Star Trek

And the Children Shall Lead

Season 3, Episode 4, Aired 10/11/68

Episode Summary

The Enterprise travels to a planet where a scientific team has killed themselves... except for the children, who begin to act oddly.

5.6

EPISODE RATING: Mediocre

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Cast & Crew

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William Shatner

Captain James Tiberius Kirk
Leonard Nimoy

Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley

Dr. Leonard Horatio "Bones" McCoy

Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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The Enterprise is threatened by a group of orphans who are being manipulated by a sinister ghost.

2.0

"Terrible"

By Celedorian, Nov 14, 2011 Report Abuse

Star Trek doesn't do ghost stories very well in any of its incarnations, and this first one is the worst one. In a ratings stunt, famous attorney (and friend of producer Fred Freiberger) Melvin Belli stars as "Gorgon, the Friendly Angel", aka the evil ghost, aka a really boring actor. He's not helped by the script. At the heart of the problem is the lack of a central theme or point to the episode. "Charlie X" and "Miri" are similar in some ways, but whereas they each have a focused storyline, this one sort of meanders along while forcing us to endure the scenes of misled children. The disappointing special effects and odd wardrobe choices don't help matters either. (Belli gets to wear what looks like a shower curtain.) This is my least favorite Star Trek episode.moreless

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2 0
On a distant planet, Kirk, Spock and McCoy find a scientific team dead, and their children continuing to play as if nothing has happened; and who, unbeknown to the crew, have great powers at their disposal. Not outstanding but not the worst episode eithermoreless

7.0

"Good"

By Jay-Spacedust, Dec 13, 2010 Report Abuse

Here is another third season instalment that is considered a very bad episode by many. Personally, while it is far from 'Star Trek's finest hour, I don't find it to be out-and-out terrible. It's certainly better than a certain "Spock's Brain" a few episodes ago.

The story has elements of the first season's "Miri", both concerning children who harbour a sinister secret.
I don't know why the story is held with such low regard amongst many fans, as personally I think it has a semi-decent plot. I think the main flaw of the episode is that it has a reasonable concept, but doesn't unfold all that well; the story isn't developed half as well as it might have been.
I agree with another reviewer that maybe they weren't able to make it as chilling as it might have been, with the limitations of 1960s television requirements; the story is crying out to be much darker.

The effects that the various crew members suffer under the influence of the children is a mixed bag; Uhura seeing a terrible 'reflection' of herself is good, but I wasn't as convinced by Sulu hallucinating about piloting the Enterprise through the giant 'space daggers' (!).
Kirk's breakdown is nowhere near as good as various influences in the first season episodes "The Enemy Within" or "This Side of Paradise"; and his sudden 'recovery' seemed rushed and forced.

It's also hard to decipher what exactly the 'point' of the story is, as in what is the moral. There seems to be elements of stranger danger, vague child abuse and all sorts mixed in, but the 'point' is not very clear.

[Minor spoilers] The climax with Gorgan is an interesting one, as it is not a fight or a battle, but a simple case of Kirk convincing the children to 'stand up to him', thus robbing Gorgan of his power over them.
The final moments of the episode, as the children finally start to cry, is probably the best moment of the story, and makes for a good closing. [End of minor spoilers]

All-in-all, not as terrible as some would make out (as I say, I consider "Spock's Brain" to be far worse), but hardly a great episode either.moreless

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Adventures in Babysitting!

7.0

"Good"

By GeorgeJobson, Dec 13, 2010 Report Abuse

The enterprise took some kids on board after the parents were killed for no reason. Then some leader came out of nowhere to tell the kids to take over the enterprose and take them to another planet. Most of the crew fell under their spell, but Kirk and spook fough back. I can't reveal the ending, but it come with a bang, but with a wimper. I like this epiosde enough to give it a 7. that may be low, but it's an acceptable rationg for an episode of the series. Kirk, spoock and McCoy at at the top of their game.moreless

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attack of tort lawyers

3.0

"Bad"

By JonathanFox2, Dec 13, 2010 Report Abuse

This is a classic example of how not to write a ghost story. There are parts that are very good and a little scary. Then they show you the the evil thing and its Melivn Beli in a shower curtian. While, some tort lawyers such as Peter G. Angelos are pure evil in this case it just does not work. It would have much better if form had been left to viewers. Also there question of why have evil look ugly, is that not a bit tripe, and would not have been a much better story if evil was attractive.moreless

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Kirk and the landing party investigate the remnants of a scientific teamon Triacus.

9.0

"Superb"

By marvelfan89, Jul 24, 2009 Report Abuse

Great episode. This really is a terrific episode when you think about it. The episode itself is dark at times, funny and intense. The special effects were limited but Gene incorporates a lot of imagery to make the episode interesting.

Kirk and landing party find a previous expedition dead but their children are still alive? How and why this is will be explained. In life one finds out that the truth to many ugly things usually harbors a bitter secret.

In this case the children of the dead team under a bad influence do the unthinkable to their parents.

They don't know that they've aided the murder of their parents because they've been manipulated into doing so. That is the point of this episode. The manipulation and control of one authority figure over young kids.

Groups like Third Reich did it to young kids in Germany. You find more relative examples in something like a gang where one mature gang takes advantage of a younger one. You get the picture.

This makes the finale of the end that more memorable. Kirk decides not to use force to drive the entity away from the ship but make the kids realize that they've been manipulated the whole time to do some truly evil things.

That's a lesson that most parents and educators should really take not upon. That is a resolution not by force but driven more by understanding.

This is an excellent episode with a lot of interesting themes to it. Sure it's a bit funny at times with the whole emphasis of the kids taking over the ship. However, once you really piece together what the episode is trying to say you realize it's a great episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- When Tommy looks across the bridge after Kirk leaves, the long shot shows Hadley at the navigational station. However, when Tommy walks over to look at the console, Chekov is in the position. Edit
- In one of Prof. Starnes' log entries he says that the civilization on Triacus was destroyed by a "natural catastrophe". Yet later when Spock is asked about them by Kirk, he says they were a "band of marauders" who "made constant war" and that they "were themselves destroyed by those they preyed upon". Edit
- When Spock grabs Kirk and they get into the turbolift, it starts up and goes exactly where they want it to go even though they don't give it any verbal commands or use the hand control. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- Paul Baxley who was the stunt coordinator for this episode is uncredited. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Don: Parents like stupid things. Edit
- Kirk: Most legends have their basis in facts. Edit
- Spock: Humans do have an amazing capacity for believing what they choose... and excluding that which is painful. Edit
Allusions
- Help by adding allusions to this episode. Add allusions

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