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Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 10, Episodes 19 & 20: Arena/ The Alternative Factor
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Volume 10 of Paramount's DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes "Arena," based on a script by Trek producer Gene L. Coon, the other indispensable figure (besides Gene Roddenberry) in making Star Trek what it was. After writing what he believed was an original teleplay about a one-on-one battle between Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the reptilian commander of an enemy vessel, Coon realized he had probably been subconsciously inspired by a similar short story written by Fredric Brown (who was promptly credited and paid). The concept of a human-and-alien duel to the death in primitive terrain, however, was slightly ubiquitous in the 1960s (see "Fun and Games," a masterpiece from the original The Outer Limits TV show), and was revisited in the '80s via the Arnold Schwarzenegger feature, Predator. But under Coon's guidance and direction by Joseph Pevney, "Arena" stands on its own as a particularly strong story of what battle does to one's humanity. Shatner is in great form for this one.Also in this volume is a minor episode, "The Alternative Factor," in which Kirk encounters two versions of a fellow named Lazarus (Robert Brown), one from our own dimension and the other from an antimatter cosmos. The latter Lazarus intends to create an opening between worlds, potentially causing an intergalactic Armageddon. Though directed by Gerd Oswald, an interesting feature filmmaker from Hollywood, "The Alternative Factor" has to work a little too hard to make its point. Still, it isn't boring, and the theme certainly fits that long-standing Star Trek obsession with dualities. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 38 - Episodes 75 & 76: The Way to Eden / Requiem for Methuselah
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13
Average rating: 3.5 of 5
"I'M TALKIN 'BOUT YOU!...I'M TALKIN' BOUT ME!..." 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Volume 38 of The Star Trek DVD series contains one decent third season episode and one of the most infamous episodes in the entire Star Trek series.THE WAY TO EDEN has to be one of the worst Star Trek episodes ever. By 1969 it was obvious that Star Trek's ratings had hit rock bottom. In order to appeal to the younger generation and the fast growing hippie culture. A bunch of very unhip network executives came up with the idea of bringing flower power to Star Trek. This was a blatant and weak attempt to try to make Star Trek hip. The results are completely laughable. This episode basically finds the Enterprise picking up a band of space hippies. Led by the mad Dr.Sevrin (played quite well by Skip Homeirer) these hippies basically run around the ship singing awful songs about the legendary planet they want to venture to called Eden. Eventually the hippies take control of the ship when their demands are not met but in the end Eden proves to be as deadly as it is beautiful. This episode is really bad. Chekov's relationship with his old flame is totally unconvincing and the acting is so bad it's laughable and the hippie songs will make you cringe. In fact this episode is so bad it's great. This may well be the (unintentionally) funniest Star Trek episode ever! Ungroovy people trying to make something groovy. This episode is a campy joke but that's what makes it a hilarious classic.
The other episode here, REQUIEM FOR METHUSELAH is actually better but it's overshadowed by the colourful campiness of THE WAY TO EDEN. This episode however has a plausible plot about control and the value of life in general. Good acting and nice plot twists and turns makes this episode a must. Somewhat of a tragic story brings out how serious this Trek outing actually is. This episode ends on a very low note, however it's incredibly effective showing us that (despite the production wos) the Star Trek series still had some life in it, even by 1969.
Overall a good pair of episodes definetly worth getting. WAY TO EDEN is so laughable it has to seen no matter what and if it disappoints you then REQUIEM FOR METHUSELAH can always compensate for it. Highly recommended!
Editorial Review:
"The Way to Eden," Ep. 75 - Kirk and crew must deal with the insane leader of a band of rebellious idealists who are searching for the fabled planet Eden. " Requiem for Methuselah," Ep. 76 - An outbreak of Rigellian fever aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise forces Kirk to find an antidote on Holberg 917-G, where he meets the mysterious genius Flint.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 32 - Episodes 63 & 64: The Empath/ The Tholian Web
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
I'm givin' ya fair warnin' here... 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 11 people found this review helpful.
I was planning on reviewing this and four other 2-episode original Star Trek DVDs I hadn't yet gotten to before I heard the news. And what news would this be, you're askin' yourself? Well, I'll tell ya: I've discovered that Paramount will be re-releasing the original series in full-season DVD box sets, complete with a shebang of extra features, some time later this year. It's yet another sad example of what I call "the dreaded DVD double-dip ploy" (read about this annoying phenomenon at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/3CVFIEG84F2PF/ref=cm_aya_av.sylt_sylt/002-5334556-6482418 ) that the major Hollywood studios like to pull on videophile consumers. #ell, they've already got the full-season box sets out in parts of Europe already, so you know they'll be comin' stateside fairly soon as of this writing. BTW why do parts of Europe get to have the old-school Trek season box sets before the U.S. Does?! Shouldn't the country where the show was shot in have first dibs?! That's kinda like Honduras getting "Monty Python" on DVD before the UK does! Or "Akira" streeting in Brazil before becoming available in Japan! It's just not right I tell ya...
Anyhoo: if you wanna get alla' the eppies of old-school Trek on DVD (well, perhaps all but the last season, anyway), I recommend you wait `til the full-season sets come out later this year, or some time next year. In the meantime, I'm pretty sure your gradually disintegrating Columbia House Collector's Edition VHS tapes will last a few months longer. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta find a way to palm my own collection of classic Trek platters off on some unsuspecting Trekkies!
Wish me luck...
`Late
Post Script: I know some folks will read this and think of me as some whiny, ungrateful little fiend who doesn't appreciate the fact that Paramount at least bothered to put the show out on DVD. All I can say is... do you people own stock in the company or something?! What are you, members of their sales and marketing department?! Yeah, I should REALLY be grateful for them tryin' to hose me and all the other Trekkie DVDphiles by gettin' us to buy (pretty much) the same stuff twice! Hey, they did it with the Star Trek movies, why NOT the classic TV show?! Howzabout puttin' out the best possible product the first time around, huh?! Buncha avaricious, money-hungry jerks...
`Later
Editorial Review:
"The Empath," Ep. 63 - As prisoners of the Vians, Kirk and McCoy are tortured so that Gem, a mute empath, can learn to use her abilities and save her race. "The Tholian Web," Ep. 64 - Kirk is trapped in interspace, and the Tholians, accusing the Enterprise of trespassing, begin to weave an energy web around the ship.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 13, Episodes 25 & 26: This Side of Paradise/ The Devil in the Dark
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Mmmm... Meat Loaf... 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 6 people found this review helpful.
REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 13: This Side of Paradise© / The Devil In The Dark©THIS SIDE OF PARADISE© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: "Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than what he is"- Captain Kirk
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None
REVIEW/COMMENTARY: All I can say is, it's about time Spock be mackin' the-mad hottie-of-the-week instead of the charming Captain Kirk! Especially entertaining is the setup to this little romantic romp: the official Star Trek love theme starts up, followed by alternating reaction shots of guest-star Jill Ireland (as the crush-ridden Leila Kalomi) and Mr. Spock as they stare at each other in "that way"! Well, actually she stares in "that way"; Spock looks a bit confused by it all. But don't worry, he'll come around! A nice touch to this initial scene is the gentle glowing aura surrounding the love-struck lady! Kudos to the show's lighting department for getting this effect just right!
The real fun begins when Spock cops a whiff of some intoxicating flower spores, which cause him to become a way-too-cheerful ball of sickly-sweet happiness who is now deeply in love with Charles Bronson's future wife. He also acquires a penchant for literally hanging out on tree limbs like he was some kinda monkey! Ironically, for a man who's no longer afraid to show his emotions, Nimoy didn't put much feeling into his character's dialogue here. Fortunately, Jimmers finds out how to relieve Spock's (and subsequently everyone else exposed to the spores, including the entire ship's crew) newfound dorkiness by making insulting remarks to his face regarding his mom and dad, with a few racial slurs thrown in for good measure! But before Jimmers can bring the Spockster around, he has to snap outta his own little trip to La-La-Land. He manages this with his angered utterance of "I... Can't... LEAVE!", spoken in that distinctive manner that has become a staple of many a second-rate standup act! Adding to this scene's funkiness, our beloved captain's face is illuminated in a spooky quasi-fluorescent, light-blue hue! Needless to say, the dramatic lighting department was in rare form for this eppie!
Another memorable lowlight to goof on here: Dr. McCoy breaking into a way-too-overdone Deep South accent after his exposure to the happy-spores. I am aware that DeForest Kelley hails from Georgia, but never the less his character's drawl was a bit too much, even for a native southerner! Adding to the overdone good-ol'-boy charm is his concoction of a mint julep! Sheesh, why doesn't he just break out the grits and pickled pigs' feet while he's at it!
THE DEVIL IN THE DARK© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Don't mess with Mom!
Historical Milestone: Spock's first mind-meld with a non-humanoid life form
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: 1 Dead, 3 Incapacitated
REVIEW/COMMENTARY: `Devil' features one of the most entertaining cheeseball moments in Star Trek history: Spock's mind-meld with the rock-creature-thingy! His anguished utterances of pain and sorrow are very similar to Counselor Troi's little trances whenever she uses her empathic abilities to check out the entity-of-the-week's emotional state on NextGen. Speakin' of emotional states, am I the only person who gets a hankerin' for meat loaf (no, not the singer, silly!) whenever I grab a glimpse of the creature-thingy? I can't be the only one...
Another especially goofy scene-well, several scenes, actually-- are the reaction shots of the doomed miners and/or red-shirts right before they get toasted by the vengeful creature. Most of `em seem to have enough time to get off a phaser shot or two before they start to feel the burn, but instead they spend their last two seconds of life all petrified and screaming like the total sissies they are (were?)! These amusing moments reminded me of the death-by-steam-roller scene in `Austin Powers'! Actually, a better parallel would be the death of Darth Maul in `Star Wars Episode I'! In any case, it appears the average human's reflexes in the face of certain doom ain't gonna improve all that much in the next three hundred years...
`Late
Editorial Review:
"This Side of Paradise," Ep. 25 - Omicron Ceti III's colonists should have been killed by deadly Berthold rays, yet Kirk finds a group of mysteriously healthy colonists--and Spock falls in love! "The Devil in the Dark," Ep. 26 - Kirk and Spock beam down to Janus VI to investigate after an unknown monster roaming the planet's tunnels kills more than 50 miners.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 35 - Episodes 69 & 70: That Which Survives/ Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10
Average rating: 3.0 of 5
Long After Their Races Have Died... 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.
...some people just keep on pluggin' the same old paranoia."That Which Survives" suffers from terrible cheapness, though it benefits from an interesting performance by Lee Meriwether as the image of the last surviving member of a long-dead alien race, Losira, who is now nothing more than a computerized planetary defense system...for an entirely extinct race, that can no longer benefit from it. Losira begins appearing and disappearing aboard the Enterprise, killing various crew members and performing acts of sabotage. Kirk and Crew go on an alien hunt on the nearest planet, and there also encounter the strange woman, whom they correctly surmise is some sort of lethal hologram. The story hasn't got much plot, but it holds your attention, and Lee Meriwether was always first-rate eye-candy.
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is a great episode, if heavy-handed. Lou Antonio and Frank Gorshin are the last surviving members of two severely prejudicial races living on the planet Charon, their polarized attitudes evident even on their very bodies: one is white on the right side and black on the left, the other black on the right side and white on the left. Antonio's race is the oppressed proletariat class, Gorshin's the decadent bourgeois - Antonio seeks asylum on board the Enterprise, and Gorshin, a Charonian policeman, demands his return for trial on several crimes. The aliens begin infecting the Enterprise with their enflamed rhetoric, and prove to be utterly consumed by hatred of each other and ruthless in the extreme as to achieving their separate goals.
What's best in this episode are the performances of the two guest stars, the fiery Gorshin especially, and the all too memorable finale in which the perpetual antagonists deliberately throw themselves into eternal warfare rather than work out their differences - even once they know their home planet has completely destroyed itself in precisely the same useless conflict, and they, themselves, are its only surviving remnants.
Editorial Review:
That Which Survives, Ep. 69 - Kirk and company are stranded on a hostile planet where they are greeted by Losira, a beautiful woman whose touch means instant death. Meanwhile, a power surge has hurtled the U.S.S. Enterprise 1,000 light-years from the planet.
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, Ep. 70 - Kirk beams aboard two warring half-black, half-white beings, named Lokai and Bele. When Kirk tries to intervene, Bele gains control of the U.S.S. Enterprise and threatens to destroy it.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 27, Episodes 53 & 54: The Ultimate Computer/ The Omega Glory
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Brillant 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Dr Daystrom created the ultimate computer, M-5. Spock observes that M-5 does not think in a logical order. McCoy pokes fun at Spock suggesting Spock has been waiting for the right computer too come along. Spock is somewhat annoy with McCoy. McCoy does not want M-5 access to run the Enterprises replacing a crew of over 300 people; Kirk does not want to stand in the way of progress; and Daystrom push off the Kirks cautionous stance by telling they don't understand the new computer capabilities. After an error in tactical response M-5 manages to kill 51 people in a drill against the Excaliber leaving it too drift lifelessly in space. Daystrom has imprinted his brain engrams into silicon circuitry that runs M-5. McCoy chastises Spock about having faith in M-5. Spock tells McCoy, he acknowledges M-5s efficiency but he does not wish too be a servant of a machine, nor does he believe the machine is a God, and does not believe humans are Gods.
Daystrom begins talking with M-5, as if he is talking with himself. He asks M-5 who will atone for the deaths of the Excaliber? Daystrom reality is one of hyper achievement in an attempt to prove his computer theories are beyond reproach, criticism, or rejection by his peers. M-5 perceptions matched his biological perceptions and a duelistic dialogue between man and machine occurred. Daystrom sees the accident as a training exercise where M-5 must learn like a child, who has made a mistake. This one indication Daystrom is insane. Kirk wants to know about M-1 through M-4, too which Daystrom confess that they have failed. M-5 seems like a risk considering previous models failed. However, M-5 represent a quantum leap forward in design and architecture, a perfect model of the human brain. Spock seems to think M-5 is not capable of value judgments, concluding that M-5 is not a spiritual machine, therefore, it can not have wisdom, compassion, and feeling; Man against the thinking machines. Kirk points human superiority, telling the team, he knew the other commander would not fire on Enterprise without first finding out if all alternatives had been depleted. The other command would use wisdom and discretion before taking action rather than follow an exacting strategy suggesting compassion and wisdom from the other human, a trait M-5 missed. Human have the power of discernment.
Kirk asks M-5, why it killed; M-5 explains, too survive and preserve the technology of its creator; Kirk asks M-5, if it is morally ok to kill; M-5 answers that it is not and killing is immoral to God and man; Kirk then ask M-5 what is the punishment; and M-5 commits computer annihilation.
Editorial Review:
"The Ultimate Computer," Ep. 53 - Kirk stands by helplessly as his ship is used to test an advanced computer that turns out to be as flawed as its inventor. "The Omega Glory," Ep. 54 - Kirk and crew encounter a ghost ship, a madman captain, a deadly virus and 1,000-year-old natives on planet Omega IV.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 18, Episodes 35 & 36: The Doomsday Machine/ Wolf in the Fold
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Establishing year two as the 'action' season 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.
The Doomsday Machine-I've always felt this good episode, in which a(nother) deranged captain pursues a Doomsday Machine (flying doobie?), was a bit overrated. The episode certainly has its share of action, and thought provoking themes. The latter include the dangers of 1) technology and 2) hubris and obsession in the wake of a loss. One problem is that William Windom is no Gregory Peck; his Ahab is over the top. The episode is also somewhat sterile, with too much of the Doomsday Machine and the music that follows it everywhere. Yet even this monotony somehow adds tension as the show builds to its climax. A good episode, but somehow not quite as dramatic and momentous as it aims to be. (3.5 stars)Wolf In The Fold-The `Jack the Ripper' episode is another action episode from the second season. The conclusion to the teaser is quite chilling, although the episode never quite reaches that pitch thereafter. The exotic pleasure palace and seance keep things going for a while, but much of the show is ultimately taken up by the `baton-passing' of Rejack. Once we know the episode's fairly compelling hook, there isn't much novelty even in Rejack's penultimate resting place.
This episode also was not the highpoint of gender sensitivity. `The Boys' are pretty glib in their loose talk at the beginning of the episode, and the violence towards women isn't treated as anything more than a plot device to get Scotty into trouble. On the other hand, the same could be said of most Star Trek violence towards MEN. There's no denying though that death was treated more lightly after the first season. Some second season episodes (Patterns of Force was the worst offender) stepped way over the line; the producers seemed to feel that as long as they didn't side with the bad guys (and they didn't) any subject could be treated, and in some cases treated lightly.) (3.5 stars)
Editorial Review:
"The Doomsday Machine," Ep. 35 - Kirk is stuck on a disabled ship while its revenge-crazed commander seizes control of the U.S.S. Enterprise from Spock and pursues a planet-killing robot ship. "Wolf in the Fold," Ep. 36 - Has a head injury to Scotty turned him into a cold-blooded "lady-killer"?
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 31 - Episodes 61 & 62: Spock's Brain/ Is There In Truth No Beauty?
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16
Average rating: 3.5 of 5
One corny episode, one complex episode 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Why does Checkov take the foreground on the cover? He only had bit parts in these episodes.
OK, on to business.
Spock's Brain. It's the corniest premise, with the corniest lines, with the worst acting. If Star Trek has a reputation for bad acting, it's because of this episode.
Maybe it's the directing, not the acting. Dammit Jim, I'm an engineer, not a TV producer. But someone is to blame.
These are a few of my favorite things: Shatner trying to deliver the line, "His...... brain???" with due disbelief, while trying to hide his own disbelief in the silliness of the script. McCoy waving his arms around exclaiming, "Where are we going to go to look for Spock's Brain?" looking as if he can't find the motivation for making such wild gesticulations. The "special effect" where the camera shakes as they go down the elevator. The unknown reason their pain bands knock them out in a few seconds the first time, but the second time they can stay conscious long enough to manipulate Spock's body with a remote control to make him push the button on the girl's bracelet. How they managed to make the remote control -- with only four buttons -- control fine movements of Spock's left forefinger. How Spock jumps off of the operating table as soon as McCoy sews up his skull.
On the other hand, the subterranean society is filled with slender, Presbyterian women wearing their thighs up to their miniskirts, which is still relevant 35 years later. Only one picture of Sheila Leighton on all of Google. Unfortunately it's only a bust shot, and I'm a leg man.
Ironically, it's episodes like this that may have led to the Star Trek craze, and ultimately the Movies. Wasted talent during production of the TV show caused an overcompensation -- a yearning to see this great ensemble deliver more quality material, because in The Original Show, they occasionally didn't have any.
This episode is not camp. This is an episode that is totally accessible to 11 year olds.
However, I don't have a clue about "In Truth No Beauty," any more at 44 years old than when I was 11. Maybe I should figure out the deeper symbolisms before passing judgment on this episode -- figuring out what the title means would be a good start. Maybe if I watch it another hundred times. No problem.
I was always annoyed that Diana Muldaur's costume didn't do justice at all to her [endless] beauty. (Do I recall her hair was in a "bun?") Maybe that was intentional, for a symbolic sort of reason. As usual, her acting is Royal Shakespearian, even if I don't quite understand what her character's problem is.
Here's another historically interesting example of Star Trek innovations preceding 1960's technology. Spock retreats to a cubicle to meld with Ambassador Kolos, and within a couple of decades, everyone's working in a cubicle. Without Star Trek, there would be no Dilbert. It's also interesting that Diana Muldaur's daughter, Maria (from Midnight at the Oasis) wrote the incidental music for this episode.
The rest of the Enterprise crew won't leave much of an impression in this episode, because they're all in the shadow of Nimoy's breakout, garrulous character, whom he gives a strong component of Sci-Fi. It really belongs to Muldaur and Nimoy.
The directing is good, but the characterizations are a bit nebulous. Characters are supposed to arrive at this point with strong emotions, but it's our homework assignment to fill in their implied histories. The script provides a canvas with lots of room for the audience to go back and discuss such details, like an exercise in Philosophy, but I would have been more satisfied if they provided a little more "on the surface."
Lastly, I always thought those swirling colors at the southern edge of the galaxy were apropos for the Psychedelic 60s. I wonder if I can program my computer to make my monitor do that.
A generous 2 stars for Spock's Brain (includes one star just for being a Trek), and 4 stars mostly for Nimoys' big scene in "Beauty," for an average of 3.
Editorial Review:
"Spock's Brain," Ep. 61 - A mysterious woman appears suddenly on the Enterprise, renders the crew unconscious and then disappears with Spock's brain. "Is There in Truth No Beauty," Ep. 62 - Kirk must deal with a possessive female telepath, a jealous engineer and an alien ambassador whose appearance drives men insane.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 13, Episodes 25 & 26: This Side of Paradise/ The Devil in the Dark
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
The Vulcan-born first officer of The Enterprise, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), generally smiles about as often as Greta Garbo. But in "This Side of Paradise," Spock not only smiles but laughs, dangles from a tree, kisses a good-looking blonde woman, and gets into a fight with his best friend. It all starts when Spock, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Sulu (George Takei), and a couple of crew members beam down to Omicron Ceti III to find out what happened to a group of scientists who built a research colony on the planet. What they discover is a little spooky. The colonists claim they've created a true paradise where everyone is part of a collective mind bent on positivity. Kirk, naturally, argues that paradise robs people of their need to suffer and crawl toward progress.Meanwhile, Spock is zapped by an exotic flower that is the real source of all this community goodwill, and he instantly gets happy, acting like a kid, renewing a romance with a comely biologist (an angelic Jill Ireland), and giving the sputtering Kirk an earful of entertaining insubordination. Story editor D.C. Fontana's script contains some obvious parallels between a chemically induced "paradise" and a drug-induced high in the 1960s. But the real draw here is Spock's uncharacteristic joy and the drama behind Kirk's shattering decision to break his friend's heart.
"Devil in the Dark" opens with an emergency on Janus VI, a planet rich in raw materials crucial to the running of Federation operations. There's a lot of money to be made by the mining contractor involved, but a swift, unseen monster is roaming the snaky tunnels of Janus's interior, turning miners into acid-drenched goo. It's up to the Enterprise crew to find the alien culprit and defuse the lynch-mob mentality spreading among the paranoid working stiffs there. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) beam down to initiate the detective work, leading Spock to quickly conclude that the thousands of silicone balls mysteriously strewn about the planet's deepest level might have something to do with the reasons behind the atrocities.
Written by series guru Gene L. Coon and directed by mainstay Joseph Pevney (who alternated directorial chores with Marc Daniels during the show's second season), "The Devil in the Dark" is a breathlessly paced episode reflecting a delightful variety of cross-genre influences--Westerns, creature-features, gritty noir. Add one of the most effective and moving instances of the Enterprise's search for new life on Star Trek (plus McCoy's infamous complaint, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"), and this is a memorable program indeed. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 14, Episodes 27 & 28: Errand of Mercy/ The City on the Edge of Forever
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Great Drama! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
"The City on the Edge of Forever" is great drama presented during Star Trek's phenomenal run in the sixties. The story was genuine and unique for the time and addressed the issue of time travel quite intelligently..Based on an original story by Harlan Ellison, this wonderful episode starred the beautiful Joan Collins in a sensitive and touching role as Edith Keeler..a social worker who's death has an impact upon history.
The chemistry between William Shatner and Joan Collins works well in this episode and Shatner's acting is very subdued but very effective..He conveys his emotions quite effectively in his closeups! I can understand why this particular episode is considered one of the best in the series! Every time I used to run across it as a rerun I would find myself stopping what I was doing to watch it! Now I have it on DVD and still enjoy watching it! One of my favorite scenes is the close up on Joan Collin's face when Spock was trying to explain what he was trying to buid with all the the tubes and antennas chirping in their bungalow..Her expression is priceless! I loved Joan Collins in this role..I wish she would have done more in this vein..
The Guardian of Forever was a unique design and worked very effectively for the show..It must have been quite a feat putting together all of these props for this show..
I would say I am a true Trekkie in that I have read practically every autobiography written by the cast and all the supporting books on the show..I can say honestly that I have seen all 79 episodes at one time or another in my life but now that they are available on DVD I plan on rewatching them and adding my favorites to my collection!
Also DeForest Kelley was superb in this show! DeForest was a brilliant actor who has made such an indelible impression as "Bones" McCoy..In this episode his frenzied state of mind is portrayed convincingly and his scene with Joan Collins is one of the best in the series in my opinion. This show had it all..great writing..great directing..great acting!!
Editorial Review:
"Errand of Mercy," Ep. 27 - Kirk and his crew come face-to-face with the Klingons, and both learn the meaning of war when beings from the planet Organia interfere. "The City on the Edge of Forever," Ep. 28 - Kirk and Spock go back in time to rescue McCoy. Arriving in 1930, Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), only to learn that for time to return to normal she must die.