Trekipedia

The Corbomite Maneuver

Kirk bluffs his way past what appears to be a powerful alien.

• Stardate 1512.2
• Released 10 Nov 1966

While attempting to explore an uncharted area of space, the Enterprise is confronted by an alien “warning buoy.” The starship’s phasers destroy the radioactive buoy. Soon afterward, a gigantic spherical spaceship–the Fesarius–traps the Enterprise, and an alien voice promises destruction in ten minutes. Spock‘s reference to acknowledging defeat in the game of chess leads Kirk to recall the game of poker. The captain stages a desperate bluff, telling the alien commander, Balok, that Federation ships are equipped with a self-destruct system called corbomite, which would also destroy any attacker. The destruction of the Enterprise is temporarily averted. Later, when the alien separates fromt he main body of his ship and seems to be in distress, Kirk goes to his rescue. Finally, the frightening alien is revealed to be a puppet operated by a childlike entity who has been testing them to determine whether Kirk and crew are truly peaceful. Diplomatic relations are established, and Mr. Bailey, who had lost his nerve awaiting Balok’s ultimatum, volunteers to remain on board the Fesarius as an exchange student.

Written by: Jerry Sohl
Directed by: Joseph Sargent

Cast:

• Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner)
• Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy)
• Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForrest Kelley)
• Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott (James Doohan)
• Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu (George Takei)
• Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols)

Guest Cast:

• Lieutenant David Bailey (Anthony Call)
• Balok (Clint Howard, voice of Vic Perrin; puppet voice: Ted Cassidy)
• Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney)