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The Gamesters of Triskelion

William Shatner

Angelique Pettyjohn

Leonard Nimoy

Joseph Ruskin

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Home > Star Trek The Gamesters Of Triskelion Cast

Star Trek The Gamesters Of Triskelion Cast

• UPDATED: December 8, 2023

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Star Trek: The Gamesters of Triskelion is an episode from the original Star Trek series, first aired in 1968. The episode follows Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy as they are forced to participate in deadly gladiatorial games on a distant planet. The cast includes several memorable characters, portrayed by talented actors. Here are the top ten cast members and their IMDb URLs:

1. William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000638/ 2. Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000559/ 3. DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0445492/ 4. Angelique Pettyjohn (Shahna) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0678873/ 5. Joseph Ruskin (Master Thrall Galt) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751240/ 6. Steve Sandor (Lars) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0762383/ 7. Jane Ross (Tamoon) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0743693/ 8. Victoria George (Tamoon) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0313273/ 9. Mickey Morton (Kloog) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607985/ 10. Lou Elias (Ozaba) – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253063/

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Midnite Reviews

Detailed analysis of classic sci-fi movies and tv shows, star trek episode 45: the gamesters of triskelion.

Technical Specs

Director: Gene Nelson

Writer: Margaret Armen

Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Joseph Ruskin, Angelique Pettyjohn, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, Steve Sandor, Walter Koenig, Jane Ross, Victoria George, Dick Crockett, and Mickey Morton

Composer: None (Stock Music)

Air Date: 1/5/1968

Stardate: 3211.7

Production #: 60346

William Shatner’s hammy acting also slips through occasionally, thus ruining the intense nature of several key moments. Notably, Kirk’s goofy reaction to punishment makes it difficult to empathize with the agony generated by his Collar of Obedience, which is supposedly a worse sensation than the sting of a practice target whip.

Concluding Comments

Overall Quality: 6/10

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• The Gamesters of Triskelion

The Gamesters of Triskelion - Guest Cast

Guest stars.

James Doohan

Nichelle Nichols

Walter Koenig

Joseph Ruskin

Steve Sandor

Victoria George

Dick Crockett

Mickey Morton

Co starring.

Angelique Pettyjohn

The Creative Life Adventure

Living a creative life

Boldly Rewatching the Voyages: The Gamesters of Triskelion

(Note: If you haven’t read it yet, my introductory post on this Star Trek: The Original Series rewatch is a good place to start.)

Original Air Date: January 5, 1968

Crew Death Count: 0 (but two thralls are killed)

Bellybuttons: 1 (Kirk is the hunkiest thrall! We also have several near-misses, what with the thralls’ BDSM costumes)

“The Gamesters of Triskelion” is largely a hybrid of “ Arena ” and “ The Menagerie ,” and both of those earlier episodes were superior. This week, the Enterprise travels to the uninhabited planetoid Gamma II for a routine facilities check of the Federation’s automatic communications and astrogation (?) station there. Kirk leads a landing party of Uhura and Chekov. Uhura’s presence is logical as she is the communications expert. I guess Chekov is the substitute navigator in Sulu’s absence ( George Takei was filming The Green Berets (1968) at the time, or he would have been the third member of the landing party). The landing party is abducted to the distant planet of Triskelion, where threee noncorporeal Providers maintain a collection of thralls (slaves) who fight each other for the Providers’ entertainment. Most of the episode is a fairly routine retread of the series’ most common themes: humans exceptional, aliens inferior, slavery bad, Kirk woos women, McCoy complains, Spock defends logic, Kirk loses his shirt, yawn.

The Providers are disembodied brains who live underground. (They are voiced by Bart LaRue , Walker Edmiston , and Robert Johnson , who all had significant voice roles in Star Trek and other movies and TV shows.) Like the Old Ones from “ What Are Little Girls Made Of? ” and the Talosians in “The Menagerie,” the Providers once had physical bodies. Provider #3 tells Kirk, “Through eons of devoting ourselves exclusively to intellectual pursuits, we became the physically simple, mentally superior creatures you see before you.” Finding the brainy life boring, the Providers live vicariously through the physical exploits of their thralls. Considering the availability of advanced android technology observed in previous TOS episodes, I wonder why the Providers didn’t just implant themselves in android bodies and engage in their own fisticuffs. Perhaps like all people of privilege, they prefer to talk a good talk while sending others to face the real danger. And we can speculate that the Providers, like all slaveholders, relish the power of controlling the lives of others.

The term “ thrall ” is not in common use, but it’s also not made-up Star Trek jargon. It derives from an Old Norse term referring to a slave or one living in a state of servitude or submission. The obvious comparison is the gladiators of the Roman Empire . Believed to have originated with the Campanians in the 4 th century BC, the popularity of the gladiatorial games peaked with the Romans in the 1 st century BC. Some gladiators volunteered, but many were slaves or captured enemy soldiers, and even if they achieved public popularity, they still faced that whole fight-to-the-death scenario. Ridley Scott ‘s Gladiator (2000) came long after TOS, but the brutality of gladiatorial life was popularized in the 1960 film Spartacus . We generally view slaves as being forced to work for their “owners,” but, like the Roman gladiators, the thralls primarily serve to provide entertainment. This doesn’t change the fact that the thralls have no choice in any detail of their lives.

The thralls are not native to Triskelion – we see an Andorian, and the other thralls are all unique in appearance – but they appear to have been born in captivity. Like slaves brought to North America from Africa, they have been denied their original culture and forced into a common identity of bondage. Each member of the Enterprise landing party is assigned a “drill thrall” (no double entendre intended!), and Kirk’s drill thrall Shahna ( Angelique Pettyjohn ) has no understanding of interplanetary travel or the possibility of life beyond Triskelion. Worse, they have been convinced that they are born to be enslaved, that they are incapable of living independently. When Kirk asks, “Why do the Providers…like to watch others being hurt, killed?” she can only answer, “That is the way.” No wonder the Enterprise crew, with basic freedom of choice, seems stubborn and rebellious in comparison.

Kirk is, of course, the central character and consistently demonstrates his established leadership style. Within seconds of being transported to Triskelion, Kirk determines they are not on Gamma II based on the sky color and the planet’s trinary star system. He remains true to his “survival is the first order of business” principle, demonstrated in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and “ The Apple ,” and later in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), taking time to resupply his energy reserves when Shahna brings food. He never stops gathering information, questioning Shahna at every opportunity, looking for any clue that might lead to escape. He goes so far as to seduce Shahna, confusing her with new emotions and knowledge to encourage sharing of information. He even sacrifices his own safety to diminish the suffering of others – volunteering to accept physical torture intended first for Uhura and later for Shahna – thereby earning the respect of both the thralls and the Providers.

Kirk goes too far in the end, however. Desperate to pull the wool over the Providers’ non-existent eyes, Kirk tells these career gamblers that humans also possess a love of wagering. His description of his own culture is an apt portrayal of humans in the 21 st century: “We compete for everything – power, fame, women [oh, no!], everything we desire.” Lobbying for the thralls’ freedom should Kirk be victorious, he denies the Providers’ claim that the thralls are too inferior for self-reliance, claiming the Federation has taught self-governance to societies throughout the galaxy. If he’s basing this on the cultures Kirk has left in shambles with vague promises of aid (“ The Return of the Archons ” and “The Apple” come to mind), he’s giving himself way too much credit. Worse, Kirk gambles the lives of his crew on one final duel to the death: if he single-handedly defeats three thralls, everyone goes free; if he loses, the entire Enterprise crew will become thralls. What possesses Kirk to take this risk? It’s sheer luck that Kirk is victorious. It would have made far more sense to order Spock to turn tail and escape.

There are some terribly uncomfortable moments relating to race and gender; some deservedly uncomfortable, others a reflection of TOS’ typical clumsiness. When a disobedient thrall is offered to the others for target practice, Uhura refuses to attack him and is threatened with being horse-whipped by Kloog ( Mickey Morton ); Kirk insists on taking the punishment as Uhura’s captain. And that’s a relief, because the thought of seeing a Black woman whipped on network television is ghastly. (Yes, we’ve seen it in other productions and it was ghastly then, too.) The United States’ failed reckoning with slavery was on a lot of people’s minds in 1968. The Emancipation Proclamation ’s 100 th anniversary had been observed in 1962 and the Civil Rights Movement was in full force. The U.S. Congress passed a series of civil rights legislation in the 1960s, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 , containing the Fair Housing Act, only three months after this episode aired. Much of the 1960s, however, was a bloodbath for civil rights leaders: Medgar Evers , James Chaney , Malcolm X , Vernon Dahmer , Wharlest Jackson , and Martin Luther King Jr. are only a few of the local and national leaders killed between 1963-1968. For any viewers with doubts about the direction required for progress, Kirk spells it out for us when he tells the Providers, “A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior, mentally or otherwise.”

Later, Kirk’s strategy to confuse Shahna includes talk of love, which Kirk carefully defines in terms of censor-friendly gender roles: “Love is the most important thing on earth. Especially to a man and a woman.” He follows through with, “On earth, men and women live together, help each other, make each other happy.” Kirk quickly backtracks when he makes out with Shahna in an “information-gathering” session, then punches her! Take that, happiness! Kirk knocks Shahna unconscious to take her key and free his landing party from their prison cells. While we can understand Kirk’s willingness to do anything to save his crew, the ease with which he assaults Shahna after manipulating her emotions continues TOS’ disturbing pattern of misogyny. Shahna at least gets to call out Kirk’s manipulation in the last fight scene: “You lied. Everything you said.” Unlike previous conquests, Kirk doesn’t even pretend to have sincere feelings for Shahna; the class divide between them is too wide.

The worst moment comes when Lars ( Steve Sandor ) introduces himself to Uhura as her drill thrall. Lars enters Uhura’s cell and assaults her in TOS’ most disturbing scene since “ The Enemy Within .” The actual assault occurs off-screen and leads quickly into what would have been a commercial break, so the outcome is left to the viewer’s imagination. Some interpret this to mean Uhura was raped, but a close listen to the dialog indicates otherwise. After the break, we pick up with Lars leaving Uhura’s cell and looking offended. “It is not allowed to refuse selection,” he says, implying that Uhura did exactly that and Lars intends to go crying to the Providers. After witnessing Uhura’s courage in “ Space Seed ,” not to mention her willingness to take on the Providers earlier in this episode, we can certainly imagine she successfully fought off her attacker. The moment is more significant than just a plot point; Uhura is defying the long history of sexual assault of Black women by white men during slavery. Nevertheless, watching the characters’ shadows matched to Uhura’s screams is terrifying.

The other crew members behave consistently with their established personas, and that’s mostly good news. Chekov calls the Providers “Cossacks,” the same insult he used on Klingons in “ The Trouble with Tribbles .” When Scott observes the landing party’s disappearance from the transporter room early in the episode, he chooses preparedness over panic and conducts all the appropriate equipment checks before making his report to Spock. With Sulu and Chekov both absent and Spock in temporary command, a female officer takes over both the science station and the navigation console, the only time I recall this happening in the series. Spock demonstrates the superiority of logic when he pursues the abductees by following the only available clue, instead of idling around doing nothing, as McCoy and Scott both recommend. Spock also gets the episode’s most insightful dialogue. When McCoy refers to hope as “a human failing,” Spock reminds us what propaganda experts have been demonstrating for centuries: “Constant exposure does result in a certain degree of contamination.” Speaking of McCoy, his constant complaining (“This is ridiculous!”) demonstrates why later iterations of Star Trek don’t allow the chief medical officer to wander the bridge. And Scott adds insubordination to his troubled resume. When Spock asks if they can exceed warp six, Scott responds, “It’s my opinion that we’ve gone too far as it is, sir.”

The episode’s resolution is unsatisfying on two levels. The first is the mistake of leaving the newly-freed thralls in the care of the Providers with vague promises of citizenship classes. Why is Kirk so confident the Providers will suddenly give the thralls a better life? It’s hard to believe the Providers will give up their gambling addiction (more on that shortly) to become civic-minded social workers. Even if the thralls were born on Triskelion, their ancestors came from other worlds. Wouldn’t the thralls face better prospects with their original societies? As wrong as the Providers’ system is, Kirk has violated the Prime Directive and left another culture in shambles with no plans for follow-up. And what about the Andorian injured in the final battle – doesn’t he need medical attention?

The failure to properly confront the problems with sports gambling is the conclusion’s second problem. This ties in directly to the dilemma of the thralls’ inexperience with self-sufficiency. Brutal competition is all the thralls have ever known; wagering on the outcome is all the Providers know. It’s easy to imagine that, when free, the thralls will slip back into the old pattern of combat for sport, with the Providers eager to indulge. If people beating each other senseless for entertainment, with spectators betting on the results, seems barbaric, welcome to present-day human life. Mixed martial arts, western-style boxing, and football are far more dangerous than the sports-reporting media would lead us to believe. Yet we keep cheering on the bloodshed. Meanwhile, sports betting is a growing business, thanks in part to the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a national sports gambling ban . Sports betting in 2020 exceeded $800 million just in the state of New Jersey . So much for the myth that we can’t afford higher taxes! Imagine how different the world would be if that $800 million were invested in healthcare or education instead. Kirk speaks to all of us when he tells the Providers, “It’s an unproductive purpose, unworthy of your intellect. … Perhaps you’re not as evolved as you believe.”

Star Trek ’s original series is often described in terms of the triad of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and “The Gamesters of Triskelion” is an episode of threes. A triskelion is a trinary motif of rotational symmetry depicted in a variety of forms, including three spirals or three human legs. The image dates back to the ancient world, found in Malta, Ireland, Greece, and Sicily. In more modern times, it shows up in Celtic-themed jewelry, the logo of the U.S. Department of Transportation , and a SHIELD headquarters in Marvel Comics . A more nefarious use includes three 7’s in a triskelion arrangement used by white supremacists . The triskelion can represent many occurrences of threes, whether natural or contrived, including past, present, and future, or body, mind, and soul. In “The Gamesters of Triskelion,” the thralls fight on a triskelion platform, there are three Providers, Triskelion has three suns, three Enterprise crew members are abducted, Kirk fights three thralls in the final competition, and three voices (Spock, Scott, and McCoy) guide the bridge of the Enterprise . As viewers, we might recall that we’re in the middle of a three-season series. Regardless of its flaws, “The Gamesters of Triskelion” does a fine job of expressing humanity’s past (slavery), present (civil rights legislation), and future (freedom and the promise of equality). Star Trek encourages optimism, so let’s hope the former thralls face a promising future. If these new citizens grow impatient, we can understand. As we’ve learned in our own century, the future is a long time coming.

Next: A Piece of the Action

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• 1968/Episodes
• James T. Kirk/Appearances
• Spock/Appearances
• Leonard McCoy/Appearances
• Nyota Uhura/Appearances
• Montgomery Scott/Appearances
• Pavel Chekov/Appearances
• Hadley/Appearances
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• Roger Lemli/Appearances
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• Tricorder/Appearances
• USS Enterprise NCC-1701/Appearances
• Andorians/Appearances
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• Gene Nelson
• Gene Nelson/Director
• Margaret Armen
• Margaret Armen/Writer
• Robert H. Justman/Associate producer
• John Meredyth Lucas
• John Meredyth Lucas/Producer
• Gene Roddenberry/Executive producer
• William Shatner
• William Shatner/Actor
• Leonard Nimoy
• Leonard Nimoy/Actor
• DeForest Kelley
• DeForest Kelley/Actor
• Joseph Ruskin
• Joseph Ruskin/Actor
• Angelique Pettyjohn
• Angelique Pettyjohn/Actor
• Nichelle Nichols
• Nichelle Nichols/Actor
• James Doohan
• James Doohan/Actor
• Steve Sandor
• Steve Sandor/Actor
• Walter Koenig
• Walter Koenig/Actor
• Jane Ross/Actor
• Victoria George
• Victoria George/Actor
• Dick Crockett
• Dick Crockett/Actor
• Mickey Morton
• Mickey Morton/Actor
• Bill Blackburn
• Bill Blackburn/Actor
• Frank da Vinci
• Frank da Vinci/Actor
• Walker Edmiston
• Walker Edmiston/Actor
• Roger Holloway
• Roger Holloway/Actor
• Bart La Rue
• Bart La Rue/Actor
• Eddie Paskey
• Eddie Paskey/Actor
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Star Trek: The Gamesters of Triskelion

• Edit source

"The Gamesters of Triskelion" is the sixteenth episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek and the forty-fifth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Gene Nelson with a teleplay written by Margaret Armen . It first aired on NBC on Friday, January 5th , 1968 .

• 1.1 Starring
• 1.2 Guest Star
• 1.3 Co-Starring
• 1.4 Featuring
• 2 Notes & Trivia
• 4 Series trademarks
• 6.1 Star Trek
• 6.2 Star Trek: The Next Generation
• 6.3 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• 6.4 Star Trek: Voyager
• 6.5 Star Trek: Enterprise
• 7 External Links

Starring [ ]

Guest star [ ], co-starring [ ], featuring [ ], notes & trivia [ ].

• Star Trek was created and developed for television by Gene Roddenberry .
• " The Gamesters of Triskelion " and " TOS: The Gamesters of Triskelion" both redirect to this page.
• Stardate: 3211.7.
• This episode is production code number 60346.
• This episode is included on disc six of the Star Trek: The Original Series: Season Two (HD) DVD collection by Paramount Home Video .
• This is the only episode of Star Trek directed by Gene Nelson .
• D.C. Fontana served as a script consultant on this episode.
• This episode aired exactly one year to the day following "The Galileo Seven" .
• This is the first episode of Star Trek to air in 1968 .
• Actors Bill Blackburn , Frank da Vinci , Roger Holloway and Eddie Paskey frequently play extras and bridge support crew members in episodes of Star Trek . They are uncredited for their participation in this episode.
• The events of this episode take place in the year 2268 .
• The central setting for this episode is the planet Triskelion.
• The original intended destination for the landing party was Gamma-2.
• The planet Triskelion exists in a trinary star system; meaning it has three suns.
• Although she seems to have a decent handle on the English language, Tamoon cannot seem to pronounce "Chekov". She pronounces it "Chee-koof".
• Apparently this is the first time that Spock has ever asked Doctor McCoy for assistance with anything.
• Doctor McCoy always seems to use Spock's racial characteristics as an expletive in the cadence of his dialogue. In this episode, he sarcastically poses the question, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?"

Bloopers [ ]

• Wardrobe malfunction : Kirk's shirt never seems to fit right. It rides up and over several times during the initial fight scene against Lars.
• Wardrobe malfunction : Uhura falls to the ground in the initial battle with the Thralls and her underwear is plainly visible. This is not so much a blooper, as surely the editors took note of this, but did not feel that it was worth re-shooting or removing from the final cut of the scene.

Series trademarks [ ]

• There is plenty of Spock / Dr. McCoy word play in this episode, which has always been a fan favorite of the series.
• Classic staged fighting scene. Karate chops to the shoulder and Chekov's rapid abdominal punches that clearly have no real thrust behind them.
• Kirk's a man-whore. From the first moment he lays eyes on Shahna, he is prepping his game with the intent of laying her down by the fire to make sweet, sweet love.
• Doctor McCoy : Can people live that long as disassembled atoms in a transporter beam?
• Mister Spock : I have never heard of a study being done, but it would be a fascinating project.
• Doctor McCoy : Fascinating? Look, those people are friends of ours if they're still alive!
• Mister Spock : Indeed.
• Doctor McCoy : Well the odds are not good!
• Mister Spock : No, I would estimate the odds...
• Doctor McCoy : Don't quote odds and don't give me any of your dispassionate logic, Mr. Spock! Just keep looking for them!
• Mister Spock : I would welcome a suggestion, Doctor, even an emotional one, as to where to look.
• Doctor McCoy : First time you've ever asked me for anything, and it has to be an occasion like this.
• Doctor McCoy : You're going to leave here without them and run off on some wild goose chase halfway across the galaxy Just because you found a discrepancy in a hydrogen cloud?
• Mister Spock : Doctor, I am chasing the captain, Lieutenant Uhura, and Ensign Chekov, not some wild aquatic fowl.
• Scotty : Mr. Spock, the captain, Lieutenant Uhura, and Chekov... they vanished. They got onto the transporter platform, and they just vanished.
• Mister Spock : I presume you mean they vanished in a manner not consistent with the usual workings of the transporter, Mr. Scott.
• Scotty : Of course I mean that. You think I'd call if they just beamed down?

See also [ ]

Star trek: the next generation, star trek: deep space nine, star trek: voyager, star trek: enterprise, external links [ ].

• "The Gamesters of Triskeklion" at IMDB
• "The Gamesters of Triskeklion" at the TV IV
• "The Gamesters of Triskeklion" at TV.com guide
• "The Gamesters of Triskeklion" at Memory Alpha

Gallery [ ]

• 2 Stephi Lineburg
• 3 Brandy Ledford

Screen Rant

Star trek 3: the search for spock cast guide & where are they now.

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• The film featured the return of many beloved characters from the original series, including Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Sulu (George Takei). Walter Koenig also reprised his role as Chekov, while Robin Curtis took over the role of Lt. Saavik from Kirstie Alley.
• In addition to the returning cast members, the film introduced a new character, David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), the son of Admiral James T. Kirk and the fiancé of Lt. Saavik. The film also featured the return of Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard), Spock's father, and the villainous Klingon leader, Kruge

40 years after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and the movie's cast have made an indelible impact not just on the Star Trek franchise, but on wider culture. The third of six movies to continue the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the original starship Enterprise picks up where Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan left off. With Spock (Leonard Nimoy) physically dead, Kirk and the crew risk their lives and careers to resurrect their old friend.

Across stage and screen, through political activism and progressive work with NASA, the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series ' third movie have left a lasting impression on the world. Sadly, many of the cast of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock have passed away in the decades that followed the movie's release . However, each of them has left an enduring legacy, not just with this criminally underrated Star Trek movie, but also with their wider work in film, television, music and beyond.

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11 William Shatner as Admiral James T. Kirk

Shatner's still working in his 90s..

William Shatner gets one of his most iconic Kirk moments in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , as he damns the " Klingon bastards " that killed his son David Marcus (Merritt Butrick). Shatner went on to appear in four more Star Trek movies , before Captain Kirk was killed off in 1994's Star Trek Generations . As well as starring in the Star Trek movies, Shatner directed his own franchise entry, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , which he co-wrote with Harve Bennett .

Beyond the Star Trek universe, William Shatner got a late period renaissance via the iconic Denny Crane role in David E. Kelley's legal comedy Boston Legal . Shatner's music career also got a late period reappraisal thanks to his collaboration with Ben Folds on Has Been, an album of covers and new material. Incredibly, in 2021, William Shatner was part of the crew of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space shuttle, becoming the oldest living person to travel into space . Shatner recently reflected on his career and experiences in the 2023 documentary movie, You Can Call Me Bill .

One of William Shatner's Boston Legal co-stars was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Rene Auberjonois, who played Paul Lewiston.

10 Leonard Nimoy as Spock

Search for spock began nimoy's directorial career..

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was Leonard Nimoy's directorial debut, and he went on to direct several other movies, including Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . The best loved of Leonard Nimoy's directorial efforts is Three Men and a Baby , starring Ted Danson, Tom Selleck, and Steve Guttenberg , which continues to be screened on TV to this day. As well as appearing in the three subsequent Star Trek: The Original Series movies, Nimoy reprised the role of Spock for both Star Trek: The Next Generation and the J.J. Abrams movies in the late 2000s.

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9 DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy

Deforest kelley passed the torch from tos to tng..

Besides the three subsequent Star Trek movies, DeForest Kelley only has a handful of credits to his name in the years after The Search for Spock 's release. In the years between Star Trek IV and V , Kelley recorded Bones McCoy's cameo in the Star Trek: TNG pilot to pass the torch. DeForest Kelley then made two more appearances as Dr. McCoy in the final TOS movies, and recorded voice work for The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars and two Star Trek videogames before he sadly passed away from stomach cancer in 1997.

8 James Doohan as Scotty

Doohan had a sense of humor about his star trek role..

James Doohan played Scotty in four more Star Trek movies after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , and also appeared in the TNG episode "Relics". Outside of the Star Trek universe, James Doohan clearly had a sense of humor about his place in the iconic sci-fi franchise. In The Ben Stiller Show , Doohan played himself, sending up his vaulted status by fans like Ben Stiller, while he made a brief cameo as a drunken actor in the TV movie Knight Rider 2000 . Strangely, Doohan's sense of humor appeared to abandon him in later life, as he declined to appear in Futurama 's Star Trek pastiche, believing it was disrespectful .

Weirdest of all, however, Doohan played the role of Chief O'Brien , the namesake of one of his Star Trek successors, in the Paul Brothers' movie, Double Trouble . James Doohan passed away in 2005, survived by his wife and seven children, including his son Christopher Doohan. Chris made two cameos in Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness , for which he received a credit as a transporter room officer. Chris Doohan also followed in his father's footsteps by playing Scotty in the fan-made web series Star Trek Continues .

James Doohan stipulated that some of his ashes should be shot into space, a request which was eventually granted when the Falcon 9 rocket was launched as part of the second COTS Demo Flight in 2012.

7 Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

Nichols made a huge impact on the future of space travel..

Uhura has a minor, but integral role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , and continued to be an integral member of the Enterprise crew in subsequent movies. In tandem with her work on the Star Trek movies, Nichelle Nichols worked with NASA to increase the diversity of the space program . Among the astronauts that Nichols recruited were the first African American woman in space, and future Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star Mae Jemison. A 2019 documentary, Women in Motion , celebrated Nichols' impact on the space program. Nichelle Nichols sadly passed away in 2022.

Nichelle Nichols played the iconic Nyota Uhura in Star Trek and regularly attended conventions before passing away in 2022, and this is her net worth.

6 George Takei as Sulu

Takei continues to make a positive impact as an activist..

Following Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , George Takei continued to play Hikaru Sulu in subsequent movies, and appeared as Sulu in Star Trek: Voyager to celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary. As well as memorable guest appearances in The Simpsons , Party Down , and The Big Bang Theory , George Takei also had a recurring role as Kaito Nakamura in Heroes . The father of sci-fi nerd and time-travelling superhero Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), Takei's character appeared in all four seasons of Heroes alongside past and future Star Trek stars, Nichelle Nichols and Zachary Quinto.

The licence plate of Kaito Nakamura's limousine was NCC-1701, in reference to the starship Enterprise.

Outside Star Trek and his TV work, George Takei made a positive impact as an artist and activist. After years of charity work with LGBT organizations, Takei publicly came out in 2005, and he and his partner Brad Altman were the first couple in West Hollywood to apply for a same-sex marriage certificate in 2008 . Takei has also sought to highlight the historic horrors of the Japanese-American internment camps via the 2012 Broadway musical Allegiance and a graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy . Discussing Allegiance in 2012, Takei said he saw the musical as his legacy project.

5 Walter Koenig as Chekov

Chekov swapped the starship enterprise for babylon 5.

Walter Koenig's Chekov had a lot to do in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , from manning Spock's science station to keeping Uhura's hailing frequencies open. After Search for Spock , Koenig continued to appear in the movies until his final cameo in Star Trek Generations . Koenig's best known role outside Star Trek was Alfred Bester in Babylon 5 , a character he played in 12 episodes between 1994 and 1998. More recently, Walter Koenig joined The Seventh Rule podcast to review his Star Trek: The Original Series episodes with hosts Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T Husk.

4 Robin Curtis as Lt. Saavik

Curtis was almost worf's girlfriend on tng.

Robin Curtis briefly reprised her role as Lt. Saavik in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , but the character was never seen again. Years later, Robin Curtis was offered the role of Ambassador K'Ehleyr , the former lover of Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) in Star Trek: The Next Generation , but was unavailable. TNG finally secured Curtis to play the villainous Vulcan Tallera in the season 7 two-parter, "Gambit". Curtis had a number of small movie roles and guest spots on TV, including in Babylon 5 , before retiring from screen acting in 1999.

Kirstie Alley was replaced as Lt. Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and there are conflicting accounts as to why the Vulcan was recast.

3 Christopher Lloyd as Kruge

Lloyd and shatner teamed up in 2021..

A year after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Christopher Lloyd played the biggest role of his career as Doc Brown in Back to the Future . Lloyd has continued to do great work in genre movies over the years, from Uncle Fester in The Addams Family movies to Commissioner Helgait in The Mandalorian . Hilariously, having played bitter enemies in Star Trek 3 , Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner played best friends in the 2021 comedy movie Senior Moment , with Jean Smart, with whom Lloyd has also appeared in Hacks .

2 Merritt Butrick as David Marcus

Tng was one of butrick's final roles..

Tragically, Merritt Butrick died five years after the release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , from toxoplasmosis, complicated by AIDS . The actor is memorialized with two squares on the 1,300,000 square foot NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, both of which reference his role as David Marcus in The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock . In the years before his death, Merritt Butrick made a guest appearance as T'Jon in a stealth Wrath of Khan reunion in the TNG episode "Symbiosis". Merritt Butrick's last acting role was a critically acclaimed performance as a male sex worker in the play Kingfish at the Los Angeles Theater Center.

1 Mark Lenard as Ambassador Sarek

Sarek lived on into the tng era..

Mark Lenard was a prolific character actor on stage and screen throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and was beginning to slow down by the late 80s. After the end of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Lenard appeared in the subsequent three movies, and also made two appearances as an older Sarek in Star Trek: The Next Generation . Lenard also toured a production of The Boys in Autumn with Walter Koenig in 1993, the year that he performed his final TV appearance, as Horace Sloan in The Heat of the Night . Lenard passed away three years later, in 1996.

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The Gamesters of Triskelion

• Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are trapped on a planet where abducted aliens are enslaved and trained to perform as gladiators for the amusement of bored, faceless aliens.
• Kirk, Uhura and Chekov find themselves suddenly transported light years across the galaxy to the planet Triskelion. There, they are trained as thralls, slaves who engage in gladiatorial combat for the pleasure of the Providers, three faceless beings who amuse themselves by wagering on the outcomes. Outfitted with collars that inflict pain for disobedience, the thralls are submissive and pliant. Kirk eventually challenges the Providers to a wager that will either result in freedom for all or a lifetime of slavery. — garykmcd
• When Kirk, Chekov and Uhura are in the transporter room, a unknown force diverts them to the planet Triskellion, where they find their phasers disabled and their communicators unable to reach help. They are subdued, fitted with painfully paralyzing collars of obedience, and declared lifelong thralls (slaves), to be trained, among members of various other planet races, as gladiators. Galt, the Master Thrall who controls their collars, is in the service of the Providers, three heard-but-unseen alien masters who own the 'herds' (slaves) in these games and wager on the outcomes for their amusement. As acting commander Spock tracks them down with difficulty, the earthlings impress their captors. Kirk works to arouse feelings and thoughts in his female drill instructor, which eventually enables him to confront the three Providers and strike a risky deal. — KGF Vissers
• Kirk, Chekov and Uhura are in the transporter room (about to beam to the surface of Planet GAMMA II), when an unknown force diverts them to the planet Triskellion, where they find their phasers disabled and their communicators unable to reach help. They are subdued, fitted with painfully paralyzing collars of obedience, and declared lifelong thralls (slaves), to be trained, among members of various other planet races, as gladiators. Galt (Joseph Ruskin), the Master Thrall who controls their collars, is in the service of the Providers, three heard-but-unseen alien masters who own the 'herds' (slaves) in these games and wager on the outcomes for their amusement. Lars (Steve Sandor) is Uhura's drill thrall and tries to force himself on her but she resists. Tamoon (Jane Ross) is assigned to Chekov. Shahna (Angelique Pettyjohn) to Kirk. Shahna tells Kirk how the society on Triskellion works. The providers bid for the newcomers after they see their performance in training. Once the newcomers are bought, they fight on behalf of the providers and in exchange they take care of their Thralls. Only Galt can operate the collars of obedience. Acting commander Spock starts to track his missing colleagues with difficulty. He asks Scotty to double check his equipment and then conducts 2 sweeps of the planet to check for any signs of human lifeforms. Their molecules are not floating in space as even that would show up on their sensors. There were no magnetic or ionic storms to cause interference. Spock eventually picks an ionization trail in a nearby Hydrogen cloud and follows it. On the Triskellion, the earthlings impress their captors (Kirk beats up his opponent, despite being tied behind his back. He was taking Uhura's place in a punishment given by Galt for disobeying his orders). Provider One bids 2000 Quatloos for the newcomers and wins them. 5000 Quatloos are bid that the newcomers will not be trainable and thus would have to be destroyed. The nearest star system is in M24 Alpha, which is 11.63 light years away from the current position of the Enterprise. Everyone on the ship thinks Spock is crazy to pursue this course of action. McCoy argues that their best chance of finding the missing crew is on GAMMA II Kirk works to arouse feelings and thoughts in his female drill instructor Shahna, which eventually enables him to confront the three Providers. The providers have a mechanical voice that makes Kirk think that maybe the Providers are computers and not organics. Shahna says when it is time to increase the herd, the Providers will select a mate for her. He seduces Shahna when she brings him his food and then knocks her out, when her guard is down. He uses her keys to escape his cell, only for the Providers to use Galt and choke them again using their collars. Just then the Enterprise enters orbit. Providers bar Spock from landing on the surface, but allow three way communication between them, Enterprise and Kirk. Kirk explains the nature of the slave society on the planet. Kirk tricks the Providers into transporting him to meet them. Kirk realizes that the Providers are the 3 brains who control a massive energy source underneath (1000 meters beneath the surface) the planet's surface. The providers explain that they evolved into a simpler physical form after eons of evolution. The Providers conclude that the humans would have to be destroyed as they know too much, but Kirk counters that the Federation will come looking for them and eventually destroy Triskellion. The Providers say they will destroy the Enterprise and hide it as a magnetic storm, so the Federation will never know. Kirk makes a bet with the providers. He wagers his crew fighting against the Thralls. If they win, the Enterprise will be set free, and the Thralls will be granted freedom to establish their own society on the planet. If they lose, the entire crew of the Enterprise will become Thralls. The Providers accept but want Kirk alone to fight 3 thralls. One of his opponents is Shahna.. Kirk defeats his opponents and spares Shahna's life. The Providers honor their wager. Kirk says goodbye to Shahna, who is now free, and leaves with Chekov and Uhura.

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A Celtic fairy tale in stop-motion animation filled with adventure and magic. An arrow from a rival tribe pierces the chieftain's heart. With his dying breath, he gives his daughter the quest to end this senseless feud.

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