Favorite "type" of Classic Trek

[HardyGirl]

Even though I have all of these eps on tape, I like watching them in real time as well. I watch classic Trek on TVLand every morning before going to work. Personally, I prefer the type of eps w/ aliens and weird planets. I'm not all that wild about eps that reflect real "human" life like westerns, American Indians, gangsters, even though they have good stories behind them. They just don't feel "Trek" enough.

What do you think?

[palitoy]

Because I used to watch Trek on Saturday mornings as a kid, episodes on alien worlds or featuring alien races tend to be my favourite.

My favourites are mostly episodes that most fans revile, their lack of nutrional value is probably why I like them.

I don't mind the "Earth history repeating on alien worlds" themed episodes but I think the series milked it too much.

[Mikey]

My fav Classic Trek episodes are mostly ones that are confined in the ship ...

Doomsday Machine
Enterprise Incident
Tholian Web
The Naked Time
The Ulimate Computer
Wink of an Eye

I do have a guilty pleasure list too :)

The Way to Eden
Whom Gods Destroy
Spectre of the Gun

My stinker list is ..........

The Lights of Zetar (worst episode EVER!!!)
The Menagerie
The Empath (wake me up when it's over)
KIrk as Indian story (see The Empath)
A Private Little War (boring even with Megatu)
City on the Edge (meh)
Children shall lead
Elaan of Troyius (see The Empath)
For the World Is Hollow, And I Have Touched the Sky (about the best of the clunkers)
Friday's Child (boring)
Is There in Truth No Beauty? (see Empath)

[palitoy]

The Lights of Zetar (worst episode EVER!!!)
The Menagerie
The Empath (wake me up when it's over)
KIrk as Indian story (see The Empath)
A Private Little War (boring even with Megatu)
City on the Edge (meh)
Children shall lead
Elaan of Troyius (see The Empath)
For the World Is Hollow, And I Have Touched the Sky (about the best of the clunkers)
Friday's Child (boring)
Is There in Truth No Beauty? (see Empath)

Wow, we have pretty similiar ideas of poop lists, although I exclude City and Friday's child from being classified as bad, just overplayed. The Menagerie is also something I can't watch anymore.

I'd put the Empath as my least favourite, I find it painful.

[Mikey]

For Menagerie --- as a Classic Trek super-fan, I may have my membership card taken away for saying this ........
But I never much cared for The Cage.
Just thought it was rather boring.... It might be "Intellectually Stimulating" to a lot of fans--- but to me, it's boring as hell :)

If I could, i'd edit all the Cage flashbacks from the Menagerie, and that might make a more watchable story for me :grin:

[toys2cool]

my fav's are

The Enemy Within

Miri

The City on the Edge of Forever

But my all time favorite is the one with that Hot girl that's a robot and the guy who created her is like 500 years old living by himself in a planet and he's in love with her,anyone remember the name? Still think that's the hottest chick ever on Star Trek :grin:

[Mikey]

Ahhh, Requiem For Methuselah

Yea, Louise Sorel was pretty hot back then.......

BTW, TRIVIA ...... did you know that guy (the 500 year old guy) in real life is Tyne Daly's father ?

[palitoy]

For Menagerie --- as a Classic Trek super-fan, I may have my membership card taken away for saying this ........
But I never much cared for The Cage.
Just thought it was rather boring.... It might be "Intellectually Stimulating" to a lot of fans--- but to me, it's boring as hell :)

If I could, i'd edit all the Cage flashbacks from the Menagerie, and that might make a more watchable story for me :grin:

The thing for me with the cage is a glimpse of what trek might have been, I really enjoyed that aspect. Although I've seen it ad nauseum so I couldn't sit through it again.

The trial scenes in the Menagerie don't add much for me, so I tend to flick past that one a good deal.

[Mikey]

The thing with the Cage for me----- I really don't like Captain Pike much.
To me, he doesn't like "his job"... and that kind of ruins the "fun" of a series.

Unlike Landau as Koenig who's FORCED into his job-- like it or not...... which makes for a GREAT story-line....
Pike comes off as a bit of whiner because he could just quit.

[ramsey37]

For me, my favorites have to be:
Arena
Devil in the Dark
Amok Time
Journey to Babel
and the Space Lincoln ep, the title escapes me at the moment. ;)
George

[johnmiic]

I can't seem to stop watching Bread & Circuses. I always turn to it when I am bored,( also I play Arena and Journey to Babel a lot).

I also think Let That Be Your Last Battlefield deserves some props. In an otherwise badly handled season it cuts thru all the B.S. and shows the futility of racism. I've heard many fans scoff at the concept as being simple-minded but really racism is a very basic, simplistic and nonsensical position to take whether it's people who have a 2-color face or people of 2 differrent colors.

[palitoy]

I also think Let That Be Your Last Battlefield deserves some props. In an otherwise badly handled season it cuts thru all the B.S. and shows the futility of racism. I've heard many fans scoff at the concept as being simple-minded but really racism is a very basic, simplistic and nonsensical position to take whether it's people who have a 2-color face or people of 2 differrent colors.

I'd put that one in my top ten, I think Gorshin does a great job.

Space Lincoln is another I'd put in my top eps, along with Spock's brain, Way to Eden and Whom Gods Destroy. They may not be highbrow, but they are entertaining.

[Mikey]

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield is a decent episode...... but I look at the raciam aspect of it a bit differently today as i've grown older...

To me, it was a HIPPY style episode saying--- WE'RE ALL THE SAME, SO WE SHOULD JUST LOVE EACH-OTHER...

To many 60's Hippies, that was a fine point of view coming from their side of the fence --- meaning the WHITE happy-hippy side ......

Looking at it today..I can see Lokai's side more clearly....

He was born on the OTHER side of the fence.

He has a lot of built up anger----- which he rightfully deserves .......

And Bele is still a "KKK" guy........

It's actually a very deep episode that can only end in tragedy....
If it didn't......
I wouldn't be real.....

[mego73]

My favorites are a lot of the first season shows like Cobromite Manuever. But when talking classic Trek, I can't forget the animated show.

It was the first Star Trek I saw and it cemented the idea of the Star Trek "look" in my mind with eye poping color and imaginative planetary vistas even more than the live show in some cases. Yes, the animation was quite limited, but I wasn't noticing that at the time.

[ABMAC]

I hated the ham-fisted preachy episodes like "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." They made their points in the first five minutes. The rest was just filler.

I liked "Devil in the Dark," "Miri," and "Space Seed."

[jwyblejr]

Anything with the Klingons makes my day. Even Trouble With Tribbles.

[apes3978]

BTW, TRIVIA ...... did you know that guy (the 500 year old guy) in real life is Tyne Daly's father ?


BTW, more trivia: Not only was he the "500 year old guy" in that episode, he also played Honorius in Planet of the Apes...

[The Bat]

I too...like to see Alien's! My Favorite Episode's are:

Arena
Space Seed
Balance of Terror
Amok Time(Vulcan's are Alien's:grin:)
The Enemy Within
Let that be Your Last Battlefield
Day of the Dove
Journey to Babel(Andorian & Sarek!)
The Gamester's of Triskelion
The Enterprise Incident
What Little Girl's are Made Of
Pattern's of Force(I know...no Alien's)
City on the Edge of Forever

And too many more to list!:smiley1:

[Earth 2 Chris]

When I was a kid I didn't like the episodes where they never left the ship. I liked it much when they beamed down to an alien world. Now, I tend to like the ship-centric ones better. They seem to hold up better than many of the alien world epsidodes. "Balance of Terror" and "The Corbomite Manuever" are good examples of this.

One of my favorites that doesn't get a lot of love (and is from the third season) is "Spectre of the Gun". The half sets, and dead serious Earps and Holiday make for an eerie story. Likw Kirk and crew are trapped in some western Hell. It works really well.

And a guilty pleasure is "The Paradise Syndrome". The location shooting makes this one work. If it had been on a sound stage it would have had no weight to it at all. I totally bought that Kirk would have been just as happy to remain Kirok with Miramanee.

Either her or Edith Keeler should have been with Kirk in the "ribbon"/Nexus in Generations. Missed opportunity there.

Chris

[Mikey]

................

Either her or Edith Keeler should have been with Kirk in the "ribbon"/Nexus in Generations. Missed opportunity there.

Chris

I don't think it would have ever happened...... even if the writer thought of it.

Berman clearly HATED the classic series, and if something like that ever was wrote in, Berman would have taken it out.

[palitoy]

Did Berman ever actually come out and say that? I mean that's the feeling I got from the bulk of his product but I was always curious if he ever made that known.

I can't see the good in trying to ignore the thing that inspired the whole following in the first place.

[Mikey]

I'm not sure if he went on record as saying it out loud.......

But the old rumours were, he told Gene from the very start he wasn't a fan of the show--- and Gene said "that's ok"--- Gene thinking, he'd be around forever.

I'm pretty sure Berman didn't start on Trek because he wanted too--- but was assigned there.

After Gene died, a man that wasn't a fan of the show was now in command of the entire franchise.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Developing Enterprise as a show set in Trek's past, with no ties to that past, is a pretty good indicator of what he thought of Classic Trek.

If only they had just done the Sulu series at some point...

Chris

[palitoy]

Developing Enterprise as a show set in Trek's past, with no ties to that past, is a pretty good indicator of what he thought of Classic Trek.

That's what I think did Trek in. Voyager wasn't really packing them in except for existing fans and even they seemed tired of the premise.

Then they launch a series that has similiar issues and undermines continuity, turning off a lot of fans. It just didn't seem to be a wise move.



If only they had just done the Sulu series at some point...


If what is said about Berman is correct, it's understandable why they didn't go this route.

To me it seems like it would have been a big hit, you could have filled in the area between TOS and TNG. Lots of stories could have been mined from this. I mean Tuvok was a part of his crew, man, it had potential.

[txteach]

Worst episode ever-Spocks Brain. EEEWWWW

[palitoy]

Worst episode ever-Spocks Brain. EEEWWWW

yeah but so entertaining in a "Plan 9" kind of way, i cannot look away.

[Mikey]

Spock's Brain was more of a communication breakdown or a possible sabotage of the show.....

In short. it was written as a comedy by the two Gene's ..... Coon under his alias Lee Cronin.

New producer Freiberger deamed the script not appropriate for a Star Trek episode.

Instead of just using another story, Spock's Brain was re-written as "serious".

I almost believe this was an attempt by Gene to sabotage the show--- considering it's the first episode of season-3 ....... fresh off the heels of Roddenberry going from producer to ex. producer--- which, in other words means he basically did nothing.

[thunderbolt]

Don't know all the titles, but I liked the Gangster one, the Nazi one, the one with Spock's dad and the Andorian spy. Anything with Romulans and Klingons. Ohh, and the big space log that eats ships. :biggrin:

[Steeler80]

I love Devil in the Dark
Amok Time
Journey to Babel
Charlie X
Doomsday Machine
Miri (?)

Is there a pattern in all of that?

[The Bat]

ARENA Baby! I loves Me some Gorn!!! Rubber Suit and all...He's one of My FAVORITE Alien's!

[Meule]

Definitely the aliens :grin:
But it's been so long since I've seen the show, I really need to get me the DVD's :please:

[huedell]

I'd have to check again, but it seems like no one really mentioned the
Tribbles episode or even the evil Kirk episode all that much, and how about
the one where Kirk and Spock go back in time & Spock wears the knit cap to cover up his ears?

Those are the only ones I really remember from childhood

[Mikey]

To me, Tribbles, Mirror-Mirror and City on the Edge -------- were all good episodes, but they've been so overplayed and over-rated, I just don't care for them much any more.
They're totally WORN OUT forever :)

It's kind of like the giant old lady Zone episode--- where the humans land in her attic.
Played 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 times in repeats :)
It used to be entertaining....... now it's just blahhh and i'd much rather watch something more obscure------ perhaps even something I didn't like before.