Yep. And it hurts MORE because the penultimate episode (All Our Yesterdays) is a top 5 TOS entry, AND weirdly feels as much like a series finale as a 60s TV episode could have.
And it was clear that their hearts simply wasn't into the "Turnabout Intruder". As a story about the dangers of body swapping technology and gender discrimination given how misogynistic society was back in the 60's, it's at least an effort. I actually didn't mind the " Turnabout Intruder" as much as so many people do. As to Plato's stepchildren, they actually said that they lived on Earth during the time of Plato before leaving so they did not develop Greek culture independently.
I think the Alternative Factor was not played out like it should have, but the episode ending was very dark imo, taking to the ultimate needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few, or the one. I mean, here was a scientist who ended up trapped for possible eternity with his lunatic doppelgänger, and maybe beyond if the corridor they’re trapped in survives the universes heat death.
The part about "Turnabout Intruder," that can be appreciated here is the brilliant acting it took for those two actors who had to convincingly portray people who are having their bodies inhabited by their opposite characters. Granted this theme would have worked better within a better storyline.
Exactly. Star Trek TOS had many writers from that classic sci-fi and "Twilight Zone" era who told stories that had less to do with special effects, but taught an ethical, social or moral lesson. Now it is just how many millions can we spend on effects, how many f-bombs we can drop per minute and how loud we can make the movies. Characters in todays' shows and movies just sit around monologuing about their problems. It gets old real quick. So what does Hollywood do? Not create anything new, just re-write past successes over and over again. How many Batmans do we have? How many Spidermans? How many "reimaginations". How about Hollywood GET AN IMAGINATION.
Add to that the Roman empire planet, the Chicago mob planet, the Nazi planet, the Yanks vs. Communists planet... the list goes on. Loved watching ST reruns in the 70's but today I find about half the episodes unwatchable.
Yanks vs. Comms and the Nazi episode both were pretty bad. The mob planet was fun but the sets were terrible (same backlot as in every TV show from the 60s-70s). However, Bread and Circuses was awesome. They didn't just recreate ancient Rome, they transposed it into the late 20th century, with TV, cars, automatic weapons, etc. That was cool. The plot was basically the same as Patterns of Force but more believable. It's easier to see Captain Merik admiring Rome than a history professor admiring the Nazis.
@@Righteous628my favorite is TNG. There were about five episodes that completely blew me away like nothing TOS ever came even close to. “Inner light” being one of them. And I think another one I liked is where Picard and his girlfriend play some music together where she uses her roll out piano and he uses the flute he got from “the inner light” episode but I can’t remember much else about it. After I have finished rewatching TOS I will rewatch TNG so that I can remember what the other four episodes were.
@@CaptainHindsight-xt9yd I think you should watch Voyager, In terms of thought provoking episodes Voyager is superior to TNG. BUT TNG,VOYAGER & TOS outrank DS9 by a mile.
@@Righteous628 I have already watched all of old Star Trek. But that was like 5 years ago (that I finished I started actually 10 years ago) so I have forgotten most of it. I remember TOS being ok, but sometimes boring and predictable. TNG, DS9 and Voyager all had episodes that I thought were amazing. I don’t remember feeling that way about Enterprise but I still liked Enterprise better than TOS. I am in the process of rewatching again and I am already finished with the first season of TOS.
I actually always liked "the mark of gideon" because of the eerie atmosphere of the empty ship Kirk was wandering around and the sounds of the people outside and when they looked out of the window and saw countless people, cramped against each other. When the girl tells about the overpopulation and you see what she's talking about, in your imagination, it gets even more intense. On a low budget scale this episode is a great stage play with a great Science Fiction worthy subject that makes you think.
I think I first saw this episode about the same time they showed "Soylent Green" on TV, and the similarities with how the overpopulation was portrayed were pretty remarkable.
Turnabout Intruder was NOT sexist. We have to remember that Janice Lester is stark raving mad, and that nothing she says can be taken at face-value. Kirk surrenders the argument because he doesn't want to go bak there with her. The "doesn't include women" barb is comong from someone who means "doesn't include me in your world!" She sees plots and offenses everywhere, because she's nuts. Period.
I think in Turnabout Intruder it wasn't that there was a policy forbidding women from being captains, but rather that she simply wasn't able to make captain based on other factors (like how crazy she is) and rather than accept it she decided to play victim and blame it on sexism.
The best part of Mark of Gideon is it contains the only scenes ever filmed of the bridge set - lighted and powered up - but with no people in it. This was used to great effect in the TNG episode "Relics" to reconstruct the TOS bridge as well as fill it in by morphing the footage. What amazes me is the amount of money spent for a partial bridge set in Relics, and Star Trek Continues - an extraordinarily low budget indie series - made a damn fine replica of the bridge and used it in eleven episodes.
I would like to further add that, according to Bob Justman, they had to cut the action sequences down in the 3rd season because the budget was cut drastically and they couldn't afford to shoot them. Bob said that they were like shooting radio pictures. Most of the weak episodes were in that season because of this, I think. They tended to drag a bit. But, even that worked to the advantage of the show, at times. "Spectre of the Gun" comes to mind as they couldn't afford the sets so they made them partial and dream like. "The Empath" was a another great episode that speaks to the high spiritual value of self-sacrifice in an adult and arty way. Lots of (intelligent) dialogue. Not an action show. It took me years (growing up) to appreciate how good it was.
The remote control in Spock's Brain had about two knobs but that didn't stop our heroes using it to make Spock's body perform intricate tasks and you should have included The Way To Eden.
It's a hoot. Lots of TV shows were trying to do hippies then, generally doing them very badly. Trek was no exception. Sister Desliu show Mannix tried it. Heck Dragnet tried it. Then they came out with the Mod Squad...
It was definitely in the running for being one of the worst episodes, Herbert. Again, though, I found it "bizarrely enjoyable," so it didn't make my final cut for one of the five worst episodes.
In Spock's Brain, I have never understood this: When the Teacher's knowledge starts to wear off from McCoy, it is stated that for him to use it a second time would be too dangerous. So he connects Spock's vocal cords so that Spock himself can help him to finish restoring his brain. But WHY not just let Kirk or Scotty use the Teacher and then finish the operation???
Winston Beech- I'm not sure that would have made a difference. BUT, Christine Chapel was a surgical nurse, so she could have put on the device and guided McCoy the rest of the way through it.
Headin out toooo Eden ... Yeay Brother ... Headin out to Eden ,..... Yeayy Brother........ Got no trouble in my body or my mind... Gonna live like a King on whatever I find... Eat all the Fruit, and throw away the rind.... Yeeay Brother.... Yeay...... 😊
I'm gonna crack my knuckles and jump for joy I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy Memorized. Don't mess with space hippies! Plus Chechov's ex was hot!
"Spock's Brain" is so Bad that it's Good......and wasn't it originally intended to be a comedic episode but the first time director didn't know what the hell he was doing
One of my least favorite episodes that isn’t mentioned on the list is The Lights of Zetar, it’s got some interesting concepts, and I personally love TOS the most when it tackles goofy ideas, (I also like how it introduced Memory Alpha), but the romance between Scotty and Lt. Romaine is just flat-out bad, to the point where it makes the whole episode almost unbearable.
The real question about The Mark of Gideon: How the heck do they have room to put an empty version of the Enterprise on a planet that has no room in the first place!!
When the 'Gideon' episode was made, California had about 20 million people and was considered seriously over-populated by the environmental left. Now California has 45 million people and it's 'Welcome Amigos' billboards at the border. Our governor just pardoned a man convicted of domestic abuse to try to prevent his deportation. Actually about 50% of the original Trek episodes were stinkers. I always hated Tribbles.
I can't believe you left out "And the Children Shall Lead", about a group of recently orphaned children, who are being led by an evil alien entity, played by a guy who was a lawyer & had never acted a day in his life! He was only on the show, because he was a fan, begged to be on it & was given a part, basically because they feared litigation.
I'm no fan of "Mark of Gideon", however I think the reason why the planet doesn't do various intelligent things to solve their problems is... because it's a message episode, and the writers want to pontificate on the dangers of population, and their opposition to the idea that "life is sacred" and how that leads to the horrible mess that is Gideon. Maybe that's how we spot message episodes. "This story makes no sense".
I had the impression why they wanted the virus in Kirk's blood was because it was forbidden to kill people there or even allow them to kill themselves. So, they want to use nature to settle the score. The episode was stating issues with religion/beliefs and the moral of what we should do to control population growth. The episode was brilliant and spot on in a moral issue. When do we allow killing to be justified and when does it become justified. In truth, the episode brings into focus of what we suffering now. Overpopulation and who decides how and when people die?
Or the message is bashed into your head with a 2x4, i.e. "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". A ridiculous episode saved only by the always watchable and brilliant Frank Gorshin, along with Lou Antonio as his arch nemesis, perhaps the first actors to ever work in both whiteface AND blackface at the same time.
Yes, its presentation was silly. However I thought the concept of the story had great potential. The quest for a peaceful, egalitarian society is a very recurrent motif.
Plato's Stepchildren gets points from me for its treatment of Alexander. The episode wholeheartedly condemns the other aliens' treatment of him and outright states that such regressive ideas about dwarfism don't exist in the Federation. Considering the kind of roles little people were limited to in that era and the frequent mocking that they still receive, it was remarkably progressive.
Spocks Brain, Turnabout In truder, The way to Eden, The triskilian gametsters or whatever, Piece of the action, Platos Stepchildren. It was third season. The time slot had changed to graveyard friday nights at 10 pm. The budget was cut. They were beaming to different planets with the same rocks in the background, and key writers and producers had already left to other shows.
Spock's brain has a mystery aspect to it that is fun. Like what do the woman want with the brain and why are they smart then not. How was Spock's brain removed so well and cleanly etc..
Agreed. For all I heard about how awful "Spock's Brain" was, it didn't measure up (or down?) to that hype. Like Rowan mentioned, it did kind veer into "so bad it's good territory," and at least it ended on a genuinely funny moment where, upon seeing Spock nerd out on the local technology, McCoy morosely remarks, "I shouldn't have done it... I shouldn't have put his brain back in." "Way to Eden," on the other hand, I found to be way more cringey and idiotic. Pretty much the only good moment in that episode was Spock's though-provoking remark on how he identified with the Space Hippies because he also felt like an outsider on his own homeworld.
It was just one woman who couldn't handle being captain cause she happens to be emotionally unstable. Or am I thinking it wrong? (Watched the full series like 4 years ago)
Miri is so bad it's probably my favorite episode. To this day I use the term, "BONK BONK ON THE HEAD". Not to mention that Michael J. Pollard was like 30 playing a prepubescent child.
I will never be able to get past Shatner acting like a horse. I mean, for a man who used to throw his weight around with directors and writers and such, the fact that he was apparently okay with doing that!? Like, what the hell!?
I like the story of Return of the Archons but the tone doesn't feel like the rest of the series. Felt like an unused Twilight Zone script changed into a Star Trek script.
Archons is the first episode I ever saw and as a result I will always have a fondness for it. Watched it just the other night. The "enhanced" version, which I normally don't care for - it was on Netflix - but they did correct the out of sync audio and video of the street scene were the clown face guy says "your daddy can put them up can't he?" That guy may have been the single creepiest humanoid in all of Star Trek.
Devil’s advocate on Turnabout Intruder. Nowhere in the episode is it explicitly stated that Starfleet prohibits women from commanding ships. Lester and Kirk are talking about their past romantic relationship at Starfleet, although it seems she was more into the relationship than he was. It was in the context of this conversation that Lester says “Your world of Starship captains doesn’t admit women.” There’s no reason one can’t interpret this remark to mean that there is no way Kirk will ever let a woman come between him and command of a starship. And that’s what drove Lester’s hatred and resentment. During the court martial Lester (in Kirk’s body) declares Lester doesn’t merit command of the Enterprise by temperament or training, which is true. Although clever and intelligent, Lester doesn’t have the training to command and she’s clearly nuts. But at no time does anyone say Lester doesn’t doesn’t deserve command because she’s a woman.
Spock's Brain is so awful and so awesome at the same time that an argument also can be made for it being one of the best episodes. I have always loved it!
The worst episodes were in the third season and they are, And The Children Shall Lead , Is There In Truth No Beauty, That Which Survives, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, and Turnabout About Intruder. Even those bad episodes I would prefer watching than watching that next generation stuff which is the pitts, and garbage little kiddish space boy space toy lost in space stuff. The Original Star Trek is STILL the very best, no matter what.
I am a feminist, but I'm not some extremist that gets offended by anything and everything, and I am pretty chill about sexism in shows from the fifties and sixties. (something that star trek didn't have much of.) While it can get a little annoying sometimes, I just remember that it was a different time and be thankful that depiction of women has drastically changed. Overall I don't let some sexism in a show ruin it for me... but TURNABOUT INTRUDER made me SO mad when I first watched it. That episode was considered sexist by many when it CAME OUT and for a show that I knew was so progressive it felt like a slap in the face, especially considering that such an offensive episode was the last one of the show.
The narrator's judgments are based upon the lack of a certain type of realism that only TNG and the following series aimed at. There is an important idea underlying each of the episodes mentioned here -- except for "Plato's Stepchildren," which is about as awful as it gets.
They kind of did. The whole "women aren't allowed to become starship captains" was more Janice Lester's psychotic persecution complex than anything rooted in reality. Sorry to see you so down on Plato's Stepchildren. If nothing else, you had one hell of a guest cast (Michael Dunn from Wild Wild West and the Get Smart pilot, and Liam Sullivan from the "Brother William" episode of Dragnet). Especially since you also missed out "And The Children Shall Lead" and "Spectre of the Gun".
+dadoctah For me, Plato's Stepchildren avoids being a thoroughly bad episode thanks to the character of Alexander. But oh my God, Kirk acting like a horse...
They could have sorted it by claiming her insanity disqualified her, though that would never happen according to what Nimoy said about Roddenberry intending to prove women aren't capable of being captains. It was also Roddenberry who thought up the idea that Starfleet has a rule barring women from command of starships. Retcons were the only way to fix this one.
@@dadoctah That was always my take on Turnabout Intruder... you have to consider the source - a nutjob Janice Lester - when she makes those claims. Granted, it's a complete turd of an episode, but I never thought the episode was sexist as much as it was about a crazy person trying to take over a starship.
MY LIST of UNCONVENTIONAL TOP 5 Star Trek Original Series: 1. Court Martial S1E20 Kirk finds himself at odds against a supposed long-time friend who frames him for murder. It has great plot, courtroom drama, and the clever mic-prop (hallmark icon of stage-hands creating something out of nothing...the TRUE engineers of Trek!) 2. I, MUDD. S2E8 Roger Carmel reprises his role as Harry Mudd--iconic and lovable! Although the overlapping plot is how future androids will take over by giving humans everything they want, the TRUE magic of this episode is the revelation that a scoundrel mind doesn't have enough moxie to keep androids busy and thoughtful (Mudd has mental "ED" so to speak). What ensues is fun and funny! Also, more of the cast get pieces of screen time. 3 JOURNEY TO BABEL: S2E10 Classic TREK! Viewer not only get to see a KEY sequence during the early years of the Federation and how an alliance of planets function together, we get to see several aliens from these planets. The vicious, alien-sounding, rigid Andorians, the very rude, hostile Tellerites, and many others not specified. But the true enjoyment of this episode is the revelation of Spock's parents, and later, the vicious struggle between "duty" and "Love of family." All during a brutal space battle sequence! Terrific stuff! 4. THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT! WOW! Terrific episode! The writers and directors start the episode by fooling us all! We are all duped for the first 1/3 of the episode just like all the characters! The reveal amidst the strain and stress of the plot is VERY satisfying! The episode also addresses a love sequence of aliens...which is more awkward than it is interesting. HOWEVER, this scene DOES open a possible explanation later--in the motion pictures--where Lt. Saavik may have come from!!! Here's the REAL trippy part **SPOILER POSSIBLY!!** If Saavik is the offspring of Spock and the female Romulan Commander, the she....Saavik...grows up to help on the expedition of the Genesis Planet...where Spock is regenerating with the planet. During the regeneration, Saavik "comforts" the aging Spock who goes thru Pon Far (the need to mate). That would mean, that "young Spock" has sex with his own half-romulan daughter via a temporal paradox. Take about 4 years to digest that! UGH> 5. AMOK TIME. No need to really address why this is the best. I mean, the musical score alone! However, a Vulcan Love story??? How can you beat that? Celia Lovsky as T'Pau!!! BRILLIANT! The entire guest cast were perfectly matched for the episode. Best friends fighting "dis match is to deh dead, Kurrk." Can't you STILL hear her uttering that line?!! And finally, Spock strangling his captain and best friend....it was gut-wrenching! The episode had everything from interesting comparisons in biology, to brilliant tactics in logic by a sly woman! And the writing!! "Stonn, she is yours. After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true." I mean....has there EVER been a galactic BURN as harsh as that one?? There you have it folks, MY top 5 Original Trek episodes and reasons why. If you'd like my top 5 least favorite episodes, "like" and comment below. My reasons for my list of worst episodes is brutal...if you like brutal, let me know!
It's subjective, trying to pick worst, or even best episodes. No matter how good an episode is, someone's going to hate it. And no matter how bad, the reverse is true. Personally, I think ALL the WORST episodes were generated in Season Three. So... There you have it. My "subjective" opinion. Live Long And Prosper!
I agree. The only episode in season 3 that I like is 'The Empath' because it shows the willingness of Kirk, Spock and McCoy to sacrifice themselves for each other.
“Spectre of the Gun.” They didn’t have a science fiction script, but they needed a story in a hurry, so Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the gang got to re-live the gunfight at the OK Corral.
The Gideon one is where you are trying to be 'relevant' but forget that your fictional universe cannot have the problem you are describing. Note: "Picard" has exactly the same problem of failing to understand that space is big, and you can fit a lot of people into it. So sixty years later, the writers have still not read about how big space is, and how small a planet's surface is compared to space, whose bigness really cannot be overstated. They have faster than light travel, they don't need planets, they can make O'Neil Cylinders rapidly, if anything the problem would be that they would be dimming stars by encasing them in Dyson Swarms. We are nearly at that tech level *now*.
I don’t get the hate that “turnabout intruder” gets. I think it was one of my favorite episodes of TOS. Maybe even my favorite. I am currently in the process of rewatching the entire TOS so maybe I will be able to list some that I liked even more. Right now the next episode I am going to watch is the second to last episode of season 1 where they go back in time to the 1930s to make sure some broad gets killed or that Mc Coy doesn’t save her because of WW2 or something. Currently the only episode off the top of my head from season 1 that used to be my favorite is “Space Seed” because back when I first watched it I thought exactly what Spock said at the end of the episode that it would be cool to come back after a hundred years and see what this group of super humans have managed to build by themselves but unfortunately all that gets completely trashed by WoK which for that reason is my most hated Star Trek movie by far. So space seed isn’t my favorite anymore. What I like about “Turnabout Intruder” is how they slowly but surely figure out that Kirk is being possessed by an imposter and how he becomes more and more unhinged. Now I just remembered an episode that’s a little bit like it and is therefore probably my second favorite TOS episode. It’s the one where Scotty gets accused of murdering some girl and they all have a sit around to figure it out. I enjoyed three quarters of that episode, it’s just the payoff at the end where it says it’s some space ghost that used to be Jack the Ripper which I don’t like and therefore it only gets the spot #2. Also I don’t get why you are complaining that the aliens in “Plato’s stepchildren” evolved into a culture that existed on earth. If you actually paid attention to that episode you would have heard them say that they lived on earth for a time during Ancient Greece and liked it.
I think there is no episode I like less than "Bread and Circus". I guess the main plot in itself is okey, but as someone with a degree in classics and ancient history, I find it unwatchable. "But there were no sun worshippers in ancient Rome!" said the medical doctor, clearly an expert in this field.
1. Alternative factor 2. And the children shall lead 3. Plato’s stepchildren 4. Spock’s brain 5. Turnabout intruder But like you I can’t ever hate spock’s brain lol
You suggest evacuating an overpopulated planet by space ships to another planet. Good luck with that! Can you imagine loading people into ships by the billions? Never gonna happen. I think Turnabout Intruder and Alternative Factor are actually quite good. There are several episodes I think are far worse than those two. The idea of Lazarus is actually pretty intriguing. But I'll concede the last two are crap. Spock's Brain ... the name alone is hilarious. I laugh every time someone says Spock's brain. It just sound ludicrous. Way to Eden should be here.
Respectfully, I'll nominate an additional few... "The Way to Eden"-Space Hippies "The Cloud Miners"-very poor adaptation of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis." "And the children shall lead"-very poor adaptation of "Village of the Damned."
I have a soft spot for Plato's Stepchildren because it stars Michael Dunn, who charismatically played the villainous Doctor Loveless on The Wild, Wild West. I agree with the rest of this list though. "Brain and brain! What is brain?"
I don't know about that! When the older kid made Sulu see nothing but daggers around the Enterprise on the viewing screen, that freaked me out as a kid!
Sorry, but I found it "bizarrely enjoyable!" And let's not forget Kirk battling his "beast" in the lift with Spock. "I'm losing command, I'm losing command... I've lost command!" I mean, holy cow, talk about an over the top, overdone ham of a performance! By golly, the whole episode is worth watching, just for that powerfully, unintentionally HILARIOUS, scene.
Turnabout intruder is a perfectly good episode! It's failure to live up to 21st century standards of PC, is not an appropriate criticism for a show from the 1960s. Or you'd have to criticize all literature from human history on the same grounds. (Shakespeare doesn't have any female commanders either.)
It has nothing to do with "modern political correctness". The show simply dropped the ball with the episode's premise. There isn't an excuse for floating the idea that women couldn't occupy command positions on a starship. Especially given how the first pilot had a female first officer; also that "The Enterprise Incident" of that very same season showed us a female officer commanding a Romulan squadron. The idea that women couldn't hold leadership roles was being challenged in that time but Star Trek put itself behind the curve here. The criticism is perfectly valid and has been applied against this episode almost from the year it aired.
Lord zontar: in the 60's, arbitrary rules (like women could be 1st officer but not captain) were quite common. Our parents and grandparents accepted arbitrary rules much more than we do. The example of the romulan commander, is not very persuasive. The romulans were a whole different species. And not even a friendly one. It is not difficult to admit that they could have had different personnel policies. If "turnabout" we're horribly executed like "Plato's" or "spock's brain," you'd have a point. But my point is that if you get over the premise, it's a perfectly well executed episode and so does not belong on this list. What if we got rid of the feminist angle. What if "turnabout" were about an old MALE friend of Kirk's who couldn't be captain because he flunked the captain test or something. And everything else were exactly the same? It wouldn't be the best episode. But it wouldn't be on anyone's "5 worst " list. That's my point.
@@spivackl I never took it as 'women couldn't be starship captains' but rather that 'Janice Lester couldn't be a starship captain'. We had already seen through Captain Merrick in Bread and Circuses (incidentally a man that Kirk had fomerly known from his time at Starfleet Academy) that Starfleet failed candidates who didn't have the right character and capabilities for the job. Janice is the same, but in being found not suitable she blamed Starfleet and Kirk for her own deficiencies.
#4 is strange... I mean even in the 60s. There weren’t any female admirals or generals but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any actual rule against it. And Star Trek is supposed to take place in this progressive utopia?
It is really sad. People just don't understand the politics of HOLLYWOOD! I would venture to say or ask, what poll did you use? Where did you get that information? Turnabout Intruder was simply Roddenberry's middle finger gesture at NBC studio executives. They pulled the plug on the female captain and the female XO. Opinions vary. All these episodes, produced on the budget and time allotted. Were done in the fashion of that day. This country was in the cold war, Cuban missile crisis, Presidential assassination, going into Nam, collegiate rebellion, and social unrest! So what, if Star Trek looked cheesy or campy. People got the message. It's creator's vision of a future meant: humanity had hope!
Too bad the majority of people didn't get the "message" until the 1970's, when they actually started watching the show. Few and far between, it seems, are we folks who actually watched it in primetime! (In my case, thanks to the fact my parents were actually science fiction fans.)
putting judgement of the actual episodes aside, I will say this about the titles of the original series. there are many that are poetic, ominous, creative, and almost trippy if you will. a few examples of my favorite titles, not just in star trek, but all shows! Where no man has gone before Tomorrow is yesterday The city on the edge of foever (fav) Return to tomorrow For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky (all time fav) All our yesterdays there are a few others, but these are the titles that made me starstruck! 😮
Catspaw and The Children Shall Lead, for sure. I do remember loving Spock's Brain the first time I saw it (it was in syndication by then), but I was 10 years old.
The Omega Glory. An episode that starts off okay, but when the twist of the planet is revealed, the jingotastic garbage overflows and stinks up the whole thing. Just utterly terrible.
Oh come on!! Michael Dunn ridding KIrk like a horsey is priceless, absolutely priceless. Probably the only bit of acting Shatner ever did was playing the horsey.
Outside of McCoy who was a better actor than Shatner on that show? Literally his acting style set the premise for Spock and McCoy's characters. He was the brash hero while his counterparts were foils of one another, one super logical and the other full of emotion. That Trinity was what made the show abd certainly the only character that needed to be there was Kirk, as Roddenberry said Shatner was the lead... How is that not obvious everyone else was replacable tbh.
@@beyourself2444 Are you serious? Shatner's whole style was OVERACTING. Nimoy had a far more difficult role in front of him. Playing horsey with a midget was the limit of Shatner's range. McCoy? Are you kidding? Kelly's whole challenge was saying "He's Dead Jim". Shatner's biggest challenge was playing a female (Janice Lester---get it LESter) inhabiting his body. in the final episode. That called for insane overacting and so he did well on that one. Look I love classic Star Trek but we are not talking about the Royal Shakesperian Company either.
Funny thing.... why on earth would an alien race able to do that kind of brain surgery want spoks brain in the first place? If they are that advanced they could have created a brain of their own.
I look forward to the day when people look back on our era and see it as the worst for 'outdated and bigoted' attitudes. You haven't got a clue mate. Sitting on your high horse and judging past generations.
I wish people would not get so hung up on the male/female thing on Turnabout Intruder. The real story is about what happens when a person of authority is taken over, suborned, usurped, whatever, by some hostile or unworthy mentality. Not only is the mind, heart, and soul of the man (Kirk) who had rightfully earned and attained the captaincy forcibly ripped away from that, in danger of being shunted off somewhere to die in obscurity, but someone of positively criminal motives and clearly lacking "the temperament and training" for such a role is just as instantly installed as "captain" of the Enterprise. The real drama is how the underlings (Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov...) handle this terrible situation: They don't want to mutiny, but would it even really be mutiny to remove someone who after all really isn't the captain after all, despite superficial appearances? And the most stunningly and strikingly beautiful moment (probably in all of Star Trek in all of its incarnations even) is when pseudo-Kirk is shouting orders and then Sulu's and Chekov's hands just slide down their instrument panels and into their laps as they both sit there mutely refusing to follow the orders of the pseudo-Kirk. Imagine if one day every North Korean just woke up realizing that there is no reason to follow their tyrant Kim Jong-in just similarly need not be listened to. He could yell and jump and scream and no one would pay attention, unless to point and laugh at the silly comical little man with his little button. It really could be just that easy for tyranny to be toppled. I say that despite the flaws of a sexist Starfleet and the whole man/woman thing which is really just a distraction anyway (and so meant by its authors), this is in fact one of the very strongest episodes ever to emerge at least from the original series.
Kind of hard for people to ignore it when according to Nimoy, proving women aren't capable of handeling command was actually Roddenberry's goal with the episode and the sexist line was meant exactly as it sounded. It's why Nimoy hated it.
You got the episodes I was about to mention. Those were pretty bad, and one more "Who Mourns for Adonis" should be included for many of the same reasons Plato's Stepchildren made the list.
Miri is actually one of my favorites, A little campy. As far as the other two you mentioned, the stories were actually pretty good and this list seems to be more of ones with major plot issues. The Way to Eden was typical of Television's view of the hippy culture of the time . . . dead wrong, so it doesn't hold up at all well. It barely held up then. Most of us hippies were laughing at the stereotypes. "And the Children Shall Lead" was a badly written presentation of what was actually a good premise.
I loved Way to eden for its emphasis on obsession. But I also thought Mark of Gidion had some merit. It dealt with over population, which on earth in the following decades became a real issue.
Turnabout Intruder isn’t sexist. Let’s grow up and realize two things. One: men and women are different. Two: The woman in question is either crazy or just very childish. Obviously to the adults she is NOT a legitimate example of all women.
I remembered the series fondly until people started pointing out the horrible episodes. Also, I never want to see that Shatner bucking bronco scene again.
YEAH..fem- speak does not belong on a classic fun show like Star Trek!....If you can't enjoy great classic TV...then don't watch it. .But don't bore everyone with political jargon.
Well, there is a reason that the stereotype that women make poor leaders exits but, yeah, the idea that no woman can be a good leader is pretty absurd.
Not to mention Spock's inner eyelids, which Vulcans tend to ignore like humans do their appendix, never actually covered his eyes at any point in the episode. Still, as silly as that story might have been, along with Kirk's dead brother Sam, and his gruesomely dying sister-in-law, it wasn't a boring episode. My criteria for worst episodes, are those that are so boring, you struggle to stay awake throughout them. If I was going to judge by stupid plotlines, or holes in particular tales, I'd have quite a hot list to choose from!
It was a good episode!...Star Trek left on a high note.. Shattner's acting was over the top!...and Priceless..The worst choice made for a top five worst episode...Just because of some modern day political nonsense...That does not belong when watching Star Trek!
@@davidsnyderWisdomTrollBlocker oh shut the fuck up. Star trek is about hop and inclusion. About being better and beyond what we are now. Therefore that episode went completely against what star trek is by being completely sexist and non inclusive. It's not "modern day political nonsense". It's about being true to the core of star trek.
The saddest thing about “Turnabout Intruder” was that it was the final episode of TOS. Right?
Those are some stinkers. Especially Turnabout Intruder. However I wouls say And the Children Shall Lead is the WORST.
Yep. And it hurts MORE because the penultimate episode (All Our Yesterdays) is a top 5 TOS entry, AND weirdly feels as much like a series finale as a 60s TV episode could have.
Turnabout Intruder was in my list of tops.
@@williammurray4032 dang. I actually liked that episode. 😮
And it was clear that their hearts simply wasn't into the "Turnabout Intruder". As a story about the dangers of body swapping technology and gender discrimination given how misogynistic society was back in the 60's, it's at least an effort. I actually didn't mind the " Turnabout Intruder" as much as so many people do.
As to Plato's stepchildren, they actually said that they lived on Earth during the time of Plato before leaving so they did not develop Greek culture independently.
Honestly the Lazarus Episode absolutely broke me in my youth. Lazarus‘ choice to stay in the void to save everyone broke me
I think the Alternative Factor was not played out like it should have, but the episode ending was very dark imo, taking to the ultimate needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few, or the one. I mean, here was a scientist who ended up trapped for possible eternity with his lunatic doppelgänger, and maybe beyond if the corridor they’re trapped in survives the universes heat death.
The part about "Turnabout Intruder," that can be appreciated here is the brilliant acting it took for those two actors who had to convincingly portray people who are having their bodies inhabited by their opposite characters. Granted this theme would have worked better within a better storyline.
Watching a bad episode of star trek is better than most of the new shit on TV today.
True that.
- guy who doesn’t watch anything “new on tv today”
40 billion "likes" to you, jackmarley.
none of them were bad IMHO
Exactly. Star Trek TOS had many writers from that classic sci-fi and "Twilight Zone" era who told stories that had less to do with special effects, but taught an ethical, social or moral lesson. Now it is just how many millions can we spend on effects, how many f-bombs we can drop per minute and how loud we can make the movies. Characters in todays' shows and movies just sit around monologuing about their problems. It gets old real quick.
So what does Hollywood do? Not create anything new, just re-write past successes over and over again. How many Batmans do we have? How many Spidermans? How many "reimaginations".
How about Hollywood GET AN IMAGINATION.
"And the Children Shall Lead" should have definitely been on this list. The kids were so awful, and so was the guy who did the ghost character.
He was Jack Ruby's lawyer in real life.
Add to that the Roman empire planet, the Chicago mob planet, the Nazi planet, the Yanks vs. Communists planet... the list goes on. Loved watching ST reruns in the 70's but today I find about half the episodes unwatchable.
Yanks vs. Comms and the Nazi episode both were pretty bad. The mob planet was fun but the sets were terrible (same backlot as in every TV show from the 60s-70s). However, Bread and Circuses was awesome. They didn't just recreate ancient Rome, they transposed it into the late 20th century, with TV, cars, automatic weapons, etc. That was cool. The plot was basically the same as Patterns of Force but more believable. It's easier to see Captain Merik admiring Rome than a history professor admiring the Nazis.
Considering there are only 79 Episodes in existence of Star Trek TOS every one is a treasure to me
It is a treasure to me as well.
The Original Series
is still my favorite.
A shame it was only 3 seasons
@@Righteous628 agreed
@@Righteous628my favorite is TNG. There were about five episodes that completely blew me away like nothing TOS ever came even close to. “Inner light” being one of them.
And I think another one I liked is where Picard and his girlfriend play some music together where she uses her roll out piano and he uses the flute he got from “the inner light” episode but I can’t remember much else about it.
After I have finished rewatching TOS I will rewatch TNG so that I can remember what the other four episodes were.
@@CaptainHindsight-xt9yd I think you should watch Voyager, In terms of thought provoking episodes Voyager is superior to TNG. BUT TNG,VOYAGER & TOS outrank DS9 by a mile.
@@Righteous628 I have already watched all of old Star Trek. But that was like 5 years ago (that I finished I started actually 10 years ago) so I have forgotten most of it.
I remember TOS being ok, but sometimes boring and predictable.
TNG, DS9 and Voyager all had episodes that I thought were amazing.
I don’t remember feeling that way about Enterprise but I still liked Enterprise better than TOS.
I am in the process of rewatching again and I am already finished with the first season of TOS.
Any list of "The worst Star Trek episodes" that doesn't include "The Way To Eden" can't be taken that seriously.
Gonna snap my fingers and jump for joy, got a clean bill of health from Doctor McCoy!
Herbert, Herbert, Herbert, Herbert....
But it's kind of fun though.
Ya but....the Russian girl is pretty.
Hey out there, hey out there!😂😂😂
I actually always liked "the mark of gideon" because of the eerie atmosphere of the empty ship Kirk was wandering around and the sounds of the people outside and when they looked out of the window and saw countless people, cramped against each other. When the girl tells about the overpopulation and you see what she's talking about, in your imagination, it gets even more intense. On a low budget scale this episode is a great stage play with a great Science Fiction worthy subject that makes you think.
I think I first saw this episode about the same time they showed "Soylent Green" on TV, and the similarities with how the overpopulation was portrayed were pretty remarkable.
Turnabout Intruder was NOT sexist. We have to remember that Janice Lester is stark raving mad, and that nothing she says can be taken at face-value. Kirk surrenders the argument because he doesn't want to go bak there with her. The "doesn't include women" barb is comong from someone who means "doesn't include me in your world!" She sees plots and offenses everywhere, because she's nuts. Period.
Did you miss the sexsist star fleet rule that outride bans female captains ?
Brain and brain, WHAT IS BRAIN!?
I love that line.
Nyah yah yah yah-yah yah! Bonk Bonk on the Head!!!
Molly-Blue agree-though I’m not sure any are as bad as TNG Dr Crusher and the ghost.
One of my favorite lines of the entire series. I actually say that sometimes when someone is being especially stupid.
Drink !
I think in Turnabout Intruder it wasn't that there was a policy forbidding women from being captains, but rather that she simply wasn't able to make captain based on other factors (like how crazy she is) and rather than accept it she decided to play victim and blame it on sexism.
And yet, we are shown in Whom Gods Destroy that there is a cure for mental illnesses. Why didn't she get the cure too??
One more error in the mark of gideon is how does another civilization get the exact blueprints for a staship, which Im assuming would be a secret.
The best part of Mark of Gideon is it contains the only scenes ever filmed of the bridge set - lighted and powered up - but with no people in it. This was used to great effect in the TNG episode "Relics" to reconstruct the TOS bridge as well as fill it in by morphing the footage. What amazes me is the amount of money spent for a partial bridge set in Relics, and Star Trek Continues - an extraordinarily low budget indie series - made a damn fine replica of the bridge and used it in eleven episodes.
That plot schtick worked pretty good in "Galaxy Quest" but then that was meant to be funny.
Also for a planet that was grossly overcrowded how did they manage to find the space to build a complete replica of the huge starship Enterprise????
Any time writing chores are given to an actor except for Nimoy, it rarely goes well.
Plato’s Stepchildren and Spock’s Brain is what people who have never seen TOS imagine what TOS actually is.
Some of the episodes are actually quite good.Even the worse of the 1960s Star Trek is about 100 times better than most tv of 2017!!!!!!
Number 3 wasn't that bad nugga
I would like to further add that, according to Bob Justman, they had to cut the action sequences down in the 3rd season because the budget was cut drastically and they couldn't afford to shoot them. Bob said that they were like shooting radio pictures. Most of the weak episodes were in that season because of this, I think. They tended to drag a bit. But, even that worked to the advantage of the show, at times. "Spectre of the Gun" comes to mind as they couldn't afford the sets so they made them partial and dream like. "The Empath" was a another great episode that speaks to the high spiritual value of self-sacrifice in an adult and arty way. Lots of (intelligent) dialogue. Not an action show. It took me years (growing up) to appreciate how good it was.
Loved the Doomsday Machine, City On The Edge Of Forever, and the Enterprise Incident
All top tier TOS episodes! The Enterprise Incident is highly underrated!
The remote control in Spock's Brain had about two knobs but that didn't stop our heroes using it to make Spock's body perform intricate tasks and you should have included The Way To Eden.
The Space Hippies one is by far the lowest. How could you miss that?
It's a hoot. Lots of TV shows were trying to do hippies then, generally doing them very badly. Trek was no exception. Sister Desliu show Mannix tried it. Heck Dragnet tried it. Then they came out with the Mod Squad...
virgil starkwell The Space Hippies was Great.
Watching Charles Napier try to sing and play that goofball guitar made this episode unwatchable!!
It was definitely in the running for being one of the worst episodes, Herbert. Again, though, I found it "bizarrely enjoyable," so it didn't make my final cut for one of the five worst episodes.
Personally, I thought it was okay. I really liked what the episode did for Spock's character.
Herbert! Herbert! Herbert!
At ease, Captain Dunsel!
I am not Herbert.
Eat all the fruit, and throw away the rind, lol
When Spock explains to Kirk why he’s being called Herbert, it’s the best moment of the series! 🤗
You've got a hard lip Herbert. One of the truly GREAT lines to EVER come across a T.V. screen !!!
"Brain and brain! What is brain?!" That (legendary) line alone would catch you a buzz. A drinking game needs to be somewhat less suicidal.
Ha-ha-ha! :-D
Indeed. If you actually go through with a drinking game described in the video, you'd probably die from alcohol poisoning.
Equally grating was Kirk yelling "What have you done with Spock's Brain?!!"
The current office holder here in the States is basically already her. :)
Disliking Trump is not the same thing as liking Hillary. She was a terrible candidate. He, as we now see, was a worse one.
In Spock's Brain, I have never understood this: When the Teacher's knowledge starts to wear off from McCoy, it is stated that for him to use it a second time would be too dangerous. So he connects Spock's vocal cords so that Spock himself can help him to finish restoring his brain. But WHY not just let Kirk or Scotty use the Teacher and then finish the operation???
They're not doctors... lol. Even if the bimbo did it herself the first time...
Winston Beech- I'm not sure that would have made a difference. BUT, Christine Chapel was a surgical nurse, so she could have put on the device and guided McCoy the rest of the way through it.
I love Spock's Brain: there is no sun, but there's light!
Three words: I AM KIROK!
biggs hasty KIROK !!!!!!!!!!
"I HAVE COME!"
Behold a god who Bleeds...!!
You came out of the temple! You must be a god! Kirk: Okey dokey
There must be some magic words here ... White man IS god! From a TV studio, run by guys who wear tiny hats? Surprise!?
Leonard Nimoy even said that filming many scenes in "Spock's Brain", was an embarassing experience for him.
One of my favorite lines in that episode- "Brain, brain. What is brain?".
Maybe, but Nimoy still got paid anyways
McCoy: "The givers of pain and delight. I'm sure you noticed the 'delight aspect."
Kirk: "Yes, I certainly noticed those delightful aspects."
Headin out toooo Eden ...
Yeay Brother ...
Headin out to Eden ,.....
Yeayy Brother........
Got no trouble in my body or my mind...
Gonna live like a King on whatever I find...
Eat all the Fruit, and throw away the rind....
Yeeay Brother....
Yeay......
😊
stardude2006- Dude, at least tell me you popped in the third season DVD to write down those lines, because if you memorized them... Yikes!
I'm gonna crack my knuckles and jump for joy
I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy
Memorized. Don't mess with space hippies! Plus Chechov's ex was hot!
I reach you.
Tucker McElroy lead singer drivin the Winnebago
Herbert! Herbert! Herbert!
"Spock's Brain" is so Bad that it's Good......and wasn't it originally intended to be a comedic episode but the first time director didn't know what the hell he was doing
One of my least favorite episodes that isn’t mentioned on the list is The Lights of Zetar, it’s got some interesting concepts, and I personally love TOS the most when it tackles goofy ideas, (I also like how it introduced Memory Alpha), but the romance between Scotty and Lt. Romaine is just flat-out bad, to the point where it makes the whole episode almost unbearable.
The real question about The Mark of Gideon: How the heck do they have room to put an empty version of the Enterprise on a planet that has no room in the first place!!
When the 'Gideon' episode was made, California had about 20 million people and was considered seriously over-populated by the environmental left. Now California has 45 million people and it's 'Welcome Amigos' billboards at the border. Our governor just pardoned a man convicted of domestic abuse to try to prevent his deportation. Actually about 50% of the original Trek episodes were stinkers. I always hated Tribbles.
I can't believe you left out "And the Children Shall Lead", about a group of recently orphaned children, who are being led by an evil alien entity, played by a guy who was a lawyer & had never acted a day in his life! He was only on the show, because he was a fan, begged to be on it & was given a part, basically because they feared litigation.
I didn't know that!
Cus it’s a good episode! Prove me wrong! 😑
@@BoyceWebb-h7n You're wrong.😁
@@trekadam30 Am not
I'm no fan of "Mark of Gideon", however I think the reason why the planet doesn't do various intelligent things to solve their problems is... because it's a message episode, and the writers want to pontificate on the dangers of population, and their opposition to the idea that "life is sacred" and how that leads to the horrible mess that is Gideon. Maybe that's how we spot message episodes. "This story makes no sense".
It's a good thing that they weren't pontificating about "climate change!"
Obviously it's a message episode, but that's no excuse for bad writing.
I had the impression why they wanted the virus in Kirk's blood was because it was forbidden to kill people there or even allow them to kill themselves. So, they want to use nature to settle the score. The episode was stating issues with religion/beliefs and the moral of what we should do to control population growth. The episode was brilliant and spot on in a moral issue. When do we allow killing to be justified and when does it become justified. In truth, the episode brings into focus of what we suffering now. Overpopulation and who decides how and when people die?
So their plan was to get the galaxy's most prolific philanderer to stop overpopulation. Was that the message? I wasn't paying attention.
Or the message is bashed into your head with a 2x4, i.e. "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". A ridiculous episode saved only by the always watchable and brilliant Frank Gorshin, along with Lou Antonio as his arch nemesis, perhaps the first actors to ever work in both whiteface AND blackface at the same time.
CAT'S PAW is always good for inclusion in a list of most cringe worthy episodes. One word the "Transmuter!" WHAT!!!!!
The Lazarus guy has bipolar, not an antimatter twin!
"Brain and brain! What is brain?!" I pass out drunk.
Obvious or not the way to eden was terrible
Terrible but very topical in the wake of the "Summer of Love" and the height of the "Flower Power" movement.
The Way to Eden was a poor excuse to push the Hippy agenda.
Michael B. I always took it as ridiculing the Hippy movement.
Yes, its presentation was silly. However I thought the concept of the story had great potential. The quest for a peaceful, egalitarian society is a very recurrent motif.
soslothful The guys from MST3K would have referred to them as "Made-For-TV Hippies".
"And the Children Shall Lead" is worse than Spock's Brain. Spock's Brain is enjoyable in a cheesy campy B-movie sort of way.
Plato's Stepchildren gets points from me for its treatment of Alexander. The episode wholeheartedly condemns the other aliens' treatment of him and outright states that such regressive ideas about dwarfism don't exist in the Federation. Considering the kind of roles little people were limited to in that era and the frequent mocking that they still receive, it was remarkably progressive.
Spocks Brain, Turnabout In truder, The way to Eden, The triskilian gametsters or whatever, Piece of the action, Platos Stepchildren. It was third season. The time slot had changed to graveyard friday nights at 10 pm. The budget was cut. They were beaming to different planets with the same rocks in the background, and key writers and producers had already left to other shows.
I'd rather sit through "Spock's Brain" than "Way to Eden".
I’d rather sit through Spock’s Brain than anything with Kardashians in it!
Spock's brain has a mystery aspect to it that is fun.
Like what do the woman want with the brain and why are they smart then not.
How was Spock's brain removed so well and cleanly etc..
Desmond Ellis as someone once said of Kardashians: leather clad beings bent on galactic domination :-)
Agreed. For all I heard about how awful "Spock's Brain" was, it didn't measure up (or down?) to that hype. Like Rowan mentioned, it did kind veer into "so bad it's good territory," and at least it ended on a genuinely funny moment where, upon seeing Spock nerd out on the local technology, McCoy morosely remarks, "I shouldn't have done it... I shouldn't have put his brain back in."
"Way to Eden," on the other hand, I found to be way more cringey and idiotic. Pretty much the only good moment in that episode was Spock's though-provoking remark on how he identified with the Space Hippies because he also felt like an outsider on his own homeworld.
Exactly, 100% correct
It was just one woman who couldn't handle being captain cause she happens to be emotionally unstable. Or am I thinking it wrong? (Watched the full series like 4 years ago)
Miri is so bad it's probably my favorite episode. To this day I use the term, "BONK BONK ON THE HEAD". Not to mention that Michael J. Pollard was like 30 playing a prepubescent child.
I will never be able to get past Shatner acting like a horse. I mean, for a man who used to throw his weight around with directors and writers and such, the fact that he was apparently okay with doing that!? Like, what the hell!?
I like the story of Return of the Archons but the tone doesn't feel like the rest of the series. Felt like an unused Twilight Zone script changed into a Star Trek script.
Archons is the first episode I ever saw and as a result I will always have a fondness for it. Watched it just the other night. The "enhanced" version, which I normally don't care for - it was on Netflix - but they did correct the out of sync audio and video of the street scene were the clown face guy says "your daddy can put them up can't he?" That guy may have been the single creepiest humanoid in all of Star Trek.
Devil’s advocate on Turnabout Intruder. Nowhere in the episode is it explicitly stated that Starfleet prohibits women from commanding ships. Lester and Kirk are talking about their past romantic relationship at Starfleet, although it seems she was more into the relationship than he was. It was in the context of this conversation that Lester says “Your world of Starship captains doesn’t admit women.” There’s no reason one can’t interpret this remark to mean that there is no way Kirk will ever let a woman come between him and command of a starship. And that’s what drove Lester’s hatred and resentment. During the court martial Lester (in Kirk’s body) declares Lester doesn’t merit command of the Enterprise by temperament or training, which is true. Although clever and intelligent, Lester doesn’t have the training to command and she’s clearly nuts. But at no time does anyone say Lester doesn’t doesn’t deserve command because she’s a woman.
Spock's Brain is so awful and so awesome at the same time that an argument also can be made for it being one of the best episodes. I have always loved it!
The worst episodes were in the third season and they are, And The Children Shall Lead , Is There In Truth No Beauty, That Which Survives, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, and Turnabout About Intruder. Even those bad episodes I would prefer watching than watching that next generation stuff which is the pitts, and garbage little kiddish space boy space toy lost in space stuff. The Original Star Trek is STILL the very best, no matter what.
The aliens in Plato's Stepchildren did not evolve like earth, they were imitating it. Not a bad episode especially compared the Way to Eden.
I am a feminist, but I'm not some extremist that gets offended by anything and everything, and I am pretty chill about sexism in shows from the fifties and sixties. (something that star trek didn't have much of.) While it can get a little annoying sometimes, I just remember that it was a different time and be thankful that depiction of women has drastically changed. Overall I don't let some sexism in a show ruin it for me...
but TURNABOUT INTRUDER made me SO mad when I first watched it. That episode was considered sexist by many when it CAME OUT and for a show that I knew was so progressive it felt like a slap in the face, especially considering that such an offensive episode was the last one of the show.
Ah c'mon... Spock's Brain was hilarious.
The Empath was much worse.
"Spock's Brain" even had the honor of being parodied in "The Wonder Years"
The Empath is plain boring.
@@ghenulo And cheaply produced. No sets at all!!!
ghenulo- Agreed. Which is what qualifies it as one of the worst episodes by my measuring stick!
The narrator's judgments are based upon the lack of a certain type of realism that only TNG and the following series aimed at. There is an important idea underlying each of the episodes mentioned here -- except for "Plato's Stepchildren," which is about as awful as it gets.
With Turnabout Intruder they could have just said Lester wanted to be captain but never made the rank due to mental instability.
They kind of did. The whole "women aren't allowed to become starship captains" was more Janice Lester's psychotic persecution complex than anything rooted in reality.
Sorry to see you so down on Plato's Stepchildren. If nothing else, you had one hell of a guest cast (Michael Dunn from Wild Wild West and the Get Smart pilot, and Liam Sullivan from the "Brother William" episode of Dragnet). Especially since you also missed out "And The Children Shall Lead" and "Spectre of the Gun".
I wonder if Lester is descended from Hillary Clinton?
+dadoctah For me, Plato's Stepchildren avoids being a thoroughly bad episode thanks to the character of Alexander. But oh my God, Kirk acting like a horse...
They could have sorted it by claiming her insanity disqualified her, though that would never happen according to what Nimoy said about Roddenberry intending to prove women aren't capable of being captains. It was also Roddenberry who thought up the idea that Starfleet has a rule barring women from command of starships.
Retcons were the only way to fix this one.
@@dadoctah That was always my take on Turnabout Intruder... you have to consider the source - a nutjob Janice Lester - when she makes those claims. Granted, it's a complete turd of an episode, but I never thought the episode was sexist as much as it was about a crazy person trying to take over a starship.
MY LIST of UNCONVENTIONAL TOP 5 Star Trek Original Series:
1. Court Martial S1E20 Kirk finds himself at odds against a supposed long-time friend who frames him for murder. It has great plot, courtroom drama, and the clever mic-prop (hallmark icon of stage-hands creating something out of nothing...the TRUE engineers of Trek!)
2. I, MUDD. S2E8 Roger Carmel reprises his role as Harry Mudd--iconic and lovable! Although the overlapping plot is how future androids will take over by giving humans everything they want, the TRUE magic of this episode is the revelation that a scoundrel mind doesn't have enough moxie to keep androids busy and thoughtful (Mudd has mental "ED" so to speak). What ensues is fun and funny! Also, more of the cast get pieces of screen time.
3 JOURNEY TO BABEL: S2E10 Classic TREK! Viewer not only get to see a KEY sequence during the early years of the Federation and how an alliance of planets function together, we get to see several aliens from these planets. The vicious, alien-sounding, rigid Andorians, the very rude, hostile Tellerites, and many others not specified. But the true enjoyment of this episode is the revelation of Spock's parents, and later, the vicious struggle between "duty" and "Love of family." All during a brutal space battle sequence! Terrific stuff!
4. THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT! WOW! Terrific episode! The writers and directors start the episode by fooling us all! We are all duped for the first 1/3 of the episode just like all the characters! The reveal amidst the strain and stress of the plot is VERY satisfying! The episode also addresses a love sequence of aliens...which is more awkward than it is interesting. HOWEVER, this scene DOES open a possible explanation later--in the motion pictures--where Lt. Saavik may have come from!!! Here's the REAL trippy part **SPOILER POSSIBLY!!** If Saavik is the offspring of Spock and the female Romulan Commander, the she....Saavik...grows up to help on the expedition of the Genesis Planet...where Spock is regenerating with the planet. During the regeneration, Saavik "comforts" the aging Spock who goes thru Pon Far (the need to mate). That would mean, that "young Spock" has sex with his own half-romulan daughter via a temporal paradox. Take about 4 years to digest that! UGH>
5. AMOK TIME. No need to really address why this is the best. I mean, the musical score alone! However, a Vulcan Love story??? How can you beat that? Celia Lovsky as T'Pau!!! BRILLIANT! The entire guest cast were perfectly matched for the episode. Best friends fighting "dis match is to deh dead, Kurrk." Can't you STILL hear her uttering that line?!! And finally, Spock strangling his captain and best friend....it was gut-wrenching! The episode had everything from interesting comparisons in biology, to brilliant tactics in logic by a sly woman! And the writing!! "Stonn, she is yours. After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true." I mean....has there EVER been a galactic BURN as harsh as that one??
There you have it folks, MY top 5 Original Trek episodes and reasons why. If you'd like my top 5 least favorite episodes, "like" and comment below. My reasons for my list of worst episodes is brutal...if you like brutal, let me know!
The way to Eden, Catspaw, and The Savage Curtain are in my bottom five.
Anything with children
My brain was stolen once, but I got better.
It's subjective, trying to pick worst, or even best episodes. No matter how good an episode is, someone's going to hate it. And no matter how bad, the reverse is true.
Personally, I think ALL the WORST episodes were generated in Season Three. So... There you have it. My "subjective" opinion.
Live Long And Prosper!
I agree. The only episode in season 3 that I like is 'The Empath' because it shows the willingness of Kirk, Spock and McCoy to sacrifice themselves for each other.
@Edward White Yeah, but I just remember it droned on for hours with no real pay-off in the end.
Bread and Circuses. About as lazy as Star Trek could get and the final message of the episode was utter cringe of the highest level.
“Spectre of the Gun.” They didn’t have a science fiction script, but they needed a story in a hurry, so Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the gang got to re-live the gunfight at the OK Corral.
Spectre of the gun shows up on several best of Star Trek episode lists
The Gideon one is where you are trying to be 'relevant' but forget that your fictional universe cannot have the problem you are describing.
Note: "Picard" has exactly the same problem of failing to understand that space is big, and you can fit a lot of people into it. So sixty years later, the writers have still not read about how big space is, and how small a planet's surface is compared to space, whose bigness really cannot be overstated.
They have faster than light travel, they don't need planets, they can make O'Neil Cylinders rapidly, if anything the problem would be that they would be dimming stars by encasing them in Dyson Swarms. We are nearly at that tech level *now*.
when you are a young boy, you're not that critical or discerning.
I don’t get the hate that “turnabout intruder” gets.
I think it was one of my favorite episodes of TOS. Maybe even my favorite. I am currently in the process of rewatching the entire TOS so maybe I will be able to list some that I liked even more.
Right now the next episode I am going to watch is the second to last episode of season 1 where they go back in time to the 1930s to make sure some broad gets killed or that Mc Coy doesn’t save her because of WW2 or something.
Currently the only episode off the top of my head from season 1 that used to be my favorite is “Space Seed” because back when I first watched it I thought exactly what Spock said at the end of the episode that it would be cool to come back after a hundred years and see what this group of super humans have managed to build by themselves but unfortunately all that gets completely trashed by WoK which for that reason is my most hated Star Trek movie by far.
So space seed isn’t my favorite anymore.
What I like about “Turnabout Intruder” is how they slowly but surely figure out that Kirk is being possessed by an imposter and how he becomes more and more unhinged.
Now I just remembered an episode that’s a little bit like it and is therefore probably my second favorite TOS episode.
It’s the one where Scotty gets accused of murdering some girl and they all have a sit around to figure it out.
I enjoyed three quarters of that episode, it’s just the payoff at the end where it says it’s some space ghost that used to be Jack the Ripper which I don’t like and therefore it only gets the spot #2.
Also I don’t get why you are complaining that the aliens in “Plato’s stepchildren” evolved into a culture that existed on earth.
If you actually paid attention to that episode you would have heard them
say that they lived on earth for a time during Ancient Greece and liked it.
Turnabout Intruder was a great episode, and not sexist at all - some misguided people only perceive it that way.
Still better than any Next Generation episodes
I think there is no episode I like less than "Bread and Circus". I guess the main plot in itself is okey, but as someone with a degree in classics and ancient history, I find it unwatchable. "But there were no sun worshippers in ancient Rome!" said the medical doctor, clearly an expert in this field.
Sol Invictus?
1. Alternative factor
2. And the children shall lead
3. Plato’s stepchildren
4. Spock’s brain
5. Turnabout intruder
But like you I can’t ever hate spock’s brain lol
Oh God! And The Children Shall Lead was very annoying!
You suggest evacuating an overpopulated planet by space ships to another planet. Good luck with that! Can you imagine loading people into ships by the billions? Never gonna happen. I think Turnabout Intruder and Alternative Factor are actually quite good. There are several episodes I think are far worse than those two. The idea of Lazarus is actually pretty intriguing. But I'll concede the last two are crap. Spock's Brain ... the name alone is hilarious. I laugh every time someone says Spock's brain. It just sound ludicrous. Way to Eden should be here.
Respectfully, I'll nominate an additional few...
"The Way to Eden"-Space Hippies
"The Cloud Miners"-very poor adaptation of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis."
"And the children shall lead"-very poor adaptation of "Village of the Damned."
The space hippies episode is one that really makes me cringe.
How would they look in ‘80’s cyberpunk?
I agree with two of these, but The Cloud Minders was actually a decent episode amongst season three's material. I actually like that one.
It was reflecting the fears that as soon as getting to 4 billion people massive starvation would strike the earth
4/5 are from Season 3 so enough said. Spock's Brain is bizarre fun for me though. Always wanted a Mego Spock (- his brain) remote controlled figure.
I have a soft spot for Plato's Stepchildren because it stars Michael Dunn, who charismatically played the villainous Doctor Loveless on The Wild, Wild West. I agree with the rest of this list though. "Brain and brain! What is brain?"
Maybe "and the Children shall lead" that Episode was more boring then dryed Paint
IMHO that episode was worse than any other...
Yes, that and "Way to Eden" are much worse that "Mark of Gideon" and "Turnabout Intruder".
I don't know about that! When the older kid made Sulu see nothing but daggers around the Enterprise on the viewing screen, that freaked me out as a kid!
Sorry, but I found it "bizarrely enjoyable!" And let's not forget Kirk battling his "beast" in the lift with Spock. "I'm losing command, I'm losing command... I've lost command!" I mean, holy cow, talk about an over the top, overdone ham of a performance! By golly, the whole episode is worth watching, just for that powerfully, unintentionally HILARIOUS, scene.
Yes, as stupid as it was, that one was ... intruiging.
Plato’s Stepchildren was a waste of Michael Dunn’s talent.
Turnabout intruder is a perfectly good episode! It's failure to live up to 21st century standards of PC, is not an appropriate criticism for a show from the 1960s. Or you'd have to criticize all literature from human history on the same grounds. (Shakespeare doesn't have any female commanders either.)
It has nothing to do with "modern political correctness". The show simply dropped the ball with the episode's premise. There isn't an excuse for floating the idea that women couldn't occupy command positions on a starship. Especially given how the first pilot had a female first officer; also that "The Enterprise Incident" of that very same season showed us a female officer commanding a Romulan squadron. The idea that women couldn't hold leadership roles was being challenged in that time but Star Trek put itself behind the curve here. The criticism is perfectly valid and has been applied against this episode almost from the year it aired.
Lord zontar: in the 60's, arbitrary rules (like women could be 1st officer but not captain) were quite common. Our parents and grandparents accepted arbitrary rules much more than we do. The example of the romulan commander, is not very persuasive. The romulans were a whole different species. And not even a friendly one. It is not difficult to admit that they could have had different personnel policies. If "turnabout" we're horribly executed like "Plato's" or "spock's brain," you'd have a point. But my point is that if you get over the premise, it's a perfectly well executed episode and so does not belong on this list. What if we got rid of the feminist angle. What if "turnabout" were about an old MALE friend of Kirk's who couldn't be captain because he flunked the captain test or something. And everything else were exactly the same? It wouldn't be the best episode. But it wouldn't be on anyone's "5 worst " list. That's my point.
@@spivackl I never took it as 'women couldn't be starship captains' but rather that 'Janice Lester couldn't be a starship captain'. We had already seen through Captain Merrick in Bread and Circuses (incidentally a man that Kirk had fomerly known from his time at Starfleet Academy) that Starfleet failed candidates who didn't have the right character and capabilities for the job. Janice is the same, but in being found not suitable she blamed Starfleet and Kirk for her own deficiencies.
#4 is strange... I mean even in the 60s. There weren’t any female admirals or generals but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any actual rule against it. And Star Trek is supposed to take place in this progressive utopia?
It is really sad. People just don't understand the politics of HOLLYWOOD! I would venture to say or ask, what poll did you use? Where did you get that information? Turnabout Intruder was simply Roddenberry's middle finger gesture at NBC studio executives. They pulled the plug on the female captain and the female XO. Opinions vary. All these episodes, produced on the budget and time allotted. Were done in the fashion of that day. This country was in the cold war, Cuban missile crisis, Presidential assassination, going into Nam, collegiate rebellion, and social unrest! So what, if Star Trek looked cheesy or campy. People got the message. It's creator's vision of a future meant: humanity had hope!
Considering all the shitty things Gene did in his time, I have no sympathy for him putting out sexist crap 'as revenge'.
Except GR had nothing to do with season three. That was Fred Freiberger.
Too bad the majority of people didn't get the "message" until the 1970's, when they actually started watching the show. Few and far between, it seems, are we folks who actually watched it in primetime! (In my case, thanks to the fact my parents were actually science fiction fans.)
zoppie- True, but Roddenberry actual wrote the third season episode, "The Omega Glory."
Objection: Spock's Brain is a masterpiece.
At least for trashy b-movie sci fi. It's one of my most favorite episodes ever!
I always thought "The Empath" was unwatchable.
The Empath, yes a disappointing episode. It was more an experiment in expressionistic method as a real TV show
@@rogerlynch5279I like the Empath
Pretty bad episode.
We know the Gideonites aren't Baptists. They prohibit sex while standing up, since it leads to dancing.
If you are going to narrate a video, don't overpower your own voice with loud music.
putting judgement of the actual episodes aside, I will say this about the titles of the original series. there are many that are poetic, ominous, creative, and almost trippy if you will. a few examples of my favorite titles, not just in star trek, but all shows!
Where no man has gone before
Tomorrow is yesterday
The city on the edge of foever (fav)
Return to tomorrow
For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky (all time fav)
All our yesterdays
there are a few others, but these are the titles that made me starstruck! 😮
Catspaw and The Children Shall Lead, for sure. I do remember loving Spock's Brain the first time I saw it (it was in syndication by then), but I was 10 years old.
Catspaw came out just before Halloween that year.
I can imagine 'Spock's Brain' ironically becoming a classic TOS episode.
Bones expression at 3:41. Priceless
DeForest Kelley: “alright guys what the hell is going on by this point?”
Worst episodes: The Alternative Factor, The Empath, Miri, Spock’s Brain, The Children Shall Lead. The Lights of Zetar always creeped me out.
The Omega Glory. An episode that starts off okay, but when the twist of the planet is revealed, the jingotastic garbage overflows and stinks up the whole thing. Just utterly terrible.
Also what about that episode about the space hippies. Cant remember the name of that one.
@@seannixon745 The Apple
Exactly. Nationalism, patriotism, and religious idiotism all in one episode. Simply asinine.
When they brought out the flag and said "Ah pleglieim" I was rolling on the floor laughing... I was 10 years old first time I saw it.
@@seannixon745 The space Hippies were in The Way To Eden.
I see "The Apple" or "Way to Eden" somehow failed to make your top five.
Oh come on!! Michael Dunn ridding KIrk like a horsey is priceless, absolutely priceless. Probably the only bit of acting Shatner ever did was playing the horsey.
Outside of McCoy who was a better actor than Shatner on that show? Literally his acting style set the premise for Spock and McCoy's characters. He was the brash hero while his counterparts were foils of one another, one super logical and the other full of emotion. That Trinity was what made the show abd certainly the only character that needed to be there was Kirk, as Roddenberry said Shatner was the lead... How is that not obvious everyone else was replacable tbh.
@@beyourself2444 Are you serious? Shatner's whole style was OVERACTING. Nimoy had a far more difficult role in front of him. Playing horsey with a midget was the limit of Shatner's range. McCoy? Are you kidding? Kelly's whole challenge was saying "He's Dead Jim". Shatner's biggest challenge was playing a female (Janice Lester---get it LESter) inhabiting his body. in the final episode. That called for insane overacting and so he did well on that one. Look I love classic Star Trek but we are not talking about the Royal Shakesperian Company either.
Funny thing.... why on earth would an alien race able to do that kind of brain surgery want spoks brain in the first place? If they are that advanced they could have created a brain of their own.
Great list but there were many others. As for "The Alternative Factor" was so bad that I only watched it once!
I look forward to the day when people look back on our era and see it as the worst for 'outdated and bigoted' attitudes. You haven't got a clue mate. Sitting on your high horse and judging past generations.
I wish people would not get so hung up on the male/female thing on Turnabout Intruder. The real story is about what happens when a person of authority is taken over, suborned, usurped, whatever, by some hostile or unworthy mentality. Not only is the mind, heart, and soul of the man (Kirk) who had rightfully earned and attained the captaincy forcibly ripped away from that, in danger of being shunted off somewhere to die in obscurity, but someone of positively criminal motives and clearly lacking "the temperament and training" for such a role is just as instantly installed as "captain" of the Enterprise. The real drama is how the underlings (Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov...) handle this terrible situation: They don't want to mutiny, but would it even really be mutiny to remove someone who after all really isn't the captain after all, despite superficial appearances? And the most stunningly and strikingly beautiful moment (probably in all of Star Trek in all of its incarnations even) is when pseudo-Kirk is shouting orders and then Sulu's and Chekov's hands just slide down their instrument panels and into their laps as they both sit there mutely refusing to follow the orders of the pseudo-Kirk. Imagine if one day every North Korean just woke up realizing that there is no reason to follow their tyrant Kim Jong-in just similarly need not be listened to. He could yell and jump and scream and no one would pay attention, unless to point and laugh at the silly comical little man with his little button. It really could be just that easy for tyranny to be toppled. I say that despite the flaws of a sexist Starfleet and the whole man/woman thing which is really just a distraction anyway (and so meant by its authors), this is in fact one of the very strongest episodes ever to emerge at least from the original series.
Kind of hard for people to ignore it when according to Nimoy, proving women aren't capable of handeling command was actually Roddenberry's goal with the episode and the sexist line was meant exactly as it sounded.
It's why Nimoy hated it.
Wow ...Obama/Trump comes to mind...
Mark of Gideon reminds me of Seoul Korea. Most crowded city I’ve ever seen.
You got some stinkers but you missed, "And the Children Shall Lead", "Miri", "The Way to Eden".
You got the episodes I was about to mention. Those were pretty bad, and one more "Who Mourns for Adonis" should be included for many of the same reasons Plato's Stepchildren made the list.
Miri is actually one of my favorites, A little campy. As far as the other two you mentioned, the stories were actually pretty good and this list seems to be more of ones with major plot issues. The Way to Eden was typical of Television's view of the hippy culture of the time . . . dead wrong, so it doesn't hold up at all well. It barely held up then. Most of us hippies were laughing at the stereotypes. "And the Children Shall Lead" was a badly written presentation of what was actually a good premise.
BONK BONK!
Miri sucks!
I loved Way to eden for its emphasis on obsession. But I also thought Mark of Gidion had some merit. It dealt with over population, which on earth in the following decades became a real issue.
Turnabout Intruder isn’t sexist. Let’s grow up and realize two things. One: men and women are different. Two: The woman in question is either crazy or just very childish. Obviously to the adults she is NOT a legitimate example of all women.
My least favorite episode was the one with that corny rock band The Mosquitoes.
Oh wait, that was Gilligan's Island. 😕
The Bedbugs? No, that was F Troop.
The Warts? No, that was The Mothers-in-Law.
I remembered the series fondly until people started pointing out the horrible episodes. Also, I never want to see that Shatner bucking bronco scene again.
Let's judge people of the past based on modern political fem-speak, is the luxury of those who inherit a ready-made world without contribution.
YEAH..fem- speak does not belong on a classic fun show like Star Trek!....If you can't enjoy great classic TV...then don't watch it. .But don't bore everyone with political jargon.
Well, there is a reason that the stereotype that women make poor leaders exits but, yeah, the idea that no woman can be a good leader is pretty absurd.
Operation: Annihilate! Fried flying eggs for breakfast?
Mediocre entry, but not ranking as "one of the worst".
Aaron Lusanko
LOL. I thought it looked like rubber vomit from a novelty store.
Aaron Lusanko But ...
The flying pancakes !!!
😂❤️
Not to mention Spock's inner eyelids, which Vulcans tend to ignore like humans do their appendix, never actually covered his eyes at any point in the episode. Still, as silly as that story might have been, along with Kirk's dead brother Sam, and his gruesomely dying sister-in-law, it wasn't a boring episode. My criteria for worst episodes, are those that are so boring, you struggle to stay awake throughout them. If I was going to judge by stupid plotlines, or holes in particular tales, I'd have quite a hot list to choose from!
Plato's Step Children as I recall the people on the planet said they had been on earth and admired Plato I think
I loved turn about intruder.
Antiochus III the Great- If nothing else, Shatner's performance as Janice was worth the watch.
It was a good episode!...Star Trek left on a high note.. Shattner's acting was over the top!...and Priceless..The worst choice made for a top five worst episode...Just because of some modern day political nonsense...That does not belong when watching Star Trek!
@@davidsnyderWisdomTrollBlocker oh shut the fuck up. Star trek is about hop and inclusion. About being better and beyond what we are now. Therefore that episode went completely against what star trek is by being completely sexist and non inclusive. It's not "modern day political nonsense". It's about being true to the core of star trek.
@@eminemfan50098 While of course today's arrogant and hypocritical standards are beyond reproach.
The Empath is no “barn burner” either!