Because of a few quibbles I can't rate this as excellent, but overall I did enjoy it enough to rate it good.
My main complaint is familiar: I don't like the forshadowing and connecting-the-dots to later productions because that wouldn't have been there in 1970. Enough said there.
Visually there were some really nice shots, but overall the current f/x don't straddle the line as well as Doug Drexler's work. He managed to have that TOS look--albeit cleaned up and clearer) without looking too contemporary. That said what STC is currently doing looks much better than much of what is seen in TOS-R.
Storywise this was right up TOS' alley. This is exactly the kind of story they could have done back in the day. And the bonus is the issue is still relevant today as it's a timeless recurring one. My nitpick is that I feel it could have been more dramatic. I also felt Kirk's impassioned argument near the end seemed a bit padded and unnecessarily drawn out.
The use of b&w was a genuine WTF moment and I think it does effectively convey an abstract idea in a tangible way. Instead of saying everyone is the same "under the skin" we get everyone is the same when seen in the same light.
I feel Kirk destroying the weapons array might have been a step too far in that it could be argued he was stepping over the line in interfering with Hilean(?) affairs. Kirk making an impulsive move on the alien woman also struck me as unnecessarily gratuitous. "Lets do a Kirk with the green alien chick moent only we'll make her yellow." Yeesh. It felt out of place.
Sadly once again it feels like Spock and McCoy are largely standby extras again as McKennah gets the lines. This is one of the things that gives STC something of a TNG vibe. Granted that there are indeed many people aboard the Enterprise and it might be more realistic that Kirk would consult with others beyond Spock and McCoy, but thats not how TOS was usually structured. We expect that Spock and McCoy are Kirk's primary sounding boards and it's weird to see them sidelined so often.
I want to qualify that my criticisms are not meant to be huge honking grievances, but rather nitpicks. Like much of STC's efforts they get so much right and yet in certain key elements it feels like they're almost there but falter across the finish line.
My main complaint is familiar: I don't like the forshadowing and connecting-the-dots to later productions because that wouldn't have been there in 1970. Enough said there.
Visually there were some really nice shots, but overall the current f/x don't straddle the line as well as Doug Drexler's work. He managed to have that TOS look--albeit cleaned up and clearer) without looking too contemporary. That said what STC is currently doing looks much better than much of what is seen in TOS-R.
Storywise this was right up TOS' alley. This is exactly the kind of story they could have done back in the day. And the bonus is the issue is still relevant today as it's a timeless recurring one. My nitpick is that I feel it could have been more dramatic. I also felt Kirk's impassioned argument near the end seemed a bit padded and unnecessarily drawn out.
The use of b&w was a genuine WTF moment and I think it does effectively convey an abstract idea in a tangible way. Instead of saying everyone is the same "under the skin" we get everyone is the same when seen in the same light.
I feel Kirk destroying the weapons array might have been a step too far in that it could be argued he was stepping over the line in interfering with Hilean(?) affairs. Kirk making an impulsive move on the alien woman also struck me as unnecessarily gratuitous. "Lets do a Kirk with the green alien chick moent only we'll make her yellow." Yeesh. It felt out of place.
Sadly once again it feels like Spock and McCoy are largely standby extras again as McKennah gets the lines. This is one of the things that gives STC something of a TNG vibe. Granted that there are indeed many people aboard the Enterprise and it might be more realistic that Kirk would consult with others beyond Spock and McCoy, but thats not how TOS was usually structured. We expect that Spock and McCoy are Kirk's primary sounding boards and it's weird to see them sidelined so often.
I want to qualify that my criticisms are not meant to be huge honking grievances, but rather nitpicks. Like much of STC's efforts they get so much right and yet in certain key elements it feels like they're almost there but falter across the finish line.
