Star Trek: Season 1 - Episode 6: 'Mudd's Women' (1966) - TV EpisodeReview

Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils 

Star Trek... I mean this show, even by todays standards is one of the best shows that has ever been created for Science Fiction in general, and all of it's subsequent spinoffs are frankly just as good!

The reason for this I believe is the air of possibility that it could actually happen based on the era in which the current form of Star Trek is being made... A great example of this is, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'... This show had everything, the horrors of war, love, loss and tragedy, humor and joy, and everything else surrounding a community of people that are living on a space station!

Now admittedly, the original series took on a strong 'camp' feel to it... But I mean that was the sign of the times in Science Fiction at that time... It still had that aura of potential realism, in a time when mankind is exploring space!

Now you might be wondering why I mention this... Well honestly, the reason that I mention this, is because the latest episode of, 'Star Trek' has to do with one of man's oldest conundrums!

This episode, which stars: William Shatner (The Babysitter), Leonard Nimoy (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), DeForest Kelley (The Night Of The Lepus), James Doohan (The Duke), George Takei (Heroes), Nichelle Nichols (Drones, Clones & Pheromones), Roger C. Carmel (Transformers: The Movie), Karen Steele (Marty), Maggie Thrett (The Devil's Brigade) & Susan Denberg (Frankenstein Created Women).

Captain Kirk trying to deal with mankind's oldest problems!

Now what I meant by this is that the Enterprise ends up picking up a man and his three traveling companions... Now at first everything seems fine with them... The guy is just escorting Eva McHouron (Karen Steele), Ruth (Maggie Thrett) & Magda (Susan Denberg) to a colony to marry men that are there...

Well there is something more sinister to this group, and as more and more of the men on board the Enterprise becomes hopelessly infatuated with the female guests, it will be up to the Enterprise crew to find out what is going on before they end up on the hook, and ole Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel), can take them for all they are worth!

Mudd's women may be a problem for Kirk's men, if they can't find a resolution!

Ultimately this episode is one that won't make much of a difference in the grand scheme of the series... But the truth is, is that it is pretty funny, and it does introduce a character, that even though he would never make it out of the original series, would still go on to be 1 of the top 10 star trek characters of all time, (I am talking about the shyster, 'Harry Mudd'!)

In the end, check it out, it might not be pivotal to the series, but you might have a few good laughs, and some times that is all it takes, eh?

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 4: 'The Naked Time' (1966) - TV Episode Review

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

One of the signs of a truly great show is when that show entertains audiences generation-ally... A show that you could honestly say that certain episodes that you liked, your parents liked, and hell maybe even Grand Parents liked...

Star Trek is certainly one of these shows!

And you know what? There is one episode in particular that I would say, rather you are a trek fan or not, is an episode that is universally considered to be pretty damn good!

That episode of course being: 'The Naked Time'!

[caption id="attachment_2851" align="aligncenter" width="450"] An infected Hikaru Sulu living out his dream of being a, 'swashbuckler' in the Star Trek: TOS episode, 'The Naked Time'![/caption]

Why is this episode so great you ask? Well, if you can pull it off (and trust me when I say that not all shows can pull this off,) but if you are a serious show that can pull off an episode that makes fun of itself, and still draw in a major crowd and keep them entertained... Then more power to you!
And, 'The Naked Time', is both 2 parts serious, and 2 parts making fun of itself!

You see, this episode, which was written by: John D.F. Black (Shaft) & Directed by: Marc Daniels (I Love Lucy). Starring: William Shatner (Kingdom Of The Spiders), Leonard Nimoy (Fringe), Stewart Moss (Raise The Titanic), Majel Barrett (Star Trek: The Next Generation), DeForest Kelley (Night Of The Lepus), Grace Lee Whitney (Irma La Douce), George Takei (Heroes), James Doohan (Birth Of A Timeless Legacy), Bruce Hyde (That Girl) & Nichelle Nichols (Escape From Heaven).

This episode tells the story of how the Enterprise is sent in to investigate a Science Outpost that had been initially set up to research the collapse of a planet!

[caption id="attachment_2853" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Spock and his team investigating the dead science outpost.[/caption]

Well when Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and his assistant arrive there, the whole base is pretty much dead... With everyone frozen, but having died in strange ways... What I mean is that for example, one person seemed to have frozen to death while in the shower and with all of their clothes on...
After Spock's assistant gets infected, (He takes off his mask to itch his nose and decides not to put it back on)... The Enterprise crew is about to get a new form of drunk... One where they don't have to drink!

The problem is, is that this new type of drunk is killing them, and if they don't figure out how to resolve this, and resolve this quick, well... At least they'll die happy!

The last thing that I thought that I would mention here is that there are two hilarious scene's in this episode that you should look out for involving, 'Sulu' (Takei) in one scene and, 'Kevin Riley' (Bruce Hyde) in a separate one!

Check this one out... You might really enjoy it... I did!

http://youtu.be/-3OsxVGOtdM

Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan (1982) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_557" align="alignright" width="307"] Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Let me ask you guys a question... Which series do you like better? The original Star Trek series or the rebooted series? For me it is a hard question, because the original series was absolutely truly amazing, and the first rebooted movie was truly awesome as well... But the rebooted part 2... meh...

But the original Star Trek 2 is a freaking awesome movie! It had a great cast of original series actors that include the likes of, William Shatner (Kingdom Of The Spiders), Leonard Nimoy (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), DeForest Kelley (Night Of The Lepus), James Doohan (The Duke), Walter Koenig (Babylon 5), George Takei (Futurama), Nichelle Nichols (Heroes).

This movie brought in a lot of other great actors as well, including: Merrit Butrick (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Paul Winfield (The Terminator), Kirstie Alley (Cheers) & Richardo Montalban (Battleground).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The smiling face of the man who wanted everything... And ended up with nothing![/caption]

You see this movie is actually a continuation of an original series TV episode, when after Captain Kirk (William Shatner) & the crew of the, 'U.S.S. Enterprise' maroon a crew of extremely dangerous super men on a planet in the hopes that they can become their own society... They end up breaking free and taking over the Federation Starship, 'U.S.S. Reliant'...

With revenge in his heart, it will be up to Kirk and crew to come together one more time to stop Khan (Ricardo Montalban) from taking out his revenge on not just Kirk and his crew, but also to the rest of the human race that tried to dump him and his group!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="618"] Kirk and crew, when Khan and his followers strand them in an underground paradise.[/caption]

In the end, this movie is one of my personal favorite of this series, and if you get a chance, I do recommend checking it out, it is well worth it!

http://youtu.be/UJTi7KJPx_E

Star Trek: Season 1 - Episode 3: 'Charlie X' (1966) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_390" align="alignright" width="178"] Official Score = 1 Devil[/caption]

You know I have to admit that I am a huge fan of Star Trek... I mean I am not some one who goes around dressed as a, 'Klingon' to the conventions or anything... Nor do I live my normal days wearing a Star Fleet Uniform or anything, but I freaking love all of the series...

So when I find an episode of one of the series, or one of the movies not to be good... Well I have to admit that it kind of sucks... But there is always another episode that will take up the slack from the damage that wascaused from that crummy episode before hand... And I hate to say it, but: Star Trek, Season 1 - Episode 3: 'Charlie X' (1966) is just one of those unfortunate rare episodes that I just don't like...

Written by: D.C. Fontana (Star Trek: Legacy) & Directed by: Lawrence Dobkin (Patton). Starring: William Shatner (Kingdom Of The Spiders), Leonard Nimoy (Fringe), Robert Walker Jr. (Easy Rider), DeForest Kelley (The Brave Little Toaster Goes To Mars), Grace Lee Whitney (Star Trek: Of Gods And Men) & Nichelle Nichols (The White Orchid).

The truth is, is a lot of people seem to truly like this episode, I mean it is one of the more recognized episodes of the original series, but the truth is, is I just don't get why people liked this episode...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Even ole Charlie X himself looks like he is trying not to barf at seeing how bad this episode is![/caption]

You see, this episode tells the story of, Charlie Evans (Robert Walker Jr.)... Now this kid is 17, but he had been surviving on a planet that is supposed to be almost entirely barren since he was 3 years old... Until he was rescued at age 17 that is...

Well regardless, he is being transported to a colony to be with relatives... The only problem is that weird and dangerous situations keep occurring as he is making his way to his biological family.

Charlie's next stop is the, 'Enterprise'... And you know what? Everyone seems to like him (despite how immature, and unsure he is.)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Charlie getting help from his new friend, 'Captain Kirk'...[/caption]

Well after he gets attracted to Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney), things start going out of control!

It will be up to Captain Kirk (William Shatner) & Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to stop this out of control boy with to much power, before Charlie destroys his ship, and afterward, the Federation!

In the end, the truth is, is this episode just didn't appeal to me... I mean everything about this episode (I guess maybe with the exception of the story) was well done, but the story and the episode itself was just plain dull as hell!

Well you can't win them all... Stick with the series, I think you might like it... I know I did!

http://youtu.be/GCwq5XMafwE

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