A Piece of the Action
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 12 January 1968
- ON
- NBC
- STARDATE
- None given
- DIRECTED BY
- James Komack
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 49
WRITTEN BYTeleplay by David P. Harmon and Gene L. Coon; story by David P. Harmon
A century after a lost Earth ship visited Sigma Iotia II, Kirk arrives to find a whole planet run like 1920s Chicago, and every mob boss wants the Enterprise's firepower.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
The Enterprise visits Sigma Iotia II to learn what happened after the USS Horizon called there a hundred years earlier. Kirk, Spock and McCoy find a society modelled entirely on a book the Horizon left behind, Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. Imitative Iotians carry tommy guns, wear pinstripes and divide the planet into territories run by rival bosses. Bela Oxmyx and Jojo Krako each seize members of the landing party and demand Federation weapons. Kirk gets into the spirit, talking like a gangster, inventing a card game called fizzbin and borrowing a car he can barely drive. Finally he uses the ship's phasers to stun the rival gangs at once and bullies the bosses into a deal: Oxmyx in charge, Krako as his lieutenant, and the Federation taking a cut that will steer the planet towards a better future. Then McCoy realises he has left his communicator behind.
- 01Kirk invents the card game “fizzbin” on the spot, explaining its absurd rules to distract his captors.
- 02The story traces back to an early Gene Roddenberry idea called “President Capone”, which Coon had David P. Harmon develop into a new treatment.
- 03Its repeat on 30 August 1968 was the last episode shown in Star Trek's 8:30 pm Friday slot on NBC.