TOS Episode Titles

[telerites]

It seems kind of slow for new topics so I thought I'd get some thoughts on episode titles just for the fun of it.

For the most part, I really thought TOS titles were enticing to get a viewer interested just based on the title. There were of course some misses and some titles that didn't seem as intriguing yet may have offered a wonderful episode.

So, thinking if you saw only the title of an episode - what are your "I gotta see that", what are your "Boy that sounded like it would be good but it turned out to be a pile of baktag," or anything else you feel.

For me - the first one that comes to mind for a miss is "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky." I thought the title is great and appropriate for the show but the episode was terrible, imo.

And anyone that says "Spock's Brain's" was either an enticing episode or interesting title, hmmmm....

 

[Terok Nor]

Most of the original series episode titles were great. The only other show that came close to matching the elegance of them was DS9 in its later seasons. I agree about "For The World...". Such a promising title for such a terrible episode.

 

[Albertese]

...

For me - the first one that comes to mind for a miss is "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky." I thought the title is great and appropriate for the show but the episode was terrible, imo.
...

Eh, to each their own I guess. I for one, have always liked "For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky." Both the title and the episode.

--Alex

 

[Doug Otte]

Yes, most of the Star Trek titles were very poetic, and often were literary references, e.g. 'The Conscience of the King'.

TNG titles were sometimes interesting, but were often very little thought went into them, e.g. 'The Child' etc.

DS9 had many great titles.

 

[Ssosmcin]

The one word titles of Voyager and Enterprise got pretty dull. But I'll still take their "get to the point" titles over half of the stuff coming out of the fan films. There's a self importance in some of them that just doesn't doesn't fit or is warranted.

 

[ToddPence]

I remember as a kid seeing in the TV guide that the evening's episode was going to be "Whom Gods Destroy", and actually thinking I was going to see gods destroying shit.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Put me down as another one who really likes TOS's poetic, literate titles. Most of the one-word titles of the TNG/VOY era leave me cold.

...Wasn't there a VOY episode called "Elogium" based on some biological process that Kes was going through? How does that mean anything to anyone who hasn't seen the episode already? They didn't call "Amok Time" "Pon Farr" or "Plak Tow."

Although come to think of it, "Blood Fever" wouldn't be a bad title...

 

[Albertese]

I remember as a kid seeing in the TV guide that the evening's episode was going to be "Whom Gods Destroy", and actually thinking I was going to see gods destroying shit.

"Whom Gods Destroy" is an abbreviated take on a line is spoken by Prometheus in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Masque of Pandora" (1875): "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad," kind of perfect for Captain Garth's story. The line actually has ancient roots, and is often attributed to the Greek poet Euripides, but no one can prove it came from him.

When I graduated High School my senior quote printed beneath my picture was that line. I kinda love it.

--Alex

 

[Maurice]

Titles are tricky, and good titles are super tricky. The original Star Trek had a lot of great titles but a number of duds. "The City On the Edge of Forever" being the best of the best, and things like "Obsession" being kinda lazy. When I was rewriting "The Atlantis Invaders" for the Starship Exeter fanfilm, I wanted to rename it "Doth Not the Sea Wax Mad", quoting from Titus Andronicus, but I was told "no".

 

[Greg Cox]

I generally find the old-school TOS titles easier to remember than the one-word titles of the later shows: "Cathexis," "Elogium," "Descent," etc.

That being said, the original show had some clunkers: "Space Seed" deserves a better title and "Miri" is pretty boring.

And I've I can't blame people for mixing up "The Paradise Syndrome" and "This Side of Paradise."

Or "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and "All Our Yesterdays."

 

[erastus25]

The one word titles of Voyager and Enterprise got pretty dull. But I'll still take their "get to the point" titles over half of the stuff coming out of the fan films. There's a self importance in some of them that just doesn't doesn't fit or is warranted.

Yeah, it's interesting comparing the Voy/ENT era titles and the fan film titles. Neither set "clicks" all that often, but for totally opposite reasons. Gives you a ton of respect for how literally, distinctive, and still appropriate so many of the TOS titles are.

When I was rewriting "The Atlantis Invaders" for the Starship Exeter fanfilm, I wanted to rename it "Doth Not the Sea Wax Mad", quoting from Titus Andronicus, but I was told "no".

Titus Andronicus needs more attention! Such a wonderful mess.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The Cage
Miri
The Menagerie
Arena
The Changeling
The Apple
Catspaw
Obsession
The Empath
The Man Trap
Charlie X
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
The Corbomite Maneuver
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
Court Martial
Space Seed
The Alternative Factor
Operation: Annihilate!
Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd
Friday's Child
The Deadly Years
The Omega Glory
The Ultimate Computer
Assignment: Earth
Spock's Brain
The Enterprise Incident
The Paradise Syndrome
The Tholian Web
Plato's Stepchildren
The Cloud Minders
The Savage Curtain
Turnabout Intruder
Balance Of Terror
The Squire of Gothos
Tomorrow Is Yesterday
A Taste of Armageddon
The Devil In The Dark
Journey To Babel
The Gamesters Of Triskelion
A Piece Of The Action
A Private Little War
Return To Tomorrow
Patterns Of Force
Bread And Circuses
Elaan of Troyius
Whom Gods Destroy
The Mark Of Gideon
That Which Survives
The Lights Of Zetar
Requiem For Methuselah
The Way To Eden
All Our Yesterdays
The Conscience Of The King
The Return of The Archons
This Side Of Paradise
Who Mourns For Adonais?
By Any Other Name
Spectre Of The Gun
The Day Of The Dove
And The Children Shall Lead
Where No Man Has Gone Before
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
The City On The Edge Of Forever
Is There In Truth No Beauty?
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky

 

[erastus25]

The Cage
Miri
...

You're not wrong.

 

[Marsden]

I generally find the old-school TOS titles easier to remember than the one-word titles of the later shows: "Cathexis," "Elogium," "Descent," etc.

That being said, the original show had some clunkers: "Space Seed" deserves a better title and "Miri" is pretty boring.

And I've I can't blame people for mixing up "The Paradise Syndrome" and "This Side of Paradise."

Or "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and "All Our Yesterdays."

I actually thought "Return to Tomorrow" and "Tomorrow is Yesterday" were more confusing. But that's me.

Space Seed seems ok to me, but I see your point.

It seems like there are 3 main categories that the titles fall into, plain descriptive of a character or element in the story, a quote from the story, or a poetic title that alludes to what is happening.

And, I really like some of the more poetic titles, like, "By Any Other Name" or "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" They are thought provoking and also reference the theme of the episode without blurting out a descriptive of it.

Not that some of the descriptive ones are bad, "The Tholian Web" or "Court Martial" are straight from the episode, but they just don't have the imagination that "The Devil in the Dark" or "Spectre of the Gun" has. I think those last two are two of my favorites.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

My favorite TOS episode titles:

Where No Man Has Gone Before
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Conscience of the King
Court Martial
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow Is Yesterday
The Return of the Archons
A Taste of Armageddon
Space Seed
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation -- Annihilate!

Metamorphosis
Who Mourns for Adonais?
The Doomsday Machine
Wolf in the Fold
The Changeling
The Apple
Mirror, Mirror
A Private Little War
The Gamesters of Triskelion
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Assignment: Earth

Elaan of Troyius
The Paradise Syndrome
The Enterprise Incident
Spock's Brain
Is There in Truth No Beauty?
The Tholian Web
For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
Day of the Dove
Wink of an Eye
Whom Gods Destroy
The Way to Eden
Requiem for Methuselah
All Our Yesterdays

- So, pretty much 'yes' to Shakespeare ("By Any Other Name").
- 'Yes' to short, to the point, and precisely descriptive and indicative name of the main event or item in the episode, provided it's epically dramatic ("Arena") or ironic ("Shore Leave").
- 'Yes' to the romantic/poetic/metaphoric ("The City on the Edge of Forever," "The Apple").

 

[Greg Cox]

I generally find the old-school TOS titles easier to remember than the one-word titles of the later shows: "Cathexis," "Elogium," "Descent," etc.

That being said, the original show had some clunkers: "Space Seed" deserves a better title and "Miri" is pretty boring.

And I've I can't blame people for mixing up "The Paradise Syndrome" and "This Side of Paradise."

Or "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and "All Our Yesterdays."

I actually thought "Return to Tomorrow" and "Tomorrow is Yesterday" were more confusing. But that's me.

.

I forgot about "Return to Tomorrow," but you're absolutely right. And "Return to Tomorrow" is a terribly generic and forgettable title for that episode. I honestly had to look it up just because I couldn't remember if this was the one with the Kelvans or not . . .

 

[erastus25]

I forgot about "Return to Tomorrow," but you're absolutely right. And "Return to Tomorrow" is a terribly generic and forgettable title for that episode. I honestly had to look it up just because I couldn't remember if this was the one with the Kelvans or not.

Of the three, All Our Yesterdays is the only that even approaches good. The other two are just bland. Which is too bad b/c the concept for Return to Tomorrow had some potential for good titles.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

"Return To Tomorrow" has the "Risk is our business" speech. Impossible for it to utterly suck as an episode!

 

[HarryM]

Plus, Nimoy as Hanoch was great.

 

[HarryM]

"Operation: Annihilate!", as I understand it the early versions of script have Kirk "nuking" Deneva to stop the parasites and basically killing everyone, which fits the title, but this one is pretty lame. How about, have a line in the intro as they are noting the path of dead systems pointed at Deneva like an arrow, and some title like "Arrow of Madness" (or something better )