 [Larger view] | Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 3, Episodes 6 & 7: The Man Trap/ The Naked Time
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 Two early Star Trek episodes that were really too early | |
| The one thing that the two episodes on Volume 3 of the Star Trek DVD series have in common is that they both should have come much later in the show's run. In "The Man Trap," we find out that once upon a time Leonard McCoy was romantically involved with Nancy Crater, who is working with her husband Robert on the distant planet M-113. When the Enterprise arrives to give the researchers their yearly physicals, crewmen start dying from complete salt deprivation. It turns out that Nancy has been dead for a year, and her place has been taken by a salt vampire. But this is "Episode 6," a point where we are still finding out about McCoy and his relationship to Kirk and Spock; i.e., too soon to really care about his past. Besides, Star Trek never really did all that well with traditional monsters. "The Man Trap" is a slightly below average Star Trek episode. Then, in "The Naked Time" an away team finds six scientists dead on planet Psi 2000. When one of the crew takes the glove of his isolation suit off, a small drop of red liquid moves onto his hand. When they return to the Enterprise the crewmembers start acting strangely; Sulu runs around with a fencer's foil, Riley takes over engineering and keeps singing "I'll Take You Home Kathleen," and even Spock becomes an emotional wreck. The strange liquid from the planet affects everyone like alcohol and bares their souls. This is absolutely a great idea, but for "Episode 7"? This is just way too early for Spock to have his meltdown. Ironically, STNG made the same mistake with "The Naked Now" being Episode THREE for crying out loud. Of course, in syndication these concerns are less important because we the second/third/nth time you want a Star Trek episode you can put it in the context of the entire series. Still, way back when, they were really getting a bit ahead of the game with this pair of episodes, although "The Naked Time" is an above average episode. | |
| Where it all began.... | |
| Back on September 8, 1966, television was forever changed when the first broadcast episode of Star Trek hit the air waves. No one at that time knew that the series would endure for over thirty years, building up a strong, loyal fan base that would serve as the spring board for three new series and a string of successful films. Looking back, it's interesting to think that Trek started with the rather so-so episode, "The Man Trap." It's the story of McCoy's old love who happens to turn out be a salt vampire. Along the way, we meet several members of the crew and get exposed to what could be described as a day in the life of the starship Enterprise. We also get a snippet of time with all the major players who inhabit the first 12 episodes of the original series. On the far more enjoyable side is the classic episode (that Next Generation blatantly ripped off in only their second episode) "The Naked Time." The crew is infected by a virus that makes them act as if drunk and brings to the surface emotions and characteristics the crew usually leaves buried. In addition, the ship is spiralling down toward a dying planet and is forced to race against time. "The Naked Time" has it all from character development and moments to a taut, danger ridden plotline to some super music by the master of Trek music, Alexander Courage. It's simply a masterpiece of Star Trek and one that deserves another look. It also features what many consider some of the best acting of the original series--namely in the conflict between Kirk and Spock in the briefing room. And really, it's hard to argue... My only major complaint with the DVD (and thus what keeps it from five stars) is that Paramount decided to package the episode as the special edition which was shown on the Sci-Fi channel. Paramount decided to mess with the original credits for the first couple of episodes until fan outcry forced them to restore the original version we know and love. However, instead of spending the time to replace the credit, Paramount used the Special Edition opening for "The Man Trap." I know it's nitpicky, but this small "correction" mars an otherwise flawless DVD and takes a bit away from the viewing experience. | |
 Bare empty DVD.... | |
| I'm starting to find these DVDs of the original Star Trek television series to be very poor. Made when DVD production was just getting started in 1999, the last few years have seen whole TV shows released as four disk DVD sets labled with the complete episodes of each season. I am suprised and disapointed that Paramount has not extended this to the original Star Trek episodes either. Or a show to be as loved and admired as it has been, it deserves to be re-released as a four disk set with each season's episodes complete with commentery and behind the scenes featureets on how the show was made. But Paramount has given no indication that it plans to do so. The current management has not been that great in delivering high quality DVDs on Star Trek, and this inconstistency can be seen with the release of the Star Trek movies as Special Edition two disk DVD sets. Paramount seems to be on the decline in recent years. They have not had a big office movie in some time. They have done more with releasing their TV shows as full season disk sets, but why not TOS. There is a large fan base that would like it. Who knows? All I know is that with the recent failure of Star Trek; Nemesis at the movies, and with ENTERPRISE barely making the cut on TV, it seems that for the near future, the space dock is closed. |
