See also
The Lottery : 1948 Shirley Jackson story about a population inured to follow an old tradition of human sacrifice, ostensibly for the public good.
| "A Taste of Armageddon" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Original Series episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 23 |
| Directed by | Joseph Pevney |
| Story by | Robert Hamner |
| Teleplay by |
|
| Featured music | Alexander Courage |
| Cinematography by | Jerry Finnerman |
| Production code | 023 |
| Original air date | February 23, 1967 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"A Taste of Armageddon" is the twenty-third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek . Written by Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on February 23, 1967.
In the episode, the crew of the Enterprise visits a planet engaged in a completely computer-simulated war with a neighboring planet, but the casualties, including the Enterprise's crew, are supposed to be real.
The USS Enterprise travels to Eminiar VII in NGC 321, bringing Ambassador Robert Fox to establish diplomatic relations. Little is known about Eminiar VII, beyond the fact that they have been at war with a neighboring planet, Vendikar.
Nearing Eminiar VII, the Enterprise receives a message from the planet warning them not to approach, but Ambassador Fox orders Captain Kirk to proceed. Kirk, First Officer Spock, and additional security personnel beam down to the planet, where they are met by representatives Mea 3 and Anan 7. During a supposed attack by Vendikar, Anan 7 explains that the war is conducted as a computer simulation, and that the Enterprise has been "destroyed" in the attack. The two planets have a treaty, according to which they have to kill the "victims" of every simulated attack. The crew are thereby expected to report to Eminiar's disintegration chambers for execution, and Kirk's party is taken captive. Spock telepathically plants a suggestion in their jailer's mind, allowing them to escape.
Anan 7 uses a voice duplicator to imitate Kirk's voice and order the crew to transport down. Scotty, suspicious, has the ship's computer analyze the message and confirms it is fake. He orders shields raised. When the crew fails to transport down, Eminiar fires upon them, but the attack is deflected by the shields. Anan 7 then contacts the Enterprise, claiming the attack was due to a malfunction. Ambassador Fox, deciding to believe Anan, beams down and is taken to a disintegration chamber along with Mea 3, who was also "killed" in the war simulation. Spock and the security officers rescue them.
Kirk confronts Anan 7 but is overpowered by guards and taken to the Eminian council chamber. When Anan 7 opens a channel to the Enterprise, Kirk orders Scotty to execute General Order 24 before being cut off. Kirk explains that he just ordered the ship to destroy everything on the planet within two hours. Panic ensues, which Kirk takes advantage of to disarm the guards. After Spock arrives, Kirk destroys the war simulation computers. Anan 7 condemns Kirk's actions, arguing that it is unalterable nature to fight wars, so without the simulation they have no alternative but to fight a real war. Kirk instead believes that the only reason the war with Vendikar has gone on so long is because the simulation insulated both societies from the horrors of war and gave them little reason to end it. He convinces Anan 7 to call a ceasefire and begin peace negotiations, and Fox agrees to act as a neutral mediator between the planets.
The title of "Armageddon Game", a 1994 episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , was chosen by writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe as an homage to this episode. [1] [2]
Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" rating. He described the story as "one of Trek's classic allegorically powerful, common sense implausible scenarios." Handlen criticised a premise that had "a few too many holes to sustain its attempts at profundity" but praised the story's ambition. [3]
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter rated "A Taste of Armageddon" the 53rd best television episode of all Star Trek franchise television prior to Star Trek: Discovery , including live-action and the animated series, but not counting the movies. [4] Out of just the original series episodes, they ranked it the 18th best episode. [5] In 2016, Business Insider ranked "A Taste of Armageddon" the 11th best episode of the original series. [6]
In 2017, it was rated the 8th most hopeful Star Trek, which despite some grim scenes culminates in the ending of a 500-year-old war. [7] In 2017, Business Insider listed "A Taste of Armageddon" as one of the most underrated episodes of the Star Trek franchise. [8]
In 2018, Collider ranked this episode the 8th best original series episode. [9]
In 2020, ScreenRant ranked it as the 8th best episode of TOS to re-watch. [10]
In 2021, Den of Geek ranked this the number one episode of the original series. [11] That year, the episode was quoted by characters in the science fiction show For All Mankind , in the episode "Triage," where "A Taste of Armageddon" was compared to the series' alternate history Cold War setting.
The Lottery : 1948 Shirley Jackson story about a population inured to follow an old tradition of human sacrifice, ostensibly for the public good.
"Mirror, Mirror" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on October 6, 1967.
"Balance of Terror" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Paul Schneider and directed by Vincent McEveety, it first aired on December 15, 1966.
"Amok Time" is the second season premiere episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, scored by Gerald Fried, and directed by Joseph Pevney, it first aired on September 15, 1967.
"Spock's Brain" is the third season premiere episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on September 20, 1968.
"Journey to Babel" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on November 17, 1967.
"The Doomsday Machine" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Norman Spinrad and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on October 20, 1967.
"Shore Leave" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Theodore Sturgeon and directed by Robert Sparr, it first aired on December 29, 1966.
"This Side of Paradise" is the twenty-fourth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by D. C. Fontana and Jerry Sohl and directed by Ralph Senensky, it was first broadcast on March 2, 1967.
Star Trek: Judgment Rites is a computer game first produced by Interplay Productions in 1993, featuring the original cast of the classic Star Trek in a series of new adventures, including one featuring Trelane, the omnipotent child from the original episode "The Squire of Gothos". Judgment Rites uses the same MS-DOS game engine as the earlier Star Trek: 25th Anniversary; however, it had sharper graphics and sound, particularly with the CD-ROM edition. All of the initial cast members provided voices for their characters on the game in that edition. William Campbell also reprised his guest role as Trelane.
"The Devil in the Dark" is the twenty-fifth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney, the episode first aired on March 9, 1967.
The Menagerie is a two-part episode from the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. It comprises the eleventh and twelfth broadcast episodes of the series. Written by series creator Gene Roddenberry, with portions directed by Marc Daniels and portions directed by Robert Butler, it is the only two-part story in the original series. Part I was broadcast by NBC on November 17, 1966, and Part II was broadcast on November 24, 1966. In the episode, Spock abducts his former commander Christopher Pike, locks the starship Enterprise on a course to the forbidden planet Talos IV and turns himself in for court-martial where he presents an elaborate story explaining his actions.
"The Squire of Gothos" is the 17th episode of the first season of the American science-fiction television series, Star Trek. Written by Paul Schneider, and directed by Don McDougall, it first aired on January 12, 1967.
"The Enemy Within" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series, Star Trek. Written by Richard Matheson and directed by Leo Penn, it first aired on October 6, 1966.
"The Galileo Seven" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Oliver Crawford and directed by Robert Gist, it first aired on January 5, 1967.
"The Corbomite Maneuver" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Jerry Sohl and directed by Joseph Sargent, it first aired on November 10, 1966. In the episode, the Enterprise encounters a massive and powerful alien starship and its unusual commander. The episode has been well-received and frequently appears on lists of the best episodes in the series.
"Arena" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney, the episode was first broadcast on January 19, 1967.
"The Return of the Archons" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Boris Sobelman, and directed by Joseph Pevney, it first aired on February 9, 1967.
"A Piece of the Action" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by David P. Harmon and Gene L. Coon, and directed by James Komack, it was first broadcast on January 12, 1968.
"Day of the Dove" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Marvin Chomsky, it was first broadcast November 1, 1968.
“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the original American science fiction television show Star Trek. Written by Oliver Crawford and directed by Jud Taylor, it was first broadcast January 10, 1969.
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