The Way to Eden

This episode was derided when it first came out for "exploiting and denigrating hippies". While stock versions of hippie counter culture folks and themes are used, it is not some mindless hippie love or hate fest, though it had scenes of intense hippie corniness with bad folk style music & vocals, and extravagant psychedelic day glow fashions. Star Trek was always hip to the current trends and if they didn't have at least one episode like this, in the height of the anti-war Woodstock days, they would have been neglectful. It certainly is a lot more sympathetic to hippies than a contemporary right wing talk show crackpot raving about evil godless communist hippies. The episode brought up some useful questions about how even the enlightened and far more humane and just future may be sterile, depressing and boring to some. It also captured the mindset of some of the demented radical types; renegade intellectuals and Scientists, who found a niche in those movements. It had some comedy, some drama and some insight. It wasn't one of the best episodes but far from the worst, I say 6 out of 10 in the scale of ST episodes. Certainly, it was in the spirit of Star Trek and avoided the stock monsters, bad aliens, superior beings or evil villains which drive most sci fi shows while it did explore uncharted space and ideas.

In the year after Woodstock it seemed rather obvious that Gene Roddenberry was using this episode to tap into the Hippie movement which was sweeping the country after the seminal event of Woodstock. Whatever his motivation, Star Trek prime created a nice story about some young people who are looking to tune in, turn on, and drop out.

They're led by a scientist played by Skip Homeier who has done just that. He also has contracted some kind of biological contagion and as Leonard Nimoy observes, he's quite mad. But Nimoy also kind of connects with Homeier's followers.

Not that they don't have a goal in mind, it's to reach a mythical planet called Eden which is not unlike the Garden Of Eden featured in our Abrahamic monotheist religions.

The rub here is that they reach Eden, but the Creator/Deity has put something in the life on Eden that will truly take care of the infestation of civilization as Homeier and several followers find out to their regret.

An interesting and timely episode taking advantage of a trend in our culture.

...in those of you who rated this episode low. You seem to be taking this show way too seriously. This episode was just a lighthearted break in the constant action that is star trek. You can't have EVERY episode result in Shatner's shirt being mysteriously ripped off in an epic one-on-one battle with the alien of the week. Sometimes you just need to see Spock having a jam session with some weird hippie types instead. Alright, maybe it's just because I have a not-so-secret crush on Spock, but that was probably one of my favorite scenes in the series. Sure, it's a little campy, but that's half of the show's appeal. Lighten up man, and enjoy the original series for what it was.

The fact that the same plotline was recycled somewhat for Star Trek V should clue you in. The third season threw up some stinkers, and some that transcended the cuts to the budget, but there is no hiding the dated hippy star children plotline. It just shows how great an actor Shatner is, that playing the 'square' he doesn't come off pompous or over bearing. And to think a few seconds too late at the beginning and they would have all died when the ship explodes. Although it would be nice to think Adam is a descendant of Tucker McElroy from the Good Ol' Boys in The Blues Brothers.

A previous reviewer wrote that Roddenberry was influenced by Woodstock for this episode; however, this couldn't possibly be the case.

This episode originally aired on February 21, 1969; Woodstock took place between August 15 and 18 in 1969.

Otherwise, this is not one of the best episodes of the series (much of Season 3 wasn't good due to a number of reasons, not the least of which was network interference and the downgraded role Roddenberry was allowed to have).