Search - Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 36, Episodes 71 & 72: Whom Gods Destroy/ The Mark of Gideon on DVD

Aimee M. (AimeeM)
Reviewed on 2/21/2010...

WHOM GODS DESTROY
This episode is actually quite good.
Has a "green girl" which was a classic thing then (and now with the new movie too) and has very good acting on the part of the "villain." I was impressed.

This episode has a good line about Kirk and Spock being "brothers" (which I like) and has some great moments with the green girl's green paint coming off on Kirk's yellow shirt.

Plot is actually pretty decent and was even a bit dark for the time. Enjoyable episode. Worth watching.

MARK OF GIDEON
Sigh... Kirk. Girl. There I summarized it.
Ok there is slightly more plot than that. Imagine a planet crammed so tightly full of people because everyone is healthy and won't die off, and you've got the underlying idea of the story. Kirk conveniently got sick sometime before and has a virus floating around his blood that the people need in order to introduce death. THUS the girl... well someone's got to get the virus!

Not a terribly dull plot, but certainly not very Epic or Star Trek Altering. Just a typical episode.

Strange stories and productions, but still enjoyable

Anton Karidian | Toronto | 09/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Whom Gods Destroy has some great acting moments especially (Captain Garth, Dr. Corey and the inmate girl) the guest stars.
Themes include sanity vs. insanity, memory and identity.Mark of Gideon is somewhat claustrophic an episode but still in the spirit of the Original Series. Some memorable/creepy images. The theme of global overpopulation is explored.Both episodes explore interesting themes and do not simply rely on special effects and therefore in my humble opinion are in the spirit of thoughtful story telling of the original series."

A Typical Third Season Mixed Bag

Hank Drake | Cleveland, OH United States | 02/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Volume 36 of Paramount's complete reissue of Classic Trek contains two episodes which point out the uneven quality of the series' third season.Whom Gods Destroy is essentially a remake of Dagger of the Mind, and a pretty weak one at that. The writing in this episode is typical of some of the inane stories foisted upon unsuspecting viewers during Trek's third season. Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) appears in green makeup as a mental patient with a Black Widow's complex (perhaps one should call her the Green Widow).The Mark of Gideon is one of Trek's better issue-oriented episodes. Tackling the hot button topics of overpopulation and contraception took some bravery on the part of the writers, and they more than rose to the task. Without the competing presence of his fellow cast members, William Shatner turns his performance down by several notches, and there is great chemistry between him and guest star Sharon Acker.The picture has been restored well enough so that the viewer can plainly see the cheesy looking bald caps worn in The Mark of Gideon."

GOOD STAR TREK THIRD SEASON DVD!

Jared Insell | Canada | 03/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Volume 36 of the Star Trek DVD series includes two of the better episodes from the tail end of the TV series' third and final season on NBC. Both these epiosdes are fairly decent despite the typical third season flaws.WHOM THE GODS DESTROY is simply a fun Star Trek episode. Kirk and Spock beam down to the prison planet Elba II to find that Garth of Izar (Steve Ihnat), an infamous Star Fleet Captin who wiped out an entire race, has taken control of the prison complex from Governor Cory. Using his ability to shapshift into different characters Garth attempts to take over the Enterprise. This episode is actually pretty laughable. Garth's evil plan is way too far fetched to even work. But perhaps the producers wanted to point out that the character was utterly insane. It's the cast of colourful characters and the over the top acting that save this one. Ihnat is great as the bantering Garth and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl from the TV show Batman) makes a great acting appearance as Marta (the green alien woman). Ironically the third Batman guest star to appear in a consecutive Star Trek episode. Too bad Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith and Caesar Romero never showed up as guest stars huh?MARK OF GIDEON is a little more serious and almost creepy. Another Star Trek issue oriented episode. This time tackling overpopulation problems and contraception. Most of the screen time is given to Shatner and guest star Sharon Acker who plays Odana. There is great chemistry between the two and the acting in this episode is quite good. Good casting and a strong plot overshadow the obvious production budget flaws on this episode (most of it was filmed on the Enterprise set). The Gideon council leader, Hodin, is played by David Hurst, who made a hilarious appearance as Baron Von Klutz on the Monkees TV series. Here though he plays a suprisingly serious role as the main antagonist.Overall a good set of third season episodes. One laughable one a little more dark and serious. Considering that the tail end of the final season was filled with bad episodes this is quite refreshing to watch becuase these are a few better episodes from the wildly uneven third season. Highly recommended!"