The Way to Eden

Hijacked by a pair of cauliflower ears, the Enterprise is taken by a group who have no fears, by singers and dancers, hippy-like prancers, to a planet called Eden but no paradise appears.

It's a tough swallow, especially at the end, and flower power doesn't save the day.

...in those of you who rated this episode low. You seem to be taking this show way too seriously. This episode was just a lighthearted break in the constant action that is star trek. You can't have EVERY episode result in Shatner's shirt being mysteriously ripped off in an epic one-on-one battle with the alien of the week. Sometimes you just need to see Spock having a jam session with some weird hippie types instead. Alright, maybe it's just because I have a not-so-secret crush on Spock, but that was probably one of my favorite scenes in the series. Sure, it's a little campy, but that's half of the show's appeal. Lighten up man, and enjoy the original series for what it was.

A previous reviewer wrote that Roddenberry was influenced by Woodstock for this episode; however, this couldn't possibly be the case.

This episode originally aired on February 21, 1969; Woodstock took place between August 15 and 18 in 1969.

Otherwise, this is not one of the best episodes of the series (much of Season 3 wasn't good due to a number of reasons, not the least of which was network interference and the downgraded role Roddenberry was allowed to have).

This is far down on my list of Star Trek episodes, but I think it gets too much scorn. Actually , I think it is one of the funnier episodes of the Original series. I especially get a kick out of Charles Napier's Adam. I'm not sure if the episode was supposed to be funny, but it is. There are certainly much worse episodes- bleak and nonsensical episodes like "the Empath" or " the Paradise syndrome". If you don't take it too seriously, it is a moderately fun episode. It is also interesting as a social commentary on the times the show was being made.

It surprises me that this is the lowest rated episode of Star Trek TOS. Granted it is silly, but at least it has some laughs. The worst episodes are just boring.

This episode was derided when it first came out for "exploiting and denigrating hippies". While stock versions of hippie counter culture folks and themes are used, it is not some mindless hippie love or hate fest, though it had scenes of intense hippie corniness with bad folk style music & vocals, and extravagant psychedelic day glow fashions. Star Trek was always hip to the current trends and if they didn't have at least one episode like this, in the height of the anti-war Woodstock days, they would have been neglectful. It certainly is a lot more sympathetic to hippies than a contemporary right wing talk show crackpot raving about evil godless communist hippies. The episode brought up some useful questions about how even the enlightened and far more humane and just future may be sterile, depressing and boring to some. It also captured the mindset of some of the demented radical types; renegade intellectuals and Scientists, who found a niche in those movements. It had some comedy, some drama and some insight. It wasn't one of the best episodes but far from the worst, I say 6 out of 10 in the scale of ST episodes. Certainly, it was in the spirit of Star Trek and avoided the stock monsters, bad aliens, superior beings or evil villains which drive most sci fi shows while it did explore uncharted space and ideas.