The SINGLE GREATEST MOMENT in TOS !!!

[Konservative]

I think it was probably when Spock helped Kirk forget the droid girl in RFM. Touching. By the way, she was pretty sweet!

[Warped9]

If nothing else this thread illustrates how many fantastic moments there are in TOS, and of such great variety.

[King Daniel Into Darkness]

HGN2001 wrote:

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I like all of the above suggestions and find them of merit. I'll add one that most will probably not mention from an episode that's not well-loved, the final moment of "Requiem For Methuselah."



After Kirk's wish to "forget" his recent ordeal, and McCoy's echoing of that sentiment, Spock takes it upon himself to grant his friend's request. It was a moving moment in the series, and one that I will never "forget."

Harry

Seriously? I thought that scene was pathetic, and best forgotten (no pun intended). The Kirk I remember isn't the wimp who wants difficult memories erased so he doesn't have to face them - he's the man who told Sybok where to shove his mind tricks, and that he defines himself by the right and wrong choices he's made in life. By the good and painful memories. "If we lose them, we lose ourselves"

[UnknownSample]

Oh come on, let Kirk have his weak moments. Forget the hero worship. Kirk didn't ask Spock to do it, Spock knew he never would have, so he did it on his own, after Kirk was asleep. It's been a long time since I've seen this scene, but I think Kirk does say he wishes he could forget, but any of us would. It was the kind of thought anyone in that position would have had. He didn't imagine that someone would actually erase his memories a minute later!

As for holding up RFM to the very high standards of the fifth ST movie... well, never mind.

My favorite ST moment is in City On the Edge of Forever, in the scene where McCoy arrives in the past. The whole scene's my favorite, but then there's the moment at the end where the (apparently) homeless man fools with McCoy's phaser, silently destroying himself with no witnesses. There are actually more conflicting emotions in that moment and scene than I can think of and talk about, right now.

[foxhot]

Even though Kirk's memory is erased, one would think any future re-reading of his recent logs should trigger a ''butterfly'' effect in his brain. I'd call it the theory of related memory, in the sense of remembering interconnected elements of a place or day. Of course, we don't know what else Spock may have enticed Kirk to forget. And I still feel the episode is one of the three most forgettable.

[Sky]

I find it kind of creepy and unethical that Spock would ever do that, to be honest. To reach out and erase someone's memories.

I can't say what my favorite moment is, since there are so many. But one I really like is the scene in Bread and Circuses where McCoy and Spock are incarcerated. That dialogue is excellent - it tells us so much about the characters and their dynamic.

[Captain Tracy]

SKY - These are two excellent points you bring up.

It is true that the 'Forget' scene, does have a bit of an uncomfortable invasiveness about it; not the type of violation that goes on with Catholic Priests, mind you, but it most certainly smacks of something along the lines of a 23rd century GHB (date rape drug) element about it.

Also, good cite regarding the B&C scene with SPOCK & McCOY, an outstanding moment of character exploration through dialog to be sure.

First rate observations!

[CaptainMatt]

Konservative wrote:

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I think it was probably when Spock helped Kirk forget the droid girl in RFM. Touching. By the way, she was pretty sweet!

The actress in the episode went on to appear in the american CBS-owned "The Young and the Restless" soap opera series. She was and remains quite talented to this day although I am unsure when she last did a series or film. She might be retired by now.

[gottacook]

Many of the moments mentioned upthread seem to be the final lines of episodes: "...Forget," "...a few laurel leaves," "...bringing a visitor aboard," "Let's get the hell out of here," etc.

This is as it should be. All's well that ends well, or, in modern parlance: Satisfying Ending Is Satisfying.

I understand all the arguments against the "...Forget" moment, but it works for me every time, because of how it's handled: with the phrase from George Duning's "Empath" music hovering in the background, the soft gong as the strings pause briefly and then return with the volume slowly reduced so as to emphasize Spock's voice when it comes in - "...Forget" - and then a quick cut to the ship exiting, credits, etc. One of the very best pieces of work by the film editor and the music editor in the whole third season, to be sure.

My choice for an off-the-beaten-track great moment is Miranda Jones' line in the ship's arboretum, in another Duning-scored episode, "Is There in Truth No Beauty?":

"I've never been to Earth."

To me that has always conveyed a lot: Meeting a human who we know isn't originally from Earth conveys something about the Trek universe that hasn't been conveyed by all the various alien species we've met, nor by humans we know to be Earth colonists. Humanity has spread out so much that someone like Miranda can be a second- (or third-)generation resident of some other planet.

(Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any other human in the original series was known not to have been from Earth.)

[Terran_Empire]

The episode that was based off of the film "The Enemy Below", season 1's "Balance of Terror" was pretty epic.

[Wingsley]

Two moments of self-sacrifice in the second year of TOS really stand out for me...

1: my all time favorite ep is "Bread and Circuses". Even though we all want to see Kirk take a shot at Proconsul Claudius Markus during the blackout in the arena, or at least slug First Citizen Merrickus, the shocking ending occurs when Captain Merrick lays down his own life to signal the Enterprise to beam up Kirk. "Starship? Lock in on this... Three to beam u--...!" followed of course by the jaw-dropping sound of Scott's all-business reply: "Enterprise to Captain Kirk. Ready to beam up three."

2: And another scene of daring, played to virtually identical music, was in the final act of "Friday's Child", when newly crowned High Te'er Ma'ab confers with Ele'an and K'eel, then goes out and offers himself for Klingon target practice so Ke'el can get a clean shot on the Kraas. Talk about going out on a blaze of glory... "KLING-ONNNNNN!"


BTW: I also love the scene where Kirk gives the word and Spock finally relives Decker. Great lines there! "Blast regulations! ...I order to to assume command on my personal authority as captain of the Enterprise!" "I don't recognize your authority to relieve me." Followed by the only-on-TOS line "You may file a formal protest with Starfleet Command, assuming we survive to reach a starbase."

[Warped9]

TOS is brimming with great lines and moments that still resonate. Just one of its reasons for longevity.

[gomtuu20]

Pound for pound, Doomsday Machine has the most great moments of any TOS episode. Several have already been mentioned. Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard. The music in the episode is outstanding throughout the entire episode. Spock consoling Kirk on the death of his friend. Decker coming out of shock. I think it's great, Scotty get us out of here! I could continue, but you get the idea.
I also like the "forget" moment in Methuselah, but why didn't Spock make Kirk forget Edith Keeler?

[foxhot]

Because if Edith had been forgotten, Alexis Carrington on DYNASTY would seem better-acted than it wasn't?

Wingsley is right about Maab. He may be a funnel-head, but he had guts before they were vaporized.

MERIK: ''Starship, lock on this-----three to beam u--''
SCOTT: ''Yes, sir. Queen to queen's level three.''
KIRK: ''D'OH!!!'' (massive gunfire)

[gomtuu20]

Wasn't that moment between McCoy and Spock edited out to make more room for commercials in the 90's? I think that was one of the better moments in TOS. I wish the Sci-Fi channel would have had more success with their "special edition" 90 minutes experiment that didn't require "editing" the episodes down.