"Practical Joker" redirects here. For other uses, see Practical joker.
"The Practical Joker" is the third episode of the second season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek, the 19th episode overall. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 21, 1974, and was written by American television writers Chuck Menville and Len Janson[note 1] who together also wrote the first season episode "Once Upon a Planet". The "Rec Room" in this episode is the forerunner of the Holodeck, which plays a significant part in numerous episodes of the subsequent spin-off Star Trek series.[2]
Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (voiced by William Shatner) and the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise. In this episode, after the Enterprise passes through an unusual cloud the ship's computer starts playing practical jokes on the crew.
On stardate 3183.3, the FederationstarshipEnterprise is attacked by three RomulanD-7-class battlecruisers. Captain Kirk orders the ship into a nearby gaseous energy field to hide, knowing that the Romulans would be unwilling to follow in after them. Sometime later, the crew begin to suffer a series of practical jokes, beginning with glasses leaking and utensils turning to rubber, a uniform tunic for the captain with "Kirk is a Jerk" emblazoned on the back, and a mysterious optical device on the bridge science station which when looked into leaves blackened circles around Science Officer Spock's eyes. Everyone suspects that there is a member of the crew having fun. The jokes become more serious, however, as corridor decks are found covered with ice under a concealing layer of fog. Still thinking that a crewmember is responsible, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, Lt. Uhura, and Lt. Sulu hope to escape the jokester by hiding out in the ship's Holodeck/Rec Room. No escape is to be found as a quiet stroll in a woodland scene becomes dangerous with the program parameters changing to include a deep pit covered over by branches and leaves, and later a freezing cold blinding snow storm then a hedge maze before they are finally rescued.
Eventually the practical jokester, which turns out to be the Enterprise computer itself (affected by the ship's passage through the energy field), decides to play a practical joke on the Romulans for the battle damage caused in the earlier attack. It fabricates a gigantic ship-shaped balloon beside the Enterprise that the Romulans are drawn to attack. The Romulans, infuriated over the embarrassment of being tricked, give chase. Kirk immediately shows extreme fear at the prospect of returning to the cloud to escape the Romulans, and the Enterprise presses into Kirk's fear by taking the ship back in. The jokester personality of the computer begins to fade, as it realizes it had been tricked itself, and finally returns to normal. The Romulans, however, were so enraged over the balloon-ship ruse that they follow the Enterprise through the energy cloud and begin to experience a rash of jokes themselves.
Receptionedit
In 2016, SyFy noted this episode for presenting "the beginnings of the holodeck", a technological idea that later became a popular element in many later episodes.[3]
Notesedit
^This story was expanded into a novelette by science-fiction author Alan Dean Foster as part of the collection Star Trek Log Six (1976) (ISBN0-345-24655-1).
Referencesedit
^ ab""Star Trek" The Practical Joker (1974) - Full cast and crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
^Mangels, Andy (Summer 2018). "Star Trek: The Animated Series". RetroFan. TwoMorrows Publishing (1): 34.
^Granshaw, Lisa (October 5, 2016). . SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
The D-7 class Klingon/Romulan Battlecruiser at Curt Danhauser's Guide to the Animated Star Trek
December 15, 2023
practical, joker, practical, joker, redirects, here, other, uses, practical, joker, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed,. Practical Joker redirects here For other uses see Practical joker This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Practical Joker news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Practical Joker is the third episode of the second season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek the 19th episode overall It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 21 1974 and was written by American television writers Chuck Menville and Len Janson note 1 who together also wrote the first season episode Once Upon a Planet The Rec Room in this episode is the forerunner of the Holodeck which plays a significant part in numerous episodes of the subsequent spin off Star Trek series 2 The Practical Joker Star Trek The Animated Series episodeEpisode no Season 2Episode 3Directed byBill ReedWritten byChuck Menville Len JansonProduction code22021Original air dateSeptember 21 1974 1974 09 21 Guest appearancesLou Scheimer Romulan Crewman uncredited 1 Norm Prescott Romulan Commander uncredited 1 Episode chronology Previous Bem Next Albatross List of episodesSet in the 23rd century the series follows the adventures of Captain James T Kirk voiced by William Shatner and the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise In this episode after the Enterprise passes through an unusual cloud the ship s computer starts playing practical jokes on the crew Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksPlot editOn stardate 3183 3 the Federation starship Enterprise is attacked by three Romulan D 7 class battlecruisers Captain Kirk orders the ship into a nearby gaseous energy field to hide knowing that the Romulans would be unwilling to follow in after them Sometime later the crew begin to suffer a series of practical jokes beginning with glasses leaking and utensils turning to rubber a uniform tunic for the captain with Kirk is a Jerk emblazoned on the back and a mysterious optical device on the bridge science station which when looked into leaves blackened circles around Science Officer Spock s eyes Everyone suspects that there is a member of the crew having fun The jokes become more serious however as corridor decks are found covered with ice under a concealing layer of fog Still thinking that a crewmember is responsible Chief Medical Officer Dr McCoy Lt Uhura and Lt Sulu hope to escape the jokester by hiding out in the ship s Holodeck Rec Room No escape is to be found as a quiet stroll in a woodland scene becomes dangerous with the program parameters changing to include a deep pit covered over by branches and leaves and later a freezing cold blinding snow storm then a hedge maze before they are finally rescued Eventually the practical jokester which turns out to be the Enterprise computer itself affected by the ship s passage through the energy field decides to play a practical joke on the Romulans for the battle damage caused in the earlier attack It fabricates a gigantic ship shaped balloon beside the Enterprise that the Romulans are drawn to attack The Romulans infuriated over the embarrassment of being tricked give chase Kirk immediately shows extreme fear at the prospect of returning to the cloud to escape the Romulans and the Enterprise presses into Kirk s fear by taking the ship back in The jokester personality of the computer begins to fade as it realizes it had been tricked itself and finally returns to normal The Romulans however were so enraged over the balloon ship ruse that they follow the Enterprise through the energy cloud and begin to experience a rash of jokes themselves Reception editIn 2016 SyFy noted this episode for presenting the beginnings of the holodeck a technological idea that later became a popular element in many later episodes 3 Notes edit This story was expanded into a novelette by science fiction author Alan Dean Foster as part of the collection Star Trek Log Six 1976 ISBN 0 345 24655 1 References edit a b Star Trek The Practical Joker 1974 Full cast and crew Internet Movie Database Retrieved June 25 2013 Mangels Andy Summer 2018 Star Trek The Animated Series RetroFan TwoMorrows Publishing 1 34 Granshaw Lisa October 5 2016 From baseball to Sherlock Holmes The top 10 Star Trek holodeck episodes SYFY WIRE Archived from the original on November 13 2017 Retrieved January 19 2020 External links edit The Practical Joker at IMDb The Practical Joker at Memory Alpha The Practical Joker at StarTrek com The Practical Joker at Curt Danhauser s Guide to the Animated Star Trek The Practical Joker dead link Full episode for viewing at StarTrek com The D 7 class Klingon Romulan Battlecruiser at Curt Danhauser s Guide to the Animated Star Trek Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Practical Joker amp oldid 1184940447, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
