Is the first season *really* the best? If so, I'm disappointed...

[Lapis Exilis]

I'm not so sure season one is the "best", but it does have probably the best episodes in all of TOS, if not the whole Star Trek oeuvre. As with all of Star Trek, when season one is bad, it's really, really bad, but there's a certain brilliance to numerous episodes that really lays the foundation for all that was to come after.

 

[Saxman1]

There is a certain amount of character development present in the first season that the rest of the Star Trek series never approached, save for TOS films. I say this as a fan of all things ST.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

The early first season was the most naturalistic in style in all of Trek; there was a sincere attempt at versimiliutude. The lighting was much more dynamic and the attention to details unmatched in the seasons that followed. The first season had a "lived-in" look and not this overly pristine, far too clean look of ModTrek. For example, coffee cups and microtapes littered tables; the Turbo Lift had double-doors (this vanished mid-first season); workstations had tapes and data slates; and paper was still used.

The acting was also very naturalistic and not over-the-top, as pointed out upthread.

 

[Noname Given]

I'm a Niner to the core

Season 1 bored me for a long time. The Naked Time and The Alternative Factor both caused me to fall asleep half way through. The first episode that really made me sit up and take notice was The Conscience of the King.

I will never watch Deep Space Nine now...

Ow, my nose skin is falling off!

I'm not a fan of science fiction, it is true. Anomalies of the week bore me, I like character pieces. As far as I'm concerned the exploration of space is not as interesting as the exploration of the human condition. I liked the Conscience of the King because it explored Kirk in a way we hadn't before. He is obsessed and he is willing to seduce this woman and break her heart in order to get what he wants. I was also interested in Kodos; what caused him to take his barbaric actions as governor. It wasn't a perfect episode, but it asked interesting questions about who we are and what we are capable of.

If that's not your cup of tea then DS9 isn't for you. It is all about people and how they grow and the decisions they make. To me, that is what makes it a cut above the rest, and it is why Voyager is so poor in comparison.

Given what you've said, I'd say the second season TOS episode Obsession is another one you'd enjoy.

 

[TheGodBen]

I will never watch Deep Space Nine now...

Ow, my nose skin is falling off!

I'm not a fan of science fiction, it is true. Anomalies of the week bore me, I like character pieces. As far as I'm concerned the exploration of space is not as interesting as the exploration of the human condition. I liked the Conscience of the King because it explored Kirk in a way we hadn't before. He is obsessed and he is willing to seduce this woman and break her heart in order to get what he wants. I was also interested in Kodos; what caused him to take his barbaric actions as governor. It wasn't a perfect episode, but it asked interesting questions about who we are and what we are capable of.

If that's not your cup of tea then DS9 isn't for you. It is all about people and how they grow and the decisions they make. To me, that is what makes it a cut above the rest, and it is why Voyager is so poor in comparison.

Given what you've said, I'd say the second season TOS episode Obsession is another one you'd enjoy.

I did enjoy that episode, I liked how Spock and McCoy were struggling to understand what was going on in Kirk's head. Like I said, the characters are what makes TOS a winner for me.

 

[KirksFlyingFist]

I don't really think you can call any season the "best" to be honest.. TOS is a great show in that way, at least in my opinion - it has its good episodes in each and every season, and its not so good ones, though I found most of the episodes to be quite enjoyable. Instead of trying to think about which season is the 'best' why not just watch each episode individually and decide for yourself which you like?

 

[gomtuu20]

I grew up on classic Trek. My second TV memory was a shot from the back of the nacelles when I was four or five years old. (The first one was an astronaught wiping the cameral lens, on the moon!) When Next Gen came out I could barely contain my excitement. I was kind of disappointed after the 2 hour Farpoint premier, but I stuck with the show and it just kept getting better and better. All of the Trek series have started out less than great, and then developed into someting better. TOS is the exception. It started out great, and then deteriorated by the end of the third season. The first season is the best of TOS and any of the other series. The second season was a great season, and well worth the watching. It has always been my opinion that NG, Enterprise were all descendents of the original, though not quite as impressive. Next Generation did surpass the original in some ways, but the character dynamic was never as good as in TOS. DS9 seemed to be a space version of Gunsmoke to me. While I did enjoy the last two seasons, I never really could get into the show that much. Garak was a priceless character though. Voyager had more in common with Gilligan's Island and Lost in Space than with Star Trek, except that instead of being stranded on an island waiting to be rescued, they were lost in space trying to get rescued. But I digress.
Granted, The Alternative Factor was an episode that is actually painful to watch. The Naked Time has one of the most crucial character scenes in all of the series. A scene which was done in one take and one shot, by the way.
Anyway, I applaud those who are fans of the later shows when they go back to see the original. It always irritates me when I hear fans of the new Treks trashing the original. Maybe I'm just old and cranky, but when I hear people talk about how crude the old show was, or how it makes them laugh because it is so bad, it makes me wonder if they even understand what Trek is about. As far as the fx, they were cutting edge at the time, and extremely unusual for a weekly TV series. Of course you should watch the second season! And the third for that matter.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

S1 and S2 of TOS have a mix of horrible, good and great episodes. In S3, the mix heavily tilts towards the horrible.

TOS is still great overall, but more for its ability to create a great milieu in which stories can be told, great characters, and some great episodes. Apparently nobody warned you that TOS is a very mixed bag, quality-wise. I'd thought that was pretty well known.

The very mixed nature of TOS's quality is the reason why I think it's just the second-best Trek series, after DS9. Which also had its horrible episodes, no doubt about that, but proportionately fewer.

I'm a Niner to the core

Season 1 bored me for a long time. The Naked Time and The Alternative Factor both caused me to fall asleep half way through. The first episode that really made me sit up and take notice was The Conscience of the King.

I will never watch Deep Space Nine now...

HEY! I'm a Niner, too, and I love The Naked Time! Other great pre-Conscience of the King episodes: Charlie X, The Enemy Within, The Dagger of the Mind, The Corbomite Maneuver, The Menagerie.

So don't blame DS9.

 

[MoonlightSinatra]

The thing that stands out most for me in S1 is Shatner's portrayal of Kirk. In S1, Kirk is a military man, through and through. He is a "creature of duty", he is more reserved in his demeanor. He looks the role of a leader, and you can understand why others look up to him, despite his relative youth. As far as I'm concerned, S1 defines Kirk the hero and leader better than any subsequent season, or the movies.

After S1, Shatner becomes more emotional, more over the top, in his performance, and by S3, the reserved demeanor of Kirk has been hindered by seeing him behave hysterically. (yes I know S1 had The Enemy Within, but that was exceptionary circumstances).

Shatner gets less, well Shatneresque for the first few films, but by GEN he's essentially playing himself, not Kirk. Season One is the definitive Kirk, in my view, and that chiefly is what makes S1 work better than the others IMO. Though other reasons as stated, such as the cinematography, and of course superior stories, also are an important factor.

 

[Neopeius]

HEY! I'm a Niner, too, and I love The Naked Time! Other great pre-Conscience of the King episodes: Charlie X, The Enemy Within, The Dagger of the Mind, The Corbomite Maneuver, The Menagerie.

So don't blame DS9.

Yeah, but if you love Conscience of the King, my assertion stands.

 

[QuasarVM]

I prefer the second season.

 

[Captain Zog]

The oft-held view - propagated on these boards - that Season One is the best season of TOS is, in my view, disingenuous to the high calibre of storytelling in Season Two. For sure, Season One has some classic eps, but Season Two is in every conceivable way it's equal, containing some of the series' best eps. Two that spring immediately to mind are "The Doomsday Machine" and "Mirror, Mirror". Also, whereas Season One frequently has the crew come up against some supreme, omnipotent being, Season Two sees greater focus on more primitive worlds and societies - which I personally prefer. So don't be dissuaged from purchasing Season Two by those who claim Season One to be far superior. It is a great season but it is not the be-all and end-all of TOS.

 

[Captain Zog]

I don't really think you can call any season the "best" to be honest.. TOS is a great show in that way, at least in my opinion - it has its good episodes in each and every season, and its not so good ones, though I found most of the episodes to be quite enjoyable. Instead of trying to think about which season is the 'best' why not just watch each episode individually and decide for yourself which you like?

Well said. Even the much maligned Season Three has some gems, i.e. "The Enterprise Incident" and "All Our Yesterdays". I'm also one of the few fans who enjoyed "Spock's Brain" (camp but fun) and "Plato's Stepchildren" (strikingly daring in its depiction of tyranny and totally misunderstood).

 

[cabby]

I have a hard time distinguishing and rating TOS by seasons. There's no continuity between episodes. TOS really only has two levels of episodes, excellent and crap. There are very few in the middle.

 

[Noname Given]

I have a hard time distinguishing and rating TOS by seasons. There's no continuity between episodes. TOS really only has two levels of episodes, excellent and crap. There are very few in the middle.

That's not entirely true. If you watch the first 12 or so episodes of season 1 uncut; and in production order (not airdate order) they do have an underlying continuity evidenced by the interations of Sulu and other secondary characters like Rand, and O'Rielly.

 

[Ward Fowler]

There's something very special about the first half of Season 1. It has a look and feel different from the rest of the series. Not only that, but most of the writing was fantastic. For me, Star Trek didn't get any better than that.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

There's something very special about the first half of Season 1. It has a look and feel different from the rest of the series. Not only that, but most of the writing was fantastic. For me, Star Trek didn't get any better than that.

I agree. When I was a kid watching TOS for the first time in reruns, I didn't really care much for those early first-season episodes and much preferred the more colorful second season. Although, as a child, I didn't know about what seasons the episodes came from nor did I really care at the time.

As I grew older and entered my teen years, learned the order of the episodes, I came to appreciate, as I said upthread, the more naturalistic approach of those early episodes. There is an energy in the first half of the season that isn't anywhere else in the series.

 

[Korusan]

To be honest, I always liked Season 3 alot. It had the funnest episodes I found, with Season 2 coming in close. Season one had some good ones, but I never found it to be to the calibur of the latter two.

 

[trekkerguy]

It's all a matter of opinion. Watch all three and make your own judgement.

I found season 2 to be the best of the series, alot like 1, some 3.
But it's all up to your own personal taste.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The first half of Season One is interesting because the producers, writers and actors are still finding their way. Kirk is still the Pike like character and Shatner has yet to put his stamp on him. Even Spock isn't quite there yet. Then there is the constant shift in nomenclature. Though even with all that, the stories are top notch.