An epp I would not have missed had it not been made:
- Thread starter Stella's_Funboy
- Start date
Most weaker episodes at least have some redeeming parts:
Spock's Brain is cheesy but quite watchable.
The Way To Eden has Spock jamming with the space-hippies (your taste in the musical numbers themselves may vary, but I like 'em!)
Turnabout Intruder has some good scenes with the senior officers.
Plato's Stepchildren has some sort of message, and is well paced.
And The Children Shall Lead shows off the new rec room. Urm...
However:
The Empath was dull and unengaging at pretty much every level, not helped by bleak sets and drab music. And repetitive scenes. No. No. No.
Spock's Brain is cheesy but quite watchable.
The Way To Eden has Spock jamming with the space-hippies (your taste in the musical numbers themselves may vary, but I like 'em!)
Turnabout Intruder has some good scenes with the senior officers.
Plato's Stepchildren has some sort of message, and is well paced.
And The Children Shall Lead shows off the new rec room. Urm...
However:
The Empath was dull and unengaging at pretty much every level, not helped by bleak sets and drab music. And repetitive scenes. No. No. No.
I did find the Empath to be very strange. I do agree that it is boring and when Kirk, Spock and McCoy are with her in.. wherever the hell they are...the episode feels like a stage play rather than a real episode.
Oooooh, you're wrong. I could have done without the horsey scene in Plato's Stepchildren.
That was just not right. I actually felt bad for Chapel when she and Spock were forced to kiss. The lines she spoke were just painful.It was an attempt, I believe, to do a Halloween-themed episode in time for the actual occasion.
"And The Children Shall Lead" was a huge mistake in many respects. I see no redeeming values whatsoever, except for maybe some fodder for the bloopers and spoof reels. I simply refuse to watch it, it's such drivel. I've even been tempted to scratch it off the DVD. 
"Catspaw" could have been good, but it went horribly wrong. The icing on the cake was the pathetic floppy marionettes at the end. I mean... that was just outright insulting. "Let's get out of here".
"Plato's Stepchildren" was another that had potential, but the writing was just so bad. The premise, that injecting yourself with something will give you psychokinetic powers? The break in plausibility was horrendous. And of course, the mockery scenes... they could've been done in a more tasteful way to carry the same concept.
"The Alternative Factor" had some gaping holes of plausibility in it, as well as some outright mistakes that leaves the viewer wondering who is really who. The representation of the "doorway" between universes was horrible, even for Star Trek standards that had already been developed. This is my 2nd to last episode that I'll probably never watch again.
"The Turnabout Intruder" had a lot of potential too, but had some rather significant flaws. I found the whole premise of "I anted to be a starship Captain and you wouldn't love me" crap just pathetic. It should have been something more along the lines of Janice having some incurable disease that would slowly eat away at her... and switching with Kirk was a way out of it, to also get a little revenge for the jilted lover in her. Shatner actually didn't do too badly imitating a woman inside a man's body.
I used to hate "Spock's Brain", but in recent years I've come to appreciate it more. Yeah, there are some ridiculous parts to it, but overall it can be entertaining if you let it.
The others listed aren't so bad... I don't get all the hate for "The Way to Eden", "The Empath", and "Patterns of Force".
"Catspaw" could have been good, but it went horribly wrong. The icing on the cake was the pathetic floppy marionettes at the end. I mean... that was just outright insulting. "Let's get out of here".
"Plato's Stepchildren" was another that had potential, but the writing was just so bad. The premise, that injecting yourself with something will give you psychokinetic powers? The break in plausibility was horrendous. And of course, the mockery scenes... they could've been done in a more tasteful way to carry the same concept.
"The Alternative Factor" had some gaping holes of plausibility in it, as well as some outright mistakes that leaves the viewer wondering who is really who. The representation of the "doorway" between universes was horrible, even for Star Trek standards that had already been developed. This is my 2nd to last episode that I'll probably never watch again.
"The Turnabout Intruder" had a lot of potential too, but had some rather significant flaws. I found the whole premise of "I anted to be a starship Captain and you wouldn't love me" crap just pathetic. It should have been something more along the lines of Janice having some incurable disease that would slowly eat away at her... and switching with Kirk was a way out of it, to also get a little revenge for the jilted lover in her. Shatner actually didn't do too badly imitating a woman inside a man's body.
I used to hate "Spock's Brain", but in recent years I've come to appreciate it more. Yeah, there are some ridiculous parts to it, but overall it can be entertaining if you let it.
The others listed aren't so bad... I don't get all the hate for "The Way to Eden", "The Empath", and "Patterns of Force".
A.V.I.A.F.
Captain
I thought The Empath is one of the few S3 episodes that actually harkens us back to the truer sci-fi vibe that characterized S3. The sparse surroundings added to the creepiness of the setting.
I got to admit, I have soft spot for "Spock's Brain." For me, it's in the "so bad it's good" category. The entire episode is just completely ridiculous and unintentionally hilarious. Every time I think of robo-Spock operating on remote control and walking around without his brain, I just crack up. It really puts the "fiction" in "science fiction." I mean, talk about having to suspend disbelief ....
You know, really thinking about it, most of the episodes, even the good ones, have some bad moments.
Take Amok Time, for example. The part where Kirk demands for Spock to explain what is happening to him, and promises total confidentiality.
<I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting in anticipation>
Then, Spock "It has to do with...Biology."
Kirk: "Biology? What kind of Biology?"
<Leans closer, eager to learn>
Spock: "VULCAN biology."
Kirk: "You mean the biology of Vulcans?"
<I began to laugh to so hard I fell off the couch>
I'm not knocking Amok Time, love the episode, but for me, this is an epic fail.
Take Amok Time, for example. The part where Kirk demands for Spock to explain what is happening to him, and promises total confidentiality.
<I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting in anticipation>
Then, Spock "It has to do with...Biology."
Kirk: "Biology? What kind of Biology?"
<Leans closer, eager to learn>
Spock: "VULCAN biology."
Kirk: "You mean the biology of Vulcans?"
<I began to laugh to so hard I fell off the couch>
I'm not knocking Amok Time, love the episode, but for me, this is an epic fail.
Well, maybe Kirk didn't go quite so boldly as we'd like him to, but it was a delicate thing and his best friend involved.
Maybe he was acting stupid for once. Try it some time!
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