"The Conscience of the King"
"Hamlet is a violent play about violent times when life was cheap and ambition was God."
–Lenore Karidian, "The Conscience of the King"
–Lenore Karidian, "The Conscience of the King"
The 13th of the first season, this episode originally aired on December 8, 1966. It was directed by Gerd Oswald and written by Barry Trivers.
Summary: The Enterprise is called to Planet Q by Dr. Thomas Leighton (William Sargent), who claims to have discovered a new synthetic food source. However, upon arrival, Kirk discovers Leighton's true motivation is for Kirk to confirm his suspicions that Anton Karidian (Arnold Moss), the leader of a Shakespearean acting troupe known as the Karidian Company of Players, is actually Kodos the Executioner, a former governor responsible for a mass-murder twenty years ago.
Connections to Hamlet:
The title of this episode comes from one of Hamlet's lines in Act II, Scene II: "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." Lenore Karidian (Barbara Anderson) also quotes this line during the episode.
The Karidian Company of Players is a reference to the players that visit Elsinore.
The Players perform Hamlet on the Enterprise.
This episode shares several plot elements with the play:
Karidian, like Claudius, has a troubled conscience and his crimes exposed during a play.
Kirk, like Hamlet, hesitates to confront a murderer until he is sure of his guilt.
Lenore, like Ophelia, goes insane after her father is accidentally killed.
Summary: The Enterprise is called to Planet Q by Dr. Thomas Leighton (William Sargent), who claims to have discovered a new synthetic food source. However, upon arrival, Kirk discovers Leighton's true motivation is for Kirk to confirm his suspicions that Anton Karidian (Arnold Moss), the leader of a Shakespearean acting troupe known as the Karidian Company of Players, is actually Kodos the Executioner, a former governor responsible for a mass-murder twenty years ago.
Connections to Hamlet:
The title of this episode comes from one of Hamlet's lines in Act II, Scene II: "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." Lenore Karidian (Barbara Anderson) also quotes this line during the episode.
The Karidian Company of Players is a reference to the players that visit Elsinore.
The Players perform Hamlet on the Enterprise.
This episode shares several plot elements with the play:
Karidian, like Claudius, has a troubled conscience and his crimes exposed during a play.
Kirk, like Hamlet, hesitates to confront a murderer until he is sure of his guilt.
Lenore, like Ophelia, goes insane after her father is accidentally killed.