The Man Trap
I’ve been thinking for some time that it would be fun to watch Star Trek from beginning to end: every episode of every series, and each movie. I’ve seen some of them before, but it’s not in any way exhaustive. I thought it’d be fun to record my reactions as I watch, and this is where I’ll do so. But I’m warning you: I’m busy, so this won’t be a quick process.
I just watched The Man Trap (Wikipedia; HD Video), which was the first Star Trek episode ever aired. I watched on CBS’s website on their Star Trek Remastered series; since the original series was shot on film they can go back and bring out a lot of quality in the images, and let me just say that they’ve done a terrific job of it. The clarity and color quality are impressive, even if they do show off those cheesy backgrounds.
But the backgrounds I was expecting. The quality of the script kind of blew me away. This was not just trash sci-fi; it wasn’t junk. It was predictable, but I think that’s more because Star Trek has become such an archetype. This is a monster-of-the-week episode, but it dealt with love and extinction and giving up and loyalty.
And it had some gems of dialog. At one point Kirk looks at the recluse scientist and scolds him “You bleed too much, Crater. You’re too pure and noble.” That sounds absurd on it’s face, but in that context and at that time it’s perfect, and all the more so for the absurdity.
I’m looking forward to the next episode.
