While references have been made to Christmas throughout the Star Trek franchise, in the franchise's entire history there has only been one episode devoted to a holiday. What is more, that holiday was not Christmas. That episode was "Catspaw" by Robert Bloch, which first aired on NBC on October 27 1967. While "Catspaw" is not set on Halloween, the episode references the custom of trick-or-treating (which apparently survived into the 23rd Century). Furthermore, the theme and the atmosphere of "Catspaw" befits the holiday of Halloween.
In "Catspaw" the U.S.S. Enterprise visits the planet of Pyrus VII. After one crewman returns to the Enterprise dead and Scotty and Sulu have gone missing, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy transport down to the planet only to find things straight out of a 20th Century horror movie: a spooky castle, witches, and a wizard with his black cat. Of course, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy realize that all is not how it seems.
By the mid-Sixties, Robert Bloch was already famous in the fields of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He had begun his career writing stories for such classic pulp magazines as Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, and Fantastic. He wrote the novel Psycho, which was adapted as the classic film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock. By the time he wrote for Star Trek, Mr. Bloch had already written a good deal for television, including episodes of Lock Up, Whispering Smith, Buys Stop, and The Eleventh Hour. He wrote several episodes of Thriller and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, both of which adapted his short stories. He had also written the screenplays for such films as Strait-Jacket (1964), The Night Walker (1964), and The Skull (1965).
"Catspaw" came about after Robert Bloch was approached by D.C. Fontana, who was then the story editor for a new show called Star Trek, about writing for the series. The first episode he wrote for the show was "What Are Little Girls Made Of," which aired in the first season. "Catspaw" would be the second episode of Robert Bloch's episodes for Star Trek (the third would be "Wolf in the Fold"). "Catspaw" was loosely based on an earlier short story that Robert Bloch had written, "Broomstick Ride," published in Super-Science Fiction, Vol. 2 No. 1 (December 1957). In "Broomstick Ride," an expedition is sent to explore the planet Pyris, which apparently has an Earth-like atmosphere. Once there the expedition encounters a society with Dark Age technology, witches riding broomsticks known as wrali, and a firm belief on the part of the wrali that Satan had brought from Earth to Pyrus. For those who want to read "Broomstick Ride," that particular issue of Super-Scence Fiction is available at the Internet Archive.
As to the title, "Catspaw," it is taken from the idiom "cat's paw," which means someone who is the dupe of another. "Cat's paw" is taken from the fable "The Monkey and the Cat" by Jean de La Fontaine. In the story, the monkey Bertrand convinces the cat Raton to get roasting chestnuts from amongst the embers of a fire. Quite naturally, as he pulls each chestnut out, Raton burns his paw. Bertrand and Raton are interrupted by the maid, so that in the end poor Raton gets no chestnuts despite having burned his paw.
Like many Star Trek episodes, "Catspaw" took some time to develop. Robert Bloch submitted his initial story outline on March 9 1967. The story outline was revised on March 14 1967. The first draft of the teleplay was submitted on March 29 1967. The second draft would be submitted on April 14 1967. The third draft, which involved uncredited work by D.C. Fontana, was submitted on April 24 1967. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry revised the final draft, so that it was completed on April 27 1967. Producer Gene L. Coon would make additional page revisions on May 4, May 5, and May 10 1967.
"Catspaw" began shooting on Tuesday, May 2 1967. It was the first episode of the second season to be filmed and the first to feature Walter Koenig as Lt. Chekov. It would also be the first episode produced to feature DeForest Kelley's name in the opening credits. While "Catspaw" was the first episode of the second season of Star Trek to be filmed, it would be the seventh episode of the second season to air, making its debut on October 27 1967. The reason "Catspaw" was delayed was quite simple. It was planned from the beginning for the airing of "Catspaw" to coincide with Halloween.
While "Catspaw" is not set at Halloween, the episode is most certainly fitting for the holiday Towards the beginning of the episode, a dead crewman issues a warning to the Enterprise to leave the planet in an eerie voice. When Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to Pyris VII, they encounter apparitions of witches straight out of Macbeth. The castle's dungeon in the episode is dark and comes complete with a skeleton. The atmosphere of "Catspaw" would certainly make any viewer think of Halloween, and the atmosphere of Pyris II reminds Kirk and McCoy of the holiday as well. At one point, McCoy comments, "Three witches...what appears a castle, and a black cat," to which Kirk replies, "If we weren't missing two officers and a third one dead, I'd say someone was playing an elaborate trick-or-treat on us." The custom of trick-or-treating is referenced twice more in the episode.
As mentioned above, Star Trek never did another holiday episode nor have any of its spinoffs included a holiday episode. "Catspaw" then remains both the only Halloween episode and the only holiday episode of any Star Trek series. It is fortunate that it also happens to be a well-done and suitably creepy episode, perfect for Halloween viewing.
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