Star Trek: The Animated Series (TV Series) Bem (1974) User Reviews

Irked Captain & Spock Commander...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 28 February 2022]

Kirk Captain becomes Captain Irk as a multifaceted observer aboard the Enterprise causes mayhem and chaos when forming part of a landing party on an unexplored planet populated by lizard aboriginals and protected by a sentient god.

Star Trek: Bem

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 18 December 2013]

The Enterprise is studying a planet yet charted, carrying along a passenger (an alien commander named Bem (voiced by James Doohan)) that causes Kirk and Spock much headache once they transport to the surface. On the uncharted planet are "aboriginal" lifeforms, primitive to a point (they do have tepees, fashioned spears, and wooden "holding cells" for uninvited visitors, yet these creatures don't seem to be hostile as much as cautious and untrustworthy), "under watch" by a "paternal" god-like entity that exists as a type of protection for her "children" (the entity is voiced by Nichelle Nichols). Bem is from a type of species that acts unpredictably (and can "split" into several "pieces" that seem to function through the commandment of the head's brain!!!), judging the human decisions and reactions of Kirk (considered a top officer and elite among his peers) as evidence for whether or not the Federation will have further dealings with its kind. How Kirk and Spock escape from the capture of the planet's entity and inhabitants will indicate to Bem if the Federation should be considered worthy of future relations. Being used as experiments in Bem's study of them doesn't sit well in Kirk, while Spock finds his behavior fascinating. Like the original series before it, this '74 cartoon featured stories similar in nature: how will Kirk and company avoid/avert dangerous situations and enhance their stature among newly discovered (or known) species. Sometimes situations develop where the Enterprise and crew are pulled into danger not of their own making: in the case of this episode, Bem drags Kirk and Spock into a conflict with a species that could have been avoided through peaceable introduction. Bem splits from the group (both literally and figuratively), with Kirk and Spock having to follow after him. Bem is their responsibility and gets purposely captured just to see if Kirk and Spock could not only rescue him but to investigate how they would interact with the inhabitants. Ultimately, Bem finds itself wrong and speaks of "disassembling" (or destroying itself) but the planet's protective entity (it has the power to "halt" any species on the planet and destroy their threatening weapons if so choosing) isn't about to allow such a rash self-destructive decision just because it made bad mistakes/choices. The writing, like on the show, for the cartoon wasn't too dumbed down which is nice. Intelligent results exist due to the characters involved coming to an agreement and talking out their issues (the planet is to be "quarantined" and left alone so that the Enterprise and crew can leave without harm) reasonably. Maybe the show might be a bit over the head of some children, but intelligent writing in a cartoon is refreshing. Star Trek fans will enjoy this, I think, and that's what matters in the end.

What Was That All About?

[Samuel-Shovel · 2/10 · 23 January 2019]

In "Bem", the Enterprise is cruising around with a representative from a new Ally of the Federation. Bem and a few crewman popped down to an unexplored planet to study the natives. Bem runs off and gets himself captured. The rest of the episode is Kirk and Spock trying to rescue the guy who can split his body apart since he's actually a colony being.

This one's real rough to get through. I'm struggling down the home stretch of the Animated Series. There are a handful of good episodes and a few cool characters and ideas but a lot of this is TOS reject stuff that they slapped onto TAS and called it a day. Nothing good or fun going on in this one.

How the Grinch Fooled Enterprise

[Hitchcoc · 3/10 · 1 April 2017]

I'm sorry. This is beyond stupid. Kirk and the Gang and an alien named Ben try to do research on a planet. Kirk relents when the alien keeps at him about going to the surface. Once there, he screws up everything they try to do. He looks like a Grinch in a space suit. He speaks a kind of baby talk. He has the ability to split himself into several pieces which allows him to escape from things. Just a poor excuse for an episode.

Gerrold is a master of the unusual alien

[cashbacher · 8/10 · 24 March 2020]

"Bem" is episode 18 of the Star Trek animated series and it first aired in September 1974. It was written by Hugo and Nebula winner David Gerrold, most famous for being the author of the original series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles." Like that episode, this one involved an alien creature of questionable use. Bem is from the planet Pandro, a planet recently contacted by the Federation, and his species is interested in witnessing how the captain and crew of the Enterprise conduct their missions. That mission is to a planet inhabited by reptilian creatures that have a primitive non-industrial society; therefore, their mission is to observe without being seen. Bem proves to be a nuisance, getting captain Kirk and Spock into extreme difficulty. It also turns out that the creatures are under the protection of a powerful non-corporeal entity that calls them her "children." Her words are spoken with tenderness, but she makes it clear that no violence against her charges will be tolerated. The episode has a powerful religious overtone, it is clear from the perspective of the creatures, the entity is a god. For that matter, there are hints that the crew of the Enterprise should think so too. One strong feature of the episode is the actions of Lieutenant Uhura. When Kirk, Spock and Scotty are on the surface, she directly contradicts Scotty in insisting that they must follow orders. Despite the crudity of the animation compared to what can be done now, this episode illustrates that there were things that could be done in animation that were impossible in live action. Something that makes all science fiction stories stronger if it is properly done.

BEM is pretty weird...and annoying.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 12 April 2015]

As usual, the animation quality of the show is sub-par--even by 1970s standards (which were extremely low to begin with). The cell count (which controls the fluidity and realism of the animation) is terrible, the drawings amateurish (as if done by children) and the show is an abomination to lovers of animation. Trek fans might be more forgiving of this than most because of their love of the franchise, but objectively speaking it is a lousy looking episode.

As for the plot, a Mr. BEM is serving, temporarily, aboard the Enterprise. This weird looking alien starts behaving strangely on a landing party and he's replaced Kirk and Spock's communicators with non-working fakes. It turns out he's testing the two to determine if the Federation is civilized or not--and there is a strange disembodied voice who gets involved as well. Do they pass? And who is that weird voice?

This show is kind of weird, as Mr. BEM can split in pieces and do really weird things! As it's a cartoon, this is possible--but there is no way such a character would have been possible on the live action show! Was it good? Not especially good but watchable if you are a die-hard Trek fan. Otherwise, easy to skip--mostly because the BEM character is so stupid and annoying.