The Changeling (Star Trek: The Original Series) The Changeling (Star Trek: The Original Series) "The Changeling" is the third episode of the of the American science fiction television series "". Written by John Meredyth Lucas and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on September 29, 1967. The crew of the USS "Enterprise" deals with a life-destroying space probe originally launched from Earth. The plot contains similarities to the later . The "Enterprise" investigates a distress call from the Malurian star system. Upon arrival, First Officer Spock reports no life readings from any of the 4 billion inhabitants, despite otherwise normal recent communications. The ship's shields
Starship Enterprise D. Moore noted in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual" that real-life naval tradition would insist on calling such a craft the captain's gig, rather than the captain's yacht. Rick Sternbach later designed similar craft for USS "Voyager" and USS "Equinox", known as the aeroshuttle and the waverider, respectively. As on the "Enterprise"-D, however, these vessels were only depicted on technical schematics and never seen in operation or referred to in dialog. "Time" described each iteration of the "Enterprise" as "a character in its own right". Over many decades, the starship has influenced real-life activities of NASA and