Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Star Trek
S1.E24
All episodes
All
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

This Side of Paradise

  • Episode aired Mar 2, 1967
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 50m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
Star Trek (1966)
ActionAdventureSci-Fi
The Enterprise investigates a planet whose colonists should be dead, but are not.The Enterprise investigates a planet whose colonists should be dead, but are not.The Enterprise investigates a planet whose colonists should be dead, but are not.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
    • Ralph Senensky
    • D.C. Fontana(teleplay by)
    • Jerry Sohl(story by)
    • Gene Roddenberry
  • Stars
    • William Shatner
    • Leonard Nimoy
    • Jill Ireland
    • Ralph Senensky
    • D.C. Fontana(teleplay by)
    • Jerry Sohl(story by)
    • Gene Roddenberry
  • Stars
    • William Shatner
    • Leonard Nimoy
    • Jill Ireland
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 34User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos32

    Jill Ireland and Frank Overton in Star Trek (1966)
    Frank Overton in Star Trek (1966)
    Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy and Jill Ireland in Star Trek (1966)
    Leonard Nimoy and Jill Ireland in This Side of Paradise (1967)
    This Side of Paradise (1967)
    Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, George Takei, Jill Ireland, and Grant Woods in This Side of Paradise (1967)
    Leonard Nimoy and Jill Ireland in This Side of Paradise (1967)
    William Shatner and Eddie Paskey in This Side of Paradise (1967)
    William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols in This Side of Paradise (1967)
    Leonard Nimoy and Jill Ireland in This Side of Paradise (1967)
    Jill Ireland in This Side of Paradise (1967)

    Top cast

    Edit
    William Shatner
    William Shatner
    • Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk
    Leonard Nimoy
    Leonard Nimoy
    • Mister Spock
    Jill Ireland
    Jill Ireland
    • Leila Kalomi
    Frank Overton
    Frank Overton
    • Elias Sandoval
    DeForest Kelley
    DeForest Kelley
    • Doctor Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
    Grant Woods
    Grant Woods
    • Kelowitz
    George Takei
    George Takei
    • Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
    Nichelle Nichols
    Nichelle Nichols
    • Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
    Michael Barrier
    • DeSalle
    Dick Scotter
    • Painter
    Eddie Paskey
    Eddie Paskey
    • Lieutenant Leslie
    Bobby Bass
    Bobby Bass
    • Lieutenant
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Blackburn
    • Lieutenant Hadley
    • (uncredited)
    Frank da Vinci
    • Brent
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    Walker Edmiston
    Walker Edmiston
    • Transporter Chief
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Carey Foster
    • Enterprise crewmember
    • (uncredited)
    John Lindesmith
    • Engineer
    • (uncredited)
    Jeannie Malone
    • Yeoman
    • (uncredited)
    • …
      • Ralph Senensky
      • D.C. Fontana(teleplay by) (story by)
      • Jerry Sohl(story by)
      • Gene Roddenberry
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The spores, in the early drafts, were a communal intelligence; when someone was possessed by them, that individual was granted telepathic abilities to link up with other possessed minds. The abilities of the spores to restore health were complete enough to enable them to return the dead to life. The antidotes for the spores were either the possession of a certain blood type or the introduction of alcohol into the affected person. Originally, Kirk leaped onto Spock and forced liquor down his throat to restore him to normal. In a surprise ending, the spores were revealed to be benevolent, conscious entities who never intended to act against anyone's will.
    • Goofs
      When Kirk goes to look for Spock, he tells McCoy, "Have the landing party work in teams of two, I don't want anyone left alone." After which he goes off to find Spock...leaving McCoy alone.
    • Quotes

      Spock: I've never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question.

    • 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 From Star Trek
      Written by and credited to Alexander Courage

    User reviews34

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Escaping Your Self-Made Purgatory
    This one really is one of the all-time Trek greats - one of the best episodes of the first season and, for that matter, of the whole three years of the series. It begins as a mystery on a very peaceful planet, where settlers were meant to begin an agricultural colony several years ago. Kirk tries to unravel this odd jigsaw puzzle presented before him in the first act - the colonists should all be dead by this point due to what are known as Berthold Rays and all animals have indeed died off. The answers lie in some funky-looking plants which shoot spores into human beings, thereby indoctrinating them into a space-age version of a 'happiness pill' society. All worries melt away and humans can, for the first time since Adam & Eve (one might say), relax in paradise. In a sense, this is "The Naked Time" episode taken to the next level - rather than fighting a form of disease, mankind here seems cured of all ills - there appears to be no reason to escape something so benevolent.

    There is a beguiling quality to most of this episode and moments of incredible poignancy. Most of these moments are in Spock's scenes, usually with his newfound lady love (the luminous Ireland). Here we see Spock as perhaps he really is without that wall of anti-emotion he projects - this story hints that it really is an artificial wall, even unnecessary. This is not Spock afflicted by sickness or possessed by an alien force - it's the real Spock, smiles and all, all his usual defense mechanisms swept away, as human as, well, Dr. McCoy. Swept Away - that's probably as good a description as any for what happens to him and then the rest of the crew. And ironically, it's most tragic for Spock, among all the crew, when this happiness is taken away - we realize he loses the most here - everyone else just realizes they've been kind of wasting their time. Interestingly, Kirk proves to be the only one resistant to these spores, to a degree. I guess that's why he's captain - it takes a lot more to dissuade him from his mission than it does the average crew member.

    Overall, this episode presents a superlative progression of surprise, suspense and some jarring thrills following on the heels of the early mystery. After Spock gets through that brief, though alarming, painful transition to his new self, we see Kirk's astonishment as he first observes his transformed first officer (more irony here: Kirk could have really enjoyed a relaxed friendship with Spock if things continued as they were here, a typical 'best friends' relationship, though McCoy might've gotten jealous and then burned off the effect of the spores). Then the ship empties; this was the first time something like this happened - now things look really grim - and once Kirk exits, that's it; the ship will burn up in a decaying orbit. I believe this episode has the shot of the empty bridge which was later used in the TNG episode "Relics." Those hints we've seen of Spock's Vulcan strength prove to be quite valid - don't ever anger a Vulcan, especially if you're a frail human. I don't pretend to understand all of Kirk's insults but I think his reference to freakism did the trick. Finally, McCoy gets in the best line towards the end when he tells the colony's leader to make him a mechanic - "Then I can treat little tin gods like you!" Priceless.
    helpful•40
    7
    • Bogmeister
    • Jul 17, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 2, 1967 (United States)
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • handitv
      • Official Facebook
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Walt Disney's Golden Oak Ranch - 19802 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Desilu Productions
      • Norway Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 50 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Star Trek (1966)
    Top Gap
    What is the Spanish language plot outline for This Side of Paradise (1967)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.