Game masters of triskelion

Copy to Clipboard. Send Email. First Name. Last Name. Email Address. Year Helena St. Lucia St. Martin St. Kirk, Uhura and Chekov find themselves suddenly transported light years across the galaxy to the planet Triskelion. There, they are trained as thralls, slaves who engage in gladiatorial combat for the pleasure of the Providers, three faceless beings who amuse themselves by wagering on the outcomes. Outfitted with collars that inflict pain for disobedience, the thralls are submissive and pliant.

Kirk eventually challenges the Providers to a wager that will either result in freedom for all or a lifetime of slavery. Add content advisory. Did you know Edit. Trivia The look of the character Galt was modeled after Ming the Merciless, the archenemy from the Flash Gordon comic strip. Goofs In addition to Kirk and the Thralls stepping on each other's colors in the contest without being penalized, Shahna is allowed to submit and give up when the fights are supposed to be "to the death".

Quotes Dr. Alternate versions Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song. User reviews 22 Review. Top review. One of My favorites. Okay so this one is not the most intellectual show of the series. And some of the content was cheesy, sure But some factors were very high on the cool chart: 1. Start with the name: Triskelion! What an unusual, creative name for a planet! Almost sounds like skeleton! Way cool!

The three talking brains. I saw the show when it first aired. I thought talking brains were cool then, and that was on a black and white TV. In color, they're even cooler! What other show has talking brains? The hot green-haired babe with the tinfoil bikini! That alone is enough to rank this one among the most memorable shows of the series! Talk to anyone who's seen it, even years ago, and they might not remember the name, or what it was about, but EVERYONE remembers the babe in the tinfoil bikini!

Galt regrets losing Kirk in this way, but says that it is worth it as an example to the others. Kirk is bound and placed in the center of the arena. Kirk is already bleeding from a wound to his back from the whip of Kloog , the towering alien thrall that has been selected to administer his punishment. During a rest interval, Shahna gives Kirk an energy drink and advises him that Kloog's left eye is weak and to attack him from that side.

When the combat resumes, Kirk works at his bonds and manages to partially untie them. Getting his hands in front of him, he eventually gets Kloog in a strangle hold and is about to defeat him when a voice from above says " Hold! He, Provider 2 , and Provider 3 begin bidding for the newcomers.

They eventually are sold to Provider 1 for the price of 2, quatloos. Kirk asserts that they are free people and belong to no one. Providers 2 and 3 then place a series of wagers: fifteen quatloos that Captain Kirk is untrainable, twenty quatloos that all three are untrainable, five thousand quatloos that they will all have to be destroyed, all of which Provider 1 accepts.

Galt's eyes light up and the color of the three Starfleet officer's collars changes to red. Galt tells them that they now bear the mark of a fine herd and that any disobedience is now punishable by death making escape unlikely. On the Enterprise , Scott is arguing that it does not make sense that their missing friends could have been transported this far and that they should continue to search the area where they were lost.

Spock reminds him that they did and found no sign of them. McCoy is beginning to fear that they might not still be alive after all the time that has passed. Somewhere outside the thralls' compound, Shahna and a shirtless and whip-scarred Kirk take a break near some old ruins after a two-mile run. Kirk asks why the Providers like watching people suffer and if they are computers, but Shahna does not seem to know. She gets nervous when he starts asking if this was a city for the Providers, and he starts talking about how the area they are in reminds him of his home planet, Earth.

She is unfamiliar with the concept of planets and suns which Kirk says make up the lights in the night sky. He comes closer to Shahna and starts speaking about the concepts of freedom and love, and how, on Earth, no one selects a mate for you, you get to choose your own. Shahna does not think his words are permitted and starts to walk away.

Kirk goes back to asking about the Providers. She begins to tell him that she has never seen them but that they are said to be "not like us". Before she can tell him any more, her collar lights up and she drops to the ground in agony. Kirk looks to the sky shouting that it was his fault, that he made her talk and begging them not to kill her. Kirk continues to plead for Shahna's life, asking that they punish him instead. The voice of Provider 1 asks if that is what Humans call compassion.

It is interesting but of no use here; he must learn obedience, if he is to be an excellent thrall. Shahna's collar shuts off and she asks him why he would risk his own punishment on her behalf. He tells her that it is the custom of his people to help each other when they are in trouble and kisses her on the lips. She asks if this, too, is "helping," and he says you could call it that. Looking into his eyes she asks, " Please… help me once again. Galt appears out of nowhere but because they have amused the Providers, there is no punishment.

Kirk protectively puts his arm around Shahna and they walk off together. On the bridge of the Enterprise , Spock asks Scott if they can sustain a speed greater than warp 6. Scott and Dr. McCoy think they have gone too far already on a hopeless errand. Both of them want to go back to Gamma II for another search.

Spock takes them aside and reminds them that he is in command and that they will remain on course unless they are planning to announce a mutiny. They ask that if they do not find them in the trinary system they are approaching, can they then go back for another search of Gamma II. Spock agrees and asks if Scott can give him warp 7.

Scott happily says yes, " and maybe a wee bit more. Shahna brings Kirk his dinner and tells him that he makes her feel "strangely". He begins kissing her again and as she looks at him with bedroom eyes, he knocks her out. Taking her key, he frees Chekov and Uhura, who have also disabled their drill thralls. They plan to find their phasers and try to short out their collars. As they move across the arena, Galt appears and activates their collars but does not kill them.

The voice of Provider 1 tell them that this was just a warning. The Enterprise assumes standard orbit around Triskelion. Sensors show only one concentration of lifeforms on the planet, in the lower hemisphere, and humanoid.

Not wanting to endanger the captain and the others if they are alive by beaming down a large force, Spock plans to beam down with Dr. McCoy hoping to rescue the captain and the others. Before they can even leave the bridge, the ship's systems are frozen by the Providers. Kirk and Provider 1 explain the situation on Triskelion. Kirk accuses the Providers of being too afraid to show themselves.

Since they feel he presents no danger while he wears the collar, Provider 1 transports Kirk to a chamber 1, meters below the planet's surface, where three disembodied brains sit in a dome-shaped glass case. An enormous power plant looms in the background. The Providers explain that their race once had humanoid form, but they evolved beyond that form. The games have become their only purpose.