And the Children Shall Lead (11 Oct. 1968)

The Enterprise reaches a Federation colony where the adults have all killed themselves but the children play without care.

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Edward J. Lakso

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Craig Huxley	...	Tommy Starnes (as Craig Hundley)
James Wellman	...	Professor Starnes
Melvin Belli	...	Gorgan
James Doohan	...	Scott
Majel Barrett	...	Nurse Christine Chapel
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
George Takei	...	Sulu
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Pamelyn Ferdin	...	Mary
Melvin Caesar Belli	...	Steve (as Caesar Belli)
Mark Robert Brown	...	Don
Brian Tochi	...	Ray

Storyline

The Enterprise responds to a distress call from the scientific colony on Triacus and arrives to find that all of the adults are dead. Oddly, the children seem unaffected by the deaths and continue to play as if nothing had happened. When questioned, they show no remorse whatsoever and express a dislike for parental authority. Expedition logs reveal that the expedition had discovered an ancient civilization and that there might be one survivor. In fact, the Gorgon thrives on the innocence of the children and the adults' self-doubt.

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Plot Keywords:

children | colony | alien planet | evil | cave | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1968 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television, Norway Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is based on a passage from Isaiah 11:6: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

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Goofs

The stardates the Enterprise and Professor Starn's scientific team used apparently do not match up. The opening stardate of 5049.5 would have made more sense than the 5029.5 quoted on the captain's log.

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Quotes

Captain James T. Kirk: Captain's log, supplementary. We have buried the members of the Starnes exploration party. Everyone has been deeply affected by what has happened here - with some important exceptions.

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Connections

Referenced in Zodiac (2007)

User Reviews

Contrary to What Many Think, One of the Better Third Season Shows

I've read a number of reviews slamming this episode, but in actuality, it's one of the best thought-out and acted episodes of the third season.

The Enterprise visits a scientific colony and finds all of the adults dead, and their children surprisingly unaffected. After taking the children aboard the ship, they find that the adults realized that a malicious presence was dominating them through their children and that they killed themselves to prevent the presence from taking control. The children then begin to try and take control of the Enterprise with the help of the presence (called Gorgon, and amusingly played by legendary attorney Melvin Belli).

While this episode might have been an utter disaster, it is written (like "Miri") with a decent understanding of how children can resent parents and deal with grief through denial. More interestingly, it is one of the few episodes where Shatner actually underplays, and it works particularly well in his scenes with the children.

All in all, very nicely done.