How bad is season 3?

[AxelFoley]

I always hear that the third season is not that good, that there are some terrible episodes in that season and that the writing got much worse.

What I want to know is, exactly how much worse did the show get? I mean, how many BAD episodes was there, how many OK episodes was there, and how many GOOD/GREAT was there?

And if you could rate the season as a whole, from 1-10, what would it get (and what would seasons 1-2 get compared to it)?

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

Honestly, I don't think S3 is as bad as some make it out to be. There was definitely a downslide in quality, but there were still some good episodes (I'm not sure it had any "great" ones). If I were to rate the seasons:

S1=8
S2=9.8
S3=6

 

[M'Sharak]

I always hear that the third season is not that good, that there are some terrible episodes in that season and that the writing got much worse.

It's not as solid as the first two seasons, some of the writing isn't as strong and budget reductions had an effect, too. There are a couple of complete turkeys, but there are quite a number of really good episodes, and several of my favorites for the series as a whole. Overall, as uneven as it is, Season 3 isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe.

Best bet: You watch it. Then you will know.

 

[Botany Bay]

S1 - 10/10
S2 - 9/10
S3 - 7/10

Where Season 3 disappoints is the half dozen or so episodes that are full of padded out page after padded out page of dull speeches to fill time.

Some patches of very tedious trekking, but give me TOS Season 3 over any season of 87-05 Trek any day.

 

[JNG]

Best bet: You watch it.

Strongly seconded

 

[Outpost4]

^ What they said. Don't ask us. Tell us what you think instead.

To me, the third season of Star Trek is better than the first season of DS9, the seventh season of TNG or the second season of ENT. Does that help?

 

[AxelFoley]

^ What they said. Don't ask us. Tell us what you think instead.

To me, the third season of Star Trek is better than the first season of DS9, the seventh season of TNG or the second season of ENT. Does that help?

Since I have seen neither complete, no it does not.

I will watch season 3 of course, but it will take a while since I'm on season 2 at the moment.

 

[egonbeeblebrox]

It wasn't all that bad. I don't think it was much worse than season two, myself. The only episodes I really dislike from three are "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" I can't really watch them. All the others, even "The Way To Eden," are enjoyable to some extent.

 

[erastus25]

It wasn't all that bad. I don't think it was much worse than season two, myself. The only episodes I really dislike from three are "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" I can't really watch them. All the others, even "The Way To Eden," are enjoyable to some extent.

You like the Savage Curtain better than those two? Interesting.

 

[Warped9]

S1 - 10/10
S2 - 9/10
S3 - 7/10

Where Season 3 disappoints is the half dozen or so episodes that are full of padded out page after padded out page of dull speeches to fill time.

Some patches of very tedious trekking, but give me TOS Season 3 over any season of 87-05 Trek any day.

This isn't a bad assessment and I pretty much agree. I don't think S3 is nearly as bad as many folks make out and I find only a few episodes to be less than worthwhile.

 

[Outpost4]

It wasn't all that bad. I don't think it was much worse than season two, myself. The only episodes I really dislike from three are "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" I can't really watch them. All the others, even "The Way To Eden," are enjoyable to some extent.

You like the Savage Curtain better than those two? Interesting.

And this is what makes the third season so interesting. It is so variable. Someone likes most every episode. One of my favorites of the entire series is one egonbeeblebrox dislikes, Is There In Truth No Beauty?

First and second season, while each Trekkie has his personal favorites, most everyone agrees that Balance of Terror, City On The Edge of Forever and Mirror, Mirror are all good episodes. Even when you get to the second level of episodes, you won't find too many negative comments for shows like The Corbomite Manuever, Amok Time or Journey to Babel. About the only third season episode on which there is general consensus that it is a good one is The Tholian Web. Beyond that, you can find a fan of most every other episode while others dislike it. I will defend Spectre of the Gun and Elaan of Troyius while others don't like them.

The third season is like that.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

^ What they said. Don't ask us. Tell us what you think instead.

To me, the third season of Star Trek is better than the first season of DS9, the seventh season of TNG or the second season of ENT. Does that help?

Since I have seen neither complete, no it does not.

I will watch season 3 of course, but it will take a while since I'm on season 2 at the moment.

Believe me, its not half as bad as you hear it to be. Its just not as good as seasons 1 and 2, but its still TOS, and its still, thus, interesting.

Real stinkers are "Spock's Brain" and "The Way To Eden". And they deserve applause, too, because all actors involved (especially DeKelley, whose the only actor convincing in his part in both of these episodes) give their best to not tear the set down with their laughter. You see, they're that silly.

That said, there are some real excellent episodes in it, and you should enjoy yourself, if you enjoyed the first two seasons. I'd further recommend TAS, but thats your decision.

And since we rank the seasons:

S1: 9
S2: 8
S3: 7
TAS:7

 

[scorpius1701]

Great episodes: 5
The Enterprise Incident
Day of the Dove
The Tholian Web
The Empath
All Our Yesterdays

Good episodes: 10
Spectre of the Gun
Spock's Brain
The Paradise Syndrome
For the World is Hollow
Platos Stepchildren
Wink of an Eye
Elaan of Troyius
The Mark of Gideon
That Which Survives
Requiem for Metusalah

Bad episodes: 8
And the Children Shall Lead
Is there in truth no beauty
Whom Gods Destroy
Let that be your last battlefield
Lights of Zetar
Way to Eden
Savage Curtain
Turnabout Intruder


I think it has more mediocre episodes than actual bad ones. I think the reason it gets a bad rap is the fact that it didnt have as many GREAT episodes.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

Beyond that, you can find a fan of most every other episode while others dislike it.

The third season is like that.

Exactly. Turnabout Intruder has been mentioned already as a "bad episode" in this thread and in the "worst episode" polls, but it has always been a favorite of mine. I think there is something for everyone in S3

 

[ToddPence]

I think that the criticism against season three is vastly overstated for the most part. Yes, there was a drop off in quality, but it wasn't THAT huge of one. At least there were no major changes in format from previous seasons. If you really want to see a show drop badly in quality from one season to the next, compare Space:1999's two seasons.
Also, I think there is often a double standard among Trek "fans" who harp on the third season. They criticize that year's episodes for flaws that they let pass in episodes of the first and second years.

 

[egonbeeblebrox]

It wasn't all that bad. I don't think it was much worse than season two, myself. The only episodes I really dislike from three are "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" I can't really watch them. All the others, even "The Way To Eden," are enjoyable to some extent.

You like the Savage Curtain better than those two? Interesting.

Yeah, I actually like "The Savage Curtain." Of course, it's more because it's so bizarre than it is for any 'Quality' reasons.

 

[HoundDog]

Personally, I don't think that season 3 is that much worse than 1+2. Actually, with "The Enterprise Incident" and "The Tholian Web" two of my all time top-10-list are from that season. And the rest isn't that bad either - or it's just me.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Also, despite its obvious good-evil, black-white theme, I love "Let that be your Last Battlefield" - I thought it was poignant. And "Turnabout Intruder" ain't a bad episode, just not enough for a series finale (I always see "All Our Yesterdays" as the season finale, IMO).

 

[THE_FETT]

There's no such a thing as "bad TOS", only "underappreciated TOS."

Spectre of the Gun A+
Elaan of Troyius B+
The Paradise Syndrome B+
The Enterprise Incident A
And the Children Shall Lead C
Spock's Brain C-
Is There in Truth no Beauty? B
The Empath A+
The Tholian Web A+
For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky A-
Day of the Dove A+
Plato´s Stepchildren B
Wink of an Eye B+
That Which Survives B+
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield B+
Whom Gods Destroy B
The Mark of Gideon B
The Lights of Zetar C+
The Cloud Minders B
The Way to Eden C
Requiem for Methuselah A-
The Savage Curtain B
All Our Yesterdays B+
Turnabout Intruder A+


Season 1 A+
Season 2 A+
Season 3 A+

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

The best ones:

Spectre of the Gun
Is There in Truth no Beauty?
The Tholian Web
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
All Our Yesterdays
Turnabout Intruder
Elaan of Troyius
The Paradise Syndrome
The Enterprise Incident

These are the middle ground:

For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
Day of the Dove
Wink of an Eye
That Which Survives
Whom Gods Destroy
The Mark of Gideon
The Lights of Zetar
The Cloud Minders
The Way to Eden
Requiem for Methuselah
Spock's Brain

These I don't go out of my way to see:

And the Children Shall Lead
The Empath
The Savage Curtain
Plato´s Stepchildren


Overall, I'd agree that the third season is generally underrated. It's main problem is the bad bits are generally worse than the bad bits of the rest of TOS.

TAS makes a good fourth season too.

I'd rank the seasons as S1 better than S2 and S2 better than S3 and TAS, but the differences aren't that great.