Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 36, Episodes 71 & 72: Whom Gods Destroy/ The Mark of Gideon |  | Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan
Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
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Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 79722
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Subtitled)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 0792174941
UPC: 097366003646
EAN: 9780792174943
ASIN: B00005NVDJ
Theatrical Release Date: September 8, 1966
Release Date: October 23, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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"Whom Gods Destroy"
It's the supporting players who provide the most watchable performances in the 1969 "Whom Gods Destroy," one of the best episodes from Star Trek's final season on NBC. Running an errand to the planet Elba II, an inhospitable place housing a remote hospital for the hopelessly insane, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) discover that a longtime patient and Starfleet icon, Captain Garth (Steve Ihnat), has overtaken the facility. Suffering delusions of absolute power, Garth declares himself master of the universe, though his mastery fails to lure the rest of the Enterprise crew into a trap. With Kirk and Spock subdued prisoners of the brutal Garth, the story opens to Ihnat's flamboyant yet sympathetic performance. You can see behind the character's crazy veneer to the bold starship commander whose exploits fired Kirk's imagination as a cadet. Equally good is Yvonne Craig as Garth's would-be queen, the very sexy Marta, a compulsive killer whose seductive dances, wayward intelligence, and exotic, green skin make her one of the most striking females from the original series. Newbie Trekkers will be happy to know that the story by Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl clarifies a couple of biographical points about Kirk and Spock, including the captain's own reference to his Starfleet career track before becoming an explorer. --Tom Keogh "The Mark of Gideon"
Every now and then, the meager budget for Star Trek was helped along by stories set almost entirely on the Enterprise, which required shooting within established sets. "The Mark of Gideon" was a clever way to mitigate the visual monotony of such episodes. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) beams himself down to the planet Gideon, but instead finds himself alone in a mock-up of his own starship. (Translation: it's Shatner on the Enterprise set without the rest of the cast.) Almost alone, that is: Kirk finds himself accompanied by the beautiful Odona (Sharon Acker), an inhabitant of Gideon selected for infection by an outsider, in hopes that a plague of some sort will help the planet's overpopulation problem. Despite, or even because of, the set-bound nature of the story, "The Mark of Gideon" is actually one of the boldest and freshest ideas in the series, and like "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," took on a hot topic of controversy (population control) in the issue-driven 1960s. The script, incidentally, was cowritten by Stanley Adams, who played Cyrano Jones in "The Trouble with Tribbles." --Tom Keogh
Description
Whom Gods Destroy, Ep. 71 - After Kirk and his crew deliver wonder drugs to a group of criminally insane beings on Elba II, they meet the colony's director, only to learn that he is one of the inmates, with the power to assume any form.
The Mark of Gideon, Ep. 72 - Kirk beams down to Gideon, only to find himself aboard a deserted U.S.S. Enterprise. The only being he encounters is a mysterious and beautiful woman named Odona, who claims to know nothing.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
One of the Top 3 Volumes of Season 3! February 20, 2007
Frederick Baptist (Singapore)
In an unfortunate 3rd and final season strewn with horrible episodes, it comes as a relief here to have 2 episodes that rank among the very best of all 3 seasons in this volume. In the first episode, "Whom Gods Destroy", we get a mental asylum story which surpasses the "Dagger of the Mind" episode from season one by dint of the better acting and storyline as well.
In the second episode, "The Mark of Gideon", we get a story which explores the issue of population control and the Malthusian hypothesis and the part these play in civilisation. Another issue that is explored is that of self-sacrifice for the common good which is represented by Odona.
Overall, after a long litany of poor episodes, we get here 2 episodes which remind us briefly of some of the good things that we knew and loved from the prior seasons. This volume falls under the "good to have but not essential" category if you are picking which volumes to keep.
 Steve Ihnat's finest hour! March 12, 2005
Cseeley6 (Texas)
Whom Gods Destroy
Delivering a revolutionary new medicine reportedly able to cure insanity - to the asylum on Elba II, Kirk and Spock meet with Governor Donald Cory the head of the facility. The Elba II facility treats the few remaining incorrigible, criminally insane of the galaxy and has taken on a new inmate, Garth of Izar a former starship fleet captain. While on Elba II Kirk and Spock find out that all isn't as it seems, Cory is trapped in Garth's cell and the man that looks like Cory changes into the form of Captain Garth much to Kirk and Spock's surprise. Kirk and Spock are taken captive by the madman Garth and the other inmates who have taken control of the asylum after Garth escaped his cell and led the uprising. Garth has mastered the ability of cellular metamorphosis taught to him by the people of Antos IV to repair the destroyed parts of his body following a horrible accident. Using the ability to change into any form he was able to trick a guard making him think that Cory was trapped in Garth's cell.
Garth's plan was a simple one: take control of the Enterprise and use the starship to punish the members of his crew who had mutinied against him; resulting in his being incarcerated on Elba II. Garth had condemned the entire Antos race to destruction after recovering from his injuries. The people of Antos IV had healed Garth and in his gratitude the deranged star captain offered them the galaxy, an offer that the Antosians refused. Unable to deal with the stresses of the horrific ordeal he had survived, Garth went mad and saw the Antos Race as a threat to the Federation and ordered them to be annihilated. His crew refused the unjustified and unlawful order and then took control of the ship.
Assuming the form of Captain Kirk, Garth attempted to be beamed aboard the Enterprise, but requiring the correct response to a chess problem that Garth didn't know Scotty refused the imposter access to the Enterprise. Thwarted, an enraged Garth vowed to take the Enterprise at all costs. "Lord" Garth and his followers attempt to acquire the chess problem's solution from Captain Kirk by using every means at his disposal. From his companion Marta, the seductive yet deadly green Orion woman to attempting to trick and torturing Kirk even torturing Cory, still Garth fails to extract the information due to Kirk's discipline and training, which are put to the test. Garth who had proclaimed himself "Master of The Universe" even executed Marta right in front of Kirk by detonating an explosive on the gaseous and poisonous surface of Elba II, hidden in a necklace the madman had given her. The explosion registered on the Enterprise's sensors, prompting a worried and frustrated Scotty to take action by trying to penetrate the planet's security shield using the ship's powerful phaser banks. The shield which protects the asylum dome from attack or prevents beaming when in operation easily stand up to the starship's onslaught.
Attempting one final gambit, Garth allows Spock to escape his cell and make it to the asylum's control room armed with a phaser thus putting Spock in the role of King Solomon. Garth took the form of Kirk and Spock is confronted with having to choose between two Captain Kirks, one who is actually the captain and the other who is Garth in the form of his captain. A fight ensues between the two Kirks, but Spock is able to tell the difference between them and stuns the impostor. With Governor Cory released and the asylum finally back in the proper authority, the Enterprise is able to complete her mission and send down more medicine to replace the supply destroyed by Garth and his followers. With the help of McCoy, Cory is able to administer the medicine to the inmates starting them on the road to recovery.
This episode was a gem of the third season. Steve Ihnat was great in the role of Garth of Izar!
 Both stories need a little 'birth control' March 10, 2004
Stan (New York USA)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Whom Gods Destroy is another visit to an insane asylum, no better that the 1st season show 'Dagger Of The Mind'. At least Dagger introduced the 'Vulcan Mind-Meld". Even the actors looked either 'nut's' or heavily medicated. Note Kirk & Spock slouching in the "table room" scene with more than mild disinterest in their faces (even for a Vulcan!)The Mark Of Gideon screams for an obvious message. Duh! Birth Control. Anyway, why would a supposedly intelligent race free of disease allow its' population to run amok! Do I see Soylent Green?
GOOD STAR TREK THIRD SEASON DVD! March 21, 2003
Jared Insell (Canada)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Volume 36 of the Star Trek DVD series includes two of the better episodes from the tail end of the TV series' third and final season on NBC. Both these epiosdes are fairly decent despite the typical third season flaws.WHOM THE GODS DESTROY is simply a fun Star Trek episode. Kirk and Spock beam down to the prison planet Elba II to find that Garth of Izar (Steve Ihnat), an infamous Star Fleet Captin who wiped out an entire race, has taken control of the prison complex from Governor Cory. Using his ability to shapshift into different characters Garth attempts to take over the Enterprise. This episode is actually pretty laughable. Garth's evil plan is way too far fetched to even work. But perhaps the producers wanted to point out that the character was utterly insane. It's the cast of colourful characters and the over the top acting that save this one. Ihnat is great as the bantering Garth and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl from the TV show Batman) makes a great acting appearance as Marta (the green alien woman). Ironically the third Batman guest star to appear in a consecutive Star Trek episode. Too bad Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith and Caesar Romero never showed up as guest stars huh? MARK OF GIDEON is a little more serious and almost creepy. Another Star Trek issue oriented episode. This time tackling overpopulation problems and contraception. Most of the screen time is given to Shatner and guest star Sharon Acker who plays Odana. There is great chemistry between the two and the acting in this episode is quite good. Good casting and a strong plot overshadow the obvious production budget flaws on this episode (most of it was filmed on the Enterprise set). The Gideon council leader, Hodin, is played by David Hurst, who made a hilarious appearance as Baron Von Klutz on the Monkees TV series. Here though he plays a suprisingly serious role as the main antagonist. Overall a good set of third season episodes. One laughable one a little more dark and serious. Considering that the tail end of the final season was filled with bad episodes this is quite refreshing to watch becuase these are a few better episodes from the wildly uneven third season. Highly recommended!
How lucky can one man get? September 30, 2002
McHenry John (McHenry, Illinois United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Two more great episodes from TOS in which Kirk gets AN ORION SLAVE GIRL in "Whom Gods Destroy". He dukes it out with an insane Starship Captain as well who can morph into anyone he chooses.
In "Mark of Gideon", TOS tackles the problem of overpopulation & birth control...and Kirk gets the girl AGAIN!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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