Is SNW S3 really that bad?

[cooleddie74]

SNW wins this one, though my dumb ass clicked TOS Season 3 by accident.

TNG Season 3 has a handful of good ones in the first ten of its Season 3, but easily ranks dead least of the three choices for me.

 

[Nerys Myk]

It still amazes me that Operation Annihilate was the last episode of the first season instead of City on the Edge of Forever. In fact, TOS had probably the worst string of season finales of any of the other series.

Operation Anihilate
Assignment Earth
Turnabout Intrudor

Very bad tastes to leave in an audiences mouth for the summer.

Were season "finales" even a thing back then? They just broadcast which ever episode was produced last, right?

 

[Maurice]

The trailer for "Four-And-A-Half Vulcans" was so repellent that I skipped it outright. And when I saw what "
New Life and New Civilizations" was about I went "pass". I Liked S1, S2 was so-so, and S3 just lost me.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

The trailer for "Four-And-A-Half Vulcans" was so repellent that I skipped it outright. And when I saw what "
New Life and New Civilizations" was about I went "pass". I Liked S1, S2 was so-so, and S3 just lost me.

Repellent is a strong word. May I ask why? 4.5 is my favourite episode of season 3.

The finale is very good and you should definitely give it more of a go and not judge it based on readings. Obviously watching a trailer is a stronger impression giver but they are also not always indicative of the final product. I do accept that bad trailers can kill all desire to see anything as I myself have seen a trailer for a film and gone yeah Im never watching that.

 

[Maurice]

Repellent is a strong word. May I ask why? 4.5 is my favourite episode of season 3.

This sums it up:

It’s horribly racist towards Vulcans in its biological essentialism.

The finale is very good. I recommend giving it more of a go and not judge it based on readings.

I detest eeeeevil aliens, and Batel's always bored me. I've never cared about her and Pike.

 

[cooleddie74]

It's my least favorite season of the show so far, but it's still better than any season of PIC or DSC.

 

[ichab]

SNW wins this one, though my dumb ass clicked TOS Season 3 by accident.

You can still change your vote.

TNG Season 3 has a handful of good ones in the first ten of its Season 3, but easily ranks dead least of the three choices for me.

It's not really fair to ignore everything after the tenth episode as the season wasn't designed to end at ten. You're cutting out Yesterday's Enterprise, Deja Q, The Offspring, Sins of the Father, Sarek and the Best of Both Worlds. Had the season been designed for ten, BOBW would have still been the last episode . But under those parameters, I still can't think of a single stinker among the bunch. IMO, this was the season when TNG started firing on all cylanders.

 

[cooleddie74]

Fixed. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[The Salt Umpire]

They’re like fingernails on a chalkboard to me (and I don’t even get bothered by the real thing).

Same.

Were season "finales" even a thing back then? They just broadcast which ever episode was produced last, right?

I don't remember season cliffhangers being a thing until the late 70s or early 80s.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Same.

I don't remember season cliffhangers being a thing until the late 70s or early 80s.

If anything, I think the networks were more concerned with a strong "opener."

 

[The Salt Umpire]

The first one I remember was 'who shot J.R.?'

 

[cooleddie74]

I don't think even shows like The Incredible Hulk had any season ending finale episode or cliffhanger. David Banner just began hitchhiking or walking down the road to his next destination with no connecting plotline between seasons other than "Banner wants to find a cure for his affliction."

 

[Firebird]

Perhaps M*A*S*H's "Abyssinia, Henry" is the closest I can think of a season cliffhanger from the pre-modern TV era.

 

[Maurice]

Perhaps M*A*S*H's "Abyssinia, Henry" is the closest I can think of a season cliffhanger from the pre-modern TV era.

I wouldn't consider that a cliffhanger, though it leaves open the question of who'll be in charge the following season.

Season-ending cliffhangers really only became a thing after Dallas. Soap is an example of why ending a season on a cliffhanger is risky.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Season-ending cliffhangers really only became a thing after Dallas. Soap is an example of why ending a season on a cliffhanger is risky.

Yeah. "Who shot JR" started that train.

 

[ichab]

I cant think of any cliffhangers before Dallas. A Google search only shows "series finales" from the 60s. Which is interesting, but not the same thing as cliffhangers.

 

[cooleddie74]

Even the original Columbo only had an intended series finale in the Season 5 final episode, "Last Salute to the Commodore." The producers as well as Peter Falk believed it was the last episode they'd all make, so Columbo rows away into the water as he whistles "This Old Man."

But once Falk changed his mind and decided to return for a sixth season that just ended up as a particularly memorable final scene of the fifth (a bit amusing since that episode is widely considered one of if not the worst of the original run of Columbo).

 

[somebuddyX]

I think TNG Season 3 is the best season of Trek. Mostly good to great, other than perhaps The High Ground which still has interesting action scenes and visuals, Tin Man with a great performance by The Mayor not giving a shit about anyone's opinions and interesting concept in Gomtuu and the Feds and Romulans warring over it, Menage a Troi which is dumb and forgettable at worst but with the brilliant monologue by Picard to the Ferengi. And even that initial ten episodes is amazing on its own, let alone all the awesome stuff that comes later, like The Survivors dealing with profound grief and loss, Who Watches the Watchers and the dangers of cultural contamination and treating the concept intelligently, The Enemy and The Defector dealing with trust and loyalty. Even Wesley's story in Evolution, trying to find his place and purpose and his reflection in Stubbs works really well for me. I love the shift to character focus but still with the space to try a lot of new concepts.

 

[Cicero]

Mostly good to great, other than perhaps The High Ground which still has interesting action scenes and visuals ...

I always liked "The High Ground," aside from Crusher's sympathy for Finn. I appreciated that Alexana Devos was a genuinely liberal person. Riker didn't acknowledge it, but she put her own life on the line at the end.

 

[cooleddie74]

"The Survivors" is just a good Star Trek episode PERIOD.