Showing Star Trek to friends

[scotpens]

I personally would add Let That Be Your Last Battlefield on there too, but that's just me.

Good thought. I was on the fence about that one.

For God's sake, don't let your friends’ first Trek experience be that talky, heavy-handed, subtle-as-a-sledgehammer “message” piece.

 

[Captrek]

I personally would add Let That Be Your Last Battlefield on there too, but that's just me.

Good thought. I was on the fence about that one.

For God's sake, don't let your friends’ first Trek experience be that talky, heavy-handed, subtle-as-a-sledgehammer “message” piece.

Agreed, it shouldn’t be their first Trek experience. Ralphis’ suggestion was to add it to my proposed marathon. If we stick to stardate chronology[*Note1], it would become the 16th and last episode in the marathon.

If estar chooses to base his approach on my proposed marathon, there is no need to decide now wither to include LTBYLB. By the time estar and his friends get near the end of the marathon, estar will be in a better position to gauge how his friends are reacting to the series and decide whether to include LTBYLB.

[*Note1: The marathon, as I listed it earlier in this thread, is chronological by stardate. TCOTEOF, MM, and APOTA have no on-screen stardates, so I chose their positions based on artistic considerations.]

I would like to suggest "Balance of Terror". From my own viewing experience, it was the first episode that really got me hooked on TOS. It's one of the greats because it's very effective at keeping the viewer alert throughout the entire episode and it contains many ingredients of what makes a great Trek story.

An excellent introductory episode, it’s the second episode in the Captrek TOS Marathon.

I think it works better as the #2 episode than as the #1 episode. If we start with BOT, we introduce Spock as the guy Stiles suspects of being a Romulan spy. If we start with WNMHGB, we first establish Spock as being different and cold-blooded, factors which play into Stiles’ suspicions. WNMHGB also establishes the friendship between Kirk and Spock, which plays into Kirk’s rebuke of Stiles’ “bigotry” in BOT.

 

[Hober Mallow]

I'd go for the tried and true "City on the Edge of Forever" and "Tribbles."

 

[estar9821]

captrek, I'm a girl. But it's okay.

So currently I'm leaning towards The City on the Edge of Forever or Journey to Babel, just cause those are two of my favorites. But captrek's list is pretty impressive, and I may end up using that.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

I think those are both good choices because they each have a genuine human relationship (er, Vulcan/Vulcan/human in the case of case of JtB) at the heart of the drama. They may be the most accessible since we all can appreciate doomed love or troubled parent-child relationships.

 

[jwb]

I'd go with either Where No Man Has Gone Before, the Corbomite Maneuver, the Menagerie, or Balance of Terror.

I agree with those with the exception of Menagerie. I think you have to know the personalities of K/S/M better to get the full impact of Spock's alleged mutiny and Kirk and McCoy's reactions to it. I'd show Menagerie after showing a few other episodes.

It was canned originally because it was considered too cerebral. Perhaps it was, but once you know the personalities of K/S/M it becomes dramatic which can balance out the cerebralness.

These are good points, and the only reason I'm going to disagree is that I've shown The Menagerie to several friends (and my wife) who never knew much about Star Trek before watching it, and they all loved it. Each of them, at the end of Part 1, immediately wanted me to put start Part 2!

-jwb-
jwbraun.com

 

[Captrek]

I'd go with either Where No Man Has Gone Before, the Corbomite Maneuver, the Menagerie, or Balance of Terror.

I agree with those with the exception of Menagerie. I think you have to know the personalities of K/S/M better to get the full impact of Spock's alleged mutiny and Kirk and McCoy's reactions to it. I'd show Menagerie after showing a few other episodes.

It was canned originally because it was considered too cerebral. Perhaps it was, but once you know the personalities of K/S/M it becomes dramatic which can balance out the cerebralness.

These are good points, and the only reason I'm going to disagree is that I've shown The Menagerie to several friends (and my wife) who never knew much about Star Trek before watching it, and they all loved it. Each of them, at the end of Part 1, immediately wanted me to put start Part 2!

-jwb-
jwbraun.com

If you want to include it in the TOS Marathon, it goes after The Galileo Seven and before Arena:


Where No Man Has Gone Before
Balance of Terror
The Galileo Seven
The Menagerie, Part I
The Menagerie, Part II
Arena
Space Seed
The City on the Edge of Forever
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
Journey to Babel
The Doomsday Machine
The Trouble With Tribbles
A Piece of the Action
The Tholian Web

 

[Rush Limborg]

When I introduced my cousin to TOS, it was in this order:

Where No Man Has Gone Before;

The Corbomite Maneuver;

The Naked Time;

The Menagerie, Parts I and II (upon seeing Pike's Spock, he said, "Wow! He looks so young!");

Charlie X (his favorite);

and The City On The Edge Of Forever (which he was really involved in, bursting out laughing at the "rice picker" scene, and squeezing his eyes shut when he realized that Edith was going to die....).

 

[jtkirk]

I know they're all great -- but which would be the best for someone who has never seen one before?

Show these 2 episodes first, in this order:

Balance of Terror
Return To Tomorrow

Then follow up with these:

The Doomsday Machine
Space Seed
Mirror Mirror
The Naked Time
The City on the Edge of Forever
Amok Time

 

[Neopeius]

I'd go with either Where No Man Has Gone Before, the Corbomite Maneuver, the Menagerie, or Balance of Terror.

I'm sorry. It's worth watching the first two (in order) if you want to be completist and go in a row, but if you're trying to get someone into Trek with a stunning ep, those two ain't it. They are strictly meh.

Especially the Corbomite Maneuver with it's 10 minutes of dramatically orchestrated padding (*spinny! spinny!*)

Balance of Terror has always worked for me.

 

[Captrek]

I'd go with either Where No Man Has Gone Before, the Corbomite Maneuver, the Menagerie, or Balance of Terror.

I'm sorry. It's worth watching the first two (in order) if you want to be completist and go in a row, but if you're trying to get someone into Trek with a stunning ep, those two ain't it. They are strictly meh.

Especially the Corbomite Maneuver with it's 10 minutes of dramatically orchestrated padding (*spinny! spinny!*)

Balance of Terror has always worked for me.

Taste is subjective, but in my opinion, and I believe a majority of Trekkers feel the same way, WNMHGB is considerably above average. It’s not a serious contender for the “best episode in series” prize, but there’s no reason the first episode shown has to be one of the top 5 or 10 episodes. Actually, it’s probably better to show the viewer a good episode and then exceed his expectations with a great episode than to start with a great episode and disappoint him with a good episode. This is especially so if he knows you have selected one of the very best episodes to start with and gets the message “It’s all downhill from here.” If you show WNMHGB to a Trek-neophyte and after seeing it he’s not willing to watch a second episode, then he probably isn’t a potential TOS fan to begin with.

My proposed TOS Overview starts with WNMHGB. If the viewer is a potential TOS fan, he will certainly give you the opportunity to show him another episode. The second episode in my proposed Overview is BOT, which you identify as one of the best episodes. That should start things out well. Continuing with The Galileo Seven and The Menagerie will hopefully seal the deal.

 

[estar9821]

Well, I finally showed them -- and the results of the experiment were for the most part successful.

I showed them Journey to Babel, one of my favorites, along with Where No Man Has Gone Before, and after that brief introduction to Star Trek, I took them to a ST outdoor movie screening of The Voyage Home. I thought it would be good for them to see firsthand the fan base of Star Trek as well.

Believe it or not, it was my first gathering-of-Trek-fans experience as well. I'm a pretty new fan. Now I know you guys aren't just imaginary internet creatures.

I think I've succeeded in making them casual fans of Trek, and I've certainly given them education in the subject. I don't think they'll ever be as big of fans as I am, just cause I'm more into science then them, but I'm glad I got them into the series.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Good call on the episodes--WNMHGB is a personal favorite of mine. Not a TVH fan but non-fans tend to like that movie so good calls all around.

If they still want to see more Trek, I'd follow up "City," which you were already considering.