The Naked Time

Season 1, Episode 4, Aired
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Episode Summary

A strange alien substance causes the crew to act out their deepest inhibitions, while the ship plummets out of orbit.
8.5
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Cast & Crew

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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • The crew of the Enterprise become intoxicated by a space phenomenon.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By Celedorian, Nov 13, 2011 Report Abuse
    The Naked Time is one of the best early Star Trek episodes. It's plot simultaneously lets the actors stretch themselves with out-of-character moments while also allowing the audience to learn about the hidden thoughts and desires of the characters, which they usually don't show. The episode boasts an original musical score which is great and has bits used in many other later episodes.

    Bruce Hyde stars as Riley. The actor and character appear in only two episodes, but his performance as Riley in this one is so memorable, he's become rather beloved by the fans.

    As for flaws, the episode does move along a bit slowly; and it's an early episode that doesn't have the sense of fun the series would later develop. But for its time, it's a great piece of work.moreless

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  • Those crewmen are going to get one hell of a hangover!

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By AgentAlbertross, Nov 13, 2011 Report Abuse
    The opening with the ice planet and the red goo virus will always make this a classic Trek episode for me. In an interview the writer said he wanted an episode were everyone was drunk but had full co-ordination. Watching now with an adults perception I can see where he was going with this concept! I think after they get the cure though, those crewmen must get one hell of a hangover!
    Interestingly at the end as they have regressed 3 days there must be another Enterprise zooming around the galaxy until they catch up to their current time line!moreless

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  • A visit to a planet that is breaking up unwittingly brings a disease aboard the Enterprise, which causes crew members to lose their inhibitions and behave out of character. An okay-ish episode, but not one of my outstanding favourites...moreless

    7.5
    "Good"
    By Jay-Spacedust, Nov 13, 2011 Report Abuse
    This is a fair episode, and watchable enough the first time or so, but doesn't really have enough appeal in my view to be outstanding. In many ways it's a sort of 'novelty' story, with crew members acting out of character; and doesn't have the depth or the pull of some of the other first season greats.

    One of the best and most memorable moments is, of course, Mr. Sulu stalking the corridors, bare-chested and fencing sword in hand (which was immortalised in many episode's closing credits). But special mention has to go to Bruce Hyde as Lt. Riley, who reverts back to his Irish roots and declares himself as new Captain of the Enterprise, sealing himself in Engineering as the ship plunges towards the planet.

    Some of the 'out of character' moments (such as the above mentioned Sulu and Riley) work well, but others don't come off as successfully. I know others will fiercely disagree with this, but I find Spock's moments, especially the scene with Nurse Chapel, to be very drawn out and tedious. Spock is one of my favourite characters, but I'm afraid I find that these scenes rather drag.

    This story was originally intended to lead into a second part, with the Enterprise having travelled back in time, but this was dropped and it became a stand-alone story (what would have been the second part eventually became 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday'). I think it is a bit of a shame, as the series could have done with a few more two-parters (ultimately, only 'The Menagerie' was the only two-parter of the series).

    The story was recycled to serve as a sequel, in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation's early episode 'The Naked Now' (the first episode after the pilot, 'Encounter At Farpoint', of that series). Like 'The Naked Time', that episode doesn't really stand as one of my particular favourites.

    All-in-all, this is a watchable episode, but just doesn't really stand out in my view.moreless

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  • Indecent exposure....

    7.5
    "Good"
    By uk6strings, Oct 21, 2010 Report Abuse
    "The Naked Time" starts off as a lackluster episode of the original Star Trek series but ends up much better than it began by the episode's end. After investigating the mysterious death of a group of Federation scientists on planet Psi 2000, crew members on board the Enterprise begin to act strangely - some become violent, some get disoriented with silliness, and others loose control of their emotions. The sane part of the crew now has to race to find a cure and struggle against the unstable planet.

    The first half of "The Naked Time" is far too silly for its own good. Not much of the humor works but on top of that the pacing is horrible as well. Then things start to pick about during the other half when the crew face real danger and begin to fall apart. Leonard Nimoy is especially good in this episode.moreless

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  • Whenever I watch this, it cracks me up again. Yeah, it's silly, but it's funny, too.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By pokeranger15, Apr 04, 2009 Report Abuse
    Well, I must say, for an old show, it's pretty funny. I mean, who can forget Sulu going around, challenging everyone to duels, and shirtless? I had this on TV during a marathon, and guess what? By the time it had ended, my ribs, stomach and legs hurt from laughing too much!

    I knocked off a few points because Kirk was overreacting to everything. But you have to admit, fellas, "Please, not again" was a classic one-liner that reacted to Reilly's VERY crazy takeover. (Double-portions of ice-cream for everyone? COUNT ME IN!)

    I gotta show this to Cousin Nikki when she gets home. We both got a lot of laughing to do.

    Casey likey:

    * Sulu running around. Shirtless. Brandishing a foil and challenging everyone to a duel. I fell to pieces over that, dude!

    * Who can forget Spock crying about his mum? I was crying too, while laughing at the same time. What? If it was a tragic episode, I would've let all my tears flow. It's comical, you know!

    * Reilly warbling his head off with "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen". I was ROFLing the entire time!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • When Spock and Tormolen are being examined at the beginning of the episode, they're both wearing black T-shirts that are clearly supposed to be worn by the male crew members under their long-sleeved shirts, as we clearly see Spock putting his blue shirt over the black one. But later, when Bones rips the shoulder of the Kirk's yellow shirt to give Kirk a hypospray, there's no black shirt underneath, though the uniform has the black collar visible. Edit
    • When Scotty is cutting through the bulkhead with the phaser he is concerned about cutting through wiring and he doesn't want to go any faster--wouldn't it have been easier and faster to use the phaser to just cut through the door? Edit
    • Trivia: Tormolen is the Original Series' first, and only, Lieutenant junior grade, as indicated by his single broken uniform braid. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Scotty's line "I canna change the laws of physics!" (when realizing that Riley had shut off the engines) would be later be used as his character's line in the 1987 parody song Star Trekkin. Edit
    • John D.F. Black originally planned for Sulu to act out a samurai fantasy. George Takei felt it would be stereotypical and suggested the Musketeers fantasy would be more interesting. Edit
    • This episode marks the first appearance of Nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett). She would go on to become a recurring character through all three seasons of the show and appear in two movies. Here she receives top billing in the end credits, over even DeForest Kelley and James Doohan. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Riley: Lt. Uhura, you've interrupted my song. Uh, I'm sorry but there'll be no ice cream for you tonight. Edit
    • McCoy: We're doing everything that's possible! Kirk: Bones I want the impossible checked out too! Edit
    • Spock: Our spectro-readings showed no contamination, no unusual elements present. Scotty: At least none your tricorders could register. Spock: Instruments register only those things they're designed to register. Space still contains infinite unknowns. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Spock: Take D'Artagnan down to sickbay. Sulu seems to think that he is the main character in a series of novels written by Alexandre Dumas that follows the adventures of a young man who leaves home to join The Three Musketeers. He sees Kirk as Cardinal Richelieu, the powerful and cunning advisor to King Louis XIII depicted as a power-hungry and greedy minister in the novels. Edit

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