Trelene arms out stretched, anticipating Kirk to shoot him.

Kirk on trial, with a silhouette of a noose reflected on the wall appearing to his right.

Kirk looking up at Trelene dressed as a judge, a blue curtain behind him.

Two glowing green celestial blob formations appearing over a shot of trees.

If this original series has taught Starfleet anything it's that the universe is a terrifying place full of gods and beings far beyond mortal comprehension and that human beings playing in starships are nothing but ants to them. It's a wonder they didn't call it quits and stay put on Earth after this

Kirk and Sulu are stuck in place, arms jutted out awkwardly, with 18th century architecture behind them.

Kirk side by side with Trelane (William Campbell)

Uhura and Yeoman Teresa Ross (Venita Wolf), with a large red painting behind them.

Kirk and Trelene holding dueling pistols.

"The Squire of Gothos" is a variation on an already recurring theme. Its petulant all-powerful Trelane is more endearing than the angst-ridden "Charlie X" riff on Twilight Zone's "It's A Good Life". With artificial period detail on top, this anticipates the Q + Holodeck side of TNG.

There's an absurdly silly looking caveman-looking alien monster in this that sours a lot of the tension on-planet, but the drama in the shuttle craft is well executed, even if the miscellaneous characters who exist only to challenge Spock are forgettable.

"The Galileo Seven" is a noteworthy attempt at shaking up the formula by removing Kirk from the main proceedings and having Spock in charge of an away mission gone wrong. Sturdy, tense back-and-forth between Spock and McCoy in this episode.

An overheard shot looking down at a man and woman crew members, standing in a forest.

Close up on Kirk with a torn up shirt, blood on his mouth, and dirt all over his face.

McCoy and Sulu strolling through the scenic nature-park, smiles on their faces.

A pretty woman in yellow is holding Spock by the arm, and looking up at him. He returns a quizzical expression back at her.

The inspiration for the holodeck likely stems from Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" (1950) and is integrated into the Star Trek series in a TAS episode from 1974, becoming major in TNG going forward, but the holodeck-style story begins here, only this has a magical fantasy bent instead of sci-fi.

A human dressed up as the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland

Kirk and Emily Banks as Yeoman Tonia Barrows walking outside, trees and sky behind them.

Kirk talking to a fantastical recreation of a women he once knew, played by Shirley Bonne

Spock standing on top of a rocky formation, blue skies behind him.

"Shore Leave" is fun, fluff, as lite as Star Trek gets. Visually, this is an abnormal episode that stands out because of all the natural lighting! Would you look at that, real sky, real trees, and sunlight!

Kirk and Janice Rand at a podium, Kirk is officiating a marriage between a man and woman crew members.

Rand standing against a red lit wall in Kirk's quarters. Kirk is lying down flat on his bed in contemplation.

Grace Lee Whitney's final original series appearance as Yeoman Janice Rand. It's a shame she was dropped so early, but at least they brought her back for small appearances in a handful of the feature films, giving the character a respectful coda.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura on the bridge

Mark Lenard as the Romulan leader, tending to a man lying down.

Close up of Kirk

Kirk looking at a grieving crew member who just lost her lover from the recent battle.

Getting ideas from westerns, horror and war films along with sci-fi short stories resulted in an exciting concoction, and much needed diversity for a series that was producing 24-29 episodes annually. A submarine battle in the stars was a memorable premise that was a perfect fit for the show.

Spock on the bridge looking down at a small screen. Uhura is behind him, at her console.

Kirk looking forward, at the large screen readout. Uhura is behind him, looking forward as well.

A screen diagram illustrating the Neutral Zone dividing line between Earth/Starfleet friendly space, and the Romulan Star Empire.

Mark Lenard as the Romulan Commander, with other Romulans around him

"Balance of Terror" is the pinnacle of ship-centric Star Trek episodes. One element I find tedious about modern-day Trek is relying on regurgitating older Trek or broader science fiction for its stories - but the original series frequently looked to other genres of fiction for its inspiration.

Kirk sitting alone in the conference room, looking at the three-sided monitor on the table.

Kirk and Lenore Karidian, smiling at each other

Kirk looking forward, talking into his communicator which is in his hand.

A medium shot of Kirk and Lenore alone in an empty room that's lit in multiple shades of green and has unusual and slanted architecture.

Three images of Uhura in the break room, sitting down holding a guitar-harp-like string instrument, that she's strumming while singing. There are other crew people in the room, enjoying her song.

First "Charlie X", now "The Conscience of the King". We have the second episode in which Uhura performs music. These are some of the most delightful sequences in the entire show.

Arnold Moss as Anton Karidian, performing on stage, holding a knife.

Kirk sitting down in the audience of the theatre alongside an old friend of his played by William Sargent.

Kirk and Anton Karidian standing, talking. Anton is holding an open book, dressed in a robe that he wears during his performance.

A backstage POV shot showing the stage with two actors on it (their backs to us), and behind them is the audience, whose faces we see.

A moodily lit shot of Arnold Moss as the episode's Shakespearean actor standing alone in a room looking at a book, reds and blues reflected on the walls behind him.

Barbara Anderson as Lenore Karidian, in a green dress, leaning against the wall in a hallway of the Enterprise, a window behind her with stars visible.

Kirk and Lt Riley standing in front of a flowing red drape.

Kirk on the stage, looking down at the Karidians, Arnold Moss's character dead on a floor, as a dozen or so crewmembers stand in the back of the room, looking onward.

"The Conscience of the King" isn't one of the most engaging scripts of Star Trek's first season (its murder mystery never feels so mysterious), but this Gerd Oswald directed episode is one of the show's most stunning. This hour has some of the show's moodiest use of shadows and lighting.

the Monkees playing on a small stage with a banner behind them "FRUG Discotheque Music"

Teenagers sitting down at the cafe/music venue

the band rolling around their home on unicycles, as boys tend to do

a film projection on a screen, showing the band hanging out on a beach wearing ridiculous matching red and black striped trunks with suspenders

Jacques Aubuchon and Arlene Martel playing Boris and Natasha-like Russian spies. They wear a few disguises throughout the episode.

Jacques Aubuchon and Arlene Martel trying to blend in as the hippie youth.

Jacques Aubuchon and Arlene Martel dressed elegantly, him in a suit, and her in a red dress.

Arlene Martel in a gray suit, white shirt and black tie underneath, standing in front of a microfilm projector

Episode 5 is a Rocky & Bullwinkle homage with the Monkees getting caught up in a Russian spy plot and having to agree to capturing Boris and Natasha - played by Jacques Aubuchon and Arlene Martel (Arlene of Star Trek "Amok Time" fame).

A close-up of Peter Tork with a shot of a rocket about to take off superimposed

A close-up of Mickey Dolenz wearing a space helmt with a shot of a rocket about to take off superimposed

the Monkees in their home monkeying around

Peter, Mike and Mickey are tied up and gagged by criminals, as is a large mannequin (instead of Davy)

the Monkees and two gangsters chasing each other on a balcony exterior outside of a multi story building

a shot on a western set of the band and the crooks through a wagon wheel

The Monkees episode 4 involves the band getting pushed into awkward situations by a criminal who's secretly trying to sabotage their career to benefit another band that he represents. "Last Train to Clarksville" has been played in 3 back to back episodes. The song is a hit record as these air.

Captain Pike in an alien planet cave, staring down a long corridor, with rock walls around him.

Pike in captivity, a pane of glass separating him and the alien observing him. The alien's back is to us, but we see his face through the reflective glass.

Susan Oliver with green skin and long dark hair.

On the screen we see Pike and Vina, both appearing young and healthy and happy, given their simulated paradise by the aliens of Talos IV.

Spock on trial, sitting by himself at a circular table, green wall behind him.

Captain Pike stretched out on his bed in his personal quarters, the room is dark, partially lit by a lamp

Three aliens from the planet Talos IV, their bald bulging heads are super large because of their massive brains. They're made up to look in a similar vein as the Outer Limits creatures in "The Sixth Finger" and "Nightmare"

A close-up of the current-day Pike with his badly scarred face.

The first Star Trek pilot "The Cage" was filmed shortly after the cancellation of The Outer Limits and one reason for it eventually being greenlit was so a new sci-fi show could recycle the leftover props from that show. That pilot is a lot more Outer Limitsy than the Star Trek that followed.

Spock is on trial, sitting by himself in the foreground. Kirk and the Commodore are seated together at another table in the shot's background.

Within the court room, every character is watching events from 13 years ago from inside the Enterprise, on a large screen.

A jagged looking TV screen is in the middle of the frame, displaying a close-up of Captain Pike. To the left and right are the cloaks and arms visible of the Talos IV aliens watching Pike.

Another shot from the court room of the characters watching the 13 years ago events, this time a younger Spock is visible on screen.

Built into the original pilot is the aliens watching Pike navigate the simulation they created for him through their fantastical screens (their minds eye a camera), and "The Menagerie" adds an additional layer of observation with Kirk and the others watching all of these events 13 years later.

Close-up of Kirk, the wall behind him is lit in several hues of purple-pink

Kirk sitting looking at a computer monitor, McCoy standing next to him. The walls emit a purple hue and the door is orange/red/yellow, but because of how the scene is lit, there isn't one consistent colour, but rather, a variance of colour tones along the walls and door. Even McCoy's shadow hitting the wall behind him livens up the image.

A woman Starfleet officer in red is standing in front of a monitor, but she's looking offscreen to her right. It's night time, which you can tell because of the blackened window behind her. The starbase the episode is set on has Days and Nights, which you don't often see much of on early Star Trek episodes, and the episode's production design is taking full advantages of this, offering wildly different looks at the same rooms across day and night situations.

A shadowy frame of Spock leaning over a control panel aboard the bridge of the Enterprise

So often, Star Trek is just scenes of people standing around talking, sitting and talking, but because of decisions in lighting, blocking and production design I'm in awe. On a shot to to basis, this is an absurdly beautiful looking television show.

Establishing exterior shot of a starbase, tall white buildings against a purple sky, green lawn and various people in Starfleet uniforms walking around.

A close-up of Captain Pike in his Dalek-like wheelchair. Pike has fleshy scars all alongside one half of his face.

Establishing nighttime exterior shot of the starbase, the tall buildings's windows all lit up, a planet with a ring around it looms large in the sky

Kirk sitting down, as his superior Commodore talks to him.

"The Menagerie", a clever, inspired means of saving money by recycling some pilot footage that was shot a year and a half earlier and incorporating it into something far greater. The Part 1 scenes set on the starbase are especially lovely to look at.

Davy in drag as a mother (and looking quite good!) and Mickey pretending to be her child. A heart shape is drawn around them, with text that reads "Possessive Mother"

Peter dressed as a little boy with red jacket, shorts, and a red cap. A rectangle in white is drawn around, with an arrow on screen pointing at him, and text that reads "Send This Boy To Camp!"

Mike and Davy at their home, with an older man. There's a poster on the wall behind them for a Bogart movie, Knock on the Door.

Mike in suit, Davy as mother dressed in yellow long sleeved top and long skirt, and Mickey pretending to be a little boy in shorts and a baseball cap, looking at the angry man who runs the toy factory.

The Monkees, being the music group OF the people, and FOR the people, play dress up and sabotage the evil rich toy factory man's scheme to further eliminate human staff in favor of toy ideas that were essentially AI generated. A flawless half-hour of television.

A tilted birds eye view shot of Peter Tork walking into a mostly empty room, containing a "super intelligent" computer box that's run by AI.

A close-up of the AI computer that handles the hiring process for the toy factory.

Michael Nesmith in a black suit and red tie sits down on a chair next to the AI computer, chatting with it, and oversmarting it with a little bit of logic.

A shot inside the Monkees' house, the four of them sitting together. A view of the outside is behind them through a large window, showing a couple trees outside.

Monkees co-creator Bob Rafelson makes his directing debut on Episode 3, and it's a riot. While the first two episodes I would describe as cute, this one made me laugh frequently. Nesmith gets a job at a computerized toy factory that's investing in tech to replace human labor. What a concept.

Kirk in his captain's chair looking at the large screen ahead. McCoy standing next to him. Uhura is to the left of the frame, sitting in her chair, looking on with interest. She's wearing gold instead of her usual red.

Kirk, McCoy and Bailey have beamed aboard the alien ship. They are in bending position because the ceiling is not very high.

The alien with the bulbous head that menaced them earlier, is revealed to be a mannequin.

Kirk, McCoy and Bailey sitting down, being greeted by the real alien, played by a young child Clint Howard.

There's a scene in this episode that explains that Janice Rand was just brought aboard as Kirk's yeoman, and there's some dry expository dialogue early on explaining that Spock is a Vulcan and what that means. Little bits like that. This should have aired a lot earlier than Episode 10.

Sulu sitting at the helm, looking down. Spock is standing next to him.

Sulu looks over at Anthony Call as Lt. Bailey

Kirk standing with his arms crossed, as he looks ahead, at the [off-screen] monitor showing the alien threat. Scotty is behind Kirk, also looking forward.

The image of a large headed light green-skinned alien looking menacingly ahead

"The Corbomite Maneuver" is the earliest episode I can remember seeing as a child, and it's one I'm always happy to revisit. From its thrilling standoff - some of the best scenes to ever occur on the ship's bridge - another scary encounter with Godly superiors, with an offbeat Twilight Zonezy twist

In a fantasy sequence that has a soft lens, Kirk and Dr Noel are embraced, with intense Mario Bava reds behind them

Kirk and Dr Noel peering into an open vent shaft

Dr Noel crawling through an airduct, the frame is lit entirely in a purple hue

Dr. Noel walking towards a locked up control panel, with purple-y cave walls behind her

Marianna Hill of Messiah of Evil, High Plains Drifter, and The Godfather Part II fame gets to verbally spar with Shatner in "Dagger of the Mind", in one of the series' more memorable roles for a woman guest star. I think she should've come back, she has a very different rapport with Kirk than Rand.

Dr. Helen Noel, and Kirk and standing aside James Gregory as Dr. Tristan Adams in his cult leader-y robe, listening to him talk about his big ideas, as he pours a drink into tiny glasses.

Kirk and Dr. Helen Noel listening to Dr. Tristan Adams, as they stand by the window looking into his "rehabilitation" booth.

Spock performing a mind meld on Morgan Woodward as Dr. Simon van Gelder

Kirk is in the torture booth losing his willpower, as he drops his phaser. Dr. Adams looks on in glee. Dr. Noel is concerned.

"Dagger of the Mind" features the introduction of the Vulcan mind meld as well as a torture booth controlled by a man who's absolutely not a cult leader.

A scene on the bridge. Spock is in the foreground, receiving information from his computer. He's talking to the others, we see behind him in the shot's background, Uhura to the left at her desk is communicating intel to Kirk and McCoy who are to the right of the frame, taking in what Spock and Uhura are saying.

A close-up of Kirk.

A close-up of Spock.

A close-up of Marianna Hill as Dr. Helen Noel

Star Trek's close-ups and blocking will always impress. From episode 9, "Dagger of the Mind".