"Star Trek" Shore Leave (1966)

Director:

Robert Sparr

Writers:

Theodore Sturgeon (written by)
Gene Roddenberry (creator)

TV Series:

"Star Trek" (1966)

Original Air Date:

29 December 1966 (Season 1, Episode 15)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The past three months has left the crew of the Enterprise exhausted and in desperate need of a break...

Plot Keywords:

Federation | Space | Starship | Computer | Vulcan

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
Emily Banks	...	Tonia Barrows
Oliver McGowan	...	Caretaker
Perry Lopez	...	Rodriguez
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
George Takei	...	Sulu
Bruce Mars	...	Finnegan
Barbara Baldavin	...	Angela
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Marcia Brown	...	Alice
Sebastian Tom	...	Warrior
Shirley Bonne	...	Ruth

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Africa USA - 6867 Soledad Canyon Road, Acton, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

It is widely believed that actress Barbara Baldavin is playing Angela Martine, her role in the earlier episode, "Star Trek: The Naked Time (#1.4)" (1966). While her character is generally identified by only that same first name, even in the end credits' cast list, at one point Kirk addresses her as "Teller". This bit is among the material deleted from general syndication prints to clear time for additional commercial sales, allowing the assumption that Baldavin is again playing Martine to be made and accepted.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Sulu sees someone being transported from the Enterprise, he says, "Someone's beaming down from the bridge." In this series, all transports originated from the Transporter Room; also, he wouldn't know from what duty station someone was assigned.

Quotes:

Captain James T. Kirk: Brace front, everyone. Don't talk. Don't breathe. Don't think. You're at attention. Concentrate on that.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn't Die (#6.13)" (1993)

Let's have a little lightweight entertainment, shall we?

Probably one of the prime examples of following a suspenseful, dramatic episode (in this case, the superb Balance of Terror) with a lighter affair, Shore Leave is the first true attempt on behalf of the Star Trek writers to produce a more entertaining piece of sci-fi, and while the formula isn't quite right yet in this entry (the true triumph is Trouble with Tribbles, in Season 2), the laughs come pretty fast as long as the viewer is willing to allow for all the silliness.

Diverting from the show's tradition, the Enterprise isn't on any proper mission in this episode. Instead, Kirk has found a perfect planet for his crew to spend some time off duty: a well deserved break after three months of incessant work. The Earth-like planet (a budget-related fact) is very appealing, but it only takes a few minutes before something weird happens: Dr. McCoy starts having visions of a white rabbit that seems to come straight out of Lewis Carroll's work. Soon, other people begin experiencing similar things: a woman meets a Don Juan-like character, Sulu has a run-in with a samurai, and Kirk faces a double encounter with the past, in the shape of almost love and the guy who used to pick on him at the Academy. Throw in a freakishly real-looking tiger, and it's easy to see why Kirk and Spock are determined to figure out what's going on before anybody gets hurt.

The idea is a classic one: idyllic place turns out to be far from heavenly. The episode's humorous take on the topic is rather successful, weren't it for a dark turn of events that doesn't sit well with the rest (of course, everything works out fine again come the end) and the cast's general unwillingness to show a funnier side of themselves (most notably, and ironically, the otherwise hilarious William Shatner). And yet Shore Leave deserves recognition for being another good example of the writers trying new, previously unseen things: the definition of Star Trek's success.

7,5/10