Our 9-month mission is over, as we reach the end of The Original Series with “All Our Yesterdays” and “Turnabout Intruder”. If only we could go back in time to the first or second seasons–but no women, please, they’re nuts! Plus! Eric lays out a roadmap for the future of Trekabout. iTunes Google Play RSS
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Trekabout Episode 39: The Cloud Minders/The Savage Curtain
As we inch closer to the end of The Original Series, we’ve hit the brakes with “The Cloud Minders” and “The Savage Curtain”, two more episodes with intriguing premises that get bored with themselves halfway through. Plus! Abraham Lincoln dies again. iTunes Google Play RSS
Trekabout Episode 38: Requiem for Methuselah/The Way to Eden
It seems that Spock is getting restless. In “Requiem for Methuselah”, he surprises everyone by expressing a desire to get drunk while listening to some sick Brahms’ sonatas. Later, in “The Way to Eden”, he drops out, turns on, and tunes in with the cast of a 23rd Century traveling production of Hair. Plus! Richard …
Trekabout Episode 37: That Which Survives/The Lights of Zetar
We’ve had some strong contenders, but, finally, we’ve found an episode of The Original Series that’s as terrible as “The Alternative Factor”: “That Which Survives”. The less said about it, the better, so let’s move right along to “The Lights of Zetar”, which isn’t much better, but at least features a strong and capable female …
Trekabout Episode 36: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield/The Mark of Gideon
Ah, 1969. America’s Gandhi was dead. Race riots had broken out in many American cities. The Cold War was at full tilt. But don’t worry! Here is “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” to browbeat us with the message that “racism is bad”! Later, “The Mark of Gideon” tries to convince us that mass sterilization …
Trekabout Episode 35: Elaan of Troyius/Whom Gods Destroy
The third season of The Original Series has slowed its rate of terribleness with “Elaan of Troyius” and “Whom Gods Destroy”. While not classic episodes, they’re at least entertaining pulp nonsense, and at this point, that’s about all we can ask. Also! Richard can’t hear. iTunes Google Play RSS
Trekabout Episode 34: Wink of an Eye/The Empath
The Original Series continues its problematic relationship with female guests stars this week. In “Wink of an Eye”, our female guest star’s personality switches multiple times over the course of the episode because plot. In “The Empath”, the show manages to one-up that treatment and give us a female character with literally no personality. Oh, …
Trekabout Episode 33: The Tholian Web/Plato’s Stepchildren
It’s not dead, Jim: The third season roars back this week. “The Tholian Web” features a new alien menace, growing madness among the crew, a disappearing starship, and Spock and Bones at each other’s throats. “Plato’s Stepchildren” features telekinetic jocks, the first (sic) interracial kiss on television, and a singing Spock. Plus! Scotty gets drunk …
Trekabout Episode 32: Day of the Dove/For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
8 episodes into the third season of The Original Series, and we’ve cracked the code on why it’s so disappointing: everyone involved has decided to give us a steady diet of fight scenes, love scenes, and general half-assed pulp nonsense. In “Day of the Dove”, the Klingons and the Federation learn that the cure for …
Trekabout Episode 31: Is There in Truth No Beauty?/Spectre of the Gun
In “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”, the crew of the Enterprise wanders around for 50 minutes while a guest star does her best to convince everyone that she’s blind, and then she leaves. In “Spectre of the Gun”, the crew of the Enterprise wanders around for 50 minutes while guest stars do their best …