Star Trek is probably the most successful science fiction franchise of all time spanning six decades of science fiction storytelling. In the series, I will be looking at the highlights of all the past episodes from each season of all five TV shows that went before leading up to the new series Star Trek: Discovery that will be airing in the fall of 2017.
Star Trek: The Original Series – Season Two
Development
The ratings for the first season of Star Trek were low which, in previous years, would have seen the series cancelled straight away, but NBC decided to renew the series for a second season – mainly because it appealed to a younger audience. The series was given an episode order of 26 episodes, which in future years became the average number for an episode order of Star Trek.
There were a few changes in the Season 2: like cast member Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Janice Rand quit the show due to personal reasons; they introduced a new character called Ensign Chekov, who was brought in to appeal to the younger audience and he had a very Beatles like hairpiece in his early episodes – as this season progressed they got rid of the hairpiece and let him have his own hair(!); and also they added DeForest Kelley (McCoy) to the opening credits which made him the third lead character in the series from that point on.
The character of Mr Spock became a breakout character and a sex symbol after the first season had aired, and in this season there were many episodes centred around Spock – such as the seasons opening episode ‘Amok Time’ which was set on his home planet Vulcan and where Kirk and Spock have to fight to death.
Writers
Some of the writers from the first year returned to write scripts for the second year – including as Gene L. Coon and D. C Fontana. They were joined by new writers such as John Merdyth Lucas, Robert Sabaroff and John Kingsbridge who wrote some classic episodes of this season, like ‘Patterns of Force’ which had that common theme in the original series of Star Trek where they beam onto a planet that represents an alien society ;in the context of earth history like in this episode it represents Nazi Germany in the 1930s. There were many episodes like that in this season, another being ‘A Piece of the Action’ which represents an alien society in 1920s gangster culture. Another standout episode in this season was ‘Mirror Mirror’ where members of the Enterprise crew were transported on an alternative Enterprise. This episode famously had a badass Mr Spock with a beard and the crew kill each other to move up in rank.
Top 5 Episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series – Season Two
5) The Gamester of Triskelion
In this episode Captain Kirk and his companion are kidnapped into slavery and trained to become gladiators. It’s a real “starter episode” if you want to get into the original series; and your always wondering how Kirk and crew are going to get out of this one. It’s one of the many cliché episodes where they have a lot of stylized fight scenes and Kirk gets the girl. But overall it’s a little bit of fun.
4) A Private Little War
In this episode the crew of the Enterprise see the interference of a once peaceful planet from the Klingon Empire. It’s another one that tackles a social issue of the time, which is the Vietnam War, which was at it’s height in 1968 when this episode aired. It’s an episode I have always enjoyed – even if it’s flawed somewhat.
3) The Doomsday Machine
The Enterprise has discovered a planet destroying weapon and a Commodore that puts the crew of the Enterprise in danger, in crazy mission of revenge. This is one of most popular episodes of the original series. The highlight of the episode is the performance of William Windom, who played the vengeful Commodore Matt Decker, and his obsession of wanting to destroy the planet destroying weapon The Doomsday Machine.
2) Mirror Mirror
First of many “Mirror Universe” episodes and I think this is still the best – come on who doesn’t like seeing the crew of the enterprise being bad to the bone for one episode? Plus Spock has a beard and is being as bad ass as ever!
1) Amok Time
I’m sure you saw this one coming… could it really be any other episode? What’s not to love about this episode and visiting Spock’s home planet and watching Kirk and Spock fight to the death? And that brilliant ending where you see Spock almost being human.
Star Trek: The Original Series – Season Two
Development
The ratings for the first season of Star Trek were low which, in previous years, would have seen the series cancelled straight away, but NBC decided to renew the series for a second season – mainly because it appealed to a younger audience. The series was given an episode order of 26 episodes, which in future years became the average number for an episode order of Star Trek.
There were a few changes in the Season 2: like cast member Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Janice Rand quit the show due to personal reasons; they introduced a new character called Ensign Chekov, who was brought in to appeal to the younger audience and he had a very Beatles like hairpiece in his early episodes – as this season progressed they got rid of the hairpiece and let him have his own hair(!); and also they added DeForest Kelley (McCoy) to the opening credits which made him the third lead character in the series from that point on.
The character of Mr Spock became a breakout character and a sex symbol after the first season had aired, and in this season there were many episodes centred around Spock – such as the seasons opening episode ‘Amok Time’ which was set on his home planet Vulcan and where Kirk and Spock have to fight to death.
Writers
Some of the writers from the first year returned to write scripts for the second year – including as Gene L. Coon and D. C Fontana. They were joined by new writers such as John Merdyth Lucas, Robert Sabaroff and John Kingsbridge who wrote some classic episodes of this season, like ‘Patterns of Force’ which had that common theme in the original series of Star Trek where they beam onto a planet that represents an alien society ;in the context of earth history like in this episode it represents Nazi Germany in the 1930s. There were many episodes like that in this season, another being ‘A Piece of the Action’ which represents an alien society in 1920s gangster culture. Another standout episode in this season was ‘Mirror Mirror’ where members of the Enterprise crew were transported on an alternative Enterprise. This episode famously had a badass Mr Spock with a beard and the crew kill each other to move up in rank.
Top 5 Episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series – Season Two
5) The Gamester of Triskelion
In this episode Captain Kirk and his companion are kidnapped into slavery and trained to become gladiators. It’s a real “starter episode” if you want to get into the original series; and your always wondering how Kirk and crew are going to get out of this one. It’s one of the many cliché episodes where they have a lot of stylized fight scenes and Kirk gets the girl. But overall it’s a little bit of fun.
4) A Private Little War
In this episode the crew of the Enterprise see the interference of a once peaceful planet from the Klingon Empire. It’s another one that tackles a social issue of the time, which is the Vietnam War, which was at it’s height in 1968 when this episode aired. It’s an episode I have always enjoyed – even if it’s flawed somewhat.
3) The Doomsday Machine
The Enterprise has discovered a planet destroying weapon and a Commodore that puts the crew of the Enterprise in danger, in crazy mission of revenge. This is one of most popular episodes of the original series. The highlight of the episode is the performance of William Windom, who played the vengeful Commodore Matt Decker, and his obsession of wanting to destroy the planet destroying weapon The Doomsday Machine.
2) Mirror Mirror
First of many “Mirror Universe” episodes and I think this is still the best – come on who doesn’t like seeing the crew of the enterprise being bad to the bone for one episode? Plus Spock has a beard and is being as bad ass as ever!
1) Amok Time
I’m sure you saw this one coming… could it really be any other episode? What’s not to love about this episode and visiting Spock’s home planet and watching Kirk and Spock fight to the death? And that brilliant ending where you see Spock almost being human.
- 6/22/2017
- by James Morrell
- Nerdly
The absolute shit that is coming out of Donald Trump’s mouth is just…
I can’t even.
I’m writing this on Thursday, when I should (finally) be packing, because my daughter is picking me up at 1:30 this afternoon for my flight to Denver and the Comic Con. But this column appears on Monday afternoon and I’ll still be in the Mile High City, so I got up early, made myself a cup of tea, and sat down to talk about how I’m looking forward to the convention, my first in years…
… but I put on Morning Joe (on MSNBC) and I’m sitting here with my mouth open and my political side spinning as I watch Joe and Mika and Willie and their panel and their guest report on and talk about the absolute shit that is coming out of the Republican nominee’s mouth.
I can’t even.
I’m writing this on Thursday, when I should (finally) be packing, because my daughter is picking me up at 1:30 this afternoon for my flight to Denver and the Comic Con. But this column appears on Monday afternoon and I’ll still be in the Mile High City, so I got up early, made myself a cup of tea, and sat down to talk about how I’m looking forward to the convention, my first in years…
… but I put on Morning Joe (on MSNBC) and I’m sitting here with my mouth open and my political side spinning as I watch Joe and Mika and Willie and their panel and their guest report on and talk about the absolute shit that is coming out of the Republican nominee’s mouth.
- 6/20/2016
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
facebook
twitter
google+
As a new Star Trek TV show is planned for 2017, we select the show's top 25 episodes from its classic Original and Animated series...
The impact of Star Trek, a television series that altered the world's expectations and put an indelible mark on many cultures around the world, is often underestimated until you realise who it had an impact on and what they went on to achieve.
If you only ever watch 25 episodes or, rather, stories from the original(ish) run of Star Trek, these are they, at least in my opinion. The only rules in place being that this selection is drawn only from the series that just called themselves Star Trek (so that's what we now call Star Trek: The Original Series, or Tos and Star Trek: The Animated Series, or Tas), and two-part episodes count as one story... The more Trek-astute of you may realise...
google+
As a new Star Trek TV show is planned for 2017, we select the show's top 25 episodes from its classic Original and Animated series...
The impact of Star Trek, a television series that altered the world's expectations and put an indelible mark on many cultures around the world, is often underestimated until you realise who it had an impact on and what they went on to achieve.
If you only ever watch 25 episodes or, rather, stories from the original(ish) run of Star Trek, these are they, at least in my opinion. The only rules in place being that this selection is drawn only from the series that just called themselves Star Trek (so that's what we now call Star Trek: The Original Series, or Tos and Star Trek: The Animated Series, or Tas), and two-part episodes count as one story... The more Trek-astute of you may realise...
- 11/5/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Across film and TV, there have been many Star Trek projects that never got the greenlight. Such as these...
Since 1964 (yep) there have been Star Trek projects that simply didn't make it to the big or small screen. And before Star Trek's second (proper) coming in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the franchise had more than its fair share of attempts to come to life, and then be reborn.
This lot in fact...
Star Trek – The (original) Original Series
Here's a thought – the original Star Trek series wasn't supposed to be the original Star Trek series.
The pilot that sold the show to NBC was in fact the second pilot, after the original, entitled The Cage, filmed at the end of 1964, was deemed too cerebral. That's on top of having other multiple issues that TV executives (and test audiences) of the time couldn't cope with – you know, like gender equality in the workplace.
Since 1964 (yep) there have been Star Trek projects that simply didn't make it to the big or small screen. And before Star Trek's second (proper) coming in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the franchise had more than its fair share of attempts to come to life, and then be reborn.
This lot in fact...
Star Trek – The (original) Original Series
Here's a thought – the original Star Trek series wasn't supposed to be the original Star Trek series.
The pilot that sold the show to NBC was in fact the second pilot, after the original, entitled The Cage, filmed at the end of 1964, was deemed too cerebral. That's on top of having other multiple issues that TV executives (and test audiences) of the time couldn't cope with – you know, like gender equality in the workplace.
- 9/16/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
An actor who was not afraid to take chances in the 1960s, and continued a television career that lasted well into his golden years, has died. William Windom was suffering from congestive heart failure in his northern California home, according to CBS News. He was 88. Genre fans would easily recognize Windom as Commodore Matt Decker, the unshaven Starfleet officer upset that he was rescued from a lost command in the popular "Star Trek" episode "Doomsday Machine." The episode was written by Norman Spinrad, and was actually a play on Moby Dick's Capt. Ahab with the original intention of casting popular villain character actor Robert Ryan to the role. Windom was cast instead, and some of the harshness of the character was toned down, according to Memory Alpha, in an effort to make sure ...
- 8/25/2012
- GeekNation.com
American TV and film actor whose repertoire ran from Shakespeare to Star Trek
It may well be that the American actor William Windom, who has died aged 88 of congestive heart failure, appeared as a guest star in more TV series than anyone else in the history of the medium. While quantity is not necessarily an adjunct of quality, Windom made it so.
The character actor's career on television spanned seven decades, from his debut as a fiery Tybalt in a Philco Television Playhouse production of Romeo and Juliet (1949) to an episode of Star Trek: New Voyages (2004) in which he recreated the role of the unbalanced Commodore Matt Decker. Decker was first seen in one of the series's best chapters, The Doomsday Machine (1967), and it was enough to sanctify Windom in the eyes of Trekkies. The role had been written for Robert Ryan, but Windom's powerful portrayal made any possible comparisons redundant.
It may well be that the American actor William Windom, who has died aged 88 of congestive heart failure, appeared as a guest star in more TV series than anyone else in the history of the medium. While quantity is not necessarily an adjunct of quality, Windom made it so.
The character actor's career on television spanned seven decades, from his debut as a fiery Tybalt in a Philco Television Playhouse production of Romeo and Juliet (1949) to an episode of Star Trek: New Voyages (2004) in which he recreated the role of the unbalanced Commodore Matt Decker. Decker was first seen in one of the series's best chapters, The Doomsday Machine (1967), and it was enough to sanctify Windom in the eyes of Trekkies. The role had been written for Robert Ryan, but Windom's powerful portrayal made any possible comparisons redundant.
- 8/23/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Emmy Winner William Windom passed away at his home in Woodacre, California last Thursday, his wife Patricia confirms. The 88-year-old actor died of congestive heart failure.
Related: Sherman Hemsley Cause of Death Revealed
In addition to numerous appearances in film and TV, the actor is best known for playing Star Trek's Commodore Matt Decker, Murder She Wrote's Dr. Seth Hazlitt, and multiple memorable roles on the Rod Sterling series, The Twilight Zone.
Windom won an Emmy in 1970 for best actor in a comedy series in for his performance in My World and Welcome to It, based on author James Thurber's essays and cartoons.
The actor is survived by his four children and wife of 37 years.
Related: Sherman Hemsley Cause of Death Revealed
In addition to numerous appearances in film and TV, the actor is best known for playing Star Trek's Commodore Matt Decker, Murder She Wrote's Dr. Seth Hazlitt, and multiple memorable roles on the Rod Sterling series, The Twilight Zone.
Windom won an Emmy in 1970 for best actor in a comedy series in for his performance in My World and Welcome to It, based on author James Thurber's essays and cartoons.
The actor is survived by his four children and wife of 37 years.
- 8/20/2012
- Entertainment Tonight
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.