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Star Trek: The Original Series

bionicbob

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Tonight I rewatched the second season episode "A Private Little War".

Most fans remember this for the white alien ape or the ultra sexy witch woman or the bad wigs.  But putting that aside, this is a very dark, layered and complex allegory story about the Vietnam War.  Every time I watch this episode, I am shocked and impressed by the very adult nature of this episode.  Also how far they pushed the tv censors of the time period, as the episode features an attempted gang rape.  Definitely an episode that gives you lots to think and talk about afterwards.
 

Masirimso17

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It’s weird. I saw in my dream a personification of a Star Trek original series fan. I think a mix of @"bionicbob" and @"Handman". And I was talking about how a while ago I watched some episodes and Wrath of Khan. No doubt an effect of this thread. I guess I should talk about it.

A while ago (I can’t remember when) I watched Space Seed, Amok Time and Journey to Babel before moving on to Wrath of Khan. I liked them all. It’s been a while so I can’t remember in detail, but I think I liked most the one where they went to Spock’s homeworld. Space Seed was good too. But I can’t remember the other one. Something about Spock’s family? I guess it was my least favorite one, or at least the least memorable. I dunno.

Then I saw Wrath of Khan in this context and I thought it was pretty good too. The ending was pretty emotional. I don’t think it was that memorable a movie though. All I can remember is Khan’s intro, the final act, lines reciting A Tale of Two Cities, and Kirk yelling “KHAAAN” Don’t get me wrong, I still really liked it, it’s just not one of my favorite movies. But I’m probably missing something.

Same goes for the three episodes. I liked them and enjoyed them (Spock’s homeworld I liked the most) but none of them really hooked me into the Star Trek universe. I didn’t have an urge to watch the third movie after WoK.

I’m not specifically looking for Star Wars-like action films. I know they’re not. If I was looking for that I’d go straight to the Abrams films, which I haven’t watched. I didn’t know what I was expecting and was completely blind, I really liked what I saw but they didn’t hook me. Maybe it’s the novelty value wearing off. Or maybe it’s just me. 

I dunno. What do you guys think?
 

Handman

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All I can remember is Khan’s intro, the final act, lines reciting A Tale of Two Cities, and Kirk yelling “KHAAAN”...  But I’m probably missing something.

Perhaps.
 

Masirimso17

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Handman said:
All I can remember is Khan’s intro, the final act, lines reciting A Tale of Two Cities, and Kirk yelling “KHAAAN”...  But I’m probably missing something.

Perhaps.

Lol, I did say the ending was very emotional. In fact it is my favorite part. Loved the sacrifice. It’s just that the rest of the movie I don’t find as special.
 

Canon Editor

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I just finished watching part one to THE MENAGERIE.  Fun way to incorporate the footage of the first, unaired pilot, even though I believe this does give the episode some occasional pacing problems.  Having Spock on trial so early on in the series has been a bold move by Roddenberry and the other producers, I have to say. 
The make-up work here is also stunning.  The scars on Pike's face really hit me at first, and the bulging head of the aliens that abduct Pike on Talos IV is also magnificent. 
Furthermore, the way this episode expands the history of the Enterprise, Spock and the universe as a whole is really well made.  I hope we will get a reason as to why the footage recorded on Talos IV (see: the original pilot episode) is edited like a movie.  It has been hinted at, so I keep my hoped up, since it is kind of distracting to have no explanation. 
Fun episode, looking forward to part II. 

Added A Private Little War to the viewing order, bumping up to 24 episodes!   :D
 

Possessed

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Even though it is rather weak as a season,  there are good episodes in season 3. In my opinion.
 

Jrzag42

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Masirismo, watch Star Trek 4. One day I watched all the Star Trek movies, but 4 is the only one that I remember anything from, so clearly that means something. Obviously I need to watch the others again, heck I haven't even watched any of the actual show yet. All I can say is, Star Trek 4 is a lot of fun, even if you don't know much or aren't interested in the rest of the series.
 

Handman

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Star Trek isn't Star Trek without season 3.  Without it, the show would have never made it to syndication, which is the big reason it blew up in the 70s and why we still talk about it now.  There would be no Star Trek without that third season.
 

Jrzag42

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Cultural significance doesn't always equal worth expiriencing.
 

Duragizer

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There are good episodes in Season 3, no doubt about it, but not enough to entice me to buy an entire DVD/BD set. Similar reason why I'm not interested in owning TNG.
 

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My favorite single Trek episode might actually be The Empath from TOS season 3.  The haunting look of it really made an impression on me, even if it was just budgetary restraints.
 

Handman

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Yeah, there are some episodes of that season that quite possibly outshine the earlier ones.  There are just a lot more stinkers.

 

Handman

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suspiciouscoffee said:
My favorite single Trek episode might actually be The Empath from TOS season 3.  The haunting look of it really made an impression on me, even if it was just budgetary restraints.

I just read that The Empath was often considered DeForest Kelley's favorite episode.
@"Duragizer"
 

Duragizer

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I recall enjoying "The Empath" the first time I watched it, less so the second. Nevertheless, the music's beautiful.
 

Duragizer

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Potentially unpopular opinion:

[SPOILERS ahead for anyone who was never watched The Wrath of Khan and/or Search for Spock.]

Spock should never have come back from the dead. He died in the service of his friends — a perfect sacrifice which helps make TWOK a near-perfect movie. Undoing that takes some of the moment's power away.
 

Handman

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True, but Leonard Nimoy changed his mind.  And none of the other movies would have ever been the same without him.
 

bionicbob

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I do not think it is an unpopular opinion, but it may be one shaped more by the passage of time and foreknowledge.

When TWOK opened in 1982, Spock's death WAS SHOCKING and POWERFUL. No one knew going into the movie Spock was going to die. Hell, no one knew if there would be another sequel. This is the early eighties, Studios were not franchise machines like they are now, and regularly expected sequels were in their infancy. So when you walked out of Khan, and if you enjoyed the movie, you were visibly stunned and surprised by the movie's ending.

There is a two year release gap between TWOK and TSFS... two years that Spock was dead to fans. So the power of the movie remained for us who were in theatres back then or watched it repeatedly on VHS.

Also, being in the dark ages before the Interweb, there was limited to almost no news on movies in production for the general population unless you were an avid reader of trades like Variety or Starlog or caught a blurb on Entertainment Tonight (believe it or not, that was originally an actual NEWS show when it first launched lol). So for the majority of the mainstream audience, when trailers dropped for The Search of Spock, this was equally surprising and exciting.

And while the plot line of the sequel is right there in the title, the story is more about friendship, loyalty and sacrifice than the Spock resurrection, which is equally, if not more so, powerful than Spock's death. But I am biased, as I have gone of record several times stating THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK is my personal favourite adventure in the Original Cast Movie series.

My point being, yes, if you are just experiencing these movies now, you may find them slightly less powerful because you have been forearmed by pop culture references (Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!), online essays and plot synopsis. But at the time these movies were made and individually released years apart, they were all very impactful.

IMO the original cast movies still stand up wonderfully and are easily superior to the NextGen and Kelvin movies. :D
 
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bionicbob

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Handman said:

Interesting.  Though why Roddenberry would leak such information since it was Nimoy, not the studio or producers, who demanded Spock had to die because he was tired of the character.

All I can say is, I was 12 and I saw TWOK in its original theatrical run, and I (along with my friends) had no idea Spock was going to die and I found the experience profoundly powerful.
 

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Finally watched THE MENAGERIE, PART II  today.  Despite, once again, some minor pacing problems, I loved it.  The heavy lifting is done by the original pilot material, which brings forward the theme of dream vs. reality, which I'm enamoured of.  I have to say, the way the new material builds upon and wraps up the themes of the original was far more satisfying and rewarding than the first part.  So far, this has been one of the best episodes, if not the best (the only thing keeping it from being #1 would be that it is not an entirely original epiosde, but the reelaboration of the original material deserves a lot of credit).  The set design work on The Cage was also stunning, and I had to keep reminding me this was in fact made before the series was greenlit - especially in scenes such as this:

The performance from captain Pike was slightly wooden at times, yet compelling, while Veena's character has been one of the best to appear for her complexity.  Their love story is truly beautiful and is given some magnificent closure. 

Next up, The Conscience of the King!
 
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