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SST419: “Ari bn Bem” is a joke. The name means Bug Eyed Monster — and in Star Trek: The Animated Series S2E2, the episode’s author, David Gerrold, put that joke on screen: a title character who isn’t a monster at all, but a Pandronian colony creature who can separate into body parts, swap your phaser for a fake, get himself deliberately captured by lizard-men, and call the whole thing a diplomatic observation.

The episode aired September 14, 1974, and was originally pitched by Gerrold for TOS Season 3. It didn’t make the cut there, and only landed in the animated series after six additional episodes were ordered.

Whether the delay helped or hurt it is part of what Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Jason Tyler debate in this episode of Secrets of Star Trek.

The panel’s verdict settles around a four out of ten. The episode’s reach is real — it’s trying to do something Star Trek rarely pulls off: a non-humanoid character with a genuinely alien thought process. But Bem’s motivations stay murky, his character arc lurches without clear logic, and a sequence where security officers immediately ignore Kirk’s “lightest possible stun” order provides unintentional comedy.

There are genuine highlights. This is the first canonical appearance of Kirk’s middle name, Tiberius — an answer Gerrold reportedly improvised at a fan convention, which eventually found its way into the script. Uhura takes command of the Enterprise and handles it competently; the panel’s only complaint is that the animation never puts her in the captain’s chair. Scotty gets a line about the Loch Ness Monster. Arex gets a rare character moment.

The godlike alien entity guarding the planet was added at Gene Roddenberry’s insistence, over Gerrold’s objections. It works better than expected — particularly in a late scene where she tells Bem that if he disassembles, he can’t learn from his error. For Saturday morning television, that’s a real moral.

For a better take on the truly-alien-thought-process idea, the panel points to “Darmok” (TNG), which at least explains itself. “Bem” wants to be that episode and doesn’t quite get there. Still, it’s a piece of Star Trek history worth knowing.

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