Why is TOS the best..?
- Thread starter Warped9
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number6
Vice Admiral
TOS is the best because it started the whole mythos that continues to this day. I feel that all the other incarnations did at least as well to maintain the strength of their characters and the concept of living with the richness of diversity the universe has to offer, while offering some commentary on the failings and issues of contemporary society.
It's more fun then some of the other Treks though DS9 and Ent came close to capturing this.
I mean Picard Janeway really needed to lighten up some.
I mean Picard Janeway really needed to lighten up some.
It is by far... the most fun.
But it definitely goes deeper than that, Star Trek was truly 'lightening in a bottle'. From a great cast to tremendous guest stars to sharp writing to great production values for a sixties TV series.
Plus it was my first exposure to serious science fiction...
I clearly remember at five sitting in front of our 25" floor model color TV everyday at 4pm to watch this show.
But it definitely goes deeper than that, Star Trek was truly 'lightening in a bottle'. From a great cast to tremendous guest stars to sharp writing to great production values for a sixties TV series.
Plus it was my first exposure to serious science fiction...
I clearly remember at five sitting in front of our 25" floor model color TV everyday at 4pm to watch this show.
Kirk, Spock & McCoy. These three characters are what made the original series the best. I think aspects of their characteristics represent the human condition. Spock is basically emotionless and runs on logic while McCoy is a very passionate emotionally driven human being and Kirk tries to find the middle ground between the two extremes.
That is a lot like how people are made up. There was also a sense of adventure and meeting the unknown as the crew discovered new civilizations in space. This adventuresome atmosphere was missing from time to time with the other shows.
That is a lot like how people are made up. There was also a sense of adventure and meeting the unknown as the crew discovered new civilizations in space. This adventuresome atmosphere was missing from time to time with the other shows.
The writing - the basic storytelling - was better, in part because it was simpler.
Couldn't put it better! I really love all Trek, but (excluding DS9) sometimes the later incarnations can be just a tad generic for me - perhaps even dull on occasion. Particularly TNG, which for me, is Trek's most "vanilla" production - particularly as we head into season three. I say again though, I love all Trek - including TNG.
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STAR TREK TOS SCIFI AT IT'S BEST !!!!
Kirk spock McCoy sulu chekov uhura and scotty say no more. With out this series the DNA of star trek would not be here today it's the best and will last forever the TOS flame will never go out !!!!!
Kirk spock McCoy sulu chekov uhura and scotty say no more. With out this series the DNA of star trek would not be here today it's the best and will last forever the TOS flame will never go out !!!!!
Another thing, TOS music is without doubt, and indisputably, the best! Leaving most modern TV Trek "muzak" light years behind.
For me, bottom line, it was the most fun & creative out of any of the Trek shows. The writing was generally solid, and the cast had unparalleled chemistry.
A
Amaris
Guest
It is so much fun. There was the chemistry of the Big Three, the stories were straightforward and engaging, the music was unforgettable, and the format of the show simple and effective. I can watch an episode of TOS and not turn away to do something on my computer. That's not the case with TAS, TNG, DS9 (as much as I love the show), VOY or ENT.
Wonderful characters, well cast, deceptively simple yet brilliant premise. And something the subsequent series sorely lacked - a sense of wonder! They actually did "explore strange new worlds, discover new life..." etc.
*It is the most fun out of all the Trek series...and more adventurous. (I do agree with the poster that DS9 and ENT came close to replicating that fun; of course, ENT needed some work in regards to storytelling, and building up certain characters...but that is for another thread).
*Go-go boots and duty skirts....(I can't really say 'mini' since not all skirts were 'mini').
*The music is more memorable.
*After all these years, people who have casual knowledge of Trek still remember all the characters.
*Go-go boots and duty skirts....(I can't really say 'mini' since not all skirts were 'mini').
*The music is more memorable.
*After all these years, people who have casual knowledge of Trek still remember all the characters.
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There's always been something about TOS I couldn't put my finger on, something that set it apart from the others. And you guys have spelled it out for me: it's the most fun! That's it! I guess I was trying to go deeper and identify the source of that quality, but as I've only seen it once, I've not yet managed to pinpoint the exact elements that make TOS more fun than the other series. I suppose the sense of adventure is the basis for that.
Well, for one thing they haven't yet decided that all of the characters are legendary heroic role models for the world or that everything about Trek is terribly profound and important. They're trying real hard to be entertaining, and - particularly in those days - that includes a lot of action and humor.
I agree. When I watched TNG, I really enjoyed it. Part of that was just being able to watch "new" Star Trek episodes, something that hadn't been seen since 1969. So, a lot was forgiven (except for the first 2 seasons where the actors were still searching for their character's persona). But upon reflection, watching episodes again, I'm actually a bit annoyed at all of the techno-babble. Sure, it's cool to have esoteric scientific descriptions of things to make it appear more realistic, but it's overdone in TNG. You begin to find that it's often filler, to avoid gaps within the story content.
TOS used some techno-babble, but it was conservatively utilized. I really liked that. And not only was the story telling a bit more simple, the scenes themselves were more simple. It allowed more focus on the characters, rather than being distracted by a huge bank of CGI decorated walls.
I'm glad you mentioned this. I made an effort to buy the original scores on CD and the music was without a doubt, top notch. Roddenberry was so astute to be sure he had a full orchestral soundtrack to the show. And the composers he selected, which were quite a few, did a terrific job of finding the right musicality to go with the scenes.
Although the scenes depicting the friendship between Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty were too few, there was enough shown to get a feeling about those relationships. And despite TNG having far more air time (more than double the seasons), you didn't get as much of an "honest" feeling about relationships between the primary characters. Riker and Deanna were about the only two whose relationship was most explored. And even then, it always left you wondering... what's "not quite right" between these two? There was virtually no relationship between Riker and Picard, as it was all formalities. I found more of a friendship sense between Picard and Crusher, despite much less time of it shown. And the friendship between Geordi and Data was definitely not shown enough. DS9 was a very different story... it was more of a "space soap-opera" anyway, so they had plenty of time to explore relationships. Some of them were really well done, even better than TOS in my opinion.
Anyway... there is a certain "flow and feeling" to Star Trek TOS that the other incarnations never captured. They're quite different. Still good, but TOS is special.
I think you're right. There are a number of episodes that have quite a bit of humor injected into them. Some are of course, way out there... like "Plato's Stepchildren". Or they seriously tax your level of believability, like "The Omega Glory" or "A Piece of the Action"... But, it's a show. It's entertainment. And nitpicking on the US Constitution appearing in an alien culture is just fruitless. Laugh it off. Believe me, I used to nitpick, but then I had the realization of how senseless it was to bother.
But definitely... Star Trek TOS had some great fun in it. And of course, there were some episodes extremely serious, like "Balance of Terror", "The Day of the Dove", etc. But overall, most of them were just so fun to watch. Roddenberry brought together an incredible "karma"... the set/prop/costume designers, the writers, the cast, the production crew... Everything sort of gelled together. It was chaos, mind you. They had very long working days. They were tearing at the seams of the budget all the time, so crazy cost cutting measures were constantly conjured up. It's really quite amazing what these people did back then. All of the people who discard TOS in favor of the other series completely miss that. They're locked in a perspective that doesn't allow them to appreciate it. Those who get it, do so in a very strong way.
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Some of the things that TOS had or did best:
Iconic space ship design.
Iconic music.
The Kirk/Spock/McCoy triangle
Loads of the memorable episodes ("the one where...").
Humans weren't shown as perfect.
Space was dangerous, empty and lonely.
Iconic space ship design.
Iconic music.
The Kirk/Spock/McCoy triangle
Loads of the memorable episodes ("the one where...").
Humans weren't shown as perfect.
Space was dangerous, empty and lonely.
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