Worst Season 3 Episode....

[UnknownSample]

You know that person-shaped stuff that came out of Kirk and Janice Lester when the Camus II machine was activated? It's along those lines. The Zetarans had a machine that took their consciousness and gave it a free-standing, energy-like form that could bunch up into a "community" and fly through space.

Well thanks Zap, I guess.... In season 3, Trek ran out of credit with me. Too many red-sky boulder planets, too many generic totally-human aliens in simple, random costumes... and too many beings that can do anything and everything with a wave of their hand, or something, with the need for a token gesture of a beginning of an explanation long forgotten.

 

[Warped9]

Part of the challenge for TOS is it's been around for so long, we've seen lots of sci-fi over these decades and we've become jaded and so familiar with the subject matter such that so little feels fresh anymore.

Someone watching TOS for the first time now is not like it was for many of us back in the day. The perspectives are distinctly different and the general calibre of sci-fi has changed over 40-50 years.

The freshness and sense of wonder isn't the same between then and now.

 

[Indysolo]

You honestly find more to enjoy in "And the Children..." than "The Lights of Zetar"? You can't be serious.

"Zetar" has a beautiful, grown-up guest star with poise and stage presence and smokin' hot stems. It has a decent role for Scotty. It has vastly better music, even given that it's a re-use of WNM. It has richer, more vibrant cinematography, better depth, better lighting; I think it's the best of the Al Francis shoots.

"Zetar" has some fighting action for the Enterprise and some exciting interior scenes that are almost like "Battle in the Mutara Nebula", with the crew rushing to meet the challenge being posed by an enemy.

"Children" has annoying, non-presence guests, young and old, who don't belong on the same stage with Shatner and Nimoy. Belli in particular was not even learning to be an actor, he was just a rich lawyer appearing for the fun of it.

"Children" relies on an artificial situation in which an alien alters the minds of our heroes, so they lose both their intelligence and their courage. They conveniently have do anything the plot wants, with no motivation beyond "a wizard made them do it." Unmotivated action is a hallmark of really bad writing.

I can almost understand most of the other votes that I disagree with. But I'm aghast that anybody is voting for "Zetar" as worst of S3, when the "Children" is standing right there in all its wretchedness.

I still voted for The Lights of Zetar.

Neil

 

[Capn Nick]

Part of the challenge for TOS is it's been around for so long, we've seen lots of sci-fi over these decades and we've become jaded and so familiar with the subject matter such that so little feels fresh anymore.

Someone watching TOS for the first time now is not like it was for many of us back in the day. The perspectives are distinctly different and the general calibre of sci-fi has changed over 40-50 years.

The freshness and sense of wonder isn't the same between then and now.

I think that's a very good point, but I also think that science fiction in general has shifted more into two camps: hard science (a reflection of what we believe is accurate futurism) and allegorical/spiratual stories. While Star Trek does both, it also has a lot of sociological/psychological stories. I think those sciences are a lot more accessible in modern times, which makes them seem less impactful.

I mean, part of And the children shall lead is surely about repression and sublimation of anger. But was before things like Primal Scream and psychotherapy made these commonly accepted concepts.

I think, though, that is why I enjoy so much of the original Star Trek still. It challenges the current moods in a lot of episodes because our culture has changed. So even less developed episodes force me to think :-)

 

[Warped9]

ATCSL could be relative today.

Gorgon is Trump.

 

[Vandervecken]

Such an abundance of riches this season...

I wanted to vote for And the Children Shall Lead, but honestly for sheer, awful unwatchability I can't put anything above Turnabout Intruder. I would actuallly watch ATCSL before TI.

Life existing as pure thought or energy is an old sci-fi idea that is really nothing more than sci-fi's take on ghosts and spirits.

But can thought and/or some kind of life even exist without some form of physical manifestation? I'm no expert, but I doubt it.[/QUOTE

I agree; energy processing is needed or there's no resaon any "spirit" should continue. Maybe 1) the Zetarians were high in esper ability, like a race of pre-barrier Gary Mitchells, and this gave them the initial boost they needed to continue for a while, and 2) they managed to keep going by soaking up interstellar particles. Yeah, that's the ticket.

You know that person-shaped stuff that came out of Kirk and Janice Lester when the Camus II machine was activated? It's along those lines. The Zetarans had a machine that took their consciousness and gave it a free-standing, energy-like form that could bunch up into a "community" and fly through space.

That works for me too. Basically what the Rakshasha did in Zelazny's Lord of Light. Although the ep predates the book by a year, so mayble the great Zelazny stole the idea?




Nah. Great minds and all

 

[UnknownSample]

That works for me too. Basically what the Rakshasha did in Zelazny's Lord of Light. Although the ep predates the book by a year, so mayble the great Zelazny stole the idea?




Nah. Great minds and all

I've been meaning to get to the Zelazny book for about 30 years....

Thanks for everyone's Zetar explanations... but I wanted them to say it!!

 

[Drusilla's valet]

Plato's Stepchildren

 

[The Old Mixer]

"Zetar" is boring. "Children," for all its flaws, isn't.

 

[Push The Button]

Children had that awesome ice-cream food processor scene in the new recreation lounge set. I wish I had one of those in my house.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I still voted for The Lights of Zetar.

Neil

Are you a personal friend of Craig Huxley? Nobody blames him for ATCSL, if that's what influenced your vote.

 

[Indysolo]

Are you a personal friend of Craig Huxley? Nobody blames him for ATCSL, if that's what influenced your vote.

Well I did have a meal with him once but that has no bearing on my dislike of Lights of Zetar.

Neil

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Well I did have a meal with him once but that has no bearing on my dislike of Lights of Zetar.

Neil

I guess I'll just have to accept that you give rock-bottom marks to an outing I like a lot.

 

[Marsden]

Well, I didn't put Zetar in my bottom 4 for S3 or bottom 7 for the series whole, but I certainly see it being in the lower half of the good episodes.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I guess I'll just have to accept that you give rock-bottom marks to an outing I like a lot.

To play Devil's Advocate, Scotty is WAY annoying in this one. He is head over heels in fricking puppy love with this chick, totally syrupy and really just out of character. Yeah, he's kinda like that when he's jonesing for a woman (Carolyn Palamas didn't do his judgement any good either), but that's more an example of poor writing than a character trait. There's no reason why Scotty couldn't act his damned age in either instance and still provide the requisite conflict.

Having said that, Lights of Zetar is wonderfully creepy, especially at 2 am. Actually, ATCSL also can be pretty spooky in spots. The way the music is written, and the toning down of humor across the season, makes the entire year colder and more creepy. That's one reason I generally like it. Every episode, really.

 

[Indysolo]

I guess I'll just have to accept that you give rock-bottom marks to an outing I like a lot.

It happens.

Neil

 

[suarezguy]

I thought a lot of "And the Children Shall Lead" was intriguing and some even fun although a lot was also terrible-and Shatner was probably the worst part.

Worst was indeed "Spock's Brain," terribly dumb, followed by "That Which Survives" (very badly stretched-out and with Spock at his worst).

 

[Kor]

Some of the third season episodes seem like they should have been produced for "Lost in Space" instead.

Kor

 

[Warped9]

Some of the third season episodes seem like they should have been produced for "Lost in Space" instead.

Kor

I don't know if I would go quite that far.

 

[johnnybear]

The only thing about Zetar was the line about the planet being destroyed and the mention of it supposedly meaning something to us like we'd heard about it before! But we hadn't!
JB