Essential episodes that hold up well

[Robbiesan]

I've always enjoyed rewatching Balance of Terror. Mark Leonard speaks with such gravitas and you can see why he was chosen for a reoccuring role later as Spock's father.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLxO7-7e0o

"The only thing missing is Russian accents". That's what I thought the first time I watched this as a child. They were clearly a metaphor for Russia and the Russians and the Cold War. But it was different because they were portrayed as a people who did honorable things and had such bearing when they spoke. That's when I also first considered that the people of the Soviet Union might not be one dimensional and trying to do their duty as well.

I hope folks watch this, and don't think all episodes are too dated to be enjoyable.

Over the course of the series, the Romulans became something quite different in TNG. But there are hints of Balance of Terror found in the response of the Romulan captain at the conclusion of STTNG The Chase.

 

[vulcan redshirt]

Agreed, I love Balance of Terror and would consider it one of the best TOS episodes. As well as the plot (discounting the Romulan 'impulse only' blooper that will probably still be debating in year 2266) the fact that the episode was practically a 'bottle episode' helps make the episode not look dated. the main thing that seriously dates some TOS episodes is the prevalence for Googie style architecture with respect to some planetside locations.

Errand of Mercy also holds up well, and is essential to the Klingon plots, as is The Trouble with Tribbles.

Tomorrow is Yesterday is badly dated, due to its use of a F104 jet, and Taste of Armageddon is so blatently Cold-war inspired, that again, it has dated poorly.

The general premise behind the Cloud Minders has also held up well enough to have at least partly inspired the recent movie Elysium, even if the effects (especially the costuming) dates the actual episode.

 

[Pauln6]

A mixture of things tends to date TOS such as the way that too many of the women are hopeless at what they're supposed to be good at, although security guards without two brain cells to rub together are alive and er... dying even in modern Trek. Advances in DNA sequencing make some of the medical dialogue a bit ropey and where the crew struggle to do stuff technologically that we could do without difficulty with today's technology. The appalling lack of safety features on futuristic equipment is seconded only to the architecture of the LoTR dwarves and the death penalty crops up a bit too often. Parallel Earth plots are awful.

For me, if you close your good eye and ignore obvious bloopers, I enjoy Balance of Terror the most but there are others - I love Devil in the Dark, Amok time, and the Immunity Syndrome.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Has nobody mentioned City on the Edge? I don't really find that that one has dated, with the period setting.

 

[Dale Sams]

Corbomite Maneuver, while being held as a good episode is still underrated to me. Shatner is at his finest in those early days. Bringing his naturalism seen in those very early days.

re: Datedness....ST will never feel dated to me.

 

[gomtuu20]

"The Doomsday Machine" holds up particularly well. "Amok Time", "Court Martial", "Mirror Mirror", "Obsession", and "Balance of Terror" hold up well. While I still love "City", it does feel a little dated now.

Most of the first season holds up pretty well.

I think "Spectre of the Gun" is underrated. I think it still holds up pretty well. It has kind of a spooky feel in the last half of the episode. Admittedly though, it would probably have resonated more with 1960's viewers considering the popularity of Westerns at the time.

In "Requium for Methusalem", he is watching what looks like a flat screen TV. That was pure science fiction sfx magic at the time!

"The Way To Eden" is probably the most dated, for reasons so obvious it does not need to be expounded on.

 

[Robbiesan]

City on the Edge of Forever is a great episode. It probably is because it's focused on a Kirk and Spock alone, dealing with a situation that doesn't demand lots of alien costume changes and makeup, or special effects. In fact, any Star Trek series in the future could benefit from letting the actors create a reality in this much simpler manner and be natural and tell a story.

The Way to Eden is representative of how Hollywood was allowed to present the Hippie movement of the time period. They were limited in what the censors would allow regarding showing drug use, far left thinking, sexual freedom, etc. While in the very midst of the time period upon which lots of authentic experiences were going on about that movement, they chose instead to marginalize it.

I watched it the other day. It was artificial when it aired and even then we thought the Star Trek actors were "pretty square" and stiff.

Here's Buffalo Springfield from that time period. A little different from the portrayal on the show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30W3iRL48gQ

Or a reprise of Hair which was trying to demonstrate the clothing styles but made in 1979.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhbxI5eVnM4