Why Are So Many People So Down About Season 3?

[Bubbles McGee]

Okay, so I've read a lot of the behind the scenes books and I understand that during Season 3 Roddenberry had pretty much checked out of the show, an already thin budget was further thinned out, the time slot change was perceived as the most awful thing ever, and many involved with the show were pretty certain that Trek would not see a 4th season.

Consequently, fans and non-fans alike tend to put down Season 3 as being the worst of the three seasons while often taking shots at the weak episodes that made it up. When I look back at my all-time favorite TOS episodes, I find that many of them come from Season 3. This got me wondering about just how bad that season really is.

Granted, episodes like Spock's Brain, And the Children Shall Lead, and The Lights of Zetar, may seem to have been pretty weak and in some cases laughable; but there are so many other episodes from that season that contain some great writing, brilliant acting, and exciting TV!

Here are some of the many Season 3 episodes which I think really rock and why:

The Enterprise Incident: this is a truly great counter-espionage story. I was totally taken by surprise when I first saw it as the twists seemed totally unpredictable. It also showed a "bad-ass" side to Spock which was really refreshing.

Spectre of the Gun: what a great way to inject some Old World meeting New as well as highlight the lawlessness and barbarism that characterized the opening of the American frontier. That scene where Kirk, in frustration, tries to get through to the sheriff that he "just can't kill them" really drives home how utterly incongruous 23rd century morality is to that of the 19th century.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield: I admit that the premise for this story seems a bit cheesy at first, but it is an excellent way to tell a morality play about how incredibly irrational race hatred is and of the dire consequences it can have when not stemmed. Also, this is one of the few episodes where the regular cast takes a back seat to the guest stars Frank Gorshin and Lou Antonio who both did an excellent job. That is incredibly brave on the part of the writers and producers and incredibly noble of the regular cast to let the story center so squarely on the guest stars. After all, Kirk and Spock are powerless throughout the whole episode and (in atypical Trek style) do not manage to save the day at the end...very refreshing and impressive.

All Our Yesterdays: this is just a flat out cool sci-fi episode. What a great premise for a story! The inhabitants of a planet whose sun is about to explode escape into its past. What are the moral/philosophical ramifications of such a thing? Do timelines get altered considerably? Could this ultimately lead to some sort of paradox where different people go back to different times as the planet's history replays itself over and over again in different ways? Could timelines be altered in such a way that the ultimate destruction of the planet is avoided? Great opportunity for a follow up story here.

These are my opinions on just some of the Season 3 episodes which I think are really great. There are others which I think are amazing. What do you think?

 

[BillJ]

Season three had some good episodes but probably more misses than the other two seasons combined. But I still find it very entertaining.

 

[Gary7]

Season three had some good episodes but probably more misses than the other two seasons combined. But I still find it very entertaining.

Agreed.

TOS-S3 isn't terrible, it's just overall sub par compared to the other two seasons. There are more dud episodes, and for the worst duds, S3 gave us most of them. But, S3 also gave us some of the best episodes of the whole series. It's a mixed bag... but whatever the case, I'm thankful we got what we did as it could have been less!

 

[Bubbles McGee]

I have been processing what has been said so far and I appreciate your comments. I wonder though if either of you, or anyone else for that matter, could give me a more quantitative analysis of your positions. When you say that S3 had more misses than the other two seasons, or that it was a mixed bag; which episodes (or how many) would you rate as being on the crappier end of the spectrum.

If memory serves (and I am just too lazy too double check this) there are 24 episodes in S3. Which ones do you think are inferior to those in the first two seasons and why?

 

[Ian Keldon]

I think the problem with S3 is that it whipsaws back and forth between the extremes of good and crappy eps with precious few "good" eps in the middle.

It feels like they took what decent scripts they had left in inventory after S2, and padded the season out with whatever cheaply bought underwritten muck they could get. (I don't know that to be the case, but I strongly suspect it.)

 

[Ssosmcin]

Part of the stigma must go back to the original network season premiere. Fans went to all sorts of time and trouble with the massive letter writing campaign. After months of back breaking work and waiting, the network announces the renewal. Fans go crazy and spend all summer in joyful anticipation for the new adventure that they earned. They turn on their TVs to watch the first episode:

Spock's Brain.

All that work, planning and waiting - for THAT? Any number of episodes around that one would have made for a better to smashing opening. The network picks Spock's Brain. While there are still a good number of good episodes - and one or two genuine classics - all in all, it is a step down. However, for my money, it was still the best sci-fi show on the air.

 

[SchwEnt]

You gotta remember, too, Season Three saved ST.

From my reading and research over the decades, I understand that without a Season Three, there would have been too few eps of ST to put it into syndication.

Without syndication, we wouldn't have been able to watch all those reruns through the 70s until today.

In the 70s, without VCRs and interweb, reruns were all we had. Without reruns, ST would have been only a memory in those lost years after cancellation. Without reruns, it likely wouldn't have gained the fan following it did and might never have come back at all.

Even if every 3rd Season eps was only as good as "Spock's Brain", it'd be okay. Just by *having* a 3rd Season, it allowed syndication which gave rerun time to all the 1st/2nd Season goodness.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Well, maybe. You have to take into account, however, that Kaiser Broadcasting negotiated the syndicated rerun rights during the first season of the series, long before the series ended. Having paid for it, they would have run the show no matter what. At the earlier time slots, the same people would have seen the 50+ episodes. Even with only two seasons, considering it was run in some big markets, Trek could have still exploded. Three seasons isn't a lot of episodes either, when you strip it for daily running.

Don't get me wrong, I love the whole three year run of the series. I revisit the third season episodes often. But because of the then unusual deal Kaiser made, Star Trek was guaranteed a syndication run in a few large markets. Unless Kaiser decided to eat the cost of buying the rights. However, I doubt that would have happened.

 

[Gary7]

If memory serves (and I am just too lazy too double check this) there are 24 episodes in S3. Which ones do you think are inferior to those in the first two seasons and why?

This kind of question can't be answered without responses being very subjective. Everybody has their own opinions, as seen throughout various threads that have appeared on TBBS.

For me, I give you the following "run down":

Season 3 Blunders

• And the Children Shall Lead... [pathetic, no explanation required]
• Spock's Brain... [pathetic, unbelievable surgery, no further explanation required]
• Plato's Stepchildren... [pathetic, "magic fruit"? yah, right]
• The Mark of Gideon... [slow, unbelievable, and ridiculous nonsense--just ask for a virus, idiots!]
• The Lights of Zetar... [great potential but poorly written]
• Turnabout Intruder... [great potential, but terribly dated and just plain silly implementation]
• That Which Survives... [interesting idea, but pathetic "side step evasion" is laughable; ending is a major let down]
• Is There In Truth No Beauty? [decent potential, but... meh! just dull]

Season 3 Keepers

• All Our Yesterdays
• The Enterprise Incident
• Spectre of the Gun
• Whom Gods Destroy
• Day of the Dove
• The Tholian Web
• Requiem for Methuselah
• The Savage Curtain
• The Empath

 

[Timewalker]

I liked Plato's Stepchildren.

 

[Gary7]

^ It was great in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way, although I don't think that's what the producers intended. If viewed as a serious episode, I think it's just plain nuts!

 

[Warped9]

I liked Plato's Stepchildren.

Me, too.

***** Excellent = 4 episodes = 16.6%
“Elaan Of Troyius”
“The Enterprise Incident”
“Is There In Truth No Beauty?”
“The Tholian Web”

**** Good = 8 episodes = 33.3%
“Spectre Of The Gun”
“The Empath”
“Day Of The Dove”
“Plato’s Stepchildren”
“That Which Survives”
“The Cloud Minders”
“The Way To Eden”
“Requiem For Methuselah”

*** Fair = 6 episodes = 25%
“The Paradise Syndrome”
“For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky”
“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”
“The Lights Of Zetar”
“The Savage Curtain”
“All Our Yesterdays”

** Poor = 3 episodes = 12.5%
“Spock’s Brain”
“The Mark Of Gideon”
“Turnabout Intruder”

* Bad = 3 episodes = 12.5%
“And The Children Shall Lead”
“Wink Of An Eye”
“Whom Gods Destroy”

In the end Season 3 isn't as bad as what seems to be the generally held perspective. At least half of the episodes are respectable and if you include the watchable ones as well that's three quarters of the season is at least acceptable. That is still a damned good batting average.

It's also interesting that Season 3's budget constraints didn't really make itself apparent as often as might be believed. Even under budgetary constraints quite a few episodes still put on a good show. And there was sufficiently abundant creativity and resourcefulness apparent throughout much of the season.

Where Season 3 fell down was in terms of careless thinking and careless execution. Things went south when ideas weren't thought through enough and the general execution felt rushed just to get the show in the can. A little more attention and overall polish could have gone a long way.

 

[sonak]

yeah, as others have said, there are some good episodes there, but it's by far the weakest and most uneven of the three seasons, and almost all of the worst episodes of the series are in that season.

 

[Bubbles McGee]

I liked Plato's Stepchildren.

Me, too.

***** Excellent = 4 episodes = 16.6%
“Elaan Of Troyius”
“The Enterprise Incident”
“Is There In Truth No Beauty?”
“The Tholian Web”

**** Good = 8 episodes = 33.3%
“Spectre Of The Gun”
“The Empath”
“Day Of The Dove”
“Plato’s Stepchildren”
“That Which Survives”
“The Cloud Minders”
“The Way To Eden”
“Requiem For Methuselah”

*** Fair = 6 episodes = 25%
“The Paradise Syndrome”
“For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky”
“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”
“The Lights Of Zetar”
“The Savage Curtain”
“All Our Yesterdays”

** Poor = 3 episodes = 12.5%
“Spock’s Brain”
“The Mark Of Gideon”
“Turnabout Intruder”

* Bad = 3 episodes = 12.5%
“And The Children Shall Lead”
“Wink Of An Eye”
“Whom Gods Destroy”

In the end Season 3 isn't as bad as what seems to be the generally held perspective. At least half of the episodes are respectable and if you include the watchable ones as well that's three quarters of the season is at least acceptable. That is still a damned good batting average.

It's also interesting that Season 3's budget constraints didn't really make itself apparent as often as might be believed. Even under budgetary constraints quite a few episodes still put on a good show. And there was sufficiently abundant creativity and resourcefulness apparent throughout much of the season.

Where Season 3 fell down was in terms of careless thinking and careless execution. Things went south when ideas weren't thought through enough and the general execution felt rushed just to get the show in the can. A little more attention and overall polish could have gone a long way.

Only "fair" for Let That Be Your Last Battlefield? Why such a low rating? I always found Whom Gods Destroy had some great potential that was never realized. Garth is a great character and that last scene when he emerges from the chair we first saw in Dagger of the Mind, shakes Kirk's hand, walks away and then turns back and asks with great nobility "Should I know you, Sir?" and Kirk, pleased that his image of this great hero has been repaired replies "no" was a truly great moment. I think that episode would have been better if Garth would have managed to take control of the Enterprise and really wreak some havoc before ultimately being overpowered and returned for treatment. I don't know, something more should have happened to make that last scene feel like a really worthy pay-off.

 

[Warped9]

A poor episode can still have some good moments and/or a good idea, but if the overall execution is generally lacking then you are indeed left wanting.

 

[Bubbles McGee]

A poor episode can still have some good moments and/or a good idea, but if the overall execution is generally lacking then you are indeed left wanting.

Do you find that to be the case with LTBYLB? If so, what do you think could have made it better?

 

[WisTrekFan]

I think there are some very good episodes in the third season. The two that stand out for me are "The Enterprise Incident" and "The Tholian Web." I also like "The Paradise Syndrome" as well. I think there are also some episodes that are just plain boring, i.e, "The Mark of Gideon" and "The Empath." One of the raps I have against the third season is the obvious results on screen of a lower budget. There is way too much use of stock footage.

 

[Warped9]

A poor episode can still have some good moments and/or a good idea, but if the overall execution is generally lacking then you are indeed left wanting.

Do you find that to be the case with LTBYLB? If so, what do you think could have made it better?

It's obviously a comment on racial bigotry and intolerance, but it can also serve as allegory for any factions with opposing viewpoints. It might lay it on a bit thick, but it does touch on the fact that opposing factions quite often denigrate and characterize each other beyond whatever legitimate differences of opinion they might have.

The most obvious element of allegory to underline how there really is little difference between people beyond viewpoints is the stark black and white makeup used for Bele and Lokai. At first it's quite startling and then you wonder what evolutionary path could possibly lead to such a result. It really doesn't make any sense, but this is fiction and the visual elements do serve to convey an idea.

Beyond the stark makeup and Bele and Lokai's heavy characterizations of each other this isn't a bad story, but it's told in broad strokes and not much nuance. It isn't poor, but it isn't really more than competent.

I should note, though, that listening to Bele and Lokai tear into each other reminds me of some individuals I have met in real life that do indulge in exaggeration and belittling characterization of anyone they take opposition to. They really take it personally yet will also object vehemently when it's done to them.

 

[Gary7]

Each episode has great moments and weak moments, more or less of each depending upon the episode. But what one considers weak might be viewed as compelling or enjoyable to another, and vice versa with regards to great moments.

It's going to be a mixed bag when soliciting opinions. The only ones that really matter are your own.

 

[Bubbles McGee]

Each episode has great moments and weak moments, more or less of each depending upon the episode. But what one considers weak might be viewed as compelling or enjoyable to another, and vice versa with regards to great moments.

It's going to be a mixed bag when soliciting opinions. The only ones that really matter are your own.

True, but I often find that hearing why others feel a certain way about a given episode can cause me to see that episode in a different light.