Looking back on Star Trek's first season, which premiered on NBC the evening of Sept. 8, 1966, it's easy to see why many of the alien antagonists didn't seem very menacing. The Klingons' signature look was decades in the future, and others, like Balok from "The Corbomite Maneuver," were mostly bluff and bluster. However, season 1 did have its share of legitimately dangerous alien foes that were out to prey on humans as they explored new areas of space.
1. The salt vampire ("The Man Trap")
This Star Trek episode was the first to air on NBC back in September 1966, and it introduced us to some of the characters fans would come to know and love — Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and even Mr. Sulu and Lt. Uhura. When the USS Enterprise arrives on planet M-113 to deliver supplies, all is not as it seems when Bones' old flame, Nancy Crater, appears differently to every individual who sees her. This is because she's not Crater at all, but a salt-sucking demon native to the planet.
What makes this alien so terrifying and legitimately dangerous is that it can lure its victims within reach by shape-shifting into whatever form it likes before striking and killing its prey by sucking all the salt from their bodies. The creature, which looks like a cross between a hairy leech and something you might come across crawling out of the sewer in Derry, is actually pretty disturbing, especially considering its hunting tactics and how relentless it is once it has prey in its sights. Had this species not gone extinct and spread to other worlds, the results could have been devastating.
2. The Gorn ("Arena")
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave the Gorn a terrifying glow-up as creatures who would both devour and lay eggs in their prey, a far cry from the singular, hissing individual who stalked Kirk after the Metrons forced it and Kirk in a life-or-death battle. Still, the Gorn captain was dangerous in its own way, especially in how single-minded it was.
Imagine being injured on an alien world with something stalking you, and there's nowhere to hide from the thing that is simply intent on killing you. Kirk's anxiety feels very real, especially when he's injured by a trap the Gorn set. Nevertheless, Kirk must keep moving, even though he's injured, because there's little doubt the Gorn would not have spared him.
3. Giant creatures of Murasaki 312 ("The Galileo Seven")
What do you get when you cross a downed Enterprise shuttlecraft, along with seven of her crew, with massive, aggressive alien creatures who would rather stab you in the heart with a spear than communicate reasonably? You get "The Galileo Seven," where Spock must use logic to find the landing party's way out of danger in his first command experience. Hint: it doesn't exactly go well.
What makes these creatures so dangerous is that their aura of menace is all built on sound and weapons that kill before the poor redshirts on this mission even know its coming. Viewers never see the creatures' faces. However, judging by the look of terror on Lt. Gaetano's face just before he dies at one's massive hands, they must have been horribly ugly. If Spock's plan to fix the shuttlecraft hadn't worked, it's likely all seven would have been killed eventually.
Many of the Star Trek: The Original Series season 1 aliens are incredibly dangerous. However, they are often also fan-favorite characters. Which creature would you have voted as the MOST dangerous? Do you have a favorite that didn't make the list? Well, don't worry because Part 2 of TOS season 1's most dangerous aliens is coming soon!
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