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Is TAS worth watching?

I can give it something of a pass. When you read the Alan Dean Foster adaptations you realize quite a few of the TAS episodes could have been pretty decent live-action stories.
 
I´m thinking about getting the DVD set, so what is TAS originally like?

They're like shortened episodes of TOS done in really cheap animation with three members of the original cast impersonating everybody's voices.
There were a lot more than three of them. Only Walter Koenig wasn't included.

A thousand times, yes! Even if only to see how many voices James Doohan and Majel Roddenberry do. If you're on the fence, start with "Yesteryear."
Yesteryear would have made a wonderful live action episode, where we get to see Spock's childhood home and his "fat teddy bear" he had as a pet.

There were some other good stories, too - Slaver Weapon and Albatross come to mind (the latter is one where McCoy is arrested and charged with genocide).
 
There were a lot more than three of them. Only Walter Koenig wasn't included.

My bad. It was guest stars and peripheral characters who were usually voiced by a couple of members of the original cast -- not the entire series.
 
There are a couple of clunkers, but most of the episodes have reasonably good stories and concepts.

However, I think a lot of people have a hard time looking past Filmation's animation (which isn't very good because of the numerous tricks used to reduce cost - as they were one of the last animation houses at the time that still produced all of their content in the USA), plus, the voice direction leaves a little to be desired (likely also done on the cheap, and being a voice actor requies a little different skill set, so actually using the original TV actors probably ended up hurting them a bit in this regard).
 
If the OP is talking about some dubbed language version, then perhaps it is not worth viewing. One of the reasons to view TAS is to hear the original actors playing reading their lines. THAT's what makes it special.

Agreed. The OP was referring to the German dubbed version and it's terrible because of the lame and silly jokes.

As for TOS the German dubbing director took some artistic license ("The Persuaders" were a big hit in Germany because of the funny dubbing) making a few episodes like "That Which Survives" very entertaining but not silly.

For TAS it appears someone tried to copy that dubbing style and failed terribly. It didn't even feature the voices of the original dubbing cast until TMP came along.

Bob
 
...the voice direction leaves a little to be desired (likely also done on the cheap, and being a voice actor requies a little different skill set, so actually using the original TV actors probably ended up hurting them a bit in this regard).
I'm certain I've read that much of the dialogue was almost literally phoned in, with the actors recording their lines in disparate studios depending on work commitments - providing no opportunity to play off each other.

I think this accounts for some slightly odd performances sometimes - as opposed to specific skill sets.
 
Eh...the animation by Filmation...ehhh...well Its like this. I very much enjoyed the animated series from story stand points. I bought the DVD set for $15 on sale at walmart and I dont regret it. If you can get passed the animation im sure its worth buying...ok if you like He-man and She-ra you'll like it. (Also by Filmation)
 
There's an old saying in animation circles that "Filmation animation is an oxymoron." ;)

(Don't blame the artists, they did the best they could with the limits they were given.)
 
I only watched through TAS and for the most part it was a chore. It's just... boring.. to me. There were a couple good episodes though. I'd say give it a try if it's the only bit of Trek you haven't watched. In the end, you should form your own opinions rather than let everyone else define yours.
 
Yes, TAS is worth watching.

And yes, it's dated.

However, for THAT alone, it's worth watching.
 
I think it is worth watching. I am on record as not really liking the animation but I do enjoy many of the stories. I often put it on as background noise or just to lay down and listen to the stories being told.
 
I showed the series to my wife, one episode a night over dinner. She said it was "interesting, mostly bad, glad I finally got to see it, but don't ever make me watch it again." :lol:
 
TAS to me is like illustrations from 1950s and 1960s books about space suddenly coming alive and turning into a motion picture. They have this unique feel to them, one of the reasons being probably the un-restricted colour range - nowadays cartoons, adverts etc. look as if the world only had 256 colours or maybe even something like 16. Red is only "red scraming at ya", there is no crimson, orangered, salmon etc. Everything has become strangely restrictive and monotonous colour-wise while those old paintings and illustrations show what the world is really like, they have this unique atmosphere.

Another reason why I like TAS are all those things that would not be possible or rather difficult with organic actors. For example Lieutenant M'Ress! Or all those strange animals they meet on other planets. People's imagination regarding alien fauna and flora still seems to be awfully limited so it is nice to see some creative thought here.
 
Simple question, is TAS worth watching?

It has its moments (such as "Yesteryear"), but I don't consider it on par with any of the other Star Trek series. It was only a half-hour show, and was written for a Saturday morning audience.

It's better than no Trek at all, but probably not much, IMHO.
 
I've made three attempts and just can't get into it.

I'm very familiar with the stories and some are quite good but the stilted voice acting, based on how it was done then, and the animation just rip me out of my enjoyment of the stories. And I love re-watching the original Scooby Doo so I just can't explain why my TAS experieces are so unenjoyable.
 
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