Tag: Star Trek: The Original Series

The Rewatch 125: Shades of Grey

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Series: Star Trek:TNG
Episode: 2.22 Shades of Gray (7-17-1989) SEASON FINALE
Rating:  3/5
Redshirt Status: 0/18.5/21.5

Notable Guest Stars:

…everyone has literally been here before.…

Review:

Today we present…. a clip episode.  This episode is not uncommon in television, and usually for the same reason this episode was made this way: Budgeting.

Its hard to review an episode that is 90% clips of previous episodes and 10% staring at Will Riker almost dying from a scratch. On the bright side, I get my Imzadi fix, but I know Marina Sirtis probably would have liked better then to just stand there with various faces of worry and fear, and Jonathan Frakes probably would have preferred to not have to lie on a bed with sticks appearing out of his head.

It is unique among TNG because this is the only clip show they ever had to make.  But if you want someone to blame for this one, blame the Borg.  They used up quite a bit of the budget for that episode as well as Elementary, Dear Data. So the Borg and Moriarty. 

I used to joke that “when in doubt, blame the Romulans” but I think I’m going to change that to Moriarty.

However, if you need a recap of the last two seasons and and Riker’s character development, I suppose this this could be considered a good episode to use.

Interesting Notes:

  • Written by Maurice Hurley
  • Directed by Rob Bowman
  • This is the last script contribution from Maurice Hurley
  • Took 3 days to film the new material.
  • I reached this on July 15, so its almost to its 31st anniversary.  (I posted it in February. Dear lord, how behind did I get???)

Pros:

  • Riker character analysis I suppose.

Cons:

  • Nothing really stands out in this episode.

Screencap from CgynusX1.net

The Rewatch 121: The Final Frontier

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Series: Star Trek TOS era Films
Episode: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier(6-9-89)
Rating:  3/5
Redshirt Status:

Notable Guest Stars:
Laurence Luckinbill – Sybok. He is mainly known for his role in this film, but he also appeared in several TV movies as minor characters, and narrated the 1985 mini series Space.
David Warner – John Talbot,.  He most recently appeared on Screen as Admiral Boom in Mary Poppins Returns. He would also appear in the next film as Chancellor Gorkon.
Charles Cooper – Korrd.  He appeared as Judge Robert Boucher in the 90s TV series The Practice. He appeared in Star Trek TNG as K’mpec.
Spice Williams-Crosby –Vixis  She went on to have a stunt career, being the stunt double of Denise Crosby and Jeri Ryan on Star Trek.  She married into the family of Bing Crosby and both her husband and son are actors as well.
George Murdock – “God”. He has appeared in Torchwood: Miracle Day as Preacher, and had a reoccurring role on Judging Amy. He would later appear in TNG as Admiral J.P. Hansen.
Harve  Bennet – Starfleet Chief of Staff.  He was a long time writer and producer of Star Trek films.
Melanie Shatner – Yeoman.  She is the daughter of William Shatner.  This is her third appearance on Star trek, her first being the TOS episode Miri.  She appeared as a jogger in The Voyage Home as well.

Review:

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The Rewatch 83: Where No One Has Gone Before

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Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Episode: 1.06 Where No One Has Gone Before (10-26-87)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status: 0/0

Notable Guest Stars:
 Victoria Dillard – She was known for her role on Spin City and also appeared in Ricochet. She is a ballerina in this episode.
Stanley Kamel – Kosinski. He played a role on the series Monk.
Eric Menyuk – The Traveler. He will appear on a few episodes, and plays a hand in the endgame for Wesley Crusher.
Biff Yeager – Commander Argyle. He would continue to play the Chief Engineer, and made the most appearances before Geordi got the position.

Review:

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The Rewatch 80: The Naked Now

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Series: Star Trek:The Next Generation
Episode: 1.03 The Naked Now (10-3-87)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status:  0/0

Notable Guest Stars:
Brooke Bundy – Commander Sarah MacDougal.  She appeared in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, as well as various soap operas.
Benjamin Lum  –  Lt. Commander Jim Shimoda.  He had a recurring role on the 1980s television series Paradise
Skip Stellrecht – Engineering Crewman – He became a popular voice actor, including Cowboy Bebop which is a favorite of a friend of mine.

Review:

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The Rewatch 78: The Voyage Home

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Star Trek: The Search for Spock (1984)
Rating: PG
My Grade: B

Notable Guest Stars:

Catherine Hicks – Gillian Taylor.  She is known for her role on the TV series 7th Heaven
Mark Leonard – reprising his role as Sarek
Majel Barrett – Appearing as Commander Christine Chapel, MD. Her appearance is very brief, but apparently there is deleted footage of much more significant scenes.
Jane Wyatt – Amanda Grayson.  She has only a brief scene but points out to Spock that he needs to accept his human parts as much as his Vulcan parts, which is an ongoing storyline for Spock.
Robin Curtis – Lt. Saavik.  She is there briefly to say goodbye.  More comments on this later in the review.
Madge Sinclair – Captain of the Saratoga and the first Female Captain shown in Star Trek.
Grace Lee Whitney – Janice Rand.  I wish she would get bigger bits, but we have to wait till Voyager comes around.
Brock Peters – Fleet Admiral Cartwright. Known for To Kill a Mockingbird.  He would also appear later as Joseph Sisko, Captain Sisko’s father on DS9.
Michael Berryman – Starfleet Officer.  He would appear on Star Trek many times over the years.

Review:

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The Rewatch 77: The Search for Spock

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Star Trek: The Search for Spock (1984)
Rating: PG
My Grade: B

Notable Guest Stars:

Christopher Lloyd – Lord Kruge.  Its Doc Brown.  If you don’t know who Doc Brown is, get yourself to the streaming sites and rent Back to the Future.  Or Angels in the Outfield.  Also a good movie.  One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is also considered pretty good by critics (but I don’t care for it).
Merritt Butrick – David Marcus  – His second appearance in Trek, his last as David Marcus.
Dame Judith Anderson – T’Lar.  She took the role for her nephew who urged her to.
Robin Curtis – Lt. Saavik.
Mark Lenard – Sarek.  This is his third appearance in the role.  He would continue to play this character into the TNG series.
Miguel Ferrer – First Officer of the Excelsior.  I know him from Crossing Jordan and didn’t even catch that he was in the movie till I read the cast list.  He’s also known for his role in NCIS: LA.
John Larroquette – Maltz.  He was known for his role on Night Court, and he also appeared as a charismatic spy on Chuck.
Grace Lee Whitney – She’s credited as ‘Woman in Cafeteria, but lets face it:  She’s Janice Rand.

Review:

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The Rewatch 76: The Wrath of Khan

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Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Rating: PG
My Grade: 5/5

Notable Guest Stars:

Ricardo Montalban – Khan, reprising his role from the Original Series.
Bibi Besch – Carol Marcus.  She is known for several films, but I’m going to mention Tremors because I love that movie.  She had a bit part – the Doctor’s wife. She died in 1996 after a long battle with Breast cancer.
Merritt Butrick- David Marcus.  He would appear in the following film (as David) and in an episode of TNG before his untimely death at 29 in 1989.  He also had a recurring role on Square Pegs as Johnny Slash.
Kiristie Alley – Lt. Saavik.  She is known for her roles on Cheers, Veronica’s Closet, and several reality tv shows about her life. I’ve always enjoyed her acting.  This was her credited role.  Unfortunately she would pass on reprising the role for the sequel.
Paul Winfield– Captain Clark Terrell.  He is known for his role in the fim Sounder which earned him an Academy award nomination. He also had a part in 1966 on the show Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Review:

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The Rewatch 73: All Our Yesterdays.

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Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 3.23  All Our Yesterdays (03-14-1969) (er…Finale?)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status:  0/9/58

Notable Guest Stars:
Ian Wolfe – Mr. Atoz.  He is a popular character actor with over 400 credits to his name. He appeared earlier on the series as Septimus in Bread & Circuses.
Mariette Hartley – Zarabeth.  She is an award-winning character actress as well as the founder of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Kermit Murdock – The Prosecutor
Johnny Haymer – The Constable.  He is known for his role on M*A*S*H

Review:

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