Assignment: Earth

One of the best Star Trek episodes was this one where the Enterprise has troubles reconciling past, present, and future when it interferes with a transporter beam that takes a man from the future on the ship and the whole ship and crew are beamed to 1968.

The man from the future is Robert Lansing, code name Gary Seven and he's there to find what happened to a pair of agents from his time which is a thousand years ahead of the Enterprise future. He has a mission and he's on a deadline having to do with an orbiting satellite with an array of impressive nuclear weapons.

The dilemma for William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy and for the whole Enterprise crew is what to do. They follow Lansing down, but of course aren't sure how their actions might change history. The not knowing makes this a most tense episode.

Also Teri Garr gives a wonderful performance as a young woman who'd been hired by the two missing agents whom we learn were killed as a secretary. She's a bright but somewhat spacy girl who isn't quite sure what she's caught up in. Every scene she's in, Teri Garr steals.

Another thought provoking episode from Star Trek prime.

The thing about this episode that stands out for me is my reaction to it when I saw it premier in early 1968, when I was 14. Terri Garr's character, far from playing as a ditzy blonde, instead read to all of us as a member of the baby boomer generation saddled with the hypocritical bs of those over 30, who we were learning to Not Trust. Thus her character suspiciously blowing the whistle on one and all, ultimately leading to her fine peroration toward the end where she expresses the hopes and fears of a generation. We all marveled at this episode in school during the course of the following week, and all boomer trekies have a soft spot in their hearts for Terri Garr on the strength of this performance. I'd also add that you have to remember we were all too close in memory to the Cuban Missile crisis of Oct 1962 for comfort. The notion of a nuclear war was physically felt back in those days in a way that it hasn't been since, well, 1962.

I noticed a few comments regarding Robert Lansing not being in the acting credits for the Assignment: Earth episode. Lansing was actually listed in the show's opening credits, along with the episode title. I believe he's the only Star Trek guest star to be introduced in such fashion, perhaps giving an early clue that the episode was indeed intended as a pilot for a new show. What's sad about Gary Seven (Lansing's character) not receiving his own show is that we missed out on a chance to watch Terri Garr develop her role as unwitting secretary Roberta Lincoln. Garr has since gone on to establish herself as a fine actress, both in comedy and drama. And she came back to science fiction with her role as Richard Dreyfuss' wife in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Among the best shots from the Assignment: Earth episode is the NASA footage of a rocket's stage separation high above the Earth. And who could forget the (all too) brief shot of Victoria Vetri as Gary Seven's mysterious cat in humanoid form? That appearance of Playboy's 1968 Playmate of the Year (as Angela Dorian) was just another in a long line of guest appearances of sexy '60s sirens on Star Trek.

An enjoyable episode but I've decided to focus on a few perhaps lesser known points.

The Policeman who says 'Charlie' to his colleague (when beamed aboard the Enterprise) is the actor Ted Gehring who had a long career appearing in many well known series (Bonanza - The Virginian - The Fugative) to name but a few. He also met Mr Shatner again in TJ Hooker.

Meanwhile his sidekick was none other than Bruce Mars who played Finnegan in Shore Leave. He played that role very well but I cannot find a reason why his career ended in 1969.

Footnote Bruce is now known as Brother Paramananda, he is a senior monk in the Self-Realization Fellowship.

One other point which I do not understand is why - after the CGI enhancements - they left the rather obvious 'still' photographs of the rocket in the episode.

Casually going back in time for observation, the Enterprise catches a man in transportation, with cat like prowess he manages to get free, and save the planet from World War Three.

A curious end to the season, having seemingly exhausted all planets that can host humanoid life the only place left to roam is back home, albeit with a bit of time travel thrown in for good measure.