Supplemental #3 | Aliens & god-like beings in abundance
TOS Season 1 | Episodes 10-19
The original series is not what I remember
It was around the 90’s when I watched syndicated episodes of Star Trek TOS. They were likely out of any particular order, but as I’m discovering with this series, order is irrelevant. Even the stardates never made sense from episode to episode. The crew (main ones) were the only real constant but actual development of characters from one episode to the next just doesn’t exist. It’s as if the previous episodes or encounters are not relevant to the future episodes. That can be a good thing but also a frustrating one, and I’ll tell you why:
Balok - Some sort of alien life form that looks like a child but speaks with the mind of an advanced adult. The Enterprise just freely leaves one of their own behind as company for Balok without really learning or gaining anything that I consider of value in return.
Romulans - I understand the Romulans are the first real alien race the federation encountered and it is because of them that the neutral zone was even created, etc. I also understand that to cross this zone by either side would be waging all out war, but when faced with this one vessel I truly expected a bit more on the side of communication and understanding from Enterprise, even if this ship destroyed at least two of their outposts, leaving no survivors.
The Caretaker - An alien on a planet that can literally create anything you want to please you and all the Enterprise can think to do is vacation there?! Come on! Where is their sense of discovery?
Trelane - What I consider to be the first encounter with a life form that is close to Q from TNG and again, Captain Kirk simply accepts that he doesn’t get answers and moves on, satisfied to have just survived a near death moment. At least show some frustration at not getting answers or perhaps ask questions to begin with?
Metrons - Yet another superior being that can do whatever they want, however they want, in a particular part of the galaxy and the Enterprise is powerless to do anything but talk their way out of it. This is becoming a pattern with them that I hope changes in the following seasons.
I honestly don’t know how much more of this I can stand. Perhaps it’s that I’m watching an episode every single day that the pattern is so vivid and clear to me? Either way, I’m looking forward to being two thirds of the way through the first season. Just ten more episodes and another supplemental to wrap-up the first season before we get started on season two in the beginning of April.