Utterly Star Trek Review

2008-04-09T21:52:00.001+01:00

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Star Trek 2.13 (Obsession)

2008-04-09T15:48:00.004+01:00

Cast:

The obsession in the title is one of Kirks - three members of the Enterprise crew (redtops, naturally) are killed by a cloud on a planet, and Kirk is convinced it was a creature that he encountered 11 years ago when serving aboard the USS Faragut and won't let it lie. And despite the fact that the medical evidence supports his claim that it is the same creature, nobody believes him. I find this very difficult to understand - the way the men died was very usual - all of the "red corpuscles" (I assume they mean Red Blood Cells) were missing from the corpses, which is exactly what happened 11 years ago.

Kirk starts behaving erratically - snapping with people, questioning their loyalty. You can sort of understand why he would be upset by it - half of the crew, including the Captain died, and it was also his first deep space mission. But coupled with the fact they are supposed to rendez-vous with a medical ship with vital drugs for a planet that had a disease that is killing lots of people... I don't believe Kirks reaction, which underpins the point of the whole episode.

About halfway through, McCoy and Spock bring his behaviour to Kirks attention, and after this it suddenly works. He clearly doesn't want to slow down when they are pursuing the creature in space, but he does. That moment is far more believable than any of those that precede it, and it seems that Spock and McCoys little "pep talk" did the trick.

The second half of the episode is pretty good, it finished the story nicely and Kirk is able to give both himself and Ensign Garrovick (son of the Captain of the Faragut, now in Security aboard the Enterprise) the closure they need, as well as destroying the creature.

Crew Deaths: 4

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 39

Score: 6/10

Star Trek 2.12 (The Deadly Years)

2008-04-03T19:43:00.004+01:00

Cast:

Charles Drake (Commodore George Stocker)

Sarah Marshall (Dr. Janet Wallace)

Felix Locher (Robert Johnson)

Carolyn Nelson (Yeoman Doris Atkins)

Laura Wood (Elaine Johnson)

Beverly Washburn (Lt. Arlene Galway)

Writer: David P. Harmon

I remember this episode as a kid - I think it was one of the very first ones that I saw. I recall being terrified at the obvious ageing of the characters.

Many many years on you do tend to look at this episode a little differently. Firstly, we know what the actors actually looked like when they were that much older, and whilst some of the ageing makeup is quite good for it's day, they do look rather different in this episode than they do for real now.

The story is going okay then takes a massive nosedive when they do a competency hearing. Of course Kirk isn't fit for command - we see that he is forgetting stuff very early into the episode. Why the hell McCoy didn't declare him unfit for command (something we know for later stories is the prerogative of the chief medical officer) I don't know. This portion of the episode is a waste of time. As are the arguments of the main crew. It would have been far better to have them lucid and just having the odd memory lapse (enough to get them declared unfit for command) and

having to deal with what comes next...

Then when Commodore Stocker takes command (as everyone else is too senile) he makes the decision to go the most direct route to the Starbase - and this happens to be through the Romulan Neutral zone.

We don't see the Romulans properly in this one - we see their ship trying to blow the crap out of the Enterprise, but luckily McCoy (even in his advanced aging state) comes up with a suggested drug that might reverse the effects, and luckily Jim is able to take command of the ship again before they are blown to kingdom come (using the corbomite bluff used in the first season!)

Ooh, and the radiation drug hyronalin gets mentioned, I think this is the first reference but we get to hear a lot about if in future generations...

This is okay fair, there is much better, there is much worse...

Crew Deaths: 1

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 35

Score: 6/10

Star Trek 2.11 (Fridays Child)

2008-04-01T12:32:00.006+01:00

Cast:
Julie Newmar (Eleen)
Tige Andrews (Krag)
Michael Dante (Maab)
Cal Bolder (Keel)Ben Gage (Akaar)
Kirk Raymone (Duur)
Bob Bralver (Crewman Grant)

Writer: D.C. Fontana

There are some amazing episodes during the run of the original series of Star Trek. Sadly, this isn't one of them.

The plot is dull - the crew beam down to a primitive planet that has dilithium in order to negotiate a treaty to mine the ore. The Klingons have beaten them to it and also have a representative there to agree a similar treaty.

Like many primitive cultures in this show, this one is just unbelievable, their leader gets killed early on in a badly orchestrated coup and the person who favours the Klingon bid ends up in charge. So Kirk, Spock and McCoy escape (with the heavily pregnant wife of the former leader) and escape from a camp where the sky is a sort of greeny purple into some location shots where they sky is... well, blue. And whilst I am moaning about colour, when Spock uses sonic vibrations to cause a rock fall, the rocks that fall down are grey but the hills are sandy coloured.

I can't think of anything nice to say about this one, apart from the fact that I am surprised the prime directive allows them to make such contact with such a primitive culture. Perhaps they hadn't thought of that yet.

This episode also marks the mid point in the run - there were 39 before, there are 39 after. Let's hope some of them are better than this.

Crew Deaths: 1
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 34
Score: 3/10

Star Trek 2.10 (Journey to Babel)

2008-03-29T10:29:00.003Z

Cast:

Jane Wyatt (Amanda)

William O'Connell (Thelev)

John Wheeler (Gav)

James X. Mitchell (Lt. Josephs)

Reggie Nalder (Shras)

Writer: D.C. Fontana

I am such a geek. I like this episode for a number of reasons: firstly, of course, the wonderful Mark Lenard as Sarek (Spock's father) and all the aliens. Some of them are not created that well (the pig like Tellarites for example) what it lacks in visuals it has in plot, which more than makes up for it.

Talking of Tellarites, the first one killed was executed using a Vulcan method called "Tal Shaya" (I don't know if the subtitles are spelled correctly, but that is how it is spelled in the subtitles). Now, the Romulan secret service is called the "Tal Shiar." Probably a coincidence, but I enjoyed that nonetheless.

I like the set up as well - Kirk gets attacked and unable to command, Sarek gets ill and only a blood transfusion from Spock will save him, but because of all of the crap going on aboard the ship, Spock believes that his duties as commander of the ship are more important than his fathers life. McCoy and Kirk manage to pull a fast one and trick Spock into thinking that Kirk is okay, but then, during the delicate operation the Enterprise is attacked and it all nearly goes wrong.

It's good stuff, and I am so glad that on the strength of this performance alone we get to see Sarek a further five times - in three of the films as well as two episodes of The Next Generation. Cracking!

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 33

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 2.9 (Metamorphosis)

2008-03-28T10:07:00.003Z

Cast:

Glenn Corbett (Zefram Cochrane)

Elinor Donahue (Commissioner Nancy Hedford)

Writer: Gene L. Coon

An old man is rejuvenated and held on a planet by a gentle force called the Companion, but he is lonely so it ensnares the occupants of a passing shuttle to keep him company. The old man is Zephram Cochrane, the occupants of the shuttle are Kirk, Spock, McCoy and an annoying ambassador (Nancy Hedford) in the middle of a peace conference being rushed to the Enterprise for some emergency medical treatment.

Cochrane is an interesting character - like Spock's father Sarek, he is one of the few characters to make it it into various forms of Star Trek (albeit played by a different actor). He also gets to meet Picard and co (in his past, in Star Trek: First Contact) and even has a cameo in a couple of episodes of Enterprise.

It is a bit of a hokey love story bewteen Cochrane and the shimmering being Cochrane calls the Companion. Although he only finds out that it adores him when the Enterprise crew build a translation device and it turns out to be female. I am torn as to whether Cochranes initial reaction makes sense or not - this thing has sustained him for 150 years and yet suddenly when he finds out it has a crush on him he gets all pissed off? Then again perhaps he saw it as a betrayal. I don't know. Anyhow, the resolution is that is merges with Nancy (who, as it happens isn't too ugly even by 60s standards) and suddenly as the Companion is in a sexy female body as far as Cochrane is concerned it's game on!!

Too long, dull and wordy, and the few scenes featuring the Enterprise seem thrown in just so you don't forget they exist, they are incidental to the plot. (Nice to see Scotty in command again though).

So all in all, very very average, only elevated by the fact we see Cochrane again.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 33

Score: 5/10

Star Trek 2.8 (I, Mudd)

2008-03-27T20:16:00.003Z

Cast:
Roger C. Carmel (Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd)

Richard Tatro (Norman)

Alyce Andrece (Alice #1 through 250)

Rhae Andrece (Alice #251 through 500)

Kay Elliot (Stella Mudd)

Mike Howden (Lt. Rowe)

Michael Zaslow (Ensign Jordan)

Writer: Stephen Kandel, David Gerrold

Oh dear. After a run of decent episodes (apart from Catspaw) we get this utter drivel.

The episode is a sequel to last season's Mudds Women and sees the return of Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Harry to his friends). He has become trapped on a planet run only by robots, and he uses one of them to infiltrate the Enterprise and divert it to the planet. Then, the robots take over the Enterprise and beams down all the crew. Just as Harry is about to leave, the robots turn on him and he has to stay as well.

The rest of the episode sees the crew attempting to confuse the robots and they eventually get back to the ship.

There is one moment that I quite liked. It is suggested early on that Uhura finds the idea of becoming immortal in the form of an android to be quite seductive, which I thought was out of character for her, so when it is later revealed as a trick I was relieved. The background cast often get a shoddy deal and their characterisation is often not up to much, and had Uhura really decided she wanted to be an android it would have made this shoddy affair just about bearable.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 33

Score: 4/10

Star Trek 2.7 (Catspaw)

2008-02-13T04:25:00.004Z

Cast:

Antoinette Bower (Sylvia)

Theodore Marcuse (Korob)

Michael Barrier (II) (Lt. Vincent DeSalle)

Rhodie Cogan (Witch #1)

Gail Bonney (Witch #2)

Mary Esther Denver (Witch #3)

Writer: Robert Bloch

Having just watched a Trek tour de force, I suppose that it makes sense that the episode that follows it is a bucket of old poo. I cannot think of anything better to say about this episode. It makes sense for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to have halloween episodes. But what the hell was this all about? The opening moments (especially the three witches) was just embarassing and awful.

This has the trappings of episodes like The Squire of Gothos and Who Mourns for Adonais (aliens that have almost magical powers that they can use to do almost anything, who have a piece of equipment that gives them their power, the destroying of which destroys their power). Those episodes have some merits (although neither are, in my opinion, examples of Trek at it's best) but there is something about the way this episode is acted that makes the two protragonists down on the planet even more unbelievable than the characters in the aforementioned shows. The fact that neither are acted very well doesn't help. You cannot empathise with either.

And I think Sylvia was supposed to be sexy. No she isn't (Kirk really must have forced himseld to kiss her... no, I forgot, this is Kirk we are talking about) and I think somehow they should have cast someone who could move in a somewhat feline way (we do also see her transform into a cat after all). And whilst I am on the subject of the things that piss me off, the moment where she puts the model Enterprise over that bloody candle just winds me up. I don't know why. It is just so cringeworthy. It is the kind of moment that people who don't like this show could latch into as a good reason not to watch "s**t like that" and sadly they'd be right. Coupled with the scenes with the giant cat... awful. Just awful.

And the final revelation of what the aliens really look like. They look like they should be from some dreadful BBC kids 1970's puppet show. This is an episode that fans should only watch if they, like me, are watching them in sequence. One of my least favourite episodes of Star Trek. Ever.

Crew Deaths: 1

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 33

Score: 2/10

Star Trek 2.6 (The Doomsday Machine)

2008-02-12T21:06:00.000Z

Cast:

William Windom (Commodore Matthew Decker)

Jerry Catron (Crewman Montgomery)

Tim Burns (Crewman Russ)

John Copage (Crewman Elliot)

Richard Compton (Crewman Washburn)

Elizabeth Rogers (Lt. Palmer)

Writer: Norman Spinrad

I admit a bias towards this episode, not quite sure why. It's not like it was one of the first episodes I ever saw or anything like that. I like this one simply because it's great.

This is the first time (I think) we get to see another StarFleet vessel, certainly inside it. Okay, so it's the Entperprise sets smashed up with some rubble thrown in, but you don't get to see that very often.

Secondly, the guest actor (William Windom as Matt Decker) is excellent. His performance as he tells Kirk what happened to the crew of his ship, the USS Constellation, is amazing, you can feel his anguish at what happened. This part in the hands of a less capable actor could have ruined the episode - has Decker not convinced then a lot of what happened would have looked like hokey nonsence. Escpecially his suicide at the end. (If he died. New Voyages fans will think otherwise!)

Then there is the premise. An ancient robotic weapon is heading in a straight line to the most densely populated part of our galaxy (the thing that smashed up the Constellation) and must be stopped. We don't know what it is or why it is there, Kirks theory that it is a leftover doomsday weapon from some ancient war is plausible but never proved. I think that is another reason I love this episode so much - in later versions of Trek they would have beamed aboard and found some database that they could translate and so on. No explanations here. This thing just is and must be stopped.

And finally there is the pacing. If all gets sorted in the last moments that it could be sorted (of course) and even the transporter needed to save Kirk from certian death breaks down thirty seconds before he will die. Again, a bit of a Trek cliche but here it is excellent.

Can't say anything bad. It only doesn't get a ten as I don't give them. One of the best Star Trek episodes from any of the series.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 32

Score: 9.5/10

Star Trek 2.5 (The Apple)

2008-02-12T20:36:00.000Z

Cast:

Shari Nims (Sayana)

David Soul (Makora)

Celeste Yarnell (Yeoman Martha Landon)

Keith Andes (Akuta)

Mal Friedman (Hendorff)

Jerry Daniels (Marple)

Writers: Gene L. Coon, Max Ehrlich

This is the kind of episode that I dread when watching a large number of original Star Trek episodes. Indeed, my dread of stuff like this actually account for why I it is taking me so long to get through these original episodes.

The crew of the Enterprise encounter a giant paper mache dragons head thing that contains a massive computer thing that is running the lives of all of the people on the planet (not that there are many, and no children). The computer stops the population from shagging and has put crap antenna in their heads that look rather like twisted bits of tin foil glued just behind their ears.

Some of the scripting is just awful as well. Before the opening titles, a member of the crew is killed by a plant that shoots poisanous spikes. So rather than beam back up to the ship and continue in some form of environment suit, they carry on and it is actually Kirk who nearly falls foul of them again. Add to these rocks that are chemically so unstable that treading on them makes them explode like a land mine and you are somewhere unfit for humans. After the death of a second crewmember (who trod on the wrong type of rock) Spock says that Kirk has behaved correctly and there was nothing else he could have done. Yeah, right.

Add to it the "it came from Russia" gag that is already wearing thin and the fact that the race on the planet learn about physical contact from watching Checkov snog some Yeoman... just skip this one. It's crap.

Crew Deaths: 2

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 32

Score: 3/10

Star Trek 2.4 (Mirror Mirror)

2008-02-10T19:07:00.000Z

Cast:

Barbara Luna (Lt. Marlena Moreau)

Garth Pillsbury (Wilson)

Pete Kellett (Farrell)

Writer: Jerome Bixby

Every now and then there comes an episode from the original series that merits the hype that surrounds it. This is one of those.

The creation of the Mirror universe, with it's differences (some huge, some tiny) is a work of genius, and the imagery from the episode has been lampooned on many occasions (I point you to the episode of South Park where you only know characters are from an alternative, evil universe because of their beards) and even though the story is very simple, it is compelling. Okay, so you know that the changes made to the uniforms and set design are minimal, but they are fasctinating much the same. It is almost a shame that this was not a two parter that featured more of the "evil" versions on "our" Enterprise (not going mad with anger as was shown here) but there are also some cool similarities - the fact that Spock is not as nasty as some of the others in this universe actually makes sense, had it not then the end of the story would have been quite ridiculous.

This was such a huge success that Deep Space Nine revisited this universe on several occasions (some episodes were great, some just plain silly) and even Enterprise went here as a kind of prequel in its final season.

So, all in all, a really enjoyable episode. Loads of crewmembers died, but sadly none of them count as they were in the other universe!

Crew Deaths: 0
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 30
Score: 8/10

Star Trek 2.3 (The Changeling)

2008-02-10T17:21:00.000Z

Cast:

Barbara Gates (Astrochemist)

Blaisdell Makee (Lt. Singh)

Arnold Lessing (Lt. Carlisle)

Meade Martin (Engineer)

Arnold Lessing (voice of Security Guard)

Writer: John Meredyth Lucas

On paper, this episode does not look all that good. A machine that left Earth hundreds of years ago is on its way back, looking for it's creator. Now, from that bried synopsis you might think that I am talking about Star Trek: The Motion Picture but obviously I am not. The computer (Nomad) has a mission to destroy anything that is not perfection, (including the Enterprise) although, unlike V'ger in the aforementioned film, it does not wish to kind it's creator.

Another similarity is the mind meld that Spock performs on the machine (though how a Vulcan can meld with this I am not sure!) And we finally get some crew deaths in this episode - I am not bloodthirsty but we have not had a crew death in many episodes and in this one four rouge-cladded extras are sent to their graves!

Although in the end Kirk talks the machine into suicide, I don't dislike this episode as much as I should. The main part that I hate is the fact that Uhura seems to have her brain totally erased, but five minutes later she is reading basic english and within a week she will be fit to return to duty! So that means that StarFleet Academy should be able to turn out officers in the same amount of time. Also, if her brain was erased then surely she is no longer the Uhura that we know? I am assuming that the brain erasure is not as complete as made out in the episode (she tries to speak Swahili at one point, suggesting that not everything is gone) but that part is still nonsense!

Crew Deaths: 4

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 30

Score: 7/10

Star Trek 2.2 (Who mourns for Adonais?)

2008-02-10T12:46:00.000Z

Cast:
John Winston (Lt. Kyle)
Leslie Parrish (Lt. Carolyn Palamas)

Michael Forest (Apollo)

Writers: Gene L. Coon, Gilbert A. Ralston

This episode is well remembered, although arguably not as one of the absolute classic episodes. I think the shot of the Enterprise being held in space by a giant hand is an enduring image from this series, although I would expect most people may not be sure what else happens in the episode.

Well, not much as it happens. Apollo brings some of the crew down to tell them that they have to dismantle the Enterprise, and beam down to the planet and worship him. Everyone thinks this is a rotten idea - everyone except anotehr weak willed female member of the crew, Carolyn Palamas (who Scotty has a thing for) who falls for Apollo. I find this very annoying and rather unlikely, just like the woman who fell for Kahn in Space Seed. I hate the way they feel they have to include these pathetic female characters who fall for someone poweful even though they are obviosuly dodgy. Palamas ultimately makes up for it and is instrumental in saving the day, but I just don't believe that she would have fallen for him in the first place.

I also was annoyed by the sexism towards the females in this show - McCoy comments that Palamas will leave the service when she finds the right man - the idea that she could marry and stay in StarFleet just doesn't enter his head. This is clearly sixties thinking, so is less annoying than the previous point, but it still rankles a little.

This episode is also rather cheap. There are the Enterprise sets (and all we really see is the bridge) and the planet (which is basically Apollo's temple and a few shrubs) and that is all we see.

The notion at the end that perhaps this was the real Apollo is quite interesting, although I feel that Kirk accepts this idea rather too easily. For all he knows this could have just been another Squire of Gothos, especially as he is defeated in exactly the same way, the destruction of a "hidden" power source.

It really isn't that original even for early Star Trek.

Crew Deaths: 0
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26
Score: 5/10

Star Trek 2.1 (Amok Time)

2008-01-31T19:22:00.000Z

Cast:

Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov)

Celia Lovsky (T'Pau)

Arlene Martel (T'Pring)

Byron Morrow (Adm. Komack)

Lawrence Montaigne (Stonn)

Writer: Theodore Sturgeon

I commented on the final episode of series one that there was nothing special about it. Well, there is something special about the opening episode of season 2. This episode is all about Spock (arguably one of the more fascinating characters from the original series) and introduces us to some stuff that will continue throughout the franchise. It is in this story that we find out that Vulcan (males?) only have the urge to mate every seven years (no wonder the little buggers are such good card players, oops, wrong series) and if they don't get their end away they die. So Kirk breaks some direct orders to take Spock back to Vulcan so that he can get some nookie.

Only it's not that simple. His betrothed now wants to bone someone else (absense makes the heart grow fonder my arse) so Kirk and Spock end up having to have a fight to the death.

Some aspects of this episode are not great. The Vulcan set is a bit shit (a typical classic Trek badly dressed and lit soundstage) but on the plus side is a very alien culture in the Vulcans. So whilst this will never be one of the top ten, it is a crucial and pivotal episode nonetheless.

Oh, and of course we are introduced to Chekov.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26

Score: 7/10

Star Trek 1.29 (Operation -- Annihilate!)

2008-01-30T22:32:00.000Z

Cast:

Joan Swift (Aurelan Kirk)

Maurishka Taliferro (Yeoman Zahra Jamal)

Craig Hundley (Peter Kirk)

Fred Carson (Denevan #1)

Jerry Catron (Denevan #2)

Writer: Stephen W. Carabatsos

Because of the modern days of television where the season ends on either a massive finale or a huge cliffhanger, there is somehow something slightly unsatisfying about this episode. I understand that I am applying a modern day sensibility onto this episode, so for the purposes of this review we will look at it as just another episode.

This is the first time that we have seen the family of any of the regulars as far as I recall - Shatner has an uncredited cameo as the corpse of his brother George. The people of whatever planet they are on are on the path of some form of insanity, so they visit the planet in the hope of preventing whatever has been going on, but when they get there it has already arrived.

Spock gets infected by the same alien species, and this is the first part that I don't like about this episode. Rather than persuading Kirk to let him go back to the planet (on the grounds that no further people are at risk since he is already infected) he tries to pull a gun on Scotty and force him to beam him down, a sign (to me anyway) that he is not himself.

Kirk ends up in a situation where he may have to kill the million colonists to prevent further spread of the madness, but of course we all know that he manages to defeat the aliens and save the day. So it is very average indeed - an obvious ending to a rather obvious story.

Crew Deaths: 0
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26
Score: 5/10

Star Trek 1.28 (The City of the Edge of Forever)

2008-01-19T09:25:00.000Z

Cast:

David L. Ross (Lt. Galloway)

John Winston (Lt. Kyle)

Bart La Rue (voice of The Guardian)

Joan Collins (Edith Keeler)

John Harmon (Rodent)

Hal Baylor (Policeman)

Writer: Harlan Ellison

When you ask a Star Trek fan to list their very favourite episodes, this one nearly always comes in the top three. Why. Does it deserve it or not?

Well, yes is the brief answer. For a start is introduces the concept of the Guardian of Forever, which is used to great effect down the line on an episode of Star Trek: New Voyages. It is also quite a clever story - high on a medication that is injected in error, McCoy goes through the portal and changes history so badly that the Enterprise no longer exists. Spock and Kirk follow (although the actually arrive first), and Kirk meets Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) and falls for her. Sadly, when Spock gets his tricorder working again he realises that her death is that turning point, and by saving her McCoy changes the future, so in a nutshell he has to let her die when he knows he can save her.

This is a really nice tale - set in the past, it has some nice dialogue and the interplay between Kirk and Spock is great, especially the moment where they explain Spocks ears to a cop! It is nice seeing our regulars as fish out of water in an environment they don't really understand, but a lot of the episode revolves around Spock having to build a rudimentary computer to view the information stored on the tricorder. So what kind of tit designs a handheld unit that can store loads of data that cannot be accessed without a larger computer?

Oh, and the insistence of the director of doing all of the close up shots of Keeler in soft focus really gets very annoying very quickly. When every other shot is nice and sharp, those are just annoying.

And those really are the only gripes, the rest is great. It is regarded as a classic, and deservedly so.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 1.27 (The Alternative Factor)

2008-01-19T08:34:00.000Z

Cast:
Eddie Paskey (Lt. Leslie)

Robert Brown (XI) (Lazarus)

Janet MacLachlan (Lt. Charlene Masters)

Richard Derr (Commodore Barstow)

Arch Whiting (Assistant Engineer)

Christian Patrick (Transporter Chief)

Writer: Don Ingalls

Hey, I'm back. (Wanting to watch a Trek episode on my new TV had nothing to do with it, honest!) This is an interesting episode. It's one of those average shows - it's not awful but it's not great. The central idea, that two identical looking guys from opposite universes (presumably one ours, one other) are locked in a fight, the ramifications of which are creating instability across the entire galaxy and beyond. The Enterprise is closest, so they draw the short straw to investigate.

Obviously, what is happening is not immediately revealed - Lazarus initially just looks like a schizoid nutter - but I liked the idea that they cross the universes though what is described as a tunnel that is like a "safety valve". Having watched the Doctor Who story "Logopolis" recently, the concept sounds rather like the CVE that is used to cross into another universe, but I suspect that they didn't nick it from here as the way the idea is used is very different.

Some silly stuff here. Lazarus is supposed to be this violent, dodgy geezer, yet they let him run around the Enterprise rather than keeping him locked up. And curiously, the scene set in the alternative universe is filmed on a soundstage rather than the location used for the scenes set in our universe. I don't really understand why - surely it would have been cheaper just to film this sequence when they were on location? Or maybe someone thought the look had to be different enough so that even the stupid viewed could pick up on what was actually going on.

So, an okay concept averagely executed.

Crew Deaths: 0
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26
Score: 6/10

Star Trek 1.26 (Errand of Mercy)

2007-12-29T19:51:00.000Z

First Aired: March 23, 1967

Cast:

John Abbott (Ayelborne)

John Colicos (Kor)

Peter Brocco (Claymare)

Victor Lundin (Klingon Lieutenant #1)

David Hillary Hughes (Trefayne)

Walt Davis (Klingon Soldier #1)

George Sawaya (Klingon Lieutenant #2)

Writer: Gene L. Coon

Blimey, been months! Anyhow, this is a very special episode, since it contains the first reference and appearance of the Klingons, and the brilliant John Colicos as Kor.

The first thing I notice is what Kirk says to the Organians about the Klingons: they apparently run slave labour camps, and take hostages. At one point Kirk grabs a Klingon soldier and threatens to kill him if he does not give Kirk some information. The Klingon complies, which a later Klingon would not have done. They are a people who have a love of war. All of these things are later contradicted - Klingons have a love on honour, which suggests that most of the things above are not part of their culture.It is interesting to theorise about this - did Kirk exagerate the danger to try and convince the Organians to accept their help, or did the Federation use propaganda to ensure that their own people were more scared or angry at the Klingon race? Not very Roddenberry-esque, but interesting all the same.

The big thing that surprised me about this episode was how wordy it was. Given that the Klingons have a reputation for violence, there is very little in evidence in the show - it is implied but not seen on screen. Really the episode is a two hander between Shatner and Colicos, with some cracking dialogue between them. The other surprise, given how wordy the episode is, is how quickly it went - it did not drag at all. The final revelation that the Organians are far more advanced than we thought they were was something I had remembered was coming, but I guess it would not have been much of a twist even if you knew it was coming - these guys did not seem resigned to their fate, simply not bothered by what was going on, and logically there could have been no other explanation.

So the Organians prevent a war, they even predict that the Klingons and Federation will get on in the future.

Quite a satisfying episode, and an interesting introduction to the Klingon race.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26

Score: 7/10

Star Trek 1.25 (The Devil in the Dark)

2007-10-09T21:21:00.000+01:00

First Aired: March 9, 1967

Cast:
Ken Lynch (Chief Engineer Vanderberg)
Brad Weston (Ed Appel)
Biff Elliot (Schmitter)
George E. Allen (Engineer)
Jon Cavett (Guard)
Barry Russo (Lt. Cmdr. Giotto)

Writer: Gene L. Coon

It's been a while - I watched a run of tedious episodes too quickly and they just borerd me to the point where I had to have a rest.

Anyhow, this is another reputed classic. Actually, it's pretty good compared to the ones I have just recently watched, although it is a rather typical preachy morality tale. Basically, a silicone based life form (ie a rock) is protecting it's nest, on a planet where some Federation miners are, erm, mining. Of course, it takes most of the episode to work out what is going on, and eventually everything is solved. The rock creature - a Horta - is badly realised, and in some of the books based on the series, one becomes a member of the Enterprise crew. Thank fuck they never did that in the TV show.

There are a couple of good moments, my favourite being when McCoy cures the creature of a phaser wound using cement. The mind meld is less good, with Spock sensing so much "pain" that I almost thought Deanna Troi had turned up twenty years too early!

It has it's moments, but this episode is too predictable. When Spock first picked up a silicone nodule the whole audience must be crying out "it's a fucking egg you green pillock!" And the thought that the colonists will suddenly work with this thing when it has killed fifty of them is rather difficult to believe.

So, okay, but not great.

Crew Deaths: 1
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26
Score: 5/10

Star Trek 1.24 (This side of paradise)

2007-09-05T15:36:00.000+01:00

First Aired: March 2, 1967

Cast:

Jill Ireland (Leila Kalomi)

Frank Overton (Elias Sandoval)

Michael Barrier (II) (Lt. Vincent DeSalle)

Dick Scotter (Painter)

Grant Woods (Lt. Commander Kelowitz)

Writer: D.C. Fontana

So the crew go along to a planet thinking that all of the settlers have died - they have had no contact with them and the planet is being bombarded by Berthold Rays. So when they get there and everyone isn't dead it really makes no sense! They shouldn't be alive - all of their animals are dead, there doesn't seem to be anything indigenous to the planet apart from plant life.

Then Spock is infected with spores from a plant and then pretty much everyone else gets infected and everyone decides to stay on the planet. The whole crew mutiny and decide to beam down to the planet. But somehow Kirk resists this paradise, when everyone else falls under it's spell. YEAH RIGHT! Eventually, Kirk is the last person left on the Enterprise. Then a cunningly left spore plant gets him then he decides to beam down...

But then he gets angry! And is miraculously cured. So he beams Spock up, makes him angry then cured him! Then they make everyone get angry and everyone is cured.

This episode gets remembered because we get to see Spock lighten up (when he is under the influence of the spores).

I suspect that this episode is rated as an all time classic. God knows why.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 25

Score: 4/10

Star Trek 1.23 (A Taste of Armageddon)

2007-09-02T17:56:00.000+01:00

First Aired: February 23, 1967

Cast:

David Opatoshu (Anan 7)

Gene Lyons (Ambassador Robert Fox)

Miko Mayama (Yeoman Tamura)

Sean Kenney (Lt. DePaul)

Robert Sampson (Sar 6)

Writers: Gene L. Coon & Robert Hamner

This episode starts with something that I have in my head as a bit of a Star Trek cliche - the overbearing official that demands that whatever he says goes, something that is backed by law, usually despite the fact that he is leaving someone to die or putting the ship in grave danger. In fact, I am sure there has been another but I wasn't thinking about it at the time. This is the second story strand, and it is utterly annoying.

The first strand is that a war is being fought, but there is now a kind of gentlemans agreement not to send actual missiles, just that when the computer calculates that there would have been a hit, the number of people that would have died have to step into disintegration booths and die for real. The opening scene where the city is under "attack" is quite good, especially with Kirk trying to work out what the hell is going on and why there are no explosions.

Then of course the Enterprise is "destroyed" and the crew have 24 hours to report to the planet to be disintegrated. They, naturally, don't.

The only bad thing is that you know by the end that Kirk will have saved the day and the suicide ritual will be a thing of the past. So the end of the episode is a little predictable.

It's okay, but it isn't great.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 25

Score: 6/10

Star Trek 1.22 (Space Seed)

2007-08-31T23:48:00.000+01:00

First Aired: February 16, 1967

Cast:

John Winston (Lt. Kyle)

Ricardo Montalban (Khan Noonien Singh)

Madlyn Rhue (Marla McGivers)

Blaisdell Makee (Lt. Spinelli)

Mark Tobin (Joaquin)

Kathy Ahart (Crew Woman)

Writer: Marc Daniels

Of course, this episode has taken on a greater significance since the eighties when the second movie The Wrath of Khan revisited the character. In 1996 apparently World War III was all about eugenics, and the survivors escaped in a space vessel, the SS Botany Bay. Of course, I will ignore the fact that this little piece of history never came true - perhaps it was something that happened that certain people knew about. Perhaps certain terrorist outrages that happened before 1996 were actually down to the so called "super men". I am rationalising it too much: in Star Trek history this actually happened.

So, what was bad about this episode. Well, for a start, Marla McGivers (the crew historian that boards the Botany Bay with Kirk and company) falls for Khan when he is asleep, before she has even spoken to him. I know if you are interested in history then the chance to interact with it would be very exciting, but to interact horizontally (which is clearly her intent from before he even awakes) is just not going to tell you much about the past.

In fact, this character is the weak link in the episode. She just falls into Khan's spell far too easily, he almost has to do nothing. I cannot believe that anybody serving in StarFleet would be that easy to influence. Then, later, she has a change of heart and saves Kirk. Puh-lease!

Oh, and the two stuntment playing both Kirk and Khan are obviously neither actor. It is just rubbish.

The standoff between Kirk and Khan on the other hand is superb - both intellectual and physical, they both rise to the occasion and deliver some solidly and believable characters. Yes, even Shatner!

Montalban's performance is utterly compelling - you can see why the producer of the second film chose to revisit this character. He plays the part wonderfully - he has a kind of delivery that apparently the actor developed for the character, and he also used the original episode to try and work the character out fifteen or so years later, and he did a wonderful job. The character is portrayed the same way in both episodes, and you can only congratulate Montalban for that.

At the end, they dump Khan, his followers and McGivers on the planet Ceti Alpha Five. And we all know what happens next!

McGivers doesn't die in this episode, so I cannot include her as a crew death, even though she is dead by the time everyone meets again in the film.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 25

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 1.21 (Return of the Archons)

2007-08-31T19:43:00.000+01:00

First Aired: February 9, 1967

Cast:

Ralph Maurer (Bilar)

Christopher Held (Crewman Lindstrom)

Morgan Farley (Hacom)

Charles Macaulay (Landru)

Sid Haig (First Lawgiver)

Brioni Farrell (Tula)

Torin Thatcher (Marplon)

Harry Townes (Reger)

Writer: Boris Sobelman

The episode starts with an officer called O'Neil running away from what looks like a pair of Ori from Stargate SG1. I checked, but I had indeed put the correct disc in.

It was a bad start. The planet looks rather like Earth from the past, so the main cast get to wear historical Earth costumes and walk around what looks like the same back lot that Miri was filmed in. Then everyone starts banging on about The Red Hour. Which is at exactly six o'clock, and we see the clock. So they even have the same clocks as we do, and presumably 24 hour days.

I can remember most episodes of the classic Star Trek series. Yet somehow, this one had vanished into the murky recesses of my brain. (I read the blurb on the sleeve notes, and that really didn't help either. I had a thought in my mind that it might be the Fizzbin episode, but it wasn't). Now they are going on about Landru all the time. I think it's coming back to me - this is the first episode about a crappy supercomputer.

The hooded guys (The Ori-alike) speak with echoey voices likes computers. They kill people. They keep going on about Landru. It is starting to piss me off.

I really struggled with this. I kept losing interest (oh the dangers of having an internet connection nearby when watching a crap episode) and had to start again three times! (I only bothered because I didn't want to miss any crew deaths. Not that there were any in the first half!)

Well, nearly two hours later (what with the rewatches) yes it turned out to be a shitty computer. This is one of the worst pieces of crap that I have watched so far!

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 25

Score: 3/10

Star Trek 1.20 (Court-Martial)

2007-08-29T13:15:00.000+01:00

First Aired: February 2, 1967

Cast:

Percy Rodriguez (Commodore Stone)

Elisha Cook Jr. (Samuel T. Cogley)

Joan Marshall (Lt. Areel Shaw)

Hagan Beggs (Lt. Hansen)

Win de Lugo (Timothy)

Alice Rawlings (Jamie Finney)

Nancy Wong (Personnel Officer)

William Meader (Space Command Rep. Lindstrom)

Bart Conrad (Captain Krasnowsky)

Reginald Lal Singh (Captain Chandra)

Richard Webb (Lt. Commander Benjamin Finney)

Writer: Stephen W. Carabatsos & Don M. Mankiewicz

This episode is filmed on many of the same sets as The Menagerie, and indeed they were filmed next to each other. On the original video release, they released them in production order not transmission order. Next to each other it all looked rather cheap, but luckily this far apart it works fine.

The story is a little similar as well - Kirk is being Court-Martialled again (which at a brief glance looks like a continuity error, as Commodore Stone says this has never happened to a Starfleet Captain before. But then the man holding the court martial in The Menagerie was not real anyway)

It starts badly with a screaming family member blaming Kirk. She just needed a slap. And it gets worse when we find out that the prosecutor at the trial turns out to be one of Kirks old shags.

I did like Kirks attorney, Samuel Cogley. The guys never uses a computer and we see a room with books just strewn everywhere. There is something endearing - and very feasible - about a man living in the 23rd Century who rejects the modern world in favour of good old fashioned paper. I imagine there wouldn't be many of them but somehow I just warmed to him.

As episodes go this one is standard fair. That is not to say the idea 0f a court based drama cannot work on an episode of Star Trek, as was proven in the second season of ST:TNG with The Measure of a Man. The end is a bit of a cop out - the person who allegedly died faked it to get revenge on Kirk for an earlier incident. Oh, but didn't tell his daughter. Git.

Oh, and the "white sound device" that McCoy uses towards the end of the episode is highly shite. It is literally a microphone with some red sticky tape around it.

Oh, and in the big fight at the end Kirks shirt gets ripped. Again. I need to start looking at where they ripped - it is possible they have two or three standard ripped shirts. On this one, the right shoulder is ripped, hanging down at the front, although the black collar band is intact. The rip reveals all the shoulder and right pecs. If I see it again, I shall refer to this shirt as Ripped Shirt #1.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 25

Score: 6/10

Star Trek 1.19 (Tomorrow is Yesterday)

2007-08-28T18:41:00.000+01:00

First Aired: January 26, 1967

Cast:

Roger Perry (Capt. John Christopher)

Hal Lynch (Air Police Sergeant)

Richard Merrifield (Technician Webb)

Ed Peck (Col. Fellini)

Mark Dempsey (Air Force Captain)

Jim Spencer (Air Policeman)

Sherri Townsend (Crew Woman)

Writer: D.C. Fontana

What's going on? Confusingly, the episode starts in the modern day (well, modern for when it was made). The USAF scrambles at the sight of a real UFO, then suddenly you see the Enterprise in the skies of modern day Earth! It's a quick teaser, but a really cool one!

When they are directly persued by a fighter pilot, rather than shoot him down, they lock a tractor beam on his plane, but it is not built to take that stress and breaks up so they beam the pilot up, but they cannot give him too much information on who and what they are. The history books also point to the fact that an ancestor of his does something vital in the future, so they have to put him back somehow!

The pilot, John Christopher, is played really well by Roger Perry - his sense of wonder and awe is excellent, but he also kind of takes everything in his stride.

We have the first incident of a silly computer - the ships computer has been given a personality by an all female refit team, and it wants to get into Kirks pants. Ugh.

This is an early example of a comedy episode that is very funny but also managed to not be very silly. The peril the crew are in is real enough, but there are some nice moments, such as when they are forced to beam up a military policeman, and when Kirk is kidnapped on Earth and told they will lock him away for 200 years. He gives a wry grin and says that that would be about right!

The way the end the episode is a bit twee, but I let them off: this is Trek done right and is one of the best.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 25

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 1.18 (Arena)

2007-08-28T11:07:00.000+01:00

First Aired: January 19, 1967

Cast:

Jerry Ayres (Lt. O'Herlihy)

Grant Woods (Lt. Cmdr. Kelowitz)

Tom Troupe (Lt. Harold)

James Farley (Lt. Lang)

Carole Shelyne (Metron)

Sean Kenney (Lt. DePaul)

Writers: Gene L. Coon

This episode is one of the most well known of the original run. The basic idea has been copies many times, however I do admit that my knowledge of the genre before this show is rather limited, so whilst I am assuming that the original Star Trek series did it first, I am also first to admit that I could be wrong.

The actual area that they beam down to - the outpost on Cestus 3 - is pretty good. The destruction looks to be on quite a large scale, and when the outpost is once again attacked, this time with our heroes on the ground, it is pretty realistic (apart from one bush that explodes twice!!)

Also, the effects for what is a photon torpedo and what is a phaser seems to have settled down now. I don't recall if I mentioned it on here, but in an earlier episode we hear the call for a phaser blast and we see the effect for what we now call a photon torpedo. Picky bugger, aren't I?

The Enterprise persues the ship of the aliens that destroyed the colony, with the intention of destroying it when another race - the Metrons - intervene and throw the captains of both ships onto a planet and they are left to fight it out man to man. The rest of the crews can watch the fight (yes, it's reality television folks! Interestingly, a recent episode of the UK comedy Hyperdrive does the same, only they add the reality TV element, and when the crew of the HMS Camden Lock finally manage to contact their crew, instead of giving them information on how to escape, they give them all feedback on how they are coming across!)

The Gorn captain is a man in a very bad rubber suit who makes silly animal noises, and in fact the second half of the episode is Kirk running around trying to kill the Gorn whilst the Gorn runs around trying to kill him! Interestingly, the Gorn race apparently turn up again in an episode of Enterprise but are done using CGI. I look forward to that!

The end is a little obvious - Kirk shows The Quality of Mercy (TM) and the Metrons let the Enterprise live to fight another day. This is one of those okay episodes - it ain't crap and it ain't great.

Crew Deaths: 2

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 25

Score: 7/10

Star Trek 1.17 (The Squire of Gothos)

2007-08-19T11:41:00.000+01:00

First Aired: January 12, 1967

Cast:

William Campbell (Trelane)

Richard Carlyle (Lt. Carl Jaeger)

Michael Barrier (II) (Lt. Vincent DeSalle)

Venita Wolf (Yeoman Teresa Ross)

Writer: Paul Schneider (II)

This episode is another one that is not great but is a potentially great idea. The main character - the Squire of Gothos - is a being that can convert matter to energy then back to matter (in the same form or even a different form) pretty much at will. So in other words, he can alter matter with his mind. He is very like the Q being that appears in ST:TNG and what I like about this episode is that there is nothing concrete to say that Trelane (the Squire) is not a member of the Q continuum.

I am going to be a boring fan here and continue with my Q comparison. Like Q, he is able to flit about from place to place. (There is a scene on the bridge where Kirk tells him to get off his ship, just like Picard did later with Q!) Trelane is able to teach Uhura to play the piano at the click of his fingers, or change clothes. He described humans as "wonderfully barbaric" a line I am sure Q comes out with. He can chase the Enterprise with a planet. But it is also clear that he has never visited Earth - a small patch of his planet is like Earth only without the substance - the fire has not heat, the wine no taste. He is also bound to a mechanical device that effectively creates his power, which is hidden behind a mirror. Then he puts Kirk on Trial, and behaves as judge, jury and executioner (okay, he doesn't get to do the execution bit, obviously!)

The big revelation at the end, where 2 other members of Trelanes race (his parents?) take him away because he has been a naughty child kind of extend the possibility that Trelane is a young Q and the planet and the device methods of training. The Q character from the later shows is also shown to be a maverick - they are not all like him, they have a non-interference policy that when Q breaks it gets him into a lot of trouble.

So, this episode is okay, it just raises some intriguing possibilities for the future!

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 23

Score: 6/10

Star Trek 1.16 (The Galileo Seven)

2007-08-08T16:28:00.000+01:00

First Aired: January 5, 1967

Cast:

Don Marshall (Lt. Boma)

John Crawford (High Commissioner Ferris)

Peter Marko (Crewman Gaetano)

Phyllis Douglas (Yeoman Mears)

Rees Vaughn (Crewman Latimer)

Grant Woods (Lt. Cmdr. Kelowitz)

Robert Maffei (Creature)

Writers: Shimon Wincelberg, Oliver Crawford

Oh. No Rand. Maybe she has gone.

So, a shuttle from the Enterprise crashes on a planet, with Spock, McCoy, Scott and four others. Having not watched this for a while, my guess is that the four "unknowns" will die, and the others will survive.

I think this is the first time that we have seen a shuttle from the Enterprise. (The one we saw in part one of The Menagerie was from the space station, although these are clearly the same sets!!) This episode is supposed to be a classic. But it is about seven people trapped on a planet being killed off by yeti-like monsters. What is to like? The only plus side to The Galileo Seven is that we notch up a few more crew deaths! (One on another landing party, 2 on the Galileo).

Crew Deaths: 3

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 23

Score: 3/10

Star Trek 1.15 (Shore Leave)

2007-08-08T16:25:00.000+01:00

First Aired: December 29, 1966

Cast:

Emily Banks (Yeoman Tonia Barrows)

Oliver McGowan (Caretaker)

Perry Lopez (Lt. Esteban Rodriguez)

Bruce Mars (Finnegan)

Barbara Baldavin (Specialist Mary Teller)

Marcia Brown (Alice in Wonderland)

Sebastian Tom (Samurai)

Shirley Bonne (Ruth)

Writer: Theodore Sturgeon

The first thing I noticed was that Kirks' Yeoman was not Janice Rand. I know she only featured up to a certain point in the first series, so it is possible that we won't see her again (until the movies, of course!) Of course, they were shot in a different order to the one in which they were transmitted, so it is possible that we will see her again.

Kirk says "erm" in the middle of announcing the stardate. I suspect that it was at attempt to show that Kirk was in need of a break, but it just sounds like Shatner fluffed his line and they couldn't be bothered to go for a retake.

There is lots of outside filming in this episode, and it really stands out. There have been others (such as Miri) but it's nice to see actual countryside and not a crappy soundstage.

I was impressed that the tiger was actually there with them - when I first saw it I assumed that it was a stock footage shot, but later you get to see it in shot with Kirk and Spock (only with a bloody big chain round its neck!)

This is a famously silly episode, but it is quite fun. There really isn't enough plot to fill the full fifty minutes, and the long fight at the end (in which, yes, Kirk gets his shirt ripped) just seems like it's there to fill time. A couple of crewmembers die, including McCoy, however they all get bought back to life by the end, so this episode scores zero there!

So, nice use of locations, some good comic moments, but ultimately over long and a bit silly.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 20

Score: 6

Star Trek 1.14 (Balance of Terror)

2007-08-08T16:22:00.000+01:00

First Aired: December 15, 1966

Cast:

Mark Lenard (Romulan Commander)

Paul Comi (Lt. Andrew Stiles)

Lawrence Montaigne (Decius)

Stephen Mines (Lt. Robert Tomlinson)

Barbara Baldavin (Specialist Angela Martine)

Garry Walberg (Commander Hansen)

John Warburton (The Centurion)

Writer: Paul Schneider (II)

This is the very first time that we see the Romulans! (It's just a shame that the lead Romulan is played by the same actor who later plays Spocks father Sarek in this series, several of the movies and even a couple of episodes of ST:TNG). It starts with a wedding that never quite happens, and you just know that by the end of the episode, one of the not-quite-married couple will be dead. (Which in a way is a good thing. The crew death count has been static on this blog for far too long!)

This is the first time we see things like Neutral Zones, and cloaking devices, and there is also a statement made that Humans have never clapped eyes on Romulans, and that they have a primitive war about a century ago. I also know that Romulans appear on episodes of Enterprise so I am looking forward to getting that far ahead with my viewing to see how they deal with that. (I have not seen all of Enterprise yet - when I finally review them for this blog it will be the first time I have watched the later episodes!)

The moment we first see a Romulan is truly drop jaw - they resemble Vulcans. With the forty years of stuff that has come since, we are all used to this fact, but when I watched this the first thing I wondered was if it was a cost saving exercise, to stop the producers coming up with a new design of alien. Perhaps I am too cynical, however you soon forget all of that. Mark Lenard, who plays the Romulan Commander, is a truly excellent actor, and I love watching him in this, and I am so glad we get to see so much more of him in the future.

The Enterprise persues the Romulan vessel, and it basically becomes a game of cat and mouse between the two vessels, both of them firing at each other and inflicting damage. There is a minor irritant here - the special effect used whenever Kirk calls for phaser fire is what we become used to as photon torpedo fire. No big deal, it just stood out.

The two commanders try and psyche each other out, playing tricks on each other, playing dead etc, trying to work the other out. It ends inevitably, with the destruction of the Romulan vessel, but again, I like this since it has the wit not to paint the Romulans as cardboard bad guys - their commander is painted, like Kirk, as a man of honour caught in a situation honour demands that he must deal with, even though he would rather not. Kirk even offers to save the survivors, and there is a final conversation between the commanders over the viewscreen. It is a good scene, and reminds me somewhat of the second movie - the two protragonists never get to actually meet.

So, another good one. This cannot last for long. Can it?

Crew Deaths: 1

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 20

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 1.13 (The Concsience of the King)

2007-08-08T16:18:00.000+01:00

First Aired: December 8, 1966

Cast:

Arnold Moss (Anton Karidian)

Barbara Anderson (Lenore Karidian)

William Sargent (Dr. Thomas Leighton)

Natalie Norwick (Martha Leighton)

David Troy (Lt. Larry Matson)

Karl Bruck (King Duncan)

Marc Adams (Hamlet)

Bruce Hyde (Lt. Kevin Thomas Riley)

Writer: Barry Trivers

This is an interesting episode, and I don't think there's another like it, certainly not in the original Star Trek series, anyway. The idea - that a former mass murdering dictator can hide as an actor - comes from a more innocent age. Whilst Kirk uses the computer to compare photographs of the two men and track the fact that the history of the actor doesn't exist before Kodos the executioner vanishes, I don't think the writer understood that such technology would ensure that such a deception would be impossible. I don't hold that against the episode though.

There is a nice cameo in this episode from Kevin Riley, who was last seen in The Naked Time earlier this season. He is in this episode long enough to get sung at by Uhura then have an attempt on his life (he is one of two remaining people who can visually identify Kodos, the other being Kirk). Riley was a potentially fun character, but I don't think we see him again after this episode. Which is a shame.

Kirk and Kodos do not really meet until well into the episode, and by that scene the audience pretty much knows that Karidian is Kodos. The scene where Kirk makes the actor read out the speech that Kodos made as he sends 4000 people to their deaths is excellent. I like the fact that the actions of Kodos are not black and white - had a rescue ship not arrived early, then his actions would have saved the lives of the rest of the colonists, and he would possibly have been declared a hero. He's not an "evil" bad guy, he has been judged bad by history because of the way things played out. I like that distinction.

I also like the twist at the end, the fact that the murderer (as I said, of the nine that could have identified Kodos, only two, Kirk and Riley are left) was not Kodos, but his daughter trying to protect the identity of her father (he didn't even know that she knew about his past).

It's better than most. In fact, the way it plays out and the intelligence of it come from a later time - this episode would not have looked out of place in one of the later Trek shows. And yes, that is meant to be a compliment!

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 19

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 1.12 (The Menagerie, part 2)

2007-08-02T12:04:00.000+01:00

First Aired: November 24, 1966

Cast:

Jeffrey Hunter (Capt. Christopher Pike)

Susan Oliver (Vina)

Malachi Throne (Commodore Jose I. Mendez)

Peter Duryea (Lt. Jose Tyler)

John Hoyt (Dr. Philip Boyce)

Laurel Goodwin (Yeoman J. M. Colt)

Adam Roarke (C.P.O. Garrison)

Sean Kenney (Disabled Christopher Pike)

Hagan Beggs (Ensign Hansen)

Meg Wylli e (The Keeper)

Julie Parrish (Miss Piper)

Writer: Gene Roddenberry

I won't go into the background of this episode, as I did that in my comments to part one. Instead, I shall look at the merits of the completed story now that I have seen it.

Less than half of part one was made from material from The Cage and so this episode redresses the balance, with a lot more of the drama coming from the original pilot. Some parts of the pilot are much weaker than the threads from The Menagerie but with the changing of the ending (they use some of the same footage from the end of The Cage but put it here in a different context) makes the whole things seem a lot more worthwhile. It is, again, however, the drama in the courtroom that really grabs your attention, as it is slowly revealed what it going on.

By itself, The Cage is a weak episode. Fleshed out with the extra stuff here, it becomes very very strong, and viewed as one story, this is Star Trek at pretty much it's best. Episode two is slightly weaker, but as a whole the 95 or so minutes that make up this episode stand together very well - Roddenberry, who wrote both the pilot and this - weaves the elements together very well. The Cage is available as an extra on one of the DVD sets (I will not be reviewing it here, since the end of The Cage contradicts the end of The Menagerie) and somehow without all of the trial stuff it certainly seems incomplete. I love it because it is far more adventurous than TV tended to be then (and even now) - effectively Captain Pike is the star of this show, with Spock, but so much attention is given to non- regular characters. (They do it again, also with much success, almost thirty years later in a ST:TNG episode called Lower Decks).

Watch this, preferably one sitting. You shouldn't be disappointed.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 19

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 1.11 (The Menagerie, part 1)

2007-08-02T11:59:00.000+01:00

First Aired: November 17, 1966

Cast:

Jeffrey Hunter (Capt. Christopher Pike)

Susan Oliver (Vina)

Malachi Throne (Commodore Jose I. Mendez)

Peter Duryea (Lt. Jose Tyler)

Laurel Goodwin (Yeoman J. M. Colt)

John Hoyt (Dr. Philip Boyce)

Adam R oarke (C.P.O. Garrison)

Sean Kenney (Disabled Christopher Pike)

Hagan Beggs (Ensign Hansen)

Julie Parrish (Miss Piper)

Writer: Gene Roddenberry

For those of you who are not aware, this two part episode (the only two part episode in the run of the original Star Trek series) was actually done as a cost cutting exercise. Before Star Trek was made as a weekly TV series, a pilot episode called The Cage was filmed and ultimately rejected, however another pilot was made and the rest is history.

The Cage was about an hour long, and started Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike. It was decided to build some new material around the pilot and create a two part episode that would only cost as much as a single episode. So, half of the story is set in the normal time, and the other part is set some years earlier.

Since I am reviewing part one and not the whole story, I shall try and consider these as separate episodes.

The opening half of this episode is excellent. We have no idea why Spock has stolen the Enterprise, and the look on Kirks face when he hears that the starship has warped out of the starbase is priceless! I also think this is the first time we see a shuttlecraft on the show.

The second half of the episode features the trial of Spock for mutiny. We get to see the dress uniforms, and then as evidence in his defence he shows footage from the pilot. Now, one of the reasons that this works so well is that the uniforms are different (though we have seen them earlier in the second pilot) and also the Enterprise bridge is considerably different. Okay, so the Trekkie knows why this is, but to the casual viewer it really does look like they have made an effort to make everything look older. Heck, even the communicators look retro compared to the ones we are used to!

The Talosians, with their now famous bulbous, veiny heads are also great. The one minor gripe in this episode is the first officer of the Enterprise under Pike - it is Majel Barrett, who also plays Nurse Chapel. It was probably wise for them not to use Chapel in this episode, however they just about get away with it - the characters look very different, and because Number One has a very emotionless voice, she doesn't sound like Chapel either (though she does sound like the ST:TNG computer voice. But there's a reason for that - she is!

The episode ends very well, with a dual cliffhanger - Pike has been kidnapped and Spock has almost certainly invited the death penalty for his actions. As a standalone episode, complete with cliffhanger, it works very well indeed. One of my best so far.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 19

Score: 9/10

Star Trek 1.10 (The Corbomite Maneuver)

2007-08-02T11:47:00.000+01:00

First Aired: November 10, 1966

Cast:
Anthony Call (Lt. Dave Bailey)
Clint Howard (Balok)

Writer: Jerry Sohl

Another early one (at least in production terms. It must be. Uhura's back in yellow for this one). I like the start of the episode - Kirk is not on the bridge when everything kicks off - you see that he doesn't live there, which we don't really see as the series progresses. It's nice to see the others dealing with the situation then calling their Captain when things seem to be getting out of hand. There's also a really unusual (and really cool) hand held shot as Kirk walks from the turbolift onto the bridge. You get a much better idea of the size of the bridge, and it suddenly seems a lot more real than it has before. In fact, this whole episode is set on the Enterprise, and sometimes episodes that do this seem cheap and a bit dull, however on this one it works and helps to create a somewhat (and increasing) claustrophobic feeling as you watch the show. The Corbomite bluff is nice, in fact it is one of the moments I most remember as a kid when watching the original series. It's also nice to see McCoy seriously challenge Kirk on his actions regarding Bailey, although I'm guessing he doesn't go through with it.

Some less cool things. Firstly, Bailey is obviously not coping with what is going on, and should have been removed from the bridge as soon as he showed signs of this (and he really showed plenty). Also, the green aliens (which I think are used as the final still in the end credits for most of the run of this series) look great static, but rather than use a person in makeup they used a puppet, which looks dreadful, especially when it "speaks".

This episode is what The Next Generation producers would have called a bottle show - one that cost very little to make, as it only uses existing sets and has a minimal guest cast. These shows are usually a bit crap, mostly because it only uses existing sets and has a minimal guest cast. This goes to show every rule has an exception - whilst a little slow in the middle, this is a nice episode. Even the twist (that the alien is not actually a green monstrosity but a cute bald kid) is not as annoying as it sounds on paper!

All in all, not bad at all.

Crew Deaths: 0
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 19
Score: 7/10

Star Trek 1.9 (Dagger of the Mind)

2007-08-02T11:43:00.000+01:00

First Aired: November 3, 1966

Cast:

James Gregory (Dr. Tristan Adams)

Morgan Woodward (Dr. Simon Van Gelder)

Marianna Hill (Dr. Helen Noel)

Susanne Wasson (Lethe)

John Arndt (First Crewman)

Larry Anthony (Ensign Berkeley)

Eli Behar (Therapist)

Writer: Shimon Wincelberg

The idea behind this episode is a good one. A Doctor creates a process that will basically calm down nutters, but he wants to know it will work and tests it on himself. Naturally, it turns him into a nutter.

It starts quite well. There is something about the (manic-ness?) of Van Gelder as he runs around the Enterprise that tells you there is more to it than simple insanity. The actor plays the part rather well, but is woefully underused, spending most of the episode strapped to a bed in the sick bay. We also get to see the first mind-meld this time as Spock attempts to get to grips with what is really going on with Van Gelder. Luckily, there is none of the tedious "my mind to your mind" formulaic crap which takes over the mind meld process - certainly by Voyager, possibly well before. I will mention the first time it occurs in the run on the show/films.

Then, despite the fact that he knows what the machine is capable of, Kirk sits in the machine that drove Van Gelder mad. If we knew this was going to lead to bad things, they why didn't he? I quite like the moments where Doctor Noel is putting suggestions into Kirks head - especially as she likes him and tries to suggest that something happened between them. I have to say the way she behaved was a bit suspect, but we never find out whether or not she would have carried this through as the machine is taken over by the prison commander and turned up to full power. Surprise!

All in all some nice ideas but seemed to go on forever.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 19

Score: 5/10

Star Trek 1.8 (Miri)

2007-07-29T09:15:00.000+01:00

First Aired: October 27, 1966

Cast:

Kim Darby (Miri)

Michael J. Pollard (Jahn)

Keith Taylor (Jahn's Friend)

Kellie Flanagan (Blonde Girl)

Steven McEveety (Redheaded Boy)

Jim Goodwin (Lt. John Farrell)

John Megna (Little Boy)

Writer: Adrian Spies

In this episode, the Enterprise crew find a planet just like Earth and beam down to a back lot on the Paramount estate. There, they find lots of children, behaving like nutters, including one girl called Miri whom is almost old enough for Kirk to bone. But he doesn't. They all get a disease that kills all adults. But they find a cure.

Aaaargh! This is supposed to be a classic episode. What annoys me. Well, for a start Janice Rand is one of the crew that beams down with Kirk, Spock and McCoy. And all she does is glares at Spock and Kirk as they talk (well, she has about three lines) and she gets really jealous of Miri, who likes Kirk. This is a classic idea - in fact, the basic idea is very similar to the idea behind the creation of the Reavers in Serenity. However, the fact that all the children behave like, well, children, despite the fact that they are over 300 years old... the idea is a good one. The story, as I said, is regarded as a classic. Yet it just annoyed me. The childish behaviour of the kids is stereotypical, badly acted, annoying, and the Miri character herself, whilst engaging, could have been a little more risque in the way they handled her, but in fact she is just a silly young girl falling in love (who just happens to be about 300 and about to go mental).

We get some more moments that Kirk and Rand like each other - this is one strand that it would have been interesting to see how it would have developed if Rand hadn't left so suddenly later in the first season.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 19

Score: 4/10

Star Trek 1.7 (What are little girls made of?)

2007-07-29T09:10:00.000+01:00

First Aired: October 20, 1966

Cast:

Michael Strong (Dr. Roger Korby)

Sherry Jackson (Andrea)

Ted Cassidy (Ruk)
Harry Basch (Dr. Brown)

Budd Albright (Rayburn)

Writer: Robert Bloch

This episode has good points as well as bad. The most frustrating thing is that we already have themes repeated from earlier in the series - and bearing in mind that this is episode seven...

In this episode, we get to see another Kirk lookalike, just as we did in the episode before last. Okay, this one is a robot (or android or whatever) and we have already seen similarities between other episodes. Perhaps they should have looked at showing the episodes in a different order - I am watching them as the DVD presents them, which is in transmission order not production order.

The good: Ruk is massive, it really does look like he can easily throw Shatner around. Sherry Jackson, the actress who plays Andrea, is rather lovely - normally the sixties look doesn't do much for me, but she looks fantastic. It is also nice that one of the background regulars - in this case Christine Chapel - has a large part to play in the episode. And the effects when there are two Kirks are pretty good for the time. The food they eat in the meal about halfway through the episode looks like a current brand of dried dog food. (I list that as a good as it made me laugh!)

The end became a little melodramatic. The twist, that Christine's ex was a robot, was somewhat obvious, and the idea that all the robots destroyed the race that made them is not new. In fact, I am sure it will be repeated at some point soon!

So, okay, but not great.

Crew Deaths: 2

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 19

Score: 5/10

Star Trek 1.6 (Mudd's Women)

2007-07-29T09:06:00.000+01:00

First Aired: October 13, 1966

Cast:

Roger C. Carmel (Harry Mudd)

Karen Steele (I) (Eve McHuron)

Maggie Thrett (Ruth Bonaventure)

Susan Denberg (Magda Kovas)

Jim Goodwin (Lt. John Farrell)

Gene Dynarski (Ben Chilress)

Jon Kowal (Herm Gossett)

Seamon Glass (Benton)

Jerry Foxworth (Security Guard)

Writer: Stephen Kandel

Oh dear. After run of good episodes, along comes this one. Mudd's women have this immediate effect on the men of the Enterprise - possibly because they can only see them in soft focus. There is something distinctly unsexy about these three women, possibly due to the fashions and what was considered sexy in the sixties. The mens' reaction is sleazy, stereotypical crap.

We also have a couple of Trek cliches appear here for the first time - McCoys dislike of the transporter as a means of travel, and the "the ship they were on has exploded but they haven't quite materialised yet" nonsense. Later they call it the pattern stuck in the buffer or some such nonsense.

Kirk confines Mudd to quarters but notes that the women are having an almost hypnotic effect on the men. But at no point does he think of confining them to quarters? No. And why not? Because apparently men from the 23rd century are only capable of thinking with their dicks.

At one point Harry Mudd uses an Enterprise communicator to talk to some miners in advance of arriving. So why didn't Uhura (who is wearing yellow instead of red for some reason and it really doesn't suit her!) pick up on this?

Oh, and the women aren't all they appear to be. Didn't I see that five episodes ago?

Harry Mudd was probably a great character in his day. Sadly he, like the episode in general, have dated rather badly. This really is not one of the best.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 17

Score: 4/10

Star Trek 1.5 (The Enemy Within)

2007-07-26T16:17:00.000+01:00

First Aired: October 6, 1966

Cast:

Edward Madden (Technician Fisher)

Garland Thompson (Technician Wilson)

Jim Goodwin (Lt. John Farrell)

Writer: Richard Matheson

"Captains' Log. Specimen gathering mission on planet Alpha177. Unknown to any of us during this time, a duplicate of me, some strange alter ego had been created by the transporter malfunction." Aaaaargh! They've only gone and done it again. There is no way that be could have recorded that as a log. I am hoping that this crap method of narration goes away soon - I have not noticed it before and it is really starting to piss me off!!!

That being said, there are a couple of extremely adult moments in this episode. Kirk is split into two halves, and the "evil" half (for want of a better description) stalks Yeoman Rand (who he admitted to quite liking in the previous episode under the influence of the virus) and he pretty much tries to rape her - it is well acted and filmed and is a horrible moment, adult in the true, non-Torchwood sense of the word.

A couple of thoughts though. There are men trapped on the planet below (including Sulu) and the temperature is about to drop to well below freezing. These man cannot be beamed up or they may also be split like Kirk. Scotty tries to beam heaters down, which are also split in two and won't work. Fine, but don't they have shuttles aboard the ship? They certainly do later on in the first series, but this early on obviously the hadn't thought about it, but you would have hoped that there would be some technobabble explanation as to why they can't use them.

It is also an interesting idea that the negative side of Kirk provides the strength that enables him to Captain the ship.

The first half of the episode is excellent, but once they capture the "evil" Kirk, it slows down a bit, and the final moments when Evil Kirk rampages around the ship are a little melodramatic. I can't believe that an organisation with any idea of what security was would leave Evil Kirk unguarded in the sick bay, which really renders the last ten minutes as totally unbelievable. Spock should have just shot both of them (on stun) and been done with it, but no, instead he lets them fight it out on the bridge. Hmmm. Not convinced.

It would have been an 8/10 it it wasn't for that ending, which really let down an excellent first half.

Crew Deaths: 0

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 17

Score: 6/10

Star Trek 1.4 (The Naked Time)

2007-07-26T16:14:00.000+01:00

First Aired: September 29, 1966

Cast:
Stewart Moss (Joe Tormolen)
Bruce Hyde (Lt. Kevin Thomas Riley)
William Knight (Amorous Crewman)
John Bellah (Laughing Crewman)

Writer: John D.F. Black

I am very familiar with this episode for two reasons - firstly, I like it, and secondly I had not realised how similar the Next Generation remake (The Naked Now) was!

Also, this is the first episode of the run that has all of the season one regulars in place - Uhura, Rand, Sulu, Scotty, Chapel, Kirk, Spock, McCoy - all are there. And it's so cool to have them!

The plot moves along at a nice pace, and there is time for some enjoyable, and funny, character moments, but as their situation gets more serious, as the ship stops working and the planet starts to break up, there is a real sense of tension, even though you know in your heart of hears that they are going to survive. It is great watching everyone going bonkers, with only a few people remaining sane. The frustration on Shatners face as Kirk has to deal with the degenerating situation are great, Sulu going mental with a sword (surely one of the most iconic images of any character within the show) is a lot of fun, Kevin Riley taking over engineering and demanding ice cream and singing over the intercom is also funny when it could have got annoying. We also find out for the first time that Chapel has a thing for Spock.

One gripe - there is a Captains Log that says, and I quote, "...our need for efficiency critical, but unknown to us, a totally new and unusual disease has been bought aboard." How the hell can you do a Captains log that basically says "however, unbeknown to us..." It just sticks out. The Captains Log cannot be used to communicate something that the Captain does not know at the time. It's just bollocks.

Generally, this is a fun episode, the only part I was not convinced by was the last few moments where Kirk and Spock fight and this somehow cures Spock and he thinks up the formula for a "never been done before" cold start on the Enterprise engines and it causes them to go back in time in a way that is not at all relevant to the story and serves it in no way whatsoever. Yep, Kirk does the timewarp a few years before the cast of Rocky Horror! It is a slightly hokey ending that lets down an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable episode.

Crew Deaths: 1
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 17
Score: 7/10

Star Trek 1.3 (Where No Man Has Gone Before)

2007-07-26T16:08:00.000+01:00

First Aired: September 22, 1966

Cast:

James Doohan (Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery Scott)

Gary Lockwood (Lt. Cmdr. Gary Mitchell)

Sally Kellerman (Dr. Elizabeth Dehner)

Lloyd Haynes (Lt. Lloyd Alden)

Andrea Dromm (Yeoman Smith)

Paul Carr (I) (Lt. Lee Kelso)

Paul Fix (Dr. Piper)

Writer: Samuel A. Peeples

My first thought watching this episode was the difference in the uniforms. For those non trekkies out where (and if that's you, seriously, why are you reading this?) this episode was the pilot show for what became the series (in fact, it was the second pilot to be shot, the first one having been rejected). So the uniforms are the same as the designs from the original pilot The Cage which is repackaged later in the first season as the two part story The Menagerie. I have no problem with the fact that the uniforms change, but to establish the look in the previous two then change it here, only to have it change back next week is silly. (You can just imagine the memo telling people to revert back to the old uniforms, then a week later another one coming down saying "no actually, change back". I bet Kirk lost his rag when that came though!!) Anyhow, for the uniforms to make sense, this episode should have been shown first! But hey, it's the first time we see Scotty so I can't complain! No Uhura though. And a different Doctor.

The story is a bit of a standard "person gets a power, and gets too big for his boots" story. As Mitchel's power grows and they realise that they are going to struggle to contain him, they take him down to a planet and hold him prisoner, with the aim of leaving him there. I admit my attention did wander as I watched this the first time, then I realised I hadn't been keeping a death count, so I wound back to the beginning and started again! Good thing I did, as Spock (almost casually!) announces that there are 9 dead after the engines burn out!

It's not a bad episode, but right after Charlie X it does feel a bit soon for a story about a human with powers that everyone has to tread eggshells around. And even though the ultimate resolution is very different, somehow this episode just does not work as well. There is too much screen time for non regulars - as a new viewer, I want to know about the people that I have been introduced to over the last two weeks. And as there is no McCoy, Uhura or Rand somehow the episode feels somewhat empty.

The final moments are the kind of thing that quickly became a Star Trek cliche (the fight, the ripped shirt and the unconvincing polystyrene rocks) , and watching the genesis of that cliche here did nothing further to endear me to the episode. And Mitchell cannot know Kirk as well as he thought he did, as he got his middle name wrong on the tombstone! So all in all this is worth watching as pilot but it really is not the best this series has to offer.

Crewman Death Count: 12
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 16
Score: 6/10

Star Trek 1.2 (Charlie X)

2007-07-24T23:03:00.000+01:00

First Aired: 15th September 1966

Cast:

Robert Walker Jr. (Charlie Evans)

Charles Stewart (Capt. Ramart)

Dallas Mitchell (Tom Nellis)

Don Eitner (Navigator)

Patricia McNulty (Yeoman Tina Lawton)

John Bellah (Crewman #1)

Garland Thompson (Crewman #2)

Abraham Sofaer (The Thasian)

Writer: D.C. Fontana

This is much more like it! This episode is much more what I expect - and enjoy - about the original Star Trek series. The premise is a little more "real" than in the previous episode - I can believe that a young lad that has spent many years by himself would be emotionally stunted. The "fish out of water" stuff where he struggles to fit into a society that he doesn't really understand are really well realised, as is his sense of wonder that there is a bigger world. I think the actor played the part brilliantly well - and as the episode goes on, and you realise that he is actually capable of almost anything since he has not developed his moral compass, some of the material gets really chilling.

The secondary regulars get some nice stuff to do here as well. Although Uhura's song is annoying, I really liked the resigned way Spock went ahead with it. This is the second episode where both Uhura and Rand get some decent involvement in the story, pity it was not a sign of things to come. Also absent from this episode is good old Scotty. Again. I hope he's in episode three, I miss him!

There is one niggle though. The crew of the Cargo Vessel Antarres do anything to get rid of him as soon as possible, presumably knowing what he is capable of. Of course, it could be that Janice Rand is his first true "victim" and the crew of the Antarres have only experienced the kind of thing he did to Uhura after her song, but I somehow doubt it. Knowing what he was capable of and not passing it on to the Enterprise crew was criminally negligent. They deserved to die. Harsh but fair.

The ending was a little silly, I would much rather that Kirk had had to make a difficult decision and deal with him, it was a bit of a cop out at the end having the Thasians take him away. But since the rest of the episode was so good, I will overlook that!

Crewman Death Count: 0 (as they all get bought back).

Total Crew Deaths So Far: 4

Score: 8/10

Star Trek 1.1 (The Man Trap)

2007-07-24T10:56:00.000+01:00

First Aired: September 8, 1966

Cast:
William Shatner (Captain James Tiberius Kirk)
Leonard Nim oy (Mr. Spock)
DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard McCoy)
Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Janice Rand)

George Takei (Lt. Sulu)
Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura)
Jeanne Bal (Nancy Crater)
Alfred Ryder (Prof. Robert Crater)
Bruce Watson (Crewman Darnell)
Michael Zaslow (Crewman Green)
Vince Howard (Crewman)
Francine Pyne (Nancy III)

Writer: George Clayton Johnson

Although not the first episode to be produced, this was the first one aired. There are some differences between this and what becomes the established series - the first is the treatment of the regulars other that Kirk, Spock and McCoy. They all seem to get some actual character development, something that you do not see that often in later episodes.

It is slow in places, especially after the quick-fire editing we are used to in modern television. There are some moments of sexism (especially the references to Yeoman Rand) that, whilst being the kind of things men no doubt would say in the modern age, just wouldn't get shown on TV. Also the opening scene where everyone sees a different woman are not handled that well, and as for Crewman Darnell almost drooling all over Nancy... well, he deserved to die, that's all I can say!

The soundstage representing the planet is also very basic even by Star Trek standards, however I am always impressed by the Enterprise. Okay, so the technology seems wrong by the standards of today, but there is still something enduring about the design of the ship, especially the interior. They were able to set most of a two part story from the final season of Enterprise within a very similar ship and it still looked great!

The story on this one is okay - in a way I feel that what is going on is a bit obvious, and I am never totally convinced by the character of Professor Crater - I don't see that anyone would let as many people die to protect this secret, especially after the creature killed his wife.

The regulars are on fine form in this story. Kirk is very direct with McCoy about the death of his crewman early on, and this story gives an unusual focus on the good Doctor. I also really enjoyed the opening scene where Uhura tries to employ Spock in idle conversation, and Rand and Sulu in Sulu's quarters with his plants. The only regular who does not appear is Scotty.

So, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The transformations of the creature are rather basic, and the monster at the end... somehow I don't think any human could fall in love with that, even if it could change shape! So, not one of the best.

Crewman Death Count: 4
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 4

Score: 4/10