All aboard! This volume of Classic Trek is headed for mind-warp city, messing with your head at warp 7.5. Shore Leave is the original example of what has now become a bit of a Trek staple, the "whatever our heroes imagines suddenly happens" phenomenon, and it does it well. The episode has its own charms as well, with McCoy flirting with a female crew member (he's a doctor, not a starship captain, so this didn't happen too often), some time away from the bridge for Sulu, and one of the original false-alarm major character deaths in Trek history. The highlight, however, still has to be the oft-spoofed appearance of Kirk's old nemesis from Starfleet Academy, a lively and comedically brutal Irishman named Finnegan.

The Squire Of Gothos introduces us to Q's stepbrother Trelaine (well, okay, maybe not, but it's hard to discount the resemblance) as he uses his godlike powers to, more or less, just monkey around with Kirk and his crew. William Campbell does a nifty guest turn here (though his appearance later in the series as a Klingon was more memorable and menacing), but Squire boldly goes where we'd already gone in the first season with Charlie X - and if anything, Charlie X is more effective and far scarier with its coming-of-age-gone-awry take on the basic premise. If you're in a lighter mood, though, Squire is just your ticket - good harmless fun.

Decent episodes, but as usual there are no extras beyond the preview trailers.

Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com webmaster / editor-in-chief