I can't say that TOS is my favorite of the series, but it'll always have a special place in my heart. I think most Trek fans will concur. I've mentioned the simplicity and mustache twirling before, but I don't think of it in a bad way. In fact, it fit in perfectly with the 1960's. Everything seemed a little corny back then, especially when it had a sci-fi or fantasy element. Take Dark Shadows as an example. That makes it more appealing to me and gives off a feeling of being young at heart.
I also have no illusions to what Star Trek was created for: to advance liberal ideology; things like one world government, abolishment of religion, eliminating pride in our country and its accomplishments, and socialism being the ultimate utopia. But these things were very casually hidden in the subtext and more of a springboard for conversation rather than outright preaching and shaming of America in particular. Also, back in the time the original series was out there were certain genuine social issues that needed to be addressed. Racism and sexism were actually a problem back then, and not the fabricated victimhood that has been encouraged since things actually started to become equal for all in order to divide and control the population through emotional manipulation. It was on the hippie bandwagon of questioning the need for war, which I think was a mistake and only aggravated the way our military has been maligned and very nearly marginalized ever since (all part of the liberal ideological agenda after all), but it's too multifaceted of a topic to get into. So, on the whole, I don't have many complaints about the socio-political atmosphere of TOS. It was the first series and it was well constructed. It had the heart to survive cancellation and progress into something wonderful with the movies.
My favorite character was Bones. I'm always odd like that... I never go for the most popular characters, in this case Spock. Bones was the "straight man" as it were. The observational viewpoint; watching all the craziness from the sidelines. My least favorite was Christine Chapel. It seemed like a serious downgrade from Number One in the pilot. and the way she pined for Spock was a little overdone. Of course, character development wasn't crucial back then. The biggest goal was making sure everything was fast paced and action packed. But all of the characters were enjoyable and this series had mostly one star - Shatner. Although Nimoy and Kelly got equal billing, this product was mostly the Captain Kirk show, at least when it was in the T.V. series format. It helped to make it simple and easy to watch. I don't feel the need to lament the other characters being sidelined or pigeon holed though since this series was a victim of the time it was produced in. The movies leveled things out a little more. Although, he movies were kind of hit-and-miss for me since Star Trek was designed for the small screen not the big screen.
Star Trek The Original Series is my 3rd favorite of the five television series to bear the name. I should mention now that I don't count the animated series, and I don't think a lot of people do. I've missed it entirely to be honest. I don't think it's counted as canon anyway. Some people are annoyed with the way that some fans like me stick to what is "canon", but there have to be some limitations, I think, as to what is considered legitimate in any set. I'll get into that some other time though.
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