Season 1
Episode 22: The Return of the Archons
Filmed: December 1966
Filmed: December 1966
First Air Date: February 9, 1967
Karen: When I was a teen, my geeky friends and I used to have fun with each other, repeating some of the lines from this episode like, "You are not of the Body!" or "It is the Red Hour!" or "Festival, festival!" and so on. The strange, insular society the Enterprise encounters on Beta III provides all sorts of curious behavior to remark upon. Despite goofing on this as a kid, I find this to be a very effective story about the dangers of a rigid, controlling government or culture. The people of Landru's world have order and peace, but no joy, creativity, or freedom. No one thinks for themselves - every person is like a single cell in a greater organism. We could view this episode as an analogy for Communism, but it can be taken outside of the time it was produced and it still holds up. In any given time period, there seems to be no lack of groups trying to control people by stripping them of their individuality, whether it be governments, religions, or some other type of organization.
Karen: This episode is the first where Kirk is pitted against a computer or other sentient machine, and has a battle of wits. It is a theme we will see repeated again and again, but Landru was the first "living computer" to become unbalanced by the Captain's relentless moral arguments. Another first: the introduction of the Prime Directive, which was added to the script by Gene Coon. Coon may have come up with it just to provide a nice dramatic problem for the characters on the show, but the Prime Directive, with its code of noninterference (in living, growing cultures) would go on to be a major influence in Star Trek, not only in the original series but in every series and movie to follow.
Karen: A couple of weeks ago the third movie in "The Purge" series came out. I haven't seen these films, but I randomly caught a half hour of the second one on TV one night, and I thought, "Hey, the premise of this is a lot like 'The Return of the Archons.' " I did a little poking around and found out that the episode did provide some inspiration for the films (although from what little I saw of the movie, I'll stick with Trek). What they both have in common is that for a brief period of time, people are allowed by their society to do whatever they want. Nothing is illegal and they are not held responsible for any crimes they commit during that time period. In 'Archons', it is knows as 'Festival" and the time it starts (6 pm) is 'The Red Hour'. Festival is the way Landru allows people to blow off steam, essentially -although this means all sorts of mayhem, including, apparently, rape. This is implied to happen to Tula, daughter of Reger, one of the rebels who provides the Enterprise crewmen safe haven. This was all filmed by director Joe Pevney in a subtle enough way to get past Broadcast Standards, but if you're paying attention, it's there. So much for the perfect society. Kirk and Spock, galactic cowboys that they are, have more than enough reason to change the course of this world.
Karen: Filming was back at Desilu's Culver City backlot -you may recognize the streets of Mayberry again as Festival breaks out. I don't think Andy, Barney, or Floyd the barber ever saw anything as wild as that when they were living there! On another note, I always wondered about the actor who speaks to Kirk and the landing party right before the Red Hour. He has such an odd speech pattern. In These are the Voyages Volume 1, Mark Cushman has a comment from the actor, Lev Mailer. It seems he was under the impression he should be playing the role as if he were from New England in the 19th century! So that's why we get the weird delivery. Why did no one correct him though?
Karen: One of the conspirators against Landru, the 'priest' who guides Kirk and Spock into the inner chamber, is played by none other than Torin Thatcher, who you might also recognize as Sokura the evil wizard from Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. He also appeared on an episode of Lost in Space, but had been active in films as a baddie for many years before his television work.
Karen: This episode is a good example of how the show was able to weave in political and ethical elements while keeping the action-adventure dynamo rolling. One thing I find with many of these episodes is that the themes presented still have meaning today -they are not limited to their time but speak to us even today. I can look at the people of Beta III and wonder about a culture like North Korea. Or Scientology. There are unfortunately many examples. Good Trek tends to stick with you after you watch the show.
Karen: When I was a teen, my geeky friends and I used to have fun with each other, repeating some of the lines from this episode like, "You are not of the Body!" or "It is the Red Hour!" or "Festival, festival!" and so on. The strange, insular society the Enterprise encounters on Beta III provides all sorts of curious behavior to remark upon. Despite goofing on this as a kid, I find this to be a very effective story about the dangers of a rigid, controlling government or culture. The people of Landru's world have order and peace, but no joy, creativity, or freedom. No one thinks for themselves - every person is like a single cell in a greater organism. We could view this episode as an analogy for Communism, but it can be taken outside of the time it was produced and it still holds up. In any given time period, there seems to be no lack of groups trying to control people by stripping them of their individuality, whether it be governments, religions, or some other type of organization.
Karen: This episode is the first where Kirk is pitted against a computer or other sentient machine, and has a battle of wits. It is a theme we will see repeated again and again, but Landru was the first "living computer" to become unbalanced by the Captain's relentless moral arguments. Another first: the introduction of the Prime Directive, which was added to the script by Gene Coon. Coon may have come up with it just to provide a nice dramatic problem for the characters on the show, but the Prime Directive, with its code of noninterference (in living, growing cultures) would go on to be a major influence in Star Trek, not only in the original series but in every series and movie to follow.
Karen: A couple of weeks ago the third movie in "The Purge" series came out. I haven't seen these films, but I randomly caught a half hour of the second one on TV one night, and I thought, "Hey, the premise of this is a lot like 'The Return of the Archons.' " I did a little poking around and found out that the episode did provide some inspiration for the films (although from what little I saw of the movie, I'll stick with Trek). What they both have in common is that for a brief period of time, people are allowed by their society to do whatever they want. Nothing is illegal and they are not held responsible for any crimes they commit during that time period. In 'Archons', it is knows as 'Festival" and the time it starts (6 pm) is 'The Red Hour'. Festival is the way Landru allows people to blow off steam, essentially -although this means all sorts of mayhem, including, apparently, rape. This is implied to happen to Tula, daughter of Reger, one of the rebels who provides the Enterprise crewmen safe haven. This was all filmed by director Joe Pevney in a subtle enough way to get past Broadcast Standards, but if you're paying attention, it's there. So much for the perfect society. Kirk and Spock, galactic cowboys that they are, have more than enough reason to change the course of this world.
Karen: Filming was back at Desilu's Culver City backlot -you may recognize the streets of Mayberry again as Festival breaks out. I don't think Andy, Barney, or Floyd the barber ever saw anything as wild as that when they were living there! On another note, I always wondered about the actor who speaks to Kirk and the landing party right before the Red Hour. He has such an odd speech pattern. In These are the Voyages Volume 1, Mark Cushman has a comment from the actor, Lev Mailer. It seems he was under the impression he should be playing the role as if he were from New England in the 19th century! So that's why we get the weird delivery. Why did no one correct him though?
Karen: One of the conspirators against Landru, the 'priest' who guides Kirk and Spock into the inner chamber, is played by none other than Torin Thatcher, who you might also recognize as Sokura the evil wizard from Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. He also appeared on an episode of Lost in Space, but had been active in films as a baddie for many years before his television work.
Karen: This episode is a good example of how the show was able to weave in political and ethical elements while keeping the action-adventure dynamo rolling. One thing I find with many of these episodes is that the themes presented still have meaning today -they are not limited to their time but speak to us even today. I can look at the people of Beta III and wonder about a culture like North Korea. Or Scientology. There are unfortunately many examples. Good Trek tends to stick with you after you watch the show.
