TAS... Sigh

[FalTorPan]

I'm not very familiar with the animated Trek series. I've watched every episode within the last decade, but I've only watched each episode once or twice, so it's not as etched in my memory as TOS episodes are.

For grins I just tossed in a TAS DVD and am watching "Beyond the Farthest Star." Hearing the voices of Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, et. al. in stories which are still relatively "new" to me is proving to be a bittersweet experience. I know you can never go home again, but watching this TAS episode is about as close to going home again as is possible for me with the TOS-era crew.

 

[Winterwind]

I've tried, many times, to watch TAS and I just can't get into it. I can't quite put my finger on why. I have somewhat fond memories of it from childhood but now it just doesn't appeal to me.

I may give it another whirl one of these days. I received it as a gift but it just sits on the shelf.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

I think they're wonderful, and certainly to some extent better than some third season episodes as well as "The Alternative Factor."

 

[BDJ]

I was a mere 10 years old when TAS came out. I had just recently discovered TOS and stayed up late to watch the reruns every weekend. When I heard about the "new" animated adventures with the original cast I was so excited I coulda crapped dilithium! It was so fun to watch them. Then I didn't see them for years. Until about 3 years ago when they put them in a box set. I immediately bought them and watched them. They were all new again because I hadn't seen them in like 30 years. (I kinda considered "The Ultimate Vulcan" and "The Magick's of ..whatever his name is" this series' "Spock's Brain".) Most of the episodes were very entertaining and after rearing 3 children and getting to watch alot of today's cartoons, I'm very surprised at how "grown up" TAS was. Very little silliness, no stupid little sidekicks, solid stories and great continuity with TOS. It was everthing a little trek fan could ask for!

 

[SchwEnt]

Oh yes. I just put in some TAS this weekend to watch. So good. I'm aware of all the problems and limitations of TAS. But really, are the eps so far gone they can't stand alongside "canon" stuff like Spock's Brain and Threshold and Masks and others?

If you really dig the magic of TOS, then TAS is good stuff.
In my mind, those eps are TOS as much as the original three years.

 

[erastus25]

I think they're wonderful, and certainly to some extent better than some third season episodes as well as "The Alternative Factor."

Agreed to a certain degree. TAS also had total shit like The Infinite Vulcan.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Extremely enjoyable show, with some great stories despite the writers having to work within the confines of a children's format. Oh, I almost forgot, the exceptional music just elevates every episode to another level for me.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I love TAS. It's a kiddies cartoon show, but it's a damn good one (if in doubt, compare with the modern Stargate Infinity). "Yesteryear", "Timetrap" and "Slaver Weapon" are my favourites. Mister Arex is one of my all-time favourite Trek characters.

It was heartwarming to see parts of "Yesteryear" remade in STXI.

 

[Warped9]

I remember being so excited when TAS first aired. I was in my early teens and I quite enjoyed them then. For years afterward I didn't see them until seeing them run on Teletoon about ten years or so ago. Then when the box set came out I grabbed it for my collection.

It is a product of its time and yet I can still recognize that many of the TAS episodes could have made fine live-action TOS episodes. And you only have to read Alan Dean Foster's adaptations of the episodes to really see the proof of that.

For me they're legitimate additional adventures of the Enterprise crew we never got to see live-action.

 

[A beaker full of death]

Yesteryear is essential viewing.

 

[Christopher]

Extremely enjoyable show, with some great stories despite the writers having to work within the confines of a children's format.

But they didn't. Aside from restrictions on sex and violence and the shorter running time, the writers' brief was to approach TAS exactly the same way they'd approach a TOS episode if it had an unlimited FX/makeup budget. It wasn't a "children's format" at all. If it had been, there would've been teen sidekicks and cute alien pets dominating the show with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy reduced to mentor figures.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Not a fan; the stories were too simplistic and kiddified.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Extremely enjoyable show, with some great stories despite the writers having to work within the confines of a children's format.

But they didn't. Aside from restrictions on sex and violence and the shorter running time, the writers' brief was to approach TAS exactly the same way they'd approach a TOS episode if it had an unlimited FX/makeup budget. It wasn't a "children's format" at all. If it had been, there would've been teen sidekicks and cute alien pets dominating the show with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy reduced to mentor figures.

Well they wanted to do teen sidekicks, but Roddenberry told them no.

 

[Red Ranger]

Yesteryear is essential viewing.

Agreed. TAS is one of the truly shining examples of what animation could be with adult stories. Of course, the animation is rather primitive, but Yesteryear is as good as some of the best TOS eps.

 

[Christopher]

Well they wanted to do teen sidekicks, but Roddenberry told them no.

That's not exactly right. Rather, Filmation was the only animation studio that was willing to do it without a kiddifying revamp. To quote The Art of Star Trek, p.42:

Despite the above illustrations showing younger versions of the Enterprise crew [sic], Roddenberry said he decided to go with Filmation because the company was the first to say it would keep an animated production true to The Original Series, without the addition of such Saturday-morning staples as smart-aleck children and cute animals.

So it's not right to say that Filmation "wanted" to do teen sidekicks and had to be "told" not to. Sure, they toyed with the idea, but they were huge TOS fans and were glad to do it authentically.

 

[Agenda]

They waited until TNG for the kid sidekick.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Well they wanted to do teen sidekicks, but Roddenberry told them no.

http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2007/06/origins-of-filmations-tas-1969-titans.html

Don Christensen's 1969 "concept paper" proposed for TAS: a training ship called Excalibur; Scotty's moustache; new characters called Tun-Tun, Stormy, Ploof, Steve and Bob; and a suggestion to eliminate Chekov and his paired cadet, Chris, in favour of finding a cadet pairing for Uhura.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'm not very familiar with the animated Trek series. I've watched every episode within the last decade, but I've only watched each episode once or twice, so it's not as etched in my memory as TOS episodes are.

For grins I just tossed in a TAS DVD and am watching "Beyond the Farthest Star." Hearing the voices of Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, et. al. in stories which are still relatively "new" to me is proving to be a bittersweet experience. I know you can never go home again, but watching this TAS episode is about as close to going home again as is possible for me with the TOS-era crew.

That's exactly how I feel. I remember when I first watched TAS during the TOS rerun era and it was very thrilling to me to hear those voices again.. and when I do get around to watching TAS now it's so sentimental and wonderful and yes bittersweet.

I think it's extremely cool to have it all on dvd and hear those voices again!

 

[Warped9]

I really like "Beyond The Farthest Star." It really has that "final frontier" and "where no man has gone before" feeling.

I can easily imagine this as live-action, too.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Extremely enjoyable show, with some great stories despite the writers having to work within the confines of a children's format.

But they didn't. Aside from restrictions on sex and violence and the shorter running time, the writers' brief was to approach TAS exactly the same way they'd approach a TOS episode if it had an unlimited FX/makeup budget. It wasn't a "children's format" at all. If it had been, there would've been teen sidekicks and cute alien pets dominating the show with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy reduced to mentor figures.

I don't agree with you on this - for me, TAS clearly has the feel of a kids show. Personally, I don't believe a children's TV show has to be populated by "teen sidekicks" or "cute alien pets" to qualify as such.