Week 7

Four episodes down this week. First is Wolf in the Fold, a pretty good episode where Scotty is accused of murder on a pleasure planet. Supernatural activity abounds, including a seance. A little out of the ordinary for Star Trek, but fun none the less.

Then comes the Tribbles. This is by far one of the most well known and memorable episodes. But I hated it. It had a lot of cheap, juvenile humor that is usually reserved for other types of shows, like The Brady Bunch or Andy Griffith. It was also memorable, for me, in that they recycled an actor from season one's The Squire of Gothos (William Campbell). He has a very distinct face, voice, and mannerism that made it immediately obvious he was the same guy. But in addition to that, he was memorable for being the worst Klingon ever. He was not tough, cold, crass or violent. He was rather gay, spoke eloquently and jovially in a rather melodious voice, and was a pussy to Kirk. How did he even survive a Klingon childhood?
Worst. Klingon. Ever.
The Gamesters of Triskelion was ok but unmemorable. And A Piece of the Action was a good "holodeck" type of episode with a lot of humor about the landing party trying to fit in with the locals. Also to note, Kirk did not know how to drive a manual transmission car, despite the new movie trailer clearly showing him driving a manual classic Corvette off a cliff, and knowing how to handle the clutch. Who on the new movie failed to do their research! I've read that each series has a team of people who are essentially Star Trek historians and science fact checkers, but they totally missed that Kirk can't drive! I'm kidding of course, I don't really care, but I find it funny anyhow.

43. Wolf in the Fold ••••
    
44. The Trouble Tith Tribbles •
    
45. The Gamesters of Triskelion •••
    
46. A Piece of the Action ••••
    

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Week 6

7 down this week. Catspaw had some real crappy effects and cheap sets, but was not a bad story. Journey to Babel stood out this week. It was a real nice political intrigue episode with politics and assassination. It also introduced Spock's parents. Friday's Child was notable for the absolutely stunning Julie Newmar guest starring as a warrior's wife. The Deadly Years, in which the away team artificially age rapidly, was fun to watch and compare to how the actors really aged, which was not nearly as well, lol.

And finally, Obsession was a good story in that it dove into Kirk's past a bit. Which raised questions for me about the upcoming movie. Kirk didn't live his entire childhood on Earth. He lived on Tarsus IV at age 13 for an unspecified period of time. He then went through Starfleet Academy (starting in 2250) and served on at least two other Star Ships before being awarded the Enterprise in 2264 at age 31. I'm not sure how long Starfleet Academy trains officers, but that's almost 14 years of service before he even set foot on the Enterprise. So now my curiosity about the new movie is at an all time high! Can't wait to see it. I'm also very glad I am watching all the original episodes before the new movie.

36. Catspaw •••
    
37. I, Mudd •••
    
38. Metamorphosis •••
    
39. Journey to Babel •••••
    
40. Friday's Child ••••
    
41. The Deadly Years ••••
    
42. Obsession ••••
    

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Week 5

Only 3 episodes this week! I've been getting to bed later than usual. I end up either falling asleep mid show or foregoing it altogether. This week I will get back on track.

33. Mirror, Mirror ••••
    
34. The Apple •••
    
35. The Doomsday Machine ••••
    

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It's Alive!

My arcade stick project is finally complete! It's a wireless Xbox 360 controller, poplar frame, battery compartment built into the side, Sanwa stick, Seimitsu buttons, Street Fighter graphic from UdonCrew under a plexiglas cover. Total Cost: ~$250. Works awesome on Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix. Looking forward to playing some Street Fighter IV on it next week! More pics here.

Week 4

Another 7 down this week. Good episodes this week were Errand of Mercy, City on the Edge of Forever, Operation Annihilate and Amok Time. Errand of Mercy introduced us to Klingons as they declare war on the Federation. City on the Edge of Forever had a cool plot where Bones changes history and Kirk and Spock must fix it to restore the present (I think this episode won an award at the time). Operation Annihilate was a cool episode where Kirk races into space to save his brother's family from a mysterious disease that is driving everyone mad. And Amok Time offers our first glimpse of Vulcan and it's culture.

The Alternative Factor is worth mentioning because of the horrible special effects sequences in the inter-dimensional paths. While the story was ok and the guest actor was blah, the effects really stand out as horrible. They were the type of effects that make most Sci-Fi shows unbearable by the general populace. The type of effects that Star Trek generally avoids. They basically had two guys struggling with each other and they did a inversion on the palette and moved the camera in and out and side to side to simulate chaos and action. The camera even spun around completely as it zooms in and out. The result is a blue and red glowing mess that goes on for way longer than it should.

I had to switch from Netflix to CBS for season 2, which I am not happy about. CBS doesn't provide the remastered versions, the video is grainy from over-compression, the player won't actually go full screen, and there's commercials! I tried to find the DVDs locally, but the video stores and libraries only have random discs; I have no hope of consistently tracking down each one in order. It was almost enough to make me buy the DVDs ($170 for the set on eBay) but I'll make due with CBS for now.

26. Errand of Mercy ••••
    
27. The Alternative Factor •••
    
28. The City on the Edge of Forever ••••
    
29. Operation Annihilate ••••
    
30. Amok Time ••••
    
31. Who Mourns for Adonais? •••
    
32. The Changeling •••
    

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Ultimate Man-cave Accessory

I have to admit, if it were a bit cheaper, I would buy one. I would buy it and it would be the centerpiece of my living room. It would be the crown jewel of the game room. I would wire the buttons to real functions, like turning off the lights and maybe a power projector screen. It would be glorious.

Week 3

Another 7 down this week. Some good episodes this time. Court Martial was excellent, with Kirk on trial for murdering a crewman who was displeased with him. A Taste of Armageddon was a particularly good commentary episode about people being detached from the horrors of war. And finally, after all these years, I saw the episode where we meet Khan! Space Seed was a good episode, but it's a must-see due to it's being the prequel to the excellent movie, Wrath of Khan.

19. Tomorrow Is Yesterday •••
    
20. Court Martial •••••
    
21. The Return of the Archons •••
    
22. Space Seed ••••
    
23. A Taste of Armageddon •••••
    
24. This Side of Paradise •••
    
25. The Devil in the Dark •••
    

Tomorrow Is Yesterday had some BS time travel, but otherwise was a good episode.

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