The Best Original Star Trek Episode

[Chuckanut]

Yes. I loved the Space Seed episode - thought it was brilliant. Then was overjoyed with the Wrath of Kahn sequel and the terrific return of Ricardo Montalban.

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Interesting note on The Wrath of Kahn....
Montalban and Shatner were never on the same stage together when that movie was made. Notice they are never in the same place at the same time in the movie.

Montalban mentioned that there was script girl who read Shatner's lines him when he was being filmed. So we have this picture of a young script girl just out of camera range reading Shatner's lines as Kahn, in all his glory, curses and condemns Kirk -

To the last, I will grapple with thee... from Hell's heart, I stab at thee! For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!

 

[REWahoo]

Interesting note on The Wrath of Kahn....

Off topic, but every time I see "The Wrath of Kahn" mentioned I think of my working days.

The company I worked for hired a new CEO who came from spending many years working at the Rath Packing Company. As is typical, over the next few years he hired a number of people that he worked with at Rath. The CEO's name was Conn - and the hires from his old company were referred to collectively as "The Rath of Conn".

 

[Nemo2]

Khan, Khan, KHAN!......the enemy of Kurtz.

 

[audreyh1]

Interesting note on The Wrath of Kahn....
Montalban and Shatner were never on the same stage together when that movie was made. Notice they are never in the same place at the same time in the movie.

Montalban mentioned that there was script girl who read Shatner's lines him when he was being filmed. So we have this picture of a young script girl just out of camera range reading Shatner's lines as Kahn, in all his glory, curses and condemns Kirk -

Wow - I'm even more impressed!

I got the feeling he totally went all out for his role. Way more fun than the Fantasy Island character.

 

[Tetto]

My favorite was “Who mourns for Adonais”. The enterprise encounters the last of the gods, Apollo. This was a good episode!

 

[Pellice]

HA! Probably because we're old. Eight, nine, and ten year olds tend to remember this level of detail in things they thought were cool, "groovy."

Forever

8-9-10 - It was a great age to encounter Star Trek. And ST was ALWAYS on, even before streaming. In college, it was on at 12:30 pm on Sundays, just after Sunday brunch concluded. In graduate school, it was on at 12:30 am on Friday night, just after our Friday night rather nerdy grad student parties concluded (does anyone remember the David Letterman episodes that had a split screen with a fake ST episode on the other side - that was our party) I loved Star Trek and have enjoyed all the series except the current one. It made me think as a 9 year old. Spock - the episodes about how you could come to depend on and trust a total alien. The arc of the Klingons - how they could go from virtually demonic to adversarial to understandable - it echoed our Cold War journey. The creation of a very rich world with a background that evolved with our own history (EU = Federation). The episodes that questioned technology. The episodes that excused US actions around the world - but were so obvious that we could discuss it. I loved what Star Trek accomplishes.

 

[Jeffman52]

City on the Edge of Forever has always been my favorite. Followed closely by Balance of Terror and Where no Man has gone before.

The scenes where Kirk and Edith are crossing the street and how they led up to him figuring out it was McCoy "That's strange Dr McCoy said the same thing" ... MCCOY!!! Then to see Kirk start to save Edith, only to have Spock remind him what was at stake "Jim, No!!" and then having him turn around and grab McCoy and stop him... just some great writing for such a short episode. Then "Lets get the Hell out of here."

Balance of Terror, "In another reality, I might have called you friend" WOW...

Where no man has gone before "What would you do Gary?". "Kill me, as Mr Spock is thinking".....

 

[Chuckanut]

Wow - I'm even more impressed!

I got the feeling he totally went all out for his role. Way more fun than the Fantasy Island character.

IIRC, Mr. Montalban also said that his chest was real. The last of the alpha males?!?!

 

[audreyh1]

IIRC, Mr. Montalban also said that his chest was real. The last of the alpha males?!?!

He must have really been working at it considering his age!

 

[GrayHare]

"Spock's Brain" is certainly a, umm, memorable episode. The following AgonyBooth review helps reveal why.

"Who knew you only needed twelve buttons to control an entire person?"

http://www.agonybooth.com/star-trek-the-original-series-spock-s-brain-part-1-1419

 

[ncbill]

He must have really been working at it considering his age!

IIRC he had had terrible back problems for years, so strenuous exercise to cope?

 

[audreyh1]

IIRC he had had terrible back problems for years, so strenuous exercise to cope?

According to wikipedia, "He was born with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in his spine". And

Early rumors suggested Montalbán wore prosthetic muscles on his chest during filming of Star Trek II to appear more muscular. Director Nicholas Meyer replied that even in his sixties Montalbán, who had a vigorous training regimen, was "one strong cookie", and that his real chest was seen on film. Khan's costume was specifically designed to display Montalbán's physique.

So - there you go!

LOL! 'Star Trek: Wrath of Khan' director: Quit asking if Ricardo Montalban's chest is fake

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

For me my favorite is the Corbomite Maneuver. What made Star Trek special to me was they were put in so many almost impossible situations against all odds and they were able to find a way to succeed.

I would say another favorite is Arena. I liked the actors in the original Star Trek, IMO they all played their roles very well.

 

[Chuckanut]

One thing I like about ST, all of them, is despite the ongoing wars and problems, society overall is doing very well. The current crop of post-apocalypse Earth movies and TV shows, where humanity has been reduced to living wretched lives due to: war, ecological disaster, alien invasion, a plague, machines gone mad, etc. etc. etc. is just down right depressing.

Don't get me started on the Zombie stuff!

 

[Cessna152]

For me my favorite is the Corbomite Maneuver. What made Star Trek special to me was they were put in so many almost impossible situations against all odds and they were able to find a way to succeed.

I would say another favorite is Arena. I liked the actors in the original Star Trek, IMO they all played their roles very well.

Corbomite Maneuver was the first regular season episode filmed (after the two pilots) and was partially intended to introduce the crew and series to the audience. It is one of the few (perhaps only?) episode where the camera follows Kirk all the way around the bridge. But due to the time it took to add special effects, it was the tenth episode to air.

 

[Souschef]

A little off topic, I was on a cruise with an astronomy lecturer, many years ago, and he sent me this poster. It was the dedication of Gene Roddenberry Planetarium in El Paso

 

[Nemo2]

A little off topic, I was on a cruise with an astronomy lecturer, many years ago, and he sent me this poster. It was the dedication of Gene Roddenberry Planetarium in El Paso

Pity they spelled William Shatner's name incorrectly.

 

[sengsational]

Pity they spelled William Shatner's name incorrectly.

You never cease to amaze me!

 

[Nemo2]

You never cease to amaze me!

Is that good, bad, or neutral?

 

[sengsational]

Is that good, bad, or neutral?

By design, I left that open to interpretation.