Star Trek

THE HUNTED

This episode is a ray of sunshine in the largely lacklustre third season. An interesting story, with some great moments, especially when the Terminator-like super soldier breaks free from a Transporter beam!

THE HIGH GROUND

I just saw this episode for the first time recently, as it was banned by the BBC here in the UK, as they thought it glorified terrorism, and they also objected to the reference made by Data to the IRA. Another thing the BBC censors objected to was the fact that (tying in with the IRA) the terrorist leader was called Finn! This is a very good episode again - i like the sets used to depict the alien city streets and theres an explosive beginning. A typically `moral message' type of ep, but one of the best ones.

DEJA Q

This episode is good fun, but humanises the Q too much, with the banter between them coming across like 2 characters in a sit-com. The story's best bits involve Q experiencing food, sleep etc.

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

This episode has an old-hat premise, but the holographic presentations of what the characters maintain actually happened gives it a bit more interest, especially when the evidence is fixed to present Riker as the bad guy - the bit where he wallops the scientist whose wife he has just been caught seducing, is hilarious.

YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE

This is a classic - at last, a genuinely interesting and original storyline. The best ST eps are ones that play around with time and reality, some thing that TOS never really did. When this ep first appeared, some fans proclaimed it the best ST ever. The good things about this story are obvious - the timeline change, the return of Tasha Yar, seeing the former Enterprise and its female Captain, the nice gory bit near the end where Riker's neck is broken...

THE OFFSPRING

Back to the usual type of duff story with this one. Strangely, this is a favourite episode among many of the cast. The best thing i can say about it, is that Hallie Todd looks very like Brent Spiner and so is perfectly cast as Data's daughter, but the story is dull, unorigina, and its obvious what is going to happen at the end.

11001001  -  Minuet was played by Carolyn McCormick

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0566509/

well done so far, I agree on most of the points you made but some I disagree on. Too many points to go into

Seriously?  I enjoy your write ups but even though this is personal opinion you lose a few strokes of credibility when you classify "And the Children Shall Lead" as a "classic" (meaning good) TOS episode, and then follow it up saying that "Balance of Terror" was one of the weakest TOS eps (generally considered by most, including me, as one of the all time best TOS episodes).

I went back and watched all 7 seasons recently too (well, over the course of the winter!).  I have to disagree.  All in all, season 1 is almost unwatchable, with a few exceptions.  The writing is, well, at times awful.  The acting is off as the actors looked to find their characters (you have good points on Patrick even struggling several times, especially at forced comedy).  That said, I've always felt Season 2 while far from the best is when the look, writing, and acting turned the corner and became quite good.  Far superior to the relative wreckage of Season 1.  It surprising how weak Season 1 was when you go back years later - it just doesn't hold up.  

For more on those, check out my `Star Trek Reviewed From Start to Finish' thread.

Once again, thanks for commenting folks

SINS OF THE FATHERS

This episode fell a bit flat for me, as i knew in advance what was going to happen, one of the problems when you watch a show like this out of order over the years. Worf has improved a lot since season 1, and all the stuff about Klingon honour is quite entertaining after a bit.

ALLEGIANCE

Superb stuff, its always an interesting idea when characters are abducted and imprisoned for unknown reasons, and doubly so when its Picard. A nice variety of aliens in this one, and the duplicate Picard on the ship is hilarious, especially in his impromptu drinking song session.

CAPTAIN'S HOLIDAY

Back to the pits again, with a really dull yarn. Risa is an interesting place, and the 2 aliens from the future are good. Apart from those, the episode never gets its act together. Nice to see Max Groedenchik in Ferengi makeup before he became a regular in DSN. Vash is just ok.

TIN MAN

One of the worst Trek stories ever - Harry Groener, who is the main guest star, sure had bad luck with his ST appearances, also appearing in the equally awful Voyager ep `Sacred Ground'. I like the way the story addresses loneliness, and theres a really emotive final scene, with appropriate music, but most of the rest is just boring. Im not saying that in order to have a good ep, you need 45 mins of non-stop action, but this episode, for me, lacks that certain `something'.

HOLLOW PURSUITS

One of season 3's best, though i think Dwight Schultz's performance is a bit `off' - people who are genuinely nervous and ill-at-ease do not behave the way Barclay does, and its a typical piece of tv `cod' acting as Barclay stutters and fumbles his words. Theres a great laugh, when Picard forgets himself and refers to Barclay as `Broccoli'. Wesley and the Engineering crew come over badly - if someone is nervous and feels left out, its all too easy to just laugh at them instead of making them feel wanted.

THE MOST TOYS

Nothing special here - Data is captured by an obsessive collector. Its an old hat sort of a story and is dreary to boot. The only bit of interest, apart from seeing the crew's reactions when they think Data is `dead', comes at the end when Data is quite sarcastic to the collector who is left to ponder in the Brig.

SAREK

Great story, and Patrick Stewart again gets to show what a great actor he is, in the scenes where he's being used as a receptacle for sarek's out of control emotions. The scenes where the crew are at each other's throats are entertaining, especially Geordi vs Wes, and Picard and Riker on the Bridge. The argument between the latter stands out more, when you realise it didnt occur much, unlike Kirk and Spock in TOS who regularly came to blows.

MENAGE A TROI

Back to the pits again, with a boring story only enlivened by a bit of ungratuitous nudity (which caused a stir in the UK newspapers even before the episode aired over here), and the fun of seeing Voyager's Ethan Phillips as a Ferengi. Theres a subplot involving Wes who gets to stay on board ship another year.

Hey Spouter, I just read through what you have done of Voyager and now this and just to let you know I appreciate your reviews.. I really enjoyed them!  Thank you for taking the time on posting them.

Thanks Keith, nice to know my reviews are appreciated  Also, check out my `Star Trek Reviewed From Start to Finish' thread, where i review all of TOS.

I already have, Even though I'm not  a huge fan of TOS.    I look forward to the rest.

Thanks again, much appreciated

TRANSFIGURATIONS

This episode is enjoyable but like much of seasons 1-3, not outstanding. Mark la Mura gives a good performance as John Doe, and Geordi's newfound confidence with women is fun to watch but thats about it.

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Finally, the series becomes uniformly excellent - though i will say that this story, as good as it is, is still overrated. Its not a patch on any of the Voyager 2-parters (Year of Hell or Scorpion for instance), but at the time it really stood out, especially since ST had only had 1 previous 2 parter (The Menagerie), and that was by accident, in order to use up all the footage from the first pilot. The antagonism between Riker and the unlikeable Shelby works well, as well as the whole business of Riker being given his own ship. Buts it's the Borg we all want to see, and the ending certanly doesnt disappoint. 

In TOS kirk is violating the prime directive all the time. In one of TOS best episodes- A private little war- Kirk orders a hundred rifles, although he is under a spell. If Kirk was in command of the Enterprise-D quite a few episodes would of been quite a bit simpler.