Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Star Trek: The Animated Series: "The Slaver Weapon" (December 15, 1973)

STARDATE: 4187.3

Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Lt. Sulu (George Takei) travel aboard the long-range Enterprise shuttle craft Copernicus -- en route to Starbase 25 -- carrying a strange stasis box from a long-extinct technological race known as “Slavers.”

These mysterious boxes are extremely rare, and also extremely dangerous, because they often possess technology inside that is far beyond that of the Federation or other space governments in the galaxy.  Inside the boxes, time is frozen so that the weaponry or devices inside can’t detonate, fire or otherwise cause damage on a cosmic scale.

When the Copernicus crew detects signs of a second Slaver stasis box in a nearby solar system, Spock diverts course to investigate.  The Enterprise party runs afoul of a race of feline-alien predators: the militaristic (and carnivorous) Kzinti. But the Kzinti have actually sprung a trap in order to steal the Slaver’s stasis box in Starfleet’s possession.

Inside the box -- as the Kzin and the Starfleet officers soon discover -- is a hand-weapon of extreme power, one that can morph from destructive setting to destructive setting with extreme ease.

The general fan and critic consensus -- which I agree with -- is that “The Slaver Weapon” (based on Larry Niven’s short story “The Soft Weapon”) is one of the very best episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 – 1974).

There are many reasons for the positive assessment of this episode.  For one, the episode adopts a unique and therefore innovative point-of-attack.  It doesn’t feature Captain Kirk, and  "The Slaver Weapon" never once visits the mighty starship Enterprise.  Instead, our protagonists are three Starfleet officers in deep space, with little by way of support from the powerful Federation. This sense of being alone -- and away from help -- adds an element of danger and uncertainty that many episodes of many Star Trek incarnations simply do not feature.

A related point is that this episode showcases Mr. Spock in a difficult command situation, and again, this is something relatively rare in Star Trek history.  We saw his “first command” in “The Galileo 7,” but other than that, Spock isn’t often in charge or calling the shots for an entire episode.  The great thing about “The Slaver Weapon” is that Spock commands so brilliantly, yet in a fashion that is true to his character, and very different from Kirk’s style.  In short, this is a great Spock episode.  His advice to Uhura and Sulu about how to contend with Kzinti interrogation is priceless.

The villain in “The Slaver Weapon” also offers a point-of-interest. We meet Niven’s Kzinti, carnivorous, technological “cat-people,” and (despite their pink costumes...) they quickly prove a welcome relief on the Animated Series from the over-used Klingons (whom we have seen in “More Tribbles, More Trouble” and “The Time Trap.”)  

At some point, it just gets tiresome watching the Enterprise crew effectively defeat the too-familiar Klingons of the Original Series...who always seem to shoot themselves in the foot with the slightest provocation.  The new Kzinti-- with their meat-eating habits, opinions regarding humanoid females and other “original” qualities -- make for a tremendously fresh and therefore unpredictable villain.

Last but not at all least, “The Slaver Weapon,” features a great concept and theme.  

The story involves the galaxy as it existed a millions of years ago, before human beings even existed.  The Slavers are a great mystery from that era, and also an object lesson for Starfleet in the 23rd century.  The hideous Slavers plunged the galaxy into war eons ago, and then intelligent life had to evolve “all over again.”  The fear, clearly, is that with rivals like Starfleet and the Kzinti -- and the existence of Slaver stasis boxes -- the same thing could happen again.  Or as Spock notes, it is “strange how the past sometimes breaks into the present."  He fears that the Slaver weapon may “well mean the end of mankind.”  Like Joyce Perry's excellent "The Time Trap," it is not difficult to detect the Cold-War/detente era social commentary here.  

The idea of jeopardy emerging from the distant  past is, incidentally, one that finds voice in later Star Trek series.  In The Next Generation (1987 – 1994), episodes such as the second season installment “Contagion” reveal the race between Romulans and the Federation to possess the secrets of the long-dead Ikonian Empire, with the survival of both races on the line.  This tale is clearly inspired by “The Slaver Weapon.”

I might add, finally, that “The Slaver Weapon” feels like one of those infrequent Star Trek stories which even non-fans or casual fan can enjoy.  It is tautly-written, beautifully conceived and executed, and it doesn’t depend heavily on series continuity to understand it, or to get the point.  It's just a damn fine adventure.

In terms of my personal favorite Star Trek: The Animated Series episodes, “The Slaver Weapon” goes directly to the top tier of the catalog, right alongside “Yesteryear,” “The Survivor,” and “The Magicks of Megas-Tu.”

Next week: "Eye of the Beholder."