raskin@yale.ARPA (Andy Raskin) (02/08/85)
First of all, let me apologize for confusing two episodes. All of you who
pointed out that Spock uses the mind meld in "Requium for Methusula" were
quite correct. Kirk is cured by his long love for the Enterprise in "Elaan
of Troyius" (although this was left out of the recent WPIX showing).
As for the worst episode, "Catspaw" takes it hands down. Come on! First
they meet a guy who reminds me of King Tut (from Batman), then they're
chased down a hall by a cat the size of a dinosaur. To top it all off, it
turns out the bad guys have been clothes pins all along. In regard to "The
Way to Eden", this has become a favorite of mine mostly because of the "session"
that Spock has with the space-hippies.
Here are my five-and-five:
Five Worst Five Best
---------- ---------
1. Catspaw 1. City on The Edge of Forever
2. Arena 2. Mirror, Mirror
3. That Which Survives 3. Piece of The Action
4. Obsession 4. The Trouble With Tribbles
5. The Omega Glory 5. Assignment: Earth (pilot, yes, but still
great)
MOST ILLOGICAL CONCLUSION DRAWN IN STAR TREK:
(From "The Squire of Gothos":)
"He's fallable. Therefore, something must be helping him!"
...decvax!yale!raskincwayne@unm-cvax.UUCP (02/11/85)
<you have a talent for understatement>
What do you mean by worst episode? Writing, direction, acting, overall, or
what? I can take just about any one episode and show you what is "worst" with
it, then turn right around and show you what is "best" about it. Granted, some
are not as good as others, but the good things that are in each episode, I
think, over shadows the bad things. Ex.
"Turnabout Intruder"
good bad
---- ---
A study of the dual-self Why wasn't the shuttlecraft used
(evil vs good). to get sulu and party.
"The Omega Glory"
What might have happened to Some of the acting. The likeness
the USA and China in the aftermath of "Omega" was too close to
of WWIII+. Patriatism. Kirk's speach "Earth".
at end of story, it was similar to what
Samuel T. Cogley said in Cml.
"City on the Edge of forever"
Overall story. Did not stick too closely with
Harlan Ellison's version.
"Alternative Factor"
The study of alternate universes. Lazarus-A kept falling down on
the job (so to speak). The
relationship between Masters and
Lazarus-B was written out of the
script.
etc., etc., etc...........................
So if your going to say that episode such and such is bad, please state why!
And while you do that try to find what might redeem it as a good episode as
well.
Chris Wayne @ UNM
optimist in training
(only because I can't spell pessimist)barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin) (02/15/85)
In article <242@unm-cvax.UUCP> cwayne@unm-cvax.UUCP (Chris Wayne) writes: > What do you mean by worst episode? Writing, direction, acting, overall, or >what? ... >So if your going to say that episode such and such is bad, please state why! >And while you do that try to find what might redeem it as a good episode as >well. Not everyone has detailed reasons why they think particular episodes are best or worst. I think most of us just don't like certain episodes very much. It has nothing to do with technical problems, they are just not as enjoyable. For example, I find "The Omega Glory" and "Friday's Child" relatively boring. I even acknowledge the technical merits of "Balance of Terror," but I won't go out of my way to watch it. Actually, I no longer watch the TV series much at all, although until about five years ago I was an avid Trekker (I attended conventions and collected posters and stuff); it isn't on at a convenient time in Boston, and I have seen every episode several dozen times (I laugh every time I read someone use 6 or 10 as an excuse). However, I may start watching some more, as I noticed when I watch "Charlie X" a few days ago that the Boston station cuts out less than the New York station I did most of my watching on. Other least-enjoyable episodes: "That Which Survives" (I think that's the title - the one with the Salt Vampire). The one with Dr Cory, Chapel's old flame, who builds an android copy of Kirk. It's probably not a coincidence that these are both early episodes. They hadn't really developed the characters and their interactions, and they didn't really know how they wanted their stories to go. They were overly dependent on the alien rather than the characters. -- Barry Margolin ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar
yosh@hou2e.UUCP (M.CHING) (02/15/85)
<> > So if your going to say that episode such and such is bad, please state why! > And while you do that try to find what might redeem it as a good episode as > well. > > > Chris Wayne @ UNM > optimist in training > (only because I can't spell pessimist) What is this... essay time???? Relax, this is not some metaphysical discussion about religion. We're talking about a TV SHOW that most of us enjoy, so don't get all bent out of shape... Dave Bloom Bell Labs, Holmdel
trudel@topaz.ARPA (Jonathan D.) (06/29/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR REPLACEMENT *** >> No, the worst episode was the "Tears ...<what ever>" where Kirk >>blah blah blah > >I could never stand MIRI and I always liked GARRY SEVEN!! Well, thanks to this scwewey emacs that I'm not used to, I can't send the original message I was composing. Anyhow, here's a calmer version. I don't think anything is going to be resolved by saying that " episode X is better than episode Y because ..." What I mean is that this will only lead to endless bickering about certain points that will be forgotten over the course of discussion. I don't want to see articles titled "Re:Re:Re:Re:Kirk and the consumption of Warp Drive" that have nothing to do with Kirk or the Warp Engines other than the fact that Starfleet awards the fastest ships to those captains who have the largest *things*. Let's not start that here, OK? What I do ask as an alternative is that I'd like some adventurous soul who is willing to hold a net.startrek opinion poll of the best and/or worst ST episodes to step forward. I would leap at the opportunity, but the Rutgers U. system administrators do not want the increased mail traffic here :-(. ps- this has nothing to do with me liking the episodes mentioned, because I don't. -- Jonathan D. Trudel arpa:trudel@ru-blue.arpa uucp:{seismo,allegra,ihnp4}!topaz!trudel "You can't fight in here, this is the WAR ROOM!"