Post by finarvyn on Jul 31, 2021 9:30:23 GMT -5
I had an odd thought today about Star Trek and tv series. back in the 1960's it was common to have 20+ episodes per season (TOS had 79, I think , in 3 years) but today streaming services like Netflix bundle seasons up as 10-episode bingefest releases. So, if Star Trek TOS was released today it would have been roughly 8 seasons on Netflix. Compare this with Discovery, released in seasons of 15, 14, and 13. 
I haven't spent a lot of time thinking this through, and wondering if breaking it down into 13-14 episode "seasons" would make more sense or not, but I thought I'd share my alternate universe Star Trek TOS on Netflix:
Season 1
1 “The Cage”
2 "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
3 "The Corbomite Maneuver"
4 "Mudd's Women"
5 "The Enemy Within"
6 "The Man Trap"
7 "The Naked Time"
8 "Charlie X"
9 "Balance of Terror"
10 "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
Season 1 would have been incredible with "The Cage" as a brilliant launch and "Balance of Terror" right before the end, and this would have caused Netflix to announce that TOS would indeed return for a second season. Fans on the internet expressed some confusion about the switch from Pike to Kirk following episode 1, but Roddenberry insisted that it would make more sense in season 2.
Season 2
11 "Dagger of the Mind"
12 "Miri"
13 "The Conscience of the King"
14 "The Galileo Seven"
15 "Court Martial"
16 "The Menagerie, Part I"
17 "The Menagerie, Part II"
18 "Shore Leave"
19 "The Squire of Gothos"
20 "Arena"
Season 2 started out hot with "Dagger of the Mind" and fans loved the promised season 1 tie-in in the middle. Ending the season with "Arena" caused fans to scream for more and it was announced that Star Trek would return for a third season.
Season 3
21 "The Alternative Factor"
22 "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"
23 "The Return of the Archons"
24 "A Taste of Armageddon"
25 "Space Seed"
26 "This Side of Paradise"
27 "The Devil in the Dark"
28 "Errand of Mercy"
29 "The City on the Edge of Forever"
30 "Operation: Annihilate!"
Season three was solid, showcasing the award-winning "City on the Edge of Forever" which some folks argued should have been a great end-of-season cliffhanger. Fans were happy by the announcement that season 4 would be filming soon.
Season 4
31 "Catspaw"
32 "Metamorphosis"
33 "Friday's Child"
34 "Who Mourns for Adonais?"
35 "Amok Time"
36 "The Doomsday Machine"
37 "Wolf in the Fold"
38 "The Changeling"
39 "The Apple"
40 "Mirror, Mirror"
Fans liked season four better than three, mostly due to "Doomsday Machine" and the end-of-season "Mirror, Mirror." Ratings were strong enough to justify a return to season 5.
Season 5
41 "The Deadly Years"
42 "I, Mudd"
43 "The Trouble with Tribbles"
44 "Bread and Circuses"
45 "Journey to Babel"
46 "A Private Little War"
47 "The Gamesters of Triskelion"
48 "Obsession"
49 "The Immunity Syndrome"
50 "A Piece of the Action"
"Tribbles" broke the internet with likes and "A Piece of the Action" served to be a great end to another successful season of Star Trek. Netflix announces that Star Trek will continue with a season 6.
Season 6
51 "By Any Other Name"
52 "Return to Tomorrow"
53 "Patterns of Force"
54 "The Ultimate Computer"
55 "The Omega Glory"
56 "Assignment: Earth"
57 "Spectre of the Gun"
58 "Elaan of Troyius"
59 "The Paradise Syndrome"
60 "The Enterprise Incident"
Season 6 had fewer good reviews, but "Spectre of the Gun" and "The Enterprise Incident" kept streaming high and Star Trek was renewed for a 7th season.
Season 7
61 "And the Children Shall Lead"
62 "Spock's Brain"
63 "Is There in Truth No Beauty?"
64 "The Empath"
65 "The Tholian Web"
66 "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"
67 "Day of the Dove"
68 "Plato's Stepchildren"
69 "Wink of an Eye"
70 "That Which Survives"
Season 7 had a highlight of "The Tholian Web" but episodes like "Spock's Brain" left viewers wondering if Star Trek was nearing the end. Still, Netflix opted to have the crew of the Enterprise return for an astounding 8th season.
Season 8
71 "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
72 "Whom Gods Destroy"
73 "The Mark of Gideon"
74 "The Lights of Zetar"
75 "The Cloud Minders"
76 "The Way to Eden"
77 "Requiem for Methuselah"
78 "The Savage Curtain"
79 "All Our Yesterdays"
80 "Turnabout Intruder"
While not a disaster, Star Trek clearly had lost a lot of its spark by season 8. Netflilx chooses not to renew.
I haven't spent a lot of time thinking this through, and wondering if breaking it down into 13-14 episode "seasons" would make more sense or not, but I thought I'd share my alternate universe Star Trek TOS on Netflix:
Season 1
1 “The Cage”
2 "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
3 "The Corbomite Maneuver"
4 "Mudd's Women"
5 "The Enemy Within"
6 "The Man Trap"
7 "The Naked Time"
8 "Charlie X"
9 "Balance of Terror"
10 "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
Season 1 would have been incredible with "The Cage" as a brilliant launch and "Balance of Terror" right before the end, and this would have caused Netflix to announce that TOS would indeed return for a second season. Fans on the internet expressed some confusion about the switch from Pike to Kirk following episode 1, but Roddenberry insisted that it would make more sense in season 2.
Season 2
11 "Dagger of the Mind"
12 "Miri"
13 "The Conscience of the King"
14 "The Galileo Seven"
15 "Court Martial"
16 "The Menagerie, Part I"
17 "The Menagerie, Part II"
18 "Shore Leave"
19 "The Squire of Gothos"
20 "Arena"
Season 2 started out hot with "Dagger of the Mind" and fans loved the promised season 1 tie-in in the middle. Ending the season with "Arena" caused fans to scream for more and it was announced that Star Trek would return for a third season.
Season 3
21 "The Alternative Factor"
22 "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"
23 "The Return of the Archons"
24 "A Taste of Armageddon"
25 "Space Seed"
26 "This Side of Paradise"
27 "The Devil in the Dark"
28 "Errand of Mercy"
29 "The City on the Edge of Forever"
30 "Operation: Annihilate!"
Season three was solid, showcasing the award-winning "City on the Edge of Forever" which some folks argued should have been a great end-of-season cliffhanger. Fans were happy by the announcement that season 4 would be filming soon.
Season 4
31 "Catspaw"
32 "Metamorphosis"
33 "Friday's Child"
34 "Who Mourns for Adonais?"
35 "Amok Time"
36 "The Doomsday Machine"
37 "Wolf in the Fold"
38 "The Changeling"
39 "The Apple"
40 "Mirror, Mirror"
Fans liked season four better than three, mostly due to "Doomsday Machine" and the end-of-season "Mirror, Mirror." Ratings were strong enough to justify a return to season 5.
Season 5
41 "The Deadly Years"
42 "I, Mudd"
43 "The Trouble with Tribbles"
44 "Bread and Circuses"
45 "Journey to Babel"
46 "A Private Little War"
47 "The Gamesters of Triskelion"
48 "Obsession"
49 "The Immunity Syndrome"
50 "A Piece of the Action"
"Tribbles" broke the internet with likes and "A Piece of the Action" served to be a great end to another successful season of Star Trek. Netflix announces that Star Trek will continue with a season 6.
Season 6
51 "By Any Other Name"
52 "Return to Tomorrow"
53 "Patterns of Force"
54 "The Ultimate Computer"
55 "The Omega Glory"
56 "Assignment: Earth"
57 "Spectre of the Gun"
58 "Elaan of Troyius"
59 "The Paradise Syndrome"
60 "The Enterprise Incident"
Season 6 had fewer good reviews, but "Spectre of the Gun" and "The Enterprise Incident" kept streaming high and Star Trek was renewed for a 7th season.
Season 7
61 "And the Children Shall Lead"
62 "Spock's Brain"
63 "Is There in Truth No Beauty?"
64 "The Empath"
65 "The Tholian Web"
66 "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"
67 "Day of the Dove"
68 "Plato's Stepchildren"
69 "Wink of an Eye"
70 "That Which Survives"
Season 7 had a highlight of "The Tholian Web" but episodes like "Spock's Brain" left viewers wondering if Star Trek was nearing the end. Still, Netflix opted to have the crew of the Enterprise return for an astounding 8th season.
Season 8
71 "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
72 "Whom Gods Destroy"
73 "The Mark of Gideon"
74 "The Lights of Zetar"
75 "The Cloud Minders"
76 "The Way to Eden"
77 "Requiem for Methuselah"
78 "The Savage Curtain"
79 "All Our Yesterdays"
80 "Turnabout Intruder"
While not a disaster, Star Trek clearly had lost a lot of its spark by season 8. Netflilx chooses not to renew.
