Episode no. Season 2
Episode 2 Written by David Gerrold | Directed by Bill Reed Production code 22018 | |
Original air date September 14, 1974 (1974-09-14) | ||
"Bem" is the second episode of the second season of the animated science fiction television series Star Trek, the 18th episode overall. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 14, 1974, and was written by David Gerrold, who wrote the earlier episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles" and worked on several Original Series episodes. This episode marks the first time that Captain James T. Kirk's full name is given, revealing that the middle initial stood for Tiberius, after the Roman emperor.
In this episode, the Enterprise crew must cope with a diplomatically sensitive issue involving a guest officer who meddles in a crucial mission.
Plot
On stardate 7403.6, the Federation starship Enterprise crew is conducting a series of exploratory missions with honorary Commander Ari bn Bem, a representative from the newly contacted planet Pandro, who is working for his government as an independent observer of the Federation.
Bem accompanies a landing party on a mission to a newly discovered planet. Instead of observing, however, he begins to interfere with the mission.
Before long, Captain Kirk and his people are captured by primitive natives. They soon learn that these primitives are under the guardianship of a powerful noncorporeal entity who is upset that the Enterprise crew has come to her planet and interfered with her "children".