What a find. I picked mine up yesterday, and was thrilled when I saw the CAGE - PILOT and ORIGINAL VERSION.....Watched last night. It was magical! :thumbsup:

It's intersting that there are actually people on the TrekBBS.com who are seeing TOS for the first time with this DVD collection. It's neat seeing their reviews and reactions.

Yes JP, for the first time, I got to see a couple of creatures caged next to PIKE. The apeman and birdman were great. So was the tentacled thing seen in shadows which reminded me of a particular Twilight Zone episode where a bunch of scientists united and transformed Robert Culp into an alien in hopes of uniting the world.

Pretty much every episode has a clip or two which were deleted for commericals so in fact, I am seeing TOS for the first time.

Yes JP, for the first time, I got to see a couple of creatures caged next to PIKE. The apeman and birdman were great. So was the tentacled thing seen in shadows which reminded me of a particular Twilight Zone episode where a bunch of scientists united and transformed Robert Culp into an alien in hopes of uniting the world.


Actually, that was an OUTER LIMITS episode. If I remember correctly, all the caged creatures were costumes and makeups reused from the OUTER LIMITS.

I stand corrected. I knew it wasn't Night Gallery. I had forgotten about that other great show.

Is there any difference between the new boxed sets and the individual 2 episode packaging other than saving money with the new offering? Is there any extras in the new stuff?

And JP, there are alot of TOS stuff I will be seeing for the first time as well. I can't wait until Christmas to be able to get started! My wife will do that to me. She will say, "What do you want for Christmas" back in October, then buy what I want and make me wait until Christmas to open it. It's cool but also stinks at the same time.On one hand, I know that I have something I wanted to look forward to and on the other hand...I have to wait and already know what it is.
Kind of a catch 22! But at least I get what I want and not spend more than I have to!

Makes life so much easier too! I have a great wife!

MMM

I watched a couple of more episodes:

Elan of Troyus - Great dialogue I've never heard, and a view of the klingon Battle Cruiser i've never seen.

Day of the Dove - Ditto

Tonight.....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm let me see. "I'm in heaven...."

What did I do with my self taped VHS Trek TOS.....I brought them to work.....Lunch hour !

Good to see someone out there appreciates Star Trek like the way I do.
I just bought season 3 on dvd the other day!
I already have every eps. on tape thanks to Columbia House. Now I can get rid of those tapes and have more room for my dvd collection. :D

Speaking of the Outer Limits, I just bought the entire orginal series (only two seasons) for under $100 on Overstock.com. Even on Amazon they were $10 more per season.

I'll be picking up my Season 3 box set this evening when I go into work. Can't wait to see these episodes again. I don't care what anyone says about season three, it's ClassicTrek and I'll take it over any contemporary Trek anytime... Okay, there are things I'd rather see than "And The Children Shall Lead" but nothing is perfect.

Elan of Troyus - Great dialogue I've never heard
"You cannot resist my love, My Love."
Heh?
Did she just stutter?
http://www.inpayne.com/smilies/anim_rofl2.gif

Christmas has arrived just a bit early for me this year. I've finally had a wish that I've had for years fulfilled in that I now have all the original Star Trek episodes in full glory uncut and uninterrupted by ads.

Watching these episodes again in such splendid presentation has revived the thrill I've always experienced with this show. Over the years I've experienced other shows and films that I've enjoyed immensely. And, yes, some of those were at times better written and/or sported more sophisticated production standards than Star Trek. But in all honesty no television or cinematic work has ever matched the exhilaration I've always known with ClassicTrek. Even with it's missteps it was and still is a fantastic achievement of intelligence, enthusiasm, style and vision.

I'm looking forward to revisiting these third season episodes as much as I anticipated seeing the first two seasons on dvd (okay, I'm in no hurry to see "And The Children Shall Lead"--nothing is perfect). I can't wait to again hear that memorable fanfare heralding the flight of the Enterprise.

With these three box sets and the TMP DE my Star Trek video collection is almost complete. I only now await the TAS box set.


....Wow! I mean...hell, I mean Wow! Seeing "The Cage" in it's full restored version is a real treat. And it's the only way to really watch this episode. The "original" version of b&w footage spliced with the colour footage seen in "The Menagerie" two-parter is distracting. But seeing the restored version just somehow makes the whole thing work beautifully and so much better.

This is a gorgeous production overall and I am struck by a few things. On the downside first it's a shame they weren't then able to do ship fly-by sequences like they would later in WNMHGB and the series itself. As it is the 33in. filming miniature is rather disappointing for the fly-by visuals. Also the attempt at depicting transition to warp speed, while interesting, is rather ineffective in the end--it just doesn't convey anything special happening. There are also one or two instances when the terminology of the time now seems really anachronistic.

On the positive side having all the missing bits put back in realy fleashes out the story IMO. I think "The Cage's" version of he original theme is perhaps my favourite overall. Next, make no mistake, Kirk is my favourite Star Trek character and I love Star Trek as we got it over the three seasons, but I must say that I'm generally more impressed with the performances of the cast of "The Cage" than I've ever been, and in particular I really like Jeffrey Hunter's portrayal of Pike. And although I wouldn't trade Star Trek as we know it for anything I can't help but feel that the NBC suits of the day were freakin' nuts to reject "The Cage." I, for one, am certainly left wondering what might have followed if they'd given it a go-ahead.

No wonder I have fun doing those Pike era manips for Never seen TOS scenes. :D

I indulged last night with three episodes: "The Paradise Syndrome," The Enterprise Incident" and the infamous "Spock's Brain."

"The Paradise Syndrome" has never really been one of my favourites. It's not bad really, but somehow it just doesn't flow well for me. It seems almost as if things were not running smoothly offscreen and that translated onscreen somehow--not an impossibility I suppose. There are also a couple of sci/tech gaffs in this one that bug me. Firstly, if they're intercepting an asteroid--something that exists within a solar system--then why would they have to proceed at Warp 9 for several hours to reach it. Warp 1 or 2 would have been more than sufficient since cosmically speaking the asteroid wouldn't have been that far away and still be within the confines of the solar system. And if it were a rogue asteroid adrift in interstellar space, and since it is a natural phenomena, then it wouldn't be travelling at warp speed and thus would take years if not decades or centuries to reach the planet. This gaff really bugs me.

The second misstep may or may not be a gaff, but it seems so to me. Granted the asteroid is refered to as being nearly the size of Earth's moon, but given precedent in the series then why didn't they resort to photon torpedoes to destroy it? I can understnd the failure of the phasers given that they weren't at full strength due to failing ship's power, but the matter/anti-matter charge of a photorp should still have been sufficient to at least split the asteroid as Spock intended.

"The Enterprise Incident" still remains one of the good third season outings. The only two bumps in suspension of disbelief arise from Kirk's Romulan make-up as well as that of the Romulan guard Kirk later kicks out just before stealing the cloaking device.

"Spock's Brain." Much maligned and perhaps unfairly so. There's a genuine science fiction story at the heart of this episode and much of the show isn't bad really. For me it falters only upon seeing the title itself and one or two moments of sloppy over acting. Otherwise I find it far more acceptable than what passes for current Trek today.

I'm still debating whether I should give "And The Children Shall Lead" a look or pass onto the next disc. :confused:


...Okay, I tried to watch ATCSL last night after all and I lasted little more than about thirty minutes before I turned it off in disgust. Oh well, now on to better things.

I watched "Spectre Of The Gun" this morning, and I must say that this is a better episode than I remember giving it credit for before. I appreciate the thinking behind this work more than when I was younger. I can see how this story and its execution mighn't appeal to fans of conteporary sci-fi because it doesn't go out of its way to exhaustively explain everything, but preetty well all the answers are there if one is paying attention. This story also underlines the fundamental evolution of Star Trek's humanity over our present day. It isn't that Kirk and crew were afraid to fight, but rather that they exhausted all other avenues of resolution before choosing to fight. "Spectre Of The Gun" says not that we need be ultimate pacifiscts, but that we must only kill when there is simply no other choice. In some ways I feel this story is as poignant now as it must have been in 1968. Today we are assaulted every week with reports of people cut down in our streets with frightening casualness over the most mundane and petty of excuses--how is this different from the Old West? We have powerful nations perpetrating aggression and occupation and sacrificing thousands of innocent lives without verifiable justification.

"Spectre Of The Gun" echoes the sentiment I also found appealing in the movie The Iron Giant--that you can choose not to be a mindless reactionary gun and choose not to kill. The episode's concept might be shrugged or even laughed off as ludicrous--future man thrown into an Old West scenario with cheap incomplete sets--but focusing on the deliberately surreal setting would be missing the point of what this story is really about.

Spock's Brain

I'm going to watch this tonight. Girls in go-go boots and an ion powered ship. What's not to love?

Just finished the second disc.

I found "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" to be a decent episode with an appropriately eerie musical score. Indeed, this outing is also representative of some of the often ignored aspects of 3rd season--that we were given new shots of the Enterprise, new ship interior sets and new never before heard music. And interesting ideas were still being explored such as here where we have an alien reputedly so incomprehensibly hideous to human sensibilities that to even catch a glimpse of it results in insanity. ITITNB is one of 3rd season's better efforts and nothing to be ashamed of.

"For The World Is Hollow And I have Touched The Sky" is also a decent story, but while I cannot really fault it in any real specific way I find it a little slow and disappointingly simplistic. I like this better than say "The Paradise Syndrome," but I feel it could have used some mild rewriting to include a little more complexity and a little better pacing. I will say that I find Natira to be yet another fine example TOS' parade of beautiful women.

"Day Of The Dove" is definitely one of this season's best. Everything seems to work and I can't really think of how it could have been made any better. I prticularly liked Michael Ansara's portrayal of Kang. I also noticed something I'd never seen before: when the first group of Klingon survivors are beamed aboard from the wrecked Klingon ship among them is another Klingon female besides Mara. And so Mara isn't quite the exception many of us had once long assumed and thus Klingon women do serve in the Imperial Fleet even in TOS' era.

I'll have to look again for that other female. Must have missed that!

This thread is killing me as I have to wait until Christmas before viewing my set for the first time!

I've seen random episodes thru the years but don't remember the names so it will be a new experience for me!

MMM

I love "Is there in truth..." for its soundtrack. It's one of my favorites to listen to. The episode's editing and photography was "very sixties" - the fisheye smash-cuts and gaudy lighting, and the music cues driven by the editing - which is a thing I love dearly. A lot of today's TV can be pretty drab by comparison.

Also, IMHO, Diana Muldaur was at her loveliest.

I fondly refer to the third season as the "fisheye" season. It seems like half the episodes had someone in some sort of mental duress and we'd see the world from their subjective point-of-view, provided via the distortion of the fisheye lens.

Watched Patterns of Force Yesterday.......How are you doing MMM? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

.......How are you doing MMM? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Too cruel! :lol: :roll:

It won't be long now...just a few more days! I can't wait! I never thought I'd feel like a kid again having to wait for something...its kinda fun!

I'm thinking of starting right from the beginning but it sounds like the 3rd season might be the best. Any suggestions?

MMM

Go go Boots!

Is there any difference between the new boxed sets and the individual 2 episode packaging other than saving money with the new offering? Is there any extras in the new stuff?

For those that don't know, most of the last disk in the new TOS sets contain special features (as well as easter egg "Red Shirt Diaries" that are worth searching for). In addition, several of the episodes have Mike and Denise Okuda text commentaries similar to what they have done on the latest editions of the movies. If anyone still has not watched the films with the text commentary, try it out! I found it a neat experience.

Sorry, but the Okudas have nothing of interest regarding Star Trek that I'd like to hear. :rolleyes:

With the exception of the odd bit I've found the added features of all three sets to be shamefully lacking and disappointing overall. These sets should have been loaded with archival materiel and interviews. Instead we got mostly run-of-the-mill fluff that could be found anywhere. Paramount should be ashamed. Cheap, lazy and greedy bastards. :mad:

To each his own. Needless to say, I totally disagree.

I fondly refer to the third season as the "fisheye" season. It seems like half the episodes had someone in some sort of mental duress and we'd see the world from their subjective point-of-view, provided via the distortion of the fisheye lens.

That's due in no small part to director Ralph Senensky, whose good-to-bad episode ratio is even better than Pevney and Daniels. Senensky was fired halfway through the shooting of THOLIAN WEB for being about 2 hrs over schedule, which may explain why half the show looks great and the rest looks very pedestrian (Herb Wallerstein, hack extraordinaire, did the rest of the show.) Pretty sure he did IS THERE IN TRUTH as well, along with eps in earlier seasons like THIS SIDE OF PARADISE and, I think, RETURN TO TOMORROW.

I'm seriously PO'd about the extras as well (though I've only gotten the first two seasons so far.) They're slightly better than what we got on the movies -- which is where par really dropped the ball IMO, given that there is a tremendous amount of GREAT archival stuff that they are not using there, probably because of their fanatical spin control or even more fanatical cheapness -- but still it isn't even the tip of the iceberg.

The fact they haven't done anything about Mike Minor on ANY trek disk is just amazing to me ... the guy did space art for the crew quarters for TOS, then did the Melkotian for SPECTRE and a big hunk of the fx for THOLIAN before doing a huge amount of work on PHASE II and TMP and TWOK. They could have spent 12 cents and licensed the old ENTERPRISE INCIDENTS interview with him, or just reproduced a bunch of his artwork and interviewed his co-workers (geez, they wouldn't even have needed to go anywhere, since Lee Cole, who worked with him from 77-79 and 81-82, is right there on the lot doing Lil Enterprise.) Maybe dying from AIDS complications is still enough to make you persona non grata in the b-t-s trekverse.

"You cannot resist my love, My Love."
Heh?
Did she just stutter?
http://www.inpayne.com/smilies/anim_rofl2.gif
Allow myself to intro...duce..... . . .myself.

Recently watched "The Empath" And "The Tholian Web."

"The Empath" wasn't an episode I really liked much when I was younger, but here again is that multilayered aspect of TOS rearing it's head where you learn to appreciate something you never paid much attention to before. Yes, I could go on about the evident illogic of the Vians' methods, but that would miss the point of this story. Wherein in later Treks you would have entities such as Q going out of their way to prove humanity was just another dirty and savage little race not really worthy of note, here we had beings using humanity (and Vulcannkind) as examples of a worthy species to be emulated. I've also come to appreciate the clever use of light and shadow and surreal atmosphere to enhance the story.

What can I say about "The Tholian Web" that hasn't already been said? This is one of the genuine shining moments of 3rd season, an episode that would have fit seamlessly into 1st or 2nd season. Indeed in many ways the writing strikes me as something that had been penned in the earlier seasons with hardly anything being changed, particularly in the way the characters sometimes related to each other. First rate.

:)

I'm seriously PO'd about the extras as well (though I've only gotten the first two seasons so far.) They're slightly better than what we got on the movies -- which is where par really dropped the ball IMO, given that there is a tremendous amount of GREAT archival stuff that they are not using there, probably because of their fanatical spin control or even more fanatical cheapness -- but still it isn't even the tip of the iceberg.

The fact they haven't done anything about Mike Minor on ANY trek disk is just amazing to me ... the guy did space art for the crew quarters for TOS, then did the Melkotian for SPECTRE and a big hunk of the fx for THOLIAN before doing a huge amount of work on PHASE II and TMP and TWOK. They could have spent 12 cents and licensed the old ENTERPRISE INCIDENTS interview with him, or just reproduced a bunch of his artwork and interviewed his co-workers (geez, they wouldn't even have needed to go anywhere, since Lee Cole, who worked with him from 77-79 and 81-82, is right there on the lot doing Lil Enterprise.) Maybe dying from AIDS complications is still enough to make you persona non grata in the b-t-s trekverse.
I agree with you 100%, trevanian.

I just finished watching the third season extras, and other than the props and collectables pieces with John Long, there is very little else of inclusion, production-wise, on the original show.

Would it have harmed them to acknowledge ANY of the contributors to the many special visual effects in the original series? Though many of the younger generations think of the effects as "cheesy", they were quite state-of-the-art and groundbreaking at the time - especially for a weekly television show.

Many of the primary contributors from the effects community have since passed on (1998 was not a good year in that respect), but there remain many effects cameramen, technicians, model builders and effects artisans who are still around and have stories to tell. For those we've lost (including the superbly talented Mike Minor), stories could have been related by surviving co-workers and family members. The excellent tributes to Matt Jefferies (both in the Original Series and Generations Special Editions DVDs) were an example of what should have been several inclusions in the series DVD sets.

Too bad they couldn't have at least licensed the mass of material from the Sci-Fi Channel's special edition wrap-arounds produced for the "uncut" TOS airings from 1998-99. Tons of interviews and recollections from the original cast, guest stars and behind-the-scenes creative folks who made the show possible. What a lost opportunity for producing a truly great collection - just to save a few bucks.

This episode has been dumped on a lot over the years. Having just watched it again from the S3 box set and an older perspective I will stand in the minority and say I think this is one of 3rd season's better efforts. The theme revisted here is similar to that seen in "Where No Man Has Gone Before," "The Gamsters Of Triskelion" and later in "The Cloud Minders"--the frightening abuse of power and postion by those of affluence and influence.

And I find this episode particularly poignant in these times of naked greed and blatantly corrupt corporate and political interests. The point is really driven home in seeing our heroes and the disadvantaged Alexander brutally abused and exploited to satisfy the mere petty whims of the jaded and complacent Platomians.

Back in school I did a stop-motion animated short using Mego Trek action figures called "Play Dough's Stepchildren." Thank god it, and its sequel "Spock's Brine" have been lost to time.

So did anybody ever wonder if "Plato's step children" and "Who Morns for adonis" are related episodes?

Ooooh! Oooh, me! Pick me! :roll:

I did. I was left wondering if perhaps they weren't actually ancient Greek's who'd been "lifted up" by Apollo and his bud's when they spent their time on Earth. Seemed to make sense to me at the time I watched it, which was prolly when I was... 8? It was when Trek was in syndication and was showing on Channel 41, Kansas City, MO, sometime in the mid-70's.

- - - - - -

Jeffrey Griffin
Griffworks Shipyards (http://members.aol.com/Griffworks/shipyards.html)

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"Wink Of An Eye." This has never been one of my favourites. Indeed I've never been fond of this episode. Imagine my surprise upon watching this today and finding...it didn't suck.

Okay I still see gaping logic flaws or more like gaping physical science flaws.
- The human body couldn't withstand the accelerated state the story suggests. This is reinforced by showing Deela dodge a phaser beam, something which ordinarily would be going at or very near the speed of light,
- Wouldn't someone on the bridge notice a phaser had been fired?
- And while an accelerated person would be hard to see in motion they should be visible when at rest.
- If so accelerated then the turbolift would be impossiblly slow to use. It would be faster to use companionways and ladders between decks.

But the story's execution itself isn't nearly as bad as I remember it. It still isn't one of my favourites by far, but I don't think it deserves the "Sucks!" catagory anymore alongside "And The Children Shall Lead." Hmm, maybe more like, "Doesn't blow, but doesn't quite work for me because of the bad science."

:lol:

I always figured they existed in another "plane of existance" (that nice fiction catch-all that "explains" everything) wherin we simpley couldn't see them.

"Elaan Of Troyius." Now THIS is Star Trek. A decent story, a good evocative and memorable musical score, adventure and fine character moments. The scenes of Kirk's battle of wills with Elaan and Ambassador Petri are priceless. The ship combat is genuinely stirring.This is not only a good 3rd season episode, it's a good one out of the whole series overall. I also enjoyed the set lighting which seemed more in tune with that used in 1st season.

I found myself grinning ear-to-ear throughout the whole thing. Well done. :)


Now "That Which Survives." I like this episode. It has good character interplay particularly between Spock and Scotty, and we get to see some more of the Enterprise's inner workings as well as a bit of technical exposition. There's also a neat eerie atmosphere as the landing party go about their investigations. The restricted budget doesn't really show here as we got to see new interior sets as well as some nice exterior shots of the Enterprise.

Overall I think this is one of 3rd season's better efforts even if it is essentially a bottle show.

Years ago I wasn't very fond of this episode, but over the years I've come to see "The Way To Eden" in a new light. This is a decent story and the overall effort gives me a feel good grin ear-to-ear. The '60s certainly were not the first time (nor likely will it be the last) when the greater society experienced a counter-culture movement. There have been such movements throughout history wherever a minority group eschewed societal convention and norms. Why could it not be any different in the future? Indeed, in its beginnings even Christianity was initially seen as a cult movement.

TWTE is a story that, I think, works better with the passage of time that distances it from the era in which it was made. The attire and music of the "space hippies" somehow seems less anchored in an era as time goes on. I also feel that it is representative of 3rd season as a whole in that there were worthy ideas and effort here when one cares to look deeper with a more objective perspective.

TWTE still isn't one of my favourites in terms of a "best" effort, but no longer do I think it sucks alongside of more clumsy episodes such as "Wink Of An Eye," "Whom Gods Destroy, "The Lights Of Zetar" and "The Paradise Syndrome."

Over the past couple of days I finished off the last four episodes of the 3rd season set.

"The Cloud Minders" Is at heart a good story revisting the idea of the privledged exploiting the less advantaged. Being older now I appreciate aspects of this episode that I overlooked in earlier years. What this episode suffers is mostly from a lack of production money. Also the shot of the cloud city seen from afar has never been very convincing. That said, however, I did notice the little added detail of having the clouds move across the background when the actors are on the cloud city's transport platform.

"The Savage Curtain is also another episode that suffers from lack of production money. I like the episode, but it could have used just a little more complexity to the plot I think.

"All Our Yesterdays" has never really moved me and my opinion hasn't really changed. There are some technical flubs, such as why Spock's phaser doesn't work in the past but McCoys medical scanner does. Spock's reversion to his ancestors' behaviour really strikes me as total hogwash. I do find it interesting that 23rd century Federation science can predict a supernova down to almost the minute.

"Turnabout Intruder" is one hell of a send-off. Shatner puts in a wild performance as the Lester-possessed-Kirk that is impossible not to watch. :lol: And in counterpoint the actress who plays Kirk-trapped in-Lester's body does a convincing turn as well. The performances and bizarre story are just enough to make you overlook the barely dressed sets. Oh, btw, one thing that is put across rather clearly in this episode. When Lester/Kirk is being questioned by Kirk/Lester during Spock's trial for mutiny the question is raised why Lester would plot such an extreme act as to steal Kirk's body. Lester/Kirk's reply is explicit: "She lusted for the position and power that she doesn't merit by temperament or training." It says nothing about not being able to be a starship captain because she is a women.

Ah, but doesn't she say Kirk's world of starshp captains has no room for women?

^^ Yes, but it's easy to see that she's a twisted bitter woman who r4esented Kirk choosing his career over her. Kirk just elected not to argue with her.

Ah, but doesn't she say Kirk's world of starshp captains has no room for women?
They would have probably just told her that after seeing the results of her psych evaluation. :lol:

Phasers not seen because they travel at the speed of light. A human operates the phaser so I doubt he has speed of light agility. Hence the constant beam.

I used to hate "The children shall Lead" as well. up until I read in a Star Trek bio that the guy that played the gorgon was actually a well known lawyer. Well it seems that this lawyer was having dinner with FL Bailey one night and they were debating who was more famous. They even bet dinner on it. Well a couple of girls come by and say hey aren't you so and so to which he replies yes. Are you law students. No Why. Because I'm a well known lawyer.......

The girls reply...oh...we thought you were the Gorgon guy on Star Trek

Bailey picks up the bill with laughter ringing in the restaurant.

Each time i see this episode I laugh now.

I used to hate "The children shall Lead" as well.
[SNIP]

Each time i see this episode I laugh now.
"As you believe, so shall you do. So shall you do, so shall you do. As you believe, so shall you do."

I can't see that one anymore without thinking of Kiel Stuart's parody from Trek magazine (same for "Requiem for Methuselah"). I wish those parodies were still available somewhere.

Qapla'

SSB