Star Trekis not the most consistent media empire on the small screen. With as many writers, directors, and showrunners as the franchise has employed, it’s shocking that some of the pieces still fit together. SomeStar Trekepisodes are bold proclamations that use the future to incisively critique the present. Others, like “The Cloud Minders,” attempt to achieve the same fit and fall short for lack of commitment.
The modern era ofStar Trekcan be annoyingly self-congratulatory. There’s abizarre running theme inDiscoverythat sees characters broadly applauding the concept of science as if the audience can’t reasonably determine that knowledge is a virtue. The earlier eras weren’t always subtle, nor were they always even about something more than a straightforward adventure, but they were often more daring. Some of the bestStar Trekepisodes broke new ground and found bold directions. Some of the weirdest ones tried and failed to do the same.
David Gerrold and Oliver Crawford
Air Date
July 23, 2025
“The Cloud Minders” is a bizarre episode ofThe Original Series. It opens with thecrew of theEnterprisereachingthe planet Ardana. They arrive seeking as much zenite as their ship will carry, intending to use the rare mineral to address a plague elsewhere. Their mission hits a snag almost immediately. As Kirk and Spock beam down to the zenite mines, a group of renegade miners take them hostage. They defend themselves, but the scrape ends as a local government leader named Plasus arrives. His security detail shoots at the attackers until they leave. Kirk and Spock follow Plasus to his home aboard the floating city of Stratos.
Impressed by the city in the clouds, Kirk and Spock learn that Ardana’s society is divided into aristocrats in Stratos and the “Troglytes,” who live on the planet’s surface and perform slave labor. A group of Troglytes calling themselves the Disruptors are engaging in a campaign of violent resistance with hopes of overthrowing the apartheid system. When Vanna, leader of the Disruptors,tries to take Kirk hostageagain, he learns that the group mistakenly believes that theEnterpriseis another tool of the oppressors. Plasus then has Vanna tortured, prompting Kirk and Spock to leave the planet in disgust. TheEnterprisecrew will have to address this bizarre apartheid planet system so that they can leave with the resources they need.
How does “The Cloud Minders” end?
Dr. McCoy quickly and easilyfinds the solution. It turns out, zenite consistently emits an undetectable gas that causes some form of brain damage. Victims become less intelligent and more volatile over time. Vanna and the other Troglytes who work or hide out on Stratos are free from the effects of the gas, allowing them to think clearly and plan the revolution. Kirk offers as many gas masks as he can find, hoping to secure a deal from Plasus and Vanna to sort this mess, get zenite, and address the plague. Plasus refuses Kirk’s help, considering any outside intervention to be a violation of his autonomy.
Kirk tries to deal with Vanna, but she still doesn’t trust him, so the Disruptors take him hostage. Kirk gets loose, causes a mine cave-in, and has Plasus beamed to his location. Kirk forces Plasus and Vanna to dig for Zenite, exposing them to the gas. As they gradually grow morehostile and start to fight, both parties realize the importance of the masks. Plasus begrudgingly agrees to allow the Troglytes to use safety equipment, and Vanna swears that her people will eventually be free. Kirk and his crew leave with the zenite they came for.
What was “The Cloud Minders” supposed to be?
The version of “The Cloud Minders” doesn’t make much sense. It’s bizarrely toothless, plotting out a story about a popular revolution by an abused underclassbefore handing out basic PPEand leaving with apartheid very much still in place. The episode ends with the implication that the Troglytes will be more capable without consistent exposure to zenite gas. This theoretically implies that Vanna’s movement could become more powerful as the damage is undone. Maybe the Troglytes of Ardana will eventually be free, but the episode depicts the oppressed and the oppressors as equal participants in wrongdoing. It’s a tired old trope in which one group has their boot on another’s neck, but the victimsuse the wrong methods to defend themselves. This grim depiction of a very real problem wasn’t the original pitch for the episode.
InThe World of Star Trek: The Show The Network Could Not Kill, writer David Gerroldunpacks his pitch for the episodeoriginally titled “Castles in the Sky.” His pitch also depicted theEnterprisecrew reaching a planet to collect a resource and discovering an apartheid system. They’d discover the rich who reside above the planet in floating cities and the “Mannies,” or manual laborers, who suffer on the surface. Those Mannies face constant health problems due to high pressure and noxious fumes. Kirk is initially only interested in acquiring dilithiumcrystals, but he becomes enraged when he sees the conditions they’re forced to live under. The Mannies are pulled between two leaders, clearly modeled after Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., but Kirk forces the city dwellers to sit down with both revolutionaries. He believes that a straightforward debate will lead to the best outcome in time, butMcCoy forces him to considerhow many children would perish in the meantime. The episode would force the viewer to question everything, including the role of honest conversation between enemies in this nightmarish apartheid state. Gerrold utterly refused to mince words in his description of the episode that made it to air:
But in the telecast version, the whole problem was caused by Zenite gas in the mines, and ‘if we can just get them troglytes to all wear gas masks, then they’ll be happy little darkies, and they’ll pick all the cotton we need…’ Somehow, I think it lost something in the translation.
“The Cloud Minders” is atruly weirdStar Trekepisode. It’s not great on its own, but it becomes a bit more unpleasant with the context of its creation. It’s not too shocking that the showrunners would insist on a change, given that the episode was written shortly after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. That choice, unfortunately, left the episode in an unfavorable position.Star Trekcan’t always boldly go.
