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Star Trek
S2.E17
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IMDbPro

A Piece of the Action

  • Episode aired Jan 12, 1968
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 50m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and DeForest Kelley in Star Trek (1966)
ActionAdventureSci-Fi
The crew of the Enterprise struggles to cope with a planet of imitative people who have modeled their society on 1920s gangsters.The crew of the Enterprise struggles to cope with a planet of imitative people who have modeled their society on 1920s gangsters.The crew of the Enterprise struggles to cope with a planet of imitative people who have modeled their society on 1920s gangsters.
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • James Komack
    • Writers
      • Gene Roddenberry
      • David P. Harmon(teleplay by)
      • Gene L. Coon(teleplay by)
    • Stars
      • William Shatner
      • Leonard Nimoy
      • DeForest Kelley
    Top credits
    • Director
      • James Komack
    • Writers
      • Gene Roddenberry
      • David P. Harmon(teleplay by)
      • Gene L. Coon(teleplay by)
    • Stars
      • William Shatner
      • Leonard Nimoy
      • DeForest Kelley
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 30User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos24

    Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Anthony Caruso, and Lee Delano in Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Vic Tayback in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, and Lee Delano in Star Trek (1966)
    Vic Tayback and Marlys Burdette in Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley in Star Trek (1966)
    Anthony Caruso in Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley in Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)

    Top cast

    Edit
    William Shatner
    William Shatner
    • Capt. Kirk
    Leonard Nimoy
    Leonard Nimoy
    • Mr. Spock
    DeForest Kelley
    DeForest Kelley
    • Dr. McCoy
    Anthony Caruso
    Anthony Caruso
    • Bela Oxmyx
    Vic Tayback
    Vic Tayback
    • Jojo Krako
    • (as Victor Tayback)
    Lee Delano
    Lee Delano
    • Kalo
    James Doohan
    James Doohan
    • Scott
    Nichelle Nichols
    Nichelle Nichols
    • Uhura
    Walter Koenig
    Walter Koenig
    • Chekov
    John Harmon
    John Harmon
    • Tepo
    Sheldon Collins
    Sheldon Collins
    • Tough Kid
    Dyanne Thorne
    Dyanne Thorne
    • First Girl
    Sharyn Hillyer
    • Second Girl
    Buddy Garion
    Buddy Garion
    • Hood
    Steven Marlo
    Steven Marlo
    • Zabo
    • (as Steve Marlo)
    Benjie Bancroft
    • Iotian Passerby
    • (uncredited)
    Diego Barquinero
    Diego Barquinero
    • Radio Voice
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Blackburn
    • Lt. Hadley
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • James Komack
    • Writers
      • Gene Roddenberry
      • David P. Harmon(teleplay by) (story by)
      • Gene L. Coon(teleplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This is the only time in "TOS" in which the Enterprise ship phasers are used to stun, and not to kill or destroy or damage. It is also the only time the Enterprise ship phasers are used for a wide proximity shot, such as in this case when they are set to blanket a one city block area around a central point in order to stun a dispersed group of people.
    • Goofs
      When Kirk escapes from Krako, he strings a wire across a doorway to trip up two thugs. Once he incapacitates them, he runs out the same doorway without jumping over where the wire should be. However, it is quite likely that the thugs either (1) broke the wire, or (2) pulled one (or both) ends of the wire away from the door frame.
    • Quotes

      Bela Oxmyx: The most co-operative man in this world is a dead man. And if you don't keep your mouth shut, you're gonna be co-operatin'.

    • Alternate versions
      Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
    • Connections
      Featured in William Shatner's Star Trek Memories (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Theme
      Music credited to Alexander Courage

      Sung by Loulie Jean Norman

    User reviews30

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Da Federation gets a cut of Forty Percent
    OK, here we go...a hundred years ago (funny how it's almost always a clean century back?), a Federation ship, The Horizon, visited this planet and left behind a book about the Chicago mobs of the 1920's. This book is the contamination, as Spock terms it, a bible on which an entire civilization has based its culture on. See, these people are imitative. The concept could be scary, an unsettling reminder of how an entire society of people can be deluded into following a certain doctrine, whether it makes sense or not. Well, whatever turns a profit makes sense to most people. But, the Trek-makers decided to go the comedy route on this one. Most of the humor stems from all the catchy phrases that Kirk and his boys get inundated with during the course of the adventure. They get 'bagged' by Bela, the big boss, almost immediately; they break free, but Kirk is soon put 'on ice' by Krako, the second most powerful goon. Then Tepo gets a ride to Bela's flop while on the other end of his blower. Check? Right!

    The whole thing is ridiculous if you step back and look with a fairly objective eye but, by the 3rd act, we're so immersed in the escapades it doesn't matter. Here's Kirk's chance to play God once more, served up to him on a platter: the Federation itself is responsible for this culture getting out of whack years back, so Kirk, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, knows he has a great chance here, a duty really, to rectify matters. A rationalization? Maybe. But, so what? So soon we have 'Kirk-o' and 'Spock-o' dressed to the nines, toting their machine guns, re-organizing an entire culture - not in theory, but in practice; Kirk's a field commander, after all, not some deskbound pencil-pusher. He plays the game of the locals and, because he's Kirk, he plays it better. Speaking of playing games, his creation of the Fizz-bin card game is an instant classic, especially as I could swear that Shatner was ad-libbing the entire scene, changing the rules with each card played. My favorite scene, however, is with Scotty & Krako, their conversation about cement overshoes.
    helpful•19
    4
    • Bogmeister
    • Nov 17, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 12, 1968 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • handitv
      • Official Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 31, Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Television
      • Norway Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      50 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 4:3

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