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Star Trek
S2.E13
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IMDbPro

Obsession

  • Episode aired Dec 15, 1967
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 50m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
Star Trek (1966)
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Sci-Fi
Capt. Kirk obsessively hunts for a mysterious cloud creature he encountered in his youth.Capt. Kirk obsessively hunts for a mysterious cloud creature he encountered in his youth.Capt. Kirk obsessively hunts for a mysterious cloud creature he encountered in his youth.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ralph Senensky
  • Writers
    • Gene Roddenberry
    • Art Wallace
  • Stars
    • William Shatner
    • Leonard Nimoy
    • DeForest Kelley
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ralph Senensky
  • Writers
    • Gene Roddenberry
    • Art Wallace
  • Stars
    • William Shatner
    • Leonard Nimoy
    • DeForest Kelley
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 23User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos18

    Jerry Ayres and Eddie Paskey in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner and Stephen Brooks in Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy and Stephen Brooks in Star Trek (1966)
    Stephen Brooks in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner and Jerry Ayres in Star Trek (1966)
    Eddie Paskey in Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    Majel Barrett and DeForest Kelley in Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley in Star Trek (1966)

    Top cast

    Edit
    William Shatner
    William Shatner
    • Capt. Kirkas Capt. Kirk
    Leonard Nimoy
    Leonard Nimoy
    • Mr. Spockas Mr. Spock
    DeForest Kelley
    DeForest Kelley
    • Dr. McCoyas Dr. McCoy
    Stephen Brooks
    • Ensign Garrovickas Ensign Garrovick
    James Doohan
    James Doohan
    • Scottas Scott
    Nichelle Nichols
    Nichelle Nichols
    • Uhuraas Uhura
    Jerry Ayres
    • Rizzoas Rizzo
    Majel Barrett
    Majel Barrett
    • Nurse Chapelas Nurse Chapel
    Walter Koenig
    Walter Koenig
    • Chekovas Chekov
    Bill Blackburn
    • Lt. Hadleyas Lt. Hadley
    • (uncredited)
    John Blower
    • Crewman Swensonas Crewman Swenson
    • (uncredited)
    Frank da Vinci
    • Security Guardas Security Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Jeannie Malone
    • Yeomanas Yeoman
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Paskey
    Eddie Paskey
    • Lt. Leslieas Lt. Leslie
    • (uncredited)
    Basil Poledouris
    • Security Officeras Security Officer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ralph Senensky
    • Writers
      • Gene Roddenberry
      • Art Wallace
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The ship which Kirk served on for his first deep space mission is disclosed to be the USS Farragut, and was named after David Glasgow Farragut, a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy and is credited for uttering the phrase, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!," disregarding all danger while charging into enemy waters off the Alabama Coast.
    • Goofs
      Ensign Garrovick states that less than one ounce of antimatter is more powerful than 10,000 cobalt bombs but the actual energy yield is only about 1.2 megatons TNT. The implication that a cobalt bomb releases more energy than a "regular" nuclear weapon is incorrect; a cobalt bomb is just an ordinary thermonuclear weapon "salted" with cobalt to produce long-lived Co-60 in its fallout.
    • Quotes

      Spock: I need your advice.

      McCoy: Then I need a drink.

    • Alternate versions
      Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
    • Connections
      Featured in Bring Back... Star Trek (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Theme
      Music credited to Alexander Courage, although it strongly resembles the main title music for 'Hollow Triumph (1948)' by Sol Kaplan

      Sung by Loulie Jean Norman

    User reviews23

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    It can't possibly exist...but it Does!
    Will we ever be free of our monsters, even in the 23rd century? This episode says of course not and, especially in view of what we've seen of the 24th century on the TNG show and other spin-offs, there will always be space-age demons and goblins to terrorize us. Following up on commodore Decker's Ahab-like role on "The Doomsday Machine," now it's Kirk's turn to confront and obsess about his personal devil. Yet, his nemesis, in a key revelatory point of the story, is not some unthinking machine; it really is a predatory monster, killing off red-shirts left and right, like a space-faring shark with malicious tendencies (it breaks the record of red-shirt deaths in "The Apple," even if one of these happen off-screen). Shatner gets to show a bit more range than usual here; he doesn't go off completely half-cocked or deranged, but there's enough edginess in him here to warrant McCoy & Spock briefly teaming up against him, recalling the key scene in "The Conscience of a King."

    The story does drive home one point probably a couple of times too many: that Kirk's guilt over not killing the creature years earlier is groundless. McCoy's scene with Kirk, where he points out his captain's possibly overly obsessive approach to the problem, is very good. But then we have Spock going over this ground over and over, it seems, both with Kirk & ensign Garrovick, another guilt-ridden character. Yes, the parallels of what's currently happening in this episode and events of several years ago on the starship Farragut are somewhat eerie, but enough already, Spock. Stop beating the audience over the head with it. Despite this clumsy aspect to story construction, it's a fairly exciting, suspenseful riff on the dangers lurking in outer space, even in Trek's quasi-utopia future. Much later, Captain Picard would be accused of Ahab-like behavior in "Star Trek-First Contact"(96) involving, what else, the Borg. This seems a prevalent theme among starship captains of the Trek mythos.
    helpful•20
    2
    • Bogmeister
    • Oct 11, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 15, 1967 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • handitv
      • Official Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Desilu Productions
      • 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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