The Star Trek Thread

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

Just now, RochesterRob said:

  He also authored The World of Star Trek back in the early 1970's.  There also was The Making of Star Trek that Gene Roddenberry co-authored.  It took until the 1990's to get out that a lot of the narrative that Roddenberry set out had great inaccuracies in it.  That Majel Barrett and NIchelle Nichols in fact were hired on because of their personal connection to Roddenberry versus professional reputation.  That NBC lost interest because the show was not very profitable rather than not understanding the show.  That Roddenberry was not the sole inspiration nor sole contributor to the series from the studio offices.  Despite all that they were good reads for people that were interested in the television industry.  Someday I will read through These are the Voyages.

 

Have all those.

 

And it took until the '90s, because it only became politic to point out Roddenberry was a bit of a loon after he mismanaged the first season of ST:TNG.

 

And it wasn't very profitable, because NBC didn't understand it.  Airing it at times when its core audience wasn't going to watch it?  Although I could also make a case that NBC also killed it because they simply got sick of dealing with Roddenberry.

[RochesterRob]

12 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

Have all those.

 

And it took until the '90s, because it only became politic to point out Roddenberry was a bit of a loon after he mismanaged the first season of ST:TNG.

 

And it wasn't very profitable, because NBC didn't understand it.  Airing it at times when its core audience wasn't going to watch it?  Although I could also make a case that NBC also killed it because they simply got sick of dealing with Roddenberry.

  Air time had nothing to do with production costs.  NBC could only bill so much to sponsors.  From NBC's standpoint it made more sense to put the higher margin shows on earlier in the evening or mid-week to maximize profits. Just because Star Trek came in at around 180K dollars per episode did not mean that the rest of the line up was close to that.  I'd bet that there were far more sponsors lined up for other shows because they most likely understood more about a sitcom, family show, or western than a science fiction piece that did not have a monster of the week type formula.  CBS LOVED All in the Family because initially it had two low budget sets and four to that point unknown actors under contract with huge revenue pouring in.  

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode This Side of Paradise airing Wednesday September 8 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a routine visit to a remote agricultural colony leads to the discovery that despite deadly cosmic rays the colonists are in fact alive and in perfect health.  This is all due to a native plant which creates a condition that suggests that the colonists were drug addled.    Captain Kirk through experience finds that the condition can be neutralized by strong emotion and this leads to restored order among the colonists and Enterprise crew.  

 

 

  Guest Stars : Jill Ireland as a colonist that also has a connection to Spock as she knew him prior to his assignment to the Enterprise.  Ireland has no trouble exuding the passiveness passed by the plants and later the sloppy affection based emotion once the spores have been rendered inert.  Also known as Mrs Charles Bronson and Mr Majestyk himself was rumored to be on the set while her scenes were being filmed.  Frank Overton as Elias Sandoval the leader of the colony.  Overton was not asked to do a lot but does well to convey the initial indignity then the bucket of cold water reality that the colonists were not accomplishing anything on Omicron Ceti III.  Blink or you will miss Grant Woods' final appearance as the capable Lt Kelowitz as the crew was abandoning the Enterprise.

 

 

  Plot : Things were changing socially on the West Coast by early 1967 and this episode is a statement to the coming cultural upheaval.  The plant spores might as well have been marijuana buds for what the story was trying to get across.  Do drugs and in particular MJ make people unmotivated and wanting to drop out of society?  I'm thinking that the spores probably blew the doors off of MJ as obviously the Enterprise crew did not care that at some point another starship would be sent to see why the Enterprise went silent and in the process a very dim view of the mutiny might be taken complete with court martial.  A big gamble was taken with Spock going native so to speak.  Would he not be the first to shake off the spores due to his Vulcan constitution?  He did after all shake off the effect of the Venus drug the earliest in Mudd's Women after an embarrassing early go round in the transporter room.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : A good episode for Deforest Kelley.  His approach bypassed the obvious addled condition of the others and simply reflected the mood of a man looking for a change.  Sulu seems to be the go to specimen in Season 1 for a crewman who has taken complete leave of his senses.  The Naked Time, The Return of The Archons, and now This Side of Paradise.  As an actor it was interesting to see Nimoy jump right in the pool of emotion for his character.  Shatner earned his paycheck for staring into the transporter console and short out the effect of the spores with an emphatic "No."

 

 

  Writing : While Nimoy did good with his material it was perhaps a little overdone in terms of dialogue.  Some of the time for that dialogue might have been better used with Kelley.   I thought that the script was maybe a little too planet heavy but maybe was needed to fill out the time.  I don't know that I would have made the coming drug culture quite so obvious but that is what we got.  Kirk's dialogue is quite dated in reference to Spock's father being a computer and Spock being placed next to the dog-faced boy.  It should have been reworked prior to filming to avoid the dated at the time references.

 

 

  Music : A lot of reused material but effective.

 

 

  Props (bonus) : I know that the show was on a budget but the crew cultivating supposed crops with spades was quite anachronistic even for a colony turning its back on technology.  Looks like the prop people raided a low budget auto parts store when we glimpse under the bridge's communication console.  They also really needed that young Irish woman from a TNG episode involving wayward colonists to get these people on track.

 

 

  Summary : Competent work from all actors involved.  Kind of a Joe Friday take on culture but that was what was laid out for the viewers.  Mrs. Charles Bronson.  I give it a B-.  

Edited September 8, 2021 by RochesterRob

[RochesterRob]

  B-Man.  Just wondering if you had any input that you would like to pass along.  PM me if you prefer.  

[B-Man]

1 hour ago, RochesterRob said:

  B-Man.  Just wondering if you had any input that you would like to pass along.  PM me if you prefer.  

 

Not really.

 

I do like the breakdown format that you are using. Plot, Guest Stars, Writing, etc.  It makes it so much easier to follow the review along than a huge paragraph of words.

 

More about the guest stars (besides their performance) as you did with Jill Ireland is welcome. An old TV nerd like me loves that type of info.

 

Are you thinking of eventually doing every episode or are you thinking of doing other Star Trek series ?  At this point I am probably more familiar with TNG.

 

 

 

ADDED.

Your posts have also inspired me to (possibly, when I have time) to start a series about famous "Character Actors" from the past and present..........We'll see.

 

 

[RochesterRob]

On 9/8/2021 at 12:00 PM, B-Man said:

 

Not really.

 

I do like the breakdown format that you are using. Plot, Guest Stars, Writing, etc.  It makes it so much easier to follow the review along than a huge paragraph of words.

 

More about the guest stars (besides their performance) as you did with Jill Ireland is welcome. An old TV nerd like me loves that type of info.

 

Are you thinking of eventually doing every episode or are you thinking of doing other Star Trek series ?  At this point I am probably more familiar with TNG.

 

 

 

ADDED.

Your posts have also inspired me to (possibly, when I have time) to start a series about famous "Character Actors" from the past and present..........We'll see.

 

 

  For right now I am going to stick with TOS and a once per week review.  I'll probably do TNG at some point but if someone else wants to do it then they are welcome.  To keep the thread from fatiguing that should be done at a rate of one per week.  I wanted to do more in terms of actors when I was reviewing Mudd's Women but got frustrated that I could not figure out a way to do a draft before a post so I could be thorough and minimize errors.  My wife has been super busy as of late but maybe when she has time she can help figure something out.  I look forward to any material you want to present whether it be here or another thread.  

Edited September 10, 2021 by RochesterRob

[Wacka]

Last week on MeTV, they had Spock's Brain on with t

one of the most famous lines of all the series "Brain and Brain. What is Brain?"

Edited September 8, 2021 by Wacka

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

19 hours ago, Wacka said:

Last week on MeTV, they had Spock's Brain on with t

one of the most famous lines of all the series "Brain and Brain. What is Brain?"

 

I think of that line every time I hear AOC speak.  Then I think of "...Ion power."

 

God, what a stupid episode.  Not as bad as The Apple...but close.

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Amok Time airing Wednesday September 15 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes and Icons.  In short a biological imbalance in Spock sends the Enterprise to Spock's home world of Vulcan.  Things are further complicated when Spock's chosen mating prospect demands a replacement and Kirk is thrust into a primal showdown.  McCoy devises an exit plan for Kirk out of the contest saving both Kirk's and Spock's lives.  At the end honor is preserved and the Federation's reputation is enhanced.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Celia Lovsky as T'Pau leader of Vulcan.  Lovsky does an excellent job of playing her character as very emotionally dry and stern.  Lovsky was born in Hungary and was one just like fellow Hungarian Bela Lugosi that could never shake her homeland accent which handicapped her Hollywood career.  I think in this episode she was able to lighten it enough to have a positive effect here.  She was also was married to actor Peter Lorre.  Arlene Martel as Spock's chosen mate T'Pring.  Workman like in her role.  Must not be half bad as an actress as she also played the underground agent Tiger in Hogan's Heroes and appeared in other 1960's sitcoms.  

 

 

  Plot : Kirk bucks orders by diverting the Enterprise to Vulcan versus heading to a diplomatic showcase.  Even for Kirk I believe it stretches credibility for him to violate such an important order.  Trying to imagine a satisfactory conversation between T'Pau and Starfleet Command where Kirk is taken off of the hook in terms of going against orders and can't see one.  Remember Vulcans do not lie so what does T'Pau say when she is asked if she requested the diversion of the Enterprise.  T'Pring is not interested in marriage to Spock but wants his assets and works the system to accomplish her goals.  As modern as Vulcan appears to be socially in some respects it sure relies on some ancient social practices to maintain order.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Watch the episode.  Good all the way around for the main Trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  A top 5 episode for Nimoy as he displays the requisite pent up inner rage of a man "going into heat" so to speak.  The Spock-McCoy ongoing contest is perhaps best balanced here.  McCoy shows good control of the situation as Spock has to under go medical examination.  We also get the debut of Ensign Chekov here and a good launch by Koenig.

 

 

  Writing : A lot gets accomplished in an hour here but just a tad bogged down in the fight between Kirk and Spock.  No quibbles with the dialog whatsoever with any of the characters.  

 

 

  Music : A whole new set of scores were written for this episode and  would be reused quite a bit for the remainder of the series.  The much bandied and somewhat parodied fight music debuts.

 

 

  Summary : I love any episode that provides pieces to the puzzle of character or Federation history and this episode is like Christmas morning in that respect.  Probably the best episode for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to interact as friends and professional associates.  Good supporting actor in Lovsky.  I give it an A.  Might have been an A + if the diversion had a better explanation in terms of satisfying Starfleet.  

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Catspaw airing Wednesday on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes and Icons.  In short an exploration mission of a planet goes haywire when a crewmen presumed alive is beamed up dead.  Kirk, Spock, and McCoy upon beaming down find a castle complete with a sorcerer and sorceress plus dungeons, shackles, black cats, plus the mentally subdued landing party consisting of Scott and Sulu.  McCoy is the next to be rendered under the power of the inhabitants but once Kirk figures out the source of that power he turns the tables on those same inhabitants.  Scott, Sulu, and McCoy are returned to normal and the sorcerer and sorceress are revealed to be aliens from another galaxy but without their power they cannot survive.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Antoinette Bower as Sylvia the sorceress.  I really did not enjoy her performance here and somebody else might have proven better at this.  I'm thinking that her agent did not brace her for working on Star Trek.  She did have one good moment as she bellows at Kirk about taking over in our galaxy.  Jimmy Jones as crewman Jackson not really noteworthy due to minimal air time but the "dead" fall down off of the transporter pad was very impressive.  Theodore Marcuse as Korob the assistant sorcerer.  A little more believable here versus Bower.  Marcuse was heavily used as a bad guy on 1960's shows such as Batman, The Wild Wild West, and Hogan's Heroes.

 

 

  Plot : OK, these aliens want to eventually conquer our galaxy but the warm up is to turn a few Enterprise crewmen into mindless minions?  It's hard for me to go much further on this knowing that NBC ordered from Desilu soon to be Paramount Gulf & Western (sounds like it should be a fictional Lionel Trains railroad line) a Halloween episode.  Hence the imagery of dungeons, black cats, and sorcerers.  Given how Star Trek pushed the envelope sexually including seeing the panties of Marianna Hill (Dagger of the Mind) maybe another direction should have been taken with the dungeon and shackles.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Boredom was starting to set in at this point in the series.  Shatner, Nimoy, and Co saw a weak script but rather than compensate they more or less phoned it in.  Can't really hate them for it as there was little to work with.

 

 

  Writing : The pacing is fair but the dialog fairly forgettable.  This started off with a contribution by noted SF writer Robert Bloch but how it got to where it was when the cameras started rolling I hate to imagine.

 

 

  Music : Pretty much recycled material used adequately.

 

 

  Summary : I really want to be fair about this episode despite knowing how it was conceived.  I really want to get excited about unusual aliens in a bid to take over the galaxy but cannot.  I give it a D. 

 

 

  Post note : I would have preferred to review something good such as tonight's The Doomsday Machine but I try to stay true to my review schedule.  As they say on the farm while the cows give good milk (good Star Trek episodes) you still have to shovel some crap (review not so good episodes). 

Edited September 21, 2021 by RochesterRob

[Joe]

Kirk > Picard >everyone else

 

i said it

 

[Koko]

3 hours ago, Joe said:

Kirk > Picard >everyone else

 

i said it

 

 

Yeah, but Sisko would kick all their asses at baseball!

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

3 hours ago, Joe said:

Kirk > Picard >everyone else

 

i said it

 

 

While I agree, I also have to point out that Kirk > Picard because when creating the character of Picard, they basically took Kirk and split half of him off in to Riker.

[RochesterRob]

1 hour ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

While I agree, I also have to point out that Kirk > Picard because when creating the character of Picard, they basically took Kirk and split half of him off in to Riker.

  Transporter accident (just kidding)?

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

44 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  Transporter accident (just kidding)?

 

"The Enemy Within."

 

That stupid &#%$ing dog creature...

[devnull]

7 hours ago, B-Man said:

 

 

 

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ACTOR HAS GONE BEFORE: 

 

William Shatner’s Going to Space on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Rocket Ship.

 

Well, this is the 21st century, you know.

 

 

 

 

 

That's awesome.  But I gotta ask. 

 

How much of my prime membership was spent launching an obese elderly canadian into space?

[RochesterRob]

14 hours ago, devnull said:

 

That's awesome.  But I gotta ask. 

 

How much of my prime membership was spent launching an obese elderly canadian into space?

  Better question is does he get to sing Rocket Man as part of his flight?

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Obsession airing this Wednesday on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a routine planet survey produces a creature from Kirk's past.  This being penetrated a starship killing half the crew and inducing a guilt complex in Kirk in that if Kirk acted differently the tragedy could have been averted.  Things are complicated by the fact that a young ensign is the son of the captain of the doomed ship.  After playing cat and mouse with the creature its appearance on a planet provides an opportunity to kill it with an antimatter explosive which proves successful.

 

 

  Guest Star :  Stephen Brooks as Ensign Garrovick.  Competent but not attention grabbing here.  Brooks appeared on the series The FBI and his career peaked around the same time during the mid-1960's.  He also spent some time on Days of Our Lives.

 

 

  Plot :  We have seen the issue of a commander consumed with guilt in Matt Decker.  So this is a not all that much after rehash of The Doomsday Machine but with no death wish by Kirk unlike Decker.  Further, another episode that flirts with a form of vampirism just like we saw with The Man Trap in Season 1.  Too convenient for a direct connection to Kirk's past with the creature to appear here.  I'd rather have had a cousin of Kirk pop up here that perhaps was in the line of flight.........Oh, never mind.  Once again just like with Conscience of the King we get Spock and McCoy teaming up to find out if Kirk's judgement in dealing with the Creature is sound.  Impulse engine vent left open to provide a convenient way for the creature to counter attack.  Kirk and Ensign Garrovick engage in a slugfest as the creature closes in.  Was that really necessary other than perhaps as a time filler?

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : KIrk does well to show some feelings of persecution when Spock and McCoy question him.  I liked that the episode workload was divided up between the big three (Kirk, Spock, and McCoy) and Scott plus Chekov.  

 

 

  Writing : All the characters were given good dialog.  Some time was wasted here and there such as the previously mentioned brawl on the planet surface.  Maybe some of that time would have been better used with Kirk and his previous encounter with the creature.  

 

 

  Music : A lot reused from other episodes such as The Doomsday Machine but was very effective here.

 

 

  Special Effects Bonus : excellent rendition of the planet after the antimatter explosion in the remastered cut.

 

 

  Summary :  All in all a decent episode for Kirk despite the issues I had with the plot.  Although a repeat with Spock and McCoy questioning Kirk's judgement it was done fairly well.  An opportunity for Nimoy to stretch his legs a little in an episode that did not offer much for him otherwise.  Generally enjoyable but some plot points could not be ignored in terms of criticism such as the impulse engine vents.  I give it a C +.  

Edited September 28, 2021 by RochesterRob

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

37 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  This week's review will be of the episode Obsession airing this Wednesday on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a routine planet survey produces a creature from Kirk's past.  This being penetrated a starship killing half the crew and inducing a guilt complex in Kirk in that if Kirk acted differently the tragedy could have been averted.  Things are complicated by the fact that a young ensign is the son of the captain of the doomed ship.  After playing cat and mouse with the creature its appearance on a planet provides an opportunity to kill it with an antimatter explosive which proves successful.

 

 

  Guest Star :  Stephen Brooks as Ensign Garrovick.  Competent but not attention grabbing here.  Brooks appeared on the series The FBI and his career peaked around the same time during the mid-1960's.  He also spent some time on Days of Our Lives.

 

 

  Plot :  We have seen the issue of a commander consumed with guilt in Matt Decker.  So this is a not all that much after rehash of The Doomsday Machine but with no death wish by Kirk unlike Decker.  Further, another episode that flirts with a form of vampirism just like we saw with The Man Trap in Season 1.  Too convenient for a direct connection to Kirk's past with the creature to appear here.  I'd rather have had a cousin of Kirk pop up here that perhaps was in the line of flight.........Oh, never mind.  Once again just like with Conscience of the King we get Spock and McCoy teaming up to find out if Kirk's judgement in dealing with the Creature is sound.  Impulse engine vent left open to provide a convenient way for the creature to counter attack.  Kirk and Ensign Garrovick engage in a slugfest as the creature closes in.  Was that really necessary other than perhaps as a time filler?

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : KIrk does well to show some feelings of persecution when Spock and McCoy question him.  I liked that the episode workload was divided up between the big three (Kirk, Spock, and McCoy) and Scott plus Chekov.  

 

 

  Writing : All the characters were given good dialog.  Some time was wasted here and there such as the previously mentioned brawl on the planet surface.  Maybe some of that time would have been better used with Kirk and his previous encounter with the creature.  

 

 

  Music : A lot reused from other episodes such as The Doomsday Machine but was very effective here.

 

 

  Special Effects Bonus : excellent rendition of the planet after the antimatter explosion in the remastered cut.

 

 

  Summary :  All in all a decent episode for Kirk despite the issues I had with the plot.  Although a repeat with Spock and McCoy questioning Kirk's judgement it was done fairly well.  An opportunity for Nimoy to stretch his legs a little in an episode that did not offer much for him otherwise.  Generally enjoyable but some plot points could not be ignored in terms of criticism such as the impulse engine vents.  I give it a C +.  

 

You know...when you think about it, a surprising number of Star Trek episodes and movies were nothing more than retellings of Moby Dick.

[RochesterRob]

17 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

You know...when you think about it, a surprising number of Star Trek episodes and movies were nothing more than retellings of Moby Dick.

  There were definitely issues in terms of creating new stories.  Charlie X comes shortly after the second pilot WNMHGB in terms of godlike beings derived from humans.  Not long after KIrk bumps heads with a Federation authority in The Galileo Seven he does so again in A Taste of Armageddon.  Supreme beings in Arena then again a few episodes down the line in Errand of Mercy.  For me my love of the show in substantial part is in the concepts, characters, and imagined technology.  Most of the stories are well conceived but there are quite a number of series that do better in the story and writing departments.  

Edited September 28, 2021 by RochesterRob