"Mr. Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That's the only planet in this galaxy that can make that claim."

"” Captain James T. Kirk, Elaan of Troyius

Star Trek: The Original Series – The Complete Third Season

Space melodrama reached something of an all time high with the third and regrettably last season of Star Trek: The Original Series. With episodes like The Empath, Plato's Stepchildren and Spock's Brain, Shatnerisms and over the top acting in general seemed to be in command this time around. Perhaps it was Gene Roddenberry's absence on set and the uncertainty of the shows continuance, or maybe even an intentional shift in focus that took Trek down this almost absurd path; but whatever the cause, it marked the third season with fewer hits than misses.

This is not to say that the season is without redeeming moments, because there were some amazing classic episodes. The battle sequence between the Enterprise and a Klingon warship in Elaan of Troyius stills manages to keep you on the edge of your seat despite poor special effects and that same old "battle" music playing over and over again in the background. The confidence and character of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is undeniable in these types of situations. Despite the relative simplicity of these shows as compared to later series he still stands tall and proud as the most engaging of all Captains.

Who can forget his impassioned speeches to Bele (Frank Gorshin) and Lokai (Lou Antonio) urging them to set aside their inherent racism to end their self-destructive fight spurred by the insignificant differences between the two in Let That Be Your Last Battlefield; or his amazing strength of character to always rise above and stand for the humane treatment of everyone, including his enemies as he did in Spectre of the Gun and Plato's Stepchildren? Even through bad scripts and sometimes even worse acting, Captain Kirk always manages to heroically shine through.

This season also provided many more opportunities to develop the relationship between Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley). In The Tholian Web, the two have to deal with the apparent death of the Captain and their duty to work together for the good of the Enterprise despite their feelings. In All Our Yesterdays the pair find themselves trapped in time on a barren ice planet where their normally playful distaste for one another and healthy banter turns scarily dangerous.

The supporting cast was never very fortunate when it came to screen time and or character development and this season was no exception. On the upside for Ensign Chekov (Walter Koenig), who didn't have a first name until around the fourth feature film, he did get the girl in Spectre of the Gun and was able to reveal an untrue back story of a dead brother massacred by the Klingons in the fantastic episode,

Day of the Dove; which also introduced the Klingon Commander Kang (Michael Ansara), the man destined to be Jadzia Dax's blood brother on Deep Space Nine.

Unfortunately this season also produced ridiculous shows like, The Paradise Syndrome where Kirk loses his memory and becomes a Native American-Type Chieftain, The Mark of Gideon which had too many people and Wink of an Eye which had too few, and don't even get me started on And The Children Shall Lead; note to producers"¦ kids just don't seem to work on Star Trek, with the rare exception of Miri which was a great episode from the first season. And Hippies may have been cool at the time, but in space they just look ridiculous. (The Way to Eden).

The socio-political climate of the world was always evident in Star Trek and in this season came to a head in many episodes, not the least of which was the aforementioned, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield and the seldom referenced, Cloud Minders which finds an advanced race of artists profiting from the harsh laboring of another. This is where Star Trek's power has always been and it will always help us to forgive those occasional Hippie-fests.

With most new Star Trek DVD releases, it's been the extras that I've most anticipated seeing. The behind-the-scenes interviews are always great because it brings something new to the screen, something that we haven't seen or heard before. In this case, however, I shuddered at one of the special features.

They have re-interviewed all of the surviving original cast members for these DVD releases and thankfully most have been in good health and have been happy to talk about their experiences. Jimmy Doohan, on the other hand, has unfortunately been extremely ill as of late suffering from both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. He has always made himself more available to fans than practically any other Star Trek actor in the forms of Convention appearances, interviews, even personal letters and interactions. I truly feel that his appearance on this DVD in his weakened state was unnecessary and disrespectful. His fans should remember him as he was, vibrant, full of life and an amazing story teller. I'm not privy to the forces behind this appearance, whether it was a choice or not and if so whose choice it was, but I truly believe more restraint and respect should have been shown to such a wonderful man.

Aside from that the other special features are very appropriate. There is the look back at the making of Season Three with interviews with Bill Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Nichelle Nichols to name a few. There are also two separate segments catching up with George Takei and Walter Koenig which play very well.

In addition to the above this time around we also hear from Gene Roddenberry's son, Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry Jr., reflecting on Star

Trek and its impact, which is indulgent to say the least, but I'm sure some people might be interested in his opinions on the subject.

Rounding out the special features are the original broadcast trailers for the episodes, a featurette on a fan's dream come true working on the series and a section containing production art stills.

A solid DVD Collection that I'm sure every die hard fan will own, however, if you're not a Trekkie and can only own one of these sets, I would go for either the first or second season; leave this one for those of us who have no choice but to buy it.

Season Grade: B

DVD Grade: C

Overall Grade: B "”

Hit or Miss List of the Episodes:

Spock's Brain - MISS
The Enterprise Incident - HIT
The Paradise Syndrome - MISS
And the Children Shall Lead - MISS
Is There In Truth No Beauty? - MISS
Spectre of the Gun - HIT
Day of the Dove - HIT
For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky - MISS
The Tholian Web - HIT
Plato's Stepchildren - HIT
Wink of an Eye - MISS
The Empath - HIT
Elaan of Troyius - HIT
Whom Gods Destroy - MISS
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - HIT
The Mark of Gideon - MISS
That Which Survives - HIT
The Lights of Zetar - MISS
Requiem for Methuselah - MISS
The Way to Eden - MISS
The Cloud Minders - HIT
The Savage Curtain - MISS
All Our Yesterdays - HIT
Turnabout Intruder - HIT