Ep 1. Beyond the Farthest Star
The Enterprise is pulled into the orbit of a dead sun. They discover an ancient ship that looks like a giant forest type thing. This ship had been navigated by an insectoid race, but they destroyed their own ship because it was taken over by an entity. Now this entity has invaded the Enterprise. "Obey Me" ... you'll get that if you watch the episode.
Actually I was surprised at the animation. It's really not as horrible as everyone says it is. The plot kept me interested enough and it's cool to hear the actual voices of the crew. I'm sure at this point it's just the novelty of it all that keeps me watching but we'll see if and when it wears off.
Ep 2. Yesteryear
Boy I must say that I really really liked this episode. It would have been great in live action. Although that would involve rehashing The Guardian of Forever. On that note, wouldn't the Federation do everything that they could to keep The Guardian hidden or protected ... I mean in the wrong hands this thing could be disastrous.
In this episode Kirk, Spock and Bones are assisting in a Historical study using the Guardian of Forever. Spock and Kirk jump back into time in order to observe and record a certain time and place. Unfortunetly while they had been away something had been altered ... suddenly nobody remembers Spock (except for Kirk). The reason is rather surprising and in my opinion pretty creative. I'm not going to spoil it because this is a must watch.
Here's an interesting fact regarding Yesteryear "According to the DVD text commentary for this episode, Los Angeles-area stations aired this episode first, instead of "Beyond the Farthest Star" (the actual premiere episode elsewhere) because of favoritism allegations lodged by political opponents of George Takei, who was running for public office at the time. Instead of having to offer "equal time" to Takei's challengers, NBC stations in the L.A. area decided to air "Yesteryear" first, since it did not have any scenes with Hikaru Sulu (Takei's character) in it"
Wow, another great episode. So far I am very shocked at the watchablility of TAS. This episode begins with the Enterprise going to the planet Mantilles where Bob Wesley (from the episode the Ultimate Computer) is governor. There is a large living cloud that has been devouring planets and is heading straight for Mantilles. The cloud envelops the Enterprise but before it can destroy it Spock merges minds with the being and explains that it is eating living creatures. Let me tell you, this scene is amazing. I'm guessing this show wasn't a big hit with little kids because they would not understand 99% of the references and scenes such as this one are way to emotional for a child's cartoon. Nonetheless, great stuff.
6 comments:
Interesting tidbit about The Animated Series: It was produced during a writers' strike, but since the strike didn't extend to animated programs, a lot of great writers were desperate for work so they flocked to cartoon scripts. That's one of the reasons why The Animated Series is so well written and full of great stories.
Also, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Animated Series because it's actually the first Star Trek program I ever watched. I still remember the first episode I ever saw, and it blew my mind. I'll comment on that one when you get to it.
And, finally, Yesteryear is one of the single best episodes of Star Trek ever, and I don't just mean in the Animated Series, but overall. I love that one.
I didn't know that. It makes sense as to why it seems to have better writting than season III of TOS. I totally agree about Yesteryear, that is simply awesome. I admit that I have only watched a few random animated episodes so many of these are actually new to me, and so far I am in awe.
I've seen a few of the animated series episodes, and I agree--they're surprisingly good. Donald's comment is really enlightening, and explains a lot.
Wish I had Netflix so I could watch all of these.
i know they did it to save money (to reuse animation) but the force field belts are cool. I don't know if any other trek used them.
i wonder if they "invented" the idea of force field generating belts? i've seen that in other sci fi
"Wish I had Netflix so I could watch all of these."
I've got a suggestion: Get fuckin' Netflix, you cheap piece of shit. You can't afford ten bucks a month?
I don't think force field belts are ever used again on star trek. I would like one though.
And yes, Netflix is pretty darn cheap. I get the streaming only and I think I pay 8.99 per month. This is a good segue into my biggest fear. I will get half way through TNG and Netflix will lose their contract with Paramount.
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