Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Skip Homeier, Charles Napier
• Directors: David Alexander
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Arthur Heinemann, D.C. Fontana
• Producers: Edward K. Milkis, Fred Freiberger, Gene Roddenberry, Gregg Peters
• 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: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300988716
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,033 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Hippies on the Enterprise! This 1969 episode presents an unusually jaundiced view of flower children as Kirk and crew attempt to deal with a group of young--and so misguided!--idealists in search of the legendary planet Eden. Oddly enough, it is Spock who best understands these free spirits, and this episode offers the rare pleasure of seeing the Vulcan join in a jam session with his Vulcan harp, as well as the spectacle of Enterprise crew members attempting to get down. This episode is enjoyable in its own right, and also as an interesting look at how the kids of the '60s came off to those a few years their senior. Only a "Herbert" (that's slang for "square") could fail to enjoy watching duty-bound Kirk wonder whether he's a little too rigid. (Movie trivia buffs may notice that the hippie who gets "a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy" is none other than Charles Napier, a character actor who would later appear in nearly all of Jonathan Demme's films, including his rather grisly fate at the hands of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.) --Ali Davis

From the Back Cover

Kirk and crew must deal with the insane leader of a band of rebellious idealists who are searching for the fabled planet Eden.

TREK TRIVIA
Skip Homeier (Dr. Sevrin) previously appeared as Melakon in the "Patterns of Force" episode.
When Dr. Sevrin flees Kirk and runs toward the tree, we see two backward close-ups of Kirk (his Starfleet insignia is clearly on the wrong side)!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yeah, Brother!, November 2, 2000

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 75: The Way To Eden [VHS] (VHS Tape)

'...Found he had to eat and he found he had to drink, A long time later he found he had to think, aha...'

This is a lyrical excerpt from one of the highly amusing songs that are performed on the Enterprise - supposedly to enable better communication and mingling between the Enterprise crew members and the Space Hippies who, as it turns out, have ulterior motives.

This has to be one of the funniest Star Trek episodes ever, and for those of you who have been devotees of the Spock/ Kirk screen relationship over the years you will love this episode for the new understanding it affords us of their relationship.

Spock, who is usually Mr.Logic, Mr. Sensible, in this episode is the more sensitive of the two - This is the role normally reserved for Kirk. Instead Kirk is the 'Herbert' of this episode - the name that the space hippies brand him with. As Spock ammusingly informs Kirk (clearly much to his annoyance), 'Herbert was a minor official, notorious for his limited and rigid thought patterns'. It is Spock who plays the more sympathetic character, more in touch with the hippies desires and goals....'They hunger for an Eden, where spring comes'. Kirk replies rather dismissively:'That planet, it is a myth'.

An unusual, at the time it was made - very topical, sometimes moving, often funny, fantastic looking episode. Do not miss this one if you enjoy the light hearted side of Star Trek.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Way To Eden, March 28, 2001

By 

jasenao (Dothan, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 75: The Way To Eden [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In "The Way To Eden," Captain Kirk and the crew bring aboard a group of very strange people. The people are like rebels and are headed by a relentless leader named Sevrus. These strange guests are wanting to get to a place called Eden real bad. However, Captain Kirk is not all that willing to take them to Eden since they are on his ship and because Eden is basically a myth, so it might not even exist. The rebels like Spock and he's the only one on the Enterprise that can reach them, but not even he can stand in the way of their idea of getting to Eden. Will Captain Kirk lose control of his ship to these rebels, or will he once again keep his ship and make some peace?

"The Way To Eden" isn't a bad episode. It's not one of my personal favorites, but it's pretty good. The enemies in the episode are somewhat intriguing, the episode is interesting, and the acting is pretty good. The best part of the show to me was the part where you'll find out that Spock knows how to play a musical instrument very well. The last 10 minutes of the episode was also well done.

I recommend "The Way To Eden" to anybody who likes episodes of Star Trek where the crew of the Enterprise mainly just deals with some enemies onboard the ship that want to take control of the ship.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more serious than it appears, November 28, 2008

By 

GospelFan "Ben F." (Sactown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 75: The Way To Eden [VHS] (VHS Tape)

this episode is not some simple silly trek making fun of the youth. yes, it's a social commentary, but not just of the counter-cultural movement. it's a commentary on cultist religious movements, of the stifling crush of society, of our society's....well, of our technological...whatever it is we do. Humans like to play God, and that's what the Federation was doing, and that's what the idealists had a problem with. the youth are not villanized, as some reviewers suggest. it is as much a criticism of Starfleet as the idealists. that Sevrin mislead the people is only tragic, because the idealists, in many ways, were correct (at least, in my opinion).

the music is also fantastic. great stuff. I love this episode, for its relevance, its plot, its great singing, and...hell, it's just all around wonderful.