Rating: 
Summary: 2 more great episodes
Review: "The Empath" shows us the best performance of Kathryn Hays ever as a mute empath, captured by the Vians to see if she has enough good qualities to have her race rescued."The Tholian Web" A SFX dream come true...the Tholians! The Web! The spacesuits! too cool!
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Too Late...
Review: Both The Empath & The Tholian Web could have been much better scripts. In The Empath the flaws center around the cheesiness of the sets (no backgrounds? what set?) and the repeating S&M theme. Even in late '60's TV sadism & masocism had a place. The Tholian Web had a great new adversary, just enough hard science to hold the story together (the Tholian Web stands out as well as the subspace jump the Enterprise uses to escape it) and a great emotional ride with the disappearance of Kirk. This would have been my favorite over-all episode (yes, despite its' being part of a terrible 3rd Season) if Spock only used his 'logic' and left Kirk 'floating in sub-space hell'. Yes, you read that right. Shatner's thirst for power took Star Trek away from the 'ensemble cast' that it was trying to develop, as seen in some of its' best episodes. I wonder what would have happened in an "Alternative Universe" without Kirk? Maybe Kirk should have been strung up and whipped in 'The Empath', he would have gotten the girl-of-the week again, and again...
Rating:
Summary: A Little Too Late...
Review: Both The Empath & The Tholian Web could have been much better scripts. In The Empath the flaws center around the cheesiness of the sets (no backgrounds? what set?) and the repeating S&M theme. Even in late '60's TV sadism & masocism had a place. The Tholian Web had a great new adversary, just enough hard science to hold the story together (the Tholian Web stands out as well as the subspace jump the Enterprise uses to escape it) and a great emotional ride with the disappearance of Kirk. This would have been my favorite over-all episode (yes, despite its' being part of a terrible 3rd Season) if Spock only used his 'logic' and left Kirk 'floating in sub-space hell'. Yes, you read that right. Shatner's thirst for power took Star Trek away from the 'ensemble cast' that it was trying to develop, as seen in some of its' best episodes. I wonder what would have happened in an "Alternative Universe" without Kirk? Maybe Kirk should have been strung up and whipped in 'The Empath', he would have gotten the girl-of-the week again, and again...
Rating:
Summary: A Little Too Late...
Review: Both The Empath & The Tholian Web could have been much better scripts. In The Empath the flaws center around the cheesiness of the sets (no backgrounds? what set?) and the repeating S&M theme. Even in late '60's TV sadism & masocism had a place. The Tholian Web had a great new adversary, just enough hard science to hold the story together (the Tholian Web stands out as well as the subspace jump the Enterprise uses to escape it) and a great emotional ride with the disappearance of Kirk. This would have been my favorite over-all episode (yes, despite its' being part of a terrible 3rd Season) if Spock only used his 'logic' and left Kirk 'floating in sub-space hell'. Yes, you read that right. Shatner's thirst for power took Star Trek away from the 'ensemble cast' that it was trying to develop, as seen in some of its' best episodes. I wonder what would have happened in an "Alternative Universe" without Kirk? Maybe Kirk should have been strung up and whipped in 'The Empath', he would have gotten the girl-of-the week again, and again...
Rating: 
Summary: I'm givin' ya fair warnin' here...
Review: I was planning on reviewing this and four other 2-episode original Star Trek DVDs I hadn't yet gotten to before I heard the news. And what news would this be, you're askin' yourself? Well, I'll tell ya: I've discovered that Paramount will be re-releasing the original series in full-season DVD box sets, complete with a shebang of extra features, some time later this year. It's yet another sad example of what I call "the dreaded DVD double-dip ploy" (read about this annoying phenomenon at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/3CVFIEG84F2PF/ref=cm_aya_av.sylt_sylt/002-5334556-6482418 ) that the major Hollywood studios like to pull on videophile consumers. #ell, they've already got the full-season box sets out in parts of Europe already, so you know they'll be comin' stateside fairly soon as of this writing. BTW why do parts of Europe get to have the old-school Trek season box sets before we do (U.S.)?! Shouldn't the country where the show was shot in be the first to have those discs?! That's kinda like Honduras getting "Monty Python" on DVD before the UK does! Or Brazil gettin' "Akira" before Japan! It's just not right I tell ya... Anyhoo: if you wanna get alla' the eppies of old-school Trek on DVD (well, perhaps all but the last season, anyway), I recommend you wait 'til the full-season sets come out later this year, or some time next year. I'm sure your gradually disintegrating Columbia House Collector's Edition VHS tapes will last a few months longer. In the meantime, I gotta find a way to palm my own collection of classic Trek platters off on some unsuspecting Trekkies! Wish me luck... 'Late Post Script: I know some folks will read this and think of me as some whiny, ungrateful little fiend who doesn't appreciate the fact that Paramount at least bothered to put the show out on DVD. All I can say is... do you people own stock in the company or something?! What are you, members of their sales and marketing department?! Yeah, I should REALLY be grateful for them tryin' to hose me and all the other Trekkie DVDphiles by gettin' us to buy (pretty much) the same stuff twice! Hey, they did it with the Star Trek movies, why NOT the classic TV show?! Howzabout puttin' the best possible product out the first time out, huh?! Buncha avaricious, money-hungry jerks... 'Later
Rating: 
Summary: One unusual episode, one classic Trek
Review: The Empath-Here is another off-beat and dark 3rd season offering, in which the triumvirate spend their time in the dark with a mute 'named' Gem. We meet the Vians, some of the most frightening and sadistic aliens every encountered in the original series. Yet the refreshingly innocent Gem provides a wonderful counterpoint, giving a light to the episode despite the most minimalistic sets ever seen in TOS. Nothing is as it seems in this episode, and the most creepy and dreamlike scenes actually occur in the light (Kirk running in slow motion to Scottie). While the episode ultimately suffers from a thin plot and shaky motivations for the aliens, it is, like many episodes from the first half of the third season, refreshingly unique and stylistically more advanced than earlier episodes. (3 stars) The Tholian Web-This episode, in which Kirk disappears and a web is built around the Enterprise, in many ways belongs in another season. It has a lot of action and a straightforward plot. However, it also has some signatures of the third season, such as the trippyness of a winking-out Kirk floating through space, as well as a subtle pitting of illusion vs. reality. Plus it's always nice to meet new aliens--the Tholians even have a visible ship!(4 stars)
Rating:
Summary: One unusual episode, one classic Trek
Review: The Empath-Here is another off-beat and dark 3rd season offering, in which the triumvirate spend their time in the dark with a mute 'named' Gem. We meet the Vians, some of the most frightening and sadistic aliens every encountered in the original series. Yet the refreshingly innocent Gem provides a wonderful counterpoint, giving a light to the episode despite the most minimalistic sets ever seen in TOS. Nothing is as it seems in this episode, and the most creepy and dreamlike scenes actually occur in the light (Kirk running in slow motion to Scottie). While the episode ultimately suffers from a thin plot and shaky motivations for the aliens, it is, like many episodes from the first half of the third season, refreshingly unique and stylistically more advanced than earlier episodes. (3 stars) The Tholian Web-This episode, in which Kirk disappears and a web is built around the Enterprise, in many ways belongs in another season. It has a lot of action and a straightforward plot. However, it also has some signatures of the third season, such as the trippyness of a winking-out Kirk floating through space, as well as a subtle pitting of illusion vs. reality. Plus it's always nice to meet new aliens--the Tholians even have a visible ship!(4 stars)
Rating:
Summary: Two of my favorites
Review: This is the first time two of my very favorite Star Trek episodes have landed on the same DVD. The lack of a set in The Empath is a big part of why I like the episode so much. The completely black background gives the story a spooky, nightmarish quality. Also, the alien makeup in this episode is as good as you'll see during the original series. The Tholian Web is a classic worth the price of this DVD all by itself.
Rating:
Summary: Two of my favorites
Review: Two completely different episodes. The Empath is a strong lesson in morality played out on the worst production set of any TOS episode - basically an "empty set" with blackness all around. They probably saved money but the good story line was weakened by expecting the audience to stretch to accept no set, no props, no lighting, etc. The Tholian Web alone is worth the price. It won a Sci-Fi award (sorry - the name escapes me) and is a textbook action Trek episode. One of their all-time best, especially how Spock & McCoy acquiesce to work together in the most dire, nail-biting situation. A must have for TOS fans!
Rating:
Summary: Strange Bedfellows
Review: Two completely different episodes. The Empath is a strong lesson in morality played out on the worst production set of any TOS episode - basically an "empty set" with blackness all around. They probably saved money but the good story line was weakened by expecting the audience to stretch to accept no set, no props, no lighting, etc. The Tholian Web alone is worth the price. It won a Sci-Fi award (sorry - the name escapes me) and is a textbook action Trek episode. One of their all-time best, especially how Spock & McCoy acquiesce to work together in the most dire, nail-biting situation. A must have for TOS fans!
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