The Best Star Trek episodes

[thomas7g]

What are your favorite Star Trek Episodes? Any and all trek series are included. Even movies.



The ones that immediately come to mind for me are:

(forgive me cause I don't know titles)

The STNG ep where a probe gives Picard a chance to out a whole life as one of the last of an extinct people. That is probably my favorite!

STNG-The Survivors- Picard responds to distress call only to find out the colony has been destroyed by an alien race. All except two elderly survivors whose existance don't make sense. This has a GREAT twist to the end. I was awed by the writing.

STNG- Yesterdays's Enterprise. Tasha returns in an incredible story about how one ship can change the course of history. We all remember this one.

STNG- Where a Romulan defector defects to stop another meaningless war. Only to discover he's been setup. Extremely good performances. A very tight script.

DS9- Jake loses his father tragically, only to discover his father is trapped in time. And Jakes lives his whole life to free his dad. My favorite DS9 episode. Which is odd, since most of the cast play minor roles.


TOS- Kirk matches wit with a Romulan Commander attacking outposts on the neutral zone!

TOS- Doomsday Machine!!!! The ice cream cone of death use to scare young tommy to death! I use to have to shut off the tv cause it was too scary!!!!

STNG- The first appearance of the Borg!!!! Q is at his best. Great perormances. Edgy writing . And damn those Borg were scary!

DS9- The one where an old Cardassian is captured and accused of being a war criminal. Only to be revealed as a pathetic former desk clerk who wants to atone for what his people did. This is alot like the STNG Defector episode.

STNG- Measure of a Man. Data is declared "propery" and must defend his right to be considered alive.

There are of course more. But that;s all that comes to me right now.

Sadly I can't remember any Voyager or Enterprise episode that was worth an honorable mention. Maybe someone else can.

[The 14th Colony]

The STNG ep where a probe gives Picard a chance to out a whole life as one of the last of an extinct people. That is probably my favorite!

Yes, an outstanding episode. I believe this one was titled The Inner Light. It was where he learned to play the flute, and continued it after he had been returned to his own reality.

STNG- Yesterdays's Enterprise. Tasha returns in an incredible story about how one ship can change the course of history. We all remember this one.

I do remember this one well, it's one of the most dramatic of the series.

STNG- Where a Romulan defector defects to stop another meaningless war. Only to discover he's been setup. Extremely good performances. A very tight script.

Agreed, one of the best.

STNG- The first appearance of the Borg!!!! Q is at his best.

I think this one was called "Q Who?" It was a good episode. My favorite involving the Borg, and indeed one of my favorite TNG eps of all time, is The Best Of Both Worlds. "I am Lacutus of Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

DS9- The one where an old Cardassian is captured and accused of being a war criminal. Only to be revealed as a pathetic former desk clerk who wants to atone for what his people did.

I loved this one. Especially the change in feelings by Kira Nurise (sp?). She had hated the man intensely at first, only to feel sympathy and understanding afterward, to the point of defending him. Great performace by Nana Visitor.

I have about 90 or so TNG episodes on video tape, taken from their original airings. I should rewatch them, because there were so many good shows that I can barely remember.

There was an episode called "Points of Perspective" where Riker was accused of murdering a scientist and destroying the space station where his experiment was being conducted. For his trial, the holodeck was used to recreate the events leading to the murder and explosion, and replays of the events were shown depicting the relaying of events by Riker, the scientist's wife, and an assistant to the scientist. It was interesting to see how the same events were perceived differently by the 3 people who were there.

Riker was the star player in an excellent episode where he had been captured and brainwashed to believe that he was in an alien insane asylum. When he awoke from his experience, he found that that too was a fabricated existance. That one had good plot twists and twists of perception and reality, and good acting from William Frakes.

Unification: Leonard Nimoy enters the TNG universe as an aged Spock, striving for reunification of Vulcan and Romulous.

Times's Arrow: Responding to the discovery of a centuries old head of Data found in a cave in San Francisco, Picard and co. go back in time through a time portal to ancient San Francisco where they try to stop an alien plot to steal humans from Earth. While going back to the future, Data's head is destroyed and left behind in the cave, and back on the Enterprise they outfit him with the centuries old head that they had found in the cave, which was the one that he had just lost in the past. I love time travel stories like that!

[julix]

I am a Tos fan and not into it as much as Star Wars...my fav Tos is the one with Commander pike and the green lady dancer....Trouble with tribbles.....the alternative universie Spock...And Wrath of Khan!!!!!!!!

[Archangel]

There are so many, but one that Julix brings too mind is DS9's Trials and Tribble-ations. A perfect blend of an inter-generational episode. Laughed hard seeing Quark duplicate the bartender's shot on K-5 with tribbles heaped around him and Worf's explanation why TOS Klingons looked different than later generations. "We do NOT discuss it with outsiders!"

Then Voyager's Flashback that (sort of) recounts Tuvok's experiences on Captain Sulu's Excelsior

TNG's Best of Both Worlds is probably the best Trek ever

TOS's Charlie X, City in the Edge of Forever, The Menagerie, etc.

[julix]

I forgot Amok Time(Tos)....

[BST]

Oh, where to start??

(In no particular order, just as they come to mind)

ST-TOS:

The Enemy Within - transporter accident leaves Kirk split in 2 - good and evil.

Court Martial - Kirk on trial for death of Lt. Cmdr Ben Finney

Shore Leave - the crew was on a planet where their thoughts were instantly transformed into reality.

Arena - Kirk battles with the Gorn.

City on the Edge of Forever - Kirk and Spock search for McCoy back in Depression - era NYC. Guest-starred Joan Collins

Immunity Syndrome - Enterprise faces off against an incredibly large single-celled organism.

Obsession - Enterprise fights a cloud-like "being" which kills its victims by 'sucking out' the red corpuscles from their blood.

The Paradise Syndrome - Kirk marooned on a planet populated by Native American Indians.

The Tholian Web - Kirk trapped in an area of space where our universe overlaps with others. The other Federation ship was the USS Defiant.

The Doomsday Machine - Tommy's ice cream cone of death. Excellent episode featuring William Windom as Commodore Decker (father of Will Decker, captain of the Enterprise on ST:TMP).


ST-TNG:

The Best of Both Worlds - Borg attack on the Federation

Time's Arrow - the Enterprise crew journeys back to 1880's San Francisco to stop present-day aliens from murdering unsuspecting 1880's people.

Where No One Has Gone Before - 1st show featuring "The Traveller"; accident during a warp engine experiment transports Enterprise to an unknown part of the universe;

Remember Me - Dr. Crusher caught in "warp bubble", during Geordi's and Wesley's experiment with warp engines, 2nd show featuring "The Traveller";

Journey's End - 3rd and final show featuring "The Traveller"; this show featured the end of the story arc between Wesley Crusher and The Traveller. I view these last 3 shows as a trilogy of sorts. Folks may be surprised to know that the writer for "Journey's End" was none other than Ron Moore. It was a very good episode. (See, I don't slam everything that he's written; just certain shows involving battlestars.)



Lessons - A sequel of sorts to the episode that Tom and 14th Colony mentioned, The Inner Light. It featured a duet between Captain Picard, on flute, and Lt. Darrin, on keyboard, playing the song that Picard learned on The Inner Light. Beautifully played -- I often wondered if the song was available as a single, or as part of a soundtrack from TNG but, alas, never investigated.

Tapestry - Q gives Picard a chance to go back to his Academy days and "correct" the mistakes of the past.

Can't remember title, too lazy to check - the episode where the Federation, Romulans, Klingons, and Cardissians all "contributed" pieces to a puzzle which revealed that they were all somehow, remotely, related to an original super-race which had seeded much of the known universe. UPDATE: Thanks, 14th, the title for this one is The Chase.

All Good Things... - The series finale. All in all, I liked it. A fitting way to end the show, with Q being the same pain that he was in the premiere.

ST-DS9:

I can't remember all of the titles but, in general, I liked:

the episode where Odo finally discovered his roots and that he was not alone in the universe.

the entire Dominion war story arc.

The DS9 intro music - far and away the best that any Trek show ever delivered. Even TOS.



ST-Voyager

The episodes I liked

The 37's - where Janeway and crew find Amelia Earhart and others "abducted" from Earth, in 1937.

the episode where Janeway and Chakotay were left behind, on a planet, due to sickness. It was interesting to see the interaction between the two, without chain of command.

All in all, I liked DS9 and Voyager but, not to the same depth as TOS and TNG.
Enterprise, on the other hand, I will have to actually sit down and watch more of. It started out "ok" but, nothing that really captured my interest enough to carve out time each week, to watch. But, I will give it another chance.

BST - BattleStarTrekker

PS Thanks for this thread, Tom. This was FUN!!!!!

[The 14th Colony]

Can't remember title, too lazy to check - the episode where the Federation, Romulans, Klingons, and Cardissians all "contributed" pieces to a puzzle which revealed that they were all somehow, remotely, related to an original super-race which had seeded much of the known universe.

I think it was called The Chase. I don't agree with you but it was my personal bias that made this one the only TNG episode that I had taped, only to immediately erase it after watching it. At the time I was an on fire born again Christian very deep in the bible and my faith, and I was angry that the episode had it that aliens were the cause of our existance rather than God. I'm quite sure that Ronald Moore wrote that one, as he is, or was, an admitted athiest at the time. Like I said, it was my bias based on my beliefs at the time. Later, even after I had left the Christian path, I was offended by another film for the same reason, the Gary Sinise film Mission To Mars. But that's just me.

[BST]

14th,

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not ENDORSING the episode, just providing a short synopsis. I just liked the episode, in general, for drawing in the other species / races, for something other than space battles.

[The 14th Colony]

No worries, I was really just thinking out loud and reflecting on my beliefs at the time. By no means do I mean to attack your enjoyment of that episode. Heck, I loved Jurassic Park though I'm not sure I believe in the scientific explanation for the formation of the world. And there could be people who take offense at my favorite episodes of TNG. So sorry if it seemed I was attacking your mention of that episode. To be honest, I had seriously enjoyed that episode (The Chase) until the end, until the alien appeared and announced that they had created life in the universe. Everything up to that was top notch "thinking" entertainment. Heck, if the alien had announced that he was an angel and that God had implanted the DNA clues in order to bring those races together in peace, instead of saying that the aliens did it, then I would have been blown away and listed it as one of my top ten fav TNG episodes. Regardless of anything, anyone has the right to endorse any show that they enjoyed. If someone said to me that the Borg symbolized some yada yada yada blah blah blah aspect that goes against their religion, I would say sorry but The Best of Both Worlds is still one of the best TNG shows in my humble opinion.

[martok2112]

Favorite episodes from all trek:

Well, let's see.....

TOS
1. BALANCE OF TERROR-- Hands down my alltime favorite classic Trek episode. A sort of submarine battle in space. The late Mark Lenard played the Romulan Commander so well. And there seemed to be an underlying ego issue for both Kirk and the Romulan Commander.

2. ERRAND OF MERCY-- This episode introduced Kor, the future Da'Har Master of the Klingons. The late John Colicos gave us a shrewd view of Klingon life.

3. A PIECE OF THE ACTION-- This was one of the funiest classic eps ever written, especially Kirk's card game with the gangsters.

4. THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES-- An episode that introduced Koloth, a much (I shirk at saying this) daintier Klingon. Also a very, very funny episode. Scott's fight scene is great, and the following inquisition by Kirk is funny. (Clearly, we see Mr. Scott's priorities in this ep.)

TNG
1. REDEMPTION I and II-- Worf regains his honor. Part one had one of the coolest looking space battles (for its time), when two Birds of Prey attack Gowron's Vor'Cha class attack cruiser.

2. LOWER DECKS-- A very, very well written episode where we get a fairly in depth look at life among the lower echelons of the Enterprise-D.

3. RELICS-- The return of Montgomery Scott. 'nuff said!

4. THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS I and II-- I have never been shocked by any Star Trek episode of any incarnation before or since this cliffhanger.

5. ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT/ALL GOOD THINGS-- The Alpha and the Omega of The Next Generation. And four words: "Deanna Troi's Cheerleader Outfit!" 'nuff said.



DS9
1. TEARS OF THE PROPHETS-- Awesome visual effects for epic battles. (Probably explains why I have RARELY been impressed with "big screen Next Generation film s" --except for NEMESIS) And the saddest episode since the movie "The Wrath of Khan." Jadzia Dax's death rended my heart. (Although it did pave the way for the beautiful Nicole DeBoer as Ezri Dax.)

2. Just about any Dominion War episode with epic fleet battles.

3. THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR-- Worf's arrival (and ensuing resurgence of the Federation/Klingon War) is when DS9 really got interesting for me. Seeing K't'inga class battlecruisers (the ones from Star Trek's I, II, and VI) gave me goose bumps. And the Klingon attack on DS9--SPLENDID! (Even if a few K't'inga's went THE WAY OF THE DODO!)

4. TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS-- A hilarious episode. Awesome blending of DS9 and TOS footage (in the tradition of Forrest Gump). Also, just a few words: Jadzia Dax in classic TOS miniskirt outfit! 'nuff said!

5. BLOOD OATH-- The triumphant return of the Klingons Three (Kor, Kang, and Koloth), and the tragic but heroic deaths ot two of them. The late, great John Colicos turned in a complete (and very amusing) 180 on the portrayal of Kor. In TOS, Kor was a shrewd, cunning Klingon commander. In DS9, Kor was a celebrated (if somewhat in the past) Da'Har Master who became a loveable lush...lost in the swigs of BreS'tanti Ale.


VOYAGER--
I am less familiar with Voyager episode titles, but love the show no less than any of the others.

1. THE YEAR OF HELL I and II: Excellent time paradox episode, portraying Voyager's (the ship, not the show ) deteriorating condition over the course of a year, as they encounter a race whose leader is determined to set history right for his people, with severe consequences. Kurtwood Smith (one of my favorite contemporary actors) turns in a superb performance, as expected.

2. SCORPION I and II-- The opening few seconds of this cliffhanger was all it took to grab my attention. Seeing an alien race (Species 8472) kick the living Daggit Droppings out of the Borg sustained my attention. The introduction of Seven of Nine (most especially in her catsuit) was enough to KEEP it for the rest of Voyager's run.

3. There is an episode where a couple of crewmembers discover a device on a planet they are orbiting that has the capability of transporting their ship thousands of light years closer to the Alpha Quadrant. The natives of the planet refuse Voyager's request to make use of the technology. Belanna Torres, and a few others commit a silent rebellion to acquire and adapt the tech to Voyager. When Torres is busted, and brought before Janeway, we see a moment that I did not expect...and one that still gives me chills to this day. When Tuvok reveals a dark secret to Janeway, she quickly dismisses Torres, and focuses her rebuke on Tuvok. Kate Mulgrew turns in one of the most heart-wrenching performances I have ever seen from a Trek actress. She straddles the emotional line of wanting to cry, and wanting to understand Tuvok's insubordination (which bordered on betrayal) with such deftness that I was almost willing to cry for her. It is a performance which gave me the utmost respect for Kate Mulgrew (and Captain Janeway).

4. FLASHBACK-- An extended story of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (although some of its elements--Tuvok--are dubious at best) . It was great seeing George Takei and Grace Lee Whitney reprise their roles as Captain Hikaru Sulu, and Commander Janice Rand, as well as Michael Ansara, once again bringing to life (albeit too briefly) Captain Kang. Seeing Klingon K't'ingas fire on the Excelsior was one of my favorite points of this episode as well. Best line from this episode: Sulu rebuking Tuvok: "Let the regulations be damned!"


ENTERPRISE
This show has some great episodes, but I can vaguely remember their names.

1. BROKEN BOW-- The introduction of the NX-01, and its crew.

2. The episode where the NX-01 hits a cloaked Romulan mine, and Archer and Malcolm must disarm another that had attached. Malcolm sustains a life threatening injury, but it is a scenario which gives us good insight on the young security chief and his views.

3. The episode where Malcolm and Trip are adrift in a shuttlepod. There is some delightful bickering between Malcolm and Trip....including a delusional (but much echoed sentiment by this viewer) that "T'pol has a nice bum, don't'cha think?" (I can't remember if he was drunk...or suffering from CO2 Narcosis.)



Well, that wraps it up for me.

Respectfully,
Martok2112

[BST]

Originally Posted by The 14th Colony

So sorry if it seemed I was attacking your mention of that episode.

14th,

No offense taken. I didn't consider your remarks an attack, just an alternative point of view. That's what these forums are all about. The only drawback with the forum environment is that sometimes we have to take a few extra steps to make sure that our written word is not misunderstood. I actually enjoyed reading your remarks. They cast a different point of view which I hadn't really considered when watching the show. Thanks for the insight.



BST

[The 14th Colony]

Cool beans then.

[Raymar3d]

City on the Edge of Forever
Errand of Mercy
Balance of Terror
Ultimate Computer
Corbomite Maneuver
Amok Time
Journey to Babel
Arena
The Tholian Web
Paradise Syndrome
Immunity Syndrome
The Galileo Seven
Obsession
Where No Man Has Gone Before
By Any Other Name
Mirror, Mirror
Devil In The Dark
The Trouble With Tribbles
Day of the Dove
The Omega Glory
This Side of Paradise
The Enterprise Incident
Tommorrow is Yesterday
Space Seed
A Taste of Armaggeddon
Dagger of the Mind
Charlie X
The Enemy Within
A Private Little War
A Piece of The Action
Assignment: Earth
The Changeling
Metamorphosis
Elaan of Troyius


Beyond the Farthest Star
Yesteryear
One of Our Planets is Missing
The Survivor
The Jihad
Albatross
The Time Trap
More Tribbles, More Troubles

More to come when I have time.

But of course:

Relics
Unification

Trials and Tribbleations

Flashback

[bsg1fan1975]

I loved "Trouble with Tribbles"

[Charybdis]

Have to say that "Yesterday's Enterprise" is probably my favorite. I'm not that much of a Trek fan, but I have watched a lot of the original and TNG...

[amberstar]

Tos- "Trouble with Tribbles"

TOS- City on the Edge of Forever.... it is a Tos episode where they sling shot around the sun and go back in time.

Tos movie would be where thay save the whales......can't remember the name...They also go back in time in this one .


STNG- The first show Mission at Farpoint station *think that is the name*

STNG- The episode where Q put the crew on trial for mankinds crimes


Sorry I didn't get into Voyager or Deep Space 9

[BST]

Amber,

The Trek movie about saving the whales is ST IV: The Voyage Home.

BST

[amberstar]

Originally Posted by BST

Amber,

The Trek movie about saving the whales is ST IV: The Voyage Home.

BST

Thanks BST!! Can't believe I forgot the name!

[BST]

No need to , Amber!

I think one of the my favorite (amusing) segments of that movie was when they split up to go about their respective tasks and had Uhura and Chekov going to the Navy yard. Considering this was set in 1986, the look on the cop's face was priceless when Chekov (of Russian descent) kept asking about how to get to the "nuclear wessels".



Another one was Scotty's classic remark, "Admiral, there be whales here!!"

[Eric Paddon]

Favorite original series Trek episodes:
-The Doomsday Machine
All Our Yesterdays
The Trouble With Tribbles

[Raymar3d]

Originally Posted by amberstar

TOS- City on the Edge of Forever.... it is a Tos episode where they sling shot around the sun and go back in time.

That episode you describe is "Return to Tommorrow" where they pick up Captain Christopher, the pilot in the Air Force jet.

"City on the Edge of Forever" they follow McCoy through the Guardian of Forever where Kirk has to decide if Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) lives or dies to preserve history.

[thomas7g]

City on the Edge of Forever may be one of my favorite Kirk episodes.

Though I like Return to Tommorrow too!

[Ian_W359]

Originally Posted by Raymar3d

That episode you describe is "Return to Tommorrow" where they pick up Captain Christopher, the pilot in the Air Force jet.

Forgive me for sounding pedantic, but isn't that 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday'?

BTW, Nice avatar, 14th Colony - Hajime Sorayama, if I'm not mistaken...

As for favourite episodes.... that'll take some time... there are so many....

All the best,
Ian W359

[Archangel]

Yeah, the ep where They pick up John Christopher is Tomorrow is Yesterday

[BST]

There is an episode entitled "Return to Tomorrow", though.

It guest-starred Diana Muldaur as Dr. Ann Mulhall and told the story of 3 alien beings (Sargon, Thalassa, and Henoch) who "borrowed" the bodies of Kirk, Mulhall, and Spock, in order to construct android bodies. The android bodies were needed so that they could leave their planet which had been virtually destroyed by a planetary civil war 500,000 years prior.

The alien entities were stored in white orbs called "receptacles".

[thomas7g]

Forgive me for sounding pedantic, but isn't that 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday'?

I stand corrected.
Nice Avatar Tidus!

[Raymar3d]

DOH!!!!

I hang my head in shame.

Ken


Somebody buy me the DVD set before senility ruins my Trek trivia skills!!!!

[Ian_W359]

Originally Posted by thomas7g

I stand corrected.
Nice Avatar Tidus!

Well, it was a choice between Tidus and Auron for the avatar, but Lulu seemed an interesting alternative....

I got Final Fantasy X a few weeks before I got my PS2 in May, and it's one of the most amazing games I've played.

All the best,
Ian W359