History Recap / StarTrekS2E21PatternsOfForce

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Kirk manages to overpower Daras, but is prevented from killing her by the man she shot(!); turns out, Daras is a member of the underground, and the raid was an elaborate test to see if Kirk and Spock are friendly. Deciding things are screwed up enough without worrying about the [[{{Alien Non-Interference Clause}} Prime Directive]], Kirk comes out and tells the group that Gill is an alien sent to observe Ekosian culture, and that something has gone horribly wrong to make him interfere with the planet's development so radically. With the underground's help, Kirk and Spock break into the headquarters, once more, just in time to catch a televised message from Gill seemingly announcing a "Final Solution" to eradicate Zeon once and for all (jeez, {{Anvilicious}} with the Nazi references much, Mr. Roddenberry?). However, with the help of a very reluctant (and late to the party) [=McCoy=], they're able to determine Gill is actually being drugged and kept in a stupor; a quick MindMeld further reveals his second in command Melakon has taken over, using him as a figurehead while he wields the real power behind the swastika.

* Irony: A Nazi officer attempts to analyze Spock's intelligence level based on his appearance. Two words: EpicFail.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: When Kirk asks why Bones hasn't beamed down yet, he's told the Doctor is having trouble getting his Nazi uniform on. Kirk says "I don't care if you have to send him down naked, just get him down here!" Cue Kirk's reaction when he hears the transporter beam whine start immediatly after this. (Don't worry...it was the boot the Doc was having trouble with.)

With some drugs to help stimulate him into light consciousness, they're able to get an answer to the multi-million credit question: why did Gill break the [[{{Alien Non-Interference Clause}} Prime Directive]] and use ''NaziGermany'' as a template for his interference. As it turns out, Gill just couldn't stand idly by as the Ekosian people were tearing themselves apart by their barbarism, and thought the [[NoDelaysForTheWicked efficiency of the Nazis]] could be used to civilize them, if malice wasn't put to the fore (which means Gill [[YouFailHistoryForever fails history forever]], despite being a history buff himself. Go figure), and it somehow ''worked'' until Melakon took over. I guess WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity, after all. Well, eventually, Kirk manages to get Gill lucid enough to cancel the Final Solution order before Melakon kills him, who is in turn killed himself, and Kirk, being the dick that he is, once again leaves an entire planet in shambles to fend for itself while he continues on his mission to "boldly go where no man has gone before".

Taking high orbit over Ekos, Kirk and Spock beam down in local attire to see what they can find about this turn of events, only to be more baffled when another televised message reveals that not only is the planet an exact duplicate of Nazi Germany, but that John Gill is the planet's Fuhrer. Ambushing a pair of Nazi soldiers in order to [[DressingAsTheEnemy dress as the enemy]], they attempt to infiltrate the Fuhrer headquarters to get some answers, but are caught and brought in for interrogation. There, they meet a Zeon prisoner by the name of Isak, who explains that the planet had actually been a rather nice place to visit, during the initial rule of the Fuhrer, but turned into a nightmare once the old Nazi prejudices came up. Using crystal transponders embedded into their flesh (don't ask), Kirk and Spock manage to free themselves and Isak, and escape into the underground that Isak is a member of. However, before they can prove to the underground that they're friendly, a Nazi task force led by a young woman named Daras - crowned a hero of the fatherland in the same transmission that revealed Gill as the Fuhrer - comes in and shoots one of the underground, threatening to kill them all if they don't comply. Dun, dun, DUN!

Things start to get interesting, though, when a nuclear interplanetary missile is launched at the ship from Ekos - technology that shouldn't even be possible for the planet's primitive inhabitants. Even stranger is the television signal they intercept from the planet, showing off real-world Nazi propaganda video (thanks for keeping it classy, Paramount) with a narration about how the Ekosians are on their way to eradicating the inhabitants of their sister planet Zeon in much the same way the Nazis tried to eradicate the Jews and other hated minorities. UnfortunateImplications doesn't even ''begin'' to describe it.

Even shorter [[TheProducers Star Trek for Hitler and Roddenberry]]

Tropes used:

* DragonWithAnAgenda / ManBehindTheMan: Melakon

* HilariousInHindsight: William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are both Jewish.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Nazism is bad.

* WhipItGood: Kirk and Spock get the shit beat out of them.

* NoSwastikas: Averted. So very averted.

* ShirtlessScene: Kirk and Spock when they get whipped. Spocks scars are tinted green.

* BrokenPedestal: Kirk is aggrieved to find that his teacher has become another Hitler. The pedestal is repaired when he gets out of his drug induced haze and denounces the regime, [[RedemptionInDeath just before dying]] [[DeathInArms in Kirk's arms.]]

* BrokenPedestal: Kirk is aggrieved to find that his teacher has become another Hitler. The pedestal is repaired when he gets out of his drug induced haze and denounces the regime.

* WhipItGood: Kirk gets the shit beat out of him.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Daras, AKA TheGirlOfTheWeek

* BrokenPedestal: Kirk is aggrieved to find that his teacher has become another Hitler.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Gene's not to subtle about anything in this episode. The SpaceJews come from the planet Zeon. (Zion?)

* TakeAThirdOption: When Ekosians launch the invasion fleet against Zenon, Daras, the Ekosian resistant fighter, pleads with Capt. Kirk to have the Enterprise destroy it to save Zenon. Kirk balks at that and manages to get Gill to cancel the invasion instead.

Kirk manages to overpower Daras, but is prevented from killing her by the man she shot(!); turns out, Daras is a member of the underground, and the raid was an elaborate test to see if Kirk and Spock are friendly. Deciding things are screwed up enough without worrying about the [[{{Alien Non-Interference Clause}} Prime Directive]], Kirk comes out and tells the group that Gill is an alien sent to observe Ekosian culture, and that something has gone horribly wrong to make him interfere with the planet's development so radically. With the underground's help, Kirk and Spock break into the headquarters, once more, just in time to catch a televised message from Gill seemingly announcing a "Final Solution" to eradicate Zeon once and for all (jeez, {{Anvilicious}} with the Nazi references much, Mr. Roddenberry?). However, with the help of a very reluctant (and LateToTheParty) [=McCoy=], they're able to determine Gill is actually being drugged and kept in a stupor; a quick MindMeld further reveals his second in command Melakon has taken over, using him as a figurehead while he wields the real power behind the swastika.

The FanNickname for this episode is "TheOneWith The [[PlanetOfHats Nazi Planet]]".

Series:Main/{{Star Trek The Original Series}}\\

Short version: ''StarTrek'' meets GodwinsLaw.

Taking high orbit over Ekos, Kirk and Spock beam down in local attire to see what they can find about this turn of events, only to be more baffled when another televised message reveals that not only is the planet an exact duplicate of Nazi Germany, but that John Gill is the planet's Fuhrer. Ambushing a pair of Nazi soldiers in order to [[DressingAsTheEnemy dress as the enemy]], they attempt to infiltrate the Fuhrer headquarters to get some answers, but are caught and brought in for interrogation. There, they meet a Zeon prisoner by name of Isak, who explains that the planet had actually been a rather nice place to visit, during the initial rule of the Fuhrer, but turned into a nightmare once the old Nazi prejudices came up. Using crystal transponders embedded into their flesh (don't ask), Kirk and Spock manage to free themselves and Isak, and escape into the underground that Isak is a member of. However, before they can prove to the underground that they're friendly, a Nazi task force lead by a young woman named Daras - crowned a hero of the fatherland in the same transmission that revealed Gill as the Fuhrer - comes in and shoots one of the underground, threatening to kill them all if they don't comply. Dun, dun, DUN!

Kirk manages to overpower Daras, but is prevented from killing her by the man she shot(!); turns out, Daras is a member of the underground, and the raid was an elaborate test to see if Kirk and Spock are friendly. Deciding things are screwed up enough without worrying about the PrimeDirective, Kirk comes out and tells the group that Gill is an alien sent to observe Ekosian culture, and that something has gone horribly wrong to make him interfere with the planet's development so radically. With the underground's help, Kirk and Spock break into the headquarters, once more, just in time to catch a televised message from Gill seemingly announcing a "Final Solution" to eradicate Zeon once and for all (jeez, {{Anvilicious}} with the Nazi references much, Mr. Roddenberry?). However, with the help of a very reluctant (and LateToTheParty) [=McCoy=], they're able to determine Gill is actually being drugged and kept in a stupor; a quick MindMeld further reveals his second in command Melakon has taken over, using him as a figurehead while he wields the real power behind the swastika.

With some drugs to help stimulate him into light consciousness, they're able to get an answer to the multi-million credit question: why did Gill break the PrimeDirective and use ''NaziGermany'' as a template for his interference. As it turns out, Gill just couldn't stand idly by as the Ekosian people were tearing themselves apart by their barbarism, and thought the [[NoDelaysForTheWicked efficiency of the Nazis]] could be used to civilize them, if malice wasn't put to the fore (which means Gill [[YouFailHistoryForever fails history forever]], despite being a history buff himself. Go figure), and it somehow ''worked'' until Melakon took over. I guess WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity, after all. Well, eventually, Kirk manages to get Gill lucid enough to cancel the Final Solution order before Melakon kills him, who is in turn killed himself, and Kirk, being the dick that he is, once again leaves an entire planet in shambles to fend for itself while he continues on his mission to "boldly go where no man has gone before".

Hitler wouldn't have taken his crap.