The Squire of Gothos
One of the few episodes I remember in it’s entirety, The Squire of Gothos (Memory Alpha; SD Video) brings our fearless crew to a rogue planet that isn’t on any of the maps. And when they get close enough to investigate, Sulu and Kirk disappear from the bridge.
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It soon becomes apparent that they’ve been captured by a man on the planet that has been studying Earth, but (due to his being 900 light years from Earth) has made a slight miscalculation about how advanced humans are.
He’s also kind of petulant. He has the power to create and destroy things at will, and can stop the crew in their tracks if they attempt anything. It’s up to Kirk to outsmart him. Which they do, two or three times. This could be repetitive, but instead has a nice ever-rising stakes feel to it.
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Indeed, a recurring problem with TOS is that a lot of episodes don’t have enough content to keep a brisk pace. This episode (along with The Balance of Terror) manages to fill the time with escalation, which works well. Others don’t pull it off.
Grade
B+
