When did Fred Freiberger jump the shark?
- Thread starter Quantum21
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I find Season 3 overall is not as bad as many make it out to be. Half of the season (12 episodes) is good to excellent, a quarter of it (6 episodes) is fair/watchable and a quarter of it (6 episodes) is poor to bad. Even TNG in its supposed best seasons didn’t do better than that.
Furthermore even when TOS is disappointing it’s never boring. A lot of TNG and what followed was boring. 21st century Trek is plain forgettable garbage.
Furthermore even when TOS is disappointing it’s never boring. A lot of TNG and what followed was boring. 21st century Trek is plain forgettable garbage.
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When he became producer of Space: 1999, but even then the season wasn't as bad as I though it would be.
The very first episode, “Spock’s Brain” jumped the shark. Ironically, although Frieberger produced it, it was Gene Coon that wrote it! (Was he on drugs?!)
That said, I’d still rather watch s3 of TOS than virtually any season of Voyager, Enterprise or latter TNG. It’s not great overall but it’s not the unmitigated disaster many have always claimed.
That said, I’d still rather watch s3 of TOS than virtually any season of Voyager, Enterprise or latter TNG. It’s not great overall but it’s not the unmitigated disaster many have always claimed.
Rumor has it that Coon's version was originally more serious. That Frieberger wanted more of a comedy out of it.
If you want to go there, it was much later (and "Spock's Brain" is hardly the worst episode of the series - or even the season). I would say "Whom Gods Destroy" the first episode after Bob Justman left. At that point the all of the original creatives had left the series and Star Trek was story edited by two guys: Freiberger and Arthur Singer. Roddenberry, even though his name was on it, was long gone, so those last 9 episodes in production order were 100% Freiberger Trek.
That's when the last bit of the original creative voice left the series. Justman's missing influence was immediately felt.
That's when the last bit of the original creative voice left the series. Justman's missing influence was immediately felt.
I love S3. There are only three or four genuine stinkers. The horror touches from S1 return (and how!), the storytelling is complex, many Star Trek themes developed in S1 and S2 continue (disease, prime directive violations, classism, mental health, race hatred, alien influence on minds, lost sister ships), the dialogue is every bit equal to the first two seasons, the acting continues to be terrific, and as a bonus, due to budget concerns we get to see far more of the Enterprise.
When he lost Nimoy. A Nimoy quote from 'Star Trek Lives!' (pp 164-165, not part of his words):
And when the writers start giving you material, or the producers start giving you material, that doesn't give you the opportunity to get your creative juices going, and you complain to him, and tells you to just go out and do it -- "I know what I'm doing and this is going to work." Then you have a total impasse. Death sets in. That's death.
For example:
...when we were doing the script, maybe one of our worst ever, with the kids in the third season, "And the Children Shall Lead," I thought it was terrible--terrible...So I went to Fred Freiberger and said, "Well, we've got some problems with the script." He said, "This script going to be what 'Miri' should have been."
Well "Miri" was a lovely story, lovely story, beautifully told and beautifully played. And we had all loved "Miri" as an episode. And he was saying that "Miri" was a piece of trash...There's no communication.
That's when death starts to set in.
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“And The Children Shall Lead” was the nadir of TOS. There was a genuine horror story in it (and some of those elements manage to come through), but the overall execution stumbled drunkenly.
The disappointments of Season 3 were salvageable with some decent editing and a few better creative choices. And it must be noted that the cast and production crew still came through with their professionalism and dedication.
The disappointments of Season 3 were salvageable with some decent editing and a few better creative choices. And it must be noted that the cast and production crew still came through with their professionalism and dedication.
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It does have two brief assets......the extra-sadistic neck pinch on the guard, and his record-quick recovery from it.
Still, that episode, plus PLATO'S STEPCHILDREN and LIGHTS OF ZETAR, bring out the wussy factor in Scotty to hideous levels. The ham factor from Shatner in Act Three is equally yeeeegggh.*
(*new word)
How is Scotty a wussy in And The Children Shall Lead and Plato's Stepchildren?
"Tits in space."
That guard pinch is in "Turnabout Intruder," not "And the Children Shall Lead."
Of the two, Turnabout is far less embarrassing.
Zap I think the pinch in question is during the corridor fight with Chekov and the guards, when Spock pinches the guard and the guard's expression makes it look like his soul left his body.
https://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/al...ren-shall-lead/children-shall-lead-br-717.jpg
That was much more effective than Spock going to pinch whoever David L. Ross was playing that week, having him block Spock long enough to scream "Security guard!", followed by that guard leaning towards the door and cupping his ear like a cartoon character.
Thanks! It's been quite a while since I subjected myself to "And the Children..."
You know how Klingons like to walk through a gauntlet of pain sticks, in the Second Rite of Ascension? It's along those lines, except I don't like it.
He whines to Kirk that these are vurra sensitive instruments and can't help him in CHILDREN.
In PLATO five seconds of turbulence leads him to whine to Kirk that they can't last and nothing will work.
Clearly two more cases of inferior/helpless third season Scotty.
Indeed on all counts. Security guards certainly never screamed ''security guard'' in the first two years. Or separated themselves while endangering both. They even had names on major occasions.
Wasn't Scotty under the influence of the Gorgon in CHILDREN? I think he was just informing Kirk of the situation in PLATO'S. There really wasn't anything he could do.
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