Name That STAR TREK Episode...

[Steven P Bastien]

Henoch is on a better track than Discofan. The problem is that the "royal fizzbin" did not come up and the game is not real.

Clue # 2 This episode deals with a life or death matter, and another matter of opposites.

 

[Henoch]

Errand of Mercy?
1. Spock's getting good at estimating odds during the latter part of Season 1 :

KIRK: Mister Spock, can we get those two guards? What would you say the odds on our getting out of here?
SPOCK: Difficult to be precise, Captain. I should say approximately 7,824.7 to 1.​

2. The Klingon methods are opposite in many ways to the Federation methods.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Henoch, you are getting warmer. But, it's not a matter of opposing societal customs. It's another matter of opposites.

Clue # 3 Initial odds were between 7824.7 to 1 and "astronomical". That is, until Spock raided the game, much the way the Organians did.

 

[Discofan]

The Savage Curtain: A perfect fit for clue 2.

 

[Discofan]

...
Clue # 3 Initial odds were between 7824.7 to 1 and "astronomical". That is, until Spock raided the game, much the way the Organians did.

So? How does that relate to our episode?

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Only God and I know. ... and also Henoch in a few minutes.

The Savage Curtain: A perfect fit for clue 2.

But, all 3 clues must work.

 

[Discofan]

Only God and I know. ... and also Henoch in a few minutes.
....

Maybe I should leave the two of you together.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

It's best not to give up as proved in this episode.

 

[Henoch]

Mirror, Mirror
1. The Empire will be overthrown in approximately two hundred and forty years.
2. The mirror universe is sort of opposite of ours. Good is Evil, etc.
3. Spock raids the game in the transporter room.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Oh Henoch, you veered astray faster than Sulu pulling away from the Denevan sun. I thought you were about to get it.

Clue #4 Oddly, the large number quoted in the odds is equal to the ratio one race is better than another according to one crew member.

 

[Henoch]

The Gamesters Of Triskelion?
1. 400:1 that landing party is alive. 3:1 Thralls vs. Kirk. Quatloos betting galore.
2. Life and Death thrall battles.
3. Spock raids the game again with the arrival of the Enterprise.
4. ?

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Good thinking Henoch but the number 400 is less than 7824.7.

Clue #5 the correct odds number is not odd but is an integer. So, no fractions or decimal places to worry about.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Clue # 6 Scotty first quoted the odds. We assume he was not using the binary system, but we can't really be sure because he mentioned computers in the same context. But, either way, we can be sure Kirk interpreted them as odds expressed in base 10. Spock knew how to improve the odds to more favorable terms.

 

[Discofan]

A Piece Of The Action?

 

[Henoch]

A Piece Of The Action?

That was my guess back at Clue 1.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Yes, sorry Discofan. It is a good guess, but already mentioned.

Still, a good guess reveals another clue.

Clue #7 Were the censors worried when they saw the title of this episode?

 

[Henoch]

What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Title could get kinky.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Indeed it could. But, not the correct title.

Clue #8 The tenor of this episode created an annoying ambience.

 

[Henoch]

Got it! "Tenor". The Naked Time.
Riley singing over and over, "I'll take you home again, Kathleen."
The title suggesting people will be getting naked!
Can Scotty cut through the wall in time? Yes or No choice.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Yes, you got it Henoch. I thought you were going to get it earlier because you were homing in on the episodes where odds were numerically expressed, and this one was one of a few that do that.

Hopefully the clues should make sense now. In summary, the odds were 10000 to 1, as quoted by Scotty and repeated by Kirk. These odds are between 7824.7 to 1 and "astronomical" which is usually 1 in a million or billion. Also, Riley mentioned that "one Irishmen is worth 10000 of you". I mentioned the word "matter" several time and thought that the word "opposite" might trigger the thought of antimatter, which needed to be precisely imploded to do a cold start of the engines. Spock raided the game because he knew of the known intermix formula that would give them the best chances. The risks were much less using this formula, with the main problem that it had never been experimentally tried.

Another interesting thing about this episode is that it is the only one that has the 3 regular ladies, Uhura, Rand and Chapel, all in the same episode. This clue was going to be mentioned if needed.

It's a decent episode if you are not finicky about your Irish tenors.