Why Are So Many People So Down About Season 3?

[Gary7]

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.

VERY true. I've changed my mind about a few episodes because I'd seen different views of them expressed by others on TBBS who I've come to like and appreciate. Ultimately, I wish I could like every episode from TOS, because there's less than 80 and so the more you like means the more material there is to enjoy. I've actually added more to my watchable list since being on TBBS, but there are still some I avoid like the plague ("And The Children Shall Lead" is the worst offender--if I could scratch it off the DVD, I'd do it).

 

[AtoZ]

I must admit I wince when I see Plato's Stepchildren. I won't go into the various reasons for it as I respect that others around these boards enjoy it.

I know that there were some "dry" episodes in S3. It shows....but as others have already pointed out there are some excellent episodes that to me are among the very best of the series.

Some years back I stated that TOS was in fact 79 gems of varying luster and quality. I still stand behind that. As watered down as S3 was relative to S1 and S2 (and it was).....I would love to have such available and in production (at that level, watered down as it was) today.

Here are some absolute gems, IMO:

Specter of the Gun
The Enterprise Incident
All Our Yesterdays
The Paradise Syndrome
The Tholian Web
Wink of an Eye

 

[Warped9]

Here are some absolute gems, IMO:

...Wink of an Eye

 

[Gary7]

^ I found it comical. Actually, think about it... they got aboard the Enterprise via the transporter. Uh.... RIGHT. Yeah. The ship's sensors can't even detect them, so like the transporter is going to be able to find and lock onto their patterns? I mean, c'mon. It was a gaping hole right smack in the start of the episode. At least this would've been a good use of the shuttle, assuming that there was some kind of weird interference that prevented the transporters from being able to send anyone to the surface. The Scalosians could have easily come aboard that way. From there, it all went rather downhill. Sure, there was a little eye candy (Deela), and the slo-mo was kind of fun, but... really. Even the Scalos set was obviously regurgitated from previous episodes, so it looked way too familiar. Anyway, I put it in the "middle zone", where I thought it was an OK episode for a rather interesting premise, despite it being idiotically implemented.

 

[AtoZ]

Here are some absolute gems, IMO:

...Wink of an Eye

They tried to do something creative; it was ambitious on a budget. And maybe part of my admiration stems from impressions initially formed while watching the show religiously as a child.

Hey, at least Shatner didn't ride around on all fours acting like a horse in that one.

 

[Bubbles McGee]

Whenever I watch Plato's Stepchildren, I just tell myself that the cast and crew made that episode on a dare. That helps me get through it. The story idea is a very cool one though!

 

[plynch]

S3, thanks to FF, ditched the non-funny "comedy" eps; and even when it failed, was more like sci-fi again, than Kirk and Spock going to the parallel planet of the week.

 

[toonloon]

I think there are more 'flipped' shots in S3 than any other season. This is either because they were incredibly rushed during filming and didn't get enough coverage or freiberger hired incompetent directors he liked.

 

[Gary7]

Whenever I watch Plato's Stepchildren, I just tell myself that the cast and crew made that episode on a dare. That helps me get through it. The story idea is a very cool one though!

You have Alexander's sympathy.

 

[Warped9]

S3, thanks to FF, ditched the non-funny "comedy" eps; and even when it failed, was more like sci-fi again, than Kirk and Spock going to the parallel planet of the week.

Yep, they made a concerted effort to get back to something of a S1 feel. I applaud them for that.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Today, there are several third-season episodes that I have come to like just fine. At the time, though, my overwhelming impression was that the third season was a tremendous letdown after the first two seasons. (And they really didn't do themselves any favors by launching the season with "Spock's Brain.")

 

[SchwEnt]

Another worthy aspect of S3...
They brought back more of a "crew" feel.

Early S1 had generous screen time for the whole crew and featured more characters in any given scene or eps

S2 had a lot of Kirk-Spock-McCoy with much less of everyone else. Not a bad thing, they played to their strengths.

S3 seemed to bring back more scenes and lines for the others, which was good to see again.

 

[Garrovick]

Season 3 definitely had its share of missteps, but then again, Season 1 had "The Alternative Factor" and Season 2 had "The Omega Glory", so they weren't perfect either. I feel the only real low points in Season 3 were "Spock's Brain", "And the Children Shall Lead", "Plato's Stepchildren", "Whom Gods Destroy", and "The Way to Eden". On the other hand, there were "Spectre of the Gun", "The Paradise Syndrome", "The Empath", "The Tholian Web", "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky", "Day of the Dove", "That Which Survives", and "All our Yesterdays", all of which were among the highlights of TOS, in my opinion.

Here are some things I love about Season 3:

The first appearance of the Klingon D7.

"There are no more available, but if that's the only way you can get gratification, I'll arrange to have the whole room filled floor to ceiling with breakable objects."

The set design of "Spectre of the Gun" - great example of doing a lot with a small budget.

The set design for "The Empath" - ditto.

Kirk's last orders and Spock and McCoy's reactions to them.

"But for the present, only a fool fights in a burning house - OUT!"

 

[AtoZ]

Today, there are several third-season episodes that I have come to like just fine. At the time, though, my overwhelming impression was that the third season was a tremendous letdown after the first two seasons. (And they really didn't do themselves any favors by launching the season with "Spock's Brain.")

Spot on.

 

[Gary7]

I don't understand why there are definite haters of "Whom Gods Destroy." I think it was an engaging and entertaining episode. Yeah, there were many liberties taken... Garth certainly seemed way too pompous for his own good (the way the role was written). And the "Queen to Queen's level 3" bit was just so contrived as a blatant plot foiling device. But Steven Inhat and Yvonne Craig were great in their roles. Plus, it was kind of cool to see the neural neutralizer make a repeat appearance in a different configuration.

 

[Warped9]

I've long given up defending "Plato's Stepchildren." I quite like it and that's all that matters.

 

[plynch]

I've long given up defending "Plato's Stepchildren." I quite like it and that's all that matters.

Alexander turning down Parmen's power is a very nice moment, and the acting throughout is good. All the awkward stuff is meant to be, for us and the characters. I'd give this a B, frankly.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'm not well-trained enough in cinema to put my finger on exactly what the problems are. A lot of them are ineffable and subjective.

On specific thing that can be pointed to is that there was what I call continuity rot. For example, the Organians have inexplicably disappeared, Spock is now open about his mating habits, and a glass ceiling incongruous with Number One (not to mention anything but forward-thinking, even for the 60's) is now official Starfleet policy; the series freaking ends with the message that women need to accept their lower station in life.

There are some true turkeys.

On the bright side, there are some great episodes.

Day of the Dove is an episode that has grown on me over the years. When I was a teenager I thought it was too campy, but now I think it works very well as a collage of atrocities.

Elaan of Troyius has always been a favorite of mine, despite the unexplained continuity problems.

All Our Yesterdays, while not a great episode, at least dared to be different when it comes to time travel, and the end (with original effects) always brings a tear to my eye. The series should have ended right there.

I even dig parts of The Way to Eden.

 

[Warped9]

This is what I thought when I last revisited the series.

“Plato’s Stepchildren” ****

The Enterprise crew encounter a small colony of telekinetic beings.

I know I'm likely to hit a wave of dissent here, but I've always rather liked this episode. It's grown on me over the years and I appreciate it more now than when I first saw it. And this despite all the criticism that's been dumped on it all the while.

The idea in this episode harkens back all the way to TOS' second pilot episode: unlimited power can corrupt anyone. And here we see it laid bare as the Platonians are so arrogant, so corrupt and sadistic that they recognize and value nothing but their own selfish whims. Also, and increasingly more so as I've grown in age and experience, it a sharp allegory of many of the very powerful and influential in the world and throughout history.

I really like Alexander, and more than just because he is the ideal example of the ordinary and disadvantaged that can be willfully exploited and easily pushed around. He is a sensitive and very likable character. I can easily imagine his joy moving about the Enterprise crew and being treated with friendliness, fairness and dignity. Alexander represents perhaps the most disadvantaged in our society (within context of the story), but anyone without means and influence is disadvantaged in relation to the truly powerful, and that means many of us regular folks.

This episode isn't perfect and there are some awkward moments, but I can bear those because I really like the rest of it. Many fans over the years have expressed varying discomfort and even disapproval at seeing our heroes so abused, and well they should though not for the reasons they might think, but because that is exactly the point of the story---that our heroes (who are not perfect) who strive to do what they can could still be so casually mistreated by the corrupt should disturb you. It's a sharp representation of the good people in the world who can be casually brutalized if they stand in the way of those with their own agendas.

Some might think I may be reading too much into this episode. But for some reason this episode has long spoken to me, and evermore so over the years.

“Wink Of An Eye” *

A small band of aliens intend to put the entire Enterprise crew into suspended animation.

There is a potentially interesting story here, but it just doesn't come off. The episode is fine for about the first ten minutes or so and then it just starts falling apart.

The first thing that annoyed me was the whole "acceleration" idea, the notion that a human body could be "accelerated" to a faster level of existence beyond normal perception. I'm no scientist, but I found all this patent bullshit going way beyond bad science. I don't know which is dumber: this or TNG's "The Next Phase." Nah, they're both equally stupid. The human body simply couldn't cope with such an accelerated activity as it seems to be depicted here---flesh and bone and everything else wouldn't be able to take it. Hell, even our nerve impulses can only go so fast. And then there would be the friction of the air and the fabric of our clothes against our skin when we moved.

The next stupid thing was watching Deela casually sidestep Kirk's phaser beam! Excuse me, but even if the energy beam is moving somewhat slower than light there's no way in hell she's going to sidestep it particularly at what is effectively point blank range! Give me a fucking break! And note that Kirk is accelerated and not his phaser---how come no one on the bridge noticed a phaser beam coming out of nowhere???

Now crewman Compton dies of accelerated aging because he suffered cell damage. Okay, then why doesn't the same thing happen to Kirk when he almost freezes his hands on the alien device? Doesn't almost freezing your skin cause cell damage even if in a limited way? And if Kirk really had sex with Deela then there's more potential for cell damage since it's easy to get carried away in such a situation.

If by some manner a human could be accelerated to a faster level of existence then the ship's turbolifts would be brutally slow. It would be far faster and easier to get from deck to deck by ladders, companionways and service shafts, what Kirk probably had to do to get to the transporter room to sabotage it. Knowing the ship probably gave him a lead over Deela pursuing him.

Deela is the final element of stupidity in this episode. I thought her to be a scrawny and annoying twit with next to no appeal whatsoever.

This just doesn't work. And what a disappointment after the generally decent run of the previous dozen episodes of the season.

 

[Gary7]

Plato's Stepchildren has some terrific moments. And some embarrassingly horrific ones too. The whole "psycho-kinetic power in mere minutes" thing is too laughable for me. I'd rather the abilities require long term exposure to certain native foods. In an "alternative" version, McCoy would analyze the fruits and vegetables and identify some that neutralize the psycho-kinetic power. He'd get Alexander to do some food substitutions, and in a week Parmen and his cohorts would start to lose their abilities. At the right moment, Kirk and Spock could jump them as the abilities wore off.

By showing psycho-kinetic abilities in a single hypospray, you introduce something precarious... Because who wouldn't want to exploit it?