Why the hate for "Too Short A Season"

I know that most S1 episodes are "dodgy" for one reason or another but I'm surprised that this episode winds up on a lot of top worst episodes list of S1. I think that it's a rather interesting, albeit tragic episode, which is usually uncharacteristic of most Star Trek episodes (at least before DS9), plus it has a good look IMHO at choices and consequences, both in terms of Jameson's unsanctioned decision to give weapons to warring factions of an alien planet, as well and Karnas' responsibility in helping perpetuate a four-decade Civil War instead of possibly suing for peace. Also, Jameson's private decision to take the anti-aging medicine without telling his wife or the Enterprise crew, ultimately with fatal consequences. As a Babylon 5 fan, I guess that I appreciated the moral complexity of the episode. So, what did people whom didn't like the episode not like about it?

 

No William Shatner.

Just like cow bell, everything is improved with the addition of William Shatner.

 

There are worse episodes in the series than Too Short A Season. I agree the premise is interesting of the Admiral needing to face consequences for giving weapons to both sides of a war. Just the Admiral's performance was really hammy.

 

That's what kills it for me. It feels like an actor who had never really spent time with elderly people trying to play an old man. The whole mess was more caricature than anything else.

 

The old-age make-up was far worse than anyone's acting. The actor playing Jameson was hit or miss at times but, for me anyway, not a show-killer. The make-up almost did it in, but the actual story is rather good. The only way to make the story better would have it be a direct sequel to "A Private Little War", where a not dissimilar situation happened.

Then again, after "The Naked Now" I can understand why they were trying not to reference TOS apart from TOS-era model ships dotted about various rooms on the Enterprise for no reason. (Even "Where Silence Has Lease" goes out of its way to pretend the black oozy-woozy void thing from "The Immunity Syndrome" was nothing like the one the 1701-D is now sitting in front of... though TOS fans would instantly go "Yeah Data, but the shapeless void thing was in that other story"... almost feels like an attempt to lampshade to get the audience to think of something else. Which is a shame, Nagillum being at the center of the zone of darkness eating energy might have made an interesting tie-in or sequel to one of TOS's more inventive/clever stories to begin with...)

 

Bad makeup, & bad actor, comprising the majority of the episode, killed it. I can think of half a dozen other Trek guest actors who could've made that episode much better

One that comes to mind, (seeing how the guy you'd think it written for was Kirk himself, William Shatner) would be the guy who played kirk's son, Merritt Butrick, who was actually close to Clayton Rohner's age, & ended up appearing in that season anyhow

But if that doesn't suit your fancy, Tony Todd (Kurn) is only about 3 years older than Rohner, & a WAY better actor. I could easily see him playing an admiral in some old age makeup

 

I don't hate this one...it's just very "meh" and doesn't feel like it's driven by the Enterprise crew at all. They just sort of stand around and react to Jamison who, as others have already pointed out, isn't really a well-executed character.

 

Great point, the Enterprise officers are extras on their own show.

If done doing one of the later seasons this likely wouldn't have happened, and the story would have been better with the regulars sharing the story with Jamison.

 

I like the this episode but the make up did leave a lot to be desired.

 

Is there any truth to the rumor that TSAS really was written for Shatner? It would have been so much better with him in it.

Especially since Clayton Rohner's acting ability is such that he could not convey the concept of falling if you pushed him off a cliff.

 

Solid story about an Admiral so desperate to redeem a past mistake that he takes an anti aging drug and kills himself in the process. The performances, music, and Rob Bowman's direction provide a lot of energy. Underrated. This show could only have been produced in the first season as it's an episode entirely centered on the guest star although I think Picard shows strength for confronting Jameson, and compassion for him too.

 

I've only ever heard it as a rumor, & I find it slightly implausible, given that Shat was already 57 by this time. Sure, they could've dressed him up like Bones was in the pilot, but the idea that they could've reverse aged him anywhere near as young as Jameson ended up getting is just impossible, for that time.

The best they could've gotten was maybe 50. The episode could still have worked, age-wise, as by this time, it's been some 80 years (?) since Kirk had been that age, but the difficulty for me is in accepting that Kirk would be so foolish & naïve to get himself into that pickle by the time he was so seasoned. I just don't see the Kirk of ST:UC being that dumb. A Private Little War age Kirk? Sure, but to have it seem like middle-aged Kirk fell into that fix (For lack of a way to de-age him more) would've undermined the character imho

 

^ Thanks for reminding me of A Private Little War, BTW. That, according to the rumor, was supposed to be the background for the Shat version of TSAS - Kirk facing the consequences of his actions on Neural.

 

It was an ok episode by S1 standards, but by the series standards it wasn' that good.

 

Care to elaborate?

 

I really like this episode, but I like a lot more of season one than most. I’d contend season one has more great episodes than season seven.

 

I was always amazed that Rohner's dubious acting as the elderly Jameson seems to stick out even in still pictures. Even after watching the episode, perpetual old man duckface seems to be the everlasting image I have of him.

 

Of course, that's also a plot point of sorts. At eighty-four or so, Jameson was supposed to be in the prime of his life and still commanding starships. Just look at Jean-Luc Picard go when seventy-plus! But Jameson was bitter, and understandably so, that an incurable illness was making him much more infirm than he ought to be at that age. When we meet him, he's uncomfortable in his suddenly and abnormally decrepit body, which for all we know includes his abnormally disfigured face.

It's not the body language that kills the impression for me, or even the makeup job (I already have to accept Worf's silly makeup, after all!). It's the timbre of Rohner's voice. The first two actually match what I have seen on real people, elderly or disabled; the third just plain stands out as unconvincing. Although it does so even when he plays the young-again Jameson...

Timo Saloniemi

 

Well, I don't know about "great" but I'll tell you this, there are far more season one episodes that I like to watch than season seven.

 

Actually, of all the Season 1 episodes, I thought that this episode was not all that bad. I love this series, and it is my favorite of everything to do with the Star Trek franchise, but season 1 is my least favorite of TNG. This episode, however, is one of the better episodes from season 1, in my opinion anyway.