Plato's Stepchildren

"**Plato's Stepchildren**"
"Plato's Stepchildren"
Star Trek: The Original Series episode
Episode no.	Season 3; Episode 10
Directed by	David Alexander
Written by	Meyer Dolinsky
Featured music	Alexander Courage
Cinematography by	Al Francis
Production code	067
Original air date	November 22, 1968
Guest appearances
	Michael Dunn - Alexander; Barbara Babcock - Philana; Liam Sullivan - Parmen; Ted Scott - Eraclitus; Derek Partridge - Dionyd; William Blackburn - Lt. Hadley;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Tholian Web"	Next →; "Wink of an Eye"
	Star Trek: The Original Series season 3
	List of episodes

"Plato's Stepchildren" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Meyer Dolinsky and directed by David Alexander, it was first broadcast on November 22, 1968.

In the episode, the crew of the Enterprise encounter an ageless and sadistic race of humanoids with the power of telekinesis.

The episode is notable for depicting a kiss between a white man (Kirk) and a black woman (Uhura), which was among the earliest instances of this on a US television show.^[1]^[2]

It was one of several episodes not screened by the BBC because of their "unpleasant" content, including torture and sadism.^[3]

^ Malik, Tariq (September 6, 2006). "After 40 Years, Star Trek 'Won't Die'". SPACE.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
^ Molloy, Tim (April 9, 2009). "Shattered TV Taboos: How Bea Arthur and Others Broke Barriers". TV Guide. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
^ "Star Trek: looking back at the BBC's ban and censorship". Den of Geek. December 6, 2016. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.