“The Mark of Gideon”

Stardate: 5423.4-5423.8
Episode: 72
Original US Airdate: 17 January 1969

An anti-anti-abortion tale (surprising for the late 1960s), with the requisite comely humanoid alien.

Summary

The Enterprise is sent to establish relations between the Federation and the planet Gideon, a potential new member of the UFP and a reportedly germ-free paradise. The self-isolated Gideonites agree to allow one Federation representative (Captain Kirk) to beam down and (since the planet is shielded from sensors) provide the appropriate transporter coordinates to bring Kirk into the Gideon council chambers. Kirk transports down, only to find himself on what appears to be a deserted Enterprise. He has a painful bruise on his arm, and there are about nine minutes missing from his memory. Soon, a beautiful young girl (Odona) appears, claiming to not know where she is from or how she got on the ship. She tells Kirk of memories of an incredibly crowded world, where every inch is covered by people. As Kirk and Odona "get to know" each other, Spock is thwarted at every turn (the Gideonites, Starfleet, the Federation) in his attempts to discover what happened to Captain Kirk. Just as Kirk begins to realize something suspicious is going on, Odona falls ill and collapses. Kirk carries the girl to Sick Bay but is met by Odona's father, Gideon Ambassador Hodin. Hodin explains to Kirk that Odona was purposely infected with the deadly Vegan choriomeningitis virus (obtained from Kirk's blood—Kirk had contracted the disease years ago) to start a lethal plague on Gideon and hopefully make a dent in Gideon's overpopulation problem (caused by the planet's germ-free atmosphere, long life span, and the Gideonites' objection to birth control). The original plan was to induce Kirk to fall in love with Odona and tie him to Gideon, allowing him to infect more people with the disease. Meanwhile, Spock disobeys a direct order from Starfleet and beams down to Gideon to look for Kirk. He finds Kirk, Odona, and Hodin in an exact duplicate of the Enterprise (the Gideonites had deliberately provided the wrong coordinates for Kirk's initial beam-down), constructed by the Gideonites as part of their scheme. Spock and Kirk beam up to the real Enterprise with Odona, who is now near death. Odona is cured by Dr. McCoy and returns to Gideon to infect other Gideonites and help solve her planet's overpopulation problem.

Quotable Quotes

Kirk: "Odona, you must realize that we're not here by accident. Some force, some intelligence has arranged this for a purpose."

Kirk: "Odona, have you come to die?"
Odona: "I don't know. I don't care! I only know I'm here. I only know I'm happy." [Kirk and Odona kiss for a rather long time.]

Kirk (to Gideon council): "I do not offer my life for this purpose. I have many plans. And I have hopes other than death for Odona."
Hodin: "My daughter pleaded with you to stay."
Kirk: "What was said and what happened between us was for us alone."

Hodin: "The people of Gideon have always believed that life is sacred, that the love of life is the greatest gift…We are incapable of destroying or interfering with the creation of that which we love so deeply—life, in every form, from fetus to developed being. It is against our tradition, against our very nature."

Spock: "It is possible that Captain Kirk materialized on some other part of Gideon."
Hodin: "Let us hope it was on dry land."

Spock: "We are representatives of the Federation, Doctor."
McCoy: "Well, that doesn't mean that we have to behave like children and listen to some fool lecture by a diplomat."

McCoy (after Spock's verbal parrying with Hodin): "Just when I was beginning to think you might find a whole new career as a diplomat, Mr. Spock." [Ironically, in ST:TNG Spock did become a diplomat.]

Odona: "Is this the way one looks when one is developing a sickness?"

Trivia

The ST:TNG episode "Relics" used footage from this episode to represent the "old" Enterprise.

Notable Bits

Odona and Kirk—great on-screen chemistry

Hodin's reference to Scotty as a "very excitable repairman"

Odona's (almost) deathbed scene

Observations

"Gideon"'s plot has possibly more holes than Odona's skimpy outfit:

Why didn't the Gideonites practice abstinence, or was that against their societal traditions also?
If Gideon was so crowded, where did they find room to construct the fake Enterprise?
Where do the Gideonites grow food (or do they just take pills)?
Although Gideon is shielded from sensors, Scotty is able to lock on to Spock's communicator. Why didn't Kirk take a communicator with him to Gideon to start with?

We hear Kirk "thinking" aloud as he explores the seemingly deserted Enterprise. Telepathy?!

Why can't we see Kirk's bruise?

At one point, Kirk and Odona seem to emerge from Kirk's quarters (the name plate is hard to read). Uh-oh…

Hopefully, Odona took up acting as a profession once Gideon's population was under control—the lying little thing would be a natural.

Spock (leaving for Gideon): "This will not take long."
Scotty (to McCoy after Spock has left the bridge): "Isn't that just about what Captain Kirk said before he left?"
[Kirk actually said "You won't have long to wait" to Spock in the transporter room. Scotty wasn't in the transporter room at the time, so perhaps he overheard their conversation via the ship's intercom.]

Odd ending—Odona says her good-byes, and Kirk only manages a half-hearted smile.

Video Captures

(From the "Mark of Gideon" DVD; click thumbnail to see full-sized picture)


Where...am...I?	Title screen	Yes, Cyrano Jones helped write this.	Ambassador Hodin of Gideon	"The purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis."
Who's she?	"Odona...Yes, my name is Odona."	"Is this entire ship yours?"	"Who has brought you here?"	"What is 'Gideon'?"
"We're not here by accident. Some force, some intelligence has arranged this for a purpose."	The Gideon Council: Krodak, Hodin and ??	Krodak beams aboard the Enterprise	Kirk tries to summon Starfleet	"Can you make it last a long, long time?"
"I want to ease your feeling of dread..."	"What makes it so impossible [for the people of Gideon] to be alone?"	"Odona, have you come to die?"	"I only know I'm happy."	A gaggle of Gideonites watch Kirk and Odona smooch
Kirk and Odona go off to...discuss warp drive technology	Oh no!...	...not more Gideonites?	"You mean that we're going mad."	Kirk and a sick Odona
Hodin and Odona	Kirk with the Gideon council	Kirk (with Gideonite crowd visible in background)	Kirk and a feverish Odona	"And I asked you to make our journey last forever."
Spock rescues Kirk and Odona	"You are a gentleman, Captain Kirk."	Kirk and Odona on the "crowded" Enterprise	Odona says good-bye to Kirk	The Enterprise leaves Gideon

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