"Star Trek" Arena (1967)

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Gene L. Coon (teleplay)
Fredric Brown (story)

TV Series:

"Star Trek" (1966)

Original Air Date:

19 January 1967 (Season 1, Episode 18)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

When an alien race known as the Gorn destroys an Earth colony, the Enterprise pursues the fleeing Gorn...

Plot Keywords:

Reptile Man | Federation | Space | Starship | Vulcan

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
George Takei	...	Sulu
James Doohan	...	Scott
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Jerry Ayres	...	O'Herlihy
Grant Woods	...	Kelowitz
Tom Troupe	...	Lt. Harold
James Farley	...	Lang
Carolyne Barry	...	Metron (as Carole Shelyne)
Sean Kenney	...	DePaul

Runtime:

50 min | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

Footage of this episode has shown up in films like Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) and Coneheads (1993).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: (At 09:37) As Kirk is preparing to fire a mortar round at the Gorn, a stage hand's shadow is seen moving across the actors.

Quotes:

Captain James T. Kirk: [narrating] The Enterprise is dead in space, stopped cold during her pursuit of an alien raider by mysterious forces... and I have been somehow whisked off the bridge and placed on the surface of an asteroid, facing the captain of the alien ship. Weaponless, I face the creature the Metrons called a Gorn...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Futurama: Where No Fan Has Gone Before (#4.12)" (2002)

Kirk's instinctive revulsion to Reptiles

This is the one with Kirk battling a captain of an enemy ship; this other captain happens to resemble a man-like lizard. He or it hisses at Kirk and even speaks, promising a quick, merciful death - it certainly feels cold-blooded. It's based on a fairly famous short story by sf author Fredric Brown, though Gene Coon conceived the piece thinking it was original. That's because it's such a primal, simple plot which almost any writer could come up with: the essence of warfare is distilled down to the most basics of just two individuals, who go at it mano-a-mano (see also the TV Movie from 1970, "The Challenge"). Though this episode is one of Trek's best action stories, it's also a commentary on the needlessly huge casualties which occur during a war: why sacrifice thousands of individuals when an issue could be solved by the death of just one? This story kind of points out that maybe our nations, instead of engaging in traditional war, should just send our best soldiers or leaders; let them fight it out, thereby saving many other lives. It sounds pragmatic, or maybe too clinical; either way, when it becomes as personal as it does here, the results may not be as expected.

The episode begins at a shattered Federation outpost. The Enterprise was called over to the planet by a bogus call. There's some impressive set design here for a TV show; the outpost, though wrecked, still looks neat, with vaguely Roman-like architecture (catch those two globules at the entrance, representing symbols of the Federation). This episode also touches on a concept not addressed much in all the Trek shows: the possible intrusion by the expanding Federation into another civilization's space. Suppose we find a planet with no intelligent life; we begin colonization; then, several months later, we find out another society has laid claim to this region of space a year earlier. What happens now? The answer suggested here by Spock is - bring on the diplomats. In the 3rd act, everything shifts to an asteroid, where Kirk meets his deadly-looking opponent - the sudden shot introducing the Gorn still sends shivers down my spine, even if it is a man in a suit. The Gorn was revamped much later on the "Enterprise" show with computer FX, but I still prefer this slow-moving version. Kirk can outrun the Gorn, but the lizard-man is much stronger; it's an interesting contest. Kirk's solution in finding a method of killing the stronger enemy is a bit too pat, but nonetheless exciting.