by Janice L. Newman
Star Trek has given us some great episodes this season. Sadly, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield was not one of them. It was ineptly written, poorly directed, and both ham- and heavy-handed in its delivery.
Continue reading [January 16, 1969] Mixed messages (Star Trek: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield")
by Janice L. Newman
Star Trek has occasionally been dabbling in New Wave-style science fiction in the third season, but what we got last week was an episode based on solid traditional SF concepts. But if you're going to write a hard-SF story, you need to make sure the science backs it up. When the story you write isn’t even internally consistent—when it doesn’t play by its own rules—it’s not good storytelling and it’s not good SF.
Continue reading [December 6, 1968] Wince of an audience (Star Trek: "Wink of an Eye")
by Janice L. Newman
This is Not a Test
Star Trek continues to surf the New Wave in this week’s episode, Spectre of the Gun. While the plot incorporated many things we’ve seen before (both in and outside of Star Trek) it combined and presented these elements in new and innovative ways.
Continue reading [October 31, 1968] How the Western was won (Star Trek: "Spectre of the Gun")
[Star Trek is back for its third season! Accordingly, we've devoted a great many inches to this rather uneven debut….]
by Janice L. Newman
This week we gathered all our friends together to start off a new season of Star Trek. We served dinner, then put our little portable color set outside and everyone enjoyed the lovely late summer night.
Well, everyone except me, that is. I was stuck inside with a VERY nasty cold that, oddly enough, no one else wanted to share with me. It made watching Spock’s Brain a lonely experience, but it did give me space to focus on the episode without being distracted by gasps, groans, or laughter—except my own, that is.
With the recent threats of cancelation and huge fan response, I expected NBC to put their best foot forward starting the new season. For Season 2 they knocked it out of the park with Amok Time. Could they do it again?
In a word, no.
Continue reading [September 26, 1968] Brain drain: (Star Trek: "Spock's Brain")
![[January 16, 1969] Mixed messages (<i>Star Trek</i>: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield")](https://galacticjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/690116title-672x372.jpg)
![[December 6, 1968] Wince of an audience (<i>Star Trek</i>: "Wink of an Eye")](https://galacticjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/681206title-672x372.jpg)
![[October 31, 1968] How the Western was won (<i>Star Trek</i>: "Spectre of the Gun")](https://galacticjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/681031title-672x372.jpg)
![[September 26, 1968] Brain drain: (<i>Star Trek</i>: "Spock's Brain")](https://galacticjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/680926title-672x372.jpg)