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Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)
Episode:1x00
The Cage
Jack's Rating:
Captain Pike is captured by the illusion-creating Talosians, who want Pike as a prize specimen in their zoo.
Features:
Stardate: Unknown
Air Date: 10/04/88
Director: Robert Butler
Jack's Review
Crazy that this episode was never seen outside of the Menagerie clips until 1988. It's a rough episode to watch if you are sensitive to change. Jeff Hunter is a terrific Pike and the story is bittersweet knowing what will happen to the character. Part of me hopes Anson Mount's Pike will find a way to avoid it in Strange New Worlds.
Episode:1x01
The Man Trap
Jack's Rating:
A salt creature that can disguise itself in any form stalks the Enterprise.
Features:
Stardate: 1513.1
Air Date: 09/08/66
Director: Marc Daniels
Jack's Review
Excellent way to start off the series. Setting the tone for future episodes in many ways, we see the death of the red-shirts for the first time as well as the mystery solving skills of the crew. The salt vampire is creepy and you actually end up feeling a little bit sorry for the murderous thing.
Episode:1x02
Charlie X
Jack's Rating:
An adolescent human boy, raised among aliens who have given him supernatural powers, finds it impossible to return to normal human society.
Features:
Stardate: 1533.6
Air Date: 09/15/66
Director: Lawrence Dobkin
Jack's Review
One of the first episodes I remember seeing as a kid. It's a good episode and one I consider classic Trek. Watching Charlie's eyes roll back and make people disappear never gets old.
Episode:1x03
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Jack's Rating:
An energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy mutates Kirk's friend, Gary Mitchell, into a Godlike being.
Features:
Stardate: 1312.4
Air Date: 09/22/66
Director: James Goldstone
Jack's Review
Yet another of my first episodes as a kid. I thought it would be so cool to have silver eyes when I first saw this one. In order, this was the second episode ever filmed which is obvious by the makeup and costumes being the same as seen in the pilot episode. This makes it hard to watch. While well acted and directed it just feels a bit out of place.
Episode:1x04
The Naked Time
Jack's Rating:
A mysterious alien virus strips the Enterprise crew of their inhibitions, exposing their innermost thoughts.
Features:
Time Travel
Stardate: 1704.2
Air Date: 09/29/66
Director: Marc Daniels
Jack's Review
Easily one of the greatest Star Trek episodes ever. It has everything. Even Sulu shirtless and fencing! Oh, you must like this one! They even reused the story in The Next Generation.
Episode:1x05
The Enemy Within
Jack's Rating:
A transporter malfunction splits Kirk into two people, each with half of his personality.
Features:
Stardate: 1672.1
Air Date: 10/06/66
Director: Leo Penn
Jack's Review
While comedians and other actors have ribbed Shatner over the years for his over the top style and unique vocal cadence this episode really showcases his prodigious skill. Yes, William Shatner is a damn fine actor. Watch and you will see what I am saying.
Episode:1x06
Mudd's Women
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise recues con man Harry Mudd and his "cargo" of three beautiful women
Features:
Stardate: 1329.1
Air Date: 10/13/66
Director: Harvey Hart
Jack's Review
The first of the Harry Mudd episodes, this one, while very entertaining is nowhere near as good as "I, Mudd". It is an excellent introduction to what should have been a more heavily used antagonist.
Episode:1x07
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
Jack's Rating:
In search of exobiologist Dr. Roger Kirby, Nurse Chapel's ex-fiancee, the Enterprise finds that he has constructed androids and given himself an android body in a plan to replace key Federation leaders with android duplicates.
Features:
Stardate: 2712.4
Air Date: 10/20/66
Director: James Goldstone
Jack's Review
I love this episode. What's not to like? Hot android girl, ego-maniacal villain, giant evil robot, kirk holding a big stone phallus? It has it all!
Episode:1x08
Miri
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise encounters an Earth-like planet where a virus has killed all of the adults by causing them to age rapidly, while the aging process in children is slowed.
Features:
Stardate: 2713.5
Air Date: 10/27/66
Director: Vincent McEveety
Jack's Review
Annoying kids and the unexplained purpose for the planet looking exactly like Earth aside....you have a pretty fun episode. If you look carefully you will see they used the Mayberry set from The Andy Griffith Show in this one.
Episode:1x09
Dagger of the Mind
Jack's Rating:
A maniac who escapes from the Tantalus V penal colony uses a brainwashing device in an attempt to gain control of the Enterprise.
Features:
Stardate: 2715.1
Air Date: 11/03/66
Director: Vincent McEveety
Jack's Review
This is a classic! First appearance of the Vulcan mind meld! Just an awesome episode. Morgan Woodward plays a terrific part in this episode. And let's face it, that screenshot is pure gold!
Episode:1x10
The Corbomite Maneuver
Jack's Rating:
A powerful ship captures the Enterprise, but it is just a test to learn the Federation's intentions.
Features:
Stardate: 1512.2
Air Date: 11/10/66
Director: Joseph Sargent
Jack's Review
This episode contains what is perhaps one of the most iconic images in the sci-fi genre (see screenshot). Loads of suspense and intrigue make the final meeting with the alien that much more satisfying. Interesting fact: Balok is played by Clint Howard, younger brother of Ron Howard. Clint also shows up in DS9 "Past Tense Pt II", plays a Feregi in "Acquisition" on Enterprise, and most recently an Orion character on Discovery.
Episode:1x11
The Menagerie, Part 1
Jack's Rating:
Spock commandeers the Enterprise to take Captain Christopher Pike to the off-limits planet Talos IV.
Features:
Stardate: 3012.4
Air Date: 11/17/66
Director: Marc Daniels
Jack's Review
I bumped this episode up to a 2.5 because I watched it recently after decades of skipping it and found that it didn't bother me as much as it used to. That being said, and before I get roasted by Trek fans everywhere, I know this is a classic. Captain Pike in the chair beeping his head off is entertaining - but it's clearly the producers trying to shoehorn the pilot episode into the series which makes it feel clunky. The main reason I have never been a fan of this episode is pretty simple: it was on ALL THE TIME when I was a kid! Every other week, it seems, this episode was on TV!
Episode:1x12
The Menagerie, Part 2
Jack's Rating:
Enroute to Talos IV with Captain Pike, Spock faces a court-martial, during which the story of the first contact with the Talosians is revealed.
Features:
Stardate: 3013.1
Air Date: 11/24/66
Director: Robert Butler
Jack's Review
For more details on why I rate this two-parter so low, see my review of part one....
Episode:1x13
The Conscience of the King
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise crew discovers that the leader of a traveling theater group is really Kodos the Executioner, who murdered most of the population of Tarsus IV 20 years earlier.
Features:
Stardate: 2817.6
Air Date: 12/08/66
Director: Gerd Oswald
Jack's Review
My all-time least favorite episode. It bores me to tears.
Episode:1x14
Balance of Terror
Jack's Rating:
A Romulan Bird of Prey attacks the Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone, starting a cat-and-mouse confrontation with the Enterprise.
Features:
The Romulans
Stardate: 1709.2
Air Date: 12/13/66
Director: Vincent McEveety
Jack's Review
Phenomenal...epic...awesome. We get our first glimpse of the newest and what would become the most deadly enemy of the Federation. Mark Lenard, mostly known for his role as Sarek, Spock's father, shows up as the Romulan commander. Did you know he also plays the lead Klingon in the beginning of Star Trek The Motion Picture? While this episode is often referred to as the "Run Silent, Run Deep" episode (the 1958 film starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster), it is actually closer to "The Enemy Below", starring Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens from 1957.
Episode:1x15
Shore Leave
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise crew takes shore leave on a planet where their thoughts are brought to life by underground machinery of an advanced race.
Features:
Stardate: 3025.3
Air Date: 12/29/66
Director: Robert Sparr
Jack's Review
A true classic! Who can forget the Tiger, the Samurai, the white rabbit, Finnegan beating on Kirk? This is one of the more off the wall classic Trek episodes - one that makes Star Trek so much fun.
Episode:1x16
The Galileo Seven
Jack's Rating:
The shuttlecraft Galileo and its seven occupants crash-land on a hostile planet, and Spock must assume command to give them a chance at being rescued.
Features:
Stardate: 2821.5
Air Date: 01/05/67
Director: Robert Gist
Jack's Review
This one has to be among my all time favorite episodes. This really showcases the acting skills of Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, and James Doohan. I have always loved the stranded survivalist type of stories - ever since Island of the Blue Dolphins in Elementary school, I suppose.
Episode:1x17
The Squire of Gothos
Jack's Rating:
Four Enterprise crew members are kidnapped by Trelane, an arrogant, impetuous alien who turns out to be a child using the crew members as play things.
Features:
Stardate: 2124.5
Air Date: 01/12/67
Director: Don McDougall
Jack's Review
We get our first look at what could be the Q in this episode...and William Campbell's portrayal of the sinister Trelane who turns out to be a spoiled brat is brilliant! While Trelane is not referred to as a Q in the episode, when asked at a convention, Campbell said he was a Q. The novel "Q-Squared" confirms this theory.... And because the novels are no-longer considered canon, there is still much debate as to Trelane's origins among fans. Personally, I like to think he is.
Episode:1x18
Arena
Jack's Rating:
After chasing a Gorn ship into an uncharted sector of space, Kirk and the Gorn commander are transported to a desert planet, where they are forced to duel to the death.
Features:
Stardate: 3045.6
Air Date: 01/19/67
Director: Joseph Pevney
Jack's Review
Yet another classic episode - one that is perhaps the most recognizable Star Trek episode ever. If you get the chance, check out the episode of Hollywood Weapons where Terry Schappert tries to make the bamboo cannon. My take on that is "of course he can make gunpowder and a cannon out of a hunk of bamboo...he's the goddam captain!"
Episode:1x19
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 20th Century Earth after a close encounter with a black star, and is reported as a UFO by an Air Force pilot.
Features:
Time Travel
Stardate: 3113.2
Air Date: 01/26/67
Director: Michael O'Herlihy
Jack's Review
Here we have the first true time travel episode in Star Trek history. The Slingshot effect would be reused in several episodes across the Trek universe. There is something fun about modern people coming face to face with the Enterprise crew and this story is loaded with excitement and comedy. Over the years this episode has cemented itself as one of my favorites. If memory serves this is the first appearance of the "Kirk-fu" move nicknamed "the Captain's log" where Kirk throws his whole body at a group of attackers. So fun!
Episode:1x20
Court Martial
Jack's Rating:
Kirk is charged with negligence in the death of an Enterprise crewman, but is later acquitted when Spock discovers that the crewman isn't really dead.
Features:
Stardate: 2947.3
Air Date: 02/02/67
Director: Marc Daniels
Jack's Review
I typically don't much like the courtroom drama episodes....I mean, this is Star Trek! I want to see warp speed and phasers and photon torpedoes and aliens....But as is true with each Star Trek series, there is always a really good court-based episode ["Measure of a Man; TNG], and this is the one for the original series.
Episode:1x21
The Return of the Archons
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise crew beams down to a planet where the zombie-like inhabitants are controlled by a super computer known as Landru.
Features:
Stardate: 3156.2
Air Date: 02/09/67
Director: Joseph Pevney
Jack's Review
You are not of the body. You will be absorbed. It is the will of Landru. This is another classic episode. It is fun to see how the writers overcame special effect and budget constraints by using different existing props and sets. Here we also have our first reference of the Prime Directive. This is another episode that reuses the Mayberry set from Andy Griffith. On a personal note, I went to visit my Dad shortly after he watched this episode. He looked at me and said, "greetings, friend. Are you here for festival?" when I said no, he shouted, "you are not of the body!" at me. It was a riot.
Episode:1x22
Space Seed
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise finds the S.S. Botany Bay, a 1990's sleeper ship carrying a group of genetically bred supermen led by Khan Noonian Singh.
Features:
Stardate: 3141.9
Air Date: 02/16/67
Director: Marc Daniels
Jack's Review
Up there with "Arena" as far as classic Trek episodes go, "Space Seed" is even more infamous in that it gives us the backstory for one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. I admit I had never seen this episode when I watched Wrath of Khan in theaters in 82. The terrific thing is you don't need to see it to enjoy that film. One fun bit of trivia. When Kirk smashes the glass on Khan's sleeping chamber, his phaser falls off his hip. You can see Deforest Kelley look at the phaser and then up in the direction of the camera as if questioning if they were going to call a cut for a retake.
Episode:1x23
A Taste of Armageddon
Jack's Rating:
After the Enterprise is declared a victim of an interplanetary war fought only in the memory banks of opposing computers, Kirk and Spock force the warring planets to face the destruction of real war or settle their dispute.
Features:
Stardate: 3192.1
Air Date: 02/23/67
Director: Joseph Pevney
Jack's Review
A great anti-war episode that really stays focused without feeling like a Vietnam rally....I have always liked the imagination with which the writers tackled the computer-driven war.
Episode:1x24
This Side of Paradise
Jack's Rating:
All of the Enterprise crew, except Captain Kirk, are exposed to spores that induce a feeling of euphoria and a desire to remain on the planet.
Features:
Stardate: 3417.3
Air Date: 03/02/67
Director: Ralph Senensky
Jack's Review
This is one of the most fun classic episodes in all three seasons. I remember seeing this one as a kid and being enthralled by the flower shooting the spores and laughing at the diatribe Kirk uses on Spock at the end....mutinous, disloyal, computerized half-breed indeed.
Episode:1x25
The Devil in the Dark
Jack's Rating:
A mining colony on Janus VI is faced with death and destruction caused by a rock-like creature, the Horta, which turns out to be a mother trying to protect her eggs from the miners' equipment.
Features:
Stardate: 3196.1
Air Date: 03/09/67
Director: Joseph Pevney
Jack's Review
William Shatner rated this as his favorite...and I list it as mine as well. Even above "City on the Edge of Forever", "Arena", and "The Changeling". We have a touch of mystery, horror, action, and humor. Perfect Star Trek, my friends. Gene Roddenberry listed this as one of his ten favorite episodes in a TV Guide article in 1991, and legendary Sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke recalled the only episode of Star Trek he could remember was this one!
Episode:1x26
Errand of Mercy
Jack's Rating:
The Organians intervene in a conflict between the Federation and the Klingons by imposing a peace treaty that will be enforced by the power of the Organians' minds.
Features:
The Klingons
Stardate: 3198.4
Air Date: 03/23/67
Director: John Newland
Jack's Review
This is one that, having watched them all in 2006 and 2007, I can honestly say I saw for the first time as an adult. I guess I never saw it in syndication as a kid. It's a terrific episode with action, mystery, and Klingons. Yet another perfect Trek episode!
Episode:1x27
The Alternative Factor
Jack's Rating:
The Enterprise finds Lazarus on a deserted planet, and soon discovers that he is in a life-and-death struggle with an evil duplicate from a parallel anti-matter universe.
Features:
Stardate: 3087.6
Air Date: 03/30/67
Director: Gerd Oswald
Jack's Review
This is one of the worst episodes in the entire three season run of the original series. It's a mess. Too herky-jerky between plot points and the story is ridiculous.
Episode:1x28
The City on the Edge of Forever
Jack's Rating:
After an accidental overdose of the stimulant cordrazine, Dr. McCoy jumps through a time portal on a deserted planet and ends up on Earth in the 1930's.
Features:
Time Travel
Stardate: 3134
Air Date: 04/06/67
Director: Joseph Pevney
Jack's Review
Here we are, perhaps the finest science fiction television episode ever. Time travel in its finest as penned by the immortal and enigmatic Harlan Ellison....Perfect acting by Deforest Kelley, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Joan Collins really makes this episode sparkle. What makes this episode so great? It's the message of friendship, risking everything, and doing what must be done against all odds. You can't help but be touched by the look on Kirk's face during the climax. The fact that this episode concludes with the only swear word in all three seasons is rather fitting based on what the crew had gone through.
Episode:1x29
Operation: Annihilate!
Jack's Rating:
While investigating the death of Kirk's brother and other colonists on Deneva, Spock is attacked by a flying creature that attaches itself to its victim's nervous system.
Features:
Stardate: 3287.2
Air Date: 04/13/67
Director: Herschel Daugherty
Jack's Review
This one terrified me when I was a kid. The fried egg-like creature just repulsed me so much! This is a fantastic episode. You can't help but care for Spock and feel bad for the mistake McCoy makes at the end. In the original script for the episode, the Enterprise was able to locate the parasite's home planet and destroy it with two "Planet Wrecker" missiles. While that might have been a cool ending, the one we ended up with is much better. There is also a deleted scene (in the Roddenberry Vault) that shows Kirk's nephew, Peter, sitting in the Captain's chair in a command uniform talking about his future with Kirk.