July 2012
14 posts
7 tags
162. [TOS] The Paradise Syndrome
SCORE: (3/5 stars)
Our trio find themselves scouting out an idyllic planet, which Kirk observes has many of the same plant and animal life as Earth. It’s even got a local population of what looks like Native Americans. Despite having run into planets that were identical to Earth down to the shape of the continents where the inhabitants actually spoke English instead of just having the...
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161. [TOS] Elaan of Troyius
SCORE: (3/5 stars)
The Enterprise is sent to escort the Dohlman of Elas to Troyius for an arranged marriage with their ruler. Elas and Troyius have been at war for some time now, and the marriage is hoped to bring the two cultures to peace. The Troyians are a green-skinned race generally considered diplomatic, courteous, refined, and a bit on the wimpy side. The Elasians are copper-skinned,...
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160. [TOS] Spectre of the Gun
SCORE: (2/5 stars)
Welcome to season 3. I will confess that though I have done a complete view-through of every Star Trek ever once before, oftentimes the episode was more “in the background,” especially this season. Paying closer attention, a few things become immediately evident in this episode: these aren’t the writers we were looking for. Pretty much all logic goes straight out the...
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159. [TOS] Season 2 Review
SCORE: (3.58/5 stars)
Season 2 has some of the best episodes of the original series. Gems like The Trouble With Tribbles that combined the light-hearted humor that the show would be fondly remembered for with the ever-popular Klingon menace (as well as giving us our lovable cuddly balls of carpet), or the ever-memorable Amok Time that introduced so much of Vulcan culture, including the salute,...
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158. [TOS] Assignment: Earth
SCORE: (2/5 stars)
Gene Roddenberry tries to sneak a new TV pilot past us by dolling it up as an episode of Star Trek. It’s not really a wonder that it doesn’t get picked up for a series, and I don’t even really think it deserves a full review, but here we go I guess. The Enterprise has used the gravity well slingshot effect to travel back in time to 1968, for the purpose...
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157. [TOS] The Omega Glory
SCORE: (1/5 stars)
A tangled mess of a screenplay from start to finish, unsure of the story it wants to tell, overflowing with racist overtones hidden as a purported role reversal, and topping off with some sappy nationalistic pride, it’s no wonder why this script was not selected as the second pilot for Star Trek, though it was one of the finalists. The Enterprise comes across the USS...
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156. [TOS] The Ultimate Computer
SCORE: (4/5 stars)
In what is certainly a commentary on the fears of mechanization eliminating jobs (certainly fears that continue to the present day, as I now check out my groceries at a computer instead of a cashier) the Enterprise is ordered to a starbase to have a brand new computer installed that, if successful, will render the entire crew of the Enterprise obsolete. The M-5...
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155. [TOS] Patterns of Force
SCORE: (3/5 stars)
The Federation historian John Gill hasn’t contacted Starfleet for months after his posting on the planet Ekos, The Enterprise is sent to look for him. Kirk studied under him at the academy, and admired his view of history in terms of “causes and motivations rather than dates and events.” As they approach the planet, they see a rocket heading toward them. Study on the...
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154. [TOS] Return to Tomorrow
SCORE: (5/5 stars)
Sulu is back from his 10-episode absence! Takei had been filming a movie during season 2 shooting and had to miss several episodes, so many of his lines were given to Chekov.. Also joining us for this episode is Diana Muldaur, better known as Doctor Pulaski (who is totally absolutely positively not just a female McCoy) from season 2 of The Next Generation. The Enterprise...
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153. [TOS] By Any Other Name
SCORE: (4/5 stars)
Responding to a distress call that turned out to be a trap, the landing party of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and two redshirts is captured by aliens who call themselves Kelvans. They’re from the Andromeda Galaxy, and they’re searching for a suitable place to conquer. They have belts that can render someone immobile, or if they’re feeling particularly cruel, turn...
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152. [TOS] A Piece of the Action
SCORE: (4/5 stars)
The Enterprise is investigating a planet that was visited a hundred years ago, back before the advent of the Prime Directive. Unfortunately, the ship that visited before, the Horizon, had left behind a book on the Chicago gangs of the 1920s, and the local populace have a tendency for mimicry much in the way homeopaths wrongly believe water works. As Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam...
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151. [TOS] The Immunity Syndrome
SCORE: (4/5 stars)
Spock seizes up at his workstation, horror and shock on his face. He sensed a great disturbance in the Logic. It was as if four hundred Vulcans cried out, and were suddenly silenced. He insists that the entire crew of the USS Intrepid, a Vulcan-staffed ship, has just died. After Kirk orders him to sickbay for a checkup, Chekov confirms on long-range scans what Spock was...
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150. [TOS] Obsession
SCORE: (4/5 stars)
While scouting for tritanium on their way to pick up perishable vaccines or space supplies for starving orphans or some bullshit, Kirk detects a telltale whiff of honey. Smell, being the strongest memory trigger in humans, brings Kirk back to a mission eleven years ago when half the crew of the Farragut, including Captain Garrovick, was killed by a vampiric gas cloud. Kirk...
