The Reality Of Watching TOS, ~ Those Truly Terrible & Weird Costumes, Etc,!!!...

MY FAVORITE EPISODES: "The Devil In The Dark," "A Wolf In The Fold," "The Trouble With Tribbles, "Mudd's Women," "A Piece Of The Action," "Catspaw," & "The City On The Edge Of Forever," ~ of course!... ;) MY LEAST FAVORITES: "Plato's Stepchildren," "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," "Who Mourns For Adonais?," "Miri," "The Cloud Minders," & "Elan Of Troius".

Yes, it IS a very old show, BUT STILL JUST WONDERFUL!!!... :D Star Trek: The Original Series has undoubtedly had a huge impact on popular culture, and while it remains greatly entertaining 57 years later, the show is still a product of its time in many ways. With its premiere in 1966, Star Trek did not immediately become a hit, but after episodes began showing in syndication, it quickly gained a following. Following the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise, TOS introduced the world to several beloved characters who have become iconic figures of popular culture. Much about the 1960s was different than it is today, including the television landscape. Star Trek: The Original Series also had a notoriously low budget in its final season. Despite the sometimes cringe-worthy elements of the show, many aspects of TOS worked well then and still hold up today. The characters and the bonds established between them remain an important part of Star Trek, and TOS continues to have a passionate fanbase. But as with many things from the past, some things from TOS simply don't hold up. Here are 10 harsh realities of rewatching Star Trek: The Original Series today. Awful Costumes... Even the Star Trek shows in the 1990s had trouble with fashion, and that trend has clear roots in Star Trek: The Original Series. With its colorful sets and flashy, often revealing outfits, TOS had a look that felt distinctly '60s, and many of the alien characters introduced each week wore the most ridiculous of costumes. While this was likely an attempt to make them look even more alien, it sometimes made it difficult to take them seriously. Plus, anytime there was an attractive woman on an alien world, her outfit usually consisted of something revealing and overly sexualized. The Treatment Of Spock... As the most alien of the main Enterprise crew members, it's no surprise that the half-human half-Vulcan Spock (Leonard Nimoy) often stood out as different. While Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) often poked fun at Spock's Vulcan nature, his insults sometimes went beyond teasing. Spock already struggled to reconcile his Vulcan and human sides, so it felt especially unfair for characters to constantly point out his flaws. Even after he returned safely from a difficult away mission in "The Galileo Seven," the crew "celebrated" by having a laugh at Spock's expense. It's clear that Kirk and McCoy cared deeply for Spock, but sometimes their supposed teasing bordered on cruel. Far Too Many Star Trek: TOS Episodes Have Misogyny & Sexism... One of the most difficult aspects of watching Star Trek: The Original Series today is the rampant and obvious sexism. This is not so much a critique of the show itself, as it tried to be progressive in its own way, but more an acknowledgment of the problematic views about women that were widespread at the time. From historian Marla McGivers' (Madelyn Rhue) instant infatuation with Khan (Ricardo Montalban) in "Space Seed" to the portrayal of Harry Mudd's (Roger C. Carmel) former wife in "I, Mudd" to pretty much everything in "Turnabout Intruder," the sexism in Star Trek crops up in all three seasons. While this clearly illustrates the show as a product of its time, it's still jarring to hear even the ever-logical Spock reduce women to inaccurate stereotypes. The Klingons's Makeup & Appearance Looked Bad... The low budget and lack of modern effects may be to blame for this one, but the aliens the Enterprise encountered sometimes looked rough. While many of the aliens looked suitably creepy and, well, alien, there was something particularly offputting about the brown face paint used on white actors for the Klingons. The Klingons became an important part of Star Trek, but their TOS era look left something to be desired. Though the Klingons were a distinctly alien species, the use of white actors with dark skin paint and Eastern-inspired facial hair made their early look feel a bit distasteful. Uhura Was a Great Character Who Rarely Got to Do Anything... While it was quite progressive for the time for Star Trek: The Original Series to have a Black woman among the main cast, Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) was often left with little to do. As a communications officer, she answered hails and declared hailing frequencies to be open many times over the course of the series. Though she occasionally got to go on away missions and join in on the action, she could have done so much more. Thankfully, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has brought new life to the character of Uhura and given her plenty to do. Star Trek's Supposedly Dangerous Aliens Often Just Looked Silly... This is, again, a product of the era and low budget of Star Trek: The Original Series, but it could sometimes be hard to take the danger seriously when the aliens looked like flying pancakes or giant moving blobs. Like many elements of TOS, there is something charming about the lack of special effects, and the creators were able to do a lot with what they were given. But it's difficult to be afraid of giant glowing mushrooms or the child-like Balok (Clint Howard). TOS introduced some incredibly interesting alien species who became integral parts of Star Trek, but some of the aliens are better left forgotten. Star Trek's Acting Can Be Over the Top... As the television landscape was different in the 1960s, the style of acting also differed from the way actors perform today. William Shatner in particular had a distinct acting style, and anytime Kirk was cloned or possessed or otherwise altered by an alien entity, Shatner's acting became very over the top. Sometimes other characters suffered from this too, and it was made worse when an episode's story called for something especially ridiculous. For example, "Plato's Stepchildren" had William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy dancing around and crawling on the floor in scenes that must have been embarrassing for everyone involved. Most of Star Trek's Hand-to-Hand Combat Looks Ridiculous... Captain James T. Kirk ended up in far more fistfights than a Starship Captain probably should have (and likely went through far too many uniforms when his shirt inevitably ripped). The hand-to-hand combat scenes seemed to take place in slow motion and, somehow, a two-handed punch or a flying kick could incapacitate almost any opponent. While there was something campy and charming about the fistfights from TOS, they rarely looked remotely realistic. Many of the newer Star Trek series, such as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, have thankfully fixed this problem and have fast-paced, well-choreographed fight scenes. Kirk Made Lots Of Mistakes As Captain Of The Enterprise... While Captain Kirk is often remembered as the greatest Starfleet Captain of all time, he made serious mistakes on Star Trek: The Original Series. Kirk went on dangerous away missions, despite the fact that he could be injured or killed, leaving the Enterprise without a Captain. He ended up in numerous fistfights, turning to violence more often than diplomacy. His treatment of women bordered on sleazy, and he regularly got distracted by the nearest attractive woman. He often acted without much thought, and would joke and laugh at the end of an episode where several of his (red-shirt-wearing) crewmembers had died. Some of this can be chalked up to the atmosphere of the 1960s, and Captain Kirk also did a lot of good, but he was not always the brilliant Captain many claim him to be. Some Star Trek Episodes Are Truly Terrible... Star Trek: The Original Series has many great episodes that have become quintessential viewing for Star Trek fans, but other episodes are skippable even for the most devoted of Trekkies. From the painfully embarrassing "Plato's Stepchildren" to the ridiculous but campy "Spock's Brain" to the one with the space hippies ("The Way to Eden"), when TOS missed it missed by light years. Whether they included racist stereotypes like the portrayal of Indigenous People in "The Paradise Syndrome" or blatant sexism like "Turnabout Intruder," the worst episodes of TOS bordered on offensively bad. Still, even the worst episode cannot take away from the brilliance of episodes like "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Balance of Terror." Every television show has great episodes as well as bad ones, and Star Trek: The Original Series swung wildly between those two extremes. ~ From "Screenrant".