"Still Treads The Shadow", was a nice comeback episode for STC. After the subpar "Embracing The Winds" episode, I was afraid the show had lost its mojo. But it hasn't. This new episode had a better story, and much better editing and acting than the last one.
I would rank the episodes this way:
1) Pilgrim of Eternity (Absolutely amazing! The closest they've come to a real TOS episode. Stunningly close. An episode to be worshipped.)
2) Fairest of Them All (Brilliant! Favorite line? Kirk to Uhura, "Good girl.". Chilling.)
3) Lolani (Loved it! An Orion Slave girl and Big Lou...how can you go wrong?!)
4) The White Iris (A little slow at times, but a powerful payoff at the end, which enhances the episode upon reflection, and repeat viewings.)
5) Divided We Stand (Supremely done. A step below The White Iris, only because there's so little Enterprise in it.)
6) Still Treads The Shadow (A tour de force by Vic in his dual role. Sharma does an excellent job--in spite of her voice/style of speaking being conspicuously modern. Story sags a bit in the middle, but starts and finishes strong.)
7) Come Not Between The Dragons (This episode suffers because Kirk takes a back seat to Gigi Edgly's character. Kirk needs to be the star of every episode. But the story was good and the creature fabrication was stellar.)
8) Embracing The Winds (Suffers from thin story, slow pace, and loose editing. I didn't care for the performances Gray or Kramer, but the writing and editing could've been partly responsible for that.)
I love this series! I wish we could get 24 episodes of it!! Heck, make that 79! But, I'll eagerly await the final three.
The Wook
I've only quoted myself here, to see where I might rank,
What Ships Are For, on the list of STC episodes. Lemme think...
I really liked this latest episode. It was a great story--very much in the mold of classic TOS stories. It moved pretty well, and got an excellent performance from JDL. When he dressed Kirk down, ending with,
"Who do you think you are?", it was very dramatic, and the best scene of the episode. You know a scene's powerful when you rewind to watch it a few times--which I did--before continuing with the episode.
Not too much to complain about. Sure, the show seems a bit small some of the time--a bit too noticeably in WSAF, I'd say--but that's to be expected with such a limited budget. And I never liked McKennah being on the show, because she's not original, and takes away from other characters like Spock and McCoy. I agree with @
Clark J Kent, in that Kirk should be receiving counsel from those two, rather than her. Maybe @
Treadwell can speak to why she's even on the show. I mean, they go to such fantastic lengths to faithfully recreate TOS, but they add a made-up key member of the crew who gets important lines in each episode...lines that would otherwise be given to TOS characters that are in Jim's inner circle. Why?? In this episode, I particularly hated her,
"Damn, I'm good.", line, It felt so out of place. Nothing against the actress. I just don't think the character belongs on the ship in a regular capacity. She should've been one and done, in whatever episode she fit best.
As much as I enjoyed
What Ships Are For, it does not crack my Top 3. And it's not down there with
CNBTD and
ETW, either. Gosh, it's been so long since I've seen
TWI,
DWS, and
STTS, I don't know quite where to put
What Ships Are For. Some day I'll watch them all again, and that'll sort out its position. But for now, I'll just say that it's in the middle of the pack...probably in the 5 or 6 position. But maybe 4, I dunno.
Either way, another feather in Vic's cap!
The Wook
