"Star Trek" Catspaw (1967)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Robert Bloch (written by)
Gene Roddenberry (creator)

TV Series:

"Star Trek" (1966)

Original Air Date:

27 October 1967 (Season 2, Episode 7)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

When Kirk and his landing party arrive on the planet below, they are met by eerie mists, a dark castle...

Plot Keywords:

Black Cat | Federation | Space | Starship | Computer

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scott
George Takei	...	Sulu
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Michael Barrier	...	DeSalle (as Mike Barrier)
John Winston	...	Transporter Chief
Rhodie Cogan	...	First Witch
Gail Bonney	...	Second Witch
Maryesther Denver	...	Third Witch
Jay D. Jones	...	Crewman Jackson (as Jimmy Jones)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Antoinette Bower	...	Sylvia
Theodore Marcuse	...	Korob (as Theo Marcuse)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

First episode produced for the second season.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Sylvia and Korob appear in their "natural forms," the wires animating the puppets are clearly visible. (Corrected in the Remastered Edition)

Quotes:

Captain James T. Kirk: Spock, comments?
[start syndication cut]
Mr. Spock: Very bad poetry, Captain.
Captain James T. Kirk: A more useful comment, Mr. Spock?
[end syndication cut]
Mr. Spock: What we've just seen is not real.
Captain James T. Kirk: That's useful.

Interesting episode, somewhat sexist.

The previous reviews pan this episode, and for good reason; it's somewhat campy, cliché and mildly unfocused. But, there is an underlined re-visitation of Hephaestus' and his wife theme operating here.

We're treated to some tongue in cheek spookiness in the opening. Was it done intentionally? I'm not sure. There may have been a sincere attempt to create an atmosphere of horror, but it doesn't come off very well. Which may call into question the sincerity of the effort, but then one realizes that the lack of horror and fright is intentional because of the episode's primary focus.

The astute classic Trek aficionado will recall the real chills delivered in the "Wolf in the Fold" episode, nor the scary tension of "Dagger of the Mind". The production team at Desilu was more than capable of presenting frights in the context of a Star Trek episode, so why wasn't it done here? One must keep in mind that the thrust of this episode is the unavailability of a physical reality to the antagonists. This is part of the puzzle. It is essentially both plot and theme.

And here in lies another layer, and, perhaps, one that pokes fun at the material woman who marries a man for the riches he can garnish via whatever ability he has, and not for love. We're shown the material-girl in all her essence. Captain James T. Kirk takes a page out of the Sean Connery's James Bond, and gives as good as he takes from a woman who seeks more of what she already has, but who has sacrificed true emotional satiation for material gain. Kirk shows Sylvia her own folly, and the true value of her own worth and what he thinks of her.

Sylvia invokes her wrath, but Kirk counters with Star Fleet training and his own patented Promethian approach to counter her attacks. Even at the moment of truth Sylvia cannot help but see an opening for gain. Even when Kirk tries to give her another chance, she is relentless in her pursuit of gain. A high tech grifter with supernatural appetites and abilities.

It is fitting that both Sylvia and Korob are exposed for the weak transparencies that they really are. Perhaps a comment on true fear, and what really frightens us; not any manifestation of danger, but what we imagine might be the danger. It is in this vein that the scare factor is kept to a minimum to drive home a larger theme.

The episode is not one of the more sterling in terms of production values, but it is worth a look. The closing SFX shot is somewhat fitting.

Give it a shot.