Star Trek: Season 1 - Episode 5: 'The Enemy Within' (1966) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

One of the things that Star Trek really brought to the world of Science Fiction is the fact that Star Trek brought to the world, the, 'Mirror Universe'! For those of you who don't know what the mirror universe is, it is a universe that is the polar opposite of our dimension, in that some one in our universe who is a happy go lucky type, may end up being a depressed homicidal lunatic, and an Adolph Hitler type in the mirror universe, might be some one who exclusively loves life!

The reason that I mention this, is that before the first, 'Mirror Universe' episode, we got a sneak peak of it with, 'The Enemy Within' (1966)!

Written by: Richard Matheson (The Twilight Zone: The Movie) & Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek: Voyager) & Directed by: Leo Penn (Judgement In Berlin). Starring: William Shatner (Kingdom Of The Spiders), Leonard Nimoy (Invasion Of The Snatchers), DeForest Kelley (Night Of The Lepus), Grace Lee Whitney (Star Trek: The Motion Picture), George Takei (Archer), James Doohan (Birth Of A Timeless Legacy) & Nichelle Nichols (The Cabonauts).

This episode tells the story of how during the investigation of a planet, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), transports back up to the ship....

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Kirk and Sulu before Kirk transports back to the ship![/caption]

After he transports up, there is an incident that occurs in which, Captain Kirk is split in to 2 different personalities, the first one being everything that is good and right in the world, and the second one being everything that is the absolute definition of pure evil!

And as Kirk is becoming more and more different, the crew of  the Enterprise is going to have to figure out how to fix Kirk before the crew that they had to leave on a planet that is getting colder and colder as the minutes go by, freezes to death!

In the end, this episode is pretty freaking awesome, it will keep you on the edge of your seat, and if you get a chance to see it, then I do recommend it!

http://youtu.be/_AYsdW1RbWw

Star Trek: Season 1 - Episode: 1, 'The Man Trap' (1966) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_385" align="alignright" width="353"] Official Score = 2 Devils[/caption]

One of the most important contributions that I really believe that Hollywood has every made, and probably will ever make is creating for the world, 'Star Trek'... Hey I know that sounds cheesy as hell, but it is true! I mean if you really think about it, it is nice to help a city/state/country that just got hit by something massive (I genuinely applaud Hollywood and the rest of the world for their contributions toward helping reconstruct a disaster zone)... But I still think that Hollywood's biggest contribution to the world is, 'Star Trek'!

You see Star Trek in a lot of respects represents humanity at a time where it has expanded beyond it's petty nonsense, and has finally unified in a way that I think at this point in the world that most people just don't believe could happen... And well they do all this while entertaining the world with the adventures of an intrepid, 'Starship', and the problems they have to resolve...

Well the truth is, is I know that I have probably just oversold the whole episode, but despite this episode's mundane trappings... (and I will be honest and say that this episode is amusing, compared to the larger scope though, of a lot of the future episodes, this particular episode kind of suffers from being so mundane... But we will get to that in a moment...)

Written by: George Clayton Johnson (Logan's Run), Gene Roddenberry (Earth: Final Conflict) & Directed by: Marc Daniels (I Love Lucy). Starring: William Shatner (Kingdom Of The Spiders), Leonard Nimoy (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), Alfred Ryder (True Grit), Jeanne Bal (Company Of Killers), DeForest Kelley (Night Of The Lepus), Grace Lee Whitney (Ironside), George Takei (8) & Nichelle Nichols (Heroes).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) better beware, there is more to this girl then meets the eye![/caption]

The truth is, is that 40 or 50 years ago this episode would I believe have been a little bit more fun, the problem is, is that this episode is almost like a futuristic episode of a, 'Soap Opera' that is set another planet!

You see, this episode tells the story of how the crew of the Starship Enterprise are sent on a mission to give the annual physicals to Professor Robert Crater (Alfred Ryder) and his wife, 'Nancy' (Jeanne Bal), the only problem is that Nancy Crater happens to be a former love interest of Dr. McCoys!

So at first, with the exception of the fact that Dr. McCoy is a little to nervous to see Nancy, and Professor Crater not really wanting the Enterprise crew there, also ordering an obscene amount of salt, everything seems to be fine... That is until the first crewman dies... And then more and more...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="594"] Kirk (WIlliam Shatner) and Spock, (Leonard Nimoy) as they find another dead crewman on the planet.[/caption]

And as the Enterprise crew is dying off one by one, the crew is going to have to find out what the Craters are hiding before what they are hiding ends up killing them!

In the end though,  this episode may not be the best, but if you keep with the show, I think you might find that it gets better and better!

http://youtu.be/vqfx3wuqjBI

Star Trek Season 1 - Episode 3 - Pilot 2: 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Since I was a kid I have always strongly gravitated to the Science Fiction genre... Rather it be with the, 'Alien' movie series, or even, 'Futurama' on TV... Science Fiction often times gives the viewer an awesome opportunity to glimpse in the many different awesome or scary futures... And none does both better, and really gives a potential look at mankind in a few hundred years than it does in, 'Star Trek'!

Rather it be the original crew of the, 'U.S.S. Enterprise' as they boldly go where no man has gone before, or on, 'Deep Space Nine' as humanity tries to help out many races on many war torn planets to finally resolve the issue facing them and get their worlds so that they can become sustainable again, all of these shows truly give a great example of what mankind could be doing in a few hundred years from now, but in a way that most of the time is pretty fun an entertaining sort of way!

I just wish Star Trek Season 1, Episode 3 (rather known as the second pilot), 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' still held that kind of sway... But we will get in to that in a moment!

Written by: Samuel A. Peeples (A Real American Hero), Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek: The Next Generation) & Directed by: James Goldstone (Earth Star Voyage). Starring: William Shatner (Disaster On The Coastliner), Leonard Nimoy (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), Gary Lockwood (2001: A Space Odyssey), Sally Kellerman (MASH), George Takei (Heroes), James Doohan (Through Dead Eyes), Paul Carr (Raise The Titanic) & Paul Fix (El Dorado)

In this latest episode, the Star Ship Enterprise is attempting to go outside the Galaxy, and also while doing so, end up coming to discover an ancient human distress beacon from a human ship by the name of, 'Intrepid'...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="665"] The crew of the, 'U.S.S. Enterprise' as they are about to head out of the Galaxy![/caption]

Well when they bring it on, obviously their is a lot of damage to it, but it is weird, you see this recorder talks about how after the, 'Intrepid' was sucked out of the galaxy and managed to make it back in, and how after that, everything fell apart and eventually the Captain of that ship had to blow it up...

Well the Enterprise is about to find out the truth about the Intrepid... You see, they did end up going outside of the Galaxy, and while there, a strange energy entered the ship almost everybody it attacked, with the exceptions of: Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) and Doctor Elizabeth Dehner (Sally Kellerman)... But it is changing them slowly!

You see, it turns out that both Dehner and Mitchell have high esper ratings, and the energy that went after them seems to be giving them powers... Well as Mitchell seems to be getting more and more powerful, and more and more crazy with the power he is getting, and with Captain Kirk and Gary Mitchell being friends, it looks like Kirk may end up having to sacrifice his friend to save his ship!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="594"] Kirk as he is trying to destroy the far to powerful, 'Gary Mitchell'![/caption]

In the end, I know that a lot of people like this episode, and to be fair I did when I first watched it as well... But the truth is, is that this episode still has it's moments, but at this point at least for me, I have found that this episode is stale, dull and old and out of date... frankly boring!

Besides that though, if you are just getting started with the series, stick with it, if you like what you have seen so far, then trust me when I say it is definitely worth continuing on!

http://youtu.be/kdrQmE7KhdM

Andromeda Season 1 Episode: 'Under The Night' (2000) TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

I am a fan of Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary) but up until 2000 I honestly would not have thought of Kevin Sorbo as a Science Fiction actor... I mean he did such a great job as, 'Hercules' in, (Hercules: The Legendary Journey), but you know  what? He actually did a surprisingly great job as, 'Captain Dylan Hunt' in the 2000 - 2005  Gene Roddenberry created TV series Andromeda!

Written & Developed by: Robert Hewitt Wolfe (Riverworld) and Directed by: Allan Kroeker (Cult) Starring: Kevin Sorbo, Lisa Ryder (Jason X), Keith Hamilton Cobb (Eyes Beyond Seeing), Laura Bertram (50/50), Brent Stait (Final Destination 5), Gordon Michael Woolvett (Bride Of Chucky) & Lexa Doig (Continuum)!

This episode sort of starts it all, you see in the world of Andromeda, Captain Dylan Hunt (Sorbo) is the CO of the Commonwealth Ship, 'Andromeda Ascendant' and during this time, he is lead in to a Nietzschean ambush, during this time Hunt evacuates the crew... except his traitorous first officer who stays on board, and as the ship heads for a black hole, Hunt ends up taking out hist first officer!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="183"] Captain Dylan Hunt on board the, 'Andromeda Ascendant' before him and his ship end up being launched hundreds of years in to the future![/caption]

Now centuries later, the Galaxy has become drastically less ordered with the collapse of the, 'Commonwealth', during this time a salvage ship finds, 'The Andromeda' and thinking that she is an old abandoned, 'Commonwealth' vessel that had been set adrift, come aboard to try and salvage it... Little do they know that Captain Hunt had been in suspended animation during this time and will do everything he can to reclaim his vessel!

In the end though, this crew will learn to work with Hunt, and the crew will set off on a life that no one will ever forget it!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Captain Hunt and the new crew of the, 'Andromeda'![/caption]

Now I can tell you what is great about this show, but for this episode, the best thing honestly is seeing where this ship comes together and how one man is going to have to learn to live his life in a Universe that he no longer understands!

In the end this episode is a good start to a great series, I liked it, and if you give it a chance I think that you will find that you like it as well!

http://youtu.be/sbhxKrBe0AA

Star Trek Episode: The Cage (1988) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_385" align="alignright" width="300"] Official Score = 2 Devils[/caption]

Lets be honest here, Star Trek maybe one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time! And all of this started off with a little campy TV series that aired from 1966 - 1969 with the crew of the Enterprise that most people would recognize from the original series, the original movies as well as the re-boot movie series, but did you know that Captain Kirk (WIlliam Shatner in the original series, and Chris Pine in the re-boot movie series) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise that everyone has grown to love was not actually the first crew of the Starship Enterprise?

That's right folks! As a matter of fact out of the first crew, the only person that would go on to be in the original series for the entire series, is Leonard Nimoy (as Spock), but even he was a different kind of Vulcan! No in this the first Captain was Captain Christopher Pike (Played by: Jeffrey Hunter in the original series first pilot and Bruce Greenwood in the reboot series.)

Now before Pike was brought back in the remake series, Jeffrey Hunter was brought in to play, 'Captain Christopher Pike' of the U.S.S. Enterprise for a pilot that ultimately was denied by NBC due to it not having enough action... Although ultimately this episode would be cut up and utilized as a special 2 part episode for the original series called, 'The Menagerie'!

Written by: Gene Roddenberry (Planet Earth) and Directed by: Robert Butler (Turbulence). Starring: Jeffery Hunter (King Of Kings), Susan Oliver (The Disorderly Orderly), Leonard Nimoy (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), Majel Barrett (Spectre), John Hoyt (Spartacus), Laurel Goodwin (Stage To Thunder Rock), Bob Johnson (Mission Impossible), Serena Sande (Ghost Town), Georgia Schmidt (House Of The Damned).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Captain Pike & his crew on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise[/caption]

The Cage told the story of how while heading for some much needed R & R, the Starship Enterprise ended up diverting to the Talos star group when an Earth Ship distress signal is found, and when they get there they find what at first they think are a group of survivors that are just excited to finally be going home!

The only problem is that with in a few moments of being down on the planets surface, all but the one of the survivors end up disappearing and 3 Talosians end up appearing  and kidnapping Captain Pike and housing both the survivor and Captain Pike in their underground zoo!

Now these Talosians have an especially adept talent at making illusions, but not just illusions but illusions that appear to be totally real! So during his incarceration Captain Pike ends up going through various illusions in an effort for the Talosians to try  and persuade Pike to stay with them!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Number One (Majel Barrett), Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffery Hunter), Yeoman J.M. Colt (Laurel Goodwin)[/caption]

During this time, the Enterprise will do what ever it takes to try and get their Captain back!

It turns out that in 1988, this episode did finally appear in it's entirety, and you know what? I have to admit that I did prefer this episode over the first episode that had William Shatner as Captain Kirk, but the truth is, is that this episode compared to the rest of the series was not as good, but if you are a trekkie and haven't seen this episode yet, then I highly recommend it, it is a decent one!

http://youtu.be/6F5pAFhByU8