It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on October 5, 1974, and was written by Russell Bates and David Wise.
[note 1] The title comes from Act 1, Scene 4 of William Shakespeare's King Lear: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!
[2] On stardate 6063.4, following a signal from a mysterious probe, the Federation starship Enterprise is immobilized by an alien whose ship resembles a winged serpent.
He grows angry when Kirk explains that mankind has "grown up" and no longer needs to worship him.
In the meantime, Science Officer Spock has figured out a way to release the Enterprise from Kukulkan's beam and breaks free.
To buy Spock some time, Kirk and Bones decide to break loose a Capellan Power Cat from one of Kukulkan's glass cages.
[2] Bates met David Wise at the Clarion Science Fiction Writer's Workshop.
[2] This episode won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Children's Series in 1975.