Talk:And the Children Shall Lead

Worst episode?
The trivia section mentions "And the Children Shall Lead" as the worst episode. It's pretty bad, though I thought there was a long-standing consensus that "Spock's Brain" was the worst. At least I remember Entertainment Weekly's Star Trek 25th Anniversary special issue listing "Spock's Brain" as the worst. Wl219 10:48, 24 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I notice that the mention of "worst episode" has been removed. It would probably be appropriate to put it back, but with a citation backing up the claim. From what I've read on fan sites and interviews, "And the Children Shall Lead" is generally considered the worst episode by most fans as well as the actors themselves. So much so, it seems that it's rarely played, even in syndication, as if the studio is aware of just how unpopular it is. (I hadn't ever seen it, even though I grew up watching the original broadcasts, until just a few years ago.) That's not to say that there are not other bad episodes ("Spock's Brain", "The Way to Eden", "The Alternative Factor", "Catspaw", "Wolf in the Fold", et al), it's just that the consensus seems to single out this one as the worst one. — Loadmaster 15:38, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

The worst episode is a three way tie with this and Spock's Brain and The Way to Eden. Any further distinction is subjective, and probably depends on which one you're unfortunate enough to have seen last. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:DA8:D800:107:7455:4763:E151:2980 (talk) 14:53, 27 April 2013 (UTC)


 * ""And the children shall lead" has to stand as the worst Star Trek episode ever made." (The music of Star Trek by Jeff Bond (1999) Lone Eagle Publishing Co.)--BruceGrubb (talk) 16:09, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
 * There are plenty of cites to support Spock's Brain as "worst episode ever", but there would be no harm in apply a supporting ref to this article too. It's not a lable that can be applied once only, if there are many episodes with that moniker, so be it. WikiuserNI (talk) 16:41, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

5 Jan 2022. Still Inaccurate/amateurish citation. Whoever added fn 4 did not read the article. The 2 worst TOS eps mentioned in the Record-Journal (a mere reprint from the NYT) are: Spock's Brain and Piece of the Action. NOT Children. Lots of words in this Talk section, no action. Kind of like Skitt's Law (Them that sneer typically can't back up their sneers). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.152.228.50 (talk) 12:07, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

Left floating?
Did anyone else notice that once Kirk has regained control of the ship he doesn't even consider trying to recover the bodies of the two crewmen he beamed into space?

But then they're just redshirts... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.8.61.103 (talk) 16:45, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Given that the ship was not orbiting the planet -- but instead was flying into space at very high warp speed -- just how would you determine where you left them? Not only would they be dead, but they would have drifted very far from the original release point, as at the moment of transport...the bodies would also be traveling at relativistic speeds relative to the space around them! This does pose a challenge -- not one of morality in finding the "bodies" but rather in trying to determine if such relativistic missiles might be on a collision course with an inhabited planet, with disastrous consequences. Chesspride 172.164.128.202 (talk) 17:49, 18 July 2016 (UTC)

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Effect limitation
I remember reading somewhere that do to the combination of the consume and the special effect Melvin Belli couldn't move much. I think this was in the TOS companion but I am not sure.--BruceGrubb (talk) 16:07, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

What is the origin of the title?
I don't see any information on what it's quoting or where it comes from. TharosTheDragon (talk) 23:20, 15 March 2018 (UTC)

Agree. It's biblical, part of a prophecy or vision recorded in the Book of Isaiah. The line is a variation on Isaiah 11:6; the child is often thought to be Jesus, but the main idea is a vision of a world of minimum strife: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.AliceTremane (talk) 13:29, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

Ambiguity
"In the episode, the crew of the Enterprise find children with great powers at their disposal."

The children with powers are at the disposal of the crew of the Enterprise. Will the children be used as weapons?

Karl gregory jones (talk) 11:29, 7 October 2021 (UTC)