Revist of UNfavorite Episodes

B&C is my favorite of the parallel Earth stories. It's sharp satire and also a really fun episode with a lovely scene between McCoy and Spock. I just wish they milked Flavius Maximus' death for greater impact. He was a really good character who started out with a great arc and then kind of fell by the wayside.

 

Especially love the line about how "We'll do a special on you!" Clearly was aimed at certain people.

 

On ATCSL, Zap, you can probably put me in that distinct minority as well. I don't know that I *really* like it, but I do like it quite a bit more than a lot of other episodes. I'm not sure where I would rank it but I would rather rewatch it than, say, TEI, RTT (sorry, Henoch), EMP (which, actually, I haven't seen in a while), TAF, PLS or several other eps, including some from S1. When I was a kid, I disliked it, but that's because Gorgan scared the crap out of me. I think I had enough of an ear for music/sound then (later confirmed) to know something was unsettling about his voice (the double or tripletracking or the reverb generating what ends up sounding like mostly higher "harmonies"), and his ability to swat down both Kirk and Spock by dominating their wills was something not often seen in the series. Once I got over that and could watch the episode without my hands covering my eyes, I picked up on the very well-executed atmosphere of horror and dread that permeates everything. Feeding into that is the awful (meaning, compellingly grim) scene where the crew unknowingly beams two redshirts into space.

Honestly, if you take out the unfortunate hand gestures by the kids, tone down Shatner's two freakouts, and make Scotty immune like he was to almost everything else, this would potentially be a top 20-25 episode for me.

As to PLS, Zap, that's very well said. That sums up exactly how I feel.

Yes! That's a severely underrated fight scene. I love the tactical decision by Kirk - going against his usual egotistical stereotype - to grab a phaser instead of trying to get into the brawl with Seven as well. And yes, the jump off the platform is freaking perfect by Shatner. A thousand quatloos and likes to your observation.

 

Yes perhaps it's because we don't see much of the Enterprise. Then again, I adore Requiem, which features the same amount, if not less, of the ship. And episodes such as Miri and The Omega Glory, which I like (the latter more the ominous opening), also don't feature the ship much.

In some ways, it almost feels like our regulars are the "guests" of the week in Devil in the Dark. It's quite a moody, dark-lit episode as well.

 

Yes to all of that. Also, one of the coolest things in "Requiem" is the 3-footer's portrayal of a captive Enterprise. As a model building kid I went nuts for that. Got a little older and wanted Rayna in the stores for Christmas. But "Requiem" is a unique and great Enterprise episode for the tabletop scene alone.

 

I'm pretty sure "REQUIEM FOR METHUSELAH" has the among least amount of the interior of the Enterprise shown, except for "ALL OUR YESTERDAYS", which I think was none.

Interesting note: season 3 seemed to be really against having scenes of the interior of the Enterprise.

"SPECTRE OF THE GUN" - Bridge at the beginning and ending only.
"THE EMPATH" - Bridge scene only at the end.
"WHOM GODS DESTROY" - Only a couple quick scenes of the Bridge.
"REQUIEM FOR METHUSELAH" - Kirk's quarters and lookimg into a frozen Bridge.
"ALL OUR YESTERDAYS" - NO scenes of the interior.

 

The BBC always used to show Requiem For Methuselah followed by All Our Yesterdays. So no Enterprise scenes outside of Kirk's quarters or the regular actors like Uhura, Scotty (except his voice) Sulu or Chekov for two weeks!!!!
JB

 

They still had quite a few episodes which were virtually all Enterprise -Turnabout, Elaan, Wink. Battlefield and Gideon had two Enterprises.

Speaking Of Gideon.
One of my very least favourite episodes. I think they made a mistake by revealing the fake Enterprise so soon. I think they should not have seen Kirk until Spock had worked it out so We could be worried about Kirk.
Instead all we saw was Kirk being outplayed By Odona, her father, the counci for half-an-hour.
I still don't get how they had the plans for the Enterprise and Starfleet weren't all that concerned about the loss of a Starship Captain. I mean if security in Starfleet is so bad that a non-aligned planet has exact plans for a starship that is so good and up-to-date that it can fool its captain (even to the spill in sickbay) perhaps Starfleet don't care about the secrets said captain could reveal under torture

 

Speaking of parallel earth episodes, I quite like "Patterns Of Force".

The idea of calling the Nazi form of government the most efficient is bad but going beyond that, I like the story.

It's funny, at first, I didn't rationalize why but one of the things I like most about the episode is the character of Daras.

To me, she stands out because she's not there to be sexy or have a crush on anyone. She's an undercover operative and a leader of the Ekosian resistance, a role which was a refreshing change from the norm for women in TOS.

And one of my all time favorite little moments in TOS is the wonder Daras shows when she sees Dr. McCoy appear out of thin air and it sinks into her that these people are truly aliens from outer space.

I find it interesting that the very previous episode produced, "Return To Tomorrow", also had a female character who wasn't necessarily there to be sexy or have a chrush, Ann Mulhall.
Yes, she wore the mini skirt uniform but Diana Muldaur didn't play the character as sexy and didn't have a crush on Kirk.

I don't claim to be any paragon of virtue on women's rights but without actually thinking about it at the time, I liked both Daras and Mulhall precisely because they weren't played sexy.

I also like RTT for a couple of other reasons. It's one of the few episodes where the Enterprise is truly exploring unknown space, if I recall right, at the beginning Spock says they're hundreds of light years beyond where any Earth ship has gone. Interesting that he would say Earth and not federation ship at this late point in the series. But the ship being in unknown space always gives me a sense of mystery and wonder.

and Nimoy is absolutely awesome as Hanoch. When he starts his reign of terror on the bridge, stepping down to the captain's chair after torturing the screaming Uhura, I truly get the sense that the gates of hell have been swung wide open to let the denizens run amok.

@Hanoch, how do you like THAT assessment?

Robert

 

I agree. Patterns of Force is one of those episodes I wish could have been a two-parter because for me the parallel Earth stories just scratch the surface before coming up with convenient solutions. But Daras is a great agent; she's involved in decision-making, she thinks on her feet, and her head is in the game, unlike so many other female characters.

Mulhall should have been in more episodes. Her skill set would have been very useful more than once and there was certainly character potential. Admittedly, I like Miranda Jones more.

I think Nimoy revelled in being able to go places with Spock but he always had such incredible restraint. You never doubted that Spock had always had these feelings beneath the surface. Henoch's smile was insincere from the start and increasingly sinister. Great performance. I rather like this one because Nurse Chapel saves the day. That was something she wasn't able to do in her intro episode.

 

Henoch likes the assessment. (I'm a little difficult to locate at the moment; I'm taking Spock for a ride again during Halloween.) Thanks for thinking about me.

 

I'll agree that Darras was a good character. Its always good when a female character isn't really that into our heroes. It just gets unbelievable after a while. I'm trying to think of other series at around the same time when the random ladies always fell for the leads...
I just can't get over the improbability drive of the Nazi thing.

I also think Return To Tomorrow is underrated. Yes Nimoy is great, Kelly is great and Muldaur plays it just right - .
I'm not sure why they wouldn't have gone insane after half a billion years alone with your own thoughts,

I just hate Chapel. I know she's got her fans out there. Look at all the Spock/Chapel fan fiction out there. However while I respect your opinion Pauln6 I especially hate her in this episode. I just thinks she's too old to play the giggling 16 year old reaction to sharing a mind with Spock. I just wish she'd played it sassy instead of school girly. Id like it if she'd been a bit more mortified, a bit more resistant to Henoch. Oh just wasted potential...

 

I never cared for The Empath

 

"THE EMPATH" was one of the best showcases of just how close a friendship Kirk, Spock, and McCoy had.

 

We need this episode to balance out the Spock-McCoy relationship which several episodes in Season 3 makes it look like McCoy really dislikes Spock.
This episodes how the big-3 are pretty big heroes willing to sacrifice themselves for each other.

 

It was only half a million years, so no problem.

 

Chapel is not a good character. She is terribly written in pretty much every episode except Obsession, if she's noticeable at all, although I do like her exchange with Spock in Amok Time, that is more because it showcases him really well.

I suppose I admire the crumbs of characterisation of every character. The missed opportunity was not making her an astrobiologist/exo-archeology researcher like Korby, as well as a nurse. Just quipping in with a bit of authority every now and then, like she did in TMP would have done wonders for her character.

 

I'm not sure I agree with you here. In episodes such as Elaan and Turnabout, both Spock and McCoy work well together.
McCoy's pushing point to stay with the Platonians is Spock's emotional condition after he smashes the cup.
Even in All Our Yesterdays, he pushes Spock to the point of anger deliberately, because he knows Spock needs to get a grip.
And that Empath moment is beautifully replicated in For The World when Spock helps McCoy get off the couch.

Having said that, as I type I remember Tholian Web (a favourite of mine) and Paradise Syndrome. Both these episodes really do have McCoy show a dislike and disrespect to Spock, so I guess you are probably right. You could argue Bones was affected by the interspace, and at least after his anger subsides he starts to think of Spock's health in Paradise Syndrome. But yes, undeniably McCoy is far more aggressive when Spock is in command than in the previous seasons.

Also, I guess McCoy is too enraged on both these occasions to really even be playing devil's advocate.

 

Chapel is a drip. But some people irl are drips.

Agree with the props for Muldaur/Mulhall.

 

"The Empath" was all style and no substance.