episode #21 - How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth
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episode #21 - How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth
Air Date: 10/5/74 written by Russell Bates and David Wise
Kirk is directing the Enterprise to follow the trail of a self-destructed probe which had scanned Earth's system. The ship enters the realm of Kukulcan, an alien entity which was known as a Mayan god in Earth's early recorded history. It transports 4 of the crew, including an American Indian named Walking Bear, into its ship and has them undergo a short test. Then it reveals itself as a flying serpent. It also reveals its zoo, where-in various lifeforms are kept in glass cages, though their minds are living in a recreation of their natural habitats - therefore, they are content. Kirk must convince the entity that mankind are no longer children, to be taken care of by a superior godlike being.
This has an obvious similarity to the TOS episode Who Mourns For Adonais, in which an alien - Apollo - with vast powers expects to be worshipped as a god. The animation is interesting, showing a lot of idealized Mayan architecture and various creatures, notably Kukulcan, but the story is quite simplistic and just repeats the premise of Who Mourns For Adonais. The powerful alien wants to keep lower lifeforms in its private zoo, denoting a huge alien ego, but it changes its mind pretty quickly after some obvious reveals about human intelligence. This is an episode aimed more at kids. BoG's Score: 6 out of 10
Trek Trivia: there's one moment when Spock almost reprimands Uhura for not focusing on her job, recalling the TOS episode That Which Survives, where-in Spock had lectured her while he was in command; the co-writer, Wise, reveals in audio commentary that they intended to write a zinger comeback for Uhura but could not come up with one.
Kirk is directing the Enterprise to follow the trail of a self-destructed probe which had scanned Earth's system. The ship enters the realm of Kukulcan, an alien entity which was known as a Mayan god in Earth's early recorded history. It transports 4 of the crew, including an American Indian named Walking Bear, into its ship and has them undergo a short test. Then it reveals itself as a flying serpent. It also reveals its zoo, where-in various lifeforms are kept in glass cages, though their minds are living in a recreation of their natural habitats - therefore, they are content. Kirk must convince the entity that mankind are no longer children, to be taken care of by a superior godlike being.
This has an obvious similarity to the TOS episode Who Mourns For Adonais, in which an alien - Apollo - with vast powers expects to be worshipped as a god. The animation is interesting, showing a lot of idealized Mayan architecture and various creatures, notably Kukulcan, but the story is quite simplistic and just repeats the premise of Who Mourns For Adonais. The powerful alien wants to keep lower lifeforms in its private zoo, denoting a huge alien ego, but it changes its mind pretty quickly after some obvious reveals about human intelligence. This is an episode aimed more at kids. BoG's Score: 6 out of 10
Trek Trivia: there's one moment when Spock almost reprimands Uhura for not focusing on her job, recalling the TOS episode That Which Survives, where-in Spock had lectured her while he was in command; the co-writer, Wise, reveals in audio commentary that they intended to write a zinger comeback for Uhura but could not come up with one.
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