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It's time to face one of the great questions of the television age: Is"The Trouble with Tribbles" really as good as everyone thinks it is? You bet.While the story might be a little slower than many of us remember, the episodeis deservedly beloved for writer David Gerrold's witty, mildly acerbic script,and the way the cast took to heightened comic possibilities against networkresistance. (Heavens! Comedy on a science fiction show?) Stanley Adams isdelightful as the huckster Cyrano Jones, who gives a trilling furball called atribble to Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), who brings it aboard the Enterpriseand watches it reproduce... and reproduce... and reproduce. Soon, hundreds oftribbles are in every part of the ship, making Captain Kirk (William Shatner),already grouchy about guarding a mere grain shipment from Klingons, evengrouchier. There's no question that Gerrold made a major contribution toTrek culture with this show, setting a tone that Star Trek hasvisited again and again, including the feature film Star Trek IV: The VoyageHome and sundry episodes of The Next Generation, Deep SpaceNine, and Voyager. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (14)

The episode where Star Trek becomes a situation comedy!
"The Trouble With Tribbles" might not be the best Star Trek episode, but it is certainly the funniest. The Enterprise rushes to Deep Space Station K-7 only to find a pretentious bureaucrat named Nilz Baris who wants Kirk to protect tons of quadrotriticale, a hybrid grain that will be used to colonize Sherman's planet. Kirk is ticked off that Baris misused the Priority 1 Distress Call and only allots two guards to watch the "wheat". Meanwhile the rest of the ship gets shore leave and Uhura meets Cyrano Jones, a trader of curious items, including the amazing Tribble, the creature that is apparently born pregnant (one of Bones' best all-time diagnoses). While the little beasties threaten to overwhelm the ship, Kirk has to deal with some unhappy Klingons, reprimand Scotty for defending the ship's honor in a bar room brawl with the Klingons, and try to protect all that wheat, er, quadrotriticale. Watching a clearly peeved Kirk deal with all these headaches is a hoot, as is the classic moment when he has to endure a shower of Tribbles. Plus there is the sight of Spock petting a Tribble and Scotty ending the episode with the all-time greatest pun in Star Trek history. They must have had a total blast doing this one.

David Gerrold, who wrote this episode, also wrote one of the more interesting Star Trek non-fiction books detailing how he came to write the episode and how his script came to be filmed. An excellent behind-the-scenes book for aspiring Star Trek writers. If you love this episode, then you owe it to yourself to also check out not only Gerrold's book but the Deep Space 9 episode "Trials and Tribbulations," where Sisko, Worf, O'Brien and Bashir go back in time and re-live the original Star Trek episode to preserve the time-line. That episode is worth it just for the double-take everybody does when they see how different Worf looks like from the "original" Klingons. That episode was definitely my type of homage. Oh, and the "sequel" on "Star Trek: The Animated Series" was that the best episode of that short-lived cartoon series as well.

"No Tribble at All"
Even people who barely know what Star Trek is have seen or heard of this episode. "Tribble" has become a household word. This episode is hilariously funny, expecially if you know the characters. It is generally regarded as the funniest episode in the series. Although it is not my favorite, I love this episode, and highly recommend it. The Enterprise answers a distress call and travels to a space station, where the crew dicovers that there is no emergency. The space station has just recieved a shipment of a new, highly dvanced grain, and the powers-that-be want it guarded. Kirk is, needless to say, very annoyed. Add to that a Klingon ship requesting "shore-leave rights," and a trader selling cute little balls of fluff called Tribbles. Humans instictively like them, but Klingons do not. Once one Tribble is brought on board the Enterprise, it begins mulitplying so rapidly that it becomes a source of concern to Kirk and Spock. There is no better combination for a funny episode.

The Funniest episode of TOS.
William Shatner and the rest of the Star Trek cast get to laugh and have a good time in this light-hearted adventure when the Enterprise is assigned the task of protecting a space station full of grain for delivery to a developing planet under dispute between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and they encounter a trader (Stanley Adams) who sells some of the crew a small animal called a "Tribble" which then reproduces into hundreds of "hungry little Tribbles" who hate Klingons, like both humans and Vulcans, and proceed to eat the grain. Which then exposes a Klingon plot to destroy the grain shipment. Lots of laughs abound in this episode including Jim being buried alive by a hundreds of tribbles that fall out of a hatch. Was followed by a sequal in the Star Trek animated series called "More Tribbles, More Troubles."Written by David Gerrold. Directed by Joseph Pevney. Music Composed and Conducted by Jerry Fielding.

Stanley Adams (Cerano) wrote an episode as well
The episode with those furry little creatures was the apex of humor on Star Trek. By this point in the show's run, characters were well enough developed for the actors and brain trust to feel comfortable stepping out a bit. And they certainly step out in this one. Thanks to writer Gerrold, the episode actually has a fairly solid dramatic foundation that includes Klingon intrigue, and threats to both the food supply and the Enterprise itself. One could be forgiven for not realizing this though, since the tribbles
completely steal the show. Actually the enterprise crew (and Adams as Cerano)for the most part prove quite adept in the comedic roles, and the officious Schallert is a perfect straight man under the circumstances. A Starfleet official is even correct in his desire to reign in Kirk, for once!

Tidbits: The fight scene was supposedly pinched en masse from a prior film. Recognize the Klingon? He was Trelane from The Squire of Gothos, played by William Campbell.

One Of The Finest Hours Of The Original Series
"The Trouble With Tribbles" is my personal favorite among the nearly 80 hours of the original "Star Trek" series. It is unquestionably the funniest, with David Gerrold's deft, wittty prose creating hilarious scenes and dialogue as precious as any I've seen on Jackie Gleason's "The Honeymooners". James Doohan's Scotty steals many of the scenes he's in, though highest honors for hilarity deservedly go to Stanley Adams as the trader Cyrano Jones responsible for the tribble infestation on the Federation space station. The fight between the Klingons and the Enterprise crew is certainly among the finest examples of "Star Trek" humor I've seen. Fans of slapstick comedy will not want to miss this terrific "Star Trek" episode.

This was David Gerrold's first professional sale as a writer and remains one of his finest episodes of science fiction television (However, his best probably is the Babylon 5 episode "Believers".). ... Read more

Reviews (2)

ONE OF THE GREAT TELEVISION SERIES
James Garner is one of the finest actors in television history. Unlike many actors in long-running series, he gives a fine performance in every episode. The true charm of the series is a combination of his acting ability and the terrific supporting cast and guest stars in addition to great script writing. The episodes are not simply "action" stories but frequently deal with the psychology of the various leading characters as well as the social mores of the United States and more specifically Southern California in the 1970's, sometimes seriously, sometimes in a satirical or humorous way, but always interesting.
Why isn't there TV like this any more?

Great episode, slightly flawed presentation.
This is a clever episode from the show's brilliant first season. Private eye Jim Rockford tries to track down a man who may have faked his death to grab a $400,000 insurance claim. James Garner already seemed completely comfortable in the shoes of Rockford, and there's great support from guest star Jill Clayburgh (who manages to look cute in a '70s-style afro).

For diehard fans of the series, however, there's a rather egregious cut made of a crucial scene that shows how Jim gets out of a scrape. Viewers who haven't seen the missing footage will find themselves wondering what happened. It seems that MCA Home Video used a syndication print, rather than an original master. In sum, then, five stars for the episode and the visual quality of the print -- but two stars must be subtracted from the overall rating given the editing.

"Rockford," by the way, is a series that cries out for a comprehensive release in the Columbia House Video Library series. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

"Twenty thousand dollars buys a lot of gro-cer-ies."
I've bought all the "Rockford Files" episodes that seem to be on the market (except for "Nice Guys Finish Dead"), and this one, "The Kirkoff Case", is my favorite of them. It's entertaining from start to finish, and it exemplifies the producers' ability to pack so many memorable, humourous, yet believeable scenes into so little time without making things seem rushed.

Guest star James Woods is superb as Larry Kirkoff, particularly in those distracted-in-thought facial expressions he makes a few times while Rockford is talking to him. Regular Joe Santos is especially strong in his performance as Sgt. Dennis Becker. And guest Abe Vigoda is perfect in appearance, voice, and subtle hand movements in his brief role as "labor-union" (mob) boss Al Dancer.

Recommended reading.

Rockford Files:The Kirkoff Case
James Woods did a great job in this show.He was very great in it.One of my favorite Rockford Files Shows.It's a good Action Show. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Thank You! To the Late Robert Urich
Hello, I'm Janie Strifler. My only and deepest regret is that I wasn't able to say "hello" or "thank you" to this great actor. So, if you were ever a fan of Robert Urich from his character on "Soap, to Dan Tanna, Spenser, you'll want to add this video to your collection and to keep him in your memory. If by chance you happen to be a fan of Las Vegas and the Desert Inn Hotel this video is what you've been looking for. As a fan of this late actor and a fan of the entertainment industry Robert Urich will be forever missed but not forgot by this fan. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Should've Been Bigger Than Bonanza!
The only reason why I don't buy "Legend Of A General" is because I already have it on tape! If I didn't, you better believe I'd snatch it up in a second! "The Big Valley" is my absolute favortie tv western of all time! ("Dr. Quinn" comes in at a close second.)

For one thing, being from California & living just an hour away from Stockton, I liked the show's locale! Most other westerns take place in Texas, or Arizona, or New Mexico, or Nevada ("Bonanza"), but "The Big Valley" takes place near my home! It was also the first western I ever saw (I first saw it on re-runs when I was nine.) I also found the Barkleys more believable than the Cartwrights. (Ben Cartwright was widowed three times,. for godsakes!) The over-the-top stories with the moral/social lessons are solid (How many times has Lee Majors' "Heath" been falsely arrested by a corrupt sheriff?) & the action-scenes are well-staged. (My favorite was the episode where Nick helps out a boxer. The fight scenes were expertly done!) The characters were also well-defined (except of course, Linda Evans' "Audra", who isn't given much to do, except look pretty.)

If you haven't seen "The Big Valley" & you like westerns, buy this tape! The story concerns the Barkleys helping out an old friend of theirs, an exiled Mexican general, who is being sought after by a corrupt political opponent. (The Barkleys seem to have been involved with every historical figure of the Old West! And like other wealthy tv western families, they care more about what's right than about their vast land & financial holdings! After all, Barbara Stanwyck's "Victoria Barkeley" takes in Lee Major's "Heath" character as a member of the family, even though he is the illigitamate son of her husband & his mistress! If only REAL wealthy ranchers of the Old West were like that!) You may not get an accurate California history lesson by watching "The Big Valley" (the most inaccurate was the episode "Light Foot" with Joe Don Baker as a Modoc Indian, even though the Modocs were nowhere near Stockton!), but you'll get a solid family-drama with great dialogue & fast-paced action!

Like Lee Majors as "Heath" would say, "Boy howdy!"

THE BARKLEY SAGA
Every single episode of this fantastic western series should be available on video! I've met many people who, like myself, are devoted fans of this classic show which originally aired from 1965-1969. There were 112 hour-long episodes of this western filmed and it remains my very favourite show of all-time. As Victoria Barkley, Barbara Stanwyck is nothing less than sensational in her acting technique; as the widow Barkley, she is a curious combination of being both tough and gracious - but above all, Stanwyck was an incredibly NATURAL actress; she won an Emmy for her portrayal in 1966 (she was nominated the remaining three years of the show's run, plus she won other awards such as the Photoplay Medal) and her playing of the proud matriarch has practically made her Victoria Barkley a cult figure. Richard Long is fine as Jarrod, the level-headed eldest lawyer son - while never a great actor by any means, Long had an intensely likeable personna about him. Nick, the tough, egotistical son is played with neccesary verve by Peter Breck and Audra as played by astonishingly beautiful Linda Evans made many a male baby-boomer swoon (I was one of them!). NIGHT OF THE WOLF is a classic episode which lingers in the memory: Nick gets bitten by a rabid wolf and tries to find his lost love, golden-haired Jeannie before he dies; he finds she died from typhoid. Nancy Olson and Ronny Howard play the widowed mother and son who take Nick in and the conclusion is both happy and sad. Stanwyck was such a striking presence in this show (which was envied by many of her peers and was a huge personal triumph) that entire episodes are literally showcases for her acting talent. The youngest son, Eugene (played by the now-forgotton Charles Briles) was mysteriously written out of the show after the first season. The public's very favourite character, however was HEATH (the half-breed b------- from Strawberry) as played by Lee Majors! The rest of the cast was actually peeved and annoyed due to the fact that more stories centered around Heath, and Majors received more fan mail than any other cast member! The guest stars in this terrific western included Julie Harris, Susan Oliver, Colleen Dewhurst (she was terrific), Milton Berle(!), Robert Goulet(!), Pernell Roberts, Cloris Leachman, Buddy Hackett, Adam West, Virginia Christine, among many others. James Gregory worked well with Stanwyck and he was a frequent co-star. The stories were excellently written, the characters were colourful and genuine. The beautifully colourful scenery, the musical score by George Duning (which included the pretty little theme heard at the beginning of many an episode entitled A FUTURE LEFT BEHIND) are all first-rate. If someone doesn't do a book on THE BIG VALLEY..... maybe I WILL!! ... Read more

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John-Boy follows the writer's dictum to write what you know
"The Triangle" (Episode #40, December 20, 1973) finds John-Boy (Richard Thomas) has written an essay about someone who inspires him. Miss Hunter (Mariclaire Costello) likes the essay so much that she encourages him to rewrite it and send it into a competition. As John-Boy works on perfecting the essay, he spends as much time as possible with Miss Hunter, so she can help him. However, she becomes distracted when Reverend Fordwick (John Ritter) asks permission to start courting her. Consequently, she fails to realize what is obvious from the start: John-Boy is not writing about some "Aunt," he is writing about her. Jealous of the other two (the title is perfectly clear now, right?) John-Boy no longer wants to work on the essay. There is a parallel sub-plot in this episode as Ben is being bullied by some of the local boys. When Naomi, the girl Ben is interested in, goes off with one of the other boys, Ben decides to send away for bodybuilding lessons. This episode will hit home for anyone who remembers having a crush on their teacher, which, should be a whole lot of people. Written by Lionel E. Siegl, this episode was directed by Lee Philips. ... Read more

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This smart, funny episode finds the Enterprise visiting the planet Iotia, where the starship Horizon accidentally left behind Earth materials a century before. During that time, as Captain Kirk (William Shatner) discovers, the Iotians have made much of one of those items, a book called Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. The planet's population has divided into rival gangs who dress, speak, and do violence like the spiritual descendants of Al Capone, plunging Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) into a facsimile of Earth's colorful and dangerous past.

The episode is played for comedy: Kirk and Spock keep getting kidnapped by the warring hoods, each of whom wants the Federation team to use their technology to defeat the other side. The big payoff, however, is a summit meeting of bosses, where Kirk employs plenty of gangster-movie jargon to get matters settled. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Except on Tuesday
This gangster episode, and Tribbles, were the two Trek comedies that really worked. While I wouldn't exactly call the humor here subtle, it is intertwined in a fairly traditional action plot. We are able to enjoy Kirk and Spock's thuggishness for its own sake while simultaneously staying focused on the plot, for the simple reason that their behavior is called for by the story, rather than being a gimmick. The idea of a highly impressionable alien race who's cultural evolution could depend so thoroughly on a random event (the leaving behind of the book) is an interesting one as well. This episode is also helped by strong guest acting, most notably from Tayback.

The funniest of the original series
This is without question the funniest episode of the original Star Trek series. There is no funnier deadpan scene anywhere in television than the one where Kirk is "explaining" the fizzbin card game and asks Spock what the odds are against getting a royal fizzbin. His deadpan, yet truthful answer is, "I have never computed them." I laughed out loud the first time I saw that and still smile when I see it, even though I have seen it over fifty times.
The main premise is that a Federation vessel visited a planet before the Prime Directive was imposed and members of the crew interacted with the planet's inhabitants and contaminated them. Therefore, the primary task of the Enterprise is to repair the damage. The earlier Federation vessel left a book that described the Chicago gangs of the prohibition era and the inhabitants have modeled their entire culture after the book. Their clothing, buildings, speech and social structure are all modeled from the gangster movie cliches.
After many trials and errors, including Kirk trying to drive a car, there is a climactic scene where Kirk takes charge and unifies the government under one of the gang bosses. His pacing on a pool table while brandishing a machine gun and speaking one gangland cliché after another is one of the best scenes in the entire original series. His solution, where the Federation is described as an interplanetary gang, is funny and original. I have always wondered what the reaction of Star Fleet command was to his report of how he solved the contamination problem.
Funny, and essentially a spoof of a movie genre, this is one of the best Star Trek episodes ever, original series and beyond.

"A Piece of the Action," the 2nd funniest Star Trek episode
"A Piece of the Action" has the Enterprise visiting Sigma Iotia II, where a hundred years early the USS Horizon visited. Apparently this was before the Prime Directive, because one of the Horizon crew left behind a book: "Chicago Mobs of the Twenties." Now, once you get past the fact that (a) someone was toting a book into Deep Space and (b) it happened to be that particular book, you can really enjoy this one. Bela Oxymy wants the Federation to supply his gangsters with weapons so he can take over the planet, taking down Krako and the other bosses. My favorite part is when Kirk makes up a very complicated card game to play with the gangsters holding him hostage and Spock has to admit having never calculated the odds on the rarest of possible hands. Then there is also the bit where they try to drive an automobile. In the end, Kirk decides if you cannot fight them, join them. "A Piece of the Action" may well be the second funniest Star Trek episode, after "The Trouble With Tribbles," of course.

Excellence
In my opinion, A Piece Of The Action is in the top 3 episode category along with Mirror Mirror and the Corbomite Manuever. The whole episode is very deep and never uneventful. The action never stops. It employs humor in the form of "slang talk" which people like Spock and McCoy dont understand. I cant explain it all here, but I will tell you it is a very good episode.

One of the funniest and best Star Trek episodes
"A Piece of The Action" is one of my five favorite episodes of Star Trek. In "A Piece of The Action," Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy beam down to a planet whose landscape is similar to that of earth. The boss of a bunch of gangsters demands that the trio from the Enterprise make a deal with him which would help him ward off some of his enemies. To put it short, the Enterprise crew has been tricked. There must be a way for Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy to escape the planet alive, but they have a little bit of fun first.

"A Piece of The Action" is a great episode of the original series of Star Trek. It is well written and some parts of it are hilarious, especially the part when Captain Kirk drives a car for the first time. It's also amusing the way that Kirk talks in slang and has to repeat himself for the others to understand him.

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy both give one of their best performances to make this one of the unforgettable episodes of Star Trek. I recommend "A Piece of The Action" to anybody. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

QUINTESSENTIAL JIM!!!AWESOME EPISODE(S)!!!!!
Henri-a memorable encounter! It is hard to say that one scene is better than another. Order what you like but I strongly suggest the green corn tamales - a diamond in the rough...We can recite lines from this all day if necessary. Jim and his pal Kendall are classic in their repartee with Mr. Fantazzi in the costume shop - proving that it is true that brain surgery is not for everyone. Angel Martin with a dead rat between his teeth for $20.00 would be priceless to see-would go great with a bottle of Chateau Neuff de pop(sp?). It is possible that for you reading this that these names are meaningless. I can only say that if you are looking for a chicken that gets your mojo working from the GREATEST SHOW EVER MADE FOR TV you order ASAP and it will all fall into place:) Arrive twenty minutes early to wait in the bar! ... Read more

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John-Boy and Mary Ellen face a couple of hard choices
"The Hunt" (Episode #4, October 5, 1972) John-Boy (Richard Thomas) is about to go on his first turkey hunt. But while he wants to prove he is a grown up who can help put food on the table for the Walton clan, he is uneasy about having to kill a living creature. Meanwhile, in a parallel sub-plot about hard choices, Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) has been saving her money to buy a catcher's mitt to play catch with her good buddy, G.W. Haines (David Doremus). However, G.W. is suddenly interested in boys and Mary Ellen starts thinking maybe she should use her money to buy a dress instead. What makes this episode, written by John McGreevey, of some interest is that both John-Boy and Mary Ellen make their decisions and then have to learn to live with them. In both cases, there are some interesting twists. Actually, the Mary Ellen plot line is a bit more interesting but only because the one with John-Boy is a bit predictable. We all know he is not going to shoot the turkey and we all know that just because he is sensitive does not mean he is weak. Not a classic episode of "The Waltons," but certainly an interesting episode.

facing your fears
the hardest thing that jason had to do was facing his fears and anguish over losing your best friend who was dying. It showed that you don't always have to be pushed into doing the right thing. This movie shows that the Walton family were trying to do the right thing for everyone involved and needn't have to push or prod the young people to do so. It was heartbreaking to hear Jason play the instrument that his friend Seth made for him.
This was a warm and teary movie that i think everyone should see if they have someone they love that is sick or dying. It tells you that you don't have to find the right words for every moment in your life.

Courage for a boy to openely admit his reluctance to kill
I was very impressed with Richard Thomas' acting in this video. It was so believable. A 16 year old boy today would scarcely admit to such feelings as 'John boy' felt over killing an animal. Everyone is an individual and he just wasnt ready yet to be the big provider of meat for the family. After all, he had his father and grandfather on the hunt with him still as the providers. It took immeasurable courage to admit to being afraid and doubtful of shooting the turkey to his father. He risked ridicule and being made to feel shame and like less of a man all for having his very own view and feelings. I loved the way his father still loved him and was proud of him even though he probably would have rather his son had got a turkey that day.

Other episodes have been better!
We are huge fans of The Waltons and have watched practically the whole series on TV. We thought that this episode was one of the worst ones, and not at all as good as some of the other ones. We thought that it showed cowardly acts instead of courage. It isn't that big of a deal to kill an animal to eat for Thanksgiving dinner, and we thought John-Boy went a little overboard with his beliefs about killing. However, we liked the other parts of this episode, and the rest of the series a whole lot!!! ... Read more

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"A Taste of Armageddon" is one of classic Trek's occasional, obvious metaphors for the absurdity of the then-cold war between East and West. Gene Lyons stars as a Federation ambassador named Fox, who boards the Enterprise to reach the planet Eminiar VII, where he hopes to negotiate a peace treaty with the inhabitants. Instead the crew of the Enterprise gets caught in the middle of an interplanetary war between Eminiar and neighboring planet Vendikar. The twist is that the war is being fought on computers, and compliant residents of those "destroyed" areas obediently report to disintegration chambers, where their "virtual" death is made literal. When the Enterprise is "hit" in one of these simulations, both the warlords of Eminiar VII and Ambassador Fox fully expect Capt. Kirk and crew to report to the disintegration center. The feisty Kirk has other plans, of course. And while the madness of this controlled Armageddon makes a suitably surreal satire of the arms race in the 1960s, the story also evoked the endless, daily reports of body counts during the Vietnam War, with no resolution in sight. Aside from its parable aspect, however, the episode gave Kirk one of his earliest and most compelling scenes of Kirkian preachiness in a bold monologue about peace, reportedly written and rewritten numerous times by series producer and indispensable creative hand Gene L. Coon. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Don't miss this one
This thoughtful episode concerns a planet that has sanitized war. The episode explores important themes such as 1) the sacrifice of the individual good for the societal, and 2) the drawbacks of all types of war. The latter issue in particular remains a timely one as science continues to pursue technologies that may (at times unwittingly lead to more efficient and sanitized killing. This is one episode where Kirk offers a convincing and fresh argument against a society's folly. Another plus of the episode is that it admits shades of gray rather than oversimplifying the issues. Add in a plot twist that brings the Enterprise and crew more directly into the action, and you've got a winning show. Strong guest acting, from Opatoshu, Babcock, and Lyons also boost this episode.

Tidbit: Barbara Babcock would reappear in Plato's Stepchildren during season three.

Just step into this booth for the war effort........
The old war by computer theme is played out here. Instead of fighting a war with weapons; this planet has it's citizens stepping in booths for execution. The machine decides who lives and who dies. Kirk of course ends it all with one of his talks with the Vedikarians. With one sweep of his phaser the natives have to fight the old fashioned way.... with futuristic weapons of mass destruction. The Federation again paves the way for peaceful resolutions to conflict. Only this war will last a few hundred years before they actually become citizens of the Federation.

Kirk proves there is no such thing as a clean war
One of the fun things about science fiction is that you can take things to their logical albeit extreme conclusions. That is what the Enterprise encounters on Eminiar VII in "A Taste of Armageddon," a planet that has been at war for five centuries but which fails to show the usual signs of destruction. This is because they have been fighting the war with computers; after such an attack Anan 7, leader of the High Council announces that half a million people were "killed," and now have to report to disintegration chambers. Unfortunately the Enterprise, which was warned not to approach the planet, has also been destroyed and Kirk's crew needs to beam down for disintegration. Of course, Kirk takes exception to this request and decides to remind these people of the true face of war. As far fetched as this idea might be, you have to remember the idea of the Neutron Bomb, which would kill the people but leave the buildings, a weapon that was ironically considered by some to be more "humane" than your traditional nuclear device. Kirk's efforts to restore sanity are hampered by the presence of Federation Ambassador Fox, who wants to stick to the traditional diplomatic approaches despite the fact nobody on the planet is impressed at all by such delicacies. "A Taste of Armageddon" is another, albeit minor example, of Captain Kirk versus the Super Computer plotline that was so prominent in Star Trek's first season.

Good Episode on the Nature of War
What if war were fought with computers and the casualties reported to disintegration chambers? This episode covers this question and does a pretty good job.

There is a fair amount of action and the suspense is well done. The conflict between Scotty and the none-too-bright diplomat is especially well handled. This is one of Scotty's best command assignments. He runs the Enterprise with intelligence and restraint.

Kirk's solution to the episode's problem is very suspect in light of the prime directive that he's supposed to be following, but over-all, this is a very good episode.

Human life vs war and Computer control.
Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and a landing party discover two worlds that wage war with computers and haul the people designated to die into energy chambers to die. When the Enterprise is declared a "war casuliy", Kirk, Spock, and the Federation use all their skills to destroy the computers and show them that real war ia a thing to be avoided at all costs. A strong statement on how human life is more important then being declared "dead" by numbers on a computer. A Star Trek must have for any fan of the original series.Teleplay by Robert Hammer and Gene L. Coon. Story by Robert Hammer. Directed by Joseph Pevney. Music Composed and Conducted by Alexander Courage. ... Read more

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"The Tholian Web" was conceived when writer Judy Burns went looking for a new angle on ghost stories. A physics student suggested she somehow use the theory of infinite dimensions, and out of that came Burns's script, which finds Captain Kirk (William Shatner) trapped between different kinds of space, floating in and out of view of the Enterprise crew. Adding to the dilemma are time constraints (Kirk's oxygen supply is running low), an effort by the arachnid-like Tholians to trap the Enterprise in a gigantic web, sub-space dementia affecting the crew, and rising hostilities between Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the latter none too happy with the way the Vulcan is running the ship in Kirk's absence. Burns's original conception was to make Spock the spectral Starfleet officer locked in interspace, but the show is quite effective in the way various characters mourn the presumed death of their leader and figurehead. The Tholians don't make another appearance in Trek lore until The Next Generation, but this particular episode won the original series its first Emmy for special effects. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Spock and McCoy get to run the ship when Kirk disappears
"The Tholian Web" basically removes Kirk from the equation and gives us the Star Trek episode that most focuses on interactions between Spock and McCoy. The Enterprise has found the USS Defiant with all of its crew dead, apparently having killed themselves. But this area of space is unstable and before Kirk can be beamed back, he becomes trapped in a parallel universe/dimension. While Spock waits for the next opportunity to rescue the captain, the Tholians show up and demand an explanation. Spock explains, but the presence of the Tholian ship throws off his equations. When Kirk does not reappear the Tholains cripple the Enterprise and begin to spin a web of tractor field filaments. To make things even more interesting, the unstable space is beginning to after the sanity of the Enterprise crew. The best scenes of "The Tholian Web" are clearly between Spock and McCoy, who get to hear the taped message Kirk has left for them in the event of his death. Their interaction is at the heart of this episode, because the idea of taking several hours to make a giant web around a damaged starship is pretty far out there. I mean, come on, with all the energy they are expending they could surely finish the Enterprise off, or at least they could make a SMALLER web. But if you always enjoyed the bickering between Spock and McCoy, then this is a truly enjoyable episode.

The first third of Season Three was actually quite good
This episode, in which Kirk disappears and a web is built around the Enterprise, in many ways belongs in another season. It has a lot of action and a straightforward plot. However, it also has some signatures of the third season, such as the trippyness of a winking-out Kirk floating through space, as well as a subtle pitting of illusion vs. reality. Plus it's always nice to meet new aliens--the Tholians even have a visible ship

Tholians and the earliest U.S.S. Defiant.
The U.S.S. Enterprise arrives in an uncharted area of space to answer a distress call from the U.S.S. Defiant, NCC-1764. The starship is visible on their viewscreen, but sensors on board the U.S.S. Enterprise say it's not.

Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Chekov beam aboard and spread out to investigate. Everyone aboard is dead ... apparently killed in a bizarre mutiny, although there are no life readings aboard. McCoy, in the ship's sickbay, tells Kirk that he can find no clue as to why the crew died, but has taken readings to study. Then, as his hand passes through a body and exam table, McCoy realizes the U.S.S. Defiant is dissolving.

Quickly Kirk orders them beamed back to the U.S.S. Enterprise, but Scotty explains that due to the poor stability of the space around them, he can only beam three aboard. After the usual debate, Kirk stays behind while the others beam back. When Scotty tries to bring Kirk aboard, his image wavers, and disappears. Interphase, Spock calculates, will occur in a little over two hours. In the meantime, they must wait. If the captain is still alive, they should be able to retrieve him then.

Complications arise when Chekov goes crazy and attacks Spock on the bridge. Slowly, more members of the crew fall prey to the "illness," attacking their crewmates. McCoy and his staff work round the clock to find a cure. When the doctor suggests Spock "put some distance" between the Enterprise and the Defiant, Spock explains that any movement in the weakened space could disturb both ship's positions and jeopardize Kirk's rescue.

At a little over an hour before interphase, a Tholian ship appears, telling Spock that the U.S.S. Enterprise has violated Tholian space. The Vulcan explains that they were answering a distress call from the nearby U.S.S. Defiant and are waiting until they can retrieve Kirk. The Tholians agree to wait until the appointed time before taking action.

Unfortunately, when the interphase occurs, Kirk is not where he should be. Spock suspects that the Tholian's entrance into the area of space disrupted the U.S.S. Defiant's position. A funeral service is held for Captain Kirk, following which McCoy insists they view the Captain's last orders. Spock reluctantly agrees and the two men go to their friend's quarters and listen to Kirk's touching advice.

Uhura is the first to see Kirk's image floating before her, and for a time, McCoy thinks she's contracted the disease. But when he and Spock see the Kirk on the bridge, they realize that he is, in fact, still alive.

The Tholians decide that Spock has, lied to them and opens fire. Making a decision, Spock orders the phasers fired at the ship. The Tholian ship is disabled, but soon another ship joins it and they begin "building" a sort of web made of shining filaments. Spock analyses the web and announces that if they don't bring Kirk aboard and leave before the web is completed, they "won't see home again." At the last minute, Spock orders full power against the web and the U.S.S. Enterprise is thrown outside the Tholian's trap, several parsecs from their previous position. The hope is that Kirk, caught in the U.S.S. Enterprise tractor beam when they changed position, was brought with them.

Tensely McCoy waits with a hypo of tri-ox for Kirk, whose air is running out as he's successfully beamed on board the U.S.S. Enterprise, alive and unharmed. In a humorous tag, McCoy and Spock convince Kirk that there had been no time to view his final orders and Kirk, somewhat disappointed that his wisdom had gone unheard, says that he hopes there isn't a similar circumstance where the two men will view the tape.

As close to a 'ghost story' as the original series would get
When it was originally written this episode had placed Spock in the dilemma that Kirk would eventually find himself in. Changing it to Kirk benefits the entire show as it allows for some of the best Spock and Dr. McCoy clashes of will that the series would offer up. Another change involved adding the environmental suits that were substituted for a belt device worn around the waist that provided a force field for the wearer and provided a supply of oxygen also. Both of these alterations to "The Tholian Web" help significantly, resulting in one of the strongest entries in the uneven third and final season.

The Enterprise finds the USS Defiant a floating derelict but the Enterprise cannot detect anything with the starship scanners. Further complicating things is the state of flux the Defiant is in due to a spatial interface in the unstable area of space. Kirk boards the Defiant with Spock, Dr. McCoy and Chekov to investigate why there is no response and they discover that the crew had killed each other in a fit of frenzy. Within a few moments McCoy reports that the area he is investigating is becoming transparent and he believes the rest of the ship will also. Attempting to beam back Scotty explains that the transporters can only handle three at a time so Kirk remains while the others return. The Defiant then disappears completely taking Kirk with it. Spock finds evidence that the same spatial interface will occur in a short while and that they will make an effort to beam Kirk back aboard then. The Tholians then encounter them, which disrupts the plans made by the Enterprise and compounds the situation with a ship to ship attack. Meanwhile McCoy makes an uncomfortable discovery - if they remain in this area of space they will experience the same calamity as the Defiant unless he finds a cure. Soon afterward crewmembers report sightings of a ghostly image of Captain Kirk appearing to them.

The few moments when Kirk appears as a 'ghost' are quite effective and thankfully not overplayed, each one happening at perfect intervals. Instead of having Kirk wander through the starship in ghostly form, attempting to communicate, he appears infrequently precipitating the spatial interface the Enterprise is waiting for. All of the story elements are balanced well here: the encounter with the Tholians, the disappearance and recovery of Kirk, the expected volatile dialogues between Spock and Dr. McCoy, the effects the crew experiences in the unstable area of space. Placing Kirk in an environmental suit works better than the previously suggested use of a force field type belt. The introduction of such a device would have caused extreme complications in later episodes yet to be produced. His ghostly appearances in the suit have an unsettling horror feel to them as well, emphasizing the idea that he is stranded.

The only trifle I have with this episode is the way in which Kirk is recovered. At the moment Kirk appears onscreen on the bridge Spock has full power restored to the starship and this sudden effect throws the Enterprise completely free of the Tholians energy field and Kirk as well as soon discover because he was caught in Enterprise's transporter beam. Hold it! Back up a minute...just before full power is restored Spock says "Ready to transport on my order," but he never gives the order or at least we never hear it. However, we do know that Scotty had locked a transporter beam on the coordinates provided him; perhaps he didn't want to risk losing the captain one more time! Also notable: McCoy ruins a perfectly good (and I assume quite costly) environmental suit - as soon as Kirk is beamed aboard the doctor gives him a shot with a needle directly through the material of the suit.

Captain Kirk gets trapped in outer space ---- literally
"The Tholian Web" is one of the most original episodes of Star Trek - The Original Series. The Enterprise ship runs up on a mysterious ship in space that is supposedly not even there, but they can see it. Soon they all find out that they are in a part of space where matter disintegrates. Before the Enterprise crew knows it, Captain Kirk vanishes in space and Spock has to take command. Will Captain Kirk vanish just like the mysterious ship or is there a possible way to find Kirk and beam him back onboard the ship?

"The Tholian Webb" is slow going, but it's not boring. It has some of the best special effects of any of the episodes. The alien enemies that make the energy-draining webb and the idea of Captain Kirk being trapped in outer space is intriguing.

If you like original episodes of Star Trek that are interesting and have great special effects for their time, I recommend getting "The Tholian Webb." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

30 years later I still ache inside from this episode
When I was growing up, there were a few shows that made a big impact on me, the kind of life-altering impact that helped make me who I am today.

One such show was "Time Enough at Last," the classic Twlight Zone episode with Burgess Meredith as a voracious reader who winds up to be the last man on earth. That ending still gives me the chills.

Another show was "All That Glitters," an episode of Lost in Space that tugged a bit at my heartstrings.

Other shows, not available on any format, include The Sixth Sense starring Gary Collins as a parapsychologist. Some scenes from that show still scare the willies out of me to remember them. (I wish someone would release those episodes on VHS or, better yet, DVD!) I also loved Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Then there was The Waltons, a show seemingly perfect for someone who's more a feeler than a thinker.

This episode of the Waltons ("Love Story") touched my heart like very few shows ever did. Or ever could. Maybe "touched" isn't the right word. Maybe ripped it out of my chest, beating and bleeding is closer to the truth. In fact, nearly 30 years after I first saw "Love Story," I can still feel the pain inside from watching John-Boy fight back the tears when Jenny Pendleton tells him she has to go away -- and that after they promised each other they'd marry and settle down together.

My gosh, does this episode hurt me emotionally. It's almost too painful to watch.

I know because I bought this video recently and watched it. Sure enough, the tears fell like rain at the end. Especially listening to John-Boy sing in that plaintive voice of his some love song accompanied by a zither.

TV never had a more emotional moment, in my opinion. And I have yet to see any medium capture what lost love and shattered dreams actually FEELS like the way this episode does.

If you like that sort of thing, this is the video to watch.

John-Boy Walton falls in love with Jenny Pendleton
"The Love Story" was the episode of "The Waltons" where Jenny Pendleton, played by Sian Barbara Allen, showed up on Walton's Mountain and forever won John-Boy Walton's heart. He discovers that young Jenny has run away from her home in Richmond and has been staying at the old Pendleton place on Walton's Mountain. Her father has recently remarried and he is too busy with his new bride to pay her much attention, and so she has returned to live on the Mountain for a while. The Waltons take Jenny into their home and she gets to see what it is like to live in the warmth of a large, loving family. Jenny's father and stepmother show up and decide to stay awhile at the old place, providing a chance for them to bond. But Jenny and John-Boy are too busy falling in love for that to happen. However, by turning her back on what she said she wanted, Jenny has tempted the Fates and they exact a high price. "Love Story" is one of the classic episodes of "The Waltons," pretty much of everyone's Top 10 list. This episode, which originally aired January 18, 1973, received Emmy nominations for Earl Hamner, Jr.'s writing and Lee Philip's direction. The character of Jenny appeared the following season in "The Thanksgiving Story" and Allen received a Golden Globe nomination for most promising actress in 1973. Of course, some time between now and then that particular award was retired. I think after Pia Zadora won it, if I am not mistaken, although I imply no causality. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The First Season is Coming Out On DVD!
The Waltons is one of my favorite one hour dramatic shows from the 70s and this episode in which a young boy is dying of cancer is one of the best and saddest episodes. The boy is played by Ron Howard from The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days and I thought he did a great job. It's good that this episode is on video but I just found out that the first season of The Waltons is coming out on DVD and personally complete seasons on DVD is what I would go for!

Jason comes to terms with the death of his friend Seth
In "The Gift," Jason Walton (Jon Walmsley) has to come to terms with the fatal illness of his best friend, Seth Turner (guest star Ron Howard). Seth's dream has always been to play in the band of his father, Red Turner (Ken Swofford). While his father is off on the road, Seth and Jason go up on the mountain to find some wood to make a recorder. When Seth collapses they learn that he has leukemia and has a year to live. Surprisingly, Jason has a hard time accepting Seth's illness and refuses to talk to his friend. Seth's mother wants to protect him as long as she can to keep him alive. But when Seth's father returns, he decides the best thing he can do for his son is to make what time he has left the best possible and decides to take Seth on his next tour. Seth completes the recorder and arranges for it to be delivered to Jason, but it is Grandpa and not John-Boy who delivers the gift and opens Jason's eyes to what is going on. I admit I have a slight problem with this episode because I find it hard to believe that Jason could continue to be so insensitive after the initial shock wears off. Otherwise, this would have been a first-rate episode about how we deal with the inevitability of death that comes not as a sudden surprise, but as a slowly approaching but inevitable moment of grief and pain. Howard's performance is excellent and serves as a nice reminder that he was always a decent actor before he became a first rate director. Written by Carol Eva McKeand with a script by Ray Goldup and Jack Hanrahan, "The Gift" first aired on January 24, 1974. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

John-Boy has vision problems after an accident
As Thanksgiving approaches John-Boy is excited because his girl friend Jenny is returning to Walton's Mountain and he has been accepted by Boatwright University to sit for their scholarship exam, which would allow him to go to college. However, after an accident at the sawmill he begins having vision problems. When he takes the exam he can barely see and is unable to finish. Only then does he go to the doctor, who discovers John-Boy needs major surgery to relieve the pressure building on his optic nerves which provides the requisite crisis to weather before it is time to sit down to the turkey dinner. Meanwhile, in what amounts to a comic subplot, Jason agrees to work for the Baldwin sisters only to discover they want his help in making a batch of the family recipe. Jason is horrified his mother will find out, but things get much worse than that when the Baldwin sisters decide to adopt him and go to make an offer to John and Olivia. The latter is not particularly thankful to find out her son is making bootleg whiskey (the ladies want to send some to President Roosevelt with his Thanksgiving present). This episode originally aired on November 15, 1973. Writer Joanne Lee won an Emmy for best script for "A Thanksgiving Story," while director Philip Leacock was nominated in his field as well. This is an excellent episode and quite representative of the strength of "The Waltons" as a domestic drama. The crisis with John-Boy is a bit contrived, but there is an earnestness to the characters and the stories that overcomes any serious objections. There are not many decent movies or television episodes you can readily associate with Thanksgiving, but "A Thanksgiving Story" would have to be on the short list.

RESPECT, CARING, LOVING.
the waltons is a wonderful movie it will teach your child good manners, respect, carring. and what youll get in return if you have good manners if you are carring(etc.). I suggest this movie too people of all ages.

Watch it!
this movie is appropriete for all ages its wonder ful movie to watch if your child has trouble with behavior. the waltons are loving, caring, respectful, and full of manners. it will show your child why you should behave that way and show them how people will act towards you in return. It's also a lesson on some history and it will show you how life ismade good and how we should behave. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A beautiful woman starts killing off Kirk's landing party
"That Which Survives" finds the Enterprise checking out the surface of an unknown planet when a beautiful woman (Meriwether) shows up and kills one of the crew. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is thrown 990 light-years away from the planet. After the woman, Losira, comes back and kills another of the crew and then returns announcing she has "come for" Sulu, Kirk figures out she is "programmed" just to kill one particular person at a time. Kirk and the others discover an underground entrance and find another one of those pesky computers protecting the dead planet by creating deadly Losiras to take care of the unwanted visitors. Of course, if this computer is powerful enough to send the Enterprise across the galaxy I think it might come up with a better defense mechanism than a person specific assassin. But then if these computers did not have some sort of Achilles heel the Enterprise would be commanded by the second in command on the night shift in Engineering. Despite the nice title, "That Which Survives" is an average Trek episode at best.

Not as bad as Spock's Brain, but.....
As already noted, this one is a forgettable Trek, to be sure. But somehow, Trek, even when it is bad, is still pretty good.

Outside of a few good moments, such as Sulu firing his phaser at Losira's feet (pretty good explosion FX), and the nifty way the holograms disappear, this one blows pretty badly. Still, it's better than the latest reality drama, or any episode of "Lost in Space."

Watch this one instead of the next "WWF Smackdown" -and save your brain.

The collapse begins abruptly with (IMO) the worst episode
Only the Sulu fan club (he features prominently here) could disagree that the best thing about this episode is Lee Merriweather-and she plays an automaton! A lot of the old tricks are here, like Kirk outsmarting a computer (come to think of it, even the computer console looks familiar!).
Basically, this should have been a half-hour show (actually it shouldn't even have been a show). Senseless dialogue is contrived, both on the planet and on the Enterprise, just to pass the time until the next commercial. Hard to find a worse episode, in my opinion.
Tidbit: For the remainder of the show, the final credits would
feature the 2nd season theme music. While this is a very minor detail in itself, it seems symbolic of other changes. The episodes become more formulaic as the parties concerned begin to see the writing on the wall for the show. The absence of new music, as budgets draw tight, also contributes an increasingly stale and defeatist feel to the late episodes.

Neglected
As all fans know, this is a third/last season episode. Trrue Trekkies have little good to say about this episode and I agree it is far from perfect but it has some of the nicest visual effects of the series.

The acting is Monday-morning-terrible and the whole production is uneven but this is far from the worst episode. There is an effort and an interesting story, though it seems crammed in a 45 minute network show.

This story might have been better utilized and expanded in a feature film but who will ever know.

For Trek fans only. It deserves a second viewing.

Beauty survives?
In this, the 69th episode of classic Trek, Kirk and crew are exploring ruins found on a class-M planet that seems to have developed a livable climate in only a few thousand years.

The Enterprise landing party is attacked by Losira, a woman who kills a crewman with just a touch of her hand. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is thrown almost a thousand light years away by the planet's hidden defense system.

More landing party members are attacked by Losira, until it is discovered that she can only attack the party member that she calls by name. The remaining party then keep her from attacking the named crewmember. Meanwhile, Scotty repairs some sabotage to the engines that Losira had accomplished before throwing the Enterprise out of orbit, and then hurries back to Losira's world.

Kirk discovers a hidden room with a highly advanced computer, and the defense mechanism there creates three Losiras - which keep them from protecting each other as they had previously. The cavalry, in the form of Spock and a landing party, arrive just in time to deactivate the computer.

The previously taped message reveals that the planet had been artificially enhanced by colonists, who were affected by a disease that killed them all off. The disease then followed the colonists back to their homeworld, supposedly wiping out the entire civilization. Nothing but the computer program, which defends the planet from anyone who is not of Losira's race, remains. The colonist's relief ship never arrived.

Kirk says beauty survives, because the computer continues to project an image of Losira even after delivering the message about the colonist's destruction.

My score - 5 out of a possible 10. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Misadventures of Opie
I bought it because it claimed to be uncut, but the episodes were cut. It was nice, however, to not have to fast forward through commercials. ... Read more

Amazon.com

After destroying 4 billion people in the Malurian star system, a 21st- century NASA probe called Nomad--carrying friendly greetings to whateverunknown, extraterrestrial race might find it--has a violent encounter with theEnterprise, nearly blowing the starship out of space. Hoping to sidestepanother attack, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy)invite the diminutive, computer-driven, impossibly powerful spacecraft aboard tolearn how its peaceful mission was supplanted by a program to destroy life.Written by John Meredyth Lucas, who was intrigued by the idea of a sentient,almost godlike machine that turns against its creator, "The Changeling"transcends, fortunately, Star Trek's cash-strapped special effectsdepartment to become a compelling drama. (Let's just say that Nomad lookslike a cross between the Tin Woodman and a 1960s beach radio.) Particularlymemorable is Spock's mind-melding scene with Nomad, in which the Vulcanis shaken by the probe's chaotic memories of being captured by a machine planetand given destructive impulses. Frequent Trek director Marc Daniels wasparticularly proud of the way his crew made Nomad appear capable ofindependent movement: There was one model for hanging from a wire, a second forstanding on a floor, and a third for riding on a dolly (to get a sinister,point-of-view traveling shot). If "The Changeling" sounds vaguely familiar, itshould: The script was rewritten as the basis for Star Trek: The MotionPicture. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Uninspired
This episode, which features a confused and destructive floating robot, is an unspectacular offering. Like several episodes, it ably enough explores the unfortunate fact that technology is fallible, and that even with the best intentions, things can and do go wrong. This ship-based episode is less exciting than some of its neighbors, although there are a few dramatic scenes. On the negative side, the idea that Uhura could be rapidly re-programmed would be laughable if it wasn't so insulting to her. Also tedious is Kirk's outwitting of Nomad. And just how did NOMAD manage to mesh so smoothly with 'the other.'? Shouldn't he look a little the worse for wear? As a final gripe, I'll note that NOMAD wasn't much of an actor, although I suppose he didn't have much to work with.

TV version of first plot for The Motion Picture
"Chageling" the basis for Star Trek the Motion Picture

In this one we get to see on a TV scale; the same plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture played out here.
We have the long lost satellite from outer space taken by an alien intelligence. We get to see Scotty killed and revived by the amazing little machine. It's all because the computer thinks that Kirk is the computer's creator "Roykirk" ; because it was damaged in space. It's an implausible plot but OK if you can suspend you belief in reality for a while to enjoy this. Despite the enormous plot hole (the Roykirk thing) it's the same story for the movie condensed into a 50 minute episode. If you see this one you'll still enjoy how Kirk outsmarts the computer. I was impressed that the machine was very compact and yet could lay the Enterprise in ashes if not treated properly. Size and power were not exclusive here. The docile looking machine proved to be a profound menace.

Good idea, but a movie??
Ever see the first Star Trek movie? This show was the low budget version.

James Kirk (a.k.a. the Creator) outwits another Computer
"The Changeling" was always an interesting episode, even before it served as the template for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." The Enterprise discovers that all humanoid life in the Malurian system has disappeared when the ship is attacked by a tiny vessel. When Kirk hails the vessel, the attack suddenly stops and "Nomad" is beamed aboard. It turns out that once upon a time it was a probe from Earth sent into deep space to contact alien life, where it was damaged and eventually met up with a probe from another civilization that was designed to collect soil samples and sterilize them. The two probes somehow end up merging into a single entity, so that now Nomad believes its mission is to contact alien life and sterilize it. The only reason the life forms on the Enterprise have not been sterilized is because Nomad has mistaken