- "The Alternative Factor:" Was excessively dumb, confusing, used some of the cheapest special-effects on the entire show, the storyline was choppy and poorly written, and I wanted to kill Lazarus before the episode was up. Not to mention seeing him use a cheesy "Jetsons-style" saucer ship for transport.
- "Who Mourns for Adonais?" I avoided this episode for a long time, because I found it insulting towards Christians, but when I finally attempted to watch it, the episode was even worse than that. I got bored 3/4 of the way through! The plot was very slow for a Star Trek Episode.
- "Catspaw:" A really lame story with some of the cheapest special-effects after "The Alternative Factor." It was pretty obvious they recycled some haunted castle set lying around one of the nearby studios, and there was nothing creative at all about any of this story. Are we supposed to be scared of the shadow of a house cat? Even stupider is, at the end, it turned out to be an illusion projected by aliens made of pipe-cleaners! Stupid! >:(
- "The Return of the Archons:" It was a stupid and cheap episode, recycling Victorian sets and costumes lying around. While the concept of people being controlled mentally by a computer that they inherently worship as a god is vaguely interesting (and the concept has been explored in many sci-fi stories since then) the way it was presented was really stupid.
- "A Piece of the Action:" This one was so stupid, one could mistake it for a mafia show instead of Star Trek. Like "Return of the Archons," it's another case of cheaply recycling 1920s costumes, cars, and tommygun props lying around the nearby studios in order to throw together a filler episode. The only silver lining to this episode was that it inspired better-written stuff in later Star Trek spin-offs, using 20th century gangsters as a theme.
- "A Private Little War:" Probably should be nominated for the absolute worst costumes and wigs worn by actors in any 60s tv show. That, and the hippie commune north of L.A. called, they want their dancer girl back. Should also be nominated for the worst portrayal of an alien monster ever made (the Mugato) and funkiest healing scene ever done afterwards. Even the Gorn in "Arena" looked better than that!
- "Assignment Earth:" It was meant to be a spin-off of a tv series taking place in the same universe as "Star Trek," involving Gary 7 and his bimbo girlfriend. However, the #1 reason I hate this episode comes down to one name: Teri Garr. Granted, she has done better in other tv shows and movies, but in this episode, she is the most annoying, shrill little shit I have ever seen on tv. I also hate her clashing orange/pink dress. I suspect she is partially responsible for the Gary 7 show never getting off the ground. Who would wanta watch Gary exploring the galaxy with an annoying bitch like that? The only reason my grandpa would watch the episode was to drool over Isis in her human form [which she was only in for 2 minutes] at the end of the show!
- "The Paradise Syndrome:" A really stupid episode involving Kirk with amnesia, trapped on a planet that has recycled politically incorrect American Indian costumes, and has weird alien obelisks lying around. The only saving grace of this episode was, the obelisks inspired some cool writing for "Star Trek Online" decades later.
- "Spectre of the Gun:" Why oh why did they make this episode? It's just them hanging out on half-built wild west sets, re-enacting the Battle of the OK Corral. Some people have found the concept of the aliens putting this all into their minds interesting, but honestly, I really have no interest in this episode. Incidentally, it spawned the trope "Chekhov's Gun" on TV Tropes.
- "The Mark of Gideon:" Very stupid episode that mostly consists of a Kirk following a woman with a childish hairdo and her underwear on the outside of her clothes around an empty version of the Enterprise, and her planet is super-over-populated to the point where they've lost their minds. No thanks.
- "That Which Survives:" Poorly written episode that had a very stupid plotline about an alien device that would project a woman dressed as an "alien," who would touch people and kill them. The only notable thing about the entire episode was the interesting costume the woman wore.
- "The Way to Eden:" Mostly just a stupid "space hippie" episode, trying to tell a metaphor for why the hippie lifestyle is destructive. I can't imagine why nobody got the message.
- "Turnabout Intruder:" Mostly it's an episode to where Kirk is trapped in the body of a woman who hates him, because they switched minds using an alien device. It seemed to be a metaphor for how sexist Starfleet was, which contradicts a lot of Roddenberry's Utopian vision for Star Trek. Janice Lester didn't want to admit that Starfleet refused to let her be a captain of a starship because she was a nutjob, not because she was female
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Wuchak (8298)
4 years ago
Nice meaty reply, AmeriGirl. I agree with some while a few others I admit have their negatives, but they have enough highlights to make 'em worthwhile.
I didn't take "Who Mourns for Adonais?" insulting towards Christians. It was addressing Greek/Roman mythology: Technologically advanced space travelers — but otherwise quite ordinary humanoids — visited Earth many centuries ago and were accepted as gods by our primitive ancestors. The problem results when such idolized ordinary people start to believe their own press, as was the case with Apollo. This can be applied to has-been rock stars and celebrities.
Like you, I found "The Return of the Archons" dull, strange and unimpressive on my initial viewings years ago, but it's also fascinating from a psychological perspective. At first glance, the storytellers seem to be making light of Christianity. Landru is presented as a Christ-figure who desires to “absorb” (‘convert’) people into “the body” (‘the body of Christ’) and thus become “in Landru” (‘in Christ’). Those absorbed into Landru’s “body” worship him (at one point Sulu euphorically chants “Landru, Landru”) and act with an air of mindless, vacant contentment. Yet we should take into account pertinent evidence from other episodes and films: Roddenberry co-wrote “Bread and Circuses," a story that’s (surprisingly) open and friendly toward Christianity. Also consider Kirk’s statement in “Who Mourns for Adonais?” that the Federation “find The One (God) quite adequate” and The Companion’s statement in “Metamorphosis” regarding “the Maker of all things”; not to mention that the Enterprise crew really wanted to find God at the end of Star Trek V, although of course the entity turned out to be a charlatan. This evidence helps us conclude that the writers of "Archons" were criticizing cults or legalistic (counterfeit) “Christians” and not biblical Christianity. I find the criticism valid.
Lastly, I thought the healing scene in "A Private Little War" was powerful and hypnotic.
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AmeriGirl26 (12884)
4 years ago
Um...I would appreciate it if you didn't bring up "Star Trek V" with me. That movie stank so bad that it swept up the Razzies that year, and many of us Trek fans do not acknowledge that the movie exists. It was badly written, was not consistent with Star Trek lore, and was, as I said about Adonais, insulting towards Christians. Though you do make a good case for how some of the episodes were Christian-friendly in the dialogue or symbolism. That's more than I can say about Shitscovery.
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mikethemartian (6281)
3 years ago
Isn’t the Purge movie series basically based on The Return of the Archons? I’ve never seen any of the movies but I remember the creator saying he got the idea from a Star Trek episode.
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