The Enterprise has used the light-speed breakaway factor to propel itself backward in time. It can monitor Earth communications while on a historical fact-finding mission to study how Earth survived the turbulent year 1968. While in orbit, the Enterprise accidentally intercepts a transporter beam originating more than 1000 light years away, beaming aboard interplanetary agent Gary Seven and his partner Isis, disguised as a black cat. His mission is to prevent Earth from destroying itself before it can become a peaceful society by destroying an orbital nuclear weapons platform launched by the U ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Immunity Syndrome, which aired on January 19, 1968, and occurred on Star Date 4307.1. The Enterprise is diverted to investigate the mysterious cessation of communication with the Gamma 7A star system. While on its way, Spock telepathically senses the destruction of a starship manned by Vulcans. The Enterprise encounters a strange field that drains all mechanical or biologically generated energy. Spock finds that the zone of darkness is a negative energy field. They send a probe that penetrates the organism and discover ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Friday’s Child, which aired on December 1, 1967, Star Date 3497.2. Kirk attempts to secure a mining agreement for a topline on Capella 4, where Bones had once been stationed. He warns Kirk that although the Capellans are scrupulously honest, they are war-like. After beaming down, a security guard pulls out a phaser to shoot a Klingon emissary and is instantly killed by a fleet-wielding Capellan. On the planet, the leader is killed in a coup, and his pregnant wife Eleen is sentenced to death because she carries a royal ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Who Mourns for Adonais?, which aired on September 22, 1967, Star Date 3468.1. While approaching Pollux 4, an energy field in the shape of a giant green hand stops the Enterprise dead in space. An apparition wearing a laurel wreath then appears, addresses the crew as his “children,” and congratulates them for venturing forth from the hills and valleys of Earth. The apparition invites Kirk and a landing party to visit, excluding Spock. The landing party discovers a humanoid who identifies as the Roman god Apollo. Apollo says ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Alternative Factor, which aired on March 23, 1967, Star Date 3087.6. As the Enterprise maps a planet with an iron-silicon surface and oxygen-hydrogen atmosphere and begins heading towards Starbase 200, the ship is twice subjected to massive disturbances. Spock reports that the magnetic field of the surrounding space “blinked,” and the planet’s gravity momentarily reached zero. Spock then finds a human life form on the planet’s surface, and Spock, Kirk, and a security detail of 3 beams down to investigate. They fin ..read more

In this Trekking Through Compliance episode, we consider the episode Errand of Mercy, which aired on March 16, 1967, Star Date 3194.8. The Enterprise is sent to the world of Organia, a non-aligned planet near the Klingon border, to prevent the Klingons from taking advantage of its strategic location.  Upon arriving on the planet’s surface, Kirk and Spock find a peaceful but technologically primitive town. When a Klingon fleet appears in orbit, Kirk orders the Enterprise to withdraw, which strands himself and Spock on the planet. Kirk and Spock are captured by the Klingons but are rel ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode This Side of Paradise, which aired on March 2, 1967, Star Date 3417.3. The Enterprise is ordered to a Federation colony on Omicron Ceti III to evacuate them from some deadly rays. Kalomi offers to show Spock how the colonists have survived and expose him to spores that protect humans from the rays. Kirk returns to the ship while the rest of its crew, under the influence of spore plants brought on board, beams down to the planet. After exposure to the spores, Kirk prepares to leave, but he is frustrated at his abandonment o ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Conscience of the King, which aired on December 8, 1966, Star Date 2817.6. The Enterprise is called Planet Q by Dr. Thomas Leighton. Leighton suspects Anton Karidian, the leader of a Shakespearean acting troupe currently on the planet, is Kodos the Executioner, former governor of the Earth colony of Tarsus IV. Kodos had ordered that half the population of 8000 be put to death during a food shortage. Both Leighton and Kirk were eyewitnesses. Kirk arranges to ferry the acting troupe to its next destination. Spock learns ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Turnabout Intruder, which aired on June 3, 1969, Star Date 5298.5. After receiving a distress call from a science party on Camus II exploring the ruins of a dead civilization, the Enterprise rushes to assistance. All party members appear dead except the leader Dr. Janice Lester and the medical officer Dr. Arthur Coleman. According to Dr. Coleman, Lester is suffering from some unknown sort of radiation poisoning. However, when the rest of the Enterprise landing party goes to aid a dying science ..read more

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Way To Eden, which aired on February 21, 1969, and occurred on Star Date 5832.3 In its tribute to the Summer of Love and the hippie generation, a group of alternative lifestylers come aboard the Enterprise and bring their message of love and simplicity to the crew of the Enterprise. They manage to shanghai the crew into taking them to the mythical planet of Eden, which it turns out exists. Once there, however, they find the food is poisonous, and the ground is laced with acid. Compliance Takeaways: 1.   ..read more