The Gamesters of Triskelion
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 5 January 1968
- ON
- NBC
- STARDATE
- 3211.7
- DIRECTED BY
- Gene Nelson
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 46
WRITTEN BYWritten by Margaret Armen
Kirk, Uhura and Chekov vanish from the transporter pad and wake in an alien arena, where they are collared and trained to fight for the amusement of unseen masters.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
About to beam down to an unmanned station, Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are snatched away to the planet Triskelion. The master thrall Galt fits them with collars that punish disobedience and announces that they will be trained as fighters. Their owners are the Providers, three disembodied brains who bet on combat between captured beings using a currency called quatloos. Kirk's trainer is Shahna, a thrall who has never known freedom, and he begins to teach her what it means. Spock follows a faint ion trail to the planet. Kirk then challenges the Providers with a wager: if he alone beats three thralls, the slaves must be freed and taught to govern themselves. He wins, defeating Shahna last. The collars are released, and when Shahna asks to go with him, Kirk tells her she must first learn to live free on her own world.
- 01The script originally featured Sulu rather than Chekov, but George Takei was away filming The Green Berets.
- 02Margaret Armen's first Star Trek script. She later wrote “The Paradise Syndrome” and “The Cloud Minders”, as well as two animated episodes.
- 03It introduced “quatloos”, the Providers' betting currency, which became a long-running joke among science fiction fans.