Errand of Mercy
- Episode aired Mar 23, 1967
- TV-PG
- 50m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
With a war with Klingons raging, Kirk and Spock attempt to resist an occupation of a planet with incomprehensibly placid natives.With a war with Klingons raging, Kirk and Spock attempt to resist an occupation of a planet with incomprehensibly placid natives.With a war with Klingons raging, Kirk and Spock attempt to resist an occupation of a planet with incomprehensibly placid natives.
Bobby Bass
- Klingon Guard
- (uncredited)
Bill Blackburn
- Organian villager
- (uncredited)
John Blower
- Organian Villager
- (uncredited)
Gary Combs
- Klingon Guard
- (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci
- Brent
- (uncredited)
- …
Eddie Paskey
- Lieutenant Leslie
- (uncredited)
Basil Poledouris
- Klingon
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIntroduces the Klingon Empire. Klingons were named after Gene Roddenberry's friend, Bob Clingan.
- GoofsAlthough Spock observes that Organia is a "a primitive society" which is "totally stagnant" and making no progress toward mechanization, neither Spock nor Kirk appears to notice that the doors to the Organian council chamber open and close by themselves when someone approaches. There is no evidence of any Organian opening or closing the doors.
- Quotes
[Spock prevents Kirk from reacting to a Klingon's provocation]
Captain James T. Kirk: You didn't really think I was gonna beat his head in, did you?
Mr. Spock: I thought you might.
Captain James T. Kirk: You're right.
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsEdited from This Island Earth (1955)
- SoundtracksTheme From Star Trek
Written by and credited to Alexander Courage
Featured review
"What happens in space is not your business..."
Sayeth Kor, the Klingon garrison commander of Organia. Colicos has the most memorable lines in this episode; commenting on everything from being touched to the glory of the Klingon Empire.
The Klingons, as originally written in the Star Trek bible, were a riff on the Communist Chinese, seen from a social dynamic as one being economically aggressive at one time in history, only to have fallen from grace and embrace the share-and-share-alike servitude from Marx's mind. The Klingon Empire is described as being a military dictatorship. The Klingons are the self proclaimed conquerors of space (or will be anyway), and Organia being in the disputed region, it is one of the first planets to fall into the fray.
Kirk and Spock take it upon themselves to show the primitives how they can resist the tyranny of Klingon occupation. Kor protests and takes action.
But there's a twist here. The battlefield that would be, one inhabited by the primitives of a far flung world, has a secret that the warring parties will discover.
It's a bit of a condescending episode in terms of what causes international conflict, and on the same vein rather naive. There's a real ivory tower perspective on the part of the author of this particular episode as he imparts his personal wisdom and outlook on why countries war with one another.
But, there it is. Opposing sides stare one another in the face, ready to annihilate life on a planetary scale when something happens. There's an admonishment from an over-bearing school teacher with all of the common sense of a PTA mother who utters inane phrases to her children after they've been bullied. The concept was to show how ridiculous the exercise would be, and the bloodshed as a result.
This episode is a reflection the face between the then so called First and Second World powers, with the Third World caught in the middle. It is an unexpected twist from the Third World representative that we get the PTA mother for the episode.
As such the action in this episode is confined to Star Fleet's executive officers hailing from the U.S.S. Enterprise, our vessel and home for our favorite TV show.
The highlight is seeing Star Fleet's finest pitted against the best the Klingon Empire has to offer. Who wins? You be the judge.
Enjoy.
The Klingons, as originally written in the Star Trek bible, were a riff on the Communist Chinese, seen from a social dynamic as one being economically aggressive at one time in history, only to have fallen from grace and embrace the share-and-share-alike servitude from Marx's mind. The Klingon Empire is described as being a military dictatorship. The Klingons are the self proclaimed conquerors of space (or will be anyway), and Organia being in the disputed region, it is one of the first planets to fall into the fray.
Kirk and Spock take it upon themselves to show the primitives how they can resist the tyranny of Klingon occupation. Kor protests and takes action.
But there's a twist here. The battlefield that would be, one inhabited by the primitives of a far flung world, has a secret that the warring parties will discover.
It's a bit of a condescending episode in terms of what causes international conflict, and on the same vein rather naive. There's a real ivory tower perspective on the part of the author of this particular episode as he imparts his personal wisdom and outlook on why countries war with one another.
But, there it is. Opposing sides stare one another in the face, ready to annihilate life on a planetary scale when something happens. There's an admonishment from an over-bearing school teacher with all of the common sense of a PTA mother who utters inane phrases to her children after they've been bullied. The concept was to show how ridiculous the exercise would be, and the bloodshed as a result.
This episode is a reflection the face between the then so called First and Second World powers, with the Third World caught in the middle. It is an unexpected twist from the Third World representative that we get the PTA mother for the episode.
As such the action in this episode is confined to Star Fleet's executive officers hailing from the U.S.S. Enterprise, our vessel and home for our favorite TV show.
The highlight is seeing Star Fleet's finest pitted against the best the Klingon Empire has to offer. Who wins? You be the judge.
Enjoy.
helpful•138
- Blueghost
- Feb 7, 2012
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