I want to watch TOS, but I'm having some difficulty

[JonnyQuest037]

No one will judge you if you can't bear to watch TOS any longer.

Well, I will. But don't worry, I'll judge you quietly.

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Seriously, Swarm Emperor, it sounds like TOS just isn't for you. It's okay. It sounds like you gave it a decent chance. If you want to try again, the only things I would suggest are to try & view the show in the context of its time and to skip most of the third season.

 

[Emperor Norton]

You gotta remember for a lot of us 80s/90s babies, TOS was this revered thing in Trekdom that everything worshiped, but which was just out of reach. You could find TNG on repeats a lot, but I remember it being far harder to run across the original Star Trek. I remember Scifi (not Syfy) did it around 6 PM with Twilight Zone for a number of years but then stopped doing that. So I at least came at it like the candy everyone talked about which you only got a bit of every few years, and then in the form of a DVD box set, they left the candy store unlocked. If you're younger, you may be part of the generation of fandom which takes a hipster revulsion to it. I'm not saying you are that by any means. What I am saying is that such is a subset of fandom that popped up in my lifetime, and that negativity may be in the subconscious somewhere.

 

[UnknownSample]

The era something was made in should not in itself be any kind of barrier. You have to acclimate. That takes time. That requires willingness to immerse yourself, based on a feeling that it's going to be worth it. And that requires realizing that current TV is as "dated" as anything else... we just happen to be living in the era it was made for. Not having a sense of superiority toward the past is needed, to try to put yourself in the zone needed.

 

[Nebusj]

I think there are things about the show that are really valuable and I think it holds up very well compared to other TV shows of its day, but if you're looking for entertainment and it feels like homework, move on and don't worry about it./QUOTE]

This. It's a fandom, not an assignment. If you aren't enjoying it on some level --- as a TV show, as a view to how the franchise started, heck, just as a way they used to make programs --- then let it rest. Watch what you do enjoy.

Perhaps sometime later you'll find the show does have something that appeals to you, and that's great. It'll be there. Perhaps sometime later you'll find the show still isn't for you, and while I'm sad you might not see in it what brings me joy, that's all right. Your recreation should be about things that make your life more pleasant.

 

[Kor]

... but I find the sheer sixties-ness of TOS to be a major impediment. ...

Since the fifties and sixties are my absolute favorite era for television and movies (for instance, to me, Connery is the only Bond), the "sheer sixties-ness" is the very reason why I prefer TOS to all other Trek.

If technology and effects are a deal-breaker, I would suggest approaching TOS as you would approach a stage play. Nobody expects hyper-realism in a stage production; you use suspension of disbelief and focus on the characterization and performance. Visuals are merely a stylization to establish a certain context.

YMMV

Kor

 

[geotrek]

for instance, to me, Connery is the only Bond

Agreed.

 

[uniderth]

Maybe try immersing yourself in other 60's classics. Hawaii Five-0, Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space, etc. Once you get into the 60's groove and shake off your modern TV bad habits then Star Trek may be more watchable for you.

 

[DonIago]

Personal opinions and experience follow, but YMMV:
Friends of mine who'd never been exposed to TOS found the remastered versions easier to deal with than the original. I think even the harshest authenticist would agree that in some cases the changes made aren't utterly horrible. This may say more about my friends' tastes than about the remastering itself.

As TOS is largely episodic, you can skip reams of episodes, jump about, etc. The upside of watching the "good episodes" is that you'll catch the good episodes. The downside is that once you've watched the "good" ones you may find yourself disheartened by the idea of watching the others. At least if you watch them sequentially then the quality balances out.

 

[FormerLurker]

for instance, to me, Connery is the only Bond

Agreed.

But he doesn't look anything like Hoagy Carmichael!


Which is what Ian Fleming said he looked like.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Maybe try immersing yourself in other 60's classics. Hawaii Five-0, Gilligan's Island, Lost in Space, etc. Once you get into the 60's groove and shake off your modern TV bad habits then Star Trek may be more watchable for you.

If any '60s TV were to serve as a primer for TOS, it would have to be the westerns.

 

[Tracy Trek]

Maybe just watch an episode once in a while. You don't have to do a marathon of it or keep a regular schedule of watching it.

 

[UnknownSample]

If any '60s TV were to serve as a primer for TOS, it would have to be the westerns.

Trek was my escape from Westerns. For me, the extreme opposite end of the scale. By the way, "wagon train to the stars" was just a pitch Gene R made to sell Trek to the network.
-----------------------
I like Ebert's attitude. The antidote to being troubled or thrown by the unfamiliar is to make it familiar.
Acquired tastes are the best. Take pride in not being limited to just the pop culture from your own era. Rejecting things based on first impressions will make for a dull and limited life.

 

[scotpens]

. . . All of the Trek shows show their age to some extent (the first season of TNG sometimes looked like The Dark Crystal), but I find the sheer sixties-ness of TOS to be a major impediment. The zeerust, the awkward zoom-ins on people's faces and other camera techniques, the technology, the effects; I find them very distracting and they stretch my ability to suspend reality to the breaking point.

Do you have this problem with period movies and television in general, or just Star Trek TOS? I mean, are you put off by the "twenties-ness" of Metropolis, the "thirties-ness" of the original King Kong, or the "fifties-ness" of Forbidden Planet?

This thread makes me think of a Roger Ebert radio appearance from the late 1980s.
CALLER: It's.....too HARD to watch in black-and-white!
EBERT: It's too HARD????? You poor baby. You poor baby.

Though to be fair when I was extra-young I thought b&w seemed boring and made it tricky to tell the actors apart.

Yeah, all those gray people look alike!

 

[TLOZ Lover]

I grew up watching TOS on re-runs in the early 70s and have seen the episodes so many times over the past 4 or 5 decades that I can quote dialogue on most.

Do I ever get tired of seeing TOS? No, not ever. It's a treat to see it whenever it's broadcast. Why? The crew of NCC 1701 (no bloody A, B, C or D) are dear, familiar, strong characters that live in my heart, mind and imagination. Sadly, with the passage of time, a number of these beloved character actors are no longer with us. Watching TOS preserves their memory and legacy for untold generations to come.

There have been long periods of time (years at a stretch) when I wasn't able to see it, and yes at first the props, costumes and aliens, etc. seem cheesy compared to what one sees today. But the personality, chemistry and professionalism of the major characters, the quality of the scientific concepts and most of the story lines draw one in the more it is watched.

Star Trek is firmly established in our cultural identity, and it's many incarnations over the years owe their existence to TOS. No, it doesn't have to be your favorite series as it is mine (and for many others), but we hope a fondness for it will grow in your heart in time.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

This thread makes me think of a Roger Ebert radio appearance from the late 1980s.
CALLER: It's.....too HARD to watch in black-and-white!
EBERT: It's too HARD????? You poor baby. You poor baby.

PERFECT. God, I miss that man.

 

[johnnybear]

Connery was the only actor to play Bond who was as tough in real life as the character he played! Plus he really did have the oomph with the ladies! Boy I wished I could have swopped bodies at those times he was kissing the gals!
JB

 

[Tracy Trek]

Trek was my escape from Westerns. For me, the extreme opposite end of the scale.

When I was grade school age in the 70's, sometimes it seemed like every other show was a cop show or a western. Of course, we only got a few VHF channels.* 2 each for the 3 big networks. A PBS station, which was the only one we could pick up with just rabbit ears, but the picture was snowy.

*If we were staying at my aunt's house in the country, we were lucky if we could get one channel, if the wind was blowing the right way.

 

[geotrek]

When I was grade school age in the 70's, sometimes it seemed like every other show was a cop show or a western. Of course, we only got a few VHF channels.* 2 each for the 3 big networks. A PBS station, which was the only one we could pick up with just rabbit ears, but the picture was snowy.

Yes! And, no remote control!

 

[Forbin]

My usual Saturday lunchtime habit for the last gazillion years has been to watch one of my old favorite 60s shows on DVD. One ep a week. I've done Lung Fu, Wild Wild West, Five-O (that one took 5 years of Saturdays!!), Mission: Impossible, Mannix, It Takes a Thief... I'm on Mod Squad now. They're still wonderful in my book. Of course, they're what I watched growing up, not nothing seems strange at all to me.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Yes! And, no remote control!

My sister and I sat on the floor in front of the TV...we were the remote control.