Calling all original Star Trek fans . . . !!

[BalloonSlayer]

We were watching one of the remake Star Trek (J J Abrams) films tonight as a family.

I was droning on talking about the differences between them and the original series, eg the Crew having got where there are by advancing through ranks in a fairly orthodox fashion even though they might have a maverick spirit [Kirk], as opposed to basically taking over a Starship in a coup . . .

DC expressed reluctant willingness interest in seeing the original series. Hurrah!

But!! Buggered if I can remember any of the good ones. There was a time when I could have told you the titles of all 79 episodes IN ORDER OF BROADCAST but now sadly I can remember very few.

What would be your recommendations please?

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to engage some 21st century teens in a 50 year old TV programme. If you fail they will be able to say "Yeah saw one of those original Star Treks once, it was complete shite," for ever more.

No pressure.

LLAP.

City on the edge of forever! The one with Joan Collins in where Kirk and Spock time travel.

Also the Trouble with Tribbles

My DW (serious ST fan) says The Voyage to Babel.

Got to be The trouble with Tribbles.

I was gonna say The Trouble With Tribbles as well!

There is no way to get around this.

You have to make him see every single one from The Cage to Turnabout Intruder.

This is your mission; your four week mission, to show him strange new worlds, to see new life and new civilisations - to boldly go where your man has not been before.

(cue: oooh-wee music)

For the more logical amongst us (raises eyebrow sardonically), this is my rationale;

4 x 50 minute episodes = 3 hrs and 20 minutes a day, give him the occasional comfort break = 4 hrs a day.

5 days a week = 20 episodes
4 weeks = all episodes plus enough time to watch the first movie if he doesn't take too long to pee.

I might have been called a nerd by DP on occasion

Yes Journey to Babel was always my favourite too. But not sure it's best to hook a complete newcomer.

For heaven's sake DON'T watch Spock's Brain.

Obviously the Trouble with Tribbles

I would also add
Arena - where Kirk is in an "arena" with only his wits to save him in a battle to the death

The Menagerie - to get the back story on Captain Pike

The Devil in the Dark - with the monster stone (that turns out to be a mother trying to protect her babies) and Spock does a mind meld with her to find out what is going on.

Trouble with tribbles. 😆

Is Arena the one where Kirk is strangling someone with a dinosaur head? Always featured in the closing credits (clearly proud of that special effect )

A Taste of Armageddon
It was at the time of both the cold war & Vietnam -

what about working your way through the films?

Trouble with tribbles first.

The Devil in the Dark - it has some of the great lines.

City on the edge of forever is the best, but leave it until they know the characters better (I do like Reboot but they're not quite the same).

Charlie X - for the pure hilarity of seeing Shatner in dreadful red Spandex pants.

• You have to make him see every single one from The Cage to Turnabout Intruder.

Yes, eventually, of course.

And then all of TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and all the films... well, that's what we did with DD (I think we omitted one of the later TNG ones with Q because he was annoying us all). Obviously that was a few years ago and we've had to watch Discovery and Picard separately since then.

Trouble with Tribbles gets another vote

Mirror Mirror, if only so they come to the knowledge that the main difference between good and evil is a neatly trimmed goatee.

List of episodes to watch in order to see all those that are one or more of:

• Good
• Historically relevant in the context of 1960s USA culture
• Imparting information that will be relevant for understanding films or subsequent TV series plots.

Season 1
The Enemy Within
"What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
The Menagerie
Balance of Terror
Squire of Gothos
Arena

Tomorrow is Yesterday

Space Seed

Devil in the Dark

This Side of Paradise

City on the Edge of Forever

Season 2
Amok Time

Mirror Mirror

Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
Trouble with Tribbles
Gamesters of Triskelion
Piece of the Action

Season 3
Enterprise Incident
And the Children Shall Lead
"For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"
The Tholian Web
Plato's Stepchildren
Elaan of Troyius
Whom Gods Destroy
Way to Eden
All our Yesterdays
Turnabout Intruder

You need to watch in production order, not broadcast order.

Skip the pilot.

The first and second series have quite deep plot lines and often a serious ending.

I love The Original Series. Bring on the Archons, red shirts, mind melds and phasers on stun!

I watched them obsessively when I was younger. I even went in for some of the novels!

You have to watch Spock's Brain! Possibly at the very end.

I think The Empath is a really interesting episode. One of my other favourites was, of course, Amok Time. First time we see Vulcan, and the infamous "Jim!" ending

I was really really sick and a teen boyfriend brought me a video of a whole series. To to able to watch them again anew.

Lucky lucky DC.

And yes, The Trouble with Tribbles.