Overall very poor, but with a few standout episodes

By the third season of the original Star Trek series, the budget had been slashed by $20,000 per episode and the show's best producers and writers (including Gene Roddenberry) had departed. The results are apparant as the quality of the episodes is, on average, very very low (almost as bad as some early season one episodes).

The second half of the season is an almost uninterrupted parade of nearly unwatchable episodes. "Plato's Stepchildren", an episode which features Captain Kirk acting like a horse, appropriately herelds this decline. The only decent episodes after this point are "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", dealing with racism, and "The Cloud Minders", dealing with terrorism. The rest is made up of truly awful episodes like "Wink of an Eye", "The Lights of Zetar", and "The Way to Eden". Throughout, Spock is forced to act completely out of character to accomidate the absurd plots. Overall, the second half of the third season is such a huge disappointment because it comes from the same show which produced such innovative and exciting episdoes in previous seasons.

On the other hand, the first half of the season is generally pretty good, with the exception of episodes like "The Empath" and "The Paradise Syndrome". In fact, episodes like "The Enterprise Incident" and especially "The Tholian Web" are far better than anything from the show's second season. "The Enterprise Incident" does a fantastic job developing the Romulans (better than "Balance of Terror") and Spock, while both it and "The Tholain Web" contain great suprises involving Captain Kirk. In addition, the special effects from season three are far, far better than any in previous seasons (a situation which is especially evident in "The Tholian Web").

The problem is that such high quality episodes are so, so rare and that the averge episode is so, so bad. Season three contains about four excellent epsidoes that are on par with or better than the best episodes of season two. But the typical episode is of so much lower quality than an average season one or season two episode that season three on the whole becomes nearly without value.

Not necessarily for first-generation Trekkies - Part 1

The Original Series was made with 1960's technology, and it worked well enough to be influential, even iconic, for over 40 years. Why mess with it?

Yes, Michael and Denise Okuda, and the FX techs who spoke in the commentaries, respected the original, but the entire effort seems to indicate either their own hubris that they could somehow "improve" it, or their doubt that younger viewers can adjust from 21st century CGI to appreciate Star Trek as it is.

I watched the whole 3rd season with the new digital effects, and thankfully, they didn't ruin the experience of the drama. But they did nothing to improve that experience, either.

Most of the time, replacing matte paintings of planets with CGI renderings was unobtrusive, and even unnoticed. But some things were joltingly out of place. In the Season One set, for example, the replacement of the mechanical flip-leaf chronometer on Sulu's console with an obvious digital "display" simply shocked me into realizing that they had tampered with the original. I found myself watching the disc, instead of being in the moment of the story. BTW - in the 1960's, the original hardware used in production was actually called a digital clock (as opposed to a round analog clock face). Again, a plank-owner might or might not experience this disturbance, and the new Trek fans probably wouldn't even notice the anachronism. But it's there, and it's disappointing.

To me, the biggest flaw is the digital ENTERPRISE. It is incomplete, like a bodysnatcher pod that hasn't finished replicating. The ship's curves are too smooth. Hull markings are faint, or not even reproduced. The rear of the engine nacelles aren't matched correctly, sometimes putting the gray hemispheres there, sometimes not. This ENTERPRISE is like those stress relief squeeze toys that come in the shape of animals or other objects; you just know if you touch it, it will be soft and squishy, not something that is space-worthy.

As I struggled to find words to explain this degradation of the image, I settled on comparing current TV ads of the Old Navy mannequins and the Pillsbury Dough Boy. You know the mannequins are real; Like the original ST scenes, they are photographs of models that actually, physically, exist. The Dough Boy and the digital ENTERPRISE are cartoons. After thinking of the Dough Boy comparison, I considered the Michelin Man, but that isn't right; the Michelin Man has more detail than the digital ENTERPRISE.

I'm sure for people under 40, who never lived in the 1960's and don't have the memory of how Trek fit into that period in history, the digital changes won't be as jolting as they are to someone who actually lived the Star Trek experience. Many folks in their 50's and older may like this re-creation of Star Trek, too.

I prefer Gene Roddenberry's original. It highlights how they were able to use existing technology and ingenuity to create the feel of space travel - and on a modest budget. Not the huge amount of money that CBS threw at this project. To me, this "upgrade" is, as Spock might say, a fascinating exercise in modern CGI. But when I want to watch Star Trek with these blu-ray discs, I'll always choose the original versions.

No room to say more. :c(

New special effects make an amazing difference!

The stong point of the Original Star Trek series from the Sixties was the stories. While Season Three is the weakest of the three, it still features some great episodes. Jerome Bixby's script for "Requiem For Methusala" could be a sequel (pequel?) to his movie "Jerome Bixby's Man From Earth".

The greatest thing about this Blue Ray set are the new special effects. They truly enhance the stories (but if you get nostalgic, you can still view the original effects on these same discs). The improvements are never more evident than in "The Enterprise Incident". When making the original series, they couldn't find the Romulan ship model, and had to substitute Klingon ships, adjusting the script to explain this. In the remake, a Romulan ship is now included with the two Klingons. The story is intact, and now makes even more sense.

If you've ever enjoyed Star Trek, then this is a whole new way to discover it again.

Excellent Series!!!

Star Trek Season III: After being rescued from cancellation following the second season, NBC reluctantly agreed to give the Star Trek another shot. Stuck in a bad time slot and with a dwindling budget, the cast and crew did what they could to keep the show alive. Unfortunately, this season pays the price, and there are more than a couple stinkers in this bunch. However, there are still plenty of solid episodes to be found in this third and final season of our beloved Star Trek. "Spectre of the Gun", "The Enterprise Incident", "The Tholian Web" (one of my personal favorites) and "The Savage Curtain" (with Abe Lincoln and Gengis Khan no less!) are all top notch episodes. But then there are bombs like "Plato's Stepchildren" (annoying kids) and "The Way to Eden" (annoying hippies) that really make your stomach turn. Still, lackluster Trek is better than no Trek at all, and there is plenty of good entertainment here to go around. No collection is complete without the final season of voyages of the Starship Enterprise.

Completes the set.

I wasn't crazy about the 3rd season of ST:TOS growing up; it isn't as full of great episodes as the previous 2 seasons. But it does have some good ones. I had to buy the original collector's edition, because the only one available now is the re-mastered editions with new special effects. I have nothing against the special effects versions. They're fine, tastefully done, and I enjoy seeing them on TV. But if I'm going to BUY any, I have to have the full versions the way they've always been. The effects on the old show tell me something about TV production of the 1960s. It's a document of time. I recommend the 3rd season. There are a couple of stupid episodes, but there are a number of episodes in the 3rd season that are priceless. "Day of the Dove" and "All our Yesterdays" come to mind among others.