Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
• DVD Release Date: October 23, 2001
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005NVDJ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,050 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #25 in	Movies & TV > Television > Classic TV > Star Trek: The Original Series
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• For more information about "Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 36, Episodes 71 & 72: Whom Gods Destroy/ The Mark of Gideon" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 36 in The Star Trek: The Original Series Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Whom Gods Destroy"
It's the supporting players who provide the most watchable performances in the 1969 "Whom Gods Destroy," one of the best episodes from Star Trek's final season on NBC. Running an errand to the planet Elba II, an inhospitable place housing a remote hospital for the hopelessly insane, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) discover that a longtime patient and Starfleet icon, Captain Garth (Steve Ihnat), has overtaken the facility. Suffering delusions of absolute power, Garth declares himself master of the universe, though his mastery fails to lure the rest of the Enterprise crew into a trap. With Kirk and Spock subdued prisoners of the brutal Garth, the story opens to Ihnat's flamboyant yet sympathetic performance. You can see behind the character's crazy veneer to the bold starship commander whose exploits fired Kirk's imagination as a cadet. Equally good is Yvonne Craig as Garth's would-be queen, the very sexy Marta, a compulsive killer whose seductive dances, wayward intelligence, and exotic, green skin make her one of the most striking females from the original series. Newbie Trekkers will be happy to know that the story by Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl clarifies a couple of biographical points about Kirk and Spock, including the captain's own reference to his Starfleet career track before becoming an explorer. --Tom Keogh

"The Mark of Gideon"
Every now and then, the meager budget for Star Trek was helped along by stories set almost entirely on the Enterprise, which required shooting within established sets. "The Mark of Gideon" was a clever way to mitigate the visual monotony of such episodes. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) beams himself down to the planet Gideon, but instead finds himself alone in a mock-up of his own starship. (Translation: it's Shatner on the Enterprise set without the rest of the cast.) Almost alone, that is: Kirk finds himself accompanied by the beautiful Odona (Sharon Acker), an inhabitant of Gideon selected for infection by an outsider, in hopes that a plague of some sort will help the planet's overpopulation problem. Despite, or even because of, the set-bound nature of the story, "The Mark of Gideon" is actually one of the boldest and freshest ideas in the series, and like "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," took on a hot topic of controversy (population control) in the issue-driven 1960s. The script, incidentally, was cowritten by Stanley Adams, who played Cyrano Jones in "The Trouble with Tribbles." --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Whom Gods Destroy, Ep. 71 - After Kirk and his crew deliver wonder drugs to a group of criminally insane beings on Elba II, they meet the colony's director, only to learn that he is one of the inmates, with the power to assume any form.
The Mark of Gideon, Ep. 72 - Kirk beams down to Gideon, only to find himself aboard a deserted U.S.S. Enterprise. The only being he encounters is a mysterious and beautiful woman named Odona, who claims to know nothing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strange stories and productions, but still enjoyable, September 26, 2001

By	Anton Karidian (Toronto) - See all my reviews

Whom Gods Destroy has some great acting moments especially (Captain Garth, Dr. Corey and the inmate girl) the guest stars.
Themes include sanity vs. insanity, memory and identity.

Mark of Gideon is somewhat claustrophic an episode but still in the spirit of the Original Series. Some memorable/creepy images. The theme of global overpopulation is explored.

Both episodes explore interesting themes and do not simply rely on special effects and therefore in my humble opinion are in the spirit of thoughtful story telling of the original series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD STAR TREK THIRD SEASON DVD!, March 21, 2003

By	Jared Insell "hitman_37" (Canada) - See all my reviews

Volume 36 of the Star Trek DVD series includes two of the better episodes from the tail end of the TV series' third and final season on NBC. Both these epiosdes are fairly decent despite the typical third season flaws.

WHOM THE GODS DESTROY is simply a fun Star Trek episode. Kirk and Spock beam down to the prison planet Elba II to find that Garth of Izar (Steve Ihnat), an infamous Star Fleet Captin who wiped out an entire race, has taken control of the prison complex from Governor Cory. Using his ability to shapshift into different characters Garth attempts to take over the Enterprise. This episode is actually pretty laughable. Garth's evil plan is way too far fetched to even work. But perhaps the producers wanted to point out that the character was utterly insane. It's the cast of colourful characters and the over the top acting that save this one. Ihnat is great as the bantering Garth and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl from the TV show Batman) makes a great acting appearance as Marta (the green alien woman). Ironically the third Batman guest star to appear in a consecutive Star Trek episode. Too bad Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith and Caesar Romero never showed up as guest stars huh?

MARK OF GIDEON is a little more serious and almost creepy. Another Star Trek issue oriented episode. This time tackling overpopulation problems and contraception. Most of the screen time is given to Shatner and guest star Sharon Acker who plays Odana. There is great chemistry between the two and the acting in this episode is quite good. Good casting and a strong plot overshadow the obvious production budget flaws on this episode (most of it was filmed on the Enterprise set). The Gideon council leader, Hodin, is played by David Hurst, who made a hilarious appearance as Baron Von Klutz on the Monkees TV series. Here though he plays a suprisingly serious role as the main antagonist.

Overall a good set of third season episodes. One laughable one a little more dark and serious. Considering that the tail end of the final season was filled with bad episodes this is quite refreshing to watch becuase these are a few better episodes from the wildly uneven third season. Highly recommended!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Typical Third Season Mixed Bag, February 4, 2002

By	Hank Drake (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Volume 36 of Paramount's complete reissue of Classic Trek contains two episodes which point out the uneven quality of the series' third season.

Whom Gods Destroy is essentially a remake of Dagger of the Mind, and a pretty weak one at that. The writing in this episode is typical of some of the inane stories foisted upon unsuspecting viewers during Trek's third season. Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) appears in green makeup as a mental patient with a Black Widow's complex (perhaps one should call her the Green Widow).

The Mark of Gideon is one of Trek's better issue-oriented episodes. Tackling the hot button topics of overpopulation and contraception took some bravery on the part of the writers, and they more than rose to the task. Without the competing presence of his fellow cast members, William Shatner turns his performance down by several notches, and there is great chemistry between him and guest star Sharon Acker.

The picture has been restored well enough so that the viewer can plainly see the cheesy looking bald caps worn in The Mark of Gideon.