M-5 @ M_5 @startrek.website

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Season 6

Season 7

"Season 8"

If you're interested, you can also learn about the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels (affectionately called "Season 8").

Season 4

Season 5

Season 7

Season-by-season ratings

Season 5

Season 6

Season 3

Season 4

Bem (2x02)

Production number: 22018

Summary: "Ari bn Bem, an erratic observer from the planet Pandro, secretly watches the crew of the USS Enterprise to determine whether the Federation is ready to open diplomatic relations with his advanced species."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This episode was written by David Gerrold, writer of 'The Trouble with Tribbles' and 'More Tribbles, More Troubles'.

This is the first on-screen mention of James Kirk's middle name, Tiberius.

Uhura is left in charge of the ship and bosses Scotty around quite nicely.

Nichelle Nichols does a lovely job voicing the overseeing intelligence.

There are some excellent lines in this show, including "I'm only a Vulcan!" from Spock.

The Practical Joker (2x03)

Production number: 22021

Summary: "After passing through a strange space cloud, the Enterprise's computer gains an artificial intelligence that is relentlessly bent on making practical jokes on the crew."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

We see the first appearance of a holodeck, here called a "recreation room". And we see the first holodeck malfunction.

Lieutenant Arex has the conn at one point during this episode.

Every regular character in this series, including Arex and M'Ress, has lines in this episode. I think it's the only episode where that happens.

Albatross (2x04)

Production number: 22019

Summary: "Following a mission to the planet Dramia, Dr. McCoy is held prisoner, accused of mass genocide caused by a deadly plague committed nineteen years earlier during a previous expedition. When the Enterprise attempts to investigate, it too becomes infected."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

Not much to say about this episode.

How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth (2x05)

Production number: 22022

Summary: "The Enterprise encounters a being that once visited the ancient peoples of Earth."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

This show has Trek's first on-screen appearance of a Native American Starfleet officer: Ensign Walking Bear (who has the helm for this episode, replacing Sulu). He was voiced, like so many other guest characters in the animated series, by James Doohan.

William Shatner recorded his lines separately to the rest of the cast because he was working in New York at the time. While the rest of the cast correctly pronounces the alien's name, Kukulkan, as "koo-kool-kahn", Shatner wrongly pronounces it as "koo-kla-kahn" the whole way through.

The Counter-Clock Incident (2x06)

Production number: 22023

Summary: "When the Enterprise enters a negative universe, former captain Robert April saves the ship as the crew age backwards!"

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This is the only on-screen appearance of the "first captain of the USS Enterprise", Robert April. The writer of this episode deliberately created this character based on Gene Roddenberry's original notes for the first 'Star Trek' pilot.

April's wife, Sarah April, describes herself as "the first medical officer aboard a ship equipped with warp drive" (it's strongly implied that she served on the Enterprise with her husband). This implies that either there were no warp-capable ships before the Enterprise, or that they did not have medical officers.

They're going to Babel, a planetoid previously mentioned in 'Journey to Babel'.

The components of the USS Enterprise were built at the San Francisco Navy Yards.

The nova encountered by the Enterprise in this episode, Beta Niobe, was one which they first encountered in 'All Our Yesterdays'.

Uhura refers to someone speaking "the same universal language we speak", but doesn't name that language.

The Magicks of Megas-Tu (1x08)

Production number: 22009

Summary: "While investigating the theory of creation, the Enterprise is caught inside an energy/matter tornado. After emerging from the storm, the crew encounter a world where magic works and science doesn't."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

This episode shares a few ideas with a movie that would follow 15 years later: the writer who proposed this story started with the idea of the Enterprise meeting God in space (although this was changed to the Devil prior to writing the script); the Enterprise goes to the centre of the galaxy to meet God/Devil, and; the Enterprise learns that God/Devil is merely an alien.

Even for an episode with "magicks" in its title, the science is not strong here. The reason for the Enterprise going to the centre of the galaxy is to find the place where new matter is continually created. Even at the time it was made, this wasn't accurate science.

Although Lieutenant Arex doesn't speak in this episode, there's some nice attention to detail when we see him in stocks along with the other crew members - and his stocks have a third hole for his third arm.

Once Upon a Planet (1x09)

Production number: 22017

Summary: "The Enterprise returns to the shore leave planet where the crew once took shore leave. As with their previous visit, things go wrong when the illusions turn deadly."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

The crew revisits the "shore leave" planet from the live series episode 'Shore Leave'.

Lieutenants Arex and M'ress are both shown as active members of the bridge crew in this episode. They're not just background.

Listen out for the line "There is no shame in serving others when one does it of his own free will." being said by Lieutenant Uhura. I thought this line, coming from a black character, was a nice subtle statement about the difference between servitude and service.

I found myself admiring the watercolour backgrounds and scenery in this episode - including the opening shot of the Enterprise itself. There certainly are flaws in this series, but the artwork isn't one of them. The animation leaves something to be desired, and the highly repetitive soundtrack is... limited and repetitive. But the backgrounds are worth watching.

Mudd's Passion (1x10)

Production number: 22017

Summary: "Harry Mudd is back, this time swindling miners with a love potion."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

Harcourt Fenton Mudd is back, after two appearances in the live series. He is voiced by the same actor who plays him in the live series, and this episode was written by the same author who wrote the two previous episodes.

Nurse Chapel is back - and still in love with Spock.

Interestingly, Uhura doesn't appear in this episode, and Nichelle Nichols doesn't voice any other character.

The Terratin Incident (1X11)

Production number: 22015

Summary: "When a strange flash of light paralyzes the entire crew of the Enterprise, they begin to shrink."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

Not very many.

This is a return of yet another writer from the original series.

The Time Trap (1x12)

Production number: 22010

Summary: "The Enterprise becomes trapped in the Delta Triangle, an area of space where many starships have gone missing. To make matters worse, the ship also has to defend itself from the Klothos, a Klingon vessel captained by Kor."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

The council of Elysia has a lot of familiar races, from both the live series and the animated series, including: an Orion, a Vulcan, a Klingon, an Andorian, a Phylosian, a Tellarite, a Human, a Gorn, plus some new races. It's almost a "who's who" of Trek races!

Elysia, where the Enterprise and Kothos find themselves, is "more aptly described as a pocket in the garment of time" than as an alternate universe.

Commander Kor, who appeared in the live series (and again in DS9) was not voiced here by the original actor, but by James Doohan.

The Ambergris Element (1x13)

Production number: 22013

Summary: "The crew of the Enterprise explore a submerged culture on a water world."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

This episode was written by the writer of 'The Lorelei Signal'.

This is the first (and only!) appearance of the aqua-shuttle, and a re-appearance of personal lifebelts (as previously seen in 'Beyond The Farthest Star').

Kirk and Spock get transformed into water-breathers during this episode, which leads Kirk to question whether he can command a ship "from inside an aquarium".

The Slaver Weapon (1x14)

Production number: 22011

Summary: "A group of Kzinti divert the shuttle Copernicus and retrieve a newly discovered Slaver weapon."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This story was adapted by well-known science fiction author Larry Niven, from his Known Space short story 'The Soft Weapon'. In the original, the three protagonists are a human married couple and a Pierson's Puppeteer. In the adaptation, Sulu and Uhura fill the roles of the human male and female while Spock fills the role of the Puppeteer - a pacifistic herbivore (this is essential to the plot). Apart from these three character replacements, the episode plays out almost identically to the original short story.

This is the only Star Trek episode or movie set in Kirk's time in which Kirk himself does not appear (apart from the pre-Kirk pilot 'The Cage'). McCoy and Scott are also absent. The only ongoing Trek characters who appear in this episode are Spock, Uhura, and Sulu.

There's a continuity clash in this episode, where Sulu reminds the Kzinti that "The Kzinti fought four wars with humankind and lost all of them. The last one was two hundred years ago." Given that this episode is set during Kirk's original five-year mission, which took place in the late 2260s, this places those wars in the mid-2000s - just around the time that the Vulcans made First Contact with Zefram Cochrane. However, it is possible to reconcile these dates with some clever juggling.

There's another appearance of the personal lifebelts - plus the introduction of a "police web" (an immobilising device used in Niven's Known Space universe).

I personally dislike the basis of this episode, because it brings Niven's Known Space into the Star Trek universe. That said, it's commonly acknowledged as a good episode and is worth watching.

The Eye of the Beholder (1x15)

Production number: 22016

Summary: "Beaming down to a planet to search for the crew of a missing ship, the crew is captured by previously unknown aliens."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

Nothing to say here.

The Jihad (1x16)

Production number: 22014

Summary: "The Vedala, the oldest known space faring race, summon Kirk and Spock to recover the Soul of the Skorr, a stolen religious artifact that has the potential to ignite a holy war across the galaxy."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

Kirk and Spock work in a small team of six people from four races to achieve a mission: two Humans, one Vulcan, and three others.

The only obvious female in the group was also the only other Human - and she repeatedly and openly made moves on Kirk. That animal magnetism at work! Kirk admits to her, for the only time on screen, that he's had a lot of romantic/sexual liaisons, or "green memories" as she refers to them.

Interesting. I was going to describe how similar this is in format to 'Mission: Impossible' episodes, with each character being selected for a particular ability, all of which will contribute to achieving the mission. Then I did some research and found out that the writer of this episode was also a writer and story editor on the 'Mission: Impossible' series!

The Pirates of Orion (2x01)

Production number: 22020

Summary: "While Spock lies ill, Orion pirates hijack the drug shipment desperately needed to save his life."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

There's an interesting animation error in the first few minutes: When Spock collapses on the bridge, there's a shot with him lying in the foreground, and Kirk sitting in his captain's chair in the background - with McCoy standing behind Kirk. Both Kirk and McCoy are shocked at Spock's collapse. (It's worth noting that McCoy has no lines in this scene: he's just there.) The next scene is Kirk stabbing a communications button on his chair to get through to Sickbay - but McCoy is standing right behind him!

The Orions (prononced "AW-ree-on", not "oh-RYE-on" like in the live-action shows) are involved, but don't look like the Orions we've seen before.

There is a reference to the Babel Resolutions (from 'Journey to Babel').

Season 3

The 30 good ones

The "30 good episodes" are, in production order:

1. Where No One Has Gone Before
2. The Corbomite Maneuver
3. The Enemy Within
4. The Naked Time
5. Balance of Terror
6. The Galileo Seven
7. Court Martial
8. The Menagerie (Part I)
9. The Menagerie (Part II)
10. The Squire of Gothos
11. Arena
12. Tomorrow is Yesterday
13. A Taste of Armageddon
14. Space Seed
15. Devil in the Dark
16. Errand of Mercy
17. The City on the Edge of Forever
18. Amok Time
19. The Doomsday Machine
20. The Changeling
21. Mirror, Mirror
22. The Trouble with Tribbles
23. Journey to Babel
24. Obsession
25. A Piece of the Action
26. The Ultimate Computer
27. The Enterprise Incident
28. The Tholian Web
29. Day of the Dove
30. All Our Yesterdays