The Apple

TOS Season 2 Episode 5
Air Date: October 13th, 1967

Imagine a world where the entire planet maintains a temperature of twenty one Celsius even at the poles. The land is fertile and can grow anything. Oh and the flowers shoot you with poisoned seeds.

The Enterprise arrives at this planet and quickly discovers that beauty is only skin deep. After losing a security guard they start discovering other hazards from explosive rocks to . Even the Enterprise is being effected by something coming from the planet that is draining it's antimatter making it impossible to transport back.

Spock gets hit by the flowers too saving Kirk but his Vulcan physiology and some medicine from McCoy brings him back to full health. Two other security guards get killed by a sudden lightning storm and an exploding rock.

They then discover a primitive society known as the Feeders of Vaal. Akuta their leader has an antennae installed in his head so he can communicate with Vaal. The away team notice that there are no children and they find out that children and physical affection is forbidden by Vaal. McCoy also notices that they don't age or have any disorders.

Two of the locals see Chekov and Yeoman Landon acting affectionate and copy them. Akuta finds out and Vaal tells him to kill the away team. The away team are trained fighters and easily dispatch the locals but they lose the last of the security officers. In a last ditch effory, Kirk orders the Enterprise to fire phasers at the structure that they believe contains the energy source causing all the problems which causes it to overload and destroy itself.

The episode is called The Apple because it shows how people living in what resembles the Garden of Eden worshiping their God fall from grace, give in to lust and murder. In parallel Kirk blames himself and gives into self pity thinking he will be the reason the Enterprise will be destroyed. With Vaal destroyed, the planet will stop being a paradise which is a parallel to Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden.

In the end Spock hints that Kirk filled the role of Satan in that he tempted the people to sin making them leave paradise.

"Trying to get yourself killed. Do you know how much Starfleet has invested in you?" - Kirk
"One hundred twenty two thousand two hundred and ..." - Spock

"Scotty you're my chief engineer. You know everything about that ship that there is to know. More than the men who designed it. If you can't get those warp engines working, you're fired." - Kirk

"Doctor, you insist on applying human standards to nonhuman cultures. I remind you that humans are only a tiny minority in this galaxy." - Spock