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The city combines the architectures of many ancient Earth cultures: Egyptian, Aztec, Chinese, etc. Kirk concludes that
Kukulkan had visited many of the peoples on Earth, but each only took a portion of what he taught them. So none of them ever fulfilled the complete instructions to signal his return.
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The city disappears, only to make the group realize that they were never really there. They now realize that the collection of animals they see before them in small glass "cages" was exactly how they experienced the city. The animals are unaware of being on
Kukulkan's ship, much as the group thought
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With the Power Cat threatening
Kukulkan, Kirk leaps at the animal and is able to sedate it with a hypo. Kirk again attempts to reason with Kukulkan, conceding that while the alien did help humanity when it needed it, they no longer need his guidance. The alien reluctantly agrees, and departs.
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By chance, Kirk scales a huge pyramid in the center of the city. There, he concludes that the sun will activate
Kukulkan's signalling device. He orders Bones and Scotty to turn huge serpent-headed statues toward the pyramid. In doing so, the now focused sunlight ignites the signalling device.
255:
peoples of Earth. He says that he is actually a very long-lived, benevolent entity who wants the humans to worship him, as the Mayas and Aztecs did. Upon resistance by the crew, he proclaims them "thankless".
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Kukulkan demands that the humans worship him, just as the ancients on Earth did. He grows angry when Kirk explains that mankind has "grown up" and no longer needs to worship him.
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This episode won a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Children's Series in 1975. This made it the first
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from
Kukulkan's beam and breaks free. This, too, angers Kukulkan who exclaims that he will "smash" the
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For the source of the phrase "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child", see
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episode about an alien that had long ago visited Earth and now demands worship as a god by the
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is immobilized by an alien whose ship resembles a winged serpent. The alien claims to be
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Kukulkan responds, "Behold, my design is complete. See me now with your own eyes!"
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encounters a being asserting himself to be the God of
Abraham (among others).
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and Ensign
Walking Bear to his ship. By using technology similar to a
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must contend with alien entity that demands it be worshiped as a god.
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Saturday morning lineup on
October 5, 1974, and was written by
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This story was expanded into a novelette by science-fiction author
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Kukulkan does appear and turns out to be an alien winged serpent.
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Mangels, Andy (Summer 2018). "Star Trek: The
Animated Series".
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5th episode of the 2nd season of Star Trek: The Animated Series
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499:"12 fascinating facts about 'Star Trek: The Animated Series'"
339:, under whom Bates had apprenticed. Fontana told Bates about
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is able to use its phasers to disable Kukulkan's ship.
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Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Series
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601:"How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth"
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448:from the original on April 26, 2019
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33:How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth
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907:1974 American television episodes
509:from the original on June 6, 2019
296:In the meantime, Science Officer
553:– A motion picture in which the
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442:"King Lear 1.4 (Modern, Folio)"
327:knew the series' story editor,
645:Star Trek: The Animated Series
378:episode to win an Emmy award.
333:Star Trek: The Original Series
168:Star Trek: The Animated Series
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42:Star Trek: The Animated Series
1:
723:One of Our Planets is Missing
362:, and the story incorporated
231:from a mysterious probe, the
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398:as part of the collection,
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138:The Counter-Clock Incident
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98:October 5, 1974
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922:Fiction about alien zoos
709:Beyond the Farthest Star
364:Native American elements
263:, Chief Medical Officer
807:The Eye of the Beholder
758:The Magicks of Megas-tu
533:Who Mourns for Adonais?
406:March 19, 2011, at the
440:Shakespeare, William.
793:The Ambergris Element
779:The Terratin Incident
482:TwoMorrows Publishing
247:, god of the ancient
199:In this episode, the
832:The Pirates of Orion
259:Kukulkan transports
227:6063.4, following a
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751:The Infinite Vulcan
341:The Animated Series
209:The Animated Series
188:William Shakespeare
765:Once Upon a Planet
730:The Lorelei Signal
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110:Episode chronology
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543:Enterprise
452:January 3,
427:References
345:David Wise
331:, through
320:Production
310:Enterprise
306:Enterprise
302:Enterprise
240:Enterprise
233:Federation
202:Enterprise
181:David Wise
102:1974-10-05
81:David Wise
73:Written by
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814:The Jihad
607:Star Trek
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370:Reception
353:Star Trek
335:producer
265:Dr. McCoy
193:King Lear
126:Albatross
67:Bill Reed
58:Episode 5
20:King Lear
824:Season 2
701:Season 1
526:See also
507:Archived
484:: 25–37.
478:RetroFan
446:Archived
411:(1976) (
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273:holodeck
245:Kukulkan
236:starship
225:stardate
211:won the
121:Previous
50:Episode
877:Related
535:" – An
513:June 6,
347:at the
134: →
119:←
100: (
45:episode
677:Scotty
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229:signal
692:Uhura
682:Spock
545:crew.
480:(1).
382:Notes
360:Kiowa
298:Spock
269:Scott
253:Aztec
90:22022
572:IMDb
515:2019
454:2021
413:ISBN
251:and
249:Maya
219:Plot
179:and
132:Next
839:Bem
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223:On
190:'s
173:NBC
52:no.
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