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Thoughts on Star Trek, Part 1
Jul. 18th, 2016 09:40 pmThe Man Trap
Good: Nice introduction to Star Trek, even though this was a Monster-of-the-week episode. The salt monster's illusion capability was well executed and suspenseful. Jeanne Bal was good.
Bad: Why would a salt creature evolve on a planet lacking salt? It's clearly a predator, maybe it wiped out all of the prey creatures that collected salt from the environment, but it couldn't do it on it's own. Refined salt would be like crack.
Ensign Ricky: mistakes the salt monster/McCoy's lost love/Scientist's main squeeze for a space prostitute, follows his dick after it, and dies.
Charlie X
Good: Robert Walker played Charlie super - and believably - creepy. The scene where Charlie removes a woman's face freaked me out when I was a kid.
Bad: This gets some grief for being one of the bad episodes, but I don't really think it's deserved. Is it because Charlie and Janice's scenes are so cringe-worthy? They're supposed to be.
Ensign Ricky: Laughs at Charlie and gets sent to the corn field. He gets better when the Thasians reset everything.
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Good: Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman's performances, especially since they did it while wearing 1960's era eye prosthetics. That had to hurt like hell.
Bad: The galactic barrier, both as a concept and visually as a wall (that I always wondered why they didn't just fly over it). Couldn't it have been some kind of hanging-in-space energy field that no one understood, so they were probing it?
Ensign Ricky: dies nine times off screen through no fault of his own.
The Naked Time
Good: Swashbuckling Sulu! "I'll protect you, fair maiden." "Sorry, neither."
Bad: Polywater intoxication? Should have gone with a disease. Or would this be a kind of prion disease? Sure, let's go with that.
Ensign Ricky: Takes his glove off so that he can stick his hand in a contaminant and then scratch his nose, eyes, tip of penis.
The Enemy Within
Good: A good hard dose of Shatner-esque acting from the man who invented it! Grace Lee Whitney does a solid job too. i'm starting to see her acting as way better than I remember it. First VNP, first "He's Dead, Jim".
Bad: Send a god-damned shuttle craft down to Sulu, or at least beam down some parkas - unless you're worried that they'll have to deal with good and evil parkas.
Ensign Ricky: Gets knocked out, but not killed. First episode with no fatalities!
Mudd's Women
Good: Harry Mudd! Harry Mudd's fabulous hat! Seriously, would Trek have been so fun without Roger Carmel?
Bad: Women just want to be wives. Women just want to be pretty.
Ensign Ricky: Does not appear. I'm kind of glad - fatalities due to Mudd would have made him less of a lovable rogue.
What Are Little Girls Made Of
Good: More solid performances from all of the guests. Sherrie Jackson was ridiculously hott. Also, first appearance of side-boob costuming. References to "The Old Ones" by Ruk. If you think about it, this whole episode is basically Planet of the Elder Things, with androids taking the place of Shoggoths. Also, I totally cribbed the duplication machine for my 60's Supers game.
Ensign Ricky: Pushed into a chasm by Lurch. Crushed by Lurch.
Miri
Good: Not much. I guess Kim Darby's performance. I do wonder what happened to the Onlies later. They're super long lived, and most will be only weeks older by the time of Next Gen. I wonder if anyone ever wrote them into any of the books.
Bad: An alternate Earth? I prefer James Blish's back story, since it makes more sense. A 300 year old kid isn't going to act like a kid. They'll act like a 300 year old adult in a kid's body. Also, take your damn communicators with you.
Ensign Ricky: Manages to go the whole episode without dying - or even coming down with the purple bloches. WTH?
Good: Nice introduction to Star Trek, even though this was a Monster-of-the-week episode. The salt monster's illusion capability was well executed and suspenseful. Jeanne Bal was good.
Bad: Why would a salt creature evolve on a planet lacking salt? It's clearly a predator, maybe it wiped out all of the prey creatures that collected salt from the environment, but it couldn't do it on it's own. Refined salt would be like crack.
Ensign Ricky: mistakes the salt monster/McCoy's lost love/Scientist's main squeeze for a space prostitute, follows his dick after it, and dies.
Charlie X
Good: Robert Walker played Charlie super - and believably - creepy. The scene where Charlie removes a woman's face freaked me out when I was a kid.
Bad: This gets some grief for being one of the bad episodes, but I don't really think it's deserved. Is it because Charlie and Janice's scenes are so cringe-worthy? They're supposed to be.
Ensign Ricky: Laughs at Charlie and gets sent to the corn field. He gets better when the Thasians reset everything.
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Good: Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman's performances, especially since they did it while wearing 1960's era eye prosthetics. That had to hurt like hell.
Bad: The galactic barrier, both as a concept and visually as a wall (that I always wondered why they didn't just fly over it). Couldn't it have been some kind of hanging-in-space energy field that no one understood, so they were probing it?
Ensign Ricky: dies nine times off screen through no fault of his own.
The Naked Time
Good: Swashbuckling Sulu! "I'll protect you, fair maiden." "Sorry, neither."
Bad: Polywater intoxication? Should have gone with a disease. Or would this be a kind of prion disease? Sure, let's go with that.
Ensign Ricky: Takes his glove off so that he can stick his hand in a contaminant and then scratch his nose, eyes, tip of penis.
The Enemy Within
Good: A good hard dose of Shatner-esque acting from the man who invented it! Grace Lee Whitney does a solid job too. i'm starting to see her acting as way better than I remember it. First VNP, first "He's Dead, Jim".
Bad: Send a god-damned shuttle craft down to Sulu, or at least beam down some parkas - unless you're worried that they'll have to deal with good and evil parkas.
Ensign Ricky: Gets knocked out, but not killed. First episode with no fatalities!
Mudd's Women
Good: Harry Mudd! Harry Mudd's fabulous hat! Seriously, would Trek have been so fun without Roger Carmel?
Bad: Women just want to be wives. Women just want to be pretty.
Ensign Ricky: Does not appear. I'm kind of glad - fatalities due to Mudd would have made him less of a lovable rogue.
What Are Little Girls Made Of
Good: More solid performances from all of the guests. Sherrie Jackson was ridiculously hott. Also, first appearance of side-boob costuming. References to "The Old Ones" by Ruk. If you think about it, this whole episode is basically Planet of the Elder Things, with androids taking the place of Shoggoths. Also, I totally cribbed the duplication machine for my 60's Supers game.
Ensign Ricky: Pushed into a chasm by Lurch. Crushed by Lurch.
Miri
Good: Not much. I guess Kim Darby's performance. I do wonder what happened to the Onlies later. They're super long lived, and most will be only weeks older by the time of Next Gen. I wonder if anyone ever wrote them into any of the books.
Bad: An alternate Earth? I prefer James Blish's back story, since it makes more sense. A 300 year old kid isn't going to act like a kid. They'll act like a 300 year old adult in a kid's body. Also, take your damn communicators with you.
Ensign Ricky: Manages to go the whole episode without dying - or even coming down with the purple bloches. WTH?
