Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" airs 1967

The twenty-eighth episode of the first season of Star Trek (the original series) The City on the Edge of Forever, first aired April 6. 1967.  Anomalous waves emanating from a strange planet wreaks havoc on the Enterprise, and causes Dr. McCoy to inject himself with a dangerous drug, resulting in psychotic episodes.  In his crazed state, he beams down to the planet below.

Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Lieutenant Uhura and a security beam down after him.  They find the the Guardian of Forever, a time portal showing Earth's past events in fast time.  Bones jumps through the portal and changes the past.  Kirk, Spock, and Uhura realize they are trapped, since the Enterprise no longer exists.

Kirk and Spock jump through the portal to locate McCoy before he can do the damage he caused to the current time line.

It's considered by fans to be the best episode of the entire series.  The final line is uttered by Kirk when he says "Let's get the hell out of here."

Also, Joan Collins stars as Edith Keeler.

Leonard Nimoy born 1931

Leonard Nimoy, born March 26, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts, is best known for his portrayal of the Vulcan Mr. Spock in the Star Trek cinematic universe.  He played the character in the original series, the first five movies featuring the cast from the original series, and then appearances in some of the spin-off series and movies. He also directed, including Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.  

He made his Hollywood debut at 20, in Queen for a Day in a bit part.  He appeared briefly in the sci-fi classic Them!.

He was nominated for four Primetime Emmys, three of which were for his role as Spock. On January 16, 1985, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He passed away in February 2015 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Star Trek episode "The Omega Glory" airs 1968

The 23rd episode of Season 2 of Star Trek, The Omega Glory, first aired on March 1, 1968.  The USS Enterprise encounters the USS Exeter in orbit above Omega IV, abandoned.  The entire crew had been infected with a deadly virus that removed all the water from their bodies, leaving behind only piles of crystals.  Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy, and one red shirt Lt. Galloway beam down to the surface of the planet and discover that Captain Tracey of the USS Exeter has been violating the Prime Directive and interfering with the planet's inhabitants' war.

Although Lt. Galloway (David L. Ross) is killed by Tracey, he appears in two subsequent episodes, with no explanation for his resurrection.  Lt. Uhura and Lt. Sulu appear in the episode, but Scotty and Chekov do not.

I suppose this episode is one of my favorites because of the surprise twist at the end when the character enters holding the American flag.  Also, Spock uses his telepathy to call for help in a manner not seen before or since.

Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark" airs 1967

One of the best, and creepiest, epsiodes of Star Trek (The Original Series), The Devil in the Dark aired March 9, 1967.  The crew of the Enterprise is called to the planet Janus VI, where a monster has been killing members of a mining colony.  As the investigation continues, Kirk, Spock and McCoy realize that the "monster" called the Horta, might not be as evil as first thought.

In 1995, Arthur C. Clarke said this was only episode he could recall.  It impressed him because "the idea, unusual in science fiction then and now, that something weird, and even dangerous need not be malevolent."

Many critics consider this episode as one of the best of the original series.  William Shatner said this was his favorite episode.  Leonard Nimoy said it was a "wonderful episode about the fear of the unknown, how we fear and even hate something that we don't know anything about, learn who your enemy is, and it's not, maybe then it's not no longer your enemy."

Uhura and Sulu don't appear in this episode.

Star Trek episode "The Immunity Syndrome" airs 1968

Episode 18 of the second season of Star Trek (the original series) The Immunity Syndrome aired January 19, 1968.  The crew of the Enterprise (sans Sulu since George Takei was filming The Green Berets) encounters a large dark area of space where the stars have gone out.  They find an enormous amoeba draining energy from everything around it.

Kirk has to choose between Spock and McCoy to send into the amoeba with a shuttlecraft to study it and find a way to destroy it before it kills them all.  Scotty, Uhura, Chekov and Nurse Chapel appeared in this episode.

Star Trek episode "The Galileo Seven" airs 1967

Another one of my favorite Star Trek episodes and the one that still creeps me out, The Galileo Seven, season one, episode sixteen, aired January 5, 1967.  It contains some of the cheesy scenes which have endeared us to the original series.  For example, Spock picking up a giant spear and throwing it back at the creatures; the obvious switch from actor to stunt man when a character falls off a cliff.

Yet, it showed Spock under fire when his logic fails when trying to deal with the illogical creatures on the planet where they have crash landed.  Scotty and McCoy are among the stranded crew.

The episode starred Don Marshall as Lt. Boma, Phyllis Douglas as Yeoman Mears and Grant Woods as Kelowitz.  Woods would return for two more episodes as Kelowitz.  Douglas appeared once more as a hippy in The Way to Eden.

Of course, I didn't see it when it first aired because my parents did not watch Star Trek.  I had to wait until it came out in syndication years later.

Star Trek episode 'Wolf in The Fold' airs 1967

Wolf in the Fold, the fourteenth episode of Season 2 of Star Trek (TOS) first aired December 22, 1967.  Written by Robert Bloch (author of Psycho), the episode focuses on Engineer Montgomery Scott (Scotty) being accused of brutally stabbing three women to death. It reads as a spooky whodunit, unusual for a science fiction series, but it's one of my favorites.

Wolf in the Fold did stir up a lot of controversy, by its depiction of women as the victims, the killer's hatred of women and the misogynistic tone of the script.  Most notably criticized is Spock's line that "women are more easily and more deeply terrified, generating more sheer horror than the male of the species."

It has also been pointed out that the psycho-tricorder is a "ridiculous invention-of-the-week".  I have to concede this point since it is the only episode that involves such a gadget and we didn't even get to see it work.

But it also features the crew on a planet being subjected to their laws, something we don't normally see.

Dr. McCoy has some great one-liners.  He once states he has a drug that could "tranquilize an active volcano".  Later someone asks him what would happen if the evil entity entered a tranquilized body, McCoy says it would probably "take up knitting, but nothing more harmful than that."

Star Trek episode "The Tholian Web" airs 1968

The ninth episode of the third season of Star Trek (TOS), The Tholian Web, aired November 15, 1968.  The crew of the Enterprise finds another Constitution-class spaceship, Defiant, which had been presumed lost.  It appears to be in flux between two universes.  Captain Kirk is assumed to be dead when he is aboard the Defiant when it finally disappears.  Before they can wait for an opportunity to rescue him, they are attacked by a Tholian ship.  They return fire and disable it, but a second ship appears and the two being to weave an energy web around the Enterprise.  Spock has to also deal with a growing epidemic of violence aboard.

The Tholian Web is one of three episodes that does not have a single guest star.  It is one of the few episodes to star all of the second and third season regulars: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and Chapel.  An uncredited Barbara Babcock provided the voice of the Tholian commander Loskene.

The Tholian Web was nominated for an Emmy for special effects.  SyFy ranked it as one of the top ten essential episodes of the original series.  The Hollywood Reporter ranked it as the 75th best episodes of all the Star Trek franchise television shows (prior to Star Trek: Discovery), but not the movies.

Star Trek episode 'Mudd's Women' airs 1966

One of the most popular episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, Mudd's Women, aired October 13, 1966.  It was the first appearance of Roger C. Carmel as Harry Mudd.

The USS Enterprise intercepts Mudd's spaceship and finds out he is transporting three beautiful women to become wives for men on a distant outpost.  However, it appears that Mudd has enhanced the women's beauty by a "Venus drug" of which the effect is only temporary. 

The Enterprise needs dilithium for its power nacelles, but Mudd and his women interfere with Kirk and crew trying to get the crystals.

Star Trek episode "Spock's Brain" airs 1968

Widely regarded by cast, crew and fans as the worst episode of the original Star Trek series, Spock's Brain, aired September 20, 1968.  The Enterprise encounters a strange spacecraft and then a mysterious woman appears on the bridge.  She manages to subdue the entire crew using a device on her arm.  When they come to, Dr. McCoy discovers Spock lying on a bio-bed without his brain.

If you've seen this episode, you know why it's one of the worst. 

"Star Trek" premieres 2009

The newest incarnation of the Star Trek movie franchise, Star Trek, premiered May 8, 2009.  It presented the classic characters from the original 1960s series but with new faces.  Chris Pine as Capt. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy.  It was the film debut of Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk.  Leonard Nimoy appears as Spock.

I thought it was a gutsy move, breaking away from the Star Trek universe most of us grew up with but it did introduce Star Trek to a new generation of fans.

It garnered many positive reviews (I even liked it!) and even won an Oscar for Best Makeup, the first Star Trek movie to receive an Academy Award.

Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth" airs 1968

Star Trek episode Assignment: Earth aired March 29, 1968, a pilot for a television series that never got off the ground.

The crew of the Enterprise is observing Earth history in 1968 when they intercept a transporter beam from a source at least a thousand light-years away.  A humanoid alien 'Gary Seven' and his black cat Isis appear on the ship.

He warns them that he needs to accomplish a mission to save Earth.  Kirk and Spock soon learn Isis change change into a beautiful woman.  The Enterprise crew must determine if they can trust Gary Seven.

Along with the regular cast, this episode starrred Robert Lansing as Gary Seven, Teri Garr as Roberta Lincoln and Barbara Babcock as the voice of the computer and the cat.  Playboy Playmate of 1968 Victoria Vetri played the human form of Isis.

According to imdb.com, Teri Garr had an unpleasant time filming this episode that she refused to talk about Star Trek again.

It was a good episode but since it was meant to be a pilot, the regular crew had little more than cameos.  A pity, because it seemed like it would have been an interesting series.

Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'The Pegasus' aired 1994

Written by Ronald D. Moore (inspired by Raise the Titanic) and directed by Levar Burton, episode 12 of season 7 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Pegasus, aired January 8, 1994.

I liked this one because of the concept that the United Federation of Planets could finally have cloaking technology.  I always thought they got ripped off in the treaty with the Romulans, especially since the Klingons had access to the same technology. 

I remember when Kirk and Spock stole a cloaking device from a Romulan vessel in The Enterprise Incident but it was in the final season of the original series, like The Pegasus was. 

This episode also had a creepy feeling to it as Riker and Admiral Pressman discuss what happened to the crew who were inside the rock when the Pegasus materialized.  Ick.

At the end, when Picard says they will be contacting the Romulans concerning this incident, I was kinda pissed at him.  The Enterprise should have kept the cloaking device since it was clearly giving the Romulans a huge advantage.

Oh, well.

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" premieres 1979

Ten years after the television show went off the air (but only four years after the events in the Turnabout Intruder), Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released onto the big screen December 8, 1979.  Us Trekkies were excited to see our crew again but underwhelmed with the movie.  I remember discussing it in high school and we agreed it was just a glorified television episode.   It also seemed to me it was written by someone who didn't like Star Trek.

Still, it managed to restart the franchise, which is going strong today.

"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" opens 1991

The twice Oscar-nominated movie, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country opened December 6, 1991.  Much to the relief of Trekkies like myself, this movie stood head and shoulders above its predecessor Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.  It brought back all of the regulars (William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly, Walter Koenig, George Takei, James Doohan and Nichelle Nichols), including recurring characters Mark Lenard as Sarek and Grace Lee Whitney.  Michael Dorn appeared as the grandfather of his Worf character from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  Rene Auberjonois, who would play Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had an uncredited cameo as Colonel West.

It received Oscar nominations for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing and Best Makeup.

According to imdb.com, Gene Roddenberry passed away within 48 hours of viewing this movie.

My favorite movies 1979

My favorite movies from 1979, another year with some great films, too many to choose just one so I picked several favorites and one guilty pleasure.

Alien starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright.  It was the first horror movie that I sat through and enjoyed.  It created a monster (no pun intended) as now I enjoy horror films.



Star Trek: The Motion Picture starring everybody from the original series.  We had waited so long for a movie version of our favorite television show and finally got this.  Not bad but it wasn't good.  I often suspect they got someone who didn't like Star Trek to write the script.



1941 starring everybody.  I love this movie even though it's generally considered to be not funny.  And it's the only non-science fiction movie on this list!  Wow!



Walt Disney's The Black Hole starring Maximillian Schell, Yvette Mimieux, Tony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine.  I think Disney tried to capitalize on the whole Star Wars trend, and this was the result.  However, I like the non-Roddenberry, non-Lucas approach to space travel/exploration.



Guilty pleasure: Meteor starring Sean Connery and Natalie Wood.  I know it was a huge star-studded flop but I'm a sucker for disaster movies.  Now it's campy fun!

"Them!" a sci-fi classic released in 1954

The B-movie science fiction classic "Them!" was released in New York City, June 16, 1954.  The rest of the U.S. would have to wait three more days before they could watch it.

After numerous nuclear tests in the New Mexico desert, ants have mutated into giant man-eaters.  Just when they think they've eliminated all the giant ants from their colony, they realize two queen ants have made their way to Los Angeles.  James Whitmore, James Arness and Fess Parker have major roles, but Leonard Nimoy has a cameo appearance!

"Star Trek III: Search for Spock" premieres 1984

The third motion picture, which opened June 1, 1984, from the original Star Trek crew wasn't the best of the entire series, but it certainly wasn't the worst.  Leonard Nimoy supposedly regretted his decision to kill off Spock in "Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn" so he decided to resurrect him.  The movie did have some great moments though:  Sulu kicking a much bigger guy's ass.

One of my favorite scenes: Stealing the Enterprise!

Happy Anniversary, Star Trek!

The first episode of Star Trek, The Man Trap, aired September 8, 1966.  Just look at what Gene Roddenberry created!

According to imdb.com, this is the first episode in which Dr. McCoy says, "He's dead, Jim."

Favorite Quote:

Mr. Spock: Well, since it is illogical for a communications officer to resent the word 'frequency'... I have no answer.
Uhura: No, you have an answer. I'm an illogical woman, who's beginning to feel too much a part of that communications console. Why don't you tell me I'm an attractive young lady, or ask me if I've ever been in love? Tell me how your planet Vulcan looks on a lazy evening when the moon is full.
Mr. Spock: Vulcan has no moon, Miss Uhura.
Uhura: I'm not surprised, Mr. Spock