The original series sometimes has a complicated relationship with fans of the franchise, especially those who came along later and began their journey with Star Trek: The Next Generation or Star Trek, Deep Space 9. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, television special effects were growing rapidly; in comparison, the original series couldn’t compare. This resulted in a few hilariously unintentional moments, whether it was a line read, a cheap effect, or a stunt. Let’s take a look back at 3 of these moments that remind us how hard the cast and crew worked on making Star Trek yet didn’t quite pull it off.
1. Vina, are you okay?
In the first Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” Susan Oliver (1932-1990,) plays Vina, a young woman who is not at all what Pike and the others perceive at first. She works with their captors, the Talosians, and at one point, they cause Pike to relive a recent battle on a planet in the Rigel System with Vina as the woman Pike must protect. At first, Vina tugs at Pike’s arm, begging him to hide from the invaders. Just before she flees, she makes a facial expression that suggests she was either trying to wink with both eyes or that the Talosians gave her extreme brain freeze. Oliver was quite good in the rest of the episode, making this moment unexpectedly hilarious.
2. Oh, blah blah to you, too!
The episode “Miri,” (season 1, episode 8,) has dark themes of children living in a dystopia where adults and children coming of age contract and die from a terrible disease. When Kirk confronts the children, they chant, “Blah blah blah!” as he tries to explain their situation. Finally, Kirk is apparently exhausted and shouts back, “No blah blah blah!” While William Shatner is known for his choices during line reads, his enunciation during this otherwise tense moment is extremely entertaining.
3. The housekeeper did it!
In “The Conscience of the King,” (season 1, episode 13,) an assassin onboard Enterprise is hunting the survivors of mass murderer Kodos the Executioner, who murdered 4,000 people on Tarsus V when a fungal disease destroyed the food supply. Kirk, his friend Dr. Thomas Leighton, and Lieutenant Kevin Riley are the only 3 people left who could identify Kodos, and when Leighton is found murdered, the assassin boards Enterprise to finish off Kirk and Riley. Kirk tries to protect Riley by assigning him deep in engineering, but the killer is ready to attack. As Uhura sings to Riley over the intercom, a gloved hand looms into the scene and poisons Riley’s milk—with a common spray bottle the crew made no effort to disguise.The irony of an everyday object like that, used so bluntly, is one of the most unintentionally funny moments of early Star Trek.
While the original series has its silly moments and the effects aren’t always stellar, we fans hold it near and dear anyway because without it, we wouldn’t have such a widely-diverse franchise to enjoy today. What’s your favorite moment from season one, and why does it make you laugh? Visit our Facebook page and let us know!