What is it? Season 1? 2? Or 3? What would be the second best season? As for me I am undecided on season 2 vs. Season 3 but not doubt season 1 takes the title.
The best Trek Season
- Thread starter evangelist6589
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I say season two. It simply has more of my most favorite episodes in it: "The Doomsday Machine," "Journey To Babel," "Mirror, Mirror," "The Ultimate Computer," "Amok Time," "A Private Little War," "Obsession," "The Trouble with Tribbles," "By Any Other Name."
Season one would have been next, with greats: "Where No Man Has Gone Before," "The Corbomite Maneuver," "The Enemy Within," "The Naked Time," "Charlie X," "Balance of Terror," "Dagger of the Mind," "The Conscience of the King," "Court Martial," "The Menagerie (parts 1 and 2)," "Arena," "A Taste of Armageddon," "The Devil in the Dark," and "The City on the Edge of Forever."
Obviously, my list of greats and favorites has more first season episodes: 15 over 9. It's just that my second season's picks cluster closer to the top. The third season has good episodes too, but they are overall further down.
Season one would have been next, with greats: "Where No Man Has Gone Before," "The Corbomite Maneuver," "The Enemy Within," "The Naked Time," "Charlie X," "Balance of Terror," "Dagger of the Mind," "The Conscience of the King," "Court Martial," "The Menagerie (parts 1 and 2)," "Arena," "A Taste of Armageddon," "The Devil in the Dark," and "The City on the Edge of Forever."
Obviously, my list of greats and favorites has more first season episodes: 15 over 9. It's just that my second season's picks cluster closer to the top. The third season has good episodes too, but they are overall further down.
Season 1 - consistently excellent. Seemed to get better the longer it went on.
Season 2 - two thirds of the way through it fell apart, but so many classics here as well.
Season 3 - fell apart after about four episodes.
Season 2 - two thirds of the way through it fell apart, but so many classics here as well.
Season 3 - fell apart after about four episodes.
Season 1...as the season that establishes the show and the concept, it just has that "certain something". The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Insert additional vaguely appropriate cliché here.
S1 is brimming with the show's initial inspiration. I voted it the best. Roughly the first half of the season (in production order) has a kind of hand-made, unpolished, unfinalized quality in the sets and costumes, and a freshness in the cinematography, that gives the show a lot of charm. The unfinalized aspect is in the scripts, too; they're still inventing what a "Vulcanian" is. Is it going to be UESPA, Space Central, or Star Fleet, stuff like that.
S2 is where production seems to hit a stride, a formalized look and feel for the whole show. In production order, I think this finished feeling starts with "The Doomsday Machine." It's like the filming of Star Trek becomes more systematized at that point. It gives the show a slightly more modern look. The downside seems to be less innovation and risk-taking in the lighting and camera angles. The makers kind of settled in and did what worked. This can give your less-favorite scripts of the year an assembly-line feeling (for me, The Changeling, The Apple, Wolf in the Fold). Still a great season, very reliable entertainment.
S3 is when the budget cuts started to show, and on top of that, the year got more than its share of sub-par scripts, but even the worst S3 episodes generate some great scenes (except possibly "And the Children," which does nothing for me). And the best S3 shows really shine: I'd put my favorites of the year alongside anything. Working with so little money and a shorter shooting schedule each week, they were working miracles to film great episodes on a fairly regular basis.
S2 is where production seems to hit a stride, a formalized look and feel for the whole show. In production order, I think this finished feeling starts with "The Doomsday Machine." It's like the filming of Star Trek becomes more systematized at that point. It gives the show a slightly more modern look. The downside seems to be less innovation and risk-taking in the lighting and camera angles. The makers kind of settled in and did what worked. This can give your less-favorite scripts of the year an assembly-line feeling (for me, The Changeling, The Apple, Wolf in the Fold). Still a great season, very reliable entertainment.
S3 is when the budget cuts started to show, and on top of that, the year got more than its share of sub-par scripts, but even the worst S3 episodes generate some great scenes (except possibly "And the Children," which does nothing for me). And the best S3 shows really shine: I'd put my favorites of the year alongside anything. Working with so little money and a shorter shooting schedule each week, they were working miracles to film great episodes on a fairly regular basis.
Yep, he did.
Although, I think there are two descent horror-type scenes in "And the Children Shall Lead." One is when the guards are accidentally beamed out into space. Pretty scary, I think. The other is when the diseased appearance of Gorgan is revealed. Hideously ugly! Otherwise, the episode is crap.
In my opinion:
TOS Season 1
TOS Season 1
Season one by a nose over season two, though there is always something good to be found in every TOS episode.
Overall, I have to go with Season 1. But I always have to cry "foul" about having to choose from "seasons" of airdates. The best era was the last half of season 1 and the first have of season 2 with Roddenberry, Fontana and Coon in charge. The next best era would be the first half of season 1 with Roddenberry and Black. The next would be the last half of season 2 with Roddenberry, Fontana and John Meredyth Lucas. Last place would go to season 3 with Freiberger and Singer.
^^ Agreed; the peak of TOS really is from the middle of the first season to the middle of the second. But if you just look at the (generally acknowledged) great episodes during that period, I consider there to be more classics in the first half of season two than in the last half of season one. Thus, I give the nod to season two.
The Doomsday Machine, Amok Time, Mirror Mirror, Journey to Babel, Metamorphosis are all as good as anything in season one. The Changeling, Bread and Circuses, A Private Little War, Obsession and The Immunity Syndrome also figure very high on my list of favorites. So it's a tough call for me. I prefer the first half of season 1 to the second half, but there are classics all throughout the first two seasons. I actually would have liked to see how the series would have evolved if John DF Black didn't leave so early.
I'd have to say season 1 is overall the strongest, but my favorite is season 2, if that makes any sense.
I'd have to say season 1 is overall the strongest, but my favorite is season 2, if that makes any sense.
Yes. While I think Season 1 is definitely the best overall I certainly find good in all three seasons.
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