Star Trek TOS: The Best Dark Fantasy Episodes

Key Takeaways

Star Trek‘s diverse plot lines include crime dramas, adventure, horror, and dark fantasy within a sci-fi framework.
The rejected pilot episode “The Cage” features psychological drama and a dark fantasy setting ahead of its time.
Episodes like “Mirror, Mirror” and “Plato’s Stepchildren” explore dark twists and villains with incredible powers.

As a lifelong fan of science fiction and a devoted enthusiast of Star Trek, I find it truly fascinating to delve into the profound philosophical and mythological themes that permeate this iconic series. The episodes you’ve shared not only showcase the richness of the Star Trek universe but also underscore the enduring appeal of ancient legends and timeless questions about humanity.

Star Trek was a groundbreaking show that pushed the boundaries of television, with creators Gene Roddenberry and DC Fontana pioneering new genres while significantly influencing modern science fiction. Each episode of Star Trek can be categorized as sci-fi, but it also encompasses elements of crime drama, adventure, horror, and dark fantasy.

The journey that audaciously leads the Starship Enterprise into uncharted territories is fraught with perilous creatures and unpredictable forces. Many tales from The Original Series revolved around exploration and valor in the face of enigma, yet in an age of groundbreaking and challenging television, some puzzles proved too complex even for the logical mind of Mr. Spock to decipher.

6 The Cage

A Psychological Thriller

Episode Number: Pilot Episode, Season 1
Air Date: February 1965 (screened to NBC executives)
Directed By: Robert Butler
Starring: Jeffrey Hunter, Leonard Nimoy, Majel Barrett

The executives turned down this pilot due to finding it overly intellectual or visionary for its era, which means it was too avant-garde or progressive compared to other productions at that time. Notably, “The Cage” wasn’t publicly released until 1988, although some of the footage had been shown earlier in the two-part episode “The Menagerie” in 1966.

Captain Christopher Pike finds himself disillusioned with his career, setting the stage for a compelling psychological tale. The fantastical landscapes and vivid experiences presented by the Keepers are drawn from their captives’ deepest thoughts, although Pike recognizes them as fragments of his past, they have been subtly distorted in certain aspects. Eventually, he realizes that this ominous illusion is intended to trap him on the planet as a part of the Keeper’s collection.

5 Mirror, Mirror

A Dark Plot Twist

Episode Number: Season 2, Episode 4
Air Date: October 6, 1967
Directed By: Marc Daniels
Starring: Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols

For the first time within the Star Trek series, the Mirror Universe was introduced, and malfunctioning transporter beams remain among the limited methods to access it. The title alludes to Alice’s journey in “Through the Looking Glass,” but given the sinister qualities of the Mirror Universe, this tale is a dark fairy tale.

In the world of “Mirror, Mirror,” it’s not just the characters who are malevolent, but the very universe they inhabit is corrupt. Instead of our planet Earth being ruled by the benevolent United Federation of Planets, we have the ruthless Terran Empire that dominates everything it conquers, displaying its flag wherever it gains control. The climb up the ranks in this empire is not through merit or leadership skills, but through cold-blooded murder. Every captain or admiral leaves a path of casualties behind them.

4 The Doomsday Machine

It Wasn’t Really A Machine

Episode Number: Season 2, Episode 6
Air Date: October 20, 1967
Directed By: Marc Daniels
Starring: William Shatner, William Windom, George Takei, James Doohan

In a contemporary backdrop, the tale unfolds as a timeless narrative involving a puzzling, destructive beast and an obsessive antagonist who is hell-bent on annihilating it, regardless of his own fate. This installment commences with a spine-tingling introduction, as we encounter the USS Constellation adrift in space, devoid of power or crew, save for the Captain who stands solitary on the bridge.

The “monster” turns out to be an old mechanical artifact that probably wiped out the civilization that created it. Owing to certain events, Kirk finds himself on the bridge of the inactive Constellation, with Decker, the ship’s former captain, now commanding the Enterprise. Spock must engage in a psychological chess match to disarm the unstable captain before he leads them into danger.

3 Charlie X

The Changeling Child

Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 2
Air Date: September 15th, 1966
Directed By: Lawrence Dobkin
Starring: Robert Walker, Grace Lee Whitney, William Shatner

The classic tale of the Swapped Infant, particularly prominent in Irish folklore, involves a fairy exchanging places with a young child on Earth, while the human child goes to reside in the realm of Faeries. Charlie X, however, offers a contemporary and sorrowful reinterpretation of this ancient tale.

Initially, Charlie appears as an average teenager. However, unlike most, he experienced a unique ordeal – being stranded on an alien planet when his spaceship crashed, at just four years old. It’s astonishing how he managed to survive alone for a decade. As bizarre and alarming events transpire that surpass simple magic tricks and vanishing voices, Charlie reveals his shocking mental abilities and his ambition to seize control of the Enterprise.

2 Who Mourns for Adonais?

The Fate Of The Ancient Gods

Episode Number: Season 2, Episode 2
Air Date: September 22, 1967
Directed By: Marc Daniels
Starring: Leslie Parrish, Michael Forest, James Doohan

The modern-day depictions of ancient deities can be linked to series such as Star Trek, where they portrayed various planets and extraterrestrial entities to shed light on some of our puzzling ancient beliefs. In this particular episode, the Enterprise finds itself in the grip of none other than Apollo, a god who employs his enigmatic abilities to hold them captive. Among his divine powers are a colossal manifestation of Mage Hand and, naturally, bolts of lightning.

In the end, Bones, Kirk, and Scotty uncover the truth about the so-called “deities,” discovering they were an advanced race without regulations like the Prime Directive. Instead of defeating them in a climactic battle, they focus on Apollo’s power source. The story concludes not with their victory over the deity but rather with the peaceful disappearance of the old god into silent irrelevance.

1 Plato’s Stepchildren

Villains With Incredible Power

Episode Number: Season 3, Episode 10
Air Date: November 22nd, 1968
Directed By: David Alexander
Starring: Michael Dunn, Leonard Nimoy, Majel Barrett

People familiar with role-playing games understand that a character with high intelligence but low empathy (or wisdom) might struggle to connect emotionally, and in extreme cases, could even lean towards evil, regardless of any magical powers they possess. This concept is also central to the plot of “Plato’s Stepchildren,” where an advanced race uses their mental prowess to try and keep a character like Bones on their planet as their personal physician. If he resists, they threaten to use their psychic abilities to inflict pain on his friends as punishment.

Despite having a nearly non-existent immune system due to centuries of immobility, their greatest vulnerability lies in that even minor injuries could potentially lead to death. The dread of falling prey to an infection is what eventually spares the Enterprise crew from living out macabre fantasies as their host’s playthings.

2024-09-15 14:04