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Series and Season: Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2

Episode #, and Episode Name: 1 – “Amok Time”, 2 – “Who Mourns for Adonais?”, and 3 – “The Changeling”

Setting the Stage: I started at 7:30 pm on January 13, 2020. Still watching via Netflix and using their viewing order. Husband and I ate dinner while we watched the first two episodes. I worked out during the last episode. Professor Zoom has decided he likes this Star Trek stuff and was present for all three episodes. As this was a new season, I watched the introduction on the first episode. Spoiler alert: it hasn’t changed.

I’ve also updated how I’ll run these posts with my Summary and Impressions all mixed together. I’m also going to try to do better on rating each episode, but they will be inconsistent just for funsies.

Quick Summary with my Impressions: “Amok Time” begins with a volatile and very emotional Spock. Oh my goodness, it’s babyface Walter Koenig and he’s in an AWFUL wig. McCoy is trying to be chummy with Spock instead of antagonistic, I like that. Spock is deeply uncomfortable and apparently he’s going to die if he doesn’t get laid. I really like the Sulu and Chekov dynamic, I hope to see more of it as the season progresses. Wait, is Spock hitting on Chapel?! Okay, so we get to the planet Vulcan and Spock calls Kirk and McCoy his closest friends, in the most Vulcan way possible, and it’s super adorable.

Spock and his lady “love” exchange very Vulcan pleasantries and the three men beam down to begin the ceremony. There is so much dramatic music, Kirk and McCoy are clearly confused, and apparently his “wife” decides she wants Spock to fight for her. She chooses Kirk instead of the random dude with a green sash who she apparently made an earlier agreement with. Okay, what is with the damn bells? This is going to be interesting, there are axes… oh, and combat is to the death, whoops. Had to show off Kirk’s chest, really? Watching the stuntmen go at it is kind of funny, because it’s very clear when Shatner and Nimoy are not the ones fighting . McCoy helps even things out for Kirk when a time out is called. Now, there are lasso-like belts and Spock is totally winning… he seems to come to his senses when it looks like he’s killed Kirk. Methinks McCoy gave him something to appear dead, calling Romeo and Juliet. Spock’s bride-to-be did want the other dude and Spock gladly parts with her, praising her logic. I hear “live long and prosper” for the first time! When Spock turns around to see Kirk is alive and he smiles, it’s the best scene ever. We end on a high note and some sassy commentary between our three leading men. I absolutely loved this episode, 10/10 would recommend.

“Who Mourns for Adonais?” opens with Scotty is pulling the moves, McCoy being misogynistic, and Kirk lamenting about a future where he would lose an officer when they see a green puff of smoke in the shape of a hand that grabs the ship. There’s a dude on the screen but Kirk thinks he’s the boss and tries to puff his chest out at iot. Spock is not allowed on the planet because he’s a killjoy, according to the mysterious man. At least this time the man, Apollo, is in a skimpy outfit. I’m noticing more that they definitely do something to make all the women be seen in a softer light. Apollo is in thrall with Carolyn and Scotty ain’t having that… but it’s no use, she likes her pretty pink outfit. Let’s be honest, I like it too and that would be awesome to cosplay in the damn Atlanta heat. What’s with Kirk getting choked out two episodes in a row? Uhura will not be rushed with her repairs and Spock is kind in turn, understanding the situation. Carolyn smashes Apollo’s heart in the best way possible, she’s cold as ice, and then he goes apeshit while the Enterprise tries to smash his structure. Apollo starts crying and begs the other gods to take him home. This episode was okay, I give it 5 avocados.

“The Changeling” opens with a problem, where did the 4 billion people go? More weird green objects coming at the ship, what is this Disney villain hour?  Spock essentially says good things come in small packages, yay for me at 5 foot tall. A machine beams aboard and NOMAD reminds me of Brainiac from Superman. Nope, apparently it’s Ultron and has to exterminate anything that isn’t perfect. NOMAD is all about Uhura’s voice, but then doesn’t understand the concept of music and wipes Uhura’s brains. Man, Scotty keeps getting owned… WHAT THE FUCK, Scotty is dead? Uhura is stoned? What is happening? OF COURSE I WANT YOU TO REPAIR THE UNIT, is what Kirk should have said.  Also I love that they are using floppy disks, not sure I made the connection before. NOMAD “repairs” Scotty, whew, but Uhura has to relearn everything. This makes for an adorable moment between Uhura and Chapel. Spock wants to do some Vulcan mind magic, that almost breaks him, so in turn Kirk breaks the mind of NOMAD with a logic error. Man, the redshirts are getting OWNED this episode. Kirk continues to probe at NOMAD until it breaks down. Spock and Kirk take NOMAD back to the transporter room a la Batman ( https://vimeo.com/91815457 ) and they transport it off the ship just in time for it to explode. Uhura is smart as hell, she relearns quite quickly, and I’m sure will be back to her usual in no time. “My son, the doctor” is one of my new favorite lines from Kirk. I really liked the dialogue in this episode, so it’s a solid 7 or 8 from me even though we see Kirk out-logicing a robot, again.

Series: Star Trek: The Original Series

Season, Episode #,and Episode Name: Season 1, Episode 29, “The City on the Edge of Forever” and Episode 30, “Operation: Annihilate!”

Setting the Stage: I started at 5:00 pm on January 12, 2020, still watching via Netflix, so I’m using their viewing order. I had a special request from the husband that he be present to watch the first episode, but after that he disappeared. Thor and Professor Zoom were around, but Zoom was tuckered out. He had way too much birthday yesterday. He would, however, love to know if you think he’s the best pupper… so you should leave a comment on his birthday post.

Quick Summary with my reactions: “The City on the Edge of Forever” opens with Sulu’s panel exploding and McCoy having to do some dangerous medicine. The ship rocks and McCoy accidentally injects himself, goes crazy, and beams himself down to the planet (that’s having some weird time stuff). I love seeing Uhura in the landing party, glad to see her getting out and stretching her legs. The party finds a weird structure that begins talking and showing them Earth’s history, when McCoy suddenly jumps in, and the Enterprise vanishes because McCoy has changed time! Spock and Kirk jump into time a little ahead of where McCoy might be, they land in the 1930s, and Kirk falls in love. Turns out, Kirk’s lady love needs to die in order for history to go back to the way it was. Watching Kirk make the choice to not save a woman he is in love with is one of the saddest things I have watched. Not as sad as that scene in John Wick, but it’s up there.

“Operation: Annihilate!” is the season finale and it doesn’t disappoint with the drama of some ship making a beeline for the sun of that system and being excited about being “free”. The landing party finds Kirk’s brother dead, but his nephew and sister-in-law have survived the strange creatures that seem to have taken over the people of the system. While investigating, Spock gets attacked by a creature and is incapacitated until he can lean on his Vulcan side to avoid the pain. McCoy blinds Spock in trying to kill the creatures, but we find out that it could have been avoided! As McCoy and Kirk are all despondent, and the creatures on the planet are dying, Spock regains his vision due to Vulcan anatomy magic. A very bittersweet ending to Season 1.

My Impressions: “The City on the Edge of Forever” is an episode I have been looking forward to because husband and work mom hyped it up. They were not wrong about it’s awesomeness, mostly because it had to do with time travel and didn’t make my head hurt! They corrected whatever McCoy had done and got back as if no time had passed with presumably nothing changed in their own past. It was quite funny to watch Kirk being absolutely terrible at improv when they ran into the police officer, and so terribly sad when Kirk’s lady love had to die. I also enjoyed watching Spock in total disgust at having to work with such “subprime” tools and materials, but also being able to put together what was needed.

Uhura and Scotty were both fantastic in “Operation: Annihilate!”. Uhura doesn’t take shit from Kirk when he’s being impatient and is able to explain that it just can’t be done. Scotty doesn’t take shit from Spock, even though Spock is his superior officer and gave a direct order. They may not have had many lines, but they were my absolute favorites.

Overall, I thought Season 1 of Star Trek: The Original Series had its ups and downs. There were some episodes that did not age well, did not sit well, and had some real strange choices made. There were other episodes that still ring true today, or were relatable in some way. To see what technology is still science fiction in the 2020s and what things we are maybe decades away from is interesting. I am absolutely “Team Spock”, it’s clearly the logical choice. Tomorrow, I’ll begin Season 2. Here’s to hoping there’s more Sulu and Scotty.

Series: Star Trek: The Original Series

Season, Episode #,and Episode Name: Season 1, Episode 27, “Errand of Mercy” and Episode 28, “The Alternative Factor”

Setting the Stage: I started at 8:00 pm on January 10, 2020, still watching via Netflix, so I’m using their viewing order. Professor Zoom, Tempura, and Thor were present for both episodes. My husband watched the first episode and then had some other things to do so he left me to the second episode.

I notice when I’ve had a long day at work, or I get a late start, that two episodes is more than enough for me. While I had hoped to get three and three done and thus have finished Season 1 tonight, it didn’t happen. I also am unsure if I’ll be able to watch any Star Trek on Saturday as we’re having a very delayed birthday party for me… so we’ll see if I am able to post tomorrow. I also think I might change the format up a bit for Season 2 and beyond. Is there anything you would like to see?

Quick Summary with my reactions:  “Errand of Mercy” is the first time I have heard the Klingons mentioned. They do not appear physically the same as the Klingons I have seen, my husband assures me I’ll find out why when I watch Enterprise… great. Kirk makes a big deal to Sulu about his duty to the Enterprise and not to Kirk and Spock before the latter two men beam down, only to be trapped on the planet with the strange Organians while the Klingons start their occupation. It’s the Federation versus the Klingon Empire, but wait… the Organians are essentially Vorlons! Okay so yes, Babylon 5 came after Star Trek and it’s the other way around, but since I watched Babylon 5 first and it’s my blog, you’ll just have to live with it. The Organians are opposed to violence and force a truce while Kirk realizes he was arguing for a war he was really against.

“The Alternative Factor” opens with two strange pulses that not only emanate throughout the galaxy, but also apparently create life on the planet below. This Lazarus dude is super weird, and we have the first of several ridiculously long fight sequences in a weird white light space. Apparently Lazarus is two people, matter and anti-matter. This reminds me a bit of Michael Korvac from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but I don’t really know why I’m just instantly reminded of that particular episode. And now we get to it, Lazarus is a damn time traveler… calling Dr. Who (I have also never watched an episode of Dr. Who, maybe that will be my 2021 project). Is this a Crisis on Infinite Earths type thing? Kirk tries to help make sure that the two Lazaruses do not meet so as to avoid all of life exploding… so he traps the two men in the warp area and the Enterprise moves on to its next adventure.

My Impressions: In “Errand of Mercy” I find it interesting how we again hear Kirk telling whoever he is leaving in charge that the duty is to the ship and not the landing party. Kirk completely understands how many people are under his command and he is unwilling to risk the lives of every person on board in order to save him or anyone else who goes to investigate their latest problem. It’s a theme I’ve noticed over the course of several episodes and it’s really highlighted here in the discussion between Sulu and Kirk. It’c clear everyone loves the Captain and would do anything for him, but his responsibility is so much larger. Also in full effect this episode is the “Shatner comma” with the speech pattern that he is best known for. The Klingons in this episode all look like they stepped out of Afghanistan and not an alien planet, or at least not the Klingons I am most familiar with. The only one who looks different is the leader, but I guess that was the point?

In “The Alternative Factor” Spock calls Lazarus a liar in the best way ever, and I’m still laughing about the exchange. I had also almost all but forgotten about McCoy, who wasn’t in the previous episode, until he was called on to care for Lazarus. He’s not really my favorite character, but he does give some good sassy dialogue. he ridiculously long fight sequences just seemed to fill up time and the pacing of this episode is SO SLOW. Kirk talks about leaping, and I’m instantly reminded that my husband needs to watch all of Quantum Leap with me, but I digress. Hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow or Sunday with the last two episodes of Season 1!

Series: Star Trek: The Original Series

Season, Episode #,and Episode Name: Season 1, Episode 25, “This Side of Paradise” and Episode 26, “The Devil in the Dark”

Setting the Stage: I started at 8:30 pm on January 9, 2020, still watching via Netflix, so I’m using their viewing order. Professor Zoom and Tempura were present for both episodes. My husband watched the first episode and then decided he was tired and went to bed like the old man he is.

Today at lunch, work mom and I had a great discussion about Uhura. Not only is she a woman of color and total badass, but she knows how to respect the chain of command. When the ambassador in “A Taste of Armageddon” orders her to do something, she only does so after Scotty gives her a nod. In “Space Seed” she absolutely refuses to cooperate, even after she’s been physically assaulted. She may not have a lot of lines in every episode, and she might be wearing a ridiculously short skirt, but she is simply fantastic. Here’s to you Lieutenant! 

Quick Summary with my reactions: “This Side of Paradise” starts with the landing party thinking their heading to an abandoned settlement, but instead find a medical mystery, strange plants, and a sassy McCoy. We also finally see a woman from Spock’s past! That’s right, Kirk is so damn confused it’s adorable. The plants have spores that take over the entire landing party and eventually the entire crew of the Enterprise, except Kirk. Kirk is the last man standing when it comes to the mystery spores and figures out that strong emotions are necessary, so he verbally spars with Spock until he gives into his baser emotions and attacks Kirk. They concoct a plan and help the folks down below get settled elsewhere.

“The Devil in the Dark” opens with the crew of a planet and some dude getting owned by an unknown entity. After the Enterprise arrives, the creature steals a part of the reactor that powers the planet and Scotty has to pull a “MacGyver” in order to give everyone some more time to figure out what is going on. Spock wants to try to save the life of the creature and Kirk is adamant it’s a killer and no more human life will be wasted. The creature corners Kirk and the two men reserve roles as Kirk wants to know more. Spock eventually does some Vulcan mind magic and we find out the creature is a mother who is wicked pissed the humans have been killing her eggs. McCoy pulls a “MacGyver” moment as well so he can heal the mother, Spock communicates with her, and Kirk helps negotiate a way for the humans and the creatures to cohabitate.

My Impressions: “This Side of Paradise” is a cute, interesting adventure of the week. A mystery that needs to be solved and it’s all up to Kirk because everyone else went bonkers. We get to see Spock play the leading man, which was quite interesting. I also think it’s the longest I’ve heard Uhura speak at once! I find it interesting that the stunt doubles are clearly visible in the Spock vs. Kirk fight, but that’s what happens when you remaster shit from the 60s. I really enjoyed this episode, except for McCoy’s bad (and weird) Southern accent and whatever he was drinking was NOT a mint julep.

“The Devil in the Dark” proves that Kirk should almost always listen to Spock because he knows what’s up. I love that we find a “mama bear” who goes into rage mode when the stupid humans destroy instead of trying to understand their surroundings. It’s another episode that still has grains of truth that are applicable today as Australia is burning and our climate is whacked out. I genuinely enjoyed this mystery that needed to be solved. These two episodes were good ones to watch and both kept me interested in the ending. It also gives us one of my new favorite exchanges between Kirk and Spock.