I'm doing my first ever watch through of TOS

[Agony_Boothb]

So, I've always found TOS to be a bit inaccessible. I put this down to being born in the 80's and growing up with TNG and being a bit superficial regarding TOS's visuals. I'd seen an episode here and there but nothing that engaged me to watch more. With Discovery airing I thought I'd give TOS another shot as the remastered episodes are all on Netflix.

I started yesterday and I'm really into it. I struggled with 'The Cage' and stopped watching. However I loved 'The Man Trap' and I'm currently watching 'Charlie X' which I'm also enjoying. Charlie's facial expressions when using his powers are hilarious and seeing Kirk in a leotard made me snort my coffee.

Can't wait to watch more!

 

[Tosk]

There are definitely some eps that you may struggle to finish, but on the whole I think you'll enjoy it.

It's amazing how episode quality affects your perception of time. Some will feel quick and breezy, some you'll feel like you've been watching for an eternity.

 

[Samuel]

Robert Walker Jr. (Charlie) was a vastly underrated actor. His father was also an actor.

 

[Spock's Barber]

I started yesterday and I'm really into it. I struggled with 'The Cage' and stopped watching. However I loved 'The Man Trap' and I'm currently watching 'Charlie X' which I'm also enjoying.

Harve Bennett prepared for filming The Wrath of Khan by watching all 79 TOS episodes. He thought some episodes were good, some were okay and some were mediocre. You'll probably have the same experience as you binge watch TOS. Enjoy!

 

[Trekfan12]

I am a TOS fan, I got into it when my brother had it on. I was too young to appreciate it when it first aired and really got into it when it came back in syndication during the 70s (also got into the animated series, you should give those a try too) Some eps are better than others. But considering with they special effects and budget they had to work with, I think it's great.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Robert Walker Jr. (Charlie) was a vastly underrated actor. His father was also an actor.

Indeed, i thought he was very good as Charlie

I am a TOS fan, I got into it when my brother had it on. I was too young to appreciate it when it first aired and really got into it when it came back in syndication during the 70s (also got into the animated series, you should give those a try too) Some eps are better than others. But considering with they special effects and budget they had to work with, I think it's great.

I've actually seen some of the animated series. One of the tv station here in Australia was airing them on Saturday mornings for a while when I was about 12 or 13. I loved it. It's a shame that Lieutenant Arex never made it to the big screen. I think it's on netflix as well so I might give it another go after I'm done with TOS.

 

[Commishsleer]

Harve Bennett prepared for filming The Wrath of Khan by watching all 79 TOS episodes. He thought some episodes were good, some were okay and some were mediocre. You'll probably have the same experience as you binge watch TOS. Enjoy!

Good was the best he could manage?
I would say superb, magnificent, fantastic, wonderful...

 

[Spock's Barber]

Good was the best he could manage?
I would say superb, magnificent, fantastic, wonderful...

He might have used different tags, but I think his general impression was that the quality of episodes had 3 different levels, just like any other television series. I watch the old Twilight Zone series a lot and I just realized that there are a few episodes that I think are great, another portion that are moderately interesting, and a large amount that are real stinkers.

 

[Kor]

So, I've always found TOS to be a bit inaccessible. I put this down to being born in the 80's and growing up with TNG and being a bit superficial regarding TOS's visuals. I'd seen an episode here and there but nothing that engaged me to watch more. With Discovery airing I thought I'd give TOS another shot as the remastered episodes are all on Netflix.

I started yesterday and I'm really into it. I struggled with 'The Cage' and stopped watching. However I loved 'The Man Trap' and I'm currently watching 'Charlie X' which I'm also enjoying. Charlie's facial expressions when using his powers are hilarious and seeing Kirk in a leotard made me snort my coffee.

Can't wait to watch more!

I'm of the same generation, and TOS is generally the only Trek that I revisit on a regular basis. "The Cage" in particular is one of my favorite episodes of all time.

I consider the visuals to be a somewhat abstract stylization, like in a stage play. They stimulate the imagination instead of giving you every little detail.

Kor

 

[johnnybear]

You have to remember that TOS was the first Star Trek and to some of us the best and even the only one!
JB

 

[Commishsleer]

Its funny that I can find so many faults in TOS yet I watch something like Blakes 7 or Firefly and can't find an episode I don't like. Yet TOS is my favourite by far.

 

[Midquest]

I'll be interested to see what your journey is like. Frustratingly, TOS is the only Trek series that (at least as far as I've watched it, which isn't every episode), I've yet to find an episode I'd rate above "pretty good." I don't know why. It's not that it's an old show, and I love the clunky, bright look of the production. There's something in it's DNA that historically hasn't worked for me, and that's a bit of a conundrum as a fan of TNG, DS9, DSC, and select episodes of ENT and VOY.

Maybe one day I'll figure it out. I look forward to hearing further thoughts on your watch.

 

[UnknownSample]

I'll be interested to see what your journey is like. Frustratingly, TOS is the only Trek series that (at least as far as I've watched it, which isn't every episode), I've yet to find an episode I'd rate above "pretty good." I don't know why. It's not that it's an old show, and I love the clunky, bright look of the production. There's something in it's DNA that historically hasn't worked for me, and that's a bit of a conundrum as a fan of TNG, DS9, DSC, and select episodes of ENT and VOY.

Maybe one day I'll figure it out. I look forward to hearing further thoughts on your watch.

Sometimes shows or songs speak to parts of us we don't know we have, which have therefore not been switched on yet. Example-- REM was just noise to me until a later song of theirs drew me in bit by bit, and once I acclimated to that, all the previous albums clicked for me.

 

[johnnybear]

Its funny that I can find so many faults in TOS yet I watch something like Blakes 7 or Firefly and can't find an episode I don't like. Yet TOS is my favourite by far.

Blakes 7 has many bad episodes, Commish! The first series is almost fault free but series 2 had Gambit and Keeper which were bad while series 4 had Assassin, Stardrive, Animals and especially Orbit! As for Firefly I've only ever seen it the once so can't really comment!
JB

 

[The Mighty Monkey of Mim]

@mickmike, your OP suggests you are watching in original airdate order. It may be a bit late now, but I would highly, HIGHLY recommend watching in production order. There are a lot of subtle (and a few not-so-subtle) developments in the actors' performances, characterizations, costumes, sets, etc., that get totally lost in the jumbled order these episodes were carelessly shown in originally. There is a real feel of progression if you watch them in the order they were made. Just a suggestion! Hope you enjoy in any case.

-MMoM

 

[Agony_Boothb]

@mickmike, your OP suggests you are watching in original airdate order. It may be a bit late now, but I would highly, HIGHLY recommend watching in production order. There are a lot of subtle (and a few not-so-subtle) developments in the actors' performances, characterizations, costumes, sets, etc., that get totally lost in the jumbled order these episodes were carelessly shown in originally. There is a real feel of progression if you watch them in the order they were made. Just a suggestion! Hope you enjoy in any case.

-MMoM

Ah Thanks @The Mighty Monkey of Mim I thought the order was a bit out of wack. I think i will follow your suggestions for te full viewing experience!

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'm also a proponent of production order, but assumed it was too late.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

I'll be interested to see what your journey is like. Frustratingly, TOS is the only Trek series that (at least as far as I've watched it, which isn't every episode), I've yet to find an episode I'd rate above "pretty good." I don't know why. It's not that it's an old show, and I love the clunky, bright look of the production. There's something in it's DNA that historically hasn't worked for me, and that's a bit of a conundrum as a fan of TNG, DS9, DSC, and select episodes of ENT and VOY.

Maybe one day I'll figure it out. I look forward to hearing further thoughts on your watch.

I can relate to that. When I first tried to watch TOS in my teens/early twenties i just didn't get the appeal. I can't really put my finger on it. However now that I'm in my mid 30's I'm finding it pretty engaging. The last episode I watched was Charlie X so I've been a bit slack with my viewing. But another poster suggested watching the show in production order instead of the air date order so I'm goign to back and start again.

 

[johnnybear]

I've done the production order which is the best way to watch the series. The early uniforms, Spock's look and smiles, Chekov's hair and Scotty's thatch are all more easily acceptable that way! Next time I watch the series might be in star date order or even BBC order! There for you!
JB

 

[Maurice]

It's a mischaracterization to say the airing order was done "carelessly". The Production order is the shooting order but not every episode had the same post production process or duration. For instance, Corbomite was the first production episode, but being effects heavy it wasn't available to be aired as one of the first. The show was so tight in the first season they were constantly at risk of missing airdates, and sometimes NBC aired the episode they did because it was the only one available.