Like I said, Spocks is so bizarre I have to head-canon it away. THIS makes it sound like Janice…uhhh…has some issues. At best I’d say “Girl likes to fly her freak flag.”
oh dear!
Thought you’d like that one! 
Fact, eh?
But you’re probably right. Otherwise those underground repair facilities would be working into a burn-out.
It’s one of my favorite fight scenes ever. I had tremendous satisfaction seeing Finnegan out cold.
Today’s episode:
“The Squire of Gothos”
One of my favorite episodes. Many similarities with “Charlie X”, but I feel no sympathy for Trelane, as I do for Charlie. I just want to see Trelane get a good spanking, or whatever the equivalent would be for his super-powered race.
Doubt if that will happen, though. I imagine his parents saying “Son, for tormenting and endangering this sentient but backwards species, you can’t play with any planets for a whole week.”
“BUT I WAS WINNING”.
“Now, son, that’s no excuse. You must learn to be nice to your pets.”
“BUT I FED THEM! I PLAYED MUSIC FOR THEM!”
(Trelane continues to whine until his parents give in.)
There is a STNG fanwank that Trelane was a young Q.
Peter David wrote a novel, Q-Squared, in which Trelane was a member of the Q, but not the Q who was constantly annoying Picard. That Q took on the responsibility of mentoring Trelane.
I always thought Trelane WAS Q, grown up. It explains his unhealthy fascination with the Enterprise, and his inability to realize that it isn’t the same Enterprise.
And in Shore Leave, I figured the caretaker was just another creation of the (fully automated) machinery. The planet gives you what you want, correct? Well, everyone wanted to know what was going on, so the planet created an explanation that the clueless humans could understand. He wasn’t any more real than Finnigan.
And I know about the animated episode where the Caretaker died. It wasn’t canon. 
Quick update:
"The Menagerie", parts 1 and 2
As an addlepated kid, I was really baffled by this pair of episodes. “Who are all those people? What are they doing? Why should we care? What’s with those leaves that Spock is actually grinning about them?”
Okay, a few years have passed since then. I now really like the story, as well as the material it’s based on (note: I will be watching “The Cage” eventually).
"Arena"
Another powerful, superior race. <sigh> You know, I don’t entirely buy the notion that the Metrons are testing the Gorn and Human species – I rather suspect they enjoy watching the “primitives” fight.
"Court Martial"
Pretty lame episode. Not a bad concept, but the script is weak.
“Arena” was essentially identical to a science fiction short story by Fredric Brown, that had the same name. In that story, the two participants in the arena are representing their respective races, who are about to engage in a huge inter-system battle. The human wins, as a result of which the opposing fleet is wiped out.
I have always liked the twist that Star Trek added, in line with Roddenberry’s philosophy, where Kirk refuses to finish off the Gorn. In the original story, the reason the superior being has the two individuals fight is that it recognizes that each race COULD become like it eventually, but knows that the result of the war will be the extinction of one race and the crippling of the other. It is therefore acting out of a desire to ensure that one of the two races will be able to survive and grow.
“Arena” (by Brown) is in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame collection, stories which were written before the Nebulas were started voted as being worthy of Nebula awards.
Fun Fact: The Metron is in this clip as well, whether as the secretary or the waitress with the tray, I can’t say (the character’s name is “Joan” in the IMDB credits):
Another quick update–
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Every Trekker’s dream – visit the Enterprise.
The Alternative Factor
When I started watching this one, nothing seemed familiar. Is it possible, I wondered, that I’ve never seen this episode? But, no, I realized I have indeed seen “Alternative”; apparently I blocked it from conscious memory. Oddly enough, I have a clear memory of “Spock’s Brain”, so I guess my subconscious thought “Alternative” was even worse.
Return of the Archons
That festival really disturbed me as a kid. I’m an adult now and it still disturbs me.
A Taste of Armageddon
Thumbs up for this one.
Space Seed
And another thumb’s up.
This Side of Paradise
Spock in love? And all he does is look at clouds?
The Devil in the Dark
Liked this one, too.
Errand of Mercy
Hooray, Klingons! Is it heretical to say I like the look of TOS Klingons better than the later design?
City on the Edge of Forever
Strong episode, but a little overrated, IMO.
Operation: Annihilate!
Too bad the first season ended with this weak story. Still not as bad as **The **Alternative Factor
It’s good to see Kirk cutting a swath of destruction across the Galaxy in ‘Return of the Archons’ and ‘A Taste of Armageddon’. He slows down a bit in ‘This Side of Paradise’ and contents himself with ruining the lives of a small group of farmers who were content to huff spores and harm no one, but I’m sure he’ll be back to messing up whole civilizations then running away in no time.
Not at all. As an old-school trekker myself, I’ve always felt that since they came first, the TOS version is what Klingons “really” look like. The movie/TNG/DS9/Voyager Klingons, with their weird forehead ridges, are the ones who are inconsistent with clearly established canon! 
Having Klingons be naturally big-forheaded means that Darvin having to be “surgically altered” to pass as human make more sense. Because otherwise he doesn’t look all that different.
I watched A Taste of Armageddon. Since Emeniar has space travel, the Prime Directive doesn’t really apply. Still, once Kirk got the situation under control, he could have just took off and left them to their own forever war. But, I do agree with his actions. But, what if peace talks broke down, and a shooting war started. Would Kirk be responsible for those deaths?
Maybe that means I shouldn’t be left in charge of a Starship.
The episode it worth it alone for Scotty standing up to Fox. And his crack about him being a 'poppinjay". Still, did Fox’s aide get killed in the hallway? Sure seemed that way. Poor unnamed attache, we hardly knew ya! (The actor isn’t even listed in IMDB.) I shall remember you!
Do they have warp drive?
Good question.
The actual limits and rules of the PD have never really been clarified. In my own opinion, it doesn’t apply to any race that is aware of the “big picture”. Once a culture knows there are other races out there, the PD should not apply. Otherwise, why doesn’t it apply to Vulcans, or Klingons, or hemoglobin-sucking cloud aliens?
And Eminiar not only knows of other cultures, they’ve already destroyed a ship. Plus, they understand the meaning of “Code 7-10”, which shows a lot more contact with outside species that the episode lets on. Why would they know that code? Why not just say “stay away”?
On the other hand, Kirk &co really are coming on like they are practicing “gunboat diplomacy”. The only reason they want relations with Eminiar is to get a base. They seem like they could care less about the people there. If all Starfleet really wants is a base, they could just build one and park it somewhere. It could even be in orbit around Eminiar’s sun. What could they even do about it?
As an aside, Eminiar’s computers need an upgrade. They just assumed that Vendikar’s attack successfully destroyed the Enterprise. I don’t think fusion bombs materialized in space would even scorch the paint. And the shields successfully stopped the “sonic beams” (in SPAAAACE!), so a real attack wouldn’t have destroyed the ship.
“This Side of Paradise” has one of the all-time great Trek quotes:
"I am what I am, Leila, and if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else’s. "
Spock summed up in a nutshell. For the first time in the series, you learn that it’s not easy being green (blooded).
“City on the Edge of Forever” is easily the best story in Star Trek (by which I mean what all too many people call “The Original Series”; there’s only one series called “Star Trek”). It’s clearly written by someone who is a real writer (not surprisingly, the inestimable Harlan Ellison). The only real deficiency in the episode is that you don’t really get a sense of the time involved; they are back in that time for a few weeks, though the impression is that they are there only a few days. The critical thing you have to accept is that Kirk truly falls for Edith Keeler, otherwise his actions at the end aren’t imbued with the same sense of sacrifice.
It’s the first episode you actually feel sorry for James T. Kirk.
Indeed.
I certainly agree that “City” is an excellent story, and definitely one of the top ten. Whether it is on the top of the list or not, I’m not so sure. Will reserve judgement for now.
Sonic beams wouldn’t necessarily consist of sound waves. They could be alternating pulses of radiant energy that induce sympathetic vibrations in matter, leading to its disruption at the resonance frequency.
… And to repel them, you’d have to shunt power to the deflector dish! 