Please remember to not post any spoilers for upcoming episodes or other Star Trek series! I do appreciate it! How would you rate this episode out of 10?

Cement overshoes (rendered as "concrete galoshes") was a mob execution style. The victim's feet were placed in a pan of cement which was allowed to harden. The body was then dumped in some body of water. The cement would cause the body to sink to the bottom rather than float, so the body would likely never be found. This episode is fun and is the first detailed explanation of what can go wrong with a society when the Prime Directive is violated. The Horizon could not be held responsible as what they did was before the Directive went into effect. All the Federation knew was that some sort of contamination had taken place. The Enterprise was sent to determine the nature and extent of that contamination and try to repair it. Krako was played by Vic Tayback, better known in the 70s for playing Mel, the owner of the diner that Alice and company worked at in the show "Alice" (Worth watching a few episodes if you ever have a chance.)

The "cement overshoes" has been explained by others, except that they left out one part. The victim would be put in a chair, tied up. Their feet would be put in a bucket, then cement would be poured into the bucket. The cement would be allowed to harden. Then the victim would be tipped into deep water, while still alive.

The kid became a dentist in the midwest, and is a life-long Star Trek fan.

"Captain... you are an excellent starship commander. But as a taxi driver, you leave much to be desired." Only Spock could have delivered that line. The great thing about Fizzbin, if a rule is inconvenient it only applies on Thursdays, after a solar eclipse

That one boss they beamed in was Rodent, the homeless guy that took McCoy's Phaser in The City on the Edge of Tomorrow. Good to see him again His name is John Harmon, he had a long career as a character actor

You're absolutely right that this episode is all about having fun and not taking anything too seriously. The only serious message is how contaminating a society can completely change it even if it's just one item left behind and why Starfleet adopted the no interference policy. Fish out of water for the big three is always fun, and the Enterprise trying to "decode" the slang was almost as fun as you trying. A really fun reaction.🖖

Hey, it's Vic Tayback, the cook from Alice! FIZZBIN!

This episode is so ridiculous. It’s probably not defensible, but I love it. Kirk, Spock and Scotty hamming it up never gets old for me.

Fun watching William Shatner chewing the scenery in this one - of course he does that in every episode

They did such a good job incorporating humor without betraying the characters. Unlike some other things we could name.

I enjoyed this episode. Seeing Kirk and Spock, even Scotty get into character to deal with these mob bosses was fun.

It's explained at the beginning of the episode that the HORIZON visited the planet before the Prime Directive was in effect, so they didn't violate any laws.

This is my favorite episode! "Scottie! Dis is Koik!" "Right, Spocko?" "Unquestionably." "Riiiight?" "Riiiight." The Horizon exploded after leaving the book behind. Lost with all hands, so nobody to punish. All this before the Prime Directive anyway. The phrase "Cement overshoes" refers to taking a victim and setting their feet in a box of wet cement. When it hardens you toss them in the river. They drown, and the body does not float to the surface. Hence the phrase, "...sleeps with the fishes." You need to watch gangster movies! The thing so ironic is they left a book documenting a bad period, ant the Iotians concluded, "Brilliant! This is how other societies do it! This is the way it should be done!" Imagine leaving a book on the slave trade, political corruption, dictators, terrorism, genocide... not good. Al Capone is NOT a role model. The writing on this is very tight and very funny. When I watched the reruns as a kid and you saw the same episode many, many times, THIS one got funnier every time.

This is actually a top ten episode for me, absolutely brilliant. Fun, but also very clever, and a tour de force for Shatner. Two of my favorite ST scenes are in this episode, Fizzbin, and then the interaction with the kid, who is perfectly cast. That's another thing I like, how every role is ideally cast, down to the henchmen and the women on the street. BTW, Anthony Caruso, who played Bela Oxmyx, was an actor in noir films, including one of my favorite movies, The Asphalt Jungle. He didn't have many big film roles as far as I know, so this might be one of his most central parts, and you can tell he's enjoying every minute of it.

What I like about this episode as well as being fun is that Kirk knows the Horizon opened Pandora's box. He can't close it. All he can do is make the best of a bad situation.

They said at the start that the Horizon visited that planet before the Prime Directive was in place. The ship was destroyed in some mishap shortly after leaving the planet.

I am an original Trekkie. I was there to see the original premier in 1966. Star Trek is my favorite tv series of all time. A piece Of The Action is in my top 10 favorite episodes of the series. Many more people became Star Trek fans when the series went into syndication after being cancelled in 1969. But while the show was on network television, viewership was very low. The show never ranked higher than the lower 30's in the ratings and three seasons was all it could muster against it's five year mission. By the time NASA was ready to launch the first Space Shuttle in the late 1970's, the show had become so popular that the Space Shuttle was given the name Enterprise and NASA invited the entire Star Trek cast to help celebrate the unveiling in a public ceremony. It was all over the news at the time and helped spur the Star Trek franchise forward from that point onward.😮😊

Did anyone else look at Krako and hear "Mel" shouting, "Flo! Pick-up!"?

At approx. 3:20, they show "The Boss" at the pool table stricking a ball with his cue stick that was not the cue ball. LOL. It is clear this actor had no idea how to play 8-ball, 9-ball or snooker etc., and apparently, nobody else did either. What an incredible oversight. Absolutely hilarious. LOL.

This episode is one of those made because they have access to the costumes, sets and props. This episode is also clicking the counter one time for the appearance of the Thomson submachine gun in Star Trek.

I love that the the gangsters us the slang "Heater" for guns, yet the weapons they demand produce heat and can actually be used as heaters.

I'm sure the fact that Desilu has storerooms full of props and costumes left over from "The Untouchables" played no part in this episode getting green lit. "I'd advises ya ta keep dialin' Oxmix." Best line!

All four lead actors (including Scotty) were kids during the 30s, so they actually saw the sort of era depicted in this episode. And they all knew how to drive a car with a manual clutch.

One of the voices on the Radio when Spock and McCoy are trying to contact the Enterprise is the voice of Scotty doing the voice the advertisement.

To answer your question, the previous ship, the Horizon had visited the planet before the prime directive existed, so there was nothing for them to be reprimanded for. Great reaction as usual, Bunny.

cement shoes: put their feet in cement, drop them in the water

Truly, another classic banger and example of why I love Season 2 so much. You can see they're firing on all cylinders, and everyone - including the audience - is just having a blast. Spocko is my favorite gangster of all time. Also, Kirk is probably the greatest Fizzbin player of all time.

Vic Tayback, the guy who played Krako, later co-starred in a sitcom called Alice. He played a character named Mel Sharples, the owner of a restaurant which was the main setting of the series. He often traded insults with Flo, one of his waitresses. Their brief exchanges usually ended with Flo saying with her southern accent, "Mel, KISS MY GRITS!"

1:12 No, Ma'am. Contact with this planet happened before the Prime Directive was written. Iotians appear in various novels, one as a recurring character in security for Starfleet Corps of Engineers. He has a very hard time trying to overcome his tendency to call the no-nonsense female security chief "Shweetheart".

I've always thought that the book about Chicago gangsters was left behind by accident. One of the Horizon crew was reading it at the time and was so engaged that they took it down to the planet. This was the cast and crew having fun while still telling a good story about not interfering in other societies. Even with the best intentions things can go wrong.

Fun fact: The flip phone was inspired by the communicators from the original Star Trek.

Exactly, sometimes Trek just gets goofy and we go along for the ride.

"Oh boy! It's a costume department episode!" 😆 You look great, by the way. I love that top.

Spock: "Right." "I would advise youse to keep dialing."

This is one of my all-time favorite episodes! It's just fun, plain and simple. And Kirk referring to Mr. Spock as "Spocko" still brings a smile to my face. As to why it's one of my favorites - it's really about Kirk figuring out the best way of getting out of a bad situation was by taking on a mob-boss persona and out maneuvering the other bosses. And then to see the other crew members trying to get into the act with difficulty is just funny. This is one episode that you might find benefits from a couple of rewatches.

They can’t do nothing till they get through sparkling

As a kid I always loved watching this episode 👍🏼

I agree with you, that this is an episode not to be taken too seriously. I think it was meant to be a funny episode... like "The Trouble With Tribbles." I enjoy how Kirk fits right in with the "bosses." It's funny to see Spock and Scotty try to get it. I also get a kick out of Kirk... being unable to drive a car. Fun episode. Really nice costumes and sets. Like the "Lingo."

"Heater" is an old gangster term for a machine gun because the gun would get hot from the rapid fire. "Concrete Galoshes" or "Cement Overshoes" is how gangsters used to kill their enemies. They'd encase the victims feet with cement and dump them in a deep body of water so they would never be found.

16:41 KIrk learned "flop" from Edith Keeler.

This is one of the most fun episodes there is, so much camp!

Beautiful outfit! 😍 This one is one of my fav "themed planet" episodes of Trek. One where the writers just went "I really like the Mafia. What if a whole planet were mob-themed?"

This episode's central idea is basically the same setup for the movie Galaxy Quest. Where a highly intelligent and imitative culture bases their entire way of life on an outside concept, only instead of 1920's gangsters, they based their culture on an old Star Trek-like science fiction tv show. Highly recommended to rewatch that movie with this episode in mind. An obviously tribute to Star Trek and its fans.

Its been a lot of fun rewatching Star Trek with you! I enjoy your comments and thoughts on all of the episodes! Thank for the reactions! 😊

This was a fun episode, all the actors enjoyed doing it. The music made it, the prime directive wasn't initiated yet the Horizon visited the planet. Kirk always seamed to find his way around it.

As noted - “Cement overshoes” or similar refers to a cliché mob execution method of setting your feet in a tub of concrete and throwing you in deep water.

One of my personal favourites, so I think Kirk was trying to fix the problem that the other ship created, by setting the society back on course not to interfere any further, which is why they couldn’t beam all the bosses on the enterprise.but Bones ooh boy.leaving his communicator. LoL!

This is definitely a favorite episode by many fans.

Concrete shoes - in the Before Time gangsters would "rub out" an enemy and put their feet in a bucket of concrete so that the body would sink in deep water. A piece of the action means "percentage of profits".

Spock used the nerve pinch 4 times! Maximum number of times he’s done that in an episode.

Love this episode. Everyone has a good time.

And Spock in that suit, or should I say Spocko..

This was one of my brother's favourite episodes. It was the comedic elements that did it for him

I just love Kirk and Spock going native.

A popular TV show at the time was 'The Untouchables' which had wrapped two years earlier. There were a lot of costumes and props still available. There quite a bit of the ends justify the means that goes on in the shows (with all captains) despite the prime directive. I guess if the crews interpret the prime directive strictly, there is less chance for dramatic television stories...

The trick with the car is that this was before they invented synchromesh manual transmissions ... meaning that you had to "double clutch" to shift gears. You would pop the clutch, pull the shift to neutral, let out the clutch and apply some throttle to match the rpm, then pop the clutch and shift into the new gear. With synchromesh, you only pop the clutch once..which explains Kirk's jerky driving.

1:12.....The Prime Directive didn't exist yet when the Horizon made contact with this society, Bunny. Also, you look absolutely beautiful in that outfit!!! ✌️❤️

I loved this episode as a kid, definitely silly. though. Concrete overshoes, then tossed into the ocean, you become an anchor. Fun reaction Bunny!

Thia ia one of my top five episodes. So clever in so many ways.This is one of the most funniest eposodes besides the tribbles.James Kolmack was a brillent producer you can look up his bio. A lot of cast members from the old TV series the untouchables was cast here.

I remember when Captain Jainway from Star Trek Voyager was recalling the crew of the enterprise and Kirk from her studies and she said: "Oh that swashbuckling crew of the the original enterprise, easy to relax the prime directive yet quick to pull a phaser!" 🤣

I the 1980s I was a delivery boy in LA. I got to walk through all the studio lots on those streets all by myself many times. They couldn't let me ride my motorcycle through because of sound concerns. It was always a thrill seeing all those streets. Even stopped to smoke occasionally to experience it as if I lived there. When I recognized the streets from Star Trek I would play the scene, and say the lines. Even played the kid with an imaginary knife. I was a little younger than Bunny at the time.

The term ( Cement Shoes ) refers to an old form of murdering a person and hiding the body in a deep source of water. The murderer would tie up a person, put his feet in a bucket, then pour cement into the bucket. After the Cement would dry, they would drop the victim in the water. The heavey cement would weigh him down, drown him and the body would be hidden.

Fun Fact: There is a video game from the 90s called Star Trek: Judgment Rites which is set during the TOS-era with the original crew doing the voice work. In the game one of the missions is a sequel to "A Piece of the Action" where there were consequences for McCoy leaving the Communicator that required...🤔...Never mind, that would be spoiling. There is a play-through on KZfaq you can watch if you're interested.

17:29....... I've seen this episode dozens of times, Bunny, and I always missed the guy saying he wants his pants back!!! Nice catch!!! ✌️❤️

When cars first appeared the 'standard' transmission had a clutch and a stick to shift gears. After wars many veterans where missing limb so they invented the automatic transmission which didn't require shifting gears manual..And now the Auto is concerned a standard transmission

It’s camp… take it for what it is and go for the ride. Great react!

It is too easy to forget about the art that is the clutch in a car. Before automatic shift was so standard, there was this third pedal on the floor. Pushing it fully in would disconnect the power coming from the engine to the wheels, so to speak. And when you wanted the car to stop or go, you would have to do this delicate balancing act between the three pedals. Misuse of the clutch pedal could overwhelm and stall out the engine. Or, as we saw in the episode, cause the car to be massively jerky. Driving on level ground was something that came naturally with experience. Now try that on a hill. Your car would want to go downhill with gravity as you tried to find that balancing point where the engine could resist that pull without becoming stalled. And I never even touched on the additional bit about pushing the clutch in to change gears. Automatic shifting has made things a whole lot easier. Though, we did lose the ability to do what was called a Bump Start. Which let you get that engine going when the battery was dead. Frankly, it's amazing that Kirk even got that car to move one foot at all. ... As for Cement Shoes. Mobster 101. Get your enemy contained. Ropes and a chair will do. Make wet cement inside large pots. Stick the victim's feet inside and let the cement dry. Drive/drag the victim over to the local river and make him swim. It was considered to be combining the ability to make a person vanish without a clue and save a bullet or two. Very cruel. ... As for other questions mentioned. I have answers. But where is the fun in that? ;P

Some years back the ST club I'm in had a Piece of the Action party, with costumes and card games. 😄

I love the original series' goofy, silly episodes 🧡 This one was always so much fun to watch

Isn't it interesting that this 21st Century Gal would be just as lost in the 20th Century as our 23rd Century Heroes.

Remember the fellow that took the phaser from Dr. McCoy in "The City on the Edge of Forever?" Bones had passed out and the fellow stole his phaser and promptly vaporized himself. That fellow is also one of the gangster flunkies in this episode. The one in the dark suit that exclaimed, "Mother!" He's missing a finger. Leaving the book behind was a mistake, to say the least.. Ahhh, the device formerly known as a stick shift....now known as an anti-theft device.

When in Chicago, you can take the "Untouchables" bus tour, which met at the Clark Street McDonald's, if I remember. I did it years ago. It went by notable sites, like the scene of the infamous "St. Valentine's Day Massacre", and old Al Capone hangouts.

In 1968, concern over the Italian mafia was still strong culturally. The 1920s, 30s stereotypes were repeated in several shows and movies so mocking them would have been seen as a funny recurring joke then. Now media depicts it as more about other ethnic gangs; much of it a lot crueler but that's true for most portrayal of violence now. Kids and adults were more naive about the reality of it and just saw this as a flight of fantasy. There are future episodes that use this kind of looking back at history more effectively; you'll see. As always great reaction Bunny!

It was one of the fun episodes as a kid (I grew up in the 60s). Not terribly deep, but fun. As I grew up, I realized there were undertones of killing in the name of religion (the “book”). My favorite part was always Spock saying “I would advize yas to keep dialin’ “. still makes me smile. Thanks for doing these. This was my show. I knew the episodes by heart, I could have told you the airing order of the episodes by age 8. Kirk and Spock were genuinely my heroes. you bring a fresh perspective to these viewings. Some of the comments you’ve made have made me howl with laughter. You have not only refreshed some of my best memories, you have enhanced them. Until next Saturday, young Trekker. (old school… Trekkies are the noobs, Trekkers are the hard core fans).

The incident in which the Horizon leaves the book about Chicago gangs with the Iotians is covered in the book, The Kobayashi Maru. That incident led to the Kobayashi Maru test at Star Fleet Academy.

Hi Bunny, this is another light hearted and fun episode that gives me viewer a break from the more serious and thought provoking adventures that is the more common Hallmark of the series. This makes Star Trek more applicable to the three Shasperian categories of comedies, histories and tragedies. It was also a good example to show how Kirk immediately adapts to a different culture and learns how to communicate with them to achieve a more beneficial goal. The classic line is "When in Rome do as the Romans do* Thank you for another enjoyable review and perspective of a classic episode.

My old best friends favorite episode. A fun episode, but a lot there. The Horizon apparently went there, before Federation first contact went into effect. They explaine that the Horizon was lost before the no contamination rule went into effect. They were a hundred years prior to the Enterprise's arrival. It dosen't seem likely, that warp drive is invented, but no thought is given to cultural contamination. Anyway, some how the Horizon crew happens to leave behind a book (no books by then) on the Gangs of Chicago of the past. Kirk and company get to play in a world of the 1920's. The Thompson Machine guns were present then and had both straight and the circular magazine. In the episode they only showed the higher capacity circular magazine. The Thompson is a .45 caliber rifle, with full automatic capability. The pistols were model 1911's. Also a .45. These are the largest bullet types of that era and had the most stopping power. The suits and fedora hats were also typical of the times. I am to understand the wearing of hats like that went out of style in the early 1960's because of JFK. The car had a foot button starter, and of course a foot pedal clutch. My first car had a foot button headlight high low button in a 1971 Mercury (a car in between a basic Ford and the luxurious Lincoln). Kirk shows they were not easy to drive. The steering probably had no hydrolic assist (no power steering) so it was a beast to turn. The Enterprise is given new abilities, in the transporter can locate people on the phone for transportation. This episode is also the first time it is shown using the ships phasers on a stun setting attacking people on the ground. The creator, Roddenberry was something of a leftist, who believed in a future of Earth changing into a one world government, and envisioned that as the best path for all worlds. He did not like guns either. Perhaps as a former cop... he went from being a pilot to a cop, he saw the results of gun violence. He did not like the type 2 phaser (the pistol phaser, that Spock and McCoy returned with) as much as the type 1 or cricket phaser (the heater on the original transport weapon). Heater was also a 1920's term for "gun". Even more appropriate for the phaser, which has a setting that can be used to "heat" up rocks for warmth. Vic Tayback aka Krako, was a damous actor who went on to play "Mel" in Mel's Dinner. It was a tv show, derived from a song by Arli Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant". In the song he sings that it wasn't named Alice's Restaurant, Alice was a waitress who worked there, so he and his hippie friends just called it that. The hippies get in trouble for throwing trash in in the wild. The song has the chorus "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant". The show was popular during the early 1970s. Star Trek was off the air by then. The show delt with typical issues of the day, and was a drama of the single mother waitress. Also notable was a fellow waitress who used the catch line "kiss my grits!". Anyway, not a very great episode, but they had to keep them cheap to come in on budget. Kirk and crew seem to do very well in fights this time around. They usually lose...Scotty struggles with the 1920's Mob English is interesting. Sadly the other crew, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, all have more minor roles.... RIGHT? There is a strange interplay of trust and power where they turn their back on the mobsters and get tricked again. Death seems shocking as one of the first men is gunmed down by a drive by. There is very little concer, implying that happens all the time. The Bosses are the local government. Handeling the steeet ligjts and other services for a percentage. It seems implausible there would be manufacturers who build street lights and a constant gun battle going on. Also i was never comfortable with the scaling of this planet in size and mob size. In the US there are many cities with hundrids of miles between them. The whole thing seems to take place in one large city. Kirk could drive badly to Krako's building in a short time, instead of days. What about other land masses? I know its just a show, i should reall just relax. The show always has a wherever they beam down, that is where the problem/action is. If they were aliens and came to Earth, where would they land? Interesting how the kid, was part of the highly imitative peoples and just wanted to be a part of the action, even though he was in Krako's area and might perceive him as the protector of his area. Also interesting he was running around with a potentially dangerous knife. When he pretends to fall, they don't just see him as a minor threat, and become a nervious concerned about his health. If their are machine guns at every window, why don't they see the attack at the front door? It also seems odd they don't say "oh the early 20th century again!" Kirk looks around for another Edith Keeler...

This was a fun episode. After a few re-watches, it will really grow on you.

In a Star Trek novel, a bridge crew member on the NX-01 Enterprise, had a family who ran a low warp 'boomer ship' called the Horizon. THEY are the ones that left The Book. The Horizon was a privately owned trading vessel. The Book was traded...

Cement over shoes: A person‘s feet, a stuffed into a wash Tub it is then filled with cement when hardened is thrown into a large body of water, killing him by drowning and hiding the body at the same time

When this episode aired, there was a certain interest and entertainment value in 1930s gangsters - it had only been about thirty years since Al Capone. Like looking back, nowadays, to the 1990s.

I like how they had to talk to them on their level. They would not have understood a more technical explanation.

My favorite episodes are the ones with plenty of humor- I,Mudd, The Trouble with Tribbles, this one. I always found it hard to believe that a book of that size could so accurately describe every little detail of 1920s Chicago- the clothing, the cars, the weapons, the language and slang, the architecture, etc. I remember, many years ago, getting the full rules of Fizzbin from a fan magazine and playing it with my brothers. It was lots of fun. I'm sure it must be available online somewhere.

one of the books that came out years after this suggested that with the help of the communicator they abandoned the mob lifestyle and began a star trek lifestyle

This was actually a fan fav 😂Up there and a stand out in season 2 for many people.

“A Piece of the Action” is a Top 6 episode for me. I loved the roarin twenties gangster culture that Kirk, Scotty and oh my goodness, Spock adapted to… I get how you and a lot of hard core Trekkers wished for more exotic aliens and sci-fi, but I’m a Trekkie and thought it was just so fun, yet still a lighthearted consideration of the pitfalls of failing to uphold the Prime Directive. When Star Trek did serious stories… it was compelling, brilliant and sometimes heart wrenching. And when they did the lighthearted ones like “A Piece of the Action” and “The Trouble With Tribbles”, the comedy landed perfectly. I think the reason is… when your beloved characters are heroic all the time, they seem bigger than life ! When they kinda blunder and wing it… they feel more human… or at least more relatable… … maybe… It’s like, Star Trek is awesome, The Next Generation, awesome… but The Orville… is remarkably good ! It’s great when sci-to shows us ourselves from a dramatically different perspective.

About the "concrete galoshes" line, There's a 1968 Frank Sinatra crime movie called "Lady in Cement" and if you look up ad art from that movie you can see what the phrase means.

Like some have mentioned, I became a fan of Star Trek in the reruns. They would air in the afternoons here and I would watch them when I got home from school. I don’t have a reason why I like this episode, it’s funny and a little comical at times. I liked those kinds of stories as a kid. I would watch the Disney movies like the Love Bug, or the Kurt Russell movies like the Computer Wore Tennis Shoes…so I always enjoyed when Star Trek had some fun with their stories like this one.

Concrete shoes used to be used to get rid a a dead body the cement shoes weighted the body when dumped in the river so they can swim with the fishes. 😂✌️❤️

Actually, during the 25th anniversary of the original series. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy hosted a Top 10 favorite episodes (voted by the fans) and "A Piece of the Action" ended up at #9 (The top five were - 5 Amok Time, 4 The Doomsday Machine, 3 Mirror, Mirror, 2 City on the Edge of Forever and 1 The Trouble with Tribbles).

YES!!!!! Love this Ep!!!!!!!! One of the best!

Brigadier General John T. Thompson invented his lightweight, hand-held automatic submachine gun in 1918, but the Armistice was signed before it could be put into use. It was a "trench sweeper"; the Great War was a war of trenches. It was deadly; aim wasn't critical; a single soldier could wipe out an entire trench full of enemy soldiers quickly. It could deliver 600 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition per minute; early models could pump out lead even more quickly. After the war, it was marketed to cattle ranchers out West, and became a favorite of many different groups--mobsters, law enforcement, the IRA, each side during the Cuban revolution, and South Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War. The U. S. Army did use it during World War 2.

This is one of my personal favorite episodes from TOS. I’m not sure, but I always thought this was a fan favorite as well. It’s clearly a comedy with a little Prime Directive sprinkled in. You should expect a comedy episode once in a while. I think managing expectations will allow you to enjoy these little comedy gems more when they pop up by not taking them too seriously. On the subject of earth like planets, I never had a problem with those episodes in general. Some are good episodes and some not so much, but I believe they are all good for the budget.

11:50 "You are an _excellent_ starship commander, but as a _taxi_ driver, you leave much to be desired." Oh, cut him some slack, Spock. He handled it about as well as I handled _my_ first time behind the wheel.

This is a very enjoyable episode,having fun,an thinking o. The spot,Spock was awesome in this episode.

I too can get a little leery of the episodes that deal with a planetary culture that is a little too much like earth. Basically it was easier for them to produce and less costly since they could do much of the filming on Hollywood lots and use old clothes from the wardrobe department. We always hear about the networks being cheap and not wanting to spend one cent more than they have to.

As kid of the 1960's I only watched few episodes. I wanted to watch the sc fi show The Time Tunnel the first year which was on around the same time as Star Trek on another Network Star Trek ran from 1966 to 1969. It did not recieve very good ratings and they canned the show after three years. But in the early 1970's they started showing reruns in the local after school hours and kids all over the USA started watching it religiously. Remember, we had no media like today or extensive cableTV. Eventaully it was the reruns that made Star Trek incredibly popular, and in 1977 the First Star Wars movie came out in the theaters. Therefore Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Hollywood got together and made the first Star Trek film with all of the TV characters returning. More Star Trek movies were made, and in the 1980's they started a new Star Trek show with new characters, and on and on. So reruns and kids actually revived the show from certain death. Amazing.

Definitely one of my fave episodes. The present-day weaponry, Earth-esque alien planet, and being able to shuck the Prime Directive.

Concrete galoshes or cement overshoes. Used for dropping you into the river or some other deep waterway. You definitely won't float..