TOS Rewatch

Court Martial

Spock isn't exactly the person to comfort someone who just lost their dad.

Commodore Stone is seriously corrupt. That escalated ridiculously fast.

And the prosecutor is sabotaging her own case...

Kirk's lawyer just claimed he can read precedent off a computer that has no screen...

Spock is still only a Lt. Cmdr.?

'Positive gravity'? Does that mean there are planets with 'negative gravity'?

Are those computer cartridges basically Starfleet ID cards? Doesn't seem very practical.

Prosecutor who hates Spock's speculation spends five minutes 'hypothesizing'...

Who puts the 'jettison an innocent person button' next to the alert buttons in the first place... Why is there even a button for that at all? They still also haven't said a single word about why procedure should cause you to send a man into a dangerous pod during a storm in the first place. Or why you wouldn't beam him out...

So the computer being bad at chess proves that ship cameras have been tampered with? That seems a bit of a stretch.

Cogley's plea about being able to face a witness is very passionate and total nonsense. A camera isn't a witness, it's evidence. And there's no reason the judges needed to go to the ship to be told the computer was tampered with. And there's no reason Kirk should be allowed to go on his own to confront Finney, either.

After such a big build-up, Finney himself is a bit of a let down. Seems mostly pathetic, and not for much reason, either. I love the completely random giant wrench that just happens to be laying around, even though I never see anyone use wrenches while working on the ship. And of course fixing sabotaged energy conduits only involves ripping cables out of the wall without actually fixing anything.

Considering Cogley did jack-all in the entire episode, I think their optimism about Finney's defense is misplaced.

Overall, this one got off pretty easily with the guest stars, effects, etc. That was all perfectly adequate, some of it even pretty good. But the story is terrible. Easily one of the worst courtroom drama episodes I've ever seen.

 

Return of the Archons:

Kind of funny that Star Trek did a version of the purge over fifty years ago...

I do think the point of the mission is kind of ridiculous. Looking for a lost starship crew is one thing, but why risk exposing yourself directly to a completely unknown culture in the search for a ship that disappeared a century earlier? There's almost certainly no survivors to rescue either way.

Sulu's absorption was remarkably easy in comparison to all the others. Makes you wonder why the lawgivers didn't just do the same to everyone else immediately.

Everyone was also very quick to abandon the traumatized, defenseless girl in a place where lawgivers had been attacked...

And the scene of Landru subdueing everyone with sound waves (another fantastic ability never reused) is quite possibly the most insanely overdramatic scene in the history of Trek.

Overall, I don't think this story was really bad, but it was heavily predictable and the writers certainly cheated here and there. I'll call it firmly mediocre. Spock being happy about being called a computer was great, though. (They should have a little more humor through the rest of the episode)

 

Space Seed:

The Botany Bay actually still looks really nice. Much better than I'd expected after so much time.

Bones declares Khan's life in danger if they don't get him out, then immediately stops scanning or trying to help him at all once he's out.

You'd think Khan's first instinct being to put a knife to McCoy's throat would be information the Captain ought to be given. Still love McCoy's inflappable response, though.

The scene with McGivers hair is really weird. That giant overcomplicated bun is supposed to be 'comfortable'? And then Khan undoes two curls (out of like eight) and suddenly pronounces it 'natural and simple'...

The dinner scene is great. Khan really does stand out as a much better villain than most on the show. A perfect mix of authenticity and creepiness.

So all an enemy has to do to gain access to vital ship security measures is surrender and spend a few days in sickbay...

It's interesting how everyone spends so much time praising Khan for his famous restraint in not going to war without reason and not brutalizing the population, yet here he is using torture and physical abuse to bully people into joining so he can find an unsuspecting world and invade it for no reason... Also, they have a lot of information about him considering it took so long to find who he was and they kept saying how little information was available about the time period.

Khan studied the ship so completely he can bypass every major security measure but he doesn't know how to turn on the viewscreen.

Also, convenient that Khan could escape the gas by running into the hall but none of the Starfleet officers really even try (except Scotty, who first waits to get a big lungful of course before leaving).

That ending has been discussed to death, I'm sure, but it does still stand out as an interesting impulse on Kirk's part. Almost reluctant to punish them because 'it's their nature'. The whole treatment of the 'supermen' actually seems at odds with the near hysteria directed towards them in the 24th century. Maybe Khan's return in TWOK caused a new influx of anti-gene therapy sentiment?

Overall, this one definitely deserves its classic status. It's not one of my favorites, but it is still undeniably one of the best.

 

For no apparent reason, after watching some TOS a few years ago, my wife took to occasionally calling me "Captain". I have not discouraged her from doing so.
But I still can't get her to wear the I Dream of Jeannie t-shirt I got her, that says "Yes, Master" on it.

 

A Taste of Armageddon:

Well that wasted no time at all to jump into the problem of the week. That diplomat's a classic Trek style moron, for sure.

Kirk's expression trying to figure out what the hell these people are going on about when his whole crew says nothing's happening is hilarious.

So the war is 500 years old and the computer/disintegration arrangement is almost 500 years old. Did they just give up after the first major battle?

Yep, Mr. Fox is an idiot.

Anan 7 has pretty good sense of humor under the circumstances.

"I learn very quickly." Um, doesn't seem like that, though, does it?

So did they give up all their mobile defenses, ships, etc, when they decided to go full computer warfare?

KIrk's speeches about war are pretty great. Especially how he describes it as such a very messy business really makes you wonder what kind of experiences he's been through that we don't know about. It certainly sounded far more personal than professional - and I don't think the Klingons have made too much of an appearance yet.

I do find it amusing that they went out of their way to use 'disruptors' for most of the episode, presumably because it saved on FX money, but also went out of their way to get the phasers back just in time for the big dramatic moment at the end.

It's also kind of strange to see such a blatantly stupid character being given such a sudden turnaround/redemption arc, though I suppose it does at least make Mr. Fox a little more interesting than the average dumb authority figure causing problems.

Overall I think this is a very good episode, though it leaned perhaps a little too heavily on one of the franchise's more annoying tropes (the dumb authority figure). The subject was interesting and pretty well handled, definitely fairly unique in comparison to most subjects that tend to show up on sci-fi shows. The character moments were great, especially for Scotty, who really shows off his smart professionalism.

I am left wondering two things, though: is General Order 24 a real thing? Because it certainly sounded like a classic Kirk bluff, and Scotty is smart enough to catch on to that, but they never came back and addressed it afterward. It would certainly seem like a strange order for the Federation to have on file, though I can obviously understand the usefulness. And secondly, it makes you wonder where Eminiar/Vendikar is in the 24th century. Was this a prelude to Federation membership? Did the peace plan fail?

 

This Side of Paradise

McCoy's sense of humor is really on point in this one.

I love Sulu foreshadowing the spores by saying he wouldn't spot anything wrong with a farm if it was 2 feet away while there was a flower right next to him.

I think Spock being forced to open himself to emotions is actually a fascinating moment for the character. Part of me wonders if this incident didn't utlimately help put him on the path toward balancing his human and vulcan halves (even though this episode still uses the term 'Vulcanian').

Kirk and McCoy arguing over whether McCoy said Spock should mellow is really funny.

So why didn't Kirk get turned when he was literally standing right next to Sulu? Is it because he was already too angry at Spock?

The Mutiny sequence is incredibly well done and that scene of Kirk alone on the ship is amazing. I also love that the emotion that frees him from the spores is his unwillingness to abandon his ship.

The final scene with Spock and Leila is also incredible: easily one of the most heartbreaking and believable failed love stories I've ever seen on a tv show.

Of all the mystery style plots so far, this one definitely has the best atmosphere and pacing. The guest stars are also all very good, without any exceptions, and the simple setting and relative lack of costumes to become outdated actually makes it one of the best looking episodes. I love the way it works on the classic bodysnatcher premise but creates so much more nuance: no one is forced to smell the flowers, the people don't lose their personalities, they aren't being tricked or farmed by aliens. From a certain point of view, they really are in paradise. And yet, when the spores are removed, the first thing Sandoval realizes is that they've accomplished nothing. I think that's an incredible insight into humanity - the struggle between wanting paradise vs wanting achievement, which is the one thing you fundamentally can't have in paradise.

I really didn't remember this one much at all, but it is beyond a shadow of any doubt my second unexpected classic from this rewatch. Absolutely wonderful.

 

That....is actually the best reason I've heard. Other than "the script needed Kirk in the clear until the last act." I'm going with that.

 

This is a very good post... thanks.

 

The Devil in the Dark

The Federation concept of 'guard duty' continues to be incredibly non-secure.

It's interesting how Spock and Kirk flip flop in terms of killing the creature immediately or not. Also, Spock's statistical analysis of their possible deaths sounds completely made up and is obviously total bs, considering they spend the entire time standing next to each other.

Overall I'd say this is a reasonably solid episode with a very interesting concept, but everything is just a little too easy to fully hit home. Spock leaps to 'silicon lifeform' for no really clear reason. The Horta gives up its resistance very suddenly. The miners go from bloodthirsty mob to model citizens with very little push. McCoy slaps together a concrete bandaid and the horta is magically better. It's not a huge problem, but it does undermine the effectiveness of the story.

Errand of Mercy

I've mentioned how fast some episodes get started before, but this one really shoots right out of the gate. I'm not sure I've ever seen a surprise attack that was so truly unexpected anywhere else in the franchise.

The Klingon makeup really is poor, even in comparison to other races on the same show.

Kor does do a great job, though. Much more memorable and entertaining than I realized. If this series had a more long-term style like the later shows had, I could've easily seen him as becoming as interesting as all the best DS9 villains (Dukat, Damar, Weyoun, etc). I love the fact that he's so upset by the Organians interference he suddenly wants to ally with Kirk against them, even though he literally just said the Klingons would never be friends with the Federation.

I do find it interesting how the Klingons were portrayed at the very beginning. Not just the question of honor, which was obviously retconned in by TNG, but things like the weird nazi-esque salute to drive home their dictatorial nature and the fact that they routinely use a mind scanner (which actually became a Romulan trait in the later shows). But the idea of them as a mirror to humanity, loving the challenge of battle against a good opponent, that really is there right from the start, even if it comes mostly from Kor rather than the Klingons in general. He's also oddly more benevolent than later Klingons, too - I can't imagine a Klingon villain in the later shows letting his troops off so easily after a prisoner escape.

I also like how Kirk is shocked by his own reaction to the end of the war. And I find it interesting that he kind of has a point, as well: by ending the war in that manner, the Organians are actually forcibly normalizing the current situation, meaning any Federation area the Klingons may have already taken has suddenly lost the right to defend itself.

Overall, a very good episode, I think.

The Alternative Factor

'If I had more time, I'd laugh.' That was a great line.

So, McCoy leaving obviously dangerous strangers totally unattended in sickbay is not only standard procedure at this point, but apparently a deliberate refusal to have security personnel around.

Why is that engineering Lt. wearing blue the whole time?

An ok episode, I guess. The character of Lazarus was mostly boring and irritating more than anything else, which is a problem since he's really all there is to this episode even to the exclusion of any significant character moments for the main cast. But the alternate Lazarus did have a good scene at the end. The science is pure handwaving to the point of just stating random claims that don't seem to fit together at all as absolute certainties. I do find it interesting that they actually ended this one on such a somber, contemplative note. They usually try to add some levity after the problem is over, which made this ending stand out quite positively.

 

The Guardian of Forever

I like how Uhura's fear is just simple and plain rather than the hysterics that have been common with female side characters in other episodes.

This is still an obvious classic, though I think I probably prefer it the least of the classic episodes I've seen so far.

Edith is undeniably well-done and Kirk's relationship with her is great. I love how she was portrayed as being right but at the wrong time. And her incredible sense of the future actually makes me wonder if she could've been an early, unrecorded case of human ESP (since that apparently does exist in Star Trek).

I also think Kirk and Spock's friendship was extraordinarily well portrayed here - in many ways it reminded me of ST IV, which I had always regarded as sort of the classic portrayal of the relationship, since it was all about Spock remembering his place in life.

And the chinese rice-picking accident still makes me laugh, even today.

Operation Annihilate

One note for me here: apparently sickbay does actually have restraints on the beds. Why no one used them on Khan or Lazarus, etc, is somewhat baffling.

This was a very interesting episode for Spock and McCoy. They seemed to get a lot of moments together, especially in terms of their disagreements in how to handle the problem. There was some very good drama all round, although I wish Kirk's part hadn't been quite so driven by his sudden family (or their deaths had at least factored into the ending, rather than the big three just joking around). A part of me also wishes they hadn't gone the direction of 'non-visible' light at all. The prospect of saving an entire planet from extinction at the cost of their eyesight was actually interesting, I thought. Although Spock obviously can't be blind for the rest of the show.

But it was still great seeing Spock overhear McCoy's praise of him.

 

Re Errand of Mercy - still one of my favorites, and one of my favorite superior-being-reveals at the end. I don't think any later Klingon surpassed Kor for the simple brutality of threateni9ng to dissect Spock to make Kirk talk.
But - for the love of God, the Klingon paper on Klingon letterhead, with the list of Klingon laws to be followed was written in English!!??

 

If they filmed the episode today, it would probably be a PowerPoint presentation!

 

Amok Time

They changed the theme song with season two. I don't know how I never noticed there were multiple versions before.

Chekov has arrived. His 'v-w' tendencies seem stronger than I remember. Did his accent lessen in the movies?

I like how Kirk gets through to Spock.

I also really like Sulu and Chekov's running commentary on the course changes.

T'Pau is less impressive than I remember. The whole choice of making her constantly say 'thee' really doesn't work well and the oddly eastern european accent stands in strange contrast to the more common accents heard among Vulcans.

I do think Vulcan is a very interesting visual design and holds up quite well, even in comparison to the much later, bigger budget version from the movies. I like the strange circular city in the background and the bright red sky.

Is it just me, or is this sacred, ancient ritual place ridiculously breakable? Do they have to replace all the trappings after every ceremony?

I've always liked the ending of this, how McCoy deftly steps in to solve the problem without anyone even noticing, and how Spock takes full responsibility on his shoulders despite obvious mitigating circumstances. It really does leave you wondering, though, how the Vulcans reacted when they heard Kirk was still alive. I suppose the fact that Vulcan law isn't binding to Kirk and McCoy must've allowed them to get away with it.

Who Mourns for Adonais

"A strange lack of life in the system that bucks the percentages"? So Starfleet expects most systems to have not just life but intelligent life in them?

"We shall drink and party and rejoice - but don't bring the one who looks like Pan, because Pan is boring" what? Pan is the original party animal...

Chekov's comic timing is fantastic. Tsar of All the Russias!

Scotty's obsession with Lt. Palama is a little annoying. Palama's obsession with Apollo is even more annoying. I do wish Kirk's speech to get through to her didn't have so many 'humans first'/'stick your own kind' undertones. Wasn't it enough to realize that Apollo was intent on enslaving hundreds of people?

Apollo seems spot on as a greek god, which is partially unfortunate since the greek gods have never really been likeable. I do find the need for worship an interesting idea which was reasonably well expressed here. And the story is fairly interesting insofar as it's really about Apollo being forced to admit that he's been hanging on to a hope that couldn't possibly come true.

I'd say this was a solid episode, but nothing special.

 

Great write-ups!

H&I just started with "The Man Trap", so anyone who wants to do this without having the discs.

Btw, one of my least enjoyed episodes was "Turnabout Intruder." I could not stand Janice Lester. And that whole body switching thing seemed so juvenile. But coming back to it years later... it's not as bad as I remember. Same with "The Man Trap." So many good moments of character traits, especially between Kirk and McCoy, Kirk and Spock. Tempting to get those Blu-ray discs!

 

^My wife was in the other room while I had Man Trap on. She heard Beauregard wailing in fright and said "What the hell is that?? What are you watching?" Then she heard Janice's line "You think he's gone space happy?" and said "Oh yeah, Man Trap." I'm a little disappointed she didn't recognize Beauregard's sounds, but I still love her.

 

The Changeling

Nomad fires shots equivalent to 90 torpedoes each, the Enterprise survives four shots. Kirk fires a single torpedo back and is surprised that it has no effect?

I like the misdirect about there maybe being tiny aliens.

Uhura's memory loss would have been a really interesting long term story. That's something I'd love to see on a future series. But does this mean that from here on out she has no memories of any part of her life before this episode? And why is she speaking Swahili if all her knowledge was erased? Are they trying to re-educate her based on the same pattern of her original education?

So I guess there aren't yet any alarms for when someone fires a phaser on board.

Why doesn't Nomad require proof that Kirk isn't the creator? Shouldn't he logically assume that it is the imperfect being who is in error rather than the 'perfect' being?

I think this was a very good episode with a fantastic premise. Great focus, lots of interesting ideas to chew on. I love how 2 harmless probes got so mixed up in their communication with one another that they turned into an eternal wmd. It really highlights the incredible complexity and uncertainty that contact with alien life must create.

Mirror Mirror

I had forgotten this started with a mission to convince a civilization of the Federation's peaceful intentions. That's an amusing little detail.

I always liked the visual design of the alternate universe. The sashes and scars and beards give great atmosphere. Also, apparently Nichelle Nichols had rock-hard abs. Very impressive.

The concept of the mirror universe as a historical divergence has always been logically indefensible, but they really throw an extra heaping on top with McCoy having caused the exact same stain on his version of the table.

Chekov being a vicious assassin is an incredible twist. Sulu also makes for a really great villain.

I like that Uhura actually joins the fight against Spock, but I wish she didn't get thrown around like a ragdoll so easily.

Why didn't Marlena make Sulu vanish, too?

Kirk's moment with Mirror Spock still holds up really well.

A great episode overall.

 

Last time we saw it I mentioned Uhura's rock hard abs to my wife. She said "Oh, she's definitely sucking it in when she's on camera!"

 

The Apple

76 degrees is too warm for paraidse.

The issue of gold vs green in the uniforms is kind of annoying when they're standing right next to each other. Chekov's uniform is clearly a totally different color than Kirk's.

So right off I'm thinking: if you're only here because of strange readings and the plantlife instantly kills someone and the locals are literally stalking you, why not beam straight back to the ship?

Starfleet has invested 122,200 somethings into Spock... Interesting number. Low for currency. High for time investment.

So Kirk agrees about the mission being unimportant. That was a nice, interesting character moment for Kirk.

I love how Kirk motivates Scotty by calling him a genius and then threatening to fire him.

Spock sure is taking a beating this episode.

And few joking 'lessons' and the Enterprise leaves the totally uneducated entirely on their own...

Overall, this is a solid episode. Good character moments for Kirk and some interesting philosophical discussion between Spock and McCoy. Perhaps a bit overly simplistic in its adaptation of the story of Adam and Eve - especially since Vaal never really has any context and is defeated too easily. I do really love the stories where Scotty takes command of the Enterprise and fights off his own crisis while the away team is dealing with theirs. Doohan does an incredible job with the competent, conscientious engineer/captain role.

I do think Gamma Trianguli VI would be an interesting planet to revisit in another series at some point. Not just to see how the Vaalians get on, but also to see how Federation people would deal with a planet like that longterm. Have we ever seen any other m class planet so inherently dangerous to be on?

 

Also, Kirk greets the native by punching him.
Then Kirk says something in English to this totally alien being on a planet that's never had any contact with Earth and then says "Do you understand me?" and the alien says "Yeah, sure, of course, why wouldn't we?" (paraphrasing ). That scene above all the other Episodes where aliens speak English made me realize how ridiculous it was that they spoke English. Well, maybe the one where Kor is posting Klingon rules of behavior in English on Organia.

 

Maybe Vaal taught Akuta English and he taught the others?