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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph Beam me up, Scotty! Star Trek: The Original Series.

Discussion in 'Community' started by Juliet316, Feb 3, 2006.

  1. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Well, any two back-to-back episodes could have fulfilled the same runtime requirements.
     
  2. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004
    Yeah, but The Menagerie is the only TOS two parter.
     
  3. Koohii

    Koohii Jedi Master star 5

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    May 30, 2003
    So, the "remastered" original series...
    any good?
    or is it a "special edition" fiasco?
     
  4. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    I've seen very little in the remastered versions to complain about and overall reaction seems to be generally positive. I think it's been a pretty good improvement in most cases.
     
  5. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Finally kicking off the 3rd and final season of TOS:

    301: Spock's Brain:
    -Premise: When a mysterious woman invades the Enterprise and removes Spock's Brain, the crew rush to recover it before his body decays.
    -T2Q Comments: Well, I knew what I was getting into with this episode, as it's reputation preceeds it. Oddly enough, I don't think this episode was as bad as people make it out to be. Despite being a fairly ridiculous concept (particularly Remote Control Zombie Spock (tm) ), it's a surprisingly cringeless episode, which is more than I can say about many other TOS episodes. The surgery montage of facial expresisons being a notable lowpoint- especially how they focus on Spock at least twice, despite him not being capable of any expresison at that point.
    This one, while bad, doesn't make me want to throw my shoe through the screen, so I'll label this one merely "Forgettable".
    Some remastered shots:

    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/spocksbrain/ionship_approach.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/spocksbrain/new_sb_03.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/spocksbrain/new_sb_07.jpg]

    302: The Enterprise Incident:
    -Premise: Captain Kirk becomes increasingly erratic and orders the Enterprise into Romulan space...where the ship is captured by a beautiful Romulan commander.
    Heh-Romulans using Klingon designs, aka "we needed to save cash". Nice hammy "I'll......kill you!". Romulan Kirk- oh, they'll never be able to tell! Other than that, this one was pretty good though, and brings the Romulans to the forefront again as villians. On that alone, this one gets a "Definitely Essential" label.

    303: The Paradise Syndrome:
    -Premise: A stranded and amnesiac Kirk is mistaken as a god among a race of Ntaive American-like people while the crew work to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with the planet.
    -T2Q Comments: This continues Season 2's habit of having time-period of the week episodes, this time with the "Native American Planet" (which, i kid you not, was apparently named "Amerind" in the script, though not identified as such on screen...thank god). But at least they bother to come up with a Stargate-like explaination of the "Wise Ones"/"Preservers" seeding human life across the galaxy, further explaining the abundance of humanoid aliens in the Trek universe. Anyone know if they elaborate on The Preservers elsewhere?
    So Kirk is a God in this episode- Shatner musta loved this one, ha. Jealous Medicine Man plotline telegraphed and cliched though does have a genuine moment with him asking the chick if she'd choose him if permitted. Shatner in tribal paint and smiling, then to serious look with zoom, oh boy. Why bother stoning them? Worlds gonna end anyways. "This (tricorder) is familiar, yet unfamilair..." ...so i'll just drop it on the ground.
    The asteroid plotline is actually quite good though, despite a rather awful "imagin this rock is a..." visual aid scene early on. Nice little bit with Spock faking going to sleep to placate McCoy. Really have to applaud the one FX shot that dollys in from behind the Enterprise forward towards the asteroid...it's unlike any other ship shot in the series so far, and rather dynamic in a subtle way. Scotty's frustration at the stress Spock is putting the ship through was amusing...btw, just what the hell is behind Scotty anyways? a nacelle interior?
    Anyways, this one ended up being better than I had feared, so I'll group it in with the other so-so time-planet episodes, as it's at least equal to them: Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential.

    Remastered shots (love the deflector beam shot; though I think they made an error changing the obilisk deflector to red, as it's described as the "blue flame" by the natives):
    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/paradisesyndrome/new_ent_approach_asteroid.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/paradisesyndrome/new_ent_deflector_beam.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/paradisesyndrome/new_ent
     
  6. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    Agreed. That was one cool looking starship.

    EDIT: I get to cover the screening of The Menagerie for my newspaper. [face_dancing]
     
  7. Koohii

    Koohii Jedi Master star 5

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    May 30, 2003
    You know, campy as it is, I'd like them to use the same model design as was made in 1966. Maybe slight down-grades since it is supposed to be just being built. I disliked the NX look from the Enterprise series. Too much of the textured movie/ILM/Next-gen look. Where are the smooth lines, cylindars, and dishes of the 60s? That's what TOS was about. That's what the ship should be. Remember the shocked look on Kirk's face when he saw square engines during the flyby in TMP?
     
  8. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Jan 27, 2000
    Well, the movie refit was gorgeous too- I'd settle for something that detailed and fine-tuned. I just can't see the original design working on the big screen without some major detailing overhauls. It can't be any smoother or sparse/cleaner-looking than the movie version. Obviously they can't change the sillouette too much though. that video is on the extreme end of things, but it still looks the same in terms of shape and design as the original model, just has the added depth and realistic design implementations that sell certain features like the dish and spinny lights.

    I agree, though, that they shouldn't try to make it NX-01ish, as I didn't care for the strong metal-plating aesthetic.
     
  9. Koohii

    Koohii Jedi Master star 5

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    May 30, 2003
    At the risk of being too geeky (oh wait, this is a StarTrek topic in an online forum--never mind:-B), I would point out that the original StarFleet Battles game (which was frequently much more in keeping with the TV show and books than the RPG), had the original Enterprise with Armor, which later ships replaced with Shields. So while the armored look might be OK for NX, it shouldn't be in play at all with any of the NCCs. Also, the number of escape pods on -D was rediculous. That game had the evolution of starships down pretty well, and was a nicely balanced strategy/allocation game.
    I miss having people around to play it with. (Everyone wants to play the computer games and NetFest).

    Anyway, I think following the original smooth lines is a much better way to go. Otherwise, they'll have to "Special Edition" the entire original series. I don't care how good the CGI is, it would ruin the flavor. (This coming from someone who only converted to CDs because getting tapes and vinyl LPs for new music became impossible.) Yes, I'm a dinosaur.
     
  10. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Jan 27, 2000
    Not necessarily- they're obviously going to be revising elements of the original series era to make them more realistic in the details, while keeping the same overall look- like the uniforms. TOS is just the low budget, less-detailed version of what things "actually" look like, essentially. I don't expect them to go to the extremes that are in that video, but I think we'll something more detailed than the models used in Enterprise's A Mirror Darkly two-parter, with some flavor from the movie refit/1701-A added into the mix.

    However, if they do go for a full-on new reboot approach, I think something like that video version of the ship would blend in more naturally with the film-era and TNG-era craft.
     
  11. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004
    I agree. The NX-class Enterprise was too small and looked too advanced for the time that thet show was set it.
     
  12. Jedi_Master_Conor

    Jedi_Master_Conor Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    May 24, 2005
    I'd like to start picking up the season DVD's of this soon. With the remastered episodes being aired lately is there a dvd set coming out that has all of them remastered or what? I don't want to be double dipping or anything
     
  13. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Jan 27, 2000
    The first season Remastered is hitting HD-DVD on November 20th. I think it's a safe bet you won't be seeing the Remastered series on DVD, since the HD was a big aspect of the Remastered series.

    The only alternative would be to purchase them on an episode-by-episode basis via X-Box Live Marketplace or iTunes.
     
  14. ObiWanCon

    ObiWanCon Jedi Master star 4

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    Apr 15, 2004
    The Re-Mastered HD-DVD set is both HD-DVD and standard DVD one side of the discs are HD and other is DVD and both formats have all the new FX on the episodes.
     
  15. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Jan 27, 2000
    Oh? They're doing the hybrid format? That's actually very awesome of them.
     
  16. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004
    Did anyone see The Menagerie last night?
     
  17. Sith_Lord_Linkoping

    Sith_Lord_Linkoping Jedi Knight star 5

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    Jan 19, 2001
    Unfortunately not since I live in another country.

    [mumble]I'm not the least jealous, I'm not the least jealous[/mumble] ;)

    Was it a pleasant experience?

    I'm waiting for the release of the first season of TOS Remastered HD DVD release here in Sweden. 2007-11-28 is the date I'm looking forward to. [face_love]
     
  18. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

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    Nov 8, 2004
    Here's the review I wrote for my newspaper workshop.

    Star Trek beamed on to the big screen in a major way on Monday night for a special screening of the classic original television series episode, The Menagerie.

    It?s the 40th anniversary of the creation of Star Trek and, to celebrate both this milestone anniversary and the launch of the Star Trek Remastered DVDs on Nov. 20, Paramount Pictures and CBS have pulled out all the stops in restoring the 79 original episodes.

    The Menagerie?s plot contains elements of Star Trek?s pilot episode, The Cage, in which Spock sets out to help the starship Enterprise?s previous commander, Capt.Christopher Pike, after learning of his exposure to large amounts of radiation, that has rendered him unable to speak or move.

    In a desperate bid help Pike and relieve his suffering, Spock hijacks the Enterprise and set a course for the planet, Talos IV, a world under quarantine because it is home to a race of telepathic aliens who are capable of making any illusion seem real.

    As the theft of a starship is a crime, Spock is put on trial. Any attempt to return to Talos IV carries with it, a sentence of death should Spock be found guilty.

    Some Star Trek fans may have visions of George Lucas?s 1997 update of his Star Wars trilogy when reading these words. They are probably having images of whole new scenes being created for just for this event.

    Don?t worry, no such thing has taken place with the restoration Star Trek. Before the restored episodes began, there was a behind-the-scenes look at the restoration process, which included repairing tears, stains and other blemishes on the original negative of the episodes.

    The most noticeable aspect of the restoration is in the special effects. The CBS restoration team replaced all of the model shots of the Enterprise with computer generated images. The digital Enterprise was beautiful to look at and seeing those sleek lines filling the movie screen was a real treat. Almost as wonderful as the updated special effects, was the music.

    During the restoration process, it was decided to take advantage of advances in technology and rerecord the Star Trek theme music. This was a very smart decision. The sound was deep, rich and thrilling to listen to. This is what it must have been like to hear the music played for the first time in the recording studio.

    This screening of The Menagerie was a one-night event. That said, it is clear that much time and energy has been spent restoring Star Trek. It is not unreasonable to hope that as, the Christmas 2008 release date for J.J. Abrams? new Star Trek movie draws nearer, Paramount Pictures will screen more Star Trek episodes in this fashion.

    I got a B+ and got printed in the paper.
     
  19. Sith_Lord_Linkoping

    Sith_Lord_Linkoping Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2001
    Brilliantly written. =D=

    I couldn't agree more. :)
     
  20. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Jan 27, 2000
    304: And the Children Shall Lead:
    -Premise: The Enterprise travels to a planet where a scientific team has killed themselves...except for the children, who began to act oddly, being influenced by an evil spirit.
    -T2Q Comments: I hate these kids.



    Oh, you want more? Fine! Their forced "playing" was not convincing and annoyingly distracting.
    Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy... Busy annoying the crap out of me. So shall you do, so shall you do, so shall you do, so shall you do...were they running short with this episode or something? were they running short with this episode or something? were they running short with this episode or something? were they running short with this episode or something?
    Video logs are annoying- what is he looking at? He's recording it himself, afterall. And that hand motion the kids make- I see they control people by practicing playing Manhunt 2 on the Wii. The transporter-into-space is a crappy way to go, I must say.
    I guess this episode is the reason there's so many windows on the D- so they can tell if the ship is actually moving, ha. Yes, trick Sulu into not moving the ship by using the image of giant space knives...my, what a logicaly convincing illusion...yep, no reason why Sulu would question it. And once again they portray Uhura as a shallow and useless character with her "i'm old in the (suddenly there) Mirror! woe is me! life is over!". Hilarious expression on Kirk's face once he's affected by the kids, though.
    The "kids crying" was too forced of a sentimental ending & McCoy happy to see them cry is disturbing.
    Death to you all! Death to you all! Death to you all! Are we sure he wasn't talking to the writer's?
    Verdict: Despite the above, it's tonally consistent, for the most part, so it stays above the likes of The Naked Time and The Menagerie, despite my better judgement and insticnt to rank it lower, I categorize this one as "Average".
    This one was Remastered, but it's just the stock orbit shots of the ship over the new planet. They surprisingly did not replace Sulu's knives.

    305: Is There In Truth No Beauty?:
    -Premise: A beautiful woman escorts an alien ambassador so hideously ugly that the sight of him can drive a human mad.
    -T2Q Comments: Outside of yet another attempt to steal the ship (and why do people always hijack it to go beyond the galaxy? is it really that exciting out there? ;) ), this is a rather solid episode. "We apparently entered a space-time continuum" so where were you before, exactly, Mr. Spock?
    Funny exchange: "A madman got us into this and it's beggining to look like only a madman can get us out." "An entertaining suggestion, Mr. Checkov, but not very helpful."
    For a blind chick, her eyes certainly move around a lot...and her forced confession at the end is a little annoying
    This episode kinda puts a wrench in the "Where No Man Has Gone Before-By Any Other Name show bookending" concept I mentioned earlier...though this might now make an appropriate end with the "Live long and prosper" line being the last thing spoken. (always on the hunt for a proper "last episode", this one is...).
    Still, Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential, though the chick's gown could be seen as a precurssor to Georgi's VISOR on TNG (and she herself is yet again the actress who would go on to play Dr Pulaski on that show).


    306: Spectre of the Gun:
    -Premise: When coming to an exaphobic isolationist planet, Captain Kirk and his landing party are punished for trepassing. They are sentenced to death in a surreal recreation of the Gunfight at the OK Corral with the landing on the losing side.
    -T2Q Comments: Now, I love time travel and all, but by this point in the show it seems like they really should have just made the show about time exploration instead of space exploration, because half these shows are either time travel epsiodes, time travel episodes in all but name, or an excuse to use essentially a time period set. Time Trek in all but name, really.
    That said, once you get over the western elements, this was a
     
  21. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    309: The Tholian Web:
    -Premise: When the Enterprise investigates the disappearance of another starship, they lose Kirk in a dimensional interphase and must deal with a hostile alien race while trying to recover him.
    -T2Q Comments: Very little to nitpick here, outside of the electric razor helmets ;) - it's a good episode. Though Spock is a bit quick to come to the conclusion of what the web will do once completed, and Bones' support of leaving behind the chance to save Kirk seems contradictory to past episodes where McCoy was constantly riding Spock for doing similar things. Combined with the eventual fate of the Defiant being revealed to have been pulled back through time and into the Mirror Universe by the Mirror Tholians, and the overall quality of the episode, gets this one onto the "Definite Essentials" list.
    BTW, I'd love it if someone can explain what the whole "starless space" thing is supposed to be that the Enterprise goes through when getting flung clear of the web.

    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_02.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_03.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_04.jpg]
    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_05.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_06.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_07.jpg]
    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_08.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_09.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_10.jpg]
    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_11.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_12.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_13.jpg]
    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_14.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_15.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_16.jpg]
    [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_17.jpg] [image=http://trekmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/tholianweb/new_tw_18.jpg]

    And, for some comparison since it will quite some time before we loop around to Enterprise, some shots of the web, Defiant and Tholians in that Mirror two-parter:

    [image=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/f/fd/Defiant-NCC1764.jpg] [image=http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/e/e1/Tholian_pilot.jpg] [image=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/1/13/Tholian_starship_explodes_-_In_a_Mirror%2C_Darkly.jpg]
    [image=http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/5/5d/TholianWebENT.jpg] [image=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/7/74/Archer_watches_Enterprise_explode_-_In_a_Mirror%2C_Darkly.jpg]



    310: Platos Stepchildren:
    -Premise: Kirk and his crew find themselves at the mercy of powerful individuals who possess mind-over-matter powers...and plan to use the Enterprise crew for their twisted entertainment.
    -T2Q Comments: Sing along- Slap, your Kirk up! Slap, your Kirk up! seriously, Kirk's "stop hitting yourself!" moment had me rolling. The episode sorta changes gear to a threatening situation fairly jarringly. Ok, silly song and dance by Spock and Kirk...and now a midget is riding Kirk like a pony while Shatner makes horsie noises...ho-lee-crap. The forced toga makeout sessions are silly. And, as much as a sucker as i am for TK powers, this ones just not good, plus yet another "society stagnation" themed episode. BTW, if all you need to do is inject or eat this kironide substance- why doesn't Starfleet utilize this to some degree?
    Despite being notable for being among the first kisses on TV between a caucasian and african american, this episode is pretty bad, and, ultimately, "Forgettable". The image of a midget riding Kirk like a pony while Shatner makes horsie noises, however, is unfortunately n
     
  22. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Jan 27, 2000
    313: Elaan of Troyius:
    -Premise: The Enterprise must escort an alien princess to her marriage to seal an interplanetary alliance...but she becomes attracted to Kirk (of course).
    -T2Q Comments: Going into this episode, I was really dreading this episode's title being indicative of another "Amerind" situation, but thankfully it's not (just a not-so-subtle reference to Helen of Troy's role in a war as Elaan is), so the episode does have that going for, as well as actually branching out with a rare strong female character (even if to do so they had to make her the hostile warrior princess to get away with it). The episode is distracted by the obviously obligatory love story and Elaan's ability to produce "horny tears" (which falls in with the previously mentioned Poison Ivy/Hathor/Mudd's Women "bad plot that never works" grouping).
    Now, beyond that it actually does make good use of the Klingons again, though on the tech sid eof things, the focus on warp-pivoting and torpedoes being reliant on the dilithium power core seem out of place. I can only see warp pivoting resulting in one hell of a centrifical force jolt.
    Despite it's shortcomings, it's characterization and original concept (at least compared to many other episodes recycling the same premises) and involvement of Klingons rates this one as "Definitely Essential".


    314: Whom Gods Destroy:
    -Premise: Kirk and Spock investigate an insane asylum where a former Starfleet captain is being held, only to discover that he has freed the inmates and is running the place.
    -T2Q Comments: The Federation curing insanity leading to a lack of mental institutions doesn't seem consistent with the rest of the franchise- the cure never appearing again down the road also feels weird. The fake-Kirk tantrum needs to be added to a reel including the Shatner horsey ride. Garth's shapeshifting ability being excused as a learned-technique without technological assistance is way too far fetched. Huh, never knew Star Trek invented Harley Quinn... blue and green not quite as effective as the red, white & black, though. She's also got a Chiana air about her as well. The testing of the explosive is decently shocking and the episode has some good Spock/Kirk interaction. Would be nice if Scott's efforts had amounted to something, however- has a similar lacking feel to the Desalle scenes in Catspaw, though not as bad since it's not as built-up, still untapped potential there however. Spock seems to have chosen the illogical way to idenitify which was the real Kirk- allowing them to beat each other up instead of asking specific questions ala the chess code phrase focused heavily on in the episode. Still, better than the similar "Dagger of the Mind".
    Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential.


    315: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield:
    -Premise: The Enterprise finds itself host to two alien beings from the same planet, who share an intense and self-destructive hatred of each other.
    -T2Q Comments: Ying-Yang people! (one played by The Riddler to boot!) They must make those cookies. So the planet is in an uncharted region of space, yet Kirk knows about the planet offhand? Rather calm corridor extras during red alert/collision warning. Pulsing camera zooms annoying- yes, mr cameraman, you have a zoom lens, that's very nice, but would you mind playing with it later after the show? And I assume the magicly invisible and vanishing ship is a result of a budget cut of some kind, heh. Another alien hijacking of ship. noteworthy for using same destruct code sequence utilized in ST3, however this seems to be an inconsistent use of Kirk's level of willingness to destroy the ship- here he does it to prevent the ship from taking a brief detour with a prisoner, but in an earlier episode he was reluctant to blow the ship up despite aliens threatening to invade the entire galaxy. In one scene SPock eavesdrops on the one character trying to isnpire crewmembershis cause...but how can an automated door be left cracked open like that? Later on there are some really
     
  23. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    I think that's what made Tasha's death so effective and vital to TNG- it wasn't some big episode about Tasha's death- it's just an episode that happened to contain it, and it's suddeness raised the threat levelw ith the feeling that the non-Picard crew could be offed in a similar way.


    316: The Mark of Gideon:
    -Premise: Kirk beams down on a diplomatic mission...and finds himself on an Enterprise where all the crew have vanished and only a mysterious woman resides.
    -T2Q Comments: A surprisingly maturely written episode, with no outright villain, a couple creepy visuals with the ghostly faces. Not much else to comment on, really, other than the idea of a planet packed wlal-to-wall with people raises the question of where food and water come from/manage to sustain the population. Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential.


    317: That Which Survives:
    -Premise: Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu are stranded on a barren planet where a mysterious woman attempts to kill them one at a time, while the Enterprise must travel halfway across the galaxy to rescue them.
    -T2Q Comments: The movement during mid-transport seems a bit strange, at leats with the portrayal of beaming in TOS so far (the movies and later sources do have mid-beam movement). This episode also features a blue-shirted red shirt, hehe. The cliffhanger commercial break music is starting to get irritating in it's repetitiveness at this point in the season. Enterprise's distance covered over the timeframe given seems a lot more than it should realisticly be, and the tilted zooming Enterprise FX shot still REALLy irritates me- I don't care if it's used in the credits sequence. The various comments along the lines of "how can such beauty be so deadly?" annoying echo of 60's syndrome dialogue. Dig how she Mega Mans outta there, though. A couple shots in this episode where you can clearly see Doohan's missing middle finger. Bones seems to suddenly figure out quite a bit based on the brief message- in fact earlier he does the same thing assuming the entire planet is made up of the strong rock even though Kirk only fired two shots in a limited area. Still, Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential.


    318: The Lights of Zetar:
    -Premise: The Enterprise must deal with discorporeal cloud-like aliens who have already destroyed the inhabitants of a library planet and plan to eliminate the Enterprise crew if they cannot acquire a human host.
    -T2Q Comments: This whole Memory Alpha library planet, being ireeplacable in data apparently, seems like a "all your eggs in one basket" oversight and not very logical.The one scientist has a very "There is no Dana, only Zuel!" death, with a dash of The Last Starfighter creatures. Kirk seems to want her to give in one moment, then fight all she can the next, and it seems to me that the rate of atmospheres being increased to would squash her....still, good standalone, but not necessarily essential.


    Up next: 319: Requiem For Methuselah, 320: The Way to Eden and 321: The Cloud Minders.



    At this point I also wanted to comment that the show really seems to have hit a stride of consistant tonal quality here in mid-Season 3 or so. It portrays the ship as having function other than to ferry people around to weird situations or an object to be taken over by other aliens. The characters are more rounded, and it seems they're actually letting the women act and become characters instead of pointless Kirk toys and "oh, dear me!" damsels in distress, which in turn has dialed down much of the dreaded 60's Syndrome that plagued the first two seasons. There's also a much greater variety in themes and plotlines than the recycled notions that fill up much of the first two seasons, though the 3rd season isn't completely free of retreads, at least what it does retread is generally executed in a better, 60's Syndrome-free, manner, essentially "doing the concept right".
     
  24. JediPrettyBoy

    JediPrettyBoy Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2005
    The first season of the original series is now out on HD-DVD/DVD combo discs.

    I think I may have to get it.
     
  25. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    319: Requiem For Methuselah:
    -Premise: While seeking a cure for a fever ravaging the Enterprise, Kirk and Spock encounter Flint, a hermit-like Earthman, and his beautiful young ward.
    -T2Q Comments: Kirk is being rather overt with the lady in this episode- the man really has no self control, does he? Haha. Why would the chick be afraid of the robot? She lives with it. I like how they came up with an excuse to use the ship model in the episode, even though it makes no sense that Kirk would be able to look in through the viewscreen. Hhe. DaVinci's got Q-power, baby! Having the crew suspended is worse than death by Kirk's standards? how is that exactly? "I do wish he could forget her", Bones says... just wait till the next episode's romantic interest shows up!
    Overall not a terrible episode, and is apparently referenced offhandedly in Voyager, so I'll slot it in as "Potentially Essential, But Not Necessarily Good".


    320: The Way To Eden:
    -Premise: The Enterprise picks up a group of space "hippies" looking for Eden.
    -T2Q Comments: Herbert! Herbert! ugh, I thought we were past this "grups"-like nonsense two seasons ago ;). The music in this episode is rather obviously dubbed. A good Chekov episode & McCoy is shown being a competent doctor. More music numbers! AGGHHHHHHH!!!!! Another group tries to steal the ship, and even telegraphed too much in Chekov/chick scene. The guard jammin' with his eyes closed with cult leader standing right in front of him staring at him is a little creepy and, well, odd. Eventual good use of music juxtaposed against knockedout crew, even if it's resolved by commercial break's end. Why take the barefoot hippies out of the shuttlecraft onto the acidic ground and grass to help them? Leave them in the bloody shuttle! Decent episode without overt evil characters, but the hippies and music really date the episode more so than your typical episode. plus the plotline has similarities to Star Trek V...yay. "Average".


    321: The Cloud Minders:
    -Premise: Kirk must resolve a mining dispute on a the cloud city of Stratos to acquire the resources to cure a space plague.
    -T2Q Comments: The cape-bra doesn't seem like a very good fashion idea...one wrong step by someone and...pop-pop! The counil leader here would later play "The Man in the Middle" Justin on Babylon 5. Spock seems very forthright revealing the whole Vulcan mating cycle when he previously held it so private to even his closest friends. McCoy's findings kinda come outta nowhere- where could he get that medical info other than a biased Stratus source?
    Still, pretty good episode overall- "Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential".

    Cape-Bra:

    [image=http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/8/8a/Droxinespock.jpg]

    Up next: the final three episodes of TOS: 322: The Savage Curtain, 323: All Our Yesterdays and 324: Turnabout Intruder.