Then it definitely could've used some more focus on that, because the plague mostly felt like a plot device and the apocalypse like fairly flat backstory.
TOS Rewatch
- Thread starter Grendelsbayne
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Then it definitely could've used some more focus on that, because the plague mostly felt like a plot device and the apocalypse like fairly flat backstory.
No, it's a matter of brain development. A child whose physical development is arrested at, say, age ten will still have the brain and mentality of a ten-year-old even if the kid lives for another two hundred years.
This gets more interesting... they wouldn't be exactly like adults. They'd no longer resemble regular children, either. I know I was already way beyond "bonk bonk on the head" at age 10, say, partly because of Star Trek itself I think. We have much more in us than we think as children. Rand talked about eternal play. No way that would happen. No adults to lean on, so they have to play the role of adults to survive. Hundreds of years of fresh food available? I don't think so. Survival would make them into different creatures than children, even if they might not be able to get past a certain haziness in brain function.
They concentrated on that when they showed them all working to counteract the plague. For me, the kids going bonk bonk don't have much to do with the core of the story.
Not the main body of them, no. The episode seemed to focus primarily on Miri herself, imo.
Next up is Ep. 14 The Conscience of the King
'An Arcturian Macbeth'... does that mean this guy is supposed to be another species (Arcturian) or is it just referencing that the play is being adapted in a different (colonial human) civilization?
That sheer outer wear (no idea what to even call it) is possibly the weirdest fashion choice ever.
Kirk has a network of colleagues who owe favors that stretches into the civilian service. I'm imagining all kinds of ship to ship meet-ups that we never got to see.
More proof that Kirk's reputation as a lady's man has more to do with a ruthless willingness to manipulate for information than any thing else. He's a down to earth James Bond...
Interesting that 23rd regulations specifically prohibit civilian passengers, while 24th century regs are designed to accommodate them.
Only a handful of people can recognize Kodos, but here's two of them on the same ship...
Riley's food tray is filled with Legos. Or maybe starbursts.
How could someone sneak a phaser on overload into the room when Kirk was already inside?
There's a lot of people talking about Kirk being 'inhuman', but it's not a charge that makes much sense in the circumstances.
McCoy doesn't really understand the concept of discretion, does he?
Lenore has some impressive crazy eye.
So does that ending mean Lenore's gone totally crazy, or her memories have been altered as part of her criminal rehabilitation? I wouldn't think McCoy would have any part in the judicial process, nor that he could take that sort of measure unilaterally.
Overall, I liked this one. We got another good set of strong guest actors. Kodos was actually an interesting character, although I still don't get his comments about the 'mechanized, electronicized perfect humanity'. Unless he's just bitter that he didn't live in that kind of perfect humanity to start with, since he never would've felt the need to kill anyone if he had? The way they used Riley to show the possible consequences of a false id was pretty nice, and it was nice to see Riley again in any case, especially in such a personal role. Lenore went a little over the top at the end, but I suppose that's almost mandatory in a shakespeare themed episode.
Next Episode: Balance of Terror
I love the sense of extreme professionalism that pervades this whole opening act. Everyone doing exactly what they need to do without even having to be told.
The viewscreen trick with the outpost is a bit of a cheat. There's no reason the screen should switch back to Commander Hanson to watch him die, and the signal should already be dead before the Romulan ship cloaks again.
It's interesting how low tech this early cloaking device is. More like the Predator's camoflage than true invisibility (sensors can still track its motion with ease, apparently). Even worse, it apparently distorts the Romulans' own sensors just as heavily as anyone elses.
Phasers at this point seem more like torpedoes than beam weapons. Also the method of firing them makes no sense. It requires both a circuit from the bridge and a relay team of phaser specialists pressing buttons? And how would visual targeting be more accurate than sensors at such large distances?
Why order Uhura to continually broadcast reports while trying to pretend to be a reflection? And how do the Romulans not notice her broadcasts? That part really doesn't fit the submarine battle vibe of the episode.
The Commander talks of 'hundreds of campaigns'. The Empire must've been very busy on the far side of Romulan space.
The debris raining down in the Romulan ship looks almost concrete. What are Romulan ship made out of?
I do really love the back and forth outsmarting each other throughout this episode. Watching both sides continually change tactics is great.
The Romulan Commander's meeting with Kirk is still one of the best scenes in the history of the franchise, probably.
That's a depressing ending. And using the 'love' theme over that scene felt kind of weird, considering her love is dead...
This is obviously one of the greats. There were a few more problems with it than I remembered, I'd have to say Naked Time and Corbomite Maneuver are perhaps slightly better written, but I'd put it on par with them anyway, purely for the atmosphere and the concept.
I love the sense of extreme professionalism that pervades this whole opening act. Everyone doing exactly what they need to do without even having to be told.
The viewscreen trick with the outpost is a bit of a cheat. There's no reason the screen should switch back to Commander Hanson to watch him die, and the signal should already be dead before the Romulan ship cloaks again.
It's interesting how low tech this early cloaking device is. More like the Predator's camoflage than true invisibility (sensors can still track its motion with ease, apparently). Even worse, it apparently distorts the Romulans' own sensors just as heavily as anyone elses.
Phasers at this point seem more like torpedoes than beam weapons. Also the method of firing them makes no sense. It requires both a circuit from the bridge and a relay team of phaser specialists pressing buttons? And how would visual targeting be more accurate than sensors at such large distances?
Why order Uhura to continually broadcast reports while trying to pretend to be a reflection? And how do the Romulans not notice her broadcasts? That part really doesn't fit the submarine battle vibe of the episode.
The Commander talks of 'hundreds of campaigns'. The Empire must've been very busy on the far side of Romulan space.
The debris raining down in the Romulan ship looks almost concrete. What are Romulan ship made out of?
I do really love the back and forth outsmarting each other throughout this episode. Watching both sides continually change tactics is great.
The Romulan Commander's meeting with Kirk is still one of the best scenes in the history of the franchise, probably.
That's a depressing ending. And using the 'love' theme over that scene felt kind of weird, considering her love is dead...
This is obviously one of the greats. There were a few more problems with it than I remembered, I'd have to say Naked Time and Corbomite Maneuver are perhaps slightly better written, but I'd put it on par with them anyway, purely for the atmosphere and the concept.
Kirk seems almost fatherly or big-brotherly in this episode. It's a side I wish we had seen more of, not just his romantic side.
Shore Leave:
Why would Kirk think Spock would give him a back rub on the bridge? That scene is hilarious, though.
It's interesting that the original enterprise encountered basically the ultimate Holodeck in its very first season.
I wish the yeomen wouldn't always be so hysterical.
For a moment the Finnegan fight seemed to stretch out too long and feel too pointless (since we already know Finnegan isn't real and probably doesn't have answers), but the way Kirk realizes he enjoyed fighting Finnegan and the way that leads to the realization that it was all entertainment is pretty satisfying.
McCoy's flirting with the Yeoman seems kind of tacked on and pointless - basically nothing but set-up for her to be upset about his chorus girls.
The idea that the caretaker didn't realize they were ignorant about what was happening is kind of hard to believe, considering his technology reads minds and he had McCoy underground to talk to.
In the end, though, this is a pretty funny episode. Very lighthearted, not exactly the kind to take seriously. I think it works very well for what it is.
The Galileo Seven:
This Ferris guy is terrible (the actor, not the character).
The production value here seems low even for the time period. Is that really the best they could do with 'throwing' big spears? Or with furry giants attacking (for some reason in a Mummy pose...). The shuttlebay looks pretty neat, though.
How is leaving Gaetano by himself at all logical?
The ending and the beginning of the episode kind of contradict each other. Spock claims from the very start that its logical to try every alternative even if you don't think they'll work, yet his distress signal is painted as an act of pure emotion.
Overall, I thought this was reasonably solid. The 'logical but wrong' decision thing with Spock felt a little overdone to the point that a few of his decisions just didn't feel very competent, but the arc of him learning to rely on more than logic alone (and especially of him learning to respect the emotional needs of his comrades) is interesting.
Why would Kirk think Spock would give him a back rub on the bridge? That scene is hilarious, though.
It's interesting that the original enterprise encountered basically the ultimate Holodeck in its very first season.
I wish the yeomen wouldn't always be so hysterical.
For a moment the Finnegan fight seemed to stretch out too long and feel too pointless (since we already know Finnegan isn't real and probably doesn't have answers), but the way Kirk realizes he enjoyed fighting Finnegan and the way that leads to the realization that it was all entertainment is pretty satisfying.
McCoy's flirting with the Yeoman seems kind of tacked on and pointless - basically nothing but set-up for her to be upset about his chorus girls.
The idea that the caretaker didn't realize they were ignorant about what was happening is kind of hard to believe, considering his technology reads minds and he had McCoy underground to talk to.
In the end, though, this is a pretty funny episode. Very lighthearted, not exactly the kind to take seriously. I think it works very well for what it is.
The Galileo Seven:
This Ferris guy is terrible (the actor, not the character).
The production value here seems low even for the time period. Is that really the best they could do with 'throwing' big spears? Or with furry giants attacking (for some reason in a Mummy pose...). The shuttlebay looks pretty neat, though.
How is leaving Gaetano by himself at all logical?
The ending and the beginning of the episode kind of contradict each other. Spock claims from the very start that its logical to try every alternative even if you don't think they'll work, yet his distress signal is painted as an act of pure emotion.
Overall, I thought this was reasonably solid. The 'logical but wrong' decision thing with Spock felt a little overdone to the point that a few of his decisions just didn't feel very competent, but the arc of him learning to rely on more than logic alone (and especially of him learning to respect the emotional needs of his comrades) is interesting.
You mean the slow, eerie version of "Vina's Theme" from "The Cage"? I never thought of that music as a love theme -- more of a "something creepy or supernatural going on" theme. It was also used effectively in "Return of the Archons."
I think that's the one, but my memory seemed to suggest it was used primarily in the case of women trying to seduce Kirk (or Pike, in Vina's case). I'll keep an ear out for it in more episodes, though.
I actually love this episode, and it is probably one of my two favorites from season 1, although I agree with you on the poor production values. I'm actually entirely new to TOS within the last few weeks. As a childhood TNG fan, I always related to that series in terms of crew relationships and character studies (and I'll happily suspend any disbelief and glaze over any technobabble to get there), and I think that's what speaks to me about this episode.
I know the primary focus is Spock's crisis, but I also find extremely compelling Kirk's crisis on the bridge. He's got an officious bureaucrat hovering over his shoulder who would only be too happy to leave the shuttle crew behind, and Kirk has to fend this guy off while dealing with a rapidly deteriorating search situation--limited to visual inspection because scanners and communicators don't work; having to assume that the ship actually landed and where; having to skip large swaths of potential search area because they're running out of time; losing a member of the search team (which just has to be the worst to lose someone when the people you are searching for may already be dead) and having the team leader report that no one on The Galileo likely survived landing on the planet (which Kirk *so* does not want to hear) and then having to abandon the search. It's just A Lot Going On, and when Jim snaps at the bureaucrat and says that they'll search by candlelight if necessary, I really felt for him, as I did when he groaned that they only had 23 minutes before the Columbus returned and they had to leave.
I liked that Uhura made a great right-hand woman to Kirk, when given the opportunity to be the Spock replacement (and I found it interesting how they related to each other, like when she mentioned the last report, and he kind of snapped from stress and said that he didn't want the last report, he wanted the current info) and I liked how Scotty just basically buckled down and did his usual fantastic job while everyone else was sniping at Spock (and how Scotty jumped in to cut that off when it went too far). And back to Kirk, I thought Shatner did a great job looking quietly devastated when he heard the shuttle had burned up and also conveying weary, immense relief when he heard 5 had survived. (Since he knew there were 7 crewmen, I wonder if there was any consideration given in offering this subdued reaction vis-a-vis knowing that 2 crew members had died.)
Come to think of it, I probably love this episode because Apollo 13 is my favorite movie, and this has some of those same beats about bringing an endangered crew home (relatively) safely.
Agreed. G7 is a good episode, but the hokey alien teddy bears and the rubber tipped spears just didn't scare me. 
I definitely agree that Kirk's story on the bridge was quite well done. The only problem I have with it at all is the lack of a moment for him to grieve the loss of the men who died on the shuttle crew and the search party. But that's an issue with the network requirements of the time (happy endings, etc).
Next episode: The Squire of Gothos
The actor playing Trelane is incredibly good at being a spoiled brat.
I absolutely love Spock's distinction between 'fascinating' and 'interesting'.
Kirk defending the female crew from Trelane ('They're necessary operating personnel!') is possibly the first moment in the show where I really felt like women are truly equals who are allowed to be people first. (Not that all the other episodes have been horribly sexist, but most appearances have tended to go out of their way to make the girls seem more 'feminine'.)
The logic behind attacking the mirror doesn't hold up. Trelane is literally doing the impossible, so there's no good reason to assume the machine in the mirror is different from the one maintaining the atmosphere. In fact, Trelane's faults don't even logically lead to the existence of a machine at all, just to there being limits to his powers. The episode is actually rather contradictory here, since he ultimately turns out to be a dismebodied energy being whose natural environment is not even phsyical - so why would he use physical machines?
It's interesting how many of the story elements here were re-used as the basis for Q in TNG, yet he actually turned out to be some sort of real god-like figure.
I really like the way Kirk turns the tables on him, tricking him into giving him more time. And I love how Kirk basically gets to a point where he decides to sacrifice himself to Trelane to get the Enterprise free. It's one of the few times we get to see how deeply committed he is to protecting his people.
Overall, very enjoyable.
Next episode: The Squire of Gothos
The actor playing Trelane is incredibly good at being a spoiled brat.
I absolutely love Spock's distinction between 'fascinating' and 'interesting'.
Kirk defending the female crew from Trelane ('They're necessary operating personnel!') is possibly the first moment in the show where I really felt like women are truly equals who are allowed to be people first. (Not that all the other episodes have been horribly sexist, but most appearances have tended to go out of their way to make the girls seem more 'feminine'.)
The logic behind attacking the mirror doesn't hold up. Trelane is literally doing the impossible, so there's no good reason to assume the machine in the mirror is different from the one maintaining the atmosphere. In fact, Trelane's faults don't even logically lead to the existence of a machine at all, just to there being limits to his powers. The episode is actually rather contradictory here, since he ultimately turns out to be a dismebodied energy being whose natural environment is not even phsyical - so why would he use physical machines?
It's interesting how many of the story elements here were re-used as the basis for Q in TNG, yet he actually turned out to be some sort of real god-like figure.
I really like the way Kirk turns the tables on him, tricking him into giving him more time. And I love how Kirk basically gets to a point where he decides to sacrifice himself to Trelane to get the Enterprise free. It's one of the few times we get to see how deeply committed he is to protecting his people.
Overall, very enjoyable.
My first episode. I was 8. I thought Spock was the captain-- hey, flash of memory-- I think we missed a scene or two at the start. So I saw Spock in the big chair and though he was the boss.
As an astronomy obsessed kid, it was awe-inducing to me for Trelane to send the PLANET after them.
Some treat this as a "wacky" episode, but I think they really got across how dangerous a frivolous person with too much power could be.
As an astronomy obsessed kid, it was awe-inducing to me for Trelane to send the PLANET after them.
Some treat this as a "wacky" episode, but I think they really got across how dangerous a frivolous person with too much power could be.
A few years back my wife (who is not a fan) stated that she remembered both Spock and McCoy from the show but not Kirk! And that she wasn't even aware of him for quite a few years! How can someone go through life and not know of Captain James T.Kirk?
JB
JB
At least she didn't say, "Johnnybear, honey, why can't you be more romantic like Captain Kirk?"
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Apparently The Shat was not that nice to John Crawford on the set and he says this was very hard on him at the time because he had just lost his son I believe!
JB
Due to my thread being closed (and having gained permission from grendelsbayne), I'm going to post my reviews/analyses here.
Reposting 'The Man Trap'
The Man Trap (First aired: September 8th, 1966)
The one that started it all. (Of course, The Cage is the one that started it all, but this is the one that NBC viewers saw first.) The Enterprise stops at M-113 on a routine visit, but quickly discover that something has gone horribly wrong. The episode quickly establishes the characters, particularly Kirk and McCoy. The latter especially, as it is revealed that the Doctor had been romantically involved with Nancy some time in the past. (Before she met Robert.) It is still a senstive area, as he is offended by Darnell's remark about her being identical to someone he had met on Wrigley's Pleasure Planet.
Kirk is established as a capable leader, who looks out for his crew. (Not that it does Darnell, Sturgeon and Green any good.) Spock's nature as a logical Vulcan is also established. Uhura's playful teasing doesn't faze him. (Still, I wonder if their relationship in the Kelvin Timeline was inspired by this moment?) And she's aghast at his unemotional response to the report that a member of the landing party had died. Various crewmembers aboard ship are also established (and are certainly put off by the 'Salt vampire's' imitation of Green. Particularly Rand.)
Part of the role of the Enterprise is established. (Checking up on various Federation outposts.) The suspense as the characters investigate what is happening, is very well realised. The initial reluctance of Crater to cooperate leads well into the later situation. The confrontation on the planet between the Starfleet officers and Crater (after the creature had infiltrated the Enterprise) was well done. Overall, it is an excellent introduction to the series, and the overall setting.
Rating: 8.5/19.
Stardate: 1513.1 – 1513.8
Introductions: Overall setting; USS Enterprise NCC 1701; Kirk, James T.; Spock; McCoy, Leonard H; Uhura, Nyota; Sulu, Hikaru; Rand, Janice; Crater, Robert; M-113;
Deaths: 5 (Nancy Crater, Darnell, Sturgeon, Green and the Creature/'Salt Vampire')
Reposting 'The Man Trap'
The Man Trap (First aired: September 8th, 1966)
The one that started it all. (Of course, The Cage is the one that started it all, but this is the one that NBC viewers saw first.) The Enterprise stops at M-113 on a routine visit, but quickly discover that something has gone horribly wrong. The episode quickly establishes the characters, particularly Kirk and McCoy. The latter especially, as it is revealed that the Doctor had been romantically involved with Nancy some time in the past. (Before she met Robert.) It is still a senstive area, as he is offended by Darnell's remark about her being identical to someone he had met on Wrigley's Pleasure Planet.
Kirk is established as a capable leader, who looks out for his crew. (Not that it does Darnell, Sturgeon and Green any good.) Spock's nature as a logical Vulcan is also established. Uhura's playful teasing doesn't faze him. (Still, I wonder if their relationship in the Kelvin Timeline was inspired by this moment?) And she's aghast at his unemotional response to the report that a member of the landing party had died. Various crewmembers aboard ship are also established (and are certainly put off by the 'Salt vampire's' imitation of Green. Particularly Rand.)
Part of the role of the Enterprise is established. (Checking up on various Federation outposts.) The suspense as the characters investigate what is happening, is very well realised. The initial reluctance of Crater to cooperate leads well into the later situation. The confrontation on the planet between the Starfleet officers and Crater (after the creature had infiltrated the Enterprise) was well done. Overall, it is an excellent introduction to the series, and the overall setting.
Rating: 8.5/19.
Stardate: 1513.1 – 1513.8
Introductions: Overall setting; USS Enterprise NCC 1701; Kirk, James T.; Spock; McCoy, Leonard H; Uhura, Nyota; Sulu, Hikaru; Rand, Janice; Crater, Robert; M-113;
Deaths: 5 (Nancy Crater, Darnell, Sturgeon, Green and the Creature/'Salt Vampire')
So after getting hopelessly behind on all sorts of things in the last few months I am officially mostly caught up again and back to my rewatch.
Arena
I totally forgot there was such a long prologue on cestus.
Are those photon mortars? Kirk's idea of taking cover is hilarious.
I still really like the Gorn design, even though the rubber suit effect is unfortunate. The Metron design, on the other hand, is really lame.
Kelley's delivery seems a little off in the part where he's complaining that the ship can't be trapped. Almost like a different character.
Overall, I'd say this is a very solid episode. I like the way it moves from one surprise development to the next, going from routine, to disaster investigation, to chase, to gladiator combat. Kirk's part is also very well done. I like how clear he is on what needs to be done without being bloodthirsty, and how willing he is to change that assesment with new information.
Tomorrow is Yesterday
I like Kirk's reaction to hearing the broadcast. It really sells the idea that this isn't routine or 'just part of the job', the way it sometimes feels when the later shows do time travel.
Are those air force uniforms even remotely accurate? They look strange. More RAF than USAF, I would say (based on my movie imparted knowledge), except for the light color.
Not accounting for descendants seems decidely unlike Spock. Also, shouldn't a man's absence alter history whether he's significant himself or not? People don't live in a vacuum. On a related note, Captain Christopher is kind of blase about hearing he's going to have a son who'll be a major space pioneer.
The affectionate computer thing is pretty weird, especially since it basically has nothing to do with the rest of the episode and it's actually getting upset about being rebuffed.
So how does it make sense that traveling back in time and beaming Cristopher back into his plane will erase his memory? It's still the Christopher who was on the ship, not the Christopher from days earlier. There should now be two Captain Cristophers stuck in a one person cockpit.
And that endnig is just really unintentionally hilarious: "Enterprise! Come in, Enterprise! What's happened to you?!" "Kirk here, Enterprise has come home. End transmission.' "Wait, what, Enterprise, come back, what the hell happened to you?"
Overall, another really solid episode. I like how Christopher fights to get back to his family and how the whole thing is just a bad situation that has to dealt with rather than an evil plot or villainous scheme.
Arena
I totally forgot there was such a long prologue on cestus.
Are those photon mortars? Kirk's idea of taking cover is hilarious.
I still really like the Gorn design, even though the rubber suit effect is unfortunate. The Metron design, on the other hand, is really lame.
Kelley's delivery seems a little off in the part where he's complaining that the ship can't be trapped. Almost like a different character.
Overall, I'd say this is a very solid episode. I like the way it moves from one surprise development to the next, going from routine, to disaster investigation, to chase, to gladiator combat. Kirk's part is also very well done. I like how clear he is on what needs to be done without being bloodthirsty, and how willing he is to change that assesment with new information.
Tomorrow is Yesterday
I like Kirk's reaction to hearing the broadcast. It really sells the idea that this isn't routine or 'just part of the job', the way it sometimes feels when the later shows do time travel.
Are those air force uniforms even remotely accurate? They look strange. More RAF than USAF, I would say (based on my movie imparted knowledge), except for the light color.
Not accounting for descendants seems decidely unlike Spock. Also, shouldn't a man's absence alter history whether he's significant himself or not? People don't live in a vacuum. On a related note, Captain Christopher is kind of blase about hearing he's going to have a son who'll be a major space pioneer.
The affectionate computer thing is pretty weird, especially since it basically has nothing to do with the rest of the episode and it's actually getting upset about being rebuffed.
So how does it make sense that traveling back in time and beaming Cristopher back into his plane will erase his memory? It's still the Christopher who was on the ship, not the Christopher from days earlier. There should now be two Captain Cristophers stuck in a one person cockpit.
And that endnig is just really unintentionally hilarious: "Enterprise! Come in, Enterprise! What's happened to you?!" "Kirk here, Enterprise has come home. End transmission.' "Wait, what, Enterprise, come back, what the hell happened to you?"
Overall, another really solid episode. I like how Christopher fights to get back to his family and how the whole thing is just a bad situation that has to dealt with rather than an evil plot or villainous scheme.
Yeah, now that would have been an interesting episode. It seemed like a reference to a previous episode. Maybe it was an element from one of the ultimately rejected ideas, but they liked the computer thing so much they just had to throw it in.
A rare thing. Agreed.
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