HTF HD-DVD Review: Star Trek: The Original Series Season One (1 Viewer)

[Douglas Monce]

I think you hit the nail on the head. If you watch almost any other show from the mid to late 60s, with few exceptions, they won't hold up too well compared to modern TV. Though I think most modern TV shows are crap. But Star Trek, along with The Twilight Zone were head and shoulders above most of the other shows that were being made at the time. I would actually also put the Andy Griffith show in there as a show that in a very gentle way was telling the same kind of stories.

In one respect those shows were not unlike Twin Peaks in that they changed TV forever. Of course it probably took 10 years, but they pointed the way for telling stories that were relevant and said something about the human condition, but were wildly entertaining at the same time.

Doug

 

[Jim_K]

To each his own I guess, but I find classic Sci-fi shows like Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, etc to have much more substance (and more appeal) than overhyped, chic-cool and vapid, slicker-than-snot modern shows like Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, etc. But that's just me. Anyhow I'm up to Tomorrow is Yesterday and wow, of all the episodes so far this one probably benefits the most from the CGI facelift IMO. The shots of the Enterprise in low Earth orbit were great. The story itself is second only to City on the Edge of Forever in the pantheon of Trek time-travel episodes.

 

[Paul_Scott]

No, it's not that aspect I was referring to.
I've been skipping around the set, not watching the discs in order, and it seems like I've hit quite a few eps that over use deus ex machina, display character behaviour that changes from one commercial break to the next, and are just in general dramatically weak, or substance-less.
Squire of Gothos (which I enjoyed) was essentially the same story as Charlie X- and resolved in a similar deus ex machina manner.
Space Seed was a great ep- or at least had a dynamic antagonist- but it is hampered (imo) by the historian (forgot her name) and her changeable allegiences. It's not that she is beguiled into betraying her crewmates- but when she Betrays Kahn, he still takes her back !? This is the same guy who throughout the episode is railing about weakness. The only way I can accept that bit at the end, is believing that once they get on the planet, and the Enterprise is gone, he makes a show of publicly executing her for her betrayal and general ineffectualness.
the other eps that have left me cold include
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Alternative Factor -this one was a real dog to me. It seemed like the Enterprise and her crew were just bystanders and had very little real impact or concern with the conflict which was vauge or obtuse.
Dagger Of The Mind
Balance Of Terror
Court Martial - friends daughter going from hatred of the man she thinks killed her father, and desiring vengence or at least justice- to affection and concern for his career...for no apparent reason
Devil In The Dark- Kirks character is very inconsistent. At first he is the ultimate martinet, with a decisive "shoot first" policy that he wants obeyed- and yet when he comes into contact with the Horta...a creature that he knows is swift and deadly, he hesitates and adopts a reasoned mericful posture, without the benefit of any substantive knowledge of the creature (that comes later).

These kinds of things I don't ascribe to the time period the show was made. These kinds of things I see as basic dramatic flaws.

Watching Consicence of The King last night and its interesting how much WWII dominated the worldview of all these creators- even twenty years + on.
So much of this show seems to be working thru the legacy of that.

 

[Ric Easton]

Wow, Paul!

Balance of Terror and Devil in the Dark are known for being some of the better shows! I'm starting to think that TOS is not for you. That being said, I still think much of the first season Trek was finding it's footing and is much more consistant in the 2nd season.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I find most series television to be similiar to the B movies of the forties and fifties: formula, hackneyed plots that are made palatable and engaging because of the cast, which often rises above the material and makes the whole thing worth watching. STAR TREK certainly had its share of formula episodes, but the triumvirate of Kirk, Spock and McCoy always helped keep the show engaging, and the supporting cast was aces. TREK has more than a few episodes that rise above the cliches, and make for well above average tv fare. I haven't ordered my set yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing it eventually.

 

[Paul_Scott]

I'm not eager to rewatch either of those two eps.
In Balance Of Terror (another "WWII ep"), I understand why fans would cite it since it contains canonical background on the Romulans- otherwise there was no real 'substance' to the Romulan threat. They destroyed those stations but why? to what end? That bit exists merely as a plot point to provide the impetus for a riff on the standard sub/destroyer chase.
The most interesting part of the show to me was the racial antagonism of the crewman to Spock and his reaction to it- but even then I could see the resolution to that coming a mile off.

I'm suprised at my reaction too. It could be that my previous exposure to the show before wasn't so concentrated (nowhere near 3 eps each night)-or colored by 10 years of very well written genre shows (sorry Jim, I have to disagree with you there). The eps I caught off the air a few months back, I all loved (This Side Of Paradise/ Corbomite Maneuver/ Squire Of Gothos). I'm hoping it is like you said, just a case of the show finding its footing, and that the second season will be more consistent for me.
I still look forward to the half dozen eps I have left on this set (including the Menagerie).

 

[Douglas Monce]

This is not really surprising when you consider that most of the creative people involved were WW2 vets. Also Korea and Vet Nam were taboo subjects for the most part on TV.

Star Trek got away with a Vet Nam inspired story in "A Private Little War", but I doubt almost any other show could have.

Doug

 

[Jim_K]

Scrutinizing a 40 year old "cult" Sci-fi TV series as if it were up for this years Emmy award and criticizing it for having outdated values, plot holes, inconsistent characterizations, etc is a bit inane to me (I really don't mean any personal offense here). Let's face it anyone can micro-analyze and nitpick anything to death it the subject in question doesn't appeal to the person's tastes.

While it's far from perfect (and it sure as shit has it's share of flaws which I don't think anyone will contest) Star Trek really needs no defending as it's already proven the test of time, something I seriously doubt most of today's "well written" "well marketed" genre shows will. We'll have to check back in 30-40 years to see if anyone even remembers these overhyped Sci-Fi shows from the early 21st century.

Anyhow I got through Court Martial, The Return of the Archons and Space Seed and I can see what Nelson was referring to with the CGI. They really seem to hitting their stride with the FX in comparison to the early episodes. The detail on the Enterprise really stands out now.

 

[Chuck Anstey]

I agree that the ending to Space Seed seems rather inconsistent and there are some issues with every episode but I want to address
Actually Kirk is very consistent here. The one thing different about TOS compared to the rest of the ST series after is that Kirk got really upset when any crewman died and went after the people / creature responsible. His orders were shoot to kill to prevent anymore of his crew from dying. However, for himself he was always willing to rush in where angels fear to tread. The only character that did change was Spock when he told Kirk to kill the creature and I wish they had not done that. Kirk was always about righteousness and killing was to be avoided if possible and done if necessary. You may not agree with the beliefs Kirk held but he seemed pretty consistent except for the whole "Prime Directive" thing in the later seasons.

 

[Paul_Scott]

no show is perfect- modern or classic- but I just don't have near the same amount of consistent problems with say, the first season of Have Gun Will Travel, Twilight Zone, or (to a lesser extent) the Fugitive, that I'm having with ST. So I would kind of have to say Bosh on classic material being exempted from serious critical assessment because it was made in the dark ages.
I watched the menagerie last night. While it was definitely one of the more interesting and moving eps for me in this season, I was still a little annoyed how easily Spocks emotional concern for Pikes mental well being is brushed aside (it's his half human side peeking thru, ok I'll accept that...to a point) as well as the signal from Starbase 11 at the end that off handedly neuters all the previous ominous restrictions and threats of harsh disciplinary action in regards to contact with Talos. Spock stole the ship and forced the captain to chase it in a shuttle craft? No problem, we understand back here- no harm done.
I mean, C'mon.

 

[Mark_TB]

Actually, in between the two encounters with Kirk, the daughter has learned that her father is still alive. She now knows Kirk didn't murder her father, thus the change in attitude.

I don't mean to sound like I'm "piling on" here, but I just couldn't let that go.

Mark

 

[Dave Scarpa]

....And if Spock had gone to Starfleet Command and Said Hey I've been contacted By the Talosians, never mind what you read in Pike's Own Report, the Talosians really have Pike's Best Interest in mind, Let me take him back.... no.. both They and even Pike to an extent had to be forced to relive the events... after that and diliberation they waved.. the Policy and the Only Death Penalty left on the Books... but this was in the optomism of the 60's.. not the Cold Harsh realities of 2007 where we disregard reports and say hell the report says they are not dangerous.. lets bomb them anyway... your watching these in a different reality... to Quote the Talosians... "Captain Pike has his reality and you have yours.. may yor find yours as pleasant" in this day and age I doubt you will.

 

[Paul_Scott]

maybe I zoned out for a bit and didn't catch this- but I thought the commander was just an implanted illusion- so the commander wasn't there, and he didn't get to examine the evidence- see the movie as it were- the way Kirk, Spock, and Pike did.
Even if they transmitted a recording of it back to starfleet HQ, there would still be time needed to view it and debate its merits and veracity- especially in light of the severe restrictions.
Just seemed to me this whole matter was resolved at warp speed, and very neatly and patly.

These aren't neccessarily deal killers, but they are speed bumps in the parking lot for me.
They are what's keeping me from whooping it up and doing donuts up over the set.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Eh, I mark something like that due more to time constraints. The fact that the technology is in place to quickly to determine that the source of the message was Spock irks me more.

 

[Chuck Anstey]

I haven't re-watched it yet, when was this?

 

[Douglas Monce]

I actually really like that Spock reacted the way he did. He is logical to a fault, until his friend is threatened. It showed where Spock's loyalty is. It's also why the show works so well. It's the relationships of the three main characters that is the reason the show has lasted so long and is so well regarded.

Even the Spock / McCoy relationship that is so filled with verbal sparing, when it comes down too it you know that Spock and McCoy will back each other up. In fact Spock has so much respect for McCoy that he asks him to stand with him at his marriage in Amok Time.

Doug

 

[Chuck Anstey]

He had said previously that this creature might be the last of its kind so logically he would be willing to sacrifice the whole planet's worth of humans to keep it alive as humans are not in danger of becoming extinct. In addition Kirk said he wasn't currently being attacked.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Yes but it goes to the point that is made over and over again about Vulcans in Star Trek. They clam that they have no emotions and they operate through pure logic, but the truth is that they are simply suppressing their emotions and they do come out from time to time, even in full blooded Vulcans.

Spock's father not talking to him in Journey to Babel is another example. How completely illogical to no talk to someone just because they made a life choice that you don't approve of. If your life is lived totally by logic why would you have to approve of someone else's choices in the first place.

This theme runs all through the 5 Star Trek shows.

Doug

 

[Nelson Au]

I just saw Space Seed on the new HD set with the Starfleet Access turned on. This episode sure had that function working a lot! They had a lot of commentary from many people you'd expect, the Okudas, Dave Rossi(who is so incredibly enthusiastic and quite a hardcore fan and it shows!), DC Fontana, Bob Justman, The Trimbles and of course Harve Bennett. But I was surprised they had Harry Knowles chime in as a Trek expert! All I know of him is that he created AICN.

It was fun to hear their comments. Though I am not sure I like this feature. It's cool as a visual way to do audio commentary, but when their faces pop up and the image of the show shrinks so you see two equal size images, I'd rather keep watching the show with the audio of the commentary.

 

[Tino]

Is anyone experiencing freezing on some eps? I'm using the XBOX 360 add on and have experienced lock ups on about 4 eps so far, like The Menagerie, Galileo 7, etc..

Other than that, the set is awesome.