star trek episodes best

The Top 57 Episodes of ‘Star Trek,’ Ranked From Great to Perfect

First, let’s be clear: Ranking the best “Star Trek” episodes is a silly thing to do. To date, the longest-running American TV franchise has aired a gargantuan 890 episodes and counting, starting with the original series in 1966. Since then, at least one “Star Trek” TV show has aired (or streamed) every decade, totaling 11 so far (with more on the way ). Choosing the best episodes within such a boundless, occasionally contradictory storytelling galaxy seems about as wise as cheating when playing poker with a Klingon.

On the other hand, there may be no more time-honored tradition among “Star Trek” fans than a vigorous debate over what constitutes the best of the franchise. (Best series ? Best captains ? Best starships ? Best aliens ? Best uniforms ? They’ve all been ranked multiple times !)

In that spirit — and to commemorate the 57th anniversary of “Star Trek” on Sept. 8 —  Variety ’s resident “Trek” geeks have ranked the top 57 episodes of all time, across the franchise.

Creating our list required some deep-dish nerdiness in its own right: We compiled a long list of episodes from each series that we felt deserved to be on the final ranking. Then we created our own individual rankings — and promptly realized our taste was quite divergent. To reconcile our lists, we adopted the approach of the great movie ranking podcast, Screen Drafts : We took alternating turns placing a pick from 57 to 1, and we each had two opportunities to veto the other’s pick (which in every case was to ensure it was placed higher on the list).

Other than the short-lived “Star Trek: The Animated Series” (1973-1974), this list reflects every other iteration of “Trek” on TV: “Star Trek: The Original Series” (1966-1969); “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987-1994); “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993-1999); “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995-2001); “Star Trek: Enterprise” (2001-2005); “Star Trek: Discovery” (2017-2024); “Star Trek: Picard” (2020-2023); “Star Trek: Prodigy” (2021-2022); and the ongoing “Star Trek: Lower Decks” (2020-present) and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (2022-present).

The Way to Eden

“The Original Series” — Season 3, Episode 20

Look, this episode gets a lot of hate. But the fact is “TOS” is known (by today’s standards) for being very campy, and there is no episode campier than this one. A group of space hippies board the Enterprise on their journey to a mythical planet called Eden, where they can live happily forever. The episode memorably features Charles Napier (who would go on to a long career playing tough guys, villains, cops and the like) breaking out into song a bunch of times, including a jam session with Spock (Leonard Nimoy). —Joe Otterson Original airdate: Feb. 21, 1969

Terra Prime

“Enterprise” — Season 4, Episode 21 More than any other episode of “Enterprise,” “Terra Prime” made the most of the show’s mission to dramatize the beginnings of Starfleet, 100 years before the events of “TOS.” Just as a newfound coalition of planets begins to form on Earth (a precursor to the Federation), Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew must stop a xenophobic terrorist (played to the hilt by future “Star Trek Into Darkness” villain Peter Weller) bent on forcing all aliens to leave Earth. Subtle, it ain’t, but the story feels more relevant today than it did 20 years ago, and everyone in the cast gets a moment to shine. Alas, it came too late: “Enterprise” had been canceled before this episode even went into production. —Adam B. Vary Original airdate: May 13, 2005

“Prodigy” — Season 1, Episode 6

The animated “Prodigy” was the first “Star Trek” series geared toward kids, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t things for older “Trek” fans to enjoy. In particular, “Kobayashi” perfectly embodies what makes this show a worthy entry in “Trek” canon. Dal (Brett Gray) and Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) discover the holodeck aboard the Protostar, where they decide to go through the Kobayashi Maru, a.k.a. the “no-win scenario” that Capt. Kirk successfully beat during his time at the Academy. He gets help along the way from legendary characters like Spock, Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Odo (René Auberjonois). —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 6, 2022

Stormy Weather

“Discovery” — Season 4, Episode 6

On a mission to discover the origins of a cataclysmic gravitational anomaly, the U.S.S. Discovery enters a subspace rift and finds itself trapped inside a lethal black void that threatens to collapse in on the ship. The result is a classic race-against-time thriller (directed by “Trek” mainstay Jonathan Frakes), but what makes “Stormy Weather” stand out amid the heavily serialized episodes of “Discovery” is its emotionally resonant use of the ship’s sentient A.I. computer, Zora (Annabelle Wallis), who has to learn how to calm her mind from overwhelming stimuli in order to guide the ship out of danger. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 23, 2021

Seventeen Seconds

“Picard” — Season 3, Episode 3

“Picard” didn’t find itself until Season 3, which reunited the core cast of “The Next Generation” — and it was really Episode 3 that sealed the deal. Riker (Frakes) is forced to take command of the Titan as Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and the Shrike hunt them. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Crusher get an all-time great scene together as she reveals why she never told him about their son, Jack (Ed Speleers). Worf (Michael Dorn) makes his big return. We learn the Changelings are still intent on attacking the Federation. Riker and Picard end up at odds in a way we’ve never seen before. In short, epic. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 2, 2023

The Enemy Within

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 5

The transporter — the cause of, and solution to, so many “Star Trek” problems — accidentally splits Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) into two people: Good Kirk, who is wracked with indecision, and evil Kirk, who is a histrionic asshole. Come for a meditation on the darkness that lies tucked inside everyone’s psyche, stay for some of William Shatner’s most deliciously hammy acting — and this was just the fifth episode of the series! —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 1966

Family Business

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 3, Episode 23

The Ferengi episodes of “DS9” are always great comic relief, with this episode giving fans their first view of the home planet of Ferenginar and Ferengi culture in general. Quark (Armin Shimerman) and Rom (Max Grodénchik) must return home when their mother, Ishka (Andrea Martin), is accused of acquiring profit (gasp!), something Ferengi females are forbidden to do. Shimerman and Martin shine as they play out Quark and Ishka’s relationship, while Grodénchik really gets to put his comedic chops on display. This episode is also notable as the first appearance of Brunt (Jeffrey Combs) from the Ferengi Commerce Authority, as well as Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald), frequent love interest of Cmdr. Sisko (Avery Brooks). —J.O.

Original airdate: May 15, 1995

Blink of an Eye

“Voyager” — Season 6, Episode 12

The Voyager gets stuck in orbit around a planet where time passes far more rapidly than in the rest of space, as the episode alternates between the bemused curiosity of Capt. Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew and the awestruck preoccupation of the expeditiously progressing populace on the planet below, for whom Voyager is a sparkling, fixed constant in the night sky. At one point, the Doctor (Robert Picard) beams down to the planet to investigate, and a delay of only a few minutes on Voyager means he spends three years on its surface. He even adopts a son! One of the great, wild what if? episodes of “Star Trek.” —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Jan. 19, 2000

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 23

Mark Lenard absolutely crushed the role of Spock’s father, Sarek, in multiple episodes across multiple “Star Trek” series and movies, but this episode is perhaps his finest performance as the character. Sarek comes to the Enterprise-D on what is meant to be his final mission, only for the crew to learn he is suffering from Bendii Syndrome. The condition leaves him prone to uncharacteristic emotional outbursts while also causing him to telepathically influence the emotions of those around him. Picard saves the day by mind melding with Sarek, allowing him to finish his mission with dignity — and provide Stewart with the chance for some powerhouse acting as he channels Sarek’s volcanic emotions. —J.O.

Original airdate: May 14, 1990

“Enterprise” — Season 3, Episode 10

“Trek” loves a moral dilemma, and this one’s a doozy: After Cmdr. Tucker (Connor Trinneer) is critically injured while the Enterprise is on a deep space mission, Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) suggests growing a “mimetic symbiote” of Trip — effectively, a clone with a built-in two-week lifespan — in order to create the brain tissue needed to save Trip’s life. But that means the Enterprise crew must endure watching Trip’s clone rapidly age from a precocious kid to an adult man (played by Trinneer with eerie self-possession), who then pleads for his own right to live. Creepy and heartbreaking in equal measure. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 19, 2003

Trials and Tribble-ations

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 5, Episode 6

This episode is a love letter to the original series, with the Defiant’s crew transported back in time to the events of “The Trouble With Tribbles.” A Klingon agent is planning to use a booby-trapped tribble to assassinate James T. Kirk. Thanks to digital editing, the crew is able to interact with the original Enterprise crew and keep the timeline intact. —J.O.

Original airdate: Nov. 4, 1996

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 2, Episode 23

Mirror universe episodes of “Star Trek” are (almost) always fun, if ultimately a little silly. But this one — in which Kira (Nana Visitor) and Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) find themselves in an alternate reality in which Bajor, Cardassians and Klingons subjugate humans as slaves — comes closest to matching the spark of discovery in the original “TOS” episode. It’s especially fun to watch Visitor devour the role of Kira’s deliciously wicked mirror counterpart, the Intendant. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: May 16, 1994

Memento Mori

“Strange New Worlds” — Season 1, Episode 4

This episode proved “Strange New Worlds” — the newest “Star Trek” series — could be as action-packed as the very best of “Star Trek.” The Enterprise crew find themselves on the run from the Gorn, a savage enemy (first introduced on “TOS” and largely ignored in “Trek” canon) about which they know virtually nothing. They are forced to use every resource at their disposal to outwit and outrun the Gorn, including tapping into the subconscious of La’an (Christina Chong), the only crew member who has encountered the aliens and survived. —J.O.

Original airdate: May 26, 2022

Counterpoint

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 10

The main story is a tense, WWII allegory: Capt. Janeway and her crew hide telepathic refugees while passing through the space of the Devore, who have outlawed telepaths. But the real story is the relationship Janeway forms with the lead Devore inspector, Kashyk (Mark Harelik), who suddenly shows up alone and announces he’s defecting. As Kashyk aids Janeway in finding safe harbor for the refugees, she realizes how much he’s her intellectual equal, and she finds herself drawn to him — in spite of (or perhaps spurred on by) her continued suspicion of his motives. A great, subtle performance by Mulgrew captures both Janeway’s steely wits and her private yearning. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 16, 1998

The Drumhead

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 21

“Star Trek” has done a number of courtroom episodes, and this is one of the best. Rear admiral Norah Satie (Jean Simmons) is sent to investigate suspected sabotage aboard the Enterprise. The investigation quickly spirals into paranoia and accusations of treachery against a crew member who is revealed to have Romulan lineage. It is an excellent reminder of what can happen when persecution is dressed up as an attempt at greater security, with Picard using Satie’s father’s teachings to bring about her downfall. —J.O.

Original airdate: April 29, 1991

“The Next Generation” — Season 7, Episode 8

More thwarted romance! The seasons-long will-they/won’t-they between Picard and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) gets its best showcase, when the pair are captured by isolationist aliens and given implants that allow them to read each other’s thoughts. You get the feeling Stewart and especially McFadden had been dying to play out this dynamic on the show, so they both bring years of sublimated longing to the episode. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 8, 1993

In the Hands of the Prophets

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 20

Louise Fletcher’s performance as Vedek Winn (later Kai Winn) ranks among the best “Star Trek” villains of all time. Deeply religious to the point of fanaticism, Winn protests Keiko O’Brien (Rosalind Chao) teaching children on Deep Space Nine that the wormhole aliens are not deities, as many Bajorans believe. Winn’s words whip Bajorans on the station into a frenzy; Keiko’s school is bombed. But what Winn really desires is power, to the point she tries to get one of her followers to kill a fellow Vedek she sees as a threat. The episode sets up Winn’s role as a major antagonist throughout the series to great effect. —J.O.

Original airdate: June 21, 1993

The Trouble With Tribbles

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 15

If you’ve seen any episode of “TOS,” chances are it’s this one. While on shore leave at a space station, the Enterprise comes upon an adorably furry alien creature called a tribble, which are born pregnant, multiply exponentially, consume enormous quantities of food and react with alarm when in the presence of a Klingon. Fizzy and funny and, to this day, one of the best-known episodes of “Trek” ever. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 29, 1967

Balance of Terror

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 14

Introducing the Romulans alone makes this episode worthy of being on the list. But it’s also an epic cat-and-mouse game between Kirk and a Romulan commander played by none other than Mark Lenard, who would go on to play Sarek starting in Season 2. Kirk successfully lures the Romulan ship into a trap, leading to Lenard delivering the iconic line, “You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend.” —J.O.

Original airdate: Dec. 15, 1966

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 20

John de Lancie never disappoints when he plays Q, but this episode offered a wonderful twist on his usual appearances. Following the events of “Deja Q,” Q returns to the Enterprise saying he owes Picard a debt. Picard repeatedly tells Q he wants nothing from him, but Q notices Picard has eyes for Vash (Jennifer Hetrick), the mercenary archeologist Picard first met on Risa. Being Q, he naturally transports Picard, Vash, and the bridge crew to a Robin Hood fantasy in which Picard must rescue Vash from the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Clive Frevill). Added bonus: Worf, in scarlet tights, exclaiming in protest, “I am not a merry man!” —J.O.

Original airdate: April 22, 1991

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 18

The classic “trial by combat” episode that pitted Kirk against a Gorn captain on a barren, rocky planet (i.e. the storied filming location Vasquez Rocks ). Few images from “Star Trek” have become more iconic than the original Gorn costume, which was essentially an actor dressed as a large lizard. The ending is also an all-timer, with Kirk choosing to spare the Gorn, proving to the all-powerful Metrons that set up the trial by combat that humans are capable of more than just random violence. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 19, 1967

A Mathematically Perfect Redemption

“Lower Decks” — Season 3, Episode 7

“Star Trek’s” first pure comedy (and second animated series) often plays as a twisted love letter to the entire “Trek” franchise — like when Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue), one of the sentient Exocomp robots first introduced on “The Next Generation,” abandons the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos in a time of need. This episode tracks Peanut Hamper’s journey to redemption afterwards, which involves her encountering a seemingly primitive species called the Areore. To say anything more would spoil the fun; suffice it to say, “Trek” has rarely provoked gasps of deep laughter like this episode does. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 2022

Bar Association

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 4, Episode 15

What better episode of “Star Trek” to talk about after Hollywood’s hot labor summer? Fed up with the unfair conditions at Quark’s bar, Rom talks the other workers into forming a union and going on strike. Max Grodénchik truly shines in this episode as the would-be union leader. Once Rom successfully gets Quark to agree to all the workers’ demands, he outright quits and goes to work as a repair technician for the station, setting up some of Rom’s best moments in the episodes to come. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 19, 1996

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 26 & Season 6, Episode 1

The Voyager swoops to the rescue of the Equinox, another Federation starship stranded in the Gamma Quadrant — only this one, led by Capt. Ransom (John Savage), is a smaller ship not meant for deep space travel. With their crew whittled down to just 12 people, Ransom has resorted to murdering alien creatures to use their bio-matter to boost the Equinox’s engines — a horrific violation of everything Starfleet stands for. The discovery pushes Janeway to her own limits, as she obsessively pursues the Equinox despite the cost to her own crew and her morality. The two-parter is one of the darkest episodes of “Star Trek,” a chilling reminder of how easily good people can find themselves slipping into disgrace. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: May 26, 1999 & Sept. 22, 1999

Who Mourns for Morn?

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 12

Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd) was a “Deep Space Nine” fixture, always at Quark’s bar, but never actually speaking onscreen. But in this episode, with Morn apparently dead in an accident, everyone reveals the offscreen times they spent with him, including the revelation that he “never shuts up.” Quark inherits all of Morn’s property, which Odo relishes revealing is ultimately nothing. But as it turns out, Morn had a much more adventurous life before his time on “DS9” than anyone knew, leading his former comrades to seek him out to get a hold of the money they believed he still possessed. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 4, 1998

Species Ten-C

“Discovery” — Season 4, Episode 12

Other than the Gorn, almost all of the aliens on “Star Trek” are, essentially, humans with slightly different forehead ridges. But in its most recent season, “Discovery” embraced “Trek’s” prime directive (seeking out new life, bolding going where no one’s gone, etc.) by crafting a species that is truly alien: the Ten-C. Throughout the season, the Ten-C are presented as both a total mystery and an existential threat; when Capt. Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the Discovery finally reach them — outside the barrier of the Milky Way galaxy — they are unlike anything the show has ever encountered. Rarely has “Trek” applied more intellectual and emotional rigor to what it might actually be like to attempt first contact with extra-terrestrials, and rarely has it been this compelling. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: March 10, 2022

A Man Alone

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 4

Odo is one of the best characters in “DS9” — and in the “Star Trek” universe — in general, and this is the first episode to really establish him as a standout . A known criminal returns to the station only to die shortly after, and Odo is accused of his murder. Odo’s status as an outsider, but ultimately someone to be respected, is made crystal clear in this episode, with even his archenemy Quark acknowledging that Odo is not the type to murder someone in cold blood. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 17, 1993

Mirror, Mirror

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 4

The transporter strikes again, this time accidentally zapping Kirk, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Scotty (James Doohan) and Bones (DeForest Kelley) from their reality into a parallel universe in which the benevolent Federation has been replaced by the bloodthirsty Terran Empire, governed by brute force and fascistic exploitation — and Spock has a goatee! More silly than serious (and no less fun for it), the episode effectively spawned an entire sub-genre of parallel universe episodes of TV (from “Supernatural” to “Friends”) and gave generations of actors a chance to play wildly against type. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 1967

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 2

People rave about “The Best of Both Worlds” and Picard’s assimilation by the Borg, but fewer remember this incredible follow-up episode. Picard returns to his family vineyard to put the Borg incident behind him, even briefly thinking that he will leave Starfleet. Jeremy Kemp crushes it as Picard’s brother Robert, with the two sharing a memorable (and muddy) scene in which Picard breaks down and admits how much his assimilation has shaken him. The episode is also memorable for the appearance of Worf’s adoptive parents, who come to the Enterprise to be with him following his discommendation. —J.O.

Original airdate: Oct. 1, 1990

Living Witness

“Voyager” — Season 4, Episode 23

For several minutes, “Living Witness” seems like a mirror universe episode, as a ruthless Janeway, captain of the “warship” Voyager, agrees to aid the Vaskans against the insurgent Kyrians by unleashing a biological weapon upon millions and executing the Kyrian leader. But then we realize that we’ve just witnessed a recreation at a Kyrian museum 700 years in the future, at which point a copy of the Doctor enters the story and learns, to his horror, how much the Kyrians have gotten wrong. What could have been a Rashomon-style caper instead becomes fascinating meditation on how the telling of history can be weaponized, even inadvertently, to maintain old wounds rather than heal them. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 29, 1998

Unification

“The Next Generation” — Season 5, Episode 7 & 8

Spock appeared on “The Next Generation” a month before the release of 1991’s “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” — but this time, at least, crass cross-promotion prompted some sublimely entertaining TV, as Picard and Data (Brent Spiner) aid Spock in his effort to reunify the Romulan and Vulcan peoples. [Stefon voice]: This two-parter has everything : Klingon warbirds, rude Ferengis, Tasha’s evil Romulan daughter Sela (Denise Crosby), Data and Spock philosophizing on their twin pursuits of logic and emotion, the death of Sarek, Worf singing Klingon opera with a four-armed bar pianist, and Picard and Spock mind-melding! —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Nov. 4 & 11, 1991

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 7, Episode 9

Gul Dukat is the best villain in “Star Trek.” Yes, you read that right. The writers and actor Marc Alaimo created an incredibly nuanced character that goes through a remarkable arc over the course of the series. This episode, near the end of “DS9’s” run, reminds fans that Dukat sees himself as a savior, but is ultimately a force for evil. He establishes a cult dedicated to the Pah wraiths on Empok Nor, luring a number of Bajorans to his side. But of course, he also sleeps with his female followers and tries to trick them into a mass suicide. Amazing stuff. —J.O.

Original airdate: Nov. 23, 1998

The Last Generation

“Picard” — Season 3, Episode 10

The cast of “TNG” infamously never got their swan song, after 2002’s “Star Trek: Nemesis” bombed in theaters, so this series finale serves as a gift both to them and to “TNG” fans. Every character gets their spotlight, including the resurrected Enterprise-D, as Picard, Riker, Dr. Crusher, Data, Worf, LaForge (LeVar Burton) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) all help to take down the Borg once and for all. The final scene — everyone sitting around a poker table, laughing and reminiscing — is as pure and satisfying an expression of fan service as anything “Trek” has ever done. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 20, 2023

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 13

Until this episode, Q was an enjoyably malevolent force within “TNG,” an omnipotent being who’d gleefully pop up now and again to play with the lives of the Enterprise-D crew. But here, when Q suddenly appears on the bridge, he’s been stripped of all his powers (and all of his clothes) and begs Picard for safe harbor. At first, no one believes him — even after Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) stabs him with a fork — which only fuels John de Lancie’s sparkling performance, as Q confronts life as ( shudder ) a mortal human. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Feb. 3, 1990

An Embarrassment of Dooplers

“Lower Decks” — Season 2, Episode 5

The title refers to an alien called a Doopler, who duplicate themselves whenever they get embarrassed — which, naturally, becomes an issue the moment one steps foot on the Cerritos. But really, this episode is one of those deeply enjoyable “Trek” episodes that is less about story than it is about the vibes , as the characters spend their downtime winningly contending with the central premise of the show: The bittersweet contentment of life at the bottom of the ladder. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Sept. 9, 2021

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 2, Episode 19    

The lives of the past hosts of the Dax symbiont are a recurring plot device on “DS9,” and no episode does it better than this one. A group of Klingons who knew Curzon Dax arrive at the station and enlist Jadzia’s (Terry Ferrell) help in killing their sworn enemy, a criminal known as The Albino who killed the three Klingons’ first-born sons. Jadzia ultimately honors the blood oath, as the episode explores the meaning of honor and solidarity. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 28, 1994

Where No Man Has Gone Before

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 3

The famed second pilot episode of “Star Trek” (which introduced William Shatner as Capt. Kirk) is a strange artifact today: Bones and Uhura aren’t aboard yet, Sulu (George Takei) isn’t at the helm, the Enterprise has a psychiatrist (played by Sally Kellerman), and the uniforms and sets look a bit off. But the central story — Kirk’s best friend, Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood), is zapped by an energy blast at the edge of the galaxy, and begins to exhibit extraordinary psychokinetic powers — is vintage “Trek”: Brainy, brawny, and just the right side of uncanny. And it’s fascinating now to see how well-established Kirk and Spock’s dynamic of emotion vs. logic was from the very start. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Sept. 22, 1966

The Measure of a Man

“The Next Generation” — Season 2, Episode 9

Data’s quest for humanity is at the very core of “TNG,” and this stirring episode literally puts that quest on trial — and establishes the show’s voice for the rest of its run. A Starfleet scientist wants to dismantle Data in order to create more androids, but Data refuses, setting up an intense courtroom drama — is Data merely a machine and the property of Starfleet? — with Picard representing Data while Riker is forced to represent the scientist. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 13, 1989

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 26 & Season 5, Episode 1

The Klingons started on “Trek” as a not-that-thinly-veiled metaphor for the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, but over the decades, they’ve developed their own richly detailed mythology. This two-parter (which aired just before the fall of the USSR) depicts a civil war within the Klingon Empire that leads to Worf’s decision to leave the Enterprise and join the fight. For a series that was episodic by design, this is the closest “TNG” ever got to serialized storytelling, incorporating events from several previous episodes — including the shocking introduction of Tasha’s Romulan daughter, Sela. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: June 17, 1991 & Sept. 23, 1991

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 11

It is endlessly entertaining to see Quark get what he wants as he then  learns that it’s way more trouble than he realized. This episode sums that idea up nicely, while also featuring the first of many wonderful appearances by Wallace Shawn as Ferengi leader Grand Nagus Zek. Zek unexpectedly names Quark his successor, only for Zek to die shortly after. Quark is thrilled at first, before he realizes being the Nagus puts a massive target on his back. This episode also helps build the friendship between Nog (Aron Eisenbeg) and Jake (Cirroc Lofton), with Jake secretly teaching Nog how to read. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 22, 1993

Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy

“Voyager” — Season 6, Episode 4

Yearning to grow past his programming, the Doctor allows himself the ability to daydream, in one of the flat-out funniest episodes of “Trek” ever. It opens with Robert Picardo singing opera as Tuvok (Tim Russ) undergoes pon farr (i.e. the madness to mate that consumes Vulcan males) and just gets wilder from there, up to the moment when the Doctor, who’d fantasized about taking over command of Voyager in an emergency, does it for real. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 13, 1999

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 1

Speaking of pon farr, this is the “TOS” episode that first establishes it — as well as the planet Vulcan, several Vulcan customs and traditions, and the now legendary Vulcan salute (honorable mention: Spock actually smiles!). Wracked with pon farr, Spock asks for leave back on his home planet, and eventually reveals that he must meet his betrothed, T’Pring (Arlene Martel). Naturally, Kirk and Spock end up in a fight to the death in one of the most iconic battles in “Star Trek” history. —J.O.

Original airdate: Sept. 15, 1967

Year of Hell

“Voyager” — Season 4, Episode 8 & 9

The most lasting criticism of “Voyager” is that every week, no matter what happened in the previous episode, the ship and crew emerged unscathed and ready for a new adventure. As if in response, this two-parter tracks a year in which the Voyager is ravaged to the point of near ruin by repeated encounters with an aggressive alien species called the Krenim. Unbeknownst to the crew, they’re actually the victims of a Krenim scientist, Annorax (Kurtwood Smith), who developed a technology to alter the fabric of time by erasing entire species from ever existing. This is as harrowing and merciless as “Trek’s” ever been, but it’s not quite the best episode of “Voyager” due to the irony of its ending: Janeway crashes the husk of the Voyager into Annorax’s timeship — which resets the timeline completely, as if nothing that we’d seen had ever happened. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Nov. 5 & 12, 1997

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 3, Episodes 11 & 12

“Star Trek” often addresses timely societal issues, but this episode put them firmly in a 21st century context. Sisko, Bashir, and Dax accidentally wind up in San Francisco circa 2024, where poverty and oppression of the disadvantaged are running rampant (crazy how that remains timely, huh?). When a man meant to serve an important purpose in an historic riot is accidentally killed too soon, Sisko is forced to take his place. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 2, 1995 & Jan. 9, 1995

Those Old Scientists

“Strange New Worlds” — Season 2, Episode 7

In one of the rare “Trek” crossover episodes, Ens. Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Ens. Mariner (Tawny Newsome) from “Lower Decks” find themselves zapped back to the era when Capt. Pike (Anson Mount) captained the Enterprise. Marshalled by Jonathan Frakes’ steady hand as a director , the disparate tones of “Lower Decks” and “Strange New World” somehow mesh perfectly, and hilariously, together. Packed with guffaw-worthy laughs, “Those Old Scientists” also becomes a deeply poignant expression of the impact “Trek” has had on generations of fans. Maybe it’s controversial to place one of the most recent “Trek” episodes so high on this list, but this one more than earns its spot. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: July 22, 2023

The Best of Both Worlds

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 26 & Season 4, Episode 1

This two-parter is frequently cited as the best “Next Generation” storyline of all time, mostly because it features one of the most iconic cliffhangers in all of television. The Borg attack the Federation, leading to a showdown with the Enterprise. Picard is captured and assimilated, revealing himself to his crew as Locutus of Borg. If we’re splitting Borg nano-probes, the second half doesn’t quite live up to the first, which is why, for us, it doesn’t quite rank into the Top 10. Special shoutout to this episode for setting up the incredible “Star Trek” film “First Contact.” —J.O.

Original airdate: June 18, 1990 & Sept. 24, 1990

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 19

When a Cardassian named Marritza (Harris Yulin) arrives on Deep Space Nine, Kira realizes he must have worked at one of the most notorious labor camps during Cardassia’s occupation of Bajor, and she arrests him as a war criminal. What follows is effectively a two-hander, as Kira’s interrogation of Marritza leads to a series of revelations that unmoor her hard-won fury at the atrocities inflicted upon her people. The conventional wisdom is that “DS9” didn’t get cooking until the Dominion War, but this early episode proves that this show was providing great, searing drama from the start. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: June 14, 1993

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 22

Ricardo Montalbán makes his debut as Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically superior dictator from Earth’s Eugenics Wars. Khan and his people have been in suspended animation for 200 years and are looking to dominate humanity once again. Naturally, Kirk is able to beat Khan in a riveting confrontation, but rather than send him and his people to a penal colony, he agrees to let them settle on the wild planet, Ceti Alpha V. The episode proved to be so good, it led to the 1982 film “Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan,” arguably the best “Trek” movie of all time. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 16, 1967

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 6

There’s something about time travel — and the twisty narrative paradoxes it can cause — that has engendered some of the best episodes of “Trek” ever made. That certainly includes this stunning “Voyager” episode, which opens with Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran), 15 years in the future, discovering the frozen husk of the Voyager buried inside a glacier on a barren ice planet. It turns out Kim made a critical mistake that caused the catastrophic accident, from which only he and Chakotay survived. Their unyielding fixation to right that wrong — and erase the previous 15 years from history — makes for a gripping nail-biter about regret and devotion. Not only did LeVar Burton direct, but he cameos as Capt. Geordi La Forge! —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 18, 1998

The Defector

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 10

Did a Romulan admiral really defect to the Federation, or are the Romulans perpetrating an elaborate hoax on Picard and the Enterprise crew? This wonderful episode sees the admiral in question (played by James Sloyan) claiming the Romulans are building a secret base within the Neutral Zone, forcing Picard to consider whether or not he should investigate and thus risk starting a war. It also features the excellent opening in which Picard tries to teach Data about humanity by having him act out scenes from Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 1, 1990

Chain of Command

“The Next Generation” — Season 6, Episode 10 & 11

Lured into Cardassian territory under false pretenses, Picard is captured and systematically tortured by a ruthless interrogator, Gul Madred, in a chilling performance by David Warner. Their disturbing tête-à-tête — Picard is stripped naked and nearly broken by the end — would be enough for one of the all-time best “Trek” episodes. But this two-parter also boasts Ronny Cox as Capt. Jellico, Picard’s replacement on the Enterprise, whose prickly and demanding leadership style creates all kinds of thrilling friction among the crew. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Dec. 14 & 21, 1992

In the Pale Moonlight

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 19

In this fantastic episode, Sisko grapples with the ethics of doing whatever it takes to get the Romulans to join the Dominion War on the Federation-Klingon side. This includes falsifying evidence and freeing a known criminal from Klingon prison with the help of master spy Garak (played by the always wonderful Andrew Robinson). Sisko (while recording a personal log) delivers a series of powerful monologues direct to camera about why he did what he did, ultimately deciding it was worth it in the end. —J.O.

Original airdate: April 13, 1998

The City on the Edge of Forever

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 28

Accidentally hopped up on stimulants, a crazed Bones leaps through a time portal on an alien planet and winds up changing history so drastically that the Enterprise disappears. Kirk and Spock travel back to stop him, and land in New York City during the Great Depression, where they learn that Bones saved the life of Sister Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), a pacifist whose message resonates so strongly that the U.S. stays out of WWII, allowing the Nazis to conquer Europe. Alas, Kirk falls deeply in love with Keeler, establishing a classic “Trek” moral dilemma: How does one suppress their most profound personal feelings for the greater good? An all-timer that still resonates today. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 6, 1967

Far Beyond the Stars

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 13

In this Avery Brooks-directed episode, Sisko envisions himself as a Black science fiction writer in 1950s New York named Benny Russell. Russell dreams up a story about the crew of a space station led by a Black captain, but his publisher refuses to run it. This episode is memorable for many reasons, the biggest of which being its handling of racism, but it also allows the show’s main cast gets to appear without any prosthetics or makeup, as completely different characters, to great effect. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 9, 1998

Yesterday’s Enterprise

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 15

The Enterprise-C, believed to have been destroyed over 20 years earlier, emerges from a temporal anomaly and resets history into a decades-long war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Tasha — killed off in Season 1 (after Denise Crosby wanted to leave the show) — is brought back to life, and falls for the Enterprise-C’s helmsman (Christopher McDonald), while Guinan implores Picard that something is desperately wrong with history and he must send the Enterprise-C back to certain doom. Somehow, this episode crams a movie’s worth of story into a nimble and rousing 44 minutes. Not a second is wasted. Outrageously great. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Feb. 19, 1990

The Inner Light

“The Next Generation” — Season 5, Episode 25

When the Enterprise comes upon a mysterious probe, Picard is suddenly hit with a signal that plunges him into a different man’s life on a dying planet. There, Picard experiences half a lifetime, with a wife, children and grandchildren, all in the space of 25 minutes. When Picard realizes this was all meant as a time capsule — a way to preserve the stories of the people of the planet, which was destroyed 1,000 years earlier by an exploding star — the revelation that he lived the life he’d long forsaken as a Starfleet captain, only to have it ripped away, is almost more than he can bear. But hoo boy, does it make for stunning, deeply moving television. In fact, almost no episode of “Trek” is better. Almost. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: June 1, 1992

The Visitor

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 4, Episode 2

Don’t watch this one without tissues handy. This emotionally devastating episode gets right to the heart of what made “DS9” so special — the relationship between Sisko and his son, Jake. Told in flashbacks by an elderly Jake (Tony Todd), the episode recounts how Sisko became unstuck in time, briefly revisiting Jake over the course of his life, and how Jake is determined to bring him back. In brief, fleeting moments, Sisko tells Jake not to worry about him and to live his life to the fullest. But Jake cannot bear the thought of losing his father forever, ultimately sacrificing his own life to restore the normal flow of time. —J.O.

Original airdate: Oct. 9, 1995

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The 50 best Star Trek episodes ever

What kind of fools would attempt to take over seven hundred hours of television spread out over five different series, review them and then distill them down to a list of the fifty best episodes? You're looking at them. What follows is Empire 's breakdown of the best that Star Trek has had to offer over the past half century. Engage!

Here is a list of our favourite Star Trek episodes counting down from the 50th to the number one greatest. So sit back and get comfortable (this may take a while...)

50. Q Pid ( TNG )

John de Lancie's Q is a recurring pain in the arse for the crew of the Enterprise, but no one can say he isn't any fun. This time, when Picard rejects his offer to help mend some fences with a lady friend, he transports a number of the crew to Sherwood Forest, planting them straight into a Robin Hood adventure. Standout moment? An indignant Worf proclaiming, "I am not a merry man!"

49. Lower Decks ( TNG )

As The Next Generation was winding down its television run, the writers decided to shift gears and focus on a group of junior officers, following them as they interact with the primary crew while vying for promotions. An entirely different, very welcome change of pace that proves hugely enjoyable – despite a somewhat downbeat ending.

48. Endgame ( VOY )

Cut through all the technobabble and what you're left with is an intriguing tale of an older Admiral Janeway, 10 years after Voyager's return home, deciding to go back in time to help her younger self defeat the Borg and get her crew home from the Delta Quadrant before history unfolds the same way. It's no All Good Things , but it wraps things up well and gives Kate Mulgrew a real chance to shine in dual roles.

47. Hard Time ( DS9 )

In what is a dark take on TNG 's The Inner Light , O'Brien is found guilty of espionage by an alien race that implants the memory of years of harsh imprisonment, which in reality lasted just a few hours. Much of the episode is focused on his trying to readjust to his normal life. A bravura performance by Colm Meaney who sells the trauma spectacularly.

46. In A Mirror Darkly ( ENT )

Oh, Enterprise , why did you wait so long to live up to your own potential? This episode from the final season takes place in the Mirror Universe, serving as a sequel to season three of the original series' The Tholian Web and a prequel to that show's Mirror, Mirror. Imaginative and most of all fun, it's just unfortunate that executive producer Manny Coto couldn't tie the show further into the events of the '60s series.

45. Sacrifice Of Angels ( DS9 )

War brings a price, and the price paid on Deep Space Nine is very real. The conclusion of a six-episode arc opening season six, it's all about Sisko and his people reclaiming DS9 from the Cardassian/Dominion alliance. Tremendous action, espionage and yet another example (collect them all) of the way this series the consistently the best of the entire Trek franchise.

44. Phage ( VOY )

Executive producer Brannon Braga once said that Voyager should be The X-Files of space, and this episode shows it meeting that potential. An alien race in the Delta Quadrant, suffering from an incurable disease, prolongs the life of its people by transporting vital organs out of unwilling donors and transplanting them. It's chilling as hell, yet by the end – in true Star Trek fashion – you somehow end up feeling sympathy for them.

43. Balance Of Terror ( TOS )

The Federation's (and our) first look at the Romulans in what is essentially a submarine thriller in space. Mark Lenard (who would go on to play Spock's father, Sarek) is the Romulan commander who recognises many of his own traits in Kirk, finding him a worthy adversary. The exploration of bigotry (the Romulans are an offshoot of Vulcans) underpins a piece of television that manages to conjure genuine suspense as one commander attempts to outmaneuvre the other with only one possible outcome.

42. Relics ( TNG )

James Doohan reprises his original series role of Scotty in this Next Generation episode that sees Scott being rescued from the transporter of a long-missing transport ship and having to adjust to life in the 24th Century. The focus is strongly on Doohan and Levar Burton's Geordi LaForge, and serves as an effective exploration of ageism and the fight against obsolescence. One of Doohan's finest turns as Scotty, and while it's commonplace now (even in fan films), seeing Picard walk through a recreation of the original '60s bridge on the holodeck is very cool.

41. Arena ( TOS )

An alien race forces Kirk to fight the lizard-like Gorn, theoretically to the death, but the good captain refuses to carry out the fatal blow. By showing mercy, Kirk demonstrates the superiority of humanity, impressing the aliens and showing how far his race has come. It sounds simple, but the execution (despite the now infamously bad Gorn costume) is first rate.

40. The Offspring ( TNG )

In what could unofficially be viewed as a sequel to the season two TNG episode The Measure Of A Man , Data creates an android "daughter" (Hallie Todd's Lal) and attempts to instruct her in the ways of life. Moving on a number of levels, most notably watching Lal evolve in ways Data could never hope to as he fights to keep her free of Starfleet's science division. Co-star Jonathan Frakes made his directorial debut on this episode, paving the way to his taking on 1996's First Contact .

39. Past Tense ( DS9 )

As conceived by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek was supposed to take modern social issues and examine them through the prism of the future. Embracing that philosophy, the writers of Deep Space Nine took on Los Angeles' growing homeless problem and postulated a frightening future (through DS9 's past) in which the homeless are herded into city sectors and all but abandoned there. Avery Brooks' Sisko finds himself having to step into history to make sure the time stream stays on course.

38. Datalore ( TNG )

Not everything in season one of The Next Generation felt like a retread of what had boldly gone before. Data's 'brother', an early model named Lore, shows up and Brent Spiner does a stand-up job portraying two very different versions of his character. Not dissimilar to the original's The Enemy Within .... which means that, yes, the plot is something of a retread, but in this case it's a very good retread. Okay?

37. Broken Bow ( ENT )

Enterprise comes out of the gate swinging with this two-hour premiere that efficiently sets up the series and establishes that the early stages of Starfleet were very different from what it would ultimately become. The promise of the show is nicely set up (disastrous theme song notwithstanding), but, sadly, it would seldom live unto it.

36. The Andorian Incident ( ENT )

The blue-skinned Andorians return for the first time since the original series and score in a big way. The plot – about a secret Vulcan plot against them – is interesting, but what crackles is the instant chemistry between Jeffrey Combs' (Weyoun on DS9 ) Shran and Scott Bakula's Captain Archer. It's a relationship that would serve Enterprise well for many episodes to come.

35. Little Green Men ( DS9 )

Now we know what went on in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947: A trio of Ferengi and a shapeshifter crash-landed in the desert and threw members of the US government into disarray. Deep Space Nine goes full-out comedy in what is this series' equivalent of The Trouble With Tribbles (aside from the episode that actually re-visits the Tribble episode, that is, but more on that later).

34. I, Borg ( TNG )

When a member of the Borg, eventually given the name Hugh, breaks away from the collective, it raises issues of whether or not genocide (to be accomplished by infecting Hugh and returning him into the collective) for the greater good is warranted. Seriously, when is genocide a good idea?

33. Duet ( DS9 )

A highlight of Deep Space Nine 's first Season, and essentially a two-person drama between Nana Visitor's Kira Nerys and guest star Harris Yulin as the Cardassian war criminal Marritza. Amazing back and forth moments between the actors, and riveting in the revelations that arise.

32. Time’s Arrow ( TNG )

An audacious adventure that begins with the discovery of Data's head among relics from 19th Century San Francisco and goes on to include aliens sucking the life force out of humans in the past, time travel, Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan and Mark Twain(!). It's utterly insane, but imaginative and enormous fun.

31. The Wounded ( TNG )

The Next Generation goes a bit Heart Of Darkness as Picard must stop a renegade starship captain from committing acts of war against the Cardassians, despite the fact that his military suspicions about them are true. Great tension as Picard is torn between his duty as a Starfleet officer and the grim reality of the political situation.

30. What You Leave Behind ( DS9 )

The two-hour series finale of Deep Space Nine . While far from the best series-ender ever, it's an exciting and moving close to a series that still had so much life left in it. Major arcs are brought to an end and entirely new ones are begun (and left dangling), but the most important thing is that the show left on its own terms and in its own way.

29. Unification ( TNG )

Leonard Nimoy's Spock comes to The Next Generation in what was a tie-in to 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . The plot, about Spock's political attempts to reunite the Vulcan and Romulan people, is fine, but the joy comes from watching Nimoy interacting with Patrick Stewart's Picard. It is, in a word, fascinating.

28. Home Front/Paradise Lost ( DS9 )

Paranoia about changeling infiltration provides Admiral Leyton with an excuse to manipulate the militarisation of Starfleet against its enemy. It's up to Sisko and O'Brien to reveal the truth and preserve everything the Federation stands for. Not a million miles away from the plot of 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness , only better.

27. For The Uniform ( DS9 )

Once again the writers and Avery Brooks prove that Sisko is unlike any other Starfleet captain, as a tense game of galactic cat-and-mouse plays out between him and his former head of security Michael Eddington, who revealed himself to be a traitor and member of the rebel organisation the Maquis.

26. Future Imperfect ( TNG )

Jonathan Frakes gets to shine as Riker when he awakens sixteen years in the future in what are very different circumstances. Initially trying to adjust to this new life, inconsistencies lead him to try and discover the truth. As it turns out, nothing is as it seems. Certain elements play like an homage to Star Trek 's first pilot, The Cage .

25. Year Of Hell ( VOY )

A glimpse into what Voyager could (and should) have been: a gritty two-part adventure that follows the starship over the course of a year where it's constantly fighting for survival, and barely being held together. Disappointingly, It all gets reset at the end, but it's an incredibly dark journey and features a delightfully villainous Kurtwood Smith as Annorax.

24. This Side Of Paradise ( TOS )

Spock is able to reveal the depths of his emotion thanks to alien spores that have affected most of the crew, who are enjoying life on an idyllic planet. This also serves as a rare love story for Spock, and his final moment, once he's been restored to his logical self, is heartbreaking.

23. Our Man Bashir ( DS9 )

The name's Bashir. Julian Bashir. This homage to early Bond films sees the station's doctor in the role of a suave super spy, playing out a spy story in the form of a holosuite adventure (with very real consequences). The cast clearly had a whale of a time throughout, and with good reason.

22. Way of the Warrior ( DS9 )

For anyone who may not be enamoured with the early episodes of Deep Space Nine , this one should be your starting point. It's where the show becomes far more serialsed, tensions increase between the Federation and the Klingon Empire (paving the road towards the Dominion War), Michael Dorn joins the show as TNG 's Worf and Avery Brooks comes to life like never before as Sisko after he shaves his head and grows a goatee.

21. Space Seed ( TOS )

There's not much that needs to be said about this one beyond the fact that it marked Ricardo Montalban's debut as 20th Century genetic superman Khan Noonien Singh, and ultimately planted the seeds for what would, fifteen years later, become The Wrath Of Khan . The scenes between Montalban and Shatner (outside of a dopily resolved fist fight) are gold.

20. Q Who ( TNG )

From the imagination of executive producer Maurice Hurley came this Season Two episode that had John de Lancie's Q propel the Enterprise to the Delta quadrant where they encounter the Borg for the first time. One of the few episodes of TNG to reveal space to be a genuinely scary place.

19. Brothers ( TNG )

Brent Spiner does triple duty as Data, his brother Lore and their "father," Dr. Soong. The story itself — an attempt by Soong to provide Data with an emotion chip that Lore ultimately steals — is not half as memorable as the actor's three distinct performances.

18. Trials And Tribble-ations ( DS9 )

Now this was the way to celebrate Star Trek 's 30th Anniversary as the producers of Deep Space Nine crafted a story that took Sisko, Dax, Bashir and O'Brien and dropped them right in the middle of the original series' "The Trouble With Tribbles." Great fun and top-notch effects work that allowed this crew to interact with that one.

17. The Measure Of A Man ( TNG )

The first real evidence that The Next Generation was establishing its own identity as a series came in this Season Two episode. Picard defends Data's right to self-determination against a scientist who desires to dismantle him to create a number of similar androids. An insightful script by Melinda Snodgrass, and a standout performance by Brent Spiner as Data.

16. Chain Of Command ( TNG )

In this instalment of Keeping Up With The Cardassians, Picard is made a prisoner of war during a covert operation against the alien race. He's ultimately tortured by David Warner's Gul Madred, and the psychological machinations that follow provide some of TNG 's most powerful moments, and arguably Stewart's best performance in the role. "There are FOUR LIGHTS!"

15. The Enemy Within ( TOS )

Yes, you have to look beyond some stereotypical Shatnerisms, but overall William Shatner is stunning to watch in this episode as Kirk is, as a result of a transporter malfunction, split into good and evil duplicates of himself. A psychological study of the requirements for an effective starship captain. Written by Twilight Zone scribe Richard Matheson .

14. Scorpion ( VOY )

Often referred to by fans as 'The Breast Of Both Worlds', this two-parter introduces Jeri Ryan as Borg crew member Seven Of Nine, though her sprayed-on silver uniform wouldn't make an appearance straight away. Despite being a transparent attempt to 'sex up' the show, it was a tremendous introduction for the character and, more importantly, gave Voyager a much-needed kick up the arse in terms of both drama and conflict.

13. In The Pale Moonlight ( DS9 )

Starship captains have a tendency to bend the tenets of the Federation (we're talking to you, James T.!), but in this one Sisko pretty much snaps them in half as he manipulates the Romulans into joining the Federation in war against the Dominion. A powerful personal dilemma with no easy solutions.

12. Mirror, Mirror ( TOS )

Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura find themselves in a parallel, more savage universe where the Federation is the Empire and is essentially feared like the Klingons. Be sure to check out alternate Spock, who wears the goatee of evil.

11. All Good Things ( TNG )

The series finale of The Next Generation bookends its premiere, Encounter At Farpoint , as Q (John de Lancie) continues humanity's trial. Taking place in three time periods (the pilot, the present and the future), its scope is epic, its themes powerful and it's all so well executed that it probably should have been TNG 's first feature film.

READ MORE Trek: 10 Unfilmed Episodes

READ MORE: Star Trek: Why It Still Matters?

10. The Inner Light ( TNG )

To ensure that memory of a civilisation survives its passing, a probe affects Picard's mind to make him live an entire lifetime among its people, while only minutes pass on the Enterprise itself. In three quarters of an hour, Patrick Stewart somehow makes you really believe in the love and loss of a life well lived – all in the blink of an eye.

9. The Doomsday Machine ( TOS )

A tense thriller that serves as a contrast in command between Kirk and Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom). After losing the crew of his ship, the Constellation, to a galaxy-roaming doomsday device, Decker is so driven by vengeance that he could very well sacrifice the Enterprise in its pursuit.

8. The Trouble With Tribbles ( TOS )

For the first time, Star Trek proved that it could be funny without losing any of its integrity. Purring furballs, Klingons, bar fights and great comic bits for Shatner to play all combine to make up a true classic. Remember: don't feed them!

7. The Visitor ( DS9 )

Jake Sisko grows up to be Tony Todd in this tale of Jake attempting to cope with the seeming death of his father, while being filled with the lingering hope that he may somehow be able to set things right. A stirring study of a father/son relationship and the weight of a guilt that spans decades.

6. Darmok ( TNG )

Quite possibly the perfect embodiment of the Star Trek philosophy. Two races, represented by Picard and the Tamarian's Dathon (whose people only speak in metaphors and cultural references), must bridge a language gap to establish relations between their people in what becomes a life and death struggle. Paul Winfield ( The Wrath of Khan ) guest stars as Dathon.

5. The Best of Both Worlds ( TNG )

After floundering for a couple of seasons, The Next Generation came into its own with the arrival of exec producer Michael Piller and this tale of the Enterprise's battle with the Borg, which features Picard's transformation into Locutus. From this moment on, resistance to TNG was futile.

4. Far Beyond The Stars ( DS9 )

Emotionally fragile, Sisko abruptly finds himself as science-fiction writer Benny Russell in 1950s New York. A tour de force performance by star/director Avery Brooks as Benny deals with the racism of the time. We're given the suggestion that the events of DS9 (and therefore the entire Star Trek universe) has sprung from his imagination. Added bonus: seeing much of the cast out of makeup.

3. Yesterday's Enterprise ( TNG )

The Federation is getting its arse soundly kicked by the Klingons in this time-altered universe, and Picard must figure out what to do with the Enterprise-C, a ship out of time whose arrival seems to have changed the course of galactic history. This (alongside Chain Of Command ) is about as gritty as TNG ever got and is hugely enjoyable as a result.

2. The Devil In The Dark ( TOS )

It looks like a shag carpet and has a vicious streak a mile wide, but it's actually a mother protecting its young from Federation miners. An episode that perfectly encapsulates the Trek philosophy of overcoming our differences and the personal favourite of Shatner, whose father died during filming.

1. The City On The Edge Of Forever ( TOS )

Starship captain meets social worker in the past. Starship captain falls in love with social worker. Starship captain sacrifices social worker for the sake of the universe. Social worker happens to be played by Joan Collins. Writer Harlan Ellison hates it, everyone else loves it. Star Trek at its absolute best.

Head to Empire's 10 Essential Star Trek Articles

READ MORE: Star Trek Beyond Review

READ MORE: Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan Review

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‘star trek’: 20 greatest episodes from the original series.

Whether you’re a long-time fan or looking for a starting point, let this top 20 episodes list from the original series of ‘Star Trek’ be your guide to the stars.

By Aaron Couch , Graeme McMillan September 20, 2016 6:00am

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In honor of Star Trek 's 50th anniversary this month, The Hollywood Reporter counted down the top 100 episodes of Star Trek — ranking them across all six TV series with help from the stars and writers who made them so beloved.

Now we're going to break it down even further — this time organizing the episodes by era. Every day through Friday, we'll be releasing a new list specific to each series, with the order is based on our original list of 100. 

Here, we look at the best of the original series, which ran from 1966-69 saw Gene Roddenberry's vision brought to life by actors William Shatner (Spock), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Bones), Nichelle Nichols ( Uhura ), Walter Koenig ( Chekov ), George Takei ( Sulu ), and James Doohan (Scotty).

Below you'll find Shatner and Koenig reveal their favorite episodes, as well as hear from  Star Trek Beyond director Justin Lin, two iconic Trek writers and many more. 

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"We had bee spending too much money by the network's reckoning, so we had less to spend on this particular episode," recalls Walter Koenig of the hour, which saw an away team forced to battle in an Old West-style gunfight. "It gave my character some interesting work. He got the girl, he died and came back to life. I loved the whole concept." 

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"the galileo seven".

Not only does this episode give us the first appearance of a shuttlecraft in Trek lore, it introduces a version of the concept that would become key to the franchise decades later — that there is a push and pull between the needs of the many and the needs of the few. The Enterprise is on a mission to deliver relief supplies to a colony. Meanwhile, seven  crewmembers  — including Spock and Bones — crash land on a hostile planet, and Kirk must grapple with holding out hope for them and delivering the relief supplies. 

"A Taste of Armageddon"

"This was the first Original Series episode I ever saw and it still blows my mind," says Jordan Hoffman, U.S. Film Critic for The Guardian and host of ENGAGE: The Official Star Trek Podcast . "Kirk is escorting a diplomat to a system of planets that have been in conflict for centuries. However, to protect their society’s infrastructure and maintain their culture, they don’t fight with weapons. Computers determine where phantom missiles hit and if your number comes up, you are ordered into a disintegration chamber. It is up to the Enterprise to intervene (which they totally aren’t supposed to do) and stop this insanity. It’s a rich concept with thrills, action, great speeches and even some humor. (Indeed, Spock takes the time to make a solid joke before sending someone crumpled to the floor with his Vulcan nerve pinch.)"

"The Doomsday Machine"

If Star Trek had shown Starfleet at its best until now, audiences got to see the flipside in this episode, in which Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom ) turns into an outer space Ahab chasing the cosmic Moby Dick of the episode's title: a "planet killer" that had nearly destroyed his own ship and killed everyone on board except for him. For an episode with such stakes, it's a surprisingly subtle story: While we should be worried about whether the planet killer can be stopped, the real tension comes from watching Decker struggle to deal with his trauma. 

"The Corbomite Maneuver"

The first episode to be filmed after the two different pilots for the series, " Corbomite " manages to sum up everything that makes the original series so special, with a tense yet optimistic take on the idea of first contact between the Enterprise and an alien race that shows how fearless, compassionate and sneaky Captain James T. Kirk can be when pressed, and a Twilight Zone -esque last-second twist. As if that wasn't enough to make this episode worthwhile, it features the first times that DeForest Kelley and Nichelle Nichols played McCoy and Uhura — although by the time the episode aired, they were well-established characters to the loyal audience.

"Journey to Babel"

"I've always loved 'Journey to Babel,' by Dorothy Fontana," says writer David Gerrold when asked about his favorite Star Trek episode. "Because it reveals so much about Spock, and his past, and his parents." That's putting it mildly; before this episode, it's unlikely that anyone would have given much thought about the parents of any of the crew, but the introduction of Spock's estranged parents — one of whom was human, the other suspected of murdering a fellow diplomat on board the Enterprise — changed the way audiences looked at the characters forever: suddenly, they were more than just their jobs, and had inner lives and struggles that everyone could relate to. And all because the most alien of all of the crew had proven himself to be just as human as the rest of us.

"All Our Yesterdays"

While the final episode of the original series — "Turnabout Intruder" — is generally considered to be a low point for the show, the second last episode throws Spock, McCoy and Kirk back in time and puts them all out of their comfort zones as a result, with McCoy having to be the practical one, Spock becoming overwhelmed by emotions and Kirk on his own against the authorities. Yes, the title sounds like a soap opera (It's actually from Shakespeare, specifically Macbeth ), but this is a particularly strong Star Trek episode through and through. 

"The Enterprise Incident"

Justin Lin, who directed this summer's Star Trek Beyond , picks this tale of intrigue as his favorite. 

"A good old-fashioned spy thriller set in the Neutral Zone. What’s not to love?" Lin asks. "We get to see my favorite version of Kirk: the tactician. His ruse is brilliant and daring, but it’s Spock who steals the show in his interaction with the female Romulan commander. We see him in rare form, opening up his human and—dare I say—sexual side. Of course, Kirk’s ploy succeeds and the cloaking device is stolen, but Spock derides the fleeting nature of such military victories and says to the female commander something emblematic of everything great about Star Trek : 'I hope that you and I have exchanged something more permanent.' "

The episode was loosely inspired by a real-life incident where the USS Pueblo was attacked by North Korean forces after being accused of sailing into its territory in January 1968.

"The Menagerie"

Mr. Spock commits mutiny on the Enterprise in order to get Christopher Pike, his former commander, back to the forbiden planet  Talos IV.  We eventually learn that years earlier, Pike and Spock visited the planet, where Pike was horribly mutated — and Spock is trying to get his former commander there to be healed. 

"It is a story of Spock’s loyalty to his former commander as well as to Captain Kirk and of Spock’s bravery as he risks his own career and reputation," recalls Adam  Nimoy , son of Leonard  Nimoy  ad director of For The Love of Spock , which hits theaters Sept. 9. "Although he refuses to admit to it, Spock sets aside logic to do the right thing, and I just loved it."

How Nearly Refusing 'Star Trek III' Reinvigorated Leonard Nimoy's Career

"amok time".

For fans who'd spent the show's first year swooning over Leonard Nimoy's pointy-eared alter-ego, second season opener "Amok Time" was everything they could've hoped for and more: Not only did they get to go back to Spock's home planet, they also got to see two things they'd dreamt of but never expected: Spock in the throes of passion — apparently, Vulcans are very like dogs in heat every seven years — and Spock fighting Kirk to the death … or, at least, that's what it seemed like at the time. Written by noted sci-fi author Theodore Sturgeon, this episode showed that Trek 's second year would be, if anything, even bolder than its first.

"The Devil In The Dark"

"The Horta has a funny story," says original series story editor D.C. Fontana of the episode's alien. " Stuntman , actor, creature creator Janos Prohaska  did creature work for us. [Writer] Gene Coon, Gene Roddenberry and I were in the office and Janos came in and said, 'Come outside, I want to show you guys something.' So we went outside, and here's this a lump of what looked like foamy bubbles. He said, 'Just watch,' and laid a rubber chicken out on the street, and crawls into this rubber bubble suit and crawls towards the rubber chicken and the chicken disappears and a trail of bones comes out the back. Roddenberry , Coon and I were laughing our heads off, and Gene Coon said, 'I've got to do something with that.' "

That something turned out to be the Horta , an alien threat who isn't so sinister after all. 

"You think it's a monster killing the miners, and you find out it's a mother protecting its young!" says Fontana. "That was the first time we did the Vulcan mind meld, and that turned out well, but we also found that this alien isn't what you think it is. There's a human aspect that we can understand and begin to work with this thing."

"The Naked Time"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M58aP5DtNqY]

A swashbuckling (and shirtless) Sulu is perhaps the single most enduring image from the original series, with the officer infected with a virus provoking him to act out his inner most desires. George  Takei  had just three weeks of "frantic fencing lessons" to prepare for his scenes, he recalled in his 1994 autobiography, To The Stars . Days before shooting, director Marc Daniels dropped another surprise: he would be performing the scenes shirtless. "Straightaway, I got down horizontally on the floor, put my feet on the couch, and began pumping out push-ups to build up a photogenic chest," Takei  recalled in his book.

"Where No Man Has Gone Before"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT4fm0f2lZY]

After the first Star Trek pilot failed to catch fire, Roddenberry enlisted Gary Lockwood, who was about to shoot  2001: A Space Odyssey  and had worked with the Star Trek creator on  The Lieutenant. Trek producers believed Lockwood's involvement could help seal the deal — and they also brought on a new captain (Kirk) as well as Mr. Scott and  Sulu . In the story, Kirk must grapple with the value of human life after an old friend and shipmate Gary Mitchell (Lockwood) gains dangerous (and growing) power from the edge of the galaxy. 

"The pilot sells, and 20 years later Roddenberry said to me that Gary Mitchell was the character that got Star Trek on television," says Lockwood. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SK0cUNMnMM]

On the surface, it's an episode about Kirk fighting a giant lizard man, but it's about so much more. Namely: humanity, ingenuity and ultimately, mercy. After being forced to fight to the death, Kirk spares the life of the  Gorn . Those impressive Gorn sounds were courtesy of Ted Cassidy, best known as Lurch on another ' 60s classic,  The Addams Family . The image of Kirk fighting the Gorn is so indelible that even if you don't know the alien's species, you know his green skin.

"The Trouble With Tribbles"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2T1QX7BEyg]

Writer David Gerrold credits his interest in ecology with the origins of this classic episode. "I'd heard about rabbits getting out of control in Australia," he remembers, " and I thought, this is a very weird, very funny effect of introducing an invasive species into an environment without an appropriate predator. So, I was thinking for Star Trek , not all the aliens we meet are going to be scary or ugly — some of them are going to be cute and friendly and we're not going to recognize what kind of danger they are until it's too late." The teleplay was Gerrold's first professional credit, and he worked hard to make it the best that he could. "I had studied the Star Trek structure very carefully and put every scene on a 3 by 5 card until each scene demanded that the next scene followed," he says. "As funny as the script turned out, I was proudest of the structure of the episode. You could take all the jokes out, and it would still work as an adventure."

"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STQNi7ArRl8]

It's understandably challenging for William Shatner to pin down a favorite episode among all the greats, but when pressed, he chooses this one. The hour sees guest star Frank Gorshin play an alien, whose face is half black and half white and who hates those of his species with the colors reversed. 

"That beautiful concept, without shaking a finger, illustrated the ridiculousness of race hatred, and it was very entertaining as well. The magnificence of the idea is obvious," says Shatner . The actor says part of the brilliance of Trek is its ability to entertain without preaching.

"We use to say, 'You send a message by telegram. Make [your show] entertaining," says Shatner . "But when you can combine both, like that idea, it becomes both dramatic and obvious. And you become aware. Those were the best of the Star Trek episodes."

"Mirror, Mirror"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oOqQ38XLv8]If Star Trek gave anything to the world, it's the idea that evil versions of characters have goatees, an idea ironically put forward by the Spock of the Mirror Universe — who isn't actually evil , per se. That's a good thing, because if he had been, it's possible that Kirk, Bones, Scotty and Uhura might have been trapped in the morally-flipped alternate timeline for good, having to deal with the stomach-bearing outfits for women, the workplace harassment nightmare that is the Agonizer and George Takei's wonderfully over-the-top Evil Sulu for the rest of their fictional lives. A fun look at the roads not taken (including a more military-focused Starfleet), this episode would go on to inspire sequels in both Deep Space Nine and Enterprise . 

"Space Seed"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_c1Odol9xw]

No Star Trek episode has paid off quite like this one. Ricardo Montaban's single appearance on the original series as the 1990s  warlord Khan Noonien Singh set the stage for the undisputed greatest  Star Trek film ever, The Wrath of Khan , set 15 years after Kirk and the Enterprise stumbled upon the Botany Bay. "Space Seed" sees Kirk fight his intellectual and physical superior — and win despite the long odds. Nothing is more Kirk than that. 

"Balance of Terror"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGn948_PXTU]

The acclaimed episode was inspired by submarine warfare and introduces the Romulans , with whom the Enterprise engages in a claustrophobic game of cat and mouse. The episode tackles themes such as the futility of war and xenophobia, with Mr. Spock facing discrimination from his own crew when it is revealed that Romulans and Vulcans not only look similar, but also share a common heritage. 

"City on the Edge of Forever"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFqD7s-A6VU]

Never mind the behind-the-scenes controversy. Credited writer Harlan Ellison was heavily rewritten by  Roddenberry , D.C. Fontana and others before the episode was shot, and decades later sued CBS for a share of profits from the episode. Just enjoy one of the true classic hours of science fiction TV as a dazed and confused McCoy travels back in time and accidentally rewrites history, forcing Kirk and Spock to follow and learn firsthand how hard it is to do the right thing for the greater good.

"I knew this episode was going to be special, not because I’m prescient, but because a couple of months earlier, I had interviewed series creator Gene  Roddenberry  for the  Daily Sundial , the campus newspaper at San Fernando Valley State College," recalls journalist Fred Bronson, who would go on to form a friendship  Roddenberry . "Aside from telling me that the purpose of television was to sell toothpaste,  Roddenberry  talked about an episode that had been recently filmed that he said was good enough to be a motion picture — and long enough as well, as they had to delete a lot of footage in order to make it fit the hour-long slot."

For fans of unexpected celebrity appearances, the love interest in this episode? None other than Joan Collins

"The best episodes of Star Trek (or any series) were always the ones where you absolutely believed everything that was happening was real and that you were not being manipulated by the writer," says Bronson. " 'The City on the Edge of Forever' felt authentic from the opening scene on the bridge of the Enterprise to the heartbreaking ending, when Capt . Kirk must allow the love of his life, social worker Edith Keeler , to die in a traffic accident. For years, I couldn’t watch reruns of that final scene without bursting into tears. From Spock’s declaration that trying to create a mnemonic circuit in the America of the 1930s was working with 'equipment…hardly very far ahead of stone knives and bear claws' to Kirk’s explanation to a police officer that Spock’s ears were the result of a childhood accident involving a 'mechanical rice-picker,' the dialogue of this classic episode is etched in my brain as the story that will live forever as Star Trek ’s finest hour."

'Star Trek' Oral History: When Captain Kirk Fought Jesus

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The best Star Trek episodes every Trekkie should watch

Boldly go where... we've gone before with the best Star Trek episodes of all time

On March 11, 1964, Gene Roddenberry wrote “Star Trek is…” onto a blank piece of paper. Fifty years plus later, the fan-favourite show continues to intrigue and innovative audiences the world over, and now with the excellent Star Trek Discovery reigniting our love for the sci-fi series, never have our expectations been higher… nor our craving for all things Trek greater.

With Discovery returning to our screens this week after it's mid-season break, I've ranked my favourite 23 episodes. Sure, some tough decisions had to be made (and of course, there have been some absolute stinkers that had no chance of making the shortlist!), but given the rich plots and stories from across fifty years of television, there's certainly plenty to choose from. No doubt there will be lots of 'discussion' about which episodes did and didn't make it in, so let me know your favourites in the comments below.

23. Family (The Next Generation)

Family is a defiantly low-key, but quietly radical, Star Trek story. Set in the aftermath of The Best of Both Worlds - which saw Picard forcibly transformed into one of the Borg - our favourite Earl Grey-loving captain returns to his ancestral home and comes to blows with his surly brother. Boring? Not a bit of it. This is Trek as a character drama, and an intelligent one at that. It's lack of plot only serves to emphasize how attached we have become to Jean Luc over the last few years, and how traumatised he has been by his recent fight.

22. Broken Bow (Enterprise)

Enterprise struggled to find its identity over the years. It had some great episodes and a lot of confused fluff, but there's no denying the confidence and strut of its pilot. Broken Bow sees the launching of the first Warp 5 spaceship and the Enterprise NX-01, and therefore the true beginnings of Starfleet. Captain Archer and his crew must take an injured Klingon back to Kronos, but get drawn into a mysterious time war that would go on to become an essential (if poorly wrapped-up) element of the series.

21. This Side of Paradise (Star Trek)

Lampooned in the years that followed, this is the famous "hippy" episode, where Spock comes under the influence of some local spores and falls in love with lovely Leila. Here's the thing, though; there's loads more to this episode than just the sight of Leonard Nimoy playing a very different sort of Spock and a drug metaphor. The love story is sensitively handled, and it's conclusion very affecting. There's some great dialogue (McCoy bellowing "Hiya, Jimmy boy! I've taken care of everything. All y'all gotta do is relax!" is a treat) and writer DC Fontana hones in on Spock's loneliness when he returns to "normal". And what could be more perfectly '60s than Star Trek meeting flower power?

20. Caretaker (Voyager)

It's safe to say that Voyager doesn't have the best rep among fans. New Star Trek had become such a part of the TV furniture by then that the shock of the new had worn off, and the franchise was badly in need of new ideas. That's not to say that there weren't good episodes, however, including the excellent pilot. Caretaker quickly sets up an intriguing status quo where Starfleet loyalists and a faction of rebel colonists called The Maquis are forced to work together when they find themselves trapped on the other side of the galaxy. Kate Mulgrew impresses as Captain Janeway, and the ship's medical hologram, played by Robert Picardo, is hilarious.

19. Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (Discovery)

Harry Mudd returns in this celebrated episode, using a crystal to lock the USS Discovery crew in time as they slip on their party clothes to unwind a little. In his efforts to keep the crew occupied as he explores the starship, looking for secrets and details to sell to the Klingons, Mudd's time crystal dooms the crew to die over and over, until Stamets - who exists outside of the loop - can convince Burnham of Mudd's plans and put a stop to them. It's a perfect, self-contained episode that explores not just time loops, but broader themes of love, loss, and greed. It also forever locks The Bee Gees as Trek canon. 

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18. Year of Hell, parts 1 & 2 (Voyager)

This one lives up to its name. This season four two-parter focusses on the Voyager as it is caught up in a running battle with the Krenim race. Over the course of months we begin to see the ship worn down, and its crew put through a string of disasters. It's almost - almost - Voyager's equivalent of The Best of Both Worlds with its dark tone and high consequences. Alas, it hits the reset button at the end of the story.

17. Space Seed (Star Trek)

Khaaaaaan! What more is there to say? This is the episode that introduced Roberto Montalban's devilish genetic superman, the man who would prove to be Kirk and company's greatest foe in the second Trek movie. It's more than just a dry run for that movie, though; there's a real sense of the crew being thoroughly tested by their new enemy. Although the episode ends with Kirk giving Khan a second chance, as we later discover, the world of Ceti Alpha V proves to be rather harsher than anticipated. That will come back to bite you, Kirk...

16. Arena (Star Trek)

AKA the one where Kirk is forced to wrestle a lizard. Arena is a truly iconic episode, homaged on Wayne's World and even JJ Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot. Vasquez Rocks in California are a stunning backdrop, a world away from the show's studio sets, and the Gorn captain is a fantastic adversary. What really makes it classic Trek however is the resolution, which relies on compassion and mercy, rather than brute force.

15. All Good Things... (The Next Generation)

Wrapping up a series as beloved as The Next Generation is a seriously tall order, but All Good Things... manages it with aplomb. It cleverly ties back to the very first episode, with John de Lancie's Q presenting the crew with another puzzle to solve, this time one that takes place in multiple time zones. The episode has an appropriate sense of closure, but with the movie series ahead of the Next Gen crew, this wasn't so much a goodbye as as a graduation.

14. The Vulcan Hello (Discovery)

The first series not to pivot the story around the captain, all eyes were on newbie Discovery and its opening episode, and it did not disappoint. Occurring a decade before the events of the original series, The Vulcan Hello introduced us to First Officer Michael Burnham - a human raised in a Vulcan world - and the Federation-Klingon Cold War. It showed us that Burnham's upbringing had afforded her with an unique insight... and she was not against bending the rules and going against orders for the greater good. It was beautifully followed up by its sequel, Battle at the Binary Stars.

13. Battle at the Binary Stars (Discovery)

Part two of Discovery's premiere, Battle at the Binary Stars, marks the first time the Federation and Klingons engaged each other in war (which was on stardate 1207.3, fact fans). Though the two powers had skirted around each other before, this was the first time there was open hostility, something Burnham was trying to avoid when she overpowered Georgiou in an attempt to open fire, unprovoked, on the Klingon vessel. It's a key event in the timeline of Star Trek, and adds great context to the Federation's on-going issues with Klingons that are still yet to come...

12. Trials And Tribble-ations (Deep Space Nine)

Designed to celebrate Star Trek's 30 anniversary, this glorious episode steps away from Deep Space Nine's traditional gloom and doom by flinging the cast back in time and into the original series episode The Trouble With Tribbles. The modern day cast appear to interact with the original icons in a hilarious, nostalgic, and brilliantly realised tribute to the show's origins.

11. Where No Man Has Gone Before (Star Trek)

Okay, so it's technically not the real pilot (that's actually The Cage which was rejected by NBC), but it marks Kirk's first appearance, and therefore the start of Star Trek as we know it. The Enterprise encounters the SS Valiant, a starship lost 200 years previously. Kirk's friend Gary Mitchell and the ship's psychiatrist, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, are rendered unconscious as they fly through a magnetic storm. But when they awake, begin to demonstrate peculiar psychic powers. It looks a bit ropier than the main show and not all of the regular cast are in place yet, but it does show just how much of Star Trek was in place right from the start.

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Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.

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BEST STAR TREK EPISODES (The Original Series)

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Balance of Terror (1966)

TV-PG | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

The Enterprise must decide on its response when a Romulan ship makes a destructively hostile armed probe of Federation territory.

Director: Vincent McEveety | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Mark Lenard , Paul Comi

Votes: 5,700

2. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Doomsday Machine (1967)

The USS Enterprise encounters the wrecked USS Constellation and its distraught commodore who's determined to stop the giant planet-destroying robot ship that killed his crew.

Director: Marc Daniels | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , William Windom

Votes: 4,502

3. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Immunity Syndrome (1968)

The Enterprise encounters a gigantic energy draining space organism that threatens the galaxy.

Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan

Votes: 3,295

4. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Corbomite Maneuver (1966)

After the Enterprise is forced to destroy a dangerous marker buoy, a gigantic alien ship arrives to capture and condemn the crew as trespassers.

Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Anthony D. Call , Clint Howard

Votes: 4,884

5. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Devil in the Dark (1967)

The Enterprise is sent to a mining colony that is being terrorized by a mysterious monster, only to find that the situation is not that simple.

Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Ken Lynch

Votes: 4,300

6. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Changeling (1967)

A powerful artificially intelligent Earth probe, with a murderously twisted imperative, comes aboard the Enterprise and mistakes Capt. Kirk for its creator.

Director: Marc Daniels | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan

Votes: 3,666

7. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Ultimate Computer (1968)

Kirk and a sub-skeleton crew are ordered to test out an advanced artificially intelligent control system - the M-5 Multitronic system, which could potentially render them all redundant.

Director: John Meredyth Lucas | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , William Marshall

Votes: 3,479

8. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Spectre of the Gun (1968)

TV-PG | 51 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

As punishment for ignoring their warning and trespassing on their planet, the Melkot condemn Capt. Kirk and his landing party to the losing side of a surreal recreation of the 1881 historic gunfight at the OK Corral.

Director: Vincent McEveety | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Ron Soble

Votes: 3,376

9. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Metamorphosis (1967)

While returning to the Enterprise aboard the shuttlecraft, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a seriously ill Federation diplomat find themselves kidnapped by an energized cloud.

Director: Ralph Senensky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Glenn Corbett

Votes: 3,625

10. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Tholian Web (1968)

With Capt. Kirk and the derelict USS Defiant apparently lost, the Enterprise grapples with an insanity causing plague and an attack by the Tholians.

Directors: Herb Wallerstein , Ralph Senensky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan

Votes: 3,425

11. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The City on the Edge of Forever (1967)

When a temporarily insane Dr. McCoy accidentally changes history and destroys his time, Kirk and Spock follow him to prevent the disaster, but the price to do so is high.

Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Joan Collins , DeForest Kelley

Votes: 6,578

12. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Mirror, Mirror (1967)

A transporter accident places Captain Kirk's landing party in an alternate universe, where the Enterprise is in the service of a barbarically brutal empire.

Director: Marc Daniels | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , BarBara Luna

Votes: 5,142

13. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Enemy Within (1966)

A transporter malfunction splits Captain Kirk into two halves: one meek and indecisive, the other violent and ill tempered. The remaining crew members stranded on the planet cannot be beamed up to the ship until a problem is fixed.

Director: Leo Penn | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Grace Lee Whitney

Votes: 4,923

14. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Galileo Seven (1967)

The Galileo, under Spock's command, crash-lands on a hostile planet. As the Enterprise races against time to find the shuttlecraft, Spock's strictly logical leadership clashes with the fear and resentment of his crew.

Director: Robert Gist | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Don Marshall , DeForest Kelley

Votes: 4,240

15. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Return to Tomorrow (1968)

The Enterprise is guided to a distant, long-dead world where survivors of an extremely ancient race - existing only as disembodied energy - desiring the bodies of Kirk, Spock and astro-biologist Ann Mulhall so that they may live again.

Director: Ralph Senensky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Diana Muldaur

Votes: 3,309

16. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Assignment: Earth (1968)

While back in time observing Earth in 1968, the Enterprise crew encounters the mysterious Gary Seven who has his own agenda on the planet.

Director: Marc Daniels | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Robert Lansing

Votes: 3,703

17. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: All Our Yesterdays (1969)

When Kirk, Spock and McCoy investigate the disappearance of a doomed planet's population, they find themselves trapped in different periods of that world's past.

Director: Marvin J. Chomsky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Mariette Hartley

Votes: 3,395

18. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: A Taste of Armageddon (1967)

Kirk and Spock must save their ship's crew when they are all declared killed in action in a bizarre computer simulated war where the actual deaths must nevertheless occur.

Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , David Opatoshu , Gene Lyons

Votes: 4,195

19. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: By Any Other Name (1968)

Galactic alien scouts capture the Enterprise for a return voyage and a prelude to invasion. Kirk's one advantage - they're not used to their adopted human form.

Director: Marc Daniels | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Warren Stevens

Votes: 3,389

20. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Obsession (1967)

Capt. Kirk obsessively hunts for a mysterious cloud creature he encountered in his youth.

Director: Ralph Senensky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Stephen Brooks

Votes: 3,288

21. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (1968)

The Enterprise discovers an apparent asteroid that is on a collision course with a planet is actually an ancient populated generation ship.

Director: Anton Leader | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Katherine Woodville

Votes: 3,122

22. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Day of the Dove (1968)

Both humans and Klingons have been lured to a planet by a formless entity that feeds on hatred and has set about to fashion them into a permanent food supply for itself.

Director: Marvin J. Chomsky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Michael Ansara

Votes: 3,367

23. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Menagerie: Part I (1966)

Spock kidnaps the disabled Capt. Pike, hijacks the Enterprise, and then surrenders for court martial.

Directors: Marc Daniels , Robert Butler | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Jeffrey Hunter , Susan Oliver

Votes: 4,863

24. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Menagerie: Part II (1966)

At Spock's court martial, he explains himself with mysterious footage about when Capt. Pike was kidnapped by powerful illusion casting aliens.

Directors: Robert Butler , Marc Daniels | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Jeffrey Hunter , Susan Oliver

Votes: 4,659

25. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Wink of an Eye (1968)

A group of aliens who exist in a state of incredible acceleration invade the Enterprise and abduct Capt. Kirk.

Director: Jud Taylor | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Kathie Browne

Votes: 3,161

26. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967)

To protect a space station with a vital grain shipment, Kirk must deal with Federation bureaucrats, a Klingon battle cruiser and a peddler who sells furry, purring, hungry little creatures as pets.

Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , William Schallert

Votes: 4,932

27. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Return of the Archons (1967)

Seeking the answer to a century-old mystery, Kirk and crew encounter a vacantly peaceful society under a 6000-year autocratic rule that kills all those it can't absorb.

Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Harry Townes , Torin Thatcher

Votes: 3,868

28. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Operation -- Annihilate! (1967)

The Enterprise crew attempts to stop a plague of amoeba-like creatures from possessing human hosts and spreading throughout the galaxy.

Director: Herschel Daugherty | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan

Votes: 3,688

29. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: What Are Little Girls Made Of? (1966)

Nurse Chapel is reunited with her fiancé; but his new obsession leads him to make an android duplicate of Captain Kirk.

Director: James Goldstone | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Michael Strong , Sherry Jackson

Votes: 4,644

30. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Arena (1967)

For bringing hostility into their solar system, a superior alien race brings Captain Kirk into mortal combat against the reptilian captain of an alien ship he was pursuing.

Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , George Takei

Votes: 4,512

31. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Errand of Mercy (1967)

With a war with Klingons raging, Kirk and Spock attempt to resist an occupation of a planet with incomprehensibly placid natives.

Director: John Newland | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , John Abbott , John Colicos

Votes: 4,052

32. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Bread and Circuses (1968)

The Enterprise crew investigates the disappearance of a ship's crew on a planet that is a modern version of the Roman Empire.

Director: Ralph Senensky | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , William Smithers

Votes: 3,278

33. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: The Alternative Factor (1967)

Existence itself comes under threat from a man's power-struggle with his alternate self, with the Enterprise's strained dilithium crystals presenting his key to a final solution.

Director: Gerd Oswald | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Robert Brown , DeForest Kelley

Votes: 3,883

34. Star Trek (1966–1969) Episode: Charlie X (1966)

Captain Kirk must learn the limits to the power of a 17-year-old boy with the psionic ability to create anything and destroy anyone.

Director: Lawrence Dobkin | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Robert Walker Jr. , DeForest Kelley

Votes: 5,486

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Den of Geek

Star Trek: 50 Best Episodes

We're celebrating the Star Trek Discovery's upcoming premiere with a list of Star Trek's 50 best episodes.

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Choosing even 50 episodes of an iconic show like  Star Trek is a monumentally difficult task. Since its launch in 1966, the Star Trek TVuniversehas spanned 726 episodes across six different series:  The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise.

Star Trek  has meant so much to so many. It has imagined a better future where humanity — not to mention a fair few alien races — have come together to explore the universe in peace. Sure, peace doesn’t always go as planned, but, in the world of Star Trek, it is something our protagonists actively strive for.  Star Trek  has come to define the best in science fiction storytelling, and was experimenting with what the TV form is possible of long before Golden Age serials like  The Sopranos or  Breaking Bad came on the scene. 

With Star Trek about to begin a new era with Star Trek: Discovery , here are 50 examples of the very best storytelling this fictional universe defined by optimism, cooperation, and exploration has to offer…

Star Trek: The Original Series 

“charlie x” (1×02).

Written by D.C. Fontana / Directed by Lawrence Dobkin

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The second Star Trek episode ever telecast (on September 15, 1966), “Charlie X” guest stars Robert Walker Jr. as Charles Evans, a 17-year-old boy who has somehow survived alone on the planet Thasus for 14 years after the ship he was traveling in crashed there.

Awkward, lonely, and emotionally underdeveloped, Charlie soon exhibits vast powers that allow him to transform or destroy matter and make objects — and people — disappear. His wanton, childish use of his powers — especially related to his crush on Yeoman Rand — threatens the entire crew of the Enterprise until Charlie’s fate is decided in one last, haunting confrontation.

Certain aspects of this story haven’t aged well, but Walker is excellent as the mercurial and impulsive Charlie, whose interactions with Kirk, Rand and others turn from endearing to annoying to frightening. Like all great science fiction, “Charlie X” examines a subject relevant to the present — in this case, a rebellious teenager flexing his muscles and seeing what he can get away with — through the enhanced prism of the genre.

“The Corbomite Maneuver” (1×10)

Written by Jerry Sohl / Directed by Joseph Sargent

“The Corbomite Maneuver” is a first in many ways for Star Trek . It was the first episode shot once regular production began (not including the two series pilots) — although it ended up airing 10th in the first season. As a result, it also marked the first time DeForest Kelley (McCoy), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Janice Rand) set foot on the Star Trek sets. And, in many ways, this tale of first contact with the odd representative of an unknown alien race set the tone for many episodes to follow.

After being attacked by an automated space buoy in an uncharted region of space, the Enterprise is approached by a massive alien vessel whose captain — a goblin-like creature named Balok — says he will destroy the Enterprise for trespassing into “First Federation” territory. What happens next is essentially a game of chicken between Kirk and Balok, with the former gambling on a high-stakes bluff in order to prevent the annihilation of his ship.

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The final scenes take an unexpected turn as Kirk reaches out to Balok in a gesture of peace — and the alien’s true nature is revealed. Cerebral yet still thrilling, and packed with lots of nice character touches, “The Corbomite Maneuver” remains one of the most thoughtful episodes of the entire franchise.

“Balance of Terror” (1×14)

Written by Paul Schneider / Directed by Vincent McEveety

“Balance of Terror” was one of the most suspenseful episodes of the original series. Captain Kirk and a Romulan commander (Mark Lenard) play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in space.

“Balance of Terror” was based on the 1957 war movie classic The Enemy Below , which was based on a novel by British naval officer Denys Rayner. The source material adds to the realism and to the danger. The movie told about a battle of strategy between the captain of an American destroyer vessel and the commander of a German U-boat during World War II. In the film, the damaged ship has to mimic the movements of the damaged submarine in order to register on the sonar as an echo.

The season one episode supplements the original story into space technology. The Romulan Bird of Prey has a cloaking device, which renders it invisible unless engaged in battle, but also obscures visibility while in stealth mode. In both stories, skippers give commands to jettison dead bodies along with trash in order to appear disabled.

This episode introduced the concept of the Neutral Zone and explored racial prejudice. Romulans and Vulcans look alike — so alike, in fact, that the vessel’s commander could almost pass for Spock’s father. This causes a distinct paranoia on board. The captains in all versions leave with a deep respect for their opponents. The episode is completely satisfying on multiple levels.

— Tony Sokol

“Arena” (1×18)

Written by Gene L. Coon from a story by Fredric Brown / Directed by Joseph Pevney

“Arena” has it all: An action-packed plot, two new alien species to contend with — one savage, the other advanced — and a larger cosmic theme behind it all.

The Enterprise pays a routine visit to an outpost on Cestus Three only to find it obliterated, with the ship itself coming under attack from the same alien vessel. The Enterprise gives pursuit, following the alien into unexplored space, and both soon find themselves at the mercy of a far superior race called the Metrons whose territory they have intruded on.

The Metrons take Kirk and the captain of the alien ship — a reptilian race called the Gorn — and pit them against each other on a rocky planet, claiming that the winner’s ship will go free while the loser’s craft will be destroyed.

According to various sources, Coon wrote his script without realizing that the great sci-fi writer Fredric Brown had penned a story with very similar ideas years earlier. Rather than risk legal action — even though, by all accounts, Coon was unaware of Brown’s tale — the show purchased Brown’s story and gave him credit.

The “two opposing forces meet in an arena” idea has been used many times in sci-fi — Star Trek itself would adapt it for several more TOS episodes like “The Gamesters of Triskelion” and “The Savage Curtain” — but “Arena” arguably did it best (if you can overlook the fact that the Gorn is a man in a very stiff rubber costume). Still scared the heck out of me as a kid…

“The Devil in the Dark” (1×25)

Written by Gene L. Coon / Directed by Joseph Pevney

The Enterprise is sent to investigate a series of mysterious deaths at a mining colony deep under the surface of Janus VI, where miners are being found charred to a crisp with no explanation.

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The culprit turns out to be a creature unlike any form of life the Enterprise has ever encountered, in that it is based on silicon, not carbon, and uses acid as both a way to tunnel through the interior of the planet and as a defensive weapon. After it is wounded, Spock mind-melds with it and learns that it is the last member of a race called the Horta, charged with protecting the eggs that will renew the species — eggs that the miners have been inadvertently destroying.

William Shatner has called “The Devil in the Dark” his favorite TOS episode, and it’s easy to see why: Coon’s script is nearly perfect and the story encapsulates everything that is best about Star Trek — i.e. what initially seems to be a menace turns out to be something that leads us to a higher understanding of life in the universe.

Spock’s anguished mind-meld with the imaginatively designed Horta is a showstopper, and the episode also contains the first time Dr. McCoy ever utters his trademark “I’m a doctor not a ——-“ (in this case he’s not a bricklayer).

“The City on the Edge of Forever” (1×28)

Written by Harlan Ellison / Directed by Joseph Pevney

Still The Original Series episode to beat, this tragic tale sends Kirk and Spock back in time to Depression-era New York, where they must track down Dr. McCoy after an accidental drug overdose has made him crazy enough to jump through an ancient time portal and alter all of history.

In the past, Kirk meets and falls deeply in love with an angelic woman named Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) — only to learn that McCoy stopping her from dying in a car accident is the catalyst for history being changed. “Jim,” Spock intones gravely, “Edith Keeler must die.”

Gene Roddenberry rewrote sci-fi legend Ellison’s original teleplay — much to Ellison’s fury — but this is still an elegant, beautifully-crafted hour of television, with Shatner and Nimoy at their best and Collins radiant as the doomed Edith.

Winner of both a Hugo Award and a Writer’s Guild Award, this is sweeping science fiction that presents Jim Kirk with perhaps the most difficult and painful decision of his life, and its etched all over Shatner’s face in the closing scenes. “Do you know what you just did?” “He knows, doctor. He knows.”

“Amok Time” (2×01)

Written by Theodore Sturgeon / Directed by Joseph Pevney

If you ask fans of  The Original Series what made the show so special, many will point to the relationship between Kirk and Spock — and this is one of the best, early examples of just how much the rogue captain cared about his stoic bestie. 

When Spock begins to act strangely and requests time off (the strangest behavior of all), Kirk and McCoy are immediately concerned. It eventually comes out that Spock is in the midst of pon farr , a condition that hits adult male Vulcans every seven years. If he doesn’t mate within a week, he will die. 

The ship reroutes to Vulcan (against Starfleet orders) to make it to Spock’s wedding (yeah, Spock’s been playing a lot of things characteristically close to the chest). T’Pring, Spock’s intended, manipulates the  koon-ut-kahlifee  ceremony so that Spock — incoherent, at this point, in the grips of blood fever — and Kirk must fight to the death. I won’t spoil the ending, if you haven’t seen it, though I will say it involves Spock actually smiling… 

This is a great episode, and the perfect installment for the season two premiere. It’s fun to watch fan-favorite Spock slowly lose it, literally throwing Nurse Chapel’s proffered bowl of plomeek soup against the wall . It’s the first time we see Vulcan, a world that has remained one of the most important planets in the Star Trek universe. It also exemplifies just how far Kirk will go to save his friend (and how often it is McCoy’s exasperated help that will  actually  save them).

Perhaps most importantly, though? This is the first time we ever see the Vulcan salute and hear the now-iconic “live long and prosper” that traditionally accompanies it. For that alone, this episode holds a special spot in  Star Trek history.

— Kayti Burt

“Mirror, Mirror” (2×04)

Written by Jerome Bixby / Directed by Marc Daniels

One of the best remembered episodes of TOS finds Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura caught in a dimensional shift caused by an ion storm while beaming up from a diplomatic mission.

They materialize on an alternate universe Enterprise that is now part of a brutal empire quite unlike the Federation. Their mission is one of conquest, not peace, and officers on the ship get ahead through murder and sabotage. Most shockingly, the ship’s bearded Spock is a man of ruthless calculation and power — but still logical enough to deduce that something is very off about his returned captain (whose barbaric counterpart is quickly thrown in the brig by “our” Spock in “our” universe).

The fun of this episode, of course, is watching mirror versions of Chekov, Sulu, and other crew members plot, conspire, and essentially act like space pirates, while the foursome from “our” universe — now known as Prime, I guess — do their best to fit in.

“Mirror, Mirror” is a true ensemble piece. Everyone has something to do, and its simple-yet-clear premise is delivered with maximum suspense and thrills. The show boasts yet another brilliant Nimoy performance and a stirring final speech from “our” Kirk as he tries to convince the mirror Spock to make some changes.

The mirror universe was such a fan favorite that  Deep Space Nine returned to it years later in five episodes,  Enterprise visited it in a two-parter in “In A Mirror, Darkly,” and Voyager played with its qualities in “Living Witness.” Its legacy continues on long past  The Original Series .

“The Doomsday Machine” (2×06)

Written by Norman Spinrad / Directed by Marc Daniels

The Enterprise receives a distress call from the U.S.S. Constellation and discovers the ship, wrecked and abandoned, adrift in the rubble of a destroyed solar system. Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and a boarding party beam over and discover one survivor — Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom), the ship’s captain, who informs them that the ship was attacked by a giant weapon that smashes planets and ingests them as fuel.

Decker and McCoy beam back to the Enterprise as the thing — an automated robot that has wandered into our galaxy from parts unknown — reappears and heads for the next solar system in its path. An obsessed Decker seizes control of the Enterprise from Spock in a futile effort to destroy the weapon as Kirk watches helplessly from the other ship.

“The Doomsday Machine” is heavily inspired by Moby Dick, with Decker (a great, hammy performance from the terrific character actor Windom) as Ahab. There is a nice subtext about what happens when weapons of great power — the kind that are never meant to actually be used — are misplaced or lost.

Marc Daniels directs for maximum tension, both in the personal conflict between Decker and Spock and in the climactic countdown as Kirk literally rides a nuclear bomb down the thing’s throat. The episode also boasts one of the series’ best scores (by Sol Kaplan).

“Journey to Babel” (2×10)

Written by D.C. Fontana / Directed by Joseph Pevney

“Journey to Babel” is one of three outstanding TOS episodes — along with the aforementioned “Amok Time” and “This Side of Paradise” — to delve deeply into the psyche and personal history of Mr. Spock.

This perfectly written and executed story explores the relationship between Spock and his parents: the Vulcan ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard) and his human wife Amanda (Jane Wyatt). Spock and Sarek are estranged, not speaking for years since Spock gave up his studies at the Vulcan Science Academy to join Starfleet, while Amanda tries desperately to reconcile them.

As the Enterprise shuttles a group of planetary delegates to a crucial peace summit, Sarek becomes suspected of murdering another ambassador and falls ill. Meanwhile, an attempt is made on Kirk’s life and a mysterious ship shadows the Enterprise. Does Spock provide his father with the transfusion he needs to survive or stay at his post on the bridge and allow Sarek to die?

The story’s multiple, criss-crossing plotlines and the emotional drama between Spock and his parents (this may be Nimoy’s all-time best performance on the show) make this journey riveting from start to finish.

Star Trek: The Animated Series 

“yesteryear” (1×02).

Written by D.C. Fontana / Directed by Hal Sutherland

Star Trek: The Animated Series   isn’t exactly the most fondly remembered of the six  Star Trek series, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have its moments. Most impressively, this early episode — a direct sequel to The Original Series’ “City on the Edge of Forever” — that let us explore Vulcan and hang out with Spock’s family in a way we had previously never been able to do. Ah, the power of animation.

In “Yesteryear,” Spock has been accidentally erased from the timeline and must go back to his childhood to save a younger version of himself from death by poisonous desert creature. Adult Spock poses as Selek, a distant cousin of Sarek. In the process, we get to meet young, unsure, bullied Spock (and this feels a lot  like the beginning of the  Star Trek reboot film) who is pretty adorable, spend some time with Spock’s parents, and learn a bit more about Vulcan culture.

Added bonus? We get to see Adult Spock assure Young Spock that he will eventually find his place in the world. It’s heartwarming.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 

“the measure of a man” (2×09).

Written by Melinda M. Snodgrass / Directed by Robert Scheerer

Star Trek: The Next Generation   didn’t have the strongest first couple seasons — though its second is (bearded) heads and shoulders above the first. Season two was when it really started to find its footing, as best exemplified by “The Measure of a Man,” in which Captain Picard has to argue on Data’s behalf that the android is, in fact, a sentient being with the right to determine his own fate and what can and cannot be done with his own body.

Is there any more stirring, eloquent Picard line than the following, which he delivers in his rousing closing argument: “Your honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life. Well, there it sits, waiting.” I think not. Picard out.

“Yesterday’s Enterprise” (3×15)

Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr, Richard Manning, Hans Beimler, Ronald D. Moore, from a story by Trent Christopher Ganino and Eric A. Stillwell / Directed by David Carson

It took seven writers to make this episode work, but the results were well worth it. After two shaky initial seasons, Star Trek: The Next Generation found its footing in season three and, in “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” produced an episode that stands tall not only with the best of TNG , but with the best of the entire Star Trek  franchise.

“Yesterday’s Enterprise”‘s smart time travel premise involves the arrival of the previously destroyed Enterprise-C in the time of the Enterprise-D through a space anomaly. This changes history, making the Enterprise-D into a battleship in a Federation war with the Klingons. Only Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) knows that something isn’t right…

The story also features the reappearance of Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), killed pointlessly in season one, but still alive in this altered timeline. Her quest for a meaningful death is both noble and poignant, as is the ultimate sacrifice made by the crew of the Enterprise-C that condemns them to certain death, but saves untold billions from perishing in a war that was never supposed to happen.

The ideal of serving the greater good — such an important part of the Star Trek philosophy — was brilliantly rendered in this unforgettable episode.

“The Best of Both Worlds, Parts 1 & 2” (3×26, 4×01)

Written by Michael Piller / Directed by Cliff Bole

Although we had been introduced to the malevolent hive species known as the Borg in season two’s “Q Who,” this classic two-parter established them as one of the greatest threats in the history of the Federation.

As a Borg ship races toward Earth, assimilating every living thing in its path, Picard and the Enterprise crew must find a way to stop them. What happens makes for one of the most electrifying storylines in all of Star Trek , as Picard is abducted and assimilated, with Riker left in charge at the end of Part 1 to make a decision that could stop the Borg — but also kill his captain.

What makes “The Best of Both Worlds” work so well is not just the Borg, but the personal conflicts within the story. Michael Piller called this a Riker story, and it is, as Picard’s Number One is also in the midst of deciding whether he wants to command his own ship or not. He’s not helped by the presence of the ambitious Lt. Commander Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy), who wants his job at Picard’s side.

The interpersonal drama and sci-fi action all build to one of the greatest cliffhangers in TV history at the end of Part 1 — and, when the agonizing wait for season four ended with the premiere of Part 2 — there was a little bit of a letdown in how the story played out. But it was still great television, great Star Trek , and left permanent changes in Picard that would continue to haunt his character moving forward.

“Disaster” (5×05)

Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore, Story by Ron Jarvis and Philip A. Scorza / Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont

I first watched  Star Trek: The Next Generation as a kid, which means the episodes that featured kid characters totally won me over. (The one where Picard, Ro, Guiynan, and Keiko get reverted into kid form? Genius.) However, “Disaster” — the episode that sees Picard trapped in a turbo lift with a bunch of panicking kids and Troi left on the bridge to take control of the ship — totally holds up to re-watch as an adult. 

Star Trek isn’t only about dramatic spaceship standoffs between alien races or philosophical ponderings about the purpose of humanity. Sometimes, it’s just about good, old-fashioned, um, disaster. The kind that you know everyone will get out of by the end of the hour, but is still teaches us something about these characters. (Extra points if it involves Patrick Stewart singing “Frere Jacques.”)

This fun episode isn’t without its thematic fascinations. It asks the question: What does teamwork look like when the team is mostly split up and communication is mostly impossible? On the Enterprise, it still looks pretty shiny. On a narrative level, the nature of this story also allows us some character dynamics we don’t often get to see: Keiko and Worf, Geordi and Dr. Crusher, Riker and Data, O’Brien and Troi. Because  TNG is such a well-developed ensemble show, they all work. This is also a big episode for Troi, who doesn’t always get meaty storylines that don’t involve her mother or some sort of weird alien energy entering her body.

The real winner of this episode, however, is Picard (if you hadn’t already guessed that from my random asides). As is established from the very beginning of this show, Picard does not like children. (Shut up, Wesley!) In “Disaster,” Picard is forced to face the three adorably nerdy children he gets stuck with as what they are: people. And he can handle people — actually, it’s kind of his job. The episode ends with Picard’s new mini-Starfleet officers giving Picard a handmade plaque — and it’s charming, yet not in a cloying way. Kind of this episode’s specialty.

(Fun fact: Footage of the turbo lift from this episode was later used in the  Voyager two-parter “Year of Hell,” which also happens to be on this list.)

“Cause and Effect” (5×18)

Written by Brannon Braga / Directed by Jonathan Frakes

The “let’s blow up the Enterprise in the cold open” episode, “Cause and Effect” isn’t just an opening gimick. (Though, you have to admit, as far as opening gimmicks go, it’s a pretty good one.) It’s an example of how a simple premise can be elevated by good writing and, perhaps even more importantly, excellent direction.

“Cause and Effect,” your classic stuck-in-a-time-loop episode, could have been a snoozer — if not for that facts that it a) allows the team (rather than just one character) to work together to find the clues and solve the mystery of the time loop and b) Jonathan Frakes’ (aka Riker) top-notch direction. Rather than relying on the same shots to save time, Frakes worked to make each trip through the time loop feel distinct, using tools like shot length. This makes what could have been a redundant hour of television into a thoroughly entertaining hour spent with these characters we love.

I’m a big fan of episodes that give Dr. Crusher something to do, as well as episodes that feature the famous poker games between the Enterprise’s senior officers. Throw in a guest appearance from Kelsey Grammer as the captain of a ship that has been stuck in the time loop for 90 years, and you’ve got yourself a  TNG classic!

“The First Duty” (5×19)

Written by Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar / Directed by Paul Lynch

The one where Picard yells at Wesley — no,  really  yells at him . And for a good reason.

When an academy training accident involving cadet Wesley Crusher ends with a fellow student dead, Picard orders his crew to investigate the incident. It soon becomes clear that the squadron was attempting a dangerous, banned flight maneuver that resulted in the death of their friend. When Picard confronts Wesley about it, he refuses to incriminate himself and his team.

Torn between his Enterprise family and his academy friends, Wesley must decide whether to betray his squadron’s silency pact and tell the truth — which could spell the end of his nascent Starfleet career — or to betray Picard’s faith in him. I’m a sucker for the Picard/Wesley relationship, and this uncomfortable challenge of Wesley’s character is one of the most mature looks at its complexities.

(Side note: It is  super  distracting watching this after  Star Trek: Voyager came out because Wesley’s dickish squadron leader is playing by Robert Duncan McNeill, aka Voyager ‘s Tom Paris. Actually, this is all kind of one, long audition for the Tom Paris role…)

“The Inner Light” (5×25)

Written by Morgan Gendel and Peter Allan Fields / Directed by Peter Lauritson

Star Trek: The Next Generation hit its stride in seasons three, four and five, capping that run with one of the most powerful and moving episodes in the series’ history.

The Enterprise encounters an unidentified probe that sends a beam into Picard’s head, rendering him unconscious. When he awakens, he finds himself living on a planet called Kataan, where everyone refers to him as Kamin. While his shipmates attempt fruitlessly to revive him, they discover that the probe originated in a solar system whose star went nova 1,000 years ago.

Meanwhile, Picard lives (to his reckoning) 40 years as Kamin — getting married, having children and grandchildren, learning to play the flute, and eventually facing the end of his civilization as their sun goes nova. The probe, it turns out, contains memories of Kamin and his people, with Picard selected as the one who will retain them.

Patrick Stewart has cited this as his favorite TNG episode, and fans rate it as one of the five best of the series. It also won the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. The last time a TV show had won was 25 years earlier, in 1968, when TOS won for “The City on the Edge of Forever.” With their twin themes of loss and memory, the two stories share some DNA, but “The Inner Light” is the more profoundly moving of the two, and Picard’s final scene as he grasps the flute — all that is left of Kamin and his race — is perhaps Stewart’s single best moment in the series.

Star Trek , in all its incarnations, was occasionally capable of great beauty, even poetry. This episode was one of those times.

“Chain of Command, Parts 1 and 2” (6×10, 6×11)

Part 1: Story by Frank Abatemarco, Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore / Directed by Robert Scheerer, Part 2: Written by Frank Abatemarco / Directed by Les Landau 

There. Are. Four. Lights.

In large thanks to  24, a majority of torture depicted on TV tends to be effective in securing useful information — something that has been proven a misnomer in real life. Torture doesn’t get people to tell the truth so much as get people to say what their torturer wants them to hear.

There’s a lot going on in “Chain of Command,” a two-part epic in which Picard is captured and tortured by Cardassians, but one of the major themes that is explored through Patrick Stewart’s phenomenal turn as an almost-broken Picard is that even the most honorable men will do what they have to do to avoid torture. At a certain point, inflicting pain is the only point.

Elsewhere in this episode, Riker’s pompous rogueishness is put to good use when the sometimes-incomptent Captain Jellico takes over command of the Enterprise. I would have liked to see this storyline pushed just a little bit further — the big climax comes in Jellico visiting a petulant Riker in his quarters to ask him to pilot an important mission — but there’s something admirable about a “villainous” force who isn’t actually villainous.

Jellico isn’t a bad guy; he’s just kind of bad at his job. He micromanages and is a poor communicator and likes to be in control, even if it means leading his crew into disaster. Ultimately, Jellico manages to save the day (with Riker’s help), but — more than anything — his turn as ship’s captain makes us appreciate Captain Picard that much more.

“Tapestry” (6×15)

Written by Ronald D. Moore / Directed by Les Landau

Any episode that gives Patrick Stewart an intriguing premise and lets him run with it tends to be on the better side of the  TNG episode ranking, but add Q and a clever, It’s a Wonderful Life -like premise that allows Picard to go back to his Starfleet days to right a perceived wrong, and you’ve got yourself a  Next Generation classic.

The episode has one of the best intros in  TNG history, throwing us into the aftermath of a random energy blast that leaves Picard dying on one of Dr. Crusher’s sickbay tables, his artificial heart seeming unable to handle the trauma. Enter Q, who gives Picard the chance to go back to the Starfleet-era fight with some Nausicaans that led to his needing an artificial heart in the first place.

What follows is a somewhat unpredictable musing on what part risk-taking and regret can play in our lives, and to what extent our fates are changeable. The banter between Picard and Q is, as always, hilarious and full of energy, and, though the structure may be somewhat formulaic, the twists  are not. In the words of Picard: “There are many parts of my youth that I’m not proud of. There were loose threads, untidy parts of me that I would like to remove. But when I pulled on one of those threads, it unraveled the tapestry of my life.”

“Starship Mine” (6×18)

Written by Morgan Gendel / Directed by Cliff Bole

Sometimes, a man just needs his saddle. And, sometimes, that saddle-fetching leads to  Die Hard in space. Such is the lot of Captain Jean-Luc Picard who get trapped with some thieves on an nearly abandoned Enterprise while a fatal-to-humans baryon sweep makes it way across the ship in this action-packed hour of  The Next Generation . Meanwhile, on the array the Enterprise is docked at, the rest of the crew is taken hostage during a boring cocktail reception. 

“Starship Mine” is competency porn at its most addictive, an homage to the 80s action film genre (complete with requisite humor) that casts Patrick Stewart — who we are more used to seeing delivering Shakespearean speeches or staring down an alien spaceship on the bridge than using crossbows to take out bag guys — as Bruce Willis. Part of the dedication to this homage means that this episode of  TNG is a bit stupider than the average installment, but “Starship Mine” makes up for it with action adventure fun.

Extra points for Data’s determination to get small talk right, going to the lengths of creating a subroutine. Riker comments to Troi: “I have to admit that it has a sort of strange fascination — how long can two people talk about nothing?'”

“Lower Decks” (7×15)

Teleplay by Rene Echevarria, Story by Ronald Wilkerson and Jean Louise Matthias / Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont

On other shows, this series regular-lite episode would be a throwaway episode that no one would ever remember. Not on TNG, where the installment is used to look at what life is like for a group of junior officiers and friends serving on the Enterprise’s “lower decks.”

Though we see several of the main cast members through their occasional interaction with Sam, Sito, Ogawa, and Taurik, the story centers around the young crew members and climaxes in a tragic conclusion that not only hammers home the, at times, high stakes of Starfleet, but also he fact that — though we stay close to the command characters we know and love — there are hundreds of crew members who work, live, and die on the Enterprise.

This episode has been cited by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies as an inspiration for the Doctor-lite episode “Love and Monsters,” which also (somewhat controversially) also holds a special place in my TV-loving heart.

“All Good Things” (7×25, 7×26)

Written by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore / Directed by Winrich Kolbe

Ending a TV series is no easy task, as you probably have already noticed from all of the  terrible  series finales out there in the world. Endings are difficult, even moreso on television dramas that tend to have longevity and some sort of formula built into their very DNA.

And this is without taking into account the fact that TV shows tend to end when they are past their narrative prime. In other words, series finales are hard — which is why “All Good Things,” the final episode of  Star Trek: The Next Generation ,is such a miracle.

In “All Good Things,” Picard finds himself jumping to three different points in time: the series’ present, just prior to the Enterprise’s first mission in the series premiere, and 25 years into the future where an older Picard is retired and living on his family’s vineyard. The whole exercise is an exercise staged by the Q continuum, of course, in their efforts to test humanity’s potential to evolve. (No pressure.)

Ultimately, the episode is the perfect bookend to “Encounter at Farpoint,” the series premiere, and an impressive cap to a seven-season show that was many different things throughout its run. The show ends in the only way it could have: with faith in the future of humanity and with Picard  finally  joining the senior officers’ poker game.

“So, five-card stud, nothing wild… and the sky’s the limit.”  I’m not crying.  You’re crying.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 

“duet” (1×19).

Teleplay by Peter Allan Fields, Story by Lisa Rich and Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci / Directed by James L. Conway

Though  Deep Space Nine intrigued through its first season, it arguably didn’t hit its stride until “Duet,” a deeply personal, complicated, and tragic look at the lingering effects of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor.

Loosely based on a dramatization of the Nuremberg Trials, “Duet” sees a sick Cardassian seek treatment on Deep Space Nine. Kira’s first-hand knowledge of the Cardassian occupation leads her to believe that Marritza, the Cardassian in question, was present at one of the most brutal labor camps on Bajor — and therefore a war criminal who must stand trial for his crimes.

The following hour is a fascinating, deeply-affecting unraveling of truth, lies, guilt, and consequence that was an early indication of just how good  Deep Space Nine would become. We learn a great deal about Kira in this episode (“ Enough good people have already died. I won’t help kill another”) , as well as the fragile relationships between the Bajorans, the Cardassians, and the Federation. The final scene remains one of the most-affecting in  Star Trek history.

“Duet” is a testament to what can be done in a self-contained episodic story (though the themes of this story would be present in much of  DS9 ‘sstorytelling) — the kind that is becoming increasingly less valued in a golden age that does highly-serialized storytelling so well. And, though much remains morally murky in this episode’s conclusion, the episode remains adamant in its statement that no one remains unscathed by the atrocities of war — neither victim, nor victor.

“Necessary Evil” (2×08)

Written by Peter Allan Fields / Directed by James L. Conway

When Quark is left critically wounded in an attack, Odo is thrown back into investigating the unsolved murder case that first drew him into station security five years prior. Watching  Deep Space Nine, I was always fascinated into any peeks we got into what life on the space station was like in the time  before  the Federation gained control, when it was still under Cardassian occupation. Season two’s “Necessary Evil,” gives us just that.

There is a larger, stirring frame tale about Bajoran collaborators, but the best part of this episode comes with the greater insight into Odo’s character. He started as a station security officer not because he felt any particular calling, but because he was a neutral party who Gal Dukat requested. As an outsider, his ability to read people was honed over years surviving at the mercy of others. Deep Space Nine, even under Cardassian rule, gave him a chance to put that skill to good use.

The story is told via noir-like voiceover from Odo, who is begrudgingly filing his Starfleet log. The structure is both humorous and effective, and the murder mystery is diverting, but “Necessary Evil” really pulls on the heartstrings with its development of the Odo/Kira dynamic. During the course of Odo’s flashback murder investigation, we get to see how Kira and Odo met five years prior, when Kira was questioned for the case. On present-day Deep Space Nine, we see how close the two have become in that time, most specifically in the last, quiety heartwarming scene.

In the words of Odo: “ Everything’s under control. End log entry.”

“The Wire” (2×22)

Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe / Directed by Kim Friedman

Garek was one of the most fascinating characters on  Deep Space Nine — a Cardassian exiled from his home world for mysterious reasons. Tinker? Tailor? Soldier? Spy? “The Wire” was the first  DS9 episode to really dig into Garek’s past…

When Garek collapses during one of Garek and Dr. Bashir’s lunch dates, but refuses to seek treatment, Bashir goes to great lengths to find out what’s wrong with his friend. It’s not a pretty process…

This is an important hour not only for Garek, but for Bashir, as we learn the lengths he will go to help a patient — the lengths he will go to help a friend. The breakdown scene that sees an tormented Garek berating Bashir for his pathetic human ways (when, really, he is berating himself) as Bashir passively takes it — and the subsequent scene in which Garek asks for his blanket forgiveness — are two of my favorite in all of  DS9.

Exploding a transport ship with dozens of people on board, letting Bajoran children escape during an interrogation, framing his best friend for his own “cowardly” actions. Pick your poison — or should I say mind-altering drug? What’s true? “My dead doctor, they’re all true.” “Even the lies?” “ Especially  the lies.” A fascinatingly enigmatic episode for a fascinating enigmatic character.

“The Search, Parts 1 and 2” (3×01, 3×02)

Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore, Story by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe / Directed by Kim Friedman; Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr, Story by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe / Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Deep Space Nine is often talked about as the first  Star Trek series that embraced the long story arc. Though this was best exemplified in later seasons (especially the sixth), it was in the show’s DNA since day one. “The Search” is a great example. The episode picks up roughly where the season two finale ended, with Sisko and co. trying to decide what to do about the looming and mysterious Founder threat…

Sisko is not one to sit around and wait for the problem to come to him. With the show’s shiny new Defiant warship, Sisko puts together a trusted group (plus Quark) and heads through the wormhole. His mission? To find the Founders and convince them that the Federation isn’t a threat. Things get dicey rather quickly, with Part 1 ending with Dax and O’Brien left behind on a random relay station, the Defiant thoroughly defeated, and Sisko & co. in the hands of the Jem’Hadar.

What does Odo choose to do in this situation? Nab an unconscious Kira and head to the Omarian Nebula… because he had this feeling like he was meant to go there. Yep, it turns out the Omarian Neblua is home to Odo’s, well, home. The Founders are his Changeling brethren and they’re kind of dicks. (What kind of monster race launches infants off into the cold, cruel embrace of the universe?)

Ultimately, The Founders let Odo and his friends go, but with the implication that the Federation is not safe from the chaos-hating band of Changeling overlords. “The Search” isn’t  DS9 ‘sbest two-parter, but it is an epic statement about what kind of show  DS9 would be from here on out… and it’s a whole lot of fun.

“Destiny” (3×15)

Written By David S. Cohen & Martin A. Winer /  Directed By Les Landau

When Cardassian scientists arrive at the station to set up a communications relay on the other side of the wormhole, a Bajoran Vedek warns they have fulfilled a prophecy foretelling great destruction. Since the wormhole aliens live outside of linear time, Sisko can’t completely dismiss him, but he can’t justify scrapping the mission over some ancient texts either. The episode takes place shortly after a peace treaty between Cardassia and Bajor is signed.

Rather than a clumsy way to foreshadow or instigate events, prophecy in “Destiny” is a destabilizing factor making our heroes question their every move. Confirmation bias encourages them to correlate every new development with a line from scripture. Trinities abound: The “three vipers” of the prophecy, three Cardassian scientists, Kira and Dax alternately pulling Sisko toward religion or proven science — to name just, well, three.

The Prophets’ status as non-corporeal, non-temporal beings forces a legitimate debate over just how seriously to take their words, how to interpret their poetic language, and how to act when you think you might know the future. “Destiny” also serves as a crucial step toward Sisko accepting his role as Emissary. He’s developing, not a blind faith, but true belief based on his experiences.

— John Andrews

“The Way of the Warrior” (4×01)

Written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe / Directed by James L. Conway

Much like season 3’s “The Search,” “The Way of the Warrior” is an intensely entertaining statement about the narrative thrust of the coming season. In this case, it is all about the Klingons… And not only because Worf joins the cast.

Just when Sisko and the Federation think they have their focus on their looming enemy — the Dominion — a new one makes itself known: the Klingon Empire. Understandably (but inconveniently) paranoid that a Changeling is behind the recent coup on the Cardassian homeworld, the Klingons decide to invade Cardassia. Because, at their hearts, Klingons care about conquering first and empire-maintainene way later. Apparently.

The Klingons might not be as scary as the Dominion — led by the could-be-hiding-anywhere shapeshifters — but they’re not something to thumb one’s nose at, either — especially when they have a couple dozen birds-of-prey to back up their latest harebrained attempt at empire-building.

“The Way of the Warrior” is a slow, steady story that doesn’t disappoint in its climax, which sees Sisko and a battle-ready Deep Space Nine defending itself against a chunk of the Klingon Empire. The stakes here feel very high — even if they aren’t the stakes we thought we would have to worry about going in. 

“The Visitor” (4×02)

Written by Michael Taylor / Directed by David Livingston

The relationship between Benjamin and Jake Sisko is one of the most understated, yet moving on the show.  Deep Space Nine begins as a story about a father and a son still trying to move past the loss of their family’s third member. When Sisko becomes unstuck in time and thought dead by the crew of Deep Space Nine in “The Visitor,” his friends and crewmates do their best to move on — but Jake has an understandably difficult time doing so. 

A year after the incident, Sisko reappears to Jake, and the crew learns the truth of his predicament — but Sisko disappears again after a few minutes, pleading with Jake: “ I need to know that you’re going to be alright.”  The entire story is told from the perspective of Old Jake, many years after the inciting incident. After a lifetime without his father, he is waiting to see him (and try to save him) one last time.

I don’t want to spoil all of the seriously affecting beats (so many tears) of this story because “The Visitor” is worth watching (or re-watching) without too much prior knowledge — though, even with knowledge of how it all ends, I don’t think it is possible to “spoil” this episode.

“The Visitor”‘s premise could be emotionally-manipulative, but it’s not. The story doesn’t sensationalize or trick. It relies on the honest, understated love between a parent and a child and understands that there’s no need to sensationalize the hardest realities of life. They are already filled with such tragic, life-affirming depth.

“Trials and Tribble-ations” (5×06)

Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore and Rene Echevarria, Story by Ira Steven Behr, Hans Beimier, and Robert Hewitt Wolfe / Directed by Jonathan West

What an absolute joy of an episode! If “The Visitor” is a look at one of the hardest realities of life, then “Trial and Tribble-ations” is a testament to its delights — in particular, the joys of being a nerd. When a Klingon spy goes back in time to try to kill Captain Kirk (with a booby-trapped Tribble, no less!), the crew of Deep Space Nine follow to stop the history-changing assassination. What follows is an hour of Star Trek  inside jokes, bright colors, and non-stop fun.

It’s hard to pick a favorite moment in this episode. Is it Worf’s attempt to explain why Original Series-era Klingons look nothing like later-series Klingons? Or is it when O’Brien confidently mis-identifies Kirk? Or, perhaps, it is the exasperated beauracracy of the Temporal Agents who everyone seems to want to avoid?

I love all of those moments, but I might have to give it to the scene that sees Sisko shamelessly introducing himself to Captain Kirk on the bridge of the original Enterprise. “Trials and Tribble-ations” actually uses footage from  The Original Series to make it look like the  Deep Space Nine cast members are there, and it is an amazing effect — yet another great example of how well  Star Trek was rocking the shared fictional universe model long before the MCU came on the scene.

“Sacrifice of Angels” (6×06)

Written By Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler / Directed By Allan Kroeker

You like space battles? This one has space battles.

As the conclusion to the six-episode Dominion invasion arc that launched DS9 ’s season six, “Sacrifice of Angels” has a lot riding on it. The station has been occupied since last season’s finale, open interstellar war has been raging for months, and the only thing standing between massive enemy reinforcements and Federation defeat is a single minefield in front of the wormhole.

Sisko leads the largest fleet of starships we’ve ever seen to retake Deep Space 9 , but the combined Dominion and Cardassian forces are more than a match for them. If ever a deus ex machina were necessary, it was here. The ending could have easily felt like a copout, but Sisko’s impromptu appeal to the Prophets is thoroughly earned and convincingly argued. It’s ultimately far more satisfying than a purely military victory ever could have been.

The drama taking place on the station, meanwhile, is classic tragedy and epic heroism. Quark is a good guy, Odo realizes he’s been a bad guy, and we once again can’t help but empathize with Gul Dukat.

“Far Beyond the Stars” (6×13)

Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimier, Story by Marc Scott Zicree / Directed by Avery Brooks

“You are the dreamer. And the dream.”

When Sisko starts doubting his role in Starfleet, the Prophets decide to remind him why he is committed to the cause — through a series of visions that take Sisko back to 1950s New York City where he is living life as Benny Russell, a struggling science fiction writer dealing with the dehumanizing effects of institutionalized racism. His life there is populated by human versions of his DS9 crewmates, and it’s fun — but really weird — to see the  DS9 regulars out of their alien makeup. 

Watching this episode now, it is still extremely powerful, as so many of the issues are, sadly, still very relevant. There is a police brutality through-line, in particular, that strikes particularly hard given America’s current national discourse.

But “Far Beyond the Stars” isn’t all depressing. It’s also incredibly inspirational, as Benny refuses to give up on his dream of publishing a story about a black starship captain named Benjamin Sisko. Avery Brooks beautifully directed the episode and turns in a powerful performance that, if there were any justice in the world, should have won an Emmy.

“Far Beyond the Stars” is an impressive example of just how flexible the  Star Trek narrative formula has always been. This episode works great as a standalone story for someone who has never even seen  Star Trek, while also including so many treats for loyal fans. It is a joyful tribute to the science fiction writers of the 1950s, while, plot-wise, works to reaffirm Sisko’s commitment to Starfleet and the Dominion War. 

“In the Pale Moonlight” (6×19)

Teleplay by Michael Taylor, Story by Peter Allan Fields / Directed by Victor Lobi

I legitimately want to see “In the Pale Moonlight” on stage as a one-act morality play. That’s how powerful and perfect this episode of  Deep Space Nine is. 

It would have been easy to show this turning point in the Dominion War as a more typical, plot-focused episode of  Deep Space Nine. Instead, the  Star Trek series chose to make it into a character-driven exploration of morality and what is an acceptable evil when you are talking about the fate of an entire war, an entire Federation.

“In the Pale Moonlight” is told in retrospect via a fourth wall-breaking monologue from Sisko, as he recounts it to the only “person” he can — the computer, via a captain’s log. During the course of the hour, we learn how Sisko tricks the Romulans — with the blessing of the Federation authority — into joining the Dominion War. It is a dirty business, where one bad decision quickly snowballs into more bad decisions and ends with Sisko complicit in forgery, bribery, and murder. As Quark tells Sisko, “Every man has a price.”

“In the Pale Moonlight” is so powerful because it directly challenges the inherent optimism of the  Star Trek universe. This is a franchise built upon the belief that there is a future where teamwork, unity, and steadfast good-guy-ism will always solve the problem in the end. This episode — or at least Sisko’s character — muses that this isn’t always the case. Or, if it is, there will inevitably be terrible, bloody choices that you will have to live with. That you  can  live with.

In “In the Pale Moonlight,”  Deep Space Nine wonder if, sometimes, the ends do justify the means — even if the means are horrible. And it dares not to give us a clear answer. It lets us struggle uncomfortably with the question of what we would be capable of in the right, dire circumstance.

The Siege of AR-558 (7×08)

Written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimier / Directed by Winrich Kolbe

Deep Space Nine is often singled out within the Star Trek universe for how dark it is willing to go — and “The Siege of AR-558” is, perhaps, the best example. This episode hurts, but it also feels necessary. Because DS9 is telling a war story — and war is hell.

When Sisko, Worf, Dax, Bashir, Nog, Quark, and Rom bring supplies to the embattled, weary Starfleet officers holding planet AR-558 from the Jem’Hadar, we get to see, first-hand, the effects of the Dominion War on those on the front lines — and it’s not pretty. As Quark phrases it to Nog:

Let me tell you something about humans, nephew. They’re a wonderful, friendly people—as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time, and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people will become as nasty and violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon.

Ultimately, our friends get pulled into the fight. Non-series regulars die. Nog loses a leg. At the end of “The Siege of AR-558,” Worf tells Sisko that the battle was a great victory worthy of songs. A tiny consolation.

“It’s Only a Paper Moon” (7×10)

Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore, Story by David Mack and John J. Ordover / Directed by Anson Williams

The siege of AR-558 may be over, but Nog is still recovering from the experience. The most tangible effect of the battle on Nog is the loss of his leg, but he is also severely depressed. Still on medical leave and unable to confide with any of his loved ones on the station, Nog retreats into the holosuite and shacks up with Vic Fontaine. Through his friendship with the hologram, Nog learns to face reality again. Ironic, right?

As heartwrenching as Nog’s storyline in this episode is, Vic gives it a run for its money. His admission that he will never get to have a life like Nog does is the push that gets Nog to finally leave the holosuite and live again. Even if Quark is keeping Vic’s program running, it’s not exactly the same thing, is it? As Vic puts it: “ Look, kid, I don’t know what’s going to happen to you out there. All I can tell you is that you’ve got to play the cards life deals you. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but at least you’re in the game.” 

Both Aron Eisenberg and James Darren are great in this episode, which also features a haunting rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You” that will stay in your head long after this powerful hour of TV has passed…

Star Trek: Voyager 

“caretaker, parts 1 and 2” (1×01, 1×02).

Teleplay by Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor, Story by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor / Directed by Winrich Kolbe

In this epic, series-launching episode, we meet Voyager — one of the most advanced and maneuverable ships in Starfleet — just as it is transported to the other side of the galaxy in pursuit of a vessel of the rebel Maquis. The ship suffers damage from its too-swift journey to Delta Quadrant, and several of her crew are dead. A  Star Trek series-opener has never felt quite so dire, so quickly. It’s an auspicious start.

Captain Janeway immediately begins trying to restore order, but after repairs are started and the sick bay is organized, the crew disappears from Voyager. They are taken to what looks like an Earth farm, but is in reality a technologically advanced array, where they — along with the Maquis crew — are forced to submit to medical testing in a creepy, creepy sequence. When they are returned to Voyager, Janeway discovers her operations officer is missing, while the Maquis Captain, Chakotay, is missing his chief engineer. 

The two crews unite in figuring out where their people have gone. Eventually, after rescuing the missing, Janeway pieces together the full story: The Caretaker on the array is dying, and is trying to find a way to keep the Ocampa people safe before he does. It’s a strong episode that sets the ethical tone for the rest of the series: How does the Prime Directive apply when the crew is so far from home?

Janeway, unwilling to let the Ocampa die to save herself and her crew, gets directly involved in the conflicts of Delta Quadrant, destroys the array, and blends her crew with the Maquis, creating a diverse group with many different motives and backgrounds. This is a landmark episode not only for its introduction of a female captain series lead, but for the way it expands the mission to go where no one has gone before.

— Alana Joli  Abbott 

“Scorpion” (3×26, 4×01)

Written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky / Directed by David Livingston and Winrich Kolbe

Seven of Nine’s addition to the cast improved  Voyager immensely, but this two-parter is great for more than just her introduction. It’s notable for Janeway flipping the script on what we can expect from a Starfleet captain and forging an alliance with the Borg. Because this lady will do  anything  to ensure that her crew makes it home to Earth.

It isn’t just Janeway’s choice that is so notable about this episode. It’s the cause for the necessity of that choice: Species 8472. The episode ends with Voyager living to see another day, but with a tenuous alliance with the Borg and a mysterious new crew member — a pretty great start to the fourth season.

“Year of Hell, Parts 1 and 2” (4×08, 4×09)

Written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky / Directed by Allan Kroeker, Mike Vejar

In re-watching many of these  Voyager episodes in preparation for contributing to this feature, I watched “Year of Hell” first. This was a mistake because — from where I’m standing — this two-parter is  Voyager   at its absolute height. Nothing that came before or that would come after would top this exploration of just how dark things could get on the otherside of the galaxy or just how determined Janeway could be in her pledge to get her crew home.

First, the premise: With the help of a new astrometrics lab, the crew of Voyager have found a new path home that cuts five years off their journey. Unfortunately, it brings them into Krenim space where a grief-driven Krenim temporal scientist works to change history to create his desired timeline.

The result is a year of Janeway and co. facing off against Kreim warships in an increasingly desperate struggle that sees Voyager’s slow, devastating destruction. The starship loses her outer hull, many decks, countless crew members, and the replicator system. Eventually, Janeway launches all but the senior crew in escape pods. Frankly, stakes for a  Star Trek crew and ship have rarely been this effectively escalated. 

Kate Mulgrew is phenomenal in this episode as we watch Janeway become so consumed by her responsibility to her crew that she literally throws herself into a fire to save the ship, suffering third-degree burns over 60 percent of her body. Part 1 ends with a particularly unsettling, well-acted scene that sees Janeway ordering her crew to leave the ship:

Each of you has done your best, but determination alone isn’t going to hold this ship together. It’s time we faced reality. We’ve lost nine decks, more than half this ship has been destroyed. Life support is nearly gone; Voyagercan no longer sustain its crew. I promised myself that I would never give this order, that I would never break up this family; but asking you to stay… would be asking you to die.

The premise ultimately has to rely on a reset ending that negates a bit of the effect of the two-parter, but this remains a powerfully-dark two-parter. Word on the street is that Bragga and Menosky wanted to make this story an entire season, but the network wouldn’t let them.

Ronald D. Moore, who served as an executive producer on Voyager and who would go on to create  Battlestar Galactica — has said that he wished all of Voyager   had this type of tone. In re-watching the “Year of Hell” arc, it’s not hard to see the parallels between this darker depiction of the  Voyager story and  Battlestar Galactica . Or to imagine the dramatic heights  Voyager could have reached if it were allowed to explore this tone over more than just two episodes.

“Living Witness” (4×23)

Written by Bryan Fuller, Brannon Braga, and Joe Menosky / Directed by Tim Russ

There’s something deeply depressing about the Doctor’s dilemma in this episode. Seven hundred years in the future, on an alien planet, The Doctor’s back-up version is discovered and activated. What was seconds for him, has been centuries for everyone he knew and loved. He has no idea what happened to the crew of Voyager, and if they ever made it home. Their voyage is literally history.

But The Doctor has other fish to fry in this ep. His program is now part of an exhibit about Voyager’s supposed war crimes centuries prior. Desperate to set the record straight on what really happened, The Doctor struggles to bring long-dead history into the present and convince the alien society that Janeway’s motto wasn’t really: “When diplomacy fails, there’s only one alternative: violence.”

By the time  Voyager rolled around in the  Star Trek universe, so many science fiction ideas and structures had already been explored. But “Living Witness” manages to present a story in a way no prior  Star Trek installation had explored. The fact that it’s centered around Robert Picard’s Doctor, who was one of the consistently most delightful aspects of  Voyager, only helps the situation. Also: the evil gloves help. So many evil gloves.

“Drone” (5×02)

Teleplay by Bryan Fuller and Brannon Braga & Joe Menosky, Story by Bryan Fuller & Harry Doc Kloor / Directed by Les Landau

A transporter mishap results in Seven’s Borg nanoprobes assimilating the Doctor’s mobile holographic emitter. The extracted DNA of a hapless ensign (he’s fine, just knocked unconscious) is the final ingredient in a new drone. It replicates a maturation chamber for itself and grows to adulthood almost overnight — and, because the mobile emitter is from the Starfleet of the 29th century, the drone is effectively 500 years more advanced than any other.

It’s a complicated setup for a very simple story: Seven adopts a kid. The kid is taller than her and poses an existential threat to Voyager, but he’s new life and it’s her job to bring him up right. He chooses the name One and adopts a goofy eagerness to learn everything he possibly can.

Though there are elements of TNG ‘s “I Borg” and “The Child” in this plot, “Drone” is so superbly acted that it transcends them both. The bond between Jeri Ryan’s Seven and J. Paul Boehmer’s One is palpable — painfully so at times. Much like both Hugh and Ian Andrew Troi, One becomes aware of how dangerous he is to his new family. Go ahead and call his actions cliché… if you can avoid crying.

“Relativity” (5×23)

Teleplay by Bryan Fuller, Nick Sagan, and Michael Taylor; Story by Nick Sagan / Directed by Allan Eastman

Star Trek is known for its time travel storylines — and for good reason. This fictional universe never met a timestream it didn’t want to mess with for narrative value. In “Relativity,” Seven of Nine is recruited by a timeship called Relativity to locate a time paradox-creating bomb located on Voyager.

In her quest to find and destroy the bomb, Seven travels back to various points in Voyager’s mission — including Voyager in drydock and its early battles with the Kazon — to avert the disaster. It’s a fun conceit, made even kind of poignant for the fact that Seven is able to, in some way, be part of Voyager’s pre-“Scorpion” missions. 

Ultimately, “Relativity” is a response to so many of the time travel-centric plots — from the good to the nonsensical — that the  Star Trek universe had previously embraced. At one point, Janeway — who eventually gets clued into the time travel conceit — asks someone to stop with the time travel technobabble. It’s moments like this that make me confident Janeway is greatly undervalued as a  Star Trek captain.

“Equinox, Parts 1 and 2” (5×26, 6×01)

Teleplay by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, Story by Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, and Joe Menosky / Directed by David Livingston

If you’re a fan of the “Pegasus” arc in  Battlestar Galactica, then you probably love “Equinox.” Much the former, the latter sees the Voyager encountering another ship from their home (in this case, the Federation), the Equinox, after years by themselves in the cold, dark abyss of space. Also, like “Pegasus,” things don’t end up working out as swimmingly as either crew probably would have hoped.

At first, Voyager is more than happy to offer the Equinox protection from the alien onslaught that has cost them many of their crew members. But as the relationship between the two crews progresses, it becomes clear that the Equinox is hiding a terrible secret — and that they only see Voyager as something to be harvested for their own survival.

Like “Year of Hell,” “Equinox” feels like an episode that demonstrates what  Voyager could have been, if it were allowed (or, perhaps, had the inclination to) embrace the darker storytelling that its premise called for. A truly great  Star Trek two-parter.

“Blink of an Eye” (6×12)

Teleplay by Scott Miller and Joe Menosky, Story by Michael Taylor / Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont

An homage to  The Original Series episode, “Wink of an Eye,” “Blink of an Eye” tells the story of the Voyager’s interactions with a planet where time moves much faster than in space. Because of this discrepancy in temporal experience, Voyager is able to not only play witness to — but play a mythological role in  — almost the entire history of the planet (or, as Naomi originally calls it: The Weird Planet Where Time Moved Very Fast and So Did the People Who Lived There).

Voyager was arguable the  Star Trek show most interested in challenging The Prime Directive. After all, what does The Prime Directive mean when you are on the other side of the galaxy, incredibly far from the Federation, trying to make your way home? “Blink of an Eye” was just a continuation of this exploration — and one that ultimately argues that the guideline was made to be broken.

Star Trek: Enterprise 

“broken bow, parts 1 and 2” (1×01, 1×02).

Written by Rick Berman and Brandon Braga / Dircted by James Conway

In another strong series-opener, humanity is on the cusp of true space exploration, with the help (and hindrance) of the Vulcans, who have been overseeing their progress for a century, in the two-part  Enterprise premiere.

Earth’s first Warp Five engine-powered starship, the Enterprise, is about to go on her maiden voyage when a Klingon, pursued by aliens of unknown race, is shot by a farmer in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The Vulcan ambassadors think Enterprise should delay, but Captain Jonathan Archer persuades his superiors that returning the Klingon, alive (rather than as a corpse as the Vulcans suggest), is a perfect first mission. He quickly assembles what remains of his team — including Vulcan observer T’Pol as a science officer, much to the disgruntlement of both Archer and T’Pol.

As they transport the Klingon, Klaang, they are attacked by Suliban, who kidnap Klaang and vanish, leaving one of their own behind, dead. T’Pol recommends abandoning the mission, but Archer is determined to get Klaang back, leading to the crew uncovering a Temporal Cold War. Lives are saved (and the saved return the favor), the teleporter is finally used, and the first mission succeeds not only in its goal, but in establishing the potential for the original crew of the Enterprise.

The episode manages to feel vintage and futuristic in the same moment, presenting technology that convincingly anticipates the gear from The Original Series , showing interactions between species that have grown and shifted and been turned on their heads in a way that calls to the imagination. How did they get from here to The Original Series ? The winning cast, the willingness of the characters to admit to their own flaws and work toward fixing them, and the sheer gumption of humanity makes this a worthy pilot for the prequel series.

“Carbon Creek” (2×02)

Teleplay by Chris Black, Story by Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, and Dan O’Shannon / Directed by James A Contner 

On any other  Star Trek TV show, “Carbon Creek” would not make the top-episodes list. When it comes to  Enterprise, however, this episode was a delightful foray into what this TV series was  so  interested in doing: exploring that early the beginnings of the Vulcan/human relationship.

During dinner one night, T’Pol tells the story of her great-grandmother, T’Mir, and the first contact between humans and Vulcans — in small town 1957 Pennsylvania. (Side note: one of my favorite conceits of the  Enterprise TV show were the dinners Archer, Trip, and T’Pol often had together. What I wouldn’t have given for a similar habit between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy on The Original Series .)

The story is a little hokey, but its charm and humor offset said hokiness in delightful ways. Ultimately, this episode isn’t very important in the larger arc of the show, but it is an entertaining hour of TV — not to mention one that gives T’Pol and Jolene Blalock a lot to do… OK, I need to go now. I Love Lucy is on the night.

“Dead Stop” (2×04)

Written by Mike Sussman & Phyllis Strong / Directed by Roxann Dawson

Enterprise is directed (lured?) to an automated repair station after hitting a Romulan mine. It’s a stroke of incredible luck, which of course turns out to be too good to be true. They’ll get the ship fixed, but the cost is much higher than the warp plasma they agree to pay.

Much of the creepy tone can be credited to Roxann Dawson, Voyager ‘s very own B’Elanna Torres. She not only directed the episode, but also voiced the station’s stubborn and deceptively simplistic computer interface. Archer’s frustrated “I need to talk to a person” is a clear riff on customer service phone menus, and might be funny if his angry request weren’t due to a crewmember apparently dying.

With humanoid villains, “Dead Stop” might be fairly unremarkable. The crew accepts help and gets more than they bargained for, ho hum. But the automated station manages to be more sinister and alien than any guest star, with its clean and bright interiors.

Of course the transforming station that welcomes Enterprise by expanding a drydock and remixing its atmosphere for humans is more than meets the eye. We’re just never quite sure how. Even the conclusion offers no pat explanation, and the story is never followed up — and that’s okay, because sometimes weird things just happen… Especially in the  Star Trek universe.

“Twilight” (3×08)

Written by Michael Sussman / Directed by Robert Duncan McNeill

These season three episode, which sees Archer developing a condition that makes him unable to form long-term memory (think  50 First Dates ) is a quiet episode, but manages to raise the stakes in some terrifying ways — as in: Earth is destroyed and there are only 6,000 humans left in the universe. Yeah, that probably got your attention.

The amnesiac Archer is our POV character, here, and we — like him — are blindsided by the devestation of the human race, the dismantling of much of the Enterprise’s crew, and (yes) T’Pol and Archer’s new relationship.

Ultimately,  Enterprise hits the reset button on this one, but “Twilight” remains a jarring exercise of just how bad things  could  get at the dawn of humanity’s interaction with alien species — and a depressing parallel for real-world conditions like dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease. It also features some pretty great performances from Jolene Blalock and Scott Bakula.

“Similitude” (3×10)

Written by Manny Coto / Directed by LeVar Burton

Damn, this episode is depressing. Many science fiction TV shows, novels, and movies have dared to introduce the “clone is creating for medical reasons” storyline (my favorite of which is the novel Never Let Me Go ), and it gets me nearly every time. However, “Similitude” — which sees the Phlox create Sim, a symbiote of the comatose Trip — is a particularly graceful and affecting depiction of this morally-complex plot. 

When Tucker is injured during an engine explosion, the Enterprise is left engineer-less. Archer gives Phlox the go-ahead to effectively create and raise a clone for the slaughter, to be used to save Trip. Surprise! The kid grows up, gets to know the crew members, and tries to escape because he understandably wants to live.

Enterprise takes a bit of the ethically easy way out by arguing that Trip is instrumental to Enterprise’s success — and, therefore, instrumental for the future of Earth — but it’s thin reasoning. Frankly, the Enterprise  should  be able to move forward without one of its crew members — even someone as charming and mechanically-savvy as Trip.

Ultimately, however, Sim makes the ultimate sacrifice, and — guys — it’s really, really sad.

“In a Mirror, Darkly” (4×18, 4×19)

Written by Michael Sussman; Teleplay by Michael Sussman, Story by Manny Coto / Dircted by James L. Conway and Marvin V. Rush

Every post- The Original Series  Star Trek  series has tried to recreate the magic of “Mirror, Mirror.”. Surprisingly, none of them have been as successful as Enterprise. (Yay,  Enterprise ! You finally won one.)

The “In a Mirror, Darkly” two-parter follows the militaristic adventures of evil Commander Archer and his band of evil, mirror-universe crew members who serve the evil  Terran Empire. (Have you cottoned on to the theme yet?) Tholian v. Terran war plot aside, this episode is a lot of fun for the opportunity to watch these cast member ham it up as evil versions of itself.

Ultimately, though, the reason the mirror universe has always worked so well because it reminds us of the inherent optimism and emphasis on exploration and discovery that have always been at the center of the  Star Trek mythos. To see that same challenge — and eventual reaffirmation — applied to  Enterprise is particularly stirring because of the show’s situation at the beginning of the Federation.

Humanity’s (fictional) entrance onto the galaxy-wide stage could have been different — it could have been one defined by fear and militarism rather than hope and curiosity. Watching “In a Mirror, Darkly,” we’re reminded why it’s so important that it was the latter.

The best part, though? The altered, mirror-universe opening sequence .

Did we miss any of your favorite Star Trek episodes? What do you look for in a Star Trek episode? Sounds off in the comments below…

Den of Geek Staff

The 21 Best Star Trek Original Series Episodes, Ranked

"You know. 1966? 79 episodes, about 30 good ones," said Philip J. Fry of "Futurama" to the jarred, floating head of Leonard Nimoy. This is his animated opinion, of course, but a better question isn't how many are good, but how many of the original "Star Trek" episodes are great. Would you believe 21?

Determining greatness is subjective of course. Popularity isn't a fair indicator of quality, and some fan favorites are guilty pleasures, while others are fun but defective in ways that knock them down from great to merely good. Any episode's overall quality depends on multiple factors: the uniqueness of the premise, the quality of the writing, the story beats, the characterization, guest stars, action, music, production values, and even visual effects. 

Speaking of visual effects, we're not talking about the 15-year-old "remastered" CGI, which already look dated and cartoonish. We're going O.G. all the way. The criteria here is ranking these as the total package rather than the sum of their parts. With that in mind, here's a perhaps controversial list of the 21 greatest "Star Trek: The Original Series" episodes.

21. A Piece of the Action (Season 2, Episode 17)

Although humorous moments abound throughout the original "Star Trek," there aren't many outright comedy episodes. In fact, there are only three: "I Mudd," "A Piece of the Action," and "The Trouble with Tribbles." Most fans I know vote the straight "Tribbles" ticket, but that episode is merely cute-funny, whereas the over-the-top "A Piece of the Action," is actually genuinely funny. The script by Gene L. Coon is more absurd than "Tribbles" and features more comic business. The cherry on top was its helmer, James Komac, who was a gifted comedy writer and director of hundreds of episodes of shows including "Welcome Back, Kotter" and "Chico and the Man" (which he created).

This episode   is almost a meta-commentary and spoof on the "Star Trek" schtick of "strange new worlds" which end up being monocultures thinly based on Earth's history. Here we see why the Prime Directive exists: an entire civilization has modeled itself on the popular mythos of Roaring '20s Chicago mobs. It's literally Planet Cosplay, and an unintentional spoof of fandoms then and now. Two things keep it at this end of the list: it's shamelessly riffing on "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964), and it's almost irredeemably dumb. Fortunately, it's dumb fun, and fun enough to be among the best. "Right?" "Riiiiight."

20. Space Seed (Season 1, Episode 22)

You might be surprised that this comes in so low in a list of greats, but that it merits inclusion at all relies solely on the sheer screen presence and magnetism of its guest star. Khan Noonien Singh is an arrogant egotist and tyrant, but Ricardo Montalbán's confident performance makes him watchable. Minus him, the story defects would relegate this episode to merely "good." Many put this in their top 10, but I suspect that's because it basks in the reflected glow of its cinematic follow-up "The Wrath of Khan."

The script is serviceable but unmemorable and commits the sin of making our heroes foolish instead of making Khan's intelligence and cunning the real danger. Kirk hands this unknown and suspicious character unfettered access to the ship's technical library on a silver platter, and historian Marla McGivers is a pushover who betrays all her shipmates because she's a fangirl of brutish dictators.

Weak story aside, the episode does have strengths. All the performances are good, and the story moves along at a brisk pace. There's memorable dialog, and McCoy really shines when he isn't cowed by Khan holding a scalpel to his neck. There's also some of the best miniature effects work on the show, going to the expense of a custom-made model of the Botany Bay . Montalbán is what makes it a best episode at all, but he alone can't elevate it.

19. The Conscience of the King (Season 1, Episode 13)

This least "Star Trek"-y of "Treks" scores points for being just that. The series premise allows it to be a semi-anthology, able to shift genres without breaking format, so one week it's a psychological drama about the duality of human nature, another time it's about cold war proxies, or planet-killing doomsday machines by way of "Moby Dick," or — as in this case — a Shakespearean tragedy about mercy and revenge. Just As Hamlet must determine whether or not his uncle Claudius murdered his father, so must Captain Kirk determine if actor Anton Karidian is the man once known as Kodos the Executioner. 

Writer Barry Trivers cleverly frames his story within the play that informs it, a bit of dramaturgical license that permits a more theatrical approach. Take, for example, this bit of dialogue from Lenore Karidian: "There's a stain of cruelty on your shining armor, Captain. You could have spared him, and me. You talked of using tools. I was a tool, wasn't l? A tool to use against my father."

This episode exemplifies a shadowy aspect of Kirk's affairs rarely discussed in how he weaponizes romance to get what he wants. The ultimate irony is that he plays Karidian's daughter Lenore in order to get close to her father only to learn that she's been playing him. That it's so different is a double-edged blade that simultaneously makes it a best episode, but nowhere near the top. It was a great stretch for the show.

18. The Immunity Syndrome (Season 2, Episode 18)

This one barely edges out the not-dissimilar and more popular "The Doomsday Machine." Both feature the crew of a sister ship annihilated by a huge alien thing endangering life throughout the galaxy. But where "Doomsday" is a straightforward adventure story driven by an Ahab-like guest star, "Immunity" is more personal, as it features some great and properly motivated Spock and McCoy conflict. 

Too often Bones would goad Spock for no reason, but here their back and forth is professional: two scientists vying for an opportunity to study this alien organism, each feels himself the most qualified to take on what promises to be a suicide mission, and each, perhaps, choosing to make the sacrifice rather than let the other die. But it's Kirk who has to make the final, heartbreaking choice of which of his friends to send. That's classic "Trek."

Given its budget and the visual effects tech of the time, "Star Trek" was rarely able to get across truly alien life forms, but this is a notable exception, and the conceit that the Enterprise must enter the alien entity as a virus infects a cell is a nice twist. The visual effects of the space amoeba thing are fabulous and weird, something the 2007 remastered CGI does not improve on.

17. Day of the Dove (Season 3, Episode 7)

The third season has no classic episodes, but a few come close. "Day of the Dove" is the best of the bunch. The simple premise of exploiting bigotry between our heroes and their cold-war counterparts, the Klingons, works better than it ought. If you want to look for a message, the alien entity that fuels the very hatred and violence it feeds upon can be read as a stand-in for the military-industrial complex, which fans the flames of conflict in order to sell weapons in a perpetual feedback loop. Alternatively, you can just take it for a MacGuffin.

The nefarious influence of the alien entity memorably amplifies the slightest biases of the Enterprise crew, and it's uncomfortable to hear blatant racism coming of out our noble heroes' mouths, especially Scotty's attack on Spock. Michael Ansara plays Kang as no mere mustache-twirling bad guy, but as a shrewd enemy starship commander, an honorable warrior, and a fine opposite to Kirk. By turns personable, calculating, and violent, he's a model Original Series Klingon. Frankly, I'd rather watch him than Khan; your mileage may vary. It's got action. It's got character conflict for days. It's the best the third season has to offer, but it's not as great as the first and second-season entries coming up. 

16. Tomorrow Is Yesterday (Season 1, Episode 19)

The original "Star Trek" didn't play with time travel much, and when it did the results were either very good or they were horrid, with the backdoor pilot "Assignment: Earth" being the low point. "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" features the most offbeat teaser of the series, following an Air Force F-104 interceptor, with the visual punchline that the bogie it's after is the USS Enterprise. 

What follows is illogical as all get out, but the gimmick of the Enterprise being tracked as a UFO and having to undo the temporal damage it's done by being photographed and accidentally crushing that Air Force interceptor is great and the story milks it for all it's worth. No real depth here, but the fun is all in the plot events and reactions of the crew.

There's some great in-character stuff in the episode, including Spock's statement that he too doesn't believe in "little green men," and his one-star ranking of the Air Force film of the Enterprise as "bad photography." Kirk's playfully resigned responses to his Air Force interrogator are great, too. And, hey, Sulu even gets to get off the bridge. The main weakness is the "how does that work?" ending gimmick of beaming people back into their own bodies. Great, but not a classic.

15. Balance of Terror (Season 1, Episode 14)

A fan favorite for good reason, the episode depicts the loneliness of command as Kirk tries to seek and destroy a marauding alien vessel without triggering an outright war. Seeing some of the "lower decks" types makes the Enterprise feel more real and lived in and sells that Kirk's every decision has repercussions beyond the bridge. But it's Mark Lenard's perfectly pitched turn as the unnamed Romulan commander that's most memorable here. Torn over the ramifications of the performance of his duty, he's Kirk's equal in every way, and you can believe that he loses this battle not by dint of any personal failings but merely because his ship is outmatched by the much quicker and faster-firing Enterprise.

For 1966 the effects are great and largely still hold up. The Romulan ship is simple and distinctive, and the music is spot on. The main thing keeping it out of the top 10 is that it so baldly swipes elements of the films "Run Silent Run Deep" and "The Enemy Below," slapping pointed ears on the German Kriegsmarine story from the latter film, borrowing its war-weary commander and a subordinate fanatically loyal to their political leader. In "Arena," the show paid for the rights of the story it was cribbed from and credited the author. No such screen credit graces this obvious lift.

14. The Ultimate Computer (Season 2, Episode 24)

Kirk's infamous for offing overzealous computers (see: Landru in "Return of the Archons," Nomad in "The Changeling," and the androids of "I Mudd"), but his personal best computer kill is in "The Ultimate Computer." Here he doesn't merely meltdown the M5 Multitronic unit by confronting its flawed logic regarding its purpose; he aims a precise surgical strike at the chink he spots in its programming armor: appealing to the morality inherent in the memory engrams its all too human creator imprinted it with, causing it to reason it must die to pay for the sin of murder.

This episode is character-driven, with Kirk confronting his own redundancy and possible irrelevancy even as Spock and McCoy make their loyalty and friendship clear. Guest star William Marshall's turn as the deranged Dr. Daystrom is a standout, ranking among the best of the show.

All this drama is supported by some fine action, as M5 reduces a redshirt to a puff of smoke, photon torpedoes a robot ship, and then nearly destroys four sister ships of the Enterprise, actually killing the entire crew of one. Even the light ending — which often play as callous given the events which precede them in many episodes — is acceptable here because it's about Spock and McCoy, not Kirk. But it's still Kirk vs. the Computer, and those are never "Star Trek" at the very top of their game.

13. The Cage (Original Pilot)

Forget "The Menagerie" with its paper-thin envelope around the first pilot, repetitive courtroom scenes, and forced cliffhangers, all of which render it a solid but not great installment. But on its own "The Cage" is not just a great launchpad for what "Star Trek" is and would become, but an imaginative and well-executed story in its own right. Gene Roddenberry's script is smart, with the atrophied Talosian aliens a satirical stand-in for TV audiences who might rather live other people's fantasies than experience adventures of their own. While it's a bit talky and static in places, when they're in action it's great stuff — notably the laser cannon scene and Pike's illusory fight on Rigel VII.

Visually it's terrific. This was the most expensive episode ever made , and it shows. The sets, costumes, makeups, and many special effects are top-notch for a show of the era particularly the matte shot of the Rigel VII fortress. The pacing's a bit loose, the characters don't pop due to the largely meh casting, and "THE WOMEN!" Number One and Yeoman Colt secretly wanting to bone the Captain is cringeworthy. However, guest star Susan Oliver's performance is the standout here, followed by Leonard Nimoy as Spock. Ultimately, it's just as well that the far more energetic William Shatner stepped in to replace Jeffrey Hunter's less-than-charismatic version of Captain Pike .

12. Arena (Season 1, Episode 18)

If any episode of "Star Trek" is truly iconic, this is it. The action set piece on Cestus III is the biggest of any in the series, with running and jumping and explosions galore, a redshirt vaporization, a detonating tricorder, and a photon torpedo-sque mortar. Once back on the Enterprise, Kirk's dogged determination to overtake and destroy the enemy ship demonstrates the obsessive nature of his character, but communication with his alien foe plants a seed of doubt which ultimately empowers him to practice what he preached in "A Taste of Armageddon: " We're human beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it. We can admit that we're killers, but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes. Knowing that we won't kill today."

Kirk doesn't kill, and it saves the day. It lands here amongst the best because the story ends with the overused first-season gimmick of the godlike entity — the others being Gary Mitchell, Charlie-X Evans and his Thasian truant officers, Trelane the god-child, and the Organians — but the Metrons are more a plot device than anything. The Gorn is a great and worthy adversary, even as its slow-motion gestures are laughable. Spock hanging a lantern on Kirk's cannon-building is a bit much, but hey, he's the costar and has to do something. 

11. Where No Man Has Gone Before (Season 1, Episode 3)

This might be a surprise but despite the second pilot weirdness of different uniforms, series crew regulars appearing not at all (McCoy, Uhura) or in different jobs (Sulu is an astrophysicist), and Spock's not-quite-there characterization and more severe makeup, the core "Star Trek"-ness is there in spades. Kirk makes a risky decision in the first act and must deal with the building consequences for the balance of the show, finally shouldering personal responsibility for his decision in the worst way possible: in order to save his ship and crew, he's forced to kill a subordinate shipmate and friend.

The episode looks great (being far more expensive than any regular production episode), repurposes the planet set built for the even more expensive first pilot, and features more optical effects than would be the norm for a production episode. Most importantly, William Shatner's Kirk projects leading-man charisma of the sort that's arguably what sold the show. It also delivers on Gene Roddenberry's original high-concept pitch of a "Wagon Train to the stars" where stories would focus on strong guest stars interacting with the recurring cast. The script is not without its flaws, and had Gary Mitchell been a tad more likable the drama would have played even better. Still, two thumbs way up.

10. A Taste of Armageddon (Season 1, Episode 23)

"New civilizations" planet stories rarely yielded great episodes, often setting up straw man civilizations for Kirk to knock down, but this one bucks the trend with a story smart enough to rank among the best. Kirk vs. the Computer legendarily has Kirk talk the machine to death, but now and again he goes for the direct approach. Here the computers coldly run simulations and select innocents to die, and Kirk has zero compunction about blasting them, finally forcing the two civilizations to finally attempt to negotiate peace after 500 years of a "war" where death has been made so neat and tidy they see it as a necessary evil rather than something to stop.

Goodies include Scotty's head-butting with Ambassador Fox, Kirk's arguments about war with Anan 7, and Kirk threatening to have the Enterprise rain destruction down on a planet that's not faced a real attack in centuries. The moral? Any war held at arm's length is mere statistics, something the American people had grown accustomed to until television thrust the reality of Vietnam into their living rooms each evening. That's a lesson we must learn over and over again in conflicts where we increasingly use long-range and smart weapons to strike people we never even see. It's a message as relevant today as when it was first aired.

9. The Corbomite Maneuver (Season 1, Episode 10)

Effectively the "third pilot" of "Star Trek," this was the first regular production episode to go before the cameras and it had the luxury of a rehearsal day, a solid director, and a fine script. It even ends with a quintessential "Trek" twist: our implacable foe ends up being an erstwhile friend. By rights, this should've been the first episode to air as it sets up the whole show, but it was nowhere near ready at the premiere , in part due to the sheer number of optical effects in post-production. Dr. McCoy is wonderful from his first appearance, and his camaraderie and professional conflict with Kirk set the stage for their entire relationship.

The weird flagship Fesarius is pure alien goodness, and the Balok puppet is iconic. Memorable business includes Sulu's countdown, Spock's logic and resulting lack of imagination, Scotty's comment about Spock's parents, and McCoy and Kirk's conflict over Bailey. A highlight is the briefing room scene, with its lived-in atmosphere with piles of tapes and empty cups of coffee showing instead of telling us how hard the crew has been working on their predicament. Likewise, the Enterprise feels like a real lived-in ship, with corridors bustling with the crew, something the show would lose as fixed costs increased and studio budgets didn't grow to match . It's one of the 10 best, held back only because it drags in some spots.

8. The Galileo Seven (Season 1, Episode 16)

Albeit loosely inspired by the survivor drama "Five Came Back" (1939), this episode charts its own course as Spock tries and fails to resolve a potentially lethal situation with logic alone. It's rare that adventure shows of the time would depict a lead character failing, but that's just what "The Galileo Seven" does. 

As in "The Corbomite Maneuver," we are again shown that Spock's logic can serve as blinders that prevent him from seeing all the possibilities even as he tells Scott "there are always alternatives." As such, he expects the giant natives to react rationally to a show of force and brings them right down on the party. He's likewise ill-equipped to deal with the emotional frailties of the crew under his command, especially the insolent and insubordinate Lt. Boma, memorably played by Don Marshall, later of "Land of the Giants."

The B-story with Kirk desperately trying to locate the lost shuttle against a ticking clock demonstrates the sorts of no-win scenarios a ship captain must face. The production scores visually for the full-size shuttlecraft, as well as the visual effects depicting it and its sister crafts' departure and return to the Enterprise hangar deck.

7. The Naked Time (Season 1, Episode 4)

The fourth episode aired, "The Naked Time" is the foundational character-building segment of the series, peeling away the surface of Kirk and Spock and revealing a bit of what makes them tick. It's also entertaining as hell, with a slow burn as the crew is at first blissfully ignorant of the inhibition-inhibiting compound brought aboard and then having to deal with the resulting chaos. Sulu's descent into madness is charming, and George Takei was always at his most charismatic when he got to play unhinged. Sadly, neither Uhura nor Rand's secret selves get explored, and poor Chapel's reduced to pining for Spock as her primary character trait for most of the series.

The only weak spot here is that the "science" part of science fiction went out of the airlock. A collapsing planet is as preposterous an idea as the notion that the Enterprise is forced to constantly alter its orbit to study it. But guest crewman Kevin Riley is fun and Scotty gets two great lines here, the first being "I can't change the laws of physics," and the second an example of technobabble that's simple and audience-friendly: "You can't mix matter and antimatter cold!"

6. The Devil in the Dark (Season 1, Episode 25)

The episode is unique for being the only one to open with no sign of the Enterprise or her crew. Effectively a redo of series opener "The Man Trap," this episode succeeds where its predecessor fails not merely because the crew act more rationally but because a narrative twist turns the titular "Devil" into a sympathetic character. The Kirk-Spock dynamic is on fine display here as Spock first wishes to capture the creature alive and Kirk wants it dead, but Spock's feelings for his captain override his desire for scientific knowledge the instant he believes Kirk is in danger. 

Spock urges his captain to "Kill it!" even as Kirk susses out that the creature may be more than a monster. This is the first instance of Spock mind-melding with a wholly alien life form, a gimmick which would be taken to preposterous extremes in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." Leonard Nimoy's "pain!" emoting is a bit over the top even for the time and keeps the episode out of the top five. Otherwise, he and William Shatner display the chemistry that made the show work even when the scripts let them down. This script does not let them down.

5. Journey to Babel (Season 2, Episode 10)

This world-building episode fires on all cylinders and never misses a beat. If writers then or now needed a model for how to write "Star Trek," this is it, and it's hands down the best episode penned by Dorothy "D.C." Fontana. There's a story conflict as the Enterprise ferries quarrelsome ambassadors and their aides to the titular "Babel" conference over a matter of Federation business. There's an interpersonal conflict between not just Spock and his parents but also between Spock and Kirk and Bones over relinquishing command. 

There's physical conflict as ambassadors brawl, one is murdered, and Kirk is ambushed and wounded. We meet lots of aliens, see a bit of galactic politics, and get a nail-biter of a finish as McCoy tries to perform delicate surgery while Kirk struggles to keep it together amidst attacks by a seemingly unstoppable, unknown ship.

Mark Lenard returns not as a Romulan but as Spock's Vulcan father, Ambassador Sarek, who picks up on Leonard Nimoy's Vulcan portrayal and crafts one uniquely his own. Memorable too is Reggie Nalder, whose burn-scarred face and Austrian accent accentuate his alienness in the role of the blue-skinned Andorian delegate Thelev, and established Andorians as Federation members , who would not be explored on TV for decades. Spock's family drama is a bit conventional for an alien culture, and just a dash more of the Vulcan alienness we got in Ted Sturgeon's "Amok Time" would have made this perfect.

4. The Enemy Within (Season 1, episode 5)

With a script that takes a pinch of "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and adds a dash of "All About Eve," "The Enemy Within" really delivers on the "Star Trek" promise to be an "adult" show by exploring the uncomfortable idea that even the noblest have a dark side, and that our shadow selves are necessary parts of being human. The scenes with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy crackle with intellectual and emotional tension, and Spock finding Kirk's condition so "fascinating" neatly propels the drama while hinting at his own duality. William Shatner's twin performances as the understated compassionate Kirk and the scenery-chewing "imposter" demonstrate his range.

A few missteps are the weird editing, where events happen out of order, such as when Spock states they have an intruder aboard long after they've established the transporter duplicated the dog-thing; Rand being expected to stand up for herself in front of her alleged attacker, Kirk; and the silliness of Spock reporting that the malfunctioning transporter duplicated the thermal heaters beamed down and not thinking to beam down blankets or other insulation to help keep the stranded Sulu and company from becoming human popsicles. Additionally, Spock's closing crack at Rand about the imposter's qualities was and remains cringeworthy.

3. Mirror Mirror (Season 2, Episode 4)

This is the poster child for episodes that manage to become classics despite the premise being as dumb as a box of rocks. Absolutely nothing about the scenario makes a lick of sense. There's a parallel universe where all the same people end up on the same ship despite having vastly different histories and a culture of assassination. The starships in both universes happen to be on the same planet and beaming the same four people at the exact same time, and our parallel-universe leaping characters and their barbaric counterparts somehow switch wardrobes — and presumably underwear — mid-transporter beam.

What saves it is the sheer entertainment value of this gaudier imperial Starfleet and the skewed versions of familiar regulars inhabiting it. Evil Sulu's a sweaty seducer, mirror Chekov is a back-stabbing opportunist, and bearded Spock was a meme before we knew we had memes. The best Uhura performance can be found here, and Nichelle Nichols should be remembered for this over that overrated and involuntary interracial kiss. The only thing that could have made it better was had Yeoman Rand been brought back as "the Captain's Woman." The big speech to mirror Spock about the illogic of waste is Kirk at his Kirkiest, and that's the perfect capper on a perfectly entertaining classic that ranks right near the top.

2. Amok Time (Season 2, Episode 1)

The Vulcan episode to rule them all is one of those rare world-building episodes of the original series, except here the strange new world is Spock's home planet. Vulcan civilization is memorably introduced in a most unexpected way by demonstrating that the cooly logical Spock is anything but when it's time to swim upstream and spawn, whereas his mate-to-be, T'Pring , employs the logic Spock adores in order to escape her obligations to him and make her own choices. 

Everything about the scenes on Vulcan works splendidly, from matriarch T'Pau's officiating and T'Pring's challenge to the big Kirk-Spock battle. Okay, and the wonderful and memorable OTT music is the icing on the cake. The first half on the Enterprise has some nice comic moments as well as some solid Kirk-Spock-McCoy interaction, but, as with many episodes where a mystery is involved, the tension of the first half doesn't play quite as well on repeat viewings. 

Fortunately, the drama and conflict on Vulcan are top-notch and hold up. The punchline in sickbay is a classic, because the bigger the dramatic tension, the bigger the comic release, and, given all the action on the planet, the funny tag feels totally earned for a change.

1. The City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1, Episode 28)

No surprise here, as it tops a great many lists, but "City" excels not only because the core drama is compelling but because of the care with which it was put together. The most expensive regular production episode of the series , all the money is up there on the screen, from the period costumes to the backlot shooting, new sets, stock footage, and the flashing Guardian time donut. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley are all in fine form here. Guest star Joan Collins isn't great but she's fine.

Story-wise, the fish-out-of-water situation, the incredibly high stakes, and the crushing inevitable tragedy make this the exemplary segment. Even gutted by ham-fisted staff rewrites by the "Trek" staff (in my opinion), Harlan Ellison's core story premise remains moving in spite of the on-the-nose sermon by Edith, the racist joke at Spock's expense, and the complete absence of the tragic Trooper character on whom the irony of who amongst us "matters" hinged. Kirk's episode-closing "Let's get the hell out of here" was not any kind of TV first, but it was the perfect minimalist button that the story needed. What more was there to say?

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The best Star Trek series, ranked

Ready to settle in and watch some Star Trek episodes? Since there are so many, we’ve ranked all of the different series to help you get started on your quest.

Star Trek is one of the greatest franchises ever created. If you're new to the world of transporters and holodecks, you have so much wonderful content to catch up on — of course, some would say too much content.

Since there are over 850 episodes and counting (all of which you can stream on Paramount+ ), watching all of Star Trek can be more difficult than fighting a Gorn in the desert. To make things easier for you to get started, we've ranked every series (besides the short-form series Short Treks ) of this long-running franchise. Some of these choices were a bit daunting to play favorites with, but, like Jim Kirk, there's no belief in the no-win scenario.

Without further ado, here's our list of every Star Trek series ranked from worst to best.

11. Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

Star Trek: Picard was meant to be like comfort food to fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation . And whether fans were turned off by the changes in franchise direction with shows like Discovery or just wanted to see Patrick Stewart back in action, Paramount clearly thought this show would be almost universally beloved.

That didn't happen . The warm and fuzzy feeling of seeing a few familiar faces in the first season evaporated because of an often-confusing plot about androids. The second season continued this confusion with a time-travel story that often bordered on incoherence. While many Star Trek shows take a few seasons to hit their stride, it was shocking that so much of this relatively short series was seemingly created with "make it so-so" in mind.

10. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974)

If you're in the right mood (or you've been sipping on some Saurian brandy), Star Trek: The Animated Series has some wacky entertainment value. Any given episode had the writers throwing in stories like a giant version of a beloved character. And the animators threw some fun curveballs, including making the embodiment of evil into a shirtless hottie that would make even shirtless Kirk jealous.

However, this animated show was often caught between two very different worlds. It wasn't fully a return to the (relatively) grounded exploration of space, science, and morality of The Original Series . And it didn't fully lean into the chaotic possibilities of a cartoon world (something Lower Decks would later handle much better). So, while more and more elements of The Animated Series have become canonical thanks to shows like Discovery , and it's fun to hear the voice acting of the Original Series cast, this cartoon is one that all but the most hardcore fans can skip.

9. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005)

Despite what you might have heard, Star Trek: Enterprise is not a bad show. It just didn't start as a very good show. The series was tragically canceled after the fourth season, which was arguably when it had just begun to hit its stride (thanks in part to longer story arcs and a really fun glimpse into Trek 's popular Mirror Universe).

At the end of the day, Enterprise is a show best enjoyed by Star Trek fans that like to pore over the Memory Alpha wiki and familiarize themselves with Trek minutiae. As a prequel show, it laid the groundwork for everything from Starfleet policy to alien interactions that other shows explore in more detail. If you don't have a shot at winning any Star Trek trivia contests at your local bar, it's still worth watching how captivating Scott Bakula can be in the captain's seat.

8. Star Trek: Prodigy (2021–present)

Star Trek: Prodigy was very difficult to rank. Unlike the other two Trek cartoons, this series was explicitly designed for younger audiences. Paramount clearly wants to use this show as a gateway for these younger fans to explore the wider world of Star Trek , but there are enough elements (most notably the return of Kate Mulgrew , reprising her role as Captain Janeway via a holographic form) to keep veteran franchise fans invested.

Ultimately, your enjoyment of this series will be largely dependent on how much you enjoy animated/YA entertainment. If nothing else, you should check out the first two episodes of this show to see just how beautiful the CGI animation can get.

7. Star Trek: Discovery (2017–present)

If Enterprise is the Star Trek show cut off too soon, Discovery may very well be the first Star Trek show to outlive its welcome, though it will end after its fifth season . There are many things the show gets right, from nifty effects to quirky characters to amazing casting (seriously, Sonequa Martin-Green is electrifying whenever she is on screen).

The show veers from a disjointed-but-interesting first season to a mesmerizing second season, which gets a real shot in the arm by introducing Captain Pike (played by the inimitably charming Anson Mount ) and Spock (played as a perfect homage to Leonard Nimoy by Ethan Peck). Later seasons, however, prove that the series can't get away from galactic-level threats, and character drama begins overriding plot development enough that we want to slingshot around the sun and return this series to its earlier roots.

6. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)

Like many Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager had a rocky beginning, and it was often overshadowed by the excellent Deep Space Nine . Ironically, Voyager dramatically improved with what could be a cynical casting stunt: adding the alluring Jeri Ryan (constantly wearing a catsuit, no less).

Though it really looked like a desperate ratings stunt, Ryan turned the reformed Borg Seven of Nine into the most interesting character on the show. And, despite their alleged clashes behind the scenes, the actress helped to elevate every scene she shared with Kate Mulgrew. Between the new cast member, improved writing, and Mulgrew being nothing short of a damned icon, Voyager soon became appointment television, and it's definitely worth binge-watching for modern audiences.

5. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020–present)

Lower Decks is an impressive show for many reasons, including the fact that its execution elevates its initial premise, which focuses on the lives of the lower-level staffers aboard the starship. Because showrunner Mike McMahan previously wrote for Rick and Morty and the animation takes its cues from the cartoon adventures of Rick Sanchez, many fans may have assumed Lower Decks would simply be " Star Trek meets Rick and Morty ."

Thankfully, that's not the case. Aside from animation similarities, the main element these two cartoons have in common is a breakneck, borderline chaotic pace. But as entertaining as it can be, Rick and Morty is an often nihilistic show with gags revolving around how nothing really matters. Lower Decks , however, is a lighthearted series that serves as the cure to modern Trek . If you've dismissed other contemporary series such as Discovery and Picard because they are grim, violent, and serious, Lower Decks is a wonderfully lighthearted alternative that is never afraid to poke fun at its own franchise.

4. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a truly pleasant surprise to fans of the franchise. Set years before Captain Kirk sat in that famous chair, we see Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount reprising the role) lead the U.S.S. Enterprise into bizarre adventures alongside some familiar characters (Ethan Peck returning as Spock, for example) and a few new ones.

Part of what helps this show shine is that it marks a return to episodic Trek in that every installment is a self-contained adventure as opposed to other newer series like Discovery and Picard , which build entire seasons around a single plot. The characters all ooze with the same swashbuckling charm of The Original Series characters, and we can't wait to see more of their adventures. We also can't wait to see more of Anson Mount's amazing hair (arguably the most awesome practical effect in the franchise).

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)

Star Trek: The Next Generation has the dubious honor of being the first Trek show where veteran fans warn against new fans starting at the very beginning. Early episodes ranged from stupidly horny (planetary inhabitants in the episode "Justice" were barely wearing scraps of clothing) to ridiculously racist ("Code of Honor" may very well be the worst Star Trek episode ever made). Many of these problems stemmed from the fact that despite being called "The Next Generation," the show was trying to recreate The Original Series (right down to using some of the same writers and shamelessly reusing scripts from the scrapped Star Trek: Phase II series).

As fans like to joke, the show got better as Commander Riker's beard got longer. Season 2 was a major improvement, which was then usurped by season 3, which brought in new uniforms, new sets, and Michael Piller to head up the writing team. Just like that, TNG embraced its differences from its famous forerunner (Picard was cerebral whereas Kirk was impulsive, Data yearned for emotion whereas Spock detested it, and so on). At last, the gamble paid off, and the next generation of this franchise ushered in the next generation of Star Trek fans.

2. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)

What can we say about The Original Series that hasn't been said already? Gene Roddenberry successfully fused science fiction with American pioneer spirit to create his vision of this " Wagon Train to the stars." The episodes were both fun and thought-provoking in equal measure, and William Shatner as Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, among many others, turned in performances that seared themselves into our collective pop culture consciousness.

The Original Series offered social commentary about racism, imperialism, and (often to Spock's annoyance) the human condition. And the blend of big acting, ambitious sets, and poignant plots helped this show become something truly transcendent. The OG Star Trek shaped not only the future of the franchise but television itself, and it's not hard to see why it continues to win over new generations of fans year after year.

1. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)

Placing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the top spot is perhaps a contentious decision. However, this series did more than measure up to the quality of The Next Generation (a lofty feat in and of itself). The show also made a number of storytelling and production choices that have helped DS9 seem more relevant in recent years than ever before, including tackling issues about race, religious fundamentalism, and war on a regular basis.

Perhaps the main way DS9 feels so pertinent is that the show broke the longstanding Trek rule of making only standalone episodes. As the powers that be focused more on creating their next show, Voyager , DS9 showrunner Ira Steven Behr was able to get away with creating long story arcs and frequent episode callbacks. The end result of this is that Deep Space Nine is the first of the pre-streaming era Trek shows that is perfect for binge-watching.

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The 10 best Star Trek: The Original Series episodes of all time

Boldly go where no binge-watcher has gone before.

Star Trek took televised sci-fi mainstream.

That isn’t hyperbole. It’s historical fact. While shows like The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone and Lost in Space preceded Star Trek , none of those shows broke through and created a fandom as widespread and enduring as the original adventures of the starship Enterprise .

Since 2011, Netflix has made Star Trek: The Original Series available for streaming in the US. But that era will end on September 30, 2021.

If you’re a sci-fi fan, or even a Star Trek fan who has never really delved into The Original Series , this is your last chance to watch the show on Netflix. Out of the 79 installments in TOS , which episodes should you actually binge?

To get a good sense of what The Original Series is actually like, here are 10 essential episodes. These might not be everyone’s “best” episodes of TOS , but if you watch these ones in this exact order, it’s the fastest hack to get at what all the Trekkie fuss is about. Only mild spoilers ahead for Star Trek: The Original Series .

Kirk and Bones get ready to boldly go.

“The Corbomite Maneuver”

On Netflix: Season 1, Episode 11

Netflix wants you to start watching TOS with “The Cage.” Resist! This is not a great way to start the series.

“The Cage” was an unaired pilot for Star Trek , later retconned into a flashback within the episode “The Menagerie.” While some fans may argue you’ll want to watch “The Cage” to get the backstory of the series, starting with “The Cage” will just confuse you as to why people like this show. Tonally, it’s nothing like the rest of TOS . And the cast, other than Leonard Nimoy as Spock, is totally different.

For this reason, start with “The Corbomite Maneuver.” Why? Well, even though it was the 10th episode ever aired, this episode was the first regular episode ever filmed. Unlike the two pilot episodes (“The Cage” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before”) the actors in this episode are, for the most part, in the roles we know and love them for. The episode begins with Spock saying something is “fascinating” and then, after the title credits, Kirk is walking around without his shirt. The vibe of this episode is amazing, the tension is excellently handled, and the final twist is utterly absurd. This is what classic Trek feels like.

The earliest instance of people on Star Trek watching Star Trek.

“The Menagerie Parts 1 and 2”

On Netflix: Season Episodes 12 and 13.

Here’s where you can get your dose of “The Cage” and fully understand Spock’s relationship to his captain before Kirk: Captain Christopher Pike. Although this is a two-part episode, the time pretty much flies by.

Because Strange New Worlds comes out in 2022, this story is essential to understanding where Spock was before TOS , not to mention who the hell Number One is. The way this episode frames “The Cage” in the context of the regular series is also super-smart; basically, the regular characters watch parts of another episode of Star Trek.

Also, across the franchise, any Star Trek episode that involves a courtroom drama of some kind is usually a winner. Weirdly, combined with “Amok Time,” this episode might lead you to believe that Spock tries to hijack the Enterprise all the time. He doesn’t. But it sure seems that way.

Spock being awesome in the phaser control room.

“Balance of Terror”

On Netflix: Season 1, Episode 15

Everyone loves to talk about the Klingons in Star Trek , but before the Klingons were ever introduced, the first and best big Trek baddies were the Romulans. As episodes of TOS go, “Balance of Terror” is tightly plotted and emotionally affecting.

Because long-time fans take this episode for granted, we tend to forget about the innovative reveal of the Romulans in general. If you don’t know why the reveal about the Romulans is huge, I won’t spoil it here. Let’s just say it was very gutsy for TOS to create an evil empire that had very close ties to one of its greatest heroes. Also, the slow-burn spaceship battles absolutely slap.

Don’t mess with Kirk.

“A Taste of Armageddon”

On Netflix: Season 1, Episode 24

This is a bit of a sleeper episode of TOS , and it’s massively underrated. Almost every good thing about classic Star Trek happens in this episode. Revealing the premise is a bit of a cheat, but let’s just say the plot involved Kirk and Spock fighting against a culture totally reliant on algorithms and automation.

The twist in this episode is all about what things this particular culture has automated. And when Kirk and Spock figure the culture’s secret, the space sh*t hits the fan big time.

Kirk and Spock don’t always fight to the death, but when they do, they do it in style.

“Amok Time”

On Netflix: Season 2, Episode 1

A classic. You already probably know that Spock and Kirk are supposed to fight to the death in this one. But if you don't know why, exactly, this episode will blow you away. This is the first time we get “live long and prosper,” and a ton of background on the planet Vulcan. From Discovery to the reboot movies , a ton of Trek flows from this single episode.

There’s a lot of ass-kicking in this episode. You’ve been warned! It may be too awesome to handle!

“Mirror, Mirror”

On Netflix: Season 2, Episode 4

In The Original Series , this one episode was the only visit to the evil universe in which Starfleet is basically a conquering force, and Spock has a little goatee. The Mirror Universe returned big time in both Deep Space Nine and Discovery , and all the rules of that hyperbolic dimension were established here. This episode is over-the-top and full of heart, two elements that made TOS the memorable and charmingly upbeat franchise launcher it was. But seriously, this episode is very over the top. Be ready.

The Enterprise versus the Star Trek version of the Death Star.

“The Doomsday Machine”

On Netflix: Season 2, Episode 6

As the title suggests, the Enterprise faces off against a giant automated weapon even more powerful than the Death Star! When this episode first aired in 1967, the titular “Doomsday Machine” didn’t look very cool.

However, the remastered version of this episode (which is the Netflix version) looks fantastic. Plus, in this episode, you get another Federation starship, the USS Constellation ! Finally, although The Wrath of Khan calcified the franchise’s obsession with Moby Dick , that tradition started right here.

Uhura meets the first tribble. Watch out!

“The Trouble With Tribbles”

On Netflix: Season 2, Episode 15

You’ve heard of this one. There are these fuzzy little balls called tribbles, and they’re all over the place. Although the kitsch in this episode is cranked all the way up to eleven, the episode totally holds up. Come for the tribbles, but stay for Kirk’s awesome cutdowns throughout the entire episode. A lighthearted romp that is a classic Trek outing for a reason. Also, the Klingons are silly AF in this one.

Spock and the Romulans.

“The Enterprise Incident”

On Netflix: Season 3, Episode 2

Season 3 of TOS is often derided by hardcore fans, and sometimes for very good reasons. Overall, the batting average of TOS Season 3 is fairly low compared to the previous two seasons.

However, the excellent espionage episode “The Enterprise Incident” is not only super-fun but also a semi-direct sequel to “Balance of Terror.” This list is biased in favor of the Romulans over the Klingons, and this is one Romulan episode that delivers.

Kirk and Spock rock the best spacesuits in all of Star Trek.

“The Tholian Web”

On Netflix: Season 3, Episode 9

Perhaps not the most tightly written episode of TOS , “The Tholian Web” is beautiful from a visual standpoint. From the zany all-silver spacesuits to the concept of tiny ships weaving an energy web around the Enterprise , to a certain character haunting the crew members as a space ghost, this episode has it all.

Don’t think about the plot too much. Just embrace the gonzo visual sci-fi aesthetic of classic Trek, and you’ll have a great time. As a bonus, “The Tholian Web” later became a backdoor canon Rosetta Stone for two episodes of Enterprise and nearly half of Discovery Season 1.

There’s obviously a lot more TOS to love and enjoy, so if you are curious about other great episodes after you binge these ten, think about hitting up: “The Devil in the Dark,” “The City on the Edge of Forever,” “The Naked Time,” “Shore Leave,” “Arena,” “Journey to Babel,” “A Piece of the Action,” “A Private Little War,” “The Galileo Seven,” “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky,” and “ All Our Yesterdays.”

Star Trek: The Original Series is streaming now on Netflix and leaves on September 30, 2021. It also streams on Paramount+ from now until presumably the heat death of the known universe.

This article was originally published on Sep. 18, 2021

• Science Fiction

Best Star Trek: The Original Series episodes

These are the best Star Trek: The Original Series episodes to watch to understand the show's enduring legacy throughout the franchise.

The first thing you need to know about Star Trek: The Original Series is that it only lasted for three seasons. The second thing you need to know is that there’s a pretty good reason for that. Its catalog of episodes is wildly uneven, with stories that range from the cringeworthy to the simply dull, but the good ones are oh, so very good. 

In fact, the impact of the best Star Trek: The Original Series episodes is still being felt by the franchise to this very day. Some introduced characters that would later become legendary, others set a standard for storytelling that any show would be proud to match. Others laid a foundation for concepts, plotlines, or themes that would become part of the immutable essence of what “Star Trek” is.

It’s also worth mentioning that even when Star Trek whiffed, it was because the writers were swinging for the fences. Airing during an unprecedented era of U.S. social history, Star Trek genuinely wanted to give audiences a new way of looking at issues like racism, politics, war, and violence. Sometimes it succeeded, sometimes it didn’t, but there was true nobility in the attempt. And hey, it also made things like “phaser” and “transporter” everyday language, which is also pretty cool.

Even hardcore fans typically agree that revisiting the entire run of Star Trek: TOS isn’t the best use of your time, so here are the ten best Star Trek episodes to watch in order to fully soak up the vibe. 

If you're on the other side of the of the Kirk vs Picard debate, then you should check out our guide to the best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes too.

10. The Tholian Web

• Season 3, Episode 9
• Original airdate: November 15, 1968

The heart of TOS was always the unlikely trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, whose relationship is a tumultuous mix of camaraderie, respect, affection, and frustration. Kirk disappears while the Enterprise is investigating the cause behind the loss of all hands aboard The Defiant, leaving Spock and McCoy to argue about what to do next. 

The ship is in jeopardy, but Kirk might still be alive — Spock’s cool logic is naturally at odds with McCoy’s passionate response. Kirk was always the buffer between those two strong personalities, and watching them interact without his calming presence is, as Spock would say, fascinating. 

9. The Doomsday Machine

• Season 2, Episode 6
• Original airdate: October 20, 1967

Beneath its sheen of bravado and machismo, Star Trek was ultimately about self-sacrifice for the greater good. Kirk was never hesitant to put himself at risk to protect his crew, a character trait he inherited from his father if the 2009 Kelvin timeline movie is to be believed. The Enterprise discovers The Constellation after its disastrous run-in with a planet killer: a miles-long machine that destroys planets and devours the rubble as fuel. Phasers have no effect on the behemoth, so Kirk devises a plan to fly the Constellation straight down its maw and explode it from within. 

Fortunately, Spock and Scotty manage a small alteration to the plan and beam Kirk back to the Enterprise before he meets his maker. The Enterprise has a habit of going toe-to-toe with enormous threats, and the Doomsday Machine is one of the biggest. 

8. The Squire of Gothos 

• Season 1, Episode 17
• Original airdate: January 12, 1967

The Squire of Gothos walked so that Q could run. A being calling himself General Trelane (retired) starts messing with Kirk and crew for his own amusement. He snatches them from their ship, changes their clothes, even forces them to stand trial — sound familiar? 

It’s impossible to watch The Squire of Gothos and not see a direct throughline to John DeLancie’s portrayal of the all-powerful imp who delights in Picard’s frustration. Interestingly, the end of the episode appears to reveal Trelane to be a child (or at least childlike), despite his appearance.  

7. Space Seed

• Season 1, Episode 22
• Original airdate: February 16, 1967

If you read our list of Star Trek movies ranked worst to best , you already know why this episode makes the list. Space Seed introduces the one and only Khan Noonien Singh and sets up the action that will later take place in the film The Wrath of Khan. 

The Enterprise comes across Khan and his followers in stasis. Upon their revival, they attempt to take over the Enterprise. Their plan is foiled and Kirk exiles them to Ceti Alpha V…and we all know what happens next. Even if it didn’t precede such a phenomenal film, Space Seed would make this list as an example of how fast and loose Kirk often plays with others’ lives. 

6. Amok Time

• Season 2, Episode 1
• Original airdate: September 15, 1967

First appearance of Pavel Chekov and the very first glimpse of Vulcan? Even if neither of those happened, Amok Time would still make this list for being one of many examples of Kirk being willing to to defy Starfleet in order to save his crew, and Spock in particular. 

Kirk requests permission to take the Enterprise to Vulcan because Spock is in the grips of pon farr, the “mate or die” condition unique to Vulcans. On Vulcan, Spock’s intended demands that he fight a champion of her choosing in order to prove he deserves her — and then she selects Kirk. Ever seen Cable Guy? Yep, this is what that’s parodying .  

5. The Menagerie Pts 1 & 2

• Season 1, Episodes 11 & 12
• Original airdate: November 17 & 24, 1966

Star Trek’s beginning was a little messy. Its first pilot (yes, there was more than one) featured Captain Pike, not Kirk, in an episode called The Cage. The Menagerie cleverly repackages that episode as Spock recalling events that took place when he served under Captain Pike — a relationship recreated first in Star Trek Discovery and more recently in Strange New Worlds. 

Majel Barrett, who would go on to not just be the voice of the Enterprise computer but also Counselor Troi’s mum, stars as Pike’s first officer, Number One. Few episodes of TOS passed on as many different kinds of legacy as The Menagerie.  

• Season 1, Episode 18
• Original airdate: January 19, 1967

Arena features one of Star Trek’s most frequently visited recurring themes: humanity’s propensity for violence. An unknown vessel fires upon the Enterprise, which gives chase. Both ships venture into the territory of the Metrons, which decide to settle the matter by pitting Kirk and the other vessel’s captain against each other in one-on-one combat. The winner’s ship gets to go free, the loser, not so much. 

The other captain is the reptilian Gorn who Kirk fells after cobbling together a bazooka out of bamboo and rocks; if you were ever wondering where the “rudimentary lathe” joke from Galaxy Quest came from, now you know. When Kirk spares the Gorn’s life, the Metrons decide maybe there’s hope for humanity after all (another constant Star Trek refrain) and allow both ships to go free.  

3. The Trouble With Tribbles

• Season 2, Episode 15
• Original airdate: Dec 29, 1967

Star Trek: TOS tackled plenty of serious social issues across its three seasons, but it wasn’t afraid to be funny, too. The Trouble With Tribbles is pure sitcom as the crew of the Enterprise discovers, adores, and then is slowly overtaken by the furry, purring creatures of the title. 

Kirk alternately sits on one that’s found its way to the Captain’s chair, then finds himself buried in them after opening an overhead compartment. It’s a low-stakes, iconic romp that would later be revisited in the Deep Space Nine episode Trials and Tribble-ations.

2. Mirror, Mirror

• Season 2, Episode 4
• Original airdate: October 6, 1967

A transporter malfunction swaps Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura with their “evil” selves from the mirror universe, a totalitarian hellscape that would be revisited thematically, if not actually, in virtually every iteration of Trek to follow. 

The crew of the ISS Enterprise and that of the USS Enterprise both work to discover why their crewmates aren’t quite themselves and then, upon sussing the answer, send them home. It’s a fun episode in and of itself, but a must-have on the list given the impact it would end up having.

1. The City on the Edge of Forever 

• Season 1, Episode 28
• Original airdate: April 6, 1967

This may be the best-known episode of TOS. Harlan Ellison pitched the idea and wrote the first version of the story, but the rewrites from Gene Roddenberry (among others) made him hate the eventual script so much he asked to have his name struck from it. Ellison would continue to loudly complain about on City of the Edge of Forever for the rest of his career, but the episode is still an all-time great. 

McCoy, drugged out of his mind, stumbles through a time portal and winds up changing the timeline. The Guardian of Forever allows Kirk and Spock to go through the portal after him in an attempt to clean things up. While visiting Earth’s past, Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler, unforgettably played by Joan Collins. Too late, he discovers the event that changes the future: McCoy saving Edith’s life. 

Kirk being forced to let her die in order to preserve the future is a personal tragedy that underscores that beneath the phasers, transporters, subspace anomalies, and cranial ridges, Star Trek is about exploring what it means to be human. 

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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The 10 best Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, ranked

It’s hard to imagine today, but back in the late 1960s, the original Star Trek was not considered a hit. The ambitious science fiction series was constantly on the brink of cancellation and was cut short only three years into its planned five-season run.

10. Mirror, Mirror (season 2, episode 4)

9. a taste of armageddon (season 1, episode 24), 8. the menagerie, parts i and ii (season 1, episodes 12 and 13), 7. the doomsday machine (season 2, episode 6), 6. the corbomite maneuver (season 1, episode 11), 5. the devil in the dark (season 1, episode 26), 4. the trouble with tribbles (season 2, episode 15), 3. where no man has gone before (season 1, episode 4), 2. the city on the edge of forever (season 1, episode 29), 1. balance of terror (season 1, episode 15).

However, it’s important to put Trek ’s apparent failure into historical context as, given that most markets in the U.S. had only three television channels to choose from, even a low-rated show like Star Trek was being watched by about 20% of everyone watching television on a Thursday night, or roughly 10 million households. This year’s season of HBO’s Succession was viewed by roughly 8 million households a week , which makes it a hit by today’s standards. Star Trek ’s audience only grew once it went into reruns in the early 1970s, and by the time Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit theaters in 1979, it was a genuine cultural phenomenon. Today, the Star Trek franchise is considered one of the crown jewels of the Paramount library.

Though arguably outshined by its most prosperous spinoff, Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: The Original Series holds up remarkably well for a vision of our future imagined nearly 60 years in our past. It’s a space adventure series that tackles social or political issues from what was, at the time, a daring and progressive perspective informed by the contemporary civil rights movement, sexual revolution, and backlash against the Vietnam War. Conveying these values through fanciful science fiction didn’t only allow its writers to get away with a lot of subversive messages, it also delivered them in a way that remains fun to watch decades later — fun enough that fans are willing to forgive when its ideas, or its special effects, crumble under modern scrutiny.

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These 10 episodes, however, unquestionably stand the test of time, and thanks to the continuity-light nature of mid-20th century television, any one of them could be your first Star Trek episode. (Be aware, however, that the order in which classic Trek episodes are listed varies depending on the source. For our purposes, we’re using the numbering from streaming service Paramount+ .)

Even if you’ve never seen an episode of Star Trek , you’re bound to be at least a little familiar with Mirror, Mirror through cultural osmosis. In this 1967 classic, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Lt. Commander Scott (James Doohan), and Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) are accidentally transported to an alternate universe, where they encounter dastardly evil versions of their beloved shipmates. Instead of the benevolent United Federation of Planets, this ship serves the fascist Terran Empire, which threatens to annihilate a peaceful planet for refusing to submit to itsrule. Our heroes are forced to pose as their evil counterparts while they search for a way home and try to avert the genocide they’ve been ordered to perform.

This all sounds heavier than it is — like much of classic Trek , Mirror Mirror is very camp, with brightly colored costumes, over-the-top performances, and a general sense of fun. The cast is clearly having a ball playing the wicked versions of their characters (or playing the good versions of their characters playing the wicked versions), and it’s no wonder why multiple future incarnations of Trek would return to the Mirror Universe, usually for wacky adventure episodes. (For a more grim and brutal take on this same concept, visit the back half of Star Trek: Discovery ’s first season.) However, Mirror, Mirror still comes complete with Trek ’s famous humanist optimism, as Kirk tries to convince this universe’s menacing, bearded Spock (Leonard Nimoy) that regimes ruled by fear are unsustainable and, therefore, illogical. Given enough time, peace and cooperation will always win out over hate and violence.

A Taste of Armageddon may not appear on many “Best Of” lists, but it’s 100% pure, uncut Star Trek . In this episode, Kirk and company visit Eminiar VII, a seemingly peaceful planet that is, in fact, embroiled in a centuries-long war with a neighboring world. Rather than fire actual bombs at each other, the combatants conduct simulated attacks, determine the hypothetical death toll, and then order the “dead” citizens to report to disintegration chambers. When Kirk and his landing party are recorded as casualties, they decide to put an end to Eminiar VII’s supposedly “civilized” method of warfare.

While Kirk arguably has no right to interfere with how this sovereign planet conducts its affairs, the point of A Taste of Armageddon is to reflect on America’s attempt to make constant military conflict more palatable, or even invisible to the average American. Or, in a larger sense, it’s a commentary on the ease with which a culture can become accustomed to death and violence, so long as it’s part of an established routine. Because these simulated bombings leave homes, industry, and even the military infrastructure itself totally unharmed, it’s easy to forget that Eminiar VII is even at war — that is, until it claims your life or the life of someone you love.

When even these losses are framed as necessary sacrifices to maintain normalcy, it minimizes the incentive to make peace. Kirk (and, by extension, writers Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon) argues that war is revolting no matter how much you dress it up, and that it must be brutal, terrifying, and omnipresent for all involved, or else it will never stop. The past half-century of perpetual U.S. military intervention abroad has proven this thesis to be chillingly accurate.

If you’re watching Star Trek on Paramount+, you’ll notice that the episode it has listed as “season 1, episode 1,” The Cage , isn’t exactly the show you were expecting. Instead of the famous Captain James T. Kirk, the USS Enterprise is under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter), and apart from Mr. Spock — who smiles?! — the rest of the crew is also unfamiliar. That’s because The Cage is Star Trek ’s original pilot episode, which was rejected by NBC, leading to a second pilot being commissioned with a new cast and modified tone. The Cage wouldn’t air as its own episode until 1988, but during production of Star Trek ’s first season in 1966, a budget crunch led to writer/creator Gene Roddenberry repurposing footage from the already-completed pilot into a new script in the form of flashbacks.

This fiscally minded decision endowed Star Trek and its characters with a history, instantly making the universe a bigger and more interesting place. The two-part Menagerie sees Spock, the only remaining character from the original cast, commandeer the Enterprise for the sake of its previous captain, Christopher Pike. On the way to a forbidden planet, Spock uses mysterious footage from an adventure 13 years in the past to explain his rash actions.

If you’ve already watched The Cage , then The Menagerie will seem like a glorified clip show, in which Kirk and company spend half the runtime watching a previous episode. However, before the streaming era, The Cage was usually the last episode of The Original Series that a fan would see, rather than the first. In recent years, however, The Cage and The Menagerie have taken on a new role, as bookends to the adventures of Christopher Pike, as portrayed by Anson Mount on modern spinoff Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . Strange New Worlds (as well as the second season of Star Trek: Discovery ) take place after The Cage , but before The Menagerie , allowing us to get to know Kirk’s predecessor in his own context, as well as developing the bond between Pike and Spock that will eventually drive the Vulcan to mutiny. Even without any of this context, however, The Menagerie is an exciting two-hour event, an eras-spanning mystery that will make you wonder why NBC passed on the Star Trek pilot in the first place.

Due to the production constraints of 1960s television, the original Star Trek didn’t often aim for large-scale, awe-inspiring space action. The Doomsday Machine is the closest that classic Trek ever came to “epic,” and as compelling a story as it is, it’s also Exhibit A as to why such a thing was impractical with the resources available. Though its original effects required no small amount of ingenuity (they couldn’t afford to give their Enterprise model battle damage, so they bought one off the rack from a toy store and distressed it), the results look mighty corny on a modern high-definition television.

Still, the episode gained fame as boasting the largest-scale action of the series, as the Enterprise teams up with her badly damaged sister ship, the USS Constellation, to take on a huge planet-eating weapon. It also presages a theme that would become common in Star Trek feature films , as the Constellation’s grief-stricken Commodore Matt Decker (guest star William Windom) embarks on a foolhardy quest for revenge against the monster that bested him. (Trek would revisit Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: First Contact .)

The episode still works in a cheesy B-movie sort of way, which some fans would argue is the way it should still be enjoyed. However, when the series was remastered for high definition in the mid-2000s, the decision was made to recreate most of the special effects shots for the series using modern technology, since the originals were never expected to hold up to modern standards. Most of these recreations are very faithful, to the extent that uninitiated viewers might not even realize they’d been replaced. In the case of The Doomsday Machine , however, the producers and effects artists returned to the episode’s original script and attempted to realize writer Norman Spinrad’s initial vision for the space battle sequences. The team at CBS Digital doesn’t sacrifice the overall aesthetic of the series, but they do give us a peek at what The Doomsday Machine — and by extension, the entire Original Series — might have looked like with a feature film budget.  

There may be no better introduction to the character of James T. Kirk than The Corbomite Maneuver . The first episode produced after the series was picked up (though it didn’t air until later in the season), The Corbomite Maneuver finds the Enterprise at the mercy of a massive alien vessel and accused of trespassing in its territory. Unable to outrun or outgun his mysterious adversary, Kirk does what he will later become famous for doing — he cheats. Or, rather, he changes the conditions of the contest from one of technological superiority to one of cunning and guile. In the process, we get to learn a bit about how each of the main characters handles the intense stress of a seemingly hopeless scenario, contrasted against the more relatable Everyman Lt. Bailey (guest star Anthony Call). Though the action rarely leaves the bridge of the Enterprise, it is, in its own way, one of the most thrilling episodes of the series.

Moreover, The Corbomite Maneuver sets the tone for Star Trek as a series. It’s an hour of adventure that is punctuated by moments of thoughtful introspection, warm friendship, and corny jokes. Its depiction of Starfleet and the Enterprise are clearly inspired by military tradition, but the message of the episode is one of compassion and patience rather than conquest. These are scientists, not soldiers, and while they experience fear and doubt, none of their human frailties are a match for their curiosity. If this is what the future of humanity looks like, we want to be a part of it.

When Star Trek is running on full thrusters, it is equal parts silly and profound. In The Devil in the Dark , the Enterprise is sent to the aid of a mining colony where workers are being hunted and killed by an unstoppable monster made of rock. We know that the monster is made of rock because the characters say so; It looks a lot more like it’s made of spray-painted Styrofoam and a shag rug. But as the tension rises and the mystery deepens, the goofiness of the rock monster becomes irrelevant, or even a boon to the story.

Though it begins as a hunt for a merciless alien creature, The Devil in the Dark becomes a story about prejudice and the universality of what we (in our limited earthly experience) would call “basic human rights.” This message is conveyed through cheesy 1960s TV production values and some very hammy acting, but the results are pure and unpretentious, the sort of storytelling that is equally impactful on a jaded adult and a wide-eyed child.

Here in the post-post-postmodern 2020s, we’re all total pros at deconstructing genre tropes. The practice of subverting the audience’s expectations as to what kind of story they’re watching or who the good guys and bad guys are wasn’t new in 1967, either, but in the sci-fi film and television of the era, the big scary monster is usually just a big scary monster. The Devil in the Dark  exemplifies one of Star Trek ’s most enduring themes: that the unknown might seem terrifying, but if you take the time to understand it, it’s actually beautiful.

Star Trek is always science fiction, but its format offers a lot of flexibility in terms of how to interpret that genre. Even within the course of a single series or season, most Star Trek shows alternate between a variety of tones and secondary genres, from grim political drama to steamy romance, or in the case of this episode, kooky workplace comedy. The Trouble with Tribbles pits Captain Kirk and his gallant crew against their most stubborn foe yet — bureaucratic red tape. Assigned to look after a container of grain that Federation administrators insist is gravely important, the Enterprise becomes entangled in a very silly misadventure involving an invasive species of adorable, self-replicating furballs. For a captain accustomed to dealing with high-stakes diplomacy and galactic defense, this is his worst workweek ever.

As lousy a time as Kirk is having, The Trouble with Tribbles is tremendous fun. It is neither the first, nor the last broadly comedic episode of Star Trek , but it is the gold standard by which all Trek comedies are measured. Like any good Trek, it has stakes, a fun science fiction premise, and charming moments of character, but everything is set just a little bit askew, and the characters have noticed. It isn’t parody, it’s situation comedy, only a situation that you’re unlikely to find yourself in unless you’re the crew of a Federation starship. Almost every subsequent Trek series would chase that Trouble with Tribbles heat at least once ( Star Trek: Lower Decks  is basically The Trouble with Tribbles: The Series ), with varying levels of success, but the original remains an untouchable classic.

After The Cage was rejected by NBC, Desilu Studios (under the leadership of comedy queen Lucille Ball herself) took a second swing at the series, with a new cast and a faster paced action-adventure story. This second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before , introduces William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, as well as George Takei as Lt. Sulu, James Doohan as Scotty, and Leonard Nimoy’s new, more stoic interpretation of science officer Spock.

The episode sees Kirk’s friend and mentee, helmsman Gary Mitchell (guest star Gary Lockwood), bombarded with cosmic radiation that grants him increasingly godlike powers. As Gary grows more dangerous and cruel, Kirk must weigh his love for his friend against his duty to his crew. The scenario immediately establishes the dynamic between Kirk and Spock (compassionate leader versus his coldly practical advisor), though Spock’s regular debate partner, the emotionally driven Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), would not appear until Trek was ordered to series.

Where No Man Has Gone Before  is a little less fun and colorful than the episodes that followed, with a tone more closely resembling heady 1950s sci-fi films like Forbidden Planet or The Day the Earth Stood Still . In a way, it’s the classic Trek episode that feels the most like Star Trek: The Next Generation ; It’s talky, deliberately paced, just a little bit sterile. In Where No Man Has Gone Before , the galaxy is not only wondrous, but also eerie and unsettling. Had this been the tone the series stuck with, it might not have become a global sensation, but as a single episode, it stands out as one of the very best.

To some Trekkies, ranking The City on the Edge of Forever anywhere but at No. 1 is unthinkable. This time travel tale – written by sci-fi author Harlan Ellison and then heavily revised by Trek story editor D.C. Fontana — won Star Trek its first Hugo Award, and is widely considered to be the finest hour in the history of the series, if not the franchise as a whole. The episode’s legendary status is well-deserved, but we don’t quite have the heart to declare it the ultimate Star Trek episode, on account of how little of it takes place in the 23rd century or aboard the Starship Enterprise. The City on the Edge of Forever  is an outlier, and as such, naturally stands apart from the pack, giving it an edge in any conversation about Star Trek . Its placement here at No. 2 is sort of a counter to that advantage.

Make no mistake, however — despite mostly being set in New York in the year 1930, City on the Edge is Star Trek to its core. Sent back in time to correct an accidental alteration of Earth’s history, Kirk and Spock take up residence in a homeless shelter run by idealistic philanthropist Edith Keeler (guest star Joan Collins). Keeler turns out to be the key historical figure whose destiny must be fulfilled, but there’s a problem — Kirk has fallen in love with her. This romance complicates the mission, as Kirk and Spock are confronted with a grave moral dilemma with their entire reality hanging in the balance. Keeler is a visionary who believes in the beautiful future that Kirk calls home. But, in order for that future to exist, must something terrible be allowed to happen in her present? It’s an emotionally gripping tale that, if it had been told on a modern television show, would have changed its characters forever.

Star Trek is built on a central contradiction. It’s an adventure series about officers in a fleet that we are told, unconvincingly, is not a military organization, aboard a vessel that carries enough firepower to demolish a continent. It’s a show about peace in which things have a habit of blowing up. To reconcile this cognitive dissonance, one need only look to this key episode of The Original Series , Balance of Terror . In this early chapter, the Enterprise witnesses an Earth base being destroyed by an old enemy, the Romulan Empire. The Romulan ship has the ability to become invisible both to scanners and the naked eye, and attempts to escape to its own side of the neutral zone between their two territories before it can be apprehended.

The Enterprise is ordered to capture or destroy the Romulans before they make it home. Whether or not they succeed, there may be war. Kirk has his orders, and as we soon discover, so does the Romulan commander (guest star Mark Lenard), who is no happier about this turn of events than Kirk is. Throughout the episode, we cut back and forth between the action on the Enterprise and aboard the Romulan vessel, as two keen military strategists attempt to outmaneuver each other and stay alive, both locked in a struggle they’d rather had never begun.

Balance of Terror is a sci-fi twist on a submarine battle, but more than that, it’s a commentary on war, the rivalries between nations, and the wounds and prejudices they create. The Enterprise isn’t loaded with photon torpedoes because Starfleet is itching for a fight — it’s armed because sometimes it has to be, and when Kirk and his crew ride into battle, there’s nothing glorious about it. On the other side of any conflict is a person or people who have their own mission, their own values, and perhaps even their own reservations about fighting. It is not possible to avoid every fight, to preempt every war with diplomacy. But when blood is shed, there is no victory and there are no winners. There is tragedy, and there are survivors. And, finally, there’s the hope that the next time these two nations clash, they’ll be a little more willing to talk to one another.

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It's been a long hiatus for Doctor Who fans, but the series is back with a new 60th anniversary special called Doctor Who: The Star Beast. This is the first of three specials that will feature the Tenth Doctor performer David Tennant appearing as a new Fourteenth Doctor. Tennant's Doctor is also joined by Catherine Tate's Donna Noble, his former companion from the fourth season.

The Doctor has had numerous companions for his time travel adventures over the last six decades. But when compiling this list of the seven best Doctor Who companions, we decided to stick with the companions from the modern revival series that started in 2005. There is only one exception to that rule, and that's because the character in question had the unique chance to play a major role in both classic Doctor Who and in the modern era. But if you want to know who landed the top spot, you'll have to keep on reading. 7. Captain Jack Harkness

In the Futurama episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before, the wisecracking robot Bender describes Star Trek as having “79 episodes — about 30 good ones.” And, if we're being honest, Bender's not wrong. Across the franchise, there are now roughly 900 canonical installments, and out of a field that large, there are naturally dozens, even hundreds of entries that you can simply disregard. Of course, like any fanbase, Trekkies contain multitudes, and we don’t all agree on which episodes deserve the scrap heap. One fan’s space junk is another fan’s latinum, and there’s no accounting for taste. We’ve selected ten episodes from across the history of the franchise that some fans might tell you to skip, but that we think deserve your attention. Is one of your dark horse faves on our list? Have we gone to bat for an episode you wish would be erased from the space-time continuum? Follow us to the salvage yard and find out…

10. The Time Trap (TAS season 1, episode 12)

This year marks the 30th anniversary of The X-Files, one of the most popular genre shows in the history of network TV. Over the course of nine seasons, from 1993 to 2002, series creator Chris Carter and his team of writers took viewers inside some of the strangest and the most horrifying cases of the paranormal that they could imagine. Anything from aliens to demons and monsters was in play, while the show developed its own mythology and an overarching story.

In honor of the show's 30th anniversary, we're looking back at the 10 best episodes of The X-Files and ranking them from worst to best. Unlike some of the previous best-of lists for this show, we're not focusing only on the standalone episodes or the monsters-of-the-week installments. It's become fashionable to bash the show's mythology episodes because Carter and Company couldn't bring the story to a satisfying resolution. But those episodes were a large part of the reason why this show was so fantastic in its prime, and it would be a disservice to the series itself if we didn't give those stories their due. 10. Requiem (Season 7, Episode 22)

10 best Star Trek episodes, according to the fans

Convention-going Star Trek fans sort through the highlights from across the entire television franchise to seek out the single greatest Trek episode ever aired.

Dax and Sisko rock original-series uniforms in "Trials and Tribble-ations."

On Friday, the Star Trek 50th anniversary convention in Las Vegas came alive with passionate debate as Star Trek fans bantered their way through a discussion of the worst episodes Trek ever committed to film . There's another side to that equation. Star Trek is also full of episodes that stand among the best in television. As tight as the race was for worst episode, the competition for the finest is even tougher.

I have my personal favorites. "City on the Edge of Forever" from the original series has stayed with me since I first saw it as a child. I can feel the heart-rending moment when Kirk stops McCoy from saving Edith Keeler. "Yesterday's Enterprise" from "The Next Generation" showcases Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan and also offers a much more satisfying wrap-up for Tasha Yar's story than she got from her untimely and pointless death in season 1.

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My dark-horse candidate for a Top 10 episode is the thoroughly entertaining "Trials and Tribble-ations" from "Deep Space Nine." It combines footage from the original "The Trouble with Tribbles" with an adventure featuring the "DS9" cast going back in time. It's got old-school uniforms, fun crossover action and plenty of cooing tribbles.

Jordan Hoffman, a writer for StarTrek.com and host of Engage: The Official Star Trek Podcast , led the discussion, organized the nominations and directed the passionate conversation as we whittled down the candidates. Spirited arguments led to this final consensus. Every episode on the list is fantastic, but the ultimate champion is deserving of its spot:

Click for full coverage.

10. The Magnificent Ferengi (Deep Space Nine) 9. In a Mirror, Darkly (Enterprise) 8. Balance of Terror (Original Series) 7. Chain of Command (Next Generation) 6. The Visitor (Deep Space Nine) 5. Yesterday's Enterprise (Next Generation) 4. Amok Time (Original Series) 3. The Inner Light (Next Generation) 2. In the Pale Moonlight (Deep Space Nine) 1. City on the Edge of Forever (Original Series)

It's interesting to note that "The Trouble with Tribbles" clung onto the No. 10 spot until the very end, when fans voted it out and replaced it with "The Magnificent Ferengi" from "Deep Space Nine." It was close.

"City on the Edge of Forever" makes for a nice counterpoint to the fans' choice of the series-ending stinker "These are the Voyages" from "Enterprise" as the worst episode. As bad as "Voyages" was, "City" represents one of Trek's finest moments. It's a love story. It has time travel. It has a great sacrifice. And it's a shining example of the chemistry and camaraderie between Trek's lead trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

Fans' choice for the Top 10 Trek episodes.

30 Best Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes Ranked

The first ever "Star Trek" spin-off, "The Next Generation," ran for seven seasons between 1987 and 1994. It defied conventional wisdom by reinventing the notion of what "Star Trek" was, introducing audiences to an entirely new ship and crew.

Living in the shadow of Kirk and Spock early on, most agree that the first two seasons disappointed , even if they showed a lot of promise (the troubled production of these initial seasons became the subject of the 2014 HBO documentary "Chaos on the Bridge"). But "The Next Generation" would become one of the best sci-fi shows ever once it found its footing and came into its own in its third year. With 178 episodes during its run, there are dozens of all-time greats, many of which just narrowly miss making this list. Episodes like "Remember Me," "The Wounded," and "Sins Of The Father" are all worthy watches, but here are the 30 that rank as the best according to IMDb.

30. Chain of Command, Pt. I

The sixth-season episode  "Chain of Command, Pt. I"  opens with Riker and the crew shocked when Starfleet removes Captain Picard from command and gives the Enterprise over to Captain Edward Jellico ("Robocop" villain Ronny Cox). But we soon learn that Picard, along with Doctor Crusher and Lieutenant Worf, is actually being sent on a covert mission inside Cardassian territory to stop a dangerous biogenic weapon, while Jellico is ordered to take the ship to the demilitarized zone to negotiate with the Cardassians. 

Even before Picard leaves, there's tension in the air. The Enterprise crew view their new captain as demanding and overbearing, while Jellico views them as soft and lazy. But though audiences may have assumed the change of command was just for a single story, the episode ends on a shocking cliffhanger that leaves the future of the entire series up in the air.

"Family"  is the direct follow-up to the beloved "Best Of Both Worlds" two-parter that saw the captain turned into the Borg villain Locutus. As part of his recovery, Picard takes a vacation to his home village in France, staying with his brother Robert and his family. The pair of siblings have a strained relationship, but Picard finally opens up to Robert about his traumatic experience with the Borg, giving fans a new insight into the soul of the Enterprise's captain.

In a B-story, Worf is visited by his human foster parents while the ship is docked above Earth. The two are concerned for Worf, who is still dealing with his exile from the Klingon Empire the previous season, and offer their support. Together, the two family-related plots form the backbone of an episode with no space action or alien contact, but with drama that is much more poignant and personal.

28. Reunion

"Reunion"  features the return of Lieutenant Worf's lover K'Ehleyr, previously seen hooking up with the Enterprise's Klingon security officer in Season 2. This time, she comes aboard with news of an impending Klingon war, and has come at the request of Chancellor K'mpec, who is on his deathbed. After he dies, he needs Picard to ferret out the man who poisoned him: one of the two men vying for the leadership of the Empire. Newcomer Gowron is one suspect, but the other is Duras, who had framed Worf's father to cover up his own family's dishonor in the Season 3 episode "Sins Of The Father."

When K'ehleyr arrives, however, she also brings a surprise: Alexander, the child she bore with Worf two seasons earlier. An important episode that changes the lives of several characters and introduces the fan-favorite Gowron , "Reunion" is also a key piece of the story of Worf's family honor that would continue throughout "The Next Generation" and into "Deep Space Nine" — his son Alexander would become a recurring character in both series.

27. The Drumhead

Retired and revered Rear Admiral Norah Satie comes to investigate the Enterprise in  "The Drumhead"  when there appears to be a saboteur onboard. After a rogue Klingon exchange officer is caught stealing information, the case is seemingly closed, but when the warp core is damaged in an apparent act of sabotage, Satie comes to believe there are others involved. What follows is a dark tale that sees the admiral peeling back layers of what she thinks is a vast conspiracy.

But after exposing a young officer who lied about his heritage to get into Starfleet, Satie threatens to drag everyone into her web of suspicion, even Captain Picard. "The Drumhead" is a fascinating look at paranoia and how fear can be used to subvert democracy, spreading like a disease, all in the name of freedom and liberty. It's a cautionary tale, and one of "Star Trek's" most timeless political parables.

26. The Next Phase

"The Next Phase"  adds a new stunning piece of advanced technology to "Star Trek" lore when the Enterprise comes to the aid of a disabled Romulan ship experimenting with a "phasing cloak." When the ship's transporter mixes up LaForge and Ensign Ro, the pair become trapped in a kind of limbo, cloaked and phased so they can pass through ordinary matter. Unable to communicate with anyone else aboard the Enterprise, the situation escalates when they overhear the Romulan commander tell his crew to rig the ship so that the Enterprise will be destroyed when they activate their warp drive.

With the clock ticking, Geordi and Ro must find a way to warn their shipmates and return to their normal state, all while being pursued by a Romulan who they find trapped out of phase with them. Fast, fun, and exciting, "The Next Phase" is one of the series' most thrilling adventures.

25. Time's Arrow Pt. I

The fifth-season cliffhanger finale  "Time's Arrow"  opens with archaeologists uncovering Data's head buried beneath San Francisco. Realizing the discovery means that at some point in the future Data will be hurled back in time to the 19th century, where he will die, Picard attempts to keep Data safe from this lethal destiny. But when an unusual signal leads the Enterprise to discover an alien race who is traveling into the past and murdering humans in 1893 to absorb their life force, the Captain realizes it may simply be Data's fate to die in the past. 

Sent back in time, Data allies himself with the 19th-century version of the Enterprise's bartender, Guinan, who turns out to be far older than anyone ever realized. At the same time, he's also brought to the attention of Mark Twain, who will become an unexpected adversary in the second half of the two-part adventure. Though not the most bombastic of episodes, it proves its worth as a classic "Trek" time travel story.

24. Unification Pt. II

After the reveal that Leonard Nimoy would be returning as Mr. Spock in the Season 5 two-parter "Unification," some fans were left disappointed when his appearance in the first part was limited to a single scene in the closing moments. But he takes center stage in  "Unification, Pt. II,"  which sees Spock on Romulus after apparently defecting from the Federation. Picard and Data — disguised as Romulans themselves — find that Spock is working with an underground sect that wants to reunify the Romulans with their Vulcan cousins.

The episode also featured the unexpected return of the  Romulan villain Commander Sela  and includes some classic moments between Spock and the "Next Generation" crew, particularly Data. Picard and Spock, meanwhile, share some of the most important and thoughtful interactions in all of the series, and in his final television performance as his Vulcan character, Nimoy delivers a momentous performance.

23. Redemption, Pt. II

Season 5 opener  "Redemption, Pt. II"  concluded the cliffhanger from the fourth-season finale, revealing the mastermind behind the Romulan alliance with the Klingon Duras family to be Commander Sela, who claims to be the daughter of long-dead Enterprise security chief Tasha Yar. As the two Klingon factions — led by Chancellor Gowron and the Duras sisters — duke it out for the fate of the Empire, Worf resigns his commission and joins the fight. Picard and the Enterprise had previously vowed to remain neutral, but now devise a plan to expose Romulan involvement.

The plan, involving a fleet of Federation starships forming a blockade around the Neutral Zone, puts Data in the captain's chair of the USS Sutherland, where he must contend with the bigoted Lieutenant Hobson. An episode filled with drama, it gives both Worf and Data some of their best, most satisfying moments in the series.

22. Redemption, Pt. I

"Redemption, Pt. I,"  the Season 4 finale, opens with Gowron requesting that Captain Picard see through his commitment to help install him as the new Klingon Chancellor. But a challenger appears in the form of a young warrior named Toral, brought forward by the Duras sisters, who themselves are the surviving kin to the man Worf killed in combat in "Reunion." Known traitors, the House of Duras cannot be trusted, but Picard — as the Klingon Arbiter of Succession — is duty-bound to consider their claim.

When Toral is dismissed as possible leader of the Empire, a Klingon civil war begins. But all is not as it seems — Worf suspects that the Duras sisters are getting help from the Romulans, and leaves Starfleet to aid in Gowron's fight against them. Full of twists and turns, it doesn't quite match the legendary Season 3 finale, but it comes close.

21. The Defector

"The Defector"  is classic "Trek" — a gripping political drama, the story of an enemy soldier who defects to the Federation, risking his life to help avert a war. Claiming to be a low-level logistics clerk, a Romulan officer named Setal insists that his people are readying for an all-out invasion, and he has deserted his homeworld to warn the Federation. Picard is skeptical, as to prove Setal's claims, the Enterprise must enter the Neutral Zone in violation of the Federation's treaty with the Romulan Empire, and at the risk of starting a war.

Stuck in this quandary, Picard and his crew must decide whether Setal is telling the truth and truly trying to help, or is in fact attempting to bait him into being an aggressor. With the stakes so high, "The Defector" is a tension-filled episode that ends in a dramatic and surprising conclusion — particularly when Setal's true identity is revealed.

20. The Offspring

An important and sometimes overlooked episode, the "The Offspring"  sees Commander Data create his own android child named Lal. Choosing her own appearance and gender identity, Lal becomes a young human woman with a naive but wide-eyed and wondrous outlook and personality. But things take a dark turn when a Starfleet admiral arrives to take Lal away, claiming that the creation of a new android life needs to be carefully overseen by Federation experts. Torn between loyalty to Data and his duty to Starfleet, Picard once again finds himself fighting for the rights of androids to make their own choices. 

A quasi-sequel to the iconic Season 2 episode "The Measure of A Man" but overshadowed by bigger episodes that sandwiched it, "The Offspring" is an intimate character piece with a classic moral dilemma and an emotional ending, and received renewed attention thanks to its importance to the plot of the first season of "Star Trek: Picard."

19. The Pegasus

Season 7's  "The Pegasus"  begins with the arrival of Admiral Erik Pressman, who happens to be Riker's old captain from the titular starship Pegasus. He comes with new orders for Picard, telling him that the Pegasus wasn't destroyed as had been previously believed, and has been found buried in an asteroid field ... and the Romulans are after it.

It's soon revealed that the Pegasus was once used to test an experimental Federation cloaking device, an act specifically prohibited in the treaty with the Romulans. Commander Riker's loyalty is questioned when he is ordered to keep the secret of the Pegasus, and he's forced to choose between his two captains when the Enterprise falls into a Romulan trap. "Lost" star Terry O'Quinn makes a memorable appearance as Pressman, while Picard and Riker get into some heated exchanges about mortality and integrity that make "The Pegasus" a nail-biter of an episode.

The only pure comedy episode on this list,  "Deja Q"  earns its place as one of the best episodes of "The Next Generation" thanks to the sharp wit and strong performance of John De Lancie, who returns once again to serve as a thorn in Picard's side. As the immortal trickster Q, he arrives on the Enterprise claiming he has lost his god-like powers and has been exiled from his people in the Q Continuum. He asks for a safe haven aboard Picard's ship, which becomes a cry for help when a race of beings shows up to get vengeance on him for tormenting them in the past.

Most of the humor of the episode comes from Q slowly learning the basics of being mortal, from nightly sleep to being hungry to crippling back pain. But "Deja Q" also includes many touching moments involving Data, who somewhat ironically attempts to show Q what it means to be human.

After featuring Spock the previous season, Season 6 dips back into the original "Star Trek" series lore with  "Relics," the episode that brings back Enterprise-A chief engineer Montgomery Scott. Having apparently survived for 75 years by storing himself within his ship's transporter, "Scotty" re-materializes aboard the Enterprise-D during an investigation of a fantastic alien Dyson Sphere and is warmly greeted, but soon begins to feel out of place in the 24th century. When the Enterprise gets trapped inside the Dyson Sphere, it's up to Scotty and his engineering successor, Geordi LaForge, to save them.

Ultimately, the return of Scotty is a touching story about aging and the need to feel useful in an ever-changing world. While the genius former engineer feels that the future has left him behind, he soon discovers that he still has plenty of life left in him, and a lot to offer the 24th century.

16. Ship In A Bottle

A sequel to one of the better Season 2 episodes, the Season 6 follow-up  "Ship In A Bottle"  ties up what might have wound up an unresolved plotline . It begins when a self-aware hologram of Professor James Moriarty — Sherlock Holmes' ultimate nemesis in the stories by Arthur Conan Doyle — appears on the holodeck demanding to see Captain Picard. After Data and Geordi unwittingly gave him sentience in "Elementary, Dear Data," Moriarty's program has been trapped in the holodeck computer for years, and now he wants to leave. But as far as Picard and crew believe, it's simply not scientifically possible.

But Moriarty has a plan and takes control of the ship, threatening to destroy it if his demands aren't met. What follows is a mind-bending "Inception"-style adventure where Moriarity and Picard — with the help of Data and the neurotic recurring character Reginald Barclay — attempt to trick each other with dueling holodeck-within-a-holodeck scenarios that will leave your head spinning.

15. Timescape

Stories that play with time have been a staple of "Star Trek" since the beginning, and time-bending episodes are often among the franchise's best.  "Timescape"  is no exception. Returning to the Enterprise from a science conference, Picard, Geordi, Data, and Troi discover the Enterprise and a Romulan warbird frozen in time, seemingly in the midst of battle. Going aboard, they find the crews frozen, as well — both ships are trapped in a strange anomaly, and any attempt to unfreeze them in time risks killing several members of the Enterprise crew, who are apparently under attack by Romulan soldiers.

When Picard becomes incapacitated, the remaining trio must figure out what's really happening, despite interference from mysterious pair of Romulans who, like them, are able to move freely about the Enterprise. With loads of fun, sci-fi time-altering shenanigans, and its far share of twists, "Timescape" is an episode full of surprises.

Among the most famous episodes of the series,  "Darmok"  may not rank in the top 10, but it comes close. The story sees Captain Picard kidnapped and brought to the surface of an unknown planet along with a ship captain from a species known as the Children of Tama, whose language has proven indecipherable despite the Federation's universal translator technology. Trapped together on the alien world and forced to work together to fight a deadly beast, Picard and his fellow captain find common ground and slowly learn to communicate.

The unusual language structure devised for the episode proved groundbreaking — it's been pointed out that the Tamarian "language" predicted Internet meme culture , and it's even been used to teach college courses . The uniqueness of this language is one of those fascinating concepts that could only be seen in science fiction, and the episode as a whole is quintessentially "Star Trek," with a universal message of friendship, tolerance, and understanding.

13. I, Borg

The compassion of Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise is on full display in the Season 5 episode  "I, Borg."  Coming upon the wreckage of a Borg ship, Doctor Crusher convinces the captain to bring the last surviving drone aboard to save his life. But while Picard's intentions are initially less selfless — he hopes to use the drone to destroy the entire collective — he comes around when he realizes that this new Borg is showing signs of personhood, even taking the name Hugh.

An example of the moral and ethical dilemmas often faced in "Star Trek," Picard ultimately abandons his plans for revenge against the Borg and allows Hugh to decide his own fate. Realizing the Borg won't stop looking for him, Hugh returns to the Collective, with the hope being that his sense of individuality will survive and spread. It proves to be one of Picard's best decisions  — Hugh would return later in "The Next Generation," and again in the first season of "Star Trek: Picard."

12. Lower Decks

The story that inspired the modern adult animated comedy of the same name,  "Lower Decks"  was a unique episode of "The Next Generation" that focused on a group of younger officers: Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, Ensign Sam Lavelle, the Vulcan Ensign Taurik, and the Bajoran Ensign Sito Jaxa, who had previously been seen getting into trouble at Starfleet Academy in the Season 5 episode "The First Duty." Now, the young officers are all up for promotions, and as their friendship is tested by their career ambitions, we see the struggles, challenges, and everyday life of the lower-ranking officers serving on the Enterprise.

Meanwhile, Jaxa is confronted by Picard about her troubled past, a prelude to her assignment to a dangerous mission to return a Cardassian defector to his people. A generally upbeat story, "Lower Decks" is a fun detour from the senior bridge crew, but it ends on a surprisingly bittersweet note.

11. Chain Of Command, Pt. II

A darker episode than most on this list,  "Chain Of Command, Pt. II"  concludes a two-part episode that saw Picard kidnapped by the Cardassians on a mission to stop a rumored doomsday weapon. At the mercy of a cunning Cardassian named Gul Madred, he resists and becomes the subject of brutal psychological torture. Over the course of the episode, it becomes clear that while Madred definitely wants to acquire Federation secrets, the thing he wants most of all is to break Picard's spirit.

Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, Jellico is clashing with Commander Riker, who feels his new captain is too controlling. But Riker may also be the only man who can execute Jellico's daring plan to expose the Cardassian plot and save Captain Picard. Picard's defiant shout of "There are four lights!" puts an iconic capper on one of the better late-series episodes.

10. Parallels

Years before Marvel's "Loki," the "Next Generation" Season 7 episode  "Parallels"  put the multiverse front and center when Worf inadvertently passes through a split in the barriers between universes. Moving between them throughout the episode, Worf finds himself in new and different realities: some where Riker is captain, some where he is married to Counselor Troi, and some where the Bajorans are the Federation's greatest enemy. 

Another trippy sci-fi story, most of the fun is in the first half as Worf struggles to figure out what's happening to the world around him as events and people change before his eyes, though the episode also features a daringly ambitious climax. The various windows into what might have been are intriguing, and "Parallels" even takes the opportunity to bring back Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. It also introduces the first spark of romance between Worf and Troi, a sub-plot that would continue through the remainder of the show's final season. 

9. Tapestry

Q has traditionally been a major pain for Picard and other Starfleet captains, but he returns in  "Tapestry"  in the surprising role of benevolent spiritual advisor. Picard is actually killed in the opening moments of the episode, only to greeted by the all-powerful trickster in the apparent afterlife, who offers Picard a chance to relive his past and change moments that he regrets.

Returning to his days as an ensign fresh out of the Academy, Picard hopes to avoid the reckless behavior that got him stabbed through the heart in a bar fight as a young man while also pursuing a romance with one-time friend Marta Batanides. In trying to bring his older wisdom to his younger self, however, he learns that life's mistakes help us to become who we are. A "Star Trek" version of "A Christmas Carol," the heartwarming message of "Tapestry" makes it one of the series' best.

8. All Good Things...

Often voted among  television's best series finales ,  "All Good Things..."  capped off the show's remarkable seven-year run with an epic feature-length episode that saw Picard revisit events in both the future and the past. Harkening back to the series' very first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint," we see Picard once again on trial before the Q Continuum, attempting to prove the value of humanity's existence by piecing together clues to a potentially world-ending mystery in three different time periods.

As Picard struggles to convince three different crews that what's happening is real, he must find answers to a puzzle that stretches back to the dawn of time to save his entire species. Full of drama, action, and emotion, it was just about everything a fan could want in a finale. While the episode would be one of the series' best on its own, it works even better as a final bookend to "The Next Generation."

7. Cause and Effect

  "Cause and Effect"  is a near-perfect science fiction riddle. Opening in the middle of the action, the Enterprise is destroyed in a shocking scene before the opening credits even roll. Coming back from the iconic "Star Trek" music and fanfare, we find the crew is trapped in an endless loop of time that inevitably leads to the ship's destruction, and worse — they have no idea it's happening. Thinking each loop is the first time through, the crew struggles to even realize what's going on, let alone collect the clues to figure out how to stop it before they all blow up yet again.

With the destruction of the Enterprise occurring just before each commercial break, it's a maddening but mind-blowing story that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very last moments. And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for a memorable cameo from Frasier himself, Kelsey Grammer.

The fourth episode to feature Q on this list, Season 2 entry  "Q Who"  saw the more sinister aspect of the god-like being, who arrives on the Enterprise and asks to join the crew. Picard, of course, turns him down. Incensed and hoping to prove to Picard that humanity is not ready for what awaits them amongst the stars, Q flings the ship into a distant uncharted region of space. There they encounter, for the first time, the mysterious race of cybernetic beings known as the Borg. They also learn that Ten Forward bartender Guinan is already familiar with the hostile hive mind, which annihilated her home world.

An important episode in the series, and "Star Trek" as a whole, it's also one of the best — a well-paced thriller that has Picard at first hoping to prove Q wrong and attempting to make peace with the Borg, but ending with an ominous warning that foreshadows not one but two of our remaining entries.

5. The Measure Of A Man

A landmark episode that has been analyzed by  legal scholars , Season 2 standout  "The Measure Of A Man"  puts android Commander Data in the spotlight when a brilliant cyberneticist named Bruce Maddox arrives and wants to disassemble him so he can recreate his positronic brain. Data doesn't approve of the risky procedure, but Maddox states that Data is the property of Starfleet and cannot decline. Picard fights back against this notion and demands a hearing so that he can defend Data's rights. However, the hearing takes place at a poorly-staffed starbase, and Commander Riker is forced to act as prosecutor against Data, despite his personal feelings for his fellow officer.

One of the franchise's best examination of ethics and human rights, it's also one of its most important, as "The Measure of a Man" explores issues that would be revisited again in many future episodes, both in "The Next Generation" and other "Trek" spin-off series. Maddox would even return in the first season of "Star Trek: Picard" in a quasi-sequel that explores the fallout from the work of Noonian Soong, Data's creator.

4. Yesterday's Enterprise

"Yesterday's Enterprise" takes place in a darker alternate timeline created when the Enterprise-C, predecessor to the ship captained by Picard, finds itself thrust 22 years forward in time. Without its sacrifice at a crucial moment in the past, all of history was altered, and now Picard's Enterprise is a warship, with the Federation engaged in a bitter conflict with the Klingons — and on the verge of defeat.

But the arrival of the Enterprise-C adds new complications to an impending Klingon attack, and when Picard learns that the war was never supposed to happen, he struggles with the decision to send it and its crew back to their proper time to face certain death. The episode that saw the return of long-departed cast member Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar, it's an important piece of "Next Generation" lore, and possibly the best alternate reality episode in the entire franchise. 

3. The Best Of Both Worlds, Pt. II

Opening up Season 4,  "The Best Of Both Worlds, Pt. II"  is the thrilling second part of  one of television history's best cliffhangers . The previous episode had ended with Commander Riker giving the order to open fire on the Borg cube that held Locutus — the assimilated Borg drone that had once been Captain Picard. Audiences who had waited all summer for the attack tuned in to see the cube survive unharmed, and Riker and the Enterprise helpless as the Borg launch a direct assault on Earth.

After Starfleet loses a devastating battle with the Borg at Wolf 359, it's up to Riker to devise a bold last-ditch plan to rescue Picard and save Earth from assimilation. The series' most gripping season conclusion, it's an episode that "Star Trek" has still never been able to match in terms of sheer anticipation and excitement.

2. The Best Of Both Worlds, Pt. I

As a stunning season finale and the first cliff-hanger of the franchise, "The Best Of Both Worlds, Pt. 1"  could rightfully be credited as the episode that turned "The Next Generation" into a genuine pop culture phenomenon. Discovering a Federation colony decimated in the same manner as the alien civilization they found destroyed by the Borg in "Q Who," Picard alerts Starfleet that a confrontation may be near. Admiral Hanson arrives with a new officer, Lieutenant Commander Shelby, to help with the crisis. 

The ambitious Shelby adds an interesting layer in what turns out to be a Riker-focused episode, as the title refers to Riker's struggles with whether to leave the Enterprise to become a captain of a lesser ship, or stay and remain Picard's first officer. When his captain is abducted by the Borg and declared lost, Riker gets the best of both worlds — at the cost of Jean-Luc Picard.

1. The Inner Light

"The Inner Light" isn't just the best "Next Generation" episode — there's an argument to be made that it's the best "Star Trek" episode, period . The story begins when the Enterprise comes upon an alien probe that zaps Picard unconscious right off the bat. The captain awakens on an alien world, in another life. Here on the planet Kataan, in the community called Ressik, Picard is a man named Kamin, with a wife named Eline. After giving up on ever finding the Enterprise, which seems to have been just a dream, Picard settles into his new life, even having children and grandchildren, all while Kataan is slowly dying of drought.

Now an old man nearing death, Picard learns that the probe was a messenger that carried memories of a long-dead civilization, and wakes up on the Enterprise having experienced an entire lifetime over the course of a few minutes. An example of what made "The Next Generation" so special, the episode's message of love, hope, and family help it remain one of the most beloved pieces of television ever conceived.

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Published Apr 24, 2024

Stuck in a Loop: The Best of Star Trek's Time-Jumping Episodes

From The Next Generation to Discovery, going around and around is sometimes very revealing.

StarTrek.com

In the Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 episode, " Face the Strange ," Captain Burnham and Commander Rayner find themselves both stuck in a loop, but also, jumping all around the timeline of the titular starship. From the point before the U.S.S. Discovery was launched, to pivotal moments in Season 4, Season 3, Season 2 and even very early in Season 1, Rayner notes at one point that, "We’ve gone back in time to when you went forward to the future. That’s a little confusing."

Throughout all of Star Trek 's history, time travel has been just as propulsive to the narratives as space travel. But, within the various time travel stories of Trek , there is a special kind of time-skipping episode — the time loop story. Discovery has recently shaken-up this formula with "Face the Strange," but many elements of this episode pay homage to a proud Star Trek tradition. Here’s the history of the best time loop, and time-jumping episodes across the entire Final Frontier.

" Cause and Effect ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 5, Episode 18)

"Cause and Effect"

Perhaps one of the greatest science fiction episodes of all time, The Next Generation set the gold-standard for how to do time loop episodes.

When the Enterprise collides with another starship in the first scene, this episode poses one question right off the bat: What happens after you blow up the ship — and everyone on it — before the credits roll? The answer is mostly connected to whether or not we can even remember when we're stuck in a loop. Without actually spoiling this classic episode, let's just say thank the stars for Dr. Crusher and Data.

The brilliance of "Cause and Effect" cannot be overstated, but the 21st Century legacy of this episode is utterly appropriate. When Geordi reveals how the time loop works, Riker says, "You mean we could have come into this room, sat at this table and had this conversation a dozen times already?" This scene has become a popular meme format across various social media platforms, satirizing the time loop of some aspects of the internet experience.

" Parallels ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 7, Episode 11)

"Parallels"

Arguably, when Worf starts slipping between realities in "Parallels," the story is more focused on other dimensions, rather than a true time loop. But, each time he pops into a new reality, Worf does tend to reply to his own personal log, which is what began the episode.

Obviously, in each new timeline, Worf's personal log is different, and because he checks it so often in the episode, this gives "Parallels" the feeling of a time loop story, even though Worf is technically moving both forward in time, and also, side-to-side.

On top of all of this, "Parallels" feels time-loopy because so many ideas and plot points from previous seasons of The Next Generation are revisited here. From references to " The Best of Both Worlds ," to the return of Wesley Crusher, "Parallels" brings all the good things of TNG back around again for another look, from a different point of view.

" All Good Things... ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 7, Episode 25)

"All Good Things..."

Speaking of the best of The Next Generation , the immortal series finale is, from a certain point of view, one big time loop. As Jean-Luc Picard shifts between past, present, and future, the biggest mystery of "All Good Things…" is what caused the anomaly in the Devron system? Eventually, we learn that the ending and the beginning of this story are inextricably connected, a paradox that creates a kind of loop that must be broken.

Twenty-nine years later, in the Star Trek: Picard episode, " Imposters ," Captain Liam Shaw references this moment, and notes that Picard and Riker have a "real chicken and egg thing going on." It doesn’t get any more time-loopy than that!

" Visionary ," Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 3, Episode 17)

"Visionary"

When O'Brien starts seeing another version of himself appearing randomly throughout the station, Dr. Bashir briefly floats the idea that he's just having really boring hallucinations. But, as the episode goes on, it becomes clear that O'Brien is actually seeing brief moments in the future, and then, catching up to those moments in the present.

"Visionary" messes with what we expect from a time loop episode, because in all instances of future occurrences, there are literally two O'Briens present, and, when the past O'Brien catches up to the future moment, the duplication effect happens again, creating a kind of visual loop for the audience. The funny thing is, in several instances, the future doesn't play out exactly the way past O'Brien saw the first time, making this one of the wobblier time loops in all of Star Trek .

" Relativity ," Star Trek: Voyager (Season 5, Episode 24)

"Relativity"

In a move very similar to Discovery 's "Face the Strange," this unforgettable episode of Voyager briefly takes us back to a point before the series even begins, showing us Janeway's first moments on Voyager before the ship left the Utopia Planitia Shipyards on Mars. (In "Face the Strange," Burnham and Rayner see Discovery in a drydock on Earth well before the events of Season 1.)

But, Voyager 's jaunt into its own prehistory is just the beginning of a very specific type of time jumping episode. Here, Seven of Nine isn't exactly repeating a loop, but, making several attempts at different times, to prevent a bomb from destroying Voyager . As Tuvok aptly puts it when encountering one version of Seven from the future, "Like many time paradoxes, it's improbable, but not necessarily illogical." Because this episode features multiple versions of Seven, and leaps to various eras of Voyager , it pairs very nicely with Burnham and Rayner's similar jumps in "Face the Strange." Especially the moment where Seven meets herself.

" Shattered ," Star Trek: Voyager (Season 7, Episode 11)

"Shattered"

Does Voyager have the best timey-wimey episodes in all of the Trek franchise? It's hard to say, but if there's another Trek episode that feels like an older sibling of Discovery 's "Face the Strange," it's almost certainly "Shattered," a fan-favorite episode from Voyager 's final season. Here, the captain and the first officer — Janeway and Chakotay — find themselves on a version of the ship that has been split into different time periods.

"Shattered" is one of Star Trek 's greatest retrospective episodes, touching on moments across all of Voyager 's story, and teaming past versions of characters with ones closer to the present. It's a touching story, and, structurally, it's wonderfully homaged in Discovery .

" Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad ," Star Trek: Discovery (Season 1, Episode 7)

"Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad"

One of Discovery 's stand-out moments from Season 1 fully set the stage for "Face the Strange" in Season 5. In "Magic to Make The Sanest Man Go Mad," Harry Mudd sets the ship on a true time loop, in which only Stamets can truly remember what is going on. Like in "Face the Strange," Stamets has a perception that exists outside of time, thanks to taking on the Tardigrade DNA in "Choose Your Pain."

This detail comes in handy in "Face the Strange," where Burnham and Stamets again have to re-team to get Discovery out of a time loop caused by nefarious enemies using time travel technology as a weapon. In Season 1, Burnham and Stamets barely knew each other, much like Burnham and Rayner's relationship in Season 5. But, if there's one thing a time loop or time-jumping episode can do, it’s make people who are just colleagues into best friends for life.

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Ryan Britt is the author of the nonfiction books Phasers on Stun! How the Making and Remaking of Star Trek Changed the World (2022), The Spice Must Flow: The Journey of Dune from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies (2023), and the essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read (2015). He is a longtime contributor to Star Trek.com and his writing regularly appears with Inverse, Den of Geek!, Esquire and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Maine with his family.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Giant Freakin Robot

Star Trek TNG Best Actor Still Confused By The Best Episode

Posted: April 29, 2024 | Last updated: April 30, 2024

When you ask Star Trek: The Next Generation fans about their favorite episodes, one that always makes the list is “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” It’s an episode about time travel changing the future as we know it, and the quality of the episode was so good that it directly inspired the later reboot film Star Trek (2009). However, one Star Trek icon is still confused by it: according to Riker actor and veteran director Jonathan Frakes, “I do not know what the f*** happened in that episode… I’m still trying to understand it.”

Time Travel Never Means Good News

What’s not to understand about “Yesterday’s Enterprise?” To better understand Frakes’ comment, we need to touch on the plot of this standout third-season episode. The episode begins normally enough, but our familiar Enterprise-D crew soon encounters a rift in space and time that brings the Enterprise-C from the past to the future.

The Conflict

This immediately alters reality: the Enterprise-D is now more militarized, and the deceased Tasha Yar has replaced Worf at tactical. We discover that in this new reality, Starfleet is at war with the Klingons and losing badly. Sending the Enterprise-C back to the past is Picard’s only chance at possibly restoring reality, but he must wrestle with the moral implications of sending the ship and her surviving crew to certain death in the past courtesy of a vicious Romulan attack.

Time Travels Works A Bit Differently In Yesterday’s Enterprise

What was it, then, that confused Jonathan Frakes about “Yesterday’s Enterprise?” We can only speculate, but the safest bet is that he was confused by the nature of time travel in this episode. Most Trek episodes and films involving time travel involve characters traveling from one point in history to another–this episode features all of history changing because one ship just happens to travel through a random rift in space and time, and it’s admittedly weird to think that nothing more than flying from Point A to Point B could catastrophically doom the future.

The Paradox

Speaking of which, another part of “Yesterday’s Enterprise” plot that might have thrown Frakes off is the somewhat paradoxical nature of time travel in this episode. We see the literal moment that reality changes as the Enterprise-C comes through the rift, and after an episode of wrestling with his conscience about the decision, reality changes back to normal after Picard sends the older ship back to the past. 

It makes for great television, but it doesn’t really make sense. If the ship coming through the past was going to change reality, it would have happened long before the pilot episode of The Next Generation, so it’s strange to see this as a sudden change. For that matter, the outcome was never in doubt: the fact that we had already seen the ship and crew in the unaltered reality of earlier episodes means Picard was always destined to fix reality in this episode.

Perhaps It Helped Him Make First Contact

Perhaps because of Jonathan Frakes’ confusion over “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” he made the time travel in his film First Contact quite simple: the Borg open a rift in time and go through, with the Enterprise in hot pursuit. This was easy enough for even the most casual audiences to understand, which is exactly what you need in a feature film. Still, Frakes’ comment remains evergreen for Star Trek, and after any given Discovery adventure, I find myself quoting his words of wisdom: “I do not know what the f*** happened in that episode.”

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Screen Rant

10 great star trek filler episodes.

Classic Star Trek TV series' high episode counts necessitated occasional "filler" episodes, and here are some of the best and most beloved.

• "Filler" episodes of Star Trek offer in-depth character developments and explore unique themes beyond main storylines.
• In the streaming era, every Star Trek episode must now pack a punch and contribute to the character arcs or themes.
• Sometimes seemingly standalone filler episodes, although not essential to the main plot, can still be memorable and engaging.

Some of the best episodes of classic Star Trek shows are actually "filler" episodes, written to pad out seasons of broadcast television that often ran upwards of 22 episodes. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise have clear story arcs, especially in their later seasons, while Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Voyager take a more episodic approach to their storytelling. Episodes that depart from the main story lines of Star Trek shows aren't always essential viewing, so are referred to as "filler", but sometimes Star Trek episodes don't have to be part of the main plot to be excellent.

As Star Trek shows in the streaming era need to ensure every episode packs a punch due to their shorter seasons, genuine filler episodes just aren't possible. Instead, "filler" has become a much more subjective term used to describe an episode of Star Trek that seems to take a detour from the show's main story arc, ignoring the fact that every episode of Star Trek is crafted with an intention. Stories that stray from a primary path can often be important to developing character arcs or reiterating themes. That's true in any Star Trek series because every episode has the potential to tell a great story, whether it's a tight part of the show's story arc or it's a filler episode. Here are 10 great Star Trek "filler" episodes.

How To Watch All Star Trek TV Shows In Timeline Order

10 star trek: voyager season 6, episode 3, "barge of the dead".

By Star Trek: Voyager season 6, the USS Voyager crew is well on their way home to the Alpha Quadrant, thanks to incidents in a string of earlier episodes that reconnect Voyager with Starfleet Command. Attention on the journey home is diverted for a while to focus inwardly on Lt. B'Elanna Torres' (Roxann Dawson) near-death experience in Star Trek: Voyager season 6, episode 3, "Barge of the Dead", a story devoted to exploring Klingon beliefs about death and the afterlife from B'Elanna's perspective.

As a half-Klingon, Torres is an outsider in her own culture, so when B'Elanna believes her actions have doomed her mother Miral (Karen Austin) to eternal torment in G re'thor , Klingon hell, B'Elanna has a chance to reconcile with her Klingon heritage. "Barge of the Dead" is one of B'Elanna Torres' best episodes , but without lasting consequences, it's still just filler.

Star Trek: Voyager

9 star trek: voyager season 3, episode 22, "real life".

As a filler episode, Star Trek: Voyager season 3, episode 22, "Real Life", is just a stepping stone in The Doctor's (Robert Picardo) early journey to exploring life as a human. The Doctor creates a holographic family for himself in hopes of being able to relate to more of Voyager's crew, but the perfect simulation is a bit too cloying for Lt. Torres, who makes some adjustments to the Doctor's family members in order to make them more realistic.

Although The Doctor does speak to other USS Voyager crew members about his family, most of the action takes place on the holodeck, where the Doctor spends time with his fictional wife and children, learning to navigate difficult interpersonal situations with nuance and grace. The Doctor's holographic family lasts for exactly one episode, making "Real Life" particularly heartbreaking filler.

8 Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episode 2

"darmok".

Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) unexpected side quest to El-Adrel with Dathon (Paul Wingfield), the captain of a Tamarian ship, is the basis of "Darmok," one of the finest stand-alone episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Being stranded together forces Picard and Dathon to find ways to communicate around "Darmok's" metaphor-laden Tamarian language and become friends, just as Dathon intended to do by recreating a story familiar to the Tamarian crew: Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 2, "Darmok" emphasizes the importance of communication and underscores how having a cultural context can aid in truly understanding someone , and has itself become a cultural touchstone for Star Trek fans, but its detachment from an ongoing plot in Star Trek: The Next Generation classifies it as filler.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

7 star trek: deep space nine season 1, episode 19, "duet".

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1, episode 19, "Duet", may not seem like filler in retrospect, because its focus on the fallout of both sides after the Cardassian occupation of Bajor is a theme that would become common in Deep Space Nine . Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) faces off in brilliant verbal back-and-forth against alleged Cardassian war criminal Aamin Marritza (Harris Yulin) in a stellar episode with the emotional impact of a live stage play.

By planting the seed for what Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would eventually grow into, "Duet" is filler because it stands out from most of the earlier episodes in Star Trek: DS9 season 1 , and is unrelated to the intentional storylines of Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) acclimating to DS9, the discovery of the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, or the Federation's involvement in Bajoran politics.

10 Ways DS9 Season 1 Is Better Than You Remember

6 star trek: enterprise season 3, episode 10, "similitude".

Star Trek: Enterprise season 3, episode 10, "Similitude", is filler that focuses on a deep moral question of medical ethics, when Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) suggests growing a rapidly-aging clone of Commander Trip Tucker (Conner Trinneer) in order to harvest organs that will save Trip's life. The clone, nicknamed "Sim", is not technically human, and will die of natural causes after a very brief life, but still seems very much like an individual person.

After getting attached to this new version of Trip, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) can't help but wonder whether killing Sim is really the right call, even though doing so will inevitably mean the end of both Sim and Trip. "Similitude" is a single episode that isn't part of Star Trek: Enterprise 's longer arcs , and has no lasting repercussions, but the questions asked of viewers make it very memorable filler.

5 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 4, Episode 2

"the visitor".

Taking place almost entirely in an alternate timeline, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4, episode 2, "The Visitor", has no impact on the rest of the series, despite being a deep character study of Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) and Jake's love for his father, Captain Benjamin Sisko . In an alternate future, an elderly Jake Sisko (Tony Todd) tells a visiting reader, Melanie (Rachel Robinson), why Jake stopped writing.

Because Jake's death resets the timeline, this stellar DS9 episode is categorized as filler.

Jake's life story is told through flashbacks to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's present day, beginning with the apparent death of Benjamin Sisko. An entire future timeline is constructed around the question of what might happen without Ben Sisko , from the consequences of losing Bajor's Emissary to Jake's ceaseless work to bring Ben back from subspace, making "The Visitor" a sci-fi thought experiment and a character study in one, but because Jake's death resets the timeline, this stellar DS9 episode is categorized as filler.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

4 star trek: enterprise season 2, episode 2, "carbon creek".

Over dinner one evening, Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) recounts the story of her foremother, T'Mir (Jolene Blalock), whose Vulcan survey team accidentally crashed on Earth in the 1950s, over 100 years before Earth's First Contact with the Vulcans in 2063. Star Trek: Enterprise season 2, episode 2, "Carbon Creek", is a true departure from any of Enterprise 's storylines, and doesn't provide any deep character studies of Enterprise 's main characters, since it's the story of T'Mir and her teammates, so it can't be anything but filler.

T'Mir sold humans Velcro, a Vulcan technology, which explains why Earth has Velcro in Star Trek 's reality.

Being filler doesn't stop "Carbon Creek" from being a joy to watch, however. T'Pol plays the part of a potentially unreliable narrator to Captain Archer and Commander Tucker, and there's surprising warmth and humor found in Vulcans attempting to fit in with the culture of small-town Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania.

Star Trek: Enterprise

3 star trek: the next generation season 5, episode 25, "the inner light".

Often cited as one of Star Trek 's best episodes , Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 25, "The Inner Light", is an example of a filler episode that takes an interesting science fiction premise unlike any previously seen on Star Trek , and runs with it to great acclaim. An alien probe from a dead world makes Captain Jean-Luc Picard believe he's a man named Kamen, who resides on Kataan, the dying planet that launched the probe.

Captain Picard lives Kamen's whole life in the span of about 20 minutes, fulfilling the purpose of the probe to promulgate the memory of Kataan and its people. "The Inner Light" is a side story that takes place primarily in Jean-Luc's mind, with little impact on any other characters, but its status as filler doesn't mean it isn't incredible.

Captain Picard’s 10 Best Star Trek TNG Episodes, Ranked

2 star trek: deep space nine season 6, episode 13, "far beyond the stars".

While the Dominion War is heavily underway, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, episode 13, "Far Beyond the Stars", tells the story of Benny Russell (Avery Brooks), a Black writer working for a pulp sci-fi magazine in the 1950s. Although Benny Russell faces discrimination on a daily basis from the publisher of Incredible Tales, Benny is determined to continue writing about Captain Benjamin Sisko commanding the space station Deep Space Nine, and fights to have his story published intact, without changing Sisko's race to white.

It's a filler episode that's completely divorced from the ongoing Dominion War storyline , and "Far Beyond the Stars" is also one of the best commentaries on real-world racism that Star Trek has ever done by being completely fearless with its unsubtle message.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 9, "The Elysian Kingdom", like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's "Far Beyond the Stars", blurs the line between fantasy and reality when Strange New Worlds' cast plays the crew of the USS Enterprise as characters from a storybook written by Benny Russell.

1 Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 28

"the city on the edge of forever".

As the most episodic of the Star Trek series, it can be argued that nearly every episode of Star Trek: The Original Series is technically "filler", even Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 28, "The City on the Edge of Forever" , which is hailed as a triumph in storytelling. After traveling to the 1930s, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) faces a dilemma when forced to choose between the life of the woman Kirk loves, Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), or the fate of the world, after learning that Edith's death directly influences the Allied victory in WWII.

The journey to the past features none of the pulp sci-fi trappings common to Star Trek: The Original Series , with its lone alien voice being the Guardian of Forever (Bartell LaRue), a sentient gateway through time who facilitates the episode's time travel. Although the Guardian of Forever returns in Star Trek: The Animated Series and Star Trek: Discovery , "The City on the Edge of Forever" stands entirely on its own, and Edith is never referenced again.

Star Trek: The Original Series

There is something special to be found in so-called "filler" episodes of Star Trek shows. Filler episodes give writers chances to dive deeper into the lives and motivations of individual Star Trek characters, making them more well-rounded overall. Because there were over 20 chances in a single season to create a hit, there's less pressure for every episode in one season to knock it out of the park, so writers took risks with high-concept Star Trek stories that weren't necessarily about visiting another strange new world. To this day, some of these experimental, character-driven filler episodes are among the best risks Star Trek has taken.

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise are streaming on Paramount+.

'Discovery's Elias Toufexis Could Be 'Star Trek's Next Jeffrey Combs

Toufexis and Eve Harlow breakdown their Breen backstory and call the 'Discovery' set the best they've ever worked on.

The Big Picture

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors," delves into Moll and L'ak's backstory, revealing their love and the price on their heads.
• Stars Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis discuss fleshing out their romance, joining the sci-fi series for its final season, and L'ak's connection to the Breen.
• The duo also praises the Star Trek: Discovery cast and crew for the warm and welcoming atmosphere, with Sonequa Martin-Green leading the way as a fantastic number one.

A few weeks ago, Star Trek: Discovery kicked off the series' final season with a dazzling new mystery and a pair of wildly compelling antagonists. Seemingly out to cash in on the greatest treasure the galaxy has to offer, lovers Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L'ak ( Elias Toufexis ) have been neck-and-neck with Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and her crew as they hunt for clues . This week's episode "Mirrors," sees Burnham catch up with the two as she and Book ( David Ajala ) corner them on an abandoned ISS Enterprise from the Mirror universe.

As the two couples are made to face each other, we also get a glimpse into Moll and L'ak's backstory. Not only do we learn how they fell in love, but we also come to understand why they're on the run — L'ak is a Breen and in their attempt to run away together the duo killed a pair of guards. Now the warlike race has a price on their heads.

Ahead of the episode, I sat down with Harlow and Toufexis to talk about the big reveals in "Mirrors," the complex relationship between their characters, and what they're taking away from their time on Discovery . During our conversation, we also spoke about their personal experiences with Star Trek , when Toufexis learned he would be playing a Breen, and which episodes of Season 5 are their favorites.

Star Trek: Discovery

Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Both Harlow and Toufexis have a fair share of sci-fi credits to their names with Harlow having made waves on shows like The 100 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while Toufexis appeared in the smash hit series The Expanse as well as having voiced characters in a truly impressive number of video games. When asked what it was like to go from their sci-fi roots to arguably the biggest sci-fi series of all time, Harlow admitted that she'd actually "never seen Star Trek before." She went on to explain, "to me, I was like, 'Oh, cool, another job. Oh, cool, I get to be in space!'"

Meanwhile, Toufexis was a huge Star Trek fan. "And Elias was like, 'No, you don't understand. This is Star Trek .' Even in the sides for the audition, I remember the word “Klingon” being in there, and I'm like, “Wait, how do I pronounce this? What is this?” And on set it was like, “What's a Tribbler?” Harlow joked. "Then Elias was like, 'Okay, let me send you a YouTube video.' So I think for me it was just like, 'Oh, cool. This is fun. This is nice,' and then being told the importance of it by my co-star," she laughed.

For Toufexis, the role was a dream come true. He explained:

"It was great for me. I love sci-fi, and I was happy to do a lot of sci-fi before Star Trek, but yeah, I'm a giant Star Trek fan. Accepting the role was a no-brainer, and I was very, very happy and geeked out every day on set. I would get mad at people who worked on the show who didn't know the stuff that I knew. Not Eve. I would never get mad at Eve."

As actors, both Harlow and Toufexis know the struggle of auditioning over and over for until something sticks. He said, "as an actor, you audition for everything, and you take what sticks, right? That's the nature of the beast." He went on, calling Discovery a career highlight. "So it just happened to be that I have done a lot of sci-fi stuff in my career, so Star Trek is kind of the peak sci-fi . So, it's all downhill from here," he laughed. However, as any good Star Trek fan knows, playing one character is not always the end of the line for an actor in the series. I joked that Toufexis could return on another series in the future, following in the footsteps of actors like Jeffrey Combs and Suzie Plakson , to which he heartily agreed, "I'll play, like, 10 characters."

'Star Trek: Discovery's Moll and L'ak Are Hopelessly Devoted to Each Other

Shortly after we meet these two in the first episode of Season 5 , it becomes very clear that L'ak would do anything to protect Moll, to the point of taking out excessive violence on anyone who threatens her. When asked if that defensive nature was a result of their nature or inherent in them as individuals Toufexis explained, "I think it's inherent in them, but they bring it out of each other. It's a part of their character."

He went on to explain that L'ak was already looking for a way out of his life as a high-ranking Breen when he fell in love with Moll. He said, "I don't know if he was looking for love, but he found it, and then that brought out the guardian in him." He went on to say that one thing he loved about the fifth episode is that, in learning their history, we see that Moll and L'ak are more equals than it seemed in the first four episodes.

"It looks like he's almost her bodyguard, but when they're alone, you see it's not really the case. They're on absolutely equal footing, and he defers to her a lot. He's just protective of her, but she is of him, and that's their love." He went on to explain, " My favorite thing about these characters is their love for each other. It's rare in sci-fi that you have antagonists that have a genuinely good reason to do what they're doing, that I think people would relate to their love and passion for each other and freedom. That's it. We're not bad guys. We just want you to leave us the hell alone." He points out that in this episode, Moll admits they never would have made an enemy out of the Discovery crew if they'd just been left alone, "But you keep on us, and we’re gonna defend ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Harlow explained that the complete devotion Moll and L'ak have for each other is what makes them relatable. She said:

"I do think it's inherent to their nature, and I think that that's what makes them likable, is that there's the love and loyalty there, and they're the first beings in each other's lives that have been, like, he's proven to me that he's worth the love, he's worth the loyalty. Literally, everybody else has either died or betrayed, left. All that stuff. This one being has shown me that it's like, 'No, this is actually where I can store my loyalty, love in this being, and I'm gonna hold on to this being no matter what.' "

With this episode being called "Mirrors," not only for the time spent on a Mirror Universe ship, but for the relationships within, as Moll and L'ak serve as a foil to Book and Burnham. I asked the pair if they felt like their characters recognized themselves in their counterparts. For Toufexis, Book and Burnham are barely even on his radar. He said, "At least as an actor, I never even considered that. I was just like, 'Nah, I don't care about them.' He's very one-track-minded." He then laid out L'ak's priorities, saying:

"At least for me, the way I played it was, 'I just want Moll, and I want you to leave us alone. And if this tech, whatever it is that we may not understand, or even if they understand its power, whatever this tech is, if it could grant us freedom and to be left alone and to just go live our lives in love together, that's all that matters.' So I don't think they're looking and going, 'Oh, they're a lot like us, those two.'"

Meanwhile, Harlow agreed, comparing their characters to "caged animals." She said: "Everyone else are [our] oppressors, and so I don't care what's happening out there. I don't care how similar it is, because ultimately they have the key to the door to freedom, and they're holding here. It’s like, 'Fuck yeah!'"

Elias Toufexis Learned He Was Playing a Breen While Getting His Prosthetics for 'Star Trek: Discovery'

While the Breen have existed since the 90s, having first appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , we know very little about their species. Most notably, we don't know what they look like under their helmets — at least we didn't until this episode. As a fan of the franchise, I had to ask Toufexis if he knew he would be playing a Breen when he first got the role or if he found out when he read the script. He revealed that he actually found out while getting his prosthetics made. But before telling the full story of how he found out L'ak was a Breen, Toufexis took a brief detour to joke about another vast disparity between his Star Trek experience and Harlow's.

He said: "This is a funny story we haven’t told yet. When I auditioned, I knew I was gonna be in makeup because I had already been on the show in the third episode. I played one of the prisoners that's on the show, on Discovery , so I knew I couldn't play with my own face again. I knew I'd be in prosthetics. And I remember, this is like a side thing, but I remember calling Eve and talking about working together, and I said, 'So what's your makeup process?' She's like, 'I don't have any makeup. I don’t have any prosthetics.' 'What? You mean I have to go through five hours of hair and makeup…?'" Harlow chimed in confirming the call, "You were like, 'No, no, no, like prosthetics.' I’m like, 'Yeah, no. Nothing.' And he's like, 'Wait, are you sure?' [Laughs] I’m like, 'I don’t know how to break it to you, but no.'"

He joked that he was "hoping we were both gonna have 2:30 a.m. calls and all that kind of stuff," before diving into how he learned he'd be playing a Breen. He explained:

"But when I found out that he was a Breen was when I went to do the first step of the prosthetics. Being a giant Star Trek geek, I said, 'Can you show me what I'm gonna look like?' Because they’re doing that thing, the plaster mold, where you have to sit there in 20 minutes and try not to have a panic attack. But at that session, I said, 'Do you have any art of what he's gonna look like?' And they showed me, and I said, 'Do you know what race he is?' Because I think I had heard that he was a new race, or an unseen race, or something like that. And they said, 'Yeah, he's a Breen.' I was like, 'Wait, Breen? They don’t take off their helmets.' My geek mind starts going. Then they're like, 'Yeah, you're gonna be the first time that this race is revealed in Star Trek,' and that really got me going. I was like, 'Oh, okay! Let's plaster me up. Let's do this.' And somehow I got through it. But yeah, I was really excited to find that out. Especially [because] Deep Space Nine to me is, like, I love Deep Space Nine . I know the Breen they talk about in TNG a little bit, but Deep Space Nine to me is, like, one of my favorite shows ever, not just Star Treks shows. So, the fact that I was gonna be involved in that. We kind of delve into Deep Space Nine , so I was super happy."

Moll and L'ak Aren't Villains — They're Just Antagonists

In "Mirrors," Moll and L'ak become much more fleshed-out characters as we get a glimpse into their history with each other. Much like the revelation with the Breen, I had to ask Harlow and Toufexis if they had made up any backstory for their characters prior to learning the roots of their love story when they got the script for this episode. Harlow explained that they really only fleshed out the basics like how long they'd been together. She pointed out that sometimes if you make up a backstory for your character it can get entirely undone by the narrative. She said: "The thing is, you could create a backstory, and then you get the next episode and it’s like, 'Ha, joke’s on you. Totally wrong. Everything that we thought…' So, at least this is the way that I work, it's like, 'Okay, what are the stakes? This person is my everything.' That’s just how I’m gonna play it. "

"In terms of the flashback, I mean, it was fun," she grinned. "This might sound really vain, but looks-wise, what did she look like back then? I’ve just got to shout out to the hair and makeup and costume team. Freaking amazing. Such talented people, and also so collaborative, and talking about all this, and being excited about it as well. I think this is what was really cool about the show. Literally every single person is so excited about what they do. Like the props people, they're like, 'This is so awesome,' and then you're like, 'Yes! This is so awesome.'"

Despite not being a Star Trek fan before joining the franchise, Harlow explained that she couldn't help but fall in love with the whole team. "So even though, again, I did not know Star Trek , you can't help it. It's infectious when you're surrounded by that energy, and so it's like, 'Oh, cool. We get to explore our characters’ backgrounds and be in this Breen world.'" She went on to say, "seeing the sets is insane. That screen, the wall, is incredible. You step into the space and you're like, 'Whoa, people created all of this and I get to be a part of it? Incredible.'"

Toufexis was thrilled to get an episode so heavily dedicated to Moll and L'ak's motivations. Having played his fair share of TV baddies , he noted that this is the first time he's gotten to play out the why of what his character is doing himself. He told me:

"The backstory was the best part for me because, I've said this before, but I play a lot of bad guys on TV, and very often it's other characters that are just explaining why my character is doing what he's doing, or make a line thrown here or there, like this is what happened to me, so this is why I'm doing this. Whereas with L’ak, I got to play it. I got to go back and play how he got to where he is, and the great thing is it's justified. What I hope is that the people who watch Episode 5, when they rewatch, they go, 'Oh, yeah, everything they're doing they have a right to do. They're not bad. They're just the antagonists.' I don't mind if they call us villains for promotional purposes, but I’m kind of like, 'They're not villains.'"

Harlow chimed in saying, "They have hearts of gold, okay?" To which Toufexis doubled down on Moll and L'ak's desire to just be left alone.

Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis Reveal Their Favorite Episodes of 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5

Again, as a pair of Trekkies, I had to ask Toufexis about the incredible experience of getting to actually spend time on the bridge of the Enterprise in this episode. Naturally, he was delighted. He told Collider:

"Well, you can imagine. I've already said I'm a super nerd. And also, The Original Series , that's what I watched growing up . I'm not that old, my dad had them all on tape — so I'm old, but I'm not that old. My dad had them all on tape in the ‘90s, so I watched them over and over and over again, and the movies, especially. So, for me, that was my introduction to Star Trek was the Kirk Enterprise, right? Even though I know this is not the Kirk Enterprise, but Kirk's on it. So being on that ship, I know story-wise it was the ISS Enterprise, but I'm still like, 'This is the Enterprise. I don't care what decals they put over this. I'm sitting on the Enterprise.' I went and took secret pictures of me on the bridge and stuff like that. I was just freaking out, man. I was like, 'This is like the coolest thing.' How can you not freak out being a fan of something and then suddenly getting paid to be there? It's pretty cool."

While she didn't have any personal connection to the sets herself, Harlow understood the importance through Toufexis' experience. "I had him explain all this to me," she laughed. "It's like this is my very own Star Trek Wikipedia sitting next to me. I'm like, 'Okay, cool, noted. Thank you.'"

When asked what their favorite episodes of Discovery Season 5 were, Toufexis decidedly chose the one we all just watched. "Five for me, for sure," he said, though he was sure to give some praise to the rest of the season as well. "There's a couple of episodes coming up that are really good, too, but for me, it's five because of that, the background and getting to play the background. It's kind of their big episode that reveals everything about her. So for me, it's five. " Meanwhile, Harlow set her sights on the series finale, saying, "I forget which episode it is, but it's later, it's either Episode 9 or 10, and I don't think I can say anything. I'm not gonna say anything, but yes, there is one I like."

The 'Star Trek: Discovery' Set Is Unlike Any Other Thanks to Sonequa Martin-Green

While this is Harlow and Toufexis' first season of Discovery, it's also the show's last. As I noted in my review, despite the writers not knowing Season 5 was the end, they somehow managed to bring the story to a full circle moment. And Toufexis felt the exact same way, he said, "You know what, I was just thinking about this morning. I was thinking about how it's somehow in this weird… The TV gods… Because the episodes that were already written before they knew it was gonna be the last season have this feeling of closure in this weird way, right?" He went on to explain, " Like Episode 4, where they go back and see themselves in the past. That is something that you would do when you would be ending a show, or Doug [Jones], Saru, going off and having these new chapters. That's something you would do when you would end the show. So, it’s this weird kind of thing that happened where it almost was fate that it was going to be the last season . I don't know if that is a sad note or something, but it just worked so well."

"So what I hope people take out of it is just this great feeling of closure of this amazing five years that these people have done. I mean, I'm a fan of the show and I've watched every episode. You're sad that it's ending but at the same time it's ending so well that you just kind of hope everybody just really enjoys the ride of this last season and then looks at everything as five years of what this show actually accomplished, which if you step back and look at it is a lot."

While Harlow admitted that she hadn't "thought about it that deeply, but ultimately I just want people to like it." She had nothing but high praise for series star Sonequa Martin-Green , saying: "The first thing, I stepped on set and everyone, Sonequa was so kind and so welcoming. Every single person on that set was wonderful , and one of the first things that I was told was, 'Welcome to the family.' I just want people to like it, to deserve that title of being in the family, if that makes sense."

For these two, working on Discovery was unlike any other set they'd ever worked on. "I would like to piggyback off of that," said Toufexis. "Eve has worked a lot, I’ve worked a lot, and this is one of the best sets you could work on. From Sonequa and down to the crew, to Michelle [Paradise] and Tunde [Osunsanmi], and all those guys, Alex Kurtzman. You just end up going like, 'All these people are nice.'"

The vibes on set were amazing from the start, to the point that Harlow could hardly believe it to be true, certain that at some point the magic would wear off. However, the warm, familiar atmosphere never faded. She explained:

"When I started, I was like, 'There is no way that this lasts for six months. There's no way.' Because people get stressed. It's just like being on sets — it's chaotic, there’s so many people. And, oh my god, until the very end people were so kind. I feel like a fangirl when I talk about it, and I feel like I've talked about it so much, but it's just because it's lasted, and it just shows what a set can be like. We had this thing, crew appreciation, which is like every single day, a different crew member would be clapped for, and throughout the day, if you saw this crewmember, you could just start clapping for them. So that means that by the time we finished filming, everybody knows everybody's names and what they do and has an appreciation for everybody's job. I've never seen that on any set. And it didn't get in the way of us finishing days. I know that some people are like, 'Oh, it takes time to do this care and appreciation.' Yes, it takes time. It’s, like, 30 seconds, and it lifts everybody's spirits. Anyway, yeah, it's great."

Toufexis confirmed that the source of those good vibes without a doubt comes back to their fearless leader. "It's Sonequa’s set," he said. "Sonequa was the number one, and she's the best number one I've ever worked with. Hands down. Just [the best] of the whole show. She's amazing. I could never say enough good about Sonequa." And Harlow couldn't help but agree: "Every single time I see her, I’m like, 'Sonequa, I love you so much!' I know I'm gushing again for the 50th time, but yes."

"Mirrors" is available to stream now on Paramount+ . New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery hit the platform every Thursday. Stay tuned at Collider for more.