Has anyone ever seen an explanation of the naming process for Star Trek TOS episodes? I get that some are literally quotes/allusions... but many have a tangential (at best) relationship to the actual plot of the story. Were they aiming to be intentionally obtuse, or was it the result of editing changing the episode? "The Omega Glory" is the title that got me thinking of it... but there are plenty of examples.
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Star Trek TOS Episode Titles
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Yes, I think the titles are purposefully sometimes poetic or allusive. It was never off=putting to me that they weren't more literal. For example, I think "Who Mourns for Adonais?" and "Is There in Truth No Beauty" are beautiful, evocative titles.
On the flip side, there's Mudd's Women, The Corbomite Effect, Gamesters of Triskelion, Spock's Brain--bluntly descriptive. I wouldn't hold up The Omega Glory as an example of "good" Trek, title or otherwise.WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.Comment
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I think it was partly what Earth 2 Chris said, many of the writers were professional science fiction writers. Some of the titles come across as bizarre and grandiloquent until you think of the source of the script, such as City on the Edge of Forever. One of Ellison's famous books is called "The Beast that Shouted love at the heart of the world." That title also makes sense when you read the story, but he is also trying to be poetic, as with the Star Trek title. I see what you mean about Omega Glory. I think that was a Roddenberry script. I always thought it had to do with glory coming from the discovery of immortality that is derived from end. There had been an apocalypse of some sort and the reward was the extended life the population had, although they didn't even realize it was unusual. Tracey is seeking to exploit this for power and glory. I guess, maybe. Probably Roddenberry trying to sound like a professional science fiction writer.Comment
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Regardless of what they call the episodes I call them ……
The one with Apollo
The one with the giant log
The one with Joan Collins
The one with the city in the clouds
The one where Lee Meriwether says "I must touch you"
The one where Spock hangs upside down in the tree
The one with the OK Coral
etcComment
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I always felt Star Trek, more than any other series, had episode titles that were kind of deep. Not all, or course, but a lot of them.
Just for the heck of it I'm gonna see how many I can remember off the top of my head.
Arena
The Alternative Factor
Squire of Gothos
The Enemy Within
Corbomite Maneuver
The Apple
The Way to Eden
The Immunity Syndrome
Friday's Child
Who Mourns for Adonais
Spectre of the Gun
Catspaw
Space Seed
Galileo Seven
Return of the Archons
Miri
All Our Yesterdays
The Cloud Minders
A Private Little War
A Piece of the Action
Operation Annihilate
Amok Time
Spock's Brain
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
City on the Edge of Forever
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Man Trap
Charlie X
Mudd's Women
I, Mudd
Taste of Armageddon
Shore Leave
Wink of an Eye
For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
The Deadly Years
The Naked Time
The Enterprise Incident
Court Martial
Is There No Truth In Beauty?
The Omega Glory
This Side of Paradise
Requiem For Methuselah
Day of the Dove
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
Wolf In the Fold
Bread and Circuses
Gamesters of Triskelion
Plato's Stepchildren
That Which Survives
The Lights of Zetar
Metamorphosis
And the Children Shall Lead
The Tholian Web
The Ultimate Computer
The Changeling
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Devil In the Dark
The Empath
The Conscience of the King
And...that's all I can remember. I can remember the other episodes but not the titles...space Lincoln...the one where Kirk body swaps with a woman. Gary Seven...
Just remembered a few more...
The Cage
Errand of Mercy
Dagger of the Mind
The Menagerie
Balance of Terror
That's it...that's all I got. That space Lincoln episode is driving me crazy. Cannot think of it for the life of me and it's one of my favorites.Last edited by enyawd72; Jun 3, '20, 1:05 AM.Comment
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Poking the Bear or Testing the Waters might be a better titleComment
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"Savage Curtain" is another good example of a name that kinda makes sense if you really think about it, but still feels pretty random.
Don't get me wrong. I love the titles of the episodes and agree they give things a literary quality. It actually is one of the best Easter eggs in Discovery:
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I may be wrong, but I'm guessing this was a holdover from Bryan Fuller.Comment
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