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Star Trek 12

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The set of adaptations of the episodes of the original series by Blish served a fundamental role in the growth of the Star Trek phenomenon. After the original series ended its' three year run, the usual fate would be to be a significant curiosity, but still a curiosity. However, the adaptations helped to feed the flame, being the first books to be published in what has become a major "Enterprise."
The episodes adapted in this volume are:

*) Patterns of Force
*) The Gamesters of Triskelion
*) And the Children Shall Lead
*) The Corbomite Maneuver
*) Shore Leave

As was the case with the others, the authors take some poetic license with the material, altering some of the dialog and scenes to reflect the print medium. As a fan of the show, there are times when I think it diminishes the story and other times when I think it enhances it. This volume is a bit different from the others in that Blish died before it was completed, so some of it was written by J. A. Lawrence (Mrs. James Blish). To me, there was a clear change in the style and in my opinion for the better.
Star Trek fans love all things Trek, and I am one of the originals. I loved these books when they first started coming out in, purchasing them as soon as they appeared on the racks. While they have their flaws, they were a harbinger of the great things that were to come.

First published in 1976, these short stories are Blish's adaptations of the screenplays of various episodes from the original series. The episodes aren't sorted into books according to either chronological order or identity of screenwriter.

"Patterns of Force" (episode 52, season 2, screenplay John Meredyth Lucas) Federation historian John Gill disappeared on the planet Ekos 6 months ago; searching for him, ENTERPRISE finds a major violation of the Prime Directive in progress: Ekosian society has been rebuilt for technological efficiency using the Nazi paradigm - and all the evil baggage that goes with it. How much control does Gill have over the situation, and what be done to repair the damage?

"The Gamesters of Triskelion" (episode 46, season 2, screenplay Margaret Armen) are bodiless intelligences whose only thrill in life is to arrange gladiatorial combats between their slaves, kidnapped from many worlds, and wagering on the result. When they kidnap Kirk, Chekov, and Uhura from a routine inspection of an automated monitoring station on Gamma II and bring them to Triskelion, the action is divided between ENTERPRISE's efforts to track them down and the captives' efforts to understand Triskelion culture and free themselves - and the thralls raised in captivity, if possible.

"And the Children Shall Lead" (episode 60, season 3, screenplay Edward J. Lakso). One of the few Trek episodes featuring children. In this case, all the adult members of the Triacus expedition are found dead upon ENTERPRISE's arrival, apparent suicides, but their children are unhurt, even unaffected by their parents' deaths. The Triacus expedition accidentally awakened Gorgan, a hibernating alien presence on the planet, who manipulates the children by offering them power in exchange for helping it regain its own power. Some nice character-revealing touches as Gorgan awakens the adults' worst fears. However, the original episode is flawed by trying to have it both ways, both with Gorgan coercing the children and having them cooperate freely.

"The Corbomite Maneuver" (episode 3, season 1, screenplay Jerry Sohl). [One image from this episode graced Trek's closing credits throughout its run.] On a routine survey/mapping mission, ENTERPRISE makes first contact with the Fesarius, in the person of Captain Belok, an alien of fearsome appearance who paradoxically condemns ENTERPRISE to destruction because of the *Federation*'s violent tendencies. In response to Spock's analogy of checkmate, Kirk changes the paradigm to poker, responding with a bluff: claiming that the ENTERPRISE carries a 'corbomite'-based weapon that'll make any alien victory a Pyrrhic one.

"Shore Leave" (episode 17, season 1, screenplay Theodore Sturgeon aka Edward Hamilton Waldo); the animated sequel "Once Upon a Planet" can be found in STAR TREK LOG 3. Finding an uninhabited and apparently peaceful planet, Kirk agrees with McCoy that it's ideal for some long-overdue shore leave. Ironically, it's more suited to the purpose than they know: a long-gone alien race modified it as a resort, in which the master computer is set to create *any* scenario a guest might desire - potentially very dangerous to those with uncontrolled imaginations. (Kirk, remembering an old Academy rival, for instance, inadvertently conjures him up, and they eventually have a long drawn-out fistfight.)

The mix of episodes used to create this volume is weak, apart from "Shore Leave".

Note that 2 episodes - those featuring con man Harvey Mudd - were never adapted by Blish: Stephen Kandel's episodes "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd" (he wrote a sequel, "Mudd's Passion", for the animated series later on.) I don't count "The Cage", as I consider that to have been covered by "The Menagerie".