Star Trek Season 3: All About Romance

In an apparent act of self-flagellation, I decided to watch all of season 3 of Star Trek: the original series, commonly derided as the cheesiest season of the entire franchise. Why would I so subject myself? Well, for one thing, I have been a Trek fan since I was 6 years old and watched the original broadcast of The Corbomite Maneuver on our family's black and white console television. For another, while I had seen many season 1 and 2 episodes of the remastered version, I had never seen season 3, uncut and with the updated special effects. Finally, given the year its been, I needed diversion and plenty of it.

My verdict: within the context of 1960s television, the season is not nearly as bad as people believe. Sure, there are some real stinkers, and probably at a higher proportion than in earlier years, but there are also episodes that are pure Trek in their stories, performances and messages.

One thing that stands out about season 3 is the number of love stories. As common as the Kirk-drives-a-computer-crazy or planet-just-like-historical-earth-period tropes were in seasons 1 and 2, love stories drive the plots of at least half the season 3 episodes.

Captain Kirk gets the lion's share and far from being presented as the shag-a-delic lothario he is commonly thought of, he falls deeply in love at the drop of a hat, ready for a lifetime commitment until fate or duty intervenes. Spock gets to have some romantic story lines, either as the object of a guest star's desire or while under the influence of time travel. Dr. McCoy and Scotty each get their turns, and even Mr. Chekov gets to deal with romantic entanglements. Of the bridge crew, only Sulu and Uhura are left with empty dance cards. When it isn't an Enterprise officer being in love, the plot will often hinge on a guest star being a spurned lover.

This all makes perfect sense, again, considering the context of 1960s TV. All prime time television shows were completely episodic back in the day, requiring a push of the reset button at the end of each show. There was no time for relationships to develop and grow. Whether it was Captain Kirk or Sheriff Matt Dillon or Doctor Ben Casey, a main character falling in love meant a speed run from meet-cute in act I to til-death-do-they-part in act II or III to, well, death by the end of act IV.

All that said, here are the 24 episodes of Star Trek:TOS season 3 with a brief note on whether I found the episode better or worse than I expected, or anything else I found interesting.

Spock's Brain - typically considered one of the worst, if not the worst episode of TOS, I actually found this one better than I expected. Yes, it is a silly episode with women in miniskirts and go-go boots and "brain and brain, what is brain?" But there's a great scene of the bridge crew reasoning out which of several planets they should visit to save their friend.

The Enterprise Incident - also better than I remembered, maybe because the remastered cgi of Romulan ships replaces one of the Klingon models for the original Romulan bird of prey from Balance of Terror. Love story: the Romulan Commander, who happens to be a woman (progressive!) abandons her duty and her people because she is in love with Spock (regressive!).

The Paradise Syndrome - worse than I remember - Kirk gets amnesia and becomes the savior to a transplanted tribe of space Indians, played, of course, by white actors, and being somewhat historically accurate, he almost gets them wiped out. Love story: Kirk marries the daughter of the chief and she dies at the end.

And the Children Shall Lead - as bad as I remember - no love story, but Kirk saves the day by making some children cry.

Is There in Truth no Beauty? - would not have been a bad episode except for the way everyone gushes over Dr. Miranda Jones - "oh, Miranda, how can someone as lovely as you enjoy the fruits of your career success if it means we won't have you around, we simply won't stand for it", ugh, while her lovelorn colleague, Larry, is so possesive that he almost gets everyone killed.

Spectre of the Gun - better than I remembered. The bare-bone sets really give the episode some otherworldly atmosphere. Chekov gets to have some romance with an old-west bar maid.

Day of the Dove - this would have been a great episode, except that the scene where Chekov, under the influence of an alien life force, tries to sexually assault the Klingon captain's wife makes it unwatchable.

For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky - better than I remembered - the alien priestess falls in love with McCoy, who, thinking he only has one year to live, decides to stay with her. Some good messaging about being a free thinker in a society ruled by religious dogma. Ultimately pushes the reset button really hard.

The Tholian Web - about as I remembered - the Tholians and their web is still cool. No love story, unless you count the Spock/McCoy conflict as a form of love.

Plato's Stepchildren - there's a lot of good stuff in this episode, especially scenes that had been cut for syndication back when I was watching the show in the 1970s on WPIX channel 11 in NY. We see Spock dealing with feelings of shame, anger and hatred over his abuse by the Platonians, and Uhura and Nurse Chapel are given a little more depth. Kirk gets some good speechifying, and tells Alexander how the Federation values everyone. Unfortunately, the episode is undercut by Captain Kirk making a "little" joke about Alexander.

Wink of an Eye - not my favorite, about as I remembered. Not a terrible episode, but not a great one. Deela, the alien queen, falls in love with Kirk, of course, which ends up being her undoing.

The Empath - much better than I remembered. Back in the day I didn't care so much for this episode, but on rewatch I have new appreciation for the performances and sets. McCoy sort of has a love story with Gem, the titular empath, though it's not presented as a romantic attachment.

Elaan of Troyius - another episode I liked better on rewatch, probably because of the chemistry between William Shatner and France Nuyen. Kirk is chemically induced by Elaan to fall in love with her, so its never clear if she is also in love with him. One of the few cases on Trek where the lovers part out of duty instead of death or Kirk getting cured.

Whom Gods Destroy - I wanted to like this one. Steve Ihnat, despite some scenery chewing, is quite funny in his exasperation with his minions and I loved Yvonne Craig's performance, but the plot and its denouement was just silly.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - about as I remembered, though I have new appreciation for Lou Antonio's and Frank Gorshin's performances. Very on-the-nose message about racial prejudice, which was probably more trenchant in the 1960s, but who knows, everything old is new again. There are endless scenes of Bele and Lokai running through the halls of the Enterprise, and the uncut version makes this even more annoying than I remembered.

The Mark of Gideon - much worse than I remember - producers try to make a "bottle show" by having Kirk kidnapped to a complete replica of the Enterprise? What? We're supposed to have a romance between Kirk and Odana, but it just doesn't work.

That Which Survives - this one is better than I remember with a good performance by Lee Meriwether. It was nice to see a female commander (well, a hologram of one) who was neither a romantic interest or an AI that Kirk could trick into killing itself.

The Lights of Zetar - this one is so much worse than I remember. Jan Shutan guest stars as Mira Romaine, who gave up her family's lettuce empire to join Starfleet. Okay, I made that last bit up, but it would have made for a better episode. I don't know which is worse for poor Mira Romaine, being taken over by an alien life-force or having lovesick Scotty hovering over her, Dr. McCoy lecturing her on how to behave, and everyone referring to her as "the girl". In the bottom four, for me, worst Star Trek: TOS episodes.

Requiem for Methuselah - this one, not a great episode, by the way, epitomizes 3rd season TOS for me. Kirk instantly falls madly in love with Rayna, a female android, and teaches her how to love in return, only to watch helplessly as she dies. Episode ends with Spock excising the memory of Rayna from Kirk's mind without first asking for his consent. Yech. 2nd of 4 worst TOS episodes.

The Way to Eden - 3rd of the four worst TOS episodes in my book. Space hippies! One of the space hippies is Chekov's old girlfriend and they argue with moose-and-squirrel Russian accents about how much of a square Chekov is. Also includes scenes of Enterprise crew rocking out to the space hippies' music including this dork:

The Cloud Minders - better than I remember with a scene I'd never seen before of Spock musing about the lovely Droxine, who has a crush on him. The episode's writer, David Gerrold, has some things to say about how the powers that be defanged his original ending.

The Savage Curtain - about as meh as I remember, though this episode often gets referenced on Mystery Science Theater 3000 - "Help me, Spock". No love story unless you count Kirk's love for all things related to Abraham Lincoln.

All Our Yesterdays - This is one of my favorite episodes of TOS. It's got it all, time travel, Mariette Hartley in an animal-skin bikini, Kirk being accused of being a witch by the Quaker Oats mascot, and a full-on love story for Spock. Spock gets to fall in love because he and McCoy are in a time 5000 years before Vulcan went logical. It makes sense if you don't think about it. Problematic on rewatch: McCoy gets lines like "Zarabeth is a woman. She would do anything to escape living alone!"

Turnabout Intruder - fourth of my bottom four episodes - An old girlfriend of Captain Kirk's is angry that women can't be Starship captains (seems fair), but her "hatred of her own womanhood" makes her go crazy and use a machine to switch bodies with Kirk. Shatner hams it up with effeminate mannerisms and gets "hysterical" when the crew won't follow her orders. Includes such gems as "it's better to be dead than to live alone in the body of a woman" and "her life could have been as rewarding as any woman's, if only..." If only what, Jim?