Put two or more hard core Trekkers in a room and what do you get? Well, within five minutes there is a debate over the best episode from the first season of the original Star Trek. In ten minutes it has degenerated into an argument. In fifteen minutes there will be a physical altercation if someone doesn’t intervene. That is just the natural progression. Trekkers are adamant when it comes to the best episodes, particularly the first season. The topic is as sacred as Spock’s ears.
I use to be like that. That is, until I went through the twelve step program. You know, apologizing to those I offended in the past. Calling my sponsor when I feel like punching someone that says J.J. Abrams makes good Star Trek movies. So forth, and so on. However, recently I fell off the wagon, so to speak. So, I will say with absolute certainty that Balance of Terror is without doubt the best episode, not only of the first season, of all incarnations of Star Trek. There I said it.
If you’re not a Trekker I’m pretty sure you’re saying to yourself, “WTF is this idiot talking about?” Well, this idiot is talking about the holy grail of modern science fiction, the first season. it was the best written, best produced, and best all around science fiction television that ever existed. Just ask any Trekker, if you’re unfortunate enough to know one.
The first season was like falling in love the first time. The second season was like breaking up with your first love, and the third season was like a really bad divorce. There were a lot of reasons for this. Mainly, it was the networks jerking Roddenberry around so much he totally lost interest in the project and left it to others that just didn’t have the passion necessary to create a quality show. So, you get episodes like Spock’s Brain. Truly, I shutter to think about some of the garbage that was put out on the air waves in the third season. If only the suits at NBC had the foresight to see the real economic potential of Star Trek maybe the series could have lasted at least five years. Oh well, I guess we’ll never know.
Gnostic Science Fiction 