Lack of aliens in season 1

[Shawnster]

Season 2

CATSPAW - Korob and Sylvia
METAMORPHOSIS - The Companion
FRIDAY'S CHILD - The Capellans, although they looked human
WHO MORNS - Apollo
AMOK TIME - Vulcans
DOOMSDAY -
WOLF IN - Argelians, although they look human. Armenian science officer Lt. Zakaryan noted their differences.
CHANGELING -
APPLE - Inhabitants of Gamma Trianguli
MIRROR - Halkans
DEADLY YEARS - Romulan ships only
I MUDD - Robots from Andromeda
TRIBBLES -
BREAD - Neo Romans, although they look human
BABEL - Just about every distinctive alien at that time
PRIVATE WAR - Tyree and Hill People
TRISKELION - Various. I thought this was 3rd season
OBSESSION -
IMMUNITY SYNDROME -
PIECE OF THE ACTION - Beta Iotians, although they look human
BY ANY OTHER NAME - Andromedans
OMEGA - Human looking Yangs and Coms, as noted by Christopher below.
RETURN TO TOMORROW - Sargon's people. Voices and glowing orbs only
PATTERNS OF FORCE - Neo Nazis and Zeons, although they look human
ULTIMATE COMPUTER -
ASSIGNMENT EARTH -

Season 1 - 17 alien episodes
Season 2 - 19 alien episodes

Season 2 was shorter with only 26 episodes instead of 29. From a ratio standpoint, the percentage of season 2 episodes with aliens is greater than season 1.

 

[T'Girl]

Assuming that the doomsday machine wasn't a self aware and sapient entity.

(maybe)

 

[Christopher]

FRIDAY'S CHILD - The Capellans, although they looked human

But, in theory, were distinguished by being unusually tall. McCoy said it wasn't uncommon for them to top seven feet, although due to casting limitations, we ended up visiting what must've been a comparatively short tribe.

WOLF IN - Armenians, although they look human

Armenians are human. You mean Argelians.

Season 2 was shorter with only 25 episodes instead of 29.

26 episodes. You forgot "The Omega Glory," another Earth-parallel with human-looking aliens.

 

[Push The Button]

Re: Firefly

NuBSG didn't have any aliens either, just Colonials (humans) and Cylons.

 

[scotpens]

WOLF IN - Armenians, although they look human

They may look human, but beware of the Armenians! They're taking over the world!

(I know you meant "Argelians.")

EDIT: Christopher beat me to the punchline.

 

[Shawnster]

Yeah yeah, everyone is a critic. LOL

I went back and edited my post

 

[Commishsleer]

The problem was, the show's mission statement up front was "To seek out new life and new civilizations [and] to boldly go where no man has gone before." So focusing mainly on human colonies was kind of a failure to deliver on the show's explicit promise.

Very true.

But at first they made a good effort to show aliens as different than us....

Balok's race
Perhaps Ruk's extinct creators
Lizard like Gorn
Salt vampire
Horta
Galileo giant humanoid, etc.

Later it was overboard and it was just a wig or body paint (or nothing) to portray aliens and IMO it became cheap and overdone.

And I find the mission statement to be a little hollow "seeking out new life.." as if that would be amazing and fairly rare--after an episode like Babel where it's a virtual United Nations walking around the ship.

In all your examples, the Enterprise crew fired upon said 'new life'

 

[T'Girl]

Balok's race

In all your examples, the Enterprise crew fired upon said 'new life'

All but one, although they did blow up a "buoy."

 

[Nerys Myk]

ASSIGNMENT EARTH -
.

Isn't Isis an alien and there is also Gary Seven's mysterious employers.

 

[T'Girl]

TRIBBLES

Klingons.

 

[johnnybear]

At least in TOS the humanoid races don't have ridges in their forehead, nose bumps or blue veins on their faces to distinquish them from earthers!
JB

No, just differently shaped ears, odd eyebrows, and unusual skin and hair colors.

No I meant when The Enterprise meets a humanoid civilization somewhere, the inhabitants on the whole look and behave virtually like us! I nearly said dress too! HaHa!
In TNG every alien race even humanoid had to have something different to distinquish them from us and other humanoid races! Only in the first season do they meet humans looking exactly like us!
JB

 

[Christopher]

I know what you meant, but my point is that TOS did occasionally try to distinguish its aliens with makeup, just using different techniques than the later shows used. It's a difference in budget and technology more than a difference in intention.

And the later Trek shows had a variety of "human aliens," not just in TNG's first season. There's a full list here:

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/human-aliens.htm

 

[Commishsleer]

I know what you meant, but my point is that TOS did occasionally try to distinguish its aliens with makeup, just using different techniques than the later shows used. It's a difference in budget and technology more than a difference in intention.

And the later Trek shows had a variety of "human aliens," not just in TNG's first season. There's a full list here:

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/human-aliens.htm

That guy who kidnapped Data I thought looked pretty human to me. With a similar amount of facial tattoos as Chakotay.

The race who kill off people when they are 60 also looked like humans with tattoos.

 

[Christopher]

That guy who kidnapped Data I thought looked pretty human to me. With a similar amount of facial tattoos as Chakotay.

I'd assumed Fajo's markings were some kind of alien pigmentation like Trill spots, but looking at screencaps, they're too angular for that and do appear to be some kind of alien writing. Fajo's assistants also look pretty human.

The race who kill off people when they are 60 also looked like humans with tattoos.

Now, the Kaelon's facial markings did look like natural pigmentation. There's also a very subtle bumpiness to the skin under/around the splotches.

 

[Timo]

Nitpicking, as usual - but since the case of Lazarus is one of a purported "first", I'll argue the point in this thread as well.

..he said he was a native of the planet where he was found, that he was a time traveler from its distant past. So he definitely wasn't an Earthman.

As for Miri and the Onlies, since they were from a duplicate Earth..

So duplicate Earths exist. And it's argued that people from Earths are humans. And Lazarus claims that the barren planet beneath the ship is "his Earth". Wouldn't it be proper to assume that Lazarus indeed is an Earthman and thus a human, even if his Earth is a geriatric husk of a planet while Miri's world is a few centuries younger than Kirk's Earth?

We should concede that Lazarus would be from a more "mature" version of the human species, just as his planet is more weathered - "recuperative powers of a dinosaur" and all. But that probably still wouldn't qualify him as a "humanlike yet nonhuman alien".

Timo Saloniemi

 

[f14peter]

Season 2

WOLF IN - Argelians, although they look human. Armenian science officer Lt. Zakaryan noted their differences.

Actually, Hengist was Rigelian ... although they look human. Also, would the "entity" that occupied the various characters be an alien?

 

[Christopher]

Well, Hengist was from Rigel IV, but that doesn't mean he was a member of the Rigelian species; he could've been a human immigrant. After all, Hengist is an Earth name of Germanic origin.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Well, Hengist was from Rigel IV, but that doesn't mean he was a member of the Rigelian species; he could've been a human immigrant. After all, Hengist is an Earth name of Germanic origin.

And Spock is a Dutch name. So it's hard to say if Hengist in a human born on Rigel IV or a human looking native of Rigel IV with a name that is a homonym of a human one.

 

[T'Girl]

Was Redjac a intelligent being? I'd say yes.

On the other hand, perhaps it could use the intelligence of it's host, without having any of it's own.

 

[Shawnster]

Damnit! Shows me not to stick my nose in other peoples topics. I should turn in my comm badge.