Spectre of the Gun.

The date is October 26, 1881. The place is Tombstone, Arizona. It's the day of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. So what are Kirk and his crew doing here? Well, Chekov is here to hit on the ladies. That much is clear. But what about the others? It wasn't unusual for the Enterprise crew to visit locales that looked a lot like Earth. Usually the buildings in those places had four walls. But when budgets are thin you spread around the limited walls you have, and if you're creative you find a way to make it work in your favor. Such was the case in "Spectre of the Gun," a Western set in space at a time when Earth-bound Westerns were standard programming.

In this episode of The Ready Room we're joined by Daniel Proulx, Drew Stewart, and Mariel Keeran to discuss TOS's trip to the wild, wild West, whether it's a remarkable exploration of the workings of the mind, or just an average chapter in a series trying to tell stories with limited resources. We also explore whether this was a prelude to holodeck malfunctions, why Chekov can't keep his hands to himself, and find out why sublimated snake venom might be better than scotch. In our news segment we check out the new home at the Smithsonian for the original the Enterprise shooting model, spot starships landing in Japan, dicuss the upcoming changes to StarTrek.com—which include closing down the discussion boards—and learn more about Star Trek Timelines, a new strategy game heading for your mobile device.