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Synopsis: Captain Kirk, Lt. Uhura, and Ensign Chekov are kidnapped and transported to a planet where they are expected to fight for the pleasure of the Providers. This is the episode made famous by the tin-foil bikini, that worn by the character of Shahna, Captain James T. Kirk’s training thrall on the planet Triskelion. And… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 16: “The Gamesters of Triskelion”

Synopsis: Tribbles overtake the Enterprise and help Captain Kirk uncover a saboteur. “The Trouble with Tribbles” is one of the best known, most loved, and probably the only episode of Star Trek: The Original Series that through the presence of the soft animal bodies of the tribbles comes close to what could be interpreted as… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 15: “The Trouble with Tribbles”

Synopsis: Chief Engineer Scott is put on trial for murdering three women on Argelius II. “Wolf in the Fold” can be seen as an examination of whether evil exists. In this episode, evil turns out to be something alien, something that can take over an individual and drive him or her to do evil things,… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 14: “Wolf in the Fold”

Synopsis: Captain Kirk becomes obsessed by the need to kill a sweet-smelling gaseous creature. Depth psychology teaches that one’s psyche is in danger when one becomes possessed by a god. What god is it that Captain James T. Kirk is too closely identifying with in this episode? One choice could be Ares, the God of… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 13: “Obsession”

Synopsis: On a routine visit to the experimental colony at Gamma Hydra IV, a landing party discovers the young colonists dying of old age. In “The Deadly Years” we see how Mercurial insight is needed to find a solution to a situation. When the landing party of Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. Leonard… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 12: “The Deadly Years”

Synopsis: The Enterprise is sent to Capella IV to negotiate for mining rights. This episode, like many episodes in Star Trek: The Original Series sets the United Federation of Planets against an enemy, here the Klingon Empire. During the Cold War, superpowers on Earth tend not to confront each other head on, in their own… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 11: “Friday’s Child”

Synopsis: The Enterprise is tasked with bringing ambassadors from many planets to a peace conference on Babel. This is the episode, written by D. C. Fontana, in which we meet Mr. Spock’s parents: the Vulcan, Ambassador Sarek, and the Earth woman, Amanda Grayson. This episode and the first episode of this season, “Amok Time” are… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 10: “Journey to Babel”

Synopsis: A shuttlecraft containing Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Assistant Federation Ambassador Hedford is taken off course by an alien in the shape of an ionized hydrogen cloud. This episode can be seen as an elucidation of the depth psychological concept of the sacred marriage, or the hieros gamos. Also, it shows us… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 9: “Metamorphosis”

Synopsis: An android takes over the Enterprise and brings it to Harry Mudd. This episode seems to be a constant struggle for power between the rational androids and the irrational humans that they are studying. One way to interpret this from a depth psychological perspective is to see it as a battle between the irrational… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 8: “I, Mudd”

Synopsis: On the planet Pyris VII the Enterprise encounters aliens from another galaxy. It is interesting that this particular episode from Star Trek: The Original Series was never one of my favorites when I was growing up watching the reruns. After re-viewing it this time, I can understand why. “Catspaw” is all about aliens from… Continue reading Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 7: “Catspaw”