The Animated Series - Good or mere Curiosity?

Is The Animated Series actually, you know...good?

The price is down to $30 Canadian, and I'm tempted to get it, as I've never actually seen any of them at all. If the consensus is that they're actually good, I'll probably pick it up. But is it one those nostalgic curiosities more than actual quality?

And is it or is it not canon?

 

I'd buy it. I own it and enjoy it. Even the episodes that I think aren't great are pretty entertaining for camp factor.

As to whether it's canon, the general concensus seems to be 'sorta.'

 

I liked it when I first saw it 6 or 7 years ago, dunno how i'd take it now.

 

I'll second that. There are some great episodes, some OK ones and some not so hot ones but it's fun.

 

Some points where actually VERY good. Yesteryear ranks right up there with the best of TOS for me.

There is also what I consider to be a very good scene in the episode "One of Our Planets is Missing" where Spock makes contact with a giant cloud creature.

 

"One of Our Planets is Missing" is an underrated TAS gem.

 

I have to say merely a curiosity. The animation was poor, the vocal performances oddly flat and the stories often very, very silly. Even "Yesteryear" is better in synopsis than actaulity.

 

I have to take exception to that. Yes, they're compressed to fit the half-hour time slot and skewed for a younger audience, but aside from a couple of real clunkers, "often very, very silly" is an exaggeration.

If you pick it up, keep the context of its production circumstances and the era it was made in mind. That shouldn't read as apologizing for the quality. Any work is a product of its time. Then and now, the show's good. At its best, it compares well to the live series and at its worst... it's on a par with the live series' as well. While Paramount does not consider it canon, i.e. a necessary reference for later productions, it's never been excluded from the continuity and has been referenced numerous times in the subsequent shows.

 

Go for it, it's got some good episodes and some bad ones, but just don't watch The Infinite Vulcan first.

 

I think the animated series is AWESOME!

No it's not canon. Gene said it wasn't.

 

I can only take the animated episodes in small doses, as the repetitive music makes me want to punt kittens.

It's worth a peek, now that it's cheaper. Think of it as "rainy day" material.

Just warn the cat.

Joe, pussy-fan

 

Curiously good.

 

I have a set, but two things have always bugged me about TAS.
1) The actors talk so damned slow and without much emotion.
2) The episodes are only half an hour long. The stories are set up and resolved in a flash.

(Also, the animation is pretty basic)

 

I've only seen two episodes. I saw them right after becoming a fan of the first "Star Trek" series for the first time, and I loved them. I don't know if the quality of the other episodes is a huge drop off, but based on "Yesteryear" and "More Tribbles, More Troubles", I would recommend it. I just thought it was so cute to hear the real cast's voices coming out of the clunkily drawn and animated (but handsome ) caricatures of them, and the stories (at least those I saw) seemed to be very cute, innocent, and fun.

They were simple, but not stupid. I think the pacing is just right...I disagree that (again, at least for the episodes I saw) it was rushed. Like 90s Simpsons and Batman (but with less wit and maturity, of course) I think it did a fine job of compressing a story into 20something minutes and maintaining spot-on ingratiating characterizations. What I saw was entertaining while endearing and loving homages to the history, backstory, and characters of "Star Trek".

 

My wife loves the show. I loved it as a kid, and like a lot of it now.

 

I thought More Tirbble More Troubles was tres lame. A mostly not funny reprise.

 

It's pretty ordinary really.

There were some good writers, and as a result a few not bad episodes, but it's animation on a shoestring budget. The only things I can think of that looked as cheap were the old Hulk and Captain America cartoons, although they may have been a tad more static. I love James Doohan, but hearing him do the voices of practically anyone other than the main cast gets old really quick, as does the notoriously repetitious music. It's all packed into a half hour, which means you barely have time to tell a good story and it's squarely aimed at kids.

I try to like it, and sometimes, in small doses I do, but it's pretty bad.

Canon? Of course not - Roddenberry himself denounced it as non-canonical.

 

I thouight it was okay as a 10 year old kid watching it on NBC Saturday mornings in 1973 (and hell, I have bought the DVD set); but honestly, no, it's not at the same calibre as TOS. It's Star Trek for kids.

 

I had many reservations about buying TAS, which I did only about a year or two ago...I figured how good can this really be?

Well I loved it...it was like seeing a long lost fourth season! The large majority (IMO) of stories are excellent and interesting. The only complaint is it could of easily been an hour long show.

I felt this cartoon was not dumbed down in any way for the kids...perhaps that's why it only lasted a season...???

Yes the animation sucks...but we never were drawn to Star Trek because of the sets now were we...LOL

Also the kids loved it! So if you want to introduce a kid to Trek..this is the prefect vehicle. They didn't notice the poor animation, redundant music or anything else...they were just interested in how the crew was going to get out of the latest fix they were in....

I'm glad I bought it...it was worth every penny. If you like TOS I'd say yes get TAS.

 

I think you'll enjoy watching it...but for me, 'repeat viewings' do not hold up well. The ratio of good episodes to crappy episodes is about the same as with all other Trek...about 1/3 good (with a couple of 'excellent' episodes) and 2/3 crappy (with a couple of 'unwatchable' episodes).

EXCELLENT: "Time Trap", "The Slaver Weapon", "Yesteryear".
UNWATCHABLE: ""Mudd's Passion", "The Practical Joker", "The Terratin Incident".