The Lorelei Signal
"The Lorelei Signal" | |
---|---|
Star Trek: The Animated Series episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 4 |
Directed by | Hal Sutherland |
Written by | Margaret Armen |
Production code | 22006 |
Original air date | September 29, 1973 |
"The Lorelei Signal" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated American science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 29, 1973, and was written by Margaret Armen,[note 1] author of three Original Series episodes.[note 2]
Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (voiced by William Shatner) and the crew of the Federation starship Enterprise. In this episode, Lt. Uhura (voiced by Nichelle Nichols), Nurse Chapel (voiced by Majel Barrett) and the Enterprise women must take charge of the ship from incapacitated male senior officers and rescue Captain Kirk and his landing party held on an alien world.
Plot
The
On board the Enterprise, Communications Officer
Kirk and his party gather enough strength to escape to a spacious garden and hide inside a tall urn. They realize the pace of their loss of strength correlates with the proximity of the women. Spock, who has not aged as much due to longer Vulcan longevity, agrees to go back to retrieve their communicators; he tells Uhura to send an all-female rescue party.
Uhura beams down with Chapel and a female security force. When the native women try to force them to leave, they stun them with their
The aging process is stopped with the removal of the headbands, but they cannot find a treatment to restore their original age. Spock comes up with the idea of using their original transporter patterns from when they first beamed down.
Uhura returns to the planet and witnesses the Taurean leader, Theela, destroying the device that had been luring starships, stating that Uhura should tell Kirk she kept her side of the bargain. Uhura informs them that a ship of women will return to bring them to a habitable world and that the women's bodies should return to normal in a few months. Theela is pleased, preferring a life fully lived to a static immortality.
Production
In addition to her normal role as
Co-producer
Reception
In 2015, Den of Geek listed "The Lorelei Signal" as one of the top 25 episodes from a grouping of TOS and TAS together.[3]
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter rated "The Lorelei Signal" the 91st best episode of all Star Trek episodes, prior to Star Trek: Discovery.[4]
In 2016, SyFy noted this episode as having Uhura's third best scene in Star Trek.[5]
A 2018 Star Trek binge-watching guide by Den of Geek recommended this episode as part of the "foundations of Star Trek" group.[6]
See also
- "The Deadly Years" - a second season Star Trek: The Original Series episode where command personnel are subjected to rapid aging.
- "Unnatural Selection" - a second season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where the transporter is used to reverse rapid aging.
- "Rascals" - a sixth season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where Enterprise personnel must use the transporter to restore their physical parameters to normal.
- "third season Star Trek: Voyager episode where Ensign Kimfinds himself compelled to join an all-female alien society where, he discovers, they need to drain his life-energy to survive.
- "Bound" - a fourth season Star Trek: Enterprise episode where Enterprise command staff are compelled to do the bidding of Orion slave women they have brought on board.
Notes
- ISBN 0-345-25812-6).
- ^ Armen wrote The Original Series episodes "The Gamesters of Triskelion", "The Paradise Syndrome" and "The Cloud Minders" (teleplay only).
References
- ^ DeCandido, Keith R. A. (December 13, 2016). "Star Trek The Original Series Rewatch: "The Lorelei Signal"". Tor.com. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
- ^ Mangels, Andy (Summer 2018). "Star Trek: The Animated Series". RetroFan (1). TwoMorrows Publishing: 25–37.
- ^ Harvey, Sven (November 5, 2015). "Star Trek: The Original and Animated Series top 25 episodes". Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ Couch, Aaron; McMillan, Graeme (September 8, 2016). "'Star Trek': 100 Greatest Episodes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ Roth, Dany (December 28, 2016). "The Top 10 Uhura Moments from Star Trek". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ Harrisson, Juliette (September 8, 2018). "Star Trek: An Episode Roadmap for Beginners". Den of Geek. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
External links
- "The Lorelei Signal" at IMDb
- "The Lorelei Signal" at Memory Alpha
- "The Lorelei Signal" at Wayback Machine (archived from the original at StarTrek.com)
- "The Lorelei Signal" at Curt Danhauser's Guide to the Animated Star Trek