"Patterns of Force" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American science-fiction television series Star Trek. Written by John Meredyth Lucas and directed by Vincent McEveety, it was first broadcast on February 16, 1968. In the episode, the crew of the Enterprise tracks down a Federation observer on a planet dominated by a "Naziesque" regime. This episode was banned on German television from 1968 until 1995 due to the depiction of Nazi uniforms and presence of several different Nazi insignia. Plot The starship Enterprise arrives at the planet Ekos to investigate the disappearance of a Federation cultural observer named John Gill, who was one of Captain Kirk's history professors at Starfleet Academy. The Enterprise enters orbit around Ekos and is attacked by a rocket armed with a thermonuclear warhead, technology that is too advanced to be from either Ekos or their neighboring planet, Zeon; two very different planets: Ekos is a warlike/anarchist society-while Zeon is a peaceful advanced society. Kirk suspects Gill may be responsible for the introduction of advanced technology, which would mean that he has contaminated Ekosian culture and violated the Prime Directive. Kirk and First Officer Spock decide to beam down to the planet to investigate. Before they transport to the surface, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy inserts subcutaneous emergency transponders, a type of homing device, into the forearms of each in the event they cannot use their communicators. Upon their arrival, Kirk and Spock watch in horror as a Zeon is arrested by Ekosian soldiers dressed as brown-shirted Nazi Stormtroopers. An outdoor video newsreel shows an Ekosian rally featuring huge crowds shouting Nazi-style slogans and waving swastika-emblazoned flags. A female Nazi officer, Daras, is shown receiving a medal of honor; the Iron Cross, Second Class. The "Final Solution" is mentioned, meaning apparently the extinction of all Zeons on Ekos, as a prelude to the entire destruction of Zeon. The broadcast ends with the reporter making a Nazi salute to a picture of the Führer—whom the shocked Kirk recognizes as John Gill. Startled and determined to contact Gill, Kirk and Spock steal uniforms and attempt to infiltrate the main headquarters, but are caught when Spock's ears are exposed. He and Kirk are tortured until Party Chairman Eneg orders them thrown in a cell for further interrogation. There they meet Isak, the Zeon prisoner they had seen arrested earlier. The trio quickly engineer an escape