Trivia / Star Trek S2 E17 "A Piece of the Action"

• Corpsing: At one point Spock gets tangled in a bit of mobster slang and you can see Leonard Nimoy — well, not cracking up, because this is Spock, but definitely struggling not to smile.
• Inspiration for the Work: George Clayton Johnson used the 1953 science fiction novel The Syndic by Cyril M. Kornbluth as the basis for the story.
• What Could Have Been: David P. Harmon and Gene L. Coon's first draft script, entitled "Mission into Chaos" featured the Romulans trying to exploit the borderline planet Dana Iotia II, which the Federation wants to industrialize. Much to the crew's surprise, the planet is ruled by gangster bosses, based on the book Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. Kirk has to negotiate with Bela Oxmyx and the other crime bosses, outsmarting the two Romulan agents, Rorek and Ramo, who try to lure Bela with sending him weapons and troops. At the end, the Iotians agreed to make a treaty, and send an ambassador to the Federation. But since every boss had a vote, they all "naturally" voted for themselves, and hence, they are all beamed aboard the Enterprise to be escorted to the diplomatic talks.
• Working Title: Gene Roddenberry jotted down the idea for this episode – a one-sentence synopsis titled "President Capone" – on the very first page of his very first Star Trek series proposal in 1964. Early in the first season, George Clayton Johnson wrote an outline based on this premise, called "The Syndicate". Roddenberry liked it, and hired Johnson to develop it further. Johnson wrote a treatment entitled "Chicago II". However, as he got occupied with developing and writing "The Man Trap", this concept was forgotten.

---