Greetings,
So let's talk about Star Trek, shall we? I was one of those people who was pretty much raised on it, but, exclusively, on the original series. We never messed with the other ones. Although, I have seen TNG, and I liked the few episodes I have seen. I certainly enjoy myself some Patrick Stewart. Just speak, sir. Just speak, and I'll be happy. Still, I have always been a hardcore fan of the original Star Trek, which may or may not have had to do with the extreme crush I had on the William Shatner. Yes, I said THE William Shatner. I should also say the YOUNG William Shatner, so there will be less judgement. P.S. This crush may show its face a few times in this post. That aside, it's kind of amazing that Star Trek barely lasted for three seasons, but it had such an overwhelming effect. Compare that to certain shows that have had much longer runs, but that you would struggle to even remember. I'm looking at you...show I can't remember that lasted longer than Star Trek. I guess it's the quality, not the quantity. And, say what you will about Star Trek, I don't think anyone can say it's not entertaining. So, why not do a top ten episodes list?
Now I'm not going to go into some big synopsis about the show or the characters. I would like to assume that everyone, even non-fans, know what the deal is. If not, I welcome you to do a bit of research, and then come back. Also, I may be giving some spoilers, so I'd say this list is for the true fans. I hope they all enjoy it. And forgive me if I leave out any obvious picks or put in some not so obvious ones, but, for one reason or another, these are my favorites. Here we go.
#10. "Charlie X" (Season 1) - Whilst we had many great characters on the Enterprise on a regular basis, we also got a lot of interesting ones showing up for only one episode. One of them was a guy named Charlie. So, the crew of the Enterprise takes aboard a seventeen-year-old kid who was found abandoned in some wreckage or something. Initially, he just seems a bit awkward and everyone tries to help him and whatnot, but then he starts to get a little obnoxious and showing that he, apparently, has some strange psychic powers. Seriously, he does this creepy, eyes roll back into his head thing. Weird. It seems to be triggered by this crush he gets on Yeoman Janice Rand, and why wouldn't that happen, what with that awesome beehive of hers? She does, however, ask Captain Kirk to speak to him about the proper way to treat a woman. Does anyone else find that a bit hilarious when you think about it? Anyway, Charlie does wreak some havoc, but they also show him as a bit sympathetic, proving that Star Trek can give us some complex characters. We also get some freestyle Uhura singing whilst Spock played a ... I'm not sure, I think it was like a Vulcan auto-harp or something. Good times. Oh, and a shirtless Captain Kirk. Something I found quite appealing at the time. Yeah, sorry.
#9. "This Side of Paradise" (Season 1) - So the Enterprise has to check on this Federation colony that has been exposed to some radiation and make sure they're okay. While there, Spock runs into this woman, Leila, who apparently had a thing for him back in the day, naturally. They also find these strange flowers that spray spores and make people act a bit weird. What everyone really remembers about this one is what happens to Spock. He gets sprayed and starts acting, for lack of a better word, human. He's laughing and swinging from tree branches and calling the captain 'Jim'. Okay, maybe the tree branch swinging isn't exactly 'human'. but whatever, it was still kind of great. It also did good to give Leonard Nimoy a chance to have some fun, as well. Finally. It can't be easy on the face muscles to remain so stoic all the time.
#8. "The Way to Eden" (Season 3) - Yes, this is my only pick from Season 3, and some people consider it one of the worst, actually. Sorry, but I find it very amusing. If you want me to call it a "good/bad" episode, fine. The basic plot in this one is that this doctor and his followers come aboard the Enterprise and demand to be taken to a planet that they consider paradise which they call Eden. Because...original! But let's be honest here. This one is all about the hippies. Yes, some members of this little group are, in fact, space hippies. Groovy. Hey, it was 1969. Are you really shocked at this? And they sing. More singing. Apparently, someone wanted a musical, and this is the closest we ever came, I think. Heading out to Eden, yea brother, indeed.
#7. "Who Mourns For Adonais?" (Season 2) - Hey, do you like Greek mythology? Well, then, you're either going to love this episode or hate it. Okay, the Enterprise is strolling along in space, as it tends to do, and they see a giant green hand, which grabs them. No lie. Then, they see the face of a guy with a golden wreath on his head, saying that they have to obey him or he'll crush them, which he does, a little bit. Anyway, Captain Kirk agrees to go down to his planet with a team. A team that does not include Spock, because space face does not like his pointed ears. Go figure. He does mention something about Pan, though. Turns out, that this guy claims to be the god, Apollo. He keeps referring to them as his children and that he wants to take care of them as long as they worship him. Oh, and he also gets the hots for this female lieutenant named Carolyn. Of course, he does. That's what the gods do, am I right? But, wait! Scotty also has a thing for her. Catfight! Well, Apollo does give her a dress that's a little, well, it's a tad revealing. I kid you not. She was barely covered on top, so I'm not really sure who gets a point in that one. Anyway, shenanigans ensue, but, eventually, Apollo turns out to be a bit of a cry baby. Don't they all.
#6. "Arena" (Season 1) - Kirk fights a giant lizard man and builds a gun that basically shoots diamonds. I'm sorry, do I have to tell you something else to explain why I love this episode?
#5. "The City on the Edge of Forever" (Season 1) - This episode is considered by a lot of people to be the best of the series. Obviously, I agree that it is very good. Okay, the plot. Somehow, Dr. McCoy, after tending to Sulu, accidentally injects himself with an overdose of cordrazine, whatever that is, and it makes him go a little crazy. He ends up beaming down to a planet and jumping through this time portal, where he alters the past and causes the ship and the whole Federation to be non-existent. Kirk and Spock must follow him and see what he altered, hopefully fixing it. They end up in NYC (Yay!) in the 1930's (Boo!) and meet an activist named Edith Keeler, played by Joan Collins. Shock of all shocks, Kirk falls for her. Unfortunately, she is supposed to die. What McCoy did was save her life which actually altered history. So they had to let her die to set things right. It actually is a very powerful episode, and the acting is really top notch. In fact, I would say it's some of Shatner's best.
#4. "Miri" (Season 1) - I think I may have mentioned that I'm not exactly a kid person, and this may be where it started. And I was a kid when I first saw it. After getting a distress signal from a planet that looks a lot like Earth, Kirk and his landing party head to it. First, they get attacked by a humanoid creature who is very strong and covered with bluish splotches. After they fight him off, he seizes and dies. Then, they find a young girl named Miri, who tells them that they are "grups" or grown-ups. The "grups" have all died, after turning crazy and violent. Holy crap! There is so much random stuff in the Star Trek world that can turn someone crazy. Anyway, it is because of this strange disease that there only children left, since it hits you when you reach puberty and start growing up. Really? Are you sure you don't want to say it hits you on your 16th birthday so you can be more cliche? Anyway, the disease that affects them is also starting to affect the landing party. Long story short (maybe), the kids go a little crazy, a little early I guess, trying to defend themselves. Crazy and kind of annoying. No, wait, really annoying. And, of course, Miri, the girl hitting puberty, crushes on Captain Kirk. Why not? Obviously, I'm not going to judge. I guess I should say something about the kiddie cast. Miri is played by Kim Darby, who would go on to success in the classic True Grit, and Michael J. Pollard was great as Jahn. Some of the kids had Star Trek ties, like the daughters of William Shatner and Gene Roddenberry and the sons of Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Rand. Also, we got John Megna, best known as 'Dill' from To Kill a Mockingbird., and Iona Morris and her little brother Phil. Yep, the wonderful Phil Morris, who would one day play The Martian Manhunter on Smallville, was in this episode. WOW! This guy loves outer space!
#3. "Space Seed" (Season 2) - And here we have the episode that led us to the greatest of the Star Trek films, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. Yes, it is here where we first meet Khan Noonien Singh, a villain that will live in infamy and get a legacy all his own in the world of Star Trek. And Ricardo Montalban. Just...Ricardo Montalban. I really have nothing else to say about this one.
#2. "Mirror, Mirror" (Season 2) - Have you ever seen a show where a character has an evil twin or an evil clone and said evil one shows their evilness by the fact that they have a goatee? I think this may have been the inspiration for that. This is the one where Kirk, Uhura, Scotty and McCoy get sucked into some kind of parallel universe where the Enterprise is a little different. Different, like Spock has a goatee, and everyone is more savage. I mean, even Sulu, and I hate to use this word, gets a tad 'rapey'. Yeah, everyone kind of hams it up in this episode, and it is actually very entertaining.
#1. "The Trouble With Tribbles" (Season 2) - I like to laugh, and this episode never fails to make me laugh. And whilst the other children were asking for puppies and kitties as pets, I had my hand out waiting for a Tribble. They purred! Seriously, they full-on purred! I don't even think I have to go into plot here. The point is that the antogonists-ish are these little balls of fur. Of course, we get an actual bad guy in the end, but these little suckers annoy the crap out of the crew as they multiply. Yes, I said multiply. I know that, for the most part, this series is a drama, but, to me, this comedically charged episode is the absolute best.
And there you have it. I don't know if I can be called an actual Trekkie, since I don't really own any memorabilia, I've never been to any cons, and I certainly have never dressed up as a character. But I am certainly a fan of Star Trek. It's just straight up, really great entertainment. Always has been, always will be.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
