They also didn't have white helmets.

The Enterprise going back to a primitive Earth-like world is a theme that's been played-out at this point in the series. Even so, I enjoyed the GeneR/GeneC collaboration of Bread and Circuses. There are some fun, what-if images of a futuristic Roman world, including gladiator-themed Sports Illustrated-style magazines, ads for cars named after Roman gods, and reality TV gladiator combat complete with canned recorded applause (that was a nice touch).

There's a very good jail scene with some McCoy/Spock bonding, and the always-awesome TOS costume designer comes through again brilliantly:



Misc:

Kirk very briefly references "Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development" in this episode, which is Roddenberry's plot device for explaining why so many alien races and civilizations wind up looking like Earth. It's a fun concept; pity they didn't elaborate on it much in the franchise.

Assignment Earth SEASON 2 EPISODE 26


Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assignment:_Earth

A goofy "slingshot around the sun to get back to 1968" story where the Enterprise guys are sideplayers, and most of the action is centred around Gary Seven, a human trained by aliens to watch over 1968, and a sidekick Roberta, played by the delectable Teri Garr. Oh and a black cat.

This was really a backdoor pilot Roddenberry wanted to spin out into its own TV series, but that didn't work out. Silly and playing on the same jokes and ideas as the episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday". It was cute (Garr was the cutest of all), but a bit all ideas and nowhere to go.

I did notice Gary Seven had something remarkably similar to Dr Who's sonic screwdriver though.


Redshirt Count: 21

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

Terrible -
The Alternative Factor (S1E27)

And that concludes season 2. I'm having a week off, then getting into season 3, starting with the incomparable "Spock's Brain".

Eccentric, super-powerful time-traveller in a suit who uses a sonic screwdriver and picks up hottie sidekicks from the past? Yeah, Gary Seven is clearly a time lord --the screwball scene where Gary Seven meets the secretary girl could have been ripped straight from a Dr. Who episode. He even seems to have a TARDIS-like apartment.

If you imagine it as a "Star Trek meets Dr. Who" fanfic mashup, it's fun. As a Trek episode, it's just a goofy, disjointed mess.




As season two ends, we're entering a dark time for the Star Trek franchise. NBC moved the show to a later time slot, aired episodes on fewer affiliates, and cut the show's budget. In frustration, Roddenberry became less involved in the show's production. We'll see a marked decrease in the quality of the show in season three.

Interesting that they spelled her name Terri Garr in the credits.

Watching it I didn't realize that this was a planned spin-off so I thought the line Kirk delivered at the end about "the two of you are going to accomplish great things" was odd. Now it makes sense.

Watching an episode of Gidget the TV series with Pavel Chekov in it.

[QUOTE=diebitter;42792312]Spock's Brain SEASON 3 EPISODE 01


Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spock's_Brain

This is probably the episode most consider the absolute worst Star Trek: TOS episode, but it's way better than the worst one we've watched so far. That's not to say it's good or even decent, it's pretty bad. It's written as if the writer doesn't know the characters, the idea is interesting (a kind of Morlock/Eloi idea, but this time as a separation of the sexes) but needs much, much better writing to pull off, and the whole thing is just poor.

It does have some silly charm though.

Redshirt Count: 21

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

Bad
Spock's Brain (S3E01)

Terrible -
The Alternative Factor (S1E27)

So bad, it's good.

Gotta love Battery-Operated Spock.

Spock's Brain SEASON 3 EPISODE 02


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

Very ho hum, despite Kirk donning the Romulan ears, Kirk being put into the Vulcan death grip, and some Spock getting some hot Romulan lovin. Even the title is boring. I preferred Spock's Brain, to be honest.

Redshirt Count: 21

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
The Gamesters of Triskelion (S2E16)
A Private Little War (S2E19)
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)

Ah, yes, one of the two Season 3 episodes where Spock gets laid.

You titled the last wrong wrong

I did. Should be The Enterprise Incident. Yawn.

Man, something is really wrong with the dialog in Spock's Brain. idk if it's just terrible directing or if everyone was hungover, but it really felt like I was watching a pilot episode. Not sure if there's any point in having a "terrible" rating if this episode doesn't qualify. .

Speaking of stinkers, The Paradise Syndrome was on last night.

I'm on my last few bluray disks and I am kind of running out of stream here.

the stories aren't evolving and in fact are seemingly regressing slightly. I've taken a break from watch them for a few weeks but the passion seems to have died and I am a die hard fan.

That's a large part of the reason S3 was its last.

yes... I think I agree.

Miramani tho

The Paradise Syndrome SEASON 3 EPISODE 03


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

I'm conflicted over this episode (which could be subtitled 'Wot Kirk did on his time off'). On the one hand, I like the fact we see Kirk stripped of his captaincy and living an alternative, simple life, the ideas suggested about an alien race seeding the galaxy with humanoid forms (which would explain how Vulcans and Humans could interbreed...), and of course Miramanee, but on the other... the dodgy racist tone (noble, ignorant savages seeming the white dude as their saviour...perrrlease), Shatner's overacting and some of the dumb plotting (can't find Kirk? Let's just leave the planet! Need to have Kirk seen as something special? Let him rescue of drowning boy!), and of course finding something that parallels earth's on anthropological history and all the ridiculous convergent cultural evolution bollocks that implies....

It didn't bore me.


Redshirt Count: 21

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
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)

Have to disagree on The Enterprise Incident; I thought the mission-impossible style heist was a fun change of pace. I don't think we've seen the Enterprise on a military intelligence mission before. I've previously noted the lack of compelling female characters in TOS, we get a good one here with the Romulan Commander, which I thought was well-acted. Kirk disguised as a Romulan had me loling, and Spock delivers an epic snap:

"It is unworthy of a Vulcan to resort to subterfuge."
"You're being clever, Commander. That is unworthy of a Romulan."

- Romulan Commander and Spock


Misc:

DC Fontana very loosely based this episode on the Pueblo Incident, in which a US navy intelligence boat was captured by North Korean forces. Hence the disappointing episode's title.

In this episode, it seems that intruders can be easily transported at will onto enemy ships. Later in the franchise, it will be established that this can't be done when shields are up.

The Paradise Syndrome is an episode that relies entirely on Shatner's acting chops. Turns out about as well as you might expect.

There's mention of a "protector" race that scoops up endangered human species and ships them off to their own safe planets. This is mildly interesting to ST geeks as a way of explaining why the Enterprise keeps running into Earth-like humans, but there's not much more to it.

In Paradise Syndrome, I get where DB is coming from... I enjoy the episode, but it seems to easily resolved at the end for an idea that has much deeper thoughts.

the idea is that, what happens in a culture where the deity that has held that society together in faith becomes obsolete, and is replaced by science.

I also think there is some interesting things going on in the episode where the faith and religious aspects were in fact always geared towards what was essentially a mechanical and scientific device.