Wow. Hunh? I just...I don't even know. Hey kids, get your breakfast cereal and gather around the TV, and we'll tell you the story of the time when Captain Kirk rescued Satan by learning witchcraft, and Spock draws pentagrams all over the Enterprise. This episode really illustrates just how out of place the series was on Saturday mornings. I love that TAS exists, because it basically continues TOS through completion after it was canceled. But it's an oddball thing that just had no proper home, and I can't believe they somehow managed to get it made and marketed as a kid's show. Today it would be fine because it would fit right in on Adult Swim or some online platform, and it would have a cult following of adults that understand what they're watching. But back in the early seventies there was no such place for this program. It was a cartoon, so it aired on Saturday mornings. Period. I honestly can't believe this episode slipped under the radar and avoided public blowback. For one, I just don't think kids would even like it. The pacing of TAS is very fast, as they cram an entire hour episode into a half hour format. Honestly, I sometimes have to rewind a bit to catch some technical point that I missed. A kid's show TAS ain't, and I can't imagine a better illustration than "The Magicks of Megas-Tu."I am a child of the 80s, not the 70s. In the 80s, Satanic cults were a thing that people worried about. Satanic cults, runaways, and AIDS. I suppose today's equivalents might be terrorists, human trafficking, and heroin overdoses. We were told that Satanic cults were out there, sacrificing things, and chanting, and tagging bridges, and attending Judas Priest concerts. I remember it being a steady topic of discussion, and I have a vague memory of it being including in our school reading material. Like, I think we got sent home with a "Don't Join A Satanic Cult" pamphlet. Not kidding. I remember thinking that becoming a Satanist made no sense, because if you believe in the devil, then you believe in God. And if you believe in God, you wouldn't be a Satanist. Such are the things pondered by children of my generation. So for this child of the 80s to see a kid's show that is peppered with cult imagery, and actually features Satan as just a misunderstood good guy is crazy-town.
Anyway, on to the show. The Enterprise is being sent to the very center of the galaxy. Since the center is where presumably it all started, they might get to see new matter being created there even today. This turns out to be the case, and by the way, matter creation looks a lot like fireworks. But the ship is being pulled in, and they don't have enough power to escape, so they aim for the center and gun it. After passing through they find themselves outside of time and space. Also all systems are down and life support is failing. Then Satan appears. Well, he calls himself Lucien, but I mean he he's hooved, has horns, ripped abs, and a goatee. There's no question in the viewer's mind that this is Satan or a Satan poser. But he's super nice, and after turning life support back on for them, he invites them down to the planet. The planet at first is not three dimensional. Their bodies are blurred and disjointed. They can't handle it, so Lucien fabricates a familiar setting for them as a stand in. But their visit is short, as he's afraid that the others might see them, and the crew is clearly not welcomed by them.
Back on the Enterprise Spock concludes that in this reality magic is possible, and he starts moving chess pieces with his mind. Others soon join in, and the scene gets a little freaky when Sulu conjures up a babe for himself. Lucien reappears and tells them that they must stop or they'll be detected by the others on the planet. He's too late, and soon the whole crew finds themselves in stocks being put on trial by the Megans, who are dressed as early colonial puritans. It turns out that the Megans have been to Earth, and their magic powers resulted in them being religiously persecuted, and eventually they fled back home and stopped taking everyone's calls. Kirk shares with the Megans that mankind has changed since then, and they are far more tolerant now. The crew is let off the hook, but Lucien must spend eternity in isolation for his role in bringing them to the planet. This is not acceptable to Kirk, who engages in a wizard fight to free him. Here is where it is officially revealed that Lucien is The Great Tempter, Satan himself. Kirk doesn't mind this bit of knowledge, and presses forward to save him. Eventually he is let go, and it is revealed that the whole thing was just a test to see if they could truly put away their prejudices and embrace Satan for the lovable guy that he is. Remember kids, there is no God, creation is just a hole in the galaxy, Satan's an alright dude, and religion ruins everything. Up next, Bugs Bunny!I'm not sure that this is even a proper lesson to learn from the Salem witch trials. I mean, the idea of being tolerant rather than burning people alive is sound, but by making the claims of witchcraft and magic true, it actually sort of legitimizes the concerns of the persecutors. The lesson from the witch trials is to not let group mentality allow you to believe nonsense, and start finding traits in people that DO NOT EXIST. The term "witch hunt" has become a common phrase to describe a process where people who are doing no wrong have false evidence presented against them as a means to frame them. If the accused witches in Salem actually were capable of magic and mysticism, then it wasn't a witch hunt at all as we use the term today.
I'm just not sure how to rate this one. I guess it kept me engaged for 20 minutes, that's for sure. I can't call it bad, because it definitely is a piece of television history that has left an impression on me. I can't really call it good though either because it just has me feeling so perplexed and baffled that they chose to go such a route. That's why I've settled on Adequate, though I don't think the term accurately describes my thoughts.
Published May 6, 2017
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