It's 49 years ago today...
- Thread starter Mudd
- Start date
I think I'll bust out the Blu-ray's and watch "The Man Trap" with the original effects.
I've done that for several years, but will admit that I'm kinda tired of that episode. haha
Me, too. IIRC it was on a 25" Zenith console TV.
I remember my parents 25" console TV. I can't imagine having a TV on the floor now.
Why do you guys actually remember the exact size of those old TVs? I struggle to remember the size of my current TV...
My dad was scared, so I was scared by proxy! 
I had to wait till syndication....
I had to wait till syndication....
DECADES is showing "The Menagerie," FWIW.
Same here. I wasn't quite 3 years old and watching "Star Trek"!
The thread inspired me to watch The Man Trap and I realized it's one of the few episodes I actually remember from watching as a kid with my parents (reruns, mind you. I'm not as ancient as some of you. 
).
That monster scared the crap out of me at the time. It's a solid episode I guess but the monster just looks really dated.
I think I'll mix some TOS into my TNG watch-through and see how I like it. TOS is the one Trek show that I probably haven't even seen all episodes of. I wonder if I'll enjoy "The Conscience of the King" as much as I used to.
).That monster scared the crap out of me at the time. It's a solid episode I guess but the monster just looks really dated.
I think I'll mix some TOS into my TNG watch-through and see how I like it. TOS is the one Trek show that I probably haven't even seen all episodes of. I wonder if I'll enjoy "The Conscience of the King" as much as I used to.
TV was a big deal in the 50s and 60s and diagonally-measured screen size was the major selling/bragging point of sets. It's like remembering whether a car you owned in high school was a V8.
OTOH, no one can tell you anything about the sound systems in those things.
Let's see...first watched Star Trek on a 19-inch "portable" Silvertone B&W that coincidentally weighed about as much as a small car.
OTOH, no one can tell you anything about the sound systems in those things.
Let's see...first watched Star Trek on a 19-inch "portable" Silvertone B&W that coincidentally weighed about as much as a small car.
I watched my Laserdisc of The Man Trap last night, for a zillionth time. Great episode, one of my favorites. Not what most fans consider an ideal premiere episode, but honestly, I always dug it. The creature still looks amazing, both terrifying and pathetic, as it was meant to. Funny observations from two friends of mine who have young kids:
Steve: "I watched this will Alex a while ago (7 years old), That damned monster totally freaked him out. He still talks about it."
Rebecca: "Renita (3) loved the salt creature and felt so bad for it because it was lonely. She wanted to give it a hug!"
Both kids got it. The Man Trap, even 49 years later with a "dated" monster costume still scares kids and still engenders sympathy. There's always been more to this episode than a monster story and it's a great early episode. It gives Bones the spotlight right off the bat, shows off the ship and crew (sans Scotty) and demonstrates Kirk's protective attitude toward his ship. The only thing it doesn't do is make Kirk overly likable. Mostly because his crew is threatened and he's tense throughout, but he does come off as hard edged. Whether that's good or bad is up to the viewer, but it doesn't paint a clear picture of his personality and his overall good nature. That would come across shortly, though.
Solid direction, really great creepy Alexander Courage score (even though Roddenberry hated it - as do a few fans), but sloppy editing, no doubt do to the rush to get this done in time for Sneak-a-Peek at NBC Week. I've seen this one too many times, so the clips and reaction shots taken from later episodes stand out now. But nobody would have noticed it then.
Steve: "I watched this will Alex a while ago (7 years old), That damned monster totally freaked him out. He still talks about it."
Rebecca: "Renita (3) loved the salt creature and felt so bad for it because it was lonely. She wanted to give it a hug!"
Both kids got it. The Man Trap, even 49 years later with a "dated" monster costume still scares kids and still engenders sympathy. There's always been more to this episode than a monster story and it's a great early episode. It gives Bones the spotlight right off the bat, shows off the ship and crew (sans Scotty) and demonstrates Kirk's protective attitude toward his ship. The only thing it doesn't do is make Kirk overly likable. Mostly because his crew is threatened and he's tense throughout, but he does come off as hard edged. Whether that's good or bad is up to the viewer, but it doesn't paint a clear picture of his personality and his overall good nature. That would come across shortly, though.
Solid direction, really great creepy Alexander Courage score (even though Roddenberry hated it - as do a few fans), but sloppy editing, no doubt do to the rush to get this done in time for Sneak-a-Peek at NBC Week. I've seen this one too many times, so the clips and reaction shots taken from later episodes stand out now. But nobody would have noticed it then.
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