Rating: 
Summary: Shadows and facial hair thickness
Review: I used to watch 'Star Trek' in search of deeper meaning and the great potential of humanity. But thanks to the publication of Phil Farrand's Star Trek Nitpicker's guides, my reason for watching nowadays is in the pursuit of bloopers and continuity errors. And some of the best 'blooper' moments are showcased in this volume. I know what you're thinking... why look for things that would ruin the magic, you ask? It's just a hobby of mine, and it's revitalized my interest in reruns I've seen countless times over. It just might do the same for you, too! So let the fun begin... 'The Alternative Factor' has what I consider one of 'Trek's most interesting continuity errors. The guest character Lazarus (Robert Brown) has a fu manchu mustache and beard that keeps changing in thickness. It's at its fullest during the scenes where he's on the planet surface, but thins out considerably when he's on the Enterprise. There's an interrogation scene where he has barely any strands at all! Even if you're the hardest of hard-core Trekkies, I don't think you can help but laugh at this little glitch. Oh yes, there's also 'Arena', where Kirk is pitted against a reptilian Gorn ship's captain. Yet another 'Kirk triumphant in a direct confrontation with (insert opponent of the week)' episode. The Gorn costume was pretty cheesy, so much so that there were times I was half-expecting to see the big green lug demolishing a scale-model of Tokyo! Lotsa boulder-throwing here, too. Who knew styrofoam rocks could be so deadly? Heh... Then there's those rare occasions where I could see the shadow of the cameraman in a few front-lit scenes. Usually it's only for an instant, where the camera is moving across the set along with the actors (I think it's referred to as a 'pan'). I first noticed this in 'Space Seed' and have been on the lookout ever since. It happens a couple times in this volume, so be vigilant! 'Late!
Rating: 
Summary: Kirk and the Gorn battle it out a Southern California desert
Review: I'll only comment on "Arena," one of the best of the earlier episodes. DVD really brings out the hidden details of the exterior shots, making the film color tones almost Kubrick-like in texture. This episode is famous for the huge exterior set of the destroyed Federation outpost on Cestus III which is massive for a 1960s television production. This is the only episode in which a photon grenade launcher is used, and it packs a mighty punch against the Gorn. The exterior shots make up for the poor SFX space shots, which look degraded in this DVD transfer. No big loss, since we never get to see the Gorn vessel in space anyway. The lizard-like Gorn was ripped off by George Lucas in "The Empire Strikes Back" (one of Darth Vader's bounty hunters looks one of his cousins), and his voice reminds me of the sleeslacks from the 1970s kiddy program "Land of the Lost." If you can overlook the phony styrofoam boulders which roll on the Gorn and Kirk's leg, this episode is enjoyable for its Southern California desert location shots (lovely blue skies) and Scotty and Uhura's vibrant red uniforms. Leonard Nimoy is in top form.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek-The Original Series, Vol. 10, Episodes 19 & 20
Review: So Far The only things I have found lacking in these DVD's is the lack of extras to include Spanish/French subtitles and dubbing as well as extra info about the shooting of the individual episodes such as unseen footage etc..
Rating:
Summary: Worth getting just for the Arena episode
Review: Star Trek - The Original Series Vol. 10 isn't the best volume of the original series made for DVD yet, but it's not bad either. It has the classic episode, "Arena", where Captain Kirk goes up against a powerful lizard-like creature called a Gorn who wants to kill Captain Kirk. Kirk must find a way to defeat the Gorn in order to get his ship back and in order to stay alive. On the other hand, a lot of people probably won't be too crazy about "The Alternative Factor" because it can be hard to understand. Captain Kirk and the crew deal with a strange man named Lazarus who says he is being terrorized by an evil spirit, or man. Lazarus needs some crystals in order to get his flying-saucer looking ship back into space and off of this evil spirit's planet. And the only place that Lazarus knows of that has the crystals he needs is the Enterprise. If you're a fan of the original series, I recommend getting Vol. 10 of the original series. It contains one of the best episodes of Star Trek with "Arena" and a mysterious, but likable episode with "The Alternative Factor."
Rating:
Summary: Worth getting just for the Arena episode
Review: Star Trek - The Original Series Vol. 10 isn't the best volume of the original series made for DVD yet, but it's not bad either. It has the classic episode, "Arena", where Captain Kirk goes up against a powerful lizard-like creature called a Gorn who wants to kill Captain Kirk. Kirk must find a way to defeat the Gorn in order to get his ship back and in order to stay alive. On the other hand, a lot of people probably won't be too crazy about "The Alternative Factor" because it can be hard to understand. Captain Kirk and the crew deal with a strange man named Lazarus who says he is being terrorized by an evil spirit, or man. Lazarus needs some crystals in order to get his flying-saucer looking ship back into space and off of this evil spirit's planet. And the only place that Lazarus knows of that has the crystals he needs is the Enterprise. If you're a fan of the original series, I recommend getting Vol. 10 of the original series. It contains one of the best episodes of Star Trek with "Arena" and a mysterious, but likable episode with "The Alternative Factor."
Rating:
Summary: More Star Trek on DVD
Review: This episode contains one of Star Trek's most popular episodes, "Arena", and what can be best described as Star Trek's for truly BAD episode, "The Alternative Factor." Paramount is following a very logical schedule in releasing these episodes: their plan is to release them gradually over the course of three years, meaning the release scheme will take the same period as the series' original run. As in the earlier issues, visual and audio transfer and enhancement are superbly handled. The film elements, fortunately, have held up well over the last three decades. Trivia buffs will remember Arena for being the episode which extended Star Trek's philosophy that the unknown was something to go toward, rather than retreat from. (It is also the episode where a mis-timed onset explosion gave William Shatner a permanent case of tinnitus.) "The Alternative Factor" is a mostly incomprehensible episode which, in its' preponderance of technobabble, previews The Next Generation.
Rating:
Summary: Two episodes confronting deadly struggles
Review: Unlike most DVD Trek volumes (is it me, or does a DVD seem rather oversized for two episodes?) that present pretty mis-matched episodes, the two episodes on this volume seem to share a common theme, each involving a life-or-death struggle. In "The Alternative Factor", the crew meets a seemingly crazed mad-man - Lazarus. Claiming to be on the trail of a monstrous being, one responsible for exterminating life on his own distant planet, Lazarus begs for help from the crew of the Enterprise. Complicating things are the mysterious space-warps that wrack the Enterprise and the space surrounding the barren wasteland of a planet where Lazarus and his mysterious are first found. Lazarus needs the Enterprise's dwindling supply of dilithium crystals to power his strange ship and revenge himself on the monster that left him the sole survivor of his planet, and may threaten others. Having no way to verify Lazarus's story, Kirk takes the wild man aboard his ship. Lazarus's mood swings - rational and clear spoken one minute and ranting the next clue Kirk and Spock that Lazarus is more than he seems. This was a great episode for so many reasons. Robert Brown who plays the enigmatic Lazarus hits all of the character's extremes, giving the one-time seen character more depth than recurring characters more identified with Trek lore. Though the story deals with the space-warps and their connection to Lazarus, the plot essentially boils down to a mystery solved by the kind of deductive reasoning you don't see on newer brands of Trek - one whose impact is maximized by the way it materializes without warning, shrouded under Lazarus's mad ravings. "Arena" also deals with a duel to the death - this one between the saurian Gorn and Kirk. The battle-royale is arranged by the mysterious "Metrron", an all-powerful race of beings who seize Kirk and the captain of a Gorn vessel with whose ship he was already engaged in combat with. Disgusted with war and those who fight it, the Metron force Kirk and Gorn to fight using only the weapons they can craft out of materials found on the surface of the remote asteroid that is their battleground. This was also a great episode, forcing Kirk to rely on boy-scout smarts instead of a phaser. Even the underlying conflict offers some surprises - with Kirk eventually questioning whether the Federation may bear some blame for the conflict with the Borg. Unfortunately, this episode suffers because it's been ripped off heinously by other shows, including "Blake's 7", "Space 1999" and worst of all on "Star Trek: Next Generation". (in each case, the human narrowly triumphs over the alien, only to refuse the right to actually kill the loser. In the "Blake's 7" version, the hero spares his enemy's life, not because he's too noble, but because he's beaten him now, and knows he can do it again; in the "Nex-Gen" version, the enemy was the newly-introduced "Ferrengi" who were too craven, morally backward and intellectually bankrupt to be worth the trouble of fighting or negotiating). This was the mold that many had tried to copy, but few have gotten right. An untouchable classic.
Rating:
Summary: Captain Kirk's epic battle with the Gorn
Review: Volume 10 of the original "Star Trek" DVD series offers up one sure hit and one miss. There is a sense in which "Arena" proves how good Star Trek was, because, well, this is Captain Kirk fighting a guy in a lizard suit (and William Shatner is now 70!). After an unknown ship attacks Cestus III, the Enterprise heads off in hot pursuit. But just as they are about to attack both ships find themselves suddenly frozen in space by the Metrons, a powerful species that refuses to allow violence on their turf. Instead they will let the two captains fight each other on a barren planet: the winner goes home while the loser's ship will be destroyed. Thus Kirk comes face to face with a Gorn in a battle of agility and intelligence versus physical strength and endurance. True, the costume for the Gorn is rather simple, but we do learn the ingredients for gunpowder in this episode, so it has that educational side. This is certainly a memorable "Star Trek" episode. It is not on my personal Top 10 list, but it is close.
On the other hand, "The Alternative Factor" is one of those great science fiction ideas that just fails to translate into an effective episode. The Enterprise comes across a strange craft and an agitated being named Lazarus, who claims to be chasing an evil enemy he must destroy. Lazarus insists Kirk must help and when the captain refuses, the strange visitor steals what he needs any way. When Kirk follows he encounters the "evil enemy" of which Lazarus spoke, he turns out to be some sort of "twin" of Lazarus and a very reasonable being. Apparently Lazarus' people have discovered a corridor between the matter and anti-matter universes. When the first Lazarus discovered he had a twin, he went insane. Even more alarming, if the two meet outside the corridor, they will destroy both universes. This would not be a good thing. I have to admit that this is one of those times when I think the logical thing to do would be to simply zap one of the two Lazaruses and avoid the potential destruction of absolutely everything. But that is just me and apparently Kirk was not going to learn this particular bit of wisdom until "The City on the Edge of Forever." "The Alternative Factor" is long on talk and short on action and is a lesser than stellar Star Trek episode. But as long as this DVD has "Arena," it is a worthy addition to your collection.
Rating:
Summary: KIRK BATTLES THE GORN IN ARENA!!!
Review: Volume 10 of the Star Trek DVD series contains two episodes that may or may not be considered classics depending on your point of view but none the less both ARENA and THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR are quite memorable. ARENA is easily considered a classic. In the classic tale Kirk and the crew are in an intergalactic battle with a enemy Gorn ship. The Gorn ship attacks the Enterprise after it invaded their territory. Soon however a "superior" peaceful race captures the two ships and takes Kirk and The Gorn Cpt. to a nearby habitable planet to do beattle. The winner can continue on his mission the loser will be destroyed along with his ship in the interests of peace. The episode sontains two hilarious moments the Gorn (who looks really fake) and the ridiculous superior being whom appears in the end. He asks "Does My Appearance Shock You Captain?" Well it sure shocked me. Later on he says there is hope for the human race and that they can be like the superior race. I don't know but if thats the superior race then I would prefer to stay the way we are! Anyways the episode is a classic. Easily one of the best Trek episodes of the first season. The second episode here is THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR where Kirk meets a crazed mad man named Lazerus who is bent on destroying his double in a parallel universe. I have always found this episode a headache to watch (similar to the Dagger In The Mind episode). Sure the episode has a deep complex interesting plot but it was not translated well into an episode as it would have belong better in a book. That is why THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR is reviewed so negatively. The episode is quite trippy and complex but I understood it although many viewers don't. Overall Volume 10 is worth a look particularily for the classic ARENA but you may like THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR depending on your taste. It wasn't my favourite but the plot was quite good. This collection is definetly worth it though.
Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Captain Kirk's epic battle with the Gorn
Review: Volume 10 of the Star Trek DVD series offers up one sure hit and one miss. There is a sense in which "Arena" proves how good Star Trek was, because, well, this is Captain Kirk fighting a guy in a lizard suit (and William Shatner is now 70!). After an unknown ship attacks Cestus III, the Enterprise heads off in hot pursuit. But just as they are about to attack both ships find themselves suddenly frozen in space by the Metrons, a powerful species that refuses to allow violence on their turf. Instead they will let the two captains fight each other on a barren planet: the winner goes home while the loser's ship will be destroyed. Thus Kirk comes face to face with a Gorn in a battle of agility and intelligence versus physical strength and endurance. ... This is certainly a memorable Star Trek episode. It is not on my personal Top 10 list, but it is close. On the other hand, "The Alternative Factor" is one of those great science fiction ideas that just fails to translate into an effective episode. The Enterprise comes across a strange craft and an agitated being named Lazarus, who claims to be chasing an evil enemy he must destroy. Lazarus insists Kirk must help and when the captain refuses, the strange visitor steals what he needs any way. When Kirk follows he encounters the "evil enemy" of which Lazarus spoke, he turns out to be some sort of "twin" of Lazarus and a very reasonable being. Apparently Lazarus' people have discovered a corridor between the matter and anti-matter universes. When the first Lazarus discovered he had a twin, he went insane. Even more alarming, if the two meet outside the corridor, they will destroy both universes. This would not be a good thing. I have to admit that this is one of those times when I think the logical thing to do would be to simply zap one of the two Lazaruses and avoid the potential destruction of absolutely everything. But that is just me and apparently Kirk was not going to learn this particular bit of wisdom until "The City on the Edge of Forever." "The Alternative Factor" is long on talk and short on action and is a lesser than stellar Star Trek episode. But as long as this DVD has "Arena," it is a worthy addition to your collection.
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