"Star Trek" (The Original Series, 1966-1969), Created by Gene Roddenberry, Starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy

[DonRocks]

"Star Trek" (TOS) Main Cast 
Series created by Gene Roddenberry

William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as First Officer Spock
DeForest Kelley as Doctor Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott
George Takei as Helmsman Hikaru Sulu
Nichelle Nichols as Communications Officer Nyota Uhura
Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekhov
Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel
Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Janice Rand

Eddie Paskey furtively appeared in 57 episodes, most famously as Lieutenant Leslie.

Season 1 (Sep 8, 1966 - Apr 13, 1967)
 (available for free on Amazon Prime)

1.0 - "The Cage" (Pilot) - Original Air Date November 27, 1988 (not a typo): 
Directed by Robert Butler, Written by Gene Roddenberry (Creator of "Star Trek")
Featuring Jeffrey Hunter (Martin Pawley in "The Searchers," Harold in "Don't Look Behind You" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"), Susan Oliver (Annabel Delaney in "Annabel" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (2), 3 Episodes on "Route 66"), Teenya in "People Are Alike All Over" on "The Twilight Zone"), Meg Wylie (Sister Florence in "The Night of the Meek" on "The Twilight Zone" (2)), John Hoyt (Principal Warneke in "Blackboard Jungle," Ross in "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" and Dr. Loren in "The Lateness of the Hour" on "The Twilight Zone" (3), Bifrost Alien in "The Bellero Shield" on "The Outer Limits") 

Pilot “The Cage” [Completed Jan 22, 1965] (Robert Butler (NNY)) Jeffrey Hunter (Captain Christopher Pike) Majel Barrett (Number One), John Hoyt (Dr. Phillip Boyce), Susan Oliver (Vina), Meg Wyllie (The Keeper), Peter Duryea (Lieutenant José Tyler), Laurel Goodwin (Yeoman J.M. Colt), Clegg Hoyt (Transporter Chief Pitcairn), Malachi Throne (The Keeper (voice)), Michael Dugan (The Kaylar), Georgia Schmidt (First Talasian), Robert C. Johnson (First Talasian (voice)), John Burnside (Bridge member, uncredited), Carol Daniels (Bridge member, uncredited), Michael Dugan (the Kalar Warrior, uncredited), Joe Evans (survivor, uncredited), Sandra Lee Gimpell (Talosian, uncredited), Anthony Jochim (third survivor, uncredited), Bob Johnson (first Talosian (voice), uncredited), Jon Lormer (Dr. Theodore Haskins, uncredited), Ed Madden (Enterprise geologist, uncredited), William McCarter (survivor, uncredited), Joseph Mell (Earth trader, uncredited), Leonard Mudie (second survivor, uncredited), William H. O’Brien (survivor, uncredited), Robert Phillips (Space Officer Orion, uncredited), Janos Prohaska (anthropoid ape, uncredited), Adam Rourke (CPO Garrison, uncredited), Serena Sande (second Talosian, uncredited), Rube Schaffer (survivor, uncredited), Georgia Schmidt (first Talosian, uncredited), Felix Silla (Talosian, uncredited), Malachi Throne (The Keeper (voice), uncredited)

[Many, and I would venture to say "Most," don't realize that the primary Talosian is played by a woman, Meg Wylie. It's truly interesting to see her in "The Night of the Meek," because you can get a good look at her as she's leading a prayer service. Susan Oliver is the famous "Green Girl" who is every guy's Dream Girl, pictured at the close of many Star Trek episodes. John Hoyt plays a solid (if critically overrated) role as the principal in "Blackboard Jungle." This is not *the* most enjoyable of episodes, but the more you watch Star Trek, the more you realize that it's *such* a classic, that it's important enough to demand a viewing, if not several. It's an important work, and sets everything in motion, but in my opinion, the two-part "remake" - "The Menagerie" - improves upon this original, and integrates this "true pilot" episode with the rest of the series, and if you have to watch one or the other, make it "The Menagerie," but that in no way detracts from the value of this, which eventually deserves its own viewing. The series was right to eventually publish this as its own episode in 1988.]

1.1 - "The Man Trap," - September 8, 1966 - 
Directed by Marc Daniels (Director of the first 38 episodes of "I Love Lucy"), Written by George Clayton Johnson (Writer of "Ocean's Eleven" (Novel), Writer of 7 episodes of "The Twilight Zone" (4), Co-Writer of "Logan's Run" (Novel))
Featuring Jeanne Bal (Penny Foster in "An Effigy in Snow" on "Route 66" (2)), Alfred Ryder (Goudy in "True Grit"), Michael Zaslow (Roger Thorpe on "The Guiding Light"), John Arndt (Mr. Pool in "Amy"), Bruce Watson (Technician in "Johnny Got His Gun," Tom in "The Swinging Barmaids") Budd Albright (Stuntman on all 76 episodes of "The Name of the Game"), Sandra Lee Gimpel (Prolific stuntwoman who also played a Talosian in "The Cage"), Ed Madden as Enterprise Geologist (Dr. Gary in "Man in a Chariot" on "The Fugitive")

[The death of Crewman Darnell (Michael Zaslow) was supposedly the impetus of the first-ever utterance of the now-legendary line by Dr. McCoy, "He's dead, Jim" - or, at least. so say the reviews online, but, pssst, here's a detail: McCoy actually says, "Dead, Jim." And for the record, after the second death of Crewman Sturgeon (John Arndt), McCoy said, "He's dead." So, we still have no, "He's dead, Jim." Crewman Green (Bruce Watson) was the third death, but The Salt Vampire (technically named the "M-113 Creature") stole his identity, so there was no report at all of any death from McCoy to Kirk. Navigator Barnhart (Budd Albright) was reported via communicator from Sulu to Kirk as "Casualty, Captain," so despite the first four deaths in this episode, there's not a single "He's dead, Jim." And Professor Robert Crater (Alfred Ryder) makes *five deaths* in one episode, but Kirk noticed him, and simply said, "Dead." The Salt Vampire - like the primary Talosian, played by a woman: the successful and prolific Hollywood stuntwoman, Sandra Lee Gimpel, is the sixth and final death - I cannot remember *any* Star Trek episode with six deaths - five human - in sequence (as opposed to en masse). Also, I think there's a philosophical inconsistency here with wanting to destroy the creature (instead of simply feeding it with salt) as opposed to, for example, The Horta in "The Devil in the Dark." This was not a murderous creature; it was merely trying to eat. All deceased characters are listed by t (heir real names up above - and who knew that both primary alien-antagonists in the first two episodes were played by females? I'm probably the only person on Earth who knows, or cares, about things like this - God, I'm a loser, but damn I'm good at ferreting out detail. NB - About 2/3 of the way through the episode, immediately after Professor Robert Crater fires on Kirk and Spock to frighten them, Spock crawls backwards - in my opinion, it would be physically impossible to do this without having a production assistant pulling on his right leg: I think he was being pulled backwards - have a look and see what you think.]

1.2 - "Charlie X" - September 14, 1966 - 
Directed by Lawrence Dobkin (Kell in "The Mind's Eye" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), Written by - Teleplay: Dorothy C. Fontana (Co-Writer of 5 episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (2)), Story: Gene Roddenberry (2)
Featuring Robert Walker (Michael Ely in "Across Walnuts and Wine" on "Route 66" (3) Jack (communist - the very first (and very last) person you see here) in "Easy Rider"), Charles J. Stewart (Clergyman in "Marsha, Queen of Diamonds" and "Marsha's Scheme of Diamonds" on "Batman"), Dallas Mitchell (Chat Hollis in "Even Stones Have Eyes" on "Route 66" (4) Tom Gavin in "Madigan"), Pat McNulty (Computer Technician in "The House of God"), Bob Herron (U.S. Navy boxing champion, Prolific stuntman), Don Eitner (Tony Barrata in "Queen of Blood"), Abraham Sofaer (Dr. Stillman on "The Mighty Casey" on "The Twilight Zone" (5), Arch on "Demon with a Glass Hand" on "The Outer Limits" (2), Haji on "I Dream of Jeannie")

[Did you know that "Charlie X" (Charlie is played by Robert Walker) took its inspiration from "It's a Good Life," the infamous "Twilight Zone" episode which featured Bill Mumy as a little boy, terrorizing, and in complete control of, seemingly everything and everybody? If you've seen both episodes, the similarities will become instantly obvious to you, and if you notice the (very brief, but very obvious) actions of Antares Captain Ramart (Charles J. Stewart) and Navigator Tom Nellis (Dallas Mitchell), they're almost *exactly* like those of the townspeople in "It's a Good Life," although if you look at Charlie's face immediately beforehand, they were either willed into, or scared into, saying the nice things they did. About a third of the way through the episode, you'll hear a transmission to the bridge from the ship's galley (it's Thanksgiving), which says, "Sir, I put meat loaf in the ovens; there's turkeys in there now" - that voice is none other than Gene Roddenberry's, making a cameo. When Kirk takes Charlie into the workout area, the burly gentleman (Bob Herron) Kirk picks out to help him demonstrate some judo throws makes the mistake of momentarily laughing at Charlie, and Charlie sends him "to the cornfield," as the folks in "It's a Good Life" might say. Right after that, Kirk calls security, and two crewmen come in to take Charlie to his quarters, where he has now been confined - distrustful and angry, Charlie mentally knocks them down, and makes one of their phasers disappear - this kid is quickly becoming an obvious threat of unfathomable power, all controlled by the glands of an out-or-control, mercurial, 17-year-old who thinks everyone hates him and is "out to get him." Kirk takes enormous risk by standing up to him as a stern, paternal figure, when he knows full well that Charlie could blink him out of existence at any moment. At this moment, the viewer should take note of the brilliant lighting employed on Charlie's eyes (this is done throughout the episode), making him look even more supernatural and threatening. The possibility arises that Charlie is actually a Thasian - legendary "beings" with powers of transmutation, but McCoy swears that this isn't so - Charlie's readings are clearly those of an Earthling. The Navigator on the bridge during this time of crisis is a new, possibly one-time-only actor, played by Don Eitner, instructed by Kirk to lay in a course *away* from Colony Five, Kirk's hypothesis being that Charlie is too dangerous to be there. You know, for someone so uneducated, Charlie sure has a way with making Spock recite passages from William Blake (which Spock pulls off brilliantly). They wrote Kirk's Yeoman, Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) off the show after several episodes of the first season - a shame, really, because Janice had the perfect combination of "beauty" and "bitch" - and that braided hair! Thankfully, when things are looking really bad, Deus ex Machina cometh to the rescue in the form of The Thasian (Abraham Sofaer)]
 
1.3 - "Where No Man Has Gone Before" - September 21, 1966 - 
Directed by James Goldstone (Director of "The Sixth Finger" and "The Inheritors" on "The Outer Limits"), Written by Samuel A. Peeples (Co-Writer of "Walking Tall: Final Chapter")
Featuring Gary Lockwood (Frank Poole in "2001: A Space Odyssey," Jim Figg in "The Ring with the Red Velvet Ropes" in "Night Gallery"), Sally Kellerman (Ingrid Larkman in "The Human Factor" and Judith Bellero in "The Bellero Shield" (2) on "The Outer Limits," Sally Benner in "Thou Still Unravished Bride" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (3), as Major Margaret J. "Hot Lips" Hoolihan in MASH), Lloyd Haynes (Pete Dixon on "Room 222"), Paul Carr (Young man in "The Wrong Man"), Paul Fix (Judge Taylor in "To Kill a Mockingbird")

[Wow, I cannot imagine how "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was televised after the first two episodes, at least not without a *lot* of explaining - either that, or television audiences in 1966 were so unobservant that they may as well have been staring at a blank screen. There are so many discrepancies between this (which was obviously filmed before the other two, just like "The Cage") and episodes 1 and 2, that it's almost like two different shows. Where do I even begin? There's Mr. Spock, who looks and acts completely different than the Vulcan we all came to know and love, the uniforms, the anomaly at the edge of the galaxy (which we never hear about again) and the equipment (for example, the "phaser rifle," which makes its only appearance in the entire series here), and that's just for starters. There *must* have been some commentary (in TV Guide? in the preview?) about how this was an early, experimental episode that represented Star Trek as it might have been, but isn't. When I was a kid watching reruns, I always wondered why some Star Treks were "different," with a strange-looking Mr. Spock, and just a different overall "feel," but you don't really question things when you're a child. Aside from these enormous differences, there's one blatant discrepancy: the name on Kirk's grave: "James P. Kirk," when his name was actually "James Tiberius Kirk," which I suppose was decided on later, assuming audiences wouldn't be watching episodes fifty-years later on Hulu. Gary Lockwood had a major role in "2001: A Space Odyssey," but then essentially vanished, and Sally Kellerman played "Hot Lips Hoolihan" (who we usually associate with Loretta Swit) in the movie version of "MASH" - this episode almost certainly helped them land both of those roles. The ending of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is perhaps the first time we see the "softer side" of Captain Kirk, as he makes special mentions for both Mitchell (Lockwood) and Denner (Kellerman) in the official log, declaring that they both died in the line of duty (which, in truth, they did).]

1.4 - "The Naked Time" - September 28, 1966 - 
Directed by: Marc Daniels (2), Written by: John D. F. Black (Co-Writer of "The Naked Now" on "Star Trek - The Next Generation" (3))
Featuring: Bruce Hyde as Lt. Kevin Thomas Riley (Professor of Communication Studies at St. Cloud State University), Stewart Moss as Lt. Joe Tormolen (Dr. John Beck in "The Bat People." Website)

[One of the most amusing (and uncharacteristic) lines in the entire series occurred when Sulu appeared on the bridge with his rapier, Spock takes him down with the Vulcan Neck Pinch, and then says, "Get d'Artagnan here to Sick Bay." Another gem was just before that when Sulu says to Uhura, "I'll save you, fair maiden!" and Uhura replies, "Neither." Although Bruce Hyde did a fine job as Lt. Riley, I found his "Irish Ballad" *so* annoying that I have a hard time watching this episode - viewers almost need to filter it out to preserve their sanity. George Takei, in his autobiography, "To the Stars," mentions that "The Naked Time" is his favorite episode. The funniest piece of trivia is near the beginning of the episode, when Spock and Tormolen are on planet Psi 2000 in their red suits, hovering over a frozen woman - in real life, the woman was a mannequin, and the red suits (remember, the show was on a very tight budget) were repurposed 1960s Art Deco-style shower curtains - ponder, for a moment, just how low-rent this is, and how silly the actors must have felt.]

1.5 - "The Enemy Within" - Oct 5, 1966 - 
Directed by: Leo Penn (Primetime Emmy Award Nominee for Outstanding Director in a Drama Series for "The Mississippi," Father of Sean Penn), Written by: Richard Matheson (Writer of 16 episodes of "The Twilight Zone" (6), "Duel," The Big Surprise" and "The Funeral" on "Night Gallery" (2))
Featuring: Jim Goodwin as Farrell (Fakir in "Emperor of the North"), Ed Madden (2) as Fisher

[It says a lot about male nature that the first thing Alter-Ego Kirk does is go for the Saurian Brandy (and yet, he *didn't* go for Yeoman Rand; until he had a couple of drinks - then, he does. That was a pretty racy shot of Rand running away from Kirk, btw.). I didn't realize that Ed Madden (the geologist Fisher), who slipped and fell down the rock, covering himself in yellow powder, was also the geologist in "The Cage," having small speaking roles in both episodes. It's odd that, after Scotty showed both Spock and Kirk the dog (who was also beamed up with its fierce alter-ego), that they didn't instantly piece together the possibility of an alter-ego Kirk. Speaking of which, William Shatner is *much* better at portraying the "Gentle Kirk" than the alter-ego Kirk - he has a terrible makeup job, and this is one of the first (of many) examples of his horrific overacting. "The Enemy Within" is the episode with Sulu and the landing party stranded on the planet's surface, which goes down to -120 degrees Farenheit at night (they nearly freeze to death). Why couldn't the Enterprise have shot a phaser down onto the surface and heated up a rock for temporary warmth?]
 
1.6 - "Mudd's Women" - Oct 13, 1966 -  
Directed by Harvey Hart (Directed 5 episodes of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (4)), Written by - Teleplay: Stephen Kandel (Screenplay for "Battle of the Coral Sea"), Story: Gene Roddenberry (3)
Featuring Roger C. Carmel as Leo Walsh aka Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Rogel Buell in "The Mothers-in-Law"), Karen Steele as Eve McHuron (Virginia in "Marty"), Susan Denberg as Magda Kovacs (Christina in "Frankenstein Created Woman"), Maggie Thrett as Ruth Bonaventure (Prostitute in "Cover Me Babe"), Gene Dynarski as Ben Childress (Man in Cafe in "Duel" (2)), Jim Goodwin as Lieutenant John Farrell (Fakir in "Emperor of the North")

["Bridge to Transporter Room ..."  "It's looking like two, Captain." As harmless as it seems, this is an early example (a late example?) of human trafficking - an exact contemporary to the 1967 Comedy, "Thoroughly Modern Millie," the viewer needs to suspend belief about this portion to be able to flow with the comedic aspects of this episode - for example, when the three lovely ladies beam aboard, Scottie, McCoy, and a couple others are hypnotized by the three ladies' beauty, and the dialog - Mudd (talking about Kirk's directness over the intercomm): "That fellow sounded a mite upset, didn't he?" McCoy (hypnotized, and not fully coherent): "Yes. Yes they are." None of this would be funny (which it is) if you can't suspend your knowledge of human trafficking, although the women in this case are somewhat willing participants, as Mudd gives them a hypnotic "beauty drug" so they can attract husbands - not only are they radiantly beautiful, but they also get what they want more than anything: a husband! Sure, it's somewhat neanderthal, but these are lonely miners on lonely planets without any female companionship, these beautiful women came from crummy situations they were happy to escape from, and this was filmed before human trafficking became exposed as a serious issue in our world (the late 1960s) - well, it's better than being Shanghaied, I suppose - now *that* would have sucked. Although "Mudd's Women" is considered a "comic Star Trek," the ship is in very real danger, and the Enterprise comes dangerously close to perishing - all because they were good-hearted enough to pluck Harry Mudd and his "cargo" out of the asteroid belt, almost completely draining their dilithium crystals in the process. This is a deceptively complex episode, with several storylines running in parallel.]
 
Episode 7: "What Are Little Girls Made Of," October 20, 1966: http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200303/tos-010-andrea-and-ruk-operate/320x240.jpg
 
1.8 - "Miri," - October 27, 1966 - 
Director - Vincent McEveety (Director of "Firecreek"), Writer - Adrian Spies (Emmy Award Winner for writing "What's God to Julius" on "Dr. Kildare")
Featuring Kim Darby (Mattie Ross in "True Grit"), Jim Goodwin (Survivor in "Ice Station Zebra"), Michael J. Pollard (Shoeshine Boy in "Appointment at Eleven" on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominee as C.W. Moss in "Bonnie and Clyde"), David L. Ross (Reporter in "Rocky II"), Keith Taylor (Pizza King Delivery Guy in "Archie is Worried about his Job" on "All in the Family," Mouse in "Dirt Duel" on "Adam-12"), Ed McCready (Crook in "The Penguin Goes Straight" on "Batman"), Kellie Flanagan (Candice Muir on "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir"), Stephen McEveety (Co-Producer of "The Passion of the Christ"), John Megna (Charles Baker "Dill" Harris in "To Kill a Mockingbird")

Episode 9: "Dagger Of The Mind," November 3, 1966: http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsG/tve7000-19661103-320.gif
 
Episode 10: "The Corbomite Maneuver," November 10, 1966: http://www.dangermouse.net/blog/images/trek/TheCorbomiteManeuver.jpg
 
Episode 11: "The Menagerie, Part One," November 17, 1966:  <--- "Captain Pike, were any record tapes of this type made during your voyage?" <Beep ... Beep.>
 
Episode 12: "The Menagerie, Part Two," November 24, 1966: <--- "Captain Kirk ... Captain Pike, he has an illusion, and you have reality. May you find your way as pleasant."
 
Episode 13: "The Conscience Of The King," December 8, 1966:  <--- "Are you Kodos?"

Directed by Gerd Oswald, Written by Barry Trivers
 
Episode 14: "Balance Of Terror," December 15, 1966:  <--- "He's a sorcerer, that one - he reads the thoughts of my mind."
Directed by Vincent McEveety (xx), Written by Paul Schneider (Writer of "The Looters")
Featuring Mark Lenard (Prosecuting Attorney at Fort Grant in "Hang 'em High," Appeared in 5 Star Trek Films, Sarek in "Sarek" and "Unification" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation") Lawrence Montaigne (Mr. Glee in "The Joker's Last Laugh" and "The Joker's Epitaph" on "Batman") John Warburton (Bob in "Captain Fury") Paul Comi (Modeer in "The Crimson Witness" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (xx), 3 episodes of "The Twilight Zone" (xx)) Barbara Baldavin (Nurse Holmby on "Medical Center") Garry Walberg (Colonel in "Where is Everybody" on "The Twilight Zone" (xx)

[This is an early version of the film "Das Boot," a quasi-submarine episode which takes its inspiration from the film, "The Enemy Below." Recall also that the cold open features the (almost-)happy wedding between Lieutenants Angela Martine and Robert Tomlinson (Stephen Mines), before crew members are called to battle stations. "Balance of Terror" is also the first episode in which Romulans are ever seen, and prejudice becomes a main sub-plot when it's revealed that they look a lot like Mr. Spock; ironically, Mark Lenard, who plays the Romulan Captain, would famously go on to play Mr. Spock's father, Sarek, in many future Star Trek episodes and movies, without so much as a reference to this episode.]
 
Episode 15: "Shore Leave," December 29, 1966: http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080112042232/memoryalpha/en/images/1/16/Finnegan_jaunty.jpg
 
Episode 16: "The Galileo Seven," January 5, 1967: http://www.geektress.com/images/trek/Image7.jpg

1.17 - "The Squire Of Gothos" - January 12, 1967 -  <--- "I warn you that anything you might say has already been taken down in evidence against you."
Directed by Don McDougall (Director of 42 episodes of "The Virginian"), Written by Paul Schneider (xx)
Featuring William Campbell (Brent Reno (the first person to sing on-screen with Elvis Presley) in "Love Me Tender"), Richard Carlyle (Rezin Bowie in "The Iron Mistress")

1.18 - "Arena" - January 19, 1967:  <--- Why doesn't the Gorn just bite his neck during this fight?
Directed by, Joseph Pevney (Shorty Pulaski in "Body and Soul"), Written by - Teleplay: Gene L. Coon (Screenplay of "The Killers") and Carey Wilber (Producer of  Teleplay of "A Question of Rank" on "Gulf Playhouse"), Story: Carey Wilber
Featuring Vic Perrin (The "Control Voice" in "The Outer Limits"), Bobby Clark (The 10th Avenue Kid in "Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid" and Charles in "The West Warlock Time Capsule" on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"), Ted Cassidy, Carolyne Barry (Female Engineer in "Home Soil" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation")

[Aside from the single worst fight in the history of television, the odds of Captain Kirk being able to roll that huge boulder (which probably weighs 1,000 pounds) *up a hill*, to drop it on the Gorn, are precisely zero. It's incredible that Bobby Clark played *both* "The 10th Avenue Kid" *and* "The Gorn," although The Gorn was voiced by Ted Cassidy - young Bobby certainly grew up a lot between the two roles. Vic Perrin (the voice who "controls the horizontal, controls the vertical, etc." on "The Outer Limits," also had a voice role here: He was the first Metron you hear in this episode - now, if we only knew what he looked like (actually, Perrin was in plenty of roles). People remember "Arena" for the absurd fight, and the impossible lifting of the boulder by Kirk, but if you can put those two things aside, it's really a very good episode. One other thing you need to overlook: Assuming "Warp Factor 1" is equal to the speed of light (which I always assumed), at the end of the show, Mr. Sulu tells Captain Kirk that they're 500 parsecs from where they were, and Kirk tells him to head back at Warp Factor 1 - that would take a good 1,600 years., so they might want to speed it up a little bit.]

"Gorn To Be Wild" on startrek.com
  
1.19 - "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" - January 26, 1967 - 
Directed by Michael O'Herilhy, Written by Dorothy C. Fontana (xx),
Featuring Roger Perry (Dr. James Hayes in "Count Yorga, Vampire"), Hal Lynch (Big Henry in "The Way West"), 
 
Episode 20: "Court Martial," February 2, 1967: http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200303/tos-015-the-court-martial-gets/320x240.jpg
 
Episode 21: "The Return Of The Archons," February 9, 1967: http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200303/tos-022-the-landing-party-blen/320x240.jpg
 
Episode 22: "Space Seed," February 16, 1967:  

Directed by Marc Daniels (xx), Written by - Teleplay: Gene L. Coon (xx, Screenplay of "The Killers") and Carey Wilber (xx, Teleplay of "A Question of Rank" on "Gulf Playhouse"), Story: Carey Wilber
Featuring Ricardo Montalbán (Tony "Pepe" Llorca in "Outlaw in Town" on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (xx), Khan Noonien Singh in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," Mr. Roarke on "Fantasy Island"), Madlyn Rhue (Ara Rados in "Every Father's Daughter" on "Route 66" (xx), Consuela Sandino in "The Dark Pool" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (xx), Secretary Schwartz in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World")

1.23 -  "A Taste Of Armageddon" - February 23, 1967 - 
Directed by Joseph Pevney (xx), Written by - Teleplay: Gene L. Coon (xx) and Robert Hammer (Director, Producer, and Writer of "Don't Answer the Phone!"), Story: Robert Hammer
Featuring David Opatoshu (Dorn in "Valley of the Shadow" on "The Twilight Zone" (xx), Ralph Cashman in "A Feasability Study" on "The Outer Limits" (xx)), Gene Lyons (3 Episodes on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (xx), Psychiatrist in "King Nine Will Not Return" on "The Twilight Zone" (xx)), Barbara Babcock (Flora Alden in "Brenda" on "Night Gallery," Emmy Award Winner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series as Grace Gardner on "Hill Street Blues," Emmy Award Nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series as Dorothy Jennings on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman")

 
Episode 24: "This Side Of Paradise," March 2, 1967: http://replyreplyreply.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/this-side-of-paradise.png
 
1.25 - "The Devil In The Dark" - March 9, 1967 -
Directed by Joseph Pevney (xx), Written by Gene L. Coon (xx)
Featuring Ken Lynch (Charlie in "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" on "The Twilight Zone," Bernie Ryan on "Log 43: Hostage" on "Adam-12," Jail Guard Callahan in ")
Episode 26: "Errand Of Mercy," March 23, 1967: http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200506/tos-027-ayelborne/320x240.jpg
 
Episode 27: "The Alternative Factor," March 30, 1967:  <--- "This is a parallel universe?" ... "Of course."

Directed by Gerd Oswald, Written by Don Ingalls
 
Episode 28: "The City On The Edge Of Forever," April 6, 1967:  <--- "You deliberately stopped me, Jim. I could have saved her - do you know what you just did?" "He knows, doctor ... he knows."
 
Episode 29: "Operation Annihilate," April 13, 1967: http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200306/tos-029-a-neural-parasite-is/320x240.jpg
 
Episode 99: "The Cage," January 1, 1966:  <--- "She has an illusion, and you have reality - may you find your way as pleasant."

[Joe H]

City on the Edge of Forever was fantastic:  wasn't that Joan Collins?

[DonRocks]

City on the Edge of Forever was fantastic:  wasn't that Joan Collins?

Yes it was, and that's probably the most popular Star Trek (TOS) episode of all time.

For something equally heart-wrenching, watch Star Trek: The Next Generation's (TNG) "The Inner Light."

[DonRocks]

Season 2

Episode 1: "Amok Time,"� September 15, 1967 

Episode 2: "Who Mourns For Adonis,"� September 22, 1967 

Episode 3: "The Changeling,"� September 29, 1967 

Episode 4: "Mirror, Mirror,"� October 6, 1967 

Episode 5: "The Apple,"� October 13, 1967 

Episode 6: "The Doomsday Machine,"� October 20, 1967 

2.7 - "Catspaw," - October 27, 1967 - 
Directed by Joseph Pevney (xx), Written by Robert Bloch (Author of "Psycho")
Featuring Antoinette Bower (Miss Greco in "A Woman's Help" on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (xx), Eve Norda in "Probe 7, Over and Out" on "The Twilight Zone" (xx)), Theo Marcuse (Citizen Gregori in "To Serve Man" and "Farraday" in "The Trade-Ins" on "The Twilight Zone" (xx), Anderan Senator in "Fun and Games" on "The Outer Limits" (xx), Von Bloheim in "Death in Slow Motion" and "The Riddler's False Notion" on "Batman" (xx)) 

Episode 8: "I, Mudd,"� November 3, 1967 

Episode 9: "Metamorphosis,"� November 10, 1967 

Episode 10: "Journey To Babel,"� November 17, 1967 

2.11 - "Friday's Child" - Dec 1, 1967 - 
Directed by Joseph Pevney (xx), Written by Dorothy "D.C." Fontana (xx)
Featuring Julie Newmar as Eleena (Catwoman on "Batman" (xx)), Michael Dante as Maab (Bonus Baby with the Boston Braves, 1950-1953, as Ralph Vitti), Tige Andrews as Kras (Captain Adam Greer on "The Mod Squad"), Ben Gage as Akaar (Clerk in "Marsha, Queen of Diamonds" on "Batman" (xx), Cal Bolder as Keel (Hank Tracy and Igor on "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter")

[A pregnant, and I Dream of Jeannie-clad, Julie Newmar (who boasted a 37-inch inseam to accompany her 5'11" height) lives on the planet Capella IV, which the Enterprise visits in order to negotiate a mining contract for topeline, only to discover the presence of a Klingon, Kras. The Capellans are very tall (seven feet is not uncommon), very violent, but also true to their word - their weapon of choice is a boomerang-like projectile known as a "kligat" which, according to McCoy - who spent some time on the planet in the past - is 'as deadly as a phaser from 100 meters away or less,' and their leader is known as a "Teer." The episode's title is taken from the English poem, "Monday's Child" ("Friday's child is loving and giving ....") There are several double-vowels in this episode (Maab, Teer, Akaar, Keel, Eleena), and both vowels are pronounced, with a distinct emphasis on the first (Teer, for example, rhymes with "Seer" (someone who sees)). Their are several funny moments in this episode - the gut-laugh comes when Bones examines Eleena's tummy (it's mildly misogynistic by today's standards, but still very funny - plus, it's compensated for later on with his "Poppycock!" sequence) McCoy gets in a couple more zingers, including his saying, to Kirk and Spock, when he's struggling to help Eleena up a cliff: "I'm a doctor; not an escalator!" Julie Newmar said she wanted to be remembered for being "funny," rather than "beautiful" or "intelligent," so she may have had some input with this script. (In her own words: "Tell me I'm beautiful, it's nothing. Tell me I'm intellectual - I know it. Tell me I'm funny and it's the greatest compliment in the world anyone could give me.") Due to its complexity and lack of focus, "Friday's Child" is - literally - one of the most forgettable episodes of Star Trek, although it's not bad by any means, and if you watch it carefully, it may have more humor than any other Star Trek episode. Perhaps the one thing people remember about "Friday's Child" the most is Scottie's recitation of, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." BTW, what are the odds that an unpracticed Kirk is that good of a shot with a primitive, homemade bow? ]

Episode 12: "The Deadly Years,"� December 8, 1967 

Episode 13: "Obsession," December 15, 1967 

Episode 14: "Wolf In The Fold,"� December 22, 1967 

Episode 15: "The Trouble With Tribbles,"� December 29, 1967 

2.16 - "The Gamesters Of Triskelion" - Jan 5, 1968 - 
Directed by Gene Nelson (Director of "Kissin' Cousins"), Written by Margaret Armen (Writer of 5 episodes of "The Rifleman")
Featuring Joseph Ruskin as Master Thrall Galt (Voice of the Kanamit in "To Serve Man" on "The Twilight Zone" (xx), Collins in "Production and Decay of Strange Particles" on "The Outer Limits" (xx)), Angelique Pettyjohn as Shahna (Repo Wife #2 in "Repo Man"), Dick Crockett as the Andorian Thrall (Cab Driver in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," Morgan in "Batman," Townsman #2 in "Blazing Saddles")

[I had originally sloughed off this episode, but after watching it again, it's very clear that Star Trek made a bold statement about slavery, complete with Lieutenant Uhura refusing to beat another person of color (this episode was perhaps Nichelle Nichols' finest, as she got a ton of screen time, and proved herself to be more than worthy in term of self-defense). Another strong statement was made regarding the LGBT community, as Chekhov's "Thrall" was clearly made to be sexually ambiguous, certainly to the point of being mixed-gender - although Chekhov's initial reaction is a touch cringeworthy, there was no other degrading treatment, and between these two extremely controversial issues, "The Gamesters of Triskelion" is one of Star Trek's most important social commentaries. Angelique Pettyjohn would go on to play in several cheesy adult films, as well as having several mainstream roles (hilariously, she is reportedly referred to as "Agent 38(c)" in two episodes of "Get Smart," which is a not-so-subtle reference to her two most visible attributes.)]

2.17 - "A Piece Of The Action" - Jan 12, 1968 -  
Directed  by James Komack (Creator of "Chico and the Man"), Written by - Teleplay: David P. Harmon (Co-Writer of "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island") and Gene L. Coon (xx), Story: David P. Harmon
Featuring Anthony Caruso as Bela Oxmyx (Louis Ciavelli in "The Asphalt Jungle"), Vic Tayback as Jojo Krako (Mel Sharples in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and on "Alice"), Lee Delano as Kalo (Norton the Orderly in "High Anxiety"), Sheldon Collins as Tough Kid (Arnold on "The Andy Griffith Show")

[One refreshing thing about "A Piece of the Action" is child actor, Sheldon Collins (né Sheldon Golomb), who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Biology from Cal State. and went on to get his DDS from Iowa - as of this writing, he appears to be perfectly successful and content with his own dentistry practice in Colorado Springs, having fond memories of his childhood acting career. Vic Tayback is, of course, Mel Sharples of Mel's Diner - you can tell that William Shatner got into full-on ham mode for this episode, walking around with his terrible gangster accent talking about "making a hit on Krako," etc. This was a fairly innocuous episode, but it doesn't seem to me like the Federation would "correct" the societal contamination of 100-years prior in the way they did; it seems like, as long as the denizens of Sigma Iotia II had been corrupted as they had (from a book on 1920 Chicago mobsters, of all things) - they'd go ahead and try to "undo" the corruption in a more obvious way than simply forming a single syndicate. Well, I guess you'll have to watch this one for these comments to make any sense, and this episode falls more into the "fun" Star Treks than anything serious or profound. I read on WIkipedia that director James Komack was essentially responsible for starting the careers of both Freddy Prinze and John Travolta.]

2.18 - "The Immunity Syndrome" - Jan 19, 1968 - 
Directed by Joseph Pevney (xx), Written by Robert Sabaroff (Writer of "Home Soil" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation")
Featuring John Winston as Lieutenant Kyle (Commander Kyle in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"), Frank da Vinci as Lieutenant Brent (Stand-In for Anthony Perkins in "Psycho"), Eddie Paskey as Lieutenant Leslie (Steve in "The Ransom" on "Mission Impossible" (xx))

[I don't know how they pulled this off, but in what could have been an absolutely terrible episode, Joseph Pevney and Company managed to make this into a genuinely exciting show, complete with both macro-thrills (the cellular organism) and micro-thrills (the hilariously touching competition between McCoy and Spock) - it's also ironic that a single-celled organism would be considered a "macro-thrill." This episode is better than it had any right to be, given how bad it could have been. There's also a funny goof - when McCoy comes up to the bridge to give the crew a stimulant, he momentarily puts the needle into Lieutenant Leslie backwards, before catching himself and flipping it around. 

Episode 19: "A Private Little War,"� February 2, 1968 

Episode 20: "Return To Tomorrow,"� February 9, 1968 

2.21 - "Patterns Of Force" - February 16, 1968 - 
Directed by Vincent McEveety (xx), Written by John Meredyth Lucas (xx)
Featuring David Brian (Dan Reynolds in "Flamingo Road"), Chuck Courtney (Ski in "Memo from Purgatory" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"), Skip Homeier (Judge Older in "Helter Skelter"), Richard Evans (Harry in "I'll Take Care of You" on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"), Patrick Hogan (Thatcher Ross in "Ryan's Hope"), Valora Noland (Rhonda in "The Beach Party"), William Wintersole (Lab Technician in "Coma")

["Patterns of Force" was banned in Germany until 1995 because of the Nazi overtones and uniforms.]

Episode 22: "By Any Other Name" - February 23, 1968 - 
Directed by Marc Daniels (Director of Episodes 1-38 of "I Love Lucy"), Written by - Teleplay: D.C. Fontana (Writer of 5 Episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and Jerome Bixby (Writer of "It's a Good Life") Story: Jerome Bixby
Featuring Barbara Bouchet (Miss Moneypenny in "Casino Royale"), Warren Stevens

[This is the episode where these two evil-doers turn people into granular cubes, and crush one of them. Oh, Lieutenant Uhura, you tried *so valiantly* not to blink when you were frozen in place. ]

2.23 - "The Omega Glory" - March 1, 1968 - 
Directed by Vincent McEveety (xx), Written by Gene Roddenberry (xx),
Featuring Morgan Woodward (xx), Ed McCready (Cop at Tess' in "Dick Tracy"), Roy Jenson (Whitey in "A Riddle a Day Keeps the Riddler Away" and "When the Rat's Away, the Mice Will Play" on "Batman," The First Man Ever Beaten Up by Caine on "Kung Fu)

[Near the beginning of this episode, Kirk makes such a noble-sounding log entry about the Prime Directive possibly having been violated; yet, in Season 1, Episode 23, "A Taste of Armageddon," Kirk not only violates the Prime Directive; he completely turns two planetary cultures upside-down after 500 years of natural evolution, changing the entire course of their futures. If you watch these two episodes back-to-back, it's pretty clear that the "Prime Directive" didn't become a "thing" until after "A Taste of Armageddon" I guess this reflects the natural evolution of weekly television series - never sure if you're even going to be renewed the following season, and always thinking, tentatively, of new concepts to introduce (although I'm not certain that the Prime Directive wasn't ever mentioned before "The Omega Glory," as I'm writing this paragraph while re-watching the episode - not in sequence.) It bears mention that the left-handed "karate chop" that Captain Ronald Tracey (Morgan Woodward) gives Kirk, which wouldn't injure a goldfish, is about as convincing as Kirk fighting the Gorn.]

"Episode 24: "The Ultimate Computer,"� March 8, 1968 

Episode 25: "Bread And Circuses,"� March 15, 1968

Episode 26: "Assignment Earth,"� March 29, 1968 

[DonRocks]

Season 3, unaffectionately known by Star Trek aficionados as "The Turd Season."� Gene Roddenberry left after season 2, and this entire 3rd season was produced by Fred Freiberger amongst budget cuts and a Friday-night "death slot"� of 10 PM - the show had been written off, and it's painfully evident by the drop-off in quality.

This is the first time in my life I've ever watched an entire TV series, and I feel not just a tinge of sadness since Star Trek was (or at least seemed like) such a big part of my childhood, and now ... it's all over: I've seen all 80 episodes in the past 3 months - I hope people would like to discuss the series because for all its considerable flaws, it was a great show. Here's Season 3:

Episode 1: "Spock's Brain,"� September 20, 1968

Episode 2: "The Enterprise Incident,"� September 27, 1968:

3.3 - "The Paradise Syndrome" - Oct 4, 1968 - 
Directed by Jud Taylor (Director of "Firefox"), Written by Margaret Armen (Writer of "The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe")
Featuring Sabrina Scharf as Miramanee (Sarah in "Easy Rider"), Rudy Solari as Salish (Mugger in "The Black Curtain" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," Griffin on "The Production and Decay of Strange Particles" and Captain Jack Buckley in "The Invisible Enemy" on "The Outer Limits"), Richard Hale as Goro (Nathan Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird")

Episode 4: "And The Children Shall Lead,"� October 11, 1968:

Episode 5: "Is There In Truth No Beauty?"� October 18, 1968:

3.6 - "Spectre Of The Gun" - Oct 25, 1968 - 
Directed by Vincent McEveety (xx), Written by Gene L. Coon (xx, Credited as Lee Cronin)
Featuring Ron Soble as Wyatt Earp (Captain Boots Finch in "True Grit"), Bonnie Beecher as Sylvia (Mary Rachel in "Come Wander with Me" on "The Twilight Zone" (xx)), Charles Maxwell as Virgil Earp (General Phil Sheridan in "One Bullet from Broken Bow" on "Bat Masterson") Rex Holman as Morgan Earp (J'onn in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier"), Sam Gilman as Doc Holliday (Harvey Johnson in "One-Eyed Jacks"), Charles Seel as Ed (Old Man in "Duel")

Episode 7: "Day Of The Dove,"� November 1, 1968:

Episode 8: "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky,"� November 8, 1968:

Episode 9: "The Tholian Web,"� November 15, 1968:

Episode 10: "Plato's Stepchildren,"� November 22, 1968:

Episode 11: "Wink Of An Eye,"� November 29, 1968:

Episode 12: "The Empath,"� December 6, 1968:

Episode 13: "Elaan Of Troyius,"� December 20, 1968:

Episode 14: "Whom Gods Destroy,"� January 3, 1969:

Episode 15: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,"� January 10, 1969:

Episode 16: "The Mark Of Gideon,"� January 17, 1969:

3.17 - "That Which Survives" - January 24, 1969 - 
Directed by Herb Wallerstein (xx), Written by: Teleplay - John Meredyth Lucas (xx), Story - Dorothy C. Fontana (xx)
Featuring Lee Meriwether (Miss America, 1955),  Arthur Batanides (The Police Sergeant in "The Jokester" and Police Detective in "I'll Take Care of You" on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (8), Leader in "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" and Tabal in "Mirror" on "The Twilight Zone" (23), Lt. Ken Galvin in "Specimen: Unknown" on "The Outer Limits" (xx)), Booker Bradshaw (International Manager of Motown Records), Naomi Pollack (Mara on "Korg: 70,000 BC"), Kenneth Washington (Officer Miller on "Adam-12"), Brad Forrest (Engineer in "Danger Point" on "Medical Center")

Episode 18: "The Lights Of Zetar,"� January 31, 1969:

Episode 19: "Requiem For Methuselah,"� February 14, 1969:

Episode 20: "The Way To Eden,"� February 21, 1969:

Episode 21: "The Cloud Minders,"� February 28, 1969:

3.22 - "The Savage Curtain" - March 7, 1969 - 
Directed by Herschel Daugherty (2), Written by Gene Roddenberry (xxx) and Arthur Heinemann (3)
Featuring Lee Bergere (Joseph Anders in "Dynasty"), Barry Atwater (Les Goodman in "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" in "The Twilight Zone," Dr. Jonas Temple in "Corpus Earthling" on "The Outer Limits," Mr. Carson in "The Doll of Death" on "Night Gallery"), Phillip Pine ((Virgil Sterig in "The Four of Us Are Dying" in "The Twilight Zone", Leonard O'Brien in "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" on "The Twilight Zone," Theodore Pearson in "The Hundred Days of the Dragon" on "The Outer Limits"), Nathan Jung (Bulkus in "A Fistful of Yen" in "The Kentucky Fried Movie") Janos Prohaska (3)

Episode 23: "All Our Yesterdays,"� March 14, 1969:

Episode 24: "The Turnabout Intruder,"� June 3, 1969:

It's been a fun walk down memory lane - interestingly, the only show I think I'd never seen any of was the final episode (which, to my eyes, foreshadowed William Shatner becoming a parody of his own lovably bad acting - how could anyone be so simultaneously good (as the strong leader and suave womanizer) and bad (at every other thing)?). Please feel free to discuss any and all of these - I've got all 80 episodes dead-center in my brain right now, and I'd love to hear peoples' opinions or field questions.

[DonRocks]

Yr 3. Episode 3; an incredible moral story on the stupidity of racism.

Btw: saw every episode multiple times

I thought sure when I read your post (before I scrolled up) that you were talking about Episode 15, "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" which is, I think, the most obvious (not necessarily the most incredible) "stupidity of racism" episode - anyone who has seen this just one time in their lives will remember it.

Leonard Nimoy has COPD.  The key word in the name Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, however, is "Chronic" - although it tends not to improve, it's something you can live with for a long time. #LLAP

[DonRocks]

yes.  I did mean episode 15.  And excellent choice of words:  OBVIOUS as to its depiction of the stupidity of racism.

The original Star Trek series was full of "social commentary" (mostly in subtle ways) as I recall, but episode 15, year 3 was the single one that stood out in all its glory, IMHO.    That show alone gives tremendous credibility to season 3.

Do you remember the scene where the two enemies chased each other - endlessly - through the halls of the Enterprise before finally beaming down, the camera cutting to each huffing-and-puffing man, seemingly running in place for drama rather than running for speed (you know, like they might actually want to get somewhere)?

It's because the episode came out too short, and they had to lengthen it by several minutes - that's why this multi-minute chase scene occurs. (See the 12th. bullet point under "Background Information" on en.memory-alpha.org.)

[porcupine]

You're right about "Naked Now", although I also feel like anything from Season 1 is slightly unfair given that they are almost page-for-page retreads of TOS episodes. Still, "Naked Now" is so much worse than "Naked Time" that it deserves to be on the list. 

"The Naked Time" has the best exchange in all of Star Trek:

Sulu:  I'll protect you, fair maiden!

Uhura (pushing him away):  Sorry, neither!

[DonRocks]

"The Naked Time" has the best exchange in all of Star Trek:

Sulu:  I'll protect you, fair maiden!

Uhura (pushing him away):  Sorry, neither!

Followed shortly by Spock saying "Take d'Artagnan here to sick bay." The writers had fun with this one.

[DonRocks]

This is what kind of person James Doohan was.

He was also shot six times on D-Day - what an amazing man.

[Banco]

"Spectre of the Gun" was one of the diamonds amid the third season rough, and offers Doohan at his best in the following exchange with Spock:

Scotty: (to Spock) It's to kill the pain (he knocks back a shot of whiskey)

Spock: But this is painless.

Scotty (suppressing a belch) You should have told me sooner, Mr. Spock!

[Banco]

And Don, you've seen this, right?

[Al Dente]

For you geeks-- the Top 100 Episodes

[leleboo]

The closing credits of this past Sunday's "The Simpsons" would make any Trekkie or Trekker happy.

[DanielK]

The closing credits of this past Sunday's "The Simpsons" would make any Trekkie or Trekker happy.

 

Viewable here.

[DonRocks]

I made this Twitter List for fans of TOS and TNG awhile back, and I always forget to look at it, but it's pretty good for fans of those two shows.

[DonRocks]

I really liked that episode. That's the one with 'The Picard' right?  And I had NO IDEA that the whole series is on Amazon Prime. WOOHOO!

Amazon Prime also has the entire original series in digitally remastered format - the difference in video quality is remarkable. For example, the Enterprise, instead of a little model, is done using CGI, and the clarity of the picture is incredible. As a rule, I think things like this are wonderful as long as the original format is preserved as well (and it is).

Watch some of them - you might love them (I do).

Season One

 Episode 13: "The Conscience Of The King," December 8, 1966: <--- "Are you Kodos?"

Directed by Gerd Oswald, Written by Barry Trivers

For example, I watched "The Conscience of The King," which I think is one of the best first-season episodes, and just loved it. It's a compelling story with a minor plot twist, and full of suspense and foreboding. Arnold Moss in particular is wonderful as the Shakespearean actor Anton Karidian. This bridges contemporary Earth with futuristic Earth in a delightful format - the best of these episodes are simply timeless.

From Wikipedia: "The episode takes its title from the concluding lines of Act II of Hamlet: "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." Wikipedia has a lot of interesting factoids in their Star Trek write-ups, since they cite from numerous sources. Any uncited fact of mine in these posts should be attributed to Wikipedia, without which I wouldn't have much of interest to say. The 1957 movie in the next post, for example - that bit of information came straight from Wikipedia (which, in turn, cites a source one-step closer to the original). Over the years, Wikipedia has become a truly wonderful resource for factual information, and I am in their debt.

[DonRocks]

Season One 

Episode 14: "Balance Of Terror," December 15, 1966:  <--- "He's a sorcerer, that one - he reads the thoughts of my mind."

Directed by Vincent McEveety, Written by Paul Schneider

In "Balance of Terror," Mark Lenard plays a Romulan Commander who gets into an intriguing, tit-for-tat, captain's chess match with Kirk - it's a great back-and-forth. Lenard would later reappear in the series in a completely different role as Spock's father. Incidentally, this was the first-ever digitally remastered episode of Star Trek.

Paul Schneider based this episode on the 1957 war movie, "The Enemy Below," with the Enterprise playing the role of the American Destroyer, and the Romulan vessel portraying the German Submarine (this makes me wonder if Wolfgang Petersen's "Das Boot" (1981) drew from the older film as well - I've never seen "The Enemy Below," so I don't know.)

[DonRocks]

Episode 0: "The Cage" (Pilot), Original Air Date October 15, 1988 (not a typo): 

Episode 11: "The Menagerie, Part One," November 17, 1966:  

Episode 12: "The Menagerie, Part Two," November 24, 1966: 

Episode 99: "The Cage," January 1, 1966:

Can anyone fully explain why there are essentially three episodes of "The Cage?"

Amazon Season One had it as both the first (Episode 0, the pilot) and last (Episode 99) episodes, and also as "The Menagerie," a two-part episode during the regular season as Episodes 11-12. I've never really understood why there are several different versions of what's essentially the same thing. Could someone explain this to me in plain English?

This is very confusing, so bear with me:

* Amazon has two options for watching Season One, the first being what you saw on TV in the 1960s, and the second being "Remastered" (this has, for example, a CGI Enterprise instead of the model ship they actually used, and is more modern feeling with better graphics for the phasers, etc. - I prefer the remastered version; purists will prefer the regular version).

* In the "Remastered" Season One, they list only Episode 99, and they list it as having originally aired on Oct 15, 1988 (this is in line with Wikipedia).

* In the regular Season One, Amazon listed both Episode 0 (air date Oct 15, 1968) and Episode 99 (air date Jan 1, 1966) - I assume the 1968 for Episode 0 is a typo for 1988, but the air date for Episode 99 is in direct conflict between the two options - what's the deal with "Jan 1, 1966?"

* To make matters more confusing, they no longer use the term "Episode 0" as the show's pilot (they did back when I was binge-watching the series); now it's simply listed as "Bonus" at the end of Season One - I guess the folks at Amazon are as confused as I am.

There are apparently several versions of The Cage, at least one of which mixes black-and-white and color. What I'm currently thinking is that it was written and scheduled back in 1964, 1965, or 1966 (it's copyrighted 1964, was completed in early 1965, and scheduled to air in 1966), but never actually aired until 1988, and Amazon is simply offering two different versions of the same show, the "Bonus" version being the remastered version.

[DanielK]

"The Cage" was filmed as a pilot, but was never aired during the run of the show. The network actually rejected that pilot, and they ordered a second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". But that didn't land up even being the first episode aired (it was third). The first episode that was broadcast was "The Man Trap" on 9/8/66.

Most of "The Cage" was then cut and pasted into the two-part episode "The Menagerie", which aired in November of 66.

According to Wikipedia:

The process of editing the pilot into "The Menagerie" disassembled the original camera negative of "The Cage," and thus, for many years it was considered partly lost. Roddenberry's black-and-white 16mm print made for reference purposes was the only existing print of the show, and was frequently shown at conventions. Early video releases of "The Cage" used Roddenberry's 16mm print, intercut with the color scenes from "The Cage" that were used in "The Menagerie". It was only in 1987 that a film archivist found an unmarked (mute) 35mm reel in a Hollywood film laboratory with the negative trims of the unused scenes. Upon realizing what he had found, he arranged for the return of the footage to Roddenberry's company.

Also, if you grew up watching repeats of Star Trek on TV, it's worth going back to Prime and watching the episodes there, whether remastered or not. These are the original 50-51 minute cuts of the episodes; if you grew up watching the repeats, you saw episodes cut to between 41-44 minutes.

[DonRocks]

Happy 50th birthday to Star Trek, which premiered 50 years ago today.

[Al Dente]

Ah AH ah ah ah ah ah

oh ah AH ah ah ah ah ah

 

[DonRocks]

4 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

Ah AH ah ah ah ah ah

oh ah AH ah ah ah ah ah

And here's to Loulie Jean Norman.

"Her beauty led to modeling jobs...."

Just imagine, Dente, doing the deed with this woman, and her breaking out into that song. Yeah, not very politically correct, but a pretty damned funny visual.

[DanielK]

On 12/20/2015 at 9:10 PM, DanielK said:

"The Cage" was filmed as a pilot, but was never aired during the run of the show. The network actually rejected that pilot, and they ordered a second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". But that didn't land up even being the first episode aired (it was third). The first episode that was broadcast was "The Man Trap" on 9/8/66.

Most of "The Cage" was then cut and pasted into the two-part episode "The Menagerie", which aired in November of 66.

5 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Happy 50th birthday to Star Trek, which premiered 50 years ago today.

BBC America is showing "The Man Trap" today at 8:30pm, exactly 50 years to the minute after the original was aired. They've blocked 70 minutes on the schedule, so I am guessing this is the original 50-51 minute cut, not the syndicated 41-44 minute cut.

[DonRocks]

On 9/8/2016 at 7:40 PM, DanielK said:

BBC America is showing "The Man Trap" today at 8:30pm, exactly 50 years to the minute after the original was aired. They've blocked 70 minutes on the schedule, so I am guessing this is the original 50-51 minute cut, not the syndicated 41-44 minute cut.

Interestingly, in the past week, I've seen two different actors who were in "The Man Trap": Bruce Watson (Season 1, Episode 9 of "Adam 12") and Alfred Ryder (Season 1, Episode 4 of "Route 66").

Bruce Watson was the first person ever to die on Star Trek.

---

Edit: Also just saw a "Twilight Zone" (Season 2, Episode 16) written by "The Man Trap" writer George Clayton Johnson (he wrote four of them).

[dcs]

The top 10 ‘Star Trek’ episodes ever, by Daniel W. Drezner, September 13, 2016, at 8:54 AM on washingtonpost.com.

[DonRocks]

On 1/18/2014 at 10:16 PM, DonRocks said:

2.21 - "Patterns Of Force" - February 16, 1968 - 
Directed by Vincent McEveety (xx), Written by John Meredyth Lucas (xx)
Featuring David Brian (Dan Reynolds in "Flamingo Road"), Chuck Courtney (Ski in "Memo from Purgatory" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"), Skip Homeier (Judge Older in "Helter Skelter"), Richard Evans (Harry in "I'll Take Care of You" on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"), Patrick Hogan (Thatcher Ross in "Ryan's Hope"), Valora Noland (Rhonda in "The Beach Party"), William Wintersole (Lab Technician in "Coma")

["Patterns of Force" was banned in Germany until 1995 because of the Nazi overtones and uniforms.]

For those fans of Caravaggio, Moby Dick, and Hagar the Horrible: These two brothers - part of the Zeon underground movement on planet Ekos, were named "Abrom" and "Isak."

Curious if any diehard Trekkers have ever picked up on this (it's kind of blunt-force obvious, but I don't see anything about it online.)

In case anyone doesn't know, both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are Jewish, and I guarantee filming this episode was bittersweet for both men.

Ah!

"Jewish Themes in 'Star Trek'" by Rabbi Yonasson Gershorn

[Al Dente]

Today is Friday! I can go home tonight, veg on the couch, and watch the Star Trek marathon on BBC America all night. It's become a bit of a ritual.

http://www.bbcamerica.com/video-extras/star-trek-like-youve-never-seen-it-before

 

[saf]

On March 24, 2017 at 10:09 AM, Al Dente said:

the Star Trek marathon on BBC America all night.

Have you seen the "ALL STAR TREK!" on H&I? http://www.heroesandiconstv.com

[Al Dente]

On 3/27/2017 at 10:00 PM, saf said:

Have you seen the "ALL STAR TREK!" on H&I? http://www.heroesandiconstv.com

I never even heard of H&I. I'll check it out.

I want one of these:

[saf]

Just now, Al Dente said:

I never even heard of H&I. I'll check it out.

We don't have cable, but we have a rooftop antenna. We get some odd channels. On broadcast, that's 20-3.

That is quite the shirt.

[DonRocks]

17 minutes ago, saf said:

That is quite the shirt.

"The Corbomite Maneuver!"

[DonRocks]

On 1/13/2014 at 8:45 PM, DonRocks said:

Season 1 (Sep 8, 1966 - Apr 13, 1967)
 (available for free on Amazon Prime)
 
Episode 28: "The City On The Edge Of Forever," April 6, 1967:  <--- "You deliberately stopped me, Jim. I could have saved her - do you know what you just did?" "He knows, doctor ... he knows."

On 1/14/2014 at 0:45 PM, Joe H said:

City on the Edge of Forever was fantastic:  wasn't that Joan Collins?

On 1/14/2014 at 0:56 PM, DonRocks said:

Yes it was, and that's probably the most popular Star Trek (TOS) episode of all time.

*** SPOILERS FOLLOW ***

I rewatched "City on the Edge of Forever," and noticed an interesting mistake: At the very end, just after Kirk utters the famous line, "Let's get the hell out of here," seven people beam up; yet, there are only six "pods" in the transporter room.

[DonRocks]

On 1/28/2014 at 0:36 AM, DonRocks said:

Season 3, unaffectionately known by Star Trek aficionados as "The Turd Season." Gene Roddenberry left after season 2, and this entire 3rd season was produced by Fred Freiberger amongst budget cuts and a Friday-night "death slot" of 10 PM - the show had been written off, and it's painfully evident by the drop-off in quality.

Episode 3: "The Paradise Syndrome," October 4, 1968: : 

These are the exact opposite of "incised" symbols.

[DonRocks]

On 1/18/2014 at 7:16 PM, DonRocks said:

2.11 - "Friday's Child" - Dec 1, 1967 - 
Directed by Joseph Pevney (xx), Written by Dorothy "D.C." Fontana (xx)
Featuring Julie Newmar as Eleena (Catwoman on "Batman" (xx)), Michael Dante as Maab (Bonus Baby with the Boston Braves, 1950-1953, as Ralph Vitti), Tige Andrews as Kras (Captain Adam Greer on "The Mod Squad"), Ben Gage as Akaar (Clerk in "Marsha, Queen of Diamonds" on "Batman" (xx), Cal Bolder as Keel (Hank Tracy and Igor on "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter")

[A pregnant, and I Dream of Jeannie-clad, Julie Newmar (who boasted a 37-inch inseam to accompany her 5'11" height) lives on the planet Capella IV, which the Enterprise visits in order to negotiate a mining contract for topeline, only to discover the presence of a Klingon, Kras. The Capellans are very tall (seven feet is not uncommon), very violent, but also true to their word - their weapon of choice is a boomerang-like projectile known as a "kligat" which, according to McCoy - who spent some time on the planet in the past - is 'as deadly as a phaser from 100 meters away or less,' and their leader is known as a "Teer." The episode's title is taken from the English poem, "Monday's Child" ("Friday's child is loving and giving ....") There are several double-vowels in this episode (Maab, Teer, Akaar, Keel, Eleena), and both vowels are pronounced, with a distinct emphasis on the first (Teer, for example, rhymes with "Seer" (someone who sees)). Their are several funny moments in this episode - the gut-laugh comes when Bones examines Eleena's tummy (it's mildly misogynistic by today's standards, but still very funny - plus, it's compensated for later on with his "Poppycock!" sequence) McCoy gets in a couple more zingers, including his saying, to Kirk and Spock, when he's struggling to help Eleena up a cliff: "I'm a doctor; not an escalator!" Julie Newmar said she wanted to be remembered for being "funny," rather than "beautiful" or "intelligent," so she may have had some input with this script. (In her own words: "Tell me I'm beautiful, it's nothing. Tell me I'm intellectual - I know it. Tell me I'm funny and it's the greatest compliment in the world anyone could give me.") Due to its complexity and lack of focus, "Friday's Child" is - literally - one of the most forgettable episodes of Star Trek, although it's not bad by any means, and if you watch it carefully, it may have more humor than any other Star Trek episode. Perhaps the one thing people remember about "Friday's Child" the most is Scottie's recitation of, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." BTW, what are the odds that an unpracticed Kirk is that good of a shot with a primitive, homemade bow? ]

Julie Newmar in an "I Dream of Jeannie" outfit on Star Trek? Compare and contrast to Miss Devlin in "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville."

[DonRocks]

Has anyone seen USS Callister? I saw it tonight, and thought it to be fabulous - flawed, yes, but fabulous, and just a ton of mind-blowing fun to watch.

[DonRocks]

On 1/13/2014 at 8:45 PM, DonRocks said:

1.0 - "The Cage" (Pilot) - Original Air Date November 27, 1988 (not a typo): 
Directed by Robert Butler, Written by Gene Roddenberry (Creator of "Star Trek")
Featuring Jeffrey Hunter (Martin Pawley in "The Searchers," Harold in "Don't Look Behind You" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"), Susan Oliver (Annabel Delaney in "Annabel" on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (2), 3 Episodes on "Route 66"), Teenya in "People Are Alike All Over" on "The Twilight Zone"), Meg Wylie (Sister Florence in "The Night of the Meek" on "The Twilight Zone" (2)), John Hoyt (Principal Warneke in "Blackboard Jungle," Ross in "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" and Dr. Loren in "The Lateness of the Hour" on "The Twilight Zone" (3), Bifrost Alien in "The Bellero Shield" on "The Outer Limits")

[Many, and I would venture to say "Most," don't realize that the primary Talosian is played by a woman, Meg Wylie. It's truly interesting to see her in "The Night of the Meek," because you can get a good look at her as she's leading a prayer service. Susan Oliver is the famous "Green Girl" who is every guy's Dream Girl, pictured at the close of many Star Trek episodes. John Hoyt plays a solid (if critically overrated) role as the principal in "Blackboard Jungle." This is not *the* most enjoyable of episodes, but the more you watch Star Trek, the more you realize that it's *such* a classic, that it's important enough to demand a viewing, if not several. It's an important work, and sets everything in motion, but in my opinion, the two-part "remake" - "The Menagerie" - improves upon this original, and integrates this "true pilot" episode with the rest of the series, and if you have to watch one or the other, make it "The Menagerie," but that in no way detracts from the value of this, which eventually deserves its own viewing. The series was right to eventually publish this as its own episode in 1988.]

How do you not like this fax machine in "The Cage"?