Hello again, fellow Trekkies! In our first installment of the most dangerous aliens from season 1 ofStar Trek's original run, we revisited the salt sucking vampire from "The Man Trap," the Gorn from "Arena," and the gigantic, bearlike creatures from "The Galileo Seven." Of course, these are only a few of the dangerous creatures Captain Kirk and his crew encountered during the first year of the classic television series, so let's take a closer look at a few more that used up plenty of redshirts before the season ended.
1. The Horta ("The Devil in the Dark")
While the Horta turned out to be an intelligent and fearless mother who wasn't the monster everyone saw her as, she and her kind were undoubtedly dangerous when they wanted to be. They could eat through rock like a Tribble devours Quadrotriticale, which meant as a full-grown Horta, she could turn your average human into a soot outline.
Fortunately, thanks to the first Mr. Spock/creature mind meld ever featured on the show (the first mind meld itself was with Dr. Van Gelder in "Dagger of the Mind"), both the Horta and her children were allowed to thrive on Janus IV as they assisted the miners. A return there to observe how the Horta changed mining operations would be interesting!
2. The Romulans ("Balance of Terror")
Sometimes, fear of the unknown can grow an enemy in your mind that's so dangerously intelligent and dedicated to its purpose that it becomes unknowable and therefore almost impossible to fight. For the crew of the Enterprise in "Balance of Terror," this is what they face when outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone begin to experience attacks by an unfamiliar ship.
Lieutenant Stiles, who clearly didn't go to Starfleet Finishing School, doesn't help matters with his bigotry and paranoia. His mistrust of Spock causes Kirk's temper to flare, and he tells Stiles to leave his BS in his quarters. I love Kirk in this moment because it's a perfect balance of "Keep it up and I'll court-martial you," and "If you've forgotten where you are, I will be happy to remind you," energy! But back to the Romulans.
What makes the Romulan Commander (Mark Lenard) so dangerous is his dedication to duty and how he compartmentalizes his own emotions versus his duties. This allows him to carry out attacks on the outposts near the Neutral Zone while still having the ability to question the actions of the Romulan government. In the end, he destroys his ship and himself to avoid capture. He's a dangerous alien because Kirk is his mirror, but you can't help but respect him, too.
3. The flying parasites ("Operation — Annihilate!")
Weird, flat parasites that control their victims via a terrible sting attack the planet Deneva, where they kill Kirk's brother, Sam, and his sister-in-law, Aurelan. Fortunately, his nephew, Peter Kirk survives and enters Starfleet Academy (his character would appear in books in comics later on). The parasites also attack Spock, who fights the fight of his life against their directions to take control of the Enterprise after he is infected.
What makes these aliens so incredibly dangerous is their ability to control minds and actions and use pain to do so. They're also sneaky and hide like arachnids, where it's dark and quiet, and their sneak attacks are also reminiscent of wasps and other stinging insects. They're both relentless and quick, and their victims probably never see them coming.
While Dr. McCoy eventually discovers that bright light destroys the things, he also accidentally blinds Spock briefly. (Thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy, aka Gene Roddenberry, for that inner eyelid!) Besides, I doubt there's room on the Enterprise's bridge for Spock's childhood Sehlat to join the crew as a service animal.
Many episodes from season 1 of Star Trek: The Original Series feature dangerous aliens that are still frightening today — I swear I had nightmares about those parasites — and likely continue to inspire sci-fi writers today. Which one is your favorite? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And stay tuned for TOS season 2's most dangerous aliens lists which are both coming soon.