And The Children Shall Lead SEASON 3 EPISODE 04


Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the...ren_Shall_Lead

I liked this one in parts, especially when the kids started chanting their "Friendly Angel" nursery-rhyme invocation - creepy. A lot of it was poorly executed though. I think it might contain some of Shatner's worst acting in all of Star Trek in an early scene, where he has to portray 'anxious'. Also, Spock is virtually a non-entity in this, and has lines that could have come from any member of crew. On the other hand, James Doohan is given some dramatic lines to deliver, and he's terrific. There's also a WTF-lite scene near the end when McCoy sees a bunch of kids crying, and grins... they explain it in the script, but it's a little weird.

The lack of attention to detail and cut-price antics are starting to become apparent in this one, it's not great, but it does have its moments.

Oh and two redshirts die by getting accidentally beamed into space.

Redshirt Count: 23

Classics -
Amok Time (S2E01)
The City on the Edge of Forever (S1E28)
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)o
Devil in the Dark (S1E25)
Mirror Mirror (S2E04)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)
Patterns of Force (S2E21)

Very Good
The Ultimate Computer (S2E24)
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)
A Piece of the Action (S2E17)
The Trouble with Tribbles (S2E15)
By Any Other Name (S2E22)
Return to Tomorrow (S2E20)
Wolf In The Fold (S2E14)

Decent
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Bread and Circuses (S2E25)
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
I Mudd (S2E08)
The Omega Glory (S2E23)
Journey to Babel (S2E10)
Operation Annihilate (S1E29)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
The Changeling (S2E03)
Catspaw (S2E07)
Errand of Mercy (S1E26)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)
The Apple (S2E05)
The Doomsday Machine (S2E06)
Assignment: Earth (S2E26)


Ho-Hum
And The Children Shall Lead (S3E04)
The Gamesters of Triskelion (S2E16)
A Private Little War (S2E19)
The Paradise Syndrome (S3E03)
Obsession (S2E13)
The Deadly Years (S2E12)
Who Mourns for Adonais? (S2E02)
The Immunity Syndrome (S2E18)
Friday's Child (S2E11)
Metamorphosis (S2E09)
Spock's Brain (S3E01)
The Enterprise Incident (S3E02)

Terrible -
The Alternative Factor (S1E27)

Yeah, I love it when McCoy says "oh good, the kids are crying" or something to that effect . One of those fun soundbytes to take out of context.

I actually liked And The Children Shall Lead, and would easily rate it moderately decent, depending on your tolerance for Shatner campiness. Spock and McCoy take a backseat, but all of the minor characters get in quality screen time --even the elusive Lt. Leslie (he's the security guard who can't understand. There are several surreal moments as the crew hallucinate. The ending is probably one of the most disturbing/brutal moments in TOS, as Kirk shows children pictures of their dead parents. WTF, man. This then immediately pivots to the usual ST happy ending shot, which is pretty dubious pacing.

This episode has two of what could quite easily be the worst-of-all-time examples of Shatner's acting --and that may be why critics panned it, but to me it's one of those campy things that's so bad that it's hilarious. I defy you to watch this without loling.

Misc:

For reasons I don't understand, the Gorgon character was played not by a professional actor, but by one of the era's most famous criminal defense lawyers, Melvin Belli, who had as clients both Mick Jagger and the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald.

Is There in Truth No Beauty? SEASON 3 EPISODE 05



Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Ther...h_No_Beauty%3F

Again, suffering from a lack of finish that comes through as a garbled and a little incoherent story, but it has enough going on to be likeable. The beautiful Diane Muldair is back (she was in a season 2 episode) but this time as a different character - a telepath that accidentally precipitates the events of the episode, and gives a solid performance. Leonard Nimoy too gives a great performance as the mind-melded Spock/Kollos, as a being smiling and entranced with its new senses. Shatner doesn't really do much but be a bit of a dick as Kirk.

Oh and Nimoy has to wear and mention a stupid pendant called the IDIC, as Roddenberry was trying to sell the things to kids as a Star Trek toy, and he still had enough clout to insert poor dialogue to hawk his toy.


Redshirt Count: 23

Classics -
Amok Time (S2E01)
The City on the Edge of Forever (S1E28)
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)o
Devil in the Dark (S1E25)
Mirror Mirror (S2E04)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)
Patterns of Force (S2E21)

Very Good
The Ultimate Computer (S2E24)
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)
A Piece of the Action (S2E17)
The Trouble with Tribbles (S2E15)
By Any Other Name (S2E22)
Return to Tomorrow (S2E20)
Wolf In The Fold (S2E14)

Decent
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Bread and Circuses (S2E25)
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
I Mudd (S2E08)
The Omega Glory (S2E23)
Journey to Babel (S2E10)
Operation Annihilate (S1E29)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
And The Children Shall Lead (S3E04)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
The Changeling (S2E03)
Catspaw (S2E07)
Errand of Mercy (S1E26)
Is There in Truth No Beauty?
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)
The Apple (S2E05)
The Doomsday Machine (S2E06)
Assignment: Earth (S2E26)


Ho-Hum

The Gamesters of Triskelion (S2E16)
A Private Little War (S2E19)
The Paradise Syndrome (S3E03)
Obsession (S2E13)
The Deadly Years (S2E12)
Who Mourns for Adonais? (S2E02)
The Immunity Syndrome (S2E18)
Friday's Child (S2E11)
Metamorphosis (S2E09)
Spock's Brain (S3E01)
The Enterprise Incident (S3E02)

Terrible -
The Alternative Factor (S1E27)

PS. I ranked And the Children Shall Lead much higher than I first thought, the episode plays on the mind, and is better than I first thought imo.

What's this? Lt. Leslie sneaking his way into the captain's chair? Believe it or not, he's been in command of the bridge twice in TOS!

Is There in Truth No Beauty? had a fantastic sci-fi premise: an alien in a box so horrifying that looking at it drives men insane --it's straight out of H. P. Lovecraft, but the execution and awkward plot were ho-hum. I did like the haunting organ theme --it's quintessential late-60s psychedelia. Also, there's one scene that I'm almost certain was an inspiration for a Geordi LaForge monologue in TNG.

Misc:

This actress is none other than the Emmy-nominated Diana Muldaur, who will be back to play Dr. Pulaski in ST:TNG!

Also, it is mentioned briefly that the alien ambassador is also the designer of the Enterprise. How he made the dubious career change from ship designer to ambassador on a world full of Lovecraftian alien horrors is completely unexplained.


I'm very excited about the next episode; it's one of my personal favorites.

This episode for me stands out for one main reason: one of the rare times that Nimoy gets to step outside of the Spock role, which I always find entertaining. Also there's some interesting (at least to me) philosophizing on the nature of the ego and separation from the whole. It smacks of an episode that Roddenberry may have had a hand in. I don't recall if he was credited in this one though.

I agree though it doesn't quite reach the potential that was there to maybe be one of the classics.

Spectre of the Gun SEASON 3 EPISODE 06



Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_of_the_Gun

Spectacular and impressive episode - easily in the classic category - with excellent writing, pacing, acting (only Shatner is a bit dodgy here and there, but not as bad as he can be), with some great moments. It has an exotic, ethereal air in those half-buildings and the red sky. The floating brain with eyes, and the Spock mind-meld were particular stand-outs.

Redshirt Count: 23

Classics -
Amok Time (S2E01)
The City on the Edge of Forever (S1E28)
Spectre of the Gun (S3E06)
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)o
Devil in the Dark (S1E25)
Mirror Mirror (S2E04)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)
Patterns of Force (S2E21)

Very Good
The Ultimate Computer (S2E24)
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)
A Piece of the Action (S2E17)
The Trouble with Tribbles (S2E15)
By Any Other Name (S2E22)
Return to Tomorrow (S2E20)
Wolf In The Fold (S2E14)

Decent
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Bread and Circuses (S2E25)
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
I Mudd (S2E08)
The Omega Glory (S2E23)
Journey to Babel (S2E10)
Operation Annihilate (S1E29)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
And The Children Shall Lead (S3E04)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
The Changeling (S2E03)
Catspaw (S2E07)
Errand of Mercy (S1E26)
Is There in Truth No Beauty?
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)
The Apple (S2E05)
The Doomsday Machine (S2E06)
Assignment: Earth (S2E26)


Ho-Hum

The Gamesters of Triskelion (S2E16)
A Private Little War (S2E19)
The Paradise Syndrome (S3E03)
Obsession (S2E13)
The Deadly Years (S2E12)
Who Mourns for Adonais? (S2E02)
The Immunity Syndrome (S2E18)
Friday's Child (S2E11)
Metamorphosis (S2E09)
Spock's Brain (S3E01)
The Enterprise Incident (S3E02)

Terrible -
The Alternative Factor (S1E27)

PS DeForrest Kelly played Morgan Earp in the 1957 movie 'Gunfight at the OK Corral' alongside Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster.

That's probably one of my favorite episodes. Chekov has always been my favorite, and I remember being traumatized watching it the first time when he "dies."

specter... you finally caught up with where I am at in the series.

I wholeheartedly agree, this is an excellent episode.

This is my personal favorite. Excellent cerebral sci-fi from Gene C (who wrote under his pen name, Lee Cronin), wonderfully surreal visuals. My guess is that this episode was part of the inspiration for a certain 90s sci-fi blockbuster.

I think the writers had some fun with this one, giving a few subtle clues in the dialogue. The Earps are described as being "full of hot air" and so on.

Misc:

The visuals are actually a bit of a happy accident. The producers didn't have enough money to construct a full-blown Western set, so they cleverly went with a half-formed dream world.

Roddenberry wanted Chekov to have a more active role in Season 3. We'll see a lot more of Chekov in the next episode as well.

Also, this one has one of the best Kirk fighting moves EVER:

Who would win in a fight in their prime, Sisqo or Kirk?

I would agree it's a really good episode. One of the few season 3 ones that has a season 1 kind of suspenseful edginess to it, as well as a sort of Matrix-like plot twist. And it made me want to go back and watch Tombstone again.

Easily Kirk. Too many awesome fighting moves, including not only the jump kick, but also the flying triple takedown:



The scissor takedown:



The cannonball:



and the flying ass-in-your-face takedown

^ kirk was the best... he really was.

I am a bit more of a Picard man myself, but Kirk was the man.

I thought this episode was so freaking awesome I can hardly contain myself. I just watched it last night. The idea of such a beautiful woman in love with a tool box is like the best plot ever. I like how they had to carry the tool box to the bridge in order to fix the problem. Spock was great in this one. And Kirk was really hot. Not sure why you said he was a dick.

And yes, Kirk is the best.

Kirk's fighting style is basically to launch himself at his opponent and hope some part of his body connects. And it seems to work.

That toolbox sure had some game.

Also, on reflection, I'm moving Is There In Truth No Beauty quite a bit higher. Whilst not put together well, it has a few classic moments and performances.

Day of the Dove SEASON 3 EPISODE 07



Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dove

Another solid episode, only really a little spoiled by the obvious rubber swords the humes and Klingons are fighting with, plus we clearly see 'stabbings' with swords are nothing of the sort. Kang is a good character with a good, nuanced performance by the actor playing him - arguably the strongest Klingon character in TOS imo - and his wife Mara is hot stuff.

There's lashings of the old ultraviolence, and race hate, Sulu karate-chops a guy in a move you only see on 60s TV shows, and even sweet little Chekov gets rapey with the Klingon's missus (he's being influenced by an alien swirly, so acting out of character).

What's not to like?

Redshirt Count: 23

Classics -
Amok Time (S2E01)
The City on the Edge of Forever (S1E28)
Spectre of the Gun (S3E06)
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)o
Devil in the Dark (S1E25)
Mirror Mirror (S2E04)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)
Patterns of Force (S2E21)

Very Good
The Ultimate Computer (S2E24)
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)
Is There in Truth No Beauty? (S3E05)
A Piece of the Action (S2E17)
The Trouble with Tribbles (S2E15)
By Any Other Name (S2E22)
Return to Tomorrow (S2E20)
Wolf In The Fold (S2E14)

Decent
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Bread and Circuses (S2E25)
Day of the Dove (S3E07)
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
I Mudd (S2E08)
The Omega Glory (S2E23)
Journey to Babel (S2E10)
Operation Annihilate (S1E29)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
And The Children Shall Lead (S3E04)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
The Changeling (S2E03)
Catspaw (S2E07)
Errand of Mercy (S1E26)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)
The Apple (S2E05)
The Doomsday Machine (S2E06)
Assignment: Earth (S2E26)


Ho-Hum

The Gamesters of Triskelion (S2E16)
A Private Little War (S2E19)
The Paradise Syndrome (S3E03)
Obsession (S2E13)
The Deadly Years (S2E12)
Who Mourns for Adonais? (S2E02)
The Immunity Syndrome (S2E18)
Friday's Child (S2E11)
Metamorphosis (S2E09)
Spock's Brain (S3E01)
The Enterprise Incident (S3E02)

Terrible -
The Alternative Factor (S1E27)

I've been looking through some of my rankings, and the passage of time gives me a chance to figure out which episodes are more memorable than others. I might redo the rankings soon, there's definitely some I need to change that are currently 'decent' that need promoting, and maybe some 'very good' that need demoting.

I'm open to thoughts on this.

on the Kirk vs Picard thing...

my feelings are Picard is a man, Kirk is a boy. But as a boy, he manifests all the virtues boys have, and only a few of their vices.

He's brave, impulsive (but does listen to his friends), stubborn as a mule, and alpha-alpha-male confident. It's manifested in his belief there's no such thing as a no-win scenario.

Picard, otoh, is thoughtful, committed, cool as **** under pressure, loyal, thinks things through, and will not break his own code of honour. His virtues are manly virtues.

They are both excellent captains, and Kirk's personality suits a more pioneering time, whilst Picard suits a more civilised time.

I always think Kirk represents the ideal American officer, and Picard (despite the name) the ideal British officer.

The question is, if you were Star Fleet crew, which Captain would you prefer to serve under?