Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
Photo from Hamvention 2022, the world’s largest ham radio convention. From left, Chris Kavanaugh, Jeff Tobin (KC3NJE), me (KN4FYR), and Donovan Wheatley (KE8TKI).
Here’s a remarkable birthday gift from sons Jon and Andy. It’s Bluetooth, it’s sturdy, and it’s a great gift! I love it!
Another birthday gift, this time from Jeff Tobin, KC3NJE. Jeff scored a vintage D-104 ham radio microphone like this one for himself some months ago and I’ve been crazy jealous. For my birthday and just before Hamvention, Jeff gifted me a D-104 of my very own! I was excited, humbled, and grateful for the magnificent gift.
View from my former front porch of the fireworks display, part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Week activities here in the Canton, Ohio area.
Back here and here, Frank Simons, actor, LA Dodger fan and fellow Star Trek genius formalized our love of (nearly) all things Star Trek by each listing in writing the ten favorite episodes of The Original Series – not the best or the most revered, but the ones WE each liked the best. Ever since, we’ve been trying to coordinate our second installment of the Battle of the Star Trek Geniuses.
Since I went first last time, Frank gets first crack at it today. Given Frank’s far superior understanding of literature, theater and TOS itself, his essays offer far more astute insight than mine. (You’ll discover that for yourself when you read mine tomorrow. But I know what I like and in a favorites list, that’s enough. )
Frank has had a number of articles run on the respected Reuters News wire, so you know that this’ll be pretty damned good. Here’s Frank to start things off.
Frank and Dan on the Gorn Planet location in Vasquez Rocks in California. The photos were taken about 30 years apart. We each have this displayed poster sized. (Frank tells me he’s lost well over 40 lbs. since the photo on the right was taken. Outstanding!)
Almost 5 years ago to the day, my good friend Dan Wolfe and I
conducted “The Battle of the Star Trek Geniuses” on-line. A grandiose
title for an exercise by two Star Trek geeks (and yes, we both wear that badge
with honor), to go public with a list of their 10 favorite episodes – and why
they were our favorites. It was great fun, so as with everything Trek, we
wanted more, thus, a sequel! Our 5 favorite “Guest Star” performances
from the original Star Trek series, along with 5 “honorable mentions”
and our favorite “computer” episode.
Now one might think picking your 5 favorite “Guest Star” performances from the original series is about as easy as petting a tribble. And you would be wrong. As I sat down to contemplate this challenge it quickly became a Kobayashi Maru — an almost impossible test. The structure of episodic TV requires new characters and situations to challenge the series regulars almost every week. There are easily 30 performances in episodes both good and bad, that are exceptional. It’s all personal taste of course, after all, the Kobayashi Maru is a test of character, and so this became. What these choices reveal about each of us, Dan and I, informs our character – how we were influenced, what we enjoy in these performances, why we choose to single them out, when clearly there are many to pick from. Like our previous “Battle” (is it really a “Battle” if everyone wins?), this is not a list of what might be critically considered the best “acting” by actors guest starring on Star Trek, but the performances we, Dan and I, each liked best. So, without further ado, and to catch the conscience of Star Trek kings everywhere, here’s my list.
5) Guest Star: John
Colicos as Kor, in “Errand of Mercy.”
“Always it is the brave ones who die. The soldiers…”
First impressions matter, and John Colicos’s Kor, as the first speaking Klingon we meet, sets the impression in spectacular fashion. Kor defines for us all (and all those Klingon commanders that followed), what it is to be a Klingon: Ruthless. Honorable. Tough. Smart. An equal foe that should not be underestimated.
Like Laurence Olivier’s Richard the III, Colicos plays Kor as a villain who knows he’s a villain. But as a Klingon, that is his core, his normal, and therefore – too bad for those who cross his path. I have occasionally been accused of chewing the scenery on stage, and know what it’s like to pick a splinter out of my teeth from time to time – I recognize flying wood when I see it. Colicos joyfully spits toothpicks out in every scene. He uses the entire spectrum of performance to let us know in both broad and subtle strokes that we’re watching talent. His physical strut as Kor enters a room, his vocal range and phrasing (no one has ever turned the word “vegetable” into a full course meal like he does), and even just his resting stare draw the viewer into his compelling presence. Kor is my favorite Klingon in all of Trek hands down, I wanted to see Kirk battle him again and again, and it’s all due to John Colicos’s acting choices.
One of my favorite sayings is that it’s better to be type cast than not cast – it means you do something very well, well enough to do it again and again. Colicos played villains like Kor throughout his TV career – he was clearly type cast – but he never seemed to savior playing evil and enjoy those moments as much as he did with Kor. We love to hate our villains, we love to hate Klingons and we owe it all to John Colicos.
4) Guest Star: Robert Walker, Jr., as Charlie Evans in
“Charlie X.”
“Oh please! Don’t let them take me! I can’t even touch
them!…Please, I want to
stay..stay…stay….stay…..stay……stay……stay.”
It took me a long time to appreciate the performance Robert Walker, Jr. gives as “Charlie” in this episode, because it always made me uncomfortable to watch it. Then I realized that’s exactly why it’s so good. The ship Charlie was on crashed when he was an infant, and 17 years later he’s discovered. Charlie has never interacted with “his own kind” before, he’s been alone all of his 17 years. The innocence when he asks “is that a girl?” upon seeing a female for the first time is endearing.
Charlie was given God-like powers by the Thasians (advanced non-corporeal Beings) who initially found him, so that he could survive. Needless to say, our intrepid Enterprise crew is unaware of Charlie’s power until he starts to use it. Charlie quickly learns that his power makes him a god around other humans. Walker plays the part in a defensive, almost constant reactive state – he literally doesn’t know the limits of what is acceptable in human interaction. Like many adolescents who encounter raging hormones and feelings they don’t understand, his first reaction is fear, he’s awkward, and then begins to lash out.
Walker’s 17-year-old plays love, fear, hate, regret – he gets the gambit of character choices, and plays them with such conviction that he makes the viewer uneasy. Charlie is a difficult boy – but is it his fault? The performance makes us ask – would we forgive Charlie? Should we forgive? What would we have done with Charlie? The answers to those hard questions is what makes us feel uneasy – and it’s Robert Walker, Jr.’s performance that makes us ask them. Even after all the horrible things Charlie has done, his fading “stay…stay…stay” as the Thaisians (who have tracked him down), arrive to take him away, makes us sad. There are many ways to gauge the “success” of a performance, and for most people it’s how the actor has made them feel. We feel Charlie’s despair as he fades from our plain of existence, and even though he should be punished, we ask ourselves – should we have made a better case to save him? The one thing that does “stay” with you after watching this episode, is Walker’s sad, tragic, doomed, fate, to be forever alone.
3) Guest Star: Nancy Kovack as Nona in “A Private Little
War.”
“We must fight or die! Is dying better?!”
Twice in my young life Nancy Kovack captured my heart – both in that impressionable sweet spot called “early adolescence.” First as Medea in Ray Harryhausen’s masterpiece “Jason and the Argonauts,” and secondly as “Nona,” the “Kahn-ut-tu Woman” in this dark, sobering episode.
Captain Kirk describes the Kahn-ut-tu as “the local witch people,” but Nona is no green faced Margret Hamilton. Dressed in revealing tight leather pants and a top that frames Ms. Kovack’s natural gifts in a bright orange frock – along with her long black hair, Nona could not have been more bewitching to this young boy. It didn’t hurt that the girl I had a long crush on in school, at least in my mind, looked just like Ms. Kovack’s Nona. “L” was my “Kahn-ut-tu Woman” – as adults I even told her about my then feelings. The comparison as complement was lost on her, but I digress.
Nona is a brave performance, a strong female character clearly motivated by sex and power – and not afraid to use both as she manipulates the men around her to quench her desires and forward her ambitions. But beyond being a tempting vixen, Ms. Kovack’s character is also the voice of reason – she can not understand the pacifist leanings of her tribes’ chief, her husband, in the face of impending slaughter. Nona’s ambition and need for power is her undoing as she pays the ultimate price for betraying her husband – but by doing so unwittingly motivates him to become the cold blooded killer she wanted.
Novack could not be more calculating, mysterious, and alluring, in a performance that a lesser actress would have made one dimensional. When Nona dies, and we see how it has changed the man she loved, we are sad. Sad for the innocence of a man, of a world, that is now lost. This episode stays with you, for so many reasons, not the least of which is the bewitching witch that is Ms. Kovack’s Kahu-tu-tu Woman.
2) Guest Star: William Windom as Commodore Matthew Decker in
“The Doomsday Machine.”
“But don’t you understand?! We’ve got to destroy it!”
The guilt of causing the deaths of those you’re entrusted to protect – those you would give your life to save – is thankfully beyond what most of us will ever experience. That state of mind, or lack there of, is where William Windom’s performance as Commodore Decker begins. Windom’s Decker is Shakespearean in its depth of despair, a yawning gulf of damage and loss, and we feel it. The tearful breakdown Windom performs, as he describes the horrific fate of his crew – who were begging him to save them – is palatable for the viewer. He’s broken and damaged beyond salvation.
The episode is a Moby Dick story, and Windom is our driven, obsessed, irrational, Ahab. When Ahab gets another shot at the white whale he grabs a harpoon (or the Enterprise), and chases him once more. In such a large performance, it’s one of Windom’s smallest moments that sticks with me. In a standoff with Spock over command of the Enterprise, Spock gives us one of his most famous lines -“Vulcan’s never bluff,” – but it’s Windom’s reaction that is noteworthy: a whiff of bigotry. Spock has the misfortune to be the target of bigotry on a number of occasions in the series. Here, Windom’s Decker replies to the bluff comment with a brief pause, a hard cold stare, then says “No, no I don’t suppose that they do.” The delivery is calculated and deliberate, and so subtle, as to make it even more suggestive. The fact that Windom pulls this small moment off in what is otherwise a larger than life performance, makes it all the more effective. Commodore Decker dies in the line of duty.
1) Guest Star: Ricardo Montalban as Khan Noonien Singh in
“Space Seed.”
“We offered the World order!”
Many of my favorite performances are by actors who can do what I call “Big Real” – an over the top performance of a larger than life character, and yet we believe them. Think George C. Scott in Patton, or anything Peter O’Toole ever played. A charismatic, intelligent, brave, womanizing, handsome, leader. I could be describing Captain Kirk, but I’m describing the most distinctive villain in the entire run of The Original Series: Khan Noonien Singh, aka – KHAN.
Ricardo Montalban portrays a genetically engineered superman from Earth’s past – a military dictator with sway over millions on the Earth of the 1990’s, who escaped into space as the warring powers of the time closed in on him. Escaped to live, to fight, to conquer, another day. Khan is a villain as big as Kirk’s hero – and that’s probably why I love this performance. Our regulars begrudgingly respect Khan, and so does the viewer. Khan’s story touches Earth’s past, in Earth’s future.
Montalban’s distinctive voice and actor presence delivers a driven charismatic character that knows he’s the smartest, strongest, most alpha male in the room – in any room of any time. Khan exudes a confidence that is the essence of the man all women want, and all men want to be. Montalban’s Khan can only win – and even in defeat he gets a chance at victory another day. The challenge Kirk gives him is one we want to see Khan succeed with. Have YOU ever read Milton? Star Trek has lots of larger than life Super Beings, but Ricardo Montalban’s is one of the few we love, and want to see more of, and got to see more of. It’s no secret why “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” is the best Star Trek feature film – Super Hero Kirk vs Super Villain Khan is a fight millions never get tired of watching, including me.
Honorable mention: 6) Frank Gorshin as Bele, in “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.” 7) Joseph Ruskin as Master Thrall, Galt, in “The Gamesters of Triskelion.” 8) Logan Ramsey as Claudius Marcus in “Bread and Circuses.” 9) Roger C. Carmel as Harry Mudd, in “Mudd’s Women.” 10) Julie Newmar as Eleen, in “Friday’s Child.”
Computer Guest Star: Nomad, in “The Changeling.”
“My function is to probe for biological infestations, to
destroy that which is not perfect. I am Nomad.”
This is one of my very favorite episodes, because it starts with such a great hook. An attack on the Enterprise by a foe that is far more powerful and clearly has no interest in talking. The destruction of the Enterprise is just business, so best get to it. But by the stroke of luck (and a good script), the powerful foe that’s attacking the Enterprise is actually a computer, a space probe, that had its origin on Earth. It has become something far beyond what it was intended to be, but it still has a soft spot for mommy – and it thinks Kirk is mommy. Or father to be exact.
Voiced by Vic Perrin, who is most famous for the opening narration to the classic 60’s science fiction series “The Outer Limits.” Other than Nomad, my favorite turn by Mr. Perrin is as the voice of “Dr. Zin” in the classic Hanna-Barbera TV series Jonny Quest. Perrin appears on camera in one episode of Trek (Mirror, Mirror), and voiced not just Nomad, but also the “Metron” in the episode “Arena.” One actor appears in three of Treks best episodes, guessing he has something to do with why those episodes are considered so good. Perrin infuses the flat mechanical voice of Nomad with a sense of pride, and driven purpose. This computer has a personality, and even what appears to be a sense of humor. If Nomad just sounded like a static computer voice, like say the one used for M-5 in “The Ultimate Computer” we would not feel the implied danger that being in it’s existence every moment actually is. Perrin’s vocal talent wins the day, as our favorite Vulcan might say, we’re fascinated by his Nomad, but also afraid. That’s a hard needle to thread, and Perrin stitches it perfectly.
In honor of last week’s fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek on NBC, here’s a post from exactly two years ago — part two of the series. Thanks to Frank, of course, who continues to delight readers on Facebook!
As Dan pointed out in his intro, we’ve known each other “since before your sun burned hot in space.” Ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, 1990-ish. We hit it off right away, discovering there were a number of interests we shared, but perhaps none as passionate as our mutual love of Star Trek, especially what has become known as “TOS,” – the original series.
Me (left) and Dan Wolfe at Vasquez Rocks near Los Angeles. “Arena” was filmed here.
Now as anyone who knows Dan will tell you, he’s smart. He’s somewhat modest about it, but Dan is a card carrying member of that super brains only club – MENSA. If you’re having a discussion with Dan on just about any topic – but especially one he’s interested in – well, you had better know your stuff. Having met or interviewed many of TOS actors, having written about Trek 5 or 6 times over the last 5 or 6 years for a major news wire, I can say with some confidence Dan and I “reach,” on Star Trek, but more about that “reach” reference later.
Last week, in yet another non-planned but just can’t help it discussion of Trekology, Dan suggested it might be fun as a part his always interesting blog, we pick our ten favorite TOS episodes. Not the 10 most culturally significant – not the ones that casual fans might know – “the one with the tribbles,” or “the one with that famous kiss,” or “the one where Spock did that one thing” but our favorites. The episodes we love. A countdown from 10 to 1, with one guilty pleasure episode – one we love, but hate admitting in public because most of the Trek universe would ask us if we were out of our Vulcan minds to like.
So 10 to 1.
10: Arena.
Gorn captain.
The Gorn episode. I love this episode because it has my favorite Trek space race sequence. After the Gorns have destroyed an Earth outpost and flee the planet, Kirk orders the Enterprise in hot pursuit. The Gorns are at warp 5, so Kirk and crew go to warp 6, the Gorns go to warp 6, the Enterprise goes to warp 7, and so on – two species comparing the size of their warp drives. As the ships race by a certain solar system, a superior race, the Metron’s, step in to put an end to this caveman fight by staging a caveman fight between the 2 ship captains – win and you and your crew survive, lose, you, your ship, and crew are destroyed. High stakes for our Captain. Kirk makes a cannon, brain beats brawn. Kirk displays mercy. Metrons think our species might be worth talking to in several thousand years. And it’s always fun to hiss and talk like a Gorn.
9: Bread and Circuses.
The Roman Empire episode. How can you not be fascinated by the concept of what an Earth would be like if the Roman Empire never fell. A planet wide Empire, in the 20th Century, having ruled for 400 years without war. A boast our planet cannot make. The evolution of slavery as an institution with benefits, televised Gladiator games – just love the idea of this episode! Bring down TV ratings in this empire and you get killed. Just like on our planet. Well, not yet. Kirk gets one last night to be “a man.” Spock and McCoy have a breakthrough in their love/hate relationship. Our hero’s barely escape with their lives just as “the Son” is dawning on a new day for this Rome.
8: Mirror, Mirror.
The Spock has a beard episode. Opposites attract in this one, and Bad Guys Rule. Our good guys, courtesy of a magnetic storm are transported to an opposite universe where the Federation is an Empire, Kirk is a bad guy with ambitions of Cesar-hood, and Spock has that famous goatee – and couldn’t look cooler. Uhura gets to go full sexy. Sulu full villain. Chekov tries to assassinate Kirk, and we are introduced to “The Agonizer.” We get to briefly see our hero’s play the bad-guy versions of themselves – could this be more fun? In this bad-guys-rule universe, Kirk makes Spock invincible, if he’ll only seize the day – to end this reign of terror. Spock as a leader of a revolution? He’ll consider it. And yeah, I’ve got that cool Sword through the Earth logo, as a pin, doesn’t everyone?
7: The Changeling.
The episode that is the better version of Star Trek – The Motion Picture. There are a number of Kirk vs. the computer episodes, but this one is my favorite. Nomad, the probe that’s on a mission to destroy any life form it doesn’t think is perfect (because its brain is broken and it kept all the wrong lessons it learned in life), is all set to destroy the Enterprise first and ask questions later, you know, kind of our first taste of a resistance is futile fate. But Nomad, in its broken brain state – thinks Kirk is its mother. Whew. Mom buys some time. Spock mind-melds with this messed up computer (could it be love), Scotty is killed, Uhura sings, and Kirk gives us a dazzlingly display of logic that even impresses Spock. How often did that happen.
6: Errand of Mercy.
TV Trek audiences meet the Soviets, I mean the Russians, I mean the Klingons, for the first time. Wow. We get a big sense of the geo-political and military reality of this universe that Roddenberry created, and goodness, it looks a lot like our own. Fascinating. There are political rivals, with the military means to challenge our happy Universal Order even in the future. The Klingon’s hate us for our freedoms, and aren’t afraid to take what they think they can get – so war, with a determined foe of equal military prowess, is upon us. Armenia, Belgium, and now Organia – innocents on the natural invasion routes. But a funny thing happens on the road to Universal Armageddon. Don’t you hate it when the sheep won’t let the wolves fight.
5: The Naked Time.
So, there are communicable space viruses, who knew, and if you get this bug, you are stripped naked, emotionally and otherwise. Catch this off a handshake and you get all the worst parts of drunk – and when that happens, people can and will die, because as Scotty tells us, you can’t change the laws of physics. Our leads get a chance to act – and we get to see some of the core traits that will make us love Kirk and Spock forever – a glimpse of their insecurities and what makes them tick at their core. Spock’s emotion is there, controlled, but we learn at an apparent huge cost to his psyche. And when Captain Kirk looks up at his ship, as he’s leaving the conference room and says “Never lose you. Never” – you forever fall in male-bonding like love of the commander that will do whatever it takes to save his ship, his people – you know, true blue medal of honor to the mat mode of existence. This episode will make a little boy want to grow-up and be Captain Kirk. Not to worry parents, he’ll get over it in 70 or 80 years.
4: The Omega Glory.
The American Patriotic episode. Lets face it, Star Trek is the projection of American ideals into the future, period. The Federation is a functioning UN in space, united in concepts of democratic principles, individual liberty, inclusion, tolerance, and rule of law – and lead by America, I mean Earth. “In a world (spoken in best movie promo voice-over voice), where Earth fought THE war with the communists, America lost – the Chinese Communists prevailed.
Kirk reads the Constitution to Cloud William.
But did that war give us the key to immortality? Is that worth destroying a civilization for?” – End movie promo voice-over voice. If you’re an American patriot you love this episode. Kirk reads the preamble to the constitution, and says the pledge of allegiance to the flag – yeah, Kirk gets all “E-ed Plebnista” on us. An American gives back to future Americans the meaning of Americas past, as a way to find America’s future. Did I note that this is the patriotic episode? Sooner or later, America always wins. E-ed Plebnista – Hell Yeah!
3: A Taste of Armageddon.
A taste of Mutually Assured Destruction? War is messy, so why wouldn’t the future of war be all logical and cleaned up. Kind of what the neutron bomb is supposed to be – a society’s culture, civilization, even its buildings, survive – it’s people, well, wrong place at the wrong time, and you head off to the suicide chambers. My favorite war movies are Anti-War movies, and that’s the message of this episode. Let’s not make the “cost” of war so easy to pay that we never bother to stop paying it. With the technology and tactics we use now, this question is more relevant today than ever before. This is a message episode, and I love this message – let’s keep war messy, so that we have an incentive to NOT wage it. We learn that the Federation has a “destroy the planet” order – General Order 24 – Capital Punishment on a world wide scale. And Kirk reminds us of our truth – we’re killers, but we can choose not to kill, today. This episode is one of the finest moment in all of Trek.
2: The Doomsday Machine.
The Doomsday Machine
This episode isn’t a taste of mutually assured destruction – it’s a huge helping of it, with seconds. Star Trek loves Melville, versions of Captain Ahab pop up all the time – including into the feature films. But Commodore Decker might be my favorite. And this is one of the few episodes where the lead guest star’s (William Windom) performance stands toe to toe with our regulars. A past civilization, from a neighboring galaxy, used its “H Bomb,” and it did what any Doomsday Machine would do – it not only killed the enemy, but also, the beings that used it. Only this civilizations weapon, as long as it has planets to destroy and consume, has no off switch –and now it has wandered into our galaxy burning a path through the Milky Way’s most densely populated section. Thanks neighbors. A broken transporter, a ticking clock, Spock relieved of command, Kirk defies his superior officer. Wonderful acting, great story, tension, suspense – this episode still works on every level.
1: The City on the Edge of Forever.
Before the Guardians of the Galaxy, there was The Guardian of Forever. Machine or Being? Both and Neither. To this day, one of the most fascinating characters in the entire Trek Universe – and on screen, we only see him/it here, and in the animated series episode “Yesteryear.”
This episode regularly ranks as the fans favorite. And yes, for me too. “City” has every element of what makes Star Trek great. A big story – a story that effects all human-kind, the course of Earth’s history, the history of the universe. Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one?
Edith Keeler and Jim Kirk in “City on the Edge of Forever”
The first time Star Trek, in so many words, gives us this quandary. FDR, Hitler, WW2, depression era New York, how to explain a Vulcan’s ears to someone that has never seen them before – it’s all here. A love interest for Kirk that is lost in time. It is the best of all the time change episodes, period. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all have their moments, all true to character, but Shatner in all his wonder, delivers here – yes, I mean on the acting part. Does Kirk know what he just did? Yeah, he knows. The City on the Edge of Forever is quite simply Star Trek at its finest.
Guilty Pleasure: The Way to Eden.
This is the Space Hippies episode. Yes, I admit, this is a bad episode, but like watching an act in a French circus, you’re kind of disgusted at what they look like and appear to be doing but you can’t look away. Lots to not like here – including some of the weirdest looking alien ears in all of Trek – and that’s saying something. We do see Spock rock out, a pretty girl play the spokes of bicycle wheel, a flipped screen shot that for a brief second puts Kirk’s insignia on the wrong side of his chest, and of course we find out that to be called a “Herbert” is a bad thing. Idealistic youth corrupted and mislead by an evil man, in pursuit of a crazy idea – find Eden. The one take away I have for this episode, and why it’s still pops up in my mind is the idea of “reach.” I mentioned this at the top of this far too long list, as to the fact that Dan and I “reach” on Star Trek. The Space Hippies use this as a kind of bonding phrase, if you and someone else understand a subject, a thing, an idea, in the same way – a way that is deeper than just logically, but goes to who you are – then you “reach.”
Dan and I, and millions of people all around the world, “reach” on Star Trek.
Dan writing here: Frank’s too modest to post his work for Reuters here, so I will since I can. In my opinion, Frank’s the definitive authority on TOS and I should publicly thank him for correcting an error in fact on my post yesterday. Well played, sir! Well played!
This is a repost from precisely two years ago. Since Star Trek is now fifty years old as of last week, I thought I’d revisit this essay today and Frank’s essay tomorrow.
Frank Simons, Trek Genius
Frank Simons and I can never spend more than five minutes in conversation without talking about Star Trek. Once we start, it doesn’t stop. We can and have discussed in the finest detail pretty much everything there is to talk about and then we discussed it again. Multiple times.
Dodger Spock? Ask Frank about it.
This has gone on between us since 1990-ish.
Frank and I watched the debut of ST:DS9 together at our mutual friend, Casey’s house. I don’t remember but we HAD to have watched ST:Voyager’s debut, though I may have been working. I was on the prime-time shift at E! Entertainment Television at the time, so that’s probably where I was when it debuted on the United Paramount Network. (Remember UPN? It’s ok. No one does.) Regardless, Frank and I have enjoyed each other’s company during countless TV airings of the different series and movies. And I couldn’t be more delighted each and every time we get to talk about Trek. *
So a few days back, I wrote a blog post entitled “Random Thoughts” in which I made a Star Trek reference. Naturally, Frank responded and well, see paragraph one. We were off to the races.
We decided that it would be fun to compare our ten most favorite episodes of the original series. Not the ones we thought were best, most socially significant or well written, just the top ten of those we LIKED the most. So we’re putting them in this blog.
So there too.
If you’re not a Star Trek fan, if you don’t know a Denebian slime devil from a Wookie, then these may not be the blog posts for you. Please DO come back when the regularly scheduled nonsense returns. However, if you recognize the words “Denebian slime devil” and can tell me who might have said it, then I recommend you read on.
My Ten Most Favorite Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes
10. “A Taste of Armageddon”
To this day, I don’t know why I like this one except to say that as a youngster, I totally understood the point of this episode. It made me feel smart that I got it. It also had cool, flashy computers in it. It was easy for a little kid like me to understand why Kirk and Spock would want to stop a computer-managed war in which people so designated by the computers “voluntarily” walked to their disintegration. By simulating the “war” and calculating “casualties” from simulated attacks, the computers saved their society’s infrastructure and survivors from the horrors of a REAL war. By destroying their warring computers, Kirk gambles that they’ll avoid the real horrors of war by actually embracing peace and ending the unnecessary loss of life once and for all:
“Death, destruction, disease, horror. That’s what war is all about, Anan. That’s what makes it a thing to be avoided.” – Kirk
Of course, he’s right and the warring factions go to the negotiating table with the assistance of the Federation.
Highlight of this episode: Scotty in command of the Enterprise while Kirk, et. al. are being held on Eminiar VII against their will. It’s one of the few times we see Scotty’s competency beyond engineering. Good performance by Jimmy Doohan. Unfortunately, much of the time, Scotty was written over the top and occasionally downright goofy. (“The Lights of Zetar”) I like the professional, iron-willed Scotty much better.
9. “Tomorrow is Yesterday”
“That ought to be… just about right.”
Time travel episodes always get my attention but this one was particularly fun. Especially so since the re-mastered version makes the Enterprise’s presence in Earth’s atmosphere look remarkably real when compared to the original graphics. The unintended presence of a twentieth-century fighter pilot aboard the Enterprise makes for a difficult moral and technical problem which, of course, they solve quite readily.
Most time travel stories break down with even limited scrutiny. (A rare exception: ST:TNG’s “Yesterday’s Enterprise” which gets time travel about as right as you can.) Causality is often cast to the wind in favor of story and in this case, the story is strong enough to overshadow any cause/effect paradoxes which arise from the crew’s arrival in 1967.
And that quote? Shatner delivers it perfectly and memorably.
8. “A Piece of the Action”
This is ST:TOS’s comedy. It’s a “planet of the week” story which by and large I really hate. But some great comedic performances by the guest cast (especially Vic Tayback) make this a really fun episode. Leonard Nimoy’s Spock is really at his best here when trying to fit in with the Iotains. He plays it perfectly.
Of course, in this episode, we’re introduced to the game of Fizzbin:
How can you NOT like that?
7. “Amok Time”
Another “Nimoy gets to act” episode. I like those because they’re different and because the actors get to act. Yeah, it’s kinda what they’re supposed to do, but when actors get to do something different from what you expect of a character, it automatically gets my attention.
Of course, this episode has it all: tested loyalties, sacrifice, a hot Vulcan woman, an uncontrollably horny Spock, a twenty-third century fragging, sorta.
Bottom line: Vulcans must mate every seven years and half-human Spock is not spared this ordeal during which intense, often violent emotions take over the eminently logical Star Fleet officer. In the process, we meet T’Pring, his betrothed, who has grown up since childhood to be supermodel hot. Drama and intrigue ensue and Spock kills Kirk in his Vulcan-hormone-induced rage.
Except that he really doesn’t because Dr. McCoy is a freakin’ genius. Three words: Tri. Ox. Compound.
Best moment: When Spock discovers that he hasn’t killed his captain after all. The look on his face reveals so much about Spock and his half-human side. It’s a pure Trek moment and one of my favorites in the franchise.
6. “Balance of Terror”
Romulans.
I love Romulans. They’re like Vulcans but with emotion, intrigue and too many hidden conspiratorial agendas to count. But they are interesting. Cool. Calculating. You always wonder what they’re REALLY up to. I always thought the Romulans were far better, subtler villains than the Klingons.
Klingons? I’m not a fan.
But Romulans? They’re crafty, manipulative, smart, sneaky, political bastards and I love ‘em all. If I could be another species other than Q, I’d be a Romulan. They’re badass and they don’t have to eat gagh. (In the interest of accuracy, I’d be a Gene Roddenberry Romulan not a J.J. Abrams Romulan. They’re just dicks.)
This is basically like every submarine movie you’ve ever seen except it’s in space. And it’s the first appearance of the Romulans who go on to do nasty things in some time line or another later/earlier on. (Another damnable time travel thingy.)
The Romulan commander, played by Mark Lenard, who also played Spock’s Vulcan father, Sarek throughout the franchise, is compelling and his respect for his adversary in Kirk is admirable.
Romulans.
Yeah, that says it all.
5. “The Enterprise Incident”
More Romulans. (See “Balance of Terror.”)
Kirk as a Romulan. Another horny Spock, but this time, he doesn’t really mean it. (He’s doing it for the Federation.) A cloaking device. A Romulan raised in Brooklyn. (Seriously.) The Vulcan Death Grip.
Intrigue, espionage and great performances all around make this a really exciting episode.
Sidebar: The Vulcan Death Grip has become a staple around our house. Nate and Garrett will often come up to me, place their fingers on the sides of my face and expect me to scream. (I know, Kirk doesn’t scream when he gets the Vulcan Death Grip like he does when Nancy Crater does something similar in “The Man Trap.” But that’s how they learned it from me, and I regret the error on my part.)
4. “The Ultimate Computer”
Hard to believe that the actor who played genius Dr. Richard Daystrom in this episode of TOS is also the actor who starred in the title role in 1972’s “Blacula!” William Marshall was a highly respected Broadway and Shakespearean actor who didn’t become a name, so to speak, until “Blacula” and its sequel. I enjoy Marshall’s Dr. Daystrom in this episode. And later in the episode, Marshall gives what I consider to be the best reaction ever to a Vulcan nerve pinch.
In “The Ultimate Computer,” Marshall plays the computer genius who, decades before, invented duotronics, the Treknology behind computers of the Star Trek universe. Now, many years later, Daystrom has upgraded and his new computer, M-5, uses multitronic technology modeled after his own human brain. Problem is: Daystrom’s nuts. Turns out, so is M-5.
The Enterprise under the control of M-5 is pitted against four other Constitution-class starships in war games that M-5 doesn’t know are games. Believing it to be under a real attack, M5 kills the entire crew of one starship and many others are injured and killed before Kirk and Spock get it figured out. This is one of four episodes in which Kirk talks a computer to death.
This one’s a fav because of the starship battle scenes and it takes Kirk’s human intuition and experience to save himself and the rest of the crew aboard Enterprise. Oh, and this line’s a winner:
“Compassion. That’s the one thing no machine ever had. Maybe it’s the one thing that keeps men ahead of them.” – Dr. McCoy, on why Commodore Wesley did not attack the Enterprise
3. “The Menagerie” (Parts 1 and 2)
ST:TOS’s only two-part episode and their epic. As a cost saving measure, Roddenberry et. Al. wrote this around the original Star Trek pilot that was rejected by NBC and turned it into a genuinely beautiful, thoughtful story.
It’s the story of the Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike played by Jeffrey Hunter. It’s noticeably different in many ways but similar enough to be believable as a flashback. It establishes much about the Trek universe but is occasionally contradictory. It’s fun to see Spock as a slightly different character, Nurse Chapel (Majel Barrett) as Number One, a TOTALLY different character, and a whole starship of different faces. And the crew of Jim Kirk’s Enterprise was far more diverse than that of Chris Pike.
Did I mention guest star Susan Oliver is beautiful? Stunningly beautiful? And occasionally green? It’s enough to make a man want to head to Orion at first opportunity.
I count this as one episode ‘cause it’s one story. If you think I’m wrong, feel free to let me know how that works out for you, k?
2. “The Omega Glory”
I’ve always liked seeing and hearing about other ships and crews of the fleet. This episode is no exception.
The USS Exeter is found abandoned around planet Omega IV. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a couple of red shirts head down to investigate. (Don’t know what a “red shirt” is? Google is your friend.)
The sole survivor is Exeter Captain Ronald Tracey whose survival is a mystery. Bottom line: he thinks he’s found the fountain of youth.
He hasn’t. And now he’s nuts. (Kinda like Daystrom, but with serious homicidal tendencies.)
Drama ensues and the ending is satisfying yet surprisingly hokey. However, Kirk’s speech at the end I believe to be just as valid today and it was/will be in the twenty-third century:
“Hear me! Hear this! Among my people, we carry many such words as this from many lands, many worlds. Many are equally good and are as well respected, but wherever we have gone, no words have said this thing of importance in quite this way. Look at these three words written larger than the rest, with a special pride never written before or since. Tall words proudly saying We the People. That which you call Ee’d Plebnista was not written for the chiefs or the kings or the warriors or the rich and powerful, but for all the people! Down the centuries, you have slurred the meaning of the words, ‘We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution.’ These words and the words that follow were not written only for the Yangs, but for the Kohms as well!”
Morgan Woodward as Capt. Ronald Tracey
What makes this episode for me is Morgan Woodward’s performance as Captain Tracey. He plays the best homicidal maniac in the business and no actor sweats better than he does – and I mean that as a compliment. He’s a delight in this role and I absolutely love watching him work. I should really hit YouTube and see if I can find other things in which Woodward appeared. I suspect he’s got serious acting chops. I’ve often wondered if he was considered for the part of Captain Kirk when Roddenberry was casting TOS. He was probably too old to play Kirk, but he would have been a terrific admiral or some such character. I think he would have been a good choice for another starship-based spinoff series had Trek taken off back then.
Before I get to number one…
Guilty Pleasure Episode: “Spock’s Brain”
Universally accepted as the worst of all the TOS episodes, “Spock’s Brain” is so bad from beginning to end that you can’t stop watching it even though you know you’re going to lose ten IQ points just for having it on the TV in the first place.
Aliens steal Spock’s brain – literally. Remove that sucker from his Vulcan cranium and use it as a sort of a central operating computer for their planet or ship or whatever. His brain is running heating, air conditioning for the society. Hell, it’s probably doing the laundry too, but that’s not the worst of it.
McCoy hooks up some sort of device around Spock’s head so he can walk around by remote control. (Even as kid, I thought this was the dumbest thing ever. So far, I have yet to find anything worse.) Later on, of course, they find Spock’s brain and McCoy has to reattach it. But he forgets how in the middle of surgery and Spock, brain half in and half out, talks him through it.
Awful. Just plain ridiculous. But if it’s on, I’ll watch it.
And finally…
1. “The Doomsday Machine”
Reread the first sentence of #2 above. I’ll wait.
This is another one where we see another ship of the line, in this case, the USS Constellation, severely damaged and adrift near the remains of a star system. The lone survivor is Commodore Matt Decker played expertly by William Windom. Decker’s beamed his crew down to the third planet of the system in the hope of saving them from death from a gigantic robotic planet killer. By the time Kirk and the Enterprise arrive on board Constellation after receiving its automated distress call, there is no third planet anymore and no crew. And Decker is just sick about it. Literally.
Decker is beamed aboard the Enterprise and as senior line officer, assumes command there against Spock’s wishes. Decker proceeds to put the Enterprise in harm’s way in the hope of destroying the planet killer, as he was unable to do with his ship.
This is the one episode that I watch all the way though from beginning to end every time. It’s got everything: another starship, an unbeatable enemy, ship-to-ship combat, Kirk and the away team in grave danger. When Kirk flips the switch giving him 30 seconds to beam away from the Constellation before it explodes inside the Doomsday Machine, it’s nail-biting action as the transporter fails while the clock literally ticks down the last seconds until the Constellation is destroyed with Kirk still aboard.
William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker
Windom’s Matt Decker is completely over the top and huge at times, but it is spot on for the circumstance and he is a compelling presence. He owns the screen whenever he’s on it. This is probably why he was such a big part of 60’s and 70’s television. William Windom had a long and distinguished career and even reprised his role as Commodore Decker in 2004 for “Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II.”
This is to my knowledge, the only episode of the original series in which pay for service in Star Fleet is mentioned:
“If I only had some phasers.”
“Phasers? You got ’em. I have one bank recharged.”
“Scotty, you’ve just earned your pay for the week.”
– Kirk and Scott, as the Enterprise is pulled closer to the doomsday machine
This may not be the best Star Trek episode from the original network run, but it is unquestionably my favorite and always has been. Toledo, Ohio only had two TV stations in the mid 60’s (WSPD and WTOL) and they shared the NBC affiliation. Star Trek was not one of the NBC shows that made it on the air in Toledo back then so I wasn’t able to see very many of the original NBC episodes unless I went to my grandparents’ house. (They had cable TV that carried Cleveland and Detroit stations.) This is one of the episodes I remember seeing on NBC during its original run. I remember this line from the trailer and from the episode as well:
“Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard.” – Kirk at about T minus 5 seconds
Well, there you have it! My ten favorite episodes from the original 79 of Star Trek. Comments? Leave ‘em here. I’d love to hear about your ten favorites.
Tomorrow the aforementioned Frank Simons, actor, occasional Reuters journalist and Star Trek Genius, will be guest blogging his top ten. Read it. That’s an order.
* I would be remiss were I to fail to acknowledge the hospitality of one Thunder Levin, also a HUGE Trek fan who hosted me and my then spousal unit at his Santa Monica abode for the debut of Star Trek: Enterprise. Thunder is an accomplished writer and director who recently wrote a couple of things, movies, actually, involving sharks in tornadoes – something like that – you may have heard about it. At the time, Anthony Montgomery, who played Ensign Travis Mayweather on Enterprise, lived in my apartment building in Los Angeles. Good guy!
If you’re not a Star Trek fan, these won’t be nearly as funny.
