StarDestroyer.Net BBS

What's your favorite episode, scene, or line from TOS?

Balance of Terror

I would say the city on the edge of forever. It had good drama, and
the guardian of forever was cool.

Second would be Arena, tied with the trouble with tribbles.
I liked the one on one of Kirk vs. the Gorn in arena, and the tribble
episode had a plot that was quite simple, yet entertaining: Guard a
locker.

Spock's Brain.

McCOY: Mr Spock, you are the most cold blooded man I've ever known!

SPOCK: Why, thank you, Doctor.

from: "Tomorrow is Yesterday"

I think this counts as TOS:

BONES:"I thought we could cover some philosophical ground. Life, death, life, things of that nature?"

SPOCK: "I did not have time on Vulcan to consult the philosophical references."

BONES: "Come on Spock, it's ME, McCoy, you really HAVE gone where no man has gone before. Can't you tell me what it felt like?"

SPOCK:"It would be impossible to discuss the topic without a common frame of reference."

BONES: "You're joking."

SPOCK: "A joke is ... a ... story with a humorous climax?"

BONES: "Are you telling me I have to DIE to discuss your insights on death?"

SPOCK: "Excuse me Doctor, I'm recieving a number of distess calls ..."

BONES: "I don't doubt it."

Tell me if you can find something that funny in TNG. No? Didn't think so.

Balance of Terror.

All time fav for TOS is 'The Enterprise Incident'. 'Balance of Terror' comes a close second.

Vympel wrote:I think this counts as TOS:

BONES:"I thought we could cover some philosophical ground. Life, death, life, things of that nature?"

SPOCK: "I did not have time on Vulcan to consult the philosophical references."

BONES: "Come on Spock, it's ME, McCoy, you really HAVE gone where no man has gone before. Can't you tell me what it felt like?"

SPOCK:"It would be impossible to discuss the topic without a common frame of reference."

BONES: "You're joking."

SPOCK: "A joke is ... a ... story with a humorous climax?"

BONES: "Are you telling me I have to DIE to discuss your insights on death?"

SPOCK: "Excuse me Doctor, I'm recieving a number of distess calls ..."

BONES: "I don't doubt it."

Tell me if you can find something that funny in TNG. No? Didn't think so.

Probably the BEST McCoy/Spock exchange in TOS ever. And there were many classics. The dynamic between those two was always one of teh best in the whole franchise.

As to favorite episode of TOS, City on the Edge of Forever. Whenever people make fun of the way Shatner acts I think back to those moments when Edith is run down by the truck and the way Shatner portrays the utter agony Kirk is going through. I defy anyone to say that this is cheesy acting.

"MY god Jim, do you realize what you've done?"

"He knows Doctor...he knows."

The original draft had Spock stopping McCoy from saving Edith when Kirk became paralyzed with indecision because of his love for her. Roddenberry was upset with the draft and said that kirk would make a decision one way or the other, he would not be paralyzed by indecision. And he also insisted that when the chips were down, Kirk would choose life of the universe over his own happiness. That DEFINED the character of Kirk forever for me. Here was a man that would do anything to save the universe even if it cost him evreything.

Frankly, I don't see Picard, Sisko or *SHUDDER* Janeway making the same decision.

The City on the Edge of Forever.

I've read all the versions, and still liked the aired one.

But I have to agree that defined Kirk, even in the way he regarded that he travelled from port to port, wooing women, evading death and what not...here he found one woman, and well he couldn't have her because the universe didn't allow it.

I did love how the episode ended regardless...the original with Spock calling Kirk "Jim" for the first time. Also the TV ending with him saying "Let's get the hell out of here."

Balance of Terror.

The Doomsday Machine.

If movies count: from TWOK

McCoy: Where are we going?

Kirk: Where they went.

McCoy: Suppose they went no where?

Kirk: Well, then this'll be your big chance to get away from it all.

"The City on the Edge of Forever" is my favorite, for all the reasons posted here, especially Shatner's acting. I too have read both versions, and, much as I agree Ellison has a few things to be angry about, the aired version is the best version.

Another good Spock and McCoy exchange, from ST2:TWOK:

SPOCK: Jim, be careful.

McCOY: WE will.

And of course, one of the best reasons why Kirk is the best Captain Trek ever had, is his speech about going down to the planet Sargon is on in the episode I can't remember the name of at this moment! I can't recall the entire speech, but it was something like:

KIRK: Risk is our business. That's what this ship is all about. That's why we're aboard her!

Lord Poe wrote:Another good Spock and McCoy exchange, from ST2:TWOK:

SPOCK: Jim, be careful.

McCOY: WE will.

Followed by Spock's one raised eyebrow that is as close to saying, "Eat shit and die" as a Vulcan can get.

For TWOK...my fave would have to be two of them

Kirk: And like any poor marksman, you keep missing the TARGET.

and McCoy/Spock talking about Genesis' capablities and Kirk trying to be a mediator.

I've never understood Ellison's reputation. What exactly did he do?

Ellison wrote "City on the Edge of Forever", and spent DAYS rewriting it. Ultimately, Roddenberry ended up just revising it himself (and Ellison did not take other people messing with his material lightly) and the result is somewhat different from Ellison's original story.

Devil in the Dark....

Something was just cool about a villian that was just a mother protecting her "Kids"....

HemlockGrey wrote:I've never understood Ellison's reputation. What exactly did he do?

Partially what Uraniun said but the fact he won an award for his script. Also compounded that Ellison and Roddenberry have/had a long....loooooong standing feud on who did what.

Uraniun235 wrote:Ellison wrote "City on the Edge of Forever", and spent DAYS rewriting it. Ultimately, Roddenberry ended up just revising it himself (and Ellison did not take other people messing with his material lightly) and the result is somewhat different from Ellison's original story.

Actually, Roddenberry took CREDIT for the rewrite (as he did a lot) but D.C. Fontana did the revision that was aired.

"Balance of Terror", "The Enterprise Incident", "Wink of an Eye", "Trouble with Tribbles" and probably many more, but those have to be among my favourites that I can remember off hand (it's been a long time since I've seen most of TOS, and I only saw a few on Sci-Fi at UI).

One of the best Kirk moments for me was from "Tribbles", where he sniffs out the Klingon spy:

"Tribbles like Vulcans. Tribbles like humans. Tribbles don't like Klingons. Tribbles don't like you."

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:"Tribbles like Vulcans. Tribbles like humans. Tribbles don't like Klingons. Tribbles don't like you."

which is followed by...
Docter!

Anatomies Wrong
Phiseologies Wrong
This man is a Klingon!

the Squire of Gothos (Q's forebearer, the bratty Tralane, yay!)

the Return of the Archons (that scene where the villagers, under the influence of Landru, pause, zombie-like to pick up blunt instruments and makeshift weapons to use against Kirk & Co. gives me shivers!)

Mirror, Mirror ('nuff said)

Balance of Power.
THAT was pure Trek.

For the characterizations, I have to go way afield and say THE EMPATH or perhaps BREAD & CIRCUSES (for characterization PLUS humor), but overall, I agree that BALANCE OF TERROR is head of the class, placing with DOOMSDAY MACHINE and ARENA and ERRAND OF MERCY (which I SO wish had some more ship action - the teaser is dynamite, and if they could have balanced that up through the show, like Sulu taking the E through a few Klingon ships, it would have reinforced how big the stakes were that Kirk and Kor were playing for.)

It always amazes me that they have such trouble coming up with a standalone story for a Trek feature, since BALANCE OF TERROR is an ideal template for exactly that. When I still posted on trekbbs (this was probably a year or more back), I came up with a simple way to expand BALANCE OF TERROR into a feature sized story.

You include more of the trying to save outposts aspect, which lets you separate some of the crew, who wind up down in the asteroid for a time, perhaps fighting off a Romulan ground force, plus you make a much more elaborate game of hide and seek with the ships (this notion dates back to a sequence for a wholly different story I pitched at NextGen in 1990, had the Enterprise BECOMING a comet, ejecting a ton of liquid that freezes around it, so it can get in close to the Romulan ship without being detected. You have the issue of the comet melting as they go further sunward, so there is suspense over that, plus the incredible visual payoff of the Enterprise detonating its cover by exploding the comet and flying out of that straight into battle.)