Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Harry Townes, Torin Thatcher, DeForest Kelley
• Directors: Joseph Pevney
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Boris Sobelman
• Producers: Gene L. Coon, Gene Roddenberry, Robert H. Justman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
• VHS Release Date: April 15, 1994
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300213269
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,868 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Return of the Archons" is a cautionary story about mind control written by Gene Roddenberry. The tale begins when Ensign Sulu (George Takei) is taken hostage on an Earth-like planet with a primitive culture. Zapped by a weapon that leaves him under the control of someone or something named Landru, Sulu is then pursued by Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who discover that Landru has the same grip on everyone else. Once Landru becomes aware of efforts by the captain and first officer to interfere with its bidding, Kirk and Spock become the target of a massive hunt by locals. A minor episode with a somewhat obvious scenario, "Return of the Archons" does have novel appeal in its heightened role for the ever-charming Sulu, and in Roddenberry's characteristically humane interest in elements that make people (and intelligent aliens) everywhere free to fulfill their destinies. The solution to the who-is-Landru mystery won't surprise anyone, but it may strike you as a prototype of several future episodes, from all the Trek series, involving centralized caretaking on various planets. --Tom Keogh

From the Back Cover

When the Enterprise visits Beta III to learn what happened to the U.S.S Archon a century ago, Kirk and company find a planet of blissful people controlled by an omniscient ruler.

TREK TRIVIA
Charles Macaulay (Landru) did not work with the cast in this episode-his scenes were process shorts filmed later-but he returned to guest as Jaris in "Wolf in the Fold."
Gene Roddenberry got the name for "The Archons" from his college debating team. Note that when Kirk beams down and reaches for his communicator, we hear the device activate before he flips it open!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't Quite Live up to Its Potential, August 10, 2001

By 

"sukhisoo" (Mesilla Park, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 22: The Return Of The Archons [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Brilliant beginning. Sulu gets zombified. Kirk, Spock, and two crewmen beam down to the planet to try and set things right and are just in time for a mandatory orgy, which they manage to avoid. They get involved in a secret plot to set things right but the story slows down. An "Enterprise is losing its orbit" subplot is added, but seems phoned in.

Kirk's moralizing speech to Landru is very interesting, but rather hypocritical if you think about it very hard. (Kirk frequently chastises computers for failing their prime directive. Wouldn't that be great if one of them told him to examine his own behavior?) The "Changeling", The "Ultimate Computer", and "I, Mudd" all involve Kirk vs. a computer, and they are all superior to this particular story.

This is still a worthy episode, and should be owned by any serious Star Trek fan. With a little work, though, it could have been so much better.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Festival! Festival!, June 25, 2002

By 

Palash R. Ghosh (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 22: The Return Of The Archons [VHS] (VHS Tape)

'Return of the Archons' is probably my all-time favorite episode of 'Star Trek.' It has so much going for it, I don't know where to begin. Of course, it's basically a parable about the alleged evils of 'mind control' but it's quite possibly the funniest, most entertaining show ST ever had! From the robotic, mindless natives of Landru's planet, to Sulu (with dreamy gaze) waxing about 'Paradise, my friend' and 'sweetest people in the universe' to McCoy coming under the spell of Landru ("You speak strangely, friend, are you from away?" and "You speak in strange whispers.") This is the one ST episode I can watch endlessly and not get tired of.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Dystopian Society run by a (yawn) Super Computer, October 11, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 22: The Return Of The Archons [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"The Return of the Archons" offers up one of those dystopian societies that the Enterprise stumbled across from time to time. The Enterprise visits Beta III looking for the Archon, a ship that disappeared 100 years ago. The away team discovers a population where all the citizens seem drugged until that evening when they all go crazy. Seeking an explanation from the town's elders, they are told that this is the will of their leader, Landru. A long time ago the planet was ravaged by war and Landru brought an era of peace and tranquility. Before he died he programmed a super computer that has been controlling the lives of the people. Like all computers in the future, this one is doing an absolutely horrible job, apparently thinking that by letting the drugged out citizens do a little fighting and looting from time to time the society will achieve a sense of balance. I am not particularly impressed by either the society or this episode, especially since this is the first of several times that Kirk will use logic to defeat a computer (come on, Spock, the resident master of logic, never says anything helpful during these encounters or even says "Way to go, Jim" when it is all over). The situation is certain spooky enough (reminds me of the end of "6,000,000 Years to Earth"), but the truth behind the mystery is less than satisfactory. Star Trek would do the whole super computer bit better in several future episodes that the first time around in "The Return Of The Archons."