This episode was unique in that it was a crossover between the Star Trek universe and Larry Niven's Known Space future history series, as other posters have noted in this thread. It was well done and is still one of the best episodes of the animated series!
"If we are captured, the Highest of Kzin will repudiate us. But if we succeed, you are meat for our tables!" - Chuft-Captain, 2269 ("The Slaver Weapon")
They have not the cunning of Romulans, the courage of Klingons, the economic wit of the Ferengi, the might of the Dominion, nor the adaptability of the Borg... is it any wonder all four wars are nothing but a foot note to the Federation?
Roddenberry and his production staff probably had to jump through a number of Hoops to get that violent scene produced and aired back in 1973. Having people actually die in Saturday morning cartoons is rare
People died in the original Jonny Quest series 'regularly' (in full view) . . . there was probably not much haranguing over the Star Trek scene as the actual death was never shown . . . . .
check out larry niven and his books like Ringworld, Pac Protector, Ringworld Engineers. I love scif books, his universe is a great place to spend a rainy weekend. you won't be sorry!
I like that a Kzinti-Starfleet Officer actually showed up in an episode of _Lower Decks._ And I think I read somewhere that the Kzinti would have shown up in _Enterprise_ if the show had gotten a fifth Season.
The Kzinti in this episode were aggressive, warlike and too curious for their own good. If they thought the Slaver weapon was their chance of a thieving galactic power, or supremacy, that ancient alien weapon proved them wrong! Chuft Captain was the Kirk of the Kzinti, in my opinion.
It has occurred to me that the Slaver device, presented in the story by David Given and this episode, is a weapon for a secret agent, with multiple functions built into it. Today, a modern smartphone, although it doesn't change form, can be almost as versatile. We give those to children.
@@jamierose9095 I realize this, but it was the device's complexity that leads to the conclusion that it was meant for a highly trained secret agent rather than a common soldier, in both the original story and this Star Trek episode
I wonder if that picture was really a slaver and not the race that revolted and defeated the slavers. A race so outnumbered would need a spy device more that an all powerful empire, as well as an Uber powerful weapon to use against them. They would also be more desperate not to let the enemy have that technology to use against them. Great episode anyway, the one i remembered the most from when it was first aired.
IIRC, in Larry Niven's original short story "The Soft Weapon," the theory was that the weapon belonged to a tnuctip, the slave race that designed all the thrint (Slaver) weapons, all the while planning a revolt.
Not entirely. He veered from meeting the Enterprise without informing Kirk or Star Fleet of his plan to investigate finding a 2nd stasis box. It could have lead to court martial for dereliction of duty especially since Uhura was phasered twice.
A. Hollins, you got half of it. And yes it’s totally unintelligible. I think the weapon said “twist my widdershins until you reach the null position, thennnn.”
This and Yesteryear, were the two best episodes of the animated series. Yesteryear has become actual canon ,( the Kelvin timeline outright poached it.) And this one is a rewrite of a Larry Niven story that is good solid hard Science Fiction. If you know both stories, Spock is standing in for a Puppeteer. His passive Vulcan peace ideology substituting for the Puppeteers natural inclination to cowardice. Plus it gives Sulu and Uhura a chance to shine and step out of the shadow of ol' Jimmy me boy Kirk.
Was that James Doohan voicing the Kzinti and the computer? I know he did several recurring and one-off characters on TAS because of Filmation's notorious cost cutting practices.
You're right that James Doohan providing the voices for the Kzinti. The Slaver Weapon's voice? not certain. Memory Alpha made no meantion of who did that voice, but very likely it was J. Doohan
Saw this episode in H&I. We all point out how the characters move their eyes and mouths, to how it look like something out of Scooby Doo, and one of the aliens wield a hair dryer.
3:15 The Vulcans, of course, would never study an alien technology, being a humble and close-minded race. But Spock is too modest to mention their assured safe custody of such power and merely throws shade on the Klingons.
the whole problem I see with all the trek. is that after kirk discovered the guardian of forever, the federation could have used it to acquire more advanced technologies then anyone else had ever seen. then no other race in the alpha quadrant would have been a threat.
@@CommanderBalok Not only would the Guardian not permit that, but this would also endanger the timeline itself, and Kirk is in an all too good position to know that (since McCoy himself accidentally damaged the timeline when he altered the past after stepping through the Guardian's portal).
The color scheme is frequently claimed to be a mistake, because the episode director (Hal Sutherland) was color blind. It's speculated that he actually thought the Kzin ship & uniforms were a shade of grey or silver. What's more likely, imo, is simply that the pink design was chosen by color director Irv Kaplan, who liked garish colors. The Animated Series has a lot of examples of really odd coloring... lots of bright pinks and reds and purples.
@@dibershai6009 I mean as far as how it is pronounced. Zin-Tea, or Kuh-Zin-Tea, as Spock seems to be saying it? Is the book series called Man-ZIN Wars, or Man-Kuh-Zin Wars?
This episode was unique in that it was a crossover between the Star Trek universe and Larry Niven's Known Space future history series, as other posters have noted in this thread. It was well done and is still one of the best episodes of the animated series!
And that's why the Kzinti lost all four wars.
"If we are captured, the Highest of Kzin will repudiate us. But if we succeed, you are meat for our tables!"
- Chuft-Captain, 2269 ("The Slaver Weapon")
The Kzin are always shooting themselves in the foot.
They have not the cunning of Romulans, the courage of Klingons, the economic wit of the Ferengi, the might of the Dominion, nor the adaptability of the Borg... is it any wonder all four wars are nothing but a foot note to the Federation?
The reason the Kzin lost was because they always attacked before they were ready, and of course the Puppeteers were helping the Humans.
@@barrandilltanathlas1177 Puppeteers weren't in Star Trek. Only Kzinti were brought over by Niven.
My favorite episode, Did anyone notice the pun when the Treaty of Sirius banned the cat species Kizinti from having phasers? Dogs over cats,
2:48 The weapon hit 'em with the "no u"
Roddenberry and his production staff probably had to jump through a number of Hoops to get that violent scene produced and aired back in 1973. Having people actually die in Saturday morning cartoons is rare
People died in the original Jonny Quest series 'regularly' (in full view) . . . there was probably not much haranguing over the Star Trek scene as the actual death was never shown . . . . .
Niven is one of the greats
check out larry niven and his books like Ringworld, Pac Protector, Ringworld Engineers. I love scif books, his universe is a great place to spend a rainy weekend. you won't be sorry!
UCRASH TOO I know, such a shame that there wasn’t more collaboration and crossovers with Star Trek would’ve made a great pairing
Larry Niven is one of my favorite sci fi authors!!
I like that a Kzinti-Starfleet Officer actually showed up in an episode of _Lower Decks._ And I think I read somewhere that the Kzinti would have shown up in _Enterprise_ if the show had gotten a fifth Season.
I remember reading somewhere that there was a plan for season 5 to have an arc dedicated to the Man/Kzin Wars.
"Arrrrrr…..Aye be Chuft Captain....and yar be me prisoners." "Shiver me timbers...Ye Slaver Ghosts haunt thar treasure."
Kzinti Captain: If we fail our mission. We will be reviled by All Kzinti. If we succeed, You will be meat for our tables "
The hero of Niven world was named Wu.The best were Pak.,they fearsome.They were good books.
The Kzinti in this episode were aggressive, warlike and too curious for their own good. If they thought the Slaver weapon was their chance of a thieving galactic power, or supremacy, that ancient alien weapon proved them wrong! Chuft Captain was the Kirk of the Kzinti, in my opinion.
He had none of Kirk's wits, charm, moral integrity, etc.
Curiosity killed the Cat….
We would have seen live-action Kzinti if ST: Enterprise had gone on for a fifth season.
They gave us Xindi ;)
The Kzinti were mentioned by Riker in episode 7 of Star Trek: Picard.
@@SilverWingedOne Picard is not StarTrek. It’s just a weird fever dream of an very old former star fleet captain.
@@hansmeyer7225 I thought that it was an illusion Q trapped Picard in.
@@Popcultureguy3000 Q wouldn't be THAT mean to Picard.
The Slaver Weapon...one of my fav episodes, that and "How Sharper Than a Serpents Tooth" and "The Ambergris Element"
#1 THE SLAVER WEAPON
#2 THE COUNTER CLOCK INCIDENT
#3 THE JIHAD
#4 THE PIRATES OF ORION
#5 YESTERYEAR
for me.
Based on "The Soft Weapon" a science fiction short story written by an actual science fiction writer, Larry Niven and not by a committee of dude-bros.
Definitely a departure from the regular high-fiving and keggers in your typical Star Trek.
It has occurred to me that the Slaver device, presented in the story by David Given and this episode, is a weapon for a secret agent, with multiple functions built into it. Today, a modern smartphone, although it doesn't change form, can be almost as versatile. We give those to children.
Smartphones can't totally convert matter to energy. >_>
Smart phones don't have guns.
@@jamierose9095 I realize this, but it was the device's complexity that leads to the conclusion that it was meant for a highly trained secret agent rather than a common soldier, in both the original story and this Star Trek episode
I wonder if that picture was really a slaver and not the race that revolted and defeated the slavers. A race so outnumbered would need a spy device more that an all powerful empire, as well as an Uber powerful weapon to use against them. They would also be more desperate not to let the enemy have that technology to use against them. Great episode anyway, the one i remembered the most from when it was first aired.
IIRC, in Larry Niven's original short story "The Soft Weapon," the theory was that the weapon belonged to a tnuctip, the slave race that designed all the thrint (Slaver) weapons, all the while planning a revolt.
In such a situation, I would give them the setting for self destruct. Which is what this thing did. Can't let war materials fall into enemy hands.
I noticed the Kzinti Commander and some of the others were not wearing helmets when they went outside their ship to test the weapon.
While the one remaining Kzinti guarding Spock, Sulu and Uhura is wearing his spacesuit in the ship.
This was the only original-Enterprise episode without Kirk in it. And Spock redeems himself for his poor team-management in "The Galileo Seven."
Not entirely. He veered from meeting the Enterprise without informing Kirk or Star Fleet of his plan to investigate finding a 2nd stasis box. It could have lead to court martial for dereliction of duty especially since Uhura was phasered twice.
Would a personal force field not be a nice precaution to wear for crew members during space battles - they get sucked into outer space all the time
Twist my widdershins 😉
Until...You...Reach...The...Total...Conversion...Beam...Setting...
A. Hollins, you got half of it. And yes it’s totally unintelligible. I think the weapon said “twist my widdershins until you reach the null position, thennnn.”
This and Yesteryear, were the two best episodes of the animated series. Yesteryear has become actual canon ,( the Kelvin timeline outright poached it.) And this one is a rewrite of a Larry Niven story that is good solid hard Science Fiction. If you know both stories, Spock is standing in for a Puppeteer. His passive Vulcan peace ideology substituting for the Puppeteers natural inclination to cowardice. Plus it gives Sulu and Uhura a chance to shine and step out of the shadow of ol' Jimmy me boy Kirk.
i thought the entire series was considered canon
@@thewkovacs316 Not exactly sure. Roddenberry said it was not, but over time, canon has borrowed liberally from it.
@@davidward4616 i thought by the time of the movies, he had accepted the series as canon.
Astute, Mr. Spock. Very astute!
The Kzinti look like Disney’s Beast! Especially the sad one in the middle at 00:24
Messages from the resonator by Globular brought me here. Most peculiar
Great song!!!
The Kizinti don't seem to be too bright. Or at least not these guys.
They were too inflexible in their thinking .
They’re an example of the reckless genius trope
@@DrCuriensapprentice And they ALWAYS attack before they are really ready.
A war between the Kzinti and Pakleds would be interesting.
The Soft Weapon by Larry Niven.
Rozprawę poprowadzi sędzia Kici Kici xD
Miał
Polish?
@@eric0380 ruclips.net/video/I5bYF1HMaH4/видео.html
@@eric0380 It's from polish Star Trek parody
Anyone else wind up here after watching Picard?
This was a good episode
Was that James Doohan voicing the Kzinti and the computer? I know he did several recurring and one-off characters on TAS because of Filmation's notorious cost cutting practices.
You're right that James Doohan providing the voices for the Kzinti. The Slaver Weapon's voice? not certain. Memory Alpha made no meantion of who did that voice, but very likely it was J. Doohan
Majel Barret Roddenberry did the voice of the weapon.
Amazing job!!!
2:04 Uhura: "We can't let them get that weapon."
Spock: "They are _not_ about to get it."
Au contraire, Mr. Spock. They *are.*
Spock was right. It blew up.
Love those pink outfits
I love the Kzinti!
Ive read all of his masterpeices and is among my favorite authers
Tadzik, czy ja mam cię zamknąć w transporterze? Powiedz mi Tadzik, chcesz wrócić do transportera?
The animated series was just great....but kids of today would not be able to handle the inteltluctual nuances of it.
Most kids today cant get the intellectual nuances of Duck Tales (1987). Because most of them have ADHD from watching Spongebob SquarePants.
Frank Drebin yet can operate modern tech a lot better than the older generations
@@DrCuriensapprentice But can't operate an abacus or know how to play tic, tac, toe on paper.
Saw this episode in H&I. We all point out how the characters move their eyes and mouths, to how it look like something out of Scooby Doo, and one of the aliens wield a hair dryer.
I like how fairly intelligent the Kzinti are; they’re capable of reasoning just like Starfleet
Uh yep. So are many aliens on Star Trek.
The Kzinti were not supposed to be pink. The lead animator of the show was colorblind!
Only episode in the Kirk era which Kirk was not featured.....
Also the only animated episode where someone dies.
@williamhaynes4800 no, Spock's pet dies in another episode.
3:15 The Vulcans, of course, would never study an alien technology, being a humble and close-minded race. But Spock is too modest to mention their assured safe custody of such power and merely throws shade on the Klingons.
the whole problem I see with all the trek. is that after kirk discovered the guardian of forever, the federation could have used it to acquire more advanced technologies then anyone else had ever seen. then no other race in the alpha quadrant would have been a threat.
You are assuming the Guardian would permit that.
@@CommanderBalok Not only would the Guardian not permit that, but this would also endanger the timeline itself, and Kirk is in an all too good position to know that (since McCoy himself accidentally damaged the timeline when he altered the past after stepping through the Guardian's portal).
the fact that we turned down such technology is why we were trusted with time-travel in the first place.
But did they ever meet a Pierson's Puppeteers?
The Kzinti were ferocious enemies of Federation. But, I hate color scheme of their uniforms.
The color scheme is frequently claimed to be a mistake, because the episode director (Hal Sutherland) was color blind. It's speculated that he actually thought the Kzin ship & uniforms were a shade of grey or silver. What's more likely, imo, is simply that the pink design was chosen by color director Irv Kaplan, who liked garish colors. The Animated Series has a lot of examples of really odd coloring... lots of bright pinks and reds and purples.
Top 10 anime weapons
Globular brought me here. “Most Peculiar”
What do you know, they totally converted.
Is it Zinti or K'zinti?
One member of the species is called a kzin, and in plural it is kzinti.
@@dibershai6009 I mean as far as how it is pronounced. Zin-Tea, or Kuh-Zin-Tea, as Spock seems to be saying it? Is the book series called Man-ZIN Wars, or Man-Kuh-Zin Wars?
@@mana_beast_beats1114 So it is probably Kuh-Zin-Tea.
i know maybe only like 2 seasons
Nice purple and pink uniforms...........
The episode director said that the animator was color blind and was unable to discern the hues while colonizing the Kzinti.
@@williamhaynes4800 Yeah great job hiring a color blind animator.
this is not going to last long
I will not take the advice of this eater of nuts and leaves.
Kurwa Spock
STOPPING TALKING DO SOMETHING DAMN IT