"The Naked Time"... 50 Years Later

"The Naked Time," the sixth episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, premiered on September 29, 1966 -- or 50 years ago today. The episode, written by John D.F. Black and directed by Marc Daniels, ranks as a fan favorite thanks in large part to the indelible images of a shirtless Sulu rampaging through the decks of the Enterprise, wielding a foil, Riley "singing" the tune "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," Kirk revealing his love/hate (but mostly love) for the Enterprise, Spock crying and and Chapel professing her love to Spock.

Some fun fact, figures, quotes and anecdotes about "The Naked Time"

"The Naked Time" was, in 1967, nominated for a Hugo Award as "Best Dramatic Presentation."

One of our favorite lines, uttered by Riley: "Have no fear, O'Riley's here... and one Irishman is worth 10,000 of you."

Eddie Paskey speaks his first line of dialogue as Leslie in this hour, Bruce Hyde makes the first of his two appearances as Hyde, and the episode also marks Majel Barrett's debut as Chapel. Actually, ""The Naked Time" is the one and only episode of TOS in which Uhura, Rand and Chapel appeared together.

Those environmental suits that Spock and Tormolen (Stewart Moss) wear? They were crafted out of -- are you ready? -- shower curtains!

Speaking of Stewart Moss, StarTrek.com interviewed the actor last year. He recounted his last scene in the episode, noting that, "emotionally unglued, I have dialogue that is off the wall, questioning our mission in space, building to a self-hatred that ends in a struggle with two other crew members over a butter knife which I fall on, wounding myself and eventually dying. Worried that I’d go over the top, I asked Marc to make sure I wasn’t too big. He told me not to worry, what I was doing was believable. This was just another part in just another television show, nothing extraordinary about it. Little did I know. After the show aired I got a note in the mail from John D. F. Black, the writer and an associate producer on the show, thanking me for making him look good. Much appreciated." Go HERE to read the full interview.

More than a few fans noticed that, in this episode, McCoy tore Kirk's uniform in order to inject him with the hypo, but that in later episodes, hypos were administered straight through any clothing.

An Enterprise bowling alley? Yes, Riley makes mention of it.

Hyde died on October 13, 2015, succumbing to throat cancer, which he'd previously beaten into remission. StarTrek.com had spoken to Hyde in 2014, and of "The Naked Time" he said, "The singing part is what is still most vivid to me. I feel a certain affinity to that song, 'I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen.' It was, for a long time, for me like 'Over the Rainbow' was to Judy Garland. I used to be asked to sing that song at every convention I attended." Read the full interview HERE.