It's Halloween! And on this episode of Gimme That Star Trek, Siskoid and his guest Paul Kien watch a bunch of Star Trek episodes deemed among the scariest in the franchise to ascertain if Star Trek and horror can mix! Catch all the chills (and insights) as two podcasters dare enter the darkened holodeck with the safeties off.
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Credits:
"Star Trek Theme" by Alexander Courage, with the Irredeemable Shag on vocals. End theme: "Deep Space Nine Theme" by Dennis McCarthy.
Bonus clips from: Star Trek Voyager's "The Haunting of Deck Twelve", starring Ethan Phillips.
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“Cat’s Paw” is genuinely scary, tricky to pull off on TOS considering the colors, sets, and limits of broadcast TV at the time.
My favorite horror (adjacent) ep of any Trek is “Remember Me” from SSN 4 of TNG. It’s very Twilight Zone-ish, as reality keeps getting changed and only Bev can remember the truth. It really doles out the creepiness at a good pace, and while the it doesn’t totally stick the landing, the first half build up is wonderfully unsettling.
Glad to hear Paul make his debut on another network show!
I did think of Remember Me as one of those existential horror pieces. It’s a great episode.
I know you get a Robbie when you guest on 5 of your shows. And Golden Typewriter Monkey (let’s say) if you guest on 5 of mine. But what happens when you guest on 5 different FW hosts’ shows?!
You get your parking validated?
So, that’s why Shawn and Paul gave me this ticket!
I propose that we get membership in an elite group known as “The Usual Suspects.” I’m encouraging other suggestions, though. Maybe something referencing frequently occurring team-up guests like Green Arrow in Brave and the Bold or Charo on the Love Boat?
The Charo award would look like a big hive of fruit.
Great discussion fellas! Great to hear Paul talk about Trek. I appreciate (and laughted at) the nod to “Cat’s Paw” being akin to my yard full of Halloween blow molds, but honestly, that one never did much for me. I WANT to like it a lot, but it’s not even in my top 20 TOS episodes. I’m very forgiving of classic Trek’s limited effects, but the true forms of the aliens at the end were phoned in, even for 1967. I think that has stuck with me since I was a kid, and I just can’t get past it.
Now “Wolf in the Fold” on the other hand…that’s one of my favorites! Robert Bloch had adatped his short story “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” for the Thriller anthology series (hosted by Boris Karloff), and by this point was well-acquainted with the character. I have always pondered who actually did the murdering, and here lately I have to assume it was done by Scotty’s hand. That’s enough to mess up a man for life, but on 60s TV, with the lack of true continuity, it’s forgotten by the next episode, unfortunately. But everything you pointed out, the sets, the lighting, etc, really make for a true horror show. Like Trek beamed into a Hammer film!
Coincidentally, Charles Macaulay who played Prefect Jarvis, and had played Landru in “Return of the Archons” will play Dracula, the vampire who curses another Trek guest star, William Marshall in Blacula!
My Trek dillettante-ism means that I only remember about half of these well enough to follow along in my head. This was fun anyway. Paul’s a great guest AND a great host, and Siskoid’s questions (and extensive knowledge) always make a fascinating discussion.