Revisiting Star Trek TOS/TAS...

I have the whole collection as well as the TAS novelizations!

 

At one point I thought about collecting these, but in the mid 90s I stopped collecting ST novels, and eventually got rid of 95% of them. Since then, I have only bought 2 Titan novels and 2 Typhon Pact novels.

RAMA

 

I have the original set of the novelizations as well. I bought them in the '70's. I thought of selling them, but I just can't part with them yet.

 

Somewhere, I still have the tank-top shirt with this art work on it, purchased from Lincoln Enterprises in the mid-70s.

 

If there wasn't that restriction about using anything with a recognizable face, I'd have that slapped on a bunch of things on my CafePress shop...

 

I've had that thought as well. I love that poster.

 

If I could get a nice sharp large scan of that poster I'd love to have it hanging on the wall.

 

i wish someone would do another thread like this. i love reading other peoples thoughts on TOS episodes. i would but i'm lazy.

 

At some point I started almost reviewing the episodes as the revisit moved along. Something I prob did since I doubt I'll ever do a true re-watch of any series again unless there are remasterings...If there is an STNG remastering I plan on doing my first ever revisit thread.

I did something a rarely do...I re-read my posts on this thread as well as some of the more central discussions/arguments..and there are a lot. As always there are things I probably could have added, or some to subtract but overall my comments/reviews were remarkably perceptive I think...usually focused on things I personally find interesting in Trek: concepts/morals/science-tech/philosophical underpinnings, etc. and less of the product of most revisit threads which focus on stereotypes and the attractiveness of female guest stars in the show. The most memorable thing? The re-watch the convo inspired in me of several episodes, specifically: A Taste of Armageddon. Something which changed my view on the episode after many years, and caused me to reduce its rating.

RAMA

 

I liked your take on the cage and I agree that it was more in the vein of a TNG episode than anything from the original series. I did my own reviews of the original crew using the original epsiodes for reference, you might find it interesting :
http://www.cumberlandspaceman.co.uk/spaceman-home/classic-star-trek/

Look forward to more from you.

 

*Sigh* Somewhere along the line I lost track of this thread. I got distracted and unforgivably forgot about ti. That certainly wasn't right. And so now I'm going to make an effort to get back on track and finish this off.

I left off after reviewing "The Infinite Vulcan." So next up will be "The Magicks Of Megas-Tu."

 

"The Magicks Of Megas-Tu" ***

The Enterprise journeys to the centre of the galaxy.

There are some pretty deep ideas in this episode for a show airing on Saturday mornings. There are ideas touched on here that would also later show up in TNG. In a way the Megans are trying humanity just as Q does in TNG's "Encounter At Farpoint" and other episodes.

It's not a bad story except that it feels so truncated and somewhat flat. It feels quickly hashed together and lacking in nuance. Some of the writing also felt stiff.

A daring idea here is treating the character of Lucien (aka Lucifer) as a sympathetic character, something I could see offending certain viewers if seen on a live-action show back in the early '70s.

As for the "science" referenced in this episode I basically just shrug it off.

Some interesting story ideas, not bad, but not bowling me over either because of the stilted execution. It'll be interesting to see how the ADF adaptation compares.

 

I've realized that I hadn't yet read the ADF adaptation of "The Infinite Vulcan" as well as "The Magicks Of Megas-Tu." So I'll read both of them before continuing.

I've just finished reading the first part of "The Infinite Vulcan" and this reads almost exactly like a TOS episode and feels smoother and better paced than the TAS version of the story (which I still quite liked despite quibbles).

 

I'm still amazed and amused that they actually got away with "The Magicks of Megas-Tu", especially the part where Spock draws a pentagram on the deck and starts instructing the crew in witchcraft.

 

And on a Saturday morning show they actually mention people being burned as witches.

 

I like the thing with the "physical laws" do not apply in the center space of the galaxy, and belief is as powerful as reality, making magic possible. And then a similar idea in TNG in another distant part of space, where "space and time and thought are not the separate things they appear to be", again making magical things happen.

 

I've always been amazed at the balls NBC showed by airing "Megas-tu" in the first place. Sadly, when the animated series was syndicated in the mid 80's, there were certain television stations, such as the Christian-owned WANX-46 in Atlanta, who chose not to air "The Magicks of Megas-tu" because Lucien was hypothesized as being the basis of Lucifer. Also not shown was "Mudd's Passion" because it featured a "love filtre" which was considered "black magic."

 

Frankly, I'd rather stations just opt to not air certain episodes, rather than think they can edit out "the naughty bits" and still have something resembling a coherent episode. Apparently, when the reruns started in Australia, the censors went so nuts over the violence, some episodes wound up around twenty minutes long.

I'll defer to Ian as to how accurate that assertion is.

 

LOL, WANX, what an inconvenient set of call letters for a Christian station