Star Trek
The Savage Curtain
Season 3, Episode 22 · Aired 1969-03-07

Synopsis
The Enterprise surveys the planet Excalbia. As its surface is the temperature of molten rock, no landing party is possible, so when the orbital survey concludes, Kirk orders the ship to leave. And then... Abraham Lincoln appears, and at the same time a region forms on the planet suitable for human life. Kirk and Spock beam down and discover Yarnek. It seems the Excalbians are struggling to understand the concepts of good and evil; the help themselves they have constructed an experiment: four examplars of good, including Kirk and Spock, will battle four exemplars of evil, notorious figures from history. And if good loses, the Enterprise will be destroyed...
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