| "The Counter-Clock Incident" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Animated Series episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Bill Reed |
| Written by | John Culver |
| Production code | 22023 |
| Original air date | October 12, 1974 |
"The Counter-Clock Incident" is the series finale of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek , the 22nd episode overall. This episode was the sixth and final episode of the second season. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on October 12, 1974, and was written by Fred Bronson under the pen name "John Culver". Bronson used a pen name because he was NBC's publicist at the time and was concerned that it would look improper to get a screen credit. [1] Bronson would eventually work on two Next Generation episodes ("Ménage à Troi" and "The Game").
The episode established that the Enterprise's first captain was Robert April. [1]
Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (voiced by William Shatner) and the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise. In this episode, the Enterprise is unwillingly pulled by a smaller craft into the heart of a supernova and finds itself in another universe.
On stardate 6770.3, the Federation starship Enterprise is transporting very distinguished guests: its first commander, Commodore Robert April (voiced by James Doohan), and his wife, Sarah (voiced by Nichelle Nichols), the first medical officer on the starship equipped with warp drive, who had designed many of the tools in Dr. McCoy's sick bay. Their destination is a diplomatic conference on the planet Babel and his planned retirement ceremony, when it encounters a ship flying at fantastic speeds directly into a supernova.
The Enterprise attempts to assist by grabbing the vessel with a tractor beam and locking onto it, but instead both ships are pulled through the supernova and into a negative universe where time flows backwards and "everything works in a counterclockwise fashion." [2] Consequently, everyone aboard the ship begins to grow younger. The young woman piloting the ship, Karla Five (also voiced by Nichols), takes them to her homeworld, Arret (Terra, backwards), and seeks the help of her son, a much older man named Karl Four (also voiced by Doohan).
In a race against time for the increasingly de-aging Enterprise crew, they work out a solution for getting back home. With Captain Kirk and his crew members reduced to children, "April, now a thirty-year-old man, retakes command and must bring the Enterprise to safety before it's too late." [2] The attempt to get back home is successful, and then he and his wife, Sarah, use the transporter to restore themselves and the rest of the crew to their proper ages.
Actress Majel Barrett, who commonly voiced Nurse Christine Chapel, Communications Officer M'Ress and the Enterprise computer, was given screen credit for this episode but was not part of it. [3]
Science fiction author Alan Dean Foster expanded this story under the title Star Trek Log Seven, making it the first third of a full novel. He prefaced the animated story with scenes depicting a young Starfleet officer named Robert April being shown Matt Jefferies' original blueprints for a then-uncompleted Enterprise and being told he was to be given command of the new ship, then following through to the christening of the Enterprise and Captain April giving the order to embark on their first mission. [4] : 3–10
At the conclusion of the material from the animated episode, Foster adds new story about the Enterprise being sent on a mission to secure a reclusive brother-sister team of scientists who are reported to have a new weapon capable of destroying planets. [4] : 64 ff. In the process, Kirk runs up against Klingons intent on acquiring the scientists for the Empire and must contend with Captain Kumara, whom he had known back in his Academy days. Foster concluded his story by revealing that the Enterprise's adventure with the Klingons had been a test by an advanced alien race calling themselves "The Wanderers". In fact, all of the inhabitants of the planet on which they had found themselves as well as the brother-sister scientists were actually members of the Wanderers. [4] : 174–179 During this revelation, they discuss the illogical nature of the other universe where a society would begin with all possible knowledge that they would ever have and then de-evolve, or how a person would be "born" as a senile old person in a grave and then die in their mother's womb. [4] : 177
Mark A. Altman and Ed Gross commented that the episode's premise "works far better than it has a right to, thanks to its message that the elderly have a lot to teach us and can be productive members of society." They added that the script "features the same wit and intelligence that characterised the animated missions throughout its two-year run." [2]
This episode was noted as case where the fictional Star Trek transporter technology changes the size of the entity being transported, along with "The Terratin Incident" from the same TV series. [5]
TheGamer.com ranked Captain April as the 10th best captain of Star Trek. [6] In 2019, Den of Geek ranked this the 3rd best morality play of the entire Star Trek franchise. [7]
In 2020, ScreenRant said this was "not a bad episode" but that it was "somewhat goofy" and noted an IMDB rating of 7.1 out of 10 at that time. [8]
Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS) is an American animated science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired simply under the title Star Trek, subtitled Created by Gene Roddenberry, on Saturday mornings from September 8, 1973 to October 12, 1974 on NBC, spanning 22 episodes over two seasons. The second series in the Star Trek franchise, it features mostly the same characters as Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the further adventures of the Starship USS Enterprise as it explores the galaxy.
The Romulans are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They first appeared in the series Star Trek (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent Star Trek releases, including The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks. They appear in the Star Trek feature films Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and Star Trek (2009). They also appear in various other spin-off media, including books, comics, toys and games.
Starfleet is a fictional organization in the Star Trek media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets as the principal means for conducting deep space exploration, research, defense, peacekeeping, and diplomacy. While most of Starfleet's members are human and it has been headquartered on Earth, hundreds of other species are also represented. Most of the franchise's protagonists are Starfleet commissioned officers.
Christopher Pike is a fictional character in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. He is the immediate predecessor to James T. Kirk as captain of the starship USS Enterprise.
Robert April is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. April was the USS Enterprise's first commanding officer, preceding Captain Christopher Pike.
The Gorn are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid reptilian species in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They first appeared in a 1967 episode of the original series, "Arena", in which Captain Kirk fights an unnamed Gorn on a rocky planet. The fight scene has become one of the best-remembered scenes of the original series, in part due to the slow and lumbering movement of the Gorn, which some viewers have considered unintentionally comical.
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a fictional character in the science fiction franchise Star Trek. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, 10 Star Trek films, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous books, comics, and video games.
"More Tribbles, More Troubles" is the fifth episode of the first season of the animated American science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on October 6, 1973, and was written by David Gerrold as a sequel to his Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles". It features actor Stanley Adams reprising his role of trader Cyrano Jones, and the return of the fuzzy, rapidly reproducing creatures called tribbles.
"The Lorelei Signal" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated American science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 29, 1973, and was written by Margaret Armen, author of three Original Series episodes.
"The Enterprise Incident" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by John Meredyth Lucas, it was first broadcast September 27, 1968.
"The Jihad" is the sixteenth and final episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on January 12, 1974, and was written by Stephen Kandel who also wrote the earlier story "Mudd's Passion" and worked on the two Original Series "Mudd" episodes.
"Albatross" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek, the 20th episode overall. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 28, 1974, and was written by Dario Finelli.
"The Eye of the Beholder" is the fifteenth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on January 5, 1974, and was written by David P. Harmon. Harmon also worked on the original Star Trek series, writing the episode "The Deadly Years" and co-writing "A Piece of the Action" with Gene L. Coon.
"The Survivor" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek: The Animated Series. It first aired on NBC on October 13, 1973, and was written by James Schmerer and directed by Hal Sutherland. Schmerer pitched an idea for an episode to producer D.C. Fontana called "The Chameleon", and together with the series creator Gene Roddenberry, it was developed into the final script.
"Mudd's Passion" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek: The Animated Series. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on November 10, 1973, and was written by Stephen Kandel who had written the previous "Mudd" episode, The Original Series's "I, Mudd", as well as the teleplay for Gene Roddenberry's first "Mudd" episode, "Mudd's Women".
"The Terratin Incident" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on November 24, 1973, and was written by American screenwriter Paul Schneider who had previously written the Original Series episodes "Balance of Terror" and "The Squire of Gothos". It came from a one-paragraph story idea by Gene Roddenberry based on Gulliver's Travels.
"The Practical Joker" is the third episode of the second season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek, the 19th episode overall. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 21, 1974, and was written by American television writers Chuck Menville and Len Janson who together also wrote the first season episode "Once Upon a Planet". The "Rec Room" in this episode is the forerunner of the Holodeck, which plays a significant part in numerous episodes of the subsequent spin-off Star Trek series.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a Star Trek PC simulation game developed and published by Interplay in 1997. The game simulates the life of a typical Starfleet cadet, with the player learning the basics of flying a starship and engaging in roleplaying with a crew of cadets, with the eventual goal of becoming captain of their own ship. The game included full motion video featuring William Shatner, Walter Koenig, and George Takei reprising their roles from the original television series and movies, and a multiplayer simulation mode allowing for up to 32 players.
"The Time Trap" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on November 17, 1973, and was written by American actress and screenwriter Joyce Perry.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Star Trek:
