Star Trek: The Next Threaderation

[BlobVanDam]

A fan continuation of TOS with some callbacks to TOS? Well I never!

[Kotowboy]

A fan continuation of TOS with some callbacks to TOS? Well I never!

[El Barto]

A fan continuation of TOS with some callbacks to TOS? Well I never!

You know damn well what I mean. Every episode is built around them. I've got no problem with making references to things from other episodes, but write stories and throw them in from time to time. Seems like every production meeting must have started with "which character should we bring back this time? Hey, let's have Trellaine put Kirk, the Gorn and that guy from Court Marshal  on the planet with the guardian of forever so they can go back and time and prevent the space amoeba from destroying the planet Harry Mudd was on." "Brilliant!"

[BlobVanDam]

You know damn well what I mean. Every episode is built around them.

Only half of them sorta tie to TOS episodes (the most recent two have nothing to do with previous TOS episodes), but none of them feel like they're relying on fan service to me.
Pilgrim of Eternity is based on a thoroughly mediocre TOS episode, and does something completely different with it. And for a first episode, it was cool to get an original TOS actor to reprise their role.
The mirror universe is something that's been done in numerous TOS era books and fan series, along with DS9, because there's a lot of potential there, and it's just good fun. I have no problem with that.
The White Iris is a completely original story that deals with Kirk's past, so it made much more sense to have some actual continuity there rather than invent all new characters with no resonance to the story. Again, not seeing a problem, even if it wasn't one of my personal favs of STC.

[El Barto]

Pilgrim and the mirror episode weren't too bad, but they do show a pattern. White Iris was terrible, though. From the first two minutes, "My God! It's effected the part of his brain that controls memory and guilt!" you knew it was going to be pretty awful. Then it just turns into bringing back old characters from Kirk's past into a holodeck they're not even supposed to have. I thought the Orion girl episode was too heavy-handed, but at least it was an original story that didn't rely on dredging up past characters.

Like I've said, I like what they're trying to do. I'll look at the latter episodes and see if something looks interesting, at least in that it doesn't rely on things already done. I just think they're going too far out of their way to find ways to tie in.

[BlobVanDam]

The restored Enterprise is back on display-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa79FmRRgJ0

[El Barto]

It's cool that they got all of the lighting wired back up. I know that the mothership from Close Encounters is on display at Udvar-Hazy, and they couldn't even begin to understand the wiring in that thing. For the Enterprise they had a series of videos showing everything that went into the restoration and it was quite an undertaking. This was the first time it was completely disassembled so they could actually tell everything that was inside.

BTW, the Civil War episode of STC wasn't bad at all. That's more of what I was looking for. It was an original story (albeit a tad predictable) and it didn't rely on throwing the TOS kitchen sink at the screen. The only reference that I noticed was Dr. M'Binga, who was a good and underused character in TOS.

[Kotowboy]

The TOS Enterprise is so bland compared to the designs that followed.

It probably looked great in 1966 but it's basically 3 cylinders and a flying saucer.

The TMP refit is in my opinion the best looking Enterprise. I actually rate the "Kelvin Tmeline" Enterprise highly too - just below Enterprise E - which is super sexy.


Reboot Enterprise is kind of a middle ground between TOS and TMP designs.

[BlobVanDam]

The TOS Enterprise established an iconic shape that has been used continuously since, and is instantly recognizable. That can't be overstated enough. Spaceships at the time were all flying saucers and rockets. It struck the perfect proportions that the JJPrise failed miserably to understand, with it's odd front heavy look and weirdly swept secondary hull. It also doesn't look as believable, totally over-engineered for the sake of visual complexity rather than function, which is typical of modern Hollywood.

I don't know what my favourite is. The refit is beautiful, but I think I'll go with the Enterprise-E. It deviated nicely from the basic design without losing the essence. The refit was the perfect update on the original design though.

[Progmetty]

Metamorphosis.. ehh, boring but could have been worse.
Journey To Babel, quality episode, enjoyed the story line and dialogue throughout.

[El Barto]

Metamorphosis.. ehh, boring but could have been worse.
Journey To Babel, quality episode, enjoyed the story line and dialogue throughout.

Babel is a great episode. Always thought very highly of it as a Spock story. It also establishes Sarek who'll return from time to time in the movies and other series.

[BlobVanDam]

Yeah, Journey to Babel is a good one, and an important episode for Spock. Metamorphosis is average, but has the curiosity of Zephram Cochrane.

[Adami]

I still say Sarek is the ultimate (full) Vulcan that any ST ever showed us.

[Orbert]

Absolutely, and one of my favorite Trek characters overall.  But it makes perfect sense.  They had Spock, then came up with the idea of introducing his parents.  Why was Spock the way he is?  We know his mother is human and his father is Vulcan, so Spock's father had to be "extremely Vulcan" (whatever that means).

Spock was a pretty strict guy, and Nimoy played him brilliantly, as it was often clear that he was "acting" Vulcan, and always struggling internally to "be Vulcan".  With Sarek, it was in his very nature.  There was no acting involved, no inner struggle.

[Progmetty]

I agree with all that, especially about Nimoy, at first I thought I liked his acting because he was surrounded by horrible actors all the time on the show but now I see that he was special and truly dove into the character's psyche.
William Shatner and DeForest Kelley are passable at times, more the former than the latter, but they're just awful overall and I know their appeal with the modern fans is somewhat sarcastic, as in they like them cause they're bad, but sometimes it gets to be too much and this is coming from a guy who genuinely enjoys quiet a lot of 50's/60's American entertainment.

[Kotowboy]

This is the first i'm hearing of DeForest being a bad actor.

waits for el barto to come in and say they're all shit actors even montalban

[King Postwhore]

He's an actor,  not a.....

[Adami]

Dammit Jim, he's an actor,  not a.....

Fixed.

Also he was great as Bones. Did he have a ton of depth? No. But it's not the writing that made his character one of the most memorable in TV.

[King Postwhore]

Perfect.   I so blew it.

[El Barto]

I still say Sarek is the ultimate (full) Vulcan that any ST ever showed us.

Sarek was a very good Vulcan, but he was a pretty limited character. You got one episode of him being good and stoically logical, a couple of cameos and then two episodes where he's falling apart. Don't get me wrong, he set the bar for what true Vulcans should be, but he didn't do enough to be the ultimate Vulcan in my book. I believe we've discussed this before, and I still think Tuvok was the only one to get significant airtime and remain truly Vulcan the entire time.  He also remained the best outside observer of humanity, which I think is part of why Vulcans work in Star Trek.

[Kotowboy]

Woo Hoo !!!

All series of Star Trek are now on Netflix UK !!!!

TOS & TNG are remastered too.

Finally I have stuff to watch.

[Progmetty]

I could have guessed Puff Daddy was British before I would have guessed you Kotowboy

[Kotowboy]

  u wot m8

[Kotowboy]

Watching TOS : " The Doomsday Machine ".

Dunno if it's a bad edit on Netflix or the original episode. At exactly 5 minutes in - Kirk says " Have Dr. McCoy, Mr Scott...VERY OBVIOUS NEW TAKE...And a damage control party report to me..."

Can anyone else check their DVDs or whatever ? That's a really bad edit if that was original. I know it was 1967 but still. . .

[BlobVanDam]

I notice it on my DVD version. Seems pretty normal for a '60s TV show to me. I don't know how they did anything before non-linear editing on a computer.

[Progmetty]

Friday's Child, lots of funny moments on this episode!

Spock: Only a very slight chance it would work.
Kirk: Well, if you don't think we can, maybe we shouldn't try.
Spock: Captain, I didn't say that exactly.

Snarky Kirk all over this episode, I love it haha
And again:

McCoy: Capellans aren't human, Jim. They're humanoid. There's certain internal differences. I don't have equipment to handle an emergency.
Kirk: Well, if you don't think you can handle it..
McCoy: Forget it. I can do it. The last thing I want around is a ham-handed ship's captain.

I had to google what "ham-handed" meant heh

McCoy: I'll need help getting her in there.
Eleen: No!
McCoy: Look, I'm a doctor, not an escalator!

Instant classic 

McCoy to baby: Oochy-woochy coochy-coo. Oochy-woochy coochy-coo.
Spock: Oochy-woochy coochy-coo, Captain?
Kirk: An obscure Earth dialect, Mister Spock.

 

Also notable that Chekov referred to his country as Russia, not Soviet Union or USSR, I remember making a remark about that happening before and how I found it of note that an American TV show from the 60's could imagine a distant future where the USSR no longer exists, unless the names Soviet Union and USSR were never in use in America, even when the entity existed and was at it's prime.
And finally I love it when Scotty takes over as captain, he's the wisest one I've seen take over so far.

[El Barto]

As I've said in the past, it's always great when somebody other than Kirk or Spock is in command. Scotty's approach almost always involves "well I bet this'll fuck with them." Didn't much care for the episode, but I recall that it was a pretty good Klingon they had there.

[Cool Chris]

Scott takes the conn in the 30's gangster episode I believe.

One of my all-time favorite scenes! FIZZBIN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DeIExLcURQ

[Kotowboy]

Watching the episode of TNG where the universe shrinks down to the size of the Enterprise and Beverly is the only one on board.

[Orbert]

That one was trippy the first time I saw it.  I love when she asks the computer to define the Universe, which it shouldn't be able to do, and it gives the dimensions of the "bubble" of habitable space that it just gave to her.  Beverly was good, maybe not great.  I like her and she's in the "hot doctor" category for me, but Gates didn't quite have the chops to carry the whole episode like that.  Almost, but not quite.  Still a good watch.

[jammindude]

I like the DAHM CAHNDLE episode.   

 

[Adami]

I like the DAHM CAHNDLE episode.   

 

Oh come on man, don't totally discredit yourself like that.

[Kotowboy]

I like the DAHM CAHNDLE episode.   

 

Oh come on man, don't totally discredit yourself like that.

pssst - he also thinks InsurrectiYAWN is the best Trek movie

[Adami]

I like the DAHM CAHNDLE episode.   

 

Oh come on man, don't totally discredit yourself like that.

pssst - he also thinks InsurrectiYAWN is the best Trek movie

Eh, some people have weird opinions, I'm cool with that. But liking the candle episode is just.....I can't.

[jammindude]

I love that episode the same way I love Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Something about it is so freaking hokey that I just find myself enjoying it.    I laugh the same way I laugh at Sharknado....and I enjoy myself.   So sue me.