My Star Trek Journey: TOS Edition

[SeanScot]

Hello everyone,

I'm Sean. I'm a 25 year old who had never seen a full entry (show OR movie) of Star Trek before the 2009 film. Needless to say, I have gained quite an interest in the series and have begun watching with a plan to see the entire canon universe that is Star Trek (plus TAS). I'm going to take the advice of a fellow forum member and begin sharing my experiences and opinions with anyone who cares to read. I have already seen the first season of TOS and have started on the second, so I'll use this first post to begin catching up. If anyone has any ideas for or opinions about this thread and it's existence, please don't hesitate to comment.

!!!SPOILERS!!!

THE CAGE: Sadly, I haven't seen this episode in it's original form as my rented set didn't include it.

THE MAN TRAP: My first episode of Trek. I remember finding Shatner's acting to be much better that I expected. Much more fluid and not too dramatic. It seems he gained the characteristic later in his career? The plot of the episode is straight forward. I enjoyed Crater's comparison of the creatures to the buffalo. I enjoyed imagining millions of them on the planet enjoying the plentiful salt. Sad to see it have to resort to killing for food. I was a little upset by the necessity of making the Uhura "bait" african american. Then I remembered it was in the 1960's.

CHARLIE X: Charlie is a naughty boy. Very interesting to see Star Trek handle sexual harassment so early on. I enjoyed this episode much. Uhura singing was quite a treat. Weird that I haven't seen the recreational areas much since this episode. The actor playing Charlie is a little over the top, especially at the end, but still a memorable character.

WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE: It's very easy to tell this is the second pilot. Everything needs a bit of tweaking... Spock's eyebrows, uniforms, that giant "phaser rifle"?! I was impressed with the contacts they had for the actors. They were very creepy. "James R. Kirk?" That's probably been discussed to death...

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That is all for now as it is getting late. I'll make my next post a longer one. Thank you for reading (I know I'm no writer).

Sean

 

[Doug Otte]

Sean, welcome to the Forum. It's refreshing to find new, young fans who were turned on to Trek by the new movie. We're glad to read your thoughtful reviews of the episodes.

Doug

 

[Mendon]

There's something I adore about Where No Man Has Gone Before. It seems so stately compared to subsequent episodes, but in the best way. I wouldn't worry too much about missing The Cage since you essentially saw the entire episode spliced into The Menagerie.

Do you think that watching them in airing order was fine, or if you had it to do over again, would you prefer production order?

 

[Green Shirt]

I wouldn't worry too much about missing The Cage since you essentially saw the entire episode spliced into The Menagerie.

Although there were enough "Pike character moments" cut that made seeing them for the first time somewhat of a revelation. There is a good bit of the character's personality (such as it was) left out of The Menagerie.

 

[Doug Otte]

Seeing The Cage uncut is a lot different to seeing bits of it throughout The Menagerie. It really gives you a feel for the concept of the show at that time, as well as what the series might have been like w/ Pike.

You'll see it on the 3rd Season set.

Doug

 

[VulcanVixen]

I used to watch the episodes a lot when I was a kid, and also rediscovered my adoration after the Abrams film. I am now on Episode 14, and I remember most of them pretty well from the first time I had watched them. I recommend you purchase the trilogy of the last 3 Star Trek movies. I have also bought the follow up comics of the trilogy in a thick book. Pricey, but worth it!