Weekend Roundup #13

Well, it's been thirteen weeks so I've officially blogged every single day for a quarter of a year. That's a pretty big accomplishment. We're getting ready to move and between that and the holiday weekend, I got a few episodes behind but I think I can make it up next week. Anyway, here's the update:

62- YESTERDAY’S ENTERPRISE

- This is the episode wherein Worf develops a life-long love of prune juice. 

-Alternate timelines, characters risen from the dead, and pissed off Romulans make this one great. 

63- THE OFFSPRING

-Data has a kid. Like any human parent, he's read a ton of contradictory books on parenting but nothing prepares him for what a huge, confusing job it is.  

-This is such a great, “Data Don’t Know” episode

-When Lal says, "I am scared," it pretty much breaks me on the inside. 

64- SINS OF THE FATHER

-This is the very first time we ever hear, "Worf, son of Mogue." So awesome! 

65- ALLEGIENCE

-Here's a great puzzle episode--complete with doppelgänger Picard. 

-Doppelgänger Picard likes to get drunk in Ten Forward and lead the crew in Starfleet school songs. 

66- CAPTAIN’s HOLIDAY

-Ah, the episode that launched a million fangirl crushes: 

67- TIN MAN

-Oh hellmouth, it’s the Mayor!

-Actually, I love the friendship that Tam and Data develop. This has never been one of my favorite episodes but I think it's a great one. 

68- HOLLOW PURSUITS

-This is the first Barclay episode. 

-Bonus Points for Barclay's use of the phrase: "Flux Capacitor" 

69- THE MOST TOYS

-This is the one where Arty from Warehouse 13 kidnaps Data and tries to make him wear pretty outfits and sit in a chair like a fancy doll. Uggh. This is a legitimately great episode with a really awesome Data moment at the end but every single time I watch it, the thing makes me super uncomfortable. 

70- SAREK

-My undying love of Mark Leonard continues in this one. I'm already planning a "Mark Leonard Tribute Post" for when "Unification" comes around. 

71- MENAGE A TROI

-This episode is 100% worth watching just to see Patrick Stewart spout Shakespeare at Gene Roddenberry's wife and a Ferengi for three and a half minutes. 

-This is almost certainly the episode that launched my fangirl crush. 

72- TRANSFIGURATIONS

-At the beginning of this episode, Worf bestows some dating advice on Geordi: “You must let her see the fire in your eyes.” Apparently the fact that Geordi is blind and wears a visor is totally lost on Worf.

-What the hell ever happened to Ensign Gomez? I really thought they were going to do something with her. 

-This episode is actually about a mysterious alien seeking refuge from his repressive culture onboard the Enterprise. It's a pretty solid Trek story. 

Weekend Roundup #12

I'm TWELVE (seriously?) weeks in and here's what I watched this week:

48-Shades of Gray
-Here's a clip show of Riker's memories. There are only two seasons of memories to draw from but what makes it worse is that this was the season finale.

49- Evolution
-This third season premier is all about Wesley messing up his school project and consequently putting the entire ship at risk.
-Oh yeah, Bob Kelso is in this one and he's just as much of a jerk as he was to those nice young interns.

50- The Ensigns of Command
-Here's a great "Data Learns A Lesson" episode.
-This one is simple and sweet and not only features a girl totally crushing on Data but also shows Picard being super awesome and knowing rules. I know that sounds lame but isn't that one of Picard's best qualities? The man knows some rules.

51- Survivors
-I always refer to this one as "that belljar episode."
-I don't want to spoil the mystery of this episode for you because it's actually pretty great. Go and check this one out on your own.

52- Who Watches The Watchers
-The captain becomes a god to a group of Bronze-age aliens who refer to him as "The Picard."
-Wait, how is this not already part of the fandom? From now on, we should refer to him as "The Picard"

53- The Bonding
-When an away mission runs into some unexpected explosives, one of the team dies. She leaves behind a grieving son and The Picard has to break the news to her little boy... just like he did with Wesley.
-I know people are kind of snidey about Wesley but I think this is a great episode for his character. He actually has a moving scene where he finally confronts The Picard about all the anger he felt toward the captain after his own father died.

54- Booby Trap
-Hahah... booby.
-Ok, so in this episode, Geordi is trying to woo a girl on the holodeck. I don't really understand why Geordi can't get a good woman. He's a great guy.
-Anyway, eventually Geordi decides to head to the holodeck and figure things out with a holographic projection of a hot lady scientist.

And by figure things out, I mean smooch

55-The Enemy

-This is not only a Romulan episode but also a Geordi episode. Score! 

-Basically, this one is all about whether or not enemies can overcome their longheld prejudices and work toward a common goal. Worf, Geordi, and a couple of Romulans are all put to the test and some do better than others. 

56- The Price

-Ok, this is not one of my favorites. I sort of have a hard time watching it.  

-Devinoni Ral is a slimy, smarmy, blazer-wearing negotiator who comes in to wheel and deal for the use of a wormhole on behalf of the aliens who hired him. Actually, his real purpose is to gross me out by constantly macking on Deanna Troi in weird, uncomfortable scenes like these: 

This foot rub literally lasts 20 seconds. 

OMG STAHP! 

-Ultimately, Deanna calls shenanigans on all this mess but not before we end up with scenes like this one:

Dr Pulaski would not have let stuff like this go on. 

57- The Vengeance Factor
-Begun the Clan Wars have.

58- The Defector
-Here's an episode with wall-to-wall Shakespeare quotes. Yes!
-Oh, also, it's an awesome Romulan/Cold War story. So great. Obviously I love this one and you can go read all about it in this post.

59- The Hunted
-Basically, a super soldier escapes his prison and hides out on the Enterprise. He's super sensitive and handsome with floppy, brown hair so Deanna naturally warms to him.
-Where do they keep getting these roguish bad guys? This guy reminds me so much of The Outrageous Okona. Is this just what men looked like in the late 80's?

60- The High Ground
-How about another roguish bad guy episode? This time, he gets involved with Beverly instead of Deanna.
-Seriously, where do these men come from? This guy literally carries around a sketchbook and charcoal pencils and Beverly's all like, "Paint me like one of your Rutian IV girls."

61- Deja Q
-Yay! Q's back!
-Ok, so Q's been made mortal in this one because he's such a jerk most of the time and the Q Continuum is pretty fed up with his crap.
-No one believe's he actually human until Guinan gives him the ole' "is he really mortal test" by stabbing him in the hand with a dang fork.
-Watch this episode for the sweet friendship Q develops with Data.

62- A Matter of Perspective
-Much like the episode where Piglet straight up murdered a stripper and blamed Scotty, this episode is all about a crazy trial wherein one of our crewmen (surprise, surprise, it's Riker) got himself into trouble and has to prove his innocence.
-This is actually a pretty cool episode about perspective, truth, and relative reality. Though, if you want to see the ultimate portrayal of this theme, check out the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode, "I Saw The Whole Thing."

Alright, that's it. I got fifteen episodes in this week and that's pretty much my goal. I'm really looking forward to this week! My portrait contest winner will be announced on Thursday and I get to watch some really great episodes! 

Weekend Roundup #10

Umm... looks like I dropped the ball last week. I only watched like seven episodes. To be fair, I had a lot going on. I fully expect that this week will be a lot more productive. And, by productive, I mean that I will watch like twenty episodes of Star Trek. 

26- THE NEUTRAL ZONE

-The crew comes across a ship-full of human popsicles. Does this happen in EVERY Star Trek?Seriously. I can think of three instances right now. 

-Guess who's back! Woohoo-- it's the Romulans! 

SEASON TWO

27- THE CHILD

-This is Guinan, Pulaski, and Riker’s Beard’s first episode.

-Basically, Troi becomes impregnated with an alien life-form who turns into an adorable betazoid child. 

-Everyone's in trouble. Surprise! Riker's trying to separate the saucer section. Just kidding, that's not a surprise. 

28- WHERE SILENCE HAS LEASE

-This is the episode wherein the Enterprise gets sucked into a crazy, never-ending blackness. 

-This one feels A LOT like an episode of TOS. I love it. 

29- ELEMENTARY MY DEAR DATA

-Geordi and Data are LARPing a Sherlock Holmes mystery in the holodeck. Good times. 

-Man, Dr. Pulaski keeps giving Data all this crap. WTF. 

-Ok, this is a little embarrassing to admit but I JUST REALIZED (after 25 years of watching this show) that Dr. Pulaski is totally the Bones to Data's Spock. 

30- THE OUTRAGEOUS OKONA

-The Enterprise helps out a rogueish space guy.

-Ok, this guy is pretty much Mal. 

-Go home, Mal! Save Serenity! What are you doing here? 

31- LOUD AS A WHISPER

- This is the first place I saw another deaf person besides my uncle. I had intended to write an entire post about this so maybe I'll come back to it later. 

32- THE SCHIZOID MAN

-This episode is worth watching just to see Data grow a beard. 

Well, I guess you don't so much need to watch it now. Sorry 'bout that.

33- UNNATURAL SELECTION

- It's a pretty straight-forward "everyone's suddenly getting real old" episode.

- I actually totally love this one because of all the Pulaski stuff. She has a great arc here with Picard.

34- A MATTER OF HONOR

-Riker volunteers for the officer exchange program on a Klingon ship. Why? Because no one's ever done it before! Awesome! 

-This is really the first time we've ever spent a whole lot of time with Klingons. These guys are hilarious. 

-I love how much has been added to the Klingon mythology. 

Weekend Roundup #9

Apparently it's March now. I'm not quite sure how that happened. This means there are only ten months left in My Year Of Star Trek. Are you getting worried about whether or not I'm going to get all the episodes in? Are you starting to feel a little nervous? Don't worry about that. Save your anxiety for October. Here's what I did this week:

#14- Angel One
-This is the episode where an entire planet is matriarchal and all the ladies want to maintain the status quo. I think this is actually a pretty great idea for a Star Trek. 
-Watch it if only to see Up-For-Anything-Riker put on a flouncy pirate shirt and codpiece whilst using the old "When In Rome" adage as an excuse for playing dress-up.

"What? You act as if this is more ridiculous than my usual outfit!" 

#15- 11001001
-Another awesome Riker episode. This time he spends the day chatting up a hologram while the ship is stolen and driven to the other side of the galaxy.
-Great job, Number One!

#16- Too Short A Season
-This episode features a young guy in old guy make up. Basically, several years ago, he ignored the Prime Directive and gave a bunch of guns to some terrorists who'd kidnapped some Starfleet colonists. To "even it up" he also gave guns to their enemies. Forty years later, it's all blowing up in his face.
-Captain Kirk did this exact same thing back in TOS but, as far as I know, he never had to dress up in old guy makeup to correct his mistake. He just became an admiral and saved the world a few times.

#17-When The Bough Breaks
-The "best and most talented" children of the Enterprise are kidnapped by sterile aliens.
-This one really makes me wonder how the parents of the kids who didn't get picked feel. Talk about conflicted. I picture a lot of heated arguments in Ten Forward that go like this:
"At least your kid wasn't kidnapped!"
"Oh yeah, at least your kid was smart enough to get kidnapped!"

#18- Home Soil
-Terraforming, mysterious conspiracies, and a brand new sentient species of life all make this one a pretty great TNG episode. Totally worth watching.

#19- Coming Of Age
-Yay! A Wesley episode. I know a lot of people get pissy about Wesley and like to make fun of the poor kid but he's so earnest and sweet in these early episodes, I can't help but like him.
-I find myself saying, "Aw, bless his heart," a lot in this one.

If I'd had a holodeck to brood in when I was 15, I could've got into Starfleet too. 

#20- Heart of Glory
-This one's worth watching just so you can see the world the way Geordi sees it. You can be entranced and mystified by it just like Picard who gets all questiony while Geordi's supposed to be on an away mission.

#21- The Arsenal of Freedom
-This episode features an awesome exchange about the "Good Ship Lollipop."
-Geordi spends a huge portion of this episode in charge. He begins the tradition of any time someone isn't Picard and they're placed in command, they separate the saucer section. Riker would continue this proud tradition with amazing/explosive results.

"This ship could fly twice as high if there were only half as much of it!"

#22- Symbiosis
-Wow, this guy looks a lot like Peter Weller. Oh, I've said that before about this guy. He also played Khan's #2 in Wrath of Khan.
-This features an actually great scene between Tasha and Wesley where she explains why people end up getting hooked on drugs in a way that is surprisingly not an after school special.
-This episode, not Skin of Evil, was the last episode she shot.

#23- Skin of Evil
-This episode is all about the harsh realities of death. It's not well-reviewed by critics but it was a formative episode for me. I think it's worth watching.

#24- We'll Always Have Paris
-This is a great, "I've messed with the space-time continuum and now I'm paying the price" episode.
-Yes, that's a thing.
-This is also an excellent Picard episode.

#25- Conspiracy
-Watch this one to see Riker get in a kickboxing match with an old guy. Spoiler- he loses.
-This episode totally creeped me out as a kid.
-This one is actually really great. Star to finish it's interesting, engaging, and creepy.

So, it looks like I did eleven episodes this week and that keeps me on track. I'm loving this re-watch of TNG. My biggest problem so far is holding back. I need to cap it at three or four a day but I could easily watch seven of these in a row.

Weekend-ish Roundup

The weekend is over but I still find that my life is a bit crazy. I actually managed to get in three episodes of Star Trek today and I'm hoping to write a post about one of my favorite episodes soon. But, until then, here's the Weekend-ish Roundup:

#2- The Naked Now
-Woah! Deanna's bun is CRAZY in this one. It literally stays right there through the entire episode.
-Aw. Beverly and Picard. So many sighs.

#3- Code of Honor
-This is a planet where people have crazy tournaments over who gets to be "First One."
-I think I remember Patrick Stewart mentioning this one as being, "very silly." I tend to agree. Though, this episode isn't without its merits. I love seeing Tasha Yar execute that killer Judo throw.

#4- The Outpost
-Although the Ferengi were mentioned in "Encounter at Farpoint," we don't see them until this episode. I love how much we get of them later (especially in DS9) so it's fun to watch them here, in their early stages.
-Lots of comments about Starfleet making the females wear clothes.
-This feels a lot like a TOS episode.

#5- Where No One Has Gone Before
-Yes! The Traveler! I love this guy.
-For a few moments, I wondered who would win in a fight between Q and The Traveler. Then I realized it was obviously Q. The Traveler needs help from poor Wesley.
-Also, I love how Wesley's super-specialness is already hinted at way back here in the very first season. Nice job, TNG.

#6- The Lonely Among Us
-I must have seen this episode at least four or five times but every, single time it comes on, I spend about five minutes thinking I've never seen it. Then the rat-face guys come on and I go, "Oh yeah, the Dark Crystal episode."
-This is also the first "Data is Sherlock Holmes" episode. He's even smoking a pipe.

#7- Justice
-This is the episode wherein Wesley is condemned to death for falling into some flowers.

#8- The Battle
-The Ferengi are back!
-It sure seems like they were trying to set up the Ferengi as a main baddie species for TNG but it just didn't work out that way. They ended up becoming more of a joke.

#9- Hide and Q
-Hooray! Q's back.
-Ok, this episode is basically wall-to-wall Shakespeare quotes. I'd say maybe a quarter of the total dialogue in this episode comes straight from ole' Bill. Pretty awesome.

#10- Haven
-So, this is Deanna's almost-wedding-episode. It's actually pretty sweet and has a lot of heart.
-Also, this is Lwaxana (bonus points for not having to look up the spelling of her name) Troi's first appearance.

#11- The Big Goodbye
-DIXON HILL!!! Actually, I'm not super into this episode but I still get that it was a big deal for the show. Also, Picard looks 100% dashing in his outfit.

#12- Datalore
-Oh boy. These guys are in for a treat.
-They have no clue who Lore is. Watching this feels like what it must be like to go back in time and watch the Titanic sink. You know that ice berg is going to be a big problem but there's nothing you can do to warn them.

Weekend Roundup #6

This week I watched nearly all of Star Trek: The Animated Series as well as Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It's been a big week and I'm exhausted so I'll get right to the Roundup:

Star Trek: The Animated Series

#2- Yesteryear
-The episode wherein grown-up Spock saves the life of young Spock.
-Why do they keep messing around with The Guardian Of Forever. Is this ever a good idea? No.

#3- One Of Our Planets Is Missing
-Best. Title. Ever.

#4- The Lorelei Signal
-The men of the Enterprise are taken captive by a bunch of life-sucking ladies. This looks like a job for Uhura!
-I know this is supposed to be a kid's cartoon but wow, there's an entire monologue in this episode about glandular secretions.

#5- More Tribbles, More Troubles
-Yay! Cyrano Jones is back and he's got more Tribbles!
-Uh-oh, true to the title, he also brought troubles.
-This episode is really a missed opportunity to add the Klingon forehead ridges that we wouldn't end up seeing until The Motion Picture.

#6- The Survivor
-This is the episode wherein everyone is impersonated at some point by this guy:

"Believe me, I'm totally Kirk." 

#7- The Infinite Vulcan

-GIANT SPOCK! 

#8- The Magicks Of Megas-tu

-AKA- The Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter episode of Star Trek. 

#9- Mudd's Passion

-Mudd is back and this time he's hawking roofies love potion rocks.  

#10- Once Upon A Planet

-I love it when we revisit planets that we saw in TOS. In this one, we're back on the planet from "Shore Leave" but the computer that's supposed to make everyone's dreams come true is completely jacked up. Events reach a truly awesome point when everyone is ATTACKED BY PTERODACTYLS: 

#11- The Terratin Incident

-A lot of shrinking and giganticizing happens in The Animated Series. And, why not? I love how TAS takes all kinds of opportunities to do things they couldn't have done with live action. This one is a good example thanks to all the teensy-weensy people that Kirk almost steps on. 

#12- The Time Trap

-Three Words: The. Delta. Triangle. 

#13- The Ambergris Element

-Oh, mermaids! Yes! Of course they should do a mermaids episode. I love it! As a kid, this would have, undoubtably, been my favorite episode. 

#14- The Slaver Weapon

-This is basically a questing episode staring Spock, Uhura, and Sulu. It is 100% awesome. 

#15- The Eye Of The Beholder

-The crew is made to be part of an alien zoo exhibit--which totally happened on The Twilight Zone. 

-Their captors are a bunch of ginormous slugs--which is not at all how things went down over at Rod Serling's show. 

#16- The Jihad

-Kirk and Spock are assigned to a rag-tag team of aliens with the goal of finding an ancient religious artifact. I like the crazy, thrown together group element of this episode. 

#17- The Pirates of Orion

-Oh wow- male Orions. Awesome! 

#18- Bem

-This episode is about a guy who can split into several parts in order to pickpocket the crew of the Enterprise while submerged under water. It's hilarious and awesome. I love this one. 

#19- The Practical Joker

-The computer is playing practical jokes on the entire crew. It feels kind of like Q is involved but he's not. 

#20-Albatross

-McCoy is charged with committing mass murder several years ago. Things don't look good. 

#21- How Sharper Than A Serpant's Tooth

-This is kind of a god-killing episode. Much, much like "Who Mourns For Adonais," only this one has a crazy winged space serpent instead of a guy in a toga. 

#22- The Counter-Clock Incident

-I can't even imagine wanting to go back and relive my teenage years but I'm SO happy to see the cartoon teenage versions of our Enterprise crew. 

-Also--I need to look into this but I believe this episode has the first mention of Vulcans living longer/aging slower than humans. 

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE

-This movie is awesome. I don't care what anyone says. More on this tomorrow. 

Weekend Roundup #5

This week, I got a bit behind and only managed 13 episodes. Part of this is because I was doing my first ever video post which took FOREVER. Consequently, I watched absolutely zero hours of Star Trek yesterday and today was all Super-Bowley. Anyway, here's some of what I was thinking as I watched these episodes: 

68- ELAAN OF TROIUS

-Green dude. Woah, these guys have some serious outfits. It’s all shoulders and no pants.

-The Enterprise crew doesn’t bow until they see how hot this princess is. They literally bowed to her hotness.

-This is the episode wherein Kirk slaps a princess then she tries to stab him and he threatens to give her a spanking. Seriously. 

-McCoy utters the phrase, “Super love potion.”

69- WHOM GODS DESTROY

-Hey, there’s an Orion girl and she actually has a name and lines. Nicely done, Star Trek.

70- LET THAT BE YOUR BATTLEFIELD

-Woah, is that The Riddler?

-I remember this one from when I was a kid. It totally blew my eight-year-old mind. 

-It's easy to talk about how this one's kind of silly but I really like it. 

71- THE MARK OF GIDEON

-This episode has a lot of guys saying coordinates. Thrilling!

-This is a great idea, not sure about the execution.

72- THAT WHICH SURVIVES

-Oh, a crazy mystery planet. Nice. 

-I think the geologist is about to bite it.

-Yep. He bit it. 

-I really like the idea behind this episode. Interesting and different. 

73- THE LIGHTS OF ZETAR

-Scotty’s girlfriend gets possessed by an alien entity. She's ok though. 

-Notice that Scotty didn't get a girlfriend till he grew out his damn bangs. 

74- REQUIUM FOR METHUSALAH

-Who is this guy? Extreme age? 6000 years? Oh, Methusala, I get it.

-Woah! Flint has the ONLY flat screen TV I’ve ever seen in Star Trek. Awesome. This guy lives in THE FUTURE.

-This episode would be so awesome without Kirk “falling in love” with Rayna. Unnecessary. 

75- THE WAY TO EDEN

-These are some rockin’ anime cosplay wigs.

-Are these Space Hippies?

-Is a “Sit-In” happening in the transporter room.

-Yes. Awesome.

-What is Quentin Tarantino doing in this episode?

"That's now! That's real now!" 

76- THE CLOUD MINDERS

-Oh, I really like this one. 

-Poor rich girl, fawning all over Spock. Bless her heart. She needs to get in line behind me and Nurse Chapel.

77-THE SAVAGE CURTAIN

-President Lincoln shows up. Nuff said.

78-ALL OUR YESTERDAYS

-Donna Noble is in the library. Donna Noble has been saved.

79- TURNABOUT INTRUDER

-Let me just say that here is yet another example of Kirk messing up a woman's life. 

-Also, considering this episode features a woman in Kirk's body and vice versa, this one's actually better than it ought to be. 

-The series was already cancelled when they were making this episode. As they were shooting, the sets were being dismantled. Thinking about this made me really sad. I wish they'd been given a proper series finale. Given that this is the last one, though, it's really not bad. 

THE ANIMATED SERIES           

1- BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR

-They’re all back! Hooray!

-There’s an alien working on the bridge! Awesome! 

-It’s clear that they can do things here that they couldn’t do in TOS… like land everyone on the outside of a giant insect pod spaceship. Nice. Can't wait for more. 

Weekend Roundup

I feel like I really dropped the ball this week by only watching seventeen episodes but, to my credit, it was my birthday. I spent the day hiking around the Vasquez Rocks, where several episodes of Star Trek were shot. It was AMAZING. 

Anyway, here are the episodes I did watch and the things I was thinking as I watched them: 

51- BY ANY OTHER NAME

-This creepy guy reminds me a lot of Kevin Spacey

-This is actually a really great episode. It's completely under-appreciated. 

52- THE OMEGA GLORY

-I'm pretty sure this is the first time the phrase “Prime Directive” has been used. Before this, it was always the "Non-interference Directive." 

53- THE ULTIMATE COMPUTER

-How does anyone in Starfleet think it's a good idea to just get rid of the crew when testing a crazy spaceship driving computer? 

-It's not a good idea. It's a very bad idea. 

54- BREAD AND CIRCUSES

-Apparently there’s a rule called, “Hodgekin’s Rule of Parallel Development.” That explains a lot.

-I freaking love McCoy in this episode. 

55- ASSIGNMENT EARTH

-Wow, this guy reminds me a lot of Peter Weller.

-I love it when Spock pets things. In this episode, he's petting a kitty. They should've given Mirror Spock a kitty. 

-This guy almost had his own show but NBC shut it down. I think that’s too bad. Seems like it would’ve been a good show.

SEASON THREE

56- SPOCKS BRAIN

-Kirk and McCoy are literally driving around Spock like he's an RC car. 

-McCoy says, “Jim, his brain is gone!”

57- THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT

-This Romulan looks a lot like Ben Stiller. Ben Stiller would make an awesome Romulan. 

-Ok, this is actually a pretty awesome episode. Apparently a lot of people don't like DC Fontana (this episode's writer) but I love this one and several of her others. 

58- THE PARADISE SYNDROME

-This is the episode wherein Kirk marries and Indian chick. Seriously. 

59- AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD

-Basically this is another creepy kids episode.

-Like Miri but not as great.

60- IS THERE NO TRUTH IN BEAUTY

-Oh man, I love this episode. This is probably in my top ten TOS list.

-Basically, beautiful Dr. Pulaski is an escort to an alien whose appearance is so hideous that just looking at him will drive a person mad. What a great idea for an episode of Star Trek. 

-Dr Pulaski is gorgeous.

-This feels like a Twilight Zone/Star Trek mashup. I love it. 

61- SPECTRE OF THE GUN

-A crazy, godlike creature just transported everyone to the surface of a mysterious planet. What else is new? 

-Chekov is totally a lady-killer. He's making out with a hot space chick like every three episodes. 

62- DAY OF THE DOVE

-I think this is the first time we’ve ever seen Klingon ladies.

-This seems like a really good Trek idea. It's a little heavy-handed but that's just the kind of thing that happens when you're always sincerely trying to make a point. 

63- FOR THE WORLD IS HOLLOW AND I HAVE TOUCHED THE SKY

-Ok seriously, this episode is just a replica of the one where Kirk marries a Space Indian. 

-Where's the rest of the crew? I love Kirk, Spock, and McCoy as much as anyone but I miss the ensemble element of this show. I'm starting to get fatigued with the triad beaming into the episode and only seeing inserts of Sulu, Uhura, Scotty, and Chekov. 

64- THOLIAN WEB

-Man, I love these spacesuits. 

-McCoy just said, “Jim, this ship is desolving! My hand just went through a man and a table!” The fact that McCoy ends this line with, "and a table!" cracks me up. 

-This episode is excellent. It's also a "Kirk-Light" episode. 

65-PLATO'S STEPCHILDREN

-Ok, this episode is basically "just alright" BUT it contains the first interracial kiss on television. It's a piece of history and totally worth watching. 

66- WINK OF AN EYE

-This onesurprisingly great. I love the idea of a society which exists at super-accelerated speeds. 

67- The Empath

-Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam into trouble. More trouble ensues. We see the rest of the crew basically none at all. How did this become so pervasive? 

Weekend Roundup

I was really, really sick this week. I usually take a lot of notes while watching these episodes but most of my time recently was spent lying on the couch and moaning about how my Downton-Abbey-Spanish-Influenza-Style-Death was inevitable. As such, I have minimal notes. 

Anyway, as usual, here are some of the things I was thinking as I watched the following episodes: 

37- I, Mudd: 

-Yay! Mudd's back! I remember reading that, at some point, he almost had his own show but Roddenberry was all like, "Nope. Ain't nobody got time for that!" 

-Oh, it's Zooey Deschanel. 

38- Metamorphosis:

-Woah! It's Zephram Cochran. I prefer the First Contact Zephram but this one's ok too. 

39- Journey to Babel

-Oh, good, they're wearing dress uniforms. I love the dress uniforms.

-Wow, there's a whole lot of walk and talk in this episode. This is 1967! Aaron Sorkin my ass. 

40- Friday's Child

-This is the episode wherein Leonard McCoy slaps a pregnant lady. TWICE! It's actually pretty awesome. 

-All the natives in this episode are wearing neon fur clothing. I love the idea that there are neon colored furry beasts roaming around on this planet. 

41- The Deadly Years

-This episode reminds me of The X-Files episode, Dod Kalm. 

-Everyone gets super old and they can't figure out why. 

-I was at my sickest during this episode and remember feeling exactly like McCoy looked: 

42- Obsession: 

-This is a straight-up Moby Dick episode and Kirk is going full-Ahab. 

43-Wolf in the Fold

-Uh-oh, I'm pretty sure Piglet just hardcore murdered a belly dancer. 

44- The Trouble With Tribbles

-This episode makes me want a chicken sandwich and coffee. Also, a tribble. 

45- The Gamesters of Triskelion

-Here's the secret fight club episode of Star Trek. Nearly every series has one. I wonder if Star Trek originated this trope in TV. 

-Sulu was supposed to be in this episode rather than Chekov and I wish it'd been him. Maybe he could've done a bit of fencing. 

46- A Piece of the Action

-Heaters! 

47- The Immunity Syndrome

-This episode is about a giant amoeba taking swallowing the ship. For a while, I thought I was hallucinating this in my altered, Nyquil-induced state.

48- A Private Little War

-I love the idea behind this episode. Even though it ends up being pretty goofy, it's a great, classic Star Trek-themed story. 

49- Return To Tomorrow

-Seeing Dr. Pulaski in this episode is kind of crazy. She's seriously gorgeous and it makes me wonder why they played down the actress' obvious sex appeal when she appeared on TNG. She was all business as the doctor but in this episode she's marvelously old-Hollywood glamourous. 

50- Patterns of Force

-The crew winds up visiting a planet dominated by a Nazi-esque culture. Amazingly this is not the last time Nazis would find their way into Star Trek. 

-Kirk and Spock spend a good deal of time shirtless and handcuffed in this episode. I can only imagine the stacks and stacks fanfics these scenes inspired. 

And on that note, I'm off to bed. 

Weekend RoundUp

Ok, I got fifteen episodes in this week which, I think, is a bit low. I feel like I can do better. Anyway, I tried to write about the biggest episodes but of course, I missed a few. So, to make sure you get a little something about all of them, here's some of the stuff I was thinking about as I watched them:

22- Space Seed:
Khan is awesome. He has more outfits than anyone else on this show. I think he and Kirk should try trading outfits. Also, McCoy is a total badass. This is one of McCoy's best moments ever. True Grit.

23- A Taste of Armageddon:
This episode is an unsung hero of the Star Trek Franchise. This thing is amazing. It feels so much like an episode of TNG that I'm surprised they didn't do the exact same thing again in 1991.

24- This Side of Paradise:
Spock is way in love with this girl wearing overalls. I think it might be worth counting the number of times Spock wigs out. It seems like an average of about every five episodes.

25- The Devil in the Dark:
Silicon based monsters are just one of the many reasons you don't want to be a Space Miner.
McCoy just said, "I'm a doctor, not a brick layer!" I'm pretty sure that's the first time he's literally said, "I'm a doctor, not a ___"

26- Errand of Mercy:
KLINGONS! I wonder if, when they first conceived of this episode, whether they planned on making the Klingons into a recurring species. No matter what, I love this episode.
It's also worth noting that I saw the Klingon outfits at the Star Trek Exhibition and those things on their belts are painted bubble wrap. True Story.

27- The Alternative Factor:
I have like, literally nothing to say about this episode. I watched it. It's about a guy and his anti-self. Maybe I should try this one again.

28- The City on the Edge of Forever:
Obviously awesome. Go watch it now.

29-Operation Annihilate:
I'm not sure why they chose this as the finale rather than "City on the Edge of Forever." Still, even though it doesn't have the same level of emotional impact, it's a really great episode. They're really hitting their Kirk/Spock/McCoy stride by this point.

SEASON TWO!!!

30-Amok Time:
Ok, after my other favorite moments of Nurse Chapel crying over Spock and Spock making nice with McCoy, I LOVE it when Spock breaks the gong. What a nice touch.
Also, the remastering really does this episodes some favors. Vulcan looks amazing.

31-Who Mourns For Adonais:
This is one of those really beloved episodes. Lots of people talk about how brilliant and sad it is. I don't really understand that opinion. I like this episode. I think it's a great idea for a Star Trek but I'm not crying at the end. If you watch it and think otherwise, I'd love to talk about it.

32-The Changeling:
This episode is about a messed up deep space probe who thinks Kirk is his creator. My favorite thing about this episode is the probe's consistent reference to Kirk as "The Kirk."

33-Mirror Mirror:
As soon as Kirk sees Spock's goatee in the Mirror Universe, he knows everything's gone pear-shaped. Woah, they have "Agonizers" in the mirror universe. Awesome! Sulu's scar is bad-ass.

34-The Apple:
PRIME DIRECTIVE! I'm going to have to write about this episode and all the reasons it makes me a bad Anthropologist.

35-Doomsday Machine:
This is pretty tense. Where is Uhura? Everyone's spending an awful lot of time on the bridge and Uhura's not there. Wait a second... is this a bottle episode? I think it is! The remastering is also excellent here. Beautifully done.

36-Catspaw:
This is a straight-up halloween episode.

Alright, guys, that's about it. I'd really like to get twenty episodes in this coming week. We'll see how it goes.

Oh! Also, I got an early B-day present:

Sunday Night Roundup

So, I figured that since it's the end of the week, I really ought to let all (eleven) of you know which episodes I managed to watch so far. I don't get to write about every episode but I wish I could. I think about all of them but I just don't have the time to make a post about every single one. Not sure if I mentioned this but there's A LOT of Star Trek out there and this blog is a moving train.

Anyway, here's the list and some of the things I was thinking as I watched the episodes:

Pilot- The Cage:
-"Time Warping" has its own music.
-Wow, those away mission coats are FANTASTIC. Why didn't they keep those around?

1- The Man Trap:
-Uhura is my new girl crush. It can't be helped.
-I eat A LOT of salt. I wonder if I'm a salt monster who forgot her natural form.

2- Charlie X
-Hey, this kid isn't too bad.
-LOL This is the best space gym ever!

3- Where No Man Has Gone Before
-Does the costumer repair all of Kirk's ripped shirts after they shoot or do they just make new ones?
-Those silver eyes look pretty amazing.
-This is still early enough that they're hitting the "Spock's an unfeeling alien" thing pretty hard when Kirk says, "Will you try for one moment to feel? At least act like you've got a heart!"

4-The Naked Time
-Everyone remembers this episode because of this:

But it's about a lot more than that. Still, shirtless Sulu is pretty awesome.

5- The Enemy Within
-Although I love the concept of this episode, it's not one of my favorites. I think a lot of that has to do with the last line, when Spock asks Yeoman Rand, "The impostor had some very interesting qualities, wouldn't you say, Yeoman?" Seriously? I know you feel like you had to end on a laugh but it should've had something to do with the space dog, the away team, or anything other than Yeoman Rand almost getting raped.

6- Mudd's Women
-Love Mudd's costume
-Interesting. The crystals that power the ship are called "lithium" and not "dilithium" in this episode.

7- What Are Little Girls Made Of?
-Majel Barret is pretty amazing here. Christine Chapel is a totally heartbreaking character.
-See these guys:

They're about the become the first official "Red Shirts" to bite it in Star Trek.

8- Miri
-"Bonk! Bonk! On the head! Bonk! Bonk!"

9- Dagger Of The Mind
-Is this the first use of Shakespeare in Star Trek? Not sure.
-It's definitely the first mind meld.

10- The Corbomite Maneuver
-This one has the first variation on "I'm a doctor, not a ___" when McCoy says, "What am I, a doctor or a moon shuttle conductor?"
-We see A LOT of the Kirk from Wrath of Khan. He's getting older, he's gained a bit of weight. He doesn't like any of it and he's definitely not losing to some mysterious alien.

11 & 12- The Menagerie parts 1 & 2
-This feels like a clip show. Had clip shows been invented yet? Is this the first clip show? I guess it's not technically a clip show since, at the time, no one had actually seen these clips.

13- The Conscience of the King
-SERIOUS use of Shakespeare in Star Trek. I wish I'd had time to write about this one in detail. Maybe I'll come back to it.

14- Balance of Terror
-First time we see Romulans and boy, they look a lot like Vulcans. Quit being so damn racist, Stiles! Geez.
-Mark Leonard is fantastic here. No wonder they brought him back as Sarek.

15- Shore Leave
-Man, 2009's Star Trek really missed an opportunity by not making their "Burly Cadet #1" (who calls Kirk, "Cupcake") the man who was revealed to be Kirk's bully while at the Academy--Finnegan.
-Also, this happens:

Bones is a total Ladies' Man

16- The Galileo Seven

-We have shuttles now! 

-Spock literally says, "It is more rational to sacrifice one life than six, doctor" <Mind Blown>

-Here's another episode I might come back to later. 

17- The Squire Of Gothos

-I remember talking to my dad about how "That Squire guy" was obviously a Q, when I was a kid. My argument has changed none at all. Apparently this question is answered in one of the novels. 

18- Arena

-The Gorn blinks now! 

-I really want to do some Gorn-themed art. 

19- Tomorrow Is Yesterday

-The remastering really did this episode some favors. I almost cried watching the Enterprise in orbit around Earth.

Tell me that's not one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen.

20- Court Martial

-I can't wait for "Measure Of A Man" to come around. I'm SO going to write about this episode when that happens! 

21- The Return of the Archons

-Crazy cult episode. 

-Why don't they ever explain why everyone goes crazy at 6pm? How is that part of Landru's plan? 

-Amazing quote from Kirk: 

Without freedom of choice, there is no creativity. Without creativity, there is no life. 

Alright, kids! That's it for this week. I got 22 (counting the pilot) episodes into Star Trek: TOS and I can't wait for more.