The Gamesters of Triskelion - episode #46

THE GAMESTERS OF TRISKELION (2nd season; episode #46)
Directed by Gene Nelson        writer: Margaret Armen Air Date:1/5/68

This is certainly not the worst episode or even among the worst, but it hovers in that nebulous region when one reaches the bottom quarter of all the episodes, as I see them in terms of quality. This is the point at which I regard an episode as definitely below average. And, it says something for the show that even in these, I find moments worth watching again, if just for some agreeable cheese. Which brings us to The Gamesters of Triskelion.
"You're Killing Herrrrrrrrr!!"
This episode is one of the more familiar ones on TOS - visually, stylistically and thematically - but contributing to an impression of cheesiness afflicting the series. One could argue that there’s nothing very wrong with cheese at times, but many fans prefer that TOS were known for its ideas and philosophy. For this episode, it's time to set aside philosophy and kick some behind with your weapon of choice; this was gladiatorial combat, 23rd century-style. In the plot, Kirk and two key officers, Chekov & Uhura, are shanghaied from the good ship Enterprise just as they are about to beam down to a planet. They are whisked a dozen light years away to another planet ruled by so-called Providers, which turn out to be disembodied primary brains, whose only means of diversion is to kidnap various aliens for their amusement as space-age gladiators.
Gladiatorial combat in an arena had already been depicted in the episode Bread and Circuses and much more effectively, in my view. The circumstances were much more dire and severe in that other episode, and such bloodsports for an audience offered a biting commentary on the dark side of human nature. Here, the concept is hamstrung by an almost tongue-in-cheek style. Others have raised the notion that these ruling brains represent the limited thinking of network executives, the ones who usually dumb down such stories as these for the masses. Another famous scene is Kirk’s response to the question on what is beautiful? Rather than offering some poetic insight, common to many of the better-written episodes, Kirk presents the female with a reflection of herself and she stares at it like a deer in the headlights. There’s no poignancy here, just opportunity for another eye-roll (and asking oneself what happened to the writing).
This could have been a serious indictment of slavery, represented by those intense, brutal  collars-of-obedience, but, despite Kirk's seething display of resentment as he finally rips his off near the end, this episode is best known for its cheese factor rather than any deep commentary on such a serious issue. If anything, much of the episode reminded me of a typical, action-oriented episode of the Lost in Space TV show - cheesy and somewhat laughable.
It's best remembered now for the gladiatrix Shahna, outfitted provocatively. She was played by actress Angelique Pettyjohn, who went on to adult-film roles, gaining this episode some measure of notoriety.  It's typical of the episode that Kirk spends a lot of time seducing Shahna, his, uh, drill thrall, in almost touching scenes, but ends up clocking her. Chekov, meanwhile, makes the acquaintance of a large female gladiator named Tamoon, while Uhura is almost raped by another rough-looking fighter (Steve Sandor). Some of this also reminds me of those exploitation prison-thrillers of the seventies - such as the ‘women-in-chains’ sub-genre -  just that this takes place on another planet.
There are a lot of different aliens on display in this one, accompanied by the usual limitations of the make-up FX back then; to get a truly distinctive alien in the sixties, they would cast a giant actor (Mickey Morton as Kloot), for example. Joe Ruskin as Galt, however, manages to come across as truly alien in a creepy, eerie fashion, his movements suggesting that he is gliding rather than just walking.
Overall, though, it's sub-average escapist fare, with usually silly dialog, Shatner over-emoting ("You're Killing Herrrrrr...!") and not much thought put into such issues as what these all-powerful brains do with their version of money, quatloos (I assumed, hearing their betting frenzies, it's their version of monopoly money). This boils down to a final combat where Kirk breaks all the rules and wins anyway. Despite the cheesy entertainment, for my quatloo the best scene is on the Enterprise with Spock, McCoy and Scotty. There, Spock shows he's ready to be a full time commander when McCoy & Scotty try to team up against him. The scene was also overdone, like most of the episode, depicting the two officers as somewhat petulant and juvenile. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10
Extra Trek Trivia:Provider One is the red brain; Provider Two is green; and Provider Three is orange. What will you do with this fantastic information? Well, you can tell which Provider bought the three Starfleet officers by the color of their collars. One of the Providers states that their cave is located over 1000 meters below the surface (deep!)...
Dick Crockett, a stuntman/choreographer on several Trek episodes, plays the Andorian thrall in this one. This is one of the episodes where Sulu’s part was taken over by Chekov because actor George Takei was stuck elsewhere, filming The Green Berets with John Wayne.