trek 3

GREG: You can badmouth Season Three all you want, but I’d follow Kirk, Spock and McCoy anywhere. In fact, I’m not ashamed to admit that when “Turnabout Intruder” (the final episode on the seven disc set) spun itself out I felt an empty pit in my stomach. How could NBC cancel this show? Sure it became goofy. What do you expect when your executive producer leaves, your budget is cut in half, and Leonard Nimoy is bitchin’ up a storm! RANDY: Watching the extras it becomes clear that cast and crew alike knew Season Three was going to be the “final frontier” for Trek. The year kicked off with “Spock’s Brain” in which the science officer’s logic center is kidnapped by child-like aliens in need of a new “controller” for their underground playland. This episode is the focal point for most fans’ vitriolic hatred and a signpost of further goofiness ahead. And it’s true, Roddenberry would have never let a story go quiet so far off the deep end. GREG: But that’s exactly what makes Season Three so much fun. It’s writing lacks the consistency and intelligence of previous seasons, but the flaws also bring out crazy ideas and bizarre twists and turns that Roddenberry wouldn’t have allowed. Like the X-Files, the stand-alone monster episodes have a charm that the conspiracy theory does not. Season Three is unpredictably entertaining. RANDY: I’m with you. But it’s not just the stories that suffer, it’s the characters. We’ve had two seasons worth of backstory to work with and suddenly Kirk, Spock and McCoy seem more like creative chess pieces than three-dimensional space explorers. Sure, they spout the Starfleet mantra, but they’re subject to the whims of writers unfamiliar with the Trek universe. GREG: I’ll give you that. But is anyone who bought Seasons One and Two actually not going to buy this final volume because Kirk has the wrong logo on his uniform in episode 56, scene 12? Wait, don’t answer that... RANDY: You never know. But Paramount has wrapped things up nicely with this final set whose packaging is identical to previous releases. The extras are a bit slimmer. “To Boldly Go...” collects 30-minutes worth of memories about Season Three from Shatner and the gang, starting with the letter writing campaign that brought the show back from the dead. Nichelle Nichols has a nice story about her interracial kiss in “The Savage Curtain.” There are also segments on Trek’s Impact (though this screams of nepotism as it’s hosted by “Rod” Roddenberry), a Life Beyond Trek feature on Walter Koenig, comments from the recently deceased James Doohan, production art and more. GREG: And don’t forget two (count ‘em, two!) versions of “The Cage,” the original Trek pilot that was later incorporated into “The Menagerie” with the Enterprise led by Capt. Christopher Pike. There’s a restored version (spruced up) and original version (with opening comments from Roddenberry) to choose from. RANDY: Now that they’re all up there on the shelf the Trek sets have to go down as one of my most enjoyable DVD experiences this year. And surprisingly so, since I had very little prior experience with show. And unlike most of the other TV on DVD, I can actually see myself going back and watching all these again. GREG: Definitely one of the unsung accomplishments in 04. Season Three, for all its flaws, is a must-buy for fanboys and fans of good TV alike.