Star Trek: The Original Series

Episodes

Many episodes of the original series involve encounters with powers much greater than that of the ship and its crew. These powers take many forms: advanced alien races with psychic powers, rogue alien machines, and in one case, a god. Sometimes a member of the ship's crew would acquire godlike powers in some freak accident, almost invariably bringing doom upon themselves or the crew. A cautious attitude towards automation prevails; in many episodes, Captain Kirk frees alien cultures from repression by dictatorial computers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most situations of this type are resolved when the power in question comes close to enslaving or destroying the ship and crew, only to be saved by Kirk. His usual strategy is to outwit the antagonist and make impassioned appeals to humanistic values. Episodes usually end with a moral being summarized and a bit of humor to finish on a lighter note.

Related Topics:
Humanistic - Moral

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In terms of its writing, Star Trek is also notable as the first science fiction TV series to utilize the services of leading contemporary science fiction writers, such as Harlan Ellison, as well as established TV writers. Series script editor Dorothy C. Fontana (originally Roddenberry's secretary) was also a vital part of the success of Star Trek — she edited most of the series and wrote around a dozen episodes, although her contributions were greatly underrated at the time. She went on to write several episodes of the first season of ', but she left the show before the second season and was later critical of the direction of the new series, and Roddenberry's domination of the show and his reputed tendency to take credit for its success.

Related Topics:
Harlan Ellison - Script editor - Dorothy C. Fontana

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While most episodes of TOS were self-contained, there were several notable themes throughout the entire series. Arguably, the most important was the exploration of major issues of 1960s America, like sexism, racism, nationalism, and global war. Roddenberry believed that with new perspectives the public would view those issues differently in their own lives, but some critics accused him of peddling left-wing propaganda.

Related Topics:
1960s - Propaganda

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For example, certain Original Series episodes, such as "The Apple" "Who Mourns for Adonais?" and "The Return of the Archons", display subtle yet clearly present anti-religious themes. Episodes such as "Bread and Circuses" and "The Omega Glory" have themes that are more overtly pro-religion and patriotic, but some have suggested that episodes such as these, which also tended to be among the more poorly written and unbelievable of the series, were merely attempts by Roddenberry to pander to traditional, mainstream American sensibilities in fear of being censored. However, it is important to remember that network interference, up to and including wholesale censorship of scripts and film footage, was a regular occurrence in the 1960s and Star Trek suffered from its fair share of tampering. Many scripts had to be revised after vetting by the NBC censor and according to one book about the series, the gaping mouth of the "salt vampire" monster in the episode "The Man Trap" was actually an in-joke which referred to the network censor's persistent habit of cutting love scenes which featured open-mouthed kisses.

Related Topics:
The Apple - Who Mourns for Adonais? - The Return of the Archons - Bread and Circuses - The Omega Glory - 1960s - The Man Trap

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Like all long running television series, Star Trek suffered its fair share of weak episodes. The majority of these occurred during the third season, when budget cuts and bad scheduling took their toll on the writers and producers. Among the weakest episodes are "Spock's Brain" (Gene L. Coon), "The Gamesters of Triskelion" (Margaret Armen), "The Alternative Factor" (Don Ingalls), "And the Children Shall Lead" (Edward J. Lasko), "By Any Other Name" (Jerome Bixby) and "Catspaw" (Robert Bloch)

Related Topics:
Spock's Brain - Gene L. Coon - The Gamesters of Triskelion - Margaret Armen - The Alternative Factor - Don Ingalls - And the Children Shall Lead - Edward J. Lasko - By Any Other Name - Jerome Bixby - Catspaw - Robert Bloch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Original Series is also noted for its sense of humor such as Spock and McCoy's pointed, yet friendly, bickering. Episodes like "The Trouble with Tribbles", "I, Mudd" and "A Piece of the Action" are written and staged as comedies. This humor is much more subdued in following series and movies, with the exception of '.

Related Topics:
The Trouble with Tribbles - I, Mudd - A Piece of the Action

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few episodes have become sources of proverb in American culture for totally unforeseen and unintended reasons. Perhaps the best example is "Plato's Stepchildren", in which Mr. Spock's mind is controlled (through a process resembling telekinesis) by denizens of a planet who have somehow chosen Ancient Greece as a role model; while under their influence, Spock plays a harp and sings a song which includes the words "bitter dregs". As a result, some fans of American sports teams which are having an exceptionally poor season have taken to suggesting (such as by writing a letter to the editor of the sports section of their local newspaper or by getting on the air of a sports talk radio station) that the team should entitle its highlight film for that year "Plato's Stepchildren", because the team has become the "bitter dregs" of the league.

Related Topics:
Plato's Stepchildren - Telekinesis - Ancient Greece - Highlight film

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~