Order of Watching

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by SAndrews10, Jul 26, 2010.

  1. SAndrews10

    SAndrews10 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'm about to start the Original Series over again from the beginning. When I watched them last time in late 2005 I printed up a list from here of the order the episodes should be watched especially in the first season. I have since moved and no longer have that list. If anyone could again recommend the proper order it would be much appreciated!
     
  2. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    On the whole it doesn't matter. Watch The Cage first, then Where No Man, then The Man Trap.
     
  3. Archaeologist

    Archaeologist Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I know that this is rather simplistic, but I would personally watch each episode based on their airing date, starting with the first pilot, The Cage.
     
  4. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I like stardate order.

    Code:
     [U]Episode[/U]      [U]Stardate[/U]        [U]Title[/U]
       1x01    1312.4 - 1313.8    Where No Man Has Gone Before
       1x03    1329.8 - 1330.1    Mudd's Women
       1x02    1512.2 - 1514.1    The Corbomite Maneuver
       1x05    1513.1 - 1513.8    The Man Trap
       1x07    1533.6 - 1535.8    Charlie X
       1x04    1672.1 - 1673.1    The Enemy Within
       1x06    1704.2 - 1704.4    The Naked Time
       1x08    1709.2 - 1709.6    Balance of Terror
       1x18    2124.5 - 2126.3    The Squire of Gothos
       1x09        2712.4         What Are Little Girls Made Of?
       1x11    2713.5 - 2713.3    Miri
       1x10    2715.1 - 2715.2    Dagger of the Mind
       1x12    2817.6 - 2819.8    The Conscience of the King
       1x13    2821.5 - 2823.8    The Galileo Seven
       1x14    2947.3 - 2950.1    Court Martial
       1x15    3012.4 - 3012.6    The Menagerie, Part I
       1x16    3013.1 - 3013.2    The Menagerie, Part II
       2x01        3018.2         Catspaw
       1x17    3025.3 - 3025.8    Shore Leave
       1x19    3045.6 - 3046.2    Arena
       1x20    3087.6 - 3088.7    The Alternative Factor
       1x21    3113.2 - 3114.1    Tomorrow is Yesterday
       1x24    3141.9 - 3143.3    Space Seed
       1x22    3156.2 - 3158.7    The Return of the Archons
       1x23    3192.1 - 3193.0    A Taste of Armageddon
       1x26        3196.1         The Devil in the Dark
       1x27    3198.4 - 3201.7    Errand of Mercy
       1x28        Unknown        The City on the Edge of Forever
       2x17    3211.7 - 3259.2    The Gamesters of Triskelion
       2x02    3219.8 - 3220.3    Metamorphosis
       1x29    3287.2 - 3289.8    Operation -- Annihilate!
       2x05        3372.7         Amok Time
       1x25    3417.3 - 3417.7    This Side of Paradise
       2x04        3468.1         Who Mourns for Adonais?
       2x11    3478.2 - 3479.4    The Deadly Years
       2x03    3497.2 - 3499.1    Friday's Child
       2x08        3541.9         The Changeling
       2x07    3614.9 - 3615.4    Wolf in the Fold
       2x18    3619.2 - 3620.7    Obsession
       2x09    3715.0 - 3715.6    The Apple
       2x10        Unknown        Mirror, Mirror
       2x15    3842.3 - 3843.4    Journey to Babel
       2x14    4040.7 - 4041.7    Bread and Circuses
       2x06        4202.9         The Doomsday Machine
       2x16    4211.4 - 4211.8    A Private Little War
       2x19    4307.1 - 4309.4    The Immunity Syndrome
       3x02        4372.5         Elaan of Troyius
       3x01        4385.3         Spectre of the Gun
       2x12        4513.3         I, Mudd
       2x13    4523.3 - 4525.6    The Trouble with Tribbles
       2x20        Unknown        A Piece of the Action
       2x21    4657.5 - 4658.9    By Any Other Name
       2x24    4729.4 - 4731.3    The Ultimate Computer
       2x22    4768.3 - 4770.3    Return to Tomorrow
       2x23        Unknown        Patterns of Force
       2x25        Unknown        The Omega Glory
       2x26        Unknown        Assignment: Earth
       3x03    4842.6 - 4843.6    The Paradise Syndrome
       3x04    5027.3 - 5027.4    The Enterprise Incident
       3x05        5029.5         And the Children Shall Lead
       3x08        5121.5         The Empath
       3x17    5423.4 - 5423.8    The Mark of Gideon
       3x06    5431.4 - 5432.3    Spock's Brain
       3x10    5476.3 - 5476.4    For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
       3x07    5630.7 - 5630.8    Is There in Truth No Beauty?
       3x09        5693.2         The Tholian Web
       3x11        Unknown        Day of the Dove
       3x13    5710.5 - 5710.9    Wink of an Eye
       3x14        Unknown        That Which Survives
       3x16        5718.3         Whom Gods Destroy
       3x18    5725.3 - 5725.6    The Lights of Zetar
       3x15    5730.2 - 5730.7    Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
       3x12    5784.2 - 5784.3    Plato's Stepchildren
       3x19    5818.4 - 5819.3    The Cloud Minders
       3x20    5832.3 - 5832.6    The Way to Eden
       3x21    5843.7 - 5843.8    Requiem for Methuselah
       3x22    5906.4 - 5906.5    The Savage Curtain
       3x24    5928.5 - 5930.3    Turnabout Intruder
       3x23    5943.7 - 5943.9    All Our Yesterdays
    
     
  5. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Oh for fuck's sake. Why not alphabetical? It has just as much significance.
     
  6. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Beaker has a valid point, though his way of expressing it unfortunately is typical Beaker. TOS episodes are pretty well self-contained (counting The Menagerie 1 & 2 to be a single episode for purposes of this discussion). Anybody unfamiliar with Star Trek could watch just about any episode and understand it with no knowledge of prior episodes. Viewing order doesn’t matter much. Plotwise, it doesn’t matter at all.

    I prefer stardate order. Other fans prefer production order or original airdate order. But most fans are pretty much in agreement that it’s not all that important. In terms of character development, the characters, and particularly their relationships with each other, do evolve a bit over the course of the series, but I think you’ll get pretty much the same effect of that no matter which of the three common orders (air, production, stardate) you choose. I wouldn’t recommend alphabetical order or random order, but it wouldn’t ruin the experience.

    Another possibility is to use the IMDB or GEOS ratings and watch them in order from best to worst. When you start to get sick of it, it probably means you’ve gotten to the crap episodes and you might stop at that point. If you’re determined to watch all 79 episodes, then I wouldn’t do it this way.
     
  7. Mytran

    Mytran Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    When viewed in production order, the early 1st series episodes do try and feature a bit of character development, such as Sulu having a different hobby each week. You also get to see the relationship between K, S & M grow.
     
  8. Nerd unRage

    Nerd unRage Commander Red Shirt

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    I'm watching them in original airdate order mainly because that's how my brain works best. Like Mytran, I can see the development of the relationship between Kirk, Spock, and Bones more this way then I think I could if I watched them in stardate order. Plus, do you watch the unknown stardate ones first or last?
     
  9. number6

    number6 Vice Admiral

    Definitely alphabetical order.
     
  10. Captain Robert April

    Captain Robert April Vice Admiral Admiral

    Write down all the episode titles on little slips of paper.

    Put the slips of paper on a bulletin board.

    Throw darts at the bulletin board.

    Alternately, put the slips of paper into a large top hat, then have a large breasted assistant do the honors.

    Otherwise, I suggest production order. It's the best way to see the show develop.

    Stardate order, on the other hand, is nonsensical, because the stardates were largely nonsensical at that point.
     
  11. Captain Robert April

    Captain Robert April Vice Admiral Admiral

    In production order....


    First Season
    • 1.The Cage
    • 2.Where No Man Has Gone Before
    • 3.The Corbomite Maneuver
    • 4.Mudd's Women
    • 5.The Enemy Within
    • 6.The Man Trap
    • 7.The Naked Time
    • 8.Charlie X
    • 9.Balance of Terror
    • 10.What are Little Girls Made Of?
    • 11.Dagger of the Mind
    • 12.Miri
    • 13.The Conscience of the King
    • 14.The Galileo Seven
    • 15.Court Martial
    • 16.The Menagerie, Part I
    • 17.The Menagerie, Part II
    • 18.Shore Leave
    • 19.The Squire of Gothos
    • 20.Arena
    • 21.The Alternative Factor
    • 22.Tomorrow is Yesterday
    • 23.The Return of the Archons
    • 24.A Taste of Armageddon
    • 25.Space Seed
    • 26.This Side of Paradise
    • 27.The Devil in the Dark
    • 28.Errand of Mercy
    • 29.The City on the Edge of Forever
    • 30.Operation - Annihilate
    Second Season
    • 31.Catspaw
    • 32.Metamorphosis
    • 33.Friday's Child
    • 34.Who Mourns for Adonais?
    • 35.Amok Time
    • 36.The Doomsday Machine
    • 37.Wolf in the Fold
    • 38.The Changeling
    • 39.The Apple
    • 40.Mirror, Mirror
    • 41.The Deadly Years
    • 42.I, Mudd
    • 43.The Trouble with Tribbles
    • 44.Bread and Circuses
    • 45.Journey to Babel
    • 46.A Private Little War
    • 47.The Gamesters of Triskelion
    • 48.Obsession
    • 49.The Immunity Syndrome
    • 50.A Piece of the Action
    • 51.By Any Other Name
    • 52.Return to Tomorrow
    • 53.Patterns of Force
    • 54.The Ultimate Computer
    • 55.The Omega Glory
    • 56.Assignment: Earth
    Third Season
    • 57.Spectre Of The Gun
    • 58.Elaan of Troyius
    • 59.The Paradise Syndrome
    • 60.The Enterprise Incident
    • 61.And The Children Shall Lead
    • 62.Spock's Brain
    • 63.Is There In Truth No Beauty?
    • 64.The Empath
    • 65.The Tholian Web
    • 66.For The World Is Hollow, And I Have Touched The Sky
    • 67.Day of the Dove
    • 68.Plato's Stepchildren
    • 69.Wink of an Eye
    • 70.That Which Survives
    • 71.Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
    • 72. Whom Gods Destroy
    • 73.The Mark Of Gideon
    • 74.The Lights of Zetar
    • 75.The Cloud Minders
    • 76. The Way to Eden
    • 77.Requiem for Methuselah
    • 78.The Savage Curtain
    • 79.All Our Yesterdays
    • 80.Turnabout Intruder
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2010
  12. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I fit them in by production order. The table in post #4 lists the episodes in my version of stardate order along with the stardates given in each episode and the production numbers.
     
  13. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    This. Nonsensical, I might add, by design, in the vain hope viewers would pay attention to matters like story, plot, acting, etc., rather than how warp fields or ion pods work.

    I guess some people like to follow nonsense.
    It would explain scientology.
     
  14. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    With production order you can see the concepts and characters evolve and change as the cast and crew grow more "comfortable" with the show.
     
  15. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I have my reasons for liking stardate order. I understand that not everyone will agree, and, as stated above, I believe this is a question on which reasonable people may easily disagree. I prefer civil disagreement in which people politely express their opinions without suggesting that everyone who has a different opinion has some kind of personal character flaw. Try it some time.
     
  16. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Request denied.
     
  17. Captain Robert April

    Captain Robert April Vice Admiral Admiral

    Why, that's just crazy talk...
     
  18. Captrek

    Captrek Vice Admiral Admiral

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    After further consideration, I’d put TCOTEOF before Errand of Mercy. The “unknown stardate” episodes give me a little flexibility to order them to personal preference. I think that, dramatically, TCOTEOF->EOM works better than EOM->TCOTEOF.

    Production order has EOM->TCOTEOF.

    Airdate order has EOM->The Alternative Factor->TCOTEOF

    Stardate order has flexibility because no stardate is given in TCOTEOF. I can satisfy my own artistic sensibilities with TCOTEOF->EOM.