The Way to Eden (21 Feb. 1969)

A group of idealistic hippies, led by an irrational leader, come aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Director:

David Alexander

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Arthur Heinemann (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
Skip Homeier	...	Sevrin
Charles Napier	...	Adam
Mary Linda Rapelye	...	Irina (as Mary-Linda Rapelye)
James Doohan	...	Scott
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
George Takei	...	Sulu
Majel Barrett	...	Nurse Christine Chapel
Victor Brandt	...	Tongo Rad
Elizabeth Rogers	...	Lt. Palmer
Deborah Downey	...	Girl #1
Phyllis Douglas	...	Girl #2

Storyline

The Enterprise is ordered to pursue a group of anti-establishment idealists who have stolen a space cruiser and made off for the mythical planet Eden. When the group pushes their stolen ship beyond its limits, the Enterprise is forced to rescue them by transporting them aboard. This merry band of space-hippies includes an insane leader (Dr. Sevrin), an academy drop-out and former love interest of Chekov (Irina), and the son of a Catullan ambassador (Tongo Rad). With the Federation undergoing fragile treaty negotiations with the Catullans, Kirk is ordered by Starfleet to treat the dissidents with "extreme tolerance." Kirk finds the group and its leader too difficult to deal with while Spock maintains a deep curiosity about their ideals. Kirk appoints Spock as liaison for the group during their stay on the Enterprise. Dr. Sevrin demands to be taken to Eden, but Kirk refuses on the grounds that his orders from Starfleet dictate that the group be taken to the nearest star base. While ...

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Plot Keywords:

hijack | disease | anti establishment | ultrasonic | acid | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 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

In this episode, for the first time, Chekov's first and middle names are spoken/revealed, Pavel Andreivich.

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Goofs

Two times, a shot of Kirk is reversed (presumably to make him face the right side of the screen) The first time he is facing Sulu in a corridor of the Enterprise, the second he is looking where Dr. Sevrin had just run on the planet Eden. Note the appearance of the Star Fleet emblem on the right side of his shirt, rather than the usual left side.

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Quotes

Chekov: The flower, sir. I touched it. It's like fire.

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Connections

Featured in William Shatner's Star Trek Memories (1995)

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Soundtracks

"I See You"
Performed by Deborah Downey and Charles Napier

User Reviews

Somewhat embarrassing

I remember seeing this episode when it was first aired, when I was 10, and I can confirm that it was considered silly at the time. The "hippie" characters in this episode were similar to some other conservative "hippie" portrayals at the time--we all knew real hippies didn't act that way, and we didn't really know where certain people in Hollywood got the idea for this kind of portrayal, though once they got it into their heads, it became ingrained in the minds of certain writers and directors for a while, as what you should do when you needed to portray a rebel. Some people in Hollywood have always been big on recycling characterizations, and simplification.