After Doctor Who, my favorite science fiction franchise would have to be Star Trek. I remember the episodes of the original series playing endlessly in syndication when I was a kid, I saw all the movies in the theater, and I was there on day one when The Next Generation premiered. I’ve stuck with it through highs and lows, all the way through the disappointing finale of the otherwise underrated Enterprise and the questionable reboot movies.
A while back I started on a massive re-watch of the entire canon, starting from the beginning and proceeding chronologically. (I decided to watch the original series in production order, since the broadcast order was decided by the network rather than the producers. Less continuity weirdness if you watch it in production order.) I was really struck by just how brilliant the original show was, and how well it holds up today. I have a lot of thoughts on it, and since, hey, I’ve got a blog, I thought I’d share them. So here’s the first in a probably quite long series of my thoughts on Star Trek, covering the first season.
Here’s how I’m doing this. Each entry starts with a code for the series (TOS: The Original Series; TAS: The Animated Series; TNG: The Next Generation; DS9: Deep Space Nine; VOY: Voyager; ENT: Enterprise; MOV: the movies), followed by the season number, the episode number and the episode title. Then, to help refresh your memory, I’ve given the episode synopsis from Memory Alpha, the premier Star Trek wiki. Then the date the episode first aired. Then, in case you still don’t remember it, my own quick description of which one this is, based on whatever I think is the most memorable part of the story. Finally come my own thoughts on the episode, neatly bulleted. Sometimes I have a lot to say, sometimes I don’t. Let’s get to it!
TOS 1×0. The Cage
While investigating a distress call from Talos IV, Captain Christopher Pike of the starship Enterprise is captured and tested by beings who can project powerfully realistic illusions.
The unaired pilot, with nobody you know except Spock in it.
- Jeffrey Hunter (Pike) is very handsome. (Yes, this is my first thought on the entire Star Trek canon. I feel like it’s a good idea to let you know how serious to take this right off the bat.)
- On meeting his new yeoman, Pike is unhappy with having a “woman on the bridge.” God damn it, Star Trek. Hurry up and get progressive already.
- The different illusory settings created by the Talosians are done well, especially the fight in the castle.
- The Talosians’ plan to repopulate their planet with two humans seems peculiar. Apart from the obvious inbreeding problems once you hit the second generation…why bother? If your species is going extinct, how does breeding a completely different species to replace you help?
- Vina can’t go with Pike at the end because she’s ugly, and therefore can’t be around other people, and he accepts this. God damn it, Star Trek, what did I just say?
TOS 1×1. Where No Man Has Gone Before
An encounter at the limits of our galaxy begins to change Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell and threatens the future of the Enterprise and the Human race itself.
First aired September 22, 1966.
The one where Kirk’s BFF gets super-powers and goes crazy.
- I like these early Starfleet uniforms. They’re basically just sweaters. They look comfy.
- Sulu is a physicist in this episode. That’s weird.
- And we meet the chief medical officer of the Enterprise, Doctor Piper. (Don’t get too comfortable, Doc!)
- Hard to get a handle on who the main characters of the show at this point were supposed to be, beyond Kirk, Spock, and Piper. Scotty’s pretty prominent, I guess, but Sulu doesn’t do much. Lt. Kelso seemed like a lead until Mitchell killed him. Good fake out!
- This is a pretty great episode. As much as I liked Captain Pike and Majel Barrett as his first officer, I can see why the network retooled it. I don’t know why they held this episode back to air third, though – apparently it was felt to be “too expository” to be the pilot, but it seems pretty action-packed to me. That last battle between Kirk, Mitchell and Dehner is a lot of fun.
TOS 1×2. The Corbomite Maneuver
Exploring a distant region of space, the Enterprise is threatened by Balok, commander of a starship from the First Federation.
First aired November 10, 1966.
The one with creepy child Clint Howard.
- Sulu’s at the helm, McCoy is in sick bay, and all is right with the world. I wonder what happened to Dr. Piper? We’ll never know.
- Kirk’s annoyed at being assigned an attractive female yeoman. When does this show get progressive, exactly?
- That attractive female yeoman is, of course, Janice Rand, who will be a major character for a while before leaving the show under truly horrible real-world circumstances.
- This is Lt. Uhura’s first appearance too. I love Lt. Uhura. I get very excited whenever they let her have a line.
- Chief navigator Lt. Dave Bailey keeps fucking up, again and again and again. And then he yells at the captain. If I didn’t already know, I’d guess we wouldn’t be seeing him again after this episode.
- Balok is clearly a puppet, but I’m guessing the crew shouldn’t feel too badly about not realizing this since most of the aliens they’ll meet won’t be puppets despite clearly being puppets. If that makes sense.
- Bailey’s all calm now, and Kirk’s like, “Eh, insubordination, shminsubordination, take your post.” They’re very forgiving in the Federation, I guess.
- Clint Howard as the real Balok is way scarier than the puppet. I don’t know why he bothered with it.
- Balok asks for one of them to live with him, and Lt. Bailey is immediately all, “Yeah, I’ll live with the freaky alien kid with the disturbingly adult voice. Sure.” Kirk talks a good game about how it’ll be good for Bailey but I think he’s just eager to get rid of him.
TOS 1×3. Mudd’s Women
The Enterprise rescues a con man named Harry Mudd who is trafficking in mail-order brides.
First aired October 13, 1966.
The one with the space pimp.
- I have trouble believing Harry Mudd is any good at his job. He is so obviously a stereotypical con man I half expect him to knock on my door and convince me to switch to an alternative energy provider.
- There are only three miners on the whole planet? I don’t know if that means the colony is extremely efficient, or extremely inefficient.
- The scene with Eve and the miner Childress reminds me of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. But in space. Seven Space Brides for Seven Space Brothers.
- Uhura was in gold in this episode and the previous one. They were still figuring out exactly what everyone’s roles aboard the ship were, but it’s a shame they didn’t run with the idea of having her be a part of Command division. Can you imagine Kirk leaving for an away mission and saying, “Uhura, you’ve got the conn,” and she moves to the big chair? That would have been fantastic.
- I’m fantasizing about ways Star Trek could have been more progressive, because this episode with the mail-order brides isn’t doing it for me, for some reason.
TOS 1×4. The Enemy Within
A transporter malfunction splits Captain Kirk into two people – one good and one evil, and neither capable of functioning well separately.
First aired October 6, 1966.
The one with the evil duplicate Kirk that isn’t “Mirror, Mirror.”
- The first “transporter malfunction causes the plot” episode. But not the last!
- Also the first attempted rape on Star Trek. But not the last!
- It’s evil duplicate Kirk on Janice Rand, in case you’re wondering. She fights him off and scratches the hell out of him in the process. Good for her!
- There is some great Shatner scenery-chewing in this episode. It started early.
- Sulu’s stranded on the rapidly-freezing planet and does the “heat the rock with a phaser” trick for warmth. Do NOT think too hard about the physics of this. Just accept it.
- I love the little alien doggie that gets split into good little alien doggie and evil little alien doggie.
- After everything’s been resolved, Spock makes a smarmy comment to Rand suggesting that the evil Kirk had some qualities she found “interesting.” Fuck you, Spock. He tried to rape her. Asshole. (No joke. It is an ugly moment and it’s meant to be the lighthearted ending to the episode.)
TOS 1×5. The Man Trap
A mysterious creature stalks the Enterprise, murdering crew members.
First aired September 8, 1966.
The one with the salt vampire that looks like a cross between Bigfoot and a lamprey.
- Crewman Darnell once met a pretty woman on “Wrigley’s Pleasure Planet.” We don’t learn anything else about this place, but based on the name alone I very much want to visit.
- The appearance of the salt vampire gets made fun of a lot (in the real world, I mean, not in the story), but I actually think it looks pretty good.
- There’s some quick flirty banter between Spock and Uhura in this episode. It didn’t seem like the set-up for a real romance – Uhura was teasing him – but it does set the stage for an interesting relationship between the two. (Which never goes anywhere, unfortunately.)
- There’s also a great scene with Rand and Sulu in the ship’s arboretum. Sulu has an interest in botany, apparently. That will also never be addressed again.
- These very early episodes tried to showcase some of the other crew members and make more use of the ensemble, but that fades away pretty quickly. It becomes all about Kirk, Spock, McCoy and sometimes Scotty, and the rest settle for the occasional plot point without much in the way of character development. It’s a shame – there were a lot of interesting interpersonal dynamics to explore, and the original cast were pretty good actors, for the most part.
TOS 1×6. The Naked Time
The Enterprise crew is intoxicated by an inhibition-stripping contagion which causes mayhem throughout the ship.
First aired September 29, 1966.
The one where they all get space-drunk.
- Lt. Tormolen (don’t bother remembering his name), while examining mysterious deaths, removes the glove of his environmental suit to scratch his nose. I’m sorry, he deserves what he gets.
- Shirtless sweaty fencing Sulu. Yeah, I can get into that.
- Most of the Enterprise crew are pretty friendly drunks. Everybody’s pretty frisky. I’d take them with me to Wrigley’s Pleasure Planet for sure.
- I don’t really get why Nurse Chapel is so into Spock, but Majel Barrett sells it.
- Shatner takes a lot of shit about his overacting, but his “Never lose you. Never.” to the Enterprise is fantastic.
- And they travel back in time three days at the end for…reasons? I always found that ending bizarre, it’s apropos of nothing. It doesn’t lead into a time travel episode, it just kind of happens. Oh, we traveled backwards in time a few days? Huh. Weird. Whatever, carry on.
TOS 1×7. Charlie X
The Enterprise takes seventeen-year-old Charles Evans aboard for transport after he spent fourteen years alone on a deserted planet, but he’s unable to reintegrate with his fellow Humans.
First aired September 15, 1966.
The one with the horny super-powered teenager.
- I can’t help but feel that this episode is somewhat influenced by that “wish it into the cornfield” episode of The Twilight Zone.
- More flirtatious teasing from Uhura to Spock, as she sings to him in the rec room. I wonder if the writers of the new film series were spring-boarding off of this early relationship?
- More threateningly sexual advances on Rand.
- I don’t have a lot to say about this episode. It’s serviceable. Kind of a deus ex machina ending, but that’s hardly unique for this series.
TOS 1×8. Balance of Terror
The Enterprise battles a Romulan ship suspected of destroying outposts near the neutral zone.
First aired December 15, 1966.
The first one with the Romulans.
- The episode begins with Kirk officiating a wedding between two crewmembers we’ve never met before. What are the odds of both of them making it to the wedding night?
- Everybody’s all freaked out because the Romulans look like Vulcans, like Spock. But nobody thinks it’s at all strange that they’ve met so many alien species who look like humans?
- Okay, I guess in the series so far they haven’t met any aliens who look like humans. (Clint Howard doesn’t count.) But they will! Tons! And nobody mentions it then!
- This episode is very, very good. Mark Lenard as the Romulan commander is perfect.
TOS 1×9. What Are Little Girls Made Of?
The Enterprise finds archaeologist Dr. Roger Korby, who has been missing for five years, living underground on a deserted planet with a group of sophisticated androids.
First aired October 20, 1966.
The one where Nurse Chapel has a lot to do.
- I always like episodes where a character outside the Big Three gets a turn in the spotlight, so I have a fondness for this one. It fleshes out Nurse Chapel’s backstory quite a bit and Majel Barrett is very good in it. It’s just a shame that it’s such a generic “torn between my duty and my man” kind of story.
- And what happened to her being in love with Spock? Seems weird they don’t mention it, since it was such a big deal just a few episodes ago and this story is all about her love life.
- Korby made himself a sex bot. They don’t even try and bury that behind a space allegory.
- Kirk’s on the run from Ruk the giant robot, and he breaks off a stalactite to use as a weapon. It looks exactly like a giant pink dildo. It even has balls.
TOS 1×10. Dagger of the Mind
A routine visit to the Tantalus Penal Colony proves dangerous for Kirk and an Enterprise psychiatrist.
First aired November 3, 1966.
The one with the penal colony. (It’s not a very memorable episode, honestly, but isn’t penal a fun word?)
- Van Gelder escapes from the penal colony by hiding inside a crate that’s beamed aboard the Enterprise. That is some seriously lax security on both ends.
- It’s the first Vulcan mind meld! It’s treated here as a much bigger deal to do than it will be later, when Spock’ll meld with anyone with a pulse, the hussy.
TOS 1×11. Miri
The Enterprise discovers an Earth-like planet that was devastated by a horrific degenerative disease and is now populated entirely by impossibly old children.
First aired October 27, 1966.
“No blah blah blah!”
- Yeoman Rand gets a lot to do in this episode. I always forget what a major character she was on the show before Grace Lee Whitney’s unfortunate departure.
- The disease is supposed to have killed anyone post-pubescent, but Jahn is making it hard to suspend my disbelief. He looks like a middle manager at a box company.
- It’s really fun to watch Kirk get the crap beat out of him by a bunch of children.
- So, the planet is completely identical to Earth, and they never really try to find out why. (Besides the obvious reason, that the studio wanted to use existing backlots instead of making new alien-looking exterior sets.) They mention it at first, have a sort of, “Huh, that’s weird,” reaction, then never discuss it again. I’m not sure they have this whole “mission of exploration” thing down.
TOS 1×12. The Conscience of the King
An actor traveling aboard the Enterprise may be a former governor who ordered a mass murder twenty years ago.
First aired December 8, 1966.
The one with the Shakespeare plays.
- Pretty big back-story introduced for Kirk here, that he was a survivor of a famous massacre on an Earth colony when he was young.
- The whole story here hinges on the fact that of 4,000 survivors, only nine ever saw the face of the man who committed the massacre. But that man was the governor of the colony. He was the governor and he killed thousands of people. That didn’t make the news? They didn’t have a yearbook photo or something?
- Maybe it’s a Hamlet homage but Kirk takes his damn sweet time deciding that the traveling actor on-board is the evil governor, well past the point when it’s completely obvious to everyone.
- That aside, I do like all the Shakespearean influences on this episode. It’s right up my alley.
TOS 1×13. The Galileo Seven
Spock faces difficult command decisions when his shuttle crashes on a hostile world populated by barbarous giants.
First aired January 5, 1967.
Everybody hates Spock.
- This is a great episode, but some of the characterization falters in service of building up tension. The reactions of the shuttle crew to Spock’s command are ludicrous for military personnel – they’re insubordinate, bordering on mutinous. And Commissioner Ferris might as well be twirling a mustache, he’s so pointlessly evil.
- Uhura gets to be science officer for a day. That must make a nice change for her. They’re really committed to cross-training in Starfleet.
- The ending is very tense. Despite myself I was genuinely concerned that the Enterprise wouldn’t spot them.
- This is one of many episodes that ends with everybody laughing at Spock. It’s a good thing he doesn’t have emotions, the poor guy.
TOS 1×14. Court Martial
Kirk is accused of criminal negligence causing the death of one of his subordinates, Lt. Commander Benjamin Finney, and is put on trial for his murder.
First aired February 2, 1967.
The one where Kirk killed a redshirt, maybe.
- Cogley, Kirk’s lawyer, talks about the history of those who created law, from “Moses to the Tribunal of Alpha III.” This is a small detail, but they do it a lot on Star Trek and I really like it – they’ll include, in a list of historical events or personages, some fictional creation from the future, unknown to us. It’s good world-building, and reminds us that there’s a whole history of the galaxy between our time and theirs.
- Uhura takes the navigation console at the end of this episode. She can do anything! She could run the whole Enterprise herself, screw those other guys. Uhura’s awesome.
- There’s an unnamed personnel officer who gives testimony at Kirk’s trial, played by Nancy Wong, an Asian-American actor. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a person of color in a supporting role on the show, and it’s certainly not the last, but I make note of it here just as an opportunity to say how great it is to see a popular television show in the 1960s with such diverse casting. The show was really committed to the idea that all of humanity had united by the time of Star Trek and racism was a thing of the past for humanity. Of course, it could have been better – there were a lot of white dudes in Starfleet – but compared to other television shows of the time, it deserves its groundbreaking reputation – not just for the obvious reasons, like Nichelle Nichols as Uhura on the bridge, but also for Nancy Wong as the unnamed personnel officer feeling bad about having to testify against her captain.
TOS 1×15. The Menagerie, Part 1
Spock fakes a message from the Enterprise’s former commander, Christopher Pike, steals the vessel, and sets it on a locked course for the forbidden planet Talos IV.
First aired November 17, 1966.
The one where they chop the pilot up into two episodes.
- I confess, I skipped most of the pilot re-hash and just watched the framing sequences. It hadn’t been that long since I had watched “The Cage” and it really didn’t hold up to another re-watching so soon.
- Wow, communication methods for people who are “locked in” has really regressed in the past few centuries. They can’t even hold up an alphabet chart for Pike to beep at?
- Lt. Hansen makes his second appearance as helmsman. The second part of this story will be his last appearance as helmsman. The first series in particular had an awful lot of personnel making a handful of appearances, making it seem like they might become main characters, before vanishing, never to be seen or mentioned again.
TOS 1×16. The Menagerie, Part 2
While Spock faces court martial for kidnapping Captain Pike and hijacking the Enterprise, he further explains his actions with mysterious footage about Pike’s captivity by the Talosians.
First aired November 24, 1966.
The one where they chop the pilot up into two episodes. Part 2.
- It’s a little severe for Starfleet to punish contact with Talos IV with the death penalty, especially if it’s their only capital offense. Those guys aren’t so terrible. They let Pike go. Eventually. Maybe Starfleet just doesn’t want anybody watching the pilot episode?
- Commodore Mendez’s reaction to the Orion slave girl is to drool a little and comment that they’re supposed to be “irresistible,” and not, “she’s a slave, how horrible,” as one might expect.
- Psyche! Mendez was never there, it was all an illusion! So really it’s the Talosians who are being disgusting.
- Pike gets to the transporter room and down to the planet pretty damn fast considering his situation.
TOS 1×17. Shore Leave
The Enterprise crew take shore leave on a planet where their imaginations become reality.
First aired December 29, 1966.
The one where McCoy sees the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.
- The best part of this whole episode is Finnegan, the Irish upperclassman who taunts Kirk to the accompaniment of a jaunty jig. I would watch a Finnegan spin-off.
- McCoy is super gross to Yeoman Barrows, but she’s into it.
- We get another almost-rape, this time on Barrows by an illusory Don Juan. We learn at the end that these illusions are caused by the secret wishes of the crew, which is…disturbing, regardless of exactly whose secret wish it might be.
- The episode ends by revealing they were never in any danger and absolutely nothing was at stake, so, you know. Glad I spent an hour on that.
TOS 1×18. The Squire of Gothos
The Enterprise is captured by Trelane, the childish ruler of Gothos.
First aired January 12, 1967.
“Are you challenging me to a duel?”
- William Campbell as Trelane is everything.
- I love this episode, so, so much. It sets the template for what will become a pretty generic Star Trek plot – the crew is kidnapped and manipulated by a God-like alien. “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and “Charlie X” were both proto-versions of this type of story, but “The Squire of Gothos” perfects it.
- There doesn’t seem to be any particular reason why Yeoman Ross couldn’t have been Yeoman Rand – except, of course, for the behind-the-scenes drama. Too bad.
TOS 1×19. Arena
Kirk battles an alien captain who destroyed a Federation outpost.
First aired January 19, 1967.
Kirk versus the lizard-man.
- Sulu’s in command! When Kirk beams down he leaves Sulu in charge, which makes so much more sense than Scotty, who would quickly become the default stand-by captain. The chief engineer should be in engineering, whereas Sulu’s just a few feet away from his normal post. Also, Sulu is bad-ass. (I’m glad the movies finally realized this.)
- Another god-like alien race – the Metrons, this time – having their way with the little people.
- The Gorn looks like a Sleestak on steroids but I like it.
- This is an all-out action episode, and they do it right. Kirk trying to build a cannon before the Gorn rips him to shreds is gripping.
TOS 1×20. The Alternative Factor
Investigating the cause of a massive, galaxy-wide disruption in space, the Enterprise finds a mad scientist who claims that he is being pursued by a hideous being.
First aired March 30, 1967.
The one with the guy fighting his twin from the negative universe.
- For all the crap I give this show about its occasionally contradictory relationship with gender roles, sometimes it really gets it right on the diversity front. This episode features two female African-American bridge officers like it ain’t no thang. In addition to Uhura, this week’s one-off character is Lt. Charlene Masters, who wears science division blue but also works in engineering. She does her job. She gets involved in the main plot, filling the role Scotty would normally play (he’s not in this one). She complains about coffee with her assistant, an unnamed white guy. It’s 1967, and this is network television, and all of this is important.
- The image of Lazarus and his evil double fighting in the negative space corridor is really striking. I saw this episode as a kid and it really unnerved me for some reason.
- This is one of those episodes that really isn’t that great – it tends to drag – but that I like anyway, probably because of how much it freaked me out as a kid. Kirk’s last line is unnecessarily portentous, though – “But what of Lazarus? What of Lazarus?” Uh, you just locked him in a battle with his evil double until the end of time, Kirk, that’s what of Lazarus. You had a whole conversation with him about it. Don’t act like you don’t know what you did.
TOS 1×21. Tomorrow Is Yesterday
The Enterprise is hurled back in time to the year 1969, where the US Air Force sights it as a UFO. The crew must find a way to erase evidence of their visit before trying to get back to their future home.
First aired January 26, 1967.
The time travel one where they kidnap the fighter pilot.
- Now, this is a good episode. Lots of action, the plot keeps moving, some good character-based comic bits, likable guest star playing a good guy who acts as the antagonist for entirely believable reasons. More like this, please!
- Wouldn’t it have been cool if this episode had followed The Naked Time, and the pointless time travel at the end of that episode had been how they wound up in 1969? It would have been a neat little cliffhanger linking two otherwise unrelated adventures. Shame they didn’t really do that sort of thing back then – all the episodes had to pretty much stand alone (with rare exceptions, like “The Menagerie.”).
- This is the one where the computer calls Kirk “dear” because it was overhauled on a female-dominated planet. I…think it’s supposed to be a joke?
- The ending is cool. Just don’t try and think the time travel stuff through too hard. Why does Christopher forget everything when they beam him home? Because science, that’s why.
TOS 1×22. The Return of the Archons
The Enterprise discovers a planet where the population act like zombies and obey the will of their unseen ruler, Landru.
First aired February 9, 1967.
The one with the orgy.
- The natives of this planet are mind-controlled drones but they periodically engage in the Festival, which is twelve hours of uncontrolled debauchery. It looks hella fun. Five stars on Trip Advisor.
- Kirk justifies violating the Prime Directive again. It’s not that I disagree, but it seems like it’s becoming more of a Prime Suggestion.
- Kirk logics another computer to death. After 6,000 years it must have really needed a software update.
- Another episode with a great set-up and a weak resolution. Why does Festival even exist? There’s no reason for the computer to allow it except to offer an exciting plot device and ramp up the danger a little.
TOS 1×23. A Taste of Armageddon
On a diplomatic mission, the crew visit a planet that is waging a destructive war fought solely by computer simulation, but the casualties, including the crew of the USS Enterprise, are supposed to be real.
First aired February 23, 1967.
The one where all the people line up to be atomized because the war computers told them they had to.
- I remember this episode as a favorite when I was a kid, so I had that moment of, “Ooh, this is a good one!” when I recognized it.
- Are all Federation Ambassadors and Commodores and Admirals willfully obtuse? Ambassador Fox is one of many Federation authority figures who exist only to ignore obvious warning signs and order the Enterprise crew to do something stupid for the sole purpose of putting them all into danger. At least he wises up by the end, although it takes him actually being forcibly marched into a disintegration chamber before he starts listening to Kirk.
- Spock does the mind meld on a guard – from the other side of a wall. Time to dial back those Vulcan superpowers a little, I think.
- Kirk threatens to implement General Order 24, which would command the Enterprise to destroy all life on the planet. I keep waiting for him to explain that it was a bluff, and General Order 24 doesn’t exist, but apparently it does. That’s pretty hardcore for a fleet of ships on missions of peaceful exploration.
- This is a great episode – lots of action, and the central conceit is just plausible enough to make it extra disturbing.
TOS 1×24. Space Seed
The Enterprise discovers an ancient spaceship carrying genetically enhanced supermen from late 20th century Earth and their enigmatic warlord leader: Khan Noonien Singh.
First aired February 16, 1967.
Khaaaaaaaaaaannnnn!!!!!
- Ricardo Montalban is fantastic. Maybe the best guest star of the entire series. There’s a reason they made a movie out of a sequel to this.
- Lt. Marla McGivers is a bit of a wet noodle, though. She commits treason because Khan is just such a manly man that she can’t control the pitter-patter of her girly heart. Ugh. How did you ever get out of the Academy?
- Man, remember the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s? Those sure did suck.
- Uhura gets a killer moment when she’s slapped for refusing to give Khan the information he’s looking for. The looks of defiance she gives him afterwards is fierce. Nichelle Nichols is a national treasure, y’all.
- Deservedly considered one of the best episodes ever. I certainly think so.
TOS 1×25. This Side of Paradise
The Enterprise crew finds happiness at a colony where alien spores provide total contentment.
First aired March 2, 1967.
The one where the crew gets high. No, not drunk, that was “The Naked Time.”
- I can’t believe that the production crew of this episode did not intend for the spray spore of the evil pod plants to look like ejaculate. The crew gets blasted with it, head to toe. It’s like somebody made a Star Trek porn parody consisting entirely of bukkake scenes.
- This is the third and final appearance of Lieutenant Kelowitz, who had a small part in “The Galileo Seven” and a slightly bigger one in “Arena.” Even this late in the season the show is still figuring out who the major recurring characters are going to be.
- “I have never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question.” Fuck you, Spock.
TOS 1×26. The Devil in the Dark
The Enterprise arrives at Janus VI, where an unknown monster is destroying machinery and killing the miners, threatening the entire mining operation.
First aired March 9, 1967.
The one with the rock monster.
- Another classic. The first half, when the Horta’s killing everybody, is genuinely creepy.
- It does stretch credulity a bit that the miners have discovered literally millions of perfectly smooth silicon spheres in the mines and nobody ever bothered to spare a thought as to where they might have come from.
- I think Leonard Nimoy took some acting lessons from Shatner while preparing for his mind-meld with the Horta. “Pain! Pain!”
- This is the first “I’m a doctor, not a…” line. (Bricklayer, in this instance.) Surprisingly late in the series.
- I like how immensely pleased with himself McCoy is after he heals the Horta. Maybe he is a bricklayer after all.
TOS 1×27. Errand of Mercy
Kirk and Spock try to protect the planet Organia from the Klingons, but the natives don’t want the Federation’s help.
First aired March 23, 1967.
Klingons! Finally!
- The pre-existing tension with the Klingon Empire seems like a really big deal considering we’ve never heard of them before.
- The Klingons are instantly a believable threat, more so than just about any alien race we’ve been shown before. It’s clear why they became the main antagonists of the series.
- And Kor is awesome.
- The Organians’ pacifism would probably be a bit nobler if they weren’t omnipotent. Kind of easy to be all high and mighty about violence when you are, in fact, higher and mightier than everybody else.
- This is a fantastic episode. The conflict of Kirk and Spock against Kor is tight. I love it despite the deus ex machina all-powerful aliens ending.
TOS 1×28. The City on the Edge of Forever
After taking an accidental overdose of cordrazine, Doctor Leonard McCoy goes back in time and changes history.
First aired April 6, 1967.
You know this one. Even people who never saw the show know this one.
- Wow, this really was a hell of a streak, wasn’t it? I know they didn’t air in this order, but the production team was on a role.
- McCoy “accidentally” injects himself with that cordrazine for a really long time. You honestly couldn’t have stopped pressing that button, Doctor Feelgood?
- Hey, it’s Lieutenant Kyle! Have I mentioned him yet? He’s the major character you don’t remember – I had honestly forgotten all about him until I started this re-watch. He’s in more episodes than anybody outside of the main characters, I think. He even makes it into the animated series and has a small part in the second movie. He’s usually manning the transporter, although he pops up in other positions whenever they need somebody to say a few lines. Remember him yet? No? He’s in more episodes than Janice Rand! Ah, well, sorry, Lieutenant.
- Uhura’s in the landing party! I love when Uhura gets to go down to a planet. It doesn’t happen very often.
- The Guardian of Forever is very free with his time travel abilities. You wanna hop inside, change history, maybe wipe out your entire species before it evolves? Knock yourself out. Not much of a guardian, is he? More like the Napping Night Shift Security Guard of Forever.
- Kirk explains Spock’s eyebrows and ears away by saying he’s Chinese and had an accident with a rice picker. Jesus Christ.
- The scene where the homeless guy accidentally vaporizes himself with McCoy’s phaser gives me the shivers. Frankly, the whole idea that the phaser has a setting that completely disintegrates someone without a trace freaks me out. I know it’s just science fiction, but it’s always struck me as a really horrible way to die. (I know that’s kind of a downer thought, but cut me some slack, this whole episode is a downer.)
- While the main question of this episode is a great one – would you sacrifice someone you love for the greater good? – the message conveyed – that pacifism could destroy the world – is slightly less great.
TOS 1×29. Operation – Annihilate!
The Deneva colony is attacked by neural parasites that cause mass insanity while the crew of Enterprise search for a way to stop them.
First aired April 13, 1967.
The one where Kirk’s brother dies.
- Really great pre-credits teaser – the mysterious ship plunging itself into the planet’s sun, the pilot intent on killing himself, resisting any attempts to save him. Good mysterious set-up!
- Kirk’s brother dies off-screen, before the crew arrives. It’s a bit shocking, to have the brother of the lead character killed so casually. The story doesn’t make as much of it as it could, frankly. By the end of the episode Kirk’s joking around like nothing happened.
- I can’t decide if the parasite creatures are disturbing or ridiculous. They look like a cross between a jellyfish and a frog that’s been run over by a truck, but there are so many of them and the pulsing creeps me out.
- Then they start to fly and I settle on ridiculous.
- A pretty good episode, but nothing special considering it was the season finale. (It was last in both production and broadcast order.) I know season finales weren’t quite as big a deal back then, but they really should have gone with “The City on the Edge of Forever.”
