# 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:** 3
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/41 "2020-09-21T19:43:05Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > As another interesting factoid: the censors did not allow belly buttons to be shown on TV at the time. So no matter how near-naked a woman is on that show you’ll never see a navel. (Upon reflection - not sure if the men were allowed to show them in their shirtless scenes or not - it’s been awhile since I watched TOS). Not true. [![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y86W56yaEdE/XCqeCPOjTpI/AAAAAAAAVkY/ZvpINGkYmfIFNu8wpOaUR_IoSiQOaefbACLcBGAs/s1600/cloud3.jpg) ](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y86W56yaEdE/XCqeCPOjTpI/AAAAAAAAVkY/ZvpINGkYmfIFNu8wpOaUR_IoSiQOaefbACLcBGAs/s1600/cloud3.jpg) ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/42 "2020-09-21T19:43:44Z")
Believe or not, my late older brother remarked to our Mom as we were watching an episode “You know what would be a good place for them to go? The Crucifixion.” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/43 "2020-09-21T19:55:45Z")
ISTR that mirror universe Uhura’s costume showed her navel as well. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/44 "2020-09-21T19:57:17Z")
The censors didn’t want an inter-racial kiss, either, but they managed to slip one of those in, too. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/45 "2020-09-21T20:01:20Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I recall when it started becoming popular in syndication in the 1970s. I was in grad school, and it became a daily ritual for everyone to gather in the student lounge to watch the episodes when they came on at in the late afternoon. While people appreciated the good episodes, the bad ones were almost as much fun for camp value. Terrible episodes became a lot more fun when you were a member of an audience cheering on ripped-shirt Kirk or howling at the lame jokes at the end. Even in my dorms in the late 80s/early 90s, it definitely had crowds on one of the TVs. I want to say 6 pm, so you’d either eat before or after ST if you were a nerd. And then you’d have time to do your student groups or more studying, or beer ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/46 "2020-09-21T20:23:00Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I love the new digital effects. The Doomsday Machine is the episode that made the best use of them. That is a mixed bag. I appreciate that they fixed the weird issues of scale, but replacing the original sparkly effect with a steady orange glow was straight up wrong. They needed to do something at least as weird and terrifying as the original was, but turning it into a big cigar was just not it. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/47 "2020-09-21T20:24:56Z")
I would sometimes join the crowd that watched it in a dorm lounge at the University of Minnesota back around 1973. I had to keep from reciting every line in advance under my breath in order not to alienate everyone else. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/48 "2020-09-21T20:28:27Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > l would sometimes join the crowd that watched it in a dorm lounge at the University of Minnesota back around 1973. I had to keep from reciting every line in advance under my breath in order not to alienate everyone else. You should have taken the risk. On some of those episodes, you might have been able to anticipate MST3K by fifteen years. It’s been quite helpful in getting me through Season 1. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/49 "2020-09-21T20:33:10Z")
That still is from “The Cloud Minders,” a third season episode. I think the standards were a little less strict in 1969 than they were just three years earlier. There was side boob shot in “A Private Little War” (a second season episode) when Nona (Nancy Kovack) was bathing under a waterfall. Justman got it past the censor by tacking on an additional ten feet of film. When Bob was ordered to shorten the scene, he simply got rid of the extra footage, restoring the original cut. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/50 "2020-09-21T20:33:16Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > the sheer wretchedness of “Elaan of Troyius,” Hey, now! Even as a child I had the hots for France Nuyen. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/51 "2020-09-21T20:34:17Z")
It was a women’s dorm, so I had a vested interest in staying on their good side. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/52 "2020-09-21T20:34:52Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The censors didn’t want an inter-racial kiss, either, but they managed to slip one of those in, too. Two. France Nuyen, of Vietnamese descent, kisses Kirk in _Elaan of Troyius._ ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/53 "2020-09-21T20:39:01Z")
Three. Shatner and Barbara Luna (of Hispanic and Philippine descent) were pretty hot and heavy in “Mirror, Mirror.” ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/54 "2020-09-21T20:39:26Z")
Yeah, but we all know the one that had everyone up in arms and got the episode banned in the Deep South was the one where Kirk and Uhura trade spit. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/55 "2020-09-21T20:40:01Z")
Recommendations to the OP: - Do watch them all, just know that some episodes are worse than others. A lot of the 3rd season is pretty weak. But it is worth watching them all just “because”. (you can’t appreciate the hatred for “Spock’s Brain” unless you’ve actually seen it yourself - hearing about it isn’t enough). - Once you’ve watched them all, watch “Galaxy Quest”. I don’t know if you saw this before, but it won’t be near as entertaining as after you’ve watched TOS. Enjoy ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/56 "2020-09-21T21:01:53Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > Recommendations to the OP: > > - Do watch them all, just know that some episodes are worse than others. A lot of the 3rd season is pretty weak. But it is worth watching them all just “because”. (you can’t appreciate the hatred for “Spock’s Brain” unless you’ve actually seen it yourself - hearing about it isn’t enough). > > - Once you’ve watched them all, watch “Galaxy Quest”. l don’t know if you saw this before, but it won’t be near as entertaining as after you’ve watched TOS. > > Enjoy Oh, I watched “Spock’s Brain.” In fact, it was another thread that led me to search for that, and that made me aware that the entire _oeuvre_ was available at my fingertips. And I’ve been a Doper long enough to be thoroughly entertained by “Galaxy Quest.” Some things you just pick up by osmosis. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/57 "2020-09-21T21:04:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > This. > > It was cancelled because of the crappy episodes. > > It became a cultural icon and massive franchise because of the excellent ones. It was cancelled because NBC when forced to renew it when we wrote tons of letters put it on in the worst time slot on Friday for that kind of show. That caused Roddenberry to basically dump it. Which is clear from the quality of most of the third season. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/58 "2020-09-21T21:09:12Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > That would be Bill Theiss, honored by his name being used as a [TV Trope](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheissTitillationTheory) Definitely not invented by him, since you can see similar on almost any cover of the old Planet Stories and its ilk. Someone once described these clothes as being held on by wisps of cloth with the strength of cast iron. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/59 "2020-09-21T21:09:38Z")
I recently finished re-watching all the episodes on Netflix. I didn’t like the fact that they re-did the special effects. I really would have preferred the original in all its tacky glory. I mean, this is a star ship in which [the controls](https://mikecaulfield.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/star-trek-the-original-series-desktop-computer-3.jpg) look like a [Playskool Busy Box.](https://pixl.varagesale.com/http://s3.amazonaws.com/hopshop-image-store-production/48522831/00cbae15b0ff1164e483e1b41784f3de.jpg?_ver=large&w=1500&h=1500&fit=max&rot=-270&s=4b85d53526c52e6dc19b0c9ef85dcbbc). The modern CGI was jarring. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122/60 "2020-09-21T21:13:10Z")
“Spock’s Brain” is the jumping off point for Swear Trek’s masterpiece: [“Spock’s Dick.”](https://twitter.com/i/events/923928588633628672?lang=en) Just remember that George Takei once described Galaxy Quest as “a chillingly accurate documentary.” 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos/921122.md?page=4)