Question about TOS

[gazomg]

I never saw a full episode of TOS believe it or not, seem bits of shows all my life but never watched an entire episode.

Only got interested when TNG came out, then voyager, was after i saw DS9 my favorite of them all before watching enterprise.
always been meaning to eventually get round to watching it and now with time on my hands i can start, the question is I know the pilots were made first and now are placed later in the series.

so which episodes do I watch first, the order they are listed like on memory alpha or watch the original pilots first. ?

 

[Greg Cox]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Unlike modern TV shows, there are no continuing subplots or story arcs and, except for one two-part story, all the episodes are standalones. You can watch them in pretty much in any order, which is how most of us did it when the show was airing in syndication.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Production order makes a bit more sense than airdate order in the earlier episodes. Also, I wouldn't bother watching the original pilot, "The Cage", first, as most of it was worked into a Season 1 episode, "The Menagerie", so you'd be watching it twice in close proximity.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

^ Yes. If you really want to see both pilots first, look for "The Cage" and then the second pilot is "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (should be on the first disc as it was among the first few in transmission order).


Anyone, does production order in the early episodes correspond to the stardates?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Production order is a good way to see how the show and the characters evolved.

 

[T'Girl]

In TOS the stardates don't really conform to anything, they're just random numbers.

 

[c0rnedfr0g]

When I bought TOS-R on Blu-ray, I watched all the episodes in production order (starting with "Where No Man Has Gone Before") through the DVD TOS movies (STVI: TUC) and finally "Star Trek" (2009). To cap it all off, I then went back and watched the B&W and the Blu-ray remastered versions of the original pilot "The Cage," and overall I felt it was a very rewarding TOS Trek experience (for a TOS novice, such as myself at the time) as it went from the early days to the latest incarnation then back to its roots.

I recommend the Director's Cuts for both TMP and TWOK, fwiw

 

[Mario de Monti]

Well gazomg it´s nice to see people who get around to watching TOS after they have watched so much Trek already. Having grown up with TOS (and in Germany) I watched the episodes completely out of order and came to love it anyway

If you have a choice however - as you do now - I´d start with the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before", as it introduces most of the regular cast. The first pilot "The Cage" was quite different overall and can be watched as a "bonus" at a later time. Plus - as has been said already - it is being re-used in the season one two-parter "The Menagerie". After "Where No Man Has Gone Before" I´d watch the next 15 to 20 episodes in production order, since quite a number of small changes took place as the series got going and it will probably be the best viewing experience when you see these changes as they actually happened. After that, especially with the beginning of season two, you can just watch them in the order presented on the DVDs/Blu-rays/online as they all stand pretty much by themselves with a lot less changes taking place.

But which ever way you´re going to watch them, I hope you´ll enjoy it

Mario

 

[Robert Comsol]

Interesting, I would recommend to consider the two pilots as prequels and save these for later.
Start with production order and "The Corbomite Maneuver". I still think this was essential TOS and is a good morale booster / primer to survive "Mudd's Women" and some other Season One letdowns like "The Man Trap" (which qualifies as an accident, IMHO, and its interesting to see how they tried to fix this xenophobic accident in later episodes).

Actually, I would have bet you already watched this episode because it would explain your avatar.

Bob

 

[Robert Comsol]

Actually, I would have bet you already watched this episode because it would explain your avatar.

not sure if this is aimed at me, if so I have no idea what you mean

Once you watched "The Man Trap" it will become obvious how a Cardassian would react to this episode's conclusion, IMHO.

Bob

 

[Forbin]

I guess I'd agree with skipping The cage, because it's embedded in The Menagerie as a flashback. But I would recommend starting with Where No Man..., because, ya know, pilot episode. After that, watching in production order is fine.

As it turns out, broadcast order is pretty random. It's fascinating reading the book "These are the Voyages" and seeing how much trouble they had getting episodes finished in the beginning! Corbomite Maneuver was supposed to be first, but the effects weren't ready, Charlie-X was almost ready but the network thought it was too slow, Man Trap was ready, so they decided to show it as the premiere, even though it was the fifth ep filmed... Then they showed Where No Man... after a few regular epiisodes because there was no new ep ready yet, and everybody wondered why everything looked so different and there was a different doctor... A big mess, it was.

Anyhoo, yeah, I think production order is the best way.

 

[Mario de Monti]

@ Robert Comsol

Don´t beat down on "The Man Trap" so much ... there are far worse episodes that would deserve the two fingers more, IMO It may not have the "Trek-ideal" solution that "Devil in the Dark" has, but it still is a nice episode that is rather atmospherical and has an eerie musical score. But of course, YMMV.

Mario

 

[c0rnedfr0g]

If you're a fan of ENT, you will really appreciate "In a Mirror, Darkly" more after watching the TOS episodes "Mirror, Mirror" and "The Tholian Web."

When you're done with TOS and find yourself wanting more, don't hesitate to check out The Animated Series (free to watch on StarTrek.com and also on Netflix in HD). It featured some of the same writers and most of the original cast did the voice work, and had all the freedom of animation to depict aliens and alien worlds in that classic 70s style. A lot of people consider it the highlights of years 4 and 5 of the famous 5 year mission of the Enterprise.

And if you REALLY like TOS, you can also check out Phase II (aka New Voyages) on YouTube, which picks up right where the last TOS episode "Turnabout Intruder" leaves off and even has some appearances by TOS cast members.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Guess the whole point of trek was... goddamn Susan Oliver was hot.

You got it!

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

This is rather exciting!

I'm hoping you keep updating this thread with episode review/impressions.

 

[Melakon]

Sally Kellerman wanted to go braless in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" because it was the future, and in her opinion women wouldn't be wearing them. But the director (or somebody) insisted she wear one because, in his words, "You need one."

 

[Captain Rob]

^^Wow. That gave me a flashback to her infamous shower scene from the movie "M*A*S*H". The word that comes to mind is 'pendulums'.

 

[Forbin]

See also the movie "Serial" for Kellerman boobies.