[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trelane_squire_of_gothos_1359.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Trelane channels his inner Music/{{Liberace}}.]]

'''Original air date:''' January 12, 1967

The ''Enterprise'' happens on a planet ruled by a being named Trelane, who has unnatural powers. When he attempts to force his will on the crew, Kirk determines to leave - a decision that is easier made than implemented.

It all started when the ''Enterprise'' was just on its way to Beta VI and crossing a "star desert" when they come across a rogue planet comprised primarily of iron-silica. Sulu is just going to steer around it when [[WhackySoundEffect BOING!]] He disappears! Kirk soon also disappears with a similar BOING!

Soon after, the ''Enterprise'' receives a text greeting in Old English Font. After a quick scan, Spock assigns three officers (no RedShirts this time) to rescue the Captain and Sulu. The place they beam down to has thick vegetation and a manor house in French style architecture, and they can't get a communication signal. Maybe they're in Louisiana?

No such luck. The landing party investigates the manor to find it filled with unusual artifacts, including [[PropRecycling one that looks suspiciously like]] their old nemesis, [[Recap/StarTrekS1E1TheManTrap the Salt Vampire]]. Sulu and Kirk are frozen like wax figures, but freed with a touch. [[GhostButler Slam goes the door.]] Tinka-tinka-tink goes the harpsichord. They are introduced to General Trelane (retired), the Squire of Gothos.

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!!The Tropes of Gothos:
* AccentSlipUp: Trelane speaks in a posh, eloquent manner befitting his cultured façade, [[labelnote: e.g.]](''"Dear Captain, your inquiries are becoming tiresome...''")[[/labelnote]] until his parents appear. Then, he tellingly starts talking like a stereotypical bratty kid with more of a working-class American accent. [[labelnote: e.g.]](''"Aw, but ya said I could [play]! Ya promised!"'')[[/labelnote]]
* AintTooProudToBeg: Half buying time, half serious, Kirk lets himself be Trelane's plaything if he promises to let the ship go, and [[NotSoStoic can't quite hide his fear]] when the noose swings towards him.
* AffablyEvil: Trelane fancies himself a retired general with an elegant home to show his captives every hospitality, or to at least play at doing so.
* AliensStealCable: Trelane wasn't receiving radio signals, but clearly was limited by speed-of-light transmission when he thought that 18th-century fashions and behavior were the latest things for Earth people, there on his planet some 900 light years from Earth. Then again, he was merely a child from a race of {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s and might be excused from making such a mistake.
* BilingualBonus: Trelane counts to four in German and says "Gehen wir mit dem Schießgewehr!" (We go with the rifle shooting!) Jaeger responds (in English) with [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder "I'm a scientist,]] not a military man." (However, his last name does mean "Hunter".) Trelane asks [=DeSalle=] (in French) if he is really French. ("Un vrais Francais?") [=DeSalle=] responds (again in English), "My ancestry was French, yes."
* BlingOfWar: It's unlikely he did anything to earn them, but Trelane believes no general costume is complete without a few medals.
* ContinuityNod: The salt vampire from "The Man Trap" is among Trelane's collection. Bones does a double take when he sees it and a musical cue from that episode is briefly dubbed in.
* DanceOfRomance: Trelane starts his idea of one with Yeoman Ross while Uhura plays the harpsichord. (After he magically gave her the ability to do so?)
* DeadpanSnarker: Sulu is in fine form this episode:
** When Kirk introduces Bones and Sulu, Trelane (correctly) intuits the latter's Japanese ancestry (somehow, since Sulu isn't a Japanese name) and bows deeply to him in a hilariously over-the-top fashion.
---> '''Trelane''': Welcome, good [[PerfectlyCromulentWord physicianer]]! ''(bows)'' And honourable sir.
---> '''Sulu''' ''(aside, to Bones)'': Is he kidding?
** Later, after Trelane teleports the entire bridge crew back down to his "estate" on Gothos:
---> '''Trelane''': Anyway, the decor of my drawing room is much more appropriate - ''(JumpCut to everyone in his drawing room'') - and tasteful. Don't you agree?
---> '''Sulu''' ''('''very''' dryly)'': No.
** To add insult to injury, Trelane bows at him again in response.
* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the SufficientlyAdvancedAliens plot that regularly showed up in science fiction (and would again on Trek). Why would god-like aliens even bother with unpowered humans? Because in Trelane's case, he's a SpoiledBrat. And how do the puny humans defeat such an incredibly powerful foe? They don't, they just survive long enough for his parents to basically call him in and tell him to wash up before dinner.
* DeusExMachina: Trelane's parents show up and take their son away, also giving Kirk the ability to return to the ship.
* DistractedByMyOwnSexy: Trelane likes admiring his reflection. Of course, this makes sneaking up on him difficult.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness
** There was still a very vague idea of just how far into the future the series was set, but going from this episode, it's at least the 27th century given the statement that Trelane's information is 900 years out of date. The TOS era would later be firmly set in the 23rd century.
** At one point, Uhura refers to Spacefleet Command rather than Starfleet Command.
* EnergyBeings: What Trelane and others like him are when they aren't pretending to be human.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Kirk realizes Trelane has a "lot to learn about everything" right before Trelane's parents show up.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Trelane indicates that he's a fan of the title "Squire". While historically the term was later used as a term for landed gentry and the lord of a manor, its original use was for a knight's apprentice, an appropriate appellation given that he's little more than a child still learning how to use his powers.
* {{Flynning}}: Justified, as Trelane is a fan of swordfighting but has never actually tried it before.
* GhostButler: When the group sent down to find Kirk and Sulu enter Trelane's house, the door closes itself just before Trelane appears.
* AGlitchInTheMatrix: The crew realize that Trelane is not all-powerful because of numerous mistakes in his playground; [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine the food he provides]] has no taste, and the fires in the fireplace and on the HollywoodTorches on the wall do not produce heat.
-->'''Kirk''': Whatever we're dealing with, he certainly isn't all knowledgeable. ''He makes mistakes.''
* GloveSlap: Kirk uses one of Yeoman Ross' gloves to challenge Trelane, who is all too eager to take part in an old-fashioned DuelToTheDeath.
* GoGoEnslavement: Subverted. Trelane transformed Ross' uniform into an expensive-looking ballroom gown, which covers more than her uniform.
* GorgeousPeriodDress: Trelane's outfit, as well as the gown he conjures up for Yeoman Ross.
* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Trelane believes this. The [[RegencyEngland Regency style]] [[GorgeousPeriodDress gown]] with HighClassGloves he [[InstantCostumeChange zaps]] Yeoman Ross into is a fine shade of lavender.
* HangingAround: Trelane tries to make Kirk stick his head in a noose, but he naturally refuses.
* HangingJudge: Trelane makes believe at being one, complete with powdered wig.
* HeroicSacrifice: Kirk intends this, staying behind to distract Trelane so that the ''Enterprise'' can escape from orbit. This would have two possible outcomes-- either the vengeful Trelane kills him, or Kirk dies from oxygen deprivation after defeating him. It's subverted when Trelane's parents show up just as he is about to finish Kirk off.
* HollywoodTorches: There are a number of them burning at various places on the walls of Trelane's mansion. This is {{Justified|Trope}} InUniverse because Trelane is a RealityWarper who created his mansion using his powers;
-->Notice the wood fire, Captain? Burning steadily, ember bed glowing, and it doesn't give off any heat at all.
* HotBloodedSideburns: The passionate and quick-tempered Trelane has a pair. Granted, he may only be wearing them because they were fashionable in the timeline he's trying to re-create, but it still fits.
* HumansAreBastards: Trelane believes this. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame That's why he admires them so!]]
* HumansAreSpecial: Trelane's father chides him for his high-handed attitude, telling him, "They're beings, Trelane. They have spirit. They're superior." (though he seems to be referring to corporeal intelligences generally rather than humans specifically).
* ImmortalImmaturity: Trelane is an extremely powerful near-god and hundreds if not thousands of years old, but acts like a child... and by the standards of his race, he is-- ''his parents'' show up at the end to drag their whining kid home.
* InsultBackfire: "I can't imagine a mirage ever disturbing those mathematically perfect brain waves of yours," snipes Bones at Spock. Spock thanks him for the compliment.
* JapanesePoliteness: Trelane bows to Sulu and calls him "Honorable Sir." Sulu responds, "Is he kidding?!"
* JudicialWig: When Trelane puts Kirk on trial for defying him, he wears a long and curly white wig along with his judges' robes.
* LargeHam: Trelane.
* MoodWhiplash: Goes from a whimsical "we're dealing with a weird alien" plot to a God-like Trelane going berserk over Kirk's actions. And back again when we find out Trelane isn't God, just a spoiled brat.
* MustHaveCaffeine: Yeoman Ross serves up cups of coffee for everyone on the bridge at the opening of the episode. Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that they're allowing open beverages near what is probably very important electrical equipment?
* NegativeSpaceWedgie: Gothos itself, an uncharted planet which shows up light years from any star and heralds the beginning of the weirdness.
* NightmareFetishist: Trelane practically squeals with delight over thoughts of savagery, war, and violence. He abducts the crew specifically to hear stories of their military achievements.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Trelane is rather obviously modeled after Music/{{Liberace}}, with William Campbell being hairstyled and costumed similarly, and spending much of his screen time playing a keyboard instrument (albeit the harpsichord instead of the piano).
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: Trelane provides a sumptuous dinner the second time he abducts part of the Enterprise crew. Too bad none of it tastes like anything, because all he knows about Earth food is what it looks like.
* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: Trelane repeatedly complains that [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunting Kirk]] is "too easy" to be any fun.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Trelane doesn't kill or even injure anyone aboard ''Enterprise'' over the course of the entire episode (though, perhaps, not through lack of trying). The worst they suffer is a delay in their otherwise routine mission and some humiliation. Yet the majority of the tension of the episode comes from knowing that Trelane '''is''' so powerful, as he demonstrated on multiple occasions, that he '''could''' kill the entire crew with a flick of his fingers if he decided to-- and he seems to think that death is only a "time out" or a temporary loss in a game, so he could easily kill them without having the slightest understanding of what that really means. Kirk walks a delicate tightrope for the entire runtime: keeping Trelane entertained enough not to kill them, bored enough to consider letting them go, but not ''so'' bored he'll kill them all out of spite.
* OffscreenTeleportation: The entire planet Gothos does this when Sulu tries to get the ''Enterprise'' away at warp speed. No matter where the ''Enterprise'' goes, there's Gothos, right in front of them!
* TheOneThingIDontHateAboutYou: Trelane doesn't like Spock, but does approve of him being ill-mannered.
* PlanetBaron: Trelane is a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien with his own planet, though he only uses a portion of it.
* PsychopathicManChild: Trelane treats the crew like his toys and he essentially throws a tantrum after Kirk destroys his computer, thus ruining his fun. He loves boasting about his authority and tries to make the crew play his little games. Once Kirk realizes what kind of person Trelane is, he plays on his need for fun. Based off the ending, he seems to be a child by his species’ standards and he is chastised by his parents for his treatment of Kirk and his crew.
* RealityHasNoSubtitles: In order to show off his knowledge of Earth, Trelane speaks in French to [=DeSalle=] and in German to Mr. Jaeger without any translation for the audience.
* RealityWarper: Trelane. Which brings us to....
* RealityWarpingIsNotAToy: Trelane is a godlike alien reality warper who creates new worlds to suit his whims. He torments the Enterprise crew with his powers, but just as he's about to kill Kirk, his parents show up and remonstrate him.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Kirk dishes one out to Trelane, along with a couple of bitch slaps.
* RevealingReflection: When one of the abducted officers tries to shoot Trelane while he’s admiring himself in the mirror, Trelane notices and freezes him on the spot.
* ScheherezadeGambit: Kirk convinces Trelane to spare him because it would be more fun to [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame Hunt The Most Dangerous Game]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Kirk and co. try to pull this at first. Trelane punishes Kirk for attempting to do so by briefly transporting him to another part of the planet with a noxious atmosphere. When Trelane is distracted by his broken toys, Kirk and co. beam back to the ''Enterprise'', where Kirk tells Sulu to floor it. (Not that this works.)
* SillyWalk: On hearing the name of the meteorologist is Karl Jaeger, Trelane does an [[AllGermansAreNazis exaggerated goose-step]] while counting in German. Lt. Jaeger is not amused.
* SpoiledBrat: What Trelane ultimately is. He drops his suave gentleman act when his parents show up and starts acting like a whiny little child. The parents apologize, realizing that it's partially their own fault for over-indulging him.
* StockSoundEffects: When Kirk damages Trelane's equipment with the dueling pistol, we hear some stock cartoon "things have gone haywire" sound effects.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The character of Yeoman Ross was very likely written as Janice Rand until Creator/GraceLeeWhitney left the series.
* SwordFight: Trelane and Kirk get into one. Trelane doesn't fight fair.
* TakenForGranite: Trelane's first act is to kidnap Kirk and Sulu, turning them into statues; he turns them back to normal when the rest of the crew arrive, seeing as that was his intent.
* TrialOfTheMysticalJury: Trelane puts Kirk on trial.
* WackySoundEffect: Along with the usual "BOING" whenever anyone disappears, we get a cavalcade of goofy noises right out of an old Creator/WarnerBros cartoon when Kirk shoots out Trelane's mirror, where he's been hiding the power source of his illusions. This is likely intentional, for Trelane doesn't seem to understand the difference between representations of reality and fictional imagery.
* WheresTheFunInThat: Kirk asks his captor "Where's the sport?" in simply hanging him as he had planned. Instead, Kirk talked his captor into [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame staging a "royal hunt".]] This bought Kirk enough time for a DeusExMachina rescue.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Despite looking like an adult human, Trelane is actually a child by the standards of his incredibly long-lived species.
* YouWouldntBelieveMeIfIToldYou: Bones tries to tell Uhura what Trelane is like, but gives up. She'll soon find out for herself anyway.
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