The Mark of Gideon 

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.

Director:

Jud Taylor

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), George F. Slavin

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
William Shatner	...	Capt. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Sharon Acker	...	Odona
David Hurst	...	Ambassador Hodin
James Doohan	...	Scott
George Takei	...	Sulu
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Gene Dynarski	...	Krodak
Richard Derr	...	Admiral Fitzgerald

Storyline

While beaming down to the planet Gideon, Captain Kirk finds himself still in the transporter room. He can find no one on the ship, now apparently abandoned by the entire crew. He does find one other occupant on the Enterprise, a beautiful young woman, Odona, who does not know how she got there. Back on the real Enterprise, Spock tries to deal with Gideon's representatives who claim that Kirk never arrived and claim no knowledge of his whereabouts. Soon, Odona falls deathly ill, which is exactly what the leaders of Gideon were hoping for. Spock soon realizes that there is problem with the beam down coordinates they were provided.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | deadly disease | missing time | father daughter relationship | cure | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 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

When Kirk tries to address anyone on the ship, one of the shots, showing an empty corridor, is recycled from "Is There in Truth No Beauty?". Also, another shot shows an empty Sickbay - with the Red Alert indicator light flashing, an obvious pickup shot from an earlier episode.

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Goofs

When Kirk first transported to the fake Enterprise, why didn't he try to contact the real Enterprise with his communicator?

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Quotes

[first lines]
Captain James T. Kirk: [narrating] Captain's Log, stardate 5423.4: We are orbiting the planet Gideon, which is still not a member of the United Federation of Planets. The treaty negotiations have been difficult because Gideon has consistently refused the presence of a delegation from the Federation on its soil or any surveillance by the ship's sensors. They have finally agreed to a delegation of one. They insisted it be the captain of the Enterprise. I am, therefore, beaming down at once.

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Alternate Versions

Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song

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Connections

Referenced in Star Trek: Discovery: The Vulcan Hello (2017)

User Reviews

the treaty negotiations..

Star Trek

A cultural hub and by far one of the most loved and respected tale, Star Trek is created by Gene Roddenberry who wrote this brilliant concept, ahead of its time and is probably why it still doesn't fail to entertain us after these many years. It was written "for the future" in many aspects as it even though is smarter, wiser and powerful it still seeks for emotion and the force that binds it all. The relation between Spock and Kirk; despite of its premise, is the most human thing in this majestic tale where the adventures are endless. Encountering this original series, at this stage makes the execution look petty and a bit loose (the small technical aspects can be negotiated) but the writing is smart, gripping and hence completely overpowers it. The series didn't seem to mature as it should have but definitely has improved on terms of implementing smarter approach, parallel plot lines and thought provoking concept.

Season 03

Contrary to expectations, second season failed to project the essential character development which would have give a perfect arc to the series and instead focused on different cases. In this final season the expectations are still higher as they have somehow glued their audience with their gripping screenplay and innovative imagination that doesn't flinch on pushing the boundaries.

The Mark Of Gideon

Even though the process is rudimentary, the approach is smart and gripping. The love track; as usual comes off as a hoax and a distraction by the writers to spent away their time but beyond that it is worth exploring and entertaining.