Introduction

“Wolf in the Fold” is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek.

Written by Robert Bloch and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on 22 December 1967.

In the episode, a series of horrific murders of women, on a world where such things never happen, points to Mr. Scott as the prime suspect.

Outline

Captain Kirk, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, and Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the Federation starship USS Enterprise are enjoying therapeutic shore leave at a night club on planet Argelius II. Mr. Scott (“Scotty”) is introduced to Kara, a dancer at the club, and leaves with her. As Kirk and McCoy make their way through an evening fog to another club, they hear a scream, and find the dancer dead on the ground and Scotty standing against a nearby wall, clutching a bloody knife.

Scott is detained and interrogated by Mr. Hengist, an administrator from Rigel IV and head of Argelius’s police operations. Jaris, the Prefect of the planet, appears and bids his wife, Sybo, employ the Argelian empathic contact to determine the truth. While she prepares for the ritual, Lieutenant Karen Tracy, an Enterprise medical specialist, beams down with a psycho-tricorder, interviews Scott, and is murdered. The evidence again points to Scott.

Sybo proceeds with the empathic contact ritual. The participants hold hands as in a seance, and Sybo begins to speak of a “monstrous, terrible evil”, “a hunger that never dies”, which has been named “Kesla”, “Beratis”, “Redjac.” The altar fire goes out, and Sybo screams. When the lights come on, Scott is holding Sybo’s dead body.

The Prefect, over Hengist’s objections, agrees to continue the investigation aboard the Enterprise. Both Scott and Kara’s fiance Morla are questioned under “accuracy scan” by the computer, which confirms the testimony of both. Scott also speaks of a cold, evil presence during Sybo’s ceremony, and the computer again verifies the accuracy of the statement.

Kirk queries the computer on the names spoken by Sybo, including “Redjac”. The computer responds with “Red Jack”, a name given to the serial killer better known as Jack the Ripper. That, and Sybo’s mention of a “hunger that never dies”, suggests to Kirk that an immortal, non-corporeal entity might be involved. “Beratis” is found to be the name of a serial killer on Rigel IV. Suspicion falls on Hengist, not least because the murder weapon was made on Rigel IV. Hengist attempts to flee, but Kirk punches him and apparently kills him. Maniacal laughter is then heard from the computer, apparently the entity, which has jumped from Hengist’s body to the computer, from which it can control the ship.

The entity begins to threaten the crew to generate the fear it feeds on. Kirk orders Doctor McCoy to administer fast-acting tranquillisers to all hands, and Spock ties up the computer by ordering it to compute the value of π to its last decimal place. After attempting to possess Jaris, the entity returns to the body of Hengist, which is immediately tranquillised. Kirk carries Hengist to the Transporter Room, where he is beamed into space at “maximum dispersion”. Spock notes that the entity will survive only as separate bits of energy before perishing. He then suggests that the tranquillised crew resume their shore leave.

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Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Joseph Pevney.
• Writer(s): Robert Bloch.
• Production: Desilu Productions (1966-1967) and Paramount Television (1968-1969).
• Distributor(s): Paramount Pictures (1966-2006), CBS Paramount Television (2006-2007), and CBS Television Distribution (2007-Present).
• Original Network: NBC.
• Release Date: 22 December 1967.
• Running Time: 50 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.