The Paradise Syndrome
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 4 October 1968
- ON
- NBC
- STARDATE
- 4842.6
- DIRECTED BY
- Jud Taylor
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 58
WRITTEN BYWritten by Margaret Armen
On a planet facing destruction by an asteroid, Kirk loses his memory and finds a new, peaceful life among people descended from Native Americans, while Spock races to save the world.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Sent to deflect an asteroid heading for an Earth-like planet, Kirk, Spock and McCoy find a peaceful village of people descended from Native American peoples, and a strange obelisk. Kirk falls through a hatch in the obelisk and loses his memory. Unable to find him, Spock and McCoy must leave to deal with the asteroid. The villagers take Kirk for a god, especially after he revives a drowned boy, and he marries the priestess Miramanee. Aboard ship, Spock's attempt to divert the asteroid fails and wrecks the warp drive, leaving a two-month journey back at impulse. Studying the obelisk's symbols, he learns it is an asteroid deflector built by the Preservers, a race that rescued endangered peoples. As the sky darkens, the villagers stone Kirk and the pregnant Miramanee. Spock and McCoy arrive, restore Kirk's memory with a mind meld and activate the deflector, but Miramanee dies of her injuries.
- 01The planet scenes were filmed at the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir in California in June 1968.
- 02The story spans about two months, one of the longest periods covered by any original series episode.
- 03Gerald Fried composed the score, his last for Star Trek. It was also the first of five episodes Jud Taylor directed that season.