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Newcomer with an ambitious project

I've really enjoyed your ENT reviews, TrekFan2Be. It's given me a fresh perspective on a series which was greatly maligned by many Trekkies at the time it aired. I've come to appreciate ENT a lot more, recently. It really shone in its third and fourth seasons. it's just a shame we'll never know what was to come.

Your top and bottom ten episodes are in more or less concordance with the episodes commonly cited by fans on this board. I'd say your Star Trek tastes are shaping up very well indeed! :) I look forward to seeing what you reckon of TOS.
 
Kelso said:
IMO, you're doing yourself a disservice by not watching the early eps. in production order.
Click to expand...

I strongly agree with this. TrekFan2Be, it puzzles me that you were given a list of episodes in a specific order to watch that deviates from the production order of TOS, which is really the way to watch the series. As Kelso said it doesn't really matter later on, but watching The Corbomite Maneuver right after Where No Man Has Gone Before serves as the best introduction to the series.
 
Kelso said:
TrekFan2Be said:
I'm going to take a break for a day or so before I start STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES. I'm aiming to watch and have reviews up on Friday evening for the following episodes:
  1. WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE
  2. THE MAN TRAP
  3. CHARLIE X
  4. THE NAKED TIME
  5. THE ENEMY WITHIN
  6. MUDD'S WOMEN
  7. WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF?
  8. MIRI
Click to expand...




IMO, you're doing yourself a disservice by not watching the early eps. in production order.

1. Where No Man Has Gone Before
2. The Corbomite Maneuver
3. Mudd's Women
4. The Enemy Within
5. The Man Trap
6. The Naked Time
7. Charlie X
8. Balance of Terror


etc.

It doesn't matter as much later on... but the beginning of the series flows a lot better in prod. order.

Also, will you be watching the classic versions or the new remastered versions?
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It's not the first time that has been brought to my attention. The reason for the order I was given was (I guess) for the convienience of being in that order on DVD. If you guys want to provide me with the production order for the first season, I'll go in that order for season one and then continue on with the airdate order in season two.

I'm watching the original versions. We have remastered season one in HD-DVD, but none of the other remastered sets. Therefore, I'm sticking with the originals to remain consistant.
 
Production order for season one is as follows:

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Corbomite Maneuver
Mudd's Women
The Enemy Within
The Man Trap
The Naked Time
Charlie X
Balance of Terror
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
Miri
The Conscience of the King
The Galileo Seven
Court Martial
The Menagerie, Part I
The Menagerie, Part II
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
The Alternative Factor
Tomorrow is Yesterday
The Return of the Archons
A Taste of Armageddon
Space Seed
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation -- Annihilate!
 
ialfan said:
Production order for season one is as follows:

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Corbomite Maneuver
Mudd's Women
The Enemy Within
The Man Trap
The Naked Time
Charlie X
Balance of Terror
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
Miri
The Conscience of the King
The Galileo Seven
Court Martial
The Menagerie, Part I
The Menagerie, Part II
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
The Alternative Factor
Tomorrow is Yesterday
The Return of the Archons
A Taste of Armageddon
Space Seed
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation -- Annihilate!
Click to expand...

Awesome.

Anyone want to offer up opinions about season one as a whole? Give me an idea of what to expect (without spoilers please)?
 
Hey there. I will say that you have to understand of coure that Trek itself had never been conceived opf before. You'll notice some small inconsistencies here and there, but considering that it was the first time they were trying it, it holds together really well.

The important thing is the characters. The main characters knew their roles instantly. From their first frame of film which tehy are on creen togethe, there is a chemistrry between Kirk and spock that has since been unrivaled in Television.

Also look past the effects. I actually think tehy are quite good, but obviosuly the technology and budget were limited. Let your imagination complete the picture the effects were trying to create, and give kudos when the effects truely work, and you'll find that more often than not they will work.

Also keep in mind that TOS is Roddenberry, and Gene Coon. The ran the show. Rodennberry had a true vision into human potential and that we can all have a function. Notice a female African American in an important bridge role on a show produced in the 60's Gene Coon brought drma to Gene's vision, helping to fill in the details and give the ship a mission from wek to week.

Also many episodes are allegories to events that were happening at the time that most shows couldn't talk about, but the networks missed it with Star Trek, and they didn't see the allegory. Makes for an interesting take on the show.

Most of all, enjoy at as good campy fun. Embrace the overplayed music, the occassional over acting moment,. Treasure it, because in modern shows we've become too cynical to enjoy such things.
 
I'm surprised "The Cage" isn't on your list. Sure, it gets revisited in a very clever way in "The Menagerie", but even if not aired originally I consider it a proper episode anyway.
 
You get all of the best moments of "The Cage" in "The Menagerie," so skipping "The Cage" is recommended on a first runthrough.
 
TrekFan2Be said:
I was told that these next two episodes basically serve as the series finale of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE.
Click to expand...

Yes. And as you know there is one more episode of Enterprise which actually takes place during the run of TNG. It was the actual final episode aired, but the fact that it was a very different episode, especially for a finale, and contained story material which many people found extremely...unsatisfying led many to simply consider the final two-parter as the series finale, and "These Are the Voyages.." simply as an epilogue.


TrekFan2Be said:
Anyone want to offer up opinions about season one as a whole? Give me an idea of what to expect (without spoilers please)?
Click to expand...

I'd give an overview of the century that will pass between Enterprise and TOS. All of this is information that you will eventually be able to surmise, although some of it won't be totally clear, especially considering none of this was figured out yet for at least the first half season of TOS, and some contradictory information is given during that timeperiod. (Heck, they never even decided what century is was for the entire run of the series.) Considering that you're watching this having already seen Enterprise, I think it would be benifical to fill in some of the gaps in between. So none of this is really spoilers, but just in case you'd rather figure this all out as you go along, I'll spoiler code it.

The Romulans continue their hostile actions against the Coalition and eventually a full scale war erupts. This lasts for several years ending in the Battle of Cheron, in which the Romulans suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Coalition. A treaty is signed in which a Neutral Zone is established around Romulan space, behind which they hide for more than a century. During all this, no one ever lays eyes on a Romulan face to face.

The war prompts the Coalition to form an even closer alliance, with Earth, Vulcan, Tellar, and Andoria forming a single government, the United Federation of Planets. Starfleet becomes the Federaiton's main exploration and defensive arm.

The Federation's relations with the Klingon Empire are never very good. The century long cold war between the two powers is heating in the years leading into The Original Series.

The USS Enterprise is commissioned in 2245 under the command of Captain Robert April, and later under Christopher Pike. The Enterprise is now twenty years old. As the series begins, the youngest captain to ever command a starship has recently been assigned to the Enterprise...
 
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I worship season one, but I like season two just a biiiiit more. It seems more balanced, an equal amount of classics but no duds like "Mudd's Women" and "The Alternative Factor". :)
 
Dane_Whitman said:
I worship season one, but I like season two just a biiiiit more. It seems more balanced, an equal amount of classics but no duds like "Mudd's Women" and "The Alternative Factor". :)
Click to expand...

Nah. The stories in Season Two are less cohesive in and of themselves and depend more upon the audience being fond of the characters in order to get away with some real laziness. "Mudd's Women" is hardly a dud, but stuff like "Patterns Of Force" and "Bread And Circuses" are just unimaginative recycling.

There was a fair amount of science fiction in year one of Trek; after that, less and less.
 
It's true that Mudd's Women may not have been a dud at the time, but it has dated terribly, focussing on three women whose only goal in life seems to find some random ill-mannered men to cook for and who will take care of them. My disdain for this episode is immeasureable. As for "Patterns of Force" and "Bread and Circuses", they may not have been original but they are a load of fun. "Bread and Circuses" has my favourite Spock-McCoy moment.
 
Basically, a couple of things to keep in mind for the first season

1. I'll echo what was said above. This is the reason Star Trek has existed in popular imagination and is still being made
2. Remember it was made in the 1960s. Don't let production values get in the way
3. The story telling style is a bit different from Enterprise.
 
Dane_Whitman said:
It's true that Mudd's Women may not have been a dud at the time, but it has dated terribly, focussing on three women whose only goal in life seems to find some random ill-mannered men to cook for and who will take care of them.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's more dated than most of TOS, which was rarely progressive where the role of women within the stories was concerned. It's also a bit of a period piece; it's one of Trek's early transpositions of a familiar TV story into their "Wagon Train To The Stars" format. "Mudd's Women" is just a mail-order bride story with a minimal sf twist to it.

Most of Season Two is mediocre - "C" and "B-" stories. There are four first-rate episodes in the whole season.
 
Where No Man Has Gone Before (*****) - A nice action-adventure story that actually provides a good amount of background for Captain Kirk. I completley love William Shatner's performance as Captain Kirk. He's the classic charasmatic leader. Gary Lockwood from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Sally Kellerman were excellent guest stars as Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner respectfully.

The Corbomite Maneuver (*****) - Another standout performance by William Shatner. He's the epitomy of a commanding presence at this point. Deforest Kelley was also fantastic as Doctor McCoy. I loved every scene that paired Kirk and McCoy. The twist at the end revealing Balok's true identity was very cool and unexpected.

Mudd's Women (**) - I see what everyone was saying about the sexism in this episode. Harry Mudd is a pretty cool guest-actor and I liked the comedic element he brought to the table. The mystery element in the first half of the episode was its biggest strength. Once they get down to the mining planet, the episode loses a lot of steam.

The Enemy Within (*****) - William Shatner's best work to date. It's nice to see that the transporter is still an imperfect and occaisionally malfunctioning piece of technology. Leonard Nimoy was also quite strong here, most especially the scene where he realizes what exactly is happening and how it has effected Kirk. I have to say, thus far I'm very, very impressed.

The Man Trap (***) - A nice piece for Deforest Kelley's Doctor McCoy. I imagine the image of the Salt-eating creature would have been terrifying in 1966. i also liked that Lt. Sulu and Uhura both had some good scenes and character development here as well. Nothing special, but an entertaining episode.

The Naked Time (*****) - Very cool episode that offers some more fascinating character development. Most especially for Commander Spock. His scene in the briefing room was phenomenally performed by Nimoy. I felt like I got his character and his inner battles after that scene, which speaks volumes for its success. I also loved James Doohan as Scotty here. This is a very colorful and well-rounded episode that brings a lot to the table.

Charlie X (***) - Pretty interesting look at childhood. The young actor portraying Charlie was suprisingly effective. I also really enjoyed Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand. I wish Enterprise had made use of the Yeoman rank. William Shatner was again very strong here as well. The ending was a bit convienient and rushed, but up until that point this was a four-star episode IMO.

I have also watched the following episodes. I'll have reviews up in a bit for these:
Balance of Terror
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
Miri
The Conscience of the King
The Galileo Seven
Court-Martial
 
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