Rewatching Star Trek For the 50th Anniversary

[tomalak301]

The Deadly Years

This was another episode that reminded me of the primary reason I'm doing this rewatch, especially during the 50th anniversary. It was to discover episodes I haven't seen in a long time and maybe better appreciate them. I love this one a lot. From the aging make up (For something done in the 60s it wasn't bad, and it was definitely better than TNG's Unnatural Selection), to the hearing, and than that awesome kick ass scene at the end when Kirk becomes badass captain without ever firing a shot, there was so much to enjoy about this one.

I think the thing that struck me the most was the theme, how we struggle letting go of our faculties despite old age and that unwillingness to accept that old age. Watching Kirk fight for control of his ship and losing it made this episode kind of a tragedy in a way. This episode also showcased another myth breaking aspect. There was only one woman Kirk loved, and her name was Enterprise. With all the female characters over the course of the series, Kirk's reputation as a womanizer is unfounded.

 

[Trekfan12]

The Deadly Years

This was another episode that reminded me of the primary reason I'm doing this rewatch, especially during the 50th anniversary. It was to discover episodes I haven't seen in a long time and maybe better appreciate them. I love this one a lot. From the aging make up (For something done in the 60s it wasn't bad, and it was definitely better than TNG's Unnatural Selection), to the hearing, and than that awesome kick ass scene at the end when Kirk becomes badass captain without ever firing a shot, there was so much to enjoy about this one.

I think the thing that struck me the most was the theme, how we struggle letting go of our faculties despite old age and that unwillingness to accept that old age. Watching Kirk fight for control of his ship and losing it made this episode kind of a tragedy in a way. This episode also showcased another myth breaking aspect. There was only one woman Kirk loved, and her name was Enterprise. With all the female characters over the course of the series, Kirk's reputation as a womanizer is unfounded.

I haven't watched this one in ages. I just got my 50th anniversary set of remastered eps and I plan to do some Trek watching too. I think the makeup for this one was good too. And you're right that Kirk's first love is the Enterprise.

 

[tomalak301]

Obsession

Another great episode. I'm starting to think Season two got off to a little bit of a rocky start, but it's starting to fire on all cylinders with the last two episodes. Loved this episode dealt with self regret and how that can eat at us and affect our actions. Having Kirk and Garrovick portray that in a sense of past and present was a nice touch and really highlighted that message of the episode well. Also loved Spock's scene where he talks about his observation of humanity and how they deal with obsession. As for the creature, for the 1960s that was a pretty intimidating effect.

I was amused though that this episode challenged The Apple in terms of red shirt deaths. It's really become predictable at this point. Yeah I get the red shirt reputation, but it's getting kind of annoying.

Wolf in the Fold

I like a good murder mystery story so this one was decent. Could have done without the chauvinistic approach to woman and Mr. Hengist was annoying, but there were parts of it I liked.

 

[tomalak301]

The Trouble With Tribbles

I like this episode, but I find it a little overrated. In fact, there was only one scene in this entire episode I found funny: It was the scene after the bar fight in which Kirk and Scotty were talking and Scotty told Kirk the entire story. I loved Shatner and Doohan's facial expressions and it was just one awesome scene.

I do have a question though. Could Scotty have committed mass genocide? I mean he beams the tribbles over to the Klingon ship, the Klingons take out the homeworld, and I think the Tribbles are now extinct. I know you can't be responsible for future events, but would the Tribbles have been extinct had Scotty just beamed them over to K-7. I get it's supposed to be a joke, but man I feel bad for the little guys, as annoying as they were.

 

[Trekfan12]

The Trouble With Tribbles

I like this episode, but I find it a little overrated. In fact, there was only one scene in this entire episode I found funny: It was the scene after the bar fight in which Kirk and Scotty were talking and Scotty told Kirk the entire story. I loved Shatner and Doohan's facial expressions and it was just one awesome scene.

I do have a question though. Could Scotty have committed mass genocide? I mean he beams the tribbles over to the Klingon ship, the Klingons take out the homeworld, and I think the Tribbles are now extinct. I know you can't be responsible for future events, but would the Tribbles have been extinct had Scotty just beamed them over to K-7. I get it's supposed to be a joke, but man I feel bad for the little guys, as annoying as they were.

I wondered why they beamed them over to the Klingon ship, you know the Klingons would kill them all on sight. They should have returned them to their home world where there are predators who would take care of them naturally

 

[tomalak301]

I wondered why they beamed them over to the Klingon ship, you know the Klingons would kill them all on sight. They should have returned them to their home world where there are predators who would take care of them naturally

Exactly. You can't stop evolution or natural selection. They talked about being in humane, yet beaming the Tribbles to the Klingon ship seems to be exactly that and they were laughing about it. At least if they went to the Tribbles homeworld the species would have a chance and let nature take its course.

 

[Poltargyst]

I haven't watched this one in ages. I just got my 50th anniversary set of remastered eps and I plan to do some Trek watching too. I think the makeup for this one was good too. And you're right that Kirk's first love is the Enterprise.

The only thing for me about this episode is that your hair wouldn't just turn gray, it would have to grow gray. And then, it wouldn't just turn back to its natural color, it would have to grow back its natural color.

 

[Poltargyst]

Exactly. You can't stop evolution or natural selection. They talked about being in humane, yet beaming the Tribbles to the Klingon ship seems to be exactly that and they were laughing about it. At least if they went to the Tribbles homeworld the species would have a chance and let nature take its course.

Somebody had a thread about this a little while ago. I said that in a REAL Star Trek episode, McCoy figures out how to stop them from reproducing, then they take them to a hospitible world (perhaps their homeworld), and drop them off. But no, Gerrold has to have them all killed off for a cheap laugh.

Shame on you, David. Shame shame shame.

But I do like the episode.

 

[tomalak301]

Gamesters of Triskelion

This episode isn't that bad actually. I mean it's not all that great either, but I was expecting a bad episode and it turned out pretty average. Shauna was a well realized character, and while the message of slavery and freedom did feel heavy handed, I liked the Kirk/Shauna scenes well enough. I also always enjoy Spock and McCoy together so that part of the story was ok. The Providers themselves were kinda hokey though. I guess we know the answer to "Brain, Brain, What is Brain".

 

[tomalak301]

A Peice of the Action

I said that Trouble with Tribbles was the most overrated episode of the series. Well, APOTA is probably the best comedy of the series. From Kirk's explaination of the card game to his Gangster accent, this episode was just all kinds of fun. Also, instead of it ending with an alien race sentenced to death, this episode ended with a promise of checking up on the Iosians and a possible risk of leaving a communicator. I really do wish in one of the anniversaries they would have gone back there. Heck, I actually wouldn't mind if the new series went back to the planet and saw how they were doing. Maybe they became members of the federation, or they reverted to the mob mentality. Would have been a nice follow up.

 

[tomalak301]

The Immunity Syndrome

There really isn't that much to say about his episode other than I love love love the amoeba graphic. It was colorful, menacing and might be my favorite 1960s effect on the series. Also live, as always the banter between Spock and (Captain) McCoy.

 

[tomalak301]

Private Little War

There was a lot that happened in this episode. You had another guy in a suit, a la Arena with the Mugato, a hill person thinking she put on a spell on Kirk, and the main story, the Klingons arming some village people and Kirk and McCoy trying to even the stakes. Overall, I found this episode very average, but I found McCoy really strong. Maybe it was him actually being a Doctor, or him being the voice of reason, but this episode highlights how much of a strong season McCoy has had.

 

[Seven of Five]

I've been doing my own rewatch, and I was flying through the series until I hit the latest weak patch in season three.

How I crave for episodes like A Piece of the Action and The Immunity Syndrome again!

 

[tomalak301]

Return to Tommorow

A decent episode that had a slow beginning. Admittedly I was tired and was starting to dose off, but I get a second wind for the risk is our business speech. Really liked the sense of wonderment in this episode and Spock makes for one scary villain. It also was a
love story between Sargon and Falicia and it was nice. Also liked seeing a very young Diana Mulder here.

 

[tomalak301]

Patterns of Force

I always enjoy episodes where our crew is out of uniform, and this episode is no different. While it does feel repetitive with the non-interference storylines like we saw in Piece of the Action and Private Little War (If Season 1 was about defeating AI's, I think Season 2 can be summed up with dealing with non-interference of alien cultures) but there was something really interesting about this one. We got an argument about Nazi Germany being an "efficient" state, and while what they did was despicable, I wonder if they really were. The stuff with Gill was really interesting, as well as the end talking about Absolute power corrupting absolutely and Spock's comments about leaders being ultra corrupt. I wouldn't say it's one of the best episodes of the season, but I would probably put it in the above average category.

 

[tomalak301]

By Any Other Name

This episode angered me. Maybe the writers just ran out of time (Which is hard for a 50 minute episode) or something because I hated the fact that a woman, who was scared out of her wits, died and the Kelvins got no justice. In fact, at the end of the episode they were all smiling and having a good time, as if Yeoman's Thomspon's death never happened. Overall I like Season 2, but I don't like the use of the red shirt death and I think they took it too far here.

I did like the stuff with Scotty and the other guy drinking until they fell down though. That was funny, but the rest of the episode really rubbed me the wrong way.

 

[Nyotarules]

Over the years, a lot of people have assumed that Vulcan is some kind of matriarchy. But for all we know, T'Pau simply won an election, and when her term is up, her successor might be a man.

Nah that tough old lady weren't going until she kicked the bucket lol

 

[Nyotarules]

By Any Other Name

This episode angered me. Maybe the writers just ran out of time (Which is hard for a 50 minute episode) or something because I hated the fact that a woman, who was scared out of her wits, died and the Kelvins got no justice. In fact, at the end of the episode they were all smiling and having a good time, as if Yeoman's Thomspon's death never happened. Overall I like Season 2, but I don't like the use of the red shirt death and I think they took it too far here.

I did like the stuff with Scotty and the other guy drinking until they fell down though. That was funny, but the rest of the episode really rubbed me the wrong way.

Star Trek is not very good at dealing with consequences. Red shirts dead - move along nothing to see here! (It's why I love Galaxy quest so much)

 

[Nyotarules]

I haven't watched this one in ages. I just got my 50th anniversary set of remastered eps and I plan to do some Trek watching too. I think the makeup for this one was good too. And you're right that Kirk's first love is the Enterprise.

Because God forbid a military man actually has a successful relationship and a successful career. None of the alpha crew had a life beyond that ship and that Captain. Except Sulu who did not even invite them to the wedding lol

 

[tomalak301]

The Omega Glory

This episode was a little corny. It started out good u till it spelled out the American and Communist parallel and then the ending was just lame. Not much else to say about it really other than it was a cross of the non-interference theme that's been repeated a lot this season and Amok Time.