Assignment: Earth was intended to be a pilot for a spinoff TV series. Gary 7's sidekick was actress Teri Garr.

Assignment Earth was a very underrated episode. The guest stars really made it special.

It is one of our most important laws that none of us interfere with the affairs of others, unless we want to.

Hi Courtney. As usual, another excellent review. Love your critical thinking and insights into each episode. I read somewhere that this episode was intended as a spinoff to a new adventure series, but it was never picked up by the network. The series was to star Robert Lansing (who played Gary Seven) and Terry Garr, who was Roberta, was his sidekick.Can't wait for your venture into season 3.

Gary 7 is one my favorite guest appearances, too bad they didn't do the spin off series. As always, enjoyed your reactions.

I would expect that Kirk’s “condition green” code word to Scotty, was something that is specific to the Enterprise, that Kirk and HIS senior officers knew, that was limited to that group (as opposed to being a standard ‘Starfleet wide’ protocol. In this series, Starfleet is painted as having a relatively limited bureaucracy, meaning Captains have a lot of flexibility in how to run their ships. Also, any code word that was ‘standard’ throughout Starfleet, would increase the collective vulnerability a lot. If Ship A’s crew were captured and tortured for information, the enemy would then know how to manipulate Ship B’s crew using standard code words. •••• Shortly after Gary Seven beams down to his NYC apartment, the episode establishes, beyond any doubt, that Gary Seven is “a good guy.” He tells the Beta-5 computer that the collective mission was to ‘prevent Earth civilization from destroying itself, before it can mature into a peaceful society.” Kirk and Spock are not within a hundred miles, at that point, (and so Gary is not lying to Starfleet personnel to escape confinement) and there’s no reason why Gary Seven would lie to HIS OWN COMPUTER. From this point forward, the tension in the episode is not “what side is Gary Seven on?” but rather “Will Gary Seven and the Enterprise crew avoid interfering with one another enough so that a good outcome will occur?” •••• As you may know by now, “Assignment: Earth” was intended as a ‘backdoor pilot’ for a spinoff TV series, featuring the adventures of Gary Seven, Roberta, the Beta-5 computer, and Isis. (Among other things, it would have provided additional income and a job for Gene Roddenberry). The series did not go forward, but this was the idea behind Spock’s mysterious comment, “You could say that Mr Seven and Ms Lincoln have some… interesting experiences in store for them.” - that this was to be the first of many adventures. If you care to do a bit of extra work in tracking it down, some years ago, Comic book superstar John Byrne wrote and drew a four-part comic book limited series, called: ‘Star Trek - Assignment: Earth’ about the further adventures of Gary Seven, Robert, Beta-5 and Isis the cat. (Saving planet Earth from all the dangers facing it in the era of the late 1960s, 1970s and 80s. I thought it turned out very well!)

At this point Roman movies and gladiator movies were really big because half of the American film industry had moved to Italy. Congress had to step in.

I saw this on TV in the 60's. Only seen "Assignment Earth" twice. Thanks for playing it. Robert Lansing was a fave actor of mine.

Looks like Gary Seven has an AI-powered Alexa on his desk.

In the 60s, super secret agents with top secret gadgets were popular with the James Bond movies of that era. There were knock offs and spoofs of that genre (Get Smart, Batman on TV, Pink Panther/Inspector Clouseau franchise and "Matt Helm" in movies. Predictably (speaking of predictions) , the idea of Gary Seven with even more advanced alien gadgets was on the drawing boards for a new series spinoff from Star Trek. This episode was really a pilot as others have said. What impresed me the most in the episode is the intelligent, professional manner (despite his bungling with Roberta) that Robert Lansing could bring to a role. He even overshadowed Spock with his gravitas and intellect. It's too bad the series didn't happen.

"Isis is feral!" LOL

lol that Bread and Circuses one was one of those where you really have to suspend disbelief.....some of their parallel Earth ones got a little silly lol. Assignment Earth is a very interesting and thought provoking one! And, loved your great beauty as always 🙂

Something fun to note in “Assignment Earth”: the white buildings marked as Launch Control are actually some of the office buildings at Paramount Studios.

The code; condition green could be an individual code set up by Kirk for the enterprise alone.

2:25 So this is where Bioshock's "The Great Chain" tattoo symbol came from. Fascinating.

TIME TRAVEL AND MULTIPLE UNIVERSE'S CAN STRESS THE MIND AND OTHER VARIOUS STAR TREK FRANCHISES WHEN YOU WATCH THEM.

A bigger factor than "commands being different" is the fact that the capabilities of a Constitution-class starship far exceed those of a merchant freighter.

Rome did indeed have sun worshippers. The god's name was Sol (literally "the Sun") and later had the epithet "Invictus" ("Unconquered") added to his name, at which point he became the main god of the Roman Empire, and there were plenty of people worshipping him. The Romans also identified Apollo with the sun, and he was no slouch when it came to temples and worshippers, either. I've always thought it very sloppy writing to assert that neither of those gods existed, since the only reason to say it is to force the pun at the end, which wasn't even a particularly good one.

4:02 "He failed a psycho-simulator test. All it takes is a split second of indecision." Sounds like the kind of test I would probably fail, too. 🤷‍♂

Speaking of pointed ears and a tail, Spock was originally intended to have red skin and be a little devilish rather than be non-emotional. The problem during makeup tests was the red makeup looked like blackface makeup on black and white TV's

Operation Earth imho has always been a cool episode

Assignment Earth was meant to be a pilot for a spin off show with Gary Seven but sadly never happened.

I first started regularly watching _Star Trek_ when _TNG_ first came on the air. I'm really dating myself with this, but I was nine years old, at the time. I can tell you, though, that I enjoyed it. I still enjoy it, now, though, for different reasons. That's one key to _Star Trek's_ longevity. It casts a wide net. It's written to appeal to people in different age groups.

" You could've just pinched her!" 25:51 Although he would never admit it, Spock may have been feeling self conscious after his pinch failed on Gary-7.

Ancient Rome had no Sun Deity. Except Sol Invictus.

Teri Garr went on to bigger and better acting roles, including her Oscar nominated performance in Tootsie. Speaking of altering the course of history I wonder what her career would’ve been like had Assignment Earth been picked up as a series. It makes me think of the story of how Gene Hackman was so disappointed when he didn’t land the job the father on the Brady Bunch. Or when Carol O’Connor didn’t get the job as the Skipper on Gilligans Island 😂

The original series came [along[ just as the The Cold War between the US and USSR was ramping into a new gear. The Bay of Pigs Invasion was still fresh in the memories of both countries. The Pavel Chekhov character was added during Season 2 because the Russians complained about how the Russians were not a part of the future of human exploration in Space!

20:25 "Can't beam you down without further proof...one way or the other." Presumably just the ONE way, and not "Well, now we KNOW you're a hostile invading alien, so you can be on your way to Earth now!"

I think you may be missing the point on the dueling set: this is 1960s television, with 1960s cameras, which couldn't possibly go outside and move around, and with 1960s budgets, which again prevent them from leaving their Desilu studio. Since they're PORTRAYING Rome as having 1960s technology, of COURSE the television studios and cameras and painted sets were the same. It would make no sense whatever for the Romans to somehow have more advanced technology than the 1960s and be able to casually use television cameras with mobility outdoors. Of course the painted the sets are just like those used on STAR TREK (except maybe a bit cruder. The whole thing was meta-commentary on 1960s television. It was satiric of 1960s television. "We'll do a special on you, Flavius!"

The Pro-council (Logan Ramsey) was quite annoying. Captain Merick, in the end acted heroically, saving Kirk, Spock and McCoy. The Condition Green order reminded me of General Order 24 in the episode "A Taste Of Armageddon." Contingency protocols and discreet "emergency" orders designed to get the Enterprise out of danger.

Captain Merrick was in charge of a ship labeled “SS” instead of “USS” and the statement he was dropped from Star Fleet Academy points to him not being in Star Fleet. He would not have been bound by Star Fleet regulations. Remember the SS Dierdre in A Private Little War and SS Columbia in The Cage.

sorry you didn't recognize Teri Garr.. This was one of her first roles. She went on to have a big career in the movies. She is in her 80s now.

9:00 "What kind of shields are these?" Bucklers. Fast, strong and punchy. Notably they are using them wrong. The shield can't absorb the blow, the shock would just go into your hand. You're supposed to punch the incoming weapon out of the way then counterstrike.

RE; Condition green: It may differ from ship to ship. to deaden outside interference. Even by other star ships.

13:43 "Here's _mattress_ in your eye!"

"Bread and Circuses" 1. This was just another way of telling the "Pattern of Force" story. 2. The hottie couldn't even save it. Next 🙄 "Assignment: Earth" 1. Teri Garr, in spite of what she thought was hokey dialogue, enjoyed doing this only because it was an acting gig. However, she wasn't too fond of William Shatner running around "Thinking his didn't stink". 2. Movie magic: There's no way a "weather satellite" (especially in the 60's) could get close-ups like the shots of Gary 7 and the rocket.

"Target Audience" YT channel hated "Assignment Earth" - I always liked it. It was made to promote a "spin-off" (separate TV show - that never happened). I always loved Teri Gar (top actress - in "Black Stallion", "Close Encounters of the 3;rd kind" /etc............. as for Gary 7 (Robert Lansing) - not a fan, ok actor at best - far lower than Miss Gar - was in many TV shows/and TV movie of the 60's and 70s. What I like about that episode is the concept of aliens - caring enough about earth and humans from 100,000 yr ago to "implant" - basically take cavemen - then educate them about things outside of prehiitoric mentality - then replacing them back on Earth as "agents" - of care. Aliens that wished to be invisible - thus the "clocked" planet - but caring/cartakers - so kindnaped humans, educated them and then replaced them back on Earth (we can assume they did the same for Vulcans at least - and prob others too) - for the sake of social advancement. I really like how Gary 7 knew about Vulcans before "humans general of that time did" - I assume a similar Gary Vulcan "agent" would know of Humans, though Vulcans of that time would not know of humans. the other thing i loved about Gary is that he was not effected by the Vulcan Pinch - so Humans, with the proper mental training can nullify the pinch (which the Gary 7 Alien's educated/trained Gary to nullify). I'd rate the episode a 7 out of 10 - mainly made to foster another TV series with Gar and Lansing. Gar really is one of the top of the tops actresses BTW. it failed no new show, and the last season of ST is well................ok................less than prior, mostly dogs, but some gems. "Gem" is not intended when i texted gems above BTW - you will see what I mean later. the Black and White Guys - 1 side vs the other side - is a gem episode - and that made ST a great show about "humanity" - sadly too few episodes in season 3 stand up to "Beal"/"Loci" episode. 2-cents.

Love the cat though 😍😍😍

Sparta meet star trek Crew

Real quick answer on the lack of an actual Coliseum. Budget. Money. Way too expensive for a low budget 60s TV show to go on location to an actual Roman Coliseum.

The second episode is obviously an attempted spin off series called "Assignment Earth". Spy shows had taken over the primetime tv with like a third of all shows. This would have been a space/spy show, a fusion. Like Wild, wild west is a fusion of cowboy and spy shows.

Precursor to Men In Black. Definitely inspired by this episode.

7:23 "Do you _really_ believe I can be made to order my own people down?" What's more, do you really believe the crew of the _Enterprise_ would _follow_ such orders? _Star Trek_ creator Gene Roddenberry served in the Army Air Forces, in WWII; what would, one day, become the Air Force. It, therefore, comes as no surprise the obvious military influence in _Star Trek._ Now in the US Armed Forces, every branch, they teach a list of the traits and principles that make for a good leader, since after all, being a good leader is the key to being a good follower. I was first exposed to this material in high school, in the JROTC program I took. One of these traits, and probably the most misunderstood, is initiative. The fact is, sometimes, for one reason or another, you just cannot follow an order that comes down the chain, because it was issued by people unaware of the local situation where you are, or it was issued by people under duress; people who, being good leaders themselves, are going to understand if you don't follow it. It seems a foregone conclusion that Starfleet would _likewise_ teach these traits and principles.

19:21 I don't think it's possible for someone to attain the necessary level of familiarity with nonexistent technology, but even so, a ship in _orbit_ of Earth, just happening to _intercept_ a random transporter beam? That much strikes me as _extraordinarily_ unlikely. The main variables being the sheer size of the Earth and the sheer altitude of the _Enterprise_ mean that we're _really walking the line_ of improbability that they happened to be in _just_ the right place to intercept this beam.

Did you recognize Teri Garr? When Gary Seven asked Roberta Lincoln what did her employer so, she replied they were doing research for an encyclopedia. This is an Easter Egg reference to Issac Asimov’s “Foundation” Universe. In that universe the purpose of the Foundation was to create an encyclopedia of all human history. Star Trek has numerous Easter Eggs connected to “Foundation”. The Prime Directive is derived from “Foundation”. I cannot say how without spoiling the story arcs in the Foundation Universe. In the TV Series “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, the character of Commander Data is Straight Outta Foundation. Not only does Commander Data obey Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, he also has a “positronic brain.”

The villain in Bread and Circuses is one of the few in TOS who basically wins. Kirk and co. barely get away with their lives. He's a real backstabbing slimeball, and I remember him well for that reason.

I always thought Assignment: Earth was fun. If you do your research, you will find out that this episode was intended as a pilot for a new TV series that never got off the ground.

It's interesting that Merrick didn't actually violate the prime directive, in that his presence didn't change the culture of the Roman planet. Sure, he rose to a high rank in the government, and select officials knew about the Federation, but that fact was hidden and the culture went on. Merrick's crew either adapted or died which, while tragic, was in compliance with the prime directive. Knowing Starfleet, they probably sent a team later to observe the development of the culture. Then that team would have messed up, and.... The conclusion of "Assignment: Earth" was foreshadowed from the beginning. A "sub-orbital platform"??? Why would they make an armed nuclear missile platform that doesn't make orbit, that is, it's not intended to go all the way around even once? Sounds like it was supposed to be an orbital platform, but a failure to launch and early detonation led to a scary time and some revisionist history. The rocket launch shown in "Assignment: Earth" must have been the Apollo 4 launch, which was first launch of the Saturn V rocket that happened about 5 months or so before the airing of the episode. The second launch, Apollo 6, happened a week after the episode aired. This was the third time the Enterprise travelled through time. The first was in "The Naked Time" and the second was in "Tomorrow is Yesterday". This was the first time they used the slingshot effect deliberately, and the first time they didn't damage the ship in the process. Isis was a great character. Some years later, my family had a black cat that shared that name. She was a great cat.

Sonic Screwdriver

21:15 Now _why_ was this not confiscated from him? The _Enterprise_ is supposed to be the pride of the fleet. How come its security personnel keep having lapses?

Assignment Earth is one of my favorite episodes. It is not of great value but I just like it.

There was mention that some of the crew adapted and still alive. Was that ever cleared upZ

On to season three.

The screaming memes have arrived 😅😅😅

The Prime Directive could be applied on Earth. The USA's meddling in the affairs of so many other countries in the world has led to nothing but a big mess. Especially taking into account the time this went on the air as our involvement in Vietnam was peaking.

Kirk had enough curves thrown at him for a lifetime 😅😅😅

... or die among them.

13:04 Hang on. I'm not quite sure I grasp what I'm seeing in this shot. Does this planet's moon have... its own _moon?_

Spock is McCoys hero ❤❤❤❤

Wow, I haven't seen this for years. Since then i've read the works of FLAVIUS Josephus, first century Jewish general and historian who never included Jesus in his histories of Judea. Interesting.

Merrick betrayed the uniform/ Starfleet 😮😮😮

And didn't they leave 3 phasers and 2 communicators on the planet.......

3:52 "Right. And yet it keeps _happening."_ The Prime Directive is a law put in place to protect less advanced civilizations from the detrimental effects of cultural contamination. The most glaring example of this is the matter/antimatter reaction at the heart of warp drive. This is a developmental milestone that _every_ civilization must come to on its own, because a _more_ mature civilization will develop it into a means of propulsion, travel to the stars, and meet the other members of the interstellar community, while a _less_ mature civilization will develop it into a weapon and _destroy_ itself. You dare not risk giving technology like this away, because then, you risk giving it to a civilization that is not ready for it, yet. You risk giving it to a _less_ mature civilization which you will then _destroy._ But of course, this means the civilization in question must have a future, and this inconvenient fact can make it a bit of a grey area. 🤷‍♂

The roman empire one I felt had already been done with the nazi episode

Did the Enterprise get the other surviving crew members off the Roman planet? I don't remember if that was addressed in the episode. Comical that McCoy and Spock are worried about Jim, and they switch to a scene where a young lady has been sent to Jim's room. The gladiator studio show was an obvious comparison to how TV programming was used to control the masses. In the final episode of S2, Gary Seven's cat, Isis, was probably a reference to the cat in James Bond films, beginning with "From Russia With Love" in 1963. I know a lot of people like that episode, but to me it is the single worst episode in the series, because it's not really Star Trek. It's more like Star Trek crashing into the set of a spy version of "That Girl" or "I Dream of Jeannie."

Uh oh, not Gary 7, sucky episode 😂😂😂

Courtney, what you don't know and must now be told is that season 3 stinks. "Star Trek" had been given a very decent time slot for the 3rd season. One morning between the seasons when Gene Roddenberry was having breakfast by his pool, he got a phone call from the network, NBC. Some network functionary said, "Hey, Gene, baby, we've got a really great time slot for you for next season." Roddenberry said, "Thanks, I already have one." The guy said, "We've really put a lot of thought into this." The time slot they had for him was a horrible one, a "death slot." What had happened was that a comedy/variety show, then more popular than "Star Trek," called "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," had demanded the time slot already given to "Star Trek" and the network had complied. Roddenberry told NBC that if they didn't restore the time slot which he had been promised he would leave the show. They ignored him, so he left. His name continued to appear in the credits as "Executive Producer," but he was gone. He was replaced by someone named Fred Freiberger. There are different schools of thought, but the judgement of history is that he did very inferior work and ruined the show, although it's also true that the network cut its budget. The drop in episode quality is quite apparent. I've seen inter-office memos from the actors complaining about the writing. I think that there are only a few decent episodes. I'll refrain from telling you which ones so as to let you make your own judgements.

Bone's point about it being illogical that the planet's inhabitants would worship the Sun because Rome "had no sun worshippers" isn't an excellent point at all because, of course, the Romans' chief god was, of course, Sol Invictus, the Sun. They had temples to him all over including, very prominently, the center of Rome, since worship of Sol was worship of the primary god. The Sol Invictus festival was every December 25th. Guess what replaced it. Anyway, this is, no disrespect, one of the best known facts about Rome, taught to schoolchildren who learn about Roman culture, just as the Greek mythology is taught alongside Roman mythology and theology. So Bones was making no sense whatsoever. This episode is also the only other mention of Christianity, an unfortunate inclusion given that even today only a minority of Earth is Christian. But the network, as usual, insisted.

Almost a spin off

10:09 "The Romans have _always_ been the strongest." 🤔Mmm... quite _formidable,_ perhaps, in their day. But there was once a time when the _Spartans_ were the strongest. There was once a time when being born Spartan meant being born to a life of battle drills and discipline the like of which made one an unrivaled warrior in the known world. It didn't matter, though. Sparta ultimately fell. But by the same token, in fact, the Roman Empire spent many centuries gradually declining before ultimately collapsing _themselves,_ and one place this gradual deterioration manifested was the Roman _army._ So if it's true that the Romans have always been the strongest, why did the Roman Empire fall?

Teri Garr doesn’t speak fondly of this episode and especially Gene Roddenberry.