The Naked Time
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 29 September 1966
- ON
- NBC
- STARDATE
- 1704.2
- DIRECTED BY
- Marc Daniels
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 07
WRITTEN BYWritten by John D.F. Black
A routine mission to a dying planet goes wrong when a strange infection spreads through the Enterprise, stripping away the crew's inhibitions just as the ship faces disaster.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
The Enterprise arrives at the disintegrating planet Psi 2000 to collect a research team, only to find everyone at the station dead in bizarre circumstances. Lt Joe Tormolen carelessly removes a glove and touches a strange liquid. Back aboard, he sinks into despair, turns a knife on himself and later dies. The condition spreads by touch, releasing whatever each person keeps buried. Sulu roams the corridors bare-chested with a rapier, and Lt Kevin Riley seizes engineering, declares himself captain and fills the ship with song after shutting down the engines. As the ship's orbit decays, Nurse Chapel confesses her love for Spock, who is infected and battles his own emotions, while Kirk wrestles with his devotion to the Enterprise. McCoy finds a cure, and Scotty and Spock risk an untested cold restart of the engines. It works, but it hurls the ship 71 hours back in time.
- 01Leonard Nimoy improvised Spock's emotional breakdown on set. It was done in a single take because there was only time for one.
- 02It was originally planned as a two-parter ending on a cliffhanger. The idea for the second part became “Tomorrow Is Yesterday”.
- 03George Takei has often called it his favourite episode. He practised his fencing so keenly between takes that passing crew members found themselves on the end of his foil.