I do not base this on the Remastered releases. This is one of the three(the other two being The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits) intelligent series in the genre of the same era, helping to prove it worthy of attention and effort by viewer and creative forces alike, after the dreaded 50's(where the good pieces were few and far between). The tension, what could be called a feud, between this franchise and that of Star Wars, is obvious. It should be noted that they aspire to different goals... neither of which deserve being written off(if not necessarily for all tastes), the relative quality of the separate entries notwithstanding. This is a "Wagon Train to the stars". A core set of people going out on adventures. This does not particularly rely on special effects(the ones there are vary, with several spectacular ones). Rather, it's about the characters. The writing of them is mostly consistent and credible, throughout. The examinations of them and the interpersonal relationships are the heart and soul of the show. The episodes are self-contained, with little to no real two-parters, references to previous ones or overarching stories. My fiancée has a theory that Gene was(R.I.P.) a hopeless romantic. The humor is a mixed bag. A few silly and a fair amount of clever. Occasionally it was at an inappropriate time, after otherwise serious material, and not all of it worked. There isn't always a lot of action, and the fights alternate between negative and not. This has, as my wife-to-be points out, the softest lighting on women, almost ever. This got around censorship to discuss important subjects by doing it as science fiction, "a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down". The direction... now there's a subject that requires a wide spectrum for this. When it is bad, it can be terrible, but when it's in the positive end, it can truly be excellent. The writing, to some degree, the same. At its best, it is poignant(a certain three-word sentence is especially well-done) and holds plenty of food for thought. Then it can also be, as my better half puts it, 'hit you over the head obvious', as far as the message(and/or how they want you to think) is concerned. The third season brought about a precipitous drop, with, among other things, the majority(but not the entirety) of plots being underdeveloped and seeming rushed. The sexism is quite rampant, a sign of the decade it was made in, along with the short skirts and such. Apart from that, it's not all that dated. There are liberal ideas in this, not that that needs to stop anyone from enjoying it. This can be watched by all age groups, and each may appreciate it on a separate level. I recommend this to anyone who likes their sci-fi with a side of smart(albeit conceived as "cowboys in space", and one can tell), and/or fans of the actors as well as Roddenberry, and those who want to enter another universe... plenty of hours of exploration(what with the umpteen spin-offs) await. 7/10
Review of Star Trek
