The Cloud Minders (28 Feb. 1969)

Kirk and Spock are caught up in a revolution on a planet where intellectuals and artists live on a utopian city in the sky while the rest of the population toils in mines on the barren surface below.

Director:

Jud Taylor

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Margaret Armen (teleplay),

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Jeff Corey	...	Plasus
Diana Ewing	...	Droxine
Charlene Polite	...	Vanna
James Doohan	...	Scott
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Kirk Raymond	...	Cloud Guard #1 (as Kirk Raymone)
Jimmy Fields	...	Cloud Guard #2
Ed Long	...	Midro
Fred Williamson	...	Anka
Garth Pillsbury	...	Prisoner
Harv Selsby	...	Guard

Storyline

In order to save an inhabited planet from being destroyed by a botanical plague, the Enterprise goes to pick up zenite, the mineral cure, on the only known planet where it is mined. When Kirk and Spock beam down, they are attacked by 'troglites' (troglodyte miners) but not captured. High council adviser Plasus intervenes and brings them to Stratos, a luxurious metropolis which literally floats in the sky. However, it is under attack from 'disruptors', troglite revolutionaries who want equal life conditions for their peers. They do all the hard work, mainly toiling miserably in mines and dwell in caves on the barren surface below. Dr. McCoy ascertains that the alleged intellectual inferiority of the troglites is not genetic but the reversible effect of exposure to an invisible gas emitted by the zenite.

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Plot Keywords:

mine | miner | rebellion | protective mask | protective gear | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 1969 (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

Major plot points were inspired by Fritz Lang's classic silent film Metropolis.

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Goofs

In the cave, Kirk strikes the HIgh Advisor with his right hand. It's the same hand which holds his phaser in camera shots before and after the blow, but during the strike the phaser inexplicably disappears.

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Quotes

Captain James T. Kirk: Mr. Spock, let's get that zenite delivered. I believe we only have three hours left.
Mr. Spock: Two hours, fifty nine minutes, to be exact, Captain.

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Connections

Featured in Pioneers of Television: Science Fiction (2011)

User Reviews

Dig, Captain! Dig as the Troglytes Do!

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Ardana to obtain zenite, a rare mineral which they need to combat a botanical plague on another world. Kirk & Spock beam down but find themselves caught in the middle of a class struggle between the intellectual rulers dwelling in a city in the clouds, sustained by some anti-gravity technology, and Troglytes, the miners who mostly dwell in the caves on the surface of the planet, where such items like zenite are obtained. This is essentially a reworking of the elite class vs. the worker class story penned by H.G.Wells in his famous novel "The Time Machine" (filmed in 1960 and later versions). Extrapolating from such a premise of basic inequality, where-in the elites get all the benefits through the sweat of the workers, it proposes that, some time in the past, one race experienced an extreme branching off separation into two, though, scientifically, they are still all the same race. Kirk & Spock see them as the same, simply a division of the rich vs. the poor, but the egotistical intellectuals of Stratos, the hovering city, have come to see themselves, over the centuries, as a different, superior race.

All of this is sort of summed up by Spock's voice-over as he sits in meditation in his guest room on Stratos, as images of various characters from both sides of the issue are transposed over his form. This sequence also kind of reminded me of scenes and voice-overs from the film "Dune"(84) - another variation on depicting royalty vs. poverty in a futuristic setting. It's a fairly exciting episode from the 3rd season, especially when I saw this as a kid, with several hand-to-hand struggles, and perhaps with even an increase to the usually-lackluster budget for 3rd season episodes. The episode also does a good job of contrasting the desperate stance and attitudes of the Troglytes (variation of 'troglodyte') when compared to the superior attitudes of the elites on Stratos. On the downside, this episode would have rated at least a couple of stars higher had it adhered to the complex social problems presented. Instead, it's revealed that a gas, released when digging for zenite, causes a retardation to the brains of the Troglytes. This problem is solved with the introduction of gas masks by Kirk, which will, in turn, the conclusion suggests, eradicate the inequality on Ardana. This plot turn devolves the episode to simple escapist sf fare, away from the potentially insightful commentary on cultural inequality.