54 – Bread and Circuses

Grade: D+

Summary

Kirk searches for the crew of a missing starship, and in the process, discovers a planet that looks like a 20th Century version of the Roman Empire.

Commentary

I’ve never liked this episode. I think it’s just too heavy-handed in its delivery and storyline. I also don’t like it that this is at least the fourth episode out of the last 8 that takes place on a planet that is almost exactly like Earth except for one minor detail. In this case, the Roman Empire was never conquered, and this is the result. It seems really early for Star Trek to have run out of ideas, but it certainly looks like it.

Of Note

The caves shown in this episode have been used in many other TV shows and movies – most notably Invasion of the Body Snatchers.