TOS Run-through

Myrddin

So, having finished a 1st time Doctor Who run-through (where has that show been all my life?), I've decided I need something else to watch. TOS sprang to mind, having only seen it all once or twice before. This time, I'm watching through the remastered set, & very well it looks too. I started with the cancelled pilot, "The Cage", & while being quite different and conflicted with established Trek, it's more often than not true to form.

Things like Pike saying "I can't get used to a woman on the bridge", seems at odds with Roddenberry's vision of the future that came after. I'd have Roddenberry to portray that such backward notions were firmly extinct by that era of his vision of the future. Spock smiling when touching the musical plant on Talos was odd, but forgiveable too in that it's literally day 1 of Trek. I thought the story overall was good, very Trek in that regard, however the ending seemed rushed, & in-congruent with what went before. For most of the episode, the Talosians are hostile, and seem to revel in their superiority over humans; essentially treating humans like a far lesser species. Then, almost suddenly, they realise Pike isn't fit for purpose, let him away, & provide the woman he was captive beside him with a projection of a companion that demonstrates compassion from the Talosians.

Sad reading about Hunter, who died only a few years after filming of The Cage. He didn't seem all that enthused about Star Trek either. I thought he was a good fit though, perhaps not as likeable or lovable as Kirk, but a good fit nonetheless. Anyway, tonight will see me kick off with the second, accepted pilot episode, "The Man Trap".

Myrddin

Watched "The Man Trap" and "Charlie X" last night. Really enjoyed them to be frank, they look really well done & the HD transformation really does them justice. There was something special about original Trek, which probably can't be recaptured today (though Continues does a fine job of trying).

Myrddin

So next up was "Where No Man Has Gone Before", & another good episode it is. There's something about the lighting, the sound, the colours, & the acting that makes TOS really enjoyable...though you have to want to watch it. Sitting down expecting it to grab you like any other Trek won't work, it's a product of its time & as such, you kinda need to want to watch it. Interesting to see Spock in gold, Scotty in pale gold, & Sulu in blue last night!

Myrddin

Interesting to see "James R. Kirk" being shown in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" as a stage prop, obviously came from before they decided that T. would be his middle initial.

"The Naked Time" was last night, the precursor storywise to the truly woeful TNG episode "The Naked Now". I have the say, the TOS episode is far better

Optimus Prime

Myrddin wrote: »

So next up was "Where No Man Has Gone Before", & another good episode it is. There's something about the lighting, the sound, the colours, & the acting that makes TOS really enjoyable...though you have to want to watch it. Sitting down expecting it to grab you like any other Trek won't work, it's a product of its time & as such, you kinda need to want to watch it. Interesting to see Spock in gold, Scotty in pale gold, & Sulu in blue last night!

Tried a run through about 2 years ago myself, the plan was to watch every series, i didnt really want to watch TOS so i gave up on it in the end. I like watching random episodes of it on the TV, but to watch them all in order is tough going i think, even though a lot of them are great storys.. I skipped on to TNG.

Myrddin

Yeah, I think it's something you definitely have to want to do & open up to. I have to say I'm enjoying it, I watch 1 or 2 per night if I can & am up to The Menagerie now. A bit odd that there was still a death penalty in Starfleet by then, the only death penalty left (for visiting Talos IV). Also strange to hear Kirk say he rues the person that assigned him a female yeoman, despite Roddenberry's grander vision of the future, there is still a nod to sexism in TOS here & there.

Myrddin

I should add, this is my first time seeing them as HD remasters too which has made them a lot easier to watch

Indricotherium

Myrddin wrote: »

I should add, this is my first time seeing them as HD remasters too which has made them a lot easier to watch

Some of the little details are great. the odd ship floating by the background of a window, that kind of thing.

I think a huge opportunity was missed by not editing the DS9 scenes that overlap with the original episodes into the trouble with tribbles.

Myrddin

Indricotherium wrote: »

Some of the little details are great. the odd ship floating by the background of a window, that kind of thing.

Exactly, it's very impressive what they've done.

I think a huge opportunity was missed by not editing the DS9 scenes that overlap with the original episodes into the trouble with tribbles.

Ha, never thought of that...twould have been cool actually, & good for continuity.

Balance of Terror last night - essentially a submarine episode in space. Great stuff, good tension in it & a nice introduction to the Romulans (interesting to note it was the Romulans who violated the neutral zone & destroyed several Federation outposts along the border).

Followed then by the pretty poor Shore Leave episode. That 'Finnegan' character is face achingly annoying.

Indricotherium

Top o' da mornin Jimmy me boy.

Optimus Prime

Indricotherium wrote: »

I think a huge opportunity was missed by not editing the DS9 scenes that overlap with the original episodes into the trouble with tribbles.

That would have been brilliant, they missed a trick there, never thought of that before either.

Myrddin

The Galileo Seven - A very decent episode by all accounts. There's a good sense of panic/tension in it, as the seven crew members try desperately to escape the planet they're stuck on. It's interesting to note, there have been several instances where I've noticed an almost insubordinate attitude toward Spock since he start of the show. This episode escalated this insubordination up a level or two, with some members of the stranded seven appearing somewhat racist even.

I suppose Roddenberry's vision even back then, while utopian in nature, had little tid bits like this to show that while humans had largely put aside our differences, there were facets of humanity left that echoed who we are today.

Myrddin

Finished Season 1. I enjoyed it a lot, again though, it's something I wanted to watch so I think it made it more appealing that way - TOS isn't something you can just breeze through, it's a product of its time in every way possible. The stage props aren't the best (the hd remasters though so make the show look great), the stunt doubles can be beyond awful, & the pacing can be slow at times.

It does however have some great stories. The chemistry between Shatner, Nimoy, & Kelly is undeniable - and the three main characters (Kirk, Spock7 McCoy) are fantastically acted - they really make the show what it is. Looking forward to season 2

Myrddin

Mirror Mirror, great episode.

MarkAnthony

Myrddin wrote: »

So, having finished a 1st time Doctor Who run-through (where has that show been all my life?), I've decided I need something else to watch. TOS sprang to mind, having only seen it all once or twice before. This time, I'm watching through the remastered set, & very well it looks too. I started with the cancelled pilot, "The Cage", & while being quite different and conflicted with established Trek, it's more often than not true to form.

Things like Pike saying "I can't get used to a woman on the bridge", seems at odds with Roddenberry's vision of the future that came after. I'd have Roddenberry to portray that such backward notions were firmly extinct by that era of his vision of the future. Spock smiling when touching the musical plant on Talos was odd, but forgiveable too in that it's literally day 1 of Trek. I thought the story overall was good, very Trek in that regard, however the ending seemed rushed, & in-congruent with what went before. For most of the episode, the Talosians are hostile, and seem to revel in their superiority over humans; essentially treating humans like a far lesser species. Then, almost suddenly, they realise Pike isn't fit for purpose, let him away, & provide the woman he was captive beside him with a projection of a companion that demonstrates compassion from the Talosians.

Sad reading about Hunter, who died only a few years after filming of The Cage. He didn't seem all that enthused about Star Trek either. I thought he was a good fit though, perhaps not as likeable or lovable as Kirk, but a good fit nonetheless. Anyway, tonight will see me kick off with the second, accepted pilot episode, "The Man Trap".

Bear in mind Roddenberry was under huge presure from the networks. He only really got let loose once the cult of trek began to take hold.

Spock isn't a Vulcan in 'The Cage' he's a Martian. So you have to forgive that smile that looks so odd!

Myrddin wrote: »

Mirror Mirror, great episode.

I love the whole thread running through all the Trek Series that sprang from this. TNG missed the trick but DS9 and Enterprise had fun with it. In a Mirror Darkly is one of my Trek highlights!

Myrddin

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Spock isn't a Vulcan in 'The Cage' he's a Martian. So you have to forgive that smile that looks so odd!

Is that right? Interesting, didn't know that

I love the whole thread running through all the Trek Series that sprang from this. TNG missed the trick but DS9 and Enterprise had fun with it. In a Mirror Darkly is one of my Trek highlights!

The closest TNG got was Yesterdays Enterprise I think. The mirror universe eps are great though

User45701

Mirror universe was very good, as was William shatners 3 part novel set in post voyager federation that revolves around the mirror universe(s)

MarkAnthony

Slarkon wrote: »

Mirror universe was very good, as was William shatners 3 part novel set in post voyager federation that revolves around the mirror universe(s)

Oooh name please? That the one with Avenger in it?

helimachoptor

is there anywhere to get the chronology and sysnopsis of the various books?

Myrddin

A pre-continuity error in the episode Metamorphosis....Zefram Cochrane isn't from Alpha Centauri. Decent episode all the same

Myrddin

Chekov's hair in the first half of season 2 has been inexplicable.

ItHurtsWhenIP

Myrddin wrote: »

Chekov's hair in the first half of season 2 has been inexplicable.

I thought that it was to appeal to "The Beatles" fan-demographic type thing.

Myrddin

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

I thought that it was to appeal to "The Beatles" fan-demographic type thing.

The fab four isn't what I first think of when I see this



...but if that's the case, I can see where they were going with it. It gets better, but early season 2 is crazy looking

ItHurtsWhenIP

Myrddin wrote: »

The fab four isn't what I first think of when I see this

...but if that's the case, I can see where they were going with it. It gets better, but early season 2 is crazy looking

I stand corrected ... Memory Alpha to the rescue ... it was the Monkees:

According to Koenig, the character was added to add Davy Jones-like appeal to the show and that the Russian heritage was added by Roddenberry because he wanted to honor the fact that the Russians were the first people in space. In his first couple of episodes, Koenig indeed wore a Monkees-style wig to look more like Davy Jones. ("To Boldly Go...": Season 2, TOS Season 2 DVD special features)

But there is something rather ironic about that:

Ironically, during the time of TOS in the late 1960s, Soviet teens sporting this look, derisively called "haries" and viewed as dangerously rebellious by their elders, were often arrested and had their hair cut off by the police.

Myrddin

Coming near the end of season 2 now, the second half of which has been a slight slog.

MarkAnthony

Unfortunately season 3 was the worst of the three seasons.

Myrddin

I'm about a third of the way through the final season. Season 2 in the latter half was very flawed, far too many 'cultural contamination repair missions', and the season finale just happened to see the Enterprise travel back to 20th century Earth for 'study' reasons...a little silly, but it was early days so forgiveable. By far, the stand-out element of The Original Series is without doubt Leonard Nimoy as Spock...he essentially owns the screen every time he's on it, though not in a dominating fashion...it's just how subtly commanding he is. Spock as we know hides his emotions like all Vulcans, but Nimoy is able, very very subtly, to allow communication of emotion through facial expression, tone of voice & demeanour...he's excellent. Shatner is very good, as is Kelley as Bones. It's a really strong starring line up, & without a doubt, saved the show from the writers on many occasions

Myrddin

The 'hippy' episode was awful, among the top five worst of the series I'd say..if not the worst. Nearly done now, four to go

Myrddin

Finito

It's probably the third time overall I've watched TOS in its entirety. This is the first time however, that it struck me just how masterful Nimoy was in creating the character of Spok. I found myself utterly enthralled in every Spok-heavy scene, he was brilliant. The displays of repressed emotion were so powerful, and so profound in the show. The low tone of his voice, the facial expressions, the command of logic...in conjunction with Nimoy's great screen presence...serve to make Spock by far the star of the show for me.

Shatner & Kelley were brilliant too, & as a trio, they're actually pretty special and iconic. Some great stories, some not so great ones...but on the whole I think the show spent more time being good/great than bad/boring.

I shall press on with the available Star Trek Continues episodes, & then something I've not done in well over 15 years...I'm going to watch the two seasons of the animated show

MarkAnthony

TAS is excellent IMHO

Myrddin

MarkAnthony wrote: »

TAS is excellent IMHO

Yeah I've fond memories of it, & not having watched it in ages will make it like I'm watching it for the first time again. I'll be starting tonight actually, having finished Continues - Lolani & Fairest of Them All were truly great Trek stories, and hugely impressive.