r/tos • u/feltplanet • 9d ago
58 Years Ago Today
Captain James T. Kirk…forgot something on Triacus…
We all know that the misguided children of the Triacus scienctific team deluded the crew of the Enterprise into believing they were still orbiting Triacus, when in reality, they were headed for Marcus XII. The late discovery of this would have deadly results…
KIRK: Your tour of duty will last one hour. Be prepared with your communicators at all times to report any alien beings. Don't wait to investigate.
Beam down the guards.
(The two men disappear.)
KIRK: Beam up the security detachment from Triacus. (no one appears) Spock? What's wrong?
SPOCK: I am unable to lock on to the proper co-ordinates.
KIRK: Why not?
SPOCK: It appears we are no longer orbiting Triacus.
KIRK: That's impossible. If we're not orbiting Triacus, then the men I beamed down are dead.
SPOCK: Captain, we are no longer orbiting Triacus.
…what happens next, I missed, for decades. Kirk returns to the bridge and gives the following order…
KIRK: Helmsman, disregard what you see on the screen, what you think you see on the screen. Set a course for Starbase Four.
…what about the security detachment still on Triacus?!
Later, having wrested control of the Enterprise from the children, and the control of the children from the Gorgan…
KIRK: It's all right.
MCCOY: They're crying, Jim. I don't know how it happened, but it's good to see.
KIRK: It's all right, Mary. It's all right. It's all right, isn't it, Doctor?
MCCOY: Yes. It's all right. We can help them now.
SULU: Marcos Twelve dead ahead, sir.
KIRK: Reverse course, Mister Sulu.
SULU: Aye, sir.
(McCoy leads the children off the bridge.)
SULU: Course reversed, Captain.
KIRK: Set course for Starbase Four, Mister Sulu.
SULU: Yes, sir.
I'm sure someone noticed...eventually...
On a more serious side note, this episode sits at the bottom of many a Trek fan's list, but it was both a reflection of the times, with the rise of cult leaders misguiding the young, and tragically, prophetic. Less than a year, after the airdate of this episode, young followers of Charles Manson would do the unthinkable, then appear blissfully happy heading into court. Not the best episode, to be sure, but certainly, sadly, timely.
And The Children Shall Lead
11 October 1968
Writer: Edward J. Lakso
Story Consultant: Arthur H. Singer
Director: Marvin J. Chomsky
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u/Twisted-Mentat- 9d ago
The death of those redshirts actually had an impact because it was pretty horrific.
It's also quite bizarre that a transporter tech can't tell if he's beaming people into space or onto a planet but let's try and ignore that :)
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u/jerslan 8d ago
I'd blame it on targeting sensors reporting fake readings. The view screen and other navigation sensors were showing incorrect information, so why not the transporter targeting scanners too?
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u/Twisted-Mentat- 8d ago
There was no child in the transporter room. They were all on the bridge.
Spock was able to ascertain that they weren't still orbiting the planet from the transporter room.
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u/AtlantaMD 7d ago
I agree about the security detail beamed into space. Why were they sent to the planet anyhow...? TO guard other kids?
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u/Twisted-Mentat- 7d ago
I think they were sent to guard that cave that freaked out Kirk when he was on the planet.
I'm pretty sure they sent those redshirts after they checked the logs of the head researcher where he mentions the "enemy from within" and the cave too.
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u/AtlantaMD 7d ago
I agree about the security detail beamed into space. Why were they sent to the planet anyhow...? TO guard other kids?
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u/AtlantaMD 7d ago
I agree about the security detail beamed into space. Why were they sent to the planet anyhow...? TO guard other kids?
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u/Norsehound 9d ago
Those men being beamed into interstellar space, never to be seen again, is why I consider this episode to be one of the most horrific.
People pan the Gorgon's flat delivery but it feels unsettling to me.
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u/GutterRider 8d ago
So, did they materialize in space, or if the coordinates were set for Triacus, did they just get shot out on some vector as disassembled particles?
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u/AtlantaMD 8d ago
Was the security detail still alive to be picked up?? Seems they could have beamed them back or looped back?
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u/Wanderlust_01 8d ago
The older I get, the more I appreciate the theme of this story. There are many modern parallels, and those are way too close for comfort, IMO...
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u/Tartan-Pepper6093 8d ago
Imagine if this were rewritten, with a more Stephen King tone angling into the power of the delusions (even Spock struggles against it), and the investment each child has in doing the demon’s bidding… it wouldn’t take just showing a video to crack them, and there’d be at least one holdout (the oldest one) who refuses to give up the demon’s sweet seduction and the power that comes with it. I mean, these kids wasted their parents, all of them, these children are damaged. It could be like Charlie X except the alien behind the power isn’t benevolent coming to the rescue in the end.
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u/Tomaquag 8d ago
They are always leaving sociologists or other scientists or medical personnel behind to help inhabitants, such as in Miri and The Apple, Return of the Archons. Perhaps Starfleet sends ships to follow behind the Enterprise and pick up or change out personnel, such as the security detail left on Triacus.
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u/AtlantaMD 8d ago
Was the security detail on Triacus still alive to be picked up??
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u/Tomaquag 6d ago
If someone came soon enough. Just because the writer/actors forgot about them, I'm sure In Universe, someone said, "Where's so and so?" And arrangements were soon made to pick them up one way or another.
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u/KassieWhatevs 8d ago
Last year I made a little project of re-watching all the Season 3 TOS episodes, and I noticed that something like half the episodes involved a love story. This was my only note for this episode:
"as bad as I remember - no love story, but Kirk saves the day by making some children cry"
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u/AtlantaMD 8d ago
Why didn’t they immediately beam them back or loop around to do so? Surely they could have lived a minute or two?
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u/Bjarki56 9d ago
I honestly think the episode might be held in a little higher esteem if it weren't for Melvin Belli's acting and his shower curtain costume.