Star Trek The Original Series // Thoughts

[HKpowerup]

Finally got around to re-watching The Original Series in its entirety, initially watched the first 1.5 seasons years ago but never finished it. As a Star Trek fan, I was way overdue. My recent subscription to Netflix has initated a full re-watch of all Star Trek shows to get up-to-date.

What really struck me as great about ToS:
- Just how much of the material was inspiration for TNG. It has to be considered one of the most innnovative shows of all time.

- The great chemistry between Shatner, Nimoy & DeForest Kelley as the three senior officers.

- The Kirk-Spock relationship worked so well, it made TOS very watchable.

But I also think ToS, while maintaining some great characters, never achieved true greatness or reached its potential due to:

- The re-use of various formulas to the point of becoming absurdly repetitive, i.e. Kirk falling in love nearly every episode, use of period pieces, encountering superior aliens criticizing humanity's ways, etc.

- The lack of development of any of the characters outside of the aforementioned three.

Season 3 was very problematic.

Anyway what does everyone think of ToS?

 

[Pink Ranger]

For the time that it was in, it was a very well written show.

 

[Dark Raven]

It was one of my favourite shows growing up, and still is now. The moral and philosophical dilemmas were great, and it was a fun series too. I liked how colourful it was and even the more dramatic musical score. I also liked various parallel earth societies which didn't always show up in other subsequent series, but have somewhat made a reappearance in the Orville.

Many of the episodes also had a slight Twilight Zone element to them, which is not surprising, as Twilight Zone was also about social commentary.

I'd watch the original series any day over Star Trek Discovery.

 

[HKpowerup]

For the time that it was in, it was a very well written show.

Agreed, groundbreaking too in terms of diversity at the time.

 

[HKpowerup]

It was one of my favourite shows growing up, and still is now. The moral and philosophical dilemmas were great, and it was a fun series too. I liked how colourful it was and even the more dramatic musical score. I also liked various parallel earth societies which didn't always show up in other subsequent series, but have somewhat made a reappearance in the Orville.

Many of the episodes also had a slight Twilight Zone element to them, which is not surprising, as Twilight Zone was also about social commentary.

I'd watch the original series any day over Star Trek Discovery.

The show, despite its problems, was very grounded vs. later productions. What I mean is the sound of the buttons and instruments, and background communications chatter while the staff were going about their duties on the bridge. A cool touch we never saw in subsequent shows.

 

[Flash525]

I grew up with TNG, but I’m sure TOS was a groundbreaking show in its own right - especially at the time of its airing.

It’s obviously quite outdated by current standards; even TNG is still watchable and just about modern enough, whereas TOS, I just can’t watch anymore.

No doubt a testament to its time, but Discovery (like it or not) is the show pacing the way for Trek now.

 

[sueb1863]

ST was a great show but like all shows it had its share of clunkers. No show is perfect.

I wish we could have a new ST series that was just like the old series, with the emphasis on action and adventure and exploration and not as much darkness and grittiness. We need a fun Trek.

 

[Dark Raven]

ST was a great show but like all shows it had its share of clunkers. No show is perfect.

I wish we could have a new ST series that was just like the old series, with the emphasis on action and adventure and exploration and not as much darkness and grittiness. We need a fun Trek.

That's why I prefer the Orville to Star Trek Discovery. That's the closest we get now to something more classic.

 

[sueb1863]

Oh, yeah, The Orville is great! They're really finding their footing, hope they can keep it up in the next season.

Since they aren't doing any more ST movies with the 2009 cast, it's too bad they couldn't use them in a TV based reboot of the series, because they all did a great job, especially Karl Urban as McCoy.

 

[Flash525]

Since they aren't doing any more ST movies with the 2009 cast, it's too bad they couldn't use them in a TV based reboot of the series, because they all did a great job, especially Karl Urban as McCoy.

If there's truth to the rumours that there's no Star Trek IV because of pay checks, there's little to no chance these guys are going to sign up to a TV series (of which would likely pay less than a big blockbuster).

One thing I did love about the big screen reboot though was the Klingons; their appearance, their style, warrior mythology, especially in some of the outtakes. I was really hoping Star Trek Beyond (before it became Beyond) would be about the Federation-Klingon War, and then I hoped for the same story if there was to be a Star Trek 4.

Unfortunately, this was not to be, and we instead got some questionably redesigned Klingons that went a little too far in the redesign.

I wish we could have a new ST series that was just like the old series, with the emphasis on action and adventure and exploration and not as much darkness and grittiness. We need a fun Trek.

I think we'll get that more with the Picard series; that's going to have an emphasis on adventure and fun I think, less dark and gritty. It's not going to be the Star Trek we've come to expect at least; no crew aboard a single starship (or station) malarkey.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Utterly 'must see' television. Formed the basis of my childhood, as a series, as a comic book / illustrated experience and formed my interest in all things sci-fi. Characters you could 'invest' in, performances that were 'earnt' and concepts, that, at their heart, have stood the test of time in their meaning, their spirit of human kind and how and where we are moving towards and how life itself is seen and experienced. I have the Blu-ray's of the 3 series and it's just magic watching them back, and so also have the films from all era's and the animated series from the early '70's.

 

[C. Lee]

I personally love original Trek....can't count the number of times I have watched it...I started watching it in 1966 and have been hooked ever since.

I found this pic today and wanted a place on the hype to post it....so here it is.

 

[Flash525]

Hopefully Strange New Worlds will honour TOS when it eventually airs. It's a prequel, but there's a lot of room for development.

I just hope that it's not ruined by the dated episodic formula.

 

[Dr.]

On this date in 1966, Star Trek premiered on American television*. The episode was "The Man Trap" — which was the sixth to be filmed but the first to air.



* Apparently, "The Man Trap" first aired in Canada on Sept. 6 (two days earlier). So Trek historians debate the true/official debut date of the series.

 

[Dr.]

My local channel started running The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek — right after the season premier of DISCO. (I guess it began airing on the History Channel a few weeks ago.) The first episode, “Lucy Loves Trek,” featured a lot of bts info that I already knew. But there were also new (to me) details as well as interesting interviews and archive footage. Overall, an entertaining presentation. At least so far.



Obviously, it covers stuff beyond just TOS.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Probably the most expansive documentary for Star Trek ever. Finally. Most try to cover everything in an hour. This gives that to each iteration separately. And it’s edited like Movies That Made Us to make it fun for non-fans as well.