Fans, what don't you like about TOS?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The guest aliens weren't alien enough.

The *Federation* had some good alien types - Andorians, Tellarites, Vulcans. But how many times did they visit a planet whose inhabitants didn't look completely human?

Okay, there's "Let There Be Your Last Battlefield", but it's almost worse that the episode had aliens whose appearance would be totally nonsensical in "real life", than copies of Earth humans.

 

[Praetor]

There weren't enough alien crew members/Starfleet officers.

I know that it was at first an Earth ship and the production wanted the crew to be relatable for the audience and just getting that Satanic fellow on the bridge was hard enough, and the budget was often tight, but a background Andorian or little copper guy now and then might have been nice.

(Funny that in "Mirror, Mirror" Spock had Vulcan henchmen who appeared to be members of the crew... maybe the mirror universe wasn't that evil in all respects?)

 

[number6]

There is very little (if anything) that I didn't like about TOS. I grew up on TOS. It was an integral part of my life. As I found other likeminded people growing up, I discovered other fans who became immediate friends who believed things in life as I did..Embracing diveristy and other cultures, living in a future where people from different backgrounds could always find common cause to get along with each other. Each movie and series that followed, written and produced by similar forward thinking people, also taught the same things this show did. It still remains an integral part of my life.

 

[Sam_I_Am]

The cringe-worthy laughing at the end of some episodes. I just watched the Galileo Seven and the hysteria that ensues from Kirk calling Spock 'stubborn' is utterly ridiculous.

 

[Praetor]

Ugh, yeah. Most of those ending jokes felt very forced and out of character. The only ones that comes to mind right off that did work were from "The Trouble With Tribbles" and "The Apple." I know that TV shows in the 60s usually tried to end on a funny little zinger like that, but on Trek it often made no sense.

 

[seigezunt]

Not so much on TOS, but I always cringe at the joke on (I forget which ep) TAS about Sulu being "scrutable."

 

[Lieut. Arex]

^^^ "The Infinite Vulcan"

 

[Gorn Captain]

The colored plastic cubes that were supposed to be food.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I don't think they were plastic.

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

At a convention once, I asked Richard Arnold what they were and he told me they were actually edible. I can't remember exactly what he said they were though.

 

[flemm]

In high school or thereabouts, when I started watching TOS reruns on occasion, the fact that every other episode seemingly relied on the device whereby some alien chick falls for Kirk really kept me from enjoying a lot of the episodes.

Those scenes have a tendency to be so... long... so... boring... so lame... so unconvincing... so repetitive, and before long I would be doing something else.

It wasn't until after I had become a fan of TNG (which was airing around the same time) that I could go back and appreciate how great TOS really was.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

At a convention once, I asked Richard Arnold what they were and he told me they were actually edible. I can't remember exactly what he said they were though.

Someone posted on this. They were cubes of canteloupe or honeydew that had been colored with food dye. If you watch scenes with them in high-def, it's pretty obvious, really.

I always thought they were pretty neat.

 

[Kagan]

1) Lack of aliens in the crew...other than the half-breed interferer.
2) Portrayal of women...of course this was more NBC's fault.
3) Not enough of strange new worlds.
4) Didn't spread the love...needed more of the other four bridge crew
5) Garish lighting from mid-season 2 onward...too many pinks and purples
6) Too many reused exterior space shots.
7) Disposable security guards rather than just disposable crewmembers.

All in all...I loved the show!

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

2) Portrayal of women...of course this was more NBC's fault.

No, that was more Roddenberry's fault.

From Inside Star Trek: The Real Story:

Excerpt pg. 226

[Note: the following comes after a prolonged discussion on Roddenberry's affairs during the production of Star Trek.]

The discussion of Gene Roddenberry's sexual attitudes and adventures may seem out of place when analyzing the development of Star Trek -- but it's actually a very important component of Roddenberry's vision of the future. If he had not been the one exercising creative authority, the overall face of the show would have been vastly different. Nowhere was this more evident than with his treatment the women of Star Trek.

HERB [Solow]: Gene continually tended to "his" women: regulars, guest stars, and extras. Obsessively involved in their costumes, their hairstyles, their makeup -- even their footwear -- he created a look best described as "available sexuality." Their costumes were as scant as possible, designed for the maximum display of breasts and legs. Yes, actresses were chosen for their acting talent, but voluptuous lips and seductive eyes were very important to him. And in most instances, the characters they portrayed were emotionally subordinate to the men of Star Trek. Women were, essentially, sex objects always ready for action. And they were the antithesis of the actresses staring in other dramatic television series of that era: Barbara Bain [Mission: Impossible], Amanda Blake [Gunsmoke], Barbara Anderson [Ironside], Stephanie Power [The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.], and of course Barbara Stanwyck [Big Valley], all playing characters of substantial independence and distinction.

Everyone had a role in Gene's future world. And for Gene, a woman's role was primarily as a decorative tool in a man's workshop.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Ira Levin apparently picked up on GL's sexism and capitalized on it--in the very good novel The Stepford Wives (much superior to any of its celluloid spawn), he makes pointed reference to a girl being tormented by boys playing "Star Trek" and one of the masterminds of the Stepford plot is a dude named Frank Roddenberry.

Of course, by pointing this out, I may just be branding myself as Nogura's staff whore.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Ira Levin apparently picked up on GL's sexism and capitalized on it--in the very good novel The Stepford Wives (much superior to any of its celluloid spawn), he makes pointed reference to a girl being tormented by boys playing "Star Trek" and one of the masterminds of the Stepford plot is a dude named Frank Roddenberry.

I've never picked up that book, but I just might have to now.

Of course, by pointing this out, I may just be branding myself as Nogura's staff whore.

Only if ya want to be.

Years before Solow and Justman's book came out, I wrote a media paper on the portrayal of women in Star Trek and compared their subordinate roles to the other more progressive female roles found on television at the time. I even used the same ones that Solow mentions.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Ira Levin is quite possibly the best hack who ever picked up a pen. I've read all his books and only disliked one--Sliver. He is a consummate storyteller. I even liked his schlocky dystopian novel, This Perfect Day, which reads like a beach-read version of Brave New World.

That paper sounds interesting, btw.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

That paper sounds interesting, btw.

Thanks. Unfortunately, I wrote it over twelve years ago in my undergrad years for a communication class on the role of women in the mass media and it's long since been buried in the graveyard of cardboard storage boxes. Maybe one day I can resurrect it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

At a convention once, I asked Richard Arnold what they were and he told me they were actually edible. I can't remember exactly what he said they were though.

Someone posted on this. They were cubes of canteloupe or honeydew that had been colored with food dye. If you watch scenes with them in high-def, it's pretty obvious, really.

I always thought they were pretty neat.

And there's an in-universe explanation as well: This stuff is an Andorian food called gristhera which is very popular among all Federation races. (from novel "The Art Of The Impossible")