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The Naked Time (TOS episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Naked Time" is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series
. It was first broadcast September 29, 1966, and repeated on April 27, 1967. It is the fourth episode of the first season, and was written by John D. F. Black
and directed by Marc Daniels
. It has a sequel in Star Trek: The Next Generation
, the episode "The Naked Now".
In the plot, a strange affliction infects the crew of the Enterprise
, destroying their inhibitions.
1704.2, the starship
USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk
, beams a landing team down to a research station on the planet Psi 2000, a world in the midst of breaking up. The team finds all six of the scientists manning the station dead. The circumstances of their deaths are not apparent; however, the life support systems had been found shut down and all control systems frozen solid.
One of the Enterprise crewmen, Joe Tormolen, carelessly removes his gloves and is contaminated by a strange red liquid. When Tormolen and Mr. Spock return to the ship they are given a clean bill of health by Dr. McCoy
. Later however, Tormolen notices a strange itch and begins to act irrationally. He threatens Lt. Sulu
with a knife, then attempts to turn it on himself. Tormolen is stopped and escorted to the sickbay where he later dies apparently from the superficial wounds he caused himself during the incident. Dr. McCoy is left bewildered, especially since Tormolen's wounds were not that serious—Tormolen seems to have simply lost the will to live.
Soon Tormolen's bizarre affliction begins to affect other crew members and quickly spreads through the ship. They each begin to display both comical and horrific exaggerations of character. McCoy finds nothing like it in Starfleet
records.
As the affliction spreads, Sulu abandons his post on the bridge and runs around the ship shirtless, brandishing a sword, and challenging everyone to a duel. Ship's navigator Lt. Kevin Riley wanders down to Engineering where he takes over control of the ship, then declares himself the new Captain of the Enterprise. He requests "double portions of ice cream" for everyone, then begins flipping random switches, fouling up ship systems and warbling "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
" repeatedly over the PA system. The Enterprise starts to drift out of control and slowly falls out of orbit, pulled down by the erratic gravity of Psi 2000.
Nurse Chapel
confesses her deepest desires for Spock, though Spock rejects her. Spock himself shows troubled emotions and begins weeping uncontrollably because he can't tell his mother he loves her. He tells Captain Kirk that he feels ashamed when he feels friendship toward him. Captain Kirk is also affected, first becoming overly romantic toward the ship, then exhibiting paranoia, breaking down for fear that he is losing his ability to command.
McCoy manages to avoid the affliction and finds that somehow on Psi 2000, water has changed to a complex chain of molecules and once in the bloodstream, it acts like alcohol, depressing the centers of judgment and self-control.
Eventually Riley is stopped and control of Engineering is regained. However, Riley has turned the engines off and the Chief Engineer Scotty
tells Kirk that he is going to need more time to restart them than they have left. When Kirk challenges this, Scotty says, "Captain, I can't change the laws of physics!"
To avoid crashing into the planet, Captain Kirk orders that they are now forced to attempt a full-power restart, mixing the matter and antimatter
in a cold state. To prevent the starship's warp engines from exploding, they will need to balance them into a "controlled implosion", but this has never been done before. Spock explains the physics behind this: that there is an intermix formula based on the theoretical relationship between time and antimatter, but this theory has never been tested out in an actual starship.
Although the restart is successful, it does send the Enterprise into a space-time warp, which results in the Enterprise and her crew being sent back about 71 hours in time. While they are recovering on the starship's bridge, Spock says that they have three days to live over again, to which Captain Kirk replies hopefully, "Not those last three days." Spock also points out that since the formula worked, they can go back in time to any planet, any era. Kirk then replies, "We may risk it someday."
has repeatedly mentioned in interviews that this is his favorite episode, and spends a chapter on it in his autobiography.
episode "The Naked Now", and Riker references something similar happening to a previous Enterprise crew.
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 September 29, 1966, and repeated on April 27, 1967. It is the fourth episode of the first season, and was written by John D. F. Black
John D. F. Black
John D. F. Black is a scriptwriter, TV producer, and TV director. He has had a long and varied career in television, but he is best known for his work on the TV series Star Trek in 1966, and its sequel series, Star Trek: The Next Generation during the 1980s.Black was the associate producer for ten...
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...
. It has a sequel in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, the episode "The Naked Now".
In the plot, a strange affliction infects the crew of 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...
, destroying their inhibitions.
Plot
On stardateStardate
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...
1704.2, 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, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
, beams a landing team down to a research station on the planet Psi 2000, a world in the midst of breaking up. The team finds all six of the scientists manning the station dead. The circumstances of their deaths are not apparent; however, the life support systems had been found shut down and all control systems frozen solid.
One of the Enterprise crewmen, Joe Tormolen, carelessly removes his gloves and is contaminated by a strange red liquid. When Tormolen and Mr. Spock return to the ship they are given a clean bill of health by Dr. McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
. Later however, Tormolen notices a strange itch and begins to act irrationally. He threatens Lt. Sulu
Hikaru Sulu
Hikaru Sulu is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games...
with a knife, then attempts to turn it on himself. Tormolen is stopped and escorted to the sickbay where he later dies apparently from the superficial wounds he caused himself during the incident. Dr. McCoy is left bewildered, especially since Tormolen's wounds were not that serious—Tormolen seems to have simply lost the will to live.
Soon Tormolen's bizarre affliction begins to affect other crew members and quickly spreads through the ship. They each begin to display both comical and horrific exaggerations of character. McCoy finds nothing like it in Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
records.
As the affliction spreads, Sulu abandons his post on the bridge and runs around the ship shirtless, brandishing a sword, and challenging everyone to a duel. Ship's navigator Lt. Kevin Riley wanders down to Engineering where he takes over control of the ship, then declares himself the new Captain of the Enterprise. He requests "double portions of ice cream" for everyone, then begins flipping random switches, fouling up ship systems and warbling "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen is a popular song written by Thomas P. Westendorf in 1875. In spite of its American origins, it is known and revered as an Irish ballad. Westendorf, a school teacher in Plainfield, Indiana, wrote it for his wife...
" repeatedly over the PA system. The Enterprise starts to drift out of control and slowly falls out of orbit, pulled down by the erratic gravity of Psi 2000.
Nurse Chapel
Christine Chapel
Christine Chapel is a fictional character in the original Star Trek series, and in some of the films based on it. She was played by the late Majel Barrett....
confesses her deepest desires for Spock, though Spock rejects her. Spock himself shows troubled emotions and begins weeping uncontrollably because he can't tell his mother he loves her. He tells Captain Kirk that he feels ashamed when he feels friendship toward him. Captain Kirk is also affected, first becoming overly romantic toward the ship, then exhibiting paranoia, breaking down for fear that he is losing his ability to command.
McCoy manages to avoid the affliction and finds that somehow on Psi 2000, water has changed to a complex chain of molecules and once in the bloodstream, it acts like alcohol, depressing the centers of judgment and self-control.
Eventually Riley is stopped and control of Engineering is regained. However, Riley has turned the engines off and the Chief Engineer Scotty
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...
tells Kirk that he is going to need more time to restart them than they have left. When Kirk challenges this, Scotty says, "Captain, I can't change the laws of physics!"
To avoid crashing into the planet, Captain Kirk orders that they are now forced to attempt a full-power restart, mixing the matter and antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
in a cold state. To prevent the starship's warp engines from exploding, they will need to balance them into a "controlled implosion", but this has never been done before. Spock explains the physics behind this: that there is an intermix formula based on the theoretical relationship between time and antimatter, but this theory has never been tested out in an actual starship.
Although the restart is successful, it does send the Enterprise into a space-time warp, which results in the Enterprise and her crew being sent back about 71 hours in time. While they are recovering on the starship's bridge, Spock says that they have three days to live over again, to which Captain Kirk replies hopefully, "Not those last three days." Spock also points out that since the formula worked, they can go back in time to any planet, any era. Kirk then replies, "We may risk it someday."
40th Anniversary remastering
This episode was remastered in 2006 and aired September 30, 2006 as part of the 40th anniversary remastering of the Original Series. It was preceded a week earlier by "The Devil in the Dark" and followed a week later by "The City on the Edge of Forever". Besides upgrading sound and image, the remastering also alters elements of the original episode. Besides the all-CGI animation of the USS Enterprise that is standard among the revisions, specific changes to this episode include:- The planet Psi 2000 has been updated appearing more realistic.
- The matte painting of the planet's surface now includes the research station structure.
- When Scotty uses a phaser to burn through the bulkhead, the phaser beam has been properly added.
- When the Enterprise begins to fall into the planet's atmosphere, a fiery glow appears on the view screen from the reentry.
- The older style mechanical digital readout has been replaced.
- The time travel effects have been enhanced.
Production
This was originally intended to be a two-part episode, with part one ending with a cliffhanger (with the Enterprise going back in time). The ending was revised so that the episode would become a stand-alone episode. What would have been part two eventually became another stand-alone episode, "Tomorrow is Yesterday".Reception
George TakeiGeorge Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
has repeatedly mentioned in interviews that this is his favorite episode, and spends a chapter on it in his autobiography.
Sequel
The events of this episode are repeated in the Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "The Naked Now", and Riker references something similar happening to a previous Enterprise crew.