Series: Star Trek: The Original Series

Season, Episode #,and Episode Name: Season 1, Episode 19, “Arena”, Episode 20, “Tomorrow is Yesterday”, and Episode 21, “Court Martial”

Setting the Stage: I started at 7:00 pm on January 7, 2020, still watching via Netflix, so I’m using their viewing order. Professor Zoom and my husband were present for all three episodes. Tempura and Thor joined us for the last one, until it was food time.

Husband and I had a discussion and I feel I may have been too hasty with placing Spock in Slytherin, he might just be a Ravenclaw. I see a lot of myself in Spock, I am very logic-oriented. I’m also super ambitious, so I may have been blind on this one. Kirk, as we both agree, is 8000% a Gryffindor, and McCoy is likely the resident Hufflepuff, albeit a mean-spirited one. What are your thoughts on Star Trek characters in Hogwarts Houses?

Quick Summary with my reactions: “Arena” begins with a message from a commodore, on the planet below. Kirk and crew beam down to find out the place has been destroyed. Both the Enterprise and the crew down below have come under attack. Sulu decides to leave, but is able to come back and pick up the crew. Kirk decides to pursue the attacking ship, but another alien group decides to trap the captains of each ship into a duel to the death. Their logic is the two ships were going to duke it out anyway. Why is the Gorn captain wearing a pizza apron? I think Kirk just pissed it off by throwing a rock, and then he gets captured in the trap the Gorn made. He escapes and then starts to make his own weapon. At the last minute, Kirk doesn’t kill the Gorn and the other aliens decide that maybe the humans are advanced afterall, and everyone goes their own way. Crisis averted.

“Tomorrow Is Yesterday” begins with something happening to the Enterprise and suddenly the crew finds themselves in the late 1960s. They beam a “Captain Christopher”, from the current time, up to the Enterprise and debate returning him, until they realize his son is important to space discovery. They need to try to get back to their own time and also make sure there is no evidence of them in the 1960s. Christopher gets beamed back down after they go back in time, so they can then go back forward in time. This is why I hate time travel, screw you Flash!

In “Court Martial”, Kirk is back in his weird green shirt and the daughter of the man killed during an ion storm accuses Kirk of being a murderer. This is just as it is pointed out that Kirk has lied and might need a court martial, whoa! Kirk and the Commodore get into it and Kirk doesn’t want any special treatment, he knows what he did and it wasn’t wrong. Kirk’s lawyer doesn’t like computers, this will be important. But wait, we have a visual that Kirk pressed the wrong button – but Kirk claims that is not how it happened! Spock determines that there’s been some trickery with the computer after an offhand comment about chess, and McCoy does this cool trick with heartbeats on board. It was stupid, but interesting. We then find out that the man who was dead, is NOT, and he’s hiding on the ship… escandalo! Kirk gets off scot free and gets to kiss the girl.

My Impressions: “Arena” felt very much like a parent who was giving their children the chance to “fight it out”, which was a very similar premise to the last episode (see my review of “The Squire of Gothos“). It was interesting to meet a new race (the Gorn) and to see a different side of Kirk. I thoroughly enjoyed Kirk realizing that Spock was right and there’s always more than one side to a story, it isn’t always about war. With what is going on in the world today, it is a good reminder that people often forget.

I absolutely hate time travel. I mean I love it, but everyone does it differently and it doesn’t always make sense. In “Tomorrow is Yesterday” we have random time travel, then purposeful time travel, and then mixing in the beaming technology which makes for a lot of “um yeah, because we said so”. I know that I’m watching this through the lens of someone who didn’t watch Star Trek first, but that’s where my perspective is interesting. How many references did this one episode cause in future shows, movies, novels? 

My first thought when watching “Court Martial” was, “Oh great, lawyers.” This episode had a lot of problems. We had ethical issues, procedural issues, and even story issues. The female lawyer absolutely is in the wrong giving any advice, the defense lawyer makes some pretty thing arguments, and the court allows Kirk to go after the crewman on his own… it was a mess! This was a very “meh” episode for me. I do, however, agree with the defense attorney on one issue: books. I love the way a book feels in my hand. Physical books are a pain in the ass, they take up a lot of space and they can be damaged over time, but they are still the medium I continue to prefer. Just don’t tell the other computer science nerds!

Ooooh, we’re halfway there (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk) as we’re now into the second half of Season 1 and we’re not even a week into this challenge.

Series: Star Trek: The Original Series

Season, Episode #,and Episode Name: Season 1, Episode 16, “Shore Leave”, Episode 17, “The Galileo Seven”, and Episode 18, “The Squire of Gothos”

Setting the Stage: I started at 7:30 pm on January 6, 2020, still watching via Netflix, so I’m using their viewing order. Professor Zoom, my husband, and Tempura kept me company for the first two episodes and I was left alone to enjoy the last one.

Quick Summary with my reactions: “Shore Leave” opens with the first patch of grass we’ve seen in space. McCoy mentions “Alice in Wonderland” and as Sulu is occupied, Alice and the White Rabbit appear. I saw through Spock’s deception right away, but Kirk walked right into it – which really shows how badly he needs a break. Apparently, if you mention something, or think about it while on the planet, it appears. Kirk becomes a gooey mess when the mysterious Ruth appears. McCoy is being weird with the new Yeoman, it’s super creepy. Strange things are afoot, McCoy gets stabbed, and Angela is hurt as well. Kirk gets a very long fight sequence and the crew meets the caretaker of the planet who explains that everything is temporary and fictional. Kirk calls the crew down to take their shore leave, McCoy is claimed by the Yeoman, and Kirk goes off to be with Ruth. A very strange episode.

“The Galileo Seven” opens with seven of the crew to go investigate the quasars, but then things happen and they get stuck on one of the planets. There’s a commissioner on board the Enterprise that keeps urging Kirk to end the search for the missing crew and deliver the much needed medicine to another planet. Spock determines at least three will need to stay so the rest can get back on board, but one of the crew winds up dead. Spock and Scotty work on getting the ship back in working order, but the rest of the crew is focused on the crewman that died. HOLY FUCK there are giants, though we don’t get a very good look at them. Scotty has an idea! Another of the party dies, Spock is confused about why his logical choices are not working, and then he has an idea. Next thing we know, the survivors are off spinning around the planet! Beamed up at the last minute, Kirk saves the day and everyone gives Spock shit for being emotional… which he, of course, denies.

“The Squire of Gothos” begins like any other episode until Sulu and Kirk disappear… things just got interesting. McCoy and two others find a weird house, along with a weird man, and Sulu and Kirk reappear. Who the hell is this guy, he’s clearly disturbed from being alone on this planet for too long. He makes a lot of cringe-worthy remarks (I know, it’s from the 60s, but still). At one point, Kirk mentions men and women, at which Trelane gets excited, but then Spock warps the crew back to the ship. As they prepare to leave, Trelane appears on the Enterprise and then many members of the bridge are sent back to the planet. There’s a very big “you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” vibe coming from Trelane. There’s going to be a duel, and Kirk purposely aims at the mirror. While the Enterprise circles Gothos, Kirk gets pissed and beams back down to confront Trelane. When he gets beaten, he becomes a child and then gets chastised by his parents, who are strange, green beams of light.

My Impressions: “Shore Leave” had the most racist music whenever Finnegan was on screen. That poor tiger had a chain around their neck, but thankfully was not in too many scenes. I have no idea what was going on with McCoy and the new Yeoman. Everytime she was looking at him like he was her piece of meat, I was yelling “girl, get a grip!” I wasn’t too impressed with this episode, especially because everyone was just like okay we’re going to party now and Kirk just went off to go do whatever Kirk does.

Something I noticed in “The Galileo Seven”, as well as the previous episode, is Spock continually uses “gentleman” when addressing the group, even if a female Yeoman is in the group. I wonder if that’s a 60s thing or because the Yeoman’s are not part of the command staff? Just something I’ve been noticing as I pay more attention to speech and pronouns. This episode is great for highlighting the difference between the Vulcan way and Human way of thinking. For me, I’m absolutely Team Vulcan. I mean, Spock is totally a Slytherin (and he’s in good company). This was also very opposite of “the Kirk show” that we have seen in a few previous episodes, and I liked that we got to see how both the ship and a landing party try to fix a problem from opposite ends. I know the leads of the show are going to get the most air time, but I need more Scotty and Sulu in my life.

Trelane in “The Squire of Gothos” makes the most distasteful and stereotypical comments at the women and non-White crew members. At first we’re lead to believe he’s just a megalomaniac, but then we find out he’s just a child? And just like that a switch is flipped and he talks like a child? I’m not buying the transformation that quickly. It totally makes sense if you look back at how the episode unfolds, but it’s simply ridiculous. A very fun episode, despite some of the dialogue.

Series: Star Trek: The Original Series

Season, Episode #,and Episode Name: Season 1, Episodes 12 and 13, “The Menagerie: Parts 1 and 2”, Episode 14, “The Conscience of the King”, and Episode 15, “Balance of Terror”

Setting the Stage: I started at 4:30 pm on January 5, 2020, still watching via Netflix, so I’m using their viewing order. Professor Zoom kept me company today while the husband was in and out running some errands we had forgotten to complete.

Quick Summary with my reactions: “The Menagerie” opens with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beaming down – but why? We find out Pike is in bad shape, Spock is planning something, and it’s even more clear to me that Kirk’s been wearing eye makeup probably the whole time. McCoy is adamant that Spock couldn’t be disloyal and Kirk is all atwitter with who the hell is interfering with his ship. Spock steals the Enterprise AND Pike and then submits himself for arrest? What’s going on with Talos 4 – wait are we rewatching the pilot? You can find my reactions to that here, since it was just a few days ago. Part 1 ends with Spock being ordered into lockup. I’m reminded at how much I love Number One. I also get to relive “THE WOMEN!!!” line by Spock. It is heartbreaking when the screen is blank and all three vote guilty. But then, it was all a deception! The Commodore was never there and there’s no court martial. Another plot twist I didn’t see coming. A mostly happy ending for Pike, but no consequestions for Spock.

“The Conscience of the King” made me think “Oh good, they still have theater in space.” The guy Kirk is with thinks there’s a war criminal on the loose, and then the guy winds up dead. Spock gives some great eyebrow, I mean have you seen them? His eyebrows have better acting skills than some of the red shirts. Clearly Kirk chats up the daughter in the acting troupe to try and get to the father, who turns out to be the bad guy everyone thought he was, the infamous Kodos. Riley’s parents died at the hand of Kodos, so he wants to shoot the father, but then you find out the daughter is the one who’s been killing the witnesses that could identify him. It’s another plot twist, and another heartbreaking ending as the daughter accidentally kills the father and then goes mad, or maybe she was always mad?

“Balance of Terror” opens with Kirk about to perform a marriage ceremony and I’m instantly questioning the name of this episode, but first war with the Romulans! There might be spies on the ship, and the Romulans absolutely have a Vulcan in their midst… escandalo! Apparently, my husband explains that the other ship is actually all just Romulans and that the Vulcans and Romulans are related. Looks like the Enterprise is about to be hit by… red smoke, a red beam? The Enterprise starts shooting at… open space? Oh, the Romulan ship can disappear… nifty. After the Romulan ship blows itself up, Spock is sassy about saving the life of the navigator, and then we receive the news that homeboy who was going to get married was our only casualty. That’s just cold!

My Impressions: I was most excited, when I found out the Commodore’s name, to see if I would find out if Jose ever got his peppers. Unfortunately, that’s still a mystery. As this two-part episode brings back the pilot in a different light, I am reminded at how much I liked Number One, how much of a fantastic bad ass she was and how I truly wish they had found a way to keep her. Having recently seen the pilot (11 episodes ago), I was much more interested in seeing where the story went, which I had an idea once I saw what happened to Pike. I was a little thrown off by how feverently McCoy dismisses that Spock could ever deliberately disobey an order, given their past interactions and McCoy’s general snarkiness. Even though I just watched the pilot a mere four days ago, I noticed some things this time around that I didn’t before. Now I understand why folks do a rewatch. I enjoyed the parts they kept of “The Cage”, but if I choose to ever do a rewatch I don’t know that I’ll watch the Pilot as most of the elements are in here. I do think I would try the production order, however, to see if the story makes more sense when watched in a different way. Let’s make it through this first run through, though.

I don’t have a lot to say about “TCOTK”. I find it all too convenient that the last two survivors who could be witnesses at identifying this Kodos guy are both on the Enterprise, but that’s TV. I was, however, truly shocked that the daughter was the one killing the witnesses all along. It was some instant karma that she goes to kill Kirk and kills her father instead, but still sad.

In “Balance of Terror” I am very happy that Kirk takes a big stand against bigotry, so very progressive during the 60s. It’s also another moment that aged well and still resonates in the “now” because people are scared of things that are different. The guy who is all leery of Spock was just fine with him before we knew what the Romulans looked like. Shows us that looks can absolutely be deceiving. I am a big fan of the game Munchkin, and there’s a card called “In Space, No One Can Hear You Cheat” (it’s part of the Star Munchkin universe). I tell you that story to explain why I am absolutely confused by how the Romulans can hear things in space. That scene also reminds me of the change scene from “Down Periscope”, provided here for your viewing pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cveFKerkadA. Anyway, I’m a little pissed they made the groom the ONLY casualty. I mean, at least kill another few red shirts or something.

Series: Star Trek: The Original Series

Season, Episode #,and Episode Name: Season 1, Episode 6, “The Enemy Within”, Episode 7, “Mudd’s Women”, and Episode 8, “What Little Girls Are Made Of”

Setting the Stage: I started at 6:15 pm on January 3, 2020, still watching via Netflix, so I’m using their viewing order. Tonight was a banner night for attendance. Professor Zoom was firmly planted in my lap for the entire episode. Tempura (my oldest cat) was in the lap of my husband (who was occupied with his phone, some Trek fan he is). Thor (my youngest cat) was asleep at my head. My two middle children, Jazz and Loki, wrestled in the kitchen almost all night. It’s so much fun to watch Star Trek with a background of cat mews.

Quick Summary with my reactions:  I’ll start off with “The Enemy Within”, which starts off with A PUPPY IN AN ADORABLE COSTUME, carried by Sulu. Rut Roh Raggy, we’re having issues with the transporter… and now there are TWO KIRKS! McCoy’s bedside manner leaves something to be desired, but the music for evil Kirk is a nice touch. THE PUPPY IS BACK, but now he has an evil, barky twin. Evil Kirk makes unwanted advances at Rand, who scratches his face… Go Rand! We cut to three men surrounding a woman who has just been assaulted, which is absolutely no bueno, but at least Fisher backs up Rand’s claims and she’s not backing down either. Evil Kirk puts on makeup, steals a phaser, and then is electrocuted and sedated. Spock is all in research mode while Scotty reports that there’s still an issue with the transporter, while Sulu and the crew are freezing; but not dead or frostbitten at 41 below 0, tsk tsk. GUYS, THEY’RE GOING TO SEND THE PUPPY IN FIRST – HE BETTER NOT DIE!!!! Um, one is definitely a stuffed animal, I totally noticed that. NOOOO THE PUPPY IS DEAD, THIS IS WHY WE DON’T TEST ON ANIMALS. It’s Kirk vs. Kirk, and evil Kirk’s scratches are on the wrong side of his face for part of the time. We end with a weird word from Spock.

Moving onto “Mudd’s Women” and who is this pirate motherfucker? I already don’t like him. I do like the sparkly dresses, but WTF McCoy? At least Scotty and Spock have less leery looks, in fack Spock is plum amused. PEOPLE ARE NOT CARGO… I understand it was the 60s, but I wanted to mention that for those in the back. Let me tell you, though, I love George Takei; his voice is fantastic. I absolutely love that the computer knows this guy is no good. Wait, what is happening to the women? Great, now the miners want to trade crystals for women. PEOPLE ARE NOT CARGO! The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I’ve always said. Okay, the episode was made better by the Venus drug swap and helping Eve find her confidence. Spock doesn’t take shit from McCoy and I’m all for it.

In the last episode of the evening, we’re going on an adventure! In “What Little Girls Are Made Of” we find Chapel’s long lost financée after some Lurch-looking alien sneaks out of the cave as Security Red Shirt #17 falls to his death, and then he kills Security Red Shirt #18! When we finally meet the rest of the party, I have but one question: WHERE IS THIS WOMAN’S BRA?! Lurch (who’s real name is Rok, but I am a big fan of The Addams Family and do a mean Wednesday Addams cosplay) can copy voices, okay that’s nifty, and is an android; but so in Andrea (the lady with no bra). Seriously, WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS CLONING Kirk – and why does that scene take forever? In the plot twist of the century… Korby is an android too! Looks like Kirk and Spock worked out a distress signal by using a derogatory term, and Chapel decides to stay on as the nurse as it turns out, there was never anyone to find on the planet.

My Impressions: Honestly, there’s not a lot to report on these three episodes. They’re all pretty “meh” in my opinion. In TEW it boils down to two things: Evil Kirk and Dead Unicorn Puppy. I’m likely not going to watch this episode again as it falls into the same category as “John Wick: Chapter 1”. I mean, why does the dog have to die? I’m a big animal lover, if you couldn’t tell, and it just seemed unnecessary to bring that cuteness into my life and it come to a sad ending.

Mudd is the most ridiculous man and I can’t like him any less, I tried but he definitely hit rock bottom for me. I am a bit disappointed that Kirk gives into the demands of the miners so easily, but he redeems himself by switching out the drugs for a placebo and then checking with Eve before leaving her on Rigel 12 with a man she just met (cue that song from Frozen, you know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPImqZo0D74 ). This is also not another episode I would want to watch again.

WLGAMO has a very “I, Robot” feel to it. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot twist of Korby being an android, I absolutely did not see that coming. I also really liked super sassy and on-the-ball Spock, but we saw so little of him this episode. It really felt like the Captain Kirk show. I found myself missing the rest of the crew, the ship, and the overall shenanigans that the crew causes by making OSHA violations.

I continue to power through. Until tomorrow…