers and photon torpedos. There are multiple power failures and Sarek suffers a cardiac arrest, leaving Bones and Nurse Chapel to use portable equipment to keep him alive while the rest of the ship deals with the whole “Fake Andorian Who Turns Out To Be A Romulan Spy Who Is Working To Disrupt The Babel Conference” situation.

Once things are sorted on the bridge, Kirk returns to sickbay to brief the ambassador and his son, who are now chatting away as if they hadn’t spent the last 18 years trying to out-freeze each other. Not only can McCoy perform space battlefield surgery, he can restore families and, after the Captain collapses and is ordered onto a bed, finally get the last word.

"The Enterprise Incident"

“Enterprise Medical Log, stardate 5027.3. Doctor Leonard McCoy recording. I'm concerned about Captain Kirk. He shows indications of increasing tension and emotional stress.”

You’re telling us, Bones. This episode starts with the above quote and we cut to Kirk going off the deep end and ordering the ship across the Romulan neutral zone. That goes about as well as you’d expect; Kirk and Spock are soon aboard the Romulan flagship and facing possible execution for their crimes.

Kirk suffers a paranoid breakdown aboard the other ship, accusing Spock of being a traitor after seeing how well the Vulcan and the Romulan commander are getting on. McCoy is beamed over to examine him. It’s during his ministrations that Kirk suddenly leaps up and attacks his first officer, who defends himself with the never-before-seen Vulcan Death Grip, killing him instantly.

In the sick bay, it’s revealed that the entire episode so far was what experts in drama refer to as “a total fake out” and that Captain Kirk is alive. In fact, he’s about to get some high-quality otoplasty and eyebrow work courtesy of Bones in order to pass as a Romulan. His actions and Spock’s are for the sole purpose of helping Starfleet get its hands on the cloaking device that has plagued them for the last several years.

What’s interesting about this episode is that it depends on so many things going right that one slip-up could have led to the whole house of cards collapsing. Additionally: just how much does our favorite doctor know? Is he in on it from the start or does he start to improvise aboard the Romulan vessel once he realizes that Kirk’s not really dead?

"Spock’s Brain"

This episode is part of the pantheon of TOS episodes in which someone boards the ship and does something inconvenient. In this case, it’s stealing Spock’s brain, which is very inconvenient indeed. The residents of Sigma Draconis VII need the Vulcan’s high-powered skull meat to serve as the controller for their vast underground dwelling, and that’s why Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and the remote-controlled body of Spock find themselves there.

They finally get in touch with Spock’s mind and he informs them that while he, “might trust the doctor to remove a splinter or lance a boil,” he doesn’t believe that McCoy or indeed anyone has the requisite skills to restore his brain’s place in his body. Kirk rightly figures out that if someone from the planet managed to remove the brain, they probably know how to put it back, too.

This leads our rescue party to “the teacher,” a device used to impart knowledge for a period of about three hours. McCoy’s never performed an encephalplexy before but he has supreme faith in his abilities to get the procedure done in that time with the help of the teacher. Spock, of course, disagrees, but the doctor’s desire to prove him wrong again proves to be a strong motivating factor. Even as the knowledge fades from his mind, McCoy’s competence keeps the patient alive and, eventually restored to his proper place.

Side note: in Gene Coon’s original outline for the episode, McCoy received no alien knowledge directly, he just studied their techniques conventionally and was able to mimic them. This would have made McCoy’s surgery even more miraculous.

"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"

If you had a present-day doctor go back to the early 1700s, they’d likely be aghast. Smallpox, cowpox, and measles ran rampant, homeopathy was viewed as a perfectly reasonable course of action, and if you burnt yourself, it was likely that you’d be told to use an ointment that included, “mosse that groweth on an old thackt howse top.”

With this in mind, it’s easy to imagine how a doctor from the 23rd century felt when visiting a hospital in San Francisco in 1986 and being told by an elderly woman that she was undergoing kidney dialysis.

For the unfamiliar, dialysis is a treatment that occurs at the end stage of kidney failure, when the organs have have lost 85 to 90 percent of their function. Dialysis removes waste and helps the body maintain its blood pressure as well as its levels of potassium and other essential chemicals, which is good, but the average person only lives for an additional five to ten years. The only alternative at the present is a kidney transplant, which comes with its own complications including outright organ rejection and a recovery period of three to eight weeks.

Bones’s immediate response is, “Dialysis? My god, what is this, the Dark Ages?” He hands her a pill, saying, “Here, you swallow that. If you have a problem, just call me,” before going to rescue Chekov from a group of surgeons who are literally about to drill a hole in his head.

When next we see the patient (when Kirk, Gillian, and McCoy are trying to wheel Chekov out of the hospital), the understandably delighted woman is informing a group of flustered doctors that the pill he gave her grew a completely new kidney.

Remembered when I wondered what else was in McCoy’s bag? Turns out it’s full of replacement organs. For Bones, I’m sure it was another Tuesday, but I’d love to see what the  Journal of the American Medical Association had to say about the whole thing.

Star Trek (2009)

In the Kelvin timeline, Bones saved the Federation. No big deal.

Seriously, without his absolutely encyclopedic knowledge of alien diseases, he never could have gotten Jim Kirk sick enough to have him brought aboard the Enterprise under his care.

Sure, his hands are grotesquely swollen as a result of the vaccine against against viral infection from Melvaran mud fleas and his tongue goes numb as a result of the cortazone that McCoy administered to counter the inflated hands, but Kirk is able to warn Pike and the Enterprise arrives at Vulcan with its shields up and under red alert, giving them an advantage the rest of Starfleet didn’t have.

Without McCoy’s knowledge and ability to act on it, Nero and crew of the Narada could have rampaged across the galaxy, crushing planets with impunity as long as they had red matter to play with. That makes this a perfect place to wrap up the article, as there’s just no way we can beat that.

Kevin Church (he/him) lives in Brooklyn, NY with his partner Robin and two small dogs. He writes comics, takes pictures, and occasionally updates They Boldly Went , a Tumblr dedicated to The Original Series . Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Church .

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A Piece of the Action (episode)

• View history

Returning to a planet last visited by an Earth ship 100 years earlier, the Enterprise finds a planet that has based its culture on the Chicago gangsters of the 1920s.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production timeline
• 4.2 Story and production
• 4.3 Continuity
• 4.4 Performers
• 4.5 Props and settings
• 4.6 Syndication cuts
• 4.7 Remastered information
• 4.8 Video and DVD releases
• 4.9 Apocrypha
• 4.10 Reception
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Guest star
• 5.4 Co-starring
• 5.5 Featuring
• 5.6 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.7 References
• 5.8 External links

Summary [ ]

" Put your hands over your head, or you ain't gonna have a head to put your hands over. "

The USS Enterprise arrives at Sigma Iotia II . This remote planet had been visited by the Horizon in 2168 , before the establishment of the non-interference directive . The Horizon was lost shortly after leaving Sigma Iotia II and Starfleet only managed to receive her radio reports nearly a century later, as the Horizon was only equipped with conventional radio.

After planetfall, Uhura informs Captain Kirk that she is in contact with an Iotian named Bela Okmyx who describes himself as " Boss ". Okmyx invites Kirk to come down to the planet's surface saying that a "reception committee" will be waiting for him upon arrival. Since the Horizon 's visit was before the Federation's Prime Directive against non-interference, Kirk, Spock and McCoy are concerned about what effects the Horizon 's crew may have had on the Iotian culture which was just beginning industrialization at the time and have a knack for imitation. The three beam down to find a culture resembling that of Chicago in the 1920s . They are immediately greeted by two men dressed as gangsters who threaten them with Tommy guns .

Act One [ ]

The landing party surrenders its standard phasers and communicators and are asking questions of the gunmen when a drive-by shooting occurs. One of the gunmen is killed; the other refers to the "hit" being committed by someone named Krako . Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are taken to Okmyx's office, where they learn that Okmyx is one of a dozen or so "Bosses" and that he has the largest territory on Iotia. The office contains a book (referred to as "The Book") published in the year 1992 titled Chicago Mobs of the Twenties . Okmyx informs Kirk, Spock, and McCoy that "The Book" was left by the crew of the Horizon , and the landing party correctly deduces that the entire Iotian culture has been formed by "This Book". Okmyx refers to the landing party as "Feds" and tells them he wants the Enterprise to furnish him with " heaters " so he can wipe out all of the other bosses and take total control of the planet. Kirk refuses and Okmyx gives him just eight hours to provide the weapons or die.

Act Two [ ]

Okmyx has the landing party taken to a warehouse under guard. He then takes one of the confiscated communicators and contacts the Enterprise . He threatens to kill the landing party unless the ship provides him with one hundred phasers (which he calls " heaters ") and troops to show him how to use them.

An angry Jojo Krako

In the warehouse the gunmen are playing cards on a makeshift table while the landing party speculates while sitting in the background about the future of the Iotian society. Spock reasons that, although Okmyx's methods may seem deplorable, his ultimate goal is what the Enterprise crew must also work for: Iotia's society must become united or it will break down completely into anarchy. Kirk feels that since a Federation vessel contaminated the culture , it's the Enterprise 's responsibility to set things right from this mess the planet's inhabitants are currently in. He distracts one of the gunmen named Kalo with a nonsensical and nonexistent card game supposedly from Beta Antares IV called " Fizzbin " which he makes up on the spot, enabling the landing party to overpower the gunmen and escape. Kirk grabs one of the mobster's Tommy gun and instructs Spock and McCoy to find the local radio station, contact the ship, and have themselves beamed aboard.

Kirk goes off by himself planning on abducting Okmyx and bringing him back to the Enterprise . He is promptly greeted by a new gunman, named Zabo , and is forced to take a ride. Kirk is taken to the office of Jojo Krako, another boss who wants to be in control of the planet. Kirk again refuses to "come across with the heaters" for Krako and is confined to a small room.

Spock uses AM radio to talk to Uhura

Spock and McCoy find the radio station. Spock incapacitated the station's operator with a Vulcan nerve pinch and they manage to contact Lieutenant Uhura and return to the ship. Shortly after, Okmyx contacts the ship through the communicator he stole and informs Spock that Krako has kidnapped Kirk. He offers to assist in getting Kirk back if Spock and McCoy will return to his office. Spock finds it difficult to trust Okmyx but decides to rather than use blatant force.

Using wire from a radio, Kirk rigs a trip line across the doorway and then yells out for help. He knocks out two gunmen and escapes with a machine gun.

In the transporter room , Spock instructs Scott to set one of the ship's phaser banks to a strong stun setting. He and McCoy then beam down to Okmyx's office where they are again met by armed hoods.

Act Three [ ]

Kirk and Spock fire phasers on the mob

Okmyx again takes them prisoner, but Kirk arrives and turns the tables. Kirk and Spock dress in the clothes of Kalo and one of Okmyx's henchmen, commandeer a car and set out to "put the bag" on Krako. They are assisted by a small boy who demands "a piece of the action" in exchange for creating a diversion. The boy poses as Kirk's son and pretends to be injured, so Kirk and Spock can incapacitate the guards. They break into Krako's headquarters and appear to be in control until Krako's men gain the upper hand.

Kirk cools his heels while in control of the mob

Act Four [ ]

Kirk tells Krako that the Federation is taking over and arranges, via an indirect order to Scotty, to have Krako beamed up to the Enterprise to show him what he's up against. They overpower Krako's men in the process and then head back to Okmyx's office where Kirk has Scott locate and transport the other Bosses including Krako. Tepo is successfully transported, though, before more are located, an argument arises and Tepo casts doubt and supposes there aren't more people than just the three "Feds" he sees.

Soon, on the street below, Krako's men try a hit on Okmyx's territory in an attempt to rescue Krako and a gunfight ensues in the street below. The landing party loses their guns once again, and Kirk has the ship fire its phasers on wide stun in the surrounding area to demonstrate their power. The mobsters are now convinced and agree to Federation control with Okmyx as the top boss and Krako as his lieutenant. They call the new structure a syndicate.

Back aboard ship, Spock has concerns about Kirk's solution of having the Federation take a 40% cut of the planet's annual "action". Kirk explains that the money will go back into the planetary treasury to help the Federation guide the Iotians into a more ethical society. Spock has his doubts as to the logic behind Kirk's plan.

McCoy is concerned because he seems to have left his communicator behind somewhere in Okmyx's office. Kirk and Spock speculate that with that kind of technology, such as the communicator's transtator in the hands of the Iotians and with their gift for imitation, the Iotians may one day want a piece of the Federation's action.

Log entries [ ]

• Ship's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Okay, you three, let's see you petrified. " " Sir, would you mind explaining that statement, please? " " I want to see you turn to stone. Put your hands over your head, or you ain't going to have no head to put your hands over. "

" I got the biggest in the world. You know, there's one thing wrong with having the biggest. There's always some punk trying to cut you out. "

" I’m gonna give you just eight hours to get me the things I want. If I don’t have those tools by then, I’m gonna call up your ship and have them pick you up… in a box! "

" No, I don't think you're stupid, Mister Krako. I just think your behavior is arrested. " " I haven't been arrested in my whole life! "

"Nobody helps nobody but himself." "Sir, you are employing a double negative."

" The most co-operative man in this world is a dead man. And if you don't keep your mouth shut, you're going to be co-operating. "

" Logic and practical information do not seem to apply here. " " You admit that? " " To deny the facts would be illogical, Doctor. "

" Captain, you’re an excellent starship commander. But as a taxi driver, you leave much to be desired. " " It was that bad? "

" You mind your place, mister, or you'll be wearing concrete galoshes. " " You mean cement overshoes? " " Uh… Aye. "

" Are you afraid of cars? " " Not at all, Captain. It's your driving that alarms me. "

" Mother! "

" I would advise yas to keep dialin', Okmyx. "

" Do you really think it’s that serious?!" " Serious?! Serious, Bones? It upsets the whole percentage." " How do you mean?" " Well, in a few years, the Iotians may demand…a piece of OUR action!"

Background information [ ]

Production timeline [ ].

• Series proposal " Star Trek is... ": 11 March 1964 – Mentions story idea "President Capone"
• Story outline "Chicago II" by George Clayton Johnson : April 1966
• Story outline "The Expatriates" by David P. Harmon : 8 August 1967
• First draft teleplay: 16 August 1967
• Second draft teleplay: 5 September 1967
• First draft teleplay "Mission into Chaos" by Gene L. Coon : 28 September 1967
• Revised first draft "A Piece of the Action": early- October 1967 , 25 October 1967
• Final draft teleplay by John Meredyth Lucas : 30 October 1967
• Additional revisions: 31 October 1967 , 2 November 1967 , 7 November 1967
• Day 1 – 2 November 1967 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Bela's office
• Day 2 – 3 November 1967 , Friday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Bela's office , Warehouse
• Day 3 – 6 November 1967 , Monday – Paramount McFadden Street backlot: Ext. Bela's headquarters , City square
• Day 4 – 7 November 1967 , Tuesday – Paramount Boston Street backlot: Ext. Krako's headquarters ; Desilu Stage 11 : Int. Radio broadcasting room
• Day 5 – 8 November 1967 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 11 : Int. Krako's headquarters , Krako's office
• Day 6 – 9 November 1967 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge , Turbolift , Transporter room
• Original airdate: 12 January 1968
• Rerun airdate: 30 August 1968
• First UK airdate (on BBC1 ): 7 September 1970
• First UK airdate (on ITV ): 26 December 1982
• Remastered airdate: 28 April 2007

Story and production [ ]

• Gene Roddenberry jotted down the idea for this episode – a one-sentence synopsis titled "President Capone" – on the very first page of his very first Star Trek series proposal in 1964.
• Early in the first season , George Clayton Johnson wrote an outline based on this premise, called "The Syndicate". Roddenberry liked it, and hired Johnson to develop it further. Johnson wrote a treatment entitled "Chicago II". However, as he got occupied with developing and writing " The Man Trap ", this concept was forgotten. During the second season, then-producer Gene L. Coon discovered the treatment, and decided to use it, as he felt that, after the success of " The Trouble with Tribbles ", the series needed more comedy-themed episodes. [1]
• David P. Harmon and Coon's first draft script, entitled "Mission into Chaos" featured the Romulans trying to exploit the borderline planet Dana Iotia II, which the Federation wants to industrialize. Much to the crew's surprise, the planet is ruled by gangster bosses, based on the book Chicago Mobs of the Twenties . Kirk has to negotiate with Bela Okmyx and the other crime bosses, outsmarting the two Romulan agents, Rorek and Ramo, who try to lure Bela with sending him weapons and troops. At the end, the Iotians agreed to make a treaty, and send an ambassador to the Federation. But since every boss had a vote, they all "naturally" voted for themselves, and hence, they are all beamed aboard the Enterprise to be escorted to the diplomatic talks. [2]
• No stardate is actually logged in the episode. A stardate of 4598.0 appeared in Bjo Trimble 's Star Trek Concordance , apparently using an earlier script version, and the fotonovel provides a closing stardate 4598.7.
• The scene when Kirk puts his feet up on Krako's table and declares that now the Federation is "taking over the whole ball of wax" is reminiscent of a similar scene in Mervyn LeRoy 's classic gangster film, Little Caesar .
• This is the only episode of Star Trek: The Original Series to end in a freeze-frame.

Continuity [ ]

USS Horizon model

• The Star Trek Encyclopedia  (2nd ed., p. 195) refers to the Horizon as the Daedalus -class USS Horizon , which was later seen as a model in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .
• This episode marks the only time in the entire Star Trek franchise that Kirk calls McCoy by his full nickname: "Sawbones."
• This is also the only episode in which the ship's phasers are set to stun . In " The Ultimate Computer ", Kirk has them set at 1/100th power.

Mayweather's hardbound copy of Chicago Gangs

• In a homage to this episode, a hard-bound copy of a book beginning with the title Chicago Gangs can be briefly glimpsed on a bookshelf in Travis Mayweather 's quarters on board the ECS Horizon in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode " Horizon ".
• This is the first episode in which a site-to-site transport is performed – although due to the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , it is not the first time from a historical perspective.
• According to the production report for the Star Trek: Enterprise episode " The Communicator ", that episode explored a premise hinted at in this episode when Dr. McCoy confessed to leaving behind his communicator on Sigma Iotia II. "The Communicator" picked up on this idea, with a far more serious tone, after Lt. Reed loses his communicator on a pre-warp planet, but he and Archer go back to retrieve it, but things do not go well. [3] (X)
• Before it was decided they would focus on the events of " The Trouble with Tribbles ", the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writing staff toyed with the idea of the Deep Space Nine crew visiting Sigma Iotia II and finding they had all imitated the Enterprise crew and wore their uniforms . The idea even was used in The Worlds of the Federation where the Iotians were shown to have recreated much of Original Series era Federation technology of using only their understanding of the transtator. The story was to be both a comedy and a social commentary on the Trekkie phenomenon; however, it was agreed that revisiting the famous "The Trouble with Tribbles" would be more memorable. The original idea was followed up in the final issue of the Star Trek Unlimited comic book series, " A Piece of Reaction ", instead.
• Apparently Kirk and Spock failed to learn the dangers of stepping into the path of motor cars from their experience in " The City on the Edge of Forever " as they have a couple of near misses on the roads in this episode. Indeed, although the Iotian city does not look too different from 1930s New York, Kirk, McCoy and Spock act as though they've never encountered such a place outside of history books; while McCoy's time outside in New York while sane was limited, Kirk and Spock had spent a number of days in 1930s New York.

Performers [ ]

• George Takei ( Sulu ) does not appear in this episode.
• This episode contains Walter Koenig 's smallest speaking part in The Original Series , with only one line of dialogue, " Approaching Sigma Iotia II, Captain. "
• William Blackburn 's character, Hadley , is given his name in this episode. It is also the only episode in which Hadley is referred to by name.

Props and settings [ ]

• The landing party wears their number-one type phasers on their right hips, hanging vertically from their belts, emitter tubes downward. This placement is unique to this episode.
• The street seen throughout this episode is on the Paramount lot and can be seen in many television series. The steps leading up to Okmyx' headquarters were used in the Judd Hirsch series Dear John .
• The car that Kirk drove to "put the bag on Krako" had a V-12 engine, as a V-12 emblem is seen on the radiator. It was a Cadillac , probably a 1931 model. [4] Note the winged radiator cap, which Cadillacs of that vintage had. It is a nod to Chicago crime boss, Al "Scarface" Capone, who had a 1928 V-12 Cadillac. Incidentally, this represents the only time that a member of the crew ever operated any kind of land vehicle during the course of The Original Series .
• In the Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook (p. 133), a book on the costumes and art direction of the original series, Herb Solow shows a yellow costume for "Marlys" that he says no one can identify. It is, in fact, the costume Marlys Burdette wore in this episode.
• All of Okmyx's henchmen wear felt fedora hats (although Okmyx wears no hat). Krako and all of his henchmen wear straw boater hats, and all the minor bosses that Kirk has beamed to Bela's office wear bowler hats.

Syndication cuts [ ]

Although this episode officially received no syndication cuts, many local television stations were known to cut small segments at the end of scenes bordering a commercial break. The most common of these was the scene in which Kirk is captured by Krako's men who tell him, " This can either be a taxi or a hearse " before driving Kirk away. Television stations would often omit the last minute of this scene, showing Kirk sitting in the car driving away, and end the scene with Kirk simply saying " I'm beginning to get the idea ". ( The Star Trek Compendium )

Remastered information [ ]

The remastered version of "A Piece of the Action" aired in many North American markets during the weekend of 28 April 2007 . While the episode required very few new effects, the planet Sigma Iotia II was given a CGI-makeover, now a more Earth-like planet. Aside from orbital establishing shots, new phaser effects were created depicting the block-wide stun implemented from the Enterprise , replacing the more "cartoonish" aspects of the original.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original US Betamax release: 1986
• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 26 , catalog number VHR 2361, 4 June 1990
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.7, 23 June 1997
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 25, 19 June 2001
• As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection
• As part of the TOS-R Season 2 DVD collection

Apocrypha [ ]

• Bantam Books published a series of novelizations called Star Trek Fotonovels which took photographic stills from actual episodes and arranged word balloons and text over them, to create a comic book formatted story. The eighth installment was an adaptation of this episode which contained a foreword written by Anthony Caruso in the character of Bela Okmyx . He mentions that he was elected president of the planet in a landslide and that he made Jojo Krako his vice president. The arrangement worked out well, he said, as he hadn't heard from Krako since.
• The plot for the Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Nintendo game has the Enterprise thrown outside of known space entering the Sigma Iotia system. When they finally get back, they find that McCoy leaving his communicator behind was responsible for the incident and they go back in time to retrieve it from the gangsters.
• In Shane Johnson 's reference book The Worlds of the Federation , in the entry on Iotia, the planet is referred to as being known indigenously as "Okmyx." Johnson also explains that the Iotians's discovery of McCoy's communicator led them to abandon their mobster culture and seize on the opportunity it presented; he adds that the next ship to orbit the planet (which he does not identify) found what, at first, appeared to be a Federation starbase, complete with uniformed personnel and communications on Star Fleet channels. He concludes, drawing this detail from the "Star System Data" booklet that accompanied the first Star Trek Maps , that Sigma Iotia II was subsequently declared a Federation Protectorate, with a cultural rating of E+ on the "Richter Scale of Cultures," and that though no quarantine was imposed, an orbital customs facility was eventually constructed, through which visiting personnel had to be cleared before they were permitted to beam to the surface.
• The events of the episode are recapped in the comic " ... Let's Kill All the Lawyers! when Bela Okmyx was one of the witnesses at James T. Kirk 's trial. Okmyx revealed at Kirk's trial that the captain's cut of Iotia's "action" was still being skimmed for him. Okmyx also returned Leonard McCoy's communicator (which the doctor had left behind on Iotia), saying that the Iotians didn't do anything with the device and just put it away for safekeeping.
• In DC's second Star Trek series Bela Okmyx is called to testify in the Trial of James Kirk in the issue " ... Let's Kill All the Lawyers! ".
• The Star Trek: Picard novel Rogue Elements depicts the Iotians as maintaining their cultural fixation with the culture of Chicago gangs even into the late 24th century . In that novel, Cristóbal Rios deals with an Iotian gang, and even purchases La Sirena from them.

Reception [ ]

• The book Star Trek 101 (p. 19), by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block , lists this episode as one of "Ten Essential Episodes" from the original Star Trek series.

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Guest star [ ]

• Anthony Caruso as Bela

Co-starring [ ]

• Victor Tayback as Krako
• Lee Delano as Kalo
• James Doohan as Scott
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Walter Koenig as Chekov

Featuring [ ]

• John Harmon as Tepo
• Sheldon Collins as Tough Kid
• Dyanne Thorne as First Girl
• Sharyn Hillyer as Second Girl
• Buddy Garion as Hood
• Steve Marlo as Zabo

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Benjie Bancroft as Iotian passerby
• William Blackburn as Hadley
• John Blower as Swenson
• Nick Borgani as Iotian gang leader
• Marlys Burdette as Krako's gun moll
• Christie as Hood
• Conde as Hood
• Tony Dante as Krako's hood
• Frank da Vinci as Brent
• James Doohan as the Announcer (voice)
• Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli
• Jay Jones as Mirt
• Jeannie Malone as Yeoman
• Jim Michael as Bela's hood
• McIntosh as Hood
• Clark Ross as Iotian passerby
• Bela's gun moll
• Bela's hood 5 and 6 , plus three more
• Bosses 1 , 2 , and 4
• Krako's hoods 2 , 3 , and 4
• Northside pedestrians
• Southside pedestrians
• Radio engineer
• Woman with baby

References [ ]

1992 ; 2168 ; .45 automatic ; advisor ; alternative ; amplitude modulation ; anarchy ; Angelo's Delicatessen ; apple ; arrest ; audio ; authority ; baby blue ; baby carriage ; bag ; Bang Bang ; beans ; beef ; behavior ; Bela's office ; Bela's place ; Beta Antares IV ; Beta Antares IV natives ; Bible ; billiards ; blade ; block ; blotter ; blower ; blue ; blueprint ; boater ; bolt ; book ; boss ; bowler hat ; box ; broad ; broadcast ; brooding ; bugged ; Buick Master Six ; building ; business ; " business is business "; businessman ; buster ; button ; Cadillac ; Cadillac Series 353 ; Cadillac V-12 ; Cadillac V-16 ; car ; card game ; cart ; cement ; Chamey's Auto Repair ; Chicago ; Chicago Mobs of the Twenties ; chicken ; choice ; chopper ; Cirl the Knife ; citizen ; cloche hat ; clutch ; cold-blooded ; communicator ; computer ; concrete ; confusion ; contact ; contamination ; contract ; conventional radio ; coordinates ; criminal organization (aka gang or mobs ); cue ; culture ; darts ; dartboard ; date ; deal ; dealer ; device ; dialing ; dilemma ; distill ; dope ; double-barreled shotgun ; double negative ; dozen ; driving ; ear ; Earth ; E.B. Green Portraits ; Economy Bus Lines ; emotional state ; ethical system ; evidence ; evolution ; eye ; face ; fact ; Federation law ; Federation of Planets ("Fed"); fedora ; feet ; firearm (aka gun or hardware); fireplug ; fizzbin ; flivver ; flop ; foot ; frequency ; friend ; gear ; galoshes (aka overshoes ); gangster ; garage ; gears ; " give the word "; goods ; government ; guest ; gun moll ; hand ; head ; hearse ; heater ; hello ; " hit "; home ; Horizon ; hostage ; hostility ; hour ; ice ; ice cream ; ice cream sandwich ; idea ; ignition ; industrialization ; information ; intelligence ; intersection ; Iotian ; Iotian language ; Jailbreakers, The ; job ; key ; kidnapping ; king ; kronk ; language banks ; laundry ; letter ; lieutenant ; logic ; machine gun ; material ; microphone ; Milky Way Galaxy ; minute ; money ; month ; moral inversion ; mouth ; name ; neighbor ; neutronium ; night ; No parking sign ; Northside Territory ; " no sweat "; non-interference directive ; odds ; office ; " on the level "; order ; pattycake ; peanut ; pedal ; percentage ; penny-ante operator ; percentages ; petrified ; phaser ; phaser bank ; phone ; phone call ; picture ; " piece of the action "; piecework factory ; place ; planetary treasury ; " play a hunch "; " play ball "; player ; playing cards ; postage due ; prisoner ; problem ; profit ; punk ; queen ; question ; radio report ; radio set ; radio station (aka official station ); radius ; reception committee ; Request Time ; result ; right ; right of petition ; roof ; Sawbones ; scrag ; Sigma Iotia ; Sigma Iotia II ; site-to-site transport ; society ; sociological computer ; sound ; Southside Territory ; sralk ; standard orbit ; Starfleet Command ; starship ; starter ; stone ; story ; street ; street light ; Studebaker Standard Six ; solution ; subspace communication ; surface ; sweat ; switch ; syndicate ; taxi ; taxi driver ; telephone ; Tepo's mother ; territory ; textbook ; thing ; Thompson submachine gun ; title ; tool ; toy ; transporter ; transporter room ; transtator ; trick ; troops ; truce ; truck ; Tuesday ; Vulcan neck pinch ; US Mail ; walking ; warehouse ; weapon ; week ; wheel ; " whole ball of wax "; window ; year ; yellow

External links [ ]

• " A Piece of the Action " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " A Piece of the Action " at Wikipedia
• " A Piece of the Action " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• " A Piece of the Action " at the Internet Movie Database

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

• Gene Roddenberry
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 277 User reviews
• 99 Critic reviews
• 16 wins & 31 nominations total

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• Trivia In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN." These initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing."
• Goofs The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Dr. McCoy : "He's dead, Jim."

• Crazy credits On some episodes, the closing credits show a still that is actually from the Star Trek blooper reel. It is a close-up of stunt man Bill Blackburn who played an android in Return to Tomorrow (1968) , removing his latex make up. In the reel, He is shown taking it off, while an off-screen voice says "You wanted show business, you got it!"
• Alternate versions In 2006, CBS went back to the archives and created HD prints of every episode of the show. In addition to the new video transfer, they re-did all of the model shots and some matte paintings using CGI effects, and re-recorded the original theme song to clean it up. These "Enhanced" versions of the episodes aired on syndication and have been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
• Connections Edited into Ben 10: Secrets (2006)
• Soundtracks Star Trek Music by Alexander Courage

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Star Trek 2009 Is Worth Revisiting 15 Years Later

By Stephen Wilds

I grew up seeing a handful of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes randomly on television. They somewhat caught my attention, but my Star Trek journey truly began with The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. Until I decided to start doing full re-watches in college, my primary interactions with Captain Kirk and his crew were the movies. As much as I enjoyed and respected that original crew, I always felt they were harder to relate to than some of my favorites. Like most fans, I was unsure about a reboot, but something in the back of my mind hoped that this would get me into these characters even more. Although Star Trek 2009 has its flaws, I remember leaving the theater with renewed vigor for the franchise and the possibilities of future adventures.  

This, however, was not a universally shared opinion. Many fans didn’t like this new version of their beloved classic Trek, claiming that it wasn’t deserving of the title. A lot of the names behind the camera had set off red flags, but even if that was overreacting, what they saw on screen was flashier, faster-paced, more action-based, and violent, with the younger characters full of drama and at each other’s throats. This incarnation didn’t feel right to some lifelong fans and was hard to accept. Some enjoyed the movie, but saw it as too much of a popcorn flick to be real Trek, designed more for general audiences and less for the devoted, as if the filmmakers took all of the wrong lessons from First Contact and set it in an alternate universe – a decision that seemed to be made primarily due to merchandising rights – gave them carte blanche to completely spin the dial when it came to tone.

There are some valid arguments here, but most of it comes down to preference and what individual fans expect from their Trek. Star Trek 2009 is a reboot that still acknowledges the original timeline, even bringing over Spock from the Prime universe, things are changed, but the project does make an effort to appease everyone. For most, the new ship designs, recrafted sets, and polished visuals take a back seat to the characters and how they’re handled.

I’m a huge fan of the cast, solid choices almost all around. It is amusing to see Thor at the beginning. Zachary Quinto as Spock does an excellent job, and it’s easy to hang on to his words looking for the small bits of emotion that might escape. His relationship with the incredible Zoe Saldana as Uhura enriches them both. She compliments him and stands on her own. The character is strong, assertive, compassionate when needed, and works well under pressure. Not to mention the wonderful Karl Urban’s take on Dr. McCoy, who has some of the best lines in the film and possesses a wonderfully unorthodox demeanor and unruly presence. These are the main performances, but they are assisted by John Cho’s portrayal of Hikaru Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and Anton Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekov. I also feel like we overlook this universe’s version of Christopher Pike because Bruce Greenwood has a wonderful space dad presence and feels different than Anson Mount’s incarnation but still regal and heroic.  

“Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.” Leonard “Bones” McCoy

We always need a solid villain, though, and Trek has had some great ones, but that is never guaranteed. Captain Nero is one of my absolute favorites, certainly my #1 Romulan. In a way, he’s more Spock’s villain, a darker reflection that plays off the Vulcan vs Romulan connection, and although there should be no one to blame for what happened to his planet, he needs someone to hate. Sure, Nero could have tried to go warn his homeworld or spent that time in this alternate reality building a new life, something constructive, but he was looking for a furious retribution to help make that pain mean something. 

I think Eric Bana brought some heat to the role and he looked fantastic with the pirate vibe and a converted mining ship that resembled a savage beast on the outside and a demented clock inside. He’s quiet until the violence erupts, a working-class villain who calls Starfleet captains by their first names condescendingly while he plays with his prey, and the crew wants to ensure he’s dealt with so much that once he refuses help, they make sure there’s no way he could slip through time again, firing everything, risking their safety just to make sure Nero’s dead.

Sometimes it’s good to appreciate raw hatred and the lengths someone can go to out of pettiness. The melodrama is thick in space. We see from that first glorious scene a tragic battle, where this is a darker timeline, and people are going to die and be forced to make sacrifices. The music is also a huge boost here, no, I don’t mean The Beastie Boys, but Michael Giacchino‘s score. The notes we hear are bombastic, creating a bold sound that is also meant to jar us at times, and it succeeds in pushing the tone and giving the heroic moments some extra weight. The original theme playing over the credits also helped. 

Captain Kirk isn’t nailed

Right, I’ve put off talking about Chris Pine ’s version of Kirk long enough. I enjoy the character, his new origin, being birthed and christened by such a devastating event, forged in phaser fire and photon torpedoes, tested from breath one. He’s an angry kid with a lot to prove, just like Pike challenges him on, and his bullshit is often called out or catches up to him, the little “cupcake.” Sure, making captain so quick doesn’t make sense, even if they explained how weak the fleet was then, but that’s not my issue. I think it’s Pine. I don’t dislike him, but even after he grew on me, I’m still wondering what’s missing in his performance because it isn’t as wooden as some of his others, and he’s just a dialed-up, younger, more petulant version of the character I know, but I also think he’s the only character that doesn’t sit right with me. In a movie where even the minor characters all have moments that show their personalities and give them quirks that feel right, Kirk is my least favorite part of Star Trek 2009’s ensemble cast.

The constant lens flares, the flashy lights on top of a duller stage, the cluttered battle scenes, those weird monsters on the ice planet, there are several decisions that I understand why fans question this movie. It goes for a unique look but almost makes the film harder to follow. When things are pumping this hard, it can be tough to get into the smaller details. I absolutely love the way the movie looks in some parts, especially on the planets. My favorite moment like this is when Kirk and Sulu fall after disabling the drill and are teleported out of mid-air, landing on the transporter pad and breaking it. Little details make this 2009 movie feel like a legitimate upgrade as a reboot without trying to step on the past.

I was prepared for this movie. A friend loaned me the prequel comic, a story I genuinely enjoyed, but thought that more of the scenes, or at least the information from it, should have made it into the film. Some of the story elements feel like they come out of nowhere without it. But for many new fans, this is the one that finally got them into Star Trek, made them want to go watch and read more about it, and see what else the franchise had to offer. I know I went and watched more TOS episodes after this, I wanted to prepare for the eventual sequels which, admittedly, didn’t work out so well, but before that, this movie had me excited for what was to come. I’ll always appreciate Star Trek 2009, no matter how different it may have been.

Playing video games and watching old cartoons in the basement of Raccoon City's Police Department, where misplaced commas and lack of pizza are the biggest problems.

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• May 13, 2024 | Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 508 With New Images And Clip From “Labyrinths”
• May 11, 2024 | Interview: Elias Toufexis On Making Star Trek History Playing L’ak And Nerding Out In ‘Discovery’
• May 10, 2024 | ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Debuts On Nielsen Streaming Top 10
• May 10, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Breens Out On “Erigah” With Commentary From Elias Toufexis Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
• May 9, 2024 | Star Trek Franchise Wins Peabody Award

Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 508 With New Images And Clip From “Labyrinths”

| May 13, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 41 comments so far

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery continues on Thursday with the eighth episode, and we have details, new photos, and a clip WITH SPOILERS .

Episode 7: “Labyrinths”

The eighth episode of the season, “Labyrinths,” was written by Lauren Wilkinson & Eric J. Robbins and directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour. The episode debuts on Paramount+ on Thursday, May 16.

When Captain Burnham is trapped within a “mindscape” designed to test her worthiness to retrieve the Progenitor’s powerful technology, Book, Rayner, and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery must hold off the Breen long enough for her to escape.

Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise previously teased this episode saying, “Oh, just an incredible gorgeous location, incredible scope and a singular journey for Burnham.”

NEW photos:

Tony Nappo as Primarch Ruhn (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham (Marni Grossman /Paramount+)

Elena Juatco as Hy’Rell  (Marni Grossman /Paramount+)

Dorian Grey as Lt. Arisar (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Episode trailer

CHECK BACK LATER.

You can see a clip from “Labyrinths” from the latest episode of The Ready Room below …

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery also premiered on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuted on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

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I guess Hy’Rell is a Efrosian.

Interesting. I was thinking Klingon.

Why not both? Maybe she’s half-Klingon, half-Efrosian…

Same.. I couldn’t tell if it was Klingon ridges or not. Wait… did I just racially profile a character over ridges and hair?

We definitely need to see 32nd century Klingons before the show is over. As much as I’l like a STIV deepcut, I hope she’s Klingon…

we will, some stunt guys leaked it before the season started said they’d be playing Klingon and Breen soldiers

She is indeed Efrosian — I’m a big fan of STVI.

I hope you all enjoy the episode, it’s a fun one. Our director Emmanuel knocked it out of the park!

That’s cool!

Woohoo!! I’m excited for this episode. Awesome to see an Efrosian again after all of this time!

My money is on Klingon…… Change the Hy to L and you have L’Rell.

Should be Klingon.

Er, a Discovery writer just told us here that she’s Efrosian.

Cool that one of the writers replied and let us know.

Brave soul to post on a trek site though. We can be a rowdy bunch at times.

I always loved the Efrosian in Voyage Home. “Here it comes now-”

Great voice on the actor, Nick Ramus, who I’m just learning was a member of the Blackfoot tribe.

Wow, I always thought he was an *Asian* Indian.

Same here, though with all the makeup it was hard to tell.

Looks like Ramus was in quite a few westerns. He passed away in 2007, age 77.

“…singular journey for Michael” this whole show has been only about Michael.

the only parts of this season i’ve enjoyed are Moll / L’ak and the Breen

“ this whole show has been only about Michael”

Just because you don’t like an African-American woman in the lead role doesn’t make this true.

Saru for example has had a major character arc over the course of the series. If you don’t see that, you can’t be helped. Also Culber/Stamets have gone through major, even soap opera level of stories with their relationship.

You could criticize the series for being too much about the characters. But the series being about the main character is a silly criticism. Or can I see your criticism about Kirk doing everything in TOS? Would like to see a link to that.

And before you come with the trite “but we don’t know nothing about the bridge crew!11!”: Tell me the names and character arcs of the people working in Ops of Deep Space Nine. I’ll wait (actually I won’t, I have better things to do).

If you don’t like a black woman lead, just say so.

This comment right here is why it is so difficult to get people to take actual issues around racism and misogyny serious.

Jan, your comment is completely unwarranted. Nothing in Sean’s comment suggested a racial component to his critique. I dislike the entire series as a matter of fact. Not because of the genders, racial origins or personal lives of the characters depicted or the cast – I just don’t like it Especially compared with Strange New worlds. An apology is in order.

Where did you get a racial dislike from what he said? All he said was “this whole show has been only about Michael” which is accurate (also the way the show was designed from Day 1, but I don’t see where he’s disputing that). So not sure where this criticism is coming from. I’ve been very critical of the character, but it has nothing to do with her race… I don’t think she has been written very well. My dislike of how they’ve written her has nothing to do with who is playing her. Sonequa is a wonderful actress and has elevated the writing because of it. The fact is, she and the character deserve better than they’ve gotten. Knock on wood, so far this season she has been written much better, where her character is concerned. None of that has anything to do with her race. But I have to defend Sean here, because I just don’t see where you get that from anything he said, and it’s unfair of you to project that on to anyone without knowing.

Wow, I just realized something beautiful. All the five clues are hidden within the worlds of all five classic legacy shows.

Fred, the Soong-type android = TNG Trill = DS9 ISS Enterprise = TOS Denobulan weather station = ENT Badlands = VOY

Well spotted!

Whoah, I really like this. Nice catch! That’s awesome!

Awesome observation Garth!

Excellent catch!!

I wonder if Hy’Rell is even a real person. The uniform looks very 23rd/24th century. Maybe it’s a projection of what Burnham expects to see.

Re: a closed thread below:

There’s a solid case to be made that Discovery has focused primarily on one character more than any Trek show before it.

Sure, the other shows sometimes gave the captain more attention than other characters (although I’d argue that Spock, Data, Worf, Kira, the Doctor, Seven and T’Pol often had the spotlight), but Discovery has been The Michael Burnham Show from the get-go, by design.

Nope. Solid character arcs for Saru, Stamets, Culber, even Book and Adira… Michael is the lead character but not to an extend any of the other characters get sidelined…

I think that’s true of any show centered around one central character. With TOS, there was the Troika of Kirk, Spock, Bones, all others were support with some occasional focus on them. Disco is no different, it’s just much more focused on one person, rather than a triumvirate.

I think the issue is the low episode count per season and length of time between seasons, combined with Discovery’s identity crisis and needing to reinvent itself every season, that prevents any meaningful connections to any of the supporting characters. The show was designed to be about Burnham’s journey, even if they seemed to be in a rush to shorten that journey by making her captain as fast as possible in my opinion.

The Berman era shows had more episodes to include the supporting cast than the new era of Trek does and there wasn’t that long of a wait between seasons to forget about what happened before.

You’re contradicting yourself. All of the other live action shows had as their primary focus the person in command as well. No exceptions. Yet Discovery sets off some people. Gee, what is the obvious difference between Discovery and all other live action Trek…..

Please don’t try to continue a contentious topic that we closed for a reason.

Dorian Grey chose a good role. No way he sees the portrait through that helmet.

Ha! But that was Gray. :-)

He’s good, he won’t see it burn either.

The production is amazing. That efrosion looks terrific. Wow! The make up artists and the costume designers are fantastic and deserve awards.

Perhaps it is just me, but I was thinking — not for the first time in modern Trek — that the latex on the Efrosian looks very latex-y, not like natural skin. I had the same reaction to Sneed in Picard and sometimes to Saru, especially this season.

An Efrosian, cool. Shout out to Mel Efros, the namesake and creator of the design.

All Roads Lead to Discovery: The Full Star Trek Timeline, Explained

Star Trek: Discovery takes place at the furthest point in the franchise timeline. Here is the stardate for each major entry in the series.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, the final season, is currently underway. The series debuted in 2017 and was used as the launch title for the streaming service CBS All Access, now rebranded Paramount+. It was also the first Star Trek series on television in 12 years following the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise back in 2005. While Paramount has spent nearly a decade trying to get Star Trek 4 out of development hell , the franchise has been going strong on Paramount+ with various series on the streaming service at different times of the year. Now, there is almost always a Star Trek series on the air at any given point.

Star Trek: Discovery is a fascinating case for the franchise, as it was originally conceived as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , but following the conclusion of Season 2 and starting in Season 3, the series jumped far into the future, the farthest point in the franchise history. Star Trek: Discovery now takes place in a universe built on years of stories. Here is a breakdown of the Star Trek timeline across television and film and how it all leads to Star Trek: Discovery .

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star trek: enterprise.

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The last television series on air before Star Trek: Discovery is also the first in the timeline as Star Trek: Enterprise takes place over 100 years before the adventures of Kirk and Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01 which was Earth’s first starship able to reach warp five. Major events in the series are around first contact with alien species like the Klingon and the Xindi. The series also featured the true formation of the United Federation of Planets.

The series also established the Temporal Wars, a conflict that stretched across time and space and resulted in the creation of multiple timelines as agents from various factions in the 32nd century were sent back in time to move history in their favor. This eventually resulted in an all-out war, and while it was resolved, it later had some major ramifications for the franchise. The first was that all-time travel technology became outlawed or destroyed in the 32nd century, so when the crew of Discovery jumped forward in time, they had no way of returning home. The other was a way for the writers to fix continuity errors , like moving up the date of Khan's rise and the Eugenics wars from the 1990s, as established in The Original Series , to the 2010s.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

When Star Trek: Discovery first premiered, it was pitched as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series , taking place nine years before the events of the series. It introduced Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, the never-before-mentioned adopted sister of Spock who ended up starting the war between the Federation and the Klingons, one that would have repercussions for the franchise for years. Star Trek: Discovery dealt with a threat from the Mirror Universe , a faction that would come into play in Star Trek: The Original Series , while season two brought on fan-favorite versions of characters from the original Star Trek pilot in the form of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijln), and Spock (Ethan Peck).

Star Trek: Discovery season two ended with the crew of the Enterprise making the decision to jump forward 1000 years in the future to save the galaxy from an artificial intelligence threat. This resulted in Pike, Spock, and Number One telling Starfleet that Discovery was destroyed in the battle and vowing never to speak of it or the crew again to prevent another incident like the rouge AI Control from happening. This was done to explain why nobody in the later series of Star Trek mentioned any of the characters on Discovery or the advanced technology the ship had as the first and only one of its kind to use an experimental spore drive.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star trek: strange new worlds.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is both a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery , following Captain Pike and the crew of the USS Enterprise, introduced in that series, as well as a continuation of the original pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series "The Cage." Now that Captain Pike knows the fate that awaits him by the time Star Trek: The Original Series happens, he and the crew of the Enterprise begin exploring strange new worlds. The series is notable for featuring not only Spock but also his first-ever meeting with Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley) and the first missions of Uhurua (Celia Rose Gooding). Other members of the original crew, like Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) and Doctor M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), while Season 2's finale introduces a young Scotty (Martin Quinn).

Star Trek Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date

It also adds a new wrinkle to the lore: La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), who is a descendant of villain Khan Noonien Singh. The series has so far fleshed out the alien race, The Gorn, and features the foundation of the Prime Directive rule, one that forbids a Starship from interfering with the development of an alien planet. It also features time travel in two key episodes. The first was when La'an and another version of Kirk traveled to 2020 Toronto, where La'an has a chance to kill a young Khan when he was just a boy but doesn't due to him not being guilty of any crime yet, and the other involved the crew of Star Trek: Lower Decks traveling back in time and arriving back 100 years before their time.

Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

The one that started it all, Star Trek: The Original Series , follows the crew of the USS Enterprise in their five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and go where no one has gone before. Under the guidance of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), his first officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and friend and ship doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelly), the crew of the USS Enterprise are the most important characters in the Star Trek franchise. Decisions and events here have major ripple effects on the entire franchise.

There are far too many to name, but the biggest ones include in 2267 when the crew finds and uncovers the body of Khan Nooniegn-Signh, and after he attempts a mutiny, they leave him on a planet to begin a new life, an action that will have repercussions decades later.

Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Star trek: the animated series.

Star Trek: The Animated Series was made in 1973, four years after Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled. It featured the continuing adventures of the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. It lasted for two seasons and helped round out the stories of Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2271)

Star trek: the motion picture.

While no official stardate is mentioned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and is only identified as the 2270s, supplementary material for the film dates it one year after the crew of the Enterprise's five-year mission. The film sees the crew of the Enterprise reunite to investigate a mysterious and powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger, which is destroying everything in its path as it approaches Earth. While not stated in the film, subsequent Star Trek material has suggested that V'Ger is the progenitor of the Borg, one of the franchise's most popular recurring enemies.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star trek 2: the wrath of khan.

The most iconic Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan , picks up 15 years after the events of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed." The time since the planet Khan was marooned on , it became a wasteland after one of the planets near it was destroyed and altered the atmosphere. Khan now seeks revenge on Kirk and does so by going after the planet-terraforming machine called the Genesis device, a machine created by Kirk's ex, Carol Marcus, and his son, David Marcus. Kirk is able to defeat Khan but at a price, as Mr. Spock is forced to give his life to save the crew of the Enterprise. Spock's death will have major repercussions on the franchise that will be felt for years.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star trek iii: the search for spock.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock picks up just months after The Wrath of Khan , as the crew of the Enterprise discovers that there is a way to revive Spock. They go against Starfleet's orders and steal the Enterprise to return Spock's body and mind to Vulcan so that he can be reborn. The crew must also face off with hostile Klingons, led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is bent on stealing the secrets of the powerful terraforming Genesis.

Here’s How Much Each Star Trek Movie Made at the Box Office Upon Release

The film features some major hallmarks of the franchise. The first is the destruction of the Enterprise, a ship that had been with the franchise for years and would be absent in the following film. The second was establishing the core characters as fugitives from the United Federation of Planets, which would set up clearing their names in the follow-up. It also featured Spock being resurrected but at another cost for Kirk, the death of his son, which would begin to drive Kirk's prejudice against Klingons for many films.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

Star trek iv: the voyage home.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sees the former crew of the USS Enterprise discover that Earth is in grave danger from an alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales. The crew travels to Earth's past to find whales who can answer the probe's call. The first and final part of the movie takes place one year after The Search for Spock , but the majority of the movie takes place in 1986, the present day for moviegoing audiences. While Star Trek had done time travel stories before, this one set a template for future entries in the franchise. By the end of the film, Kirk and his crew had been reinstated and cleared of all charges.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star trek v: the final frontier.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier deals with the crew of the new USS Enterprise-A as they confront renegade Vulcan Sybok, who is searching for God at the center of the galaxy. Sybok is Spock's half-brother , and he is from his father's previous relationship with a Vulcan woman. This makes the second chronological secret member of Spock's family and the first introduced in the series in order of release.

Sybok's presence was actually hinted at in the series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds when his lover, Angel, attacks his half-brother's ship. The entry is also the first to allude to a higher power in the Star Trek franchise, and while God would not be revealed in the series, the idea of someone being the creator of life in the galaxy would be picked up years later in Star Trek: The Next Generation and is now the main storyline for the final season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

The final time the entire crew of the USS Enterprise would be together was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The Klingons seek to form an alliance with the Federation after years of fighting due to their planet suffering a major catastrophe, but Kirk is still bitter after the death of his son at the Klingon's hands in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Kirk and Bones are framed for the murder of a high-up Klingon official, which threatens the peace accords, and they, alongside the rest of the crew of the Enterprise, must work to clear their names.

This final entry for most of the original cast marks a turning point in the franchise. It marked the end of the Federation and Klingon conflict, setting up Star Trek: The Next Generation , featuring the character Worf in a prominent role as part of the crew. The film takes place 28 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, and through one live-action show, an animated series, and six films, audiences saw a massive epic unfold for these characters, but the story was far from over as a new era began for the franchise and the next generation began.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

Star trek: the next generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series . The series follows Captain Jean Luc-Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as they continue to explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations. For many audiences, this was their Star Trek and introduced a whole new host of concepts to the franchise, with the most iconic being the villain, The Borg.

Star Trek: The Next Generation might be one of the most important in terms of how it connects to Star Trek Discovery. The first is the episode "Unification," in which Spock looks to bring peace between the Vulcans and Romulans. Not only is this paid off as Spock's vision of a united Romulus and Vulcan comes true in the form of the planet Ni'Var in Star Trek: Discovery , but his work with the Romulan people will lead to the events that create the alternate Kelvin timeline of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond .

Yet the most important element is in the episode "The Chase," which reveals that the reason various alien life in the galaxy looks so similar is due to sharing a common ancestry from an ancient species that crafted life in their image. This revelation forms the backbone of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season as the crew looks to find the technology of the species that created life, now dubbed the Progenitors. The episode debuted in 1993, and now, 31 years later, the series is finally going to delve into some answers.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star trek: deep space nine.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke from franchise conventions as instead of being focused on a starship, it was set on a space station Deep Space Nine, located adjacent to a wormhole connecting Federation territory to the Gamma Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy. The series begins one year before the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation come to a conclusion and is firmly connected to the events of that series as Benjamin Sisko, head of Deep Space Nine, is mourning the death of his wife, who was killed by the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 seen in the episode "The Best of Both Worlds Part II" from The Next Generation and has a difficult time seeing the face of Jean-Luc Picard as that was the face he saw leading the Borg that lead to the death of his wife.

The biggest event of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is The Dominion Wars, a massive story arc that ran over the course of the series. It involved all major powers of the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants, organized into two opposing military alliances, the Federation Alliance and the Breen-Dominion Alliance, which resulted in the deadliest conflicts in the galaxy. It would begin the drive for the Federation to become a more militarized organization.

Star Trek Generations (2371)

Star trek: generations.

Star Trek: Generations occupies an interesting place within the timeline. It is set one year after the events of The Next Generation and two years into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the year 2371. Yet the film's beginning takes place shortly after the events of Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier, which sees Captain Kirk stuck in a pocket dimension, allowing him to meet Captain Jean-Luc Picard of The Next Generation nearly a century later into his future. This film marked the death of Captain Kirk , who died the way he lived, a man of adventure.

Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

Star trek: first contact.

Star Trek: First Contact is another time travel movie, similar to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Set six years after being assimilated by the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Captain Picard and his crew travel through a time portal to pursue the Borg to April 4, 2063. This is the date before the historic warp drive flight that leads to humanity's first encounter with alien life, and the Borg are looking to alter the future so humans never make contact. The film's date of April 5th has now become an unofficial Star Trek holiday known as First Contact Day .

Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star trek: insurrection.

Star Trek: Insurrection is notable as the film is set in 2375, the same year as the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Trying to take the renegade Starfleet team element from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , the crew of the USS Enterprise -E rebels against Starfleet after they discover a conspiracy with the Son'a species to steal the peaceful Ba'ku's planet for its rejuvenating properties.

Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

Star trek: voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager begins in 2371, the same year as Star Trek: Generations . It follows the adventures of the USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy. This entry is key for introducing two characters to the franchise that will play major roles in future installments. The series introduced Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the first female Captain in the franchise, who will later have a major role in Star Trek: Prodigy .

The second is Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), a former Borg drone that was born Annika Hansen before being assimilated by the Borg at age six in 2356, eight years before the start of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Seven of Nine plays a major role in Star Trek: Picard as the series delves more into the Borg's history and culture.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

Star trek: nemesis.

Star Trek: Nemesis takes place fifteen years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and deals with a threat from a clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who has taken control of the planet Romulus and was created by the Romulan Empire originally to create a spy within the Federation but the plans were abandoned likely due to the events of "Unification" and the clone child was left on die as a slave on the Romulan controlled planet Remus. The film marked the final film for the crew of The Next Generation as it marked many landmarks, including the wedding of Commander Will Ryker and Deanna Tori and the death of Data, all elements that lead into Star Trek: Picard .

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star trek: lower decks.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is a comedic spin on the Star Trek franchise . This animated adventure follows the low-ranking support crew of the starship Cerritos and begins one year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis . Star Trek: Lower Decks crossed over with Star Trek: Strange New World in that series' second season episode, "Those Old Scientists," which saw Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid get the chance to play their roles of Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler, respectively, in live-action.

The series just announced its fifth and final season, meaning both it and Star Trek: Discovery will come to a close in 2024, and fans are certainly hoping to hear a mention of the characters of Lower Decks in Discovery just to know these lowly crew members did become big names with the Federation history.

Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star trek: prodigy.

Star Trek: Prodigy was an attempt to create a new starting point for young kids to get into the Star Trek franchise. Set in 2383, it follows a group of young aliens from the Delta Quadrant who find the abandoned starship Protostar and learn about Starfleet with the help of the ship's computer, an AI of Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . This young crew of kids makes their way to the Alpha Quadrant while discovering what it means to be a crew and what being part of Starfleet is all about.

The series features plenty of cameos and references to the past Star Trek series but does so in a way that invites the young viewer to learn more about them. The series was canceled at Paramount+ after one season but was then picked up by Netflix, where it will have a second season.

Kelvin Timeline (2387, 2255 - 2263)

This is where things get a bit tricky. In the year 2387, a supernova destroys the planet Romulus. For those in the original timeline, the destruction of Romulus kicks off the events of Star Trek: Picard, but a major event happens that none of the characters are aware of at the time: the creation of a new timeline.

In an attempt to stop the supernova, an elder Spock launches a piece of red matter into the supernova that creates a black hole that sucks both him and the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana) through it and back in time. Nero arrives first in the year 2233, which results in the destruction of the USS Kelvin and the death of Geroge Kirk on the birth of his son James T. Kirk's birth, creating a new branching timeline that is the Kelvin timeline, which is where the events of Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond take place. This means that while the events of the Kelvin timeline take place earlier, they are doing so in a separate timeline that is built off the events of the prior stories. So 2009's Star Trek is both a reboot, a prequel, and a sequel to the franchise.

Due to the timeline changing, the events of the Kelvin timeline actually take place earlier than in Star Trek: The Original Series . 2009's Star Trek takes place in 2255, while Into Darkness takes place four years later in 2259, and Beyond is set in 2263, roughly four years into the crew's five-year mission. This is notably two years before Star Trek: The Original Series begins. By the 31st century of Star Trek: Discovery season three, the Prime Timeline is aware of the Kelvin timeline. They established a Starfleet officer named Yor, a time soldier who originated from another timeline and referenced the events of 2009's Star Trek .

Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

Star trek: picard.

Star Trek: Picard takes place 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis in the year 2399. In the years since the series concluded, the Federation has become more isolationist. Following the destruction of Romulus, the Romulan people have become scattered; meanwhile, an attack on a Starfleet operation has led to a ban on synthetics. Season one focuses on Picard discovering more about the syncs with the discovery of Data's daughter Soji while also exploring more into the Borg culture as Romulans have begun mining Borg technology.

Season 2 takes place two years later, in 2401, and sees an old adversary named Q, an extra-dimensional being, traping Picard and his new crew in an alternate reality which forces them to travel back in time to Los Angeles 2024 to save the future while exploring more about Picard's own family origin. Finally, season three takes place one year later, in 2402, as Picard reunites with his old crew from The Next Generation , as well as his long-lost son, for a final showdown with the Borg.

Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3-5 (3188-TBD)

Now, finally, it's time to loop back to Star Trek: Discovery . Season 3 sees the crew of Discovery travel to the year 3188 to discover the Federation fragmented and investigates the cause of a cataclysmic event known as the "Burn" as they attempt to rebuild Starfleet. Burnham is promoted to captain at the end of the season, and in season four, the crew helps rebuild the Federation while facing a space anomaly created by unknown aliens that causes destruction across the galaxy, similar to the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The fifth and final season sees Discovery faced with its biggest task yet. They embark on a journey to uncover the mystery of The Progenitors, the species that The Next Generation revealed created multiple sentient lifeforms in the universe. The final season of Star Trek: Discovery , the series set furthest in the Star Trek timeline, is now taking the franchise to answer the oldest question in the cosmos: where do we come from, and what is our purpose?

With humans making first contact with aliens on April 5, 2063, to the events of Star Trek: Discovery in 3188, the story of Star Trek is one that spans 1,125 years. It is an epic tale filled with heroes, villains, and worlds filled with imagination and hope. Star Trek continues forward as there are plenty more stories to tell.

One of the “Best Worst” ‘Star Trek’ Episodes Recreates the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Join the Enterprise in an adventure to Tombstone, Arizona.

The Big Picture

• An outlandish storyline tests the crew's limits in Star Trek: The Original Series when Melkotians send Kirk and crew to O.K. Corral, Old West.
• Spock's mind meld convinces the crew that bullets are illusions, saving them in the gunfight.
• Kirk's refusal to kill during the shootout impresses the Melkotians, leading to Federation unity.

Many television shows have filler episodes or episodes that just don't land with audiences. It happens to the best of them. Friends, Gilmore Girls , Charmed , and Supernatural all have episodes that didn't rate well with their substantial audiences. Even shows with a massive following, like Star Trek , have episodes that have silly plots with a hint of something fascinating hidden within them. Honestly, with plots that are so far-fetched, people love them and continue to come back to them over and over again. The Season 3 episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , entitled "Spectre of the Gun," is noted as one of Star Trek's best worst episodes, which depicts the famous gunfight at O.K. Corral .

Even the toughest episodes have little gems fans are always searching for. In a franchise with a huge cult following, like Star Trek, people often discuss episodes and why they love them or can't stand them. Fans will always find something to enjoy, whether it is an idea within the storyline, a character arc, or a performance by one of the actors. And that's why it's called the best worst episode. With a cast of such iconic characters like Spock , Bones, Kirk, and Uhura, it's hard not to find something to love about the episodes.

Star Trek: The Original Series

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

What Happens In 'Spectre Of The Gun'?

In this infamous episode of The Original Series , the USS Enterprise heads into Melkot space. They're greeted by one of the Melkotians who tells them to leave and never return, and that will be their only warning . But of course, being Starfleet, the crew will do anything to prove they come in peace. The starship gets to the planet where Captain Kirk ( William Shatner ) , Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ), Dr. McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ), and Chekov ( Walter Koenig ) go on an away mission to befriend the Melkotians. Things don't go as planned when the Melkotians send the crew to the Old West—specifically, Tombstone, Arizona, on October 26, 1881, on the historical day at O.K. Corral. The crew assumes that the violence of Kirk's heritage is to be the pattern for their execution. Like the historical event, it is the Earps versus the Clantons and McLaurys -the Starfleet officers represent the latter two families- as they duke it out for O.K. Corral via gunfight. However, in not wanting to participate in a shootout, Kirk does everything in his power to convince everyone around him that he isn't one of the Clantons.

Still, no one believes in his wild tale. So, Spock and Bones decide to make some alternate weapons to aid in their advantage because in the original O.K. Corral shootout, the Earps win, and the crew doesn't think the story can be altered. Little do they know that it can be changed. Unfortunately, they find out after Chokov is shot and killed when, in real life, his persona is the only one that survives. They also figure out any devices they create won't work, and if they try to avoid the gunfight, they'll just be transported to the spot. That's when they put the pieces together. Spock says that "where the laws do not operate, there is no reality," meaning that nothing is real; if they don't believe the bullets are real, they can't be killed. Spock also speculates that it was Chekov's mind that killed him, not the bullets. He believed the bullets would kill him, so they did. But how can they go into the shootout with absolute certainty that the bullets won't kill them? The answer is simple. They can't without the help of a mind meld from Spock. So, that's what they do. Spock convinces them with ultimate certainty that nothing is real. Nothing happens to them when they're in the midst of the shootout; then, they get into an all-out brawl before the Melkotians tell Kirk to kill them. Kirk refuses, and the Melkotians see that Starfleet might not be so bad after all. In fact, they are impressed and want to unite with the Federation.

Hidden Gems In One Of The Best Worst Episodes

The outlandish storyline makes you question why—after Kirk and crew intrude into Melkot space—if the Melkotians are so powerful, why don't they smite them where they stand instead of sending them to the O.K. Corral in the Old West? They could have so easily obliterated the Enterprise if they didn't want to make contact at all. However, it was a good idea if they wanted to test the crew. It seems like an outlandish kind of test, but what can you expect? Everyone thinks differently.

But the episode also has some fascinating nuggets, like when Spock's mind melds with everyone to make them believe the bullets of the Earp gang are nothing but an illusion with absolute certainty. This gives the crew members no fear when dealing with the Earps, whereas before, Bones was convinced there was no way they would be able to get through the fight with absolute certainty. Bones is usually the most skeptical with Spock, but he has no problems doing the mind meld, which saves their hides in the end.

Another excellent example of fascination in one of the best and worst episodes is how Kirk and the crew finally get through to the Melkotians by showing they won't kill for revenge , no matter how much they're pressured into it. Just when you thought Kirk might break and kill the Earp brother, he doesn't. Spock even comments on it later on. Kirk responds by saying humans have evolved past the need for violence , which is hopefully the case 100 years in the future. The Melkotians appreciated the gesture and became friends with the Federation.

It's also interesting to note that the budget for this episode was lower than usual. Walter Koenig reminisced that the network had been spending too much money , as seen in the half-built Old West sets, which perfectly fit in with the storyline. Koenig loved the episode for what it gave his character : he gets the girl, dies, and comes back to life all in one episode. Chekov doesn't get the girl often but makes it work in this episode as he soaks up every moment of being fawned over and having someone to fawn over.

Star Trek: The Original Series is streaming on Pluto TV in the U.S.

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Chris pine & starship enterprise cast’s best performances after j.j. abrams star trek.

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Every Karl Urban Movie, Ranked From Worst To Best

One big reason the world's end feels different to edgar wright's other cornetto trilogy movies, 8 biggest changes j.j. abrams’ star trek made to zachary quinto’s spock.

• J.J. Abrams' Star Trek helped launch the careers of Chris Pine, Zoe Saldaña, and Zachary Quinto into Hollywood stardom.
• The cast of the 2009 Star Trek reboot have gone on to star in major Hollywood films, showcasing their range and talent post-Star Trek.
• Each member of the Star Trek cast, from Zoe Saldaña to Chris Pine, has continued to amaze audiences with their diverse and powerful performances.

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies made household names of Chris Pine and his fellow cast members, who have multiple credits beyond the starship Enterprise. The cast of the 2009 Star Trek reboot were well on the way to becoming big stars, with Zachary Quinto rising to fame as sinister supervillain Sylar in Heroes , and Simon Pegg breaking Hollywood with Shaun of the Dead back in 2004. However, their casting as alternate timeline versions of the Star Trek: The Original Series cast pushed them into the stratosphere.

Star Trek was a box office smash on release in 2009, and the cast were soon in demand for a variety of roles, big and small, in major Hollywood movies. In the same year, Zoe Saldaña starred in Avatar , her first major step toward becoming one of the highest-grossing actresses of all time. In the 15 years since Star Trek released, its cast has gone from strength to strength, making it difficult to pick just one great role between each member of the USS Enterprise's crew.

Star Trek 2009 Cast & Character Guide

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek relaunched the movie franchise and reintroduced audiences to Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise.

7 Anton Yelchin (Ensign Pavel Chekov)

Pat in green room (2015).

The late Anton Yelchin worked with an impressive list of auteur directors following the release of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek in 2009. The Chekov actor worked with Jim Jarmusch on Only Lovers Left Alive alongside Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton, and starred in Paul Schrader's Dying of the Light alongside Nicolas Cage. Anton Yelchin's best role between Star Trek movies was in Jeremy Saulnier's gnarly crime movie Green Room . Yelchin played Pat, a member of a punk rock band who witnesses a brutal murder in the neo-Nazi bar they've been booked to perform in .

As the band try to make their excuses and leave, they find themselves in life-threatening danger as the neo-Nazis refuse to let them leave. Anton Yelchin is terrific at performing the panic of the situation, as he fights for survival against increasingly impossible odds. Green Room is also notable for featuring Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Patrick Stewart as the group's leader, Darcy. It's a chilling performance from Stewart as he calmly copes with the brutal violence around him to try "reasoning" with Anton Yelchin's punk band.

Honorable mention: Jacob in Like Crazy .

6 Karl Urban (Dr. "Bones" McCoy)

Judge dredd in dredd (2012).

New Zealand actor Karl Urban has cultivated a reputation as a cult hero for his roles in Star Trek , The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Boys , and Thor: Ragnarok . Karl Urban's best role, however, is the performance where audiences never see his face. In Dredd , Karl Urban plays the titular law enforcement officer, who originated in the UK's legendary comic book anthology 2000 AD. Karl Urban nailed the character of Judge Dredd in a dazzling sci-fi action movie that was brilliantly evocative of the original comics.

Dredd was something of a labor of love for Karl Urban, who insisted on never smiling or removing the helmet throughout the shoot. Urban also insisted on riding Judge Dredd's iconic Lawmaster motorbike himself, completing his immersion in the role of the comic book legend. Judge Dredd's monosyllabic, no-nonsense approach to law enforcement was miles away from the wry comedy of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek , perfectly demonstrating Urban's range as an actor.

Honorable mention: Billy Butcher in The Boys .

New Zealand actor Karl Urban has steadily become one of the biggest stars in the world with his role in The Boys. Here's a ranking of all his movies.

5 John Cho (Lt. Hikaru Sulu)

Jin in columbus (2017).

Prior to being cast in Star Trek , John Cho was best known for playing Harold Lee in the Harold & Kumar movies. However, since playing Lt. Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek , the actor has taken on some more challenging acting roles in everything from the Karen Gillan-led sitcom Selfie to a small role in Park Chan-wook's HBO spy thriller, The Sympathizer . However, John Cho's best role since Star Trek is one of his lesser-seen performances, as Jin in the 2017 movie Columbus .

Jin is stuck in Columbus, Ohio when his father falls gravely ill while in town for a lecture about architecture. In the breaks between nights sat at his estranged father's bedside, Jin forms a bond with Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) a budding architecture student, who is caring for her sick mother. Star Trek: TNG 's Michelle Forbes plays Casey's mother, a recovering drug addict who is on the verge of a relapse. It's an understated performance by John Cho in a quiet, thoughtful movie about the sacrifices made for family and one's own ambitions.

Honorable mention: David Kim in Searching .

4 Simon Pegg (Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott)

Gary king in the world's end.

Outside the Star Trek franchise, Simon Pegg is known as one of the creative minds behind the Cornetto trilogy of movies directed by Edgar Wright . In the trilogy's third entry, The World 's End , Simon Pegg gives his best ever acting performance as Gary King , a middle-aged man who can't let go of his youth. Gary is a tragic figure who has spent his entire life trying to recapture the glory of his youth, with damaging consequences for those around him.

Having done zombie movies in Shaun of the Dead and cop movies in Hot Fuzz , The World's End was Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's attempt to make an alien invasion movie. It was less well-received by audiences, but that might be down to Pegg's affecting emotional portrayal of Gary, a performance that is completely different from what he'd done previously. Pegg's desire to play the less-likable character in The World's End should have been more widely appreciated, and makes the movie worth revisiting.

Honorable mention: Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

The World's End feels different from Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead since one element changed the tone of Edgar Wright's final Cornetto Trilogy movie.

3 Zoe Saldaña (Lt. Nyota Uhura)

Gamora in the marvel cinematic universe.

Arguably, Zoe Saldaña is the most successful member of the Star Trek cast, as she is one of the highest-grossing actresses of all time, with her movies earning an estimated total of $11 billion. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies are just a small part of this impressive total, as Saldaña has starred in three of the highest-grossing movies of all time; Avatar , Avengers: Endgame , and Avatar: The Way of Water . The journey that Saldaña goes on as Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe showed how multi-faceted she is as a performer.

Across five films, Gamora becomes one of the most layered and interesting characters in the entire Guardians team, thanks to Saldaña's performance . Gamora starts out as an antagonistic figure in The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 , becomes the one true love of Chris Pratt's Peter Quill, before being murdered by her villainous father, Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War . When the effects of Thanos' snap were reversed in Avengers: Endgame , Zoe Saldaña was then playing an alternate timeline version of Gamora who was much harsher than the character that audiences knew and loved.

Honorable mention: Neytiri in the Avatar movies.

2 Zachary Quinto (Lt. Commander Spock)

Peter in who we are now (2017).

Zachary Quinto has moved from the Star Trek universe to the Ryan Murphy cinematic universe in recent years, appearing in multiple seasons of American Horror Story . Quinto is also an accomplished stage actor and in 2022 received positive reviews for his performance as Gore Vidal in Best of Enemies on the West End. However, many will point to Zachary Quinto's role as troubled veteran Peter in the 2017 indie movie Who We Are Now as one of the Spock actor's best performances.

Zachary Quinto's supporting role in Who We Are Now was highlighted for tapping into the emotional nuance of a former soldier living with PTSD. Quinto credited his performance to his director Matthew Newton (via Deadline ) saying that " he really gets to the humanity of the characters that he writes in a unique and beautiful way. ” Peter is a more grounded and emotional character than Star Trek 's emotionally repressed Vulcan, but he was just as engaging in the hands of Zachary Quinto.

Honorable mention: Harold in The Boys in the Band .

J.J. Abrams made significant changes to Zachary Quinto's Spock for the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek movies that subverted audience expectations.

1 Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk)

Edgin in dungeons & dragons: honor among thieves.

Since Star Trek , Chris Pine has played Spider-Man, romanced Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), alongside deeper character work in movies like 2018's Outlaw King or 2022's Don't Worry Darling . 2023 saw the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves , which was anchored by Chris Pine's best and most entertaining role since Star Trek 's Captain Kirk . As Engin, Chris Pine clearly delighted in playing a charismatic scoundrel, and it was a joy to watch.

The roguish Engin was a welcome reminder of everything that Chris Pine brought to the role of Captain Kirk in 2009's Star Trek reboot. It also proved that, seven years after Star Trek Beyond , Chris Pine can still lead a big franchise picture. With Star Trek 4 still languishing in development hell, fans may have a long wait before the older, roguish Chris Pine reprises the role of Kirk for one last mission aboard the USS Enterprise.

Honorable mention: Toby Howard in Hell or High Water .

All three J.J. Abrams produced Star Trek movies are available to stream on Paramount+.