I got the Blu-Ray discs on a pre Black Friday deal and they're already here. If I can manage it, I'll probably watch one to three episodes per week and post comments.

Nothing new, I suspect, but you never know.

ALPHABETICAL:

A Piece Of The Action = Page(s) 29(Jilerb) 34(Doot)
A Private Little War = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 35(Doot)
A Taste Of Armageddon = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 40(Doot)
All Our Yesterdays = Page(s) 52(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Alternative Factor = Page(s) 13(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
Amok Time = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
And The Children Shall Lead = Page(s) 37(Jilerb)
The Apple = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 33(Doot)
Arena = Page(s) 5(Jilerb) 10(Doot)
Assignment Earth = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)

Balance Of Terror = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
Bread And Circuses = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
By Any Other Name = Page(s) 31(Jilerb) 55(Doot)

Catspaw = Page(s) 15(Jilerb) 60(Doot)
The Changeling = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
Charlie X = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
The City On The Edge Of Forever = Page(s) 13(Jilerb) 13(Doot)
The Cloud Minders = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Conscience Of The King = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
The Corbomite Maneuver = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
Court Martial = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 11(Doot)

Dagger Of The Mind = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
Day Of The Dove = Page(s) 43(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
The Deadly Years = Page(s) 24(Jilerb) 37(Doot)
The Devil In The Dark = Page(s) 9(Jilerb) 12(Doot)
The Doomsday Machine = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 57(Doot)

Elaan Of Troyius = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
The Empath = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 59(Doot)
The Enemy Within = Page(s) 2(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
The Enterprise Incident = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
Errand Of Mercy = Page(s) 11(Jilerb) 12(Doot)

For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky = Page(s) 43(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
Friday's Child = Page(s) 21(Jilerb) 35(Doot)

The Galileo Seven = Page(s) 4(Jilerb) 9(Doot)
The Gamesters Of Triskelion = Page(s) 29(Jilerb) 33(Doot)

I, Mudd = Page(s) 15(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
The Immunity Syndrome = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 34(Doot)
Is There In Truth No Beauty? = Page(s) 42(Jilerb) 56(Doot)

Journey To Babel = Page(s) 15+16(Jilerb) 33(Doot)

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield = Page(s) 46(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
The Lights Of Zetar = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 57(Doot)

The Man Trap = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 6(Doot)
The Mark Of Gideon = Page(s) 47(Jilerb) 61(Doot)
The Menagerie, Part 1 = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
The Menagerie, Part 2 = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
Metamorphosis = Page(s) 15(Jilerb) 33(Doot)
Miri = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 60(Doot)
Mirror, Mirror = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
Mudd's Women = Page(s) 2(Jilerb) 7(Doot)

The Naked Time = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 7(Doot)

Obsession = Page(s) 27(Jilerb) 36(Doot)
The Omega Glory = Page(s) 31(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
Operation Annihilate! = Page(s) 12(Doot) 13(Jilerb)

The Paradise Syndrome = Page(s) 33(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
Patterns Of Force = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
Plato's Stepchildren = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 56(Doot)

Requiem For Methuselah = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Return Of The Archons = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 11(Doot)
Return To Tomorrow = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 40(Doot)

The Savage Curtain = Page(s) 49(Jilerb) 59(Doot)
Shore Leave = Page(s) 4(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
Space Seed = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 41(Doot)
Spectre Of The Gun = Page(s) 42(Jilerb) 59(Doot)
Spock's Brain = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
The Squire Of Gothos = Page(s) 4(Jilerb) 9(Doot)

That Which Survives = Page(s) 47(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
This Side Of Paradise = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 40(Doot)
The Tholian Web = Page(s) 44(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 11(Doot)
The Trouble With Tribbles = Page(s) 29(Jilerb) 40(Doot)
Turnabout Intruder = Page(s) 53(Jilerb) 60(Doot)

The Ultimate Computer = Page(s) 31(Jilerb) 55(Doot)

The Way To Eden = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
What Are Little Girls Made Of? = Page(s) 2(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
Where No Man Has Gone Before = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
Who Mourns For Adonais? = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
Whom Gods Destroy = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
Wink Of An Eye = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
Wolf In The Fold = Page(s) 28(Jilerb) 38(Doot)


Below is the periodically updated list of episode reviews and which page(s) they can be found on within this thread, and the author who wrote the review.

SEASON ONE:

The Man Trap = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 6(Doot)
Charlie X = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
Where No Man Has Gone Before = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
The Naked Time = Page(s) 1(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
The Enemy Within = Page(s) 2(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
Mudd's Women = Page(s) 2(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
What Are Little Girls Made Of? = Page(s) 2(Jilerb) 7(Doot)
Miri = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 60(Doot)
Dagger Of The Mind = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
The Corbomite Maneuver = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
The Menagerie, Part 1 = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
The Menagerie, Part 2 = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
The Conscience Of The King = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
Balance Of Terror = Page(s) 3(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
Shore Leave = Page(s) 4(Jilerb) 8(Doot)
The Galileo Seven = Page(s) 4(Jilerb) 9(Doot)
The Squire Of Gothos = Page(s) 4(Jilerb) 9(Doot)
Arena = Page(s) 5(Jilerb) 10(Doot)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 11(Doot)
Court Martial = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 11(Doot)
The Return Of The Archons = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 11(Doot)
Space Seed = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 41(Doot)
A Taste Of Armageddon = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 40(Doot)
This Side Of Paradise = Page(s) 6(Jilerb) 40(Doot)
The Devil In The Dark = Page(s) 9(Jilerb) 12(Doot)
Errand Of Mercy = Page(s) 11(Jilerb) 12(Doot)
The Alternative Factor = Page(s) 13(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The City On The Edge Of Forever = Page(s) 13(Jilerb) 13(Doot)
Operation Annihilate! = Page(s) 12(Doot) 13(Jilerb)

SEASON TWO:

Amok Time = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
Who Mourns For Adonais? = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
The Changeling = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
Mirror, Mirror = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Apple = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 33(Doot)
The Doomsday Machine = Page(s) 14(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
Catspaw = Page(s) 15(Jilerb) 60(Doot)
I, Mudd = Page(s) 15(Jilerb) 32(Doot)
Metamorphosis = Page(s) 15(Jilerb) 33(Doot)
Journey To Babel = Page(s) 15+16(Jilerb) 33(Doot)
Friday's Child = Page(s) 21(Jilerb) 35(Doot)
The Deadly Years = Page(s) 24(Jilerb) 37(Doot)
Obsession = Page(s) 27(Jilerb) 36(Doot)
Wolf In The Fold = Page(s) 28(Jilerb) 38(Doot)
The Trouble With Tribbles = Page(s) 29(Jilerb) 40(Doot)
The Gamesters Of Triskelion = Page(s) 29(Jilerb) 33(Doot)
A Piece Of The Action = Page(s) 29(Jilerb) 34(Doot)
The Immunity Syndrome = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 34(Doot)
A Private Little War = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 35(Doot)
Return To Tomorrow = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 40(Doot)
Patterns Of Force = Page(s) 30(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
By Any Other Name = Page(s) 31(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
The Omega Glory = Page(s) 31(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
The Ultimate Computer = Page(s) 31(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
Bread And Circuses = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
Assignment Earth = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)

SEASON THREE:

Spock's Brain = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
The Enterprise Incident = Page(s) 32(Jilerb) 55(Doot)
The Paradise Syndrome = Page(s) 33(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
And The Children Shall Lead = Page(s) 37(Jilerb)
Is There In Truth No Beauty? = Page(s) 42(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
Spectre Of The Gun = Page(s) 42(Jilerb) 59(Doot)
Day Of The Dove = Page(s) 43(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky = Page(s) 43(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
The Tholian Web = Page(s) 44(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
Plato's Stepchildren = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
Wink Of An Eye = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Empath = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 59(Doot)
Elaan Of Troyius = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 56(Doot)
Whom Gods Destroy = Page(s) 45(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield = Page(s) 46(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
The Mark Of Gideon = Page(s) 47(Jilerb) 61(Doot)
That Which Survives = Page(s) 47(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
The Lights Of Zetar = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 57(Doot)
Requiem For Methuselah = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Way To Eden = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Cloud Minders = Page(s) 48(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
The Savage Curtain = Page(s) 49(Jilerb) 59(Doot)
All Our Yesterdays = Page(s) 52(Jilerb) 58(Doot)
Turnabout Intruder = Page(s) 53(Jilerb) 60(Doot)

First off, wow, these are beautiful. The old, grainy effects are also included if you want to watch those, too, and it's obviously no contest, but I'm talking about the huge difference between the re-mastered episodes they broadcast on T.V. here a few years back and these Blu-Rays. Crystal clear, crisp, vibrant images - even the non special effects are cleaned up. No advertising banners on the bottom or channel logos, or weather related static, or commercial breaks, and no recording mishaps either, so far. Not to mention the Closed Captioning is perfect - it's doesn't lag. It may not always agree with what is said, apparently following the script more than where the actors have taken liberties, I think, but it's right there, and if you look at it, I'm fairly certain even a hard core fan who has memorized many lines of Trek dialogue might find they misheard some things for years now, and never knew it.

I'm sorry to say the sound seems a bit subdued so I have to turn my T.V. way up, but that could be a product of the T.V. or the player or both. It's not horrible - I just have to remember to turn it down before switching back to normal T.V. I'm betting it'll play better via a HDML cable the upstairs unit has but the downstairs one doesn't, but since I'm watching them downstairs with brother John (Beachy), the air is the air, what can be done?

The Man Trap

I recall a ship requesting "urgent" supplies before while Kirk hung about trying to figure out what killed his crewman, and him saying they could wait a few days. Here, though, I discovered it was more of a joke and the urgent supplies are just red peppers Kirk hand-picked for another captain, and he can wait for them. I honestly don't ever recall seeing the red pepper bit before. Could be my memory, but I suspect those seconds were frequently cut out for extra commercials. As these run about 50+ minutes instead of 44, I'm betting I'll see more than a few things I don't recall at all, or better yet, do recall but haven't seen in years due to those extra 6 minutes of commercials, despite watching the show numerous times these last few decades. These even have trailers for next week's episode, which I recall they used to show, but I haven't seen since I was a tike. And it's so wonderful not to have to wait for commercial breaks, too.

Of course one should know Vulcan has no moon, but it was mentioned in this very first aired episode. It's sort of funny to think about the "what might have been" between Spock and Uhura here due to the alternate timeline. You could see it happening that way, if things had been a bit different, but Spock, by this time, 10 years further into his life, he had made firmer commitments to a non emotional logical approach to life. His emotions still sneak through, of course, but he's more on top of them and less on top of her.

BTW, these are given in the order they aired, and not what I would prefer, the order they were made and intended to be released by the creators before other geniuses decided they knew better (or whatever).

I gave this episode only a 5 out of 10. Despite being the first and good enough to grab the audience, I'm already well aware of how much better some episodes can and will get, so the overall rating reflects the episode's score amongst all 79 episodes.

Is there an option to watch it with the old special effects (no enhancements), but with a crystal clear transfer at blu-ray resolution?

Charlie X

As I watched this, I was, for the first time, confronted with the similarities between Charlie X and the next episode, Where No Man Has Gone Before. I usually don't see them played back-to-back like this, but they are here, and in both instances we have a human who gains powers and abuses them, forcing the crew to consider killing the newly powerful character. The consideration of killing him wasn't put forth so quickly in the case of Charlie, but it did eventually make the list.

I'd prefer these two episodes were much further apart when viewing them. But there are substantial differences. I've yet to watch it now, but I recall Where No Man Has Gone Before was vastly superior to Charlie X. It was far more ominous, and with a consideration of what it takes to be a god, how our human frailties are not so easily put aside, loyalties, and sacrifice, but more on that later after I watch it again.

I recall as a kid I was moderately freaked out when Charlie made that girl's face disappear. I wonder if my nephew would like to watch these.

And I could have sworn the gym tights Kirk and Charlie were wearing had been green, but they're a vibrant red now. Bad memory? Did somebody play with the color? Oh well.

I took to rating these episodes later in the reviews, but apparently I didn't bother for the first ones, so these late edits are adding the score for these episodes.

I had given this episode a 5 out of 10 before. The new effects include the exterior shot of the Antares - and I LOVE cool ships. So the rating goes up to 5.5 out of 10.

You can choose to watch the show with the old effects and they looked grainy and bad to me, but the regular stuff still looked cleaned up anyway. Or you can watch the show with the new effects. I saw no way to quickly switch back and forth, like watch a scene one way, then toggle some button to watch it again the other way (but my experience getting Blu-Ray navigation to work smoothly is low). It looked like you had to restart and rewatch the whole show, or restart then skip ahead to the scene you wished to compare. There is no quick side-by-side comparison so much as a first one, then the other, after a bit of navigation to get to the desired scene. But that's good enough.

And both seem to be around 50 minutes in length per episode, so I think it's all there, and all cleaned up at Blu-Ray clarity.

My fears these were cut up have been allayed (though some reviews said they were, but probably for other older editions - damn Amazon for freely mixing old reviews for old releases and new reviews for new releases since it's all just Trek to them, right)

These discs are mankind's greatest achievement.

Well, I don't know about that, but they're very nice

Where No Man Has Gone Before

They are looking in a mirror, so the image is reversed.

This was the second pilot - though they didn't air it first, choosing to air The Man Trap first. Probably a mistake, but I don't know if a higher percentage of the general audience preferred The Man Trap or not. I know I prefer Where No Man Has Gone Before and would have been more thoroughly hooked with that, but I got hooked either way, so what evs.

I guess here, leaving the galaxy would be a quick jaunt out of the plane of the main disc of the Milky Way, or out of our local spiral arm, rather than actually leaving the outer rim - they just aren't that far out. But the "magical" barrier (which deflectors detect but sensors don't) thwarts their efforts and they quickly retreat with their warp drive damaged. Still, Delta Vega is within reach of impulse drive, so doubtlessly that's about as far out as Man has come in that direction with any regularity (once every 20 years). Some stories I've heard just say this is just another manifestation of the Q continuum. No matter. I only mention it since 200 years prior to this a non warp driven ship had reached this far. It may not be particularly all that far since space is not linear or even two dimensional, but three dimensional here, for purposes of mapping our exploration to date. It may even be just next door since we're still barely getting started here on our exploration of the galaxy. Seems these Starships are frequently pushing the envelope of known space, as they should be, so that's good and interesting and nice to see.

While they could have modernized some shots (like printed medical records on view screens), they didn't, nor did they "fix" any mistakes, like the James "R." Kirk tombstone that Mitchell made. Obviously they hadn't decided on Kirk's middle name at that point, but it could be taken to suggest Mitchell, despite his new god-like powers, isn't perfect, or just doesn't know everything, including Kirk's middle name. Or maybe those two friends just shared an inside joke with one another about Kirk's middle name. Regardless, they left it alone there, and that was the right call.

Late Edit: Noticed today, while rewatching this episode, the science and medical people are sporting the engineering symbol and vice versa. Spock also doesn't have the science insignia, but a command emblem, and Gary Mitchell a science one (though it would be an engineering one here since they're switched). Just another example of not having many series details locked down yet.

I was pleased to see the "Garden of Eden" scene, where Mitchell created a miracle to live there, including the Kaferian Apples (an Eden reference?), as they nearly always cut that "apple" scene out.

Some often ask why is Kirk even going after Mitchell rather than going back to the ship and using his radiating the planet idea, but of course they forget Kirk doesn't know Elizabeth has "turned" yet, and his crewman is gone and it's his fault, so he's going to try to rescue her, or stop/kill Gary, or take one more chance to talk him down, but I think it was mostly to rescue Elizabeth, the compassionate doctor, who was more a prototype for the real McCoy to come later. Kirk takes personal responsibility for the lives under his command and it means more to him than risking his own life, so as long as he didn't know she turned, he had to go after her. Maybe that's not the right call for a captain, but he'd be a pretty heartless captain if he just quickly wrote off subordinates as less valuable than him, so tough break, eh.

BTW, Gary Lockwood (the surprisingly sexist Gary Mitchell) also played Dr. Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey if he looks familiar to you, or other things, too, since he's still working today.

It's fun to see how unevolved some elements of the 60's culture that remained seems today, like the attitude toward women professionals.

All in all, though, this is one of my favorite episodes of Trek. It's thought provoking, ominous, and well done, IMO. And it has a phaser rifle. You don't see that ever again in TOS, but it's in there.

This is one of my favorite episodes, and so not surprisingly, it gets one of the highest ratings of all the TOS episodes - a 9 out of 10.

I've only given six episodes a 9, and only one a full 10, so this is one the TOS jewels in the crown, IMO. A great episode.

The touched up special effects aren't overdone and the feel of the original episodes is maintained. But I like having the option of watching the original or the enhanced versions.

I've often thought The Man Trap was thought to have more of a built-in audience appeal because The Outer Limits had such similar "creature of the week" vibe at that point.

I had never seen the city in the clouds episode before and watched it a couple of weeks ago re-mastered with the fancy CGI and it was beautiful to look at - and a good episode!

Yes, give 'em a monster, an obvious villain. I can see why they'd go with that.

The Naked Time


This is a great episode where foundational character development is seen in the major and even some minor characters, so we're on the ground and running with this series already, which is fantastic.

Some new scenes, like the exterior shot of the scientific outpost with one tiny, lit window of the room where they beam in, is a pretty cool addition. They find numerous ways to add to the show while holding back and preserving the integrity of the originals, like showing the Antares in Charlie X, which itself was designed after one of the cargo ships lifted from the animated series, so it's just too cool to see these extras that never really harm the original story but add to Trek. Naturally, it's not always as good or as modern as they could have done, but so remains truer that way to the originals.

I question the science of a planet losing mass but with increasing gravity, but obviously the whole reason to be there is to observe something weird and unknown that's destroying that planet, so doubtless unusual forces are in play beyond what we know today, possibly an extra dimensional phenomenon. Sure, I do often suspect some writers just don't understand physics too well, but with the premise of observing the unknown, it's not a hard sell, and as long as nobody claims it's specifically this or that, like some well-known phenomenon, but getting it wrong, I'm fine with that.

A fun episode, too, with Sulu (amusingly called D'Artagnan by Spock, "Take D'Artagnan here to sickbay") running around with a rapier, and other characters acting goofy, often exaggerating their hidden desires or traits, so it's a revealing episode - Chapel's love for Spock, Reily's pride in being an Irishman, Spock's shame for his feelings (which he clearly has) for Kirk and his mother, and his regrets, Kirk's burdens of command over his personal desires, etc.

I loved closed captions in synch with the show, too. I notice new things - like Spock called Leslie "Rand" in this episode. Well, why not - he's more or less a permanent extra that wouldn't get an official name for quite some time, and reusing actors and sets and props is just something they had to do. But I notice other things, like in Where No Man Has Gone Before I thought Mitchell was asking Elizabeth about her feelings (for him) due to her picking a passionate love sonnet to test his memory, but she responds with a whisper, "I just fell. Nothing happened." Apparently he's talking like he knows she's been affected by the energy barrier like he was, but she just hasn't felt it yet. Wow. We knew she was hit, but didn't know she was affected until she looked in the mirror with him in Gary's cell on the planet. Maybe we should have known sooner.

And lots more detail, besides - I never notice that old style disaster recorder actually had "USS Valiant" written on it before, so you'll discover countless new things with the additional clarity in these Blu-Rays, if you want to look for it.

And the chronometers were changed in The Naked Time - more digital - less number dials, now with both stardate and shipboard times. It's worth noting these devices must lock onto exterior signals to read or calculate the time since otherwise they'd still be moving forward along with the crew that is also still moving forward in their local time bubble. So there's that.

I gather one CAN quickly toggle back and forth between old and new effects with an "Angle" button, which I don't have on my remote - or you can do it through some menu options, but it takes a longer time than the scenes run, so you have to back up, etc. Yes, easier than restarting, but if you have a higher end Blu-Ray player, it's probably quite easy.

So that's the first disc - 4 episodes - and two specials. A 20 minute look at some improvements, and even more in-depth stuff in a commentary they offer while running the episode, Where No Man Has Gone Before. The other 3 episodes don't have the optional commentary. In general, though, it's pretty cool stuff.

I'll also mention that I'm disappointed they didn't keep yeoman Smith;
She's prettier than yeoman Rand, IMO.


Or maybe I just hate those beehive hairdos.

A fun episode, and an exciting one and with many character development milestones - this episode warrants a 7 out of 10, easy.

Yeoman Smith was definitely hotter.

No wonder TOS became so huge. High adventure, interesting ideas, Nimoy and Shatner balling out, and super-hot chicks.

IT'S WHAT AMERICA IS ALL ABOUT

It's what makes TNG somewhat difficult to watch by today's standards. Everyone is so stiff and dull and asexual and there's so much TALKING and nobody ever throws a punch or shoots a phaser

How did I ever love this show as a kid?

It was truly an amazing accomplishment, and precisely one of the reasons I was subconsciously annoyed by all the follow-on variants, as if the premise or "universe" was remarkable. I think just the opposite -- it was precisely the combination of elements that that they assembled which was good.

The weirdest thing for me in watching them now is the bizarre bridge. It looked like a futuristic women's center or something, with all the pink and beige.

The whole thing just lacked a certain edgy masculinity the first series had. I think better sets and more two-fisted action would have helped. Also, that dude who played Worf should have played Ryker. Ryker seemed like your lame uncle... not sure if he was supposed to be the cocky Kirk personality of the group, but he just felt like a lameass. That Worf guy seems like a badass and has a cool look without his weird Klingon make-up.

Yeah, Riker was this weird juxtaposition of a guy who occasionally got the ladies while always following orders and never, ever breaking the rules. His accidental duplicate Thomas was far more interesting a character.

I think the coolest bridge would be the silver submarine style bridge of TOS with the cool control panels they had in TNG.

I think the Apple Store look in NuTrek is a bit of a misstep. It should be sleek and badass.

I think too many scoffed at the idea of how easily the captain risked his life, so the idea was they'd have Riker do all the Kirk-type physical and away-team stuff while the administrator-type captain sat back and made the loftier command decisions. It makes sense and works, but not as well as the original, IMO, where I prefer the more Starship Troopers idea of putting the brass on the front line, too. Everybody fights.

And I never liked how Riker started out with an almost, wow, you're Picard, and the sun shines out of your arsehole admiration. Seemed too much of a suck up. But that series did start out much slower and took longer to find its stride. Most everybody got better (or got killed or left the show).

I will say this about a late Riker and Kirk comparison. Both actors got really fat later. Frakes was so bloated, I didn't recognize him for quite some time. But to be fair, getting old sucks, so seeing these wonderful actors 50 years later is often, well, a little depressing, even assuming they are still alive. More than a few died shortly after making their Trek episode, so there are worse things than getting old and fat, I guess.

With looks like that, I'm sure that Yeoman Smith was promoted to the Admiral's office prior to the next episode.