Star Trek
The Man Trap
Season 1, Episode 1 · Aired 1966-09-08
Synopsis
Professor Robert Crater and his wife Nancy are archeologists, investigating the ruins of a civilization on M-113. Enterprise visits for the annual physical examination required by regulations, but the professor seems oddly reluctant. He insists all he and his wife need is salt to cope with the heat. Then Crewman Green dies, his face marked by odd red rings. Crater says he ate the borgia plant which contains toxic chemicals. But its symptoms do not include the red mottling. Kirk and Spock are determined to discover what's going on, and doubly so when a crewman on the ship dies the same way as Green.
From the desk: Star Trek opens its catalog run with “The Man Trap” (1966-09-08). Created modern fan culture, conventions, and the idea that cancelled can mean immortal. Cast tensions, network neglect, and letter-writing campaigns are the original stan war.
In the series
This episode is part of Star Trek (1966–1969) on NBC.
A cancelled space opera that refused to die — fandom's founding text.
Key cast
- William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk
- Leonard Nimoy as Spock
- DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard McCoy
- Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
- James Doohan as Scotty