“Star Trek: The Original Series” rewatch – Season 1

So I decided a little while back that part of my Formal Upbringing of The Girl would have to consist of initiating her into the world of Star Trek.  Or The Original Series (TOS), at least.  Not only was this an amazingly formative part of my own youth (including the infamous “Locking the parents out of the back part of the house because they wouldn’t let me stay up and watch it” incident), but it remains such a cultural touchstone for us and our social circle that she would be actually deprived if she didn’t learn about such memes as “Dammit, Jim, I’m a Doctor, not an Auto Mechanic,” or Spock with a Beard, or “PAIN!” or all those kinda  goodies.

I picked up a Blu-Ray set of Season 1 of TOS, and began to wheedle her into watching it with me.

Now, back in the Olden Days, when I was growing up and dodging dinosaurs and doing my homework on a clay tablet in cuneiform, there was no question that Whatever Dad Wanted To Watch On TV Was What Everyone Got To Watch.  Not that I’m bitter, mind you. But things end up differently in our household, and what to watch is more of a communal decision (with Margie usually shrugging unless it’s to exert veto over something).

So Kay and I end up in sort of a “Okay, you can watch two iCarly episodes, but then we get to watch Star Trek.”  Followed by much wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth.

Now, mind you, Katherine actually enjoys Star Trek. Really. But it’s now become the principle of the thing.

One way I know she likes it, is she chuckles and laughs (or reacts otherwise) as the show is going on, even if she’s on  her laptop playing a game (as she usually is).  Another way I know is because, as we head into Season 2, she’s wangling to rewatch some of the Season 1 eps.

Which ones were her favorites?

1. “Arena” – The Gorn is just too frelling cheesy.
2. “The Naked Time” – Sulu with a foil! For Honor! The Queen! And France!
3. “Shore Leave” – All the stuff with the white rabbit and the black knight are too much fun.
4. “This Side of Paradise” – Spock being all jovial and mellow.

So, for the most part, it’s the humorous stuff that grabs her (“The Squire of Gothos” is another favorite). Which is funny because, though I appreciate the humor, my top 4 would be completely different:

1. “City on the Edge of Forever” – Plenty of humorous bits, but the most honestly dramatic (vs melodramatic) thing Star Trek ever put out there. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
2. “Errand of Mercy” – Klingons, nigh-omnipotent aliens, and a nice twist in the whole question of when you cross the line between courageous resistance and warmongery.
3. “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” – Aside from the awesomeness of Ted Cassidy as Ruk, we get both the “defeat the computer by outlogicking it” meme and some very Campbellian SF.
4. “The Menagerie” – First off, I would have loved to see a much more thoughtful, gritty Capt. Pike Star Trek. Not only do we get glimpses of what that would have been like (complete with some delightful uber-mental aliens), but the whole meta-frame that was tacked on about Spock’s mutiny is a decent episode in and of itself.

That was a hard list to narrow down, as there are some pretty darn fine S.1 episodes (“Devil in the Dark, “The Corbomite Maneuver,” “The Naked Time,” “Balance of Terror” …).  And Season 2 is right ahead (in fact, we watched “Amok Time” tonight).

I can’t go past without commenting on the reworking of the SFX that was done for the most recent editions of TOS disks.  When I heard about them, way back when, I was frankly dubious.  It smacked too much of “Greedo Shot First” revisionism.

And yet, I have to say that I’m impressed.  The CG FX aren’t bleeding edge, but they are pretty decent.  And unlike Lucas’ dicking around with Star Wars, the TOS FX updates don’t actually change the story.  Most (in S.1 at least) are the space shots, doing much cleaner passby swooshes and orbital bits with the Enterprise, and with planets that look like, well, Class M planets, not gas giants or cloudless Earth globes.  That lends a much more respectable air to the whole production (especially when you get little show-off bits like the shuttlecraft launching, or reflections of the planet’s color on the ship’s hull, or a spaceship on visuals that looks like an actual spaceship, not a blurry dot.

Beyond that, though, some of the non-space FX have been replaced.  The Horta’s burning through rock walls looks much better.  The lovely planetside matte shots have been enhanced (and often incorporate CG movement in them).  Glowing uber-aliens are much more realistically glowing.  Alien planetscapes often get some sort of “long shot” to establish them before going to the sound stage styrofoam boulders and spotlit back canvas. Heck, even the ship’s chronometer becomes a non-mechanical digital display.

Not to denigrate the original FX.  Star Trek, 1966-69, was bleeding edge, coming up with opticals and visual effects on a weekly basis that nobody thought were possible.  TOS was amazing in what it managed to do … but 40+ years down the road, the FX are beloved more for nostalgia than their substance.

So I’m willing to admit that I tend to squeal in a most annoying fashion as I’m watching the new FX in the episodes for the first time.  For first-time watchers like Kay, I’m sure they’re just part of the tapestry that makes it acceptable.  For someone who’s intimately familiar with the original from many years of rewatches, it’s damned impressive.

Memory Alpha‘s episode lists include descriptions and pictures of  the enhanced FX, though it’s much better to see them in the show than to look at the  little thumbnails.