The Devil in the Dark

"The Devil in the Dark" is a first season episode of the original science fiction television series, Star Trek, first airing on March 9, 1967, and repeating on June 15, 1967. It was written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Joseph Pevney. William Shatner wrote in his memoirs that "The Devil in the Dark" was his favorite original Star Trek episode. He thought it was "exciting, thought-provoking and intelligent, it contained all of the ingredients that made up our very best Star Treks."

In this episode, Captain Kirk and Spock face off with a deadly subterranean creature.

Plot

Enterprise arrives at the pergium mining colony on planet Janus VI to help the colony deal with a creature that has killed 50 miners and destroyed equipment with a strong corrosive substance. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy meet with the mine supervisor, Chief Engineer Vanderberg and an engineer Appel, who describe the amorphous creature to them and its behavior. During the briefing, Spock's attention is drawn to a spherical object on Vanderberg's desk; Vanderberg dismisses the object as a worthless silicon nodule, saying that there are thousands of them in the mines, and that they are a mere geological oddity. Suddenly, they are alerted to a problem in the colony's main nuclear reactor, and find its guard killed and the main circulation pump stolen. Chief Engineer Scott rigs a temporary replacement that will prevent critical failure, but a more permanent solution must be found in 48 hours.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series (Star Trek: TOS or simply TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.

The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, roughly during the 2260s. The ship and crew are led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), first officer and science officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and chief medical officer Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Shatner's voice-over introduction during each episode's opening credits stated the starship's purpose:

The series was produced from September 1966–December 1967 by Desilu Productions, and by Paramount Television from January 1968–June 1969. Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966 to June 3, 1969 and from September 6 on Canada's CTV network. Star Trek's Nielsen ratings while on NBC were low, and the network canceled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. Several years later, the series became a bona fide hit in broadcast syndication, remaining so throughout the 1970s, achieving cult classic status and a developing influence on popular culture. Star Trek eventually spawned a franchise, consisting of five additional television series, twelve feature films, numerous books, games, toys, and is now widely considered one of the most popular and influential television series of all time.

Star (heraldry)

In heraldry, the term star may refer to any star-shaped charge with any number of rays, which may appear straight or wavy, and may or may not be pierced. While there has been much confusion between the two due to their similar shape, a star with straight-sided rays is usually called a mullet while one with wavy rays is usually called an estoile.

While a mullet may have any number of points, it is presumed to have five unless otherwise specified in the blazon, and pierced mullets are common; estoiles, however, are presumed to have six rays and (as of 1909) had not been found pierced. In Scottish heraldry, an estoile is the same as in English heraldry, but it has been said that mullet refers only to a mullet pierced (also called a spur revel), while one that is not pierced is called a star.

Terminology

The use of the word star in blazons, and how that charge appears in coat armory, varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots heraldry, both star and mullet interchangeably mean a star with five straight rays; the official record from 1673 gives Murray of Ochtertyre azur three Starrs argent ... (Public Register, vol 1 p 188), while the Ordinary of Arms produced by a late 19th century Lyon King of Arms 'modernizes' the original as Az. three mullets arg. .... In Canadian heraldry the usual term is mullet, but there is also the occasional six-pointed star (e.g. in Vol. IV, at p. 274 and in online version of the Canadian Public Register), which is what others would blazon as a six-pointed mullet. The United States Army Institute of Heraldry, the official heraldic authority in the United States, uses the term mullet in its blazons, but elsewhere, as in US government documents describing the flag of the United States and the Great Seal of the United States, the term star is constantly used, and these nearly always appear with five straight-sided points.

Celebrity

Celebrity is fame and public attention in the media, usually applied to a person, or group of people (celebrity couple, family etc.), or occasionally, to animals or fictional entities. Celebrity status is often associated with wealth (commonly referred to as fame and fortune) and fame can often provide opportunities to make money.

Successful careers in sports and entertainment are commonly associated with celebrity status; political leaders often become celebrities. People may also become celebrities due to media attention for their lifestyle, wealth, or controversial actions, or for their connection to a famous person.

History

Throughout recorded history there are accounts of people who attracted the trappings of celebrity which would be recognized today.

Athletes in Ancient Greece were welcomed home as heroes, had songs and poems written in their honour and received free food and gifts from those seeking celebrity endorsement.Ancient Rome similarly lauded actors and notorious gladiators and Julius Caesar appeared on a coin in his own lifetime (a departure from the usual depiction of battles and divine lineage).

Star (702 album)

Star is the third and final studio album from American R&B group 702, released March 25, 2003 by Motown.

The album peaked at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 chart. and is mostly remembered for its cult classic single "I Still Love You".

Release and reception

The album peaked at forty-five on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached the twenty-second spot on the R&B Albums chart.

Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave the work a rather dismissive review, stating that "it continues in the group's tradition of being able to deliver a couple of solid singles surrounded by middling to fair album tracks."

Track listing

Chart history

Album

Singles

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic.

Horta (district)

The District of Horta was a district of the Ilhas Adjacentes (Adjacent Islands, the former collective name for the Azores and Madeira), consisting of the dependent western islands of the Azores, located in the Atlantic Ocean. The district of Horta, not to be confused with the modern municipality of Horta, existed from 1836 until 1976 when it was abolished in favour of the autonomy charter of the 1975 Portuguese Constitution.

History

Officially referred to as the Distrito Autónomo da Horta (Autonomous District of Horta) since 31 December 1940, it was originally established after the Liberal administrative reforms of Mouzinhos da Silveira on 28 March 1836. During these reforms the Azores were redesignated dependencies of Portugal as the constitutionally-designated Ilhas Adjacentes (Adjacent Islands). The district's creation resulted from the division of the Província Ocidental dos Açores (Western Province of the Azores), its seat in the district capital of Angra do Heroísmo, into two areas with the latter's seat in Horta.