So, over the past year, I have been watching the entirety of Star Trek, and been posting my thoughts on all the episodes and movies as I watch them. Now, I’ve been posting them on Twitter, and I’ll probably continue to do so until that website explodes. But I’ve been putting off putting all my thoughts on this site…. but I’ll go ahead and do that now. So the way I’ll do it, is for all my previous thoughts I wrote up, I’ll post big posts like this with all my thoughts, by season, and I’ll make a big index post that I’ll link all these posts to.

SO! If you’re interested in my thoughts on every episode of Star Trek, and boy why wouldn’t you be, or if you’re interested in just re-living Star Trek with me, go ahead and read on! For future series where I probably ONLY post here, these will have a lot more thoughts on them, but the first few were only one Twitter post, so maybe not in depth.

The Cage - TOS 6/10

The first pilot. This was so weird. ToS if from an alternate universe. Most of the characters were flat, even Spock, and Pike felt like a less fleshed out Kirk. I loved Number One tho wish we got more of her

loved all the incorrect props and ideas. Laser guns lol

Where No Man Has Gone Before - TOS 6.5/10

The second pilot. Still early, still a bit shaky. Why is Spock painted yellow. I’m starting to notice early Trek loved stories about super powered God People. Apparently Pilot 1 was “too cerebral, not enough action”? Guess this was better

The Man Trap - TOS 7/10

Good creepy murder story, not enough intrigue for me I guess. It was mostly watching a monster kill people and wondering when they’d find it. It was like 1960s The Thing, with less budget. I like the Salt Vampire suit, but not… heady enough for me.

Charlie X - TOS 2.5/10

Wow. It’s a creepy pasta about a sociopathic god child who does fucked up things for no reason, and is all ended by deus ex machina. I legit muted it cause Charlie being creepy upset me too much. I yelled “OMG” when he SMOOTHED PEOPLE’S FACES OVER WTF

The Naked Time - TOS 8/10

Mmm Mmm. Dat’s good Trek. A bit silly, I love drunk naked Sulu attacking people with a sword. The Irish singing was hilarious too. Also genuinely intense, I was on the edge of my seat, yelling “NO NOT YOU TOO SPOCK!” The ending was a tad… weird tho.

I found out a fun fact about The Naked Time. Apparently, to learn fencing for his part in the episode, Takei actually went around lunging at crew members with a sword. Crew members told Roddenberry if he ever gave Sulu a sword again they’d all quit.

That’s hilarious

The Enemy Within - TOS 7/10

I love the hammy acting. Shatner was trying to get an Emmy the entire episode, and I think he earned it. AHM CAPTAIN KIIIIRK. Maybe a tad slow paced at times, RIP dog in a fur suit. Sexual assault scene was very cringey. But overall fun.

TFW you’re Captain Kirk.

Mudd’s Women - TOS 5/10

This episode was very 60s. THE BEAUTY WAS INSIDE ALL ALONG, IT WAS THE BEAUTY WE MADE ALONG THE WAY! ALSO SEXY WOMEN MUST DO DISHES, AND LIVE IN A SHIT HOLE FOR THEIR HUSBAND

Mudd was fun though. Also Spock was weirdly smarmy the entire time

I think a big reason I didnt like the episode is cause I dont really like watching Hollywood seduction. It just makes me anxious. Like yes you’re very pretty, but personal space please

The entire episode mostly just felt like people being awkward and uncomfortable

What Are Little Girls Made Of - TOS 7/10 Interesting episode. I feel they could have done more with “what is a human”, android stuff is better explored later. I like how Kirk got out of the situation. Andrea needed to put on a bra. Also lol another Kirk Duplicated ep, they seem to like those.

Miri - TOS 5.5/10 I like how they introduced that this is Earth, but a copy, then do nothing with it. I HAAATED how Kirk and the little girl were like, weirdly intimate, it was creeeepy. It was tense and the premise was good but I feel the implementation was… rough. When Yeoman was like “On the ship… I always wanted you to look at my legs…” I literally screamed out. FUCKING WHAT.

Also I love how they had two adult actors playing children, love that shit. One was 19 and the other was freaking 27. That’s only 8 years younger than Shatner.

Dagger of the Mind - TOS 8.5/10

Prolly best so far. Sufficiently tense and exciting, cool concept, I liked the mad cult-guy basically, and the wild doctor who escaped did an AMAZING acting job. This episode has weird implications that will never be explored.

The Corbomite Maneuver - TOS 9/10

Super tense and fun, very Star Trekky. You get a lot of great character interactions. Sulu is hilarious. The ending was maybe a tad abrupt, but it was a lot of fun. I love how Rand made coffee with a phaser as her “last actions”.

The Menagerie Part 1 - TOS 8/10

Good set up, I like taking Spock and making him a criminal. Become ungovernable. Makes good use of two parter, tense but exciting. For me, the Clip Shows from the pilot aren’t as exciting, but no one woulda seen those in the 60s, so it works out. I like how it’s not really like, a clip show. They’re taking their old unused footage and doing something big with it, a good character piece for Spock, and for Pike. Also, poor, poor Pike. That shit sucks. I have no mouth and I must beep.

The Menagerie Part 2 - TOS 7/10

It’s more of a clipshow this time, it’s basically the second half of The Cage, but with a bit added on the end that kinda deus-ex machinas the tense parts? Not bad but coulda ended in a more satisfying way. Spock gets some fun lines

The Conscience of the King - TOS 9/10

Prolly my fave ep so far. I like all the Shakespeare stuff, I like Kirk backstory, every main character gets a chance to shine, I like the interactions between Kodos and his daughter after he realizes what she’s been doing. The “bloods on my hands, and now its on your’s too” kinda thing hits pretty well

One thing I’ve noticed, Kirk when he flirts is… bad. It’s not as often as people say, but he has this smile, same as the smile Riker has when he flirts, but it’s fake and odd on Kirk

Balance of Terror - TOS 8/10

First Romulans! Romulans are okay, not fleshed out enough here, but I like aliens. Racist dude being racist and getting his comupance by being saved by the thing he’s racist again was a thing.

Married couple there to show death is bad is a thing, But overall, still a good episode. I like an episode where it’s a battle of wits between Kirk and another captain, and they have a handshake and a “good show ol’ sport” about it. Then the Romulan explodes.

Shore Leave - TOS 5.5/10

Whimsy, trio banter is fun, Sulu being unhinged and IMMEDIATELY shooting a gun he finds on the ground is the best thing, but it’s a little TOO whimsy, and VERY 60s. Also the action scene is ehhh kinda boring. Honestly got distracted from it

The Galileo Seven - TOS 8/10

Good n’ tense. Good Spock ep, but I was annoyed by everyone getting angry at Spock, cause I agreed with like every single one of his strategies

Also I love how they’re all “THINK ABOUT LIFE SPOCK” then “DON’T STOP US FROM MURDER SPOCK”.

The Squire of Gothos - TOS 6.5/10

I’m not usually into “God-like manbaby” episodes from ToS, but this one was pretty fun. Feels very proto-Q, like Trelane is a child Q, except a Humaboo. He had a Humansona, like, jfc. Kirk has some good lines here.

Arena - TOS 6/10

Kirk Kirk-fus a Gorn. The Gorn looked way better than I remembered it looking, but the legs are still flabby rubber. Kirk making a handcannon out of bamboo is fun, but there’s really not a LOT to this? But it’s a classic, and influential.

Tomorrow is Yesterday - TOS 7/10

Timey wimey bullshit. Seeing Star Trek characters in “modern” times is always kinda funny to me, and I like it. First really big technobabble episode I think, and just generally tense and interesting. But not spectacular.

Court Marshal - TOS 9/10

I love Star Trek Court episodes. I was yelling at a few points, I’ll get into it. Tense stakes, not “Measure of a Man” levels, but like, I really loved how Spock and Bones handled this. Also the villain was totally Willem Defoe’s evil twin.

Willem DeFriend

I do like Kirk backstory. Okay, points I yelled at

“Oh yeah for sure there’s NO WAY ANYONE COULD DOCTOR VIDEO FOOTAGE IN 2200, WE’RE NOT THAT ADVANCED YET!”

Lawyer tries to ignore evidence to win the case “Woman, who do you think you are, Edgeworth?! Sit the fuck down!”

I think it’s a sign I’m into an episode when I yell at it.

Trek and I might have an abusive relationship.

The Return of the Archons - TOS 6/10

Had no real setup. Everyone is hot in suits. It was kinda hard to follow and understand? Watching them paradox logic loop a computer to exploding was fun. It’s not bad, and it had some fun moments, but its just okay.

I like an implication from this episode, though. So, the “festival” happened (which is VERY The Purge, and apparently influenced the movie), everyone who was brainwashed goes apeshit and violent. So, Sulu was brainwashed on the ship, prolly violent offscreen? Cool.

Actually gonna explain the Purge thing. The episode doesn’t explain this very well so I was trying to make sense of it. Once a year on “the festival” this peaceful dreamlike society gets violent. I compared it to The Purge series, and turns out, it inspired it. Wild

Space Seed - TOS 9/10

One of the best known episodes for a reason. Loved the lore about Earth in the 90s. Khan was a 90s kid. Imagine him with a backwards cap.

Bones is the best character in Star Trek. Knife to his throat, “cut the artery please, it’ll be cleaner”. A great episode all together, though the stuff with McGivers was very uncomfy. TBF, it was supposed to be. But that doesn’t mean I enjoyed watching it.

And of course, the brownface is a thing. But it’s better than having him portrayed by Perriwinkle Bandersnatch.

A Taste of Armageddon - TOS 8/10

Very Star Trek. Everyone gets good lines and characterization. God, I love Scotty, he’s like, the most competent character in this entire franchise. The commentary on war isn’t anything new, but I enjoyed this one a lot.

This Side of Paradise - TOS 7.5/10

SPACE SEX POLLEN! :D

This was an interesting sci-fi episode. I loved watching Spock deck Kirk. Lots of cute character moments, and its fun, but it’s not… incredible. I dunno why, but it was maybe TOO silly of a concept?

The Devil in the Dark - TOAAS 10/10

This is one of my favorite Star Trek episodes of all time. It was actually my FIRST ToS episode, and I love it every time I see it. It’s tense and exciting, somehow heartwarming, and everyone gets GREAT lines and characterization.

And I gotta add, the Horta? Amazing. Love it. Good alien design, I love this fucking sentient rug covered in meatballs. No more “Betan” aliens who are just humans under another name, MORE MEATBALL RUGS.

THIS IS AN ACTUAL ALIEN. I LOVE HER.

Errand of Mercy - TOS 6/10

First Klingon episode. Wish I liked it more than I did. Kirk was weirdly violent and off character, real aggressive. Loved Kor tho, good villain, and Spock had amazing lines. Also was just deus ex’d into a good ending, okay.

I’ll be real, getting tired already of the “Space Gods” plotlines. I’ve watched what, twenty or so episodes, and I count seven that involve a super powerful alien race. It feels way over done already. Later series just having Q made the right choice tbh

The Alternative Factor, TOS 3/10

Just kinda boring and bad. Lots of technobabble that’s just annoying because I KNOW how antimatter works, show. It’s not like that. Tries for hard sci fi, fails hard. Also holy hell, that’s the ugliest facial hair I’ve ever seen.

facial bear

Most of it is like, this weird effect that’s SUPPOSED to be this character battling with his alternate self from another dimension in the Space Between Dimensions but it’s a lot of shaking and twisting of the camera over this hideous effect and god it’s boring

blue

And people shit on the Gorn. The Gorn was GOOD special effects. This is two blue people wrestling over a shaking image.

The City on the Edge of Forever - TOS 9/10

This is a really strong episode, hits emotionally hard. The tensions and emotions, and the horror of what has to be done is quite palpable, and well shown. The idea of “peace and helping others kills humanity” upsets me tho. But uh, this episode was written by Harlan Ellison, and that’s certainly what he’d do.

I think the only thing holding this episode back from me was it maybe… not going deep enough. How did they get back? That’s handwaved. I understand it was a single episode, but maybe if it was a two parter, it would have been the best Star Trek episode ever

Operation: Annihilate! - TOS 7/10

Pretty good, tense, neat way they handled the problem. But it set up a lot of plot threads and didn’t clean em up super great. We’re just gonna forget Kirk’s nephew is here? Oh, Spock is now just not blind, okay cool. Fine for a season finale, I suppose.

…And that’s Season 1! All in all, good! Quite a few great episodes. Keep in tune, I’ll be posting more thoughts on later seasons here sometime soon!