star trek friday's child script

Friday's Child (episode)

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production timeline
• 4.2 Remastered information
• 4.3 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Guest star
• 5.4 Also starring
• 5.5 Featuring
• 5.6 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.7 Stunt doubles
• 5.8 References
• 5.9 External links

Summary [ ]

The USS Enterprise approaches Capella IV , the home of the Capellans and a rich source of the rare mineral topaline . Topaline is vital to the life support systems of certain planetoid colonies . Captain Kirk 's assignment from Starfleet is to obtain mining rights. Doctor McCoy , who had previously visited Capella, briefs the senior officers in the briefing room ; among other things, he reveals that Capellans have a complex structure of taboos, and that they can be angered easily.

Kirk leaves Scotty in command of the Enterprise while he, Spock , McCoy and security officer Lieutenant Grant beam down and are immediately accosted by a party of Capellans led by Maab . Also in the party is Kras , a Klingon . Grant reacts too quickly, drawing his phaser , which prompts immediate retaliation: one of the warriors with Maab throws his kleegat , which hits Grant, killing him instantly.

Act One [ ]

Maab demands the landing party surrender their weapons and instruments as a show of good faith. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy throw their phasers and communicators on the ground.

The landing party must wait for a period of time. Kirk expresses frustration at losing a crewman and Spock warns about getting emotional. A female Capellan enters offering a gesture of fruit, though McCoy warns not to touch it in fear of a taboo. In the meantime, on the Enterprise , Chekov thinks he detects another ship, likely the Klingons, though Scotty does not see the need to contact Kirk.

The landing party is then taken to see Akaar , who is High Teer , or leader, of the Ten Tribes of Capella. In this meeting, Kras attempts to gain the diplomatic upper hand, but McCoy's knowledge of Capellan culture trumps his efforts. Kras sneers at the Federation 's offer, claiming that Capellans believe only the strong should live, just as Klingons do. Kirk retorts that the highest of Federation laws states that Capella belongs to the Capellans, and it will never be taken from them, and that Klingon space is full of worlds that learned not to trust the Klingon Empire the hard way. Maab is enthusiastic, believing that competition for the mineral can only help Capella. Akaar notes thoughtfully that in all their dealings, Earthmen have never lied to Capellans. Maab warns him that there are those who will not bargain with Earthmen, which Akaar interprets as challenge.

On the Enterprise, Uhura detects a transmission that could be a distress call , but she can't be sure.

A fight breaks out between Capellans – an armed coup . Both Maab and Akaar are involved. During the fracas, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy race to the main tent to retrieve their gear, only to discover Kras engaged in the same search. Overpowering him, Kirk learns he was sent in a small scout ship to negotiate the mineral rights for the Klingon Empire. His people need the topaline, too. Before Kirk can learn more, the fight outside is ended, and Capellans burst into the tent, demanding Kirk free Kras. Then Maab enters, declaring himself the new Teer – Akaar died in the fighting. When Kras demands he kill Kirk, Kirk suggests he fight with Kras. Now that Maab has seen fear in Kras, he is not sure about him.

In orbit , Uhura confirms the distress call is from the SS Dierdre , a small freighter. She claims she's under attack by a Klingon vessel. Kirk doesn't respond to communicators.

On the planet, Eleen , Akaar's pregnant widow, enters the tent. Maab trips her with his sword and she burns her arm in the fire. Because she carries an heir, Maab must kill her to solidify his rule, but when he is about to do so, Kirk interferes, sparking another melee that ends with Eleen and the landing party imprisoned together. When Kirk snatched Eleen away from Maab's descending blade, he violated a taboo: no man may touch the wife of a Teer. She demands to see Kirk die before she herself is killed.

Uhura cannot reach any of the landing party, but Scotty decides to take the Enterprise out of orbit to investigate, therefore stranding the landing party on Capella.

Act Two [ ]

Eleen and the landing party have been imprisoned together to await Maab's decision. Eleen is in a great deal of pain, and McCoy intends to help her. Kirk understands this is a distraction, as no one is allowed to touch her. Kirk and Spock overcome their guards and escape to the hills with Eleen. They are able to recover their communicators but not their phasers.

In space, the Enterprise has been unable to locate the Deirdre , which is strange, since its top speed is limited to warp 2. Ensign Chekov can detect no debris from the science station , as well.

The landing party, with the reluctant Eleen, has taken refuge in a narrow canyon with a wide but defensible entrance and a narrow chute-like exit. McCoy demands to inspect Eleen. When he attempts a medical examination (involving touch) she slaps him. Out of frustration, McCoy slaps her back. This interrupts her previously pseudo-aristocratic behavior, and allows the medical examination, which (to her amazement) provides considerable information on the health of the baby, and he determines the child could be born soon.

Kirk and Spock see to their position. Kirk proposes to block the entrance with a sonic disruption ; two communicators linked together can produce a sympathetic vibration . This will cause a rock slide, sealing the entrance and buying time, as the Capellan search party will be forced to go around the hills to the other side. Several large rocks tumble down from the disruption, injuring many Capellans.

Act Three [ ]

" I'm a doctor, not an escalator. "

During the confusion, Kras manages to retrieve a phaser from one of the fallen warriors and quickly kills the Capellan with his own blade. The landing party climb a steep rocky slope, albeit with some difficulty, as Eleen stubbornly refuses to let Spock and Kirk give her a helping hand – saying to McCoy "I will allow only your touch." Having finally made it to the top, Kirk discovers a cave in which the landing party seeks refuge.

On the Enterprise , unable to discover the source of the distress call, Scotty has Chekov pull the microtape and realizes how he has been duped: the Deirdre specifically called for the Enterprise by name – and there's no way a freighter would have known the Enterprise was ordered into this sector. Clearly, the intent was to lure the Enterprise from Capella IV. To be sure, Scotty has Sulu complete the search pattern .

In the cave, Kirk uses one of McCoy's magnasite-nitron tablets to start a fire, lighting the inside of the cave. Kirk and Spock leave McCoy there to supervise the birth, while they search for the necessary materials to make weapons. Eleen expresses frustration that the child will belong to the husband, and she does not want it to be born. McCoy attempts to convince her she wants the child, and that it belongs to her. By the time Kirk and Spock have made bows and arrows , Eleen has given birth.

The Enterprise has finished its search pattern and heads back to Capella IV. Lieutenant Uhura receives another distress call, this time from the USS Carolina . Scotty ignores it, even though the Carolina is registered in the sector.

When Kirk and Spock leave to reconnoiter, Eleen hits McCoy with a rock and escapes without the child. Kirk and Spock have finished making their weapons and find out what happened to McCoy. He stays with the child as they prepare to meet the Capellans.

En route to Capella IV, the Enterprise detects a Klingon warship intercepts them – sitting in space, establishing a line and daring the Enterprise to cross it. Scotty initiates red alert as the Enterprise prepares for battle...

Act Four [ ]

The Capellans have found their way to the chasm's other entrance, and the landing party have placed themselves in the rocks overlooking the cut. Before they can attack, Eleen appears. She lies to Maab, telling him all the Earthmen, and her infant son, are dead. Maab accepts her at her word, believing her to follow the Capellan code of honor, but Kras is immediately suspicious. He questions Eleen's word, angering both Maab and Eleen. When Maab refuses to verify her claim, Kras draws a stolen Starfleet phaser and offers to demonstrate to them what killing really means. During the ensuing battle, the Capellans are introduced to the bow and arrow – such a simple weapon, and yet they never developed it. Kras manages a standoff; to break it, Eleen proposes to flee as a sacrifice and a distraction. Maab elects to return her life to her, which forfeits his own. He advances upon the Klingon and sacrifices himself to draw Kras's fire: his lieutenant Keel is ready and kills the Klingon in the chest with a kleegat .

As the confrontation is about to conclude badly, Scotty and a rescue party of security guards appear, pointing their phasers at them and demand the Capellans' surrender. McCoy appears from the hills with the new Teer, Leonard James Akaar . Eleen signs the mining agreement as regent for the new Teer, and the Starfleet team beams back to the Enterprise . On the bridge of the Enterprise , Kirk and McCoy remark with pride on how the new Teer of Capella IV is named after them both. Spock remarks that they will both be insufferably pleased with themselves for at least a month.well.

The Enterprise then departs Capella IV and flies off through space, heading for new adventures.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2267

Memorable quotes [ ]

" What the Klingon has said is unimportant, and we do not hear his words. " (To Kirk, in sotto voice) "I just called him a liar."

" Yes, you're quite right, Mr. Spock. Inefficient – and illogical."

" Perhaps to be a Teer is to see in new ways. I begin to like you, Earthman… and I saw fear in the Klingon's eye. "

" Look, I'm a doctor, not an escalator! "

" How did you arrange to touch her, Bones? Give her a happy pill? " " No, a right cross. "

" Say to yourself, the child is mine. The child is mine. It is mine! " " Yes, it's yours.'"

" Fortunately, this bark has suitable tensile cohesion. " " You mean it makes a good bowstring. " " I believe I said that. "

" McCoy. Bring our child. " " Our child? " " I'll explain later. "

" There's an old, old saying on Earth, Mr. Sulu. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. " " I know this saying. It was invented in Russia. "

" The cavalry doesn't come over the hill in the nick of time anymore. "

" Oochy-woochy coochy-coo, captain? " " An obscure Earth dialect, Mr. Spock. Oochy-coochy coochy-coo. If you're curious, consult linguistics. "

" The child was named Leonard James Akaar? " " Has a kind of a ring to it, don't you think, James? " " Yes. I think it's a name destined to go down in galactic history, Leonard. What do you think, Spock? " " I think you're both going to be insufferably pleased with yourselves for at least a month… sir. "

Background information [ ]

• Exterior planet scenes were filmed at the familiar Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park , located North of Los Angeles. ( Star Trek Encyclopedia , 2nd ed., p. 63)
• The episode was filmed in late May amid temperatures at Vasquez Rocks of up to 110 degrees, making it highly uncomfortable for actors, especially those in Capellan costumes. However, Tige Andrews enjoyed his Klingon costume very much, this being his first chance to wear a non-ordinary costume for a film role. His exotic demeanor helped him get into the character of Kras . [1]
• In Dorothy Fontana 's original script, Eleen sacrificed her child for her own life. Gene Roddenberry objected to this, and changed the ending to what appears in the finished episode. Fontana also envisioned Eleen as a strong woman, who rebels against a society which considers women only as mothers and homemakers. [2]
• The set panel to the left of the science station was removed for this episode. Chekov can be seen with his hand draped over the left edge of the station; an edge that shouldn't exist. In the next episode, " Who Mourns for Adonais? ", wider shots show that the workstation counter top continues unbroken when the set piece is in place. For the "Friday's Child" remastered edition, a close up of the science station replaces the old, incomplete, version.
• In the briefing room footage of Dr. McCoy's previous visit to Capella IV, he is wearing his present-day Starfleet uniform , rather than a uniform specific to Starfleet circa 2265 ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before "). This assumes McCoy was stationed on the planet prior to his assignment as the Enterprise 's chief medical officer . However, because McCoy does not appear in the TOS Season 1 episodes TOS : " What Are Little Girls Made Of? " and TOS : " Errand of Mercy ", and because the duration of his assignment was "only a few months," it's possible he was temporarily transferred to Capella IV during one (or both) of those time periods, meaning his uniform is correct.
• Leonard James Akaar has appeared as an influential Starfleet admiral in several of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novels that take place after the end of the events depicted on screen, suggesting Kirk's half-joking prediction of the name going down in history did in fact come true, to some extent.
• This is the first episode which Chekov makes the dubious claim of something being invented in Russia . In this case he claims that the old Earth saying: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," was invented in Russia. He does so with a smirk, suggesting he may only be teasing.
• The footage seen on the briefing room screen in the teaser is recycled from scenes of the warriors hunting down Kirk and company later on in the episode.
• Actors playing Capellan warriors were given elevated shoes to make them appear as "giants" compared to Humans and Klingons. Maab's high-top headwear served the same purpose. [3]
• A sequence in the blooper reel shows William Shatner entering the tent too quickly when Tige Andrews is looking for his weapon and exclaiming, " Oh, shit! "
• Lots of dialogue looping was used in this episode because of the outdoor setting. Some of the dubbing was crammed together, nearly on top of other lines.
• By preventing Maab from killing Eleen, thereby allowing her unborn son to become Teer of the tribes, Kirk and company would appear to be in flagrant violation of the Prime Directive . This is discussed in the TOS comic The Trial of James T. Kirk , where Akaar is called to testify. He states that he believes in the wisdom of the man who saved his life, namely Kirk. He then kneels before Kirk to demonstrate the depth of his gratitude.
• In the TOS comic The Peacekeeper Part Two: The Conclusion , the events of this episode are mentioned by Dr. McCoy in order to motivate Captain Kirk to make an exception in the Prime Directive, suggesting that it was violated in this episode.
• For his first four appearances in the series, including this episode, Walter Koenig wore a Monkees-style wig, which he absolutely detested. In one interview, he made joking and uncomplimentary references to that wig. By " The Apple ", he seems to have discarded it.
• This was Robert Bralver 's first appearance of many in the series, often as a stunt performer or uncredited extra.
• This episode marks the debut of Sulu's personal scanner at his helm position. In its first appearance, the device is seen slowly unfolding as it emerges from inside the helm console. In his written adaptations of the episodes, James Blish refers to the device as a "gooseneck viewer."
• Stephen Whitfield 's The Making of Star Trek and David Gerrold 's The World of Star Trek incorrectly lists this episode's first airdate as 22 March 1967 .
• Stephen Whitfield's The Making of Star Trek also features some excellent behind-the-scenes photos from this episode, filmed in late May 1967 .

The title page of the script

• The name of this episode derives from the 1887 Harper's Weekly version of the old children's rhyme, Monday's Child , which includes the line "Friday's child is full of woe."
• "Capellans" was also the name given to the aliens in Jerry Sohl 's 1953 novel The Transcendent Man , though the connection seems unintentional: the aliens in that book were closer in style to the Organians . Capella itself is the brightest star in the constellation of Auriga , the charioteer.
• There is an interesting sequence in the latter part of the episode. As Maab and his cohorts close in on Kirk's hideout, Tige Andrews takes a face-forward flop onto the ground. In the next close-up, he is seen in the background getting up, and after a cutaway, comes to the foreground and dusts off his pants. This would seem to indicate that for the close-up coverage, there was a second camera filming simultaneously to the wide shot, and that the camera was hidden behind the large rock seen near Michael Dante.
• This is the first episode where Spock is knocked out in a fight (the second and final being " Mirror, Mirror ", though in that case it is the mirror who is incapacitated) where a Capellan hits the Vulcan with a sword while he and Kirk prevent Eleen's death.
• This is the first episode where all seven "classic" crew members (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov) appear in the same scene, in the teaser, discussing the background for the Capellans, although Sulu is seen only on a view screen reporting from the bridge. The other six are all in the same briefing room together. The six also appear in the same scene together at the very end on the bridge, and George Takei is still absent, although the right arm of a helmsman that should be Sulu is seen at the right edge of the screen.

Production timeline [ ]

• Story outline by D.C. Fontana : 11 January 1967
• First draft teleplay: 17 March 1967
• Second draft teleplay: 19 April 1967
• Revised second draft: 20 April 1967
• Final draft teleplay by Gene L. Coon : early- May 1967
• Revised final draft by Gene Roddenberry : 11 May 1967
• Additional page revisions by Coon: 18 May 1967
• Day 1 – 19 May 1967 , Friday (Half Day) – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Briefing room , Bridge
• Day 2 – 22 May 1967 , Monday – Desilu Stage 9 : Ext. Outside cave , Int. Bridge
• Day 3 – 23 May 1967 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge
• Day 4 – 24 May 1967 , Wednesday – Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park : Ext. Capella IV surface (canyon)
• Day 5 – 25 May 1967 , Thursday – Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park : Ext. Capella IV surface (canyon)
• Day 6 – 26 May 1967 , Friday – Desilu Stage 10 : Ext. Capellan camp , Ext. Tent , Int. Kirk's tent
• Day 7 – 29 May 1967 , Monday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Akaar's tent
• Score recording: 7 July 1967
• Premiere airdate: 1 December 1967
• First UK airdate: 14 October 1970
• Remastered airdate: 6 January 2007

Remastered information [ ]

• The remastered version of this episode premiered in syndication the weekend of 6 January 2007 . Among new shots of the Enterprise herself, several new, more realistic views of Capella IV from space were inserted into the episode. Other changes include cleaned up mattes of the viewscreen during the briefing room scene, a more realistic sensor readout on the bridge, a corrected insert shot while Chekov is working the controls at the science station, updated phaser effects, and the establishment of the Klingon ship on screen as a D7-class .

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original US Betamax release: 1986
• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 17 , catalog number VHR 2329, release date unknown
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.1, 3 February 1997
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 16, 19 September 2000
• As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection
• As part of the TOS-R Season 2 DVD collection: 5 August 2008 (Region 1), 27 April 2009 (Region 2)

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Guest star [ ]

• Julie Newmar as Eleen
• Tige Andrews as Kras
• Michael Dante as Maab

Featuring [ ]

• James Doohan as Scott
• George Takei as Sulu
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Cal Bolder as Keel
• Ben Gage as Akaar
• Walter Koenig as Chekov
• Kirk Raymone as Duur
• Robert Bralver as Grant

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• William Blackburn as Hadley
• Vic Christy as Capellan tribesman
• Walker Edmiston as Officer (voice)
• Steve Hershon as operations officer
• Eddie Paskey as Leslie
• Leonard James Akaar
• Akaar's tribesmen 2 and 3
• Maab's tribesmen 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6
• Capellan women 1 and 2
• Sciences crew woman
• Operations crew woman
• Security guard 2
• Security lieutenant

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Chuck Clow as the stunt double for William Shatner
• Dick Dial as Warrior's stunt double
• Jay Jones as the stunt double for Tige Andrews

References [ ]

amusement ; analysis ; area ; arm ; back ; bargain ; bark ; battle stations ; belly ; belt ; " Bones "; booster ; bow and arrow ; bowstring ; Capella IV ; Capella IV sector ; Capella IV village ; Capellans ; Capellan language ; Capellan law ; Carolina , USS ; cavalry ; cave ; chance ; check-in signal ; " chewed you out "; childbirth ; children ; choice ; combat ; commander ; communication channel ; communicator ; conclusion ; contact ; convoy ship ; course ; custom ; death ; debris ; device ; dialect ; Dierdre , SS ; disappointment ; distance ; distress signal (aka distress call ); doctor ; document ; " drawing a line "; Earth ; Earth Federation ; emergency ; emotion ; encampment ; enemy ; entrance ; escalator ; estimating ; exit ; fear ; Federation law ; feet ; flight path ; " Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. "; freighter ; frequency ; friend ; friendship ; galactic history ; gesture ; goods ; guest ; gunpowder ; " ham-handed "; hand ; happy pill ; hate ; head ; heart ; high chief ; High Teer ( Teer ); hill ; hospital ; hour ; Human (aka Earthman or Earth people); humanoid ; idea ; " I'm a doctor, not a... "; instinct ; intention ; interception course ; " in the nick of time "; "" kind of a ring "; kleegat ; Klingon ; Klingon agent ( agent ); Klingon Empire ; Klingon scout ship/warship ; knife ; landing party ; laughter ; leader ; liar ; life support system ; line of flight ; linguistics ; liquid ; location ; logic ; love ; magnasite-nitron tablet ; maximum speed ; medical aid ; medical book ; medical kit ; medical oath ; microtape ; mineral ; mining ; mining right ; mining treaty (aka mining agreement ); minute ; mission ; mistake ; month ; name ; namesake ; negotiation ; " not move a muscle "; " on our toes "; " Oochy-woochy coochy-coo "; pain ; patient ; phaser ; phaser bank ; place ; planetoid colony ; " playing cat and mouse "; policy ; powder ; psychiatry ; reconnaissance party ; regent ; relative term ; report ; revenge ; right cross ; rock ; rockslide ; Russia ; saying ; scent ; Scots language ; scout ship ; search pattern ; sensor ; sensor range ; sensor report ; shale ; shame ; shelter ; sight ; ship's captain ; sky ; sonic disruption ; sound beam ; standard orbit ; starship ; state of war ; stomach ; story ; sublight ; surgery ; sword ; sympathetic vibration ; taboo ; tensile cohesion ; tent ; Ten Tribes ; thing ; throat ; topaline ; tradition ; trail ; trap ; tribe ; truth ; vegetation ; viewscreen ; village ; virtue ; wall ; warrior ; water ; weapons ; " wee "; widow ; word ; yard ; youth

External links [ ]

• " Friday's Child " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Friday's Child " at Wikipedia
• " Friday's Child " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• " Friday's Child " at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

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Friday's Child (Episode)

Stardate 3497.2 : The Enterprise crew becomes embroiled in a local power struggle on a tribal planet.

The Enterprise visits planet Capella IV to prevent the Klingons from forming an alliance with the Capellans , a warlike but honorable people. When Captain Kirk prevents the slaughter of Eleen , the pregnant wife of deposed High Teer Akaar , he violates Capellan tradition. Kras , a visiting Klingon , is quick to capitalize on the situation, and as a result of his interference, the landing party and Eleen become hunted criminals. After McCoy delivers Eleen's baby, she escapes and returns to the Capellans, telling them both the humans and her child are dead. The Klingon kills the current Teer — and then is himself killed. Eleen's newborn son, named Leonard James Akaar , is named the new ruler. Kirk and his party leave Capella, having arranged diplomatic relations with the planet's government.

Image Gallery

Surface of Capella IV

Leonard James Akaar

Lieutenant Grant

Related Data

Created by Gene Roddenberry

Starring William Shatner

Also Starring Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Written by D.C. Fontana

Directed by Joseph Pevney

Produced by Gene L. Coon

Executive Producer Gene Roddenberry

Associate Producer Robert H. Justman

Guest Star Julie Newmar as Eleen

Also Starring Tige Andrews as Kras and Michael Dante as Maab

Featuring James Doohan … Scott George Takei … Sulu Nichelle Nichols … Uhura Cal Bolder … Keel Ben Gage … Akaar Walter Koenig … Chekov Kirk Raymone … Durr Robert Bralver … Grant

Script Consultant D.C. Fontana

Assistant to the Producer Edward K. Milkis

Theme Music by Alexander Courage

Music Composed and Conducted by Gerald Fried

Director of Photography Jerry Finnerman

Art Directors Rolland M. Brooks and Walter M. Jefferies

Film Editor … Fabien Tordjmann Unit Manager … Gregg Peters Assistant Director … Rusty Meek Set Decorator … Joseph J. Stone Costumes Created by … William Theiss Photographic Effects … Vanderveer Photo Effects Sound Effects Editor … Douglas H. Grindstaff Music Editor … Jim Henrikson Re-Recording Mixer … Elden E. Ruberg , C.A.S. Production Mixer … Carl W. Daniels Script Supervisor … George A. Rutter Casting … Jospeh D'Agosta Sound … Glen Glenn Sound Co. Makeup Artist … Fred B. Phillips , S.M.A. Hair Styles … Jean Austin Gaffer … George H. Merhoff Head Grip … George Rader Property Master … Irving A. Feinberg Special Effects … Jim Rugg

A Desilu Production In Association With Norway Corporation

Executive in Charge of Production Herbert F. Solow

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STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES Season 2, Episode 11

Friday's child.

Sent to the planet Capella IV to negotiate a mining treaty, Kirk and a party beam to the surface. They find the Capellans to be warlike and tradition-bound people. Kirk also finds that a Klingon agent, Kras, has gotten there before them and established an agreement with some of the planet's rebels who kill their leader, Akaar, and take over. Akaar's widow, Eleen, is willing to forfeit her life, as custom demands, because she carries the child that will be the next leader, or Teer. Kirk convinces her to escape and they hide in the hills beyond the city. While the landing party evades pursuit, a Klingon warbird prevents the U.S.S. Enterprise from helping its people. jssor_1_slider_init(); [ Complete Screencap Index ] When Eleen goes into labor, McCoy delivers the child. Eleen, however, hits the doctor over the head with a rock, knocking him out, and returns to the Capellans. She tells them that the landing party and the child are dead. The Klingon decides this is the time to take control and begins to attack the Capellans. Arriving on the scene, Kirk and Spock try to use primitive bows and arrows on the Klingons which wound, but do not stop. Maab, the new Teer, draws the Klingon fire while his lieutenant kills him. Eleen names her son Leonard James Akaar, after Kirk and McCoy, and as her son's regent until he comes of age, signs the mining treaty with the Federation.

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Star Trek S2 E11 "Friday's Child" » Recap

Original air date: December 1, 1967

After viewing some footage and receiving a briefing on the people of Capella IV from Dr. McCoy , who was on the First Contact team, Kirk, Spock, Bones and a Redshirt with the shortest career ever beam down to negotiate with the locals. It seems the Klingons have gotten there first and the Capellans seem to have more of a rapport with them than they could ever have with Starfleet. Bones has been well versed in Capellan etiquette, but things still manage to go to hell when High Teer Akaar is killed by his pro-Klingon rival Maab, and Kirk saves Akaar's extremely pregnant wife from being murdered. (There is a strict taboo against other men touching the wife of a Teer.) Kras the Klingon capitalizes on this, turning the rest of the Capellans against Kirk and the Federation. Meanwhile, a Klingon ship is playing a Cat-And-Mouse game with the Enterprise .

Kirk, Bones and Spock escape into the wilderness with Eleen, the High Teer's widow, who is about to give birth any minute. After the baby is delivered, Eleen knocks out Bones and returns to the Capellans, telling them the Enterprise landing party and the baby are all dead. Her people take her at her word, but Kras demands proof. Kirk and Spock are forced to attack him with handmade bows and arrows, having surrendered their weapons. Maab decides that this is all his own fault and demands that Kras kills him. Kras is all too eager to comply and is soon killed himself. The baby is named Leonard James Akaar and pronounced the new Teer. Kirk and party succeed in arranging diplomatic relations with the people of Capella IV.

Friday's Tropes:

• Afraid to Hold the Baby : Spock finds himself awkwardly holding Eleen's baby. Dr. McCoy tries showing him how to hold the infant properly; Spock responds by saying "I would rather not" and handing him off.
• All There in the Script : Kras's name only appears in the credits and is never spoken in the episode; he's always referred to as "the Klingon" and addressed as "Klingon".
• Babies Make Everything Better : Aw, nothing like a newborn baby to make everyone forget the three brutal murders that just happened!
• Baby Talk : Bones makes some "oochie-woochie-koochie-koo" noises for little Leonard James. Spock is completely mystified.
• Big Damn Heroes : The day is saved by Scotty and a team of Redshirts.
• Blatant Lies : Kras tells Kirk he just wants peace all the while trying to stab him.
• The Chains of Commanding : Ma'ab feels this the very moment his coup is successful. Kirk reasonably points out that if he's the leader, he needs to make certain he's making the right decisions because there are real consequences for his people if he doesn't. Ma'ab gets an extremely thoughtful look on his face, begins to transition into a Reasonable Authority Figure , shows respect for Kirk as Worthy Opponent , and is clearly disgusted with the Klingon's naked fear after Kirk suggests the two of them fight.
• Clean, Pretty Childbirth : Not only are McCoy 's hands, sleeves, and shirt not spattered with all kinds of bodily fluids and solids, Eleen's clothing doesn't even look any worse for the wear. She's climbing freaking mountains within hours of giving birth, which any mother will tell you is reality being very unrealistic . This was supposed to illustrate the Capellans' enormous strength and stamina.
• Deadly Disc : The Capellans utilize these.
• Death Seeker : Maab's demand to be killed by Kras has shades of Ritual Suicide .
• Expospeak Gag : this conversation between Kirk and Spock. Spock : It is fortunate indeed that this bark has good tensile qualities. Kirk : You mean it makes a good bowstring? Spock : I believe I said that, Captain.
• Dirty Coward : Kras is nothing without Ma'ab's men backing him up, is terrified of fighting Kirk (it shows on his face, which Ma'ab immediately notices), and is only a threat when he gets his hands on a phaser (which Ma'ab wisely tried to keep from him).
• This is the only episode in which Kirk refers to Bones as "Leonard", or in which Bones refers to Kirk as "James".
• This is also the only episode in which both Sulu and Uhura address Scotty by his nickname, indicating that he allows his subordinates to call him that as well as his peers (Bones) and superiors (Kirk).
• I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder : When McCoy is trying to help Eleen climb up the rocks and hampered by her refusal to let anyone but him touch her. "I'm a doctor, not an escalator!"
• Imperiled in Pregnancy : A usurper named Ma'ab kills Aka'ar , the Teer (tribal king), in a successful coup. (Kirk wisely takes this in stride, saying only "If you lead these people now, be sure you make the right decisions.") He then demands Aka'ar's pregnant wife Eleen and her unborn son be killed, as the unborn son is Aka'ar's heir of succession, and Kirk, Spock and McCoy have to go on the run with Eleen to keep her safe.
• Improvised Weapon : Kirk and Spock make primitive bows and arrows out of wood they find in the wild.
• I Never Told You My Name : The Enterprise picks up a Distress Call from a freighter and rushes to the rescue, but finds nothing. Scotty orders the call replayed, and gets suspicious that the freighter specifically called for the Enterprise , even though they shouldn't know that the Enterprise is nearby. He then realizes that they've been set up.
• In the Original Klingon : Chekov claims that the saying "Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you" was " inwented in Russia". On this occasion, at least, he's obviously kidding.
• Lampshade Hanging : At the end of the episode, Spock mentions the potential complications if the Capellans ever realize Eleen's son is technically Bones', not Akaar's, by their cultural rules. When Scotty asks how that could possibly be true, Kirk admits they have no idea.
• Last-Minute Baby Naming : At the end of the episode, Eleen decides to name her son in honor of McCoy and Kirk. The decision happens offscreen, so it's not clear whether she hadn't already picked a name (perhaps that would have been Akaar's privilege if he'd lived) or the events of the episode made her change her mind.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall : At the end, after the baby is named "Leonard James Akaar". Kirk : Yes. I think it’s a name destined to go down in galactic history, Leonard. What do you think, Spock?
• Madness Mantra : Eleen explains that "Here, child belongs to husband," a rule that McCoy dismisses as "poppycock!" He tells her to say "The child is mine." She insists on "The child is yours." When he thinks it's a language problem , she looks at him seriously and says "Yes, McCoy , it's yours." Uh oh.
• May–December Romance : Akaar praises Eleen for giving an old man such as him a child.
• Mission Briefing : Conducted by McCoy , since he was stationed on Capella for a few months.
• Not So Stoic : Spock's reaction to the baby's name is priceless : Spock: (shocked) The child was named Leonard James Akaar? Bones: Has a kind of a ring to it, don't you think, James? Kirk: Yes. I think it's a name destined to go down in galactic history, Leonard. What do you think, Spock? Spock: I think you're both going to be insufferably pleased with yourselves for at least a month… sir .
• Pregnant Badass : Eleen has her moments. She's able to go rock climbing while in labor, and Bones is more tired than she is after the delivery.
• The Capellans consider battle more enjoyable than love. They also have no use for medicine.
• Kras paints the Klingons this way, but utterly fails to live up to that description himself.
• The remastered version screws up Kras's crew in this regard. His ship backs down from a fight with the Enterprise , which might be understandable as it was originally shown to be a small scout, as Kras himself tells Kirk. The remastered version, however, changes it to a D-7 battlecruiser (making Kras a liar), which should be a match for the Enterprise .
• Reasonable Authority Figure : At first Maab seems to be just another Big Bad ; he leads a coup against Akaar and is ready to slay Akaar's pregnant widow. But he quickly finds that leading requires a different point of view - he even says as much at one point - and ultimately sacrifices himself so that his second-in-command can kill the Klingon. It's not a Heel–Face Turn ; everything Maab does is consistent with Capellan laws and customs.
• Redshirt : Grant doesn't even survive The Teaser .
• Revenge : Kirk admits to Spock that he wants to be the one to kill Kras for this reason.
• Sacred Hospitality : The Capellans take this seriously. Kras breaks it and dooms himself. It's also how the Redshirt gets killed, by pointing his weapon at the unarmed Kras while he's their guest.
• Schmuck Bait : Scotty thinks it a bit odd that a distress call from a freighter would specifically ask for the Enterprise .
• The Social Darwinist : Kras comments disdainfully on the Federation's offer of medical aid and says that Klingon values are better aligned with Capellan ones because both believe that only the strong should survive.
• Strange Salute : The typical Capella greeting is holding one's fist over one's heart, then showing an open hand. "We come with open hearts and hands."
• Three-Month-Old Newborn : Little Leonard James.
• Too Dumb to Live : The episode's redshirt draws on the unarmed Kras while the latter is under the Capellans' protection. When Kirk gets upset about it, Spock actually points this out, but Kirk continues to defend Grant as having been a young, inexperienced security officer and reacting instinctively to protect them upon seeing an enemy of the Federation, and blames himself instead.
• Translation Convention : One of the few episodes where it's plain the Capellans are speaking their own language, which McCoy understands. When the Klingons and Earthmen each state their case before Akaar, Kras speaks of Terrans as weaklings who are afraid of death and offer nothing of value; McCoy then says "What Maab has said is true; our ways are different. What the Klingon says is unimportant, and we do not hear his words." Amid general laughter, McCoy steps back, muttering to Kirk "I just called the Klingon a liar."
• They were there to negotiate topaline, a mineral rare in most places in the galaxy, but abundant on this planet. It's used in life support systems inside dome cities on colony planets with uninhabitable surfaces. They were considered a form of Worthless Yellow Rocks to the Capellans, since Maab talked about the Klingon and the Federation people offering trade items for their "rocks."
• What the Hell, Hero? : Kirk gets angry as he usually does when a Red Shirt dies, and takes it out on Spock and Bones. They enjoy drawing out his apology.
• Won't Get Fooled Again : After Scotty realizes that the first distress call is a ruse and orders the ship back to Capella IV, a second distress call comes in. Scotty ignores it and orders the incident entered on the log as "my order, my responsibility". Fortunately, he's right.
• Worthy Opponent : While pursuing Kirk and his party, Maab acknowledges their cleverness.
• Would Hit a Girl : After Eleen bitch-slaps him twice, Bones returns with a slap of his own. He later calls it a "right cross". While it wasn't that violent, it did garner some respect from his hitherto reluctant patient. Maybe that's why he did it in the first place.
• Star Trek S2 E10 "Journey to Babel"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek S2 E12 "The Deadly Years"

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Published Nov 30, 2017

"Friday's Child" 50 Years Later

“ Friday’s Child ," the 40th aired episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , concerned the Enterprise ’s mission on Capella IV, a planet inhabited by nomadic tribes, to secure mining rights to an important mineral. That mission is greatly complicated, however, by two Kirk realizations: the Klingons also want the mineral rights and the pregnant widow of the murdered tribal High Leader with whom he started negotiating needs protecting.

It’s hard to believe, but “Friday’s Child” was born on network television 50 years ago today. Here’s a brief look at some of the events that led to its gestation and birth.

“Friday’s Child” was written by story editor Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana. She penned it because she wanted to tell a story involving a strong female character who wasn’t necessarily interested in children. The episode's title comes from an old child’s nursery rhyme that can be traced back to at least 1838. Although there are several variations of this rhyme, Fontana’s episode outline, dated January 11, 1967, opens with the version from Harper’s Weekly magazine published in 1887:

Monday's child is fair of face. Tuesday's child is full of grace. Wednesday's child is living and giving. Thursday's child works hard for a living. Friday's child is full of woe. Saturday's child has far to go. But the child that is born on the Sabbath day is grave and bonny and good and gay.

Fontana, like all writers for TOS , pitched this episode to the producers via a story outline, and the 17-page document that she wrote was fundamentally the same as what was finalized and filmed. There were some notable differences, however, including:

• Scotty accompanied Kirk, McCoy and Spock to the planet Ceres in the outline.
• A redshirt (Lieutenant Grant, Bob Bralver) was not killed in the teaser; rather, two of High Leader Akaar’s (Ben Gage’s) personal bodyguards were.
• The Enterprise was kept busy shuttling emergency medical supplies from the planet Eridani to the planet Dierdre.
• The Klingons were not present in the outline. Maab (Michael Dante) sought Akaar’s tribe and power, so he and his men were the villains.
• Akaar was killed by Maab’s assassins.
• It was Scotty, rather than Spock, who rigged the communicator “sound bomb” in the rocky defile
• Scotty assisted McCoy in delivering Eleen’s (Julie Newmar’s) baby son.
• McCoy and Scotty carried Eleen and her baby on a litter, across the countryside, to hide with Eleen’s tribe. Kirk and Spock created a diversion for them by fighting Maab’s men, who were in pursuit.
• Kirk killed Maab by handing him a phaser on overload.
• Eleen named the baby “Leonard Montgomery Akaar” to show gratitude to McCoy and Scotty for helping with her son's delivery.

Principal photography for “Friday’s Child” was done from May 19 to May 29, 1967, under the direction of Joseph Pevney. Interior scenes were shot at Desilu Studios in Hollywood, while exteriors were filmed at the Vasquez Rocks Natural Park Area in California.

One faux exterior scene that was not lensed at Vasquez was the sequence showing Kras the Klingon (Tige Andrews) attempting to convince Maab the Capellan to return his weapon. If you recall, this scene, scene 41 in the shooting script, played out at night, around a Capellan campfire, and it was filmed on the Desilu soundstage instead of at the Vasquez exterior location. The reason for this can be found in an April 20, 1967 production memo that associate producer Robert Justman wrote to producer Gene Coon:

“It is extremely important that all the scenes around the encampment at the beginning of the show be set up and played on Stage 10. Otherwise we are in for several full nights of night-for-night exteriors, which we cannot afford at all.”

The following four pictures, obtained from frames of production footage sold by Star Trek Enterprises back in the 1970s, show some aspects of how scene 41 was filmed.

Above: This image is from footage of the unused master shot of the scene filmed on the Desilu soundstage. One way you can tell this was the master is that there’s no letter following the scene number (41) on the lower left of the clapperboard held by the second assistant cameraman. A master shot of a scene is usually filmed before any of the other shots and it keeps all the actors visible once they enter the view of the camera. This type of shot is also called an establishing shot because it establishes where we are and, sometimes, when we are.

Above: This photo is from film that came from a “two-shot” – so named because it shows just two actors together - of Tige Andrews (left) and Michael Dante (right). In general, any letter following the scene number - “A” in this case - meant (and usually still means today) that the footage was acquired with the camera moved to a different position from the master shot. By the way, the number in the lower right of the clapperboard, 3 in this case, is the take number.

Above: These two frames are from film that was shot as close-ups for scene 41. The close-up footage for Michael Dante was designated “B” on the clapperboard (left picture) and that for Tige Andrews was designated as “C” (right picture).  Interestingly, when this scene was assembled for the aired version, only the two-shot and the close-up of Michael Dante was used.

The Birth Announcement

“Friday’s Child was first broadcast on December 1, 1967, and it was promoted in newspapers and other media starting on the preceding week.

Above: Newspapers around the country made heavy use of the publicity photos furnished by the advertising company hired by Desilu (McFadden, Strauss, Eddy, and Irwin, MSEI). The captions these newspapers used for the photos, however, deviated significantly from what MSEI supplied. Here’s a sampling of ads, two from the December 1, 1967 Los Angeles Times (upper and lower left), one from the November 26, 1967 Seattle Times (upper right) and an additional caption used with the picture shown in the Seattle Times ad.

And with that, we’re done. We hope you’ve enjoyed our nascent look back. Until next time.

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Star Trek: The Original Series

“Friday's Child”

Air date: 12/1/1967 Written by D.C. Fontana Directed by Joseph Pevney

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

Review Text

Just how much treachery and deception can fit into a single hour of Trek ? That seems to be the most useful question to ask of "Friday's Child," an episode full of double-crosses and marginally clever traps and tricks.

The plot involves Kirk, Spock, and McCoy (and a soon-to-be-dead red-shirt) beaming down to Capella IV to negotiate a deal for minerals with the warlike tribes living there. The Klingons, however, are also there to negotiate, and the treachery between the Klingons and the Capellas—and even a struggle within the Cappella tribes' own hierarchy—quickly becomes a free-for-all. The landing party escapes imprisonment, but not before the show begins suffering from the fact it seems D.C. Fontana kept randomly inserting "[FIGHT SCENE]" into the script. Meanwhile on the Enterprise , Scotty chases a distress signal from a freighter. The signal turns out to be a Klingon forgery intended to lure the Enterprise away from Capella so the Klingons can thwart the landing party and plunder the minerals, but Scotty discovers the trick in time.

The editing technique with the cross-cutting storylines is rather annoying, switching back and forth so frequently that it's hard to care much about either storyline. The episode benefits from some great lines and sarcastic looks from Mr. Spock, and also some chemistry between McCoy and the pregnant Eleen (Julie Newmar), but it's not enough to save an hour so lacking in direction that it becomes a disjointed sum of its parts. What a shame to waste such effective outdoor photography.

Previous episode: Journey to Babel Next episode: The Deadly Years

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Comment Section

63 comments on this post.

Am I crazy? Friday's Child is one of my favorite episodes. First of all, this is McCoy at his "take no b.s." best and I agree that McCoy and the chief's wife have chemistry. I also found the customs of the clan to be really interesting. Also, why only 3 stars for "Amok Time"? I've never met anybody who didn't love that episode.

I think you're too hard on this one, Jammer. The fight scenes are over the top, but I actually enjoyed Scotty's part of the plot very much. And the Big Three chemistry is good. The episode is hokey (and suffers from some continuity mistakes) but it's not boring. To rate this the same as "The Apple" -- which is really boring and lame -- is overly harsh.

One of the things that gets me in general is the occasional lack of discipline among the Enterprise crew. They land on the plant, Redshirt sees a Klingon, and he just steps out and fires? Doesn't wait for an order or anything? It doesn't seem very Kirklike to allow that sort of thing.

Strange that the Prime Directive doesn't seem to exist in this episode. The Capellans clearly don't seem warp capable. That wouldn't prevent the Klingons from being there, of course.

I had the same reaction as Strider. The redshirt's reaction was completely indefensible, but Kirk acts as if it was totally reasonable.

You can see how much reinterpretation the Klingon species receives later on in the Star Trek Universe by looking at this episode. The concept of honor is wholly absent from the Klingon parts of the script and there were several instances where the character is fearful, irrational and impotent. If TOS didn't need villains so badly, we may never have seen the Klingon species develop. Two stars for the chaos.

This episode did not make one iota of sense to me. Where was the prime directive? And why would the Klingons even bother to negotiate with a primitive species like that? Weak, as most episodes that deal with "primitive cultures" are.

@Moonie: Presumably, the Klingons would have had to deal with the Capellans, who were quite formidable even if they were backward. Remember, this is before Klingons lived for battle. TOS Klingons were more like TNG Romulans or Cardassians. But the Prime Directive issue is certainly hard to figure, though this is far from the only example of TOS forgetting it existed.

There are some good things to this episode -- I agree that there is chemistry between McCoy and Eleen, for instance. The reappearance of the Klingons here is what actually establishes them as recurring villains -- and while that strictly speaking could have happened in "any" episode, I think that it's important that it happens in a semi-serious context again before the Klingon threat gets threaded into the comedy in "Tribbles." The Scotty story is too long and protracted (especially so soon after a similar "Scotty investigates, very slowly" subplot in "Metamorphosis") but basically decent, with a good use of the "fool me once..." adage by Scott. So that's good. The episode really is *so* all over the place. Jammer's statement that it's as if FIGHT SCENE was randomly inserted all over the script is right on. In general, this episode feels like a filmed first draft -- with huge sections of the plot either unexplained (dropping us in the middle of a Capella uprising somewhere in the first act, why the new Tier decides to let Eleen live when it's against the rules and she's just lied, why Eleen lied about killing the Earthmen, why Kirk starts shooting at the Capellans at all at the end) or halfheartedly described in a log entry (such as Kirk's saying that Eleen hates her unborn child in a log). The editing is frequently terrible, with unusually bad continuity and some shots with odd, washed-out colours. Behaviour is all over the place -- what's up with Kirk's defeatist revenge at the end, or, as discussed, the crewman's randomly getting ready to shoot a Klingon and Kirk et al.'s non-reaction to it? And there are other things that might not, strictly speaking, be errors, but are just so *weird*, like the suggestion that McCoy has spent three months with these people before this episode (...like, between last episode and this one? or pre-series? or, what?) which quickly becomes irrelevant to the plot, or the way in which Scotty's log entry is filmed with Scotty standing up, delivering the log entry, and signing a pad in the middle of it, instead of the usual voice-over (the style which is still used for Kirk's voice overs). More generally, the episode has one of the least cohesive narratives up to this point in TOS (obviously, season three this problem more and more); the initial goal, to sign a trade treaty, gets ditched very early on and then the plot becomes merely a halfhearted "Kirk et al. must escape" scenario, wherein it's actually really unclear what the Capellan's emotional reason for pursuing Kirk is anyway, besides "they like rules," and the Klingon keeps stirring up trouble. Even this overarching desire -- get back to the ship -- sort of dissipates once Scotty arrives with a landing party, and the Capellans suddenly drop their desire to kill the humans, presumably because they're outnumbered now?, and they inexplicably sign a mining treaty at the end after all that. The Enterprise plotline seems to be building, eventually, to a fight with the Klingon cruiser, which gets resolved offscreen with the Klingons apparently backing down. The pregnancy at least gives some mild sense of focus to the proceedings, even if it leads to some annoying moments and some particularly unconvincing labour pains from Newmarr. Anyway, I guess I'd say that it's not boring -- I *enjoyed* watching it more than "Catspaw," even to take recent episodes. But it's *such* a mess. 1.5 stars, I think.

I love Jammer's reviews. Often so spot on. But I do agree with Paul that you were too hard on this one. I find I enjoy watching this episode again and again. I'm not sure why. Maybe for one thing, like Grant said, the chemistry between McCoy and the chief's wife. Mac-coy, the child is yours. I love that. And the colorful visuals of the Cappelan village and clothing. And the unremitting evil of the early Klingons. And I gotta say, the Cappelans are not boring. A very different brutal culture. Lots of great humor and writing here too. Overall, one of my favorite TOS episodes.

So many unanswered questions. First, why would they beam down armed with phasers? They were there to negotiate, not fight. And just how many people did the Tier rule? How big was his territory? Was it the only territory on the planet with access to the minerals? If Maab was one of the Tier's highest ranking subordinates, wouldn't he be off somewhere else in what must have been a huge domain, acting as a kind of governor? And what did McCoy do on that planet for three months - spend the entire time trying to change their minds about medicine and hospitals? And though he knew the culture, how come McCoy didn't seem to actually know any individuals on the planet? Scotty was lured away by a false distress signal, only later realizing that the enterprise was mentioned by name, when there was no reason a freighter would have known the enterprise was in that sector. So basically, Scotty screwed up. And when they reached the place the ship was supposed to be, there was absolutely no physical evidence to support that a vessel had been there, much less been under attack. And STILL, Uhura wondered if the distress call could have been legit. By the way, it was never explained why, when a federation freighter would not have known that the enterprise was in the area, how the Klingons got this information. The Klingon ship was so far away, checkov couldn't even be sure they WERE Klingon ships, much less read the name on the ship! But the most inexplicable aspects of this episode came near the end. Why didn't the Klingon have any backup? His ship was nearby. And why did Maab commit suicide? He acted as though the only way to defeat the Klingon was to lure him into the open so that one of the warriors could get him with that thrown weapon. But the Klingon was barely under any cover at all, and was already wounded. And he wasn't even that far away. And he was just one guy. And when the Klingon was killed, everyone seemed to relax, as if there was no reason to fight anymore. The natives seem to have forgotten that Kirk and Spock shot, and presumably killed, a couple of the natives by then. Now, recall at the beginning of the episode, a redshirt who drew his weapon was instantly executed. So how come when Scotty shows up with a weapon drawn, he is not similarly killed? And why did Scotty beam down in the first place? Wouldn't it have been easier to simply beam the landing party up?

I didn't understand why the parrot-tops were beefing with other. Fight seemingly happen with no motive and there doesnt seem to be a moral side to root for in this whole mess. The Klingon is so "un-Klingon". There's nothing menancing or sinister about him. The only thing worth watching is the very pregnant Eliene and very take no BS McCoy slap each other into mutual respect. There's a little something about a fake distress call with our crew on the Enterprise but it's hardly worth mentioning.

This episode is one big eye roll. Cliches piled upon cliches abound, along with poor editing, poor pacing, poor acting by the "natives," terrible costume design (is this where Bob Mackie got his inspiration for Carol Burnett's "Went With the Wind" drapery-still-on-the-curtain-rod dress?)... And on and on. Two stars is way too generous for such a big pile of something unmentionable in polite company. Nothing anyone said or did made any sense. Shatner was pretty wooden throughtout, especially in his reaction to the death of the redshirt. And how did that guy, "young and inexperienced" (and apparently mentally incapacitated) as he was, make it out of Star Fleet Academy, much less onto the Federation's flagship?? PS, trust Kirk to bring fists to a knife fight, yet not receive so much as a scratch. I give this mess two smelly toes down.

I dunno guys, I enjoyed this one a lot. Frankly, a lot of the complaints seem quite unearned. Why is that redshirt putting his gun out so bothersome? Militaries and police put huge emphasis on avoiding this. Doesn't change the fact that it still happens. And I don't remember Kirk overly defending him either, he simply didn't think he deserved to die over it. This is Kirk we are talking about here, he takes these things very personally. Why beam down with phasers? Because negotiating or not, these locals have been establsihed as being easy to turn hostile. Klingons probably knew about them, because they were in contact with the locals and they knew they were already coming ect. I do think locals looked absolutely ridiculous, even by TOS standarts.

Red shirt attempts to attack Klingon with possibly lethal force, without the slightest provocation. Kirk says it was self defence, not sure how that would stand up in court !!

Sometimes you just have to forget about what the Klingons should be or look like., forget the prime directive for all we know this world was contacted before the prime directive. Then this is very entertaining with the lovely julie newmar as an added treat. As for the red shirt his phaser was on stun its not like anybody was going to die through his mistake - except him unfortunately! Finally will anybody read this? 2009 - 2017 and still more comments! Maybe they'll continue until 2050 and the first warp drive according to metamorphesis :)

Of course people will still read the comments, Why. Isn't that the entire point of being a Star Trek fan, to obsess over a show that ended 50 years ago? There's always more things you could say about these shows... In any case, glad I wasn't the only one utterly confused by everyone's motivations in this episode. Well, actually, I'll give them some credit. Eleen did have something of a character arc... maybe. I'm assuming that her hitting Bones over the head and then lying about everyone being dead was just her trying to save their lives. She was nobly sacrificing herself for her baby and for her new respect for Bones. Beforehand, she was caught up in her people's ways - ways of rigid, inflexible rules that must be followed with complete honesty. Now, even though she knows she should die and that the Enterprise crew should die, she saw enough of an alternate way to want something different. Again, I'm assuming those were her thoughts. The episode certainly didn't make it clear, and everyone else's motivations are so suspect that it's hard to think of any subtlety in this episode. Why did Maab decide that this was the right time to start an insurrection against the boss? We saw some disagreements between them at first, but why did it suddenly boil over when Kirk arrived? It didn't even seem linked to the mining negotiations. And why did Maab suddenly decide to let Eleen live? After all, she lied, right in front of him. If she needed a character arc to learn that the rules could be bent sometime, why did Maab suddenly decide he could bend the rules too? Doesn't that go against their entire culture? And why did they suddenly decide they were ok with Kirk and company? Shouldn't they be killing Scotty fo pulling a gun on him? Shouldn't they still be inflexibly trying to kill Kirk and Spock? Why the sudden change of heart, other than the fact that the episode needed to wrap up in 3 minutes? But perhaps most bizarrely of all, why did Kirk decide, out of the blue, to get revenge on the Klingon? He and Spock were sitting there, their lives threatened, their mission in tatters, a baby to protect, and Kirk just decides on some revenge killing for fun? Does that sound like the calm, collected Starfleet captain we all know? And why did Spock seem to just go with it? Wouldn't that be illogical? Also, just how deadly could these ninja throwing stars be if Kirk and Spock could beat them with homemade bows and arrows? And last but not least, why did they make the Klingon so annoying? OK, fine, I take back what I said earlier. I can see why Kirk would drop the mission to kill this guy, and I can see why Maab would break the rules to kill this guy. He was just that unpleasant of a character. And I don't mean that in a good way, of making a villain villainous enough to root against him. He was just a whiny moron who you wanted to shut up every time he appeared.

Hard to believe, but I don't think I've ever seen this episode before. I loved it--like "Spock's Brain", it's so bad that it's good--just cheesy, campy fun. "I'm a doctor, Man, not an escalator!" Hahahahahahahaha. And the Capellans uniforms--OMG--lavander, orange, blue fake fur--hilarious. Especially the leader, whose uniform was trimmed with what looked like gold drapery fringe. Spock, Kirk, Mack-Coy, Scotty...all great. Uhuru, Sulu, Chekhov--professional and fun to watch as usual, through all the ridiculous plot nonsense. Julie Newmar as Eleen--wow--what a pretty woman. And a sleazy, rotten Klingon for us to hate. What more could one want? This one is a keeper for me.

ChristineNotChapel

The Klingon reminded me more of a Ferengi, opportunistic but foolish. I'm enjoying rewatching the entire series, glad I found this blog to help clear some stuff up.

RandomThoughts

Hello Everyone! @ChristineNotChapel Welcome aboard! :D And... I'd not thought of that. Lying like a Ferengi, scheming like a Romulan. Yes, not very Klingon-like at all. Have a great day... RT

I rewatched this ep the other day. The last time I saw it, I must have been eight - all I remembered was the blade-disk thingy killing the guard at the beginning (who didn't even make it past the opening credits!) and Kirk using his communicator to set off a rockslide - very clever idea, that last one - I hope we see this again in Star Trek Discovery. Now that I'm an adult, I see this ep a lot differently. Still a fun way to pass the time, with some hilarious lines and interactions between the characters but not very noteworthy overall. -Scotty: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Chekov: "I know that saying. It was invented in Russia." -McCoy: "I'm a doctor, not an escalator!" -Spock: "Fortunately, this bark has suitable tensile cohesion." Kirk: "You mean it makes a good bowstring?" Spock: "I believe I said that." -Spock: [sarcastically] "I think you're both going to be insufferably pleased with yourselves for at least a month. Sir!"

I think "Friday's Child" is all about action for the purpose of action but one good thing about it is the good moments with the Big 3 on the planet as well as having the rest of the important Enterprise crew (minus Chapel) all involved in the plot on the ship -- Chekov, Sulu, Uhura, and Scotty all had parts to play/enough lines to say. McCoy and Eleen's interaction was pretty good. Kirk/Spock had some good lines re. the baby -- that was all the kind of stuff that makes 60s Trek so enjoyable for me. As for the plot, @Skeptical raises a lot of valid questions/speculations. So many twists and turns in this one -- I was surprised Eleen said the baby/Big 3 are all dead at her hands (presumably to protect them from the warriors/Klingon). Then I assume Maab sacrifices himself so another one of his men can kill the Klingon (I don't get that at all). As for Kirk and the revenge comment, no idea where that came from. The Klingon (did he even have a name?) was treacherous as could be -- but that was well portrayed. The viewer surely would like to see him killed and I think this is entirely consistent with how a Klingon would act under the circumstances. They are supposed to be evil and masquerade under a facade of honour. Just not sure why he didn't have any cavalry of his own. I'd rate "Friday's Child" 2.5 stars. A fun, unpredictable episode that made good use of the outdoor environment, some interesting characters but some flaws in continuity and plot cohesion. Nothing too profound here.

I loved this episode. It's hilariously straight faced, with Bones slapping a pregnant woman, the absurd aliens, the cowardly Klingon, and of course those scenes in which Kirk gets to re-enact Rambo First Blood. It felt like a swashbuckling, colonial, nautical adventure written in the 1800s.

Interesting how some of the series regulars (Uhura and Sulu, at least) are heard pronouncing Klingons as Klin-gon (sounding almost like Klee-gone). Whenever an extra of the week says it that way, I just assumed they weren’t familiar with the show and had only read the script and never heard the dialog. It happened enough in this episode that I wondered if someone like the director or some other crew person (maybe Roddenberry’s ever-present and meddlesome lawyer) decided it should be pronounced that way and was giving notes about it.

Ah, "Friday's Child," a classic TOS military adventure show in the mold that later became popular on DS9. Much like "A Private Little War" later this season, but perhaps not as good, we find the Federation and Klingons fighting their Cold War by proxy here as they compete for influence over strategic planets. This one is memorable for the colorfully violent Capellan giants and their boomerang weapons, some great dialogue, and a good showcase for McCoy in his relationship with the queen played by the legendary Julie Newmar. I give it 3 or 3 1/2 stars, not quite 4 since the Klingon agent makes a weak foil, but it's still entertainingly alien. I also like the shipboard scenes in this one: Rather than repetitive cuts to the ship searching for the landing party, as often happens on these two-tiered TOS stories, we get Scotty leading the ship (good bits for Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura here as well) against a Klingon battle cruiser making threatening maneuvers to bait them. The whole Klingon thing seems a bit underwritten here, as a reference back to the Organian peace treaty (see "Tribbles" for that) would have been a helpful reminder that the two sides cannot engage in open warfare. And the unnamed Klingon agent isn't a strong villain in the mold of the classic Kor, Koloth, and Kang trinity who set the mold for great TOS Klingons. But the military posturing of the two sides works here and the Klingon is clearly a spy-provocateur in the mold of Soviet KGB agents, whichmakes sense to me as I'm sure even the Klingons (at least on TOS) have their version of a secret police. And I have to say the McCoy stuff with the equally irascible/stubborn queen and her baby is fun. Newmar and Kelley create a believable chemistry in the picturesque (and rare for Trek) outdoor location scenes; when McCoy slaps her back, Kelley manages the delicate balance of playing the scene humorously (with a self-satisfied little smirk to match her own) rather than abusively, giving it a tough love feeling. The reaction of Spock and Kirk to this budding relationship is priceless. Finally, I love the Western-style adventure pursuit through the canyons (neat bit with the communicator avalanche) and the final fight scene where the Capellan leader shouts defiantly at the Klingon to meet him in battle manfully right after he gives the queen her life back. This Klingon agent is particularly devious and sneaky, perhaps even "dishonorable" to a later Trek sensibility, but he does serve his "boo hiss" function well and we are happy to see him go at the end. Again, I don't mind him one bit, as I think the stereotypes on Trek (every person we see from an alien species must act the same from TNG onward) get too rigid at times. There's also a certain inconsistency or even hypocrisy to the Klingon honor thing: They like to claim great ideals (i.e. "Klingons don't take prisoners") that we constantly see Klingons breaking when convenient to serve their thirst for glory and victory. This inconsistency in the half-baked Trek ideology for the Klingon ethos, exposed in this episode, isn't so much inappropriate as jarringly honest.

They chucked out the story in favour of fight scenes and not very well directed fight scenes. There was times the actors just stood there looking like they didn't know what to do. But i did like the costumes and the scenery.

That poor redshirt didn't even make it past the teaser. That "communicators trigger landslide" function would have come in handy in future episodes. Too bad we never saw it in TNG

Wow. This episode didn't age very well, did it!? I mean, the doctor repeatedly taking the alien pregnant woman's multiple clear statements of "no" as "yes" to him touching her, and him angrily responding that he'll damn well touch her any way he wants... and then doing so even after she finally slaps him two times in response to him forcibly touching her against her will, and then....the doctor slaps her in the face right back...!!! Whiiich actually totally wins her love, though, because, the 60s. Bones even doubles down on his assaulting-pregnant-ladies bit later, telling Kirk that he'll keep it in his permanent repertoire. That's not chemistry you guys...that's Stockholm syndrome! First for the old Tier, then for McCoy. This poor chick. No wonder she's bonkers. All that said, I totally agree with lizzzi. This episode is so bad it's good. I mean you can't get this many episodes deep without knowing a certain sexist idiocy will be constantly afoot in this show. It was the 60s after all. Those parts are...deeply cringey, yes. But truly, in a less horrific way, so is the hideous costume design, and the goofy fight scenes, and the absolutely perplexing character writing, it's all just so delightfully terrible and campy that this episode is a must-watch. ...Just please, for the love of God, don't take any sort of life lessons from this particular episode (unless it's about what NOT to do). 5/5 entertainment value, 1/5 for quality (1 star was well and truly earned by OUTDOOR scenery!)

What "chemistry" is totally depends on the user. It's not always lovey-dovey romance stuff that gets people off. I've personally encountered women who would get off of being slapped. I don't see that as necessarily pathological. This episode is arguably ahead of its time. Note: This is not to say anything about McCoy's conduct, which is of course non-consensual.

"Note: This is not to say anything about McCoy's conduct, which is of course non-consensual." You people have got to get over yourselves and understand context a little better.

@Yams, Luthor, Peter G. -- McCoy is the expert on the Capellans -- it was established at the start of the episode that he had spent some time among them and was briefing the senior officers on their customs, warlike behavior etc. As for his interaction with Eleen - as I said before their interaction was one of the better points of this episode. One should assume he knows how to deal with a pregnant Capellan female and doing what is best for the baby's survival. Above all else he puts his hippocratic oath. The Capellans are a more primitive society and Eleen feels very duty bound but McCoy is, I believe, toeing the line between treating her as she might be treated by a Capellan male and trying to save the baby. Specific to Yams' comments re. "hideous costume design, and the goofy fight scenes, and the absolutely perplexing character writing, it's all just so delightfully terrible and campy" -- you miss the point completely about TOS, though you're entitled to your opinions. TOS didn't have the budgets other Treks did -- the costumes for an alien warrior tribe, I thought, were appropriate. The fight scenes were excessive in this episode, but reasonably enacted for the 60s - and I'm not disappointed in them today. The important thing is that the viewer understands what is going on. And I certainly don't think this episode is "delightfully terrible and campy". It isn't a very strong episode for sure but it's definitely not terrible ("Spock's Brain" is terrible) and it's not campy like so many VOY episodes are, for example. I think "Friday's Child" does a better-than-mediocre job of portraying tribal warfare/treachery and not to mention the theme of a superior power (Klingons/Federation) trying to win their allegiance/mining rights through different tactics. It's an entertaining hour of Trek but not a particularly profound one.

Great review Jammer, and yes, this is so bad, it's good, almost like a spoof. Editing is quite terrible; some of the scenes work well when considered alone, but sequences are sloppy. Red-shirt is on the right side of the four standing, and in the next shot, half a second later, he is second from the left trying to aim at the Klingon. The stunt man for the Klingon looks nothing like him (see when the Capellan's kleegat hits him, did they really need stunt men by the way just for that scene, he is standing and screaming essentially, facing the camera). Julie Newmar's acting is off too. If you read Star trek books, Akaar (the newborn baby) turns out to be a quite important and well-developed character, appearing in multiple DS9 relaunch novels. The red shirt is Robert Bralver who has quite impressive resume as actor, stunt man, and director. He represents the emblematic red-shirt in this one, no doubt :)))

No, did not like this one. McCoy and the pregnant lady added some fun and amusement, but it was otherwise totally boring and ineffective.

Sarjenka's Brother

Goofy costumes aside, the Capellans made for one of the more interesting one-time-visited alien races in all of Trekdom. I think they could make a compelling villains-you-respect race in the Prime Universe set in the decades after DS9 and Voyager. At that point, they've had a couple of centuries of being exploited for their minerals and they've decided to give up their tents and head for the stars. As a space-faring race with technology equal to the Federation, they could easily emerge as worthy rivals to the Federation, Klingons and Romulans.

@ Sarjenka's Brother I also liked the portrayal of the Capellans -- a fearsome tribe with strict customs. Didn't think their costumes were goofy though. But the Capellans are not inherently villains. Only because the Klingon was interfering was there dissension in the tribe and toward the Federation. But, presumably if there are different tribes of Capellans, maybe their analogues in the 24th century could be the Kazon. On the topic of TOS S2 villains, I think what would be more interesting and plausible (since the Capellans are a tribe and are probably between 1 and 2 millenia of being a space-faring race) is if the modern-day Romans from "Bread and Circuses" or the Nazis from "Patterns of Force" (in a few centuries) developed into space-faring races -- basically bringing fascism into the 23rd and 24th centuries. But then again, this has already largely been done with the Romulans/Klingons/Cardassians.

I understand many of the critical comments made here, but I enjoyed this episode very much. There are some segments which are truly classic, especially involving Bones and Scotty. 'A few involving Spock, too.

Bobbington Mc Bob

Crappy episode but loved Spock's line at the end

Harry's Swollen Throat

- unnecessary dying - behaviours and attitudes constantly changing and shifting - klingon not klingon like at all. Didn't fight honourable and quite a coward. - what's an inexperienced officer doing on an away mission. Bruh. - no continuity of characters. Just no sense at all. I would give 2 stars because it HAD potential.

I generally enjoyed this episode. I also really like Capella, which is now nicely visible in the evening sky. Spring is coming. Anyway: Right after Babel, we are back to the "Earth Federation" trying to secure those minerals for their colonies. I don't know about the Prime Directive though. The Capellans might well be warp capable or at least aware of their planet's position in interstellar relations, and still choose to live on simple soundstages with a couple of drapes and employ edged weapons as part of their culture. For what it's worth, materialising aliens are not a big deal to them; they greet them with a simple "So you're the earth vessel?" The wide-spread notion that redshirt deaths are generally shrugged off might be a bit unfair after all. This far in the series, Kirk routinely mourns and "demands an explanation" for his crewman's death; he even does so in this case, where his party is clearly the one at fault. He promptly gets his explanation from McCoy, who dryly points out that this idiot just needlessly caused an interplanetary incident. Well, to the young guy, a Klingon might be a terrifying alien, maybe like a Borg (you do tend to kill those on sight). But I can't say that they have done much to earn that reputation; the one here certainly doesn't. The Klingons are still sneaky and dishonorable here, eventually backing away from the fight in space as well. That's interesting given that in the beginning, the Klingons seem to be at an advantage precisely because they are cultually closer to the Capellans. - However, it is believable that a single Bird of Prey or "small scout ship"/glowing paperclip would be seriously outgunned by the Enterprise. Still in STIII, a fully armed Constitution class vessel coming at you is a thing to be very nervous about. (Obviously, by that time, the Klingons would choose to die in the fight.) DC Fontana's script has another one of those remarkably hard cuts that she already employed twice in Babel, and that most of you were put off by. I call it some refreshingly dynamic pacing, maybe even somewhat ahead of its time. It also works in this case: we can all figure out that there's a coup by Maab's people, no need to spell it out. I also rather enjoyed Julie Newmar's display of regal arrogance, putting a good measure of Catwoman in her always-sexy voice when she declares that "it is my right to see him die". Her exact motivations remain unclear throughout though, like pretty much everyone's. Yeah, and Scotty is probably a tad too smug when he explains to everyone on the bridge how *he* just fell for a ruse, abandoning his captain in the process; the story sounds accordingly different in his report to said captain when he finally returns. And finally, their very cavalry-like appearance, while okay as a joke, felt rather unneccessary to me. Kirk had almost got it there. Just one three-minute Kirk speech about how honoring proper succession demands Junior is now in charge, everyone voluntarily drops their weapons and bows to the baby, boom, you're done.

You can boil what is fun in Friday's Child down to a 30 second clip https://youtu.be/9rscHQIPGKY Now that I've saved you 50 minutes of your life, you are free to spend that time searching for Julie Newmar's Playboy spread on the interwebs.

Wait a minute-how can the red shirt reach for his weapon when the organians made that impossible? I'm so confused.

Was this one of the first trek episodes that starts with a meeting of the senior staff?

Shoot Out At The OK Capella. (Yawn). Potentially this could have been a good episode - the Bedouin type sets were pleasing and the cultural politics of the initial scenes interesting, especially the way McCoy interprets every situation. But once I’d seen this: REDSHIRT (chosen for a diplomatic mission, and yet, against all prior warnings) “A Klingon!” (draws weapon despite no threat whatsoever... dies), I just knew it was going to turn out bad. This was essentially the ‘Wild West’ episode and there’s even a reference to “the cavalry coming over the hill to rescue....”. Just a series of random fight scenes interspersed with Scotty realising unbelievably slowly that they have been tricked by a false distress signal. The episode is partly redeemed by “MAKK-oi”’s scenes with the girl. A doctor who is not an escalator, huh? If not for those scenes it would not even deserve the 1.5 stars I’ll give it.

The original red shirt on the planet did not immediately draw his weapon to fire on the Klingon. Capt. Kirk clarified that he only drew it defensively. It was the Klingon who attacked first.

Only 2 stars for Friday’s Child and 3 stars for the awful “I Mudd”? Jammer, you’re losing it...

Considering I wrote this in 1998, if I was losing it then, I must be in real trouble now. :)

Daniel Beardsmore

One other tiny nit (besides how two starship crew members turned out to be spectacular bowmen despite their wobbly arrows) — where exactly did that distress call come from? The crew went to where the alleged freighter said it was, but did the signal originate from that general direction and range? Surely it would be a giveaway if the signal came from the somewhere close to the Klingon ship, and I doubt it came from elsewhere in the Empire considering that the poor Klingon fellow was down there all alone! (The Enterprise only made warp 5 or 6 going to and from that location — I don’t think the writers ever agreed on what top speed was considering so many urgent journeys were made well below it.) Also useful that Starfleet personnel keep copious earplugs on their person at all times … and that McCoy kept all his medical gear despite handing in their communicators.

I like this episode, but my one complaint out of the entire thing is, why did Mr Scott have to be so disrespectful on Sulu, saying he knew the speed of a freighter. Well la di da. If I were Sulu, I'd never offer information again.

I don't think I ever before happened to notice the knowing smile on Chekov's face after he has claimed credit for his homeland for a common saying. Sulu and Scott at first scowl, then realize he is joking. They are all in the joke together. Chekov isn't the russo-centric jingoist that his "invented in Russia" shtick often suggests. It's a running gag that he's in on.

EventualZen

@Rahul >...and it's not campy like so many VOY episodes are I'm curious to here which Voyager episodes you think are campy? I never felt any Trek made after TOS/TAS felt campy, except may be “Threshold”.

I was bored by this episode as a boy, was bored as a teenager, and was bored as a near-60 man.

Sorry, but no teenaged boy could be bored watching Julie Newmar.

This is an excellent adventurous episode. One of my favorites when i watched this on television as a boy, seen in re-runs after school. There seems to be a lot of incorrect assertions being made in these comments. Imo the prime directive isn't necessarily violated- Kirk has proof the Klingons are interfering with the Capellans. A coup is taking place as the younger Maab dethrones the old king Akaar, who has a history of working with the Federation. The Klingons are obviously sewing seeds of discontent with Maab, so the Federation may be obligated in some capacity to protect its interests and the people of CapellaIV. It is shown in the script that Maab's mindset is evolving: "MAAB: Perhaps to be a teer is to see in new ways. I begin to like you, Earthman, and I saw fear in the Klingon's eye. KRAS: We had an agreement. MAAB: That too may change, Klingon. " So, changing his mind about Eleen isn't exactly wishy-washy, Maab has simply expanded his viewpoint in the new role of high teer. He sees himself as a dutiful leader, of all his people, rather than a faction and also sees he's been duped by the Klingon. This episode is a good one, maybe top 10 good, and it's held up well for many, many viewings for me. Here is one of the greatest exchanges of any you will ever see: "AKAAR: I am the teer Akaar. I lead the Ten Tribes of Capella. (A heavily pregnant woman enters and sits.) AKAAR: And this is Eleen, a young wife to give an old man a son to rule these tribes. KIRK: I'm Captain Kirk. First of all, I must protest the killing of my crewman. AKAAR: If it was your man, wasn't it his privilege to die for you? I do not understand. MAAB: Their customs are different, Teer. KRAS: And different from those of my people, too, Teer. The sight of death frightens them. MCCOY: Let me take this, Jim. What Maab has said is true. Our customs are different. What the Klingon has said is unimportant, and we do not hear his words. I just called the Klingon a liar. MAAB: Laughter, Teer? Is not the Klingon an honoured guest also? AKAAR: It was the Earth people who first bargained for our rocks. MAAB: Is it not best to have two who bargain for the same goods? AKAAR: It is I who speak for the tribe, Maab. MAAB: I speak for many, Teer. Hear the words of the Klingon. KRAS: What do Earth men offer you? What have you obtained from them in the past? Powders and liquids for the sick? We Klingons believe as you do. The sick should die. Only the strong should live. Earthmen have promised to teach the youth of your tribes many things. What? What things? Cleverness against enemies? The use of weapons? ELEEN: The Klingon speaks the truth, Akaar. KIRK: The Earth Federation offers one other thing, Akaar. Our laws. And the highest of all our laws states that your world is yours and will always remain yours. This differs us from the Klingons. Their empire is made up of conquered worlds. They take what they want by arms and force. MAAB: Good, good. Let the Klingons and the Earthmen offer us amusement. Capellans welcome this. AKAAR: The Earth men have different customs, but never have they lied to our people. MAAB: There are those of us who won't bargain with Earthmen, Akaar. AKAAR: Do you say you will fight me, Maab? MAAB: Let that be your choice, Teer. (Maab, Kras and the Orange man leave.) KIRK: We need our communicators, those devices on our belts. If there's a Klingon ship somewhere AKAAR: The sky does not interest me. I must consider the words I have heard. ELEEN: Leave him. " Why the redshirt immediately draws is hinted at in the scene directly before that, where Kirk lectures Scotty about Klingon's being sighted in this sector. The implication is that just the sight of a Klingon means you may face incident. McCoy reaffirms the redshirts actions by noting the Klingons are our sworn enemies. So although Kirk half-heartedly explains that he was young, the insinuation is that the redshirt was spot on. However i have always found that scene a bit odd. It mainly serves to give us a first taste of the usage of the Capellan kligat, a deadly weapon. Which is again used in the death scene of Maab, which I found to be most excellent. Friday's Child offers adventure, drama, intrigue, and a bit of comedy. Kirk, Spock, and Bones are great together in this one. The Capellan culture is one of the most awesome the Enterprise crew encounter, with their unique customs, dress, and names with double vowels. Friday's Child S2 E11- 01DEC1967, is similar to another of my favorites , Private Little War S2 E19- 02FEB1968. The former starring the sexy Julie Newmar and the latter starring Nancy Kovack in the role of Nona which has to be one of the most sexually erotic characters ever created...woww

Lyle said: "Nancy Kovack in the role of Nona which has to be one of the most sexually erotic characters ever created" Here's some Nona cheesecake for you, Lyle: https://imgur.com/ylcVvlv

Proud Capitalist Pig

My question is a lot like Jammer’s, but nastier -- Just how much treachery and deception can be packed into a single hour and yet still be completely uninteresting and meaningless? I couldn’t have cared less about anything I was watching here. “Friday’s Child” (probably named after the far superior W.H. Auden poem) was literally painful to sit through, just like a root canal, an airline delay or a Nancy Pelosi lecture. Those Capellan men with their silly JoJo Sliwa hairdos and frou-frou frocks amount to nothing more than your typical warring thugs fighting over dick size and street cred. If they didn’t have such a valuable mineral no one would give a shit about their stupid backward planet, except perhaps for the slight entertainment value to be had from their constant brawling (I could see it being on some futuristic version of Pay-Per-View). "Are you children?" Eileen shouts at them. Yeah, pretty much. And while The Klingon does make use of a delightful sneer, he doesn’t have an ounce of the charisma that John Colicos’ Kor from “Errand of Mercy” had. What a letdown. Of course, one great attribute of “Friday’s Child” (or maybe it’s two attributes) is that it features the venerable sexy smokeshow Julie Newmar as aforementioned Eileen. Her presence alone basically nets the episode ten bonus points -- five points per tit. Speak Freely: McCoy -- “Captain, I’m going to fix that woman’s arm. They can only kill me once for touching her.” My Grade: D-

Fun fact, that is what Jammer had to say about this family pig, when he gave him money. "Thanks for your support and your contributions in the comment threads!" So true. Five coffees per tit!

Yes @ProudCapitalistPig, this is one of the many TOS episodes with a stunningly beautiful woman -- gotta hand it to TOS for having more hotties in its 79 episodes than any other live action classic Trek series did even with far more episodes. Julie Newmar... But I'd take watching this episode any day over a Nancy Pelosi lecture -- it's not even close!

--@ Rahul --"I'd take watching this episode any day over a Nancy Pelosi lecture" Point taken! I suppose that was a bit unfair even to "Friday's Child." --"this is one of the many TOS episodes with a stunningly beautiful woman" Looking forward to more hotties!

It was neat to see Sulu's targeting scanner display deploy out of the helm console.

I'm uncertain exactly why, but this one has grown on me as I've grown. As a kid, Friday's Child seemed boring, but later I found the clash of cultures interesting. and the Capellan traditions more believable. The screenplay creatively differs from TOS standards, for example, here McCoy opens the episode, the Capellans though relatively primitive seem formidable, especially when armed with their inventive kligat weapon, then there's a faked distress signal, a pregnancy, and some memorable dialogue. The all-too-rare outdoor filming lends a touch of authenticity. 3 of 4 stars is much higher than I'd have given this one decades ago.

It's the pace of this episode that makes it work. In that context, it works brilliantly... That is the entire point... D.C. Fontana does not mince words nor too many notes... This is easily a 3-star episode despite the goofy-ass costumes. You MUST look at the context.

Friday’s Child is an odd episode. In many ways it’s sort of a continuation of Errand of Mercy, with the federation and Klingon empire competing over another small planet with precious resources, but where Errand had a ton to say about imperialism and arrogance this episode seems to have other ideas on its mind that never fully come to the surface. The possible Cold War allegories are somewhat pushed to the side and instead I think we’re supposed to be focused more on eleen and her baby. What, if anything, the episode is trying to say however sort of stumbles across the finish line. The heart of the episode feels like the relationship between McCoy and eleen, and the good doctor’s efforts to get her to accept help that she claims to not want. It’s a bit of a confused muddle of competing elements. On the one hand we have an alien culture with very different values that eleen is committed to. McCoy is the most familiar with where she’s coming from, but he’s also very committed to his own values as a medical professional and is walking a bit of a fence between the two. He wants her to see herself and her baby through his own moral prism, but he’s using her own capellan cultural tropes to get there, including smacking her around. It’s a weird combo of respect for another culture being used to undermine that culture. Technically the ethical thing to do would be to accept eleen’s disdain for her child and desire to be left alone, but doing so would almost certainly mean infanticide and eleen’s possible murder. So what’s a doctor to do? Unfortunately this all takes care of itself when eleen pops out her kid and does an about face on her whole situation, which I found to be an abandonment of the more interesting culture clash dilemma in favor of a more family friendly wrap up. Speaking of that capellan culture, it’s also a bit problematic. These people are all about honesty, honor, and integrity, well, except when it suits them not to be. Treachery and backstabbing seem to be totes cool if you can get away with it, which leaves me feeling like the best federation strategy here might be to get them some dictionaries so they can look up the definition of these words their supposed to be super about. Then again, maab does sacrifice himself to lure out our Klingon baddie, so perhaps he was engaging in one last act of redemption to make up for his conniving and throwing his lot in with the demonstrably dishonorable Klingon? I’m not really sure, it’s all a bit tough to figure. Some other thoughts: - It was a scripting error to have that redshirt die right out of the gate. I mean, it’s cool to establish just out serious and dangerous the capellans are, maybe have redshirt hurl an insult at Mr. Klingon and get knocked out or sent back to the ship in disgrace, but that dude whipping out his phaser like that when everyone else seemed to be pretty relaxed just felt stupid. Like, dude, read the room. I imagine McCoy probably gave the whole team a PowerPoint rundown on the do’s and don’t’s of dealing with seven foot tall super warriors, so the scene just plays out like that security officer was a complete idiot. - You have to wonder why the Klingon was running solo, no Klingon henchmen in sight. That, coupled with the fact that the Klingons were resorting to fake distress calls and subterfuge implies that maybe he was going a bit rogue here? Maybe his superiors didn’t know about or approve of his actions? - I’m torn on Kirk’s whole vengeance thing. I guess he hates Klingons *that* much, which I suppose is an acceptable character flaw, but it also seems unprofessional. - Outdoor locations are nice. - Capellan outfits are, um, interesting… Anyway, 2/4 kleegats to the chest.

Don't really like this episode. The big three having now been credited in the show's opening sequence, now need excuses to take most of the screen time. Beaming down to a planet and then being deprived of their communicators and therefore losing contact with the ship, thus requires the 3 to improvise a solution to their dilemma. This time, the Enterprise actually leaves the planet despite losing contact with command crew 3 and receiving an obviously faked call for assistance, which Scotty would normally have detected but for the plot device. It's too bad the conflict with the Klingon ship could not have been developed a bit with Scott in charge (instead of just dropping it midstream) ...... because.... then we would have had to endure less of the ridiculous inhabitants of the planet acting bewildered as though they were shooting a Western and had lost their horses. Obviously, the outdoor shooting location costs a lot so there is no budget for sci-fi or (even more expensive) horses. These planets with primitive societies always talk with strange utterances, leaving out prepositions to seem naive and ignorant, and act like knuckledraggers limited by their life perspective on the planet. As opposed to the superpowerful aliens whom when in human form appear as frail benevolent Thespians because they don't need to be brutes. So the, um, Capellians, are sword and knife tossing primitives, yet appear to have a fine draperies manufacturing plant nearby despite having no windows. The baby stuff was meant to be cute because what else was a doctor going to do on the planet without his medical kit, which magically appears later. You can't expect him to make his own bow and arrow out of twigs and leaves then deploy the weapon with tactical proficiency. And who wouldn't want to get their hands on Julie Newmar, at least this time it's not Kirk getting the privilege. This episode just tries to cram too much stuff into a lackluster story, no wonder they needed a half dozen fight scenes to keep the audience from dozing off.

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Sometimes it really helps to go back to the original source! But watching the episode—or even skimming it—can be time consuming. So why not let the computer search the text for you? I’ve collected the scripts of every episode of The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and the first 10 movies.

All episodes are stored in plain text format.

Archivist’s Note: All of these scripts were obtained from other published sources; the complete scripts for TOS, Voyager , and Enterprise are not available right now. (Please don’t ask me about getting more scripts added, I’ve posted all the files I’ve found.)

Star Trek: The Movies

All Movies [ZIP file, 612 KB]

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek: Generations
• Star Trek: First Contact (Draft Version)
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek: The Next Generation

• Episode 1-2: “Encounter at Farpoint”
• Episode 3: “The Naked Now”
• Episode 4: “Code of Honor”
• Episode 5: “Haven”
• Episode 6: “Where No One Has Gone Before”
• Episode 7: “The Last Outpost”
• Episode 8: “Lonely Among Us”
• Episode 9: “Justice”
• Episode 10: “The Battle”
• Episode 11: “Hide and Q”
• Episode 12: “Too Short A Season”
• Episode 13: “The Big Goodbye”
• Episode 14: “Datalore”
• Episode 15: “Angel One”
• Episode 16: “11001001”
• Episode 17: “Home Soil”
• Episode 18: “When the Bough Breaks”
• Episode 19: “Coming of Age”
• Episode 20: “Heart of Glory”
• Episode 21: “The Arsenal of Freedom”
• Episode 22: “Symbiosis”
• Episode 23: “Skin of Evil”
• Episode 24: “We’ll Always Have Paris”
• Episode 25: “Conspiracy”
• Episode 26: “The Neutral Zone”
• Episode 27: “The Child”
• Episode 28: “Where Silence Has Lease”
• Episode 29: “Elementary, Dear Data”
• Episode 30: “The Outrageous Okona”
• Episode 31: “The Schizoid Man”
• Episode 32: “Loud as a Whisper”
• Episode 33: “Unnatural Selection”
• Episode 34: “A Matter of Honor”
• Episode 35: “The Measure of a Man”
• Episode 36: “The Dauphin”
• Episode 37: “Contagion”
• Episode 38: “The Royale”
• Episode 39: “Time Squared”
• Episode 40: “The Icarus Factor”
• Episode 41: “Pen Pals”
• Episode 42: “Q Who?”
• Episode 43: “Samaritan Snare”
• Episode 44: “Up the Long Ladder”
• Episode 45: “Manhunt”
• Episode 46: “The Emissary”
• Episode 47: “Peak Performance”
• Episode 48: “Shades of Grey”
• Episode 49: “The Ensigns of Command”
• Episode 50: “Evolution”
• Episode 51: “The Survivors”
• Episode 52: “Who Watches the Watchers?”
• Episode 53: “The Bonding”
• Episode 54: “Booby Trap”
• Episode 55: “The Enemy”
• Episode 56: “The Price”
• Episode 57: “The Vengeance Factor”
• Episode 58: “The Defector”
• Episode 59: “The Hunted”
• Episode 60: “The High Ground”
• Episode 61: “Déjà Q”
• Episode 62: “A Matter of Perspective”
• Episode 63: “Yesterday’s Enterprise ”
• Episode 64: “The Offspring”
• Episode 65: “Sins of the Father”
• Episode 66: “Allegiance”
• Episode 67: “Captain’s Holiday”
• Episode 68: “Tin Man”
• Episode 69: “Hollow Pursuits”
• Episode 70: “The Most Toys”
• Episode 71: “Sarek”
• Episode 72: “Ménage á Troi”
• Episode 73: “Transfigurations”
• Episode 74: “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I”
• Episode 75: “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II”
• Episode 76: “Family”
• Episode 77: “Brothers”
• Episode 78: “Suddenly Human”
• Episode 79: “Remember Me”
• Episode 80: “Legacy”
• Episode 81: “Reunion”
• Episode 82: “Future Imperfect”
• Episode 83: “Final Mission”
• Episode 84: “The Loss”
• Episode 85: “Data’s Day”
• Episode 86: “The Wounded”
• Episode 87: “Devil’s Due”
• Episode 88: “Clues”
• Episode 89: “First Contact”
• Episode 90: “Galaxy’s Child”
• Episode 91: “Night Terrors”
• Episode 92: “Identity Crisis”
• Episode 93: “The Nth Degree”
• Episode 94: “Qpid”
• Episode 95: “The Drumhead”
• Episode 96: “Half a Life”
• Episode 97: “The Host”
• Episode 98: “The Mind’s Eye”
• Episode 99: “In Theory”
• Episode 100: “Redemption, Part I”
• Episode 101: “Redemption, Part II”
• Episode 102: “Darmok”
• Episode 103: “Ensign Ro”
• Episode 104: “Silicon Avatar”
• Episode 105: “Disaster”
• Episode 106: “The Game”
• Episode 107: “Unification, Part I”
• Episode 108: “Unification, Part II”
• Episode 109: “A Matter of Time”
• Episode 110: “New Ground”
• Episode 111: “Hero Worship”
• Episode 112: “Violations”
• Episode 113: “The Masterpiece Society”
• Episode 114: “Conundrum”
• Episode 115: “Power Play”
• Episode 116: “Ethics”
• Episode 117: “The Outcast”
• Episode 118: “Cause and Effect”
• Episode 119: “The First Duty”
• Episode 120: “Cost of Living”
• Episode 121: “The Perfect Mate”
• Episode 122: “Imaginary Friend”
• Episode 123: “I, Borg”
• Episode 124: “The Next Phase”
• Episode 125: “The Inner Light”
• Episode 126: “Time’s Arrow, Part I”
• Episode 127: “Time’s Arrow, Part II”
• Episode 128: “Realm of Fear”
• Episode 129: “Man of the People”
• Episode 130: “Relics”
• Episode 131: “Schisms”
• Episode 132: “True Q”
• Episode 133: “Rascals”
• Episode 134: “A Fistful of Datas”
• Episode 135: “The Quality of Life”
• Episode 136: “Chain of Command, Part I”
• Episode 137: “Chain of Command, Part II”
• Episode 138: “Ship in a Bottle”
• Episode 139: “Aquiel”
• Episode 140: “Face of the Enemy”
• Episode 141: “Tapestry”
• Episode 142: “Birthright, Part I”
• Episode 143: “Birthright, Part II”
• Episode 144: “Starship Mine”
• Episode 145: “Lessons”
• Episode 146: “The Chase”
• Episode 147: “Frame of Mind”
• Episode 148: “Suspicions”
• Episode 149: “Rightful Heir”
• Episode 150: “Second Chances”
• Episode 151: “Timescape”
• Episode 152: “Descent, Part I”
• Episode 153: “Descent, Part II”
• Episode 154: “Liaisons”
• Episode 155: “Interface”
• Episode 156: “Gambit, Part I”
• Episode 157: “Gambit, Part II”
• Episode 158: “Phantasms”
• Episode 159: “Dark Page”
• Episode 160: “Attached”
• Episode 161: “Force of Nature”
• Episode 162: “Inheritance”
• Episode 163: “Parallels”
• Episode 164: “The Pegasus ”
• Episode 165: “Homeward”
• Episode 166: “Sub Rosa”
• Episode 167: “Lower Decks”
• Episode 168: “Thine Own Self”
• Episode 169: “Masks”
• Episode 170: “Eye of the Beholder”
• Episode 171: “Genesis”
• Episode 172: “Journey’s End”
• Episode 173: “Firstborn”
• Episode 174: “Bloodlines”
• Episode 175: “Emergence”
• Episode 176: “Preemptive Strike”
• Episode 177-178: “All Good Things...”

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

• Episode 1-2: “Emissary”
• Episode 3: “A Man Alone”
• Episode 4: “Past Prologue”
• Episode 5: “Babel”
• Episode 6: “Captive Pursuit”
• Episode 7: “Q-Less”
• Episode 8: “Dax”
• Episode 9: “The Passenger”
• Episode 10: “Move Along Home”
• Episode 11: “The Nagus”
• Episode 12: “Vortex”
• Episode 13: “Battle Lines”
• Episode 14: “The Storyteller”
• Episode 15: “Progress”
• Episode 16: “If Wishes Were Horses”
• Episode 17: “The Forsaken”
• Episode 18: “Dramatis Personae”
• Episode 19: “Duet”
• Episode 20: “In the Hands of the Prophets”
• Episode 21: “The Homecoming”
• Episode 22: “The Circle”
• Episode 23: “The Siege”
• Episode 24: “Invasive Procedures”
• Episode 25: “Cardassians”
• Episode 26: “Melora”
• Episode 27: “Rules of Acquisition”
• Episode 28: “Necessary Evil”
• Episode 29: “Second Sight”
• Episode 30: “Sanctuary”
• Episode 31: “Rivals”
• Episode 32: “The Alternate”
• Episode 33: “Armageddon Game”
• Episode 34: “Whispers”
• Episode 35: “Paradise”
• Episode 36: “Shadowplay”
• Episode 37: “Playing God”
• Episode 38: “Profit and Loss”
• Episode 39: “Blood Oath”
• Episode 40: “The Maquis, Part I”
• Episode 41: “The Maquis, Part II”
• Episode 42: “The Wire”
• Episode 43: “Crossover”
• Episode 44: “The Collaborator”
• Episode 45: “Tribunal”
• Episode 46: “The Jem’Hadar”
• Episode 47: “The Search, Part I”
• Episode 48: “The Search, Part II”
• Episode 49: “The House of Quark”
• Episode 50: “Equilibrium”
• Episode 51: “Second Skin”
• Episode 52: “The Abandoned”
• Episode 53: “Civil Defense”
• Episode 54: “Meridian”
• Episode 55: “ Defiant ”
• Episode 56: “Fascination”
• Episode 57: “Past Tense, Part I”
• Episode 58: “Past Tense, Part II”
• Episode 59: “Life Support”
• Episode 60: “Heart of Stone”
• Episode 61: “Destiny”
• Episode 62: “Prophet Motive”
• Episode 63: “Visionary”
• Episode 64: “Distant Voices”
• Episode 65: “Through the Looking Glass”
• Episode 66: “Improbable Cause”
• Episode 67: “The Die Is Cast”
• Episode 68: “Explorers”
• Episode 69: “Family Business”
• Episode 70: “Shakaar”
• Episode 71: “Facets”
• Episode 72: “The Adversary”
• Episode 73-74: “The Way of the Warrior”
• Episode 75: “The Visitor”
• Episode 76: “Hippocratic Oath”
• Episode 77: “Indiscretion”
• Episode 78: “Rejoined”
• Episode 79: “Starship Down”
• Episode 80: “Little Green Men”
• Episode 81: “The Sword of Kahless”
• Episode 82: “Our Man Bashir”
• Episode 83: “Homefront”
• Episode 84: “Paradise Lost”
• Episode 85: “Crossfire”
• Episode 86: “Return to Grace”
• Episode 87: “Sons of Mogh”
• Episode 88: “The Bar Association”
• Episode 89: “Accession”
• Episode 90: “Rules of Engagement”
• Episode 91: “Hard Time”
• Episode 92: “Shattered Mirror”
• Episode 93: “The Muse”
• Episode 94: “For the Cause”
• Episode 95: “The Quickening”
• Episode 96: “To the Death”
• Episode 97: “Body Parts”
• Episode 98: “Broken Link”
• Episode 99: “Apocalypse Rising”
• Episode 100: “The Ship”
• Episode 101: “Looking For par’Mach in All the Wrong Places”
• Episode 102: “...Nor the Battle to the Strong”
• Episode 103: “The Assignment”
• Episode 104: “Trials and Tribble-ations”
• Episode 105: “Let He Who Is Without Sin...”
• Episode 106: “Things Past”
• Episode 107: “The Ascent”
• Episode 108: “Rapture”
• Episode 109: “The Darkness and the Light”
• Episode 110: “The Begotten”
• Episode 111: “For the Uniform”
• Episode 112: “In Purgatory’s Shadow”
• Episode 113: “By Inferno’s Light”
• Episode 114: “Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”
• Episode 115: “A Simple Investigation”
• Episode 116: “Business as Usual”
• Episode 117: “Ties of Blood and Water”
• Episode 118: “Ferengi Love Songs”
• Episode 119: “Soldiers of the Empire”
• Episode 120: “Children of Time”
• Episode 121: “Blaze of Glory”
• Episode 122: “Empok Nor”
• Episode 123: “In the Cards”
• Episode 124: “Call to Arms”
• Episode 125: “A Time to Stand”
• Episode 126: “Rocks and Shoals”
• Episode 127: “Sons and Daughters”
• Episode 128: “Behind the Lines”
• Episode 129: “Favor the Bold”
• Episode 130: “The Sacrifice of Angels”
• Episode 131: “You Are Cordially Invited...”
• Episode 132: “Resurrection”
• Episode 133: “Statistical Probabilities”
• Episode 134: “The Magnificent Ferengi”
• Episode 135: “Waltz”
• Episode 136: “Who Mourns for Morn”
• Episode 137: “Far Beyond the Stars”
• Episode 138: “One Little Ship”
• Episode 139: “Honor Among Thieves”
• Episode 140: “Change of Heart”
• Episode 141: “Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night”
• Episode 142: “Inquisition”
• Episode 143: “In the Pale Moonlight”
• Episode 144: “His Way”
• Episode 145: “The Reckoning”
• Episode 146: “ Valiant ”
• Episode 147: “Profit and Lace”
• Episode 148: “Time’s Orphan”
• Episode 149: “The Sound of Her Voice”
• Episode 150: “Tears of the Prophets”
• Episode 151: “Image in the Sand”
• Episode 152: “Shadows and Symbols”
• Episode 153: “Afterimage”
• Episode 154: “Take Me Out to the Holosuite”
• Episode 155: “Chrysalis”
• Episode 156: “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River”
• Episode 157: “Once More Unto the Breach”
• Episode 158: “The Siege of AR-558”
• Episode 159: “Covenant”
• Episode 160: “It’s Only a Paper Moon”
• Episode 161: “Prodigal Daughter”
• Episode 162: “The Emperor’s New Cloak”
• Episode 163: “Field of Fire”
• Episode 164: “Chimera”
• Episode 165: “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang”
• Episode 166: “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”
• Episode 167: “Penumbra”
• Episode 168: “‘Til Death Do Us Part”
• Episode 169: “Strange Bedfellows”
• Episode 170: “The Changing Face of Evil”
• Episode 171: “When It Rains...”
• Episode 172: “Tacking Into the Wind”
• Episode 173: “Extreme Measures”
• Episode 174: “The Dogs of War”
• Episode 175-176: “What You Leave Behind”

Star Trek: Voyager

• Episode 34: “Death Wish”
• Episode 68: “Scorpion, Part I”
• Episode 69: “Scorpion, Part II”
• Episode 74: “The Raven ”
• Episode 89: “The Omega Directive”
• Episode 93: “One”
• Episode 94: “Hope and Fear”
• Episode 30: “Death Wish”
• Episode 44: “False Profits”
• Episode 53: “The Q and the Grey”
• Episode 95: “Night”
• Episode 104: “Counterpoint”
• Episode 110: “The Disease”
• Episode 111: “Dark Frontier, Part I”
• Episode 112: “Dark Frontier, Part II”
• Episode 120: “ Equinox , Part I”
• Episode 121: “ Equinox , Part II”
• Episode 129: “The Voyager Conspiracy”
• Episode 140: “Good Shepherd”
• Episode 157: “Shattered”
• Episode 158: “Lineage”

Star Trek: Enterprise

• Episode 1: “Broken Bow” (Draft Version)
• Episode 69: “Azati Prime”
• Episode 76: “Zero Hour”

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Living a creative life

Boldly Rewatching the Voyages: Friday’s Child

(Note: If you haven’t read it yet, my introductory post on this Star Trek: The Original Series rewatch is a good place to start.)

Original Air Date: December 1, 1967

Crew Death Count: 1 (Grant the security officer is killed in the prologue; plus the Klingon kills one Capellan, several appear to die in the rockslide halfway through the episode, and several more are killed in the climactic battle)

Bellybuttons: 0

Good news: “Friday’s Child” is not as terrible as I remember it. That’s not a strong endorsement, but here we are. This week, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Capella IV hoping to sign a topaline mining treaty. We’re not certain what topaline is, but according to Kirk it’s “vital to the life support systems of planetoid colonies.” McCoy has visited Capella IV in the past and offers advice about the planet’s warlike, patriarchal culture that values honesty but opposes organized healthcare, believing, like Republicans, that the sick should fend for themselves. The landing party – Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and security officer Grant ( Robert Bralver ) – are surprised to find a Klingon ( Tige Andrews ) has already arrived to compete with them for treaty rights. The premise is similar to “ Errand of Mercy ,” another instance of Klingons arriving ahead of the Federation to compete for the favors of a society in possession of valuable resources. We should note that Capella is a real star, about 43 light years from earth. Because of its brightness, Capella became significant in numerous ancient cultures, but Greek mythology is perhaps the most relevant to our story: Capella represented Amalthea , the goat whose horn was broken off by Zeus, transforming it to the original cornucopia , the horn of plenty that offered abundance and nourishment.

The episode’s title is inspired by a poem from the 1800s called Monday’s Child , a nursery rhyme intended to help children learn the days of the week. You’re most likely familiar with one of the many versions that have been published over the years: “Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace,” etc. While Friday’s child is commonly “loving and giving,” Star Trek ’s “Friday’s Child” is said to be taken from a version of the poem printed in Harper’s Weekly in 1887: “Friday’s child is full of woe.” Eleen ( Julie Newmar ), the wife of the tribal leader Akaar ( Ben Gage ), is pregnant and falls out of favor when her husband is killed by a rival faction. When the Klingon turns the Capellans against the Federation, she is forced to escape with the landing party, giving birth in a remote cave with Dr. McCoy’s help. The newborn doesn’t experience much woe in the short time we spend with him, but Eleen does.

A little woe for us viewers, also: the Federation/Klingon conflict is not handled particularly well. Only one Klingon is present; his ship is off trying to distract the Enterprise but we never even get a good look at it. When the landing party beams down during the prologue, Grant acts impulsively and draws his phaser on the Klingon. The Capellans, who frown on armed strangers in their community, kill Grant immediately. Kirk describes Grant as “young and inexperienced.” The episode opens with a briefing from McCoy about how serious the Capellans are and the riskiness of their visit. Why bring a young and inexperienced security officer? Later, the Enterprise encounters the Klingon vessel after being lured away from the planet. But the specifics of this face-off are left to our imagination – all we know is that the Enterprise returns in the nick of time, with Scott explaining, “He had no stomach for fighting.” A Klingon with “no stomach” for fighting? It seems more likely the writers were stumped and just needed to wrap things up quickly.

On the plus side, we do get a little more insight into Klingon culture. In the Federation vs. Klingon debate, the Klingons appear to have what the Capellans want. Remembering the Capellans’ disinterest in healthcare, the Klingons offer weapons and training, whereas the Federation only offers “powders and liquids for the sick.” The Klingon tells Akaar, “We Klingons believe as you do. The sick should die. Only the strong should live.” He was instantly appointed CEO of the local health insurance provider.

Both Kirk and Scott do fine jobs of distinguishing the Federation from their counterparts. Kirk’s response to the Klingon’s “sick should die” speech is a speech of his own. He reminds Akaar that the Klingons are not partners, but conquerors who “take what they want by arms and force.” By engaging in a treaty with the Federation, Capella IV will enjoy the protection of Federation law, which means “your world is yours and will always remain yours.” Scott, in temporary command of the Enterprise , also demonstrates the Federation’s “life first” philosophy. When the ship receives a suspicious distress call, Scott makes the decision to temporarily leave the planet, and the landing party, to investigate. He could easily have ignored the call, but instead recognizes a duty to help others. There are some nice teamwork scenes when Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov all work with Scott to locate and identify the real source of the distress calls, the aforementioned Klingon vessel.

Among the landing party, Spock gets the least action, primarily offering a few pithy remarks and helping Kirk construct a collection of bows and arrows after they flee into the hills. He does offer a powerful reminder that, as explorers, they must view each culture through a unique lens, when he tells McCoy: “Virtue is a relative term, Doctor.” Kirk, thankfully, is in a more diplomatic mood than usual, sparing us the bluster that failed him in “Errand of Mercy.” In an outburst Spock describes as “inefficient,” Kirk takes his initial anger at Grant’s death out on McCoy, who is as close as they have to a resident expert on Capellan culture. Realizing the tragedy wasn’t McCoy’s fault, Kirk offers an appropriate apology later.

Much of the episode revolves around McCoy and his interactions with Eleen. Julie Newmar deserved a more carefully thought out character, but she does well with what she’s given. On Capella IV, children belong to their fathers; once Akaar is dead, Eleen no longer wants her unborn child. There are also strict protocols about leaders’ wives being touched by strangers, requiring McCoy to unleash his forceful personality to treat Eleen. Sadly, this results in McCoy slapping his female patient in the face. In fairness, she slapped him first, twice, and physical confrontation is part of the Capellans’ day-to-day life. Still, it’s a painful moment for patient and audience. McCoy is otherwise very encouraging toward Eleen, and the forced intimacy of their time together causes Eleen to declare her child to be McCoy’s. She’s so smitten that she saves the landing party in the end, offering herself as sacrifice to the rival faction responsible for Akaar’s death, trying to convince them that her child and the Federation representatives are dead. The ruse isn’t entirely successful, but it does prompt the Klingon to show his true colors. Eleen’s noble gesture inspires a similar act from the rival leader, Maab ( Michael Dante ), who sacrifices himself to save the others. Eleen even names her new child Leonard James Akaar (sorry Spock!), which Kirk calls “a name destined to go down in galactic history.”

Ultimately, “Friday’s Child” is a cowboys-and-Indians story that harks back to Trek’s source material, Wagon Train . The Klingon no doubt represents the French or Spanish or some other competing third party, trying to dazzle the natives with a nicer set of beads and trinkets than the western settlers. The dialogue even pilfers stereotypical “Injun” phrases: McCoy calls the Klingon a liar by saying, “We do not hear his words,” and the Capellans refer to topaline as “rocks.” By episode’s end, the dead colleague is, once again, forgotten, while Spock serves as straight man for banter between Kirk and McCoy as the “wagon train” warps off to the next adventure. The good news is our crew performed admirably and Kirk has taken to heart McCoy’s advice from “ Metamorphosis ,” that diplomacy is part of his job description.

Still, the Capellans are written as caricatures and there were deeper issues to be explored here. Are the Capellans now expected to accept the Federation heathcare they’ve previously rejected? Should they be required to accept it? During their escape, McCoy persuades Eleen to let him treat her injured arm – has he created a healthcare enlightenment? Does the Federation have a moral right – or responsibility – to tend to the sick the Capellans have been discarding? Kirk clearly stated that a mining treaty offers the Capellans protection under Federation laws. But does it obligate them to live under those laws? Is this the beginning of the end of traditional Capellan culture? We’re in a sticky situation worthy of an entire additional episode. As it does so often, TOS raises questions without answering them. That’s not necessarily a failure; simply having the conversation elevates TOS above most episodic television. We, like the Enterprise crew, are on a journey that never entirely ends, because these questions don’t have absolute answers. The journey isn’t just through physical space, but through the complex hearts and minds of diverse cultures, including our own. The Federation will now be expected to honor its commitment to protect Capella IV with its cornucopia of topaline; the battle-hungry Capellans have laid down their arms to negotiate. This is one of Star Trek ’s great gifts, a recurring parable of compromise and conversation that serves us well in any century.

Next: The Deadly Years

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Star Trek – Friday’s Child (Review)

The first Star Trek pilot, The Cage , was produced in 1964. To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, this December we are reviewing the second season of the original Star Trek show. You can check out our first season reviews here . Check back daily for the latest review.

Errand of Mercy was a highlight of the first season. A wry script from producer Gene L. Coon introduced the Klingons as an antagonist for the Federation. Made up to look like space! Mongols, the Klingon Empire was presented as an imperial force hell-bent on expanding its sphere of influence. In case the parallels were a little too subtle, they were locked in a Cold War with the Federation. As such, they were the perfect stand-ins for Communist aggressors trying to undermine American foreign policy.

Of course, Errand of Mercy was brutally cynical in its depiction of the Federation. The episode suggested quite heavily that the Federation was just as imperialist and adversarial as the Klingons. They might couch their foreign policy in friendly language and polite overtures, but their end goals are quite similar. Smaller political entities are nothing but pieces shuffled around a board in a deadly game of chess. Errand of Mercy was not flattering in its portrayal of Kirk, presenting him as little more than a warmonger.

“Damn dirty Klingon!”

Errand of Mercy was a massive success. It remains a fan favourite to this day. In some respects, that is due to the introduction of the Klingons, but it is also an exceptional hour of scripted science fiction. So it makes sense that the show would return to the Klingons when it was renewed for a second season. Friday’s Child was the third episode produced during the second season, and returns to quite a few themes hit on by Errand of Mercy . Those themes would recur.

Friday’s Child demonstrates the obvious risks of an episode like Errand of Mercy . It’s an episode that essentially takes the “Klingons as space!Communists” seriously.

We come in peace…

In an interview with The Archive of American Television , D.C. Fontana was quite frank about how the Klingons became the franchise’s first recurring antagonists:

They became our chief antagonist because they were easy to make up. Didn’t have ears as far as special prosthetics that have to be made up. They just did eyebrows and usually some make-up to darken their skin. They all tended to have dark hair. We had some really good ones like John Colicos, but they became our antagonist of choice because they were an easy make-up to do. The Romulans, who were more interesting, of course, were a lot harder because of the ears. We tried not to show too many Vulcans, because of the same problem – the ears! Especially when you had a group of people. If it was just one it was a little easier to deal with. The Klingons, Gene Coon invented them and they suddenly became really popular for us.

It is a bit of a shame, as the Klingons are much less interesting than the Romulans, at least as presented on the original Star Trek .

“One of us will almost certainly not make it back… I wonder which one…”

It is worth noting that there is some debate as to who came up with the idea of turning the Klingons into recurring foes for the Federation. On the audio commentary for The Trouble With Tribbles , Gerrold observes that the decision was made in the development of that episode:

In the planning of the episode, I realised that we needed a threat – we couldn’t just tell the Tribble story. So I said to Gene L. Coon, “I need an alien menace. Can I use the Klingons?” And Gene L. Coon – who is just one of the greatest producers I ever worked for – he said, “You know, we’ve been talking about having a continuing threat – a continuing nemesis – for Kirk and the Klingons are probably the best way to go.” So the Tribble episode was where we made the decision to have the Klingons be the recurring nemesis for the Enterprise.

While the second season episodes went into production relatively close together, the timing seems to suggest that the Klingons were likely baked into the premise of Friday’s Child before Gerrold appealed to use them in The Trouble With Tribbles , particularly since D.C. Fontana had originally developed Friday’s Child as a potential thirtieth episode of the first season.

No proof of in-tent…

Charting the development of the story, Marc Cushman notes in These Are The Voyages: Season Two that the Klingons were present from the earliest drafts of the story, but their role was expanded in later versions. Contrasting an early version of the story with the episode as aired, he observes:

There are no Klingons on the planet, therefore no Klingon named Kras (the clear antagonist in the final version). In fact, other than for the subplot where the Enterprise is lured away from the planet by a distress signal and then challenged by a Klingon ship — which Fontana added at Roddenberry’s request — the Klingons are discussed but not seen.

It seems like their roles was expanded as the story developed, perhaps reflecting audience response to Errand of Mercy and demonstrating Gene L. Coon’s clear desire to utilise the Klingons once again. Their appearance in Friday’s Child sets them up as a recurring adversary for the rest of the show’s original run.

Knife to see you…

Of course, in practice, the Klingons only appear in seven episodes over the course of three years – just over two episodes per year, and less than ten percent of the series. This is a rather small number of appearances, given the impact that the Klingons would have on the franchise. The Klingons would become inseparable from Star Trek , serving as the most iconic of aliens to appear in the franchise.

Klingons appear in the majority of the feature films and on every Star Trek show, with a Klingon regular appearing on three of the spin-offs. Appearing in the third episode produced for the second season makes it clear that Star Trek wants to keep them around. Of the nine episodes featuring Klingons, three are perceived to be genuine classics. Errand of Mercy , The Trouble With Tribbles and Day of the Dove are among the best-loved Star Trek shows ever produced. Even A Private Little War endures in popular memory.

Scotty might be letting that whole “Captain” thing go to his head…

The problem with Friday’s Child is that it takes the Klingons far too seriously. In Errand of Mercy , the Klingons were rather cleverly as a means of criticising the Federation – allowing Star Trek to make a fairly scathing critique of American foreign policy while hiding behind science-fiction allegory. However, Friday’s Child takes the idea of the Klingons as space! Communists far too seriously, with the story operating from the unquestionable assumption that Kirk is the good guy.

There’s none of the irony or cynicism that made Errand of Mercy seem like such a treat. There, the audience was invited to laugh at Kirk for condescending to a “primitive” culture that was actually infinitely more advanced than his own. There, his promise to help the Organian’s “rebuild” their society was a statement that was clearly as loaded and imperialist as the attitudes espoused by the Klingons.

“These missions really do bring out my inner Eagle Scout…”

Friday’s Child retains none of that sophistication or wit. There’s a clear sense that we are meant to take Kirk entirely at his word when he promises to respect local culture. “The Earth Federation offers one other thing, Akaar,” he promises the local chieften. “Our laws. And the highest of all our laws states that your world is yours and will always remain yours. This differs us from the Klingons. Their empire is made up of conquered worlds. They take what they want by arms and force.”

There’s no sense that Kirk is trying to turn Capella IV into a satellite state as he was with Organia. While the Klingons offer weapons, the Federation offers humanitarian supplies – “powders and liquids for the sick.” Despite the fact that the Capellans have no interest in such materials, it seems that the Federation would never consider anything as amoral as trading weapons or military technology for the precious minerals available on the planet.

Baby talk…

According to These Are the Voyages , Roddenberry really pushed this idea that Kirk and his crew be presented as altruists who want nothing but the best for the native people:

Roddenberry also asked that the Federation’s interest not be limited to ‘mining rights.’ In future drafts, Kirk offers to share knowledge, medicines, and other things to help the Capellans.

This results in a rather unpleasant subtext to Friday’s Child .

“The Adventures of Young Leonard McCoy” was surprisingly popular in reruns…

The episode is no longer about two competing imperialist powers meddling in a culture they do not understand. Instead, it’s a story about Kirk trying to protect some natives from exploitation by a rival power. There’s something very condescending and patronising about all this. Kirk essentially finds himself cast in the role of trying to protect the Capellans from themselves. The Klingons cannot be trusted, as Kras demonstrates over the course of the episode.

The fact that the Capellans speak in stereotype doesn’t help matters. “The Earth men have different customs, but never have they lied to our people,” Akaar states. The natives speak a broken English, as if modelled on the dialogue of Native American characters from various classic television shows. Unlike the Organians, Friday’s Child does little to respect the unique culture of the Capellans. They are simply portrayed as violent and foolhardy, tricked and exploited by the cynical Klingons.

The only good Klingon…

This turns Friday’s Child into an endorsement of the sort of politics that Errand of Mercy had railed against. As J.P. Telotte contends in The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader :

Friday’s Child never explains why the Capellans cannot trade with both the Fedeation and Klingons, especially as the two powers are not formally at war. But the simple assumption that the Capellans must cast their lot with either the Federation or the Klingons seems to indicate the extent to which Star Trek is shot through with the either-or mind-set of the Cold War. In light of this mentality, it becomes clear that the Federation is not prepared to take Capella IV by force largely because the Klingons would not stand for it – and vice versa, just as both the Soviets and Americans were extremely limited in their ability to take military action because of the fear of coming into conflict with the rival power. From this point of view, the Prime Directive sometimes looks suspiciously like propaganda, designed to help convince “third galaxy” planets that they would be better off to side with the Federation that with the Klingons – much in the way the United States and its allies vied with the Soviet Union and its allies in the 1960s to see which could make a more compelling case for itself as the legitimate foe of colonialism and friend of international liberation.

This isn’t a show that is critical of the Cold War as a concept, but instead wholeheartedly embraces the conflict between the world’s two major powers.

A bump in the road…

This contrast is a perfect example of how conflicted Star Trek was over these issues. Episodes like Errand of Mercy and A Taste of Armageddon decried the Vietnam War, while episodes like The City on the Edge of Forever and A Private Little War seemed to endorse it. In many respects, it is impossible to talk about how Star Trek felt about certain issues, because that position shifted from episode to episode. The shift between Errand of Mercy and Friday’s Child also meant a shift in the portrayal of the Klingons.

In Errand of Mercy , they were presented as an example of the most exaggerated ideological opponent. The make-up design was a little problematic, but there was a clear sense that the Klingons were not meant to be taken too seriously. They were the most primal of adversaries, the most shallow of ideological opponents, but the almost comical exaggeration seemed intentional. Everything about that situation was heightened, as if to emphasise the absurdity of it all.

“You just can’t get signal in this part of the galaxy…”

Here, we’re supposed to take it all seriously. The show is not at all critical of the hatred that the characters throw at the Klingons. “What’s a Klingon doing down here among your scrupulously honest friends anyway?” Kirk demands of Bones, suggesting that anybody who might make contact with a Klingon is guilty by association. Even McCoy is disgusted to find the Capellans dealing with the Klingons. “Does Maab know that the Klingons are our sworn enemies by their own words?”

However, the hatred runs even deeper than that. When Kirk and Spock face down the Capellans alone, Kirk is reconciled to his fate. He does have one thing for which to live, though. “There’s just one thing I want,” he admits. “The Klingon?” Spock guesses. “One of us must get him,” Kirk insists. “Revenge, Captain?” Spock inquires. “Why not?” Kirk asks. Friday’s Child never suggests that Kirk is being racist or wrong-headed here. Indeed, Kras ultimately goes off the rails, vindicating Kirk’s opinion of him completely.

When on tribe goes to war…

There’s no irony or self-awareness here. As Kirk makes a valiant last stand, he’s still trying to protect the Capellans from themselves, trying to warn them of the obvious danger of trusting one of those untrustworthy Klingons. Those fans who protest the portrayal of the  Star Trek cast in  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country need look no further than Friday’s Child to find support for that interpretation of these characters. That movie forces Kirk to face up to his attitude in episodes like this.

Of course, the Klingons in the original Star Trek are radically different from the versions who would appear much later in the franchise. While elements of John Collicos’ portrayal of Kor might fit the template as defined in those later spin-offs and shows, it is lot harder to reconcile Kras with the Klingon ideal. Friday’s Child appears to have toned down the make-up on Kras, which is a nice touch – however he just comes across as a middle-aged balding man rather than a serious threat to the cast or the Capellans.

A rocky road…

Indeed, Capellan culture seems much more like the version of Klingon culture that would develop over the course of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . A warrior culture built around the concept of strength and ritual combat, the Capellans seem more like the culture that Worf would come to venerate than anything embodied by Kras. It is interesting to note how these concepts evolve over the life-span of the franchise.

That said, Friday’s Child is rather problematic on a number of other levels. It continues the trend of gender essentialism that has been running through the last few episodes. The bulk of the plot features Kirk, Spock and McCoy stranded on a hostile planet with a pregnant woman in tow. In the final version of Friday’s Child , Eleen is still largely hostile to her would-be rescuers, providing dramatic tension. However, writer D.C. Fontana had envisaged a much more controversial conclusion.

A pregnant pause…

In her interview with The Archive of American Television , Fontana explained:

It was really about a woman who was willing to use her child to save herself. Now, Gene changed that ending on me, so I was not real happy with the ending of Friday’s Child. I don’t think that all women are “mommies” and I don’t think that all women love their children – just look at the news. And I wanted to tell a story about a woman who would even use a newborn child to save herself. It was wrapped up in an adventure with the Klingons and everything else. I had a good time creating that culture, that society, that didn’t especially care for women – except as brood mares. And she was trying to break out of that.

That’s a rather bleak story, but it feels a lot more interesting than what was ultimately produced.

I got you babe…

Eleen seems to resent the child in her belly, even if the fact is primarily conveyed through Kirk’s log entry. However, much of Friday’s Child is built around the idea that a woman cannot help but be maternal the moment that you put a child in her hands. There is a moment, after the child is born, where Eleen seems to abandon her offspring. “I really thought she’d learned to want it,” McCoy reflects, in what seems to be the moral of the story.

Ultimately, it turns out that Eleen did “learn to want it.” It is revealed that she snuck off to offer her own life in exchange for the life of her newborn son. It seems that even the most cynical and detached woman cannot resist those maternal instincts once a baby is born. It’s a rather uncomfortable piece of sexism, just like Sylvia’s gender-based irrationality in Catspaw or the assertion that the Companion is only capable of loving Cochrane if it is feminine in Metamorphosis .

Klingon to life!

(This is to say nothing of the small sequences in the story where she learns to respect McCoy once he slaps her across the face – you stay classy Leonard McCoy! – or where the male characters have to awkwardly put up with her refusal to allow Kirk or Spock to help her up the side of a rock face. Still, that cringe-worthy sequence gives us the line  “I’m a doctor, not an escalator.” So, you know, at least there’s that.)

It serves as a reminder of just how backwards Star Trek could be when it came to matters of gender and feminism. As with the treatment of Janice Rand on the show – and Grace Lee Whitney off-screen – it seems like Star Trek had a lot to learn about presenting an ideal or equal future. Eleen could have been an interested and multi-faceted character. Instead, re-writes reduced her to little more than a whining woman who melts when a baby is put in her hands.

“Okay! Okay! DeForest can carry a show!”

Friday’s Child is interesting because it is the show’s first real “McCoy” episode. It’s an example of how the show has been developing and expanding the role of McCoy as DeForest Kelley earned his place in the title credits at the start of the second season.  Catspaw featured an away team of the leading trio together, while  Metamorphosis stranded the trio together on an alien planet following a shuttle trip.  Friday’s Child is a rare episode that isn’t carried by Kirk, Spock or the ensemble as a whole.

Friday’s Child sees the Enterprise returning to a planet that McCoy visited years earlier. As the person most familiar with the customs of the local people, he gets to guide Kirk and Spock in their interactions with the natives. He forges the bond with Eleen and delivers her baby. Although the baby does take the middle name “James” in honour of Kirk, which seems strange, the baby’s first name is given as “Leonard” in honour of McCoy.

“But I still get to save the day, right?”

This isn’t the first time that a Star Trek episode has reached outside Kirk and Spock to generate stories. What Are Little Girls Made Of? was about the investigation into the disappearance of Christine Chapel’s fiancée. The Naked Time devoted considerable space to Sulu and other members of the cast. Chekov gets to play an important role in  The Apple . Wolf in the Fold will see Scotty accused of murder, and The Lights of Zetar will see him fall in love.

However, the focus on McCoy in Friday’s Child feels a little heavier than those examples, affording DeForest Kelley more to do than the featured players in those episodes. That said, it’s quite clear that DeForest Kelley is still the third of three stars. He doesn’t get to play a role in the dramatic climax. When he volunteers to assist, Kirk shrugs him off. “Bones, you took a medical oath long before you signed aboard my ship. That small patient needs you.” This is Shatner and Nimoy’s action sequence.

“This is your boom stick?”

It’s worth noting that Kelley had to fight very hard for acknowledgment, even after his promotion to the opening credits. As Mark Clark notes in Star Trek FAQ :

Even then, Kelley seldom garnered the kind of attention, in terms of interviews and public appearances, his costars enjoyed. For instance, Roddenberry tried to send all three of the show’s leads for a 1967 appearance on NBC’s Today Show, but was informed that Today only wanted Shatner and Nimoy. This was common; producers and event organisers didn’t consider Kelley a significant draw.

Still, Kelley was a consummate professional. His work was a massive boon to the show, and he does good work with Friday’s Child , despite the significant problems with the rest of the episode.

Hack and slash, Spock, hack and slash…

Friday’s Child is a mess of an episode, and an example of how Star Trek never seemed entirely sure of its position on a certain issue. In some respects, this willingness to approach an issue from both angles could be considered a strength. Unfortunately, Friday’s Child is just a reactive mess.

You might be interested in our other reviews from the second season of the classic Star Trek :

• Supplemental: (Gold Key) #1 – The Planet of No Return!
• Supplemental: (Marvel Comics, 1980) #4-5 – The Haunting of Thallus!/The Haunting of the Enterprise!
• Metamorphosis
• Friday’s Child
• Who Mourns for Adonais?
• Supplemental: Spock’s World by Diane Duane
• Supplemental: New Visions #3 – Cry Vengeance
• Wolf in the Fold
• The Changeling
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #43-45 – The Return of the Serpent!
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2009) #13 – The Red Shirt’s Tale
• Supplemental: Deep Space Nine – Crossover
• Supplemental: New Visions #1 – The Mirror, Cracked
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #9-16 – New Frontiers (The Mirror Universe Saga)
• Supplemental: Mirror Images
• Supplemental: Mirror Universe – The Sorrows of Empire by David Mack
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2009) #15-16 – Mirrored
• The Deadly Years
• Supplemental: (Gold Key) #61 – Operation Con Game
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #39-40 – The Return of Mudd
• Supplemental: The Galactic Whirlpool by David Gerrold
• Supplemental: Alien Spotlight – Tribbles
• Bread and Circuses
• Journey to Babel
• A Private Little War
• The Gamesters of Triskelion
• The Immunity Syndrome
• A Piece of the Action
• By Any Other Name
• Return to Tomorrow
• Patterns of Force
• The Ultimate Computer
• The Omega Glory
• Supplemental: Assignment: Eternity by Greg Cox
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1989) #49-50 – The Peacekeepers
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2008) Assignment: Earth

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Filed under: The Original Series | Tagged: Cold War , communists , dc fontana , DeForest Kelley , Errand of Mercy , Federation , feminism , foreign policy , friday's child , gender , Gene L. Coon , geopolitics , imperialism , kirk , Klingon Empire , klingons , maternal insticts , McCoy , metaphor , politics , pregnancy , spock , star trek: the original series |

15 Responses

“It is a bit of a shame, as the Klingons are much less interesting than the Romulans, at least as presented on the original Star Trek.”

An interesting reversal then, as the Next Generation era Romulans are the dullest and vaguest of the major Trek races – with the Klingons cornering the market on honour and the Cardassians on stylish, scheming imperialism the Romulans had little left except unearned arrogance and a hideous fashion sense.

I have absolutely no recollection of this episode, but suddenly I want to see it.

Yep. The poor Romulans. You could argue that Star Trek is the story of how other races culturally appropriate Romulan culture, leaving nothing but a husk in place of the Romulan Star Empire.

(Seriously, by TNG, the Klingons have cornered the market on honour; so the Romulans become “stylish, scheming imperialists.” Then the Cardassians claim that, so the Romulans become prideful plotters. Then the Federation (!) outmanoevres and outplots the Romulans, to the point where (by the end of Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges) the Romulan Star Empire is pretty much a Federation puppet state and eventually (by the time Nemesis roles around) the Romulan government is overthrown by a human clone of Jean-Luc Picard.)

Not sure I’d recommend Friday’s Child. DeForrest Kelley is great, but the episode itself is… unfortunate in a number of regards.

…And then of course Romulus is blown up altogether in the reboot film. 😉

As I’ve said before I think the Romulan problem is that they just don’t work terribly well in a post-Cold War mindset. They are the enigmatic, secretive, rival superpower and in an era when China is enthusiastically in bed with Western capitalism that doesn’t seem terribly relevant.

Yep. I think the Klingons covered the mark as Russian analogues, leaving the Romulans a bit high-and-dry. (Notably, their appearances in the second and third seasons of TNG seem very much like the show is trying to keep doing Cold War Russia, because… well, the Klingons are late-eighties and nineties Russia at this point.)

Part of me also wonders if the design of the Romulans also played a part. While making them identical to the Vulcans helps make Balance of Terror work, it does lend them a fairly generic character design more firmly associated with Spock; they are not as visually arresting as the Klingons or the Cardassians or the Borg or even (goodness help me) the Ferengi.

I had been shocked that Dorothy Fontana, who wrote some wonderful things, also wrote this. When I learned that she’d wanted Eleen to be very different, I was relieved. So she didn’t make this episode a mess by herself; she was more or less forced to make it a mess. Whew.

There IS one thing I like about this episode, though, and that’s how alien Eleen’s attitudes feel, not about the baby, but about Capellan law. When Maab goes to kill Eleen because she carries the previous teer’s child, she acknowledges that she must die. Kirk tries to save her and is defeated, and Eleen’s not grateful that he tried to help her. She states that she was proud to obey the law (and be killed!), but she wants to see Kirk killed for touching her before she dies.

When I was eleven years old and watching Star Trek for the very first time, that attitude of hers was one of my introductions to the idea that people from other cultures can think VERY differently from us, and that their attitude is valid within the context of their culture. Much of the rest of the episode has been watered down or had its teeth extracted, but that bit still shows us a truly alien way of thinking, and I love that about it, even if most of the rest of the episode is not terribly loveable.

That’s a fair point.

Although I’ll admit that I have a great deal of trouble seeing it as anything more than “Errand of Mercy with all the good stuff stripped out of it and delivered with a straight face.”

I’m glad I stumbled onto this web site. Your reviews are much more in depth and analytical than what I typically read. I happen to enjoy this episode but understand the view point of its detractors. There are “moments” I adore and sometimes I tend to view an episode as a collection of moments rather than as a coherent story as a whole.

My wife, who is not a huge Star Trek fan, seems to like this episode. Her view is that, while it is indeed mired in the sexism prevalent in the 60s, it at least espouses the viewpoint that the child belongs to the woman and its fate should be in her hands.

Keep up the good work on your site.

Thanks for the kind words! Hope you enjoy! (And keep reading!)

Many things are going on in Friday’s Child, obvious statements about mother-hood under a barbaric, patriarchal, tribal society, but there’s something else going on here that is far more subtle and slightly obscured by the conflicting and overly-patriotic politics of the alpha males (including Kirk) in the episode.

Part of Dorothy Fontana’s original idea for the ep was to show how some women are not meant to be, have no desire to be mothers – – okay, fine, and we saw some of that in this episode. The producers cooked Fontana’s narrative up into a more interesting meta-narrative, one that proposes resolution between opposing political agendas.

Curiously, the primary hero of the ep is not Kirk but McCoy (Mac-Coy, The Mack-daddy of Friday’s Child), though Kirk is not ineffective or unheroic here – – Kirk shows a distasteful hatred for the Klingon Kras almost at the onset, but he might sway toward peace if Kras peaceably comes to the table.

Dr. McCoy, more interested than Kirk in preserving lives, brings his own down-home sense of humanity and compassion to a very diverse, volatile situation – – a near-perfect mediator in a likely, potential disaster. McCoy herein shows himself to be a better representative of the Federation than Kirk does, a fine example of diplomacy and detente’ and one of McCoy’s brightest-shining moments in the series.

I give Friday’s Child a 4.5 of 5 consumer rating – – the episode entertains and still manages to clearly show the manifold complexity of its parts as a good, ole’ 60’s TV production.

It is also worth noting that Friday’s Child is perhaps the only McCoy-centric episode in the original run, if his featured roles in The Man Trap or The Empath can be overlooked.

Don’t forget “For the World Is Hollow, and I Have Touched the Sky,” in Season 3! That’s a McCoy-centric story, and every time I see it, I’m surprised at how bad Kelley is at pretending to be in love with Natira. Romancing the space babes must be harder than Shatner and Nimoy make it look, because McCoy acts as if he’s never seen a woman before and doesn’t quite know what to do with one — very different from his behavior with Tonia Barrows in “Shore Leave.” 🙂

I would be very interested to discover which actor played the part of baby Leonard James Akaar in this episode. Conjecture has come up in conversation that he/she would qualify as the youngest ever to appear in an episode of ST:TOS. Any clues??

I’m afraid I don’t have the information to hand. I;’ll see if I can dig something up.

TBH, I think Errand of Mercy’s analogy a bit more complicated. Kirk and Federation ARE presented as better than Klingons. The problem is they still weren’t good enough and their (pretty inarguable IMO) advantages over Klingons wouldn’t ultimately matter.

I don’t disagree with any of your criticisms. but the episode is a somewhat of a guilty pleasure to me, mostly for the character interactions, like Chekov’s russian joke followed by a smirk, showing he’s knowingly making these claims as a joke.

You mention how the Capellan society in “Friday’s Child” seems closer to Klingon society in future installments than previous portrayals of Klingons.

When I watched this episode, I read Kras’s descriptions of the Klingons as Kras trying to make his own people sound more “Capellan” than they really were, as an attempt at manipulating the Capellans that matched the Cold-War mentality of the script and Kras’s unprincipled character. I wonder if that were the case in the writers’ minds at some point in the writing process—it’s certainly the sort of subtlety Fontana could have mustered—and if Kras’s descriptions of the Klingons were later adopted as “real” traits of the Federation’s enemy for later episodes such as “Day of the Dove”, which would then influence further depictions.

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"Friday's Child" 50 Years Later

By Vic , December 1, 2017 in Star Trek

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Vic    17.

“ Friday’s Child ," the 40th aired episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , concerned the Enterprise ’s mission on Capella IV, a planet inhabited by nomadic tribes, to secure mining rights to an important mineral. That mission is greatly complicated, however, by two Kirk realizations: the Klingons also want the mineral rights and the pregnant widow of the murdered tribal High Leader with whom he started negotiating needs protecting.

It’s hard to believe, but “Friday’s Child” was born on network television 50 years ago today. Here’s a brief look at some of the events that led to its gestation and birth.

“Friday’s Child” was written by story editor Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana. She penned it because she wanted to tell a story involving a strong female character who wasn’t necessarily interested in children. The episode's title comes from an old child’s nursery rhyme that can be traced back to at least 1838. Although there are several variations of this rhyme, Fontana’s episode outline, dated January 11, 1967, opens with the version from Harper’s Weekly magazine published in 1887:

Monday's child is fair of face. Tuesday's child is full of grace. Wednesday's child is living and giving. Thursday's child works hard for a living. Friday's child is full of woe. Saturday's child has far to go. But the child that is born on the Sabbath day     is grave and bonny and good and gay.

Fontana, like all writers for TOS , pitched this episode to the producers via a story outline, and the 17-page document that she wrote was fundamentally the same as what was finalized and filmed. There were some notable differences, however, including:

• Scotty accompanied Kirk, McCoy and Spock to the planet Ceres in the outline.
• A redshirt (Lieutenant Grant, Bob Bralver) was not killed in the teaser; rather, two of High Leader Akaar’s (Ben Gage’s) personal bodyguards were.
• The Enterprise was kept busy shuttling emergency medical supplies from the planet Eridani to the planet Dierdre.
• The Klingons were not present in the outline. Maab (Michael Dante) sought Akaar’s tribe and power, so he and his men were the villains.
• Akaar was killed by Maab’s assassins.
• It was Scotty, rather than Spock, who rigged the communicator “sound bomb” in the rocky defile
• Scotty assisted McCoy in delivering Eleen’s (Julie Newmar’s) baby son. 
• McCoy and Scotty carried Eleen and her baby on a litter, across the countryside, to hide with Eleen’s tribe. Kirk and Spock created a diversion for them by fighting Maab’s men, who were in pursuit.
• Kirk killed Maab by handing him a phaser on overload.
• Eleen named the baby “Leonard Montgomery Akaar” to show gratitude to McCoy and Scotty for helping with her son's delivery.

Principal photography for “Friday’s Child” was done from May 19 to May 29, 1967, under the direction of Joseph Pevney. Interior scenes were shot at Desilu Studios in Hollywood, while exteriors were filmed at the Vasquez Rocks Natural Park Area in California.

One faux exterior scene that was not lensed at Vasquez was the sequence showing Kras the Klingon (Tige Andrews) attempting to convince Maab the Capellan to return his weapon. If you recall, this scene, scene 41 in the shooting script, played out at night, around a Capellan campfire, and it was filmed on the Desilu soundstage instead of at the Vasquez exterior location. The reason for this can be found in an April 20, 1967 production memo that associate producer Robert Justman wrote to producer Gene Coon:

“It is extremely important that all the scenes around the encampment at the beginning of the show be set up and played on Stage 10. Otherwise we are in for several full nights of night-for-night exteriors, which we cannot afford at all.”

The following four pictures, obtained from frames of production footage sold by Star Trek Enterprises back in the 1970s, show some aspects of how scene 41 was filmed. 

Above: This image is from footage of the unused master shot of the scene filmed on the Desilu soundstage. One way you can tell this was the master is that there’s no letter following the scene number (41) on the lower left of the clapperboard held by the second assistant cameraman. A master shot of a scene is usually filmed before any of the other shots and it keeps all the actors visible once they enter the view of the camera. This type of shot is also called an establishing shot because it establishes where we are and, sometimes, when we are. 

Above: This photo is from film that came from a “two-shot” – so named because it shows just two actors together - of Tige Andrews (left) and Michael Dante (right). In general, any letter following the scene number - “A” in this case - meant (and usually still means today) that the footage was acquired with the camera moved to a different position from the master shot. By the way, the number in the lower right of the clapperboard, 3 in this case, is the take number.

Above: These two frames are from film that was shot as close-ups for scene 41. The close-up footage for Michael Dante was designated “B” on the clapperboard (left picture) and that for Tige Andrews was designated as “C” (right picture).  Interestingly, when this scene was assembled for the aired version, only the two-shot and the close-up of Michael Dante was used.

The Birth Announcement

“Friday’s Child was first broadcast on December 1, 1967, and it was promoted in newspapers and other media starting on the preceding week.

Above: Newspapers around the country made heavy use of the publicity photos furnished by the advertising company hired by Desilu (McFadden, Strauss, Eddy, and Irwin, MSEI). The captions these newspapers used for the photos, however, deviated significantly from what MSEI supplied. Here’s a sampling of ads, two from the December 1, 1967 Los Angeles Times (upper and lower left), one from the November 26, 1967 Seattle Times (upper right) and an additional caption used with the picture shown in the Seattle Times ad.

And with that, we’re done. We hope you’ve enjoyed our nascent look back. Until next time.

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Link to post, share on other sites, teachernotadoc    0.

A great episode. The baby was so cute and that was so funny to see Dr Mccoy with the baby, that made my heart melt. 

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Galactic Journey

[December 8, 1967] You're a Big Girl Now ( Star Trek : "Friday's Child")

"Episodus Interruptus"

Every episode of Star Trek is 51 minutes long, with nine minutes left over for ads and bumpers.  And while this week's episode, "Friday's Child", doesn't clock in any shorter than usual, you may finish the hour feeling like you've missed something.  It's a show very much in a hurry, and it cuts a lot of corners to get where it's going.

We open on a bridge crew meeting in which they are discussing the best way to approach mining treaty negotiations with the 7 foot tall, war-like, tribal people of Capella IV. This routine excursion immediately goes off script when Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Officer Grant greet the Capellan representatives. A Klingon accompanies the Capellas. Before anyone can stop him, Officer Grant draws his weapon on the Klingon, forcing a Capellan to neutralize the threat. Grant collapses into Kirk's arms, a weapon buried in his chest. Thus, the first death of the episode occurs before the opening credits can even run.

When the landing party finally gains an audience with the king (Ti-er), it becomes clear that there is unrest in the royal tent over who should be given mining rights between the Federation and the Klingons. The current Ti-er, Aka-ar, seems to side with the Federation, due to their honesty and respect for the Capellan planetary autonomy. On the other hand, Ma-ab, who claims to "speak for many" favors Kras the Klingon, whom he thinks has values that more easily align with his macho, Darwinian survivalist, Capellan traditions. Aka-ar offers to fight it out, but Ma-ab retreats, claiming it should be the choice of the Ti-er.

Meanwhile, in space, a ship claiming to be a Federation freighter lures the Enterprise , Scottie in command, away from the planet. That Scottie does so without alerting the landing party, nor determining why they do not answer his hails, I find suspect…to say the least!

In one of the wildest cuts of the episode, we find ourselves back on the planet, the entire village erupted into civil war. In short order, Ma-ab emerges victorious and claims the throne. The issue at hand soon becomes removing the threat posed by the previous Ti-er's pregnant wife, Eleen. All agree that she must be executed to prevent the birth of her child, except Captain Kirk, who snatches her away from the blade about to plunge into her body. The pregnant widow then declares her right to see Kirk executed, as "no man may lay hands on the wife of the Ti-er." The condemned are taken to a tent, from which they promptly escape, dragging the reluctant widow with them.

The landing party retreats into the mountains, using clever traps and inhospitable terrain to keep the Cappellan pursuers at bay. McCoy exercises his prerogative as a doctor, tending to Eleen's arm and checking on the progress of her pregnancy. The Ti-er's widow takes poorly to this, and a slapping match ensues. Rather than becoming upset, Eleen is impressed with McCoy's cheek, tenderly taking his offending hand in hers. Spock witnesses this part of the exchange. McCoy snatches his hand back, but not before receiving a raised eyebrow from the Vulcan.

With this permission to touch her thus established, McCoy is able to help deliver her son, but in trying to get her to want the child she hates, McKCoy inadvertently claims ownership of the child. Logically, she then knocks McCoy unconscious and leaves him with 'their' infant to rejoin the Cappellan pursuer. It turns out this is actually to save their lives; she tells her countrymen that she killed them.

But the Klingon is dubious. He demands to see the bodies of the Earthmen himself. When Ma-ab expresses affront at Kras' doubting the word of a Ti-er's wife, Kras goes berserk, slaughtering his former allies. Ma-ab sees he was wrong to trust this Klingon and relinquishes his right to the throne, staying the widow's execution in exchange. He then offers his life to the Klingon to distract him while Ma-ab's second in command gets in position to finally strike the Klingon down.

Extremely late to the party, Scottie and a huge troop of security officers emerge from the shadows, revealing that after he determined the distress signal to be a Klingon deception, he bypassed a conflict with a Klingon vessel offscreen and beamed down an entire party–without contacting Kirk first or getting any idea what kind of situation he'd be beaming his troop down into. Bolstered by this show of force, McCoy reveals the newborn Ti-er. He instructs the infant's new mother how to care for her child and the hastily settled coup somehow doesn't cause any hindrance to the mining treaty that is quickly signed off screen. Cue a final laugh line (the child is named Leonard James Aka-ar) and finis.

My biggest problem with this episode is how poorly the pacing of the two storylines blends together. With the intricate culture of the planet and the cat-and-mouse game in space, there's simply too much for just one episode. It's as though "Friday's Child" was planned as two episodes, but allotted just one. The editing required to fit results in two thirds of a story–or perhaps a whole story, but with vital scenes missing almost at random. Hence, we get endless scenes of Scotty and the bridge crew figuring out the Klingon deception, but no depiction of its resolution. What's left remains solely to break up action on the planet's surface.

The storyline on land isn't without inconsistencies either, the first of which lies in the quick acceptance of Grant's death. When Kirk drops his body to the ground, Doctor McCoy makes no move to dislodge the weapon or check his life signs or make any attempt to revive him. Kirk then laments that Grant was "young and inexperienced" in order to distance himself from the fallen officer's behavior. But why bring a young, inexperienced, trigger-happy security officer to a delicate diplomatic situation? It's also never made explicit why the widow hates her child, and her subsequent about face is similarly mysterious. And while I'm glad to see a woman in charge (Eleen is made regent off screen), I find it hard to believe that such an unstable political situation could have been resolved so quickly. But they needed a quick, happy ending.

There's a lot here to like: a second brush with the Klingons, a challenging diplomatic situation, some excellent interactions both on the planet and the Enterprise . Had the episode been fully developed, it could have reached five stars, but whatever was left on the cutting room floor took my full endorsement with it.

Four stars.

The Cultural Aspect

This episode impressed me in a number of ways, primarily with the writers’ ability to create a deep and unique, primitive culture at the core of a dispute between two galactic superpowers, and secondarily with the Federation and the Kling-on’s dedication to their rivalry with one another. Even after the Enterprise is briefed about the peace accord in place on this planet and the sensitive nature of this delegation, the action begins after a Federation red-shirted mook instinctively goes to shoot at a Kling-on on sight.

The 10 Tribes society that governs the planet Capella, like the Corridians in the episode prior " Journey to Babel ", are an adolescent race not yet introduced to advanced technology, much less even to bows and arrows. They are mostly decentralized, but still elect a representative ‘Teer-akar’ that acts as king but who can be lawfully challenged and usurped at any time. Theirs is a culture that values strength and victory alone; we can see evident parallels to the Freemen from Dune in aspects like their native sovereignty, tribal structure, and in their cultural behavior; honor and ordeal by combat.

With the speed that civil war breaks out after the sitting Teer-akar is challenged to single combat, one could assume that these tribal wars are not uncommon on Capella. It is difficult to ignore the covetous and self-advantageous nature of the Kling-on and the Federation who, embroiled in their own cause to gain advantage over one another, precipitate this civil war among Capella’s natives and end up killing a large number of them, and in no shy way at the end does the Federation celebrate getting to conveniently install a puppet-Teer-akar who will deal in favor of them for its lifetime after defeating the pro-kling-on Teer Maab in the final fight.

One sequence I most enjoyed was how Julie Newmar’s character Eleen struggled with her own perceptions of reality, culture and duty. She burns her arm early in the episode and spends a long time conflicted over allowing McCoy to treat it. She is immediately and convincingly impressed by modern medicine but evidently still nervous about it. Later when McCoy suggests that he can save her life, despite her constant protesting, she concedes briefly that “It is always preferable to live..”; after she delivers the baby, her dedication to her duty and to tribal society leads her to attack McCoy and abandon the Earthmen she fled with. It appeared to me that her decision to spare them by telling Maab she had already killed them was only convenient for her and not really her original intention when she abandoned her child with McCoy.

Overall, 4 stars–minus one only because of the number of short-cuts in the plot.

A chance to shine

In a newspaper clipping I was mailed over the summer, DeForest Kelley talked about how pleased he was to have been given an "also starring" credit in the second season credits.  He noted mildly that it was sometimes difficult to stand out when playing opposite such scene stealers as Nimoy and Shatner.  We've seen Dr. McCoy take center stage before: "The Man Trap" was definitely his first season standout.  But it was also the first episode of last season, and since then, while he has certainly had plenty of prominence, he's never been the star of the show.

Well, "Friday's Child" was a 'Bones' episode, through and through.  From his first briefing to the officers of the Enterprise , to his delivery of Eleen's daughter, to his literal upstaging of Kirk when the captain threatens to make a hash (yet again) of diplomacy, McCoy is at the hub of the story.  Kelley's chemistry with Newmar is excellent, particularly the slapping scene and the "the child is mine" scene.  One can really see that the actor is an old pro, effortlessly selling each moment without mugging or scenery chewing.

To his credit, Shatner isn't bad either.  He doesn't inject so much of himself into Kirk this time, though he does keep his hands raised after the security guard dies from a case of trigger-happy-itis for about ten minutes.  He also does that characteristic "sauntering into a monologue" thing at least once.  But at least he's consistent.  He broods over the loss of a crewman; he's a soldier, not a diplomat; and when he chews McCoy out, he later apologizes.

Left on the cutting room floor are all of Nimoy's great moments.  I don't think he even speaks until fifteen minutes in, and then he doesn't get very much (though his silent exchange with McCoy on the hilltop speaks volumes).  We do get a number of scenes involving the B-list on the Enterprise , reminiscent of " Metamorphosis ", but with a bit more purpose.  It makes me wonder if we shouldn't just have two shows–one starring Scotty and co., and the other involving the Big Three going on intragalactic adventures.

Anyway, while the show suffers for its skeletal form, it does hang together.  Three and a half stars.

A giant among women

If there's anything I love, it's babies. I could watch babies do their funny little baby things all day long, and I certainly want a few of my own someday. I was pleasantly surprised that this week's episode featured a newborn, and while most of the time it was played by a bundle of cloth, every so often we got an adorable shot of its sleeping, slightly frog-like face. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Julie Newmar grace the Star Trek stage as a featured guest this episode. Considering Newmar's previous roles, I think it was a good fit.

I'm a bit of a Julie Newmar fan, which is unusual because I don't much care for her acting. In whatever role she plays, she always has a very flat affect that makes her portrayal of the characters feel a little "off". She also has a subtle accent and often stilted delivery which made me wonder if she might have struggled with a hearing impairment growing up. All of this was actually to her benefit as the humanoid robot in My Living Doll , but it didn't serve her as well in the Monkees , or even Batman . What she is good at, though, is physical comedy. Her background as a trained dancer (and perhaps also her experience as a concert pianist) has given Julie Newmar expert bodily control, which she excels at using to emphasize the humor of a moment.

This is where she truly shone in today's Star Trek episode. Her massive height alone made her the perfect choice for a seven-foot tall alien, and she does a very convincing job of appearing encumbered by the weight of a pregnant stomach. The way she avoided being touched by people was also very funny, between her petulant delivery of lines and her slapping at people's hands or even McCoy's face! In a way, her unusual speech patterns also aided in her appearance as an alien, or at least a humanoid used to a different language. Her intentional butchering of McCoy's name always got a laugh, and her misunderstanding of who her baby belonged to also seemed very plausible.

Overall, I think Newmar did a wonderful job in this episode. Despite her shortcomings as an actress, there's something very endearing about the giant beauty who keeps much of her brilliance just below the surface. Whether it be another guest star role or perhaps her own show, I will definitely be looking out for her name in the TV guides again.

In addition to Newmar, everyone else did a great job of acting in this episode. The premise was fascinating, and the new alien culture very interesting; it would have been a five-star episode if (as Amber notes) the editor hadn't left half of it on the cutting room floor.

Three stars.

The next episode of Trek is tonight!  Plus, a little before-the show treat.

Come join us at 4:30 PM Pacific (7:30 Eastern) or at 6:30 PM Pacific (9:30 Eastern)!

5 thoughts on “[December 8, 1967] You're a Big Girl Now ( Star Trek : "Friday's Child")”

Huh, I disliked it. No better than 2 stars for me. On top of the bad pacing, missing scenes, and characters (mostly Scotty, but not just him) acting like idiots for the sake of the plot, I thought the acting by the non-regulars was awful. The Klingon was a sniveling little weasel, utterly lacking in the suave menace of Kor from last season's "Errand of Mercy".

But the Capellans were wooden to the last man. Lorelei notes that Julie Newmar tends to have a flat affect in all her performances, yet she was the most lively of the Capellan actors. I guess that's not surprising since they were pretty much stock Indians/Arabs/Mongols from any movie since they invented talkies; they just got to wear elevator shoes instead of bronze makeup and/or facial hair. Maybe it was Kirk's line about the cavalry not coming over the hill that put me in mind of it, but imagine Maab in war paint and feathers saying "Klingon speak with forked tongue" in exactly the cadence he uses throughout the episode.

Definitely an installment in Wig Trek.  This series must have kept the Desilu wig properties department hopping.

Twelve-year-old me found it a reasonably interesting show, with some action sequences, and appreciated the way that, though the show featured a leading lady, there was no mushy stuff.

A plus for me was the subliminal connection with a couple of earlier Star Treks that I relished, "Arena" and "The Alternative Factor," in that the outdoors sequences looked familiar (Vasquez Rocks).

"Freemen from Dune"

"Fremen," alas.

And there's a cave in this one, right?  So this is an installment in Cave Trek as well as Wig Trek.

This is one of those episodes that make very little impression on me one way or the other.

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55 years ago: Science Fact and Fiction

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Friday's Child

• McCoy : [ speaking of Eleen ] Representing the High Tier, Leonard James Akaar!
• Spock : The child was named Leonard James Akaar?
• McCoy : Has a kind of a ring to it, don't you think, James?
• Captain James T. Kirk : Yes, I think it's a name destined to go down in galactic history, Leonard. What do you think, Spock?
• Spock : I think you're both gonna be insufferably pleased with yourselves for at least a month... sir.
• McCoy : [ holding his hand on Eleens throat ] Answer me! Do you want my help?
• [ she nods ]
• McCoy : All right. Say to yourself: "The child is mine. The child is mine. It is MINE!"
• Eleen : Yes. It's yours.
• McCoy : No, no, you've got it all wrong.
• [ helping a pregnant woman up a steep hill ]
• McCoy : Look! I'm a doctor, not an escalator. Spock, gimme a hand!
• Spock : Oochy-woochy kootchie-koo, Captain?
• Captain James T. Kirk : An obscure Earth dialect, Mr. Spock. Oochy-woochy kootchie-koo. If you're curious, consult linguistics.
• Captain James T. Kirk : How'd you arrange to touch her, Bones, give her a happy pill?
• McCoy : No, a right cross.
• Captain James T. Kirk : Never seen that in a medical book.
• McCoy : It's in mine from now on.
• Captain James T. Kirk : First of all, I must protest the killing of one of my crewmen.
• Akaar : If it was your man, was it not his privilege to die for you? I do not understand.
• Maab : Their customs are different, Tier.
• Kras : And different from those of my people, too, Tier. The sight of death frightens them.
• McCoy : [ quietly ] Let me take this, Jim.
• McCoy : [ to Akaar ] What Maab has said is true. Our customs ARE different. What the Klingon has said is unimportant and we do not hear his words.
• [ Capellans chuckle appreciatively ]
• McCoy : [ whispering privately to Kirk ] I just called the Klingon a liar.
• Eleen : Mah-koy! Bring our child.
• Captain James T. Kirk : "Our" child?
• McCoy : I'll explain later.
• Spock : That should prove very interesting.
• Scott : There's an old, old saying on earth, Mr. Sulu: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."
• Chekov : I know this saying. It was invented in Russia.
• [ smiles devilishly ]
• Spock : Fortunately, this bark has suitable tensile cohesion.
• Captain James T. Kirk : You mean, it makes a good bowstring.
• Spock : I believe I said that.
• Maab : Perhaps to be a tier is to see in new ways. I begin to like you, Earthman, and I saw fear in the Klingon's eye.
• Captain James T. Kirk : Do you think we could create a sonic disruption with two of our communicators?
• Spock : Only a very slight chance it would work.
• Captain James T. Kirk : [ mockingly ] Well, if you don't think we can, maybe we shouldn't try.
• Spock : Captain, I didn't say that, exactly.
• Maab : The Earthmen make excellent game. Their cleverness has surprised me.
• McCoy : Captain, I'm gonna fix that woman's arm. They can only kill me once for touching her.
• Scotty : On Earth, we have a saying: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
• Scott : [ as acting commander of the "Enterprise," attempting to hail a Klingon vessel that has been menacing them ] This is the commander of the USS "Enterprise." Identify yourself and your intention. Acknowledge!
• Scott : [ after no reply is received ] Close out the frequency, Lieutenant.
• Sulu : Phaser banks are ready, sir.
• Scott : And we'll go right down their throat if necessary. Let's see if they have the belly for it.
• Captain James T. Kirk : What happened, Bones?
• McCoy : My patient spattered me with a rock. She's gone.
• Chekov : Mr. Scott. Picking up something on the sensors, sir. Seems to be another ship.
• Scott : Well, let's put it on the screen.
• [ screen reveals nothing ]
• Chekov : It's just at the edge of our sensor range, sir. Hard to get an exact reading.
• Sulu : You think it's a Klingon ship?
• Scott : Who else would be playing cat and mouse with a starship?
• [ a young Capellan woman offers Captain Kirk a piece of fruit ]
• McCoy : [ alarmed ] JIM! You touch it, her nearest male relative will have to try to kill you. They're offering you a chance for combat. They consider it more pleasurable than love.
• McCoy : The last thing I'll want around is a ham-handed ship's captain.
• Spock : Well, at any rate, this should prove interesting.
• Captain James T. Kirk : Interesting?
• Spock : When the woman starts explaining how the new high teer is actually Dr. McCoy's child.
• Scott : What's that again, Mr. Spock?
• Captain James T. Kirk : We don't actually understand it ourselves, Mr. Scott.
• Spock : Nor does Dr. McCoy.
• Chekov : It should be on our screens by now.
• Sulu : At best a freighter might travel... Warp 2.
• Scott : [ a bit testily ] I'm well aware of a freighter's maximum speed, Mr. Sulu.
• Captain James T. Kirk : The cavalry doesn't come over the hill in the nick of time anymore.
• Spock : If by that you mean we can't expect help from the Enterprise, I must agree.
• McCoy : Does Maab know that the Klingons are our sworn enemies, by their own words?
• Maab : We understand only that he also offers things of value for our rocks, that he has freely handed us his weapons and other devices. Will you do the same?
• Captain James T. Kirk : Let me call my ship to inform them...
• Kras : ...to bring down an attack upon their village? It is as I told you, Maab: Earthmen fear to bargain honestly.
• Captain James T. Kirk : Perhaps you'll explain to me why one of my men is dead.
• McCoy : 'Cause he was drawing a weapon on another of their guests!
• Maab : The Earthmen?
• Eleen : Dead. I killed them as they slept.

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Star Trek (1966–1969) - episodes with scripts

The adventures of the USS Enterprise, representing the United Federation of Planets on a five-year mission in outer space to explore new worlds, seek new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before. The Enterprise is commanded by handsome and brash Captain James T. Kirk. His First Officer and best friend is Mr. Spock from the planet Vulcan, and Kirk's Medical Officer is Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. With a crew of approximately 430, the Enterprise battles aliens, megalomaniacal computers, time paradoxes, psychotic murderers, and even Khan!

• 0. The Cage
• 1. The Man Trap
• 2. Charlie X
• 3. Where No Man Has Gone Before
• 4. The Naked Time
• 5. The Enemy Within
• 6. Mudd's Women
• 7. What Are Little Girls Made Of?
• 9. Dagger of the Mind
• 10. The Corbomite Maneuver
• 11. The Menagerie: Part I
• 12. The Menagerie: Part II
• 13. The Conscience of the King
• 14. Balance of Terror
• 15. Shore Leave
• 16. The Galileo Seven
• 17. The Squire of Gothos
• 19. Tomorrow Is Yesterday
• 20. Court Martial
• 21. The Return of the Archons
• 22. Space Seed
• 23. A Taste of Armageddon
• 24. This Side of Paradise
• 25. The Devil in the Dark
• 26. Errand of Mercy
• 27. The Alternative Factor
• 28. The City on the Edge of Forever
• 29. Operation - Annihilate!
• 1. Amok Time
• 2. Who Mourns for Adonais?
• 3. The Changeling
• 4. Mirror, Mirror
• 5. The Apple
• 6. The Doomsday Machine
• 9. Metamorphosis
• 10. Journey to Babel
• 11. Friday's Child
• 12. The Deadly Years
• 13. Obsession
• 14. Wolf in the Fold
• 15. The Trouble with Tribbles
• 16. The Gamesters of Triskelion
• 17. A Piece of the Action
• 18. The Immunity Syndrome
• 19. A Private Little War
• 20. Return to Tomorrow
• 21. Patterns of Force
• 22. By Any Other Name
• 23. The Omega Glory
• 24. The Ultimate Computer
• 25. Bread and Circuses
• 26. Assignment: Earth
• 1. Spock's Brain
• 2. The Enterprise Incident
• 3. The Paradise Syndrome
• 4. And the Children Shall Lead
• 5. Is There in Truth No Beauty?
• 6. Spectre of the Gun
• 7. Day of the Dove
• 8. For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
• 9. The Tholian Web
• 10. Plato's Stepchildren
• 11. Wink of an Eye
• 12. The Empath
• 13. Elaan of Troyius
• 14. Whom Gods Destroy
• 15. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
• 16. The Mark of Gideon
• 17. That Which Survives
• 18. The Lights of Zetar
• 19. Requiem for Methuselah
• 20. The Way to Eden
• 21. The Cloud Minders
• 22. The Savage Curtain
• 23. All Our Yesterdays
• 24. Turnabout Intruder