Amok Time (TOS episode)
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| Star Trek: TOS episode | |
| "Amok Time" | |
 Spock battles Kirk to the death, Amok Time. |
|
| Episode no. | 30 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 60334 |
| Airdate | September 15, 1967 |
| Writer(s) | Theodore Sturgeon |
| Director | Joseph Pevney |
| Guest star(s) | Celia Lovsky Arlene Martel Lawrence Montaigne Eddie Paskey William Blackburn (actor) Byron Morrow Frank da Vinci Walter Edmiston Russ Peek |
| Year | 2267 |
| Stardate | 3372.7 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Operation: Annihilate!" |
| Next | "Who Mourns for Adonais?" |
"Amok Time" is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode #34, and first broadcast on September 15, 1967. It was repeated April 26, 1968. This was the first episode of the second season, and the first to air after the series moved to Friday nights at 8:30pm. It was written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon and directed by Joseph Pevney.
Quick Overview: Mr. Spock returns to his homeworld for a brutal Vulcan marriage ritual.
On stardate 3372.7, Mr. Spock, first officer of the starship USS Enterprise, requests an abrupt leave of absence to his home planet of Vulcan after displaying irrational behavior for several days. Dr. McCoy witnesses one of Spock's outbursts, including the throwing of a bowl of Vulcan Plomeek soup specially prepared for him by Nurse Chapel, and agrees Spock needs some "time off".
Captain Kirk is baffled by the strange behavior and Spock's unwillingness to tell him more than "I need rest", but honors Spock's request and diverts the Enterprise to Vulcan. Soon however, Kirk receives a priority signal with orders to proceed to Altair VI to represent the Federation at an inauguration ceremony for the planet's new president. Kirk tells Spock his leave will have to be delayed. Later, Kirk asks Mr. Chekov how long it would take to get to Altair if they diverted to Vulcan just long enough to drop off Mr. Spock; Chekov replies that Spock has already ordered a course change to Vulcan.
Kirk confronts Spock, who says he has no memory of having changed the order. Kirk orders him to report to sickbay for a full examination. Once there, Dr. McCoy discovers Spock's blood chemistry is extremely active and has the presence of unknown hormones. If the condition persists, Spock will die in eight days from the physical and psychological stress. Spock does not wish to discuss what is currently affecting him, but Kirk demands an explanation.
Seemingly embarrassed, Spock informs that his condition is called Pon farr, a very personal biological syndrome that all Vulcan males painfully endure every seven years of their adult life. During this time, they must join with their wives, or die. Spock compares his need to return to Vulcan to the need for eel birds of Regulus to return every eleven years to the caverns where they hatched, and also to salmon of Earth who must return to the stream where they were born to spawn. Kirk gets the idea that it is essentially Spock's mating season.
Kirk contacts Admiral Komack at Starfleet Command Sector 9, and requests permission to divert to Vulcan. The Admiral denies permission, but Kirk ignores the order, arguing there are already two other starships attending the Altair VI ceremony. In the meantime Spock has another outburst, where he smashes a display screen when Lt. Uhura tries to contact him. Spock seems to calm down once he learns Kirk is doing what he can.
The Enterprise finally arrives at Vulcan, and Spock invites Kirk and Dr. McCoy to accompany him to the surface. Once there, Kirk comments on Vulcan's extremely harsh environment and its atmosphere which is thinner than Earth's.
Spock explains to them that Vulcans are married as children with the understanding that they will fulfill this commitment when they become adults. His bride T'Pring, who was betrothed to him at the age of 7, awaits him. He must enter Kunat kalifee, his family's traditional place of the Vulcan marriage ceremony.
T'Pau, a highly respected member of Vulcan society, and best known as the only person to ever turn down a seat in the Federation Council, will conduct the ceremony.
T'Pring announces that she would rather marry Stonn, a pure-blooded Vulcan, and invokes kal-if-fee, her customary right to a physical challenge between Spock and Stonn. But instead, she picks Kirk to be her challenger to fight Spock. The duel pains Spock, and he asks that T'Pau forbid it because Kirk "does not understand, he does not know", but T'Pau allows it. She tells Kirk to decide, telling him another champion will be selected if he declines. Kirk accepts the challenge, thinking he can let Spock win -- then discovers that this is a fight to the death.
Regardless of Spock's condition, he displays superior strength and agility. Kirk is weakened by Vulcan's heat and thinner atmosphere and must struggle harder against Spock's strength. McCoy objects, telling T'Pau that Kirk is seriously disadvantaged, and suggests he inject Kirk with a tri-ox compound to compensate. T'Pau allows the injection, but McCoy actually injects the Captain with a neuroparalyzer drug that will simulate death. The combat continues and Spock garrotes Kirk with a traditional weapon, at which point the Captain appears to have died. McCoy pronounces the Captain dead and has his body quickly beamed back to the Enterprise.
With the battle over, Spock now realizes what has happened. He gives up his claim on T'Pring and sadly returns to the ship. Upon his arrival however, he finds his Captain alive and well and expresses overt joy (unusual for a normally emotionless Vulcan). McCoy and Kirk then explain their ruse to Spock, and Spock explains that when he thought he had killed the Captain, he found that he had lost all interest in T'Pring, and the madness was gone. Furthermore, Kirk is let off the hook for disobeying orders when Starfleet retroactively grants permission to divert to Vulcan at T'Pau's request.
[edit] Trivia
- T'Pau would be referenced in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation by way of a starship bearing her name. She would appear on the holodeck in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Darkling". The character herself would appear decades later in the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "Awakening" and "Kir'Shara". Since these episodes take place more than a century before "Amok Time", and were made years after Celia Lovsky's death, the character is portrayed as a young woman, and by a different actress (Kara Zediker).
- The British pop band T'Pau (who had an international hit with Heart And Soul in 1987) took its name from the character in this episode.
- The model who was photographed as 7-year-old T'Pring (seen briefly on the viewer in Spock's quarters) has been identified as Mary Rice. [1]
- This episode marks the first time that a Starfleet Admiral appears in a Star Trek production. The Admiral in the episode was known as "Admiral Komack".
- The fight between Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock with the distinctive "Star Trek fight music" has become one of the most parodied elements of the series, having been spoofed numerous times:
- The Cable Guy: Jim Carrey's character fights Matthew Broderick's character in the same fashion, complete with fight music.
- Futurama: In "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?", Fry and Zoidberg do battle in a similar manner. The "Star Trek fight music" is used in the scene, but is referred to as the "Decapodian national anthem".
- The Simpsons: In "Deep Space Homer" Homer and Barney Gumble are made to fight with each other in a similar arena, with the fight music in the background. During the fight, a NASA official whispers to another that he bets "...400 quatloos on the newcomer."
- Family Guy: In "Peter Peter Caviar Eater" Stewie orders two butlers to "fight to the death" for his amusement, with the same background music.
- The magazine TV Guide summarised this episode with the double-entendre "Mr. Spock succumbs to a powerful mating urge and nearly kills Captain Kirk".
[edit] External links
- Amok Time at StarTrek.com
- Amok Time article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki.
| Last produced: " Who Mourns for Adonais? " |
Star Trek: TOS episodes Season 2 |
Next produced: " The Doomsday Machine " |
| Last transmitted: " Operation: Annihilate! " |
Next transmitted: " Who Mourns for Adonais? " |
