Aside from The Cage and WNMHGB, which should be watched before everything else, it really doesn't matter which order one watched TOS, IMO.
Would this be the chronological order to watch in?
- Thread starter bbb123
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You can actually see the show and characters evolve when you watch in production order.
There are at least some episodes of TOS that it is important to watch in a particular order for plot reasons, if you want things to make relative sense. This list may not be exhaustive, but here's what I can think of at the moment:
As mentioned by @Tenacity above, "Mudd's Women" (TOS) should of course be watched before "I, Mudd" (TOS).
"The Naked Time" (TOS) needs to be watched before "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (TOS), which in turn needs to be watched before "Assignment: Earth" (TOS), to preserve the accidental discovery of time travel via the slingshot/breakway factor method and then the development of its purposeful application.
"Balance Of Terror" (TOS) needs to be watched before "The Deadly Years" (TOS), which needs to be watched before "The Enterprise Incident" (TOS) to preserve the revelation of the Romulans and their ever-improving cloaking device, and their switch to using Klingon ships.
"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (TOS) needs to be watched before "Operation -- Annihilate!" (TOS), because in the former we are told Kirk has a living brother named Sam, and in the latter he dies.
"Dagger Of The Mind" (TOS), being the first introduction to the concept of the Vulcan mind meld, should come before "The Return Of The Archons" (TOS) / "A Taste Of Armageddon" (TOS) / "The Changeling" (TOS) / "Mirror, Mirror" (TOS) / "By Any Other Name" (TOS) / "Spectre Of The Gun" (TOS) / "The Paradise Syndrome" (TOS) / "Is There In Truth No Beauty" (TOS) / "Requiem For Methuselah" (TOS) / "Turnabout Intruder" (TOS). Additionally, if it's seen before "Whom Gods Destroy" (TOS), then Kirk's recognition of the modified neural neutralizer has context.
"The Alternative Factor" (TOS) should be watched before "Mirror, Mirror" (TOS), because in the former the concept of a parallel universe is only considered a theoretical possibility at first, whereas main characters directly experience a crossover with one in the latter.
"Errand Of Mercy" (TOS) should be watched before "The Trouble With Tribbles" (TOS) / "A Private Little War" (TOS) / "Day Of The Dove" (TOS), because the latter involve the peace treaty with the Klingons established in the former.
As for the various parallel Earth stories, while there are at least some oddities any which way you slice it, by all rights "Miri" (TOS) really should come first, because everyone is completely astonished at the "impossible" prospect—although it's a particularly extraordinary example even compared to others, because it isn't merely a similar society but a full geographical duplicate. They are aware of a principle called Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planet development by "Bread And Circuses" (TOS), of which the planet there is cited as "an amazing example," coming complete with spoken English, yet not quite the "virtually impossible" duplication of period-specific costumes and symbols that call out the Nazi uniforms in "Patterns Of Force" (TOS) as being down to cultural contamination rather than "fantastically slim" chances. "The Omega Glory" (TOS) then takes precisely that extra step in presenting a "parallel almost too close"—no almost about, if you ask me—but then thankfully we finally get a potential explanation in "The Paradise Syndrome" (TOS) in the form of the Preservers, who "apparently account for a number of" such cases. Phew!
-MMoM
As mentioned by @Tenacity above, "Mudd's Women" (TOS) should of course be watched before "I, Mudd" (TOS).
"The Naked Time" (TOS) needs to be watched before "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (TOS), which in turn needs to be watched before "Assignment: Earth" (TOS), to preserve the accidental discovery of time travel via the slingshot/breakway factor method and then the development of its purposeful application.
"Balance Of Terror" (TOS) needs to be watched before "The Deadly Years" (TOS), which needs to be watched before "The Enterprise Incident" (TOS) to preserve the revelation of the Romulans and their ever-improving cloaking device, and their switch to using Klingon ships.
"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (TOS) needs to be watched before "Operation -- Annihilate!" (TOS), because in the former we are told Kirk has a living brother named Sam, and in the latter he dies.
"Dagger Of The Mind" (TOS), being the first introduction to the concept of the Vulcan mind meld, should come before "The Return Of The Archons" (TOS) / "A Taste Of Armageddon" (TOS) / "The Changeling" (TOS) / "Mirror, Mirror" (TOS) / "By Any Other Name" (TOS) / "Spectre Of The Gun" (TOS) / "The Paradise Syndrome" (TOS) / "Is There In Truth No Beauty" (TOS) / "Requiem For Methuselah" (TOS) / "Turnabout Intruder" (TOS). Additionally, if it's seen before "Whom Gods Destroy" (TOS), then Kirk's recognition of the modified neural neutralizer has context.
"The Alternative Factor" (TOS) should be watched before "Mirror, Mirror" (TOS), because in the former the concept of a parallel universe is only considered a theoretical possibility at first, whereas main characters directly experience a crossover with one in the latter.
"Errand Of Mercy" (TOS) should be watched before "The Trouble With Tribbles" (TOS) / "A Private Little War" (TOS) / "Day Of The Dove" (TOS), because the latter involve the peace treaty with the Klingons established in the former.
As for the various parallel Earth stories, while there are at least some oddities any which way you slice it, by all rights "Miri" (TOS) really should come first, because everyone is completely astonished at the "impossible" prospect—although it's a particularly extraordinary example even compared to others, because it isn't merely a similar society but a full geographical duplicate. They are aware of a principle called Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planet development by "Bread And Circuses" (TOS), of which the planet there is cited as "an amazing example," coming complete with spoken English, yet not quite the "virtually impossible" duplication of period-specific costumes and symbols that call out the Nazi uniforms in "Patterns Of Force" (TOS) as being down to cultural contamination rather than "fantastically slim" chances. "The Omega Glory" (TOS) then takes precisely that extra step in presenting a "parallel almost too close"—no almost about, if you ask me—but then thankfully we finally get a potential explanation in "The Paradise Syndrome" (TOS) in the form of the Preservers, who "apparently account for a number of" such cases. Phew!
-MMoM
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Came across another one:
"By Any Other Name" (TOS) needs to come after "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (TOS) and "A Taste Of Armageddon" (TOS), and before "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" (TOS), because Kirk refers to them having previously been to (but not through) the barrier at the edge of the galaxy, and to Spock's having remotely mind-tricked the guard on Eminiar VII into opening the door (which they try again here, but this time unsuccessfully). Incidentally, the modifications made to the Enterprise by the Kelvans so it can leave the galaxy in this episode may provide an explanation for why no one here or in "Beauty" including Miranda Jones, despite her being a human telepath, suffers any Gary Mitchell-esque ill effects from the passage through the barrier—if one doesn't consider that adequately explained by her blindness and/or Vulcan-trained mind discipline, that is...after all, Spock was fine in WNMHGB.
-MMoM
"By Any Other Name" (TOS) needs to come after "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (TOS) and "A Taste Of Armageddon" (TOS), and before "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" (TOS), because Kirk refers to them having previously been to (but not through) the barrier at the edge of the galaxy, and to Spock's having remotely mind-tricked the guard on Eminiar VII into opening the door (which they try again here, but this time unsuccessfully). Incidentally, the modifications made to the Enterprise by the Kelvans so it can leave the galaxy in this episode may provide an explanation for why no one here or in "Beauty" including Miranda Jones, despite her being a human telepath, suffers any Gary Mitchell-esque ill effects from the passage through the barrier—if one doesn't consider that adequately explained by her blindness and/or Vulcan-trained mind discipline, that is...after all, Spock was fine in WNMHGB.
-MMoM
Yep. And there's going to be at least a couple more from TAS, IIRC. I hadn't even gotten to TAS yet, and was only considering TOS.
I just re-watched "Turnabout Intruder" and references are made in it to the events of "The Tholian Web" and "The Empath" (and obliquely to "The Menagerie" although this is clouded by the fact that they forgot that the regulation scripted as General Order Four in the latter was changed to General Order Seven in its aired version).
I also just remembered that Kirk re-uses the titular "Corbomite Maneuver" in "The Deadly Years" (TOS). Also, a passing reference to the Romulans and their cloaking device is made in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" (TOS).
-MMoM
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