Once Upon a Planet

TAS Season 1 Episode 9
Air Date: November 3rd, 1973

Plot

The crew of the Enterprise returns to the shore leave planet where the world figures out your desires and creates machines that mimic them. The first time they were on the planet, they bumped into Alice and the white rabbit. It happens again this time, only this time McCoy is attacked by playing cards and the queen of hearts. Everyone gets back to the ship except Uhura, whos communicator is taken by a small flying machine.

Uhura meets a computer underground and says he rescued her from her master, the machine in space. When the others beam down the computer tells Uhura that he only needs one "hostage" and he will "turn them off" referencing the away team. The computer tells Uhura that up until this point, his job was to read thoughts and figure out what the people on the surface wants. Now that the keeper is gone, he doesn't want that job anymore.

The away team finds a grave, for the keeper of the planet. They find a sign pointing to the underground entrance, but after they pass the sign, it disappears. It turns out to be a trap and they are engaged by pterodactyl. They are chased into a cave where they are attacked by a giant cat.

The away team figure out that the planet naturally wants to repair anyone who gets hurt so McCoy injects Spock with a compound that will knock him unconsious for 5 minutes. When a machine gets Spock, Kirk follows it underground leaving McCoy and Sulu behind to deal with a two headed dragon.

Kirk confronts the computer where it reveals that it wants to escape this planet and the Enterprise is it's way out. It has already take over the Enterprise and started building a computer for it to live in. The computer didn't know that the humans are the master since machines are superior. The away team convinces the machine that it can serve people freely, to achieve personal satisfaction. It agrees with the logic and becomes the new keeper of the shore leave planet.

Quotes

"I will make them cease to function. I will turn them off." - Computer
"That's murder." - Uhura
"That is a word meaning to cease to function?" - Computer
"Yes, but" - Uhura
"Good. It is as I wish. I will turn them off." - Computer