Star Trek: The Original Series wasn’t as much into big-name guest stars during its three-season run. A few would become famous among Trek fans, such as Mark Lenard, who portrayed the Romulan Commander and later Spock's father, Sarek. Plus, who can forget Ricardo Montalban as Khan. There were a few future stars like Joan Collins, Yvonne Craig, and Teri Garr, along with popular actors of the time such as Frank Gorshin.
Yet some guest stars still don’t receive the accolades they deserve despite some terrific turns in Star Trek. They often only appeared in one episode but shone in these roles to elevate the storyline. With that in mind, here are the five most underrated guest stars in The Original Series who all added more to Star Trek.
Jane Wyatt as Amanda, “Journey to Babel”
“Journey to Babel” is one of the best Spock-centric episodes as it brings up the issues between himself, his father, and Spock’s half-human nature. It’s famous, of course, for Mark Lenard guest starring as Sarek, but when it first aired, the interest was in Jane Wyatt as Spock’s mother, Amanda. Already a three-time Emmy award-winner (1958-1960 for her work in Father Knows Best), the TV veteran, Wyatt, was a fabulous choice for the role.
Wyatt starts off with humor and warmth that turns to concern when her character, Amanda, finds out how ill Sarek is. Pluse, she wants Sarek and Spock to reconcile. When Spock chooses his duty over saving Sarek, Wyatt beautifully sells her anger and tears up at the idea of Vulcan logic, saying she had to help Spock cope with bullying — and she even slaps him at the end of the scene. Amanda does come around at the end, though, to show how much her family means to her, and Wyatt helps this small role shine better than expected.
Stanley Adams as Cyrano Jones, “The Trouble With Tribbles”
“The Trouble With Tribbles” is often listed among the best TOS episodes ever. It’s a comedy gem with those soon-infamous creatures that multiply beyond belief, and the cause of it all is Cyrano Jones. The shifty trader and merchant gets the ball rolling by selling the Tribbles. Later, he has to handle the chaos by beginning to clean up the Deep Space K-7 station afterward, which will take exactly 17.9 years by Spock's calculations. And Stanley Adams is a total riot in the part!
His jovial nature balances Kirk’s anger at the situation with Adams, who is very funny in the role. Adams' brilliant physical comedy skills are on full display as he tries to maneuver a drink during the bar brawl scene, to say nothing of his aforementioned reaction to his final punishment. Adams was so good that he even voiced Jones in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode, "More Tribbles, More Trouble," as he made Cyrano a bright part of an already wonderful episode.
Elisha Cook Jr. as Samuel T. Cogley, "Court Martial"
In “Court Martial,” Captain Kirk is on trial for allegedly causing the death of another crewmember, Ben Finney. Thankfully, Kirk has in his corner Samuel T. Cogley, the Perry Mason of the 23rd century. Professional scene-stealer Elisha Cook Jr. was an inspired choice for the role. Plus, Cook Jr. portrays the wonderful with his usual character-actor touch. As it turns out, Cogley hates computers and other technology, so he sticks to pen and paper.
Cook had fun with Cogley’s courtroom theatrics while passionately arguing that Starfleet put too much stock in computers over people. That helped him prove Kirk’s innocence, and Cogley then turned around to defend the guy responsible to show how much he loved the law. Cook’s dry and quirky performance made Cogley one of the best one-episode characters in the show.
William Marshall as Dr. Richard Daystrom, “The Ultimate Computer”
Richard Daystrom is one of the more tragic characters in Star Trek. A brilliant and acclaimed scientist, Dr. Daystrom had reached legendary status with his breakthroughs. His latest was the M-5, a special computer that would handle the systems of a starship. Unfortunately, Daystrom underestimated his experiment as the M-5 gained sentience and took over the ship to attack other Starfleet vessels.
Marshall was an astounding actor with his deep voice adding gravitas to his every word. Dr. Daystrom starts off confident, refusing to accept how bad the M-5 has become, before revealing he based its programming on his own mental patterns. Dr. Daystrom's breakdown over his “child” turning into a monster is masterfully done, and Marshall makes Daystrom a tragic character with his very moving performance.
BarBara Luna as Marlena, “Mirror, Mirror”
A critical episode in Star Trek lore, “Mirror, Mirror” introduced the Mirror Universe that would be used in several series. It’s still striking in the initial outing as Kirk, Bones, Scotty, and Uhura find themselves in a universe ruled by the Terran Empire, and the ISS Enterprise's crew are twisted sociopaths. As he tries to navigate the parallel
universe, Kirk discovers his evil counterpart is in a relationship with the beautiful Marlena, who’s clearly with him for her own survival.
BarBara Luna looks beautiful in the role but is more than just a pretty face. She’s quickly able to tell this isn’t her Kirk by how kind he is, and she helps him navigate the dangers of this world. Luna gives the role an aura that elevates Marlena to the point you wished she’d joined the crew back in their universe. We do get a cameo from the Prime universe Marlena as a crew member and little wonder she’s a highlight of such a classic episode.
What do you think? Who was your favorite underrated guest star? Share your thoughts and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Star Trek: The Original Series is now streaming on Paramount+. For those who don't subscribe to the service, though, all 29 episodes of TOS season 1 are currently available to stream absolutely free on PlutoTV.