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Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 39, Episodes 77 & 78: The Savage Curtain / All Our Yesterdays
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL SERIES' LAST GASPING BREATH! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
We must be reaching the end, because Volume 39 of The Star Trek DVD series contians two of the last great episodes producedin the series three season run.At first look THE SAVAGE CURTAIN may be considered a ridiculously silly episode. This is the infamous episode where 'Abraham Lincoln' makes an appearance. True that this episodes plot is way too far out to ever actually occur but still you have to give the writers credit for their creativity even if this is too cheesy. Basically the story goes that the Enterprise crew are abducted by a friendly alien entity who takes the form of Lincoln. Lincoln insists he is who he actually is and requests that Kirk and Spock accompany him to the molten planet where (unbeknowst to our heroes) the rock like aliens, the Excalbians have organized a battle between good and evil. Pitting (good) Kirk, Spock, Lincoln and the greatest Vulcan philosopher Surak against (evil) Genghis Khan, Kahless the Unforgettable (founder of the Klingon Empire), Col.Green (someone who supposedly is a Tyrant in our future) and Zora (some fairly forgettable experimental witch tyrant here). The story has essentially an anti-war message. Some people consider this to be one of the worst episodes. I actually greatly disagee with that thought on this show. Of course it's nowhere near the best but it's effective and creative, especially considering that (by this time) the Star Trek series was on life support. Not the best but good for third season standards. Hey, at least they didn't credit Abraham Lincoln played by himself!
ALL OF OUR YESTERDAYS was the last great Star Trek episode to ever make it into production. Being only an episode away from the end of the series' three year run, in retrospect they should have ended with this one. The story essentially deals with time travel. The Enterprise journeys to Sarpeidon and Kirk, Spock and McCoy meet a peculiar old librarian (played by Ian Wolfe). It's a really effective time travle episode since this story has three settings: Present day Sarpeidon, Kirk in Sarpeidon's Victorian age, Spock and McCoy in Sarpeidon's ice age. The last setting really steals this episode. Partly because we see Spock's barbaric nature take him over. There is no doubt why Nimoy is on the front of the DVD case. He even gets an effective love interest in this story (played by Mariette Hartley). An interesting plot, great acting and a somewhat tragic ending make tihs episode one of the more memrable episodes from the tail end of the Star Trek series.
Overall this is another must. One of the better pair of episodes from the end Star Trek's wildly uneven third season. Highly recommended.
Editorial Review:
"The Savage Curtain," Ep.77 - Kirk, Spock, Abraham Lincoln and Surak must fight four of history's greatest tyrants in a battle of good and evil staged by the Excalbians. "All Our Yesterdays," Ep.78 - When Spock and McCoy try to rescue Kirk from a time machine accident, they emerge in an ice age. Spock, now a throwback to earlier Vulcan times, falls in love and refuses to return to Kirk or the starship.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 11, Episodes 21 & 22: Tomorrow is Yesterday/ The Return of the Archons
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Total reviews: 14
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Volume 11 in the classic Star Trek series on DVD contains the delightful episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," a time-travel story with an infectious blend of suspense and humor. After dropping into a black hole, the Enterprise ends up orbiting the Earth in the late 1960s, and is spotted by U.S. Air Force Captain Christopher (Roger Perry), who happens to be flying by in his jet. Inadvertently giving poor Christopher an unwanted glimpse into the future, and wrecking his jet with an overpowering tractor beam, Capt. Kirk (William Shatner), not having a good day, beams him aboard the Federation starship. The collision of sensibilities and reference points between characters born several centuries apart has a fresh, urgent tone that subsequent Star Trek series have never captured (though Deep Space Nine came close with its dazzling episode "Trials and Tribble-ations"). The problem, of course, is what to do about Christopher now that he knows what he knows, and history demands that he stay put in his own world: the pilot's unborn son, it seems, will one day make a space flight of historic importance. Terrifically entertaining and something of a precedent-setter for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the theatrical feature set in contemporary San Francisco), "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is Trek at its best.Also on this disc is "Return of the Archons," a cautionary story about mind control written by Gene Roddenberry. The tale begins when Ensign Sulu (George Takei) is taken hostage on an Earth-like planet with a primitive culture. Zapped by a weapon that leaves him under the control of someone or something named Landru, Sulu is then pursued by Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who discover that Landru has the same grip on everyone else. Once Landru becomes aware of efforts by the captain and first officer to interfere with its bidding, Kirk and Spock become the target of a massive hunt by locals. A minor episode with a somewhat obvious scenario, "Return of the Archons" does have novel appeal in its heightened role for the ever-charming Sulu, and in Roddenberry's characteristically humane interest in elements that make people (and intelligent aliens) everywhere free to fulfill their destinies. The solution to the who-is-Landru mystery won't surprise anyone, but it may strike you as a prototype of several future episodes, from all the Trek series, involving centralized caretaking on various planets. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 5, Episodes 10 & 11: What Are Little Girls Made Of?/ Dagger of the Mind
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
Volume 5 from the DVD collection of original Star Trek programs includes "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Written by Robert Bloch (author of the novel Psycho, the basis of Hitchcock's film), the episode finds Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett) beaming down to planet Exo III, where Christine is to be reunited with her fiancé, Dr. Roger Korby (Michael Strong). The meeting is less than joyful, however, when it becomes clear that Korby has been developing androids that he intends to spread throughout the galaxy--using the Enterprise as his delivery vehicle. This was certainly the first significant performance for Majel Barrett in the Trek family; longtime fans know she went on to play Lwaxana Troi on The Next Generation (and Mrs. Gene Roddenberry in real life). An entertaining episode all around, with the notion of an android Kirk somehow amusing. (Maybe it was the android who sang on that notorious Shatner album.) Fans of '60s TV will also enjoy the performance of Ted Cassidy (the original Lurch from TV's The Addams Family) as the giant android, Ruk.Also on this DVD is "Dagger of the Mind," another mad-doctor drama. This time, Kirk delivers supplies to a penal colony on Tantalus V, where he meets the renowned Dr. Tristan Adams. Adams has been working on the development of a neural neutralizer to control and manipulate dangerous patients. When Kirk threatens to expose him as a dangerous megalomaniac, Adams uses the technology on the unfortunate captain. This tense piece set in a madhouse atmosphere makes for a riveting episode, with a few unhinged performances adding to the fun.--Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 22, Episodes 43 & 44: Bread And Circuses/ Journey To Babel
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Total reviews: 13
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Gladiators & Generation Gaps 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.
REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 22: Bread and Circuses © / Journey to Babel ©BREAD AND CIRCUSES © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None
REVIEW/COMMENTARY: Before I go into the review proper, it has come to my attention that the guys at Paramount™ put these original series DVDs out to the market without respect to neither the episodes' canonical-chronological order nor their date-of-broadcast order. This particular volume is a case in point: The first show, Bread and Circuses ©, was originally broadcast on March 14, 1968 (Stardate 4040.7), while the following show, Journey to Babel, was shown on November 17, 1967 (Stardate 3842.3). At first, I was kinda taken aback by this haphazard arrangement of eppies; after all, they could've at least TRIED to release classic `Trek in some logical fashion, right? But after envisioning the throes of agony that the more anal-retentive/OCD-suffering UberTrekkies would suffer due to this strange quasi-random release of episodes, I actually found myself rejoicing at Paramount™'s brazenness. Anything that gives the uberfans major hissy fits is just fine and dandy in my book!
A rather intriguing `what-if' type story where the elimination and/or delayed reaction of a an apparently vital historical element (in this case, "son worship" or Christianity) could have a major impact on the course of human history (in this case, the Roman Empire still exists in the 20th century). Throw in a few less-than-skillful-looking gladiatorial death matches and a turncoat starship captain (similar to the rogue C.O. in The Omega Glory ©), and you've got... um... hey, remember that scene in Airplane!™ where Peter Graves asks that kid, "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?" I'm reminded of that scene every time I catch this particular episode! And my name isn't Joey, either! Strange, no?
JOURNEY TO BABEL © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The importance of family; learning to overcome differences; family duties versus career duties
Historical Milestone: First appearance of Spock's parents
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None
REVIEW/COMMENTARY: Out of all the crewmen that serve aboard the Enterprise™, who'da ever thought Spock™ would have to deal with family strife? Well, it's true, kiddies- apparently pops isn't quite an approving parent where his son's career choice is concerned. But with the help of a whodunit murder mystery, a bit of espionage intrigue, and Sarek's life-threatening condition that only Spock can help treat, father and son manage to patch things up a little in the end. Which delights mater no end of course. Throw in a ridiculously silly fight sequence between Jimmers and an ersatz Andorian, and you've got a nice dollop of cheesiness to make the whole Spock-family-soap-opera that much tastier!
`Late
Editorial Review:
"Bread and Circuses," Ep. 43 - Kirk, Spock and McCoy must contend with a former starship captain-turned-traitor, Roman gladiators and television ratings in this unusual story. "Journey to Babel," Ep. 44 - The Enterprise is crowded with alien ambassadors, Kirk is attacked and Spock is in a terrible dilemma: he's replaced Kirk on the bridge of the Enterprise, but his ailing father needs a transfusion in order to survive.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 8, Episode 16: The Menagerie, Parts I and II
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Volume 8 in the DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes the fascinating two-part drama "The Menagerie." As if guided by the frugal wisdom of schlockmeister producer-director Roger Corman, Trek creator Gene Roddenberry found a clever way of using, instead of losing, extensive and costly footage from the then-unseen, discarded Star Trek pilot, "The Cage." Roddenberry's solution was to integrate pieces of "The Cage" into a whole new story context, and the surprisingly moving result was "The Menagerie." First, a bit of background: "The Cage" starred film actor Jeffrey Hunter (King of Kings, The Searchers) as Christopher Pike, the original captain of the Enterprise. Among Hunter's costars was Leonard Nimoy as Science Officer Spock, who eventually carried over, of course, into the reconfigured series starring William Shatner. Rather than write off "The Cage," Roddenberry conceived of a story line in which Captain Pike would re-appear on the show in a badly disfigured, paralyzed, and mute form--the result of a terrible accident in which the character saved a number of lives but took a pounding in the process. In "The Menagerie," Spock hijacks the Enterprise to transport Pike to a secret destination. During court-martial proceedings for this crime, Spock's defense is presented via archival footage of an old, pre-Kirk mission aboard the Enterprise. That footage, of course, is a re-edited "The Cage." A must-see for Star Trek fans, "The Menagerie" is a stellar example of Roddenberry thinking on his feet. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 8, Episode 16: The Menagerie, Parts I and II
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Volume 8 in the DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes the fascinating two-part drama "The Menagerie." As if guided by the frugal wisdom of schlockmeister producer-director Roger Corman, Trek creator Gene Roddenberry found a clever way of using, instead of losing, extensive and costly footage from the then-unseen, discarded Star Trek pilot, "The Cage." Roddenberry's solution was to integrate pieces of "The Cage" into a whole new story context, and the surprisingly moving result was "The Menagerie." First, a bit of background: "The Cage" starred film actor Jeffrey Hunter (King of Kings, The Searchers) as Christopher Pike, the original captain of the Enterprise. Among Hunter's costars was Leonard Nimoy as Science Officer Spock, who eventually carried over, of course, into the reconfigured series starring William Shatner. Rather than write off "The Cage," Roddenberry conceived of a story line in which Captain Pike would re-appear on the show in a badly disfigured, paralyzed, and mute form--the result of a terrible accident in which the character saved a number of lives but took a pounding in the process. In "The Menagerie," Spock hijacks the Enterprise to transport Pike to a secret destination. During court-martial proceedings for this crime, Spock's defense is presented via archival footage of an old, pre-Kirk mission aboard the Enterprise. That footage, of course, is a re-edited "The Cage." A must-see for Star Trek fans, "The Menagerie" is a stellar example of Roddenberry thinking on his feet. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 28, Episodes 55 & 56: Assignment: Earth/ Spectre of the Gun
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
"Assignment: Earth"
The final broadcast episode of Star Trek's second season was this clever and funny story in which the Enterprise travels back in time to 1968 (the year this program aired) to discover how the nuclear arms race came to an end. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) encounters a strange fellow named Gary Seven (Robert Lansing), who claims to have been trained by extraterrestrials in sabotaging the escalating nuclear threat. With the ambivalent aid of a nervous secretary (Teri Garr), Seven (yes, there was a Trek character with that name before Voyager) attempts to carry out his assignment, but Kirk isn't sure if he can be trusted. Lansing's droll and somewhat imperious performance is nicely counterpointed by Garr's cute confusion, and the eerie presence of his familiar--a black cat named Isis--adds a hint of hoodoo exotica. (Don't blink at the end or you'll miss the really exotic creature Isis briefly turns into.) "Assignment: Earth" was actually the pilot for an intended Gene Roddenberry-produced TV series that never happened. Too bad... But speaking of eerie, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) at one point refers to an important assassination that will soon take place. A week after this episode's original airdate, Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered."Spectre of the Gun"
In this taut, exciting episode, the Enterprise trespasses Melkotian space and is punished in a unique fashion. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), and Chekov (Walter Koenig) are all transported to the planet's eerie surface, where they are trapped in a re-creation of 1881 Tombstone and mistaken for the Clanton brothers, doomed principals in the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral. Despite their efforts to avoid trouble, Kirk and company can't seem to avoid their fateful duel with the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday (Sam Gilman). When Chekov is shot dead by Morgan Earp (Rex Holman), the danger is all too clear. The strange Twilight Zone look and atmosphere of this episode--tumbleweeds and Old West facades popping up in a black void--grips one's imagination and doesn't let go until the very end. Fans of Captain Kirk's street-fighting style will especially enjoy the thrilling climax. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 9, Episodes 17 & 18: Shore Leave/ The Squire of Gothos
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Volume 9 of Paramount's DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes "Shore Leave," written by a literary giant in science fiction, Theodore Sturgeon. The story concerns a break in the action for the Enterprise crew, nearly all of whom beam down to the surface of an Eden-like planet for shore leave, where they find that everyone's wish comes true. Individuals from crew members' pasts turn up, fantasies of romance or heroism are instantly realized--and if it all seems too good to be true, it is. In time, the dark side of this dream shows itself when people start getting killed. This episode emerges from the trippier side of Star Trek's personality, and very cleverly sheds light on the personalities of the show's major characters by making their dreams manifest.Also on this disc is a real treat for long-haul Trekkers: "The Squire of Gothos," an entertaining program in its own right and the obvious blueprint for "Encounter at Farpoint," Gene Roddenberry's pilot episode for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Guest star William Campbell plays Trelane, a bratty, impulsive alien given to wearing costumes appropriate for an 18th-century French aristocrat. Equipped with godlike powers that allow him to alter and manipulate the world around him, Trelane is the prototype of The Next Generation's beloved quasi villain, Q (John de Lancie). Like Q, Trelane regards the crew of the Enterprise as playthings, and when Captain Kirk (William Shatner) disrupts his games, the omniscient boy-man puts humanity itself on trial. Great stuff. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 34, Episodes 67 & 68: Plato's Stepchildren/ Wink Of An Eye
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Two solid, transitional episodes 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Plato's Stepchildren-Another menacing and sadistic 3rd season episode, this time involving an Ancient Greek-like people
with telekenetic powers. This is one of those episodes-there would be many more ahead--that doesn't have a lot to say. It is most noteworthy for the kiss between Kirk and Uhura (too bad it had to be forced upon them), the absurdly camp antics performed by Kirk and Spock in particular, and the icy malevolence of Parmen and his cohorts. Whatever moral the episode conveys could probably best be summarized as "absolute power corrupts absolutely." There's nothing very deep about the crew's 'escape' either, although they are able to teach Alexander some valuable lessons before they go. (3 stars)Wink of an Eye-This episode, involving an accelerated species, has always been a favorite of mine. It is a very dreamlike episode; the scene depicting Kirk's acceleration must be one of the show's most bizarre segments. Tilting the camera and returning to music used in 'The Cage' were nice ways of embellishing acceleration. The idea also struck me as quite original (although I must confess I've read very little science fiction). Others have noted that when you sit down and work out the times involved, there are a lot of inconsistencies and implausible outcomes, but I do not look to Star Trek for that kind of realism.
Kathy Browne does a nice job as Deela. While clearly serious about the business of reproduction, she has a light, flirtatious quality which, along with her power, forces Kirk out of his usual domineering role. Of course, the two of them generated a scene for the sensors to miss nonetheless!
One final note: Even after several viewings I'm still not sure I understand the final scene, when Kirk utters the cryptic line, "That's..no malfunction." Did the production team just run out of steam at the end of the episode? Or did Deela intentionally leave the tape nearby (for Uhura to mistakenly pick up) as a momento to Kirk? Not clear. What is clear is that things were starting to get sloppy by the middle of the 3rd season; it would only get worse.
Nevertheless, I feel this episode, number 12 of 24) sits solidly on the winning side of what would be a turning point for the show. The remaining shows as a rule wouldn't feel as stylized as those from the first half of the third season, and were somehow less quirky and more formulaic. Given that they also tended to have thin plots, this would be a formula for disaster. (4 stars)
Editorial Review:
"Plato's Stepchildren," Ep. 67 - Kirk, Spock and McCoy suffer humiliating experiences via an alien with telekinetic abilities. This episode also features the first interracial kiss on network television. "Wink of an Eye," Ep. 68 - A Scalosian queen sabotages the U.S.S. Enterprise and makes Kirk her love-slave, planning to use him to help repopulate her planet. Can Kirk escape her charms and save his crew?
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 16, Episodes 31 & 32: Metamorphosis/ Friday's Child
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Total reviews: 10
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
TOUCHING TREK!!! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Star Trek Volume 16 has 2 different episodes dealing with different issues: love and conflict. The first episode here deals with love and companionship. While the other deals with hate and conflict.METAMORPHOSIS is one of Trek's better love tales. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy accompany an ill Assistant Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford on the Galileo shuttle to the Enterprise. However the shuttle is pulled off course by a mysterious cloud entity and sent safely to the planet Gamma Carnaris N. There Kirk and his party meet Zephram Cochrane, the man whom discovered warp drive 100 years before. He appears young and vital and Cochrane explains that the cloud like entity called 'the companion' has kept him young all these years. However when the crew tries to leave with Cochrane the companion refuses to allow them to leave. Kirk discovers that the companion has a female personality and after realizing that Cochrane has fallen in love with Nancy Hedford it decides to bond with the Assistant Commissioner to save her life from the deadly Sakuro's disease she suffers from. This is truly one of Trek's most touching stories. Simply wonderful.
The other episode features Julie Newmar as a guest star in FRIDAY'S CHILD. This episode definetly has more action than the previous episode on this DVD but it doesn't necessarily make it a better episode. The crew lands down on Capella IV in order to have a mining treaty signed. However a Klingon negotiator named Kras has also arrived on the planet trying to get the same treaty signed. If the Starfleet/Klingon Empire conflict isn't enough The Capellans are in a sort of bizarre civil war. And when Capellan rebels murder the Teer Akaar, Kirk fears that Eleen his pregnant widow is going to be killed next and therefore Kirk, Eleen and the others are on the run from the Capellans and Kras.
FRIDAY'S CHILD is a decent episode but it's standard Trek at best and in comparison to METAMORPHOSIS it's nothing special. Except the 'oochie woochie koo' bit at the end of FRIDAY'S CHILD: thats priceless!Overall a decent collection but not necessarily the most essential DVD in this series. Still METAMORPHOSIS is a definite must see. Recommended!
Editorial Review:
"Metamorphosis," Ep. 31 - Kirk and his landing party are held prisoner by an alien on a planet whose only human inhabitant had reportedly died over a century before! "Friday's Child," Ep. 32 - A heroic deed by Kirk on Capella IV proves to be his undoing when the Capellan natives and an interfering Klingon agent turn against him.