7 Star Trek Episodes Banned or Censored Around the World: TVLine’s Broadcast Story

Why episodes drew scrutiny

Star Trek often paired futuristic settings with conflicts rooted in human experience and political ideas. That approach brought the franchise into controversial territory, with seven episodes facing broadcast restrictions around the world.

The Original Series accounted for more than half of the affected episodes. The BBC withheld four, citing themes such as madness, torture, sadism and disease; the episodes were later broadcast.

A delayed story of torture

In “Whom Gods Destroy,” Kirk and Spock arrive at a facility for the mentally ill, which has been taken over by its inmates. Their leader, Captain Garth, can shapeshift and tries to force Kirk to reveal the Enterprise’s codes.

The episode first aired on January 3, 1969, but the BBC did not broadcast it until January 19, 1994. The broadcaster cited its treatment of madness and torture, while the attempted seduction of Kirk by Marta may also have contributed to the delay.

Psychological torment and violence

Another Original Series episode, Season 3, Episode 10, first aired on November 22, 1968, and reached BBC viewers on December 22, 1993. It subjects Kirk and Spock to humiliation and psychological torment, including forcing Kirk to slap himself and crawl, and making Spock experience heightened emotions.

In The Next Generation’s Season 1, Episode 25, parasitic aliens take control of Starfleet officers. The BBC cut a climax in which Picard and Riker fire phasers at Commander Remmick, whose upper body is vaporized as an alien emerges. The edited episode aired in the United Kingdom on March 20, 1991.

A further Original Series episode, Season 3, Episode 12, follows Kirk, Spock and McCoy to a research station as they try to evacuate its team before a star explodes. They find the station empty, are kidnapped, and encounter two aliens deciding whether Gem’s species deserves to live.