What's the Best "Last Episode?"

[Albertese]

Here's a question for you guys...

I'm in a position of showing Star Trek to someone who has an interest in seeing the entire series, but has never watched it before. My first inclination was just to show it to her in Netflix order (simplest approach) but then I was thinking that with this particular viewer and her taste in things, "Turnabout Intruder" is a bad story to end on. Which raises the question: Which of the original 79 episodes makes the best series finale? Do any of them make a good send-off?

Maybe "For the World Is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky" because it sort of sets up McCoy's retirement which could be seen as a bridge to TMP? A weak link perhaps.

Maybe "Space Seed" as it has the direct sequel in ST2?

Is there an episode you think might be a good one to end the show with a flourish?

Suggestions?

--Alex

 

[Phaser Two]

Good question!

I do think the last episode has to be from S3 because of the different look and flavor. Ending on Space Seed - while a nice idea - doesn't feel quite right. (Although it might make Khan's remembrance of Chekov a bit less jarring assuming you're shown your friend all the other S3 eps.)

I really like your suggestion of FTWIH because - although they gloss over why he can't stay with Natira at the end - it does have a nice air of transition to it.

Two S3 eps with wistful endings that might work would be WTE (not my favorite but the ending is kind of cool) and LTBYLB.

And if you want a mindtrip (literally), maybe end on RFM. "Forget" - - and then see what your friend thinks from there. Could be a bit of a Sopranos-style loop-throw!

 

[johnnybear]

All Our Yesterdays is a good one and it has the final stardate of the original series!
JB

 

[Methuselah Flint]

I agree johnnybear, AOY should always have come after TI!

 

[ChallengerHK]

I guess my question is "What is your ultimate goal"?

If it's to help her understand what is great about TOS, what makes it last so long in the public discourse, then I would just choose a great episode.It sounds like she's not a huge fan, if a fan at all, so some of the things that we find jarring between the first and second seasons and the third season my not even register.

If it's to serve as a springboard into some or all of the other series, then it becomes a lot tougher. If I were on that path, I think I'd be looking at the philosophical underpinnings of each TOS episode. Another approach would be to make a thematic connnection, such as "A Private Little War"'s allusions to the Vietnam War, and "The Hunted"'s metaphorical treatment of issues with Vietnam vets. To be sure, this is a dry approach that does nothing to highlight characters or relationships.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I'll echo All Our Yesterdays. While it doesn't involve anyone other than the Big 3 or even the Enterprise, it's a sweet story with am amazing finale (the music, the - original - effects of the Enterprise warping away) and if you're gonna leap into TMP after this, the purging of Spock's emotions makes sense since he just lost a loved one and it sucks. He didn't need no McKenna for that. It's one of the highest quality 3rd season shows and a great feeling to leave on.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

More important than where you end is the question of which episodes you should skip to avoid having the new viewer say "That's enough Star Trek TOS for me, we can stop right there." So I would skip the worst ones, and later tell her "There's a few more but they aren't as good, but if you love the show, they're part of its history."

For a newbie's first run, I would skip:
The Alternative Factor
And the Children Shall Lead
The Savage Curtain

Also be prepared for impatient sighs during The Man Trap, and a feminist displeasure with Wolf in the Fold and Turnabout Intruder.

It was different in the 1970s; we devoured every episode as vital nourishment when there was no home video, no broader ST franchise to choose from, and Star Wars hadn't even been dreamed up yet. Today I'm sure people will have less patience for the low points of TOS.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I gotta say The Alternative Factor isn't the cluster frack to some people as it is for fans. It's repetitive (Lazarus falls a lot and the negative fights are a little iffy), but it has a good premise. The Savage Curtain also isn't all that bad and the anti-racist stance is a great point to hammer home. The Man Trap is a great McCoy episode, but there's so much out of character weirdness, it may be a good one to skip. But the impatient sighs would come just as easily in Charlie X during the rec room scenes and the "Bonk Bonk" antics of Miri.

 

[johnnybear]

True, whatever the episode was that night we sat and watched it! If it was a favourite one we were very, very happy though! Who could have ever guessed that one day we'd be able to watch them at home on our own devices and whenever and whatever show too!
JB

 

[Ssosmcin]

True, whatever the episode was that night we sat and watched it! If it was a favourite one we were very, very happy though! Who could have ever guessed that one day we'd be able to watch them at home on our own devices and whenever and whatever show too!
JB

When I used to audio tape them off the TV, everyone had to be quiet for an hour. So my sister would wait for me to say if it was a good one or not, because I would only tape the good episodes. She got really frustrated because they were ALL good!

 

[STEPhon IT]

All Our Yesterdays is a good one and it has the final stardate of the original series!
JB

There's nothing "Best" about the 3rd season of Star Trek, but I agree with you about "All Our Yesterdays". I liked the conflict going on with Spock and how McCoy revealed to him how he was acting in accordance to Vulcans during that time period.

 

[Phaser Two]

Skip TSC???? Possibly the best dialogue, pound for pound, in the entire series. And two iconic villains. No way!

 

[Hofner]

I find it interesting in answering this thread topic, people are mentioning "All Our Yesterdays" because it was the last Star Trek episode for me.

Although I know I saw the premiere ep, "the Man Trap", I don't remember seeing much of seasons one and two but I caught most of season three first run.

Although I didn't know it at the time, AOY was the last first run episode I saw. "I missed "Turnabout Intruder" because it was delayed to later in the summer of '69 and when I watched St reruns in the '70s, I thought it was just another S1 or S2 ep I hadn't seen. It was years before I found out it had been the last ep and not AOY.

It was a very sad day when I saw in TV Guide that Star Trek was not in the fall of '69 primetime lineup, it had been cancelled and AOY was the last episode.

Those were quite the days in fall '68 to spring '69 when I could look forward to a brand new Star Trek episode almost every Friday night on our new color TV.

Robert

 

[Ssosmcin]

. Today I'm sure people will have less patience for the low points of TOS.

Let's be honest, some people would have less patience for some aspects of great episodes. The slow punches of the Kirk vs Gorn fight, Spock's screaming of "pain!!!" in Devil in the Dark, or the over the top "Evil Kirk" stuff in The Enemy Within. As fans and people who grew up with the series, all of this stuff is easily accepted and even appreciated. To someone seeing the series for the first time, the 1960's acting techniques and some of the costumes may be off-putting or, worse, seen as camp.

 

[johnnybear]

When I used to audio tape them off the TV, everyone had to be quiet for an hour. So my sister would wait for me to say if it was a good one or not, because I would only tape the good episodes. She got really frustrated because they were ALL good!

At first it was the same for me, but later I had a special lead that fitted into the socket of a portable b/w TV set upstairs so I could record the sound without any interference at all!
JB

 

[BillJ]

I would also go with “All Our Yesterday’s”. Gives a natural flow to Spock’s attempt at Kolinahr.

 

[Methuselah Flint]

I think season two suffers the most for not getting or having the ability for a 'proper' ending.

The mass scale of the threat, plus the addition of Kirk's family makes ON a good end show for season one.

Season three - you can easily switch TI with AOY which, whilst trio-centric, wraps up the season beautifully, with the final shot of the sun blowing up. The remastered version is especially stunning and symbolic.

Season two - a backdoor pilot?! Omega Glory would be a terrible finale. The closest appropriate neighbour I suppose we get is The Ultimate Computer, focusing on Kirk's ultimate fear of losing command, and that last big battle. So you could always switch UC to the last.

These are of course season finales as opposed to a final episode per se. But it's interesting to see how TOS would fit with modern grand finales of today.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Season three - you can easily switch TI with AOY which, whilst trio-centric, wraps up the season beautifully, with the final shot of the sun blowing up. The remastered version is especially stunning and symbolic.

I'm an old schooler and will always prefer the original and very simple composite effect. It's a bright shining light with some diffusion and flare and a stock shot of the Enterprise, but the music is perfectly chosen and timed. The Enterprise also seems to be going "faster" away from the nova in the original. There's a majesty to the original shot that I find lacking in the TOS-R.

 

[Methuselah Flint]

I'm an old schooler and will always prefer the original and very simple composite effect. It's a bright shining light with some diffusion and flare and a stock shot of the Enterprise, but the music is perfectly chosen and timed. The Enterprise also seems to be going "faster" away from the nova in the original. There's a majesty to the original shot that I find lacking in the TOS-R.

Oh I agree. I think the original is the best. However, I think if I were to end the series with AOY, the remastered version does it justice.

 

[publiusr]

In terms of The Man Trap, this might be where the mirror universe gets it right.

If I am Empire Kirk, I give her the salt, and she becomes an assassin, and there is no extinction.