Star Trek: A Piece of the Action

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The Enterprise travels to a planet suffering from cultural contamination from an earlier expedition--the inhabitants mimic the culture of 1920's gangland Chicago. Read full recap »

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Writers:: David P. Harmon, David P. Harmon, Gene L. Coon

Director:: James Komack

Stars:: William Shatner (Captain James Tiberius Kirk); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard Horatio "Bones" McCoy)

Recurring Role:: William Blackburn (Lt. Hadley (uncredited)); Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Nyota Uhura); James Doohan (Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott)

Guest Star:: Steven Marlo (Zabo); James Doohan (Radio Announcer (uncredited)); Jay D. Jones (Mirt (uncredited)); Marlys Burdette (Krako's Girl (uncredited)); Buddy Garion (Hood); Sharyn Hillyer (Girl #2); Dyanne Thorne (Girl #1); Sheldon Collins (Tough Kid); John Harmon (Tepo); Lee Delano (Kalo); Vic Tayback (Jojo Krako); Anthony Caruso (Bela Oxmyx)

After the opening drive-by shooting McCoy barely looks at the gangster who has been shot, but declares him "dead." Submachine guns are notoriously innaccurate, and there is a chance the man only was hit by one or two bullets. One would think McCoy would at least give the man a cursory look, before making such a final pronouncement. edit »
Trivia: Each of the gangs wears a distinctive "uniform" in how they dress. Bela's men wear double breasted suits and fedora hats, while Kracko's men wear bow ties, blazers and skimmer hats. One may assume that Teppo's gang wears single breasted suits and homburg hats. edit »
Why was the Horizon carrying a book published in 1992, much less somehow leaving it on the planet? edit »
This is the first and only time where a ship's phasers are set on a stun setting and used to stun a group of people. edit »
Spock says there's no record of such a culture based on a moral inversion. Actually, the culture in the episode "Mirror Mirror" operates on somewhat similar principles, and Kirk & Co. presumably made a record of it and got some info on its background and history before they returned to "their" universe. edit »

The 2006 TVLand version of this episode cuts out the gag of Spock confidently indicating that he'd be able to reach the Enterprise frequency with the radio broadcast equipment and immediately getting an ad for a gun (voiced somewhat obviously by James Doohan). Instead, it cuts directly to the shot of Uhura answering. edit »
This episode was revisited in the Original Nintendo system game "Star Trek: 25th Anniversary" In it you approach the planet and are thrown to unknown space. You have to find out where you are, and collect enough Lythum Crystals to get back. it turns out that they destroyed themselves. There's a little time travel and you have to play a game of Fizbin to get the communicator back. edit »
The U.S.S. Horizon is of the Daedalus class. edit »
Desilu No: 5149-49. edit »

Kirk: Nobody's gonna put the bag on me anymore! edit »
Oxymx: (over the phone) Yeah, I've got a lot of nerve. What are you going to do about it?
Tepo: (gets transported in) Coming over with my boys and we... (whimpers) Mother! edit »
Kirk: You got Krako on ice?
Scotty: Aye, he's here. Mad enough to chew neutronium, but behaving himself.
Kirk: Okay, baby. Cool him till I flag you.
Scotty: Flag me?
Kirk: (whispers) Keep him until I send for him. (normally) We're going to make some old-style phone calls from this locale, so you locate the man on the other end of the blower and give him a ride to this flop.
Scotty: What?
Kirk: (whispers) Find the man at the other end of the phone and transport him to these coordinates. (normally) Can do, sweetheart?
Scotty: Can do, Captain. edit »
Kirk: All right, Spocko, cover him. edit »
Kirk: Gentlemen. Gentlemen. This, uh, this card game is a kid's game.
Tepo: You think so?
Kirk: Oh, yes. I wouldn't waste my time.
Tepo: Who's asking you?
Kirk: On Beta Antares IV, they play a real game. It's a man's game, but a little beyond you. It requires intelligence.
Tepo: Listen, Kirk, I can play anything you can figure out. Take the cards, big man. Show us how it's played.
Spock : I'm familiar with the culture on Beta Antares. There aren't games...
Kirk: Spock. Spock. Of course the cards on Beta Antares IV are different,
but not too different. The name of the game is called, uh... fizzbin.
Tepo: Fizzbin?
Kirk: Fizzbin. It's, uh ... not too difficult. Each player gets six cards, except for the player on the dealer's right, who gets seven.
Tepo: On the right?
Kirk: The second card is turned up, except on Tuesdays.
Tepo: On Tuesday.
Kirk: Mm-hmm. Oh, look what you got, two jacks. You got a half fizzbin already.
Tepo: I need another jack.
Kirk: No. If you got another jack, why, you'd have a sralk.
Tepo: A sralk?
Kirk: Yes. You'd be disqualified. You need a king and a deuce, except at night, when you'd need a queen and a 4.
Tepo: Except at night.
Kirk: Right. Oh, look at that. You've got another jack! Ha ha ha! How lucky you are! How wonderful for you. If you didn't get another jack, if you'd gotten a king, why, then, you'd get another card, except when it's dark, you'd give it back.
Tepo: If it were dark on Tuesday.
Kirk: But what you're after is a royal fizzbin, but the odds in getting a royal fizzbin are astron... Spock, what are the odds in getting a royal fizzbin?
Spock: I've never computed them.
Kirk: Well, they're astronomical, believe me. Now, for the last card. We'll call it a kronk. You got that?
Tepo: What? edit »

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9
00
Jay-Spacedust
member since: Jun 17, 2006
A Piece of the Action
The Bottom Line: "Silly"
Kirk, Spock and McCoy investigate a planet that has a culture mirroring Earth's gangster culture of the 1920s, the result of an earlier expedition that left behind gangster literature. I have to confess � I like this one!... ...Continue »
This episode splits the vote amongst fans, and there are many who don't like it. But I have to say, I actually quite enjoyed it, and I find it one of the better later second season instalments.

To fully enjoy it, you have to take it for what it is � a silly comedy with a very light plot. If you're looking for something deeper and more meaningful then you're looking at the wrong episode.

Coming just two episodes after the very popular "The Trouble with Tribbles", it is another of the Original Series' few out-and-out comedy episodes. I know I will be very controversial here, and many will disagree, but I actually enjoyed it as much as "The Trouble with Tribbles"!

The plot itself is very thin, and just an excuse for Kirk and co. to play gangsters for fifty minutes, but if you take it for what it is, then it is good fun.

Highlights include Kirk's ridiculous made up card game, and Kirk driving. Besides, in what other episode would you find Mr. Spock dressed up as a gangster!

The cast play it for what it is, a goofy comedy � none more so that William Shatner, who seems to totally get what the episode is, and throws himself into it.

The episode doesn't match the sharp, polished outings of the first season, but for a later second season episode where the series was starting to lose its shine, it doesn't come off too badly. Just don't expect too much from it.
11/28/08 08:51am | report abuse
6.9
10
tyrroneus
member since: Mar 9, 2008
A Piece of the Action
The Bottom Line: "Silly"
The Federations returns to a planet a hundred years later and discovers that the alien populace have adopted Earth's 1920's mobster lifestyle as their template for self governance. ...Continue »
Anyway, I just re-watched A Piece of the Action. It had been at least 20 years
since I last saw this episode and sadly I must admit that the
episode wasn't the best that Trek had to offer but neither was it the worst. When viewed as a serious sci-fi story it fails miserably, but when viewed as a light comedy, it works.
The show, however absurd
the premise, was done tongue in cheek and this was something that I missed the
first couple of times I watched it. I now officially pull A Piece of the Action out of the bottom 10 list.
03/15/08 12:38am | report abuse
8.5
00
GeorgeJobson
member since: Oct 3, 2006
A Piece of the Action
The Bottom Line: "A very special episode"
Gangsta's Paradise! ...Continue »
One of the best Star Trek epiosdes deals with Captain Kirk, Mr. spook and Dr. MacCoy as they visit a planet that was by gangsters and was stuck in the middle of a gangster war. thje territory is divided between three factions as they battle over turf control. One of the best scenes is when Kirk and Mr. Spook are in gang uniform and I like the way they speak gang talk. The clash of culture is between the federation and the gangsters. I gave it an 8.5 because it the better of the "Star Trek" epiosdes. this is a fun epiosde.
05/10/07 09:23am | report abuse
8.7
10
hrtonslv
member since: Dec 22, 2006
A Piece of the Action
The Bottom Line: "Above average"
Kirk cheats at cards, Scotty threatens to wear concrete galoshes ...Continue »
I bought into the comedy. I think when you watch "I Mudd" or "The Trouble with Tribbles" everyone knows it is comedy and they subconsciously know that there will be parts of the plot that simply won't make sense. You're not going to get that intelligent, probing feeling like you get when you watch "Balance of Terror" or "The City on the edge of Forever". I think a few people might have had a small problem with the mixture of the comedy in this episode than they did with "Mudd" or "Tribbles", but I certainly did not. "Check?" "Right".
12/25/06 07:32am | report abuse
4
03
peck2000
member since: Dec 9, 2005
A Piece of the Action
The Bottom Line: "Bottom of the barrel"
Flamin' Nora - this one's as bad as it gets ...Continue »
Where do you start with this epsiode? It has to be the worst STTOS of the lot, doesn't it? I mean, Prohibition Gangsters in Space? Are you guys kidding me?

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE gangster movies - G-Men, Public Enemy, Little Caesar ... evn Key Largo is great entertainment - but I don't want top see gangsters in TREK ...

OK - I get that it's supposed to be funny. And it is, to an extent, but it has about as much to do with science fiction as The Roaring Twenties.

It's mildly entertaining but, honestly, "The Trouble With Tribbles" is far more successful TREK comedy than this lame effort ...
08/29/06 05:01am | report abuse