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Star Trek : "The Trouble With Tribbles" / "The Gamesters Of Triskelion"

Did you know there was a commemorative plate made for the original Trek? Probably more than one, I guess, but the one I remember had Kirk in a pile of tribbles, in a painting inspired by one of the series' most iconic scenes. I've never understood the appeal of commemorative plates, and I'm not sure anybody actually does; I think it's one of those things they sell on TV that doesn't have a reason to exist, but costs money so we assume it's worthwhile. Like Chia Pets or trailers for Transformers 2 . (Okay, I guess the trailers have a point, because how else would we know that Megan Fox is still a functional delivery system for both T and A?)  But that damn Trek plate haunts me. It's ridiculous to the point of being sublime. I can imagine some blue-haired old lady out in Iowa having it in her china hutch, right next to a Santa Claus head mug and her Spoons of the World collection.

"The Trouble With Tribbles" is one of Star Trek 's successful forays into comedy, and while I have a few reservations, it holds up well. I mean, they don't make plates about Voyager episodes, right? (God, what a terrible way to diet: punishing yourself every time you finish a meal.) Shatner normally gets stuck playing the straight man whenever wackiness happens, and "Tribbles" is no exception to the rule; he seems to be having more fun than usual with the premise, though, and some of his reaction shots here are Nimoy-level hysterical. Kirk's growing frustration and bemusement could've come off as smug, but it doesn't. Instead, he sets the tone for the entire episode; playful, often silly, with just enough of a grounded storyline to keep from floating away completely. We open with Kirk, Spock, and Chekov having a chat about Sherman's Planet, a nearby locale that's currently the subject of dispute between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. (Who aren't officially at war. Looks like the Organian interference back in "An Errand of Mercy" held.) It's been a mildly irritating running gag that Chekov likes to claim that everything in the universe was created by the Russians, and we get a couple more of those gags in "Tribbles," neither of which are funny. Thankfully, the info-dump is cut short by an emergency distress signal from Deep Space Station K-7. The Enterprise moves to respond and learns that the signal was a slight over-reaction, made by the latest in our on-going series of Administrative Assholes, Nilz Baris. See, Baris (played by William Schallert, who, according to his IMDB page, has been in everything, and some of it twice) has this special grain, called quadrotriticale, and it's the only stuff that grows on Sherman's Planet. So it's vitally important that the grain makes it there. (I'm not sure why the Enterprise can't just transport it themselves. Maybe they don't have the right storage units?) Given the planet's tenuous diplomatic status, any problems could mean disaster for the Federation, and Baris used the distress signal to get Kirk to come by so he could order Kirk to put guards on the grain bins. Kirk's not real happy about this, but the word comes down from Starfleet that he's stuck at the station. Might as well make the best of it by letting the crew take some much needed shore leave. One of the reasons "Tribbles" works is that, even though we're dealing with another tedious bureaucrat, we never feel like Kirk is stuck under the creep's thumb. He makes no attempt to hide his contempt for Baris, and since we're firmly on his side (even if Baris's complaints are legitimate, the guy is a total tool), that makes his encounters with the Man actually fun for a change. The way the episode unfolds means Kirk's constantly dealing with things he doesn't really want to deal with, and there's a surprising amount of enjoyment to be had in seeing him complain about it to Spock. And then there are the title characters. Uhura and Chekov run into them while hanging out on the station bar. (On her leave, Uhura wants to go "shopping." Ah, women!) A con-man named Cyrano Jones is trying his best to sell the bartender a fuzzy little purring mound. Uhura is instantly smitten; Spock later theorizes that the sound the tribbles make has a calming effect on humans, so I guess that's why everybody gets such a kick out of them, but they're mostly just pet rocks minus the personality. Cyrano gives Uhura a tribble, and Chekov has time to notice it eating some quadrotriticale he spilled on the table (foreshadowing!)(that the tribble was eating grain, not that Chekov spilled or noticed anything) before we move on to the next scene. Cyrano's my least favorite part of the episode; I know some folks expressed surprise at my fondness for Harry Mudd, but Cyrano to me just points to how well Carmel fit into the show. Stanley Adams doesn't get as much screentime as Mudd might've, but for those times he is in our focus, he's mugging it up fierce, doing all sorts of facial expressions that I assume are supposed to be comic but aren't. The bar-fight at the ep's midpoint is broken up by lots of cutting to Cyrano doing business over at the bar, and it makes the scene go on for ages. The character is never enough a part of the story to matter, and while his comeuppance isn't bad, you kind of wonder why anyone cares to punish him. It's a waste of a name that should've been bad-ass. (Like, what if Casey Jones had a cousin? And his cousin was into being a vigilante, only he'd watched a lot of theater, so he, um… Okay, moving on.) But hey, that bar-fight? It happens because the Klingons arrive, and, per the usual, they're up to no good. Hell, the Squire of Gothos is with them! Not literally, but the actor who played the Squire, William Campbell, plays Koloth, captain of the Klingon ship. (Because I'm a nerd, I like to think that Koloth really is Trelane, and that this is just something his parents did to make him learn humility, or because he banged up the space car or got some star skank pregnant. And the reason Kirk doesn't recognize him? He's wearing a cunning goatee.) Koloth demands that he and his men be allowed to have some fun time on the space station like everybody else—apparently, Klingons don't travel with their own entertainment, like porn or board games—and Kirk reluctantly agrees. This is bound to turn out poorly, since a dozen or so of the Enterprise crew are already wandering around. The build-up to the fight is decent, with Scotty telling Chekov to ignore a series of insults to Kirk from Koloth's second-in-command, only to lose his shit when the guy starts ragging on the Enterprise , but the best part of the whole thing is the aftermath, with Kirk questioning his men as to who started the fight, and then dragging the whole story out of an embarrassed Scotty. The timing here is terrific, and it's one of the few times on the show when having a character describe something that we've all just seen actually works; Kirk's slightly disappointed reaction in learning that he got insulted, and that no one came to his defense, is hilarious. During all of this, the tribbles have started to multiply, and once they start, they don't stop. Another great thing about "Trouble" is the way the tribbles pop up everywhere, to the point where they're dominating the bridge and even getting into the food supply. It's a sight gag that never stops working, and it gains steams as it goes. McCoy does some tests and determines that nearly half of a tribble's energies are devoted to reproduction. And as Spock points out, without their natural predators, there's nothing to keep their growth in check. Everybody's still charmed by their constant purring, but something's going to have to be done, and soon. Apart from Cyrano Jones, "Trouble" has a light touch, and it's one of the better scripts we've seen. Writer David Gerrold provides a couple of through lines—the importance of the grain that Kirk was called in to protect, and the rapid population growth of the tribbles—but never puts too much stress on either of them. Generally I prefer my Trek episodes with some danger to them, and there's really nothing like that here; you never worry that the Klingons are going to shoot anybody, or that the tribbles are going to go mogwai. But it works, because the causualness isn't sloppy. When Kirk opens the storage bin and gets buried under a mound of dead (and near dead) hairballs, it's an a-ha moment, without ever needing to be stressed; the story comes together in a delightfully laid-back fashion, like a long form joke that's really more an anecdote than something with a punchline. So the Klingons were up to their usual tricks, tainting the grain with a poison that would make anyone who ate unable to get full (there's something wonderfully dark about that; the most memorable moment of "Trouble" comes from Kirk standing in a pile of cute aliens that starved to death), and they've got an inside man in the form of Baris's assistant, a Klingon passing as human. He's discovered when a tribble freaks out at him. Tribbles don't like Klingons, which leads to another amusingly dark bit when we learn that Scotty's beamed every tribble on the Enterprise over to the Klingon ship's engine room. Ha-ha, all those pets we loved are going to be slaughtered by our enemies! (It's weird that it's that easy to beam stuff into the Klingons' engine room. Does that mean the Klingons could return the favor? Is anybody checking the pipes?) If "Trouble" works largely because of its easy-going nature, "The Gamesters of Triskelion" serves as a reminder of why that nature was so refreshing. On the plus side, I finally get all those "200 quatloos on the newcomer!" jokes, and the costumes are amusingly ridiculous. Uhura gets to do a little more than usual; between this and "Trouble," it's sort of a banner week for her. I dug Spock's efforts to track down Kirk, Uhura, and Chekov after they disappear, too. Unlike other episodes, the scenes on the Enterprise , while not exactly relevant to the plot, don't come off as wasted time. Also, there are colored throbbing brains under glass, and that counts for a lot. On the minus side, well… Let's get through the story first. Kirk, Uhura, and Chekov are all about to beam down to do some repair work on a communication station. ("Communiation station, what's your… Haitian.") Things get weird when they step onto the transporter; instead of winding up in the usual grey-sand-and-purple-rocks set, they're snatched mid-beam and set down on the planet Triskelion. Triskelion has its own share of purple rocks, but it also has a fighting arena, "thralls" (aka slaves), a master thrall, and a bunch of disembodied voices that like telling Kirk how spirited he is. Nothing can ever be easy, I guess. Kirk and the rest have been recruited to take part in the Triskelion fighting games; they'll be trained, sold to the highest bidder, and then pitted against other slaves for the disembodied voices' (called "Providers") amusement. Since it's hard for a disembodied voice to train anyone (there's not a lot of local news, so nobody's got a paper to hit Kirk on the nose with when he's been bad), the Providers use other thralls to get the job done. There's Lars, a barbarian type who's a little too into the whole thing; an orange-skinned woman who takes a strong interest in Chekov (we're talking "death by snu-snu" strong); and Shahna, a green-haired hottie in a tinfoil diaper who latches on to Kirk. There's also a caveman, but nobody really talks to him, and in the end he gets a spear in his stomach. All of the thralls, as well as our heroes, have to wear special collars around their neck; the collars show proof of ownership (once a thrall is sold, part of the collar changes color to indicate who that thrall's owner is—fittingly enough, the colors match up with the colors of the brains we see at the end), and they also allow the Providers to deal out punishment as needed. This kind of thing always freaks me out. There's a part in The Great Hunt , the second book of Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time series, where a magic user named Egwene gets captured by the Seanchan, a race that hates magic. They stick a collar on her called an a'dam (I had to look up the names on this stuff, but I felt bad that I had to look it up, so I guess I don't lose all my nerd-cred); the a'dam lets them read her mood and make her suffer horribly if she does anything they don't like. I found myself thinking about that collar during "Gamesters." Say what you will about Jordan's writing, but I remember the a'dam stuff being incredibly harsh, a nightmarish portrayal of slavery so complete that it offers no distance between slave and master; Egwene couldn't even hide in her own mind without those fuckers knowing it. "Gamesters" doesn't come close to that kind of ugliness. It's not really the episode's fault that I never felt that concerned for Kirk's well-being. He gets zapped a couple of times—they all do—and Shahna gets it pretty bad when she's caught falling for Kirk's charms, but it was all too damn goofy to really get worked up over. Part of the awfulness of the a'dam is that's controlled by a whole race that thinks they're doing the right thing. Kirk gives the standard Big Speech about how awful slavery is, but we don't see enough of Triskelion civilization to really feel what he's saying; slavery needs a society to uphold it. Without that, it's just an S&M party where everybody forgot the safe word at the same time. "Kirk putting the moves on Shahna" was tedious even without the speechifying. She's instantly smitten with him—sure, she puts up a good front, but she's definitely got that "I am intrigued by you, man-animal, so I'll be all snooty" vibe. Kirk uses her to try and get himself and the others freed, and then he ditches her at the end without so much as a hug. He's managed to free her people, and even got a promise from the Providers that they'll teach the released thralls how to provide for themselves, but when she asks to go along with him on the Enterprise to see the stars, he's all, "Oooo, right, about that—hey, I'll maybe, maybe I'll call you? Like, in a few weeks? I'm moving, and I gotta get settled in first. And there was this thing, with this guy… It's complicated. You're too good for me, really. You're better off with that bald guy in the robe who used to torture you." The whole Triskelion system never really coheres. The brains in charge all evolved beyond the need for bodies (note: evolution does not work that way), and they're bored because being a brain under glass isn't the most exciting thing in the world to be, especially when the cable goes out. So these brains (aka, the Providers) have set up a system where they snatch people from other races and planets and make them fight, and they bet money on the fights to make it exciting. Nothing wrong with that, and I'm as big a fan of talking brains as the next guy, but it's like one of those standard sci-if "outs," isn't it? You've got a weird premise, so it's either EARTH ALL ALONG or some kind of god-like being (let's face it, physical appearance aside, these are your standard god-like beings) is responsible. There's this freaky scene where Lars comes in to Uhura's room and they go off camera and Uhura starts screaming; you think he's trying to rape her, and you're pretty sure nothing happens, but it's an all-too-real moment in an otherwise campy episode. It doesn't help that Chekov's interactions with the orange-skinned woman (too many carrots?) are played entirely for laughs. I'd say "Gamesters" ranks around average, maybe a little below, and how much you enjoy it depends on how much of a kick you get out of the goofy outfits and goofier dialogue. There is a solid three-on-one fight at the climax to save the Enterprise and everyone on it; the rules are unclear, though, because while we're told that Kirk can't step out of the yellow area without losing a weapon, he steps out of it constantly and nothing bad happens. Also, at the he end, he wins by making Shahna surrender, and seeing as how  they were sort of on the same side (even though she was pissed at him), I can't help thinking the brains got shafted. After the fight, the last thing we see is Shahna making a tearful promise about finding a way to go after Kirk, and it's played very serious, as though she'd decided to quit smoking and discover raidum or something. It's enjoyable ridiculous, but not actually good. Grades: "The Trouble With Tribbles": A "The Gamesters Of Triskelion": B- Stray Observations:

  • The suggestions about covering Deep Space Nine's excellent "Tribbles" riff, "Trials and Tribble-ations" were solid. I just didn't have a chance to get the DS9 ep before this week, because I am very lazy. I have failed you as a reviewer, and as a human being. Also as a career balloonist, but that's not really relevant here.
  • Kirk's best Baris put down: "I think of this project as very important. It's you I take lightly."
  • During Kirk's "training," he bitches about having to jog two miles without stopping. Ha! I can jog at least three miles without stopping, and I don't even have a green-haired babe in a shiny brassiere to keep me going.
  • Some nice "Amok Time" theme action going on during "Gamesters."

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The Providers or Gamesters of Triskelion were colloquial terms given to three non-humanoid beings who controlled the planet Triskelion in the M24 Alpha trinary star system . They appeared as disembodied brains contained in a device giving them life support and communication abilities. When Captain Kirk speculated in their presence in 2268 that they were the result of " primary mental evolution " they corrected him, stating they'd once had humanoid form, but after eons of devoting themselves exclusively to intellectual pursuits they had evolved into their present form. The aliens called themselves "Providers" because they believed the term was easier for the limited intellects of their slaves, whom they called thralls , to comprehend. If their race had another name, they never revealed it.

The Providers controlled an immense power station, which they concealed a kilometer or more beneath the surface of their world. They could create and project their voices anywhere on Triskelion, and they controlled a transporter based on light that had a range of light years and operated nearly instantly. They could manipulate energy at least to the extent of neutralizing a starship 's power systems. They provided sustenance and other basic needs to the thralls, and could punish the thralls directly or through their proxy, Galt . They evidently possessed significant planetary defenses, for they did not regard the arrival of the USS Enterprise at their world as a significant threat, stating that they could destroy it and make the incident appear to be a magnetic storm.

To amuse themselves, the Providers captured humanoids and forced them to fight while they placed wagers on the outcome. Inasmuch as such fights were often to the death, they required a steady supply of humanoids. To obtain it, they practiced humanoid husbandry with their existing stock (selecting breeding partners) and kidnapped suitable humanoids from elsewhere in the galaxy via their powerful transporter. They claimed to use only "inferior specimens" but considering their own vast intellect and concomitant high opinion of themselves, it is likely they regarded all other forms of life as inferior to their own. ( TOS : " The Gamesters of Triskelion ")

When opining how Starfleet needed a rule on the books about visiting legacy civilizations, which eventually became known as Project Swing By , Captain Carol Freeman stated, " I just hate seeing a perfectly good society get destroyed by a Gamester of Triskelion or whatever, because Starfleet has a policy of some intervention. " ( LD : " No Small Parts ")

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Star Trek Series Episodes

The Gamesters of Triskelion

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In the episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion,” the U.S.S. Enterprise is thrown off course by a mysterious force, and Captain James T. Kirk and his crew find themselves pulled through space to a distant planet. Upon their arrival, they are met by a society of alien humanoid creatures called the Providers, who have enslaved three other humanoid species. The Providers explain to the crew that they use these “thralls” for a game of physical combat, and the losers become slaves.

Kirk and the crew are taken captive by the alien beings, and are forced to participate in the combat games against the thralls. The stakes are high, and the crew must fight for their lives. The game pits them against the thralls, who have been trained in the art of physical combat and are much more experienced than the Enterprise crew.

The crew is forced to fight against the thralls and each other, in what amounts to a gladiatorial battle. They must battle for their lives and the lives of their thrall comrades, while negotiating their way out of the alien planet.

The crew must find a way to escape and free the thralls from their bondage, while also dealing with their own emotions about the situation. They must balance their morality and their desire to fight for their freedom, while also struggling with the psychological implications of being forced to fight their own friends and family.

Kirk and the crew must battle their way through the Gamesters of Triskelion, fighting for their freedom and the freedom of the thralls. With a mixture of courage, cleverness, and determination, they must find a way to outwit their alien captors and free themselves from their bondage. Along the way, they will discover more about the mysterious Providers, and their own courage in the face of adversity. In the end, they will learn lessons about the power of courage, the importance of morality, and the lengths to which one must go to ensure freedom.

Star Trek subtitles English S02E16

The gamesters of triskelion s02e16 english subtitles (1968) 1cd ssa, season: 2 - episode: 16.

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star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

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star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

  • Gene Roddenberry
  • Gene Nelson
  • Margaret Armen
  • William Shatner
  • Leonard Nimoy
  • DeForest Kelley
  • Joseph Ruskin
  • Angelique Pettyjohn
  • Nichelle Nichols
  • James Doohan
  • Steve Sandor
  • Walter Koenig
  • Victoria George
  • Dick Crockett
  • Mickey Morton
  • United States

star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

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star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Star Trek – The Gamesters Of Triskelion

star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

★★★ January 5, 1968 Season 2 Episode 16

If you want to see where we are…and you missed a few… HERE is a list of the episodes in my index located at the top of my blog. 

This show was written by Gene Roddenberry and Margaret Armen

My favorite line out of this one? You’re Out of your Vulcan Mind, Spock! It was said by McCoy and you could imagine “Vulcan” was in place of something they could not say.

Star Trek - The Gamesters of Triskelion

Angelique Pettyjohn played Shahna in this episode. Pettyjohn later became an adult film actress which is rare for that time because not many made the jump from movies/tv shows to adult films. Is it just me or does she favor Lady GaGa?

This episode was not one of the great ones, to say the least. It’s not a terrible episode though…because it is fun. When the episode begins, Kirk, Uhura, and Chekov are being beamed by the Enterprise’s transporter.

However, instead of “sparkling” from the transporter, they disappear and are transported by a fantastic force well across the galaxy. The Enterprise looks for them but doesn’t realize that the seemingly impossible has occurred and only later does Spock play a hunch and begin searching well beyond the transporter’s range…to other star systems.

They have no idea where they are but the planet’s three suns mean they are many light years from where they intended to be. They soon learn that they are to be trained as Thralls on the planet Triskelion. Thralls are gladiators trained to fight for whichever of the unseen Providers buys them.

In this episode, we see Kirk again being a Cassanova and trying to win their freedom. 

The look of the character Galt was modeled after Ming the Merciless, the archenemy from the Flash Gordon comic strip.

During an interview, Angelique Pettyjohn said that when she first auditioned for the role of Shahna, she admitted to the producers that she didn’t think she fit the character. When they asked why, she said the script describes her as an Amazon, but at 5’6″, Pettyjohn said she’s hardly an Amazon. The producers all laughed and said “Look, honey, next to Shatner, you’ll look like an Amazon.”

A triskelion is an ancient symbol used in Greek, Roman and Celtic cultures. It was originally three spiral but evolved into three legs, as seen in the flag of the Isle of Man. The symbol shown on the planet is a geometric version of this design.

When Joseph Ruskin saw that his costume consisted of a long black floor-length robe, he came up with the idea of walking in an extremely fluid way (known as “glide stepping” by marching bands). He thought that combined with the robe, it might make the viewer wonder if he was even a biped humanoid, or perhaps had some other means of movement.

In the remastered version, one piece of new footage was added to this episode. The establishing shot of the planet Triskelion, shown during the opening credits, now included the system’s trinary suns.

The producers interrupted filming of this episode to tell the cast and crew that the show had been cancelled. Everyone was depressed throughout the rest of production. But then fans started protesting and writing letters until NBC decided to keep it on for another season.

Joseph Ruskin (Galt) also played Tumek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The House of Quark (1994) & Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Looking for Par’Mach in All the Wrong Places (1996), Cardassian Informant in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Improbable Cause (1995), a Son’a officer in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), a Vulcan master in Star Trek: Voyager: Gravity (1999) and a Suliban doctor in Star Trek: Enterprise: Broken Bow, Part 1 (2001). He has thus appeared in every Star Trek television series except Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), although Insurrection features the TNG crew. With the exception of Majel Barrett, who has appeared in every Star Trek series, he was the only actor to appear in all four of the series in question. Furthermore, given that Barrett only provided the computer voice in Voyager and Enterprise, Ruskin was the only actor to appear on screen in all four series mentioned above. Along with Barrett, Clint Howard, Jack Donner, and Vince Deadrick, Ruskin was one of only five actors to appear in both Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Enterprise. He, Barrett and Howard also appeared in Deep Space Nine. Ruskin also worked on two Star Trek video games, lending his voice to Master Si’tann in Star Trek: Hidden Evil (1999) and to Admiral Nolotai and Vulcan Master N’Kal in Star Trek: Away Team (2001).

Angelique Pettyjohn (Shahna), real name Dorothy Lee Perrins, found that her movie career never really took off. By the early 1980s, she had developed a substance abuse and alcohol addiction. These resulted in her descent into softcore, then hard core pornographic films and striptease. Fortunately she was able to clean herself up to a degree and distance herself from porn thanks to the growing Star Trek and Sci Fi convention industry. She realized that she could make a living appearing at sci-fi conventions after the popularity of the Star Trek franchise grew, due to the release of the films. As part of her appearances, she posed for and sold two versions of a poster as her Shahna character (one in her silver costume and one where she was totally nude) as well as signing autographs and photos. However, the years of alcoholism and drug addiction finally caught up with her and probably contributed to her early death at the age of 48 (from cancer) in 1992.

The top of Lazarus’ ship from Star Trek: The Alternative Factor (1967) was recycled as the glass bubble that encases the Providers.

The original script featured Sulu. However, George Takei was unavailable due to his commitment to the movie The Green Berets (1968). The script was rewritten with Chekov taking the place of Sulu.

The original version of the script featured Kirk, Sulu, and Uhura being taken captive while traveling in a shuttlecraft. However, the production staff thought it was too similar to the Teaser of Star Trek: Metamorphosis (1967), and changed it to feature them being detained while transporting down instead.

The story of “The Gamesters of Triskelion”, relates to the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, slaves and other captive were trained as gladiators (strictly, meaning sword-fighters but the word is used for all fighters in the arenas). They fought each other to the death in spectacles of violence and death, for the amusement and entertainment of the Roman citizens. In this episode, Kirk, Uhura, Chekov, and other alien lifeforms from across the galaxy, have been abducted and brought to Triskelion, are enslaved and trained as gladiators, and were forced to fight each other for the amusement of the Providers.

The ruins that Kirk and Shahna encounter while jogging were recycled from the planet surface in Star Trek: The Man Trap (1966).

The red stand-up collar of Galt’s costume appears to be constructed from a popular 1960s table placemat, made of tiny plastic discs embedded in a plastic sheet.

Although the unaired first pilot had shown Number One at the helm, Ensign Haines is the first woman seen at that position during Kirk’s command.

The backdrop for the Gamesters’ underground lair is a reused matte painting previously appearing in Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967).

The knives are reused from Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967).

The original title of this episode was “The Gamesters of Pentathalon”.

Parodied in The Simpsons: Deep Space Homer (1994).

A rare television appearance for Angelique Pettyjohn, a burlesque and hardcore adult film performer.

The “collars of obedience” are very similar to the control device placed around Dr. Zachary Smith’s neck in Lost in Space: Invaders from the Fifth Dimension (1965), aired 3 November 1965.

Scriptwriter Margaret Amen came up with the idea after having seen a re-release of Spartacus (1960) a few weeks before and used the gladiator training school scenes as inspiration.

Aside from the standard CGI replacement footage of the Enterprise, the remastered version most notably featured new effects shots of the planets Gamma II and Triskelion.

A persistent rumor is that Bea Arthur guest-starred here, using the name Jane Ross, but Arthur tried to end the confusion in 2001 when she told Television Academy Interviews that she has never guest-starred on “Star Trek” or used the name Jane Ross. But the rumor still persists, because of the physical similarities between Arthur and Ross.

This takes place in 2268.

Kirk’s conversation with Shahna is parodied in South Park: Hooked on Monkey Fonics (1999) when Kyle explains love to Rebecca in her father’s garden.

The thrall with blue makeup is identical to one of the prisoners in the season #3, “Whom Gods Destroy”.

Cameo Bob Johnson: Johnson, voice of one of the Providers, was one of America’s most famous voices for a few years: he was the tape recorded voice that gave the Impossible Missions Force its assignments at the beginning of most episodes of Mission: Impossible (1966). Mission was filmed next door to the Star Trek set, and actors from the series would often wander over to see what was happening on the Enterprise. Johnson previously did voice work on the first Star Trek pilot, Star Trek: The Cage (1966).

Dick Crockett: stunt coordinator appears as the Andorian thrall.

Kirk, Uhura and Chekov find themselves suddenly transported light years across the galaxy to the planet Triskelion. There, they are trained as thralls, slaves who engage in gladiatorial combat for the pleasure of the Providers, three faceless beings who amuse themselves by wagering on the outcomes. Outfitted with collars that inflict pain for disobedience, the thralls are submissive and pliant. Kirk eventually challenges the Providers to a wager that will either result in freedom for all or a lifetime of slavery.

William Shatner…James T. Kirk Leonard Nimoy…Mr. Spock DeForest Kelley…Dr. McCoy Joseph Ruskin…Galt Angelique Pettyjohn…Shahna Nichelle Nichols…Uhura James Doohan…Scott Steve Sandor…Lars Walter Koenig…Chekov Jane Ross…Tamoon Victoria George…Ensign Jana Haines Dick Crockett…Andorian thrall Mickey Morton…Kloog

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. View all posts by Badfinger (Max)

16 thoughts on “Star Trek – The Gamesters Of Triskelion”

Slightly odd, not that forms of combat were anything different, but nevertheless a memorable episode.

Like Liked by 1 person

Without the “collars of obedience” the Providers would have no control over anyone.

Angelique, posters…now I see why guys went to those Trekkie conventions!

LOL…oh yes… I saw Lady Gaga when I saw her.

a little similarity there from those pix, and that’s not a terrible thing.

I think I somehow missed this episode! I see the Lady Gaga resemblance. She also looks a little like Nancy Sinatra.

Of course after reading this, being a heterosexual male, I had to look up this Pettyjohn woman. Saw she played a role a couple times on one of my favorite shows. She was a male CONTROL agent who was a master of disguise as a female on Get Smart.

I looked up her credits also…I missed that she was on there.

I saw it on Wikipedia

She died really young!

Yes she died of cancer…I think it said she was 48…geez

Yep. I think it was the lifestyle she was living that brought it on. Long ago I tried selling my body but no one would buy it. In hindsight that rejection was a good thing. It’s probably why I’m alive today. 😑

Yea I’d end up losing money selling mine lol.

OK, here’s where I am in the watching. Saw this last night. Am I wrong or is the 3rd Thrall Kirk had to fight at the end as part of the wager the same species as the episode with Spock and his parents? I liked this episode more than you did, but those colored disks at the end as the villains were a real disappointment.

I just double checked…yes it was! They had antennas on.

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IMAGES

  1. The Gamesters of Triskelion (1968)

    star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

  2. "Star Trek" The Gamesters of Triskelion (TV Episode 1968)

    star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

  3. The Gamesters of Triskelion (1968)

    star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

  4. "Star Trek" The Gamesters of Triskelion (TV Episode 1968)

    star trek the gamesters of triskelion imdb

  5. The Gamesters of Triskelion (1968)

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  6. Star Trek Episode 45: The Gamesters of Triskelion

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COMMENTS

  1. "Star Trek" The Gamesters of Triskelion (TV Episode 1968)

    The Gamesters of Triskelion: Directed by Gene Nelson. With William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Joseph Ruskin. Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are trapped on a planet where abducted aliens are enslaved and trained to perform as gladiators for the amusement of bored, faceless aliens.

  2. The Gamesters of Triskelion

    "The Gamesters of Triskelion" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Margaret Armen and directed by Gene Nelson, it was first broadcast January 5, 1968.. In the episode, Captain Kirk and his companions are abducted into slavery and trained to fight as gladiators for the gambling entertainment of three disembodied ...

  3. "Star Trek" The Gamesters of Triskelion (TV Episode 1968)

    Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are trapped on a planet where abducted aliens are enslaved and trained to perform as gladiators for the amusement of bored, faceless aliens. Kirk, Uhura and Chekov find themselves suddenly transported light years across the galaxy to the planet Triskelion. There, they are trained as thralls, slaves who engage in ...

  4. The Gamesters of Triskelion (episode)

    Triskelion, now visually belonging to a trinary star system "The Gamesters of Triskelion" was the forty-sixth episode of the remastered version of The Original Series to air, premiering in syndication on the weekend of 20 October 2007.. Aside from the standard CGI replacement footage of the Enterprise, this episode most notably featured new effects shots of the planets Gamma II and Triskelion.

  5. Star Trek: Season 2, Episode 16

    The Gamesters of Triskelion Aired Jan 5, 1968 Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure. ... Buy Star Trek — Season 2, Episode 16 on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV. Discover Popular TV on Streaming

  6. The Trek Nation

    The Gamesters of Triskelion By Michelle Erica Green Posted at April 7, 2006 - 8:07 PM GMT. See Also: 'The Gamesters of Triskelion' Episode Guide. Plot Summary: While beaming down to the ...

  7. Episode Preview: The Gamesters of Triskelion

    © 2023 CBS Studios Inc., Paramount Pictures Corporation, and CBS Interactive Inc., Paramount companies. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc.

  8. Star Trek > The Gamesters of Triskelion

    James Doohan. (with 48 years) as Montgomery Scott. Jane Ross. as Tamoon. George Takei. (with 30 years) as sulu. Nichelle Nichols.

  9. Angelique Pettyjohn

    Occupation (s) Actress, model, adult entertainer. Years active. 1967-1992. Angelique Pettyjohn (born Dorothy Lee Perrins; March 11, 1943 - February 14, 1992) was an American actress and burlesque queen. [1] She appeared as the drill thrall Shahna in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion".

  10. Star Trek: "The Trouble With Tribbles" / "The Gamesters Of Triskelion"

    If "Trouble" works largely because of its easy-going nature, "The Gamesters of Triskelion" serves as a reminder of why that nature was so refreshing. On the plus side, I finally get all those "200 ...

  11. The Gamesters of Triskelion

    Star Trek: The Original Series The Gamesters of Triskelion Sci-Fi Jan 5, 1968 48 min Paramount+ Available on Paramount+, Prime Video, iTunes S2 E16: Three disembodied beings wager on fights staged by prisoners abducted from around the galaxy. Sci-Fi Jan 5, 1968 48 min Paramount+ ...

  12. Star Trek TOS-R

    Trailer of the remastered Star Trek TOS episode : "The Gamesters of Triskelion".

  13. Recap / Star Trek S2 E16 "The Gamesters of Triskelion"

    The Charmer: Kirk does a blatantly going through the motions seduction of Shahna. Designated Girl Fight: Upon arriving on Triskelion, Kirk, Chekov and Uhura get attacked by four thralls, two males and two females. Kirk and Chekov are fighting one male thrall each, while poor Uhura has to defend herself alone against both females.

  14. "Star Trek" The Gamesters of Triskelion (TV Episode 1968)

    The Gamesters of Triskelion is a wonderfully entertaining episode with a number of ridiculous but memorable moments. The main themes of the story are the oppression, slavery, and bloodlust enjoyed by ruling classes and is a great concept.

  15. The Gamesters of Triskelion

    Star Trek: The Original Series The Gamesters of Triskelion Sci-Fi 5 Jan 1968 48 min SkyShowtime Available on SkyShowtime S2 E16: The rulers of the world Triskelion kidnap Kirk, Uhura and Chekov and force them to fight in wagered bouts. Sci-Fi ...

  16. Star Trek: The Gamesters of Triskelion

    The Gamesters of Triskelion, an episode of Star Trek on Philo. Triskelions force Kirk to fight.

  17. Star Trek episode review

    Star Trek goes sort of post-colonial with this episode that's more interesting than good. Kirk, Uhura, and Chekov are abducted and taken to a gladiator arena. It's kind of a similar episode to…

  18. Provider

    The Providers or Gamesters of Triskelion were colloquial terms given to three non-humanoid beings who controlled the planet Triskelion in the M24 Alpha trinary star system. They appeared as disembodied brains contained in a device giving them life support and communication abilities. When Captain Kirk speculated in their presence in 2268 that they were the result of "primary mental evolution ...

  19. The Gamesters of Triskelion

    The Gamesters of Triskelion In the episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion," the U.S.S. Enterprise is thrown off course by a mysterious force, and Captain James T. ... Choose Your Star Trek Series. The Original Series; The Next Generation; Deep Space Nine; Voyager; Enterprise; Discovery; Picard; Strange New Worlds; Choose By Year. 1966; 1967 ...

  20. TOS

    This is "TOS - S02E16 - The Gamesters Of Triskelion" by l. ron hubbard on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Solutions . Video marketing. Power your marketing strategy with perfectly branded videos to drive better ROI. Event marketing. Host virtual events and webinars to increase engagement and generate leads. ...

  21. Subtitles "Star Trek" The Gamesters of Triskelion

    Movie details Movie Rating: 6.9 / 10 (3067) [ ] - "The Gamesters of Triskelion" is a second season episode of the original science fiction television series Star Trek, first broadcast January 5, 1968 and repeated May 3, 1968. It is episode #45, production #46, written by Margaret Armen, and directed by Gene Nelson. In this episode, Captain Kirk and his companions are abducted into slavery and ...

  22. Star Trek TOS music ~ The Gamesters of Triskelion

    Star Trek TOS music S02E16 The Gamesters of Triskelion ~ original film music extracted from the TV series. Soundtrack composers include: Alexander Courage, ...

  23. Star Trek

    From IMDB: The look of the character Galt was modeled after Ming the Merciless, the archenemy from the Flash Gordon comic strip. ... 16 thoughts on "Star Trek - The Gamesters Of Triskelion" randydafoe says: June 4, 2023 at 7:20 am. Slightly odd, not that forms of combat were anything different, but nevertheless a memorable episode.