Star Trek - The Original Series Episode Reviews by Melissa N. Hayes-Gehrke

Star Trek - The Original Series is the first science fiction series that I watched; I started watching it in afternoon re-runs when I was in junior high. It's still very near and dear to me. Of course, in these re-runs, bits had been edited out for time. When I eventually saw the complete episodes, it was almost jarring, but seeing the episodes in their entirety definitely made them make more sense.

As I re-watch the episodes yet again, I can see where the plots are getting pretty dates, the sexisms is even more obvious, and the effects are horribly cheesy. However, the chemistry between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy is still unequaled. They way that they play off of each other is amazing, and always makes me feel like I've come back to a "family".

I catch myself thinking that some of the plots are such re-treads of well-known sci-fi plots, but then I remember that at the time, many of these plots had never before been used on television science fiction. Keeping in mind when the series aired, I appreciate how unique the series was.

As I review these episodes, keep in mind that I may be a bit biased in my ratings. Of course, all of these reviews have spoilers for the episodes. I am reviewing the episodes in order of their production number, not in order of their original airdate. Not only is that the order I'm used to, but this order makes much more sense in terms of the cast and uniform changes.


Episodes by Season


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