I've seen this done in several of the other shows forums and since I happen to be starting on a pretty big rewatch now, I though I'd put my thoughts in a thread.
I grew up watching TOS on vhs, completely out of order, and I'm honestly not even 100 percent sure we had all the episodes. Since moving out I've only seen one or two of them if they happened to be on tv (I considered getting the dvds at one point, but the price was too high, especially considering I rarely have time to watch my DS9 dvds and that's my favorite trek series). So basically it's been at least fifteen years since I last saw TOS, but thanks to CBS's new deal with Netflix, I've got free access to it now and I found some time to get started on it this morning.
Episode 1 The Man Trap:
I was honestly really surprised to see this as the first episode. I knew the TOS pilot process wasn't entirely smooth (there was The Cage, which became the Menagerie) but I was under the impression that 'Where no Man has Gone Before' was written as the new pilot. Even without that misunderstanding, it just seems a very strange episode to choose as the introduction to the entire show. Not that it's a bad episode, but the character development is extraordinarily thin. It shows almost nothing of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic the series actually became famous for. It doesn't even give the audience five seconds to get to know McCoy before dropping a long lost love on him and making him act strangely for the entire episode (except the majority of the third act which he technically isn't even in). It does do a good job of showcasing the kind of weird tales vibe that the show used a lot, and the salt creature is definitely creepy, although somewhat hard to understand - at times, it kills blatantly and seemingly without hesitation, at other times it seems to be fighting its nature, yet that never really pays off. In fact, with the Professor on its side it could possibly have negotiated for a lifetime supply of salt, yet the first thing it does after knocking Spock unconcious is kill the professor.
In terms of visual appeal, its understandably unconvincing. I expected the alien landscapes to look fake, but I didn't remember the costumes looking that cheap. But, of course, they were cheap and they pretty much had to be, so it's not a big deal.
Some other interesting things that popped out at me:
The 'stun' setting on the phaser actually just stuns people at this point, rather than seeming to knock them unconcious.
Sulu has a singing plant. That thing was weird. I don't remember seeing any alien half as weird on any of the other shows. Makes you wonder what the franchise would look like if certain world-building concepts had been follow up on rather than forgotten.
DeForest Kelley looked far older than I expected. I'm so used to the idea that all the actors aged extensively by the movie era, but he didn't change as much as I'd thought.
Ep. 2 Charlie X -
Unlike The Man Trap, this is an episode I didn't remember really well at all, but it was interesting. Very creepy vibes and an honestly disturbing and tragic story. It unfortunately does suffer from the same thing that plagues lots of trek episodes (from all series): hanging a heavy, demanding story on the shoulders of a guest actor who isn't up to the challenge. Still, seeing Kirk trying to deal with him was a great insight into Kirk as a character. We also got the first appearance of that classic Trek problem solver: just overload the bad guy's ability to do anything.
My god, those red tights, though. That was horrible.
Also, I'm not sure how the abilities Charlie was given were supposed to help him survive on a world with no food.
Ep. 3 Where No Man Has Gone Before -
The sudden costume change is kind of jarring. But I actually like these uniforms a bit better in style, if not in color. They keep throwing out these weird random belt things, though. I'm glad that wasn't carried forward.
In any modern show I would give a serious eyebrow raise to doing two completely separate 'imperfect human gains superpowers' stories in a row, but they have some very interesting variations here. Mitchell is actually turned into a villain rather than a proto-trelaine toddler like Charlie. He's a bit over the top, but it works pretty well.
I love the fact that Starfleet officers are screened for ESP and multiple Enterprise crewmembers ACTUALLY have it. Another tidbit that could've made for interesting stories in the other series but fell by the wayside. Part of me wonders if this story could be a logical explanation for some of the various super beings running around the galaxy - natural esp plus extra galactic radiation equals ascension to godlike power.
And there's the birth of the Kirk ripped his shirt trope.
I grew up watching TOS on vhs, completely out of order, and I'm honestly not even 100 percent sure we had all the episodes. Since moving out I've only seen one or two of them if they happened to be on tv (I considered getting the dvds at one point, but the price was too high, especially considering I rarely have time to watch my DS9 dvds and that's my favorite trek series). So basically it's been at least fifteen years since I last saw TOS, but thanks to CBS's new deal with Netflix, I've got free access to it now and I found some time to get started on it this morning.
Episode 1 The Man Trap:
I was honestly really surprised to see this as the first episode. I knew the TOS pilot process wasn't entirely smooth (there was The Cage, which became the Menagerie) but I was under the impression that 'Where no Man has Gone Before' was written as the new pilot. Even without that misunderstanding, it just seems a very strange episode to choose as the introduction to the entire show. Not that it's a bad episode, but the character development is extraordinarily thin. It shows almost nothing of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic the series actually became famous for. It doesn't even give the audience five seconds to get to know McCoy before dropping a long lost love on him and making him act strangely for the entire episode (except the majority of the third act which he technically isn't even in). It does do a good job of showcasing the kind of weird tales vibe that the show used a lot, and the salt creature is definitely creepy, although somewhat hard to understand - at times, it kills blatantly and seemingly without hesitation, at other times it seems to be fighting its nature, yet that never really pays off. In fact, with the Professor on its side it could possibly have negotiated for a lifetime supply of salt, yet the first thing it does after knocking Spock unconcious is kill the professor.
In terms of visual appeal, its understandably unconvincing. I expected the alien landscapes to look fake, but I didn't remember the costumes looking that cheap. But, of course, they were cheap and they pretty much had to be, so it's not a big deal.
Some other interesting things that popped out at me:
The 'stun' setting on the phaser actually just stuns people at this point, rather than seeming to knock them unconcious.
Sulu has a singing plant. That thing was weird. I don't remember seeing any alien half as weird on any of the other shows. Makes you wonder what the franchise would look like if certain world-building concepts had been follow up on rather than forgotten.
DeForest Kelley looked far older than I expected. I'm so used to the idea that all the actors aged extensively by the movie era, but he didn't change as much as I'd thought.
Ep. 2 Charlie X -
Unlike The Man Trap, this is an episode I didn't remember really well at all, but it was interesting. Very creepy vibes and an honestly disturbing and tragic story. It unfortunately does suffer from the same thing that plagues lots of trek episodes (from all series): hanging a heavy, demanding story on the shoulders of a guest actor who isn't up to the challenge. Still, seeing Kirk trying to deal with him was a great insight into Kirk as a character. We also got the first appearance of that classic Trek problem solver: just overload the bad guy's ability to do anything.
My god, those red tights, though. That was horrible.
Also, I'm not sure how the abilities Charlie was given were supposed to help him survive on a world with no food.
Ep. 3 Where No Man Has Gone Before -
The sudden costume change is kind of jarring. But I actually like these uniforms a bit better in style, if not in color. They keep throwing out these weird random belt things, though. I'm glad that wasn't carried forward.
In any modern show I would give a serious eyebrow raise to doing two completely separate 'imperfect human gains superpowers' stories in a row, but they have some very interesting variations here. Mitchell is actually turned into a villain rather than a proto-trelaine toddler like Charlie. He's a bit over the top, but it works pretty well.
I love the fact that Starfleet officers are screened for ESP and multiple Enterprise crewmembers ACTUALLY have it. Another tidbit that could've made for interesting stories in the other series but fell by the wayside. Part of me wonders if this story could be a logical explanation for some of the various super beings running around the galaxy - natural esp plus extra galactic radiation equals ascension to godlike power.
And there's the birth of the Kirk ripped his shirt trope.
Or she knew the reputation that red shirts have and she decided to wear a gold tunic but Kirk eventually noticed and slapped her back into line! 
