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Treking through all Star Trek
- Thread starter thew40
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Thank you admin!
Dude, chill. It's been taken care of. Let's just ignore it and focus on the topic, right?
He's doing it in true chronological order, where Regeneration follows after First Contact (the TNG movie) - the same way that In A Mirror Darkly was skipped cause its set after 'The Tholian Web' in TOS, and TATV is set after 'The Pegasus' in TNG.
Thank you admin!
Dude, chill. It's been taken care of. Let's just ignore it and focus on the topic, right?
I posted those while the guy was spamming... very rude things. Now it just looks funny because all of his posts were deleted.
But ok!
how in the world did you get all the episodes/movies in chronological order, what with all the skipping around?
I haven't skipped around . . . I've moved four episodes and that's only because they occur at different chronological points.
Regeneration - moved after "Star Trek: First Contact" because it makes for a nice sequel/follow-up.
In a Mirror, Darkly - Parts One and Two - moved after "The Tholian Web" because the Defiant time travels back in time.
These Are the Voyages - moved after "The Pegasus" because it takes place during that episode
In terms of how I put them in chronological order, it's not tough. Enteprise comes first, followed by TOS, TAS, and the first six movies. Then comes Next Generation.
When we get to point where TNG/DS9/VOY overlap, I have them all in air date order -- except in the case of a story arc (such as the final DS9 episodes or the Hirogen arc). I may change this up when I get there, because it's a little overcomplicated.
Last but not least is Star Trek XI because Spock Prime and Nero come from the far end of the Prime timeline into an alternate reality.
In terms of where I'm at, I've just finished TOS Season Two. I gave myself a lot of breathing room on this thread, simply because I may fall behind at some point.
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Series: The Original Series – Season One
Episode: “Charlie X”
Trek Installment # 101
Grade: C+
Viewing Date: December 5, 2009
I can’t say I necessarily liked this one. It felt very much like a rehash of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” in that we once more deal with a fragile human gaining god-like powers. If there was internal continuity, then we could have had a Kirk who was trying his hardest to prevent Charlie from becoming the next Gary Mitchell.
Actually, Kirk is the one I find the most fault in. Allowing the continuity issue that Kirk should be more sympathetic and diplomatic once he discovers Charlie’s powers, I found the good captain to be extremely dismissive. Charlie’s obsession with Rand gains barely anything more than a smirk and pat on the shoulder from Kirk. Redshirt Sam’s vanishing is treated like it happens everyday.
Charlie himself is well-played and his powers are slowly revealed well, spanning from simple card tricks to inducing some serious creepy shit – including turning a girl into a lizard, wiping away people’s faces, aging someone, etc.
The crew celebrates Thanksgiving? Really? Hm, well, okay.
I liked the music in this episode too. Spock and Uhura’s little musical number was strange, but kooky. I actually have it stuck in my head.
Not having watched TOS in a long time (I was born long after TOS and can't really get into the production values when I compare them to TNG/DS9/VOY, or ENT), I'll just comment on ENT - particularly the series review.
Spot. On.
I don't agree completely - But enough to say that. ENT was a series that, when I first heard about it, I groaned a bit - because I just *knew* they were going to mess with established continuity and make it even more a mess than it already is.
Nonetheless, I watched. It was, in first run, very hard to tune in to - UPN kept pre-empting it for other crap, for instance - and the ship itself feels *very* out of sequence (like it belongs in the 24th Century, not the 22nd). Nonetheless, I came to like it at points. Where ENT kept to being a prequel, it IMHO generally did well - I liked the Andorians from my RPG experience beforehand, but absolutely love them after ENT.
Season 3 marked a nice change (despite the difficulty of fitting the Xindi attack on Earth into later chronology) from what felt like the way-too-slow pace of Seasons 1 and 2. I think, as I grow up, I'm firmly coming down on the side of liking my TV to be serialized, not as episodic as TOS and TNG and VOY - which doesn't necessarily say much about those series, just something I'm noticing with my preferences.
Season 4 - I think ENT was doomed by this point. It couldn't get the ratings it needed, but damn was the story unfinished.
So, in retrospect?
ENT should have picked a story and stuck to it. The Temporal Cold War definitely, yes, should have been dropped before the pilot - it adds nothing to the series in total; what it gives in good eps, it takes away in making the Star Trek continuity an even bigger mess.
The Xindi were criticized at the time for being too much an obvious 9/11 parallel, and there may be some truth to that. That said, it made for good TV on most occasions...but came too late to really do much for the series. They wouldn't have been necessary, that said, if ENT had "remembered what they were there for" and stuck to it, I think.
You could tell the Executive Meddling with UPN, from pilot on. If it wasn't in actual episodes, it was in scheduling. I often wonder what ENT would have been like had it not been for UPN. ('Would it exist?' is a good question - but presuming it would exist if UPN wasn't in the equation, what would it have been like?)
Little things: It spoils nothing about TATV to reveal that you can spot nametags on the uniforms - something I *still love*. Where ENT did best was, IMHO, the uniforms. The little things about the sets, how cramped they felt in comparison to later series. *Using ladders* instead of turbolifts helped here. While the exterior of the ship felt off, the interiors felt great. I guess I'd sum it up as "They mucked up the big things, but somehow nailed the little things". Which is confusing.
Spot. On.
I don't agree completely - But enough to say that. ENT was a series that, when I first heard about it, I groaned a bit - because I just *knew* they were going to mess with established continuity and make it even more a mess than it already is.
Nonetheless, I watched. It was, in first run, very hard to tune in to - UPN kept pre-empting it for other crap, for instance - and the ship itself feels *very* out of sequence (like it belongs in the 24th Century, not the 22nd). Nonetheless, I came to like it at points. Where ENT kept to being a prequel, it IMHO generally did well - I liked the Andorians from my RPG experience beforehand, but absolutely love them after ENT.
Season 3 marked a nice change (despite the difficulty of fitting the Xindi attack on Earth into later chronology) from what felt like the way-too-slow pace of Seasons 1 and 2. I think, as I grow up, I'm firmly coming down on the side of liking my TV to be serialized, not as episodic as TOS and TNG and VOY - which doesn't necessarily say much about those series, just something I'm noticing with my preferences.
Season 4 - I think ENT was doomed by this point. It couldn't get the ratings it needed, but damn was the story unfinished.
So, in retrospect?
ENT should have picked a story and stuck to it. The Temporal Cold War definitely, yes, should have been dropped before the pilot - it adds nothing to the series in total; what it gives in good eps, it takes away in making the Star Trek continuity an even bigger mess.
The Xindi were criticized at the time for being too much an obvious 9/11 parallel, and there may be some truth to that. That said, it made for good TV on most occasions...but came too late to really do much for the series. They wouldn't have been necessary, that said, if ENT had "remembered what they were there for" and stuck to it, I think.
You could tell the Executive Meddling with UPN, from pilot on. If it wasn't in actual episodes, it was in scheduling. I often wonder what ENT would have been like had it not been for UPN. ('Would it exist?' is a good question - but presuming it would exist if UPN wasn't in the equation, what would it have been like?)
Little things: It spoils nothing about TATV to reveal that you can spot nametags on the uniforms - something I *still love*. Where ENT did best was, IMHO, the uniforms. The little things about the sets, how cramped they felt in comparison to later series. *Using ladders* instead of turbolifts helped here. While the exterior of the ship felt off, the interiors felt great. I guess I'd sum it up as "They mucked up the big things, but somehow nailed the little things". Which is confusing.
Regeneration isn't after the TNG era parts of FC, it's after 2063. If you arrange them in the order that they are set, then Regeneration should have been covered already. It's set in the Enterprise era, yet we're covering stuff set a century after!
But it's in an alternate timeline created by Borg from 2373 travelling back through time.
This is why I hate time travel. It never fails to induce headaches.
Tiberius, thew40 explains his reasons here -
Please don't argue with me about his decision, he explained his chronological order a few times in the thread already.
I personally agree with you, I see no need to move episodes around - because then you need to start wondering about all the other time travel episodes in the other series. Should All Good Things be shown straight after Encounter at Farpoint, because it is partially set in the same timeline? If I was going through and watching it in order, I'd do it differently - but I'm not, thew40 is, and he can watch it however he likes.
It actually makes perfect sense if you think about it. Just as Rick Berman and Brannon Braga moved from TNG, to Voyager, to Enterprise. So too did many of the crew - the make-up and costume artists, the set designers, the illustrators, the prop makers, etc.
So while the writers were floundering, and struggling to create something new that wasn't just more of TNG, or more of Voyager, the artists were doing the opposite. They took the idea of a prequel series to heart, and designed the costumes, sets, etc with that in mind.
Allow me to suggest something about "Regeneration" and its overall place in my chronological viewing. Here is how I see the sequence of events:
1) The events of Star Trek: First Contact take place, causing time traveled Borg debris to crash in Anartica in 2063
2) The events of "Regeneration" occur in 2153
3) Starfleet, having calculated the possible arrival date of the message, send Magnus Hansen and his family to investigate in 2353
4) Magnus and his family are assimilated
In essence, this episodes serves a key purpose for me. Not only does it serve as a sequel to "First Contact," but it serves as a prequel to Seven of Nine's storyarc. Using time travel, it transitions the focus from Captain Picard to Seven of Nine. Does it take a little imagination? Sure.
Placing it after "First Contact" causes it's place as a transition to be strengthened. Instead of taking place seasons before the events depicted in "First Contact" and "Raven," it takes places right in between.
1) The events of Star Trek: First Contact take place, causing time traveled Borg debris to crash in Anartica in 2063
2) The events of "Regeneration" occur in 2153
3) Starfleet, having calculated the possible arrival date of the message, send Magnus Hansen and his family to investigate in 2353
4) Magnus and his family are assimilated
In essence, this episodes serves a key purpose for me. Not only does it serve as a sequel to "First Contact," but it serves as a prequel to Seven of Nine's storyarc. Using time travel, it transitions the focus from Captain Picard to Seven of Nine. Does it take a little imagination? Sure.
Placing it after "First Contact" causes it's place as a transition to be strengthened. Instead of taking place seasons before the events depicted in "First Contact" and "Raven," it takes places right in between.
Yeah. Indeed, Regeneration doesn't mess up the Borg timeline, it retcons it and makes the whole thing make sense. Starfleet sends the Hansen's after the Borg about 200 years after the Regeneration incident (Section 31 obviously covered up the whole affair in 2153). Picard meets them about 12 or so years later.
Series: The Original Series – Season One
Episode: “Balance of Terror”
Trek Installment # 102
Grade: A
Viewing Date: December 5, 2009
This is the first major “combat” episode of Trek and what it lacks in AWESOME SPECIAL EFFECTS it makes up for in drama. The conflict between Kirk and the Romulan commander is what makes it so good. We have real, flesh-and-bones characters competing against each other in a constant battle of wits and strategy. They dance around the Neutral Zone, edging on war.
On top of that we have an invested human element in that couple that was going to be married. And we have Stiles, who hates the Romulans and who believes Spock is one of them.
I know the Star Trek universe was young in the eyes of the producers in this episode, but I would have liked a follow-up as to the political and sociological impact of the revelations made here about the Vulcans. Other than Stile’s reaction and the initial shock that the commander looks like a Vulcan, there’s not much to go on.
Overall, this episode is among the best I’ve seen thus far. It’s smart, it has great character moments, and some fantastic strategy and atmosphere. Great stuff.
Episode: “Balance of Terror”
Trek Installment # 102
Grade: A
Viewing Date: December 5, 2009
This is the first major “combat” episode of Trek and what it lacks in AWESOME SPECIAL EFFECTS it makes up for in drama. The conflict between Kirk and the Romulan commander is what makes it so good. We have real, flesh-and-bones characters competing against each other in a constant battle of wits and strategy. They dance around the Neutral Zone, edging on war.
On top of that we have an invested human element in that couple that was going to be married. And we have Stiles, who hates the Romulans and who believes Spock is one of them.
I know the Star Trek universe was young in the eyes of the producers in this episode, but I would have liked a follow-up as to the political and sociological impact of the revelations made here about the Vulcans. Other than Stile’s reaction and the initial shock that the commander looks like a Vulcan, there’s not much to go on.
Overall, this episode is among the best I’ve seen thus far. It’s smart, it has great character moments, and some fantastic strategy and atmosphere. Great stuff.
Series: The Original Series – Season One
Episode: “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”
Trek Installment # 103
Grade: D
Viewing Date: December 7, 2009
This episode was a mess. What was the point? Robots? Ruk? Korby?
I don’t know, I just struggled with it, I guess. It just didn’t grab me. Nothing very interesting happened other than robo-Kirk showing up. I liked the development that Chapel got, I guess. Chapel’s reaction to Korby-bot’s death was great. Nice delivery. That was about the only thing that popped with me.
Well, that and the rock penis.
Really, this is one of those episodes that I feel like fell apart pretty quickly. None of the characters had any motivation and there wasn’t much to build on.
It was just bad.
Episode: “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”
Trek Installment # 103
Grade: D
Viewing Date: December 7, 2009
This episode was a mess. What was the point? Robots? Ruk? Korby?
I don’t know, I just struggled with it, I guess. It just didn’t grab me. Nothing very interesting happened other than robo-Kirk showing up. I liked the development that Chapel got, I guess. Chapel’s reaction to Korby-bot’s death was great. Nice delivery. That was about the only thing that popped with me.
Well, that and the rock penis.
Really, this is one of those episodes that I feel like fell apart pretty quickly. None of the characters had any motivation and there wasn’t much to build on.
It was just bad.
I love* the simplistic way they handle anything technological in the original series.
"This is how you make an android."
"What, you put some plastocine next to a naked man on a spinning table and then squint a bit?"
"Errr... yes."
*hate.
"This is how you make an android."
"What, you put some plastocine next to a naked man on a spinning table and then squint a bit?"
"Errr... yes."
*hate.
Series: The Original Series – Season One
Episode: “Dagger of the Mind”
Trek Installment # 104
Grade: C-
Viewing Date: December 9, 2009
I liked Kirk’s reaction to suddenly be speaking to someone he admires. His subtle pause and surprise at talking to Adams was nicely-done. I also liked his handling of Van Gelder when he came onto the bridge.
“I want asylum.”
“At gunpoint?”
Awesome.
This was Kirk’s episode. Looking at his face at the end was a clear sign that he was left bothered but what had happened down there. The death of someone he admired – and the feeling of induced loneliness. Doctor Noel? Merry Christmas, Jim.
I actually ended up liking Noel quite a lot. She had some great scenes and had a fun little action sequence and ended up being the heroine of the episode. I wish she had become a recurring character, as I could have also seen her and Bones bump heads a little bit.
Van Gelder’s insanity is a little over the top, but I liked that he ended up in charge of the colony. Spock’s mind meld with him was a little . . . odd . . . but good none the less. I couldn’t help but think of the mind melds on “Enterprise” when I saw that, and appreciated Spock’s reference to it being an ancient technique, as that helped build the continuity of the act.
Doctor Adams was an ass. Dude kept interrupting everyone. I have the same problem with him that I had with Korby – what was the motivation? Fame? Fortune?
Episode: “Dagger of the Mind”
Trek Installment # 104
Grade: C-
Viewing Date: December 9, 2009
I liked Kirk’s reaction to suddenly be speaking to someone he admires. His subtle pause and surprise at talking to Adams was nicely-done. I also liked his handling of Van Gelder when he came onto the bridge.
“I want asylum.”
“At gunpoint?”
Awesome.
This was Kirk’s episode. Looking at his face at the end was a clear sign that he was left bothered but what had happened down there. The death of someone he admired – and the feeling of induced loneliness. Doctor Noel? Merry Christmas, Jim.
I actually ended up liking Noel quite a lot. She had some great scenes and had a fun little action sequence and ended up being the heroine of the episode. I wish she had become a recurring character, as I could have also seen her and Bones bump heads a little bit.
Van Gelder’s insanity is a little over the top, but I liked that he ended up in charge of the colony. Spock’s mind meld with him was a little . . . odd . . . but good none the less. I couldn’t help but think of the mind melds on “Enterprise” when I saw that, and appreciated Spock’s reference to it being an ancient technique, as that helped build the continuity of the act.
Doctor Adams was an ass. Dude kept interrupting everyone. I have the same problem with him that I had with Korby – what was the motivation? Fame? Fortune?
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