Star Trek: Patterns of Force Rewatch

July 4, 2015 11:24 AM - Season 2, Episode 21

Looking for a missing Federation cultural observer, Kirk and Spock find themselves on a planet whose culture now models the German Nazi Party of old Earth in the 1930's.

"Patterns of Force" was broadcast on February 16, 1968. It is episode No. 50, production No. 52, written by John Meredyth Lucas, and directed by Vincent McEveety. This episode was banned on German television from 1968 until 1995 due to the depiction of Nazi uniforms.

In this episode, the crew of the Enterprise tracks down a Federation observer on a planet dominated by a "Naziesque" regime.

Memory Alpha Link

TVTropes Review.

The episode can be viewed on Netflix and YouTube.

posted by Benway (5 comments total)

"You should make a very convincing Nazi"
**** Kirk looks at Spock. *****
posted by wittgenstein at 12:14 PM on July 4, 2015

Such a strange episode. I feel like the only level it entirely succeeds on is providing grist for the K/S fan-fic mill. It's such a preposterous premise, the idea that any historian would think "Hey, let's try modified fascism", I'm not really sure what the writer was trying to say. And the humor around Spock is so off-kilter.
posted by oh yeah! at 10:50 AM on July 5, 2015

I think it only succeeds on the level of saving lots of money in the costume department.
posted by happyroach at 1:37 PM on July 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

What happyroach said. This one, the Roman one and the old west one all seemed like they were raiding the studio's costume and set departments to come up with some cheap filler episodes.
posted by octothorpe at 7:17 PM on July 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

This one, the Roman one and the old west one

You forgot the gangsters.

Gene Roddenberry came up with the idea of the holodeck all the way back during TOS as a way of keeping episodes cheap by making use of existing costumes, props and sets. It might have been included in Season Four, if there had ever been one.
posted by briank at 11:19 AM on July 6, 2015