Star Trek Season Three!

Star Trek has become such a sensational success that it's really difficult to fathom that the original series was loathed by the network which presented it. NBC seemed to work actively to make sure the show was a failure and in that pursuit in the third season, gained only after a potent and unprecedented mail response, saw to it by putting the show on late in the evening on Friday. This time slot was a virtual death sentence for a TV show at the time. The audience for Star Trek was young and on Fridays the young were out and about, and not home watching television. NBC well knew this and so did Gene Roddenberry, so when the time slot was revealed, Roddenberry stepped away from the show which he had husbanded into existence.  As producer he brought aboard a man named Fred Frieberger, a man who has been unfairly blamed for the third season's woes. 

The humor in the second season was not popular with Roddenberry and when Gene Coon departed he directed that the show again become the serious science fiction vehicle he wanted. He wasn't alone in that desire. So Freiberger was instructed to make the show serious which seemed to rile writers of episodes like "The Trouble with Tribbles" who saw potential sequels axed. Freiberger was ordered by NBC and the new owners Paramount to see to it the show stayed within budget, something it had failed to do in its previous two seasons and some of the reason NBC was put out by Roddenberry. At the same time they cut that budget. So Freiberger was given a battery of instructions and then told to go make it work. That it didn't work as well as it had in the previous seasons is hardly his fault alone. Roddenberry had already assigned most of the stories for the season, so Freiberger had little or no control over that aspect of the production either. It was truly a thankless task. But in the end despite the woes and complaints, Frieberger did deliver Star Trek on time and on budget, the first time that had been accomplished and if that had been the norm, maybe the show would not have been such a pariah with the network. But that's pure speculation. 

There seems to be a general agreement that the third season was inferior to the first two. I'm not sure I agree. "Spock's Brain" is held out as possibly the worst episode of the entire series. I rather enjoy it. Some Star Trek episodes can get a bit slow as a sometimes thin story is formatted to fit the four-act structure of hour-long episodic television. That never happens to "Spock's Brain". And it features some of my favorite Nimoy acting, almost a parody of his normally reserved response to his environment. 

But there's certainly no shortage of quality science fiction concepts such as the world in which people move so swiftly they cannot be detected by our human senses in any real way. This hyper speed is a great gimmick, even if a few concessions must needs be made to allow it work.It certainly showcases the most direct suggestion of an overt sexual act when we get the scene where Kirk is slipping on his boots as the comely alien adjusts her hair. Racy stuff for the simple-minded TV of the day. 

Episodes such as the one featuring Yvonne Craig's Orion slave girl have fun aspects even if she's not quite as alluring as Susan Oliver was in the second pilot show. She's still pretty hot. The characters are developed well in episodes like "Spectre of the Gun" which has the crew recreate the shootout at the O.K. Corral almost. I've never been a great fan of the episode which has Kirk marry an Indian maiden only to see her die, but I got more a sense of its depth this time. Maybe my life has matured enough to allow to share his pain somewhat. 

The "Tholian Web" is regarded as a great episode and I concur. Less well regarded is "Let this be our Last Battlefield" which does a great job (if a bit on the nose) of approaching the topic of racism. This show was produced and shown in 1969 at a time when the United States was boiling with violence in the streets and elsewhere in response to the Vietnam War and savage assassinations within the borders. 

Maybe I'm nostalgic for these episodes because this was the only season I actually was able to see (in part) because of its new schedule, the one intended to kill it off. I was a youngster and staying up until ten to see a great show was a struggle (still is) but I succeeded more than a few times. I think people who hold Gene Roddenberry in high esteem are quick to dismiss this season as lesser because his imprint was not as strong on it. I frankly think that Roddenberry is a bit overrated, though still a significant figure in television science fiction. Frieberger did more with less than Roddenberry did, and he did it his way. I get that some folks are not going to cotton to that. 

Star Trek was cancelled in brutal fashion. As was common in shows of the era, things could go bad quickly and NBC intent on getting rid of Roddenberry and his show saw to it that Star Trek was gone and prepared for the onslaught of letters from fans. NBC was intent on not backing down this time and prepared for the avalanche of mail they were about to receive. The show was of undeniable high quality and better ratings initially than has become legend. Given the times, it should have survived, but it didn't. The stories were often quite smart and dealt with the issues of the times, and that I think is really why NBC wanted this albatross from around their collective necks. Star Trek in each episode was capable of saying something which might stir up controversy and that was not good for business overall.  Star Trek stopped production and went into syndication. More on that next time when I take a closer look at the cartoon version of Star Trek. 

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