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Star Trek's 'Cat People,' Explained

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• Caitians, the "cat people" of Star Trek, have enjoyed increased prominence thanks to fan-favorite Dr. T'Ana on Star Trek: Lower Decks.
• Caitians and the similarly feline Kzinti both stem from Star Trek: The Animated Series, but managaed to creep into the saga in more prominent projects as well.
• Caitians and Kzinti are possibly genetically connected, along with several unmentioned feline species, but their background is surprisingly complex.

Star Trek has a strange affection for cat-based aliens, starting with Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 1 "Catspaw" which features an alien disguised as a shapeshifting giant feline. Star Trek: The Animated Series leaped into the concept with both feet by creating not one, but two specific cat-like species: the Caitians and the Kzinti. That, in turn, has led to a weird flirtation with canon, as other Star Trek projects confirmed the Caitians as official while muddying the waters at the same time. As with most things associated with The Animated Series , the franchise treated them as a dirty little secret, and edged around their status even while periodically showing them onscreen.

Star Trek: Lower Decks took them to another level with its Caitian chief medical officer, Dr. T'Ana. She quickly became one of the show's most popular characters, while simultaneously letting it take a bite out of her species' messy status in the canon. Thanks to her, their profile in the franchise is higher than ever, along with the plethora of odd quirks that accompany them. The series has also introduced a Kzinti character, Ensign Taylor, who has made numerous less prominent appearances as pure support. Both of them serve primarily to tweak the franchise's nose about its "cat people," and the way it periodically tries to have its cake and eat it too with them. But at the same time, it reflects Lower Decks' deep-set affection for its animated predecessor, as well as lending legitimacy to the cat people's decidedly odd history.

Both of Star Trek's 'Cat People' Species Started on The Animated Series

Star trek: lower decks creator wants to create animated, live-action movies.

Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan opens up about where he would like to see the franchise go next in both animation and live-action.

Make-up and prosthetic effects were limited in The Original Series , and the show's budget rarely allowed for truly elaborate aliens. The Animated Series made things much easier on that front, and the producers took advantage of the opportunity with a pair of new characters on the Enterprise: the three-limbed Edosian Lt. Arex at navigation, and the Caitian Lt. M'Ress, who sometimes filled in for Uhura at the communications station. She was distinguished by her feline features -- including mane-like hair and a tail -- and was voiced by Star Trek staple Majel Barrett . Unfortunately, she did little beyond that, and her personality was limited to a sultry purr, though she did have a brief flirtation with Scotty while under the influence of love crystals in Season 1, Episode 10, "Mudd's Passion."

Things get considerably more interesting with the introduction of the Kzinti, a similarly feline species presented as foes of the Federation . They first appear in Season 1, Episode 14, "The Slaver Weapon," written by sci-fi author Larry Niven and based on one of his own (non- Star Trek ) short stories called "The Soft Weapon." He transferred the Kzinti along with the plot, making them the rare canon species that wasn't created specifically for the franchise. The episode states that they fought multiple wars against the Federation in the past, and the titular weapon threatens the entire galaxy before Kirk and the gang save the day. The Kzinti are also a prime example of one of the show's weirder details: animator Hal Sutherland was notoriously colorblind, leading to the species' bright pink spacesuits.

That creates a bit of a jumble when it comes to the Caitians. Despite their distinction as a separate species -- most notably with their hunched shoulders and bat-like ears -- apocrypha maintains that the two are related. An unofficial biography of M'Ress published by Star Trek Enterprises (later Lincoln Enterprises) in 1974 states that they share common roots similar to the Vulcans and the Romulans . It wouldn't merit much attention, save that Star Trek Enterprises was being run by Barrett at the time, who was married to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and presumably had a vested interest in the character she voiced. That carries canonical weight, despite never being officially confirmed, and adds to the general confusion surrounding Star Trek's various cat people.

Cat People Kept Creeping Back into Star Trek

Perhaps because of the M'Ress biography, Star Trek as a whole just couldn't stay away from the species, despite the fact that Roddenberry essentially shelved The Animated Series for many years after it originally aired. Caitians' canon status was confirmed in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home when a cat-like Starfleet officer appears in the background among the Federation Council. Yet, perhaps because of the general sheepishness surrounding The Animated Series , it had a hard time committing beyond that.

A catlike woman appears in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, though her features differ significantly from the Caitians in The Voyage Home. Star Trek: Into Darkness similarly reveals Kirk in bed with a pair of female aliens sporting tails, which director J.J. Abrams confirmed are Caitians despite their visual variations. Beyond that, the franchise has steered clear of them until very recently. As a result, the variations in appearance -- coupled with no subsequent appearances by the Kzinti -- further contributed to a huge number of questions surrounding the species.

For a time, the franchise could cheerfully ignore them, particularly when Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent series developed entirely new species to explore. The return of The Animated Series to canon, however, and its rediscovery on DVD and Blu-ray, brought M'Ress back front and center, along with all the weird questions about which feline alien is which. The presence of notable creatives like Niven and Barrett makes simply discarding them difficult, but neither have they been embraced the way other slow-burn species like the Andorians have.

Dr. T'Ana Finally Gives Star Trek's Cat People Their Due

This forgotten star trek species is perfect for lower decks.

Star Trek: Lower Decks has made an art form out of developing neglected alien species in interesting and funny ways. The Bolians are a perfect fit.

M'Ress may be one-note, but Dr. T'Ana most definitely isn't. Since her appearance in the Lower Decks' premiere , she's rapidly become a fan favorite for her sour personality and amusingly cat-like habits. In the process, she's revealed a great deal about Caitian culture and disposition, something Lower Decks has become quite skilled at for a number of underdeveloped species. It doesn't hurt to associate her with typically funny feline behavior, such as running and hiding when she has to take her medicine and periodically needing a giant box to play in order to fulfill certain libidinous urges.

The central gag simply involves her terrible bedside manner, reflecting the typical indifference of real-world cats. Yet, that package reveals so much more about the Caitians than M'Ress or any subsequent member of the species ever did, including uncomfortable details about their biology and a disturbing past habit of killing and consuming sentient species. That, in turn, appears to confirm their connection to the Kzenti, who are also carnivorous and -- according to "The Slaver Weapon" -- tasted human meat during their early wars with the Federation . That adds a wrinkle to Ensign Taylor's presence on the series as well, suggesting that the link -- and possibly the cannibalism -- could be the subject of later examination.

Lower Decks Can Do Its Own Musical Episode with DS9's Weirdest Character

Star Trek: Lower Decks could repeat Strange New World's musical episode success using a certain holographic Vegas lounge singer from Deep Space Nine.

The show plays up Taylor's visual differences, and Season 2, Episode 6, "The Spy Humongous" makes a direct reference to Kzenti's habit of slumping their shoulders in The Animated Series . That ensures that the two species are formally distinguished in canon, while keeping the subtlest connections alive for possible story fodder later. In the process, the show cuts through the species' muddled origins and indifferent presence, allowing them to claim a legitimate spot in the franchises as well. Some of it comes out of pure iconoclasm, like Lower Decks taking advantage of its canon status to legitimize details the rest of the franchise would rather forget.

The Caitians are a special case, and Dr. T'Ana's popularity gives M'Ress a level of respect that she never would have received otherwise. The fact that Lower Decks brought the Kzenti along is doubly impressive, embracing and possibly resolving questions around both species, even as it mocks their more absurd qualities. Most importantly, it opens Star Trek's cat people up to far more possibilities in the future, and even if it doesn't develop them more than it already has, another series can easily take the ball and run with it.

The animated Star Trek: Prodigy has already done so with a prominent Caitian child appearing in several episodes. For a parody series, it's become extremely good at the trick, and when it comes to the Caitians and the Kzenti, it clears up an astonishing amount of detail with a few well-placed gags. Small wonder Dr. T'Ana is such a hit: she reflects her creators' love for a very weird corner of franchise history.

The first four seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks are now streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

The support crew serving on one of Starfleet's least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, have to keep up with their duties, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.

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Catspaw 1967

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Saw Promo Video on Archive: 

That Time Captain Kirk Fought a Giant Cat - 13:55

Seemed Interesting!

https://archive.org/details/youtube-ed7VBh8_Bl0

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Looked On Archive For Full Show!?

Achive has 9,923,870 movies! Searching...

Found: Star Trex (TV-Rip) Catspaw -  Spanish Language!

https://archive.org/details/startrek-tvrip/Star+Trek+-+The+Next+Generation+-+Datalore.avi

Not Sure If English Version On Archive,

So Up loaded  English version?

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(part one: Main show)

" Catspaw " Is The Seventh Episode Of The 

second season of the American science fiction  

television series Star Trek Written by Robert Bloch  

and directed by Joseph Pevney , it was first broadcast 

October 27, 1967. The crew of the Enterprise encounter 

two aliens from another galaxy with magical-seeming 

powers. This episode was the first filmed to include 

series regular Pavel Chekov ( Walter Koenig ), 

although it was broadcast after several other episodes 

with the character had already been aired; the airing 

was delayed to coincide with Halloween .

The USS Enterprise , under the command of Captain 

Kirk , orbits the apparently lifeless planet Pyris VII. 

Contact has been lost with the landing party, consisting 

of Chief Engineer Scott , Lt. Sulu , and Crewman Jackson . 

Jackson calls for Transport back to the ship, but falls from 

the platform dead. His open mouth emits an eerie voice, 

telling Captain Kirk that Enterprise is cursed and must 

leave the planet immediately, or death will follow. Kirk 

beams down with First Officer Spock and Chief Medical 

Officer Dr. McCoy to search for the missing crewmen, 

leaving Assistant Chief Engineer DeSalle in charge of

Enterprise . The landing party comes upon three 

apparitions that appear as witches, who warn the landing 

team not to proceed any further. The team ignores 

the warnings and discovers what appears to be a 

medieval castle.Entering the castle, the landing party 

comes upon a black cat wearing a diamond pendant. 

As they follow the cat, the floor collapses, and the fall 

knocks them unconscious . When they awaken, they

find themselves held in a dungeon . Scott and Sulu 

soon appear, walking as if in a trance,and unlock 

their restraints

(part two: intermission show)

Star Trex Cats play on Halloween!!!

(Part Three: intermission show)

The Witches Scene From Catspaw

(Part 4  : intermission show)

Witch Hunter Sees Witches and sings: 

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Star Trek – Catspaw (Review)

The first Star Trek pilot, The Cage , was produced in 1964. To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, this December we are reviewing the second season of the original Star Trek show. You can check out our first season reviews here . Check back daily for the latest review.

Catspaw was the first episode to enter production for that second season of Star Trek . However, it was not the first to air. Amok Time served as the season opener. Instead, Catspaw was produced as something of a rarity – a Star Trek holiday special. Produced in May, it was eventually broadcast during the last week of October. Given the subject matter and trappings of the episode, that seems highly appropriate.

We are, after all, looking at what amounts to a Star Trek Halloween Special.

Bones joins the cast…

That seems rather surreal, given how the franchise had developed in the years since. After all, Star Trek imagines a secular humanity, one that has moved past traditional holidays anchored in religion. So it’s rather disconcerting to hear Kirk reference “trick or treat” , even in passing. Just in case we needed further conformation that we’re pretty far from Gene Roddenberry’s socialist and atheist utopia, there’s a casual reference to “credits” thrown in for good measure.

Still, Catspaw stands out as a rather odd duck. Unless one chooses to read Mortal Coil – broadcast in mid-December – as something of an “anti-Christmas Special” , then Catspaw stands as the only holiday-specific episode of Star Trek ever produced. This would immediately mark it as a departure from form, even if its themes and content weren’t decidedly outside of what is generally deemed to be Star Trek ‘s comfort zone.

Haven’t the foggiest…

Holiday specials are a fixture of the viewing schedule. They remain so even in this day and age. The Simpsons produce an annual Halloween Special . The television networks are flooded with thematically appropriate episodes at certain junctures. Even one-off animated specials have become part of the rich tradition, with Peanuts producing both a Christmas and a Halloween Special that have become standard holiday viewing. Let’s not talk about The Star Wars Holiday Special .

In the UK, things go a step further. British broadcasters will produce special episodes of particularly popular shows to air on holidays. Christmas Eve, Christmas itself, St. Stephen’s Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are traditionally stuffed with holiday specials of popular shows like Call the Midwife , Doctor Who or Downton Abbey . The broadcasters will occasionally even conspire to reunite the casts of classic comedy shows for one-off celebratory specials.

Chekov is wigging out…

Catspaw feels like it definitely belongs to that tradition. Featuring the vast majority of the senior staff on the planet surface, the episode even feels like a celebration – it’s worth noting that the addition of Chekov means that this is the first time all of the “big seven” characters appear together. This is the first time that the show featured the seven actors who would be considered the quintessential  Star Trek crew when the series transitioned into feature films.

That said, the cast outside of Kirk and Spock aren’t given too much to do. Sulu and Scotty (and later Bones) get to serve as henchmen for the bad guys, which seems more like a budget-saving effort than a demonstration of Korob and Sylvia’s power. Indeed, Sulu doesn’t even get a line. Still, it could be worse. In These Are the Voyages: Season Two , author Marc Cushman notes that Bloch rather casually killed Sulu off in an earlier draft of the episode.

Wow, Shatner’s right. Kirk can do anything in this show…

While Chekov and Uhura remain on the ship, they don’t get much more to do. Command of the ship is given over to DeSalle, rather than to Uhura, which might have been a better precedent. Chekov doesn’t get a chance to make an impression, beyond reminding the viewers that he is new. “I’m not that green,” he protests to DeSalle at one point. However, he is fitted with a rather dodgy wig that serves to date the production of Catspaw in the same way that the uniforms date the early episodes of the first season.

Keeping with the theme, Catspaw is packed with all sorts of low-rent Halloween imagery. Kirk and his crew find themselves tackling haunted castles, creepy skeletons, rogue fog machines and giant cats. The three witches from Macbeth even show up to offer a prophetic scare – just so the show never seems too lowbrow. Still, Catspaw remains very silly and very goofy. Even among Robert Bloch’s other weird episodes of Star Trek ( What Are Little Girls Made Of? and Wolf in the Fold ), this seems rather surreal.

Bewitched…

In a way, it’s a nice reminder that Star Trek is a pulp action adventure show. It is also a lot of other things – thoughtful allegory, bold science-fiction, daring thought experiments – but it is just as much a very pulpy piece of television. The first episode of Star Trek broadcast was The Man Trap , a show about a salt vampire. Arena is a compelling exploration of cultural relativism and territoriality that features a lumbering dude in a green lizard suit. Errand of Mercy introduced an analogue for the Communists by creating a race of space! Mongols. Star Trek is goofy. That’s part of what it is.

Catspaw is ridiculous, but so is a lot of Star Trek . There’s a sense that the episode tends to get dismissed or brushed aside because it is just pure pulpy nonsense, lacking any of the sophistication or maturity associated with Star Trek as a franchise. This doesn’t seem entirely fair. For one thing, it presupposes that Star Trek only has worth if it’s being thoughtful and profound. It’s an approach that tends to lead to the franchise taking itself far too seriously. No spin-off could do an episode like Catspaw , after all.

Korob likes to watch…

However, it also dismisses the idea that anything particularly surreal and goofy could have something worth saying. Catspaw is a very strange piece of Star Trek , but it does have an interesting thing or two to say about how Star Trek views the universe. There are other episodes that arguably touch on the same ideas and themes in a more insightful and clever manner, but that doesn’t diminish the more interesting aspects of Catspaw .

As one might expect from writer Robert Bloch, the script to Catspaw feels decidedly indebted to the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Bloch’s script explicitly references “the Old Ones” , but Catspaw is also a story that plays on ideas of perception and comprehension – the sense that the universe is not all we understand it to be. Lovecraft is a writer whose work seemed to have a significant impact on the early years of Star Trek , but the franchise drifted away from his ideas in later shows.

A hidden gem?

While Bloch was very much a disciple of Lovecraft, his own contributions to Star Trek aren’t the only ones that acknowledge Lovecraft’s sense of the horrific and incomprehensible unknown. Shades of Lovecraft are found in scripts as diverse as The Man Trap , Operation — Annihilate! , Obsession and The Immunity Syndrome . The early seasons of Star Trek suggested that the universe was an absolutely horrific place, haunted by the ghosts of civilisations truly alien and long-thought dead.

Naturally, that changed over time. The early episodes of Star Trek seemed to take place in an eerily empty universe, suggesting mankind had stumbled into a graveyard occupied by races that had either died out or were preparing to move on. Eventually, that universe came to be populated with alien species and empires and space ships, but the earliest episodes of Star Trek seemed to suggest that all mankind would find outside our solar system would be horror in one form or another.

“I think I read some slash fiction that started like this…”

As such, Catspaw feels almost like a throwback to those earlier episodes, a show that would probably feel less out of place occupying a similar slot in the first season. This is probably no coincidence. According to Bloch, this was the first script he was invited to write for Star Trek :

How did you come to work for Star Trek? I received a phone call from Dorothy Fontana and she said they wanted a story for Halloween. My arrangement with my agent is that I never solicit an assignment. They called me up and told me what it was that they needed. Didn’t you do What Are Little Girls Made Of? which guest starred Ted Cassidy as a monstrous android, first? No. I did the episode for Halloween first.

Catspaw seems like an episode that might have worked better before viewers knew that the universe was populated by Klingons and Romulans, when it seemed like planets existed solely to crash on or to excavate.

“Thank goodness they thought to kill the expendable extra rather than the recurring guest stars!”

As one almost expects from a Robert Bloch script, Catspaw feels highly derivative. It owes a significant debt to his earlier short story Broomstick Ride . This would not be the only time that Bloch would borrow rather heavily from his own work to produce a script for Star Trek . His later script for the second season, Wolf in the Fold , built off his earlier story Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper . Of course, the stories were his own to use in this manner, and episodes like Tin Man and The Slaver Weapon have seen other writers doing the same sort of thing.

However, Catspaw doesn’t just feel like it’s covering ground familiar to Bloch himself. Marc Cushman’s These Are The Voyages: Season Two suggests that the early drafts borrowed quite a bit from The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before . Even the broadcast episode feels like it owes a bit too much to The Squire of Gothos , as if the show is treading on familiar ground. The familiar planet set contributes, but there are other similarities at play.

It’s a kind of magic…

In both stories, reality warpers build an incongruous structure from ancient human culture on an alien world, failing to realise that they’ve drawn from the wrong source to properly impress Kirk and his crew. Trelane didn’t adjust from the light years between Gothos and Earth, while Korob did not distinguish between the conscious and subconscious mind. Both “collect” members of the crew – Sulu in both cases – and misunderstand Kirk. Trelane insists that Kirk is a warrior, over his objections; Korob tries to bribe Kirk with jewels. When Kirk informs them that those jewels have no value, he replies, “Valueless? I don’t understand. I read–“

This is a rather significant flaw with Catspaw , rather like the show’s struggling special effects. Star Trek looked fantastic for its time and its budget, but Catspaw is a spectacle-heavy script that seems unable to appreciate the practical limitations of television budget. The “giant” cat is a particularly dodgy special effect, looking like the giant rat that would appear at one of the more infamous Doctor Who cliffhangers in The Talons of Weng-Chiang . The final reveal of Korob and Sylvia is undercut somewhat by the fact that the strings holding the puppets are clearly visible.

They didn’t break the kitty on this one…

As quoted in These Are the Voyages: Season Two , Robert Bloch was understandably disappointed by these production limitations:

Of the end result for all the hard work from hose involved, writer Robert Bloch said, “I do have some quibbles about the way in which things were done. It wasn’t their fault, but they just didn’t have the budget. Catspaw cried out for the use of opticals in post-production effects. Shooting a cat’s face in tight close-up is not exactly any substitute for having a giant cat. Running down a few feet of cardboard corridors isn’t the same thing as having your characters trapped in a labyrinth of frightening proportions.

The production team on Star Trek always did the best that they could with the budget and time available, but Catspaw is held back by these issues.

Nimoy had warned Shatner about antagonising the supporting cast…

Of course, this was inevitable. As Marc Cushman notes in These Are the Voyages , the show was brought back for a second season with a reduced budget:

With the new season came a new budget — a smaller one. It was bow down from $195,000 per episode to $187,500. So far, only four episodes had been made for less than the first season cap of $195,000: The Man Trap, The Naked Time, Charlie X, and Tomorrow Is Yesterday. Only four out of 29. The new streamlined budget seemed impossible.

The attempts to realise the story on the limited budget are obvious in a number of ways. Tellingly, Sylvia doesn’t transform on screen, with a sound effect doing all the hard work. The giant cat appears mostly in silhouette. Catspaw would have been an ambitious episode under any circumstances, but particularly with a cut budget.

Even the series’ model budget was cut…

Still, despite all that, Catspaw is an intriguing episode on its own terms. It’s a show that rather consciously challenges the rational underpinnings of Star Trek . As Darcee L. McLaren and Jennifer E. Porter suggest in (Re)Covering Sacred Ground , the franchise has tried to ground itself in a pseudo-scientific  theory of the cosmos:

Rationality in Star Trek is conceived of in terms of an empirical understanding of the universe in which all things can be seen to operate according to natural laws. All events have a rational explanation; it is not necessary to resort to supernatural forces to understand the universe. The rationalism of the New Age and of Star Trek is experiential, based upon natural laws and coupled with the conviction that humans can know the truth about the universe.

There are obviously exceptions to this general principle. Episodes like Shore Leave feel more deeply rooted in fantasy than in science-fiction. Even creatures like Trelane in The Squire of Gothos challenge a strictly rational approach to the universe, although the show does work hard to try to dismiss these challenges with a line here or a shrug there.

Reach out and touch faith…

Catspaw pushes the characters by forcing them to confront something that doesn’t make any sense according to the scientific principles of the universe. Trying to account for the away team, Uhura observes, “They just disappeared.” DeSalle is having none of this. “Nobody just disappears,” he insists. “They may have encountered a magnetic field or some other obstruction.” The ship is burnt by dangling a model over a candle, and trapped in a transparent box through “sympathetic magic.”

Sure, the Enterprise crew work hard to rationalise this. DeSalle and Checkov come up with a suitably techno-babble attempt to break out of the hold. “Maybe we can’t break it,” DeSalle admits, “but I’ll bet you credits to navy beans we can put a dent in it.” It seems like Chekov has managed to do that, right before it is revealed that Korob himself actually just released the ship. It seems like the Enterprise crew have encountered a force against which their technology is worthless.

“Hm. These guys normally don’t even get line when they are alive…”

Kirk tries to threaten Sylvia with the phaser he stole from Scotty. However, he discovers that it was depleted. This sequence prevents us from ever discovering whether a phaser would be effective on Sylvia or Korob. That said, the fact that Scotty was able to deplete the phaser’s entire battery without doing any palpable damage to Sylvia or Korob suggests that perhaps the pair exist on a plane where such mortal instruments cannot directly affect them.

For his part, Kirk tries to offer a pseudo-scientific explanation for everything. “This is the source of your power,” he insists, brandishing the wand. It’s not that simple. Sylvia clarifies, “Not the source. It’s an amplifier. The mind is the source.” This would seem to fit quite comfortably with Aleister Crowley’s suggestion that magic is “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.”

Takei vs. Shatner, round 2!

While on the subject of Crowely, it is worth noting that the occult was undergoing a revival in popular culture during the sixties. As Philip Jenkins explains in Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America :

Occult and esoteric themes, which had developed strong roots in the counterculture, now gained a broad national audience. At any point in the twentieth century, believers in reincarnation, psychic powers, channelling, or lost continents could always be found, but they were generally concentrates in limited areas, all above southern California. During the 1960s and 1970s, such ideas went national.

Aleister Crowley even appeared on the iconic cover of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band . Magic and occult thinking had begun to bleed into the mainstream. Catspaw can be seen as an example of this.

Storming the castle…

In the end, Kirk defeats Sylvia by smashing the wand, a symbolic gesture. He doesn’t defeat the aliens by firing a phaser or speaking some techno-babble or twisting some knobs. His phaser useless, Kirk has to use a magical object to defeat his adversaries. That said, it is worth noting that Sylvia does threaten him with a phaser – as he threatens her with a symbol of her magical powers, she threatens him with a symbol of his technology and science.

When Spock refers to Korob and Sylvia as “something totally alien in all respects” , he seems to be talking about creature fundamentally alien to the nature of Star Trek . Korob and Sylvia seem to represent something that undermines one of the most fundamentally rules of Star Trek . They are a question that cannot be answered, a riddle than cannot be solved. When DeSalle asks Chekov to analyse the wave form, Chekov replies simply, “It will not analyse, sir.”

“What’s an entity like you doing in a place like this?”

Korob taunts Kirk, “You examine any object. You question everything. Is it not enough to accept what is?” Of course it isn’t. Kirk and his crew are on a mission of discovery and exploration. With Korob and Sylvia, they seem to brush up against something that cannot be entirely explained or rationalised. Sure, this isn’t the first time that the Enterprise has encountered anything strange or surreal, and it won’t be the last. However, Catspaw puts a heavy emphasis on it.

“You seem to do with your mind what we do with tools,” Kirk offers, somewhat feebly. “You alter matter, move it about by telekinesis.” It’s a nice attempt to make it all make sense, but it doesn’t make Sylvia and Korob conform to the rules of reality as the crew understand them. They seem to come from “outside” the galaxy – but the show is never clear on what exactly “outside” means. Is it simply another galaxy, or another universe, or perhaps even another story? Are they invading Star Trek from a horror story?

Un-phased…

Despite this rather interesting central idea, there are a number of problems here. On top of the production issues and the sense that we’ve seen a lot of this before, there is Sylvia. As with What Are Little Girls Made Of? , Kirk uses his raw sexual energy to overwhelm something inhuman that made the mistake of appearing in human for. Whether an android or a strange reality-bending alien, Kirk is perfectly willing to harness his masculinity for the greater good of his crew and the wider universe.

The problem, of course, is that this is all horribly sexist. Korob is alien, but he seems reasonably trustworthy and curious. Sylvia, on the other hand, is completely psychotic. Catspaw rather heavily implies that this is because Sylvia is in the form of a woman. While Korob can resist the temptations of the flesh, Sylvia lacks that restraint. Indeed, in the middle of one of her hyper-emotional and irrational rants, the script has Sylvia declare, “I am a woman. I am all women!”

“I’m shipping out tomorrow…”

Bloch’s scripts don’t exactly feature strong female guest stars. However, as quoted in These Are the Voyages , it’s worth noting that Roddenberry himself encouraged the development of this storytelling angle:

Page 44, Kirk begins to use his masculine charms on Sylvia. Good, at least he is trying something. It could even be logical, i.e., if she has taken on a perfect female human form, perhaps one of the costs of this is inheriting all the female emotions and illogic which go with it.

It would appear that Korob does not have to worry about any of the “male emotions and illogic” that come with taking a masculine form. This is another irritating example of the show’s tendency towards casual sexism.

The episode’s issues with gender are not resolved by Sylvia’s ability to hypnotise men with her breasts.

There are problems with Catspaw . Indeed, there are some very serious problems with Catspaw . It is probably the weakest of Bloch’s three scripts, the production cannot realise the visuals as well as it might, and it’s tainted by the show’s unthinking and unflinching sexism. The episode doesn’t get the second season of Star Trek off to a promising start, and certainly doesn’t illustrate where the show should be at this point in its life-cycle.

However, the episode is weird enough to remain interesting – and it’s unique enough to merit a look from any curious souls. A “Star Trek Halloween Special” is a concept that is off-the-wall enough to justify the existence of Catspaw . However, more than that, it touches on some interesting ideas about how the show sees the universe, and the assumptions underpinning the franchise. It offers a subtle challenge to the underlying philosophy of Star Trek , even if it never hammers it home as well as it might.

No bones about it…

Catspaw is a mess, but it’s a fascinating mess.

You might be interested in our other reviews from the second season of the classic Star Trek :

• Supplemental: (Gold Key) #1 – The Planet of No Return!
• Supplemental: (Marvel Comics, 1980) #4-5 – The Haunting of Thallus!/The Haunting of the Enterprise!
• Metamorphosis
• Friday’s Child
• Who Mourns for Adonais?
• Supplemental: Spock’s World by Diane Duane
• Supplemental: New Visions #3 – Cry Vengeance
• Wolf in the Fold
• The Changeling
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #43-45 – The Return of the Serpent!
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2009) #13 – The Red Shirt’s Tale
• Supplemental: Deep Space Nine – Crossover
• Supplemental: New Visions #1 – The Mirror, Cracked
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #9-16 – New Frontiers (The Mirror Universe Saga)
• Supplemental: Mirror Images
• Supplemental: Mirror Universe – The Sorrows of Empire by David Mack
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2009) #15-16 – Mirrored
• The Deadly Years
• Supplemental: (Gold Key) #61 – Operation Con Game
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #39-40 – The Return of Mudd
• Supplemental: The Galactic Whirlpool by David Gerrold
• Supplemental: Alien Spotlight – Tribbles
• Bread and Circuses
• Journey to Babel
• A Private Little War
• The Gamesters of Triskelion
• The Immunity Syndrome
• A Piece of the Action
• By Any Other Name
• Return to Tomorrow
• Patterns of Force
• The Ultimate Computer
• The Omega Glory
• Supplemental: Assignment: Eternity by Greg Cox
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1989) #49-50 – The Peacekeepers
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2008) Assignment: Earth

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Filed under: The Original Series | Tagged: america , american , Catspaw , demonology , existential horror , halloween , holiday special , horror , lovecraft , magic , magick , occult , old ones , power , rationality , Robert Bloch , science , star trek |

7 Responses

Once you set aside the rose-tinted nostalgia of people who grew up watching the original Star Trek (and that includes myself) you will very quickly realize that many of the episodes were extremely goofy and have not aged especially well!

Well, I may sound harsh in places – and that’ll become more apparent as we go on, I think – but I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love the show.

Oh, I love Star Trek, as well. I think it was groundbreaking and imaginative and fun. But I certainly am not going to, um, whitewash its faults. I’m also going to give credit where credit is due. Gene Roddenberry may have creaded Star Trek, and been its driving force, but he certainly was not solely responsible for it’s success. I may have said this in an older comment, but I think he was a great “idea man.” But it fell to writers such as Gene L. Coon, D.C. Fontana, Robert Bloch, David Gerrold and Harlan Ellison to really flesh out those ideas, give them detail and nuance, turn them into a cohesive universe. That was even more the case with the movies and The Next Generation.

Re: “Catspaw” being the only holiday-related TOS episode… I always thought “Friday’s Child” was a Christmas- related episode.

That’s a good spot, actually.

This episode scared the hell out of me as a kid – mainly the 3 witches part. I know I’m not the only one. The comic relief immediately after their appearance was lost on us kids back then, but it’s one of the best moments.

Sylvia, without her big-hair wig, is very attractive; I think we get a glimpse of her own hair at one point and she’s a stunner. I got the feeling she could actually carry out her threat of sweeping away our world.

“Mumbo Jumbo?” Classic!

It’s a delightfully odd episode, and part of the largely forgotten (at least until the “spore drive”) tradition of “weird Star Trek” , in a very literal sense.

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Star Trek: The Original Series

“Catspaw”

Air date: 10/27/1967 Written by Robert Bloch Directed by Joseph Pevney

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

Review Text

Kirk, Spock, and Bones beam down to a planet to investigate the death of a crewman scout who beamed up from the planet, well, dead. What they find is literally a Halloween setting, complete with a ghostly greeting that seems to be straight out of a haunted house parody. Kirk & Co. subsequently locate the missing men from the first landing party—Scotty and Sulu in a catatonic state, under the command of two aliens with a great power of illusion, who have created the whole Halloween setting as a way of learning about humans.

The aliens, Korob (Theo Marcuse) and Sylvia (Antoinette Bower), slowly become at odds with each other, as Sylvia finds herself attracted to the sensations and experiences of humans—manifested, of course, through her physical attraction to Kirk. Meanwhile, the most wooden lieutenant in Starfleet (Michael Barrier) has command of the Enterprise , preventing the ship scenes from being particularly interesting.

"Catspaw" is a primarily gag-driven episode, with a hit-and-miss track record. Kirk's encounters with Sylvia are moderately interesting. But the episode is fundamentally formulaic, and lives and dies on each piece of its fragmented puzzle. As a lightweight adventure, it's okay; just don't look for much substance.

Previous episode: The Doomsday Machine Next episode: I, Mudd

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Comment Section

43 comments on this post.

I grew up watching TOS, but I haven't watched all the episodes all the way through before like I'm doing now. I'm finding the whole second season to be kind of hit and miss--or, rather, swinging back and forth between brilliant and "meh." Sometimes they are just trying too hard, but when it all comes together, like in The Doomsday Machine, it's amazing. Thanks for your reviews!

I havent watched this episode in quite some time and there is a reason; I dont want to. I rate 1 star only because im still high from watching doomsday mach week before.

I just watched this. I found the first half to be almost intolerably dull -- maybe not "And the Children Shall Lead" or anything, but still pretty awful and airy and lifeless. It picks up a bit in its second half, but even then it's mostly just a series of Trek cliches. Korob's coming around is a little interesting, and it's interesting watching Kirk play Sylvia. The reveal of Korob and Sylvia's true form is a bit of a hoot as well. Still, I think this episode overall is hardly better than TNG's "Devil's Due," which has some similar elements (seductive master of illusion playing on people's fears, ship in jeopardy from below) or "The Squire of Gothos" (...master of illusion misrepresenting human society due to inaccurate info), and I'd put it below both of those. 1.5 stars, I guess.

Incredibly thin. I wish I could say this is as bad as it gets.

This is another one I liked as a kid but roll my eyes at now. But it was a cool adventure when you're 10.

todayshorse

Ludicrous. How this could follow the brilliance of the Doomsday Machine is beyond me. Somesort of Halloween special? It wasnt very 'special'. I did enjoy the ending though, ive never laughed so much at the actual forms of the fat bald bloke and the cat. What was that all about???

I gotta say this episode always stood out to me not in so much as the show but the music always stuck in my head in this one so everytime I hear the music played in other episodes I'm just looking for Kirk and spock to come around the corner with a giant black cat chasing them (mrooogh!!!) Always makes me smile :)

"Captain. A little more alacrity, if you please."

A Star Trek Halloween episode. No more and no less. Scary when I was a kid but pretty dull now. No big questions asked or answered. Just black cats and castles. There was one joke though. Sulu and Scotty were catatonic. Yuk Yuk. About a 1.5.

Oh yeah, I agree this is a weak episode. When TNG did a "horror" episode, namely Night Terrors, it worked the horror into the plot. With this one, what point was there in all the horror elements? Spock talks about how this all relates to the human psyche at the subconscious level, but A) that doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the story, and it's never explained why Karob did it, and B) explain to me why black cats and medieval castles are part of the sub-conscience when it has nothing to do with surviving the African savannah? If they were trying to create a theme in that sense, it failed miserably. What was the point of all of the horror? What was the purpose of Karob and Sylvia being here and dealing with the Enterprise crew? They try to warn the crew away with the curses and stuff, but then say they passed a test by still showing up. Then they ask about their technology, even though they can do far more. Also, Sylvia can apparently read their minds, so why not just learn everything from Scotty earlier? Then Sylvia starts being catty (har har) to Karob, and then starts trying to seduce Kirk while torturing the rest of the crew. OK, fine, that part works as a plot point, Sylvia falling for her new form, causing conflict between the two godlike beings. But it still doesn't explain all the riddles and mystery at the beginning. It doesn't explain what the purpose of it all is. That's the problem, I think. It's a collection of scenes brought together in an attempt to be a Halloween episode, but with no logic and reason through it. Couple that with cheap effects and some obvious filler scenes on the Enterprise, and this is just bad. Oh, by the way, what's with the most wooden engineer in the Federation (as Jammer called him) being in command? Doohan and Takei had virtually nothing to do as the brainwashed victims of Sylvia, why not leave one of them in command of the Enterprise? Kinda strange.

A disappointing episode, especially coming after "The Doomsday Machine" - but the Hallowe'en theme is appropriate given when it first aired. Still, it's lots of gimmicks without much meaning; it's another twist on "The Squire of Gothos" or "Who Mourns for Adonais?" where more powerful beings that lack wisdom threaten the Enterprise crew. It's a well-worn formula; interesting soundtrack though. I wasn't a fan of the redshirt (LaSalle? DeSalle?) who was left in command of the ship - there was a missed opportunity. Would have been better if Scotty was left in charge rather than being a zombie the whole episode. Even the final scene wasn't that compelling - Why does Korob lose all his power? He has the transmuter. Then, Sylvia is pointing a phaser at Kirk who has the transmuter. Can't she stun Kirk and get the transmuter? I'd give this episode 2/4 stars and I think that might be a tad generous as it was quite slow paced and only really got interesting about 40 mins. in.

I have a soft spot for this one. It's not deep, but it's fun in spots, and good for the kiddies. Given all the weird things that happen on Star Trek, it's not THAT much of a stretch to imagine that two aliens fascinated by human experience might groove on 20th Century American Halloween party stuff. I mean come on, let's not give TNG too much credit: For every "Night Terrors," you get a Sub Rosa (Crusher sleeping with a ghost?!) and a "Devil's Due." All in all, "Catspaw" is a fun little haunted house show that manages to keep its tongue firmly in cheek, and I'll give it 3 stars out of 4 on a day when I'm feeling charitable. Jammer's 2 1/2 stars seems fair. Like much Trek, there are boring stretches in this one, but I dig the Sylvia-Kirk scenes and the gag climax revealing the unimpressive true form of the two aliens. Aliens don't always need deep cosmic, humanitarian, or evil motives on Trek: Sometimes they can just be screwing around with Our Heroes, like Sylvia and Korob. It's nice to imagine a universe where some aliens just like to prank humans.

Rewatching this episode again as I marathon the series on DVD in air date order for the first time, I really enjoyed it! I have to say it's a solid 3 or 3 1/2 stars for me. Spock has some really intriguing dialogue about how the aliens feed off the human subconscious and seem to take it for reality: Not sure how I've always missed this exchange in the past, but it really adds to the story's mystique for me, and Bloch really writes this stuff well. The mystery of the story and Kirk's final observation that it was real in one sense -- Jackson is dead -- hint at deeper ideas than the haunted house surface initially suggests. So yeah, consider me a "Catspaw" fan, even though I wish Sulu got a little dialogue -- even Scotty gets ONE line when they de-zombify!

Peter Swinkels

Perhaps not the greatest story but entertaining. The sets and effects while most definitely not perfect appear to have the improved during the second season.

Startrekwatcher

2 stars I like spooky atmospheric episodes but this was quite disappointing.

Well this was a bit buttocks, wasn't it? Vastly inferior to TNG's Night Terrors, which was legitimately frightening, and also trailing the TNG where the woman pretends to be the Devil due to that episode's fantastic villain. This episode is just another of TOS's pointless, uninspired Earth history/mythology stories. You mean to tell me that in the vastness of space there is only Earth's past? It becomes ever clearer why TNG, DS9 and VOY distanced themselves from TOS. Catspaw might have raised mild chuckles in the 60s and maybe scared some 8 year olds but its quality is totally unacceptable today (and probably was then). Still, if you have got literally nothing to do for 50 minutes, there are some lols, and I liked the female villain.

@No Poet "Catspaw" is TOS mediocrity for sure but that's not to say TNG, DS9, VOY didn't have their shares of mediocrity as well -- their's was just different. And there was more of it given the 7 seasons. TNG's tended to be more sci-fi-ish, DS9's fillers involved crap like the Ferengi arc, and VOY's tended to be efforts at character pieces for the lesser cast members and spatial anomalies. Those are very broad generalizations on my part. As for bringing up Earth's past -- these aliens presumably probed the crew's minds to come up with something that would be scary to them -- why would they conjure up something scary to say the Klingons when it is mostly (other than Spock) earthlings visiting them? To each his own opinion but I'd hardly call "Night Terrors" vastly superior to "Catspaw" -- both are 2* episodes for me. And "Devil's Due" is a poor 1.5* ep. I suggest a better episode with the genre of scaring crewmembers / psychological terror might be something like "The Thaw".

KIRK: Spock. Comment? SPOCK: Very bad poetry, Captain. That just about says it all.

Had some good lines and moments, but mostly kind of plodding. Obligatory sexy lady is a cat!! Naturally, she melts in Kirk's hands, overwhelmed by his apparently super sensual touch. It's all downhill from there for Cat Lady and Bald Wizard. The ending with the strange little pipe cleaner & paper aliens made me suddenly remember that episode of Buffy with the tiny widdle demon. Average.

I *also* have a soft spot for this one. The Three Witches are another iconic TOS image from my childhood. Watching as an adult, I expected nothing more than a novelty Halloween episode, but this is actually a legit TOS adventure. It has a lot of great lines, which mostly come from Kirk-Spock-McCoy interaction, because for the most part it's the three of them working together by themselves. Is this actually the first time we see just the trio beam down and get to work on a planet? Anyway the image made me smile. You see them materialize and you just know it's *on*. It's TOS time. Things are gettin' *explored*. The aliens probing for our conscious minds and accidentally reaching the subconscious, as Spock explains, is really a nice SciFi thought. The 'universal images' that are supposed to reside there are a pop culture version of Jungian psychology, which was rather popular back then. Also, pipe cleaner aliens.

"The ending with the strange little pipe cleaner & paper aliens made me suddenly remember that episode of Buffy with the tiny widdle demon." (ACTUAL SIZE) Good times...

A Halloween episode of Trek sounds like a nightmare, but this episode wasn't bad. One thing I love about TOS is the sense of fun and adventure. We get that with season 2 with episode where they deal with a greek god, Vulcan mating, Mirror universe and etc. This is the first episode of many to feature aliens being overwhelmed by human sensation and they did a pretty good job. It was kind of fun watching the Silvia turn evil and banter with her partner in crime. Despite TOS being famous for the break three I really do like they way they use the whole cast. It would had been better if the bridge scene featured just Uhura and Chekov. it does make sense that assistance chief engineer Desalle is in charge because Scotty took command a lot as well.

Boy was this a missed opportunity to bring Uhura along on the away mission, so she could say "Captain, I'm frightened." Just be grateful this didn't air on UPN like VOY, else the trailers would have screamed all week, "tune in next time for giant hairy black pussy!" No doubt strongly suggesting that Uhura would be front and center. Don't get me wrong, I like Halloween in my scifi. https://youtu.be/JHd39rOMBPU But this ain't it.

One of the silliest episodes, absurd, illogical and downright pointless. And yet... I actually quite enjoyed watching it! It’s more of an Orson Welles Adventure story than Trek, but if you can mentally place it outside the Trekverse (“bad poetry”? Sorry 😂) it’s quite fun in parts. And Kirk gets his hands on yet another beautiful woman. I did laugh out loud at the true form of the aliens - whose concept was that! Who is this De Salle in charge of the Enterprise? Do we ever get to see him again? I think this episode was filmed before Doomsday... as Chekhov still has his silly 1967 Mickey Dolenz haircut he had when he first appeared.

De Salle was previously seen wearing a gold uniform in both The Squire of Gothos and This Side of Paradise from the first season.

To me this is one of the worst of all TOS episodes. I mean, witches? We're supposed to be doing science fiction here, not cliched fantasy. Even having them turn out to be little crabs wasn't an improvement. It seemed to just be trying to take advantage of Halloween which was coming up the next week, I believe. A total waste. No stars.

“It seemed to just be trying to take advantage of Halloween which was coming up the next week, I believe.“ Uh, that’s exactly what it was doing.

Antoinette Bowers (original Sylvia) is memorable ...her sensuality is perfect; her vocal quality, dialect and anger presentation at Kirk are second-to-none. Theo Marcuse (Korab) also put in a good performance as a weak wizard but their contributions were weighed down by the giant cat. In spite of the failure, I still get sad at the end when the little clay marionettes pass away.

This was the only episode in the entire TOS canon about which, when I was a kid (aged 6-12 maybe) I had no clue what was going on or why it was going on. It was just sort of weird random stuff and I skipped it at that age most of the time. So there's that.

One element the episode developed was the idea that certain TOS characters were more vulnerable to mind control than others....Sulu always "went down." Scotty was apt to lose it and McCoy, bless him, could never be trusted.

C'mon guys, this a legit 4 stars episode! It has everything that makes a good trek episode: facing the unknown, adventure, danger, trying to reason what the hell is going on, fight scenes between the crew itself, and funny lines. It brings an interesting concept -- aliens that have a totally different existence than ours and get fascinated by our way of experiencing existence. And even the execution of the concept was pretty decent -- the "Earthness" of the set is well justified: the aliens got it from the visitors minds. And we also get an interesting food for though on the situation: would you accept to partner with Sylvia? Maybe only a little? I mean, as Kirk points out, she really had a neck for giving dificult choices...

TheRealTrent

F makes me want to rewatch this episode. F are you being serious? I feel a deep urge to rewatch this now.

Proud Capitalist Pig

“A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere.” -- Groucho Marx. Come on, that was damn funny. And so is “Catspaw.” Just like “Shore Leave,” “Catspaw” (a word meaning “one who is duped and used by another,” by the way) is an embarrassing waste of time but also an entertaining one, especially if you shut your brain off, become a catspaw yourself and kowtow to the catty absurdity. Or watch it while drunk or high. I just can’t give a less-than-passing grade to this episode because it was just too much stupid fun. It’s one of those so-bad-it’s-almost-good things. You know you’re in for a Trick-or-TREAT when even before the opening credits sequence, you get an utterly hilarious redshirt death. The fall that guy took was astonishing. Points to the stunt guy. And soon after Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to Spooky World to investigate the death, and rescue Scotty and Sulu, they encounter Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Dianne Feinstein floating above them and spouting their typical gibberish. Hell, I was scared! When asked for his analysis of the situation, Spock can only say, “Very bad poetry, Captain.” But it’s when they enter the Haunted Mansion that the “story” begins. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are literally locked in a dungeon and accosted by mind-controlled catspaws Scotty and Sulu, who mysteriously release them. Meanwhile, an adorable black cat walks around meowing and looking to be fed (I love cats; we have two cats and a dog at our house). Turns out everyone is being toyed with by powerful aliens (of course) Korob--played by a low-rent version of Yul Brynner--and Sylvia, played a bargain-basement version of Elizabeth Taylor in a cheap fright wig. They have the power of illusion, mind control and can kill with a single thought, and they’re allowed to get away with these fantasy trappings on a science fiction show because they’re *powerful aliens,* get it? Naturally, they’re also able to affect things aboard the orbiting Enterprise, because--powerful aliens. Korob and Sylvia don’t seem to have a particularly coherent plan other than Korob wants to fuck with the landing party as playthings and Sylvia wants to fuck Kirk. You have to love the reveal of Korob and Sylvia in their "true forms," not to mention the hysterically cheesy compilation of sequences featuring Kirk and Spock rescuing Scotty, McCoy and Sulu using awesomeness and the yowling, spitting cat stalking our heroes through the castle. Nice to see the pussy chasing Kirk for once instead of the other way around, amirite?! MEOW! Best Line: Kirk -- “I don’t know what you are but you’re not a woman. You’ve tortured my men and taken their minds from them. You ask for love and return pain instead!” (I’ll let you figure it out.) My Grade: C-

Theo and especially Antoinette are a lot of fun to my eye.

Maybe we can't break it, but I'll bet you credits to navy beans we can put a dent in it.

The best way is to watch these episodes in PRODUCTION order. I'm surprised that these episodes are not put in that order but hey, whaddya gonna do? ~ But I am more surprised that I have not found a single review yet that states that this is indeed the first appearance of Pavel Chekov and that horrendous Monkees WIG! It should have been called The Monkee's Paw! Poor Walter.

First off, it’s not clear that this was created initially as a Halloween episode since they originally meant to air it earlier in the season—in line with its earlier production—and then decided to air it around Halloween for the obvious reasons. Second, I wonder how much of Bloch’s original script survived the production process because this has all the thumbprints of Roddenberry—inert pace for the first half, lots of psychobabble about human sensations and the subconscious, and no clear motivation for the whole alien mission. Are they studying us? Or are they here to conquer us—and what the hell is with those carrot legged puppets? Shouldn’t beings who are immaterial have an immaterial form rather than looking like they fell out of a ragbag? (See Trelaine’s parents.) and How do they “transmute” those sock puppets through interstellar space? It’s godawful bad but you gotta like the “special effect” of the cat’s giant shadow on the wall. That’s one you can do at home!

@David "no clear motivation for the whole alien mission. Are they studying us? Or are they here to conquer us" I guess the episode tells us it is about the aliens, having a totally different existence than ours, being fascinated by our way of experiencing existence, so studying it is. But what I really wanted to say is: I guess being left with a little bit of "unclear motivation" (as long as they behavior stays coherent) is better than when writers put the villains to give a full report on why they're doing what they're doing, eh?

This is one episode where I’d love to see a fly-on-the-wall style documentary of its production. The actors and crew must have had some very serious moments of deep introspection about just what the hell they were doing. The first table read must have involved a lot of side glancing and deep sighing. Despite its utter ridiculousness, I will say this one keeps your attention. It’s weird. And I like a little weird. But this might be a little too weird. 1.5/4 fuzzy shrimp birds

"The first table read must have involved a lot of side glancing and deep sighing." Well you see that might have been true if there was one, but I highly doubt there was a table read. I expect everyone got their sides and it was filmed out of sequence as usual, mere hours after that days rewrites got to the actors in makeup, and it wasn't until the smoke cleared months later that the cast would see the actual episode on TV and realize what had been made. I'm sure they knew it was a weird one, but they probably had that glimmer of hope that the writing and directing would somehow make something of the bizarre patchwork of scenes they had to memorize.

Trek or treat? I suppose Catspaw works as a Halloween episode, an event that itself requires suspension of disbelief. Due to the negatives others have mentioned, and because I'm not a big fan of the genre, this ep slips into the bottom half of TOS for me. The show's limited budget is exposed more here than other episodes: the recycled dungeon, cat shadows, puppets on visible strings, etc. If I want to watch something creepy, The Outer Limits offers better options IMO. Some syndicated versions omit the Three Witches bad poetry sequence. 2 of 4 black cats

Unbelievably bad. No real explanation as to why the aliens are doing what they’re doing. No explanation for why Kirk and Spock keep getting chained to a wall and then released. And all it took to defeat. The aliens was for Kirk to break their magic wand. Finally, the aliens become pipe cleaner puppets, and die, for no reason. The episode is an embarrassment.

Janeways Labrat

@Scott, +1 for pipe cleaner puppets. They were always hermit crabs pulled out of their shell to me. When I was 7 watching this episode it was fun. As an adult, I find it unwatchable and cringey.

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The most popular new character in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 probably isn’t a human. But, does the introduction of Grudge — Book’s giant cat — foreshadow a bigger plot twist?

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for the Season 3 premiere.

In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Assignment: Earth,” Spock briefly takes care of Gary Seven’s cast Isis, and admits that he finds himself “strangely drawn to it.” In TNG , Data had his cat, Spot. In Enterprise , Captain Archer had his Beagle, Porthos. In Picard , Jean-Luc traded his fish for a pit bull named Number One. Kirk had a dog named Butle r in Generations , and Janeway talked about how much she missed Irish setter, Mollie, in Voyager . 

And now, the great pet tradition in Star Trek is back. In Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 we not only meet the human (?) courier Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) but also his “very large” cat, Grudge. But is Grudge a bigger deal than just comic relief? Is there more to this cat than just being big and awesome?

First things first. Though Book says that Grudge’s large size is because she “has a thyroid condition,” Grudge is a Maine Coon cat breed, which are known for there large size. Book refers to Grudge as “a Queen,” which might be a subtle reference to the popular legend that Maine Coons were partially created by Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France. Either way, Grudge is big and awesome, and as Book says “she’s all mine.”

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But other than being a cute animal that provides a layer of eccentricity to Trek’s newest daring space pilot, is Grudge really just a cat? Book speaks of Grudge in ways that makes the cat seem perhaps more sentient than we think. Perhaps we’ve all been conditioned by the cat in Captain Marvel — Goose — which turned out to be an alien Flerken . Or maybe we’ve been conditioned by that episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , in which the black cat Spock was “strangely drawn to,” appeared to be a shape-shifting woman at one point in the episode. 

Although previous Star Trek pets generally aren’t revealed to be aliens — they are sometimes. In the TNG episode “Aquiel,” Geordi takes care of an abandoned dog named Maura, who turns out to be a blob monster called a coalescent organism. Janeway and Kirk’s aforementioned dogs weren’t ever really seen in the fur, but rather, the animals we saw on screen were either telepathic nexus creations or tricks created by Q. (This is kind of like the idea that people rarely ride “real” horses in Star Trek . Usually just holographic ones or “dream” horses.)

Data’s cat was a real cat. But then again, we’re not totally sure. Spot changed appearance radically throughout The Next Generation and even went from being male to female and back again. In Picard , an orange tabby named “Spot II” is revealed to be totally synthetic by Data’s human brother, Atlan Soong. In a non-canon comic book short story from the IDW comic Star Trek: Waypoint , it was revealed that Porthos was actually a time-traveling dog, and that via time-travel, he actually saved Archer’s life when Archer was a little kid. 

The point is, outside of Picard’s fish in TNG (Livingston) there’s generally some kind of sci-fi plot twist hanging around pets in Trek . Think about the most famous pets in all of the franchise: Tribbles. They look like furry cute balls, but of course, there’s some infamous “trouble” with them. This doesn’t mean it’s a foregone conclusion that Grudge is really a shapeshifter, or has telepathic powers, or is a time traveler just like Burnham, but then again, you never know.

When Burnham mentions that “no one is around to enforce the endangered species act,” she’s referencing the Tranceworm that Book saved. But her eyes land on Grudge. Cats might be endangered in the 32nd Century, of course. That is, assuming Grudge is actually a cat and not some other wonderful alien species that has yet to be revealed.  Star Trek: Discovery season 3 airs new episodes on Thursdays on CBS All Access.

Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! He is also the author of three non-fiction books: the Star Trek pop history book PHASERS…

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The Gamesters of Triskelion

• Episode aired Jan 5, 1968

Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are trapped on a planet where abducted aliens are enslaved and trained to perform as gladiators for the amusement of bored, faceless aliens. Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are trapped on a planet where abducted aliens are enslaved and trained to perform as gladiators for the amusement of bored, faceless aliens. Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are trapped on a planet where abducted aliens are enslaved and trained to perform as gladiators for the amusement of bored, faceless aliens.

• Gene Nelson
• Gene Roddenberry
• Margaret Armen
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 29 User reviews
• 13 Critic reviews

• Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk

• Mister Spock

• Ensign Jana Haines

• Andorian Thrall
• Lieutenant Hadley
• (uncredited)

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Did you know

• Trivia The look of the character Galt was modeled after Ming the Merciless, the archenemy from the Flash Gordon comic strip.
• Goofs In addition to Kirk and the Thralls stepping on each other's colors in the contest without being penalized, Shahna is allowed to submit and give up when the fights are supposed to be "to the death".

Dr. McCoy : You're out of your Vulcan mind, Spock!

• Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
• Connections Featured in Star Trek Logs: An MTV Big Picture Special Edition (1991)
• Soundtracks Theme Music credited to Alexander Courage Sung by Loulie Jean Norman

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• Feb 15, 2022
• What is Gamesters of Triskelion about?
• January 5, 1968 (United States)
• United States
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• Runtime 50 minutes

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Star Trek Cats

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Summary [ ]

Characters [ ].

Christine Chapel has no feline counterpart in the book. [19] The Alfa 177 canine , Cyrano Jones , Khan Noonien Singh , Korax , and the mother Horta have appearances.

Star Trek episodes [ ]

See also [ ].

• Star Trek: The Next Generation Cats

Background information [ ]

A set of pins is also available, featuring the book's characters.

External links [ ]

• Star Trek Cats at StarTrek.com

A cat named Grudge is beaming into 'Star Trek: Discovery' season 3

Among the many new characters that "Star Trek: Discovery" on CBS All Access will introduce in Season 3 is one of the non-human sort: a fluffy feline named Grudge.

The cat, played by a, 18-lb. (8 kilograms) Maine Coone named Leeu, is just the latest cat star in the 54-year-old franchise — but he's already stealing the show.

"We put out a casting call for a large cat … and he fit the bill. So far he seems to be a one-take wonder," said Leslie Lawrence, one of Leeu's trainers, in a short video released by CBS All Access Sept. 8.

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The two-year-old Maine Coon, like any Hollywood star worth their claws, is on Instagram and Twitter so that you can follow along with his adventures. So far, the staff on "Discovery" is impressed by his stamina. 

While no one mentioned it in the video, it's likely that American Humane is making sure that Leeu remains happy and safe, as the society monitors animal safety and health on film and TV sets.

"Everybody says that their cat can make a good set cat. But it does take a specific animal to be able to stay cool and calm and collected, because when cats are done, they're done," Lawrence said. The staff works hard to make sure Leeu feels safe in his environment. And to get him to look at the camera, Leeu's handlers catch his attention with tin foil and treat bags.

Leeu follows a long line of feline stars in the storied "Star Trek" franchise . Usually the first cat that fans cite is Spot, who was owned by the android Data in "The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Another starring cat was Neelix — owned by Reginald Barclay of "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001).

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Related: 'Star Trek: Discovery' drops epic new trailer for Season 3  

But the "Star Trek" fan site Memory Alpha reminds us that there were many other cats; we'll remind you of a few examples below.

Fans of "The Original Series" (1966-1968) may remember Isis, who appeared in the episode "Assignment: Earth" when the U.S.S. Enterprise goes back in time to the 20th century to meet a benevolent alien who tries to stop civilizations from destroying themselves. The cat also appeared to have powers, such as understanding exactly what the alien (Gary Seven) was saying at all times.

Chester the cat made appearances in " Star Trek: Deep Space Nine " (1993-99), first showing up with an owner named Chester before Miles O'Brien (played by Colm Meaney) took over the cat's care. Fans of TNG may remember the crew discussing their feelings about cats in a few episodes, with William T. Riker and Geordi La Forge coming out against cats and Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi saying they loved the species.

Perhaps the most terrifying cat of the series, however, showed up briefly in "Star Trek: The Animated Series." A 1973 episode called "Once Upon a Planet" featured a "mechanical manifestation of an abnormally massive cat," while the crew was on shore leave, according to Memory Alpha. Several crew members were trapped in a cave, partly out of fear of the cat doing something to them.

Let's hope that Leeu never gets that angry.

Leeu joins an ever-more-diverse cast of actors on the show, which will include several new additions this season : transgender actor Ian Alexander, nonbinary actor Blu del Barrio, and Black actor David Ajala — the latter of whom is the owner of Grudge in the show.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. 

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Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, " Why Am I Taller ?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace

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• SirStephenH Isis was briefly shown as a humanoid woman, suggesting that it wasn't a cat with "superpowers", but actually an alien in cat form. Reply
• Lovethrust Cats rule, dogs drool! Reply
• Mergatroid There was another alien in TOS that changed into a giant cat to hunt the crew in the episode Catspaw. Note, Gary Seven was not an alien. Looks like Discovery needed another gimmick to try and pull people in. It's so unfortunate that CBS just can't seem to make any Star Trek that fans like, which may have something to do with the toxic producers who refuse to listen to what the fans want. For an excellent example of something fans love, see Prelude to Axanar on youtube. A fantastic effort. No matter if you like the guy who pulled it off or not, he did an excellent job. He was true to Gene Roddenberrie's vision and does not think he is so awesome that his own personal vision should supplant Gene's. I would be happy to pay to see a show like that, or indeed a series. Just check out the comments below the video to see thousands of people who believe Axanar is far better than anything produced by CBS or Paramount over the lats 15 years. If CBS really had anyone with real think-meat, they would have hired this guy instead of suing him. If they want to really revitalize Star Trek, that would be the way to do it. Something fans want. Something canon. Reply
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