Operation -- Annihilate!
- Episode aired Apr 13, 1967
- TV-PG
- 50m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
The Enterprise crew attempts to stop a plague of amoeba-like creatures from possessing human hosts and spreading throughout the galaxy.The Enterprise crew attempts to stop a plague of amoeba-like creatures from possessing human hosts and spreading throughout the galaxy.The Enterprise crew attempts to stop a plague of amoeba-like creatures from possessing human hosts and spreading throughout the galaxy.
Craig Huxley
- Peter
- (as Craig Hundley)
David Armstrong
- Kartan
- (uncredited)
Bill Blackburn
- Lieutenant Hadley
- (uncredited)
Bob Bralver
- Denevan Colonist
- (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci
- Guard
- (uncredited)
Carey Foster
- Enterprise sciences crew woman
- (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone
- Yeoman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThere is an outtake on the Star Trek Blooper Reel showing the alien parasite attaching itself to Spock's buttocks by mistake.
- GoofsEarly on when the Enterprise tries to stop the space ship heading towards the Deneva sun Kirk instructs Sulu to set an intercept course and increase speed to warp 8. As the Enterprise was already in the inner solar system this would have caused them to run into the sun in just a few seconds. Warp factor 8 is approximately 512 times the speed of light (553 billion km/hr), a ship traveling at that velocity could travel across the entire Sol system, a distance of 12 billion kilometers (7.45 billion miles), in only 1.3 minutes.
- Quotes
Dr. McCoy: Unusual eye arrangement. I might've known he'd turn up something like that.
Capt. Kirk: What's that, doctor?
Dr. McCoy: I said, please don't tell Spock I said he was the best first officer in the fleet.
Spock: Why thank you, Dr. McCoy.
Capt. Kirk: You've been so concerned about his Vulcan eyes, Doctor, you forgot about his Vulcan ears.
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsFeatured in Bring Back... Star Trek (2009)
- SoundtracksTheme From Star Trek
Written by and credited to Alexander Courage
Featured review
Freaky Flying Alien Things Kill Kirk's Brother
Call them the flying pizza-things from hell. Or the rubbery suckers from another galaxy. But, whatever you do, don't let one of them attach to your back, sticking you with its alien stinger - you'd be in for some painful days. The final episode of the first season is a straight-out action adventure, a crackerjack alien invasion thriller. It starts out strong, with some ominous mystery on the nature of the threat, escalating to far-out alien monster attack mode. Though hampered by the standard cheesy TV SFX of the sixties, you gotta give the storyline some props for coming up with an unusual alien invader: it's basically a huge brain, but each cell is not physically connected - each cell flies about on its own, causing havoc. The low budget was also unable to show thousands of these things flying around, but that's what must have happened on this colony of Deneva (an actual futuristic city on display here, not just a matte painting - zowie!).
There are some clumsy moments in the script and direction as the story jumps along. In one instance, after the landing party hears a woman's scream, Kirk orders everyone to 'fan out!' - but they run grouped close together. But, this is minor compared to some serious lapses in logic later in the episode. Spock, McCoy and everyone in the dozen science labs aboard the starship can't figure out a way to damage these alien suckers after hours of testing, despite being given a great clue by way of the sun; then Kirk idly latches on to a way at the last minute - maybe he was the only one being objective? Then they rush Spock into another test, with Kirk in full agreement, and blind him seconds before McCoy finds out it wasn't necessary. Kirk gives McCoy a 'if-looks-can-kill' stare and stomps out. Incompetence is really spread around in this episode. The writers tried to capitalize on the main trio's established relationship to create some extra tension, but it doesn't really ring true. Even Nurse Chapel becomes uncharacteristically testy during an operation, questioning McCoy on his methods. Well, she did become a doctor herself by the time of "Star Trek-the Motion Picture"(1979).
In a way, the most fitting aspect about this being the last episode of the 1st season is that we're given the only glimpse of Kirk's real family (and its demise), outside the Enterprise. It's not much - Sam Kirk's only appearance is as a corpse and Kirk's sister-in-law dies soon after. Meanwhile, Kirk's nephew remains unconscious the whole time. It would have been nice to see them reunite at the end instead of the now-silly repartee on the bridge, as if Kirk doesn't even remember his dead relatives by this point (contrast this with the superbly grim ending of "The City on the Edge of Forever"). As mentioned, this is strictly alien invasion thrills, no more. Spock ends up with the best scenes, exerting Vulcan control over the obviously intense pain he suffers. I believe this was the only time Shatner played a character other than Jim Kirk or a Kirk-android or a Kirk impostor during this series. Even though the part was very brief, only as a corpse, he seemed to put every actor's effort into the part.
There are some clumsy moments in the script and direction as the story jumps along. In one instance, after the landing party hears a woman's scream, Kirk orders everyone to 'fan out!' - but they run grouped close together. But, this is minor compared to some serious lapses in logic later in the episode. Spock, McCoy and everyone in the dozen science labs aboard the starship can't figure out a way to damage these alien suckers after hours of testing, despite being given a great clue by way of the sun; then Kirk idly latches on to a way at the last minute - maybe he was the only one being objective? Then they rush Spock into another test, with Kirk in full agreement, and blind him seconds before McCoy finds out it wasn't necessary. Kirk gives McCoy a 'if-looks-can-kill' stare and stomps out. Incompetence is really spread around in this episode. The writers tried to capitalize on the main trio's established relationship to create some extra tension, but it doesn't really ring true. Even Nurse Chapel becomes uncharacteristically testy during an operation, questioning McCoy on his methods. Well, she did become a doctor herself by the time of "Star Trek-the Motion Picture"(1979).
In a way, the most fitting aspect about this being the last episode of the 1st season is that we're given the only glimpse of Kirk's real family (and its demise), outside the Enterprise. It's not much - Sam Kirk's only appearance is as a corpse and Kirk's sister-in-law dies soon after. Meanwhile, Kirk's nephew remains unconscious the whole time. It would have been nice to see them reunite at the end instead of the now-silly repartee on the bridge, as if Kirk doesn't even remember his dead relatives by this point (contrast this with the superbly grim ending of "The City on the Edge of Forever"). As mentioned, this is strictly alien invasion thrills, no more. Spock ends up with the best scenes, exerting Vulcan control over the obviously intense pain he suffers. I believe this was the only time Shatner played a character other than Jim Kirk or a Kirk-android or a Kirk impostor during this series. Even though the part was very brief, only as a corpse, he seemed to put every actor's effort into the part.
helpful•263
- Bogmeister
- Aug 7, 2006
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- Northrop Grumman Space Park, One Space Park, Redondo Beach, California, USA(Buildings on the planet surface)
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