this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2026
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Star Trek

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/c/StarTrek: Your safe harbored Spacedock in these Stellar Seas!

Fire up the inertial dampeners, retract all moorings and clear space dock. It's time to boldy go where no one has gone before!

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WARNING: This thread WILL contain unhidden spoilers for this entry. Because this re-watch is in a slightly-subjective chronological order and not in production order, please refrain from talking about the content of other episodes or movies in this thread. If you do, please put that content inside spoiler tags. Some people here may be watching Star Trek for the first time.

#20: Star Trek: The Original Series, season 1, episode 18 "Arena"

Written by Gene L. Coon & Fredric Brown, directed by Joseph Pevney.

Stardates 3045.6 through 3046.2 (September 2267)

"We will resolve your conflict in the way most suited to your limited mentalities." - The Metrons

Captain Kirk takes a landing party down to the Federation colony of Cestus III with the expectation of relaxing. They find the entire colony has been destroyed by an unknown force and soon both the landing party and the Enterprise come under fire. After a tense moment, Kirk on the ground and Sulu on the bridge of the Enterprise manage to push back their attackers. Once back aboard, Kirk orders pursuit of the enemy vessel with visible anger and at great risk to the ship's engines. When they do catch up to the enemy vessel, is has suddenly stopped and is without power. The Enterprise herself is also ground to a halt and held in place by an unknown force. Both ships have entered the solar system of a highly advanced race that despises violence. As punishment, both ship's Captains are made to fight to the death on a barren planet.

Originally released: 19 January 1967

"Arena" on Memory Alpha

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What did you think?

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[–] ummthatguy@lemmy.world 8 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Fun episode. But that ending...

Surely, they could have taken one more tab of acid to come up with something better.

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 4 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Part of the Earth Deities Were Just Aliens series.

[–] ummthatguy@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours ago

Even Adonis was a bit of a whiney, attention whore at the end of the day.

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 4 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Sadly, the simulated mortar explosion on Cestus III gave Shatner a lifelong case of tinnitus, which even had him suicidal at one point before he learned to deal with it.

[–] 14th_cylon@lemmy.zip 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

if that was caused by simulated explosion, i don't want to think what real one could have done... 😂

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 3 points 21 hours ago

Probably similar.

It's not like they blew Kirk up. He was just in the area, running for cover.

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Welcome to the show, Vasquez Rocks.

This may not be a great episode, but a picture of Kirk fighting a Gorn is usually next to the definition of Star Trek in the encyclopedia.

[–] 14th_cylon@lemmy.zip 2 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

really? i usually find it on youtube under the caption "worst fight scene ever"

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

The performance of the stage combat is goofy, because you've got a guy in a TV budget once-off monster suit he can't really see out of and his coworker William Shatner trying not to hurt each other while they're making an episode of a TV show with a central theme of the importance of mercy and mutual understanding. The part that makes this fight scene great, truly great, is "NO I WON'T KILL HIM."

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe the music helps, but you see right when Kirk snaps to his senses and realizes he's been bent on revenge since seeing Cestus III destroyed.

And here we are talking about it some 60 years later.

[–] ummthatguy@lemmy.world 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

You mean best, right? Right?

[–] 14th_cylon@lemmy.zip 3 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

😂

did not know this...

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

Visual effects comparison of the original broadcast & the Remastered versions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdvEhx2nh1Q

I love this episode :)