# Star Trek: The Original Series season 3

The third and final season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek, premiered on NBC on Friday, September 20, 1968 and concluded on Tuesday, June 3, 1969. It consisted of twenty-four episodes. Star Trek: The Original Series is an American science fiction television series produced by Fred Freiberger, and created by Gene Roddenberry, and the original series of the Star Trek franchise. It features William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy.

## Broadcast history

This is the first season to air after NBC moved the show from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday nights. The season originally aired Fridays at 10:00–11:00 p.m. (EST) on NBC. The final episode aired on Tuesday, June 3, 1969, at 7:30–8:30 p.m. (EST).

## Cast
### Main

* William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk: The commanding officer of the USS Enterprise
* Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock: The ship's half-human/half-Vulcan science officer and first/executive officer
* DeForest Kelley as Lieutenant Commander Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy: The ship's chief medical officer
* James Doohan as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott: The Enterprise's chief engineer and second officer
* Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura: The ship's communications officer
* George Takei as Lieutenant Sulu: The ship's helmsman
* Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov: A Russian-born navigator introduced in the second season premiere episode
* Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel: The ship's head nurse. Barrett also played the ship's first officer (number one) in "The Cage" and voiced the ship's computer.

### Recurring

* Eddie Paskey as Lt. Leslie

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. households (in millions) |
| 56 | 1 | "Spock's Brain" | Marc Daniels | Gene L. Coon | September 20, 1968 (1968-09-20) | 61 | 9.18 |
| Captain Kirk pursues aliens who have stolen Spock's brain. ||||||||
| 57 | 2 | "The Enterprise Incident" | John Meredyth Lucas | D. C. Fontana | September 27, 1968 (1968-09-27) | 59 | 6.67 |
| The crew of the Enterprise attempts to steal a Romulan cloaking device. ||||||||
| 58 | 3 | "The Paradise Syndrome" | Jud Taylor | Margaret Armen | October 4, 1968 (1968-10-04) | 58 | 7.58 |
| A mysterious alien device on a planet with a predominantly American Indian culture erases Captain Kirk's memory, and he begins a life with them as a member of their tribe. ||||||||
| 59 | 4 | "And the Children Shall Lead" | Marvin Chomsky | Edward J. Lakso | October 11, 1968 (1968-10-11) | 60 | 7.98 |
| The crew of the Enterprise rescues a group of children stranded on a planet, along with their evil "imaginary" friend. ||||||||
| 60 | 5 | "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" | Ralph Senensky | Jean Lisette Aroeste | October 18, 1968 (1968-10-18) | 62 | 7.35 |
| The Enterprise travels with an alien ambassador who must travel inside a special case because his appearance causes insanity. ||||||||
| 61 | 6 | "Spectre of the Gun" | Vincent McEveety | Gene L. Coon | October 25, 1968 (1968-10-25) | 56 | 7.70 |
| For trespassing on an alien world, Captain Kirk and his companions are forced to re-enact the famous shoot-out at the O.K. Corral with themselves cast as the losing side. ||||||||
| 62 | 7 | "Day of the Dove" | Marvin Chomsky | Jerome Bixby | November 1, 1968 (1968-11-01) | 66 | 7.98 |
| An alien energy-based life form that feeds on negative emotions (such as fear, anger, hatred) drives the crew of the Enterprise into brutal conflict with the Klingons. ||||||||
| 63 | 8 | "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" | Tony Leader | Hendrik Vollaerts | November 8, 1968 (1968-11-08) | 65 | 7.52 |
| As McCoy discovers he is dying of an incurable disease, the crew of the Enterprise rush to stop an asteroid from colliding with a Federation world, only to discover that the asteroid is, in fact, a disguised alien vessel. They find an entire civilization living in the ship who believe they are actually on a planet and a dictatorial "Oracle" who forbids any attempt to discover the truth. ||||||||
| 64 | 9 | "The Tholian Web" | Herb Wallerstein | Judy Burns and Chet Richards | November 15, 1968 (1968-11-15) | 64 | 7.64 |
| Captain Kirk is caught between dimensions while the Enterprise is trapped by an energy draining web spun by mysterious aliens. The two-part Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" serves as a sequel to this episode. ||||||||
| 65 | 10 | "Plato's Stepchildren" | David Alexander | Meyer Dolinsky | November 22, 1968 (1968-11-22) | 67 | 7.41 |
| The crew of the Enterprise encounters an ageless and mischievous race of psychic humanoids who claim to have organized their society around Ancient Greek ideals. ||||||||
| 66 | 11 | "Wink of an Eye" | Jud Taylor | Story by : Gene L. Coon Teleplay by : Arthur Heinemann | November 29, 1968 (1968-11-29) | 68 | 8.72 |
| Invisible "time-accelerated" aliens take over the Enterprise and attempt to abduct the crew for use as "genetic stock". ||||||||
| 67 | 12 | "The Empath" | John Erman | Joyce Muskat | December 6, 1968 (1968-12-06) | 63 | 9.86 |
| While visiting a doomed planet, the landing party is subject to torturous experiments to test an empathic race. ||||||||
| 68 | 13 | "Elaan of Troyius" | John Meredyth Lucas | John Meredyth Lucas | December 20, 1968 (1968-12-20) | 57 | 7.81 |
| While transporting an arrogant, demanding spoiled princess for a political marriage, Captain Kirk must cope both with her biochemical ability to force him to love her and sabotage on his ship. ||||||||
| 69 | 14 | "Whom Gods Destroy" | Herb Wallerstein | Story by : Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl Teleplay by : Lee Erwin | January 3, 1969 (1969-01-03) | 71 | 6.84 |
| Captain Kirk visits a mental health facility and confronts an insane starship captain who believes he is destined to control the universe. ||||||||
| 70 | 15 | "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" | Jud Taylor | Story by : Gene L. Coon Teleplay by : Oliver Crawford | January 10, 1969 (1969-01-10) | 70 | 7.92 |
| The Enterprise picks up the last two survivors of a war-torn planet who are still committed to destroying each other aboard the ship. ||||||||
| 71 | 16 | "The Mark of Gideon" | Jud Taylor | George F. Slavin and Stanley Adams | January 17, 1969 (1969-01-17) | 72 | 6.78 |
| An overpopulated race of aliens abduct Kirk to solve their problem. ||||||||
| 72 | 17 | "That Which Survives" | Herb Wallerstein | Story by : D. C. Fontana Teleplay by : John Meredyth Lucas | January 24, 1969 (1969-01-24) | 69 | 7.81 |
| The crew of the Enterprise visits an abandoned outpost guarded by a mysterious computer. ||||||||
| 73 | 18 | "The Lights of Zetar" | Herb Kenwith | Jeremy Tarcher and Shari Lewis | January 31, 1969 (1969-01-31) | 73 | 8.09 |
| Strange, energy-based alien life forms threaten the Memory Alpha station and the Enterprise crew. ||||||||
| 74 | 19 | "Requiem for Methuselah" | Murray Golden | Jerome Bixby | February 14, 1969 (1969-02-14) | 76 | 6.95 |
| The crew of the Enterprise encounters an immortal human who lives as a recluse on his own planet. ||||||||
| 75 | 20 | "The Way to Eden" | David Alexander | Story by : D. C. Fontana and Arthur Heinemann Teleplay by : Arthur Heinemann | February 21, 1969 (1969-02-21) | 75 | 7.07 |
| The Enterprise is hijacked by a criminal doctor and his loyal, hippie-like followers who are attempting to find paradise. ||||||||
| 76 | 21 | "The Cloud Minders" | Jud Taylor | Story by : David Gerrold and Oliver Crawford Teleplay by : Margaret Armen | February 28, 1969 (1969-02-28) | 74 | 7.58 |
| Kirk races against time to acquire plague-fighting minerals from a world in the midst of a civil uprising. ||||||||
| 77 | 22 | "The Savage Curtain" | Herschel Daugherty | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Gene Roddenberry and Arthur Heinemann | March 7, 1969 (1969-03-07) | 77 | 6.73 |
| Aliens force Kirk and Spock to battle illusionary villains in a test of good versus evil. ||||||||
| 78 | 23 | "All Our Yesterdays" | Marvin Chomsky | Jean Lisette Aroeste | March 14, 1969 (1969-03-14) | 78 | 7.41 |
| Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are trapped in the past on a world threatened by a nova. ||||||||
| 79 | 24 | "Turnabout Intruder" | Herb Wallerstein | Story by : Gene Roddenberry Teleplay by : Arthur Singer | June 3, 1969 (1969-06-03) | 79 | 5.02 |
| Kirk's consciousness becomes trapped in the body of a woman bent on killing him and taking over his command while inhabiting his body. ||||||||
* 1 2 3 4 Credited as Lee Cronin
* 1 2 Credited as Michael Richards

## Home media

The season was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Paramount Home Entertainment.
The third season was released in original and also in a remastered format by 2008.