thefourthvine | The Search for Spock

I got no episode titles for you, sadly, but you are so right. Spock rules.

Spoooooock. I think I need an icon to express my love!

dear god woman, you must include the Pon Far episode where Spock returns to Vulcan to mate and Kirk fights for his soul, the one where Spock laughs, and anything that includes Spock!Mommy

someone with more coherent canon references can tell you which ones those are! live long and prosper!

The pon farr episode is "Amok Time" from season two and it is a MUST WATCH for the slash, the Spock-centrism, and bonus smiling Spock. In it, we also learn that Vulcan is, like, totes sparkly.

Amok Time is the number-one most suggested episode. Possibly Pon Farr appeals to fans! Just possibly!

Peace and long life.

I have no episode titles for you besides Amok Time, but I totally approve of this desire for more Spock love. And drawer fic! Mmmmmmmdrawer fic.

There is wide and extensive love for Amok Time, and I must say I am not surprised, given what happens.

Also, more Spock love is clearly necessary beyond all things.

(Drawerfic now at 100 pages, making it the longest fiction I have ever written. *hides omg*)

There is, to be honest, no particular reason for you to need to watch actual episodes of ST:TOS; there are a great many novels, which are considered canonical by most fanwriters, which give much better Spock than the series ever did.

I suggest everything by Diane Duane, but especially Spock's World; the IDIC Epidemic and the Vulcan Academy Murders (also there is Captain Pike-ness in these!); The Price of the Phoenix and the Fate of the Phoenix (epic H/C with barely hidden slash!); Ishmael (crossovers out the wazoo! Amnesia!); Strangers from the Sky (more amnesia! Spock on 21st century earth hanging out with hippies and peaceniks!); Prime Directive (Spock hanging out with hippies and peaceniks in 21th century Earth! Dr. McCoy: Space Pirate!)

The problem with me reccing you episodes is that there is *nothing* that hits my embarrassment squick so badly as "Vulcans losing control of their emotions", and nearly all the episodes that most Spock fangirls would rec you have a plot that consists of "Vulcans losing control of their emotions." (Spock snapping & then retiring to meditate like in Reboot was fine; I'm talking epic, extended, public wallowing where he visibly tries to either stop or go hide but can't.)

I still haven't watched "Amok Time" all the way through; "This Side of Paradise" was agony; "Journey to Babel" was fine, except for the Spock storyline; "All Our Yesterdays" was so traumatizing I can't even face reading the novels based on it; "The Galileo Seven" wasn't *as* bad, but still not something I'd voluntarily subject myself to; "The Naked Time" had many cringe-and-look-away moments; "The Enterprise Incident" was a combination of pure win and I-can't-believe-they-made-him-do-that-on-camera; "The Search for Spock" required me to not watch the screen at any point when Spock was on it.

So. Um.

It's possible that watching Star Trek at a young age gave my embarrassment squick a particular trigger for Vulcans, but I don't suggest you risk it.

I'd suggest the second and fourth movies (get a summary of the third one); ~~the animated series episode "Yesteryear" (has some bad bits, but outweighed by the adorableness of six-year-old Spock)~~ (sorry, forgot that one has animal harm); and a selection of episodes that are good, if only moderately Spock-heavy.

"Devil in the Dark", "A Piece of the Action", "Spectre of the Gun", "A Private Little War", "Immunity Syndrome", "Balance of Terror", "The Tholian Web", and "The Trouble With Tribbles"* are eight episodes that are objectively quite good, and all have plenty of Spock being awesome without him having to weep in the middle of the bridge, thank you.

*There is harm to tribbles in that episode, but it's off-camera. And it's tribbles.

Oh - I can't believe I left out "Mirror, Mirror." That one's safe! You can swap out "A Private Little War" for "Mirror, Mirror".

Embarrassment squick represent! I don't dare watch TOS now, I don't want to kill all my happy memories

There are lots of episodes that remain awesome! Awesomer than I remember! I have done some rewatching lately.

Just... you know, not the episodes that are about making Spock lose his control in public. D: (Or pretend, under orders, to lose his control in public. Or be persecuted because he doesn't want to lose his control in public--)

I have a huge embarrassment squick, but I didn't imprint on Vulcans growing up, so I'm really curious to see how these episodes take me.

And I've read Spock's World, which I thought was strangely McCoy-centric for, you know, a book about Vulcans, but entirely worth reading. (Just, I find I judge tie-in novels more harshly than I do most pro fic.) I will look into Duane's other tie-ins, definitely.

I can totally understand, though, why Star Trek was the first slash fandom - slash is all about that emotional breakthrough, and Spock is apparently the ultimate character people want to see make that emotional breakthrough, just going by the number of eps that squick you.

I am curious to see your reaction to Amok Time, too. I love Pon Farr in theory, but I still have not managed to get past ten minutes into that episode before I just turn it off. :/ And yes, so much of the Spock love is about making him show emotion against his will - and the showrunners realized that early on. It's a trope that bothers me a lot on many levels, and embarrassment!squick and my own identification with Spock are only two of them - though I can still enjoy it in text, if it's done the right way.

I have to admit that as much as I love Spock, McCoy is my favorite, which *may* skew my recommendations a bit. (Or rather, Spock is who I identified with. McCoy is who I wanted to marry. ST:TOS is an OT3 fandom for me, and it doesn't get much more OT3 than Spock's World.)

Oh, and I have belatedly realized that "Devil in the Dark" will almost certainly twig you on child harm and/or animal harm, even if the children/animals being murdered are just badly made props; it almost makes me cry sometimes, and I never cry at TV.

So I replace my rec for that with "Unification", which is the TNG episode that has Ambassador Spock bringing peace to the Romulans in it, and is both very relevant for Reboot and full of old!Spock awesome.

Journey to Babel - you get to meet Spock's dad, Kirk is hurt, Spock must take over command, and Bones guilts him that he's ignoring his dad for duty (dad is also hurt). Spock angsts very well and the slash leaps off the screen :)

Amok Time - Spock goes into Pon Farr and ends up fighting Kirk "to the death".

Mirror, Mirror - Spock with a beard!! Evil!Spock! See the original AU and why its so copied all over the place.

Trouble with Tribbles - okay, not so much a Spock episode... but I love the Tribbles! :)

These are all extremely popular episodes, and will certainly make the final list. (Because, okay, I am biased. Amanda! Pon Farr! Canon AU! Fuzzy creatures! It's like a list of all the things I love.)

I second the rec of Diane Duane Star Trek novels. *swoons*

Def. watch "Amok Time," of course, and also "The Naked Time" and "This Side of Paradise" (canon sex pollen ftw! Spock goes on vacation). For me, when I really want good Spock, I go back to the films, particularly II (Wrath of Khan, blub!) and IV (The Voyage Home, lol whales). There's also some seriously slashy stuff going on in "Star Trek V: Captain Kirk Is Climbing A Mountain Why Is He Climbing A Mountain," but it's kind of bad (Shatner wrote and directed it), so you takes your chances.

Oh, and Spock and Kirk wear gold lame loinclothes in "Who Mourns for Adonais," which endears it to me particularly. And "Spock's Brain," though probably the worst written episode of television in history, is hilarious and contains cyber-robo-remote-control Spock. Let's see, what else . . . in "I, Mudd," Spock goes head to head with other robots and rocks pretty hard, which I love, though there is some of the usual background "men want robot women to serve their every whim, heh heh heh" stuff that you unfortunately see in a lot of TOS episodes.

I'd advise you not to watch "The Galileo 7" - the writer decides they don't like Spock and basically spends an episode making fun of him and taking him down a peg. >:( Also, watch out for "The Enemy Within" - the premise of it sounds amazing when you look at an episode summary (Kirk gets split into his evil Id-like half and his gentle puppy-loving sweetheart half - literally he pets alien puppies in this episode) but it also has this whole rape plot that absolutely freaks me out, and reveals some pretty icky gender politics.

Similarly, be on your guard for Plato's Stepchildren . . . it's basically where the "aliens make them do it" trope comes from, and reveals that trope as pretty horrifying and rapetastic. I do treasure the part where aliens make Kirk neigh like a pony while a small person rides on his back, but then there's a scene later where the aliens force the crew to have sex with each other (almost), which is where the famed interracial Kirk/Uhura kiss comes from, and I honestly can't watch that scene it's so squicky to me on race/gender fronts.

man, it's been way too long since I watched TOS! I can't remember hardly any of my favourites. I'll have to watch this post. :)

I second the rec of Diane Duane Star Trek novels. *swoons*

I read Spock's World, and my reaction to it was really interesting (um, to me, not to anyone else); I'm entirely willing to read further ones by her!

Shatner wrote and directed it

Why? OMG, why? Did he have the producer's children as hostages or something?

Oh, and Spock and Kirk wear gold lame loinclothes in "Who Mourns for Adonais," which endears it to me particularly.

Sold! I am totally and completely sold! (Why don't male leads wear gold lame loincloths anymore? Think how much SGA would have been improved by that! Like, that one ep where John grows the beard and wears natural fibers - I haven't seen it, so maybe it's awesome, but I know this much: if he had instead worn a gold lame loincloth, it would have been much more awesome. I feel cheated of my right to action heroes in gold lame!)

I do treasure the part where aliens make Kirk neigh like a pony while a small person rides on his back

Oh my god, just this line squicked me. (It's like some horrible blend of humiliation and mind control!) I can never, ever watch that ep. Thank you for warning me. Likewise, I will be avoiding Galileo Seven - obviously anyone who doesn't like Spock is not someone whose work I wish to know.

The funny thing is, Nimoy wrote and directed Star Trek IV, and that just makes it more wonderful - the whole thing is like "we should care more about saving the environment! also I hate kids who play loud music on the bus!" It sort of endears him to me. Whereas Shatner's is super-slashy, but somehow annoying as well. I do NOT know what strange satanic rituals he participated in to be allowed to do it, but I shudder to think.

I am now also sad about the lack of gold lamé loinclothes on contemporary scifi shows. You're so right. Sigh. I'll just have to watch that TOS episode again. They also wear LAURELS.

Yeah, "Plato's Stepchildren" is like . . . there's something in it to squick EVERYONE. It's equal-opportunity squick. It's FASCINATING, but mostly I can only be fascinated with it while peeking between my fingers.

The funny thing is, Nimoy wrote and directed Star Trek IV, and that just makes it more wonderful

Okay, but - and I am going to say this absolutely as kindly as I can - I think Nimoy has a different kind of talent than Shatner. One that more readily lends itself to, well. Many things, and obviously writing and directing are on that list.

I am now also sad about the lack of gold lamé loinclothes on contemporary scifi shows.

It's a failure of the entertainment industry as a whole, and I can tell you right now what I'd be drawing if I were a fan artist. GOLD LAME AND LAURELS FOR EVERYONE. Sherlock Holmes! The Vampire Lestat! Adam Savage! Superman!

It's equal-opportunity squick.

They decided to get all their squicking over with in one inglorious rush! I can salute that. Mostly by not watching it, though.

nimoy didn't write ST: 4, just directed it. he may have had the idea, but didn't write it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/fullcredits#writers

as for ST: 5, shatner had a "well if he could do it (twice) then i could do it" moment with directing it, but again didn't write it just had the idea.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098382/fullcredits#writers

oh man, I was totally getting that from star trek lore - obv I should've checked my sources! thanks for the links. I kind of figured they didn't do the teleplay, or all of it, but it looks like they were less involved than I thought. :)

As a couple of people have said above, the ST movies II and IV are both terrific on general principles and for Spock. However, Warning: there is severe imperillment of whales in ST IV (although no whales we meet as persons are actually injured).

On the ST Original episodes, "Amok Time" shows most of the information we have on Vulcan society, i.e., Spock's childhood culture. "Journey to Babel" shows a lot about his parents, also useful. "Mirror, Mirror" gives an AU Spock (in contrast, mostly, with "our" Kirk). You will probably have heard through the ether already, but do avoid "Spock's Brain," which is widely thought to be the worst episode ever, despite the presence of the word "Spock" in the title.

The more notable pro novels, especially Duane's about Vulcan and "Ishmael" by Hambly, are completely worth the time. (John Ford's are also great, but not especially Spock-centric.) The "Phoenix" novels are h/c so thick it's like slash, essentially near-slash fanfic that got published. This may be a good or bad thing to you. K/S of the late 70s and early 80s was busy inventing a new genre all over the map, with highs, lows, expeditions to alternate dimensions, and a major colony in Pre-Reform Vulcan.

As long as the whales are not actually injured, I can probably white-knuckle through the whale imperilment, and I will have to; Best Beloved prefers the movies to the series, and is lobbying for the One with the Whales.

Amok Time, Journey to Babel, and Mirror, Mirror are all definites. Spock's Brain is indeed famously bad, and while I occasionally do like sincerely crappy media, not when it involves Spock.

I've read one of Duane's tie-ins, and holy shit, Ford wrote a tie-in? I am totally going to have to read that.

It must have been awesome to be there for K/S when all this was happening. Perhaps someday they'll make a movie about it! (And the cast will be 75% men, and all the female characters will be young, white, skinny, and gorgeous.)

Ford wrote Final Reflection, serious and good writing about Klingons, all blood and history, and also How Much for Just the Planet, a sort of Gilbert&Sullivan-Rube Goldberg comedy romp for starship crew, planetary government, and star-crossed lovers. The guy had an awesome range. Either stands as a book without the ST references, but is more fun (for fans of course) with them.

Early K/S was astonishing, all right, for both the highs and lows.

Oh, yes, I forgot about Ishmael. Totally seconding that rec. A time-travel amnesia crossover with Spock in the center. Loved that one. And I also liked Duane's Vulcan novels. And iirc she also wrote some about the Romulans, also quite good.

I may be the only one who didn't at all enjoy the two Phoenix tie-ins. Back then I had no idea what slash or h/c was, and okay, I've always been a genficcer at heart but I've also always loved h/c... except they are done so unsubtly that it took over the story imho.

As you say. Hee ha hoo, were the Phoenix books ever unsubtle! They may have been the first unabashed h/c I ran into, and even as a baby fan who hadn't heard the term "hurt comfort" at the time, I could see that, shall we say, the writers had an agenda. I sometimes liked it and sometimes got tired of it. And it was a completely different tie-in book, by Della Van Hise, that scandalized the publishers (or someone) as being nearly-almost slash!

There was a time when I knew every episode title and summary by heart, but I have not actually re-viewed TOS as an adult, not to mention as a person who has moved beyond the seventies (yes, I know it was aired in the sixties, but I first saw it in the first few seasons as reruns in the early seventies) so the ways in which it is politically, racially and genderly WRONG are probably myriad, which is also too bad because it was incredibly more RIGHT than anything else at the time but I digress. ::takes a breath::

That said, here are my recs:

Amok Time -- really, you must see it in order to get the tons of Pon Farr fics as well as the canonical cultural background on Vulcan. Besides, very slashy. *g*

The Devil in the Dark -- pretty cool episode in which we see Spock using his mind meld powers to save the day.

Mirror, Mirror -- Don't watch this first, since as the seminal AU, you need to see the normal universe first. But then, do see this one.

The Tholian Web -- Spock dispassionately following Star Fleet chain of command when Kirk is presumed dead.

The Trouble With Tribbles -- not particularly Spock-centric, but light hearted in tone, one of the best written episodes, and, consequently famous, so not to be missed.

The Balance of Terror -- again, not Spock-centric, but my personal favorite episode. Based loosely on WWII submarine warfare movies. But good! Really!

You wanted eight and this is only six. Be advised relatively few episodes didn't feature Spock fairly prominently, usually being very Spock-like, because that's what he does.

I wasn't discerning enough in my youth to identify major suckiness, but I would avoid the social commentary episodes, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, The Mark of Gideon, The Way to Eden, and Turnabout Intruder.

Oh God, don't watch The Paradise Syndrome. I liked it at the time but now I can only remember fake Native Americans in Disney costumes.

I don't remember any harm to children -- there are at least two episodes that feature children -- or animals, unless you count tribbles, and they're not so much harmed as ... disposed of. But they really are just cute vermin. *g*

I'm worried about how the gender and race stuff is going to read, too, but I'm hoping I can keep in mind that it was a giant step forward at the time. *crosses fingers*

And, let's see - Amok Time is so definitely first, and all the rest of your suggestions seem like winners, too. Thank you!

(OMG fake Native Americans DO NOT WANT. Thanks for the warning, and that is forever stricken from the list of possibles.)

I see that someone above warned you off The Devil in the Dark because of both animal and child harm, which made me (?) at first, but, you know, O_O they're probably right. I ... hadn't thought of that. If seeing it were vital to knowing Spock or his background, that would be one thing, but it really isn't. Just a cool mind meld. So strike that.

What to replace it with? Plenty of people reccing The City on the Edge of Forever, and now that someone reminds me which ep that was, oh yeah, definitely. Harlan Ellison notwithstanding.

Others are reccing Journey to Babel, reasonably enough. Not only do we meet his parents, but we meet other Federation races who have later prominence, so yayy for that.

You know which rec I want to second? (Here at Dreamwidth, that is, I haven't seen what people are saying on LJ) The Empath. I would easily count it as my second favorite episode, and while Spock isn't front and center, the three of them under extreme stress together -- yes. So that's my replacement for The Devil in the Dark.

So, almost everyone mentioned 'Mirror, Mirror' and 'Amok Time', which I agree with, they give good Spock, because even AU Spock is Spock. He's rather archetypical.

I'm gonna recommend 'City on the Edge of Forever'. It isn't Spock-centric, instead it shows off the triad friendship of Spock, Kirk, and McCoy. I think it displays Spock at his very best - how much he knows Kirk, even to knowing saving him from pain would be the wrong thing (in the big picture sense and the personal one), how smart and adaptable he is, and the dry humor too. It's also just a really good episode, even in retrospect.

(I'm beginning to believe I shall be the last person on the planet to see XI. I've got the Netflix DVD sitting on my desk, but no will to watch.)

City on the Edge of Forever also has gotten a lot of votes! In fact, it and Amok Time are the two biggest winners (Mirror, Mirror is third). I'm a little alarmed to see that City was written by Harlan Ellison, but I will work through it.

I'm beginning to believe I shall be the last person on the planet to see XI. I've got the Netflix DVD sitting on my desk, but no will to watch.

All I can say is that I found it deeply, deeply awesome. (Also, if even I have seen something, you may well be in contention for the honorable title of Last to See.)

I'm a little alarmed to see that City was written by Harlan Ellison, but I will work through it.

It might (or might not) sooth your nerves to know he's been having fits for decades over the changes made to his script. It lacks that sort of vicious undertone I associate with his short stories, at least. Maybe that's what they changed and why he hates it.

Unlike a few people above, I really liked Gallileo Seven as a Spock episode--I felt it was less about the writers taking Spock down a peg and more about them showing how Spock needs to learn how non-logical people work in order that they might work together to survive. It's early Spock days so he's not good at that yet. But he gets better!

I've only seen season 1 and a Trek-in-the-Park version of Amok Time, so I'm not very qualified to give recs. But the Trek-in-the-Park Amok Time was awesome.

(I have no slashy Spock icons, so have a slashy Doctor/Brigadier icon instead.)

Great. Now I'm sort of torn about Galileo Seven. Although there are a *lot* of contenders for the top eight slots, so I'm torn about many many things.

*considers doing a poll*

*wishes she could see Trek-in-the-Park*

G7 is everyone-is-trapped-on-the-planet-and-there-are-bad-things-out-there-and-we-have-been-left-to-die-let's-make-hard-moral-choices-which-we-cannot-do-just-by-logic fun. I suppose my recommendation on this difficult choice would be to put it ninth on your list, and if you learn that there is anything squicky or traumatizing in your top eight contenders, swap that one in instead. *shrug*

Oh, hey, if you'd like an eight-episode introduction to Babylon 5 (IT HAS TIME TRAVEL) I can totally give you an eight episode Season 1. It's on Hulu! ;)

Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bTU2CEA2ok and related videos!

Oh! And one more thing--I also have a giant embarrassment squick, and though everyone's are triggered by different things, I had no problem watching Amok Time in the park. It may feel differently in the actual episode, but I thought I would offer that datum. :)

I watched TOS over and over again with my dad as a small child, so the slashiness of stuff is still kind of new to me. However.

"Amok Time" and "Mirror, Mirror" for reasons stated above.

"Empath" is actually a Kirk, Spock, McCoy friendship ep, they're stuck in a bad situation and have to help each other to get out, it's one of my very favorite episodes (my favorite is not Spock-centric) and shows each of their strengths and failings. It does involve torture, but only of adults.

"City on the Edge of Forever" is one of the best hours of television ever made, and features one of the best female guest stars Star Trek ever had (the character's name is Edith Keeler, you may have heard of her elsewhere) and Spock plays several important roles in that storyline.

"Balance of Terror" which features Romulans, who in TOS are like Vulcans with emotions and a raging Napoleon complex. (Be warned, these are not your Reboot Romulans.) Spock has some severe identity issues.

Both episodes of "The Menagerie" which has Spock basically committing mutiny against Kirk in order to help his former mentor. The message about women in this two-parter is pretty horrific, but Spock is in rare form.

And finally... I'll go with "The Tholian Web" which really is an excellent ep for several reasons, but Spock is perfect as well. Spock and McCoy also have to learn to work together, and that's beautiful to watch.

Of course, mix those up until they're in the correct order....

Also, movies 3, 4 and 6 are particularly good for Spock. 6 is my favorite of all the Trek movies, including the new one, and I love Reboot.

Good eps that won't really help you with Spock: "The Trouble with Tribbles"- yeah, I love it, everyone does, you should see it, but not because of Spock's role (though he does have a hilarious scene all of his very own, it's just not enough to make the top 8 for him). "Devil in the Dark" which does let Spock save the day but we don't get a lot about what makes him tick.

Stay away from: "All Our Yesterdays" which is Spock-centric but has him regressing to caveman-ness; "Miri" which features Kirk as a creepy pedophile; "This Side of Paradise" which involves alien spores that kill logic; "The Way to Eden" which has Spock in a jam session with hippies; "The Cloud Minders" which has yet another blonde fall for Spock.

This is an awesome and incredibly thorough list. Thank you! I shall be referring to it often, and in the meantime, I must make notes.

*notes notes notes*

And I feel you on the surprise of finding slash in your childhood loves. You are excused from seeing it if you want to be!

is one of the best hours of television ever made

Everyone is saying this! I have got to see this thing.

I totally get K/S TOS slash (but always leading to K/S/M), but for Reboot I am a complete K/M and U/S fan. So hey, new slash is fun.

I was into TOS big time as a teenager, but I actively avoid watching the episodes nowadays because the special effects and set design just can't hold up to today's standards and I don't want to mess with my memories.

But anyway as to episodes: my personal favorites were City on the Edge of Forever, The Trouble with Tribbles, Journey to Babel... and back then I loved that ep in pseudo-Ancient-Rome where he and McCoy get thrown in a cell together, just for the Spock moments (forgot the title, I do remember it was quite cheesy)

CotEF and TWT aren't Spock-centric but they're classics and for good reason.

eps to avoid: Spock's brain. omg avoid.

I'd actually recommend the movies, where the rule of thumb is that the even numbers are good while the odd numbers aren't so much. I recently rewatched The Voyage Home and still liked it, if not with the same uncritical love as back in the 80s. It's a fun movie.

Edited 2009-12-21 09:25 (UTC)

ep in pseudo-Ancient-Rome where he and McCoy get thrown in a cell together,

Was that called Bread and Circuses? I think that was the first episode I ever saw at age nine. I changed the channel away from Daniel Boone and saw three men in uniforms walking along a road. One of them said, "Once, just once, I'd like to land on a planet and say, 'Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel'" and then made some crack about the other guy's pointed ears.

I never went back to Daniel Boone.

Was that called Bread and Circuses?

That's the one.

I think that was the first episode I ever saw at age nine. I changed the channel away from Daniel Boone and saw three men in uniforms walking along a road. One of them said, "Once, just once, I'd like to land on a planet and say, 'Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel'" and then made some crack about the other guy's pointed ears.

Ha. That sounds so familiar. For me it was "The World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky". I was eleven, we were switching channels away from Nils Holgerson, and there were these three guys in uniform walking around on some planet, having a conversation about something, I had no idea what was going on... less than five minutes later I was *hooked*. And continued to be hooked for the next decade, even though German tv showed only half the episodes (badly dubbed) and I had to wait until I was 19 until I could watch the show again, when I was in Canada for a summer.

Fortunately the tie-in novels were decent to excellent, and there were a lot of them; I hadn't even heard of fanfic back then.

Oh, @thefourthvine: Here's a tie-in novel rec, my favorite of the bunch: How Much For Just The Planet, by John Ford. It's a team story with lots of OCs, and it's hilarious. Great (if somewhat absurd) plot. I also adored Uhura's Song, including the OCs.

Edited 2009-12-21 10:48 (UTC)

For me it was "The World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"

I remember that as a good episode, and I always thought it had the most awesome title.

The reason I didn't see TOS until it was in reruns is because I was in Germany when it was airing live in the U.S. and yeah, it was well before the days of the internet when we can exchange media at the drop of a torrent. *g*

I second the rec of How Much For Just the Planet, but only for enjoyment, not so much for, uh, typicalness, if you know what I mean.

I second the rec of How Much For Just the Planet, but only for enjoyment, not so much for, uh, typicalness, if you know what I mean.

I sure know what you mean. :D

Yeah, might be a good idea not to start with that one, it could give a distorted impression of Star Trek.

yeah, it was well before the days of the internet when we can exchange media at the drop of a torrent.

I do not miss those days.

i'd stay away from how much just for the planet, IMHO. it's rather twisted "humor" wise & doesn't match with trek as i know it. they say people either love it, or hate it, there's very few inbetween.

if you want to read some TOS novels i recomend;
sarek by A.C. Crispin
spock's world by Diane Duane
the vulcan academy murders by Jean Lorrah
doctor's orders by Diane Duane
the idic epidemic by Jean Lorrah

although many trek novels were numbered, you don't have to read them in order. there's a few that have "book 1" on them so you'll know which are marti-part. none of the above though.

I'm trying to peg my expectations of the sets and special effects at "BBC c. 1985" and hoping that works out. I'm more worried about the race and gender stuff, but we'll see how it goes.

I'd actually recommend the movies, where the rule of thumb is that the even numbers are good while the odd numbers aren't so much.

I plan to try the movies! Best Beloved fears the series but liked the movies, so I will be watching at least one with her. (The One with the Whales, whichever that one is.)

I also really like The Doomsday Machine, in which a crazy Commodore tries to take command of the Enterprise and destroy it while Kirk is stranded on another ship, and Spock has to put up with him, with a great deal of restrained eyerolling and attempts at logic.

Plus The Changeling, the plot of which was recycled for Star Trek The Motion Picture, and which has one of the funnier on-screen Spock melds since he's melding with a tiny robot.

I disagree that you can skip canon and just get Spock in the tie-ins: Nimoy was a brilliant actor frequently in spite of lame scripts; even a great piece of pro or amateur fanfiction is not the same.

If you are interested in scouting in advance, a few years ago I posted a few episode parody-recaps with screencaps:

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Changeling
The Doomsday Machine

Those are the only parodies, but I posted sets of screencaps and occasional comments from all the episodes in season 1.

Errand of Mercy is notable for Spock and Kirk in hilarious Ren Faire outfits and rainbow tights and The Return of the Archons is notable for Spock in an adorable cape and the fact that they're visiting The Planet of the Pilgrims/Puritans. Which is run by a senile computer.

I remember your recaps! I went through them, but since, at the time, I had only a vague understanding of who Kirk and Spock even were, they were kind of confusing.

Rainbow tights. OMG.

And Nimoy was totally who sold me on the whole TOS project, because within four seconds of appearing on screen in STXI, he'd convinced me that Spock Prime was SO IN LOVE with Kirk. And he made my heart all swell with joy. Obviously I need additional Nimoy in my life.

I can't believe nobody's said Operation Annihilate yet! It's the one with the flying pancakes (OMG such bad special effects!) and I don't know how to do spoiler text but for my money it's the slashiest ever! There's one shot of Kirk and Spock that I really, really cherished as a girl, and I think you'll know it when you see it. Also, it's the episode where we get what little information we ever get about Kirk's family, FWIW.

Also I vote for "A Piece of the Action" and "The Empath". And I love "Spock's Brain", but then again I've always enjoyed giant mutant ant movies, too.

I'm starting to think every episode in the series is going to be nominated! But - flying pancakes AND slashiness. *is weak* *adds to list*

well there's only 79 or so. not sure if that count includes the first pilot or not.

BTW more info on all things trek can be found at memory alpha
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/

WARNING! there's spoilers in the episode discriptions

Except "Operation Annihilate" might have child harm, since the flying pancakes are taking everybody over and killing them. We meet Kirk's sister-in-law and niece, I think? And I don't remember for sure if they save them. All the graphic h/c is Spock, though.

Nearly-irrelevant aside: the actor who played the old man who had found out the world was hollow because he had touched the sky was the lector at our church when I was a kid. I've been scolded for poking my brothers in church by a guy who'd been on Star Trek!

Sister-in-law and nephew (but he survives!)

I did not know until today that Leonard Nimoy does the voice for all civilization improvements that take place within the Sid Meier's "Civilization" computer game.

I saw the movies first, so I like them best. I'm actually quite fond of III in addition to the often-recommended II and IV, though I should point out that since they spend the whole of the third movie *searching* for Spock, he doesn't appear on screen until the end. Still, I'd rate it the slashiest of the lot.

a little late to the party, but i meant to make recommendations earlier and was distracted by holiday.

i just watched tos for the first time, and my favourite episode and the one i'd recommend the most highly (two things which aren't always in sync) is "journey to babel." it's very spock-centric, features sarek and amanda, has lots of wonderful moments between the main trio (especially spock and mccoy) and, most importantly, is actually a good episode of television. in terms of story and pacing and all that it's much more up to modern standards and gives hints of the complexity and um, interestingness that the series would later achieve with tng.

if i'd gotten here earlier i would have seconded the recs for "amok time" and "the trouble with tribbles," which is no longer necessary.

"the galileo seven" is another favourite with a well-crafted story. it's a very important point in spock's evolution as a character, i think, and really jump-starts the whole struggle between his vulcan and human halves. mccoy isn't terribly likable in this episode either, imo, because when it comes to the two of them spock always represents logic, of course, while bones represents the heart, and they can both be equally infuriating in their adherence to their side, if you will. mccoy is kind of hard on spock in this episode, but this episode really represents the conflict they will have throughout the rest of the series.

(weird: as i was typing this i overheard nimoy quoting galileo on a computer game my husband is playing.)

"devil in the dark" is, again, a good story with some k/s moments that rival "amok time" for me personally.

i tend to not love some of the fan-favourites as much as others. for example, i could take or leave "mirror, mirror" and nearly disliked "city on the edge of forever."

let's see, let's see. two more. "operation: annihilate!" despite the stupid title (spock is in mortal peril! kirk has to make decisions at his expense!) and "the enterprise incident" (kirk is disguised as a romulan! spock does on-screen hand porn! star trek successfully attempts some experimental storytelling!).

also, this isn't necessarily a rec for the episode itself, but if you find the gender politics are making you want to claw your eyes out at any point and you need a reprieve, deela from "wink of an eye" is the best female character of the series, imo.

*G*

I would recommend "The Enterprise Incident" for an excellent Romulan female, who is, imo, one of the best-written women in the series. Spock, of course, is very important to the plot, and we see Kirk in disguise as a Romulan!

(Hi, I somehow ended up following links here after reading some of your reviews.)

Anyway, I want to recommend the FIRST Star Trek movie. It's not particularly good, but it contains some crucial Spock-story. Just fast-forward through all of the boring special effects.

(Actually, movies 1-4 are such a fascinating arc for Spock!)

Amok Time and City on the Edge of Forever are vital.

When I can remember the titles of some of the others I'm thinking of, I'll comment again.

Everyone everywhere seems to agree on Amok Time and City on the Edge of Forever! I am pleased to see that the first one was written by Theodore Sturgeon, and OMG terrified to see that Harlan Ellison was responsible for the second. (Although, wow, Star Trek brought the big guns in the writing department. Why don't shows ever do that now?)

OMG terrified to see that Harlan Ellison was responsible for the second.

Don't worry! They completely changed his original plot and he had a big tantrum!

Amok Time!

*probably has more, but watch that one!!111eleventy*

Amok Time is going to be the first one I watch, just going by the numbers.

Perhaps I should do a poll! All the ones that get nominated here, I can put in the poll, and then I can watch whichever ones get the most votes! Or, um, I can just watch things. That might make more sense.

Avoid the episode "Spock's Brain." Seriously.

My personal favorite episode is "The Way to Eden," but apparently there are some people in the world who aren't absolutely in love with space hippies. So, unless you are anti-space-hippie, I'd watch that; Spock gets some good scenes in that one ^__^

See, I'd avoid the space hippies like the plague, but I'm a huge fan of the sheer hilarity that is Spock's Brain.

ZOMG we must settle this in a fight to the death! XD

Really, though, it's nice to think that every episode gets its share of love from some corner of fandom.

agree! someone on the DW version of this thread was saying "omg don't watch The Naked Time," whereas I was actively recommending it - it's hilarious and amazing! Spock cries and completely freaks Kirk out! I think opinion varies widely on whether various TOS episodes are "embarrassment squick" or "campy melodramatic delight."

I think the Naked Time would absolutely have to be watched, if only for George Takei's topless fencing. And I adore Riley in that episode.

*realizes she forgot about Spock's scenes*

...which goes to show that opinion will vary widely even within one episode. *g*

+1 to Naked Time. Also to Amok Time and City on the Edge of Forever.

Was just coming here to disrecommend "Spock's Brain" also.

"Amok Time" is the ultimate. Vulcan rut-or-die rites, who can beat that?

People seem to have two lines of thought about Spock's Brain:

1. OMG NO IT'S SO AWFUL.
2. OMG YES IT'S SO AWFUL.

I think I will probably skip it. On account of the awfulness.

(Space hippies? Um. I liked the episode of Avatar: the Last Airbender with hippies, but I'm not sure the two correlate perfectly.)

That pretty much sums it up; it's not guaranteed anyone'll like Spock's Brain, but it IS guaranteed that they'll think it's awful.

I heard someone once say they thought the ATLA episode with the hippies had to be some sort of homage to Way to Eden; I haven't seen ATLA recently enough to remember that episode clearly. But Way to Eden has the space hippies deciding that Spock is one of their own, and then everyone has a jamboree.

Besides. HIPPIES. IN SPACE. <--- I don't understand how can that argument ever fail to sway people.

The Way to Eden also features Spock singing. Everyone should watch it.

I would go with Amok Time and City on the Edge, as well. Possibly the Trouble with Tribbles? And if you haven't seen ST: The Voyage Home (ST4, I think?) you should watch the movie NOW. I don't want to spoil you but, if you love Spock, you will like this movie.

Spoiler note for TFV, who I know will want to know this: the whales make it. Repeat, the whales are OK.

I believe you mean "The damn whales are okay."

THANK YOU. That is extremely good to know, because otherwise I would be watching it all tense and terrified.

Oh my God, I second the rec of The Voyage Home. That movie is HILARIOUS (intentionally so and everything!) and adorable.

yes yes yes. best Trek movie ever.

Best Beloved, who likes the movies a lot better than the series, has also nominated the One with the Whales. Apparently whales make for good Trek!

The Search for Spock

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