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This Story: Season 1 Episode 18 (production code 1.19)
TOS Overall: Story 18, Episode 19
Trek Overall: Story 18, Episode 19
Airdate: 19 Jan 1967
Written by Gene L. Coon
Directed by Joseph Pevney

Notes

• The Gorn was followed up later in Star Trek: Enterprise in the episode “Through the Mirror Darkly” and also in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as an overall series villain – although in both, they were radically redesigned, and bear little resemblance to the original version here.
• There was an insanely funny TV commercial around 2013 with William Shatner where he and a guy dressed up as a Gorn recreated the battle from this episode in Shatner’s living room.  It is embedded below.
• The planet Cestus III in this episode is later revealed to be the home of Cassidy Yates in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• The Gorn (in this version of the character) made a couple of amusing appearances in the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory”.  The Gorn appeared in two episodes – 2010’s “The Apology Insufficiency”, and 2012’s “The Transporter Malfunction”.  You can read about both here.
• Vazquez Rocks makes another appearance in the series here.

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