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The Original Series (TOS) Guest Reviews

First Pilot - Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3

First Pilot

The Cage Stardate not given: Captain Christopher Pike is captured by the remnants of a telepathic race, who can create and project powerful illusions. They attempt to salvage their society by creating a slave race of humans to rebuild their cities which were destroyed countless centuries earlier in a devastating war.

"The Cage" is a very unique episode of Star Trek in that not only was it the very first episode ever made, but it belongs to a befated 'one episode' series, Science Officer Spock being the only character to survive NBC's revisions. Though the story itself is very interesting and thought provoking I can't help but wonder what Star Trek would have been like if the series had continued with these characters. Captain Christopher Pike is, in my opinion, an even more interesting character than Captain Kirk, though this is partly due to the excellent novel 'Burning Dreams' by Margaret Wander Bonanno that I think this. Nonetheless, its an episode worthy of the later "The Menagerie".
Contradictions: Star Trek was brand new and as a result the writers had not yet worked out all of the terminology.
Remarkable quote: Engage! (It's the first time it's said.)
Remarkable prop/ship: The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701
Rating: 7 (Craig L Flint)

Season 1

Balance of Terror Stardate 1709.1: Synopsis in main TOS listing

"The Enemy Below" in space, that is the basic outline for this episode which is still one of my favourite stories from TOS and Star Trek in general. There are just so many things that I enjoy about it. The episode starts off quiet and soft with the wedding ceremony only to change abruptly into something completely different. The Romulan commander is a more than worthy enemy for Kirk and the Enterprise and his discussions with the Centurion give us a rare insight into Romulan culture and their way of thinking. There are a lot of surprises and twists in the ongoing battle and the final statement of the Romulan commander before he self-destructs his ship is one of the greatest moments in Star Trek. The only annoyance is the character of Lt. Stiles but he does not play such an important role in the episode anyway. Finally, this episode does not end on a happy note as Kirk has to comfort Angela Martine after her husband-to-be has been killed. Although the Enterprise has won there is no reason to celebrate.
Remarkable quote: "It never makes any sense. We both have to know that there was a reason." (Kirk to Angela Martine), "He's a sorcerer, that one - he reads the thoughts in my brain." (Romulan commander)
Remarkable scene: As the crew prepares for the impact of the Romulan plasma weapon Kirk embraces Janice Rand. I just love that scene! ^^
Remarkable ship: The Romulan Bird-of-Prey
Remarkable fact: It is a bit hard to believe that the Federation does not know how Romulans look. Have there been no ground battles during the Earth-Romulan war?
Rating: 9 (Timm)

Shore Leave Stardate 3025.3: Synopsis in main TOS listing

Well, this is certainly an interesting episode. While I wouldn't call it necessarily a good episode of Star Trek, this is certainly a good hour or so of entertainment. The fight between Kirk and Finnegan is so absolutely out of control and unnecessary that one can't help but laugh through the whole 10 minutes(!) of it. The idea behind the planet in this episode is certainly an interesting one, and I think justice is done to the premise behind the episode. The actors, especially Shatner and Kelley, a clearly having a ton of fun on screen, but this causes one small problem: Kirk really doesn't seem to care when Bones dies, exemplified by the fact the ridiculous 10 minute boxing match happens AFTER he dies. With that said, I can't say too much bad about this episode. Sure, Finnegan's character is absolutely annoying, but that only adds to the hammy attitude to the whole episode. The problem merely lies in what I stated earlier: this is not really a good Star Trek episode, but rather good entertainment featuring Star Trek characters. Go in expecting somewhat mindless entertainment and you will be satisfied.
Remarkable scene: Fisticuffs between Kirk and Finnegan is absolutely unnecessary and absolutely amazing, and rips Kirk's shirt to boot.
Remarkable rabbit: The man in a rabbit suit in the beginning is a clear indication that this is one odd episode.
Rating: 5 (Curtis Filaroski)

The Alternative Factor Stardate 3087.6: Synopsis in main TOS listing

Oof. "The Alternative Factor" is a load of crap, to put it nicely. The writers must have been out of their minds or on drugs to come up with such an incredibly ill-conceived story. Antimatter, alternate universe, invasion, what is going on? Why did all of Starfleet prepare for invasion for such strange reasons? How come the antimatter Lazarus did not explode from touching the Enterprise?
Rating: 0 (Chris)

Devil in the Dark Stardate 3196.1: Synopsis in main TOS listing

It is my opinion that this is one of the best episodes of TOS. The science is unusually accurate for TOS, and the way Kirk and Spock interact with the Horta is intriguing. They even got the color of the eggs right, considering they are supposed to be silicon "rocks". I find many scenes in this episode memorable, such as Spock being fascinated by the silicon egg before they knew it was an egg, or McCoy helping the Horta with cement. The optimism of Star Trek really comes out when Kirk and Spock find a way to help the being, rather than trying to fire on it again like everyone else before. The way Kirk gets the miners and the Horta to work together really brings out the Star Trek spirit that I always enjoy.
Remarkable science: This episode makes good use of the theory of silicon based lifeforms. All life forms that we currently know of are based on carbon, which can make complex molecules because of the four valence electrons carbon has. Silicon is the only other element to have four valence electrons, which means in theory it is possible for life to be based on silicon too. However, there are certain complications that come up with silicon forming complex chains, complications that carbon does not have. If only Voyager could have used science this accurate in at least one episode...
Rating: 8 (Chris)

 

Season 2

The Doomsday Machine Stardate 4202.9: The Enterprise receives a distress call from the U.S.S. Constellation. When the Enterprise reaches system L-374, they discover the crippled Constellation with her captain, Commodore Matt Decker, as its sole survivor. Decker tells Kirk that his ship was attacked by a "planet killer". Decker explains that he beamed his crew down to the third planet of the system. The entire crew was killed when the planet killer destroyed the planet. Decker then beams over to the Enterprise while Kirk and Scotty remain on the Constellation. Decker then assumes command of the Enterprise when Spock refuses to prevent the planet killer from proceeding to Rigel. His attempt to destroy the planet killer fails and the Enterprise barely escapes with the help of the crippled Constellation. Spock then relieves Decker of command under the authority of Kirk. Dejected, Decker then hijacks a shuttlecraft and flies it into the maw of the planet killer. Decker is killed instantly. The plan failed but it inspires Kirk to fly the Constellation into the planet killer himself. Scotty rigs a thirty second delay to the impulse engines which will overload when the timer reaches zero. Kirk then proceeds to fly the Constellation into the maw of the planet killer and then engages the thirty second timer. Kirk then asks to be transported back to the Enterprise, but the transporter is not functioning. Scotty manages to repair the transporter and Kirk beams aboard just before the impulse engines explode. The explosion destroys the planet killer.

"The Doomsday Machine" is by far the best Original Series episode ever made. The script was well written, featuring many memorable quotes. The storyline is also beautifully written. William Windom does a fantastic job portraying Commodore Matt Decker. The special effects are a little weak, as they all were in the 1960s, but they are fun to look at. This episode has a lot of action in it, which is why I think it's the best. But another thing that makes this episode truly fantastic is it shows a Starfleet officer suffering from a severe mental breakdown and strong delusions (Decker). I highly suggest this episode to EVERYONE.
Funny miscue: The Constellation appears barely damaged, even though almost all its systems are shot. I guess the special effects team did the best they could with a Constitution Class model and a soldering iron.
Famous quote: "It's miles long, with a maw that could swallow a dozen starships." -Matt Decker on the planet killer
Famous dialogue: Decker: "They say there's no devil, Jim, but there is, right out of hell I saw it." Kirk: "Matt, where's your crew?" Decker: "On the third planet." Kirk: "There is no third planet." Decker says sobbingly: "Don't you think I know that? There was, but not anymore! They called me, they begged me for help, four hundred of them! I couldn't, I..I couldn't!"
Rating: 10 (Nathaniel Scripa)

The Doomsday Machine Stardate not given: Synopsis in main TOS listing

This was probably the first Star Trek thing I ever saw, and it made quite an impression on a blank-minded 3 year-old at the time. Even today this remains my favorite Star Trek episode. But looking at it from the series perspective? We get treated to a full model rather than a blinking light effect, we get several suspense scenes and a fight scene that Kirk is actually not involved in (I bet nobody saw that coming). The Constellation always looked smaller than the Enterprise (I later found out it was an AMT model damaged with a soldering iron) and even in the Remastered this doesn't seem to be corrected. Other than that I didn't find anything wrong with it.
Nitpicking: Though it would have been useless, why didn't Decker try firing torpedoes? Many sources say they are x times as powerful as phasers and Decker, as a commodore, should have known that.
Remarkable quote: "He gave his life in attempt to save others, not the worst way to go." (Kirk to Spock about Decker)
Remarkable scene: The Constellation flying into the Planet-Killer, a great suspenseful scene.
Remarkable ship: The Planet-Killer, probably one of the most basic yet most complicated designs yet (basic as in a paper-mâché cone spray painted blue, complicated as in all the technobabble going with it).
Rating: 9 (Hanzou)

Patterns of Force Stardate 2530.4: The Enterprise goes to the planet Ekos in search of scientist John Gill. Kirk and Spock are surprised to see Nazis on the planet when they beam down. They find that Gill is the planet's führer! Kirk and Spock now must find Gill and get him to end this planet's Nazi regime. They then steal some Nazi uniforms, but are quickly discovered and imprisoned. Kirk and Spock then manage to escape and get the heavily drugged Gill to tell the people that he has been manipulated and that the must stop a planned invasion of a nearby planet. Gill is then assassinated but the crisis is already over.

This is one of the only times I actually disagree with Bernd. I find this episode to be quite entertaining. Yes, it may be distasteful and share a similar plot as other episodes, but the plot of fixing a violation of the Prime Directive never gets old. The idea of Nazis existing in another part of the galaxy is a bit odd, but it still makes for a good episode. This is one of my favorite TOS episodes. So watch it, and see what you think.
Rating: 8 (Nathaniel Scripa)

 

Season 3

Whom Gods Destroy Stardate 5718.3: An admired ex-fleet captain named Garth of Izar is the newest addition to a Federation funny farm, however he's learned a (unbelievably perfect, see below) shape-shifting technique which he uses to overrun the colony, draw the Enterprise to the planet, and declares himself king of the universe, intending to use the big E to take over everything.

Wow. Only a minor plot device and some good (and just humorous) acting try to save this crap.
First of all, even with cellular metamorphosis, how can Garth change his clothes, which are not part of his body? Not to mention his voice shouldn't sound exactly like the person he's impersonating. And even with how psycho he is, he should know he can't reach the entire universe, considering they can't reach the rest of the galaxy. And why can Garth not remember anything of taking over the asylum after getting his insanity medication?
However, it is refreshing to see for once, that there's some kind of a preventive measure for starship takeover. However, I wonder why it's put in place, since they had no idea of Garth at the time of arriving. Otherwise, a predictable episode.
Remarkable acting 1: It's actually believable that Garth and Marta are nuts, without the acting being ridiculously stupid.
Remarkable acting 2: Watching William Shatner as Garth throw a temper tantrum when he realizes that taking over the Enterprise will not be easy.
(Un) remarkable special effect: Garth shapeshifting, it's just the camera going out of focus >_<
Continuity error: The medicine to cure insanity seems to be gone by Star Trek III, as a Federation guard tells Kirk McCoy's going to an insane asylum.
Rating: 4 (Ako Widorn)

The Way to Eden Stardate not given: Synopsis in main TOS listing

To be fair, "Way To Eden" is probably not as bad as you'd expect for an episode whose basic plot outline can be summed up as 'Space hippies take over the Enterprise'. But, really, that's not saying much. First of all, trying to 'take on' the issue of hippies was probably a bad idea to begin with; after all, the philosophy espoused by Roddenberry (and, by extension, the crew of the Enterprise) is almost the complete opposite of the basic hippy mindset. But, even so, it would still be possible to create an interesting episode, by contrasting exactly these two differing mindsets, with perhaps a few insightful comments about the pros and cons of such beliefs. To put it simply, "The Way To Eden" is simply not that episode. And the main problem, predictably enough is the hippies themselves. Almost by definition, for the hippies eventual tragic ends to have any meaning, the audience has to, on some level, sympathize with them and their 'quest'. But, at least in my case, this simply didn't happen. Almost the opposite, in fact; by the end of the episode, I hated everything about them. And this is partly the fault of the writer of this episode; when you're trying to make someone sympathetic, its generally not a good idea to have them immediately tick off the most popular regular character on the show. By the time Spock's ill-fated 'fascination' with the movement begins, the audience is already lost, and, as a result, this plot thread just comes off as plain weird. And all of this is not to mention the horrible, unbelievable way in which they overpower the Enterprise crew, making every single regular character look like an idiot, and, of course, Irina's atrociously fake Russian accent. Overall, not a great episode.
Errors: Strangely enough, a man-made bridge appears in the background of the supposedly primitive 'Eden' planet.
Quote: "I reach." (Spock)
Rating: 1 (Nathan)

 

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