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Assignment: Earth (TOS episode)
Encyclopedia
"Assignment: Earth" is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series
. It was first broadcast on March 29, 1968, as the last original episode in the second season. It was repeated on August 9, 1968. It is episode #55, production #55, written by Art Wallace
, based on a story by Wallace and Gene Roddenberry
, and directed by Marc Daniels
.
This episode served double duty, not only as an episode of Star Trek
, but as a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off television series, that would have been produced by Roddenberry, under the same name, Assignment: Earth. The show would have featured actor Robert Lansing
as Gary Seven
, a futuristic "James Bond
", as the lead character. The episode stars Teri Garr
as Roberta Lincoln, who would have been a co-star in the series, had it continued on its own.
There is no stardate
listed for this episode.
Overview: Time traveling to 1968 Earth
, the Enterprise
encounters an interstellar agent who intervenes in 20th Century events.
, the starship
USS Enterprise time travel
s to 1968 Earth for historical research. The ship orbits Earth using its deflector shields to avoid detection. Suddenly, the Enterprise intercepts a highly powerful transporter
beam from at least one thousand light-year
s away.
A man dressed in a business suit materializes on the transporter pad. He carries a black cat with a diamond collar. He converses with his cat, Isis, then introduces himself to Captain Kirk as Gary Seven
.
Seven tells Kirk that he is an Earth human from a far more advanced world. His ancestors are humans taken from Earth over 6,000 years ago and trained to intercede on Earth to help it survive. Seven refuses to reveal his home planet and warns Kirk that history will be changed and Earth destroyed if he is not released immediately.
Kirk demands more proof, but Seven refuses. Kirk orders him taken into custody but Seven evades attempts to subdue him, even shrugging off Spock
's nerve pinch
. When Seven tries to beam himself down, Kirk stuns him with a phaser.
Kirk has Seven taken to the brig and asks Spock to search the history database for any critical events that will soon occur. Spock finds that the United States
will launch a nuclear weapons platform from McKinley Rocket Base. The launch is scheduled in a few hours and it may be the reason for Seven's visit.
Meanwhile, Seven awakens and finds himself in a holding cell. He removes a pen — actually an advanced "servo" weapon — from his pocket. He disables the force field and stuns the guard. His escape is detected, but not before Seven and Isis make their way to the transporter room, stun the technicians, and beam down to New York City. Kirk and Spock follow them.
Seven enters an office and activates a sophisticated computer hidden behind a bookcase. The computer reports that agents "201" and "347" have not been heard from in three days. With only an hour until the launch, Seven decides to complete their mission.
A young woman arrives and Seven mistakes her for agent 201. He asks her to dictate a report to an electric typewriter with speech recognition. This is technology well past the state of the art in 1968, so she becomes very flustered. Seven finally asks the computer to identify her. She is Roberta Lincoln, a secretary employed by the missing agents.
Seven realizes his blunder and, appealing to her patriotism, tells Roberta he is a secret government agent and that she should remain quiet about what she has seen. Roberta had thought her employers were doing research for a new encyclopedia. An intelligent woman, she realizes something very odd is happening.
The Beta-5 computer then informs Seven that agents 201 and 347 have died in a car accident.
Kirk and Spock, dressed in contemporary clothing, follow Seven to the office. Seven has Roberta stall them while he enters his giant walk-in safe, actually the portal to a powerful transporter, and dematerializes. As Kirk opens the door with a phaser, Roberta manages to call the police. The police arrive and the two officers are inadvertently beamed to the Enterprise along with Kirk and Spock. The two confused officers are quickly beamed back down.
Seven and Isis materialize at McKinley Rocket Base. With fake identification, Seven easily stuns a guard and stows away in the launch director's car as he makes a final check of the pad. Riding the elevator to the top of the gantry, Seven, carrying Isis, climbs an access arm to the side of the rocket, opens it and begins to rewire it.
On the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock and Scotty try to locate Seven. Meanwhile, a curious Roberta explores the office and discovers the transporter. On the Enterprise, Mr. Scott
locates Seven on the rocket gantry and tries to beam him up. But Roberta, randomly operating the office transporter controls, intercepts the beam-up. Seven materializes instead in the office.
Seven is briefly furious at being beamed away before he was done. But the computer tells him he can still take manual control of the rocket after launch.
Kirk and Spock beam down to McKinley Rocket Base and are quickly captured by the same security guard who tried to detain Gary Seven. The missile is launched.
In the office, Seven takes control of the missile, arming its warhead and targeting it to the heart of the Euro-Asian continent. McKinley Base controllers frantically try to destroy the missile without success. Every major power on the planet goes on missile alert, ordering retaliatory strikes as soon as the missile warhead explodes on impact. Roberta, extremely perturbed by Seven's actions, tries to call the police. Seven severs the phone line with his servo pen. He then turns back to the computer, allowing Roberta to hit him on the head with a cigar box and seize the servo. Roberta threatens Seven with it, excitedly telling him to stop whatever he is doing. Seven replies, "You've got to let me finish what I started or in six minutes, World War III begins!"
Scotty beams Kirk and Spock away from base security and sends them to Seven's office. Roberta, now utterly confused, points the servo pen at Kirk. Seven manages to take it from her and hands it to Kirk, adding that it was "set to kill".
Spock tries unsuccessfully to destroy the missile with Seven's computer. Seven pleads with Kirk to let him complete his plan to destroy the missile at a safe altitude to scare the world's leaders out of their insane arms race. Kirk, perhaps mindful that Seven had just kept Roberta from killing him with his servo, decides to trust Seven. Seven retakes control of the computer and safely detonates the warhead at 104 miles altitude, only 4 miles above the safe minimum.
In the epilogue, Spock and Kirk explain to Seven that the Enterprise was meant to be part of the day's events. Meanwhile, Roberta sees that Isis has turned into a slinkily dressed woman. When she demands an explanation, Seven answers "That, Miss Lincoln, is simply my cat." When Roberta looks again, Isis is once again a cat. Seven decides to keep Roberta employed as his assistant for any future missions. Kirk and Spock beam back to the Enterprise, much to Roberta's continuing astonishment.
was a television movie
and pilot for a series about an android (portrayed by Robert Foxworth
) who is searching for his creator and his purpose, which turns out to be (like that of Gary Seven) to help mankind avoid disasters. Conceived by and executive produced
by Gene Roddenberry
, the script is credited to Roddenberry and fellow Star Trek
alumnus Gene L. Coon
. This series was also never produced.
launched an Assignment: Earth five-issue comic book series written and drawn by John Byrne. One notable story shows Seven and Roberta's peripheral involvement in the events of a prior episode, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday
." The stories show the characters' lives from 1968 up to 1974, and concludes with Roberta meeting Isis (in her Human form) at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
to honor a character from that story killed in the conflict. The characters appear also in 2010 in issues #3 and #4 of Star Trek: Leonard McCoy Frontier Doctor.
. In the latter two novels Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln go on to eventually stop Khan Noonien Singh
and his fellow genetically engineered humans from taking over the planet. These novels also include many humorous references and inside jokes alluding to TOS, TNG, DS9 episodes, and the TOS movies, as well as references to some popular 1960's and 1970s television series not related to Star Trek (for example, meeting Jaime Sommers from The Bionic Woman
.) At one point, Roberta even uses the alias "Veronica Neary" a reference to Teri Garr's role in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind
.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
. It was first broadcast on March 29, 1968, as the last original episode in the second season. It was repeated on August 9, 1968. It is episode #55, production #55, written by Art Wallace
Art Wallace
Art Wallace was an American television writer best known for his work on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. He began work in television in the 1940s, on the anthology series Studio One and Kraft Television Theater. Over the years, Wallace wrote for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Combat!, Star Trek, and...
, based on a story by Wallace and Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
, and directed by Marc Daniels
Marc Daniels
Marc Daniels , born Danny Marcus, was an American television director.-Life and Career:After serving in World War II, Daniels was hired by CBS to direct its first dramatic anthology program, Ford Theater. He mastered live television directing, and was hired to direct the first 38 episodes of I...
.
This episode served double duty, not only as an episode of Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, but as a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off television series, that would have been produced by Roddenberry, under the same name, Assignment: Earth. The show would have featured actor Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing (actor)
Robert Lansing was an American stage, film and television actor.Born in San Diego, California as Robert Howell Brown, he reportedly took his acting surname from the state capital of Michigan. As a young actor in New York City, he was hired to join a stock company in Michigan, but was told he would...
as Gary Seven
Gary Seven
Gary Seven is the major character in the last episode of the second season of the original Star Trek television series, "Assignment: Earth". He is portrayed by Robert Lansing.-Assignment: Earth:...
, a futuristic "James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
", as the lead character. The episode stars Teri Garr
Teri Garr
-Early life:Garr was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1947. Her father, Eddie Garr , was a vaudeville performer, comedian and actor whose career peaked when he briefly took over the lead role in the Broadway drama Tobacco Road...
as Roberta Lincoln, who would have been a co-star in the series, had it continued on its own.
There is no stardate
Stardate
A stardate is a date in the fictional system of time measurement developed for Star Trek, commonly heard at the beginning of a voiceover log entry such as "Captain's log, stardate 41153.7...
listed for this episode.
Overview: Time traveling to 1968 Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, the Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
encounters an interstellar agent who intervenes in 20th Century events.
Plot
With a gravitational slingshot around the sunSun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, the starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
USS Enterprise time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
s to 1968 Earth for historical research. The ship orbits Earth using its deflector shields to avoid detection. Suddenly, the Enterprise intercepts a highly powerful transporter
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
beam from at least one thousand light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away.
A man dressed in a business suit materializes on the transporter pad. He carries a black cat with a diamond collar. He converses with his cat, Isis, then introduces himself to Captain Kirk as Gary Seven
Gary Seven
Gary Seven is the major character in the last episode of the second season of the original Star Trek television series, "Assignment: Earth". He is portrayed by Robert Lansing.-Assignment: Earth:...
.
Seven tells Kirk that he is an Earth human from a far more advanced world. His ancestors are humans taken from Earth over 6,000 years ago and trained to intercede on Earth to help it survive. Seven refuses to reveal his home planet and warns Kirk that history will be changed and Earth destroyed if he is not released immediately.
Kirk demands more proof, but Seven refuses. Kirk orders him taken into custody but Seven evades attempts to subdue him, even shrugging off Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
's nerve pinch
Vulcan nerve pinch
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Vulcan nerve pinch is a technique used mainly by Vulcans to render unconsciousness by pinching a pressure point at the base of the victim’s neck...
. When Seven tries to beam himself down, Kirk stuns him with a phaser.
Kirk has Seven taken to the brig and asks Spock to search the history database for any critical events that will soon occur. Spock finds that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
will launch a nuclear weapons platform from McKinley Rocket Base. The launch is scheduled in a few hours and it may be the reason for Seven's visit.
Meanwhile, Seven awakens and finds himself in a holding cell. He removes a pen — actually an advanced "servo" weapon — from his pocket. He disables the force field and stuns the guard. His escape is detected, but not before Seven and Isis make their way to the transporter room, stun the technicians, and beam down to New York City. Kirk and Spock follow them.
Seven enters an office and activates a sophisticated computer hidden behind a bookcase. The computer reports that agents "201" and "347" have not been heard from in three days. With only an hour until the launch, Seven decides to complete their mission.
A young woman arrives and Seven mistakes her for agent 201. He asks her to dictate a report to an electric typewriter with speech recognition. This is technology well past the state of the art in 1968, so she becomes very flustered. Seven finally asks the computer to identify her. She is Roberta Lincoln, a secretary employed by the missing agents.
Seven realizes his blunder and, appealing to her patriotism, tells Roberta he is a secret government agent and that she should remain quiet about what she has seen. Roberta had thought her employers were doing research for a new encyclopedia. An intelligent woman, she realizes something very odd is happening.
The Beta-5 computer then informs Seven that agents 201 and 347 have died in a car accident.
Kirk and Spock, dressed in contemporary clothing, follow Seven to the office. Seven has Roberta stall them while he enters his giant walk-in safe, actually the portal to a powerful transporter, and dematerializes. As Kirk opens the door with a phaser, Roberta manages to call the police. The police arrive and the two officers are inadvertently beamed to the Enterprise along with Kirk and Spock. The two confused officers are quickly beamed back down.
Seven and Isis materialize at McKinley Rocket Base. With fake identification, Seven easily stuns a guard and stows away in the launch director's car as he makes a final check of the pad. Riding the elevator to the top of the gantry, Seven, carrying Isis, climbs an access arm to the side of the rocket, opens it and begins to rewire it.
On the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock and Scotty try to locate Seven. Meanwhile, a curious Roberta explores the office and discovers the transporter. On the Enterprise, Mr. Scott
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...
locates Seven on the rocket gantry and tries to beam him up. But Roberta, randomly operating the office transporter controls, intercepts the beam-up. Seven materializes instead in the office.
Kirk and Spock beam down to McKinley Rocket Base and are quickly captured by the same security guard who tried to detain Gary Seven. The missile is launched.
In the office, Seven takes control of the missile, arming its warhead and targeting it to the heart of the Euro-Asian continent. McKinley Base controllers frantically try to destroy the missile without success. Every major power on the planet goes on missile alert, ordering retaliatory strikes as soon as the missile warhead explodes on impact. Roberta, extremely perturbed by Seven's actions, tries to call the police. Seven severs the phone line with his servo pen. He then turns back to the computer, allowing Roberta to hit him on the head with a cigar box and seize the servo. Roberta threatens Seven with it, excitedly telling him to stop whatever he is doing. Seven replies, "You've got to let me finish what I started or in six minutes, World War III begins!"
Scotty beams Kirk and Spock away from base security and sends them to Seven's office. Roberta, now utterly confused, points the servo pen at Kirk. Seven manages to take it from her and hands it to Kirk, adding that it was "set to kill".
Spock tries unsuccessfully to destroy the missile with Seven's computer. Seven pleads with Kirk to let him complete his plan to destroy the missile at a safe altitude to scare the world's leaders out of their insane arms race. Kirk, perhaps mindful that Seven had just kept Roberta from killing him with his servo, decides to trust Seven. Seven retakes control of the computer and safely detonates the warhead at 104 miles altitude, only 4 miles above the safe minimum.
In the epilogue, Spock and Kirk explain to Seven that the Enterprise was meant to be part of the day's events. Meanwhile, Roberta sees that Isis has turned into a slinkily dressed woman. When she demands an explanation, Seven answers "That, Miss Lincoln, is simply my cat." When Roberta looks again, Isis is once again a cat. Seven decides to keep Roberta employed as his assistant for any future missions. Kirk and Spock beam back to the Enterprise, much to Roberta's continuing astonishment.
Guest stars
- This was the only episode in which a guest star's name (in this case, Robert Lansing) was listed after the initial opening credits.
- Robert LansingRobert Lansing (actor)Robert Lansing was an American stage, film and television actor.Born in San Diego, California as Robert Howell Brown, he reportedly took his acting surname from the state capital of Michigan. As a young actor in New York City, he was hired to join a stock company in Michigan, but was told he would...
- Teri GarrTeri Garr-Early life:Garr was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1947. Her father, Eddie Garr , was a vaudeville performer, comedian and actor whose career peaked when he briefly took over the lead role in the Broadway drama Tobacco Road...
, then largely unknown would go on to have a successful movie and television career - Barbara BabcockBarbara BabcockBarbara Babcock is an American character actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Grace Gardner on Hill Street Blues for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress—Drama Series in 1981 and her role as Dorothy Jennings on Dr...
, who appeared in two other Star Trek episodes, had a very unusual role here: voicing overVoiceOverVoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
Isis the cat's "meows". She also provided the voice of Gary Seven's "Beta 5" computer. - Victoria VetriVictoria Vetri-Biography:Vetri was born in San Francisco, California to parents who were immigrants from Italy. She attended Hollywood High School in Hollywood, California between 1959 and 1963 and later studied art at Los Angeles City College. She began acting and modelling in her teens. Vetri is a singer and...
, the 1968 PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
Playmate of the Year, has an uncredited bit part as Isis in human form.
40th Anniversary remastering
This episode was remastered in 2006 and aired on May 3, 2008 as part of the remastered Original Series. It was preceded a week earlier by the remastered "Mudd's Women" and followed a week later by the remastered "Court Martial". Aside from remastered video and audio, and the all-CGI animation of the USS Enterprise that is standard among the revisions, specific changes to this episode also include:- Earth has been given a more realistic appearance, and the Moon also appears in these shots alongside it; however, it has been noticed that in the new CGI version, Earth appears to be rotating in the wrong direction, while it was correct in the original version. This appears because the shot is "tracking" the Enterprise, which causes the Earth to move slowly westward.
- A matte shot combining stock footage of the rocket with new footage of the actors has been cleaned up and stabilized.
- NASA stock footage has been enhanced, possibly from new copies.
Spin-off series pilot
The proposed spin-off series was not picked up. Six years later, Roddenberry returned to this theme of an outside force benevolently aiding human development. The Questor TapesThe Questor Tapes
The Questor Tapes is a 1974 television movie about an android with incomplete memory tapes who is searching for his creator and his purpose. Conceived by and executive produced by Gene Roddenberry, the script is credited to Roddenberry and fellow Star Trek alumnus Gene L. Coon.A novelization,...
was a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
and pilot for a series about an android (portrayed by Robert Foxworth
Robert Foxworth
Robert Heath Foxworth is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life and career:Foxworth was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Erna Beth , a writer, and John Howard Foxworth, a roofing contractor...
) who is searching for his creator and his purpose, which turns out to be (like that of Gary Seven) to help mankind avoid disasters. Conceived by and executive produced
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
by Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
, the script is credited to Roddenberry and fellow Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
alumnus Gene L. Coon
Gene L. Coon
Gene L. Coon was an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best remembered for his work on the original Star Trek series.-Life and career:...
. This series was also never produced.
Comic book
In 2008, IDW PublishingIDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
launched an Assignment: Earth five-issue comic book series written and drawn by John Byrne. One notable story shows Seven and Roberta's peripheral involvement in the events of a prior episode, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (TOS episode)
"Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is a first-season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode #19, production #21, first broadcast on January 26, 1967, repeated July 13, 1967, and was remastered in 2006 for syndication broadcast on May 5, 2007. The teleplay was written by D.C...
." The stories show the characters' lives from 1968 up to 1974, and concludes with Roberta meeting Isis (in her Human form) at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
to honor a character from that story killed in the conflict. The characters appear also in 2010 in issues #3 and #4 of Star Trek: Leonard McCoy Frontier Doctor.
Novels
Author Greg Cox has included Gary Seven and Roberta in three of his Star Trek novels, Assignment: Eternity and the two-part novel, The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien SinghThe Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh
The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh is a two volume set of novels written by Greg Cox about the life of the fictional Star Trek character Khan Noonien Singh. He is often referred to as simply "Khan" in the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" and in the Star Trek movie Star Trek...
. In the latter two novels Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln go on to eventually stop Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh, commonly shortened to Khan, is a villain in the fictional Star Trek universe. According to backstory given in the character's first appearance, the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed" , Khan is a genetically engineered superhuman tyrant who once controlled more...
and his fellow genetically engineered humans from taking over the planet. These novels also include many humorous references and inside jokes alluding to TOS, TNG, DS9 episodes, and the TOS movies, as well as references to some popular 1960's and 1970s television series not related to Star Trek (for example, meeting Jaime Sommers from The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
.) At one point, Roberta even uses the alias "Veronica Neary" a reference to Teri Garr's role in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
.
External links
- Synopsis of original Pre-Star Trek pilot script
- Site devoted to Assignment: Earth, with an adaptation and behind-the-scenes details