Original Image via Wiki Media Commons
Recently I read a book called Geekerella by Ashley Poston. It reminded me just out of the loop I am when it comes to science fiction. So, I’ve decided to change that. To start with, I’m going to watch all of Star Trek. All. Of. It.
My review of Geekerella will be posted on Tuesday, and then you can find it here.
Star Trek had its beginning in the 1960s, when my parents were infants. This never stopped my mother from becoming a fan. With the return of science fiction worlds like Star Trek, Star Wars, Blade Runner, and so many others to both the big and small screens, it’s about time that I took the dive into this particular brave, new world.
I’ve decided to start at the beginning, since that is the most logical place to begin. I’m following the watch order that can be found here on digg, and also reproduced for you below:
Star Trek: The Original Series
The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
The Next Generation Seasons 1-7
Star Trek: Generations
Deep Space Nine Seasons 1-5
Voyager Seasons 1-2
Star Trek: First Contact
Deep Space Nine Seasons 6-7
Star Trek: Insurrection
Voyager Seasons 3-7
Star Trek: Nemesis
Enterprise
Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Star Trek: Beyond
Star Trek: Discovery
I’m going to watch somewhere between 1-3 episodes at a time and then let you know what I think of them. Let us see how long this project takes me. I’m also watching the show via Netflix, so that could have some impact on which episodes are aired when.
Now, I should warn you that I’m not a complete newbie when it comes to Star Trek, but growing up I was too busy reading fairytales to watch more than a few bits of whichever episode was on television, and I’m guessing I don’t get bonus points for understanding references on The Big Bang Theory or for watching the 2009 reboot film and Into Darkness when they came out.
Going into this, I was already aware that there were two pilots, and that the show was ushered into existence by Lucille Ball and her studio, Desilu Productions. (I read and I know things.) But what I didn’t know and wasn’t actually prepared for was the sheer amount of differences between the two showings, including an almost complete 180 of the cast.
Pilot #1 – “The Cage”
Christopher Pike is fantastic. I really enjoyed Jeffrey Hunter’s acting (he’s also not hard on the eyes). Is it just me, or was Spock mildly human in this episode? He actually seemed worried that Pike had been captured. The whole Adam and Eve shtick was probably a lot less overused in the 60s, but it still played nicely here. I quite enjoyed the large-brained aliens – maybe they are the precursor to the large-headed green ‘Martians’ we so frequently see today in science fiction? Wonderful use of special effects. I even loved the obviously homemade communicators.
My favorite part of the entire episode was Number One. I know Majel Barrett got the worst of the critics for her performance, but I’m convinced that’s only because she was so ahead of her time. Sure, she ‘tried to fit in with the boys’ by not screaming at Pike that she’s a woman just like Yeoman Colt and instead holds her tongue, but she has a quiet authority that Pike trusts and the crew obeys without question when Pike is taken out of commission and the ship falls under her command. I appreciated how she calmly handled things, and how quickly she came to the correct conclusion about Vina’s origin significantly before Pike did (because she did research). I would have loved to see how the gender-war played out in that cast and in that time period. It very well could have revolutionized the feminist movement, and we might have been where we are now with feminism nearly 50 years earlier. But that’s a much longer discussion. Basically what I’m saying is that in Number One’s quiet yet absolute authority I see traces of the women I look up to today, not the least of them being Wonder Woman.
You could say that I really liked this episode. 😉
Episode #1 – “The Man Trap”
Compared to “The Cage”, this episode was underwhelming. The effects were still good, the communicators looked more like little flip-phones than homemade junk, and the extended look at the ship was interesting. Unfortunately, the cast felt indifferent. Sure, you have your Captain Kirk (William Shatner), and Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Sulu (George Takei), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and, of course, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). Those characters I know from the reboots. I was slightly surprised by how easily they killed off cast – four crew members are killed by the ‘salt vampire’ before it is destroyed.
The scenes between Spock and Uhura show potential, though I was surprised by how openly Uhura flirted with Spock. I guess I just didn’t expect that in the first episode?
Overall it was a decent start, and I look forward to watching more episodes.
Until next time,
Amanda
Other posts in this watch through: Star Trek: The Original Series “Charlie X” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before” “The Naked Time” and “The Enemy Within” “Mudd’s Women” and “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” (COMING SOON)
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