to the prediction of Alexandre Kojève regarding gambling and concluding that Kirk dragged the Triskelions "back into history [...] reinaugurating a kind of Hegelian dialectic of masters and slaves". Production details It was produced after John Meredyth Lucas had taken over for Gene L. Coon as the program's line producer at the latter's request. Gerald Perry "Jerry" Finnerman was the director of photography for the installment, and his cinematography protégé, Al Francis, was chief camera operator. The episode was originally titled "The Gamesters of Pentathlan". The original script called for Sulu instead of Chekov, but George Takei was away filming The Green Berets at the time. Reception In 2017, Den of Geek ranked this episode as the 12th "best worst" Star Trek episode of the original series, noting its entertainment value. In 2016, TVline ranked this as having one of the top twenty moments of Star Trek, when Kirk not only spares the life of his defeated opponent, but also convinces the alien authority to allow a free society. References External links "The Gamesters of Triskelion" Review of remastered version TrekMovie.com AV Club Review Star Trek: The Original Series (season 2) episodes Gladiatorial combat in fiction 1968 American television episodes Television episodes about alien abduction Television episodes written by Margaret Armen