In October, as the 2024 “Fight or Flight” U.S. election campaign was winding down, I began binge-watching Star Trek TOS (The Original Series) in an attempt to escape the madness of today’s world. It was also a trip down memory lane. From 1966 (when I was 13) to 1969 (when I was 16), my Dad and I bonded over this sci-fi series. In the years to come, we would watch the subsequent Star Trek TV series and movies, later adding the Star Wars franchise to our list.
Now, though, as I watched each episode of Star Trek TOS, I found myself noticing the cheap production values, including the sets, the revolving cast of characters and actors, and the repeated plots of the stories.
I took notes on many of the episodes and consulted Wikipedia articles about the series. I even made a Facebook post about some of the wonky costumes the aliens wore, like the conehead bathing caps the militaristic sentries wore (regardless of their location in the galaxy).I also noticed how often Spock had to wear hats to hide his “devil” ears during time travel episodes to Earth’s past—not to mention that most of the time travel episodes were to the past, and not to the future (see above photo).
Yet, I never lost my suspension of disbelief! Even though the rough terrain of myriad planets had the same Styrofoam rock formations (sometimes painted a different shade of brown or gray), and most of the lush, idyllic landscapes had the same layout of flora and fauna, filmed in parks within reach of the California studios. I did laugh at “the Monsters of Star Trek,” who took the form of either rubbery 1950s sea monsters, Godzilla knockoffs, dinosaurs, or giants. One episode (“The Savage Curtain,” Season 3, Episode 22) even featured a talking, moving rock. Another featured sentient silicone creatures fighting for their lives in a faraway mining colony; Spock used the Vulcan Mind Meld to communicate with them. Another story featured giant amoebae that fell “splat” to the ground after being zapped by phasers. And then, there were the giant-sized Greek gods who tried to terrorize the crew of the Enterprise, only to be brought down to size by Kirk’s and Spock’s taunts that the age of gods was dead.
In the episode “Requiem for Methuselah” (Season 3, Episode 19), the immortal human employed a robot called “M4” to protect his surroundings. Why would an all-powerful god or immortal need a robot in the first place? But wait—in a different episode (“The Ultimate Computer,” Season 2, Episode 24), Dr. Richard Daystrom, genius computer scientist who had created an “M-4” computer system to replace Starfleet Commanders with computers, used it to kill his latest model, “M-5,” which had gone rogue! In the vastness of The Universe, what are the chances that this one model of robots and/or computers would appear in such widely separated locations?
My Favorite Episodes (Not Ranked)
A few Star Trek episodes, including ones that the critics (as noted on Wikipedia) panned, remain my favorites.
The Omega Glory (Season 2, Episode 23)
In this episode, Captain Kirk is transported to a seemingly primitive planet inhabited by two unlikely cultures: apparently mute but brutish cavemen (Yangs) and somewhat more advanced Asians (Kohms) wearing militaristic green uniforms. After Kirk is imprisoned in a jail cell near the Yangs’ leader, he discovers that the tribe is not mute. Later, Kirk infiltrates the Yangs’ camp, where he discovers their devotion to the United States’ flag, and their garbled recitations of their holy words: the Pledge of Allegiance and, more importantly, the Preamble of the United States Constitution! In his inimitable overly dramatic style, William Shatner (aka Captain James Tiberius Kirk) recites the complete Pledge and Preamble, leaving the Yangs speechless—and, eventually, grateful for their newfound understanding. Wikipedia called this one of the worst-ever episodes, because of its stereotyping of the Communistic Asians and the American-Way white people. But they fail to understand that the “stereotype” accurately portrayed the way 1950s-1960s mainstream America viewed them! My Dad and I reacted to the scene accordingly, applauding as if we had received a revelation.
The Way to Eden (Season 3, Episode 20)
In a nod to the 1960s counterculture, a scientist, Dr. Sevrin (a stand-in for LSD Dr. Timothy Leary?), has recruited disaffected young people, who feel like aliens in their own world (i.e., space hippies/beatniks full of teen angst), to form a colony with the goal of finding their real home, a planet called Eden. Of course, the teens played folk and rock songs on their gnarly space-age guitars. Even Spock, who had some sympathy for Dr. Sevrin’s cause, joined them in one of their jam sessions; and Ensign Chekov’s ex-girlfriend from college was a member of the group. Dr. Sevrin commandeers a shuttle from the Enterprise and lands in the Promised Land of Eden, only to discover that the planet was literally full of acid-laced fruit, burning anyone who touched it or ate of it to a crisp.
Turnabout Intruder (Season 3, Episode 24)
This, the final episode of Star Trek TOS, aired on June 3, 1969. I can’t imagine that this was the “Bang” that the show wanted to end on, but it certainly raised my eyebrows! Based on a story by series creator Gene Roddenberry (teleplay by Arthur Singer), the plot centers on the body-switching of Captain Kirk and one of his early Starfleet Academy classmates/love interests, Dr. Janice Lester, as the latter seeks revenge for the systemic sexism that prevented her to rise to the rank of Captain.
The reunion between Kirk and Lester occurs when The Enterprise answers a distress call from a planet where Lester is part of an archeological expedition. The body-switch occurs when Lester enters an alien machine that switches her “life entity” with Kirk’s. Under the guise of radiation poisoning, Lester and the expedition’s physician, Dr. Arthur Coleman, are transported to The Enterprise. On the starship, fake Captain Kirk (Dr. Lester) and fake Dr. Lester (Captain Kirk) engage in a tour de force of male/female role play, with William Shatner’s portrayal of the female Dr. Lester is nothing short of bizarre—with hands on hips and a sniveling yet entitled attitude of betrayal that belies Kirk’s normal bravado style of masculinity.
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