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EspañolAND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD
__NOTOC__
'"And the Children Shall Lead"' is a third season episode of '', and was broadcast October 11, 1968. It is episode #59, production #60, written by Edward J. Lakso and directed by Marvin Chomsky.
'Overview:' The crew of the ''Enterprise'' rescues a group of children stranded on a planet, along with their evil "imaginary" friend.
On stardate 5029.5, the starship USS ''Enterprise'' intercepts a distress call from the planet Triacus, where a scientific expedition is located. Arriving at the planet, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Mr. Spock beam down to investigate. They find the expedition leader, Professor Starnes has gone mad and he soon dies from severe injuries. All the other adult members of the team are already dead apparently from mass-suicide. The expedition's five children however, who consist of four boys and one girl, remain alive and well and follow the lead of the oldest child, Tommy, the preteen son of Professor Starnes. The children continue to play as if nothing happened.
A recording is found that was made by the research team, indicating they were driven to suicide to escape what they call "the enemy within." The landing team buries the dead adults and conducts a makeshift funeral as the children watch on in silence. The team notices the children seem strangely emotionless toward the loss of their families. Afterward, the children and Dr. McCoy beam to the ''Enterprise'' while Kirk and Spock investigate a nearby cave where Spock has been getting anomalous readings on his tricorder. Once inside, Kirk finds himself in the throes of an anxiety attack which abates the instant he leaves the cave. He speculates the anxiety may be caused by the same phenomenon that is causing the unusual tricorder readings.
McCoy looks the children over and finds them in perfect health. He speculates that the children witnessed the shocking deaths of their parents and are now suffering temporary lacunar amnesia. They are temporarily unaware of what has happened and incapable of grieving. He warns that confronting them with the truth too soon could damage them psychologically, and that it would be best to wait until they begin to remember in the natural way. Over bowls of ice cream, Kirk tries to talk to them and they reveal that they did not like living on Triacus and were resentful their parents wanted to stay. Kirk tries to ask more questions but the children begin to chant "busy busy busy" and rudely ignore him.
The children are assigned quarters, and once they are left alone, they form a circle and begin to perform a summoning ritual, chanting: ''Hail, hail, fire and snow, call the angel, we will go, far away, for to see, friendly angel come to me.'' Answering the call, a humanoid apparition forms appearing as a richly dressed man named Gorgan who is surrounded by a green glow. He is happy that his children have completed their "first step" and encourages them to take over the ''Enterprise'' and change its course to the planet Marcus XII. There he promises the children will be happy and offers a life without responsibilities or rules once they are with the others of his kind.
Tommy gets permission to visit the bridge where Captain Kirk and Spock look over data from the expedition site. He asks Kirk to take him and his friends to Marcus XII, explaining that he has relatives there. Kirk denies the request and tells him the plan is to take the children to Starbase 4 where their relatives will be contacted. Kirk and Spock watch a recording from Professor Starnes who documents the onset of paranoia and anxiety among his staff just after the recent excavation of a new archaeological site. Just then, Tommy concentrates deeply and uses a series of gestures made with his clenched fist to telekineticly disrupt the playback.
Kirk and Spock are confounded over the malfunction and leave the bridge. Tommy stays behind and observes Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekov at the helm. He telepathically forces Sulu and Chekov to change course however, in their minds, they are still orbiting the planet. Lt. Uhura notices the planet is gone and she alerts Sulu, but Tommy affects her as well and she gets a share of the same illusion which she brushes off as seeing things.
In a briefing room, Kirk, Spock and McCoy watch the rest of Professor Starnes's recordings. Starnes speaks of doing things against his will and how he requested a transport with no apparent need of it. When he realized what was happening, he decided to send out a dispatch to Starfleet to warn them. Starnes closes the entry shouting, "Alien upon us, the enemy from within!"
Mr. Spock reports his findings on the obscure history of Triacus that may be linked to the disturbances felt by the research expedition. He informs Kirk that Triacus was the ancient base of operations for planetary marauders who fought wars throughout the sector thousands of years ago. The marauders were eventually defeated, but according to legend, the embodiment of their evil remained behind and waiting for an escape. He believes that it only needs some sort of catalyst to bring it alive again.
Armed with the news that something inimical may be lurking on the planet, Kirk assembles two security members to beam down to the planet to relieve personnel already looking over the excavation site. While attempting, unsuccessfully, to beam up the first team, Kirk realizes the ''Enterprise'' has left Triacus orbit and that he has just had two men beamed into space at warp speed.
Kirk rushes to the bridge to discover the children in the midst of their circling, chanting routine and the crew merely watching and smiling indulgently as if they think this is an innocent game. Gorgan appears and informs the children that they are near victory and encourages them to not allow the adults to gain control of the ship. Kirk realizes the children have taken over and are using the crew as puppets. He confronts his two helmsmen about the change of course, but they insist there is no change. Kirk again orders Sulu to change course, but enormous daggers (visible only to Sulu) appear on the viewscreen. Kirk tries to take over the controls, but is forced away by Sulu who shouts, "No, Captain! We'll all be killed!" as he desperately avoids having the ship damaged by the imaginary blades.
Kirk realizes Tommy is affecting the bridge crew's minds and demands he stop, but Tommy ignores him. Kirk orders Uhura to alert Starfleet however she becomes useless as she is made to see herself as a disfigured old woman. All she can do is look at her reflection in the console and sob saying that she sees her own death. Kirk tells Spock to send the message, but Spock is also affected and sees no reason to relay the order since everything is functioning normally.
Kirk tries to order the bridge security officer to escort the children away, but all the officer hears is gibberish and just stands there in a daze. Angered, Kirk goes after Tommy himself but he affects his mind and convinces him that he has lost his ability to command. As Kirk breaks down, Spock manages to shake off Tommy's control and quickly leads his shaken captain off the bridge. Kirk collapses in self pity in the lift where Spock reassures him that he is indeed in command.
Once back on his feet, Kirk goes to auxiliary control to convince Chief Engineer Scott to put the ''Enterprise'' back on course, but Scott and his technicians are under the children's control as well and refuse to obey Kirk's commands. In the ensuing brief struggle, Kirk notices one of the children standing behind a screen making the same peculiar gestures. Spock says that the children are not evil, but are being used by an evil, alien power. In the corridor, they encounter Chekov, who believes he's received an order to arrest them. Again, they notice Tommy nearby making the fist pounding gestures.
Kirk and Spock disable Chekov and the guards after which Kirk finally confronts Tommy and Mary on the bridge, leveling a number of accusations against their alien friend and demanding that he show himself. When the children refuse to call him, Kirk replays the audio chant. Gorgan appears and sneeringly describes his plan, saying that people who are full of goodness and gentleness are unworthy of being his followers and will always be vanquished by stronger forces.
Kirk plays back recordings of the children's families. The images show the kids having fun and laughing while playing games with their parents. Kirk observes smiles returning to their faces as they watch. Then the images appear of the adults' dead bodies and the smiles quickly turn to tears. Kirk implores the children to see Gorgan as he truly is. The children begin to sob as their faith in Gorgan fails and the entity's face begins to decay as he tries to win the children back. Gorgan weakens and finally fades away, chanting "Death to you all!"
With the evil gone, the illusions subside and control of the ship is restored. The ''Enterprise'' resumes course to the Starbase.
This episode was digitally re-mastered in 2006 and first aired on April 14, 2007 as part of the remastered 40th Anniversary original series. It was preceded a week earlier by the re-mastered version of "The Immunity Syndrome" and followed a week later by the re-mastered version of "All Our Yesterdays". Video and audio have been digitally restored, and the episode features the all-CGI USS ''Enterprise'' that is standard among the revisions. Other changes to this episode include:
★ The planet Triacus was given a face lift to appear more realistic looking.
★ The coloration and sharpness of Gorgan's green glow has been enhanced. His hideous transformation in the end has been slightly modified as the scars on his face now partially fade in rather than progressing over a series of separate camera shots.
In an interview with Sondra Marshak, published in ''Star Trek Lives'' (written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston), Leonard Nimoy explained that when he complained about the script to producer Fred Freiberger, Freiberger said, "This script is going to be what 'Miri' should have been." Nimoy objected, calling "Miri" a beautiful, well-acted story, and felt that Freiberger's comments were as much as saying, "'Miri' was a piece of trash."
In a portion of the recording which was left on the cutting-room floor, Starnes says the power started to influence the children, and the tape reveals a recording of the summoning chant the children sing to call their alien friend.
★ Official site episode entry
'"And the Children Shall Lead"' is a third season episode of '', and was broadcast October 11, 1968. It is episode #59, production #60, written by Edward J. Lakso and directed by Marvin Chomsky.
'Overview:' The crew of the ''Enterprise'' rescues a group of children stranded on a planet, along with their evil "imaginary" friend.
| Contents |
| Plot |
| 40th anniversary remastering |
| Production |
| External links |
Plot
On stardate 5029.5, the starship USS ''Enterprise'' intercepts a distress call from the planet Triacus, where a scientific expedition is located. Arriving at the planet, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Mr. Spock beam down to investigate. They find the expedition leader, Professor Starnes has gone mad and he soon dies from severe injuries. All the other adult members of the team are already dead apparently from mass-suicide. The expedition's five children however, who consist of four boys and one girl, remain alive and well and follow the lead of the oldest child, Tommy, the preteen son of Professor Starnes. The children continue to play as if nothing happened.
A recording is found that was made by the research team, indicating they were driven to suicide to escape what they call "the enemy within." The landing team buries the dead adults and conducts a makeshift funeral as the children watch on in silence. The team notices the children seem strangely emotionless toward the loss of their families. Afterward, the children and Dr. McCoy beam to the ''Enterprise'' while Kirk and Spock investigate a nearby cave where Spock has been getting anomalous readings on his tricorder. Once inside, Kirk finds himself in the throes of an anxiety attack which abates the instant he leaves the cave. He speculates the anxiety may be caused by the same phenomenon that is causing the unusual tricorder readings.
McCoy looks the children over and finds them in perfect health. He speculates that the children witnessed the shocking deaths of their parents and are now suffering temporary lacunar amnesia. They are temporarily unaware of what has happened and incapable of grieving. He warns that confronting them with the truth too soon could damage them psychologically, and that it would be best to wait until they begin to remember in the natural way. Over bowls of ice cream, Kirk tries to talk to them and they reveal that they did not like living on Triacus and were resentful their parents wanted to stay. Kirk tries to ask more questions but the children begin to chant "busy busy busy" and rudely ignore him.
The children are assigned quarters, and once they are left alone, they form a circle and begin to perform a summoning ritual, chanting: ''Hail, hail, fire and snow, call the angel, we will go, far away, for to see, friendly angel come to me.'' Answering the call, a humanoid apparition forms appearing as a richly dressed man named Gorgan who is surrounded by a green glow. He is happy that his children have completed their "first step" and encourages them to take over the ''Enterprise'' and change its course to the planet Marcus XII. There he promises the children will be happy and offers a life without responsibilities or rules once they are with the others of his kind.
Tommy gets permission to visit the bridge where Captain Kirk and Spock look over data from the expedition site. He asks Kirk to take him and his friends to Marcus XII, explaining that he has relatives there. Kirk denies the request and tells him the plan is to take the children to Starbase 4 where their relatives will be contacted. Kirk and Spock watch a recording from Professor Starnes who documents the onset of paranoia and anxiety among his staff just after the recent excavation of a new archaeological site. Just then, Tommy concentrates deeply and uses a series of gestures made with his clenched fist to telekineticly disrupt the playback.
Kirk and Spock are confounded over the malfunction and leave the bridge. Tommy stays behind and observes Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekov at the helm. He telepathically forces Sulu and Chekov to change course however, in their minds, they are still orbiting the planet. Lt. Uhura notices the planet is gone and she alerts Sulu, but Tommy affects her as well and she gets a share of the same illusion which she brushes off as seeing things.
In a briefing room, Kirk, Spock and McCoy watch the rest of Professor Starnes's recordings. Starnes speaks of doing things against his will and how he requested a transport with no apparent need of it. When he realized what was happening, he decided to send out a dispatch to Starfleet to warn them. Starnes closes the entry shouting, "Alien upon us, the enemy from within!"
Mr. Spock reports his findings on the obscure history of Triacus that may be linked to the disturbances felt by the research expedition. He informs Kirk that Triacus was the ancient base of operations for planetary marauders who fought wars throughout the sector thousands of years ago. The marauders were eventually defeated, but according to legend, the embodiment of their evil remained behind and waiting for an escape. He believes that it only needs some sort of catalyst to bring it alive again.
Armed with the news that something inimical may be lurking on the planet, Kirk assembles two security members to beam down to the planet to relieve personnel already looking over the excavation site. While attempting, unsuccessfully, to beam up the first team, Kirk realizes the ''Enterprise'' has left Triacus orbit and that he has just had two men beamed into space at warp speed.
Melvin Belli as Gorgan
Kirk rushes to the bridge to discover the children in the midst of their circling, chanting routine and the crew merely watching and smiling indulgently as if they think this is an innocent game. Gorgan appears and informs the children that they are near victory and encourages them to not allow the adults to gain control of the ship. Kirk realizes the children have taken over and are using the crew as puppets. He confronts his two helmsmen about the change of course, but they insist there is no change. Kirk again orders Sulu to change course, but enormous daggers (visible only to Sulu) appear on the viewscreen. Kirk tries to take over the controls, but is forced away by Sulu who shouts, "No, Captain! We'll all be killed!" as he desperately avoids having the ship damaged by the imaginary blades.
Kirk realizes Tommy is affecting the bridge crew's minds and demands he stop, but Tommy ignores him. Kirk orders Uhura to alert Starfleet however she becomes useless as she is made to see herself as a disfigured old woman. All she can do is look at her reflection in the console and sob saying that she sees her own death. Kirk tells Spock to send the message, but Spock is also affected and sees no reason to relay the order since everything is functioning normally.
Kirk tries to order the bridge security officer to escort the children away, but all the officer hears is gibberish and just stands there in a daze. Angered, Kirk goes after Tommy himself but he affects his mind and convinces him that he has lost his ability to command. As Kirk breaks down, Spock manages to shake off Tommy's control and quickly leads his shaken captain off the bridge. Kirk collapses in self pity in the lift where Spock reassures him that he is indeed in command.
Once back on his feet, Kirk goes to auxiliary control to convince Chief Engineer Scott to put the ''Enterprise'' back on course, but Scott and his technicians are under the children's control as well and refuse to obey Kirk's commands. In the ensuing brief struggle, Kirk notices one of the children standing behind a screen making the same peculiar gestures. Spock says that the children are not evil, but are being used by an evil, alien power. In the corridor, they encounter Chekov, who believes he's received an order to arrest them. Again, they notice Tommy nearby making the fist pounding gestures.
Kirk and Spock disable Chekov and the guards after which Kirk finally confronts Tommy and Mary on the bridge, leveling a number of accusations against their alien friend and demanding that he show himself. When the children refuse to call him, Kirk replays the audio chant. Gorgan appears and sneeringly describes his plan, saying that people who are full of goodness and gentleness are unworthy of being his followers and will always be vanquished by stronger forces.
Kirk plays back recordings of the children's families. The images show the kids having fun and laughing while playing games with their parents. Kirk observes smiles returning to their faces as they watch. Then the images appear of the adults' dead bodies and the smiles quickly turn to tears. Kirk implores the children to see Gorgan as he truly is. The children begin to sob as their faith in Gorgan fails and the entity's face begins to decay as he tries to win the children back. Gorgan weakens and finally fades away, chanting "Death to you all!"
With the evil gone, the illusions subside and control of the ship is restored. The ''Enterprise'' resumes course to the Starbase.
40th anniversary remastering
This episode was digitally re-mastered in 2006 and first aired on April 14, 2007 as part of the remastered 40th Anniversary original series. It was preceded a week earlier by the re-mastered version of "The Immunity Syndrome" and followed a week later by the re-mastered version of "All Our Yesterdays". Video and audio have been digitally restored, and the episode features the all-CGI USS ''Enterprise'' that is standard among the revisions. Other changes to this episode include:
★ The planet Triacus was given a face lift to appear more realistic looking.
★ The coloration and sharpness of Gorgan's green glow has been enhanced. His hideous transformation in the end has been slightly modified as the scars on his face now partially fade in rather than progressing over a series of separate camera shots.
Production
In an interview with Sondra Marshak, published in ''Star Trek Lives'' (written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak and Joan Winston), Leonard Nimoy explained that when he complained about the script to producer Fred Freiberger, Freiberger said, "This script is going to be what 'Miri' should have been." Nimoy objected, calling "Miri" a beautiful, well-acted story, and felt that Freiberger's comments were as much as saying, "'Miri' was a piece of trash."
In a portion of the recording which was left on the cutting-room floor, Starnes says the power started to influence the children, and the tape reveals a recording of the summoning chant the children sing to call their alien friend.
External links
★ Official site episode entry
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