The Gamesters of Triskelion

Plot

The Enterprise arrives at Gamma II to check an unmanned station. Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Uhura, and Ensign Chekov vanish during a transport attempt before the system engages. Commander Spock orders a search and picks up an ion trail. The three officers materialize in a gladiator arena on an unknown world, where four humanoids attack and overpower them.

Galt, the Master Thrall of Triskelion, explains they will be trained for games meant to amuse his masters, the Providers. Each captive receives a collar of obedience that activates when Galt’s orders are disobeyed. Uhura, Chekov, and Kirk are each given a drill thrall: Lars, Tamoon, and Shahna. After training, the Providers bid for the new thralls using their currency, quatloos.

While jogging through ancient ruins outside the arena, Kirk questions Shahna about the Providers. When she speaks too freely, her collar punishes her.

Kirk argues he should have been the one penalized. Back in their cells, Shahna thanks him. As she moves to hug him, Kirk knocks her out, takes her key, and frees Uhura and Chekov, but Galt stops their escape.

The Enterprise follows the ion trail to a planet with a humanoid settlement. As Spock and Dr. McCoy prepare to beam down, a voice identifying itself as Provider One warns them not to transport. Kirk’s voice then updates them on the situation.

Kirk demands the Providers reveal themselves and is led to an underground chamber, where he finds three disembodied brains. He proposes a wager: he and his two officers will fight an equal number of thralls. If Kirk’s side wins, the Providers will teach the thralls self-governance.

If they lose, the Enterprise crew becomes thralls. Kirk shames them by asking how humans can teach primitive cultures while the Providers claim they cannot. The Providers accept but insist Kirk fight three thralls alone.

From the ship, the Enterprise crew watches Kirk kill two thralls and wound a third. Galt then sends in Shahna.

Kirk subdues her, and she surrenders. The Providers declare Kirk the winner and unlock all thralls’ collars. Shahna wants to follow Kirk into space, but he tells her she and the others must first learn to live with their newfound freedom.

Cultural impact

The duel was parodied in the Simpsons episode 'Deep Space Homer', with onlooking NASA scientists wagering quatloos as Homer Simpson fights Barney Gumble in an arena as the Trek battle theme plays. Kirk's speech to Shahna about love was referenced in the South Park episode 'Hooked on Monkey Fonics', a scene taken from this episode of Star Trek 'complete with similar incidental music'. The popular Star Trek catchphrase 'Beam me up, Scotty' is a common misquotation, with The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations stating that the nearest equivalent is the phrase uttered in this episode: 'Scotty, beam us up.'

Television studies

The episode has been examined in several television studies. A 2013 book on Batman as a cultural icon draws a parallel between this episode and a two-part story from the 1960s Batman series. A 2006 study of warrior women on screen highlights the character Shahna, who wears what is described as traditional Amazonian attire, and uses the episode as an example of female domination. That same study notes that only 17 of the original series' 79 episodes were written or co-written by a woman, making this a rare instance.

The writer, Margaret Armen, had experience with shows featuring strong female characters, including Wonder Woman and The Big Valley, though her single Wonder Woman episode was produced after Star Trek had ended. The episode's religious and philosophical themes are addressed in a critique of another Star Trek episode, "Who Mourns for Adonais?" In that analysis, Robert Asa observes that god-like figures in Star Trek, including the Providers of Triskelion, are consistently disappointing, decadent, or dangerous, and specifically that the Providers use humanoids as playthings for their own amusement.

Finally, media critic Paul A. Cantor cites this episode as an example of the decadent outcomes that terminal societies can produce.

Did You Know?

• The episode was originally titled 'The Gamesters of Pentathlan'.
• The original script called for Sulu instead of Chekov, but George Takei was away filming The Green Berets at the time.
• In 2017, Den of Geek ranked this episode as the 12th 'best worst' Star Trek episode of the original series.