Star Trek On The BBC: 1974 to 1976

Click here for part one: 1969  
Click here for part two: 1970 
Click here for part three: 1971
Click here for part four: 1972
Click here for part five: 1973

1974
For the first time since 1969 Star Trek was used as a between series substitute for Doctor Who. Series 11 of Doctor Who finished on Saturday 8 June and Star Trek repeats resumed the following Monday; 10 June. A measly 10 episodes were repeated, well down on 1973's massive 49 week block of repeats, but this was because the BBC had a new programme to schedule; Star Trek: The Animated Series.The Galileo Seven was the last episode of the block of 10 (again note how the BBC tends to stop and start Star Trek according to its own made up series order, The Galileo Seven was the final episode of the BBCs made up "series one" in 1969) and Star Trek: The Animated Series began the following Saturday; 31 August. It comes as no surprise to discover the BBC rejected both production order, and US broadcast order, in favour of a random order of its own devising.

Star Trek: The Animated Series led straight into a series of Christmas repeats of the live action series called Holiday Star Trek (it's tempting to imagine the BBC added holly to the logo and sleigh bells over the theme music). Holiday Star Trek was broadcast in the morning, just before midday, along with other child-friendly programming. Four years ago the BBC was withdrawing Star Trek episodes because of concerns over their content, now it is seen as suitable for children. The content hasn't changed, but the constant repeats have blunted its impact. The first episode shown at 11.25 is The Enemy Within which features bad Kirk's attempted sexual assault on Yeoman Rand. Merry Christmas! It is of course possible the early repeats were edited for unsuitable content, but there is no way to tell beyond noting that the Radio Times listings show the repeats of The Enemy Within and Court Martial occupied a 45 minute slot. Even this could just be the BBC being vague on the running time. Look at the episode durations of Doctor Who episodes and you'll be amazed at the amount of variation the BBC would allow in a programme supposed to fill a 25 minute slot each week.

UPDATE 02/05/20: The Return Of The Archons was repeated in place of BBC1's early evening current affairs programme Nationwide, 6pm on 18 April 1974. This was an episode which had not been broadcast since 1969. It's well known that complaints about Miri in 1970 resulted in the BBC never showing it again until 1992, and also led to three other episodes being pulled; Plato's Stepchildren, The Empath and Whom God's Destroy. In the wake of this the BBC also did not repeat Dagger Of The Mind and The Return Of The Archons but, for whatever reason, when the BBC put these two episodes to one side it did not classify them as unsuitable in the way it did for Miri, Plato's Stepchildren, The Empath and Whom God's Destroy. In 1973 the BBC finally repeated Dagger Of The Mind in place of Miri. Now someone appears to have found The Return Of The Archons sitting on the shelf and decided to tuck it in as a substitute programme. This is pure speculation but I've already noted how the constant repeats have made otherwise controversial material seem familiar and safe, hence the repeats of The Enemy Within and Dagger Of The Mind in the Christmas Holiday Star Trek slot. If the Festival material had originally made the BBC nervous about repeating The Return Of The Archons then by 1974 it was clearly regarded as typical Star Trek. Considering much of the rest of the series had already been shown three times, the sudden appearance of an episode unseen since 1969 must have been like watching a brand new story.

Further unscheduled repeats followed: By Any Other Name was repeated on Thursday 27 June at 3pm in place of Wimbledon 1974. A Private Little War got a repeat on Wednesday 2nd July when Star Trek again replaced Nationwide at 6pm. Obsession replaced Cricket: Second Test, England v Pakistan, which was abandoned due to rain on Tuesday 13 August, 3.30pm. See Star Trek on the BBC: The Unscheduled for more details.

1975
Holiday Star Trek carried on into the new year and then the repeats took a break until the new series of Doctor Who had finished. As in 1974 repeats of the live action series were followed by Star Trek: The Animated Series but this year the cartoon was moved out of the early evening slot and relegated to early on Saturday morning; presumably it hadn't achieved the same level of popularity. This time round the Radio Times does not print episode titles, another sign that the animated series was no longer held in the same regard, so all we can tell is that the animated series ran in a block from 27 September to 29 November. Holiday Star Trek must have been a success, the branded repeats returned for Christmas 1975. Included in the Christmas 1975 repeats was Dagger Of The Mind. At one point the BBC seemed reluctant to repeat this episode, now it can be shown, apparently unedited, in a fifty minute slot at 11.40 in the morning.

The Deadly Years replaced cancelled International Show Jumping on Sunday 30 March, 4.50pm.
See Star Trek on the BBC: The Unscheduled for more details.
 
1976
By now the BBC had settled into a routine. The repeats were put on hold after Christmas until the current series of Doctor Who had finished. The exception was Star Trek: The Animated Series, now firmly scheduled for children at 16.45 in the BBC's post-school slot. Six episodes were shown between 6 January and 10 February. It's possible this was the animated series' six episode season two but without episode titles there is no way to tell.

1976 was the year the BBC wound down its repeats of the live action series. There would be no repeats at all in 1977. In 1969 it looks as if the BBC bought the rights to show each episode of Star Trek three times over an eight year period. When And The Children Shall Lead was bumped for Easter Monday programming on 19 April it was quickly slotted back into the schedule in July as if it needed to be shown as soon as possible. This turned out to be the week after Turnabout Intruder, which would otherwise have been the last episode repeated.

Except, the BBC unexpectedly transmitted The Return Of The Archons again, for a third time, the week after And The Children Shall Lead. 

In the table below the number in brackets shows how many times each story has been broadcast. If there is no number then it's the first time an episode has been shown.

1974-04-18    18.00    The Return Of The Archons (2)
1974-06-10    19.20    The Corbomite Maneuver  (3)
1974-06-17    19.20    Balance Of Terror (3)
1974-06-27    15.00    By Any Other Name (3)
1974-07-02    18.00    A Private Little War (3)
1974-07-10    18.50    The Squire Of Gothos (3)
1974-07-17    18.55    What Are Little Girls Made Of? (3)
1974-07-24    18.50    Arena (3)
1974-07-31    18.50    This Side Of Paradise (3)
1974-08-07    18.50    The Doomsday Machine (3)
1974-08-13    15.30    Obsession (3)
1974-08-14    18.50    Errand Of Mercy (3)
1974-08-21    18.55    The Conscience Of The King (3)
1974-08-28    18.50    The Galileo Seven (3)

1974-08-31    17.10    Once Upon a Planet
1974-09-07    18.35    The Jihad
1974-09-14    17.05    The Infinite Vulcan
1974-09-21    17.05    The Magicks of Megus-Tu
1974-09-28    17.15    More Tribbles, More Troubles
1974-10-05    17.05    The Survivor
1974-10-19    17.05    Beyond The Farthest Star
1974-10-26    17.05    Yesteryear
1974-11-02    17.05    One Of Our Planets Is Missing
1974-11-09    17.45    Mudd's Passion
1974-11-16    17.05    The Time Trap
1974-11-23    17.05    The Terratin Incident
1974-11-30    17.05    The Ambergris Element
1974-12-07    17.05    The Slaver Weapon
1974-12-14    17.15    Eye Of The Beholder
1974-12-22    13.30    The Lorelei Signal

1974-12-23    11.25    The Enemy Within (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1974-12-24    11.05    Court Martial (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1974-12-26    09:40    Catspaw (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1974-12-27    11.40    Who Mourns for Adonais? (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1974-12-30    11.45    The Apple (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1974-12-31    11.45    Metamorphosis (3) [Holiday Star Trek]

1975-01-01    10.55    Wolf In The Fold (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-01-02    11.45    The Changeling (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-01-03    11.45    The Trouble with Tribbles (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-03-30    16.50    The Deadly Years (3)
1975-05-19    19.25    Bread And Circuses (3)
1975-06-02    18.50    Journey To Babel (3)
1975-06-09    18.50    Return To Tomorrow (3)
1975-06-16    18.50    I, Mudd (3)
1975-06-23    19.20    Patterns Of Force (3)
1975-06-30    19.20    The Immunity Syndrome (3)
1975-07-07    19.20    The Omega Glory (3)
1975-07-14    19.10    A Piece of the Action (3)
1975-07-21    19.10    The Ultimate Computer (3)
1975-07-28    19.10    Friday's Child (3)
1975-08-04    19.10    Assignment: Earth (3)
1975-08-11    19.10    Mirror, Mirror (3)
1975-08-18    19.10    The Gamesters of Triskelion (3)
1975-12-20    10.35    Wink Of An Eye (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-21    12.00    Let That Be Your Last Battlefield  (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-22    11.40    Amok Time (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-23    11.40    Dagger Of The Mind (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-24    11.40    Operation -- Annihilate! (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-26    10.05    The Paradise Syndrome (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-28    11.40    The Cloud Minders (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-29    11.25    Requiem for Methuselah  (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-30    11.25    All Our Yesterdays (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1975-12-31    11.20    Day of the Dove  (3) [Holiday Star Trek]

1976-01-01    11.00    Spectre of the Gun  (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1976-01-02    11.10    The Way To Eden (3) [Holiday Star Trek]
1976-04-05    19.25    Elaan of Troyius (3)
1976-04-12    19.25    The Enterprise Incident (3)
1976-04-26    19.25    Spock's Brain (3)
1976-05-03    19.25    Is There in Truth no Beauty? (3)
1976-05-10    19.25    For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (3)
1976-05-17    19.25    That Which Survives (3)
1976-05-24    19.25    The Mark Of Gideon (3)
1976-06-07    19.25    The Lights Of Zetar (3)
1976-06-14    19.20    The Savage Curtain (3)
1976-06-21    19.25    The Tholian Web (3)
1976-06-28    19.25    The Alternative Factor (3)
1976-07-05    19.25    Turnabout Intruder (3)
1976-07-12    19.20    And The Children Shall Lead (3)
1976-07-19    19.25    The Return Of The Archons (3)

Notes

1974-04-18:  The Return Of The Archons, unscheduled repeat replacing Nationwide. 

1974-06-27: By Any Other Name, unscheduled repeat replacing Wimbledon 1974. 

1974-07-02: A Private Little War, unscheduled repeat replacing Nationwide again.

1974-10-12: No Star Trek: The Animated Series this week. The 1974 Horse Of The Year Show was broadcast at 21.40. Making space for this programme seems to have disrupted the whole evening's schedule.

1974-12-22: Shown at Sunday lunchtime. The day before the early evening Saturday slot had been filled by a Christmas edition of Disney Time.

1974-12-27: A good day for science-fiction fans. Star Trek at 11.40, and an omnibus repeat of Planet Of The Spiders at 14.45.

1975-03-30: The Deadly Years, unscheduled repeat replacing cricket.

1975-12-27: A Saturday. No Holiday Star Trek although the repeats ran on Friday 26 and Sunday 28 December. There was a repeat of the Doctor Who story Genesis Of The Daleks on the afternoon of 27th. Was the BBC trying to avoid repeating the two science-fiction series on the same day?

1976-04-19: Easter Bank Holiday Monday, Star Trek was replaced by the film version of Dad's Army.1976-07-05: Another good day for science-fiction fans. A repeat of part one of the Doctor Who story Planet Of Evil at 18.35 plus Star Trek at 19.25

Star Trek On The BBC: 1973

Click here for part one: 1969  
Click here for part two: 1970 
Click here for part three: 1971
Click here for part four: 1972

"Television's most popular space series returns," was how the Radio Times described Return To Tomorrow the episode which launched 1973's mammoth 49 week repeat run of Star Trek. This could be viewed as slightly insensitive to the BBC's home grown series Doctor Who which was in the middle of its tenth anniversary story, The Three Doctors.

Aside from the bumper length of the repeat run this was mostly business as usual for a series which had now been shown on BBC1 for five consecutive years. The only unusual event was the repeat of Dagger Of The Mind which was finally repeated after being skipped in 1971 and 1972. It was slotted in between Amok Time and Operation -- Annihilate! on 2 April 1973. This was the week Miri would have been shown for a second time if it hadn't been marked as unsuitable for broadcast following complaints in 1970. Presumably someone at the BBC realised Miri could not be repeated and looked around for another episode to show in its place. It's interesting that the BBC opted to show Dagger Of The Mind. Presumably the choice would have been between pulling the repeats forward a week, so that Operation -- Annihilate! followed on directly from Amok Time, or repeating one of either Dagger Of The Mind or The Return Of The Archons. Neither of these two episodes had been seen since they premièred in 1969, and they seem to have been caught up in the wake of the Miri complaints. The BBC must have felt that of the two episodes Dagger Of The Mind was the most acceptable for broadcast, and there must have been a desire to get value for money by repeating as may episodes as possible before the rights expired.

In the table below the number in brackets shows how many times each story has been broadcast.

1973-01-08    19.10    Return To Tomorrow (2)
1973-01-15    19.10    I, Mudd (2)
1973-01-22    19.10    Patterns Of Force (2)
1973-01-29    19.10    The Immunity Syndrome (2)
1973-02-05    19.10    The Omega Glory (2)
1973-02-12    19.10    A Piece of the Action (2)
1973-02-19    19.10    The Ultimate Computer (2)
1973-02-26    19.10    Friday's Child (2)
1973-03-05    19.10    Assignment: Earth (2)
1973-03-12    19.10    Mirror, Mirror (2)
1973-03-19    19.10    The Gamesters of Triskelion (2)
1973-03-26    19.10    Amok Time (2)
1973-04-02    19.10    Dagger Of The Mind (2)
1973-04-09    19.10    Operation -- Annihilate! (2)
1973-04-16    19.10    The Paradise Syndrome (2)
1973-04-27    19.25    Requiem for Methuselah (2)
1973-05-04    19.25    All Our Yesterdays (2)
1973-05-11    19.25    Day of the Dove (2)
1973-05-18    19.25    The Way To Eden (2)
1973-05-25    19.30    Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (2)
1973-06-01    19.30    Wink of an Eye (2)
1973-06-08    19.30    The Cloud Minders (2)
1973-06-15    19.30    Spectre of the Gun (2)
1973-06-22    19.30    Elaan of Troyius (2)
1973-06-29    19.30    The Enterprise Incident (2)
1973-07-05    19.45    And the Children Shall Lead (2)
1973-07-13    19.30    Spock's Brain (2)
1973-07-20    19.30    Is There in Truth No Beauty? (2)
1973-07-27    19.00    For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (2)
1973-08-03    19.00    That Which Survives (2)
1973-08-10    19.00    The Mark of Gideon (2)
1973-08-17    19.00    The Lights of Zetar (2)
1973-08-24    19.00    The Savage Curtain (2)
1973-08-31    19.10    The Tholian Web (2)
1973-09-10    19.10    The Alternative Factor (2)
1973-09-17    19.15    Turnabout Intruder (2)
1973-09-24    19.15    Where No Man Has Gone Before (3)
1973-10-01    19.15    The Naked Time (3)
1973-10-08    19.15    The City On The Edge Of Forever (3)
1973-10-15    19.10    A Taste Of Armageddon (3)
1973-10-23    19.15    Mudd's Women (3)
1973-10-30    19.00    Tomorrow Is Yesterday (3)
1973-11-06    19.05    The Menagerie Part 1 (3)
1973-11-13    19.15    The Menagerie Part 2 (3)
1973-11-20    19.15    The Devil In The Dark (3)
1973-11-27    19.25    Charlie X (3)
1973-12-04    18.55    Shore Leave (3)
1973-12-11    18.55    Space Seed (3)
1973-12-18    19.25    The Man Trap (3)

Star Trek On The BBC: 1972

Click here for part one: 1969  
Click here for part two: 1970 
Click here for part three: 1971 

Three weeks into 1972 BBC1 began showing most of the stories skipped during the spring 1971 block of repeats. There's no obvious reason why these stories are suddenly acceptable for broadcast; just as it's still not clear why the episodes weren't repeated last year.

The BBC had just completed a major survey into television violence. This survey showed that American programmes made up only one third of the schedule but contained two thirds of television violence; according to a Daily Mirror story on 27 January 1972 which named Star Trek, along with the BBC's own Doctor Who, and two other Desilu programmes The Untouchables and Mannix. What may be significant is that this survey had run from November 1970 to May 1971. Miri was broadcast in December 1970, not long after the survey began. It's possible the complaints about Miri came at exactly the wrong time for a BBC already concerned about violence and other inappropriate material in imported programmes. This could explain not only the withdrawing from broadcast of Miri, The Empath, Whom Gods Destroy, and Plato's Stepchildren but also the delayed repeats of episodes which might otherwise have been expected to air during February to April 1971 while the survey was still being conducted. By the start of 1972, with the survey over and the report written, the BBC might have been able to take a more relaxed view about the content of Star Trek and was able to reschedule episodes which seemed less suitable the year before. The slightly later 7.25pm start time might also have helped deflect any complaints. It's only 15 minutes after the start time for the 1971 repeats but the difference between an 8pm finish, and one after 8pm might be important for the BBC. A post 8pm finish, presumably after the bedtime of young children, gives them a fig leaf of protection if they are concerned about being accused of showing programmes unsuitable for children too early in the evening

The Daily Mirror 27/01/1972

Regardless of the reason it seems as if the block of unrepeated stories are dropped into the schedule as soon as possible. I've already obsessed over the BBC's eccentric Star Trek broadcast order but there's something odd about the way all the previously skipped episodes are tucked in between Errand Of Mercy and The Conscience Of The King. It means all the episodes in the BBC's made-up "series one" from 1969 are shown before the repeats of "series two" episodes begin with Court Martial. As if the BBC programme planners believed they couldn't repeat "series two" until all of "series one" had been shown.

All the "series one" episodes? Well not quite. In 1969 The Naked Time was the second episode broadcast on BBC1. In 1972 it's held back a few weeks to air after The Menagerie Part 2. Court Martial which launched "series two" in 1970 is held way back and just scrapes in as the penultimate 1972 episode. Dagger Of The Mind, and The Return Of The Archons do not appear at all. In a 1984 letter the BBC justified its decision not to show Miri, The Empath, Whom Gods Destroy, and Plato's Stepchildren because they dealt, "most unpleasantly with the already unpleasant subjects of madness,torture, sadism and disease." Did the BBC still have some lingering doubts about the acceptability of The Naked Time's space-drunkeness and Finney's madness in Court Martial? It looks as if they did. The no show of Dagger Of The Mind and The Return Of The Archons implies that the BBC found those two episodes utterly unsuitable for broadcast given their high levels of madness,torture, and sadism.

In the table below the number in brackets shows how many times each story has been broadcast.

1972-01-05    19.25    The Doomsday Machine (2)
1972-01-12    19.25    Errand Of Mercy (2)
1972-01-19    19.25    The City On The Edge Of Forever (2)
1972-01-26    19.25    The Menagerie Part 1 (2)
1972-02-02    19.25    The Menagerie Part 2 (2)
1972-02-09    19.25    The Naked Time (2)
1972-02-16    19.25    Charlie X (2)
1972-02-23    19.25    The Man Trap (2)
1972-03-01    19.25    Balance Of Terror (2)
1972-03-08    19.25    Arena (2)
1972-03-15    19.25    The Conscience Of The King (2)
1972-03-22    19.25    The Galileo Seven (2)
1972-03-29    19.25    The Enemy Within (2)
1972-04-05    19.25    Catspaw (2)
1972-04-12    19.25    Who Mourns for Adonais? (2)
1972-04-19    19.25    The Apple (2)
1972-04-26    19.25    Metamorphosis (2)
1972-05-03    19.25    Wolf In The Fold (2)
1972-05-10    19.25    The Changeling (2)
1972-05-17    19.25    The Trouble with Tribbles (2)
1972-05-24    19.25    Bread And Circuses (2)
1972-05-31    19.25    Journey To Babel (2)
1972-06-07    19.25    The Deadly Years (2)
1972-06-14    19.25    A Private Little War (2)
1972-06-21    19.25    Obsession (2)
1972-06-28    19.25    Court Martial (2)
1972-07-05    19.25    By Any Other Name (2)

Star Trek On The BBC: 1971

Click here for part one: 1969  
Click here for part two: 1970  

The BBC's made up "series three" continued until 10 February 1971 and was followed by nine weeks of repeats beginning with Where No Man Has Gone Before.

When the BBC started broadcasting Star Trek in 1969 it showed the episodes in a random sequence which by 1971 had somehow become the BBC's preferred order. The 1971 repeats keep the 1969 order, presumably the person in charge of the repeats simply consulted the old schedules, although some episodes are skipped.

1969		1971
Where No Man Has Gone Before		Repeated
The Naked Time		Skipped
The City On The Edge Of Forever		Skipped
A Taste Of Armageddon		Repeated
Mudd's Women		Repeated
Tomorrow Is Yesterday		Repeated
The Menagerie Part 1		Skipped
The Menagerie Part 2		Skipped
The Devil In The Dark		Repeated
Charlie X		Skipped
Shore Leave		Repeated
Space Seed		Repeated
The Man Trap		Skipped
Dagger Of The Mind		Skipped
The Corbomite Manoeuvre		Repeated
Balance Of Terror		Skipped
The Squire Of Gothos		Repeated
What Are Little Girls Made Of?		Repeated
Arena		Skipped
The Return Of The Archons		Skipped
This Side Of Paradise		Repeated

Why were some episodes missed out? My best guess is that in the wake of the problems with Miri the BBC was reassessing the suitability of all Star Trek episodes. The BBC described Miri, The Empath, Plato's Stepchildren and Whom Gods Destroy as dealing "most unpleasantly with the already unpleasant subjects of madness,torture, sadism and disease." It's easy to find matching elements in the skipped episodes; the space madness in The Naked Time; McCoy's cordrazine induced psychosis in The City On The Edge Of Forever; Pike's disease, and his torture in the clips from The Cage, in The Menagerie; more madness and torture in Dagger Of The Mind; Charlie's sadistic treatment of the crew in Charlie X. Only The Man Trap and Balance Of Terror don't have any obviously unsuitable elements, possibly the BBC just thought they were too intense. When the repeats resume in December 1971 there is a similar pattern. What Are Little Girls Made Of? and This Side Of Paradise are repeated in the 1969 order while two episodes are missed out Arena (possibly too intense) and The Return Of The Archons (madness and sadism during the festival).

In April the BBC shrewdly replaced Star Trek with Mission: Impossible episodes featuring Leonard Nimoy as master of disguise Paris. The Mission: Impossible episodes are a random selection from season four and five in no particular order. Apparently there was nothing unusual in the BBC's treatment of Star Trek, it was simply how all imported series were scheduled.

A fourteen week BBC created "series four" began in September 1971. Then on 05 November 1971 there was a treat for Star Trek fans. An episode of Ask Aspel, a children's programme where viewers could write in and ask to see clips of programmes, featured Leonard Nimoy as a guest. Presumably Leonard Nimoy was in London at the time; although this wasn't the time mentioned in his book I Am Spock when he saw the infamous Heineken poster with the drooping ears that was 1975.

Appropriately the final first run Star Trek episode shown on BBC1 was Turnabout Intruder. This was followed by the beginning of several more months of repeats which would last well into 1972.

In the listings below repeats are marked with a number in brackets after the episode title. The number indicates how often the episode has been broadcast by the BBC, all the  repeats below are on their second showing.

1971-01-06    19.20    All Our Yesterdays
1971-01-13    19.20    Day of the Dove
1971-01-20    19.20    The Way To Eden
1971-01-27    19.20    Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
1971-02-03    19.20    Wink of an Eye
1971-02-10    19.20    The Cloud Minders
1971-02-17    19.20    Where No Man Has Gone Before (2)
1971-02-24    19.20    A Taste Of Armageddon (2)
1971-03-03    19.20    Mudd's Women (2)
1971-03-10    19.20    Tomorrow Is Yesterday (2)
1971-03-17    19.10    The Devil In The Dark (2)
1971-03-24    19.10    Shore Leave (2)
1971-03-31    19.10    Space Seed (2)
1971-04-07    19.10    The Corbomite Maneuver  (2)
1971-04-14    19.10    The Squire Of Gothos (2)
1971-09-15    19.25    Spectre of the Gun
1971-09-22    19.25    Elaan of Troyius
1971-09-29    19.25    The Enterprise Incident
1971-10-06    19.25    And the Children Shall Lead
1971-10-13    19.25    Spock's Brain
1971-10-20    19.25    Is There in Truth No Beauty?
1971-10-27    19.25    For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
1971-11-03    19.25    That Which Survives
1971-11-10    19.25    The Mark of Gideon
1971-11-17    19.25    The Lights of Zetar
1971-11-24    19.25    The Savage Curtain
1971-12-01    19.25    The Tholian Web
1971-12-08    19.25    The Alternative Factor
1971-12-15    19.25    Turnabout Intruder
1971-12-22    19.25    What Are Little Girls Made Of? (2)
1971-12-29    19.25    This Side Of Paradise (2)

Notes:

1) 1971-01-06, Memory Alpha has The Paradise Syndrome transmitted here. However television listings in The Daily Mirror name All Our Yesterdays as do print editions of the Radio Times. Frustratingly BBC Genome has no records between 2 January 1971 and 9 January 1971, but the entry for 6 January 1970 currently shows a 10 minute version of All Our Yesterdays starting at 7.20pm between a Tom and Jerry cartoon and Harry Worth. The start time, day, and month are correct presumably BBC Genome has somehow assigned the wrong year and will be corrected at some point.

2) 1971-12-08, surprisingly this doesn't seem to be a repeat for The Alternative Factor. Memory Alpha suggests this episode aired on 6 December 1969 but the Radio Times is adamant the episode didn't get shown until 8 December 1971. On the face of it the Radio Times listing must be wrong. The 1971 date is way after any other first season stories were broadcast. If correct it would mean some first season stories received a BBC repeat before the première of The Alternative Factor. Astonishingly it looks as if the Radio Times is correct. When The Alternative Factor was shown in 1971 it was sandwiched between The Tholian Web and Turnabout Intruder. This also happened when it was repeated in 1973, and in 1976; and again in 1981. It does look like the BBC sat on the episode until 1971 and it ended up being the penultimate first-run BBC story. Why they sat on the episode for so long is another question.

Star Trek on the BBC: 1970

Click here for part one: 1969

Star Trek returned to BBC1 on 6 April 1970, one week after the Easter Bank Holiday Monday, and ran weekly until 24 August. In an odd scheduling move the series then took a one week break for the August Bank Holiday on 31 August, returned for one more episode on 7 September, and then took another four week break before returning again on 7 October.

The block of episodes from 6 April to 7 September appears to have been promoted as "series two" of Star Trek. The 1969 "series one" of 25 episodes had slotted neatly between series six and seven of Doctor Who but now the two programmes would run concurrently. Doctor Who was back on Saturdays at 5.20pm and Star Trek was scheduled for 7.10pm on Monday. The later start time might be due to Star Trek drawing a more adult audience than expected, or it might be because the stories were a little more intense than appropriate for the original 5.15pm start time, or it could just be that the series was a ratings success and the BBC wanted to bring Star Trek back as soon as possible and the 50 minute Monday evening slot vacated by The Andy Williams show was ideal.

The episodes shown were a random selection of season one and two stories. It's possible these were originally intended to fill an uninterrupted 22 week block ending on the Bank Holiday Monday. "Series three" would then begin in October 1970 following the September break. The slightly disjointed end to "series two" came about because the August Bank Holiday Monday evening slot was given over to a live rock climbing event from Wales; The Anglesey Climb The Spider's Web. These live outside broadcasts from around Great Britain were an occasional feature in the late 60s and early 70s. The most famous was the 1967 three day climb of The Old Man of Hoy, and there would be another in 1971 The Glencoe Climb. These live outside broadcasts seem to have been the inspiration for the Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch Climbing the North Face of the Uxbridge Road. 

In 1969 the successful Apollo 11 Moon landing had taken place between the first two episodes of Star Trek shown on BBC1. In an unfortunate echo of this the real life drama of Apollo 13 began on 14 April 1970 the day after The Enemy Within premièred. 

Towards the end of "series two" the Radio Times interviewed Gene Roddenberry.  The interview was published in the 25 June 1970 edition and was accompanied by this fantastic piece of Frank Bellamy art.

 
A "series three" of 16 episodes began on Wednesday 7 October 1970 and would continue until February 1971. The Ultimate Computer began this run and its broadcast was accompanied by a slightly confused Daily Mirror article which mixed up the BBC's invented "series three" with the actual last season three of Star Trek. In fact because of the way the BBC had divided up the stories they would be able to present a 14 episode "series four" in 1971. By the end of 1970 the BBC had showed all the episodes of season one and two, as well as a few from season three.

The Daily Mirror 7/10/1970
 

"Series three" was transmitted at 7.20pm. The start time had crept a little further forwards into the evening but it wasn't enough to head off some controversy when Miri was shown on 2 December 1970. Several viewers complained about the themes of the episode. The complaints have never been made public but the BBC took them seriously enough to review all unbroadcast episodes of Star Trek. Three more episodes were pulled; The Empath, Whom Gods Destroy, and Plato's Stepchildren. This must have been done at very short notice as The Empath was due to be shown on 16 December, two weeks after Miri, and remains on the BBC Genome site and in newspaper listings as being broadcast at 7.20pm. The BBC's institutional memory seems to have labelled all four episodes as utterly unsuitable for broadcast. As late as 1984 enquires to the BBC were being answered with the BBC line that, "we feel that [the episodes] all deal most unpleasantly with the already unpleasant subjects of madness,torture, sadism and disease. You will appreciate that account must betaken that out of Star Trek's large and enthusiastic following, many are juveniles who would watch the programme no matter what time of day the series is put into the programme schedules." These four episodes went unseen until 1993 when BBC2 began a full repeat season of Star Trek to fill the gap between their broadcast of season three and four of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  

Date             Time   Episode

1970-04-06: 19.10: Court Martial
1970-04-13: 19.10: The Enemy Within
1970-04-20: 19.10: Catspaw
1970-04-27: 19.10: Who Mourns for Adonais?
1970-05-04: 19.10: The Apple
1970-05-11: 19.10: Metamorphosis
1970-05-18: 19.10: Wolf In The Fold
1970-05-25: 18.15: The Changeling
1970-06-01: 19.10: The Trouble with Tribbles
1970-06-08: 19.10: Bread And Circuses
1970-06-15: 19.10: Mirror, Mirror scheduled but dropped for a World Cup repeat
1970-06-22: 19.10: Journey To Babel
1970-06-29: 19.10: The Deadly Years
1970-07-06: 19.10: A Private Little War
1970-07-13: 19.10: Obsession
1970-07-20: 19.10: By Any Other Name
1970-07-27: 19.10: I, Mudd
1970-08-03: 19.10: Patterns Of Force
1970-08-10: 19.10: The Immunity Syndrome
1970-08-17: 19.10: Return To Tomorrow
1970-08-24: 19.10: The Omega Glory
1970-09-07: 19.10: A Piece of the Action
1970-10-07: 19.20: The Ultimate Computer
1970-10-14: 19.20: Friday's Child
1970-11-04: 19.20: Assignment: Earth
1970-11-11: 19.20: Mirror, Mirror
1970-11-18: 19.20: The Gamesters of Triskelion
1970-11-25: 19.20: Amok Time
1970-12-02: 19.20: Miri
1970-12-09: 19.20: Operation -- Annihilate!
1970-12-16: 19.20: The Empath not shown, replaced by The Paradise Syndrome
1970-12-30: 19.20: Requiem for Methuselah

Notes

1) 1970-04-06. Court Martial was scheduled for broadcast on 1969-12-06 according to the BBC Genome site and The Daily Mirror, while Memory Alpha suggests The Alternative Factor. BBC Genome also lists Court Martial as starting the 1970 run of Star Trek. As do the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express. A repeat within the space of five months seems unlikely. The Daily Mirror listing specifically describes the 1970 broadcast as the start of a new series, as does the BBC Genome listing referring to "the new adventures of the Star Ship Enterprise." I think we can take this as confirmation that Court Martial was originally scheduled to be shown on 6 December 1969 but held back. A story in which Kirk must fight to keep control of the Enterprise might have been seen as a better hook to begin "series two."

2) 1970-05-25, a Whitsun Bank Holiday showing of Disney Time pushed The Changeling into the earlier 6.15pm slot.

The Radio Times 16 July 1970

3) 1970-06-15 and 1970-11-11. What's going on? According to the Radio Times Mirror, Mirror was scheduled twice on 15 June 1970 and then later in the year on 11 November. Memory Alpha opts for Mirror, Mirror on 15 June and The Doomsday Machine on 11 November. However this cannot be correct. One reason for consulting physical copies of the Radio Times themselves is they carry information not yet available online; like the great piece of Star Trek art by Frank Bellamy further up this page. The Radio Times letters page for the week 16 July 1970 carries a viewer's letter which refers to Star Trek being dropped for a World Cup replay. This replay can only be the notorious (if you're an England fan) 3-2 loss to West Germany (the team England had beaten 4-2 in 1966 to win the world cup) which took place on 14 June 1970. It looks as if Star Trek was cancelled for a repeat of that match. What a fun evening of television that must have been.

4) In the second half of 1970 several one off specials interrupt "series three" of  Star Trek.

1970-10-21 (19.20) Blackpool Tower Circus: An excerpt from the 1970 Show with The Svensons in their classical riding fantasy presenting a colourful Troika. Freddie Kenton and his beautiful partner, PETRONELLA, from Holland, in sophisticated juggling. David Rosaire with his family of perky pekes. Gerard Edon grace and electrifying thrills on the swinging trapeze. The Elwardos four young Danes hand-balancing on a staircase. Ruppert's Bears returning to Blackpool after a long engagement in Las Vegas. Charlie Cairoli with his son CHARLIE JUNIOR , his partner PAUL and the long suffering LITTLE JIMMY in trouble again - with the Circus plumbing. The Skating Sandras in the glittering water finale with The Tower Circusettes.

1970-10-28 (19.20) Remember, Remember... : Millions get innocent pleasure and amusement from firework displays, but we are still one of the few countries left that sells fireworks to children. The law says that they must be over 13 before they can buy - but those badly burned are frequently much younger. Every year fireworks are an annual hazard which injure and scar thousands of children.
Two years ago the Man Alive team reported on the cost, in human suffering, of Guy Fawkes night. Last year, when the programme was shown on BBC1, it caused an outcry. A National Campaign to Prevent Fireworks was formed. Others cried ' kill-joy ' - but 1,000 fewer children were injured. Moves were made in Parliament to change the law. But still nothing has been done. Tonight a programme introduced by DESMOND WILCOX examines the question afresh, investigates the need for safety, questions the law as it stands today, and asks-is the situation good enough?

1970-12-23 (18.35) Jesus: The story of His life through the eyes of the young generation Introduced by Kenneth More and featuring The Young Generation.
(19.20) Ace of Clubs: The Grand Final . Michael Aspel introduces a Gala Performance featuring artists competing in the Final of the 1970 Stage Awards from the City Varieties Theatre, Leeds. Of the 10 artists taking part, five will receive Golden Jesters, and the most outstanding act will be presented with the Bernard Delfont Special Award. 

5)  1970-12-16. What replaced The Empath? The Paradise Syndrome like The Doomsday Machine has no first-run date listed on BBC Genome. The first repeat takes place in 1973 scheduled between Operation -- Annihilate! and Requiem For Methuselah, a pattern also repeated in 1975. In 1980 something odd happens. The schedule goes I, Mudd, The Paradise Syndrome, then Requiem For Methuselah but as The Paradise Syndrome and Requiem For Methuselah are repeated back to back I think the point still holds. The Paradise Syndrome must have premièred the week before Requiem For Methuselah which makes it 16 December 1970; the date planned for The Empath before that story was cancelled in the wake of complaints about Miri.

Star Trek on the BBC: 1969

This is the first of what will probably be several long updates about Star Trek episodes and their repeats on the BBC. The recently launched BBC Genome project makes it easy to search BBC schedules and it is now possible to do from a computer what would otherwise have taken months in a library to complete. 

Star Trek was first used to fill the six month gap between series six and seven of Doctor Who. Patrick Troughton spun off into space at the end of The War Games on 21st June 1969 and two weeks later, after a break for Wimbledon, on 12 July 1969 Where No Man Has Gone Before started an unbroken 25 week run which ended on 27 December 1969.

Use the player below to listen to the 1969 trailer for Star Trek which aired on BBC1 as The War Games ended.

From the BBC's perspective Star Trek must have looked like an obvious replacement for Doctor Who. Both series were given the same start time of 5.15pm so there seems to have been an expectation that they would draw the same audience. Star Trek's optimistic view of humanity's future in space also chimed perfectly with real life events. Apollo 11 lifted off for the Moon on Wednesday 16th July, between the broadcast of Where No Man Has Gone Before and The Naked Time. In fact Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and entered lunar orbit at around 6.20pm, just after The Naked Time finished at 6.05pm on Saturday 19 July. In addition to this real life outer space action, BBC1 was preparing for the launch of colour television on 15 November 1969; Arena, shown the same day, was the first episode broadcast in living colour.

Don't try to make sense of the order. Things start sensibly with Where No Man Has Gone Before, and following that with the character based The Naked Time makes some sense, but the BBC appears to be pulling episodes off the shelf at random. If you've ever argued with another fan about whether production order or NBC's broadcast order is the correct way to watch Star Trek then the BBC's schedule might reduce you to tears. In addition the observant among you will notice that the 25 week run is not long enough for Star Trek's first season. Five episodes have not yet been shown; The Enemy Within, Miri, Court Martial, The Alternative Factor, and Operation--Annihilate!

One small note before we get to the lists. Dates have been written backwards for ease of sorting so 1969-07-12 is 12 July 1969. Life may not be too short for me to go through the BBC Genome listings for 79 individual Star Trek episodes, but it turns out it is too short for me to go back and subsequently rewrite the dates into a more readable format. 

1969-07-12: Where No Man Has Gone Before
1969-07-19: The Naked Time
1969-07-26: The City On The Edge Of Forever
1969-08-02: A Taste Of Armageddon
1969-08-09: Mudd's Women
1969-08-16: Tomorrow Is Yesterday
1969-08-23: The Menagerie Part 1
1969-08-30: The Menagerie Part 2
1969-09-06: The Devil In The Dark
1969-09-13: Charlie X
1969-09-20: Shore Leave
1969-09-27: Space Seed
1969-10-04: The Man Trap
1969-10-11: Dagger Of The Mind
1969-10-18: The Corbomite Manoeuvre
1969-10-25: Balance Of Terror
1969-11-01: The Squire Of Gothos
1969-11-08: What Are Little Girls Made Of?
1969-11-15: Arena
1969-11-22: The Return Of The Archons
1969-11-29: This Side Of Paradise
1969-12-06: The Doomsday Machine
1969-12-13: Errand Of Mercy
1969-12-20: The Conscience Of The King
1969-12-27: The Galileo Seven

Notes
 
1) 1969-10-18: The Corbomite Maneuver. Memory Alpha lists this as being first broadcast on 16th December 1970. BBC Genome offers 18 October 1969, and both the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express agree; although the Daily Express does go a bit mad again by suggesting that this is a colour broadcast on what was then only a black and white channel (maybe they were trying to point out it was made in colour). In this case BBC Genome is almost certainly correct, although there are good reasons for thinking The Corbomite Maneuver was given an unscheduled repeat in December 1970 (again, something I'll get to in the next update). EDIT: 26/10/14: sorry, that was utterly wrong. The Corbomite Maneuver was almost certainly not repeated in December 1970.

2)1969-12-06: Memory Alpha lists The Alternative Factor as being broadcast on this date while the BBC Genome site opts for Court Martial. Going to newspaper listings for the day we find the Daily Mirror agrees with BBC Genome while the Daily Express opts for The Doomsday Machine. It may look like the Daily Express is randomly pulling episode titles from a hat but they actually appear to be the only newspaper with correct television listings. 1972 is the year The Doomsday Machine first appears in the Radio Times as repeat sandwiched between This Side Of Paradise and Errand Of Mercy. This also happens in 1974 and 1979. I'll keep banging on about the BBC's original transmission order because it is used as the template for subsequent repeats. At least until around 1984 which seems to be the first time the BBC repeated Star Trek in the original NBC order. Working backwards The Doomsday Machine must have premièred on BBC1 between the first-run dates for This Side Of Paradise and Errand Of Mercy; which is 6 December 1969. To find out what was actually broadcast on this date would require access to what the BBC called PasB (Programme as Broadcast) documentation, and that is locked away in the BBC's Written Archives at Caversham. I'm confident that The Doomsday Machine was shown 6 December 1969 but without access to the PasBs we may never know for sure.

The Daily Express 6 December 1969

Turnabout Intruder

JANICE: The year we were together at Starfleet is the only time in my life I was alive.
KIRK: I never stopped you from going on with your space work.
JANICE: Your world of starship captains doesn't admit women. It isn't fair.
KIRK: No, it isn't. And you punished and tortured me because of it.

How should that line from Janice Lester be read? Does the word your refer directly to Kirk or to Starfleet in general? If Lester is talking about Starfleet as a whole then it can only be taken literally. Women cannot become starship captains. Alternatively, if Lester is only talking about Kirk then maybe she blames Kirk for allowing their relationship to wither because he's so obsessed with being a starship captain that he can't allow anything else to matter, not even a relationship which clearly meant a huge amount to Lester.

Star Trek fans have spent a lot of time debating exactly what Janice Lester means. Ultimately everybody brings their own interpretation to the table. Personally I think Lester is speaking literally. Starfleet does not allow women to become starship captains. There's no evidence to contradict this in the previous 78 episodes (and consider the wider culture, it wasn't until 1998 that Lieutenant Commander Darlene Iskra became the first woman appointed to command a US Navy ship). It's possible to argue that Kirk is just humouring Lester. He knows she's wrong but he's mindful of her condition and doesn't want their first meeting in years, and potentially their last meeting if she really is dying, to end in another argument. However even if Kirk is just trying to be polite there are other hints that Starfleet's policy is to exclude women from the captain's chair. During the court martial Lester in Kirk's body has the line "....she would not be allowed to serve as the captain," implying that even if Starfleet agreed that the mind of Kirk was trapped in Lester's body they still wouldn't allow Kirk-as-Lester to resume command of the Enterprise. Muddying the waters further are Kirk's ,"no it isn't," response to Lester's claim that "it isn't fair," and his unfinished final line of the episode. "Her life could have been as rich as any woman's, if only. If only..." If only... what? If only she'd not been utterly insane, or if only she'd known her place?

It's interesting that 45 years after this episode was made it is still possible to debate exactly what Lester means. Could this ambiguity be deliberate? it would have been the easiest thing in the world to tidy up the language and clarify whether Starfleet has a problem with Lester or her gender. The script for Turnabout Intruder was finalised in December 1968. The fuss over the Kirk/Uhura kiss in Plato's Stepchildren would still have been fresh in everyone's memory. Is it possible that someone on the writing staff didn't want to rule out the idea of women commanding starships, but was also concerned that the contemporary audience would find the idea a step too far into crazy science fiction? Whatever the case the later series and films would be happy to clarify this point; in 1973 Star Trek: The Animated Series showed Uhura taking command in the episode The Lorelei Signal.

It is of course possible that the confusion caused by Lester's line is the result of bad writing. There are other examples on display elsewhere. It's never made clear what is wrong with Lester. Everyone just assumes that she's going to die of radiation poisoning before the subject is quietly dropped about halfway through the episode when everyone gets distracted by Kirk's behaviour. The portrayal of security on the Enterprise is also odd. At times the ship feels more like ISS Enterprise from Mirror, Mirror, with the Captain allowed to get away with any excessive behaviour as long as he keeps security onside. The biggest offender is the end of the episode when the story just stops. Suddenly the transfer is unstable and Kirk and Lester pop back into their proper bodies; the end. Janice Lester and doctor Arthur Coleman, who murdered their way through the staff of the Camus II expedition and were prepared to murder their way through the senior staff of a starship, are simply allowed to wander off after Coleman promises to look after Lester.

All that said there are a lot of points where the writing is really pleasing and subtle. Kirk in Lester's body quickly realises that trying to explain the truth just makes people think Lester is paranoid. There's a great moment when he plays off Nurse Chapel's emotions by asking her, "is a visit by that very kind Mister Spock to be allowed?" It's also good to see that it's Kirk's impulsiveness, and his preference for action, that gets him deeper into trouble. His escape from sickbay just gets him recaptured and confined in isolation, and is also what gets Spock into trouble when he disobeys Lester-as-Kirk's order that no one should talk to Kirk-as-Lester. The loyalty Spock feels for Kirk is made clear by his immediate acceptance of what has happened to Kirk, once it becomes impossible for there to be any other explanation. There is also a good demonstration of Spock's pragmatism when he points out that although he believes Kirk belief is not enough. They must have evidence. There's also a couple of nice lines which show Kirk and Lester have radically different ideas about why their relationship failed. Lester-as-Kirk tells McCoy, "I walked out on her when it became serious," while Kirk-as-Lester later tells the court martial, "her intense hatred of her own womanhood made life with her impossible."

William Shatner is all over the place. At times he works really hard to convince the audience that someone different is driving Kirk's body. When Lester-as-Kirk first calls the Enterprise Shatner puts in a tiny hesitation on his, "Captain Kirk to the Enterprise," line and then fractionally jerks his head in surprise when Scott replies. He stands differently and is visibly tense when he first walks on to the bridge for the first time before beginning to relax. He nervously brushes a hand across his hair on the, "I walked out on her when it became serious," line as if to imply that on an unconscious level Lester knows this isn't the exact truth. The problem is William Shatner can't resist going for the obvious laugh, and he enjoys himself just a bit too much; as was the case in A Piece Of The Action. The scene where Lester-as-Kirk talks to Doctor McCoy while filing his nails stands out as an obvious example. It probably got a big laugh on set but it undermines Lester because it's been established that she hates her own femininity so this prissy little action makes no sense.

Behind the camera Donald R. Rode does his usual fine work as film editor. He edits together a couple of very short flashback scenes to the mind swap which work as neat pieces of visual story telling. The editing during the mind meld scene is also effective. After Spock breaks the link the pacing is deliberately slow with two wordless close-ups of Kirk and Spock before the tension is broken with Spock's line, "I believe you." Donald R. Rode also works in some genuine humour when the mind transfer begins to fail. He cuts between a close-up of William Shatner gurning on the bridge and a four shot of Kirk-as-Lester, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty in their cell. This is followed by a shot of Lester-as-Kirk on the bridge, and the camera slowly pulls back to reveal Chekov and Sulu staring at Kirk as if he was the crazy person on the bus. A moment which manages to be funny and also underlines how Kirk-as-Lester has lost command of the crew. At the end of the episode there's also a lovely moment when the acting and editing combine to create a wordless demonstration of why Kirk is able to lead and Lester is reduced to bluster and shouting.

KIRK: Can you do anything for her?

COLEMAN: I'd like to take care of her.

MCCOY: Of course. Come with me.

Harry Landers makes brief eye contact with DeForest Kelley before delivering Coleman's line. This is followed by a reaction shot of William Shatner raising his head, as if Kirk is also looking at McCoy. Finally DeForest Kelley looks back at Harry Landers before delivering McCoy's line. The effect is of wordless communication between Kirk and McCoy. It's not necessary for Kirk to ask whether Coleman can care for Lester. Kirk knows a look is enough to convey his opinion because he instinctively understands how to build a consensus with his officers. Regardless of the story logic of allowing Coleman to take charge of his partner in murder it's a nice contrast to the earlier scene where Lester-as-Kirk fails to convince McCoy that Coleman should take responsibility for Kirk-as-Lester and is reduced to barking out an order.

It's easy to see why a lot of fans regret this being the last episode of Star Trek's run on NBC. At the most basic level this feels like an unsatisfactory goodbye because Uhura is missing. Nichelle Nichols had another engagement. In a script which otherwise features all of the regular cast, it's a shame she should couldn't be present. The suggestion that women cannot be starship captains also means that the series leaves on a sour note. It's a reminder for the modern audience that for all Star Trek's progressive ideals it was a sixties television series created by sixties men with sixties attitudes. For a series which did such good work challenging social attitudes it's disappointing to see it had such a blind spot when it came to its own treatment of women.

Turnabout Intruder is a disappointment compared to how seasons one and two ended. Season one ended with Operation - - Annihilate! a more confident episode than the first broadcast episode The Man Trap which shows clear growth and progress for the series. Season two ended with Assignment: Earth an ambitious, if flawed, attempted to launch a Star Trek spin-off series. Turnabout Intruder is virtually a bottle show. Seven minutes into the episode we're back on the Enterprise for the duration of the story. The story isn't even uniquely Star Trek. It's an attempt to fit a standard body swap story into the Star Trek format. The Prisoner episode Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling was broadcast on CBS on 3rd August 1968, and The Avengers episode Who's Who?? before that on ABC, 19th May 1967. Going back further to 11th November 1963 there is also an episode of The Outer Limits called The Human Factor. Still for all its faults it's good that Star Trek ends on a story which underlines the loyalty the Enterprise crew have for each other.

Enterprise crew deaths: None.

Running total: 56