# Star Trek (TOS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [September 21, 2020, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122 "2020-09-21T05:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/361 "2020-10-25T17:55:02Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’ve long thought one factor was that the series showed there would BE a future, and that it wouldn’t be a dystopian crapsack post-nuclear wasteland horror. There was a certain level of positive optimism there that I think appeals to many people. I agree… especially given the times. The series caught on in syndication at a pessimistic time in American history. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/362 "2020-10-25T18:14:11Z")
The third season, although the individual episodes are often derided by fans, was HUGE. It gave the series enough episodes to make it to syndication. In syndication, in the 70s, it hit BIG. It kind of lucked into being both a nostalgic look backwards to Kennedy’s New Frontier and a speculative look forward into the future. It was hopeful and optimistic sci-fi during the “damnation decade” when dystopian, grimdark sci-fi dominated Hollywood. Then _Star Wars_ hit, optimistic, _fun_ space opera became mainstream, and Paramount looked around and saw that they had an optimistic space opera franchise with a small but dedicated fanbase sitting right there. It took them a couple of tries. _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ wound up being a ponderous work derivative of _2001: A Space Odyssey_. But _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_ hit just the right balance between Trekkie tropes and action-adventure space opera, and the franchise was off and running. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/363 "2020-10-25T19:56:03Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The best episode was “Reurn to Tomorrow is All Our Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Now you are just going Through a Mirror, Darkly > [@gdave](#): > > It took them a couple of tries. _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ wound up being a ponderous work derivative of _2001: A Space Odyssey_ . The popular title for the first movie was Where Nomad has Gone Before ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/364 "2020-10-25T19:56:11Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The best episode was “Reurn to Tomorrow is All Our Yesterday’s Enterprise.” … Incident. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/365 "2020-10-25T20:27:28Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The popular title for the first movie was Where Nomad has Gone Before Or _Star Trek: The Motionless Picture_ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/366 "2020-10-25T20:29:46Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > … Incident. perfect ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/367 "2020-10-25T21:53:20Z")
IMO, it is the best _TOS_ episode because… > [@Greatest episodes of television ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-episodes-of-television-ever/835764/95): > > Apologies for the hijack. There are many ways to assess TOS episodes. For me, one of the more important ones is visual effects; in particular, starships maneuvering through space and firing beams. “Elaan of Troyius” has more such action than (almost?) any other TOS episode. Along with miscellaneous other efx, it also has the greatest transporter effect of any episode, a close-up with (what looks like) 4 or 5 glitter passes on Ms. Nuyen as she beams down. Another important TOS consideration… When it comes to exemplifying all the best elements of the series, no other episode can match - let alone, surpass - _Elaan of Troyius_. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/368 "2020-10-25T22:02:29Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Or _Star Trek: The Motionless Picture_ STTMP suffered for being compared to “Star Wars,” which had just come out two and a half years earlier, because I think people were hoping for a fun shoot-em-up and instead got… well, they got Star Trek. Most Star Trek isn’t an action romp, it’s sci fi. It’s heavy into ethical dillemmas and technobabble. I was bored by Star Trek when I went to see it… when I was eight years old. Whaddya expect? I wanted “Star Wars,” which was, as far as I was concerned at that time, the pinnacle of human art. But watching it now, TMP is pretty decent. As an adult I appreciate Star Trek for what it is, and it was never supposed to be like Star Wars. I mean, I’m not saying it’s great… it IS too long. It’d be better off as an episode of the show. It’s not bad though. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/369 "2020-10-25T22:05:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It really is. I cannot think of a major ongoing franchise that was LESS successful in its first iteration. I mean, I can understand why “Star Wars” became a huge thing - the 1977 movie was the biggest box office hit ever, and one of the most influential movies ever. But “Star Trek” was only a moderately successful series, and was followed by nothing at all for eight or nine years, until the animated series had a brief run. The first movie was generally considered a disappointment, and while some of its sequels were better regarded none were anywhere near Star Wars level events. Yet the franchise just caught people’s imaginations. As someone who was there, I can answer this. TOS was just about the first series with a self-generated fan base, who were far more than watchers. The Twilight Zone, say, good as it was, had no such base. That’s why we blindsided NBC with the letter writing campaign. The optimism certainly helped, but the open universe, which was not standard in TV sf, helped even more. While there weren’t that many viewers, a subset of viewers was more intense than other shows, and this long before social media. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/370 "2020-10-25T22:46:23Z")
Yeah, by accident or design, Star Trek managed to create **devoted** fans while failing to have widespread appeal. That’s not how you create a hit tv show in the 1960s when there are three channels, but the devoted fans kept interest in the universe until a time when the increase in markets made targeted appeals sustainable. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/371 "2020-10-26T06:40:20Z")
Just started _The Turnabout Intruder_. You mean the very last episode of ST:TOS is _Freaky Friday_? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/372 "2020-10-26T07:25:43Z")
Man, Janice didn’t think things through. What kind of reception did she think she’d get when she brought the Enterprise back to Starfleet with all of the department heads executed? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/373 "2020-10-26T08:04:07Z")
**FUN FACT:** Shatner was sick with the flu while they were filming that episode and had a high temperature. This is why he looked so deranged in the close-ups where he was about to strangle Dr Lester (or rather, Kirk in the body of Dr Lester). He really was burning up with fever. When he picked up the unconscious Dr Lester, he was barely able to carry her over to the bed. When the director yelled “Cut!” he dropped her the last few inches and said “You know I love you, baby, but you’ve gotta lose about ten pounds off that ass!” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/374 "2020-10-26T09:45:08Z")
Welp. I finally got to see all of Star Trek. One thing still bothers me. ISTR reading here on the Dope, the Star Trek theme music had some lyrics written by Gene Roddenberry, for the purpose of securing a song-writing credit for himself (and royalties for whenever even the instrumental music was played). I also recall reading that in one of the episodes Lt. Uhura actually sang the song (to make it officially a part of the show? I dunno). Anyway, one of the things that helped me get through three seasons of that stuff was a promise of hearing Nichelle Nichols singing the Star Trek song. But I seem to have missed it. I don’t really feel like going back and watching all three seasons again, so can somebody direct me to the episode in which she sings the Star Trek theme song? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/375 "2020-10-26T11:32:54Z")
Yes, the Star Trek theme had lyrics - but Uhura doesn’t sing them. She sings a few songs during the series, such as “Beyond Antares” and “On the Starship Enterprise” [Nyota Uhura | Memory Alpha | Fandom](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Nyota_Uhura) - but the theme isn’t one of them ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/376 "2020-10-26T12:55:02Z")
And those lyrics are pretty bad. I won’t quote them, since it might constitute a copyright violation, but you can find them [here](http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/startreklyrics.html). Indeed, Roddenberry wrote them just to make himself a “writer” of the theme song, and so get half the royalties from the theme music. It was one of the more blatant cash-grabs you will ever see. Knowing Star Trek fandom, I’m sure somebody at some point has sung the lyrics publicly. But it wasn’t Uhura, and it wasn’t on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/377 "2020-10-26T12:57:42Z")
The theme song is MUCH better without the lyrics. So much better, in fact, that it’s almost never been done with the lyrics, even in fandom. Which means they’re pretty effing bad. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/378 "2020-10-26T13:41:59Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > “Beyond Antares” For a long time, I thought that was the theme song. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/379 "2020-10-26T14:04:01Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > ISTR reading here on the Dope, the Star Trek theme music had some lyrics written by Gene Roddenberry, Roddenberry wrote “ahh-AAHHHHH-ahh-ah-ah-ah-aaahhhhh”? I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/380 "2020-10-26T14:06:18Z")
I never liked the theme music for TOS. It always sounded like a car commercial to me.😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122.md?page=20)