ST:ENT vs ST:TOS

[YankeyMCC]

Recently I got Season's 2 and 3 (I already had 1) of TOS and I've been watching and enjoying the old classics a great deal.

Tonight I noticed Enterprise was playing on the SciFi channel and since I hadn't watched that in a long time I thought I watch an episode or two.

What a striking contrast! I was always a defender of Enterprise, though I did have some problems with it, I always thought the characters were at least done well, and I liked the overall theme of how the humans became the glue of the Federation.

And that still holds I suppose but now that I'm watching the two versions side by side it's just incredible the difference in quality. And I'm not even sure I can articulate it now.

Evidence is that I'm sitting here typing this while Ent is on but when I've had my DvDs in I sat and watched and did nothing else.

And my son did the same when he was around and the DvD was in. He just walks on by when Enterprise is on.

Something truly special about those originals.

[trotsky]

1. Well, there's the old theory...

that back in the day when you couldn't rely on eye-candy special effects, you actually had to have a good story, good acting, and good directing to make a show work. OK so maybe the acting isn't as big a part of the equation with ST:TOS but it's enjoyable in its own way.

[YankeyMCC]

2. That's a good observation

Kinda like software development. Back on the 'old days' when they had to worry about how much memory they had available to them and other hardware restrictions the HAD to keep the code tight and efficient.

Now we get slick looking applications but often the code behind it is typically no where near as impressive in its elegance and accomplishment.

[trotsky]

3. Ain't that the truth. (software)

You ever seen Steve Gibson's stuff? He writes some handy utilities and knows quite a bit about Windows and hardware - and all his code is WRITTEN in Assembly. Hardcore, that guy.

http://www.grc.com/intro.htm

(I use his product SpinRite to test drives frequently. It's one of the best.)

[Deja Q]

4. TOS has dated in some ways (effects, what constitutes an 'order' by command personnel...)

but the core plots and mannerisms have not dated and seem far more 'realistic' than TNG and its sequels and prequels (and apart from James Bond with "Casino Royale" I have yet to watch a prequel that's even remotely good!)

TOS season 1 is my favorite in terms of production style, as Shatner hasn't smothered the show with his ego yet and there is some more time attributed to the other characters. (Uhura, Sulu, and the rest get less as the series goes on, but some writers do buck the censors and do what they can to at least give them certain lines -- Uhura in 'Who Mourns for Adonis' is said to be the only one who can bypass the communication system in order to reach Kirk, which was cool... (wow, specialized skilled staff. A plus in the 1960s to have skills, but a big-ass minus in 2007...)

All this isn't to say seasons 2 or 3 lack good episodes - some stories are better than most anything season 1 has got. But season 1's style will always be the best. As a generalization, there are exceptions to every rule.

[YankeyMCC]

5. OT: but I agree about "Casino Royale" nt