TV Show Review: Star Trek: The Original Series
“Star Trek: The Original Series” (TOS) is a science-fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. The show stars William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. In “TOS,” the crew of the Enterprise explores space, traveling to planets across space "to boldly go where no man has gone before."
In the episode “Amok Time,” Spock insists that he be taken to the planet Vulcan. Fans of Spock will appreciate this episode because the plot revolves around him, as he plays the main character. “Amok Time” is one of the most vulnerable and emotional depictions of the generally logical and emotionless Spock. An example of this is how the friendship between him, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy is highlighted in this episode. Also, Spock going to Vulcan allows fans to learn Vulcan lore. Although I enjoyed this episode, I would not recommend it to new watchers of “TOS.” This is mainly because an existing knowledge of the characters is required to appreciate this episode.
In “The Trouble with Tribbles,” the starship Enterprise must deal with rapidly and exponentially reproducing alien creatures alongside mounting political tension with the Klingons. This episode is campy and funny, with adorably furry tribbles filling the Enterprise, much to the annoyance of Captain Kirk. I would highly recommend this episode to viewers interested in the campy side of “TOS,” and I consider it an excellent starting point for the series.
Another excellent episode of “TOS” is “The City on the Edge of Forever.” In this episode, Dr. McCoy accidentally travels back in time and changes history. In order to stop him from erasing everything they know, Captain Kirk and Spock must travel back in time and make a difficult choice. This episode was possibly the best one I watched. It is emotionally in-depth and the time travel component makes the plot interesting, as it is a fairly unique science fiction trope for the show. Because it is such a well-written and produced episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever” is a must-watch episode of “TOS.”
As an episodic television series, this classic show has a wide variety of plotlines and characters, ranging from campy tribbles to emotional and character-driven stories to monster-of-the-week antagonists. I highly recommend that people interested in a campy, yet in-depth science fiction series check out “Star Trek: The Original Series.”
