Star Trek: The Original Series — 2x07 — Catspaw

Aired 1967-10-27

SpaceOpera.com rating:1

Average reader rating:2.69

Synopsis

Aliens on a mission of conquest hold the crew captive.

Filler rating: bad filler

Pretty lame episode with no significant long term continuity.

Remarkable scenes

Kirk regarding the witches: "Spock, comment?" Spock: "Very bad poetry, captain."
Kirk seducing Sylvia.
Kirk, Spock, and Korob being chased by the giant cat.
Kirk destroying the alien illusion device.

Review

The Squire of Gothos + Return of the Archons = Catspaw. Like The Squire of Gothos this story features yet another super alien that captures the crew and demands something silly along with yet another alien technology plot device (the transmuter) that once trivially destroyed solves all the crew's problems. And like Return of the Archons the aliens yet again achieve their goals by transforming various members of the crew into zombies and trapping the crew inside of an ancient Earth stereotype. To be frank, Star Trek didn't need a Halloween special, much less a poorly executed one.

2 reader comments

This episode is sub-par to say the least. The language is stilted, the jokes lame. The fight scenes are badly directed. The cheap costumes and mis-en-scene furnishings seem to bear the dust of the studio B closet. The story is jumbled and poorly told. A felinephobiac might get a brief thrill from the screeching catwoman but there is otherwise little dramatic effect to this careless production. The deflating of the shabby bird-like marionettes are a fitting ending to this mess. How did Shatner keep from giggling through his final speech?
by S. Egil | 05/13/2010 at 9:58 pm

Oh just had to mention it. This was the first episode shot in the second season. Assignment Earth was the last. Did any one else notice that in both of these episodes a cat turns into a chick?
by Old Fat Trekkie | 12/10/2011 at 2:35 am