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Star Trek
S3.E16
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IMDbPro

The Mark of Gideon

  • Episode aired Jan 17, 1969
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 51m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
Star Trek: The Mark of Gideon
Play trailer1:24
1 Video
14 Photos
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Sci-Fi
Kirk beams down to the planet Gideon and appears to find himself trapped on a deserted Enterprise. Spock on the real Enterprise must use his diplomatic skills to deal with the uncooperative ... Read allKirk beams down to the planet Gideon and appears to find himself trapped on a deserted Enterprise. Spock on the real Enterprise must use his diplomatic skills to deal with the uncooperative inhabitants of Gideon and find the Captain.Kirk beams down to the planet Gideon and appears to find himself trapped on a deserted Enterprise. Spock on the real Enterprise must use his diplomatic skills to deal with the uncooperative inhabitants of Gideon and find the Captain.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jud Taylor
  • Writers
    • Gene Roddenberry
    • George F. Slavin
    • Stanley Adams
  • Stars
    • William Shatner
    • Leonard Nimoy
    • DeForest Kelley
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jud Taylor
  • Writers
    • Gene Roddenberry
    • George F. Slavin
    • Stanley Adams
  • Stars
    • William Shatner
    • Leonard Nimoy
    • DeForest Kelley
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 30User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Star Trek: The Mark of Gideon
    Trailer 1:24
    Star Trek: The Mark of Gideon

    Photos14

    David Hurst in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner and Sharon Acker in Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner and Sharon Acker in Star Trek (1966)
    Sharon Acker in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and George Takei 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
    Sharon Acker
    Sharon Acker
    • Odonaas Odona
    David Hurst
    David Hurst
    • Hodinas Hodin
    James Doohan
    James Doohan
    • Scottas Scott
    George Takei
    George Takei
    • Suluas Sulu
    Nichelle Nichols
    Nichelle Nichols
    • Uhuraas Uhura
    Walter Koenig
    Walter Koenig
    • Chekovas Chekov
    Gene Dynarski
    Gene Dynarski
    • Krodakas Krodak
    Richard Derr
    Richard Derr
    • Admiral Fitzgeraldas Admiral Fitzgerald
    Bill Blackburn
    • Gideon Inhabitantas Gideon Inhabitant
    • (uncredited)
    Frank da Vinci
    • Lt. Brentas Lt. Brent
    • (uncredited)
    Jay D. Jones
    • Gideon Guardas Gideon Guard
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jud Taylor
    • Writers
      • Gene Roddenberry
      • George F. Slavin
      • Stanley Adams
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The episode was written by Stanley Adams, who had earlier guest starred as Cyrano Jones in The Trouble with Tribbles (1967). Adams has become concerned over the issue of overpopulation, and during production of Tribbles, mentioned to Gene Roddenberry that he thought it would be an interesting social topic for the series to address. However, Adams said that he was disappointed by the episode's final results.
    • Goofs
      Of all of the methods offered to solve Gideon's problem of overpopulation, the most obvious solution is never addressed: sending the surplus population to colonize other planets, something done regularly by everyone else in the Trek Universe.
    • Quotes

      Spock: We must acknowledge once and for all that the purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis.

    • Alternate versions
      Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
    • Connections
      Edited into Star Trek: The Next Generation: Relics (1992)
    • Soundtracks
      Theme
      Music credited to Alexander Courage

      Sung by Loulie Jean Norman

    User reviews30

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Make Room! Make Room on Gideon!
    The Enterprise arrives at the planet Gideon to begin some kind of interstellar relations. Gideon is rumored to be a paradise but no one in the Federation knows the details. The planet's leaders insist that Kirk beam down by himself, which he does. However, he seems to end up back on an empty Enterprise, wondering where his crew has disappeared to. Unfortunately, this intriguing mystery has a most mundane explanation; it has nothing to do with Kirk entering another dimension or being out of sync, as I hoped when I first saw this as a kid. Most of the episode concerns Spock and the bridge crew dealing with bureaucracy from both Gideon and Starfleet. Even they look bored - how can they expect the audience to get excited? Kirk, meanwhile, spends most of the episode wandering on the other, empty Enterprise, along with a young female who shows up unexpectedly. Expectedly, it's an even more dull sequence of scenes. Every few scenes, a collection of sober, droopy faces pop up on this Enterprise's view-screens; this was meant to be startling or ominous. It doesn't really make sense, is all.

    There also isn't much sense to this elaborate scheme concocted by Gideon's policy-makers. They wanted Kirk down on their planet for a certain reason; there was no need for all the grand subterfuge. Once Kirk beamed down, they could have sat him down in any room for an hour or so with another inhabitant to get their plan to succeed. So, it's all a contrivance as far as the plot. Likewise, Spock and the crew are too slow on the uptake in figuring out the bogus coordinates: '..079' vs. '..709' - Spock didn't notice the discrepancy immediately? This is a Vulcan! Hello? Like with many later Trek episodes (in the 3rd season), the show aimed for heavy-handed relevance to tackle social issues and rising problems of the sixties: racism, war, pollution, inequality and, in this case, overpopulation. Once Gideon's problem is revealed, it is an admittedly interesting dilemma, taken to a logical extreme (later, "Soylent Green" in '73 would tackle the issue in a similar manner). But, it's a real slog to get there. This episode also has a shot (two, actually) of the empty bridge, previously seen (attention trivia Trekkers) in "This Side of Paradise." However, that was the real bridge in the older episode, savvy?
    helpful•38
    16
    • Bogmeister
    • Mar 4, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 17, 1969 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • handitv
      • Official Facebook
    • Languages
      • Greek
      • 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

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

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