Thanks to everyone who has commented, letting me know that Isis' human form was portrayed by April Tatro. trekmovie.com/2019/03/12/star-trek-mystery-solved-isis-actress-from-assignment-earth-identified/ (This information only came to light after this video was published.)

While working as an electronics repair technician for Harman/Kardon back in 1975, I had the privilege and honor of meeting Robert Lansing in person. He walked into our repair department carrying his own H/K receiver for service. A nicer, genuine and friendlier person you would probably never meet. He took the time to talk with me and a few other employees about his life and career and about this Star Trek episode, Assignment Earth. While you hear how many actors are full of themselves and wouldn't give you the time of day, Robert Lansing made that meeting very special for me. R.I.P. Robert Lansing and Gary Seven!

Yes, Assignment Earth would have made a worthy Star Trek Spinoff!

I grew up in the 1960's and that included watching the original series. This was one of my favorite episodes and I remember it very well. It would have made a wonderful spin-off show and we will never know how great it would have been. NBC never understood what it had in Star Trek and made a huge mistake in cancelling it after only 3 seasons. No other television show has ever had the impact on popular culture than Star Trek!

This would have been a great Star Trek spin-off. At least the equivalent of Mission Impossible. Shame it did not get launched. Terri Garr was such a cutie.

I liked the assignment Earth episode. Teri Garr was the coolest chick back in the day

I've always thought that "Assignment: Earth" should have been a series. The leads were perfectly cast and had great chemistry together. I think none of the networks picking up the series was a missed golden opportunity. Maybe when someone figures out time travel, somebody can go back and change history to give the series a chance. :)

And now Gary Seven is mentioned, and another person like himself is in the New Picard series 2nd season, episode 5. They even had a similar teleport effect as used in the original series.

Perhaps my favorite ST-TOS, I wish that it would have led to an actual series. I always liked Robert Lansing, especially his time on the Twelve O'clock High TV series (even better than the movie on which it was based).

I was fully expecting Gary, Roberta, and his "cat" Isis to be having thier own series and was actually suprised it never happened. What a waste of a great idea.

This had a lot of potential. Kind of a mix of James Bond and Dr Who. A sci-fi secret agent. If it was done now, (not by CBS) it could still be an awesome show.

Boy, I'll have to tell you, I'm not a trekie but this upload got my attention. "Assignment Earth" has always been my favorite episode of Star Trek. As kid in the 60's, I saw every episode numerous times and always loved this. I was always a fan of Teri Garr as well as Robert Lansing. Loved the guy on "12O'Clock High". thanks for showing this and explaining. I wish it had become a TV show too.

I do believe the episode would have made for a great spinoff. I always thought Mr. Seven looked like Steve McQueen. As for Miss Garr, she is my all time favorite actress. Cute, funny, and someone you could imagine being able to approach, as a man, in real life.

James Bond meets Trek meet Dr. Who. The possibilities are endless and I have no doubt it would have flourished.

Wikipedia says this about the Isis the Cat casting The uncredited human form of Isis was portrayed by actress, dancer, and contortionist April Tatro. Her identity was unknown until 2019, when The Trek Files podcast cited a production call sheet for extras dated 5 January 1968, and host Larry Nemecek interviewed her for confirmation.[8] Previously in fan circles, it had been speculated that the briefly seen human form of the cat Isis was portrayed by actress Victoria Vetri, and this has been repeated so often that many articles and websites treat it as fact. However, Vetri herself confirmed that she was not in the episode

I remember seeing this episode when it came out, and I am 65 years old now and enjoy everything about the way this episode was written. And it was a stroke of genius having me sarcastic back talking female computer voice getting sassy with him. I think me and most guys have been in love with Teri Garr our entire lives. Another equally well done episode which when they went back in time to the same. Basically and they were picked up on radar. The Air Force scrambled and interceptor and it got caught up in their energy field and was breaking up and they had to beam the pilot on board to save his life. And then convince the officer to help them with stopping the crisis they had came back for. Flawless episode! 👍🏻

Apart from City on the Edge of Forever, Assignment Earth is my favourite episode and I would have loved to see the series. I think it would have been iconic in the same way that The Invaders and Star Trek OS is iconic.

The episode with Gary seven, was one of my favorites and still is to this day. I think it was one of the best shows that was written and produced. It had more potential and could have made a really solid hit if it were produced. It could be done today .The concept of past present and future being dynamic and fluid and happening simultaneously is an interesting concept. Thank you so much for this video . I look forward for more.

The voice activated typewriter is another astoundingly accurate prediction.

No one can hold a cat like Gary Seven! One of my all-time favorite episodes. Teri Garr was adorable, and that typewriter which took his and Garr's dictation was not a prop trick. It actually was a new working model available for sale at the time - but never took off commercially because of the high cost. It was really typing what they spoke. I always wished Assignment Earth had become a spin off series.

Teri Garr has been one of my favorite actresses ever since this episode. I was about 7 years old. Assignment Earth! was one of those episodes that they didn't air very often.

I had gotten involved with a fan film group about 5 years or so ago and the producer had decided he wanted to do an Assignment: Earth show similar to New Voyages. I was tasked with writing the pilot. It began with the final scene from Assignment: Earth and went on to show Gary Seven having been recognized as a presence in 1960's Earth that was unexpected and unwanted by certain factions. Throughout the episode, he was hunted down by a mysterious figure who seemingly failed in his mission to take Seven out. At the end of the episode, the figure goes to his leader to express his condolences over not accomplishing the mission. The leader retrieves a knife and in front of the group of his followers in attendance, he slices the figure's throat. As the body is being carried from his office, the leader, who's face is never seen until the final moment of the episode, goes to a window toward the back of his office and opens heavy curtains to look down into a gigantic warehouse where a DY-100 is being built. That's when he says, "Nobody fails Khan Noonien Singh." Then CBS put their stipulations on what fan films can do because of Axanar and it killed our project. I really think it would have been pretty damn good though.

Season 2 was really TOS's best season. "The Doomsday Machine", The Immunity Syndrome", "The Guardian of Forever", "Space Seed" and "Assignment Earth", all just well written standout classics that do hold up well today as well.

I always thought Gary Seven would of made a return in TNG. Shame it never happened as the Doctor Who feel of the character would of worked well. Nice sonic screwdriver too.

I think that "Star Trek: Assignment Earth" would have been a great addition to the original StarTrek portfolio. I think I have also been envisioning a few cross-over episodes with both franchises appearing together. It would have been fun to see more interaction between Terri Garr's character and Isis in her human form.

I saw this episode as a child. It was my absolute favorite, and definitely expected a spin off. Loved Teri Garr's character.

Terri Gar: hits the typewriter that is typing everything she says and hollers "stop it stop it stop it!" Me over 50 years later talking to a smartphone: "Hey Google, text my brother..." 🤣

a wonderful video. I got to watch the original "The Cage" on the original film with Gene in the late 80's. A memory I will never forget. As well after the showing we sat down and had dinner and had a wonderful conversation, a true highlight of my Star Trek younger days.

I would have loved to see it made into a series! A lot of great potential that TV producers failed to follow up on. Robert Lansing and Teri Garr were a great match.

A spinoff series would have been a great idea-- Lansing & Garr were a very good acting team.

I watched when it first aired, and at the time I could tell they were setting things up for a series or maybe later episodes with the characters returning.

My favorite part of this video is when Gary Seven is attempting to escape the Enterprise and Kirk grabs a phaser, instead of telling him to stop or anything he just blasts him. It was just so KIRK.

I would have loved the spin-off. The two main characters had great chemistry.

The spinoff was made, but only airs in an alternate universe 🤪

I was expecting this episode to be about Assignment: Earth, and I was not disappointed.

I remember seeing that episode on Tv in 68? It was Brilliant, I had no idea it was designed to be a spin off. Gene Roddenberry was a Genius. 7 and his Cat!!!! Brilliant!!!

Possibly my favourite Star Trek episode. It was definitely worth a spin off series. I was disappointed too, the two actors were great and their characters were very interesting. I first saw Terri Garr in Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and liked her ever since. For me, this could have turned out to be a better and more interesting series than Star Trek. Maybe it's still not too late, however, I can't imagine another two actors playing the roles, these two were perfect.

yes I would've and would like to see "Assignment: Earth" series!

It is sad that this did not become a spinoff series.

This would have been an excellent series. The "Time Tunnel" show from the early 60s was very popular and this would have had the same appeal. The experienced vs innocent dynamic between the two characters would have drawn in both younger and older viewers.

yes, I would have liked to see Assignment Earth become its own series, one of my favorite TOS episodes

This is in my top 10 episodes. Lansing and Garr seemed to be perfect for this spin off. Always sad that it wasn't made.

I had no idea Roddenberry originally conceived this as its own series. It makes sense though. The guest characters do far more than support the story line, and it does seem clear that we are meant to get to know them. It really is a pilot disguised as an episode.

I had heard "Assignment: Earth" was intended to serve as a pilot episode for a new series when I saw it as a teenager originally broadcast in the 60's. I think my mother read it in an article in TV Guide magazine.

Every time I see this episode, I always stop and regret that this was never a series. Gary seven had a slight "Doctor Who" feeling to it, and Terri Garr was so beautiful and would have made a great "companion".

even when a kid... I am old enough to have seen TOS first time around... I always felt even back then that this should have been a show... Thank you

Comic book great John Byrne wrote and drew a number of Star Trek comic books, and since he wasn't comfortable with his ability to draw the classic TOS cast members (ironic, since he's an amazing artist), he mostly worked with different settings in the TOS world, including a series about the Romulans. Another setting he wrote stories for was "Assignment: Earth", and gave us several stories about Gary Seven and Roberta. It's a chance to see what the TV show might have been. Oops, I spoke to soon. The video mentions this.

I've always been sad that Assignment Earth never became a series. I became a big Teri Garr fan later, thanks to Young Frankenstein, and I thought Gary 7 was one of the greatest characters from the series and, like Kahn Noonian Singh and Harry Mudd, I wanted to see more of him (thankfully, we got that!)

And now, in 2022, Gary Seven and the entire concept of an alien-led supervision of Earth's timeline continues in Star Trek Picard, season 2. Fascinating.

Terri was so delightful, I would have LOVED to have seen her in a TV series.

I would have loved to see this developed into a full series. I’d still like to see it, in fact!

It was an awesome episode, the innocence of the secretary and his counterpart who was morphed into a cat. A whole bunch of mischief to be had in future episodes. It would have made a great series!

... weighing in here very late... Absolutely, they should have continued the show as a series. The time-travel episodes of Star Trek (every version) have always been my favourites (especially City on the Edge of Forever, Yesterday's Enterprise and Trials and Tribble-ations, oh and of course Yesteryear). The most poignant moment in the original series is when Kirk says "Let's get the hell out of here". How often did any of the shows finish off a mission on such a serious note? Anyhow, I will never have enough Star Trek to keep me happy (especially with Discovery being shot here in Toronto, Canada). I have even very much enjoyed the fan-shows. Thanks for mentioning the comic version of Assignment: Earth. I'll look for it.

I might also add I understand that both Lansing and Garr were excited and totally willing to commit to the series long term. Just another brilliant, ahead of its time Roddenberry series flushed into oblivion by short sighted TV executives. If he were alive today, he'd have plenty of indepentent help to realize his visions.

I'm surprised this didn't take off. Considering the success of the Matt Helm Series (Dean Martin) and the Flynt Series (James Coburn) and, of course, James Bond. All of these had elements of futuristic sci fi (tricky new gadgets, robots, etc.). It is a shame that it didn't get a chance. I really liked the actor and character of Gary 7.

I don't normally go for time travel but Assignment Earth is one of my favourites and I've often thought this would have been a great spin off. Thanks so much for letting me know it very nearly was!

I loved that episode and thought it was going to be a spin off due to the way it ended. It would have been a fabulous show.

Cat Isis's human actress was played by April Tatro.

Assignment: Earth as a series probably woulda been awesome. Gary Seven the stoic human agent from outer space, Roberta Lincoln the local who knows the terrain, the snarky Beta-5 computer, and the shapeshifting cat/woman Isis who may or may not be from the same race of aliens backing Gary Seven. All working to secretly keep Earth from destroying itself. I wonder if the 2 agents Gary Seven was supposed to meet up with really died in an accident, or if they were murdered and it was made to look like an accident...

If the network had had the slightest germ of creative vision, they would have had TWO related Roddenberry series' running simultaneously, interacting with each other, and cross-fertilizing each other's plot-lines! It would have been AMAZING!!

As I recall, I missed the original airing of the episode and saw it first during a 're-run'. Loved it as a boy of single-digit years and it is still among my favorite episodes as I step into retirement. Loved the Roddenberry humor and optimism woven into the script and as you said, it had extremely likeable characters with chemistry.

When I had initially seen this episode of Star Trek (1968), I was excited when I heard of a sign-off featuring Robert Lansing, whom I had enjoyed his portrayal of General Savage on "12 0'Clock High". Yet, waiting for Paramount's confirmation of this series, which never came through, disappointed not only Gene Roddenberry but other friends in high school who had seen it.

I think "The Questor Tapes" was a reworking of the same concept. A character whose job it was to watch over the human race's development and help keep it from self destructing before maturing ... but the character being damaged in a way that a companion was needed to help complete the task.

For any fans of Robert Lansing (Gary Seven)... He was one of the main supporting characters in the original 1980's 'The Equalizer' series with Edward Woodward. Lansing played a CIA upper manager and Robert's friend known only as "Control." He was in 29 episodes.

Always one of my favorite episodes. It certainly could have been a great story.

I remember Robert Lansing in the movie '4D Man', and absolutely loved it. This would have been a spectacular series in the late 60's!

Excellent article, thank you. I'm 61 and a life long fan of Star Trek. This was a very informative article pulling together details that, while I was aware of most, had not reconciled and understood how important the episode was. I, too, would have loved to have seen the spin off but alas, money decisions beat us. Too bad. It would have been fabulous.

I saw this show back in the 60s. At the time I was 6 or 7 and I didn't know what it was. But when I saw it here on you tube I recognized it and it was so excellent to see it again! I love the 60s background and style. It would have been a great show. It probably would have enhanced the story of the regular Star Trek.

This was one of my favorite episodes.

Robert Lansing made an EXCELLENT "Gary Seven."

I’ve been a fan all my life and never knew about this! I think it would’ve made an interesting series, and the lead actors seemed perfect choices. Thanks for sharing!

I was actually alive,sentient and a viewer of Star Trek when in first aired. I was a boy at the time. 5 years old to 8 during its time on television originally. However I started reading at the age of 2 and by age 5 was already reading books for teenagers. So I grasped the concepts of Star Trek even then. I really enjoyed Assignment Earth and wanted it to be its own series. Sadly it never happened.

The scene on the transporter pad when Seven first appeared all noble was unforgettable.

Yes, this episode was/is one of my favorites. I’d love to see this series get developed. It had/has so much potential.

I really loved that episode, and at the time was thinking: "I wish Mr. Seven could be in a series of his own" (little did I know)

I have always thought that would have made an excellent spin-off show.

I remember watching this episode when I was a kid and I really loved the idea. I hoped it would become a new show. In that day it was very exciting since we only had two or three channels to watch and a show of that caliber would have been awesome. The part when Terry Garr spoke about how our generation didn't know if we would make it to live to 32 years old almost brought tears to my eyes. That was how we really felt back then, and few people ever said it better than she did. Great show and thanks for the memories.

Notice that when Isis transforms to her human form, only Roberta sees her this way, but not Kirk and Spock. That means Isis is not exactly a shapeshifter. I'm sure Kirk would have noticed that woman!

The actress who played the humanoid form of Isis was named April Tatro

This episode was alway one of my favourites as a original fan (watching as a young boy ) I always wondered if it was ment to be a spinoff ,wished it had been , would love to see it .

After “Assignment Earth” was originally broadcast all those decades ago it was the talk of the factory where I worked - everyone liked it & Gary Seven the character played by Robert Lansing we all knew it was a pilot spin off for a new series, And we waited with bated breath and we waited & waited but unfortunately it never came And that was a shameful loss of a great opportunity especially since back in the 60s Sci-Fi was as fare as Rocking-Horse droppings(not counting Dr Who). Many of us sci-fi fans back then craved for more of the genre “Star Trek watcher from the very beginning”

That was one of my favorite episodes!

I am most definitely would’ve loved to see that television show.

It's never too late to give it a try. I'd like to see them do it even today. They would just need actors who looked approximately like the originals and match the wardrobe. Why not? Hollywood seems to be punk dead on ideas lately.

It's a damn shame that "Assignment Earth" didn't happen. You know, it's not too late for this to still happen. (55 years later than it should have.)

That would have been an AWESOME series. It's tragic that it did not get approved.

Another example of the shortsightedness of television network executives

The cat was the actress April Tatro. Known since 2019, don’t know how you missed that. And if the show was picked up, Roberta Lincoln would have to be re-cast since Teri Garr wanted to have nothing to do with Roddenberry because of his pervy ways.

I would have liked to see this spinoff, since Robert Lansing was one of my favorite actors at that time.

"Assignment Earth" is my all time favorite...

I loved this episode in the original series & I think that a spin off featuring Gary Seven & Roberta Lincoln would have been "fascinating". 🖖

An time travelling alien with a human sidekick. Interesting concept. I hope this gets developed one day.

I always wanted to see this adapted as a series. I remember the episode when it originally aired back in the day and always felt it should have been a show on its own.

Gary Seven's arrival may have been the first example of the transwarp beaming depicted in the Kelvin films

Yes, it should have been made into another series. Star Trek TOS should have went on for another 3-4 seasons longer also !

I remember this episode. I thought it was great and would have liked to see it as a spinoff. I remember Robert Lansing in a Twilight Zone episode called "The Long Morrow" and the TV series "12 O’Clock High. He's a great actor and this lost series would have been a fun show.

I was unaware that any such series was ever contemplated. Heck, back in the 1960s, in our small town, we only got one network and I had to wait until university to ever see a Star Trek re-run episode. It quickly became a favorite and I had to watch every show, then every spin-off's show and every movie. The Gary-7 episode is one of my very favorite ones and remains so today. Assignment Earth would likely have been a hit. After all, My Favorite Martian took a similar tack - an alien in modern Earth society. I can only fantasize about how a show with Robert Lansing, then a big name star, Teri Garr, and April Taro would have been.

Hey, I say they should go for it now. After all, there's no time like the present to make a futuristic show about the past!

I always thought the cat, Isis, was being jealous. And she just projected an image in Roberta Lincoln’s mind of herself as another woman because she was, ... uhm..., being catty. I blame the writers for their sense of humor.

I remember watching that episode when it aired and I was amazed by it!!!