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I love how when they teleported Kirk back to the ship, they gave him a fresh uniform, a shower, and some hairspray

Fun fact: Ted Cassidy voiced the Gorn captain. He also voiced Balok's puppet on The Corbomite Maneuver and played Ruk in What Are Little Girls Made Of? Of course, outside of Star Trek, he's best known as Lurch from The Addams Family.

Even with the low budget special effects and character design, this remains one of my favorite episodes.

I believe I read that William Shatner was afflicted with tinnitus, a persistent ringing in his ear, as a result of being too close to one of the explosions during this episode. The condition continues to plague him to this day.

By the sound made, the grenades launched from the mortar are the same tech as photon torpedoes. I have always liked how Nimoy delivers "He knows, Doctor. He has reasoned it out."

Ahh, the episode where Kirk makes a rudimentary lathe from stuff he finds in the terrain 😮😅

Like many, this is a favorite. It’s a great reminder that while we’re all the hero of our own story, every hero makes mistakes and isn’t perfect. As long as we keep that in mind, we can recognize and try to atone for ours.

This episode of Star Trek was an adaptation of a short story by the same name written by Fredric Brown. In the short story, it is a human verses an alien creature called an Outsider that looks like a fleshy ball with many tentacle arms and the two are separated by a forcefield that at first seems like only dead or inanimate objects can pass through so each side tries to develop a weapon that can be shot through the forcefield with sufficient force to kill the enemy. It is only after some time that the human realizes a small animal he thought the Outsider had killed and threw at him turns out to be alive and he realizes it's not things that are not alive that can pass through. It's consciousness that blocks the field, so the human knocks himself out while leaning on the forcefield and when he comes too he finds himself on the same side of the forcefield as the Outsider and - using a stone knife he created - kills the alien. Upon returning to his ship he learns that the Earth fleet managed to wipe out the entire Outsider fleet with a single shot. Another adaptation of this short story (published under a different name) featured a twist that the god-like aliens actually planned to destroy the civilization of the battle's winner - deeming whichever side won the greater threat and more war-like species - and were surprised when the human participant - like Kirk - refused to kill his disabled opponent. Trek changed the plot of the original short story by making the alien creature more humanoid (necessary for the TV budgets of the 1960's), not keeping them separated, and giving Kirk the choice not to kill the Gorn, proving humans are evolving into a less violent and more reasoned species. This is actually one of the more popular first season episodes, because it shows Kirk's ingenuity, physical skills, the location filming - particularly at the famous Vasquez Rocks - this WON'T be the last time you see this location! - and the philosophical background of the episode - Is Starfleet and the Federation in the wrong here? Could the Gorn have a good reason (for them, at least) to have attacked and draw the Enterprise (likely the only Federation starship in the sector) into a trap?

15:43 - The Gorn is not speaking a common tongue. The Metrons explained at the onset that each participant would be provided with a recording/translation device. So it is some form of Metron technology that the Gorn do no possess. Love these reactions! :)

“Nice apron, you gonna cook me somethin’,” and this is why we love Bunnytales reactions.

This has always been one of my favorite episodes. As a four year old watching reruns, I was both fascinated and scared by the Gorn. I loved dinosaurs, and here was a lizard man! Except he wasn't friendly, seemed unstoppable, and likely to kill Captain Kirk.

You have 565 comments in just one day, that should tell you something. There are tons of star trek fans of the original series and they want to watch with you. This was the top science fiction show ever on the history if tv. Never underestimate the fan base of the original Star Trek TV show.

"Disco balls for eyes." Yes, best they could do at the time. Interesting that the re-mastering added eye blinks. Subtle, but a nice touch. Anyway you look at it, the Gorn deserve the iconic place in our TV culture. Referenced numerous times in TV and movies in the past 60 years. You won't be able to miss it when you see it

i believe Bunnytails deserves to be in Starfleet Command with her powers of perception and analysis of Gorn intentions.

*I was going through high school when this came out, this episode peeked my interest in Chemistry.* Yep, I made gun powder. There's a few extra steps involved that they did not show, to get it working properly, but the basic idea is correct. My chemistry teacher got me to show how it was done in front of the class. Exothermic reactions when done safely can be fun! _Thanks Star trek, and Bunnytails for bringing back those fond memories._

Fun fact. The officer who was sitting next to Sulu, was the same actor who played the seriously injured Pike in a wheelchair in the 2 Menagerie episodes, since Original Pike Jeffrey Hunter wouldn't return to play the role.

Even though "Shore Leave" was shot there too, in this episode more than any other, Vasquez Rocks really is a central character in the story, just as much as Kirk or the Gorn captain himself. Indeed, check it out on a map, just south of Agua Dulce, California (about 15 minutes from my house), many refer to the largest protuberance in the formation as "Kirk's Rock" or Gorn Rock." I was there just a week ago!

Great reactions and questions from Bunny, regarding this excellent episode of Classic Trek. The Kirk / Gorn fight is often parodied, but I liked the peaceful resolution that Kirk came to.

I think there was a TV commercial about 10 or so years ago with William Shatner and a Gorn sitting around playing a video game together.

This is pretty straightforward. Back in Trek's time, it was a given cliche to declare "Kill the aggressive alien monsters!" but Trek was revolutionary for subverting those old expectations. The very next episode is ... problematic, but once you get beyond that, you should be good for several strong stories. Thanks, Bun.

The Gorn sounds like me clearing my throat in the morning.

Good analysis. This episode is a classic, where the image of Kirk dodging around and fighting the Gorn somehow became iconic for Star Trek. You'll see it referenced in a variety of places, like in the movie "Tropic Thunder." Now ... you'll understand that reference!

"Not that I'm rooting for the green mother&^%$ but he had him!" Dying lol 🤣 13:41

I love these TOS episodes and your perspective on them. Thanks for this series!

This episode was a "conversion" of a sci-fi novel. The novel was written by the same fellow who converted it into the Trek episode. In the novel, the aliens was pretty much a "Lovecraftian" creature called a Shogoth, though the author didn't call it that. A protoplasmic blob capable of reshaping itself into a variety of configurations at will. And in the novel, the alien was actually just evil. This is one of my favorite episodes. It starts off setting the audience up to see the Gorn as conventional "monsters" (complete with the "bug eyed" element, per stereotype). But it then reveals that the Gorn were not being aggressors. They believed... incorrectly, but still... that they were defending themselves from an invasion by US. Yes, they responded to that perceived invasion by "shooting first and asking questions later," and there can be no doubt that they over-reacted and were excessively hostile. But in their eyes, they were DEFENDING, not attacking. Nevertheless, they were in the wrong... just not nearly so much as it initially appears. There's a REASON that the script has Kirk discussing "invasion" as an explanation for why they need to hunt down and destroy the Gorn ship. It establishes that we're doing essentially what the Gorn were doing. "Aggressive response to the perceived threat of invasion." And in the end, we learn more about what the Metrons were really doing. This is spelled out in clearer detail in the original novel, of course, and just implied in the teleplay for this episode, but given that it's the same author, converting his own story, I feel confident that the nature of the Metrons remains the same. The Metrons are isolationists, who only interceded when the battle was moving into their home system. And the entire "arena" was a way of evaluating the two species which had... again... invaded their home system. The promise to "release the victor and destroy the loser" was a ploy. If both species proved hostile and aggressive... a potential threat, as a race, to the Metrons... both would have been destroyed. And they would both never be heard from again, with the Metrons remaining safely hidden. It was Kirk's choice to spare the Gorn which resulted, not merely in the Gorn's salvation, but in the Enterprise crew's salvation as well. Had he killed the Gorn captain, the ALL would have been killed (but the Metrons would have learned a lot about two aggressively hostile species starting to encroach on Metron space.) As for the "more advanced species" thing... the universe is old. Far older than the Earth is, and incredibly older than life on Earth. It would be foolish to assume either that (a) humankind is the most advanced life out there, or (b) most life is roughly rqually advanced as humanity is. Unless you buy into the theory that life, once it reaches a certain level of advancement, usually destroys itself... it only makes sense that the cosmos would be full of life much older than we are. And life much younger than we are. And only a small amount approximately as advanced as we are. (FYI - This theme is played with, extensively, in the series "Babylon 5," which is one of my all time favorite shows.)

Ben Stiller on The Graham Norton Show said that he own the Gorn's head from this episode. It looks like Bunny Tails is becoming well verse in Starfleet tactical ways. Another enjoyable reaction.

Contestants dropped into an untamed environment, collecting raw materials, and constructing weapons to use on one another in deadly combat... Kirk vs the Gorn was essentially the birth of the online mutliplayer survival video game genre.

It's actually one of the more memorable episodes. Maybe because the Gorn costume is so 60's but they did a damn good job.

Yes! Gorn Day!

This episode was terrifying, especially for young viewers. Imagine if there was a monster-like, hissing creature, overwhelmingly strong, slowly tracking you down. The Gorn was the stuff of nightmares if you watched this episode as a child, and will always be special for that.

Great episode! The effects and science were a little cheesy, but I love the Gorn! I think he just needs a good expectorant. But I think they were unjustified in their surprise attack.

Just before you asked that question, they said the message was faked.

Some plot holes might be explained by the fact that this episode is based on a science fiction short story "Arena" by Frederick Brown and simply adapred to work as a Star Trek story. In Brown's short story, the alien captain (and his race) was a large, round, ball-like creature with powerful octopus-like tentacles! Clearly, that version could not realistically be shown given the show's budget and the state of practical effects/make-up at the time. I read the short story by Brown back in high school!

One of the most popular creatures in the entire series, just not the most interesting episode. But, in saying that, it has the moral stances of mercy and diplomacy, showing that humans are capable of these things instead of only revenge and murder.

Great Reaction 👍👍👍. The reason the Horn could communicate with Kirk eas the Metrons had given both Kirk and the Gorn a translator/ recording device. But at first Kirk thought it was only a recorder. 👍👍👍😍

This was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Myth Busters did the Kirk primitive cannon from this episode. Did not end well for Kirk or the Gorn as it just exploded...

Actor Ryan O'Neal just passed away. He and his daughter Tatum starred in a really iconic movie called Paper Moon (1973). Enjoy.

You are flying through these! Excited to see another review. While there are some definitely campy and amusing (in hindsight especially) elements, I've always thought that it was a solid episode. Loved your comment about the Gorn costume and making dinner. This is essentially all we know about the Gorn until Strange New Worlds.

The actor who played the Gorn in the rubber reptile suit is still alive and atends many Star Trek Conventions. He had been a cowboy stuntman for many years before Desilu picked him up as a stuntman. Many of the westerns actors were used in Sci Fi, since the genres were closely related.

The second the rock bounces off the Gorn, all I can hear in my head is Kirk saying, "Aw, shit. I am so screwed."

I absolutely adore Arena. It's one of the best examples in TOS where the writing exceeds what the poor effects team could actually accomplish. The resulting chaos is glorious and definitely a key inspiration for Galaxy Quest.

At Age 3 I was told to watch this television show and Arena was the first episode of Star Trek I ever saw. I live in New Mexico, home to many lizards. So this episode struck a nerve with me. The version you're watching the Gorn originally didn't blink, so when I saw the CGI remastered version, when I saw the Gorn blink I kind of jumped! LOL

Very first episode of TOS I ever saw on b/w TV in about 1966 or 67. There was no colour TV in England untill 1969. The Gorn gurgling was the thing that really stands out. It was the first episode shown in the UK.

"Going in for a hug": love that! You're right, Bun, the Gorn may have had legitimate objections to the Federation outpost, but they didn't have to kill everyone.

Vic Perrin did the voice of the Metron. He was also the Control Voice in the original Outer Limits. We are taking control of your television set...

Ah yes, the Gorn, back before their five different 21st century redesigns. Gotta love the "let the past die" mentality :)

Aa long as a person today can understand the limitations of doing an alien in live action on American TV in the late 1960's there's so much good stuff in this episode. Also, Kirk MaCguyvering a cannon is just all kinds of both nerdy and bad ass.

Another great episode reaction, the Gorn was actually speaking Gorn The universal translator allows Kirk to hear the message in English, I use to wonder what Kirk sounded like from the Gorns perspective. LoL!

Ben Stiller is a huge Star Trek fan (the original series in particular). Occasionally he'll put a Trek reference in his films. For instance, Wil Ferrell's character in Zoolander is named after a creature that appears in a later episode. Stiller owns the original Gorn head from this episode.

Notice that Shatner is wearing wrestling boots. While filming SHORE LEAVE, he slipped on those same rocks because he was wearing hard-soled boots.

Like The Keeper in "The Cage", the Metron at the end is portrayed by a woman, Carolyne Barry (as Carole Shelyne). She was an actress, dancer, and director. She appeared later in "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

The Control Voice of the Metrons was old reliable voice actor Vic Perrin who was the spooky control voice on the Outer Liimits. He appeared on about a dozen star trek episodes over its 3 year run providing alien voices.

Yes Bunnytails! Truly a HARE-raising experience for Captain Kirk and the crew!! 😄🥰

The extra beside Sulu at the helm is the same actor who portrayed Captain Pike in the Menagerie.

Slow moving lizard man, but he's tough.

Shatner later made an ad for a Star Trek video game playing against the Gorn in his living room. Absolutely hilarious. Worth checking out.

Amazing that the guy in the Gorn suit is the skinny guy (Blackburn) who sits in the navigator's seat in many episodes.

For the record, the speed the Enterprise travels is the cube of the warp factor. Warp one is the speed of light. Warp two is eight times the speed of light. Warp three is 27 times the speed of light. Etc., etc. The Enterprise’s normal cruising speed is warp six, with emergency speed being warp 8. In later episodes, the ship would be pushed as high as warp 14 by outside forces. By the time of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, the production team recalibrated the warp scale so that warp 10 is the theoretical maximum speed, at which one would occupy all places in the universe simultaneously.

A decent episode, fairly easily written when the writers are trying to keep up with a weekly show. Your commentary at the end was the best bit. We do learn in this episode that dropping 30 people off on a planet and then not going to pick them back up is sort of rude and frowned upon by Starfleet Command.

The Gorn has outsized importance in the memory of many fans. We never see or hear from them again, until they were finally reused heavily in the current series, Strange New Worlds.

Another Star Trek day? With Bunny?? YAYYY!! ❤😊

The choreography and grunting are legendary.

Vic Perrin, the Metron voice, did subsequent voiceover work on Star Trek. He was also the Control Voice on the original Outer Limits. We are now returning control of your television set to YOU.

They change the Gorn in the series Enterprise. Making them quicker.

My argument for why the Gorn is slow is the gravity is higher on this planet compared to his home world.

This episode was based on a short story of the same name, written by Frederic Brown and released as part of an anthology of Science Fiction stories in 1944. An astronaut named Carson is in a One-man spaceship engaged with an Enemy ship when he blacks out and finds himself on the surface of a planet much like the one in this Star Trek Episode. There was a force field keeping both him and his enemy within a limited space, and there was also a force field in the middle of the arena that living beings could not pass through, so ingenuity (such as shooting projectiles and throwing stones) was required to hurt and kill your enemy.

The story was based on a short story also titled "Arena" written in 1944 by Frederick Brown. That story involves two space faring species fighting in a distant system when two representatives of each species were sent to a planet. The colony stuff is all Star Trek. This episode is also famous for having the absolute worst fist fight in video media history! (At least of the ones that were supposed to be serious fights.)

Fun trivia, hard to recognize him without the makeup, but the navigator, DePaul, played Captain Pike in the chair in the episode the Menagerie just a few episodes earlier. The actor Sean Kenny.

At 12:09 you see the big diagonal rock formation that Kirk climbs. You saw the same rock when he was fighting Finnegan in Shore Leave.

Watching this as kid, it scared the living hell out of me. This would probably be about the 30th time seeing it. Perfect window for growing up, STAR TREK was never NOT on in reruns for pretty much the first 35 years of my life :) Even when I got older and was out partying, clubbing and raising hell, I could wake up hung-over on a Saturday ... and there it was. Like a grounding force in my life. Kind of went away (from broadcast TV) for a bit, but now it's back again, has been for the last 5 years or so on one of the local networks.

This was the first episode of Star Trek I ever saw. It was on at night. My family came home from having a pizza (you went out to get pizza in the 60s) and I turned on the TV to seeing a man fighting a humanoid lizard. I think my 10 year old self was hooked at that moment. Now, well over 50 years later, I still enjoy this episode. The Metrons have always reminded me of the Olympians, the Greek gods who used mortal men as chess pieces in a game or entertainment. At the time, Gorns and humans could not talk; the humans had no idea the Gorns were there. Yet the gorns somehow recovered Federation equipment and deduced not only human language, but the classified information about Starfleet communications and the Enterprise’s location, which would have been highly protected information. To then create a “spoofer” to lure the Enterprise in with the commodore’s own voice seems a bridge too far, but points to the capabilities of the gorns. As repitlians, gorns would be carnivores, which means humans might have been perceived a hairless monkeys, a potential food source. We don’t know. The gorns move slow but they are highly intelligent. This fight was filmed at Vasquez Rocks, a location Star Trek used in other episodes, and which was also seen in many westerns like The Virginian, Laramie and The Big Valley. There has long been speculation that the parents of Trelayne in The Squire of Gothos were members of the Q, a race that appears in the first episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, Encounter at Farpoint, but has never been confirmed. As to advanced races, there are more to come, particularly the Organians, who, like the Q have god-like powers. Fortunately, none of the advanced races seem intent on human destruction.

Heh, "Green Muthafukka." This episode is usually in the "Best Ever" lists for the series. Action, intrigue, a new species, the most iconic shots of Vasquez Rocks, an enemy that is more than a match for Kirk, a moment of mercy after being bent on revenge earlier. Lots going on and definitely worth another watch to catch everything. Fun fact (or not, depending on your point of view): We have an "Arena" poster hanging on the wall of our TV room. 🙂 Keep up the great work on these reactions!

"Disco Balls for eyes," and "Not that I'm rooting for this......" LOL! You are something else! Always great observations.

"What are those blue balls?" Every date I've had for the last ten years.

The advanced alien at the end was not a teenage boy. That was a girl who was one of the lead dancers in a TV Dance Show of the era called Hullabaloo. The voice was edited in though.

It was recently discovered that this story was taken from a Sci Fi Story written in a paperback novel back in the 1940s. Many Star Trek plots were lifted from pulp fiction sci fi stories that were published in the 1950s. Even the pictures on the book covers and the scenes in the TV episodes are similar.

Funniest line in the ep was when they asked Kirk Captain are you alright? “No”

Hi Bunny, I think you have to keep in mind that like the federation had encroached on Gorn space that the two ships ended up intruding into Metron territory in their fight against each other.The metrons were probably greatly offended by the two ships taking their fight and blundered in, making them most likely threatened and offended by two hostile ships. By having that contest between the two captains, this prevented an even worse outcome, and end up having more and more hostile ships in their space. (wars can spill into a neighbours borders sometimes). According to Gene Roddenberry, when talking about this episode long after it was filmed, had said that the metrons had planned to destroy the ship of the captian that won the fight, as this would only encourage aggressive behaviour from the winner, the loser of the battle would be set free, with lessons learned. Quitethe opposite of what the Metrons had told them in the show.

Arena is a short story adapted for this episode, it was in our High School English book way back in the 70s.

Ah, Ted Cassidy and Sean Kenny reappear. Ted was the voice of the Gorn; he also played Ruk in "What are Little Girls Made Of?" and the voice of Puppet Balock in "The Corbomite Maneuver." Sean played the navigator of the week, Lt. DePaul, in a recurring role; he also played Wheelchair Pike in "The Menagerie". The backdrop of the battle was Vasquez Rocks, a public park near Los Angeles, which is often used in TV and movies. One especially notable appearance was in the second part of the "Bill and Ted" trilogy, entitled "Bogus Journey", featuring Keanu Reeves and George Carlin. It's worth a watch if you need something light. And the location has an impressive list of productions associated with it.

One of my favorite episodes and a reminder of how completely different the Gorn are compared to how they, and the events around them, are portrayed in current Star Trek shows. They are slow and encountered by the Federation for the first time in this episode.

Advanced aliens with god-like powers were a common theme for Gene Rodenberry. He even gave god-like powers to humans in "Where No Man has Gone Before."

BunnkTails - keep in mind , in this ERA Warp speed was generally lower . Constitution class is a Warp 6 Starship. considered in this Era top of the line. later the Warp speed curve is changed to Reflect advancements.

If you haven't yet seen Galaxy Quest (1999), watching this episode has just added a lot to your future enjoyment of that film.

One thing I've noticed, as one who has just kept stumbling across re-runs for almost SIXTY YEARS NOW. Even now, I tend not to remember the early parts of an episode, if it has several different parts that range widely. Arena is an excellent example.

In some ways this is the single most impactful Star Trek episode on pop culture - countless other media love to reference the Gorn and the Vazquez Rocks.

In the background, the Gorn had several invasions to their space. That's why they acted as hasty as they did. Some of those invaders were very devious, and so the Gorn learned to use those tricks. They assumed the Federation was no better. In the long run, the Gorn become allied to the Federation. Personally, I really like the Gorn, especially thanks to some fiction written about them for the game Star Fleet Battles... though little of that is official.

Definitely one of the most famous Star Trek TOS episodes of all time! It is even referenced by Sisko in one episode of Deep Space Nine which was pretty cool also! Nice apron... are you going to cook me something. Ha, ha that was pretty funny!!

You know, I’ve literally started rewatching TOS because of you doing this… Being a longtime fan of the series gives me a certain amount of anticipation with respect to your work, simply because I know this or that episode is still to come for you and I’m already curious what you’ll do to bring your particular voice to said episode; “Arena” was one of those; “Errand of Mercy” and “A Taste of Armageddon” are others yet to come. Keep doing your thing! 👍

Reptiles are poikilothermic, which is commonly referred to as cold blooded. They have three chambered hearts, which mix freshly oxygenated blood with oxygen depleted blood from the body(except for crocodilians, which mix blood after it passes through their four chambered heart. They can't maintain as high an energy level as mammals or birds, but they can survive fasting longer than we can. They can thermoregulate somewhat through behavior, basking to warm themselves, entering shade or water or a burrow for cooling. Some python species use muscular twitches to generate warmth for incubating their eggs. Reptiles in much of the world have the problem of finding winter shelter above the water table but below the frost line.

Fun Fact: Cestus 3 gets mentioned in a later trek series where I believe it is still a federation colony so I assume the federation works something else with the gorn.

Probably the most famous ST episode shot at Vasquez Rocks. "I was Gorn, Gorn, Gorn.... Gorn to be alive."🎶

I was thinking salt shaker eyes but disco balls even better ! HAHAHAHHAHA!

One of my favorites...William Shatner was injured in this episode, he acquired tinnitus from falling too close to the explosions, a condition he still lives with.

Superbeings are a very common trope in Star Trek. Part of the pleasure in discussing these kinds of characters is the debate about whether they actually are ethically superior.

I like how all the space-faring civilizations have transporter technology.

"It felt a little slow moving"😄I would agree Bunny, primarily with the Gorn fight scenes. However before that I felt that the action was pretty fast paced...dealing with explosions on the ground while the Enterprise was firing away above them. The tension between Kirk and Spock on how best to deal with the Gorn. It always helps me to remember that they didn't mean for the Gorn to be THAT slow, but the poor guy in the suit had very restricted movement. Also the guy was on the verge of heat exhaustion and dehydration as they were filming in a very hot area. A dessert area in southern California I think.

LOL! Bunny called the Gorn a Green Mother Fu*ker! Classic! 🙂

Bunny, you just met the Gorn, probably the most legendary Star Trek alien race. That is ironic because over the 12 different Star Trek series and literally several hundred episodes spread out over 57 years the Gorn have nade just five onscreen appearances. In only two of those appearances did the Gorn even speak.