Rating: 
Summary: What were they thinking?
Review: "The Way to Eden"...absolutely the WORST "Star Trek" episode of all time. Lame script...bad acting, lousy "flipped" images."Requeim for Methuselah" Not too bad.. Kirk meets Flint...a man over 6,000 yrs. old...who has a female robot. Guess who tries to get the girl from Flint? (Hint: name rhymes with Dirk)
Rating: 
Summary: A Requiem for the Loved and Lost
Review: A requiem is a mass for the dead. Methuselah lived 900 years but did die. Not so Mr. Flint, and old and tired man who cannot die but who has been dead for millenia. This is one of the most powerful displays of television drama I have seen. James Daly, the guest star, creates a compelling character of depth, with pitiable resignation in a man who has known all there is to know--and yet is alone (sounds like V'ger, now that I think of it...). Although there are inconsistencies in the plot, I find them minor compared to Shatner's portrayal of anguish and desperation in the final act, leading to Rayna's death from a broken heart. All who have loved and lost will see themselves in "Requiem for Methuselah" and understand it perfectly. Oh yeah--pretend "The Way to Eden" isn't here. It would be for the best.
Rating:
Summary: A Requiem for the Loved and Lost
Review: A requiem is a mass for the dead. Methuselah lived 900 years but did die. Not so Mr. Flint, and old and tired man who cannot die but who has been dead for millenia. This is one of the most powerful displays of television drama I have seen. James Daly, the guest star, creates a compelling character of depth, with pitiable resignation in a man who has known all there is to know--and yet is alone (sounds like V'ger, now that I think of it...). Although there are inconsistencies in the plot, I find them minor compared to Shatner's portrayal of anguish and desperation in the final act, leading to Rayna's death from a broken heart. All who have loved and lost will see themselves in "Requiem for Methuselah" and understand it perfectly. Oh yeah--pretend "The Way to Eden" isn't here. It would be for the best.
Rating: 
Summary: Trek's worst two episodes EVER!
Review: By 1969 TOS were badly going downhill. Part of this was to serve as a physical evidence that the shows really were running on their last legs, or perhaps a perception that the writers were running very low on fresh new ideas. Aside from mostly mediocre scripts there were four things that had me very concerned on the episodes beginning with WINK OF AN EYE and all to way to the finale TURNABOUT INTRUDER: 1) Bob Justman was no longer credited as Co-Producer. Did he die? 2) Jerry Finnerman was no longer cameraman, but was unexplainably replaced by another man, Al Francis. 3) Fred Steiner composed the scores for the remainder of the series, and seemingly the same score throughout all of the final shows was to be heard, over and over again. Finally 4) the music heard during the end credits, despite the fact that these were Third Season episodes, was the music played at the end of the Second Season episodes. Why did they change it and go back to that music? THE WAY TO EDEN: Despite a good performance from Skip Homeier as Dr. Sevrin, the leader, his character has very little charisma to make him an even mere likable enemy personnel. The whole love story between Chekov and Irina is just terrible. How touching it is to see two souls reunited after so long, but they show zero chemistry right from the get-go. Again, another clear evidence that the writers were all out of ideas, so they blatantly recycle ideas used from earlier episodes. We had already seen a beautiful romantic interchange between Kirk and his long-lost love Ruth in SHORE LEAVE. Very badly written script sinks this episode. REQUEIM FOR METHUSELAH: Several reviewers have claimed this as a minimal improvement over THE WAY TO EDEN, but mark my words, even for fans and collectors, this too is a bomb. I find it incredibly hard to believe that after writing such spectacular scripts in the series to MIRROR, MIRROR and DAY OF THE DOVE, Jerome Bixby would adapt such a horrible script this time around. Plus it limits the script to only five characters; Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, and Uhura. James Daly guest stars as Flint, who lived on through the centuries as Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, Brahms, and many others. His performance is lackluster, and his character has to go down as the blandest Star Trek villain ever. Louise Sorel looked attractive as Rayna, but she too was very uninteresting to watch. The scenes where Kirk and Rayna dance are neither romantically moving or lively. At one point, Flint, having trapped the crew reduces the Enterprise to a small antique, while Kirk looks within to see his ship and crew shrinked. PUUHHHLLEEEEZZZZZ! We already saw that in CATSPAW! Same thing with Flint's Castle Fortress. We already saw that setting in THE CAGE and THE MENAGERIE. The obligatory scene where a jealous Flint and Kirk duel, causing Rayna to perish is an even greater yawn. Just plain awful script. Awful directing. Awful entry in the series. If you're a writer for a television series, and you're running out of ideas, doesn't it make sense to utilize flashback episodes? THE MUPPET SHOW did it. ALL IN THE FAMILY did it. BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD did it. THE SIMPSONS did it. SOUTH PARK did it. CLERKS did it. Yes, even TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES did it. For the final episodes of TREK the Producers, Directors, and Writers don't even seem to be trying to come up with fresh new ideas. Perhaps a lot of it may have been pressure from the front offices to keep the productions moving, but the shows were within their final seasons and probably was all the more reason to show that the series and the actors were starting to run on routine. At the very end of REQUIEM FOR METHUSELAH, Kirk is seen with his head down on his desk, grieving over Rayna. McCoy gives Spock a whole speech that he, being a Vulcan, will never know what it is to lose true love. In a touching final moment, Spock uses a Vulcan Mind Meld on Kirk to make him forget all about Rayna. It made me wish he would have used a Mind Meld on me to make me forget all about this episode. My advice? See SPACE SEED or THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER instead.
Rating:
Summary: Yea, Brother!
Review: Gonna snap my fingers and jump for joy, gotta clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy!
So, the third season is usually panned but how could you not love Spock "reaching" the space hippies and, of course, all that great music? As silly as The Way to Eden is, it is one episode people usually remember.
In Requiem for Methuselah, how could you not be touched when Spock took away Kirk's mental pain at the end of the episode?
Rating:
Summary: A Pale Flicker In A Dark Season
Review: I'm not a big fan of Star Trek's 3rd season. Even when I saw the original broadcasts (I was barely a teenager) I sensed the degradation of the show. I was completely unaware of the 'back story' - the 'Save Trek' campaign. There were a rew exceptions. The Way to Eden - One of the most 'dated' of episodes, it should have been down without the obvious bow to the 'sixties hippy movement'. Spock was definitely 'out of character'in this episode. Walter Koenig got a decent piece of on air time for Chekov, one of the few pluses in the episode. Requiem for Methuselah - Another episode that had a lot of promise, the writers fell back on a 'mountain of cliche's' in this story. Extending the story by staging accident's while allowing Kirk to romance an android? Side Note: The Star Trek Universe has a big flaw when it comes to androids. In ST:Next Generation they make it look like Data was the first sentient android? What? Come on fans, would could forget Rayna? This only the 2nd time a Kirk romance had any substance. But Spock should have used his "Forget" mind meld with Kirk in "The Paradise Syndrome", Shatner's best performance of the series.
Rating:
Summary: A Pale Flicker In A Dark Season
Review: I'm not a big fan of Star Trek's 3rd season. Even when I saw the original broadcasts (I was barely a teenager) I sensed the degradation of the show. I was completely unaware of the 'back story' - the 'Save Trek' campaign. There were a rew exceptions. The Way to Eden - One of the most 'dated' of episodes, it should have been down without the obvious bow to the 'sixties hippy movement'. Spock was definitely 'out of character'in this episode. Walter Koenig got a decent piece of on air time for Chekov, one of the few pluses in the episode. Requiem for Methuselah - Another episode that had a lot of promise, the writers fell back on a 'mountain of cliche's' in this story. Extending the story by staging accident's while allowing Kirk to romance an android? Side Note: The Star Trek Universe has a big flaw when it comes to androids. In ST:Next Generation they make it look like Data was the first sentient android? What? Come on fans, would could forget Rayna? This only the 2nd time a Kirk romance had any substance. But Spock should have used his "Forget" mind meld with Kirk in "The Paradise Syndrome", Shatner's best performance of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Third-season 'Trek: good for geekin' AND goofin'!
Review: If ever there was a nice, creamy (yet sharp), salaciously-melting, pleasantly-pungent-aroma-producing (whoa- for some strange reason, I've got a sudden hankerin' for clabbered & processed dairy products!) chunk off the cheese ball that was the third season of Star Trek, 'The Way To Eden' is it! Along with 'Spock's Brain', this little misadventure proves that even at its worst, classic 'Trek is pretty freakin' entertaining! Even the squarest 'Herbert' will enjoy goofin' on this one! Space hippies takin' over the Enterprise, and a 'paradise' planet that's not as idyllic as it seems is what awaits you in this cornball 'Trek! Then there's 'Requiem for Methuselah', featuring yet another version of the "would-be-romance-between Kirk-and-the-show's-babe-of-the-week-going-tragically-awry" plot element. Speaking of tragic Kirkian romances, I heard rumors about William Shatner insisting on doing take after take after take of the kissing scenes until he felt he'd gotten it just right! Who knew the man behind Jimmers was a perfectionist with a strict work ethic? I tell ya, if it were me, I'm not sure I would've been able to endure that much punishment! But Shatner managed to take it like a man, and his extra effort really paid off! 'Late
Rating:
Summary: Third-season 'Trek: good for geekin' AND goofin'!
Review: If ever there was a nice, creamy (yet sharp), salaciously-melting, pleasantly-pungent-aroma-producing (whoa- for some strange reason, I've got a sudden hankerin' for clabbered & processed dairy products!) chunk off the cheese ball that was the third season of Star Trek, 'The Way To Eden' is it! Along with 'Spock's Brain', this little misadventure proves that even at its worst, classic 'Trek is pretty freakin' entertaining! Even the squarest 'Herbert' will enjoy goofin' on this one! Space hippies takin' over the Enterprise, and a 'paradise' planet that's not as idyllic as it seems is what awaits you in this cornball 'Trek! Then there's 'Requiem for Methuselah', featuring yet another version of the "would-be-romance-between Kirk-and-the-show's-babe-of-the-week-going-tragically-awry" plot element. Speaking of tragic Kirkian romances, I heard rumors about William Shatner insisting on doing take after take after take of the kissing scenes until he felt he'd gotten it just right! Who knew the man behind Jimmers was a perfectionist with a strict work ethic? I tell ya, if it were me, I'm not sure I would've been able to endure that much punishment! But Shatner managed to take it like a man, and his extra effort really paid off! 'Late
Rating: 
Summary: More camp, plus one thoughtful show
Review: The Way to Eden-The notorious hippie episode is-like many Treks-best watched with tongue-in-cheek. Few episodes offer stronger proof of just how stodgy many of the older white men behind the scenes must have been. Plenty of episodes are sexist, but this one is decidedly anti-youth. On the other hand, if these youths are representative of the 23rd century, who could blame them? There is hardly a tint of idealism present, and they are lead by a madman (although I have no idea how Spock came to this-ultimately correct-conclusion so quickly. This is one of the most embarrassing examples of just how easy it is for an outsider to take control of the Enterprise. Equally implausible are Chekov's lack of loyalty to his insignia (although Irina was attractive), and Spock's participation in the jam session. Skip Homeier, who we last saw in Patterns of Force, is no more believable here as an insane Dr. Severin. The ending on the planet 'Eden' is also extremely rushed (and why? so many earlier scenes were begging to be snipped), although honestly I was ready for the episode to end. One a positive note, this episode is different and it is campy, and those are both things that many of us look for in Trek TOS. Kirk's perturbation at being labeled a Herbert, and Spock's subtle enjoyment of the Captain's insecurity, also make for a few (hard earned) laughs. (2.5 stars) Requiem for Methuselah-This episode, which features the immortal Flint, is one of the stronger late shows. The premise is interesting, and Flint's performance is nuanced and convincing. Reena is also a sympathetic character, and her conflict in the romantic imbroglio is the most plausible. Granted, love can do strange things to people, but both the otherwise-refined Flint and the always-vulnerable Kirk really act like cavemen here. Ri-talin certainly seems to be the furthest thing from Kirk's mind for much of the episode. Reena ends up being the most tragic and sympathetic figure (ironically enough), but it is Kirk who ultimately receives the salve from Spock in one of Trek's oddest scenes. Tidbits: By looking closely at Shatner (not his face) you can tell that he enjoys the Waltz with Reena. (3.5 stars)
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