History Recap / StarTrekS2E25BreadAndCircuses

* The47Society: There were 47 survivors from the SS Beagle. Not any more.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: According to Kirk, Merik washed out of the Academy in his fifth year after failing a psychosimulator test. Starfleet Academy was later established as a four-year institution.

* ShoutOut: A car called the Jupiter 8 could be a reference to ''Series/LostInSpace''.

* AbsenteeActor: Sulu is absent, as Creator/GeorgeTakei was filming ''Film/TheGreenBerets''.

!!Tropes for this episode include:

* TheOathbreaker: Kirk condemns Merik as one because he sold out his entire crew just to save his own life and gain luxuries. Merik doesn't deny a word of this, as he's long-resigned himself to it, although latter Kirk's display of character helps bring him out of that... enough that at the end, his last act is to help them escape at the cost of his own life.

* TheOathbreaker: Kirk condemns Merik as one because he sold out his entire crew just to save his own life and gain luxuries.

After coming across the wreckage of the S. S. ''Beagle'', Kirk, Spock and Bones beam down to the surface of the nearest planet. This planet is a class M planet remarkably like Earth down to the land/water ratio. Atmosphere and radio signals hint a technological advancement equal to 20th century Earth. They beam down to a part of the wilderness close to city limits, thinking it deserted when they're taken captive by slaves on the run. After Kirk impresses them with his communicator, they take him in and tell him about the empire. Apparently, they get very angry when slaves worship a different god. Kirk and company gather the runaway slaves to be "sun" worshipers. It seems the civilization on this planet is a reflection of a modern day Earth where Rome never fell.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Claudius Marcus, proconsul of the slave-owning Roman empire, has a Southern accent.

After coming across the wreckage of the S. S. ''Beagle'', Kirk, Spock and Bones beam down to the surface of the nearest planet. This planet is a class M planet remarkably like earth down to the land/water ratio. Atmosphere and radio signals hint a technological advancement equal to 20th century Earth. They beam down to a part of the wilderness close to city limits, thinking it deserted when they're taken captive by slaves on the run. After Kirk impresses them with his communicator, they take him in and tell him about the empire. Apparently, they get very angry when slaves worship a different god. Kirk and company gather the runaway slaves to be "sun" worshipers. It seems the civilization on this planet is a reflection of a modern day Earth where Rome never fell.

-->'''Spock''': Situations quite familiar to the 6,000,000 who died in your [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI First World War]], the 11,000,000 who died in your [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Second]], the 37,000,000 who died in your [[Main/WorldWarIII Third]]...

* SexyDiscretionShot: Kirk makes smoochy face with Drusilla the SexSlave. Pan up to chandelier. Pan down to Kirk sleeping alone.
** A line that was cut had Kirk drinking wine and saying "good," eating something and saying "excellent," and then -- "And you?" and Drusilla says "Superb, I'm told."

-->'''SPOCK''': Situations quite familiar to the 6,000,000 who died in your [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI First World War]], the 11,000,000 who died in your [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Second]], the 37,000,000 who died in your [[Main/WorldWarIII Third]]...

When Kirk and company are captured and taken to the city, they find out what happened to the crew of the ''Beagle''. It seems not all captains are that dedicated to their crew. When Merik was offered a life of luxury as First Citizen in return for selling out his entire crew to fight in the gladiator pits, he couldn't resist. What a bastard.

* ShoutOut: A car called the Jupiter 8 could be a Shout Out to ''Series/LostInSpace''.

* ShoutOut: A car called the Jupiter 8 could be a Shout Out to Series/LostInSpace.

* AbsenteeActor: Sulu is absent, as Creator/GeoreTakei was filming ''Film/TheGreenBerets''.

* LaughTrack: In the televised gladiatorial combats, the crowd's cheers and boos are mechanically produced.

* CovertDistressCode: Kirk tells Scotty "Condition Green, everything's fine." However, "Condition Green" is their code for "I'm in trouble, but don't do anything to help." Scotty has to figure out a way to help Kirk without breaking the Prime Directive. [[spoiler:He does]].

* ArtisticLicenceReligion: Bones mentions at one point that the SpaceRomans having sun worshippers is illogical, because the Earth Romans didn't... In reality, they actually had two - Apollo (a god associated with the sun among many other things) and Sol (an incarnation of the sun, known at various times as Sol Indiges and Sol Invictus).

* DeadpanSnarker: When an armed man points at Spock's pointed ears and says "What do you call those?" He calmly replies "I call them ears." When asked if he's trying to be funny, he flatly replies "Not at all." Oh, that Spock!

* {{Anvilicious}}: The end of the episode, as delivered by Lieutenant Uhura.

* GeniusBonus: Flavious Maximus isn't many letters away from a similarly-named Earth Roman Empire commander, who won much advantage by knowing when ''not'' to fight.

* CovertDistressCode: Kirk tells Scotty "Condition Green, everything's fine." However, "Condition Green" is their code for "I'm in trouble, but don't do anything to help." Scotty has to figure out a way to help Kirk without breaking the Prime Directive.

* HonorBeforeReason: Claudius Marcus has a touch of this; because he respects Kirk's courage, he feels obliged to give Kirk a proper death, to the point that when his guards have Kirk's team surrounded at gunpoint he insists they use their swords instead of just gunning them all down on the spot.

* ShoutOut: A car called the Jupiter 8 could be a Shout Out to Series/LostInSpace