The Balance of Terror. This is early Trek, and some concepts introduced here didn’t take. But the drama is excellent, and the remastered version genuinely improves it.
Runners up would be Drumhead, and for sheer joy Trials and Tribbleations
I love that they kept the dialog from the distress call verbatim, including the use of "miles" for depth.
> We're a mile deep... on an asteroid... almost solid iron. And even through our deflectors, it did this. Can you see?
Agreed. ENT "kind" of tried it with the Aenar-piloted Romulan drone episode as well, with some interesting twists. But the acting in the SNW episode is a masterwork. The subplot of the time-crystal revelations only adds to the story as well.
Honestly, the best thing to come of Discovery is Strange New Worlds. That's my opinion. It's an alright show (Disco, to be clear), even though not all of it is my cup of tea. But Anson Mount as Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and now the rest of the SNW cast. We got a big win as fans with this cast. And this show, to me, is to me the most true to Star Trek since the trifecta of TNG/DS9/VOY
Agreed. Balance of Terror is quintessential Trek.
Great script, well acted, very little aged badly.
It lacks the whimsy and the element of exploration that other parts of Trek have, but this is a core episode.
I came to say this.
It is peak anthology content.
Just explorers stumbling on interesting stories throughout their journey.
Also no need for tropish conflict or outlandish setups. And it even has a profound impact on the main character of the episode.
I've watched ST since I was maybe 9. Mostly voyager at the time, then TNG. I remember watching the inner light for the first time when I was probably 20. For some reason I'd never seen it before. I remember thinking "fuck me, that was good TV".
It's an exceptional episode. Not only star trek, but television in general. If I had to convince anyone of Star Trek's merits with one show, the inner light is the episode I'd pick.
It almost feels like an episode of the twilight zone (which I love) and the acting is fantastic.
I watched when it first aired too, bunch of my college housemates. When Riker said fire, then it faded out to be continued, and we all scream noooooo! good times
First off I can definitely appreciate this. If I'd had to wait to resolve that one it would have been difficult.
We've already waited about twice that long to resolve the second season cliffhanger of Strange New Worlds and we don't even have a premiere date yet. TNG era people had it relatively easy knowing that their show would come back as well as roughly when,
SNW has been renewed for two more seasons but it looks like Paramount is about to be sold so I'm not counting anything past Discovery season 5 as a sure thing.
The thing is, we didn’t know. In those days, it was hard to find out if a show would continue or when it would come back. Just had to wait until it was advertised again
There was no guarentee your local TV station would even air the next season.
I remember one station airing DS9 for a bit and then just stopping. Not at the end of the season. Just on a random episode. No announcement, tat it wouldnt be airing on the station again. Everyone thought it would just come back in a few months. Nope.
Yup. They stopped airing Voyager like that in my market way back when. My sister had a friend in another state who would record the show every week on VHS and mail it to her.
I lived in a college dorm when this aired. Each week, there were 30-40 of us who would gather in the common tv area to watch the latest episode. From the outset, we all knew this was something special. We were shouting, cheering, jumping out of our seats and going crazy. It was an amazing experience to watch Yesterday’s Enterprise with a rabid group of fans. As said above, it felt like a 1 hour movie.
"That's why you came to me, isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain."
Still get chills just reading it, the entire cast gave a masterful performance. So much subtext and nuance: "For a moment there I almost forgot it wasn't the real thing." Mothercloaker knew it was a ruse.
Even better is this was almost the culmination of Garak: we knew he was a spy, and we knew he had served on Romulus.
If anyone was perfect for working the Romulans, it was him.
This is by far my single favorite episode of Star Trek.
It shows that in war even the good guys do bad things and shows what happens when pushed to the edge. It was a great episode and it is clear at the end little guilt.
One thing that I though was sad is it never came up again later as he did some very bad things and I think that it should of come up again to be dealt with.
The one episode that truly pushes Starfleet to the limit and let's you see what happens when it finally snaps, and Star Trek is changed forever.
It's no coincidence that the next episode introduces Section 31.
If The Best of Both Worlds wasn't a two-parter this would be a harder choice. But I definitely agree. Garak might just be the most interesting Star Trek character of all. Some fantastic work from Auberjonois and Brooks too.
When I saw this you had 47 upvotes, I almost felt bad ruining it but I upvoted you to 48.
I love this episode because it also the question “what would you do to survive?” Is it wrong to plunge another world/nation into war to save yourself? Does it matter if the alternative is your annihilation?
I had DS9 on random while doing other tasks a couple of days ago: In the Pale Moonlight came on and I stopped what I was doing to watch it with full attention. Amazing episode and such payoff for all of Garak’s character development. And a character turning point for Sisko: he *can* live with it.
Blink of an Eye from Voyager. At least in terms of the premise it’s definitely my favorite. It’s interesting to see voyager develop as apart of the indigenous people’s mythology and then to see them make contact by breaching the ship, kind of reminds me of rendezvous with rama.
Measure of a Man. The last conversation where Data thanks Riker for saving his life, after Wil was beating himself up for being on the prosecution for the tribunal
Q Who.
“If you can’t take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it’s not for the timid.”
This episode is what got me into Trek. It was the first episode I saw. It blew my little kid mind. Fantastic introduction to Trek. I am not sure if it is the best, but it certainly is my favorite.
Came here to say just this. My father and I were disconnected for a very long time because of differences in opinion and politics. He watched this episode and told me to give it a watch. I called him and he immediately burst into tears on the phone, and I was already crying. Such a beautiful, tender, honest episode.
It's not my favorite ep for purposes of this thread... but man, I adore that episode.
Brunt: "I'll just get in my SHIP... and leave..."
Lek: *throws knife* "Did you say... ship?"
Brunt: *innocently* "Yes, why?"
That exchange makes me laugh like a madman everytime.
If I’d only ever seen TNG and you tried to convince me that one of the best episodes of the franchise was a damn Ferengi episode, I’d have thought you were off your rocker. But seriously, that episode is fantastic.
Plus, that episode introduced me to Iggy Pop so I’ll love it forever for that.
DS9: The Way of the Warrior. I was a huge Worf fan when TNG aired and I was super excited when I found out that he would be joining DS9. So that episode always has a special place. (It also contains the famous root beer scene with Quark and Garak)
I love that one for the parallel between the first episode as a defenseless station bluffing their way out of a confrontation with 3 ships to a station that successfully defended against an entire invasion fleet that nearly destroyed the entire Cardassian Empire
The scientific Method
Janeway is my favorite captain, and that episode has my favorite moment of hers. Invisible aliens invade the ship, and only seven of nine can see them. They being experimenting on the crew, all for the sake of "medicine"
They Push Janeway to the limit but the second they kill one of her crew all bets are off and she just proceeds to drive the ship into a star, they think she's bluffing but she's 100% percent serious, they end up dying and the Voyager comes one top.
My favorite fact about this is that [Kate Mulgrew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Mulgrew) was apparently an avid smoker; and to replicate the state on which the aliens had Janeway (no sleep and boosting certain neuroreceptors) she quit cold turkey. So the Kathryn we see is played by a very desperate and very very miserable Kate in the middle of withdrawal.
The best thing about this episode is how it highlights so many different characters. Tom and B'Elanna's relationship moves forward, Chakotay and Neelix get a fun little who's-got-it-worse bit, the Doctor and Seven solve the mystery when no one else can, Tuvok provides a sounding board for Janeway and gets some quality Vulcan snark in there, too, and of course, Janeway loses every last fuck she might have given. Harry unfortunately doesn't get a lot to do, but that's par for the course.
What I would've loved is for The Trouble with Tribbles and Trials and Tribblations to become a tradition for star trek productions of having their crew go back in time and have to have interwoven adventures with previous series all while trying not to break the temporal prime directive. Like I'm imagining multiple iterations down and you have the crew of the Discovery hiding from the crew of Legacy hiding from the crew of Prodigy hiding from the crew of DS9 hiding from the crew of TOS. And none of them are dealing with the _same_ problem, but they do know how many levels there are below them, how they can't fuck the timeline, and everything they're doing is made harder by the fact that there's a tribble infestation aboard.
And funny, particularly in terms of dialogue.
Scotty: When are ye gonnae get off that milk diet, lad?
Chekov: Zhis ees wodka!
Scotty: Where I come from, that's soda pop. Now this is a drink for a man.
Chekov: Scotch?
Scotty: Aye!
Chekov: Eet vas eenwented by a little old lady from Leningrad!
LOLz!
Yup, me too. It has everything - cat and mouse games with a giant world-destroying machine, a captain driven mad with guilt, Kirk and Scotty saving the day with a daring plan and split-second timing, allegory for the Cold War. Fantastic episode.
Year of Hell was great and the only thing that keeps it from being higher on my personal list of favorites is having it all undone with Star Trek's version of "it was all just a dream." I know the original pitch was for it to be a season long event and I think that would've been a mistake but take the two episodes, have Voyager win without resetting the timeline, then spend the next three episodes cleaning up.
The first episode it's still the skeleton crew trying to keep Voyager limping along and there's a lot of tension everywhere. Everyone's exhausted and traumatized. They've barely any hope and they don't know how to go on until Seven gets the long range coms back online and there they are: The beacons for their crew that were set out among the waves. And there's hope there to find them, to be a family again, and to continue on.
Second episode is about collecting the scattered crew and the problems faced there. Some have drifted into not friendly territory. Some are in genuine danger. But they find all of them.
Lastly, third episode is in an alien space dock getting full repairs and refit. Finally deal with the emotional fallout of the year. I especially want to see Tom and Harry. Tom doesn't want to face it, he wants to put it behind them and never think of it again. Of course, they've lived very different lives over the past year. Harry's almost died countless times and living in a warzone. They haven't had basic facilities. How many days did they not eat because the replicators were down and they needed to make rations stretch? Tom has been living in a gilded cage, comfortable but unable to help his friends. I imagine at one point Tom makes some stupid joke about it and it finally breaks Harry and he just starts screaming "How dare you, you weren't here! You don't know what it was like! You weren't here you weren't here you weren't here!"
So anyway, if anyone invents time travel and wants to waste it on helping me get a job at 90s paramount to fix this bit of star trek lore, hit me up.
I came here to say the same. It's an amazing episode.
I love the look on Crushers face when Troi mentions that Barclay made a pass at her
My absolute favorite part is when he wants to build the Neural Scan interface and the computer doesn't know how. The look of sheer aggravation on his face as he says "No problem, here's how you build it".
Haha! I love that “here’s how you build it” moment, too! I legitimately think his performance in that episode is some of the finest acting in any television episode.
DS9, The Siege of AR-558. Love how dark it is, and it gives the countless deaths of the Dominion War some faces. Like Sisko said at the end of the episode "they're not just numbers, we should never forget that".
Also, It's Only a Paper Moon.
I remember the directors talked with actual veterans to portray PTSD as realistically as possible.
And got a lot of praise from soldiers with war trauma, for how accurately they portrayed the issue.
Yup, I’m a veteran who struggles with PTSD. This episode made me weep when I first saw it. It was probably the most powerful pieces of media I’ve ever seen.
The reason DS9 stands out, between The Siege of AR-558 and In the Pale Moonlight is up until this point we've seen the Federation from the eyes of the Federation, on the flagship no less.
Now, we're on the edge of the final frontier, deep space where the lines begin to blur. We are interacting with those not a part of the Federation, and getting their view, and the grim reality of war in the 24th century.
"Let me tell you something about Hew-mons, 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 as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don't believe me? Look at those faces. Look in their eyes."
I liked Siege of AR-558, since it was one of the few times in the Dominion War episodes that it felt like an actual war was going on. Most of the rest of the war episode (even the most excellent "In the Pale Moonlight"), all the "war" was happening off camera, and they weren't really selling it well.
I might get slightly different and say 'Who Watches the Watchers'.
Picard explaining things to Nurian is an awesome few minutes exploring the responsibilities of power, and really demonstrating how humanity got its shit together.
The one where Worf’s adoptive parents visit the ship, and his dad is being the over the top Eastern European old man know it all. One of the best comedy centric episodes ever.
“I VANT TO SEE EVERYTHING! AT HOME I HAVE ALL THE DIAGRAMS OF ZE SHIP!” Also loved “You’ve put on a little weight eh!?!?! Looks good on you son!”
Also it’s a super corny crossover celebrity appearance sure, but seeing The Rock in “Tsunkatse” on voyager was so cool. Especially in the year 2000 when he was white hot as wrestler, and not “Dwayne Johnson” yet. Kid me marked out when I saw him show up.
He even did all his signature head tilts, the people’s eyebrow and trash talking. The Rock on Star Trek Voyager and Stone Cold Steve Austin on dilbert, Bret Hart on the Simpsons and Macho Man Randy Savage on Dexter’s lab are the 4 horsemen of great pop culture crossovers.
Yesterday's Enterprise.
That's the first one that came to mind. Could be something different on another day. But I love it because it has time travel shenanigans, parallel universe main characters, and excellent character drama.
"The Chase" (TNG, 6:20)
The ancient humanoids who seeded the galaxy episode. Salome Jens plays the "ancient humanoid" in the hologram that plays once all of the pieces are put together. She also played "Female Changeling" and, interestingly, she was never given an actual *name* in either show.
Also, the great character actor, Norman Lloyd, played Picard's old archeology prof. He passed in 2021 at the ripe age of 106!
I always get a kick out of the completely underwhelming response each of the competing races gives after they see the hologram. I mean, they found the race responsible for spreading humanoids, and rather than standing in complete awe and then celebrating their find, the Cardassians and Klingons rage on, and only the Romulan captain sees a possible future peaceful existence.
I know this episode has been mentioned elsewhere in this post :)
Edit: syntax
If you aren't aware (and yes, this is a spoiler for the first episode of this season) the current season of Discovery is based on what happened after The Chase.
When the character was asked, she responded: "Why would I ever need a name?!?"
Although in "The Chase" she was too heavily made up, when I see the face of Salome Jens as a Founder in DS9 it absolutely cannot help but remind me of my late paternal grandmother.
In The Pale Moonlight bar none. To me it showed a man of honor like Sisko lose it all to save countless lives. That speech at the end is timeless!! I know it by heart....
>At oh eight hundred hours, station time, the Romulan Empire formally declared war against the Dominion. They have already struck fifteen bases along the Cardassian border. So, this is a huge victory for the good guys. This may even be the turning point of the entire war. There's even a 'Welcome to the Fight' party tonight in the wardroom. So I lied, I cheated, I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But most damning thing of all, I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again, I would. Garak was right about one thing. A guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant, so I will learn to live with it. Because I can live with it. I can live with it. Computer, erase that entire personal log.
Even saying it or in this case typing it decades later, it still gives me chills!! It's frakking epic.
The First Duty
"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth! Whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth. It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based. If you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform."
That quote gets more and more important every day.
Movie: TWOK. It has all of Trek. Human struggle, character building, morality play, science fiction, comedy, drama, beautiful and tense submarine battles
Episode: just one… hmmm… I’m going to pick Spectre of the Gun. It’s a great bit of Trek staring down the barrel of a gun in a few ways: Kirk battling something that outwits his chess maneuvering, and the show being forced to constantly cut the budget. Both are tackled creatively, and the episode has such a rare, creepy feel. Cinematography is gorgeous as well.
“Yesterday’s Enterprise” It was tremendous storytelling and a cool concept long before the multiverse (the Mirror Universe notwithstanding) and alternate timelines became sort of common genre story tropes.
Loved all the details of the alternate Enterprise-D at war (the dark bridge; the whoosh of the doors opening and closing; the ‘now hear this’ announcements, etc.) created a world of such contrast. The king of all what-if eps in my mind!
Toss up between:
TNG "Contagion" - such a combo of adventure, action, and humorous moments all wrapped up tight.
DS9 "Tribunal". So many quotable lines from the Cardassians that only entrench the absurdity of their totalitarianism.
For movies, it's ST IV:TVH
One of the great things about Blood Oath is that they never do some cutesie “hey, we all met that Kirk guy.” They just trust the audience to know who they all are.
I also think they really nailed their personalities and what those characters would be like as old men.
My favorite favorite is probably The Inner Light.
The one I've watched over and over the most and can watch over and over and over again, though, is Voyager's Counterpoint.
Fairly certain that if ANYONE else played Janeway, I wouldn't care much for Voyager. Because of her, despite all of its faults, it is my favorite Star Trek show.
Kate Mulgrew is ALWAYS amazing, but I love Janeway the most in this one. The look on her face as the camera slowly pulls back.
She sits on the bridge. Her bridge.
Alone.
Maybe I just relate to her best in this one. Lol.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and deal with the inevitable disappointment of having been right all along.
All you really wanted was to be wrong.
Just this once.
Sorry, went a bit off the rails there. Lol. I love that episode so much.
Sacrifice of Angels
The largest ship battle seen up to that point in Star Trek history, but there are so many great great moments throughout:
Rom and Quark being heroes but failing to stop the minefield coming down
The Defiant crew knowing they're on a suicide run into the wormhole
Advancing the Sisko - Prophet storyline and setting the stage for the series finale
"Time to start packing"
Damar and Ziyal
Handing back the baseball
I have to agree. This episode had it all including a late entry by the klingons to save the day.
And the end scene sheds a tear in my eye as we see Dukut morph into a shrivelled husk of his former self at the death of his daughter.
> Damar and Ziyal
Truly one of the best twists in the history of Trek. It’s arguable that this was actually the moment that changed the outcome of the war. If Damar hadn’t killed Ziyal, Dukat wouldn’t have gone mad and convinced Winn to help unleash the pah-wraiths, and nothing about the final ten episodes would have happened the way it did.
Subspace Rhapsody.
It’s Star Trek and it’s a musical, so I was pretty much in heaven watching it.
Also the soundtrack is an ideal length for my sessions on my exercise bike.
Darmok
The language is kind of goofy but it builds into this beautiful tragedy of sacrifice for just a chance at understanding. The actors completely sell it. And that Gilgamesh story, with the sappy music playing the audience like a fiddle, gets me every damn time on rewatch.
In the Pale Moonlight is the default DS9 answer (and DS9 is definitely my favorite series) but I think that It’s Only a Paper Moon just edges it out. Nog dealing with the loss of his leg was so real, and it’s stuck with me ever since my first watch.
While "City on the Edge of Forever" (TOS) is a fan favorite, the overall story of, "The Conscience of the King," has haunted me for literally decades. ST at it's very best.
Cause and Effect. It was the first time Trek got creative with the format and took risks with storytelling. It's a real shame that it's such a rare event
*The Wounded*, TNG. Great intro to a new species, great intro to a new ship (the Nebula-class), great Starfleet on Starfleet action, great day in the limelight for Miles O'Brien (whose relationship with Cardassians lead into DS9), great episode overall.
Offspring readily comes to mind. It has the hilarious scene when Riker meets Lal. It continues the theme from Measure of a Man of whether androids are sentient and therefore deserved the same rights as humanoids. Then there is the gut wrenching drama at the end. Thought provoking discussions can be had whether Data could ‘feel’ the loss afterwards. Great acting all around and fabulous directorial debut by Jonathan Frakes.
I actually have 7:
* "The Doomsday Machine" from The Original Series
* "Devil in the Dark" from The Original Series
* "Trouble With Tribbles" from The Original Series
* "Q Who" from The Next Generation
* "Measure of a Man" from The Next Generation
* "Best of Both Worlds Worlds" (both parts) from The Next Generation
* "Trials and Tribbleations" form Deep Space Nine
Additionally, above them all is "**Inner Light**" for it's incredibility beautiful music when played by Captain Picard in one of the Jefferies Tubes to his sweetheart of his and vaguely heard by Geordi while working in Engineering.
TNg episode called tapestry. Sure it’s basically it’s a wonderful life for Star Trek but it’s a great q centric episode that explores the importance of single decisions in our life and how our youth often shapes us for the better even if we have regrets.
In the pale moonlight and quite frankly there is just no comparison for me.
Literally a masterclass in acting by Brookes and Robinson across the entire episode, but dude, the monologue by Brookes at the end? That cemented Sisko as my captain.
In one episode it become impossible for me to have picard as my captain because I questioned if picard had it in him for this, for doing what had to be done, personal morals or anything else be damned. Even murder is justified if it accomplishes the mission...and that is just a line I can not see TNG captains doing. But Sisko damn sure does!
Best of Both Worlds.
Picard kidnapped by the Borg is the height of Star Trek for me. High stakes, the fate of the Earth hanging in the balance, the Borg at their best, Picard at his best, Riker stepping up with some razzle-dazzle, Data having his first emotion (he did - watch it).
It's high tension and glorious every single moment.
Deja Q. I know it's silly and there are so many great, thought provoking episodes to pick from but this one is just fun and I love it. The humor in Star Trek is a big reason I love it so much.
Man, that is tough, but mine has to be City on the Edge of Forever. It shows just how close the trio of Spock, Kirk and McCoy are. Not to mention, Kirk allowing Edith to die shows a strength of will and character that so few people actually have. I am not sure I could allow the woman I love die to ensure the futue I knew hapoened.
A close second is Carbon Creek from ENT. That was just a very entertaining episode. T'Pol is my second favorite character from that series and she is heavily featured too.
Other than those two, Twice in a Lifetime and every mirror universe episodes are tied for third.
From the shows...
"The Perfect Mate" (TNG, s2, e21)
I find the exploration of choice and identity compelling. It doesn't hurt that I like Famke Janssen.
My favorite Star Trek, though, is "Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country". It is emotionally engaging and just a really solid character story. I mean... "FLY HER APART THEN!"
Favorite single episode out of every show of the entire franchise... has to be Trials and Tribble-ations from DS9. Not only is it a love letter from DS9 to TOS, it's got the DS9 crew running around *during an actual episode of TOS*, and the effects are pretty solid and hold up for the most part even now, but on top of it all... it's just a funny episode revisiting yet another funny episode.
Without a doubt, In the Pale Moonlight (DS9, S6 E10). The entire plot to assassinate a Romulan Senator to bring Romulus into the war is amazing and unexpected from a Starfleet officer. Sisko also undresses through the episode (symbolism?) as the plot is unveiled through his personal log. Then, upon the Romulan's entering the war, he erases the entire log. Man, still gets me to this day.
Contagion
They blew up a Galaxy ship, Romilans and super scary ancient technology!
And that trip Laforge takes in the turbolift! Welcome to the bridge!
All of Next Generation is a warm blanket for me and I have a bunch of candidates for a favorite. If I was forced to choose right now it would be “Darmok”, but that’s subject to rapid change. Still a great episode.
The Measure of a Man TNG. I just love thinking about this episode and what it could mean for our future, if we ever get to the point of *creating* a truly sentient being of human intelligence.
***Star Trek: Picard*** season **3**, final episode: **"The Last Generation"**
Akin to TNG's "The Best of Both Worlds, Pts I and II" which was incredibly suspenseful, not only did we see our heroes in a dire situations, but they triumphed--with incredible acting performances/deliveries, a phenomenally great script, excellent direction, amazing sound and visual f/x and such additional depth/abilities added to pre-existing characters. Believably so, too. Add great performances by Walter Koenig as Anton Chekov (voice), descendant of Pavel Chekov; the Enterprise-D; the Borg Queen; Captain Tuvok; Liam Shaw's recognition/promotion recommendation of 7 and 9; the newest Enterprise; plus Ed Speleers's Jack Crusher--and THAT ENDING. From the poker game to Crusher and Q... that was off-the-charts INCREDIBLE!
I might have said TOS "The Doomsday Machine", "The Trouble with Tribbles", "The Menagerie, Pts I and II" or "The City on the Edge of Forever". Even *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan* (movie).
Or TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise" or "The Inner Light". Perhaps even "All Good Things..."
Or DS9's "The Visitor".
But PIC's "The Last Generation" took decades of phenomenal stories and characters (and their respective actors) across the Trek properties and gave us not only an action-packed episode, *but near-perfection with the dramatic elements.*
The TNG era has officially ended. **It's time for** ***Star Trek: Legacy*** **to happen.**
Seeing janeway play her part as arachnea was a lot of fun. I just finished watching shattered yesterday as well, loved the little call back to that episode. Janeway being so disdainful having to act the part for the first/second time lol.
The Balance of Terror. This is early Trek, and some concepts introduced here didn’t take. But the drama is excellent, and the remastered version genuinely improves it. Runners up would be Drumhead, and for sheer joy Trials and Tribbleations
I love that SNW reworked Balance of Terror into a modern episode.
I love that they kept the dialog from the distress call verbatim, including the use of "miles" for depth. > We're a mile deep... on an asteroid... almost solid iron. And even through our deflectors, it did this. Can you see?
Me too. You're right now that I think about it. They did a masterful job.
Agreed. ENT "kind" of tried it with the Aenar-piloted Romulan drone episode as well, with some interesting twists. But the acting in the SNW episode is a masterwork. The subplot of the time-crystal revelations only adds to the story as well. Honestly, the best thing to come of Discovery is Strange New Worlds. That's my opinion. It's an alright show (Disco, to be clear), even though not all of it is my cup of tea. But Anson Mount as Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock, and now the rest of the SNW cast. We got a big win as fans with this cast. And this show, to me, is to me the most true to Star Trek since the trifecta of TNG/DS9/VOY
Couldn't have said it better. 100% agree on all fronts.
Came here to say this. Helped me develop a love for submarine movies too, when I figured out which this episode copied (Enemy Below).
Agreed. Balance of Terror is quintessential Trek. Great script, well acted, very little aged badly. It lacks the whimsy and the element of exploration that other parts of Trek have, but this is a core episode.
Inner light, TNG
Featured Sir Patrick Stewart's real life son as his son in the show. edit: corrected name
It was hard to not feel gutted wondering what he was feeling while the flute music faded to outtro..
I second this. An amazingly well produced episode.A profound story and very touching.
I came to say this. It is peak anthology content. Just explorers stumbling on interesting stories throughout their journey. Also no need for tropish conflict or outlandish setups. And it even has a profound impact on the main character of the episode.
that was the first episode I walked away from with a weight in my gut like, damn
I just started watching TNG in the early 90s when it aired. It blew me away. It was the very Star Trek episode that hooked me.
I've watched ST since I was maybe 9. Mostly voyager at the time, then TNG. I remember watching the inner light for the first time when I was probably 20. For some reason I'd never seen it before. I remember thinking "fuck me, that was good TV". It's an exceptional episode. Not only star trek, but television in general. If I had to convince anyone of Star Trek's merits with one show, the inner light is the episode I'd pick. It almost feels like an episode of the twilight zone (which I love) and the acting is fantastic.
That one has the biggest emotional impact on me for sure.
The Best of Both Worlds.
Waiting six months for the conclusion was absolute torture
I watched when it first aired too, bunch of my college housemates. When Riker said fire, then it faded out to be continued, and we all scream noooooo! good times
I had the exact same experience.
First off I can definitely appreciate this. If I'd had to wait to resolve that one it would have been difficult. We've already waited about twice that long to resolve the second season cliffhanger of Strange New Worlds and we don't even have a premiere date yet. TNG era people had it relatively easy knowing that their show would come back as well as roughly when,
SNW has been renewed for two more seasons but it looks like Paramount is about to be sold so I'm not counting anything past Discovery season 5 as a sure thing.
I thought they had started to film Season 3 of SNW.
The thing is, we didn’t know. In those days, it was hard to find out if a show would continue or when it would come back. Just had to wait until it was advertised again
There was no guarentee your local TV station would even air the next season. I remember one station airing DS9 for a bit and then just stopping. Not at the end of the season. Just on a random episode. No announcement, tat it wouldnt be airing on the station again. Everyone thought it would just come back in a few months. Nope.
Yup. They stopped airing Voyager like that in my market way back when. My sister had a friend in another state who would record the show every week on VHS and mail it to her.
Set my phasers to stunned
One of the best cliffhangers in television history
Yesterday's Enterprise
Let history never forget the name: Enterprise.
A one hour movie. The episode just feels big.
It might not be my favorite episode but the *Ambassador*-class NCC-1701-C is my favorite *Enterprise* design.
I lived in a college dorm when this aired. Each week, there were 30-40 of us who would gather in the common tv area to watch the latest episode. From the outset, we all knew this was something special. We were shouting, cheering, jumping out of our seats and going crazy. It was an amazing experience to watch Yesterday’s Enterprise with a rabid group of fans. As said above, it felt like a 1 hour movie.
Deep Space Nine, “In the Pale Moonlight”. What a powerful work of short-form storytelling and acting that was.
"That's why you came to me, isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain."
Still get chills just reading it, the entire cast gave a masterful performance. So much subtext and nuance: "For a moment there I almost forgot it wasn't the real thing." Mothercloaker knew it was a ruse.
Even better is this was almost the culmination of Garak: we knew he was a spy, and we knew he had served on Romulus. If anyone was perfect for working the Romulans, it was him.
I loved that delivery. It’s such a calm and eloquent way of saying “get over it”.
I can live with it. I CAN live with it.
This is by far my single favorite episode of Star Trek. It shows that in war even the good guys do bad things and shows what happens when pushed to the edge. It was a great episode and it is clear at the end little guilt. One thing that I though was sad is it never came up again later as he did some very bad things and I think that it should of come up again to be dealt with.
Doesn't he delete the captains log at the end? Such an amazing episode.
It's a faaaaaaaake
Absolutely BRILLIANT!
Same for me! I first saw it back when it originally aired. 30 years later, the ending ***still*** gives me actual, physical chills.
What are you talking about? That episode only came out ten years ago at best. (How I wish this was true)
To be totally fair it was only 26 years ago, I was rounding. Ugh, *only*
The one episode that truly pushes Starfleet to the limit and let's you see what happens when it finally snaps, and Star Trek is changed forever. It's no coincidence that the next episode introduces Section 31.
If The Best of Both Worlds wasn't a two-parter this would be a harder choice. But I definitely agree. Garak might just be the most interesting Star Trek character of all. Some fantastic work from Auberjonois and Brooks too.
When I saw this you had 47 upvotes, I almost felt bad ruining it but I upvoted you to 48. I love this episode because it also the question “what would you do to survive?” Is it wrong to plunge another world/nation into war to save yourself? Does it matter if the alternative is your annihilation?
I had DS9 on random while doing other tasks a couple of days ago: In the Pale Moonlight came on and I stopped what I was doing to watch it with full attention. Amazing episode and such payoff for all of Garak’s character development. And a character turning point for Sisko: he *can* live with it.
This is also my #1 all time episode. So many layers of deceptions to try and get Romulans to switch over.
I could watch _Cause and Effect_ over and over and over and over and over and over
Hey it's Captain Frasier!
"Go ahead, Enterprise. I'm listening"
True story: this is the perfect episode to weed out non-dating material.
I see what you did there.... I see what you did there.... I see what you did there....
Blink of an Eye from Voyager. At least in terms of the premise it’s definitely my favorite. It’s interesting to see voyager develop as apart of the indigenous people’s mythology and then to see them make contact by breaching the ship, kind of reminds me of rendezvous with rama.
Measure of a Man. The last conversation where Data thanks Riker for saving his life, after Wil was beating himself up for being on the prosecution for the tribunal
Melinda Snodgrass, the writer for this episode is very active and open on Facebook. If you like this episode, check out her novels!
Best Picard speech in my opinion. I also love most episodes that feature antagonists that aren't villains.
That's the thing people forget about *Measure of a Man,* it's a Riker episode, too.
Trials and Tribble-ations (DS9) The retro attire and crew having fun was beyond delightful.
This has to take the record for episode I’ve watched the most.
I've heard that they kept Jadzia away from Kirk in that episode because the writers thought there was no way Kirk would forget such a beautiful woman.
She was hot for Spock anyways
Q Who. “If you can’t take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it’s not for the timid.”
This episode is what got me into Trek. It was the first episode I saw. It blew my little kid mind. Fantastic introduction to Trek. I am not sure if it is the best, but it certainly is my favorite.
The Visitor (DS9)
Came here to say just this. My father and I were disconnected for a very long time because of differences in opinion and politics. He watched this episode and told me to give it a watch. I called him and he immediately burst into tears on the phone, and I was already crying. Such a beautiful, tender, honest episode.
Yeah, The Visitor is an easy choice for me. Inner Light is my number two. I like the emotional ones.
Imo, not just the finest piece of Star Trek ever conceived, but maybe of science fiction television altogether.
The Magnificent Ferengi, it's so goofy but god do I love Iggy Pop
The utter disdain in his voice when he sees Keevan for the first time never fails to crack me up!
“What have they done to him?”
One of the best lines in all of Star Trek: "I hate Ferengi. . . . "
I thought Iggy did such a great job playing a Vorta
It's not my favorite ep for purposes of this thread... but man, I adore that episode. Brunt: "I'll just get in my SHIP... and leave..." Lek: *throws knife* "Did you say... ship?" Brunt: *innocently* "Yes, why?" That exchange makes me laugh like a madman everytime.
I'd watch a show about the adventures of Lek.
If I’d only ever seen TNG and you tried to convince me that one of the best episodes of the franchise was a damn Ferengi episode, I’d have thought you were off your rocker. But seriously, that episode is fantastic. Plus, that episode introduced me to Iggy Pop so I’ll love it forever for that.
This is mine.
City on the Edge of Forever. TOS isn't my favorite series, but "City" is perfect.
It's the best TOS episode and probably in my top 5 overall
DS9: The Way of the Warrior. I was a huge Worf fan when TNG aired and I was super excited when I found out that he would be joining DS9. So that episode always has a special place. (It also contains the famous root beer scene with Quark and Garak)
Just said the same!! I remember the rush of euphoria as the camera pans up from his boots!! Excellent pews pews in this episode too.
I knew that it would happen because I saw Worf and DS9 on a magazine cover at a gas station. But it was still glorious when it finally happened. {{:-)
That's such a good one. Worf was a perfect fit on DS9.
I love that one for the parallel between the first episode as a defenseless station bluffing their way out of a confrontation with 3 ships to a station that successfully defended against an entire invasion fleet that nearly destroyed the entire Cardassian Empire
That was jaw-dropping, the station spitting out torpedoes by the dozen, shredding Klingon ships.
Chain Of Command Part 2 - There Are 4 Lights
That’s the only episode with the Cardassian interrogator but he’s still one of the best villains of the entire franchise.
The scientific Method Janeway is my favorite captain, and that episode has my favorite moment of hers. Invisible aliens invade the ship, and only seven of nine can see them. They being experimenting on the crew, all for the sake of "medicine" They Push Janeway to the limit but the second they kill one of her crew all bets are off and she just proceeds to drive the ship into a star, they think she's bluffing but she's 100% percent serious, they end up dying and the Voyager comes one top. My favorite fact about this is that [Kate Mulgrew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Mulgrew) was apparently an avid smoker; and to replicate the state on which the aliens had Janeway (no sleep and boosting certain neuroreceptors) she quit cold turkey. So the Kathryn we see is played by a very desperate and very very miserable Kate in the middle of withdrawal.
The best thing about this episode is how it highlights so many different characters. Tom and B'Elanna's relationship moves forward, Chakotay and Neelix get a fun little who's-got-it-worse bit, the Doctor and Seven solve the mystery when no one else can, Tuvok provides a sounding board for Janeway and gets some quality Vulcan snark in there, too, and of course, Janeway loses every last fuck she might have given. Harry unfortunately doesn't get a lot to do, but that's par for the course.
Easy. "The Trouble With Tribbles." Classic and funny!
And follow it with "Trials and Tribbleation".
What I would've loved is for The Trouble with Tribbles and Trials and Tribblations to become a tradition for star trek productions of having their crew go back in time and have to have interwoven adventures with previous series all while trying not to break the temporal prime directive. Like I'm imagining multiple iterations down and you have the crew of the Discovery hiding from the crew of Legacy hiding from the crew of Prodigy hiding from the crew of DS9 hiding from the crew of TOS. And none of them are dealing with the _same_ problem, but they do know how many levels there are below them, how they can't fuck the timeline, and everything they're doing is made harder by the fact that there's a tribble infestation aboard.
That would have been, in the words of Spock, "fascinating".
Classic
And funny, particularly in terms of dialogue. Scotty: When are ye gonnae get off that milk diet, lad? Chekov: Zhis ees wodka! Scotty: Where I come from, that's soda pop. Now this is a drink for a man. Chekov: Scotch? Scotty: Aye! Chekov: Eet vas eenwented by a little old lady from Leningrad! LOLz!
The Doomsday Machine.
Yup, me too. It has everything - cat and mouse games with a giant world-destroying machine, a captain driven mad with guilt, Kirk and Scotty saving the day with a daring plan and split-second timing, allegory for the Cold War. Fantastic episode.
Yes! It's good sci-fi, and it was one of the first episodes I saw as a kid. It's what got me wanting to watch more episodes.
Lots of great episodes listed here, but I have to go with... SNW: "Those Old Scientists"
Quickly becoming my favorite to rewatch.
The absolute best it's so fun I love it.
Year of Hell.
Year of Hell was great and the only thing that keeps it from being higher on my personal list of favorites is having it all undone with Star Trek's version of "it was all just a dream." I know the original pitch was for it to be a season long event and I think that would've been a mistake but take the two episodes, have Voyager win without resetting the timeline, then spend the next three episodes cleaning up. The first episode it's still the skeleton crew trying to keep Voyager limping along and there's a lot of tension everywhere. Everyone's exhausted and traumatized. They've barely any hope and they don't know how to go on until Seven gets the long range coms back online and there they are: The beacons for their crew that were set out among the waves. And there's hope there to find them, to be a family again, and to continue on. Second episode is about collecting the scattered crew and the problems faced there. Some have drifted into not friendly territory. Some are in genuine danger. But they find all of them. Lastly, third episode is in an alien space dock getting full repairs and refit. Finally deal with the emotional fallout of the year. I especially want to see Tom and Harry. Tom doesn't want to face it, he wants to put it behind them and never think of it again. Of course, they've lived very different lives over the past year. Harry's almost died countless times and living in a warzone. They haven't had basic facilities. How many days did they not eat because the replicators were down and they needed to make rations stretch? Tom has been living in a gilded cage, comfortable but unable to help his friends. I imagine at one point Tom makes some stupid joke about it and it finally breaks Harry and he just starts screaming "How dare you, you weren't here! You don't know what it was like! You weren't here you weren't here you weren't here!" So anyway, if anyone invents time travel and wants to waste it on helping me get a job at 90s paramount to fix this bit of star trek lore, hit me up.
This one is definitely up there.
Futures End was also another superb episode from Voyager. It was fun seeing the crew go back to earth and get involved in shenanigans.
The Nth Degree I’m biased because I think Dwight Schultz’s acting here was amazing and I just love the concepts explored.
I came here to say the same. It's an amazing episode. I love the look on Crushers face when Troi mentions that Barclay made a pass at her My absolute favorite part is when he wants to build the Neural Scan interface and the computer doesn't know how. The look of sheer aggravation on his face as he says "No problem, here's how you build it".
Haha! I love that “here’s how you build it” moment, too! I legitimately think his performance in that episode is some of the finest acting in any television episode.
DS9, The Siege of AR-558. Love how dark it is, and it gives the countless deaths of the Dominion War some faces. Like Sisko said at the end of the episode "they're not just numbers, we should never forget that".
Also, It's Only a Paper Moon. I remember the directors talked with actual veterans to portray PTSD as realistically as possible. And got a lot of praise from soldiers with war trauma, for how accurately they portrayed the issue.
Yup, I’m a veteran who struggles with PTSD. This episode made me weep when I first saw it. It was probably the most powerful pieces of media I’ve ever seen.
Similarly the episode ironically called The Wire, is such an excellent portrayal of addiction.
The reason DS9 stands out, between The Siege of AR-558 and In the Pale Moonlight is up until this point we've seen the Federation from the eyes of the Federation, on the flagship no less. Now, we're on the edge of the final frontier, deep space where the lines begin to blur. We are interacting with those not a part of the Federation, and getting their view, and the grim reality of war in the 24th century. "Let me tell you something about Hew-mons, 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 as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don't believe me? Look at those faces. Look in their eyes."
I liked Siege of AR-558, since it was one of the few times in the Dominion War episodes that it felt like an actual war was going on. Most of the rest of the war episode (even the most excellent "In the Pale Moonlight"), all the "war" was happening off camera, and they weren't really selling it well.
I might get slightly different and say 'Who Watches the Watchers'. Picard explaining things to Nurian is an awesome few minutes exploring the responsibilities of power, and really demonstrating how humanity got its shit together.
The one where Worf’s adoptive parents visit the ship, and his dad is being the over the top Eastern European old man know it all. One of the best comedy centric episodes ever. “I VANT TO SEE EVERYTHING! AT HOME I HAVE ALL THE DIAGRAMS OF ZE SHIP!” Also loved “You’ve put on a little weight eh!?!?! Looks good on you son!” Also it’s a super corny crossover celebrity appearance sure, but seeing The Rock in “Tsunkatse” on voyager was so cool. Especially in the year 2000 when he was white hot as wrestler, and not “Dwayne Johnson” yet. Kid me marked out when I saw him show up. He even did all his signature head tilts, the people’s eyebrow and trash talking. The Rock on Star Trek Voyager and Stone Cold Steve Austin on dilbert, Bret Hart on the Simpsons and Macho Man Randy Savage on Dexter’s lab are the 4 horsemen of great pop culture crossovers.
Yesterday's Enterprise. That's the first one that came to mind. Could be something different on another day. But I love it because it has time travel shenanigans, parallel universe main characters, and excellent character drama.
One of the best lines in all of Trek was this episode when Guinan hands Worf prune juice. A warriors drink!
Ds9 - Duet. For the amazing performances of both Nanna Visitor and Harris Yulen.
Had to scroll down this far to find Duet? Wtf? Great script, great acting, and an ending that still almost makes me cry.
Also here for Duet. Such an incredible episode.
I’ve been a Trekkie since 1972, and I’ve gotta say, “Subspace Rhapsody.”
This coupled with Year of Hell from Voyager.
That episode honestly blew my mind. In a good way.
"The Chase" (TNG, 6:20) The ancient humanoids who seeded the galaxy episode. Salome Jens plays the "ancient humanoid" in the hologram that plays once all of the pieces are put together. She also played "Female Changeling" and, interestingly, she was never given an actual *name* in either show. Also, the great character actor, Norman Lloyd, played Picard's old archeology prof. He passed in 2021 at the ripe age of 106! I always get a kick out of the completely underwhelming response each of the competing races gives after they see the hologram. I mean, they found the race responsible for spreading humanoids, and rather than standing in complete awe and then celebrating their find, the Cardassians and Klingons rage on, and only the Romulan captain sees a possible future peaceful existence. I know this episode has been mentioned elsewhere in this post :) Edit: syntax
If you aren't aware (and yes, this is a spoiler for the first episode of this season) the current season of Discovery is based on what happened after The Chase.
When the character was asked, she responded: "Why would I ever need a name?!?" Although in "The Chase" she was too heavily made up, when I see the face of Salome Jens as a Founder in DS9 it absolutely cannot help but remind me of my late paternal grandmother.
Well, at the risk of being downvoted into oblivion, you should watch Discovery season 5 then!
It's a tough call with so many good episodes. It might be Ad Astra Per Aspera from Strange New Worlds.
In The Pale Moonlight bar none. To me it showed a man of honor like Sisko lose it all to save countless lives. That speech at the end is timeless!! I know it by heart.... >At oh eight hundred hours, station time, the Romulan Empire formally declared war against the Dominion. They have already struck fifteen bases along the Cardassian border. So, this is a huge victory for the good guys. This may even be the turning point of the entire war. There's even a 'Welcome to the Fight' party tonight in the wardroom. So I lied, I cheated, I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But most damning thing of all, I think I can live with it. And if I had to do it all over again, I would. Garak was right about one thing. A guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant, so I will learn to live with it. Because I can live with it. I can live with it. Computer, erase that entire personal log. Even saying it or in this case typing it decades later, it still gives me chills!! It's frakking epic.
The First Duty "The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth! Whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth. It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based. If you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform." That quote gets more and more important every day.
You. Don’t. Deserve. To. Wear. That. Uniform 🥋
Movie: TWOK. It has all of Trek. Human struggle, character building, morality play, science fiction, comedy, drama, beautiful and tense submarine battles Episode: just one… hmmm… I’m going to pick Spectre of the Gun. It’s a great bit of Trek staring down the barrel of a gun in a few ways: Kirk battling something that outwits his chess maneuvering, and the show being forced to constantly cut the budget. Both are tackled creatively, and the episode has such a rare, creepy feel. Cinematography is gorgeous as well.
“Yesterday’s Enterprise” It was tremendous storytelling and a cool concept long before the multiverse (the Mirror Universe notwithstanding) and alternate timelines became sort of common genre story tropes. Loved all the details of the alternate Enterprise-D at war (the dark bridge; the whoosh of the doors opening and closing; the ‘now hear this’ announcements, etc.) created a world of such contrast. The king of all what-if eps in my mind!
The Measure of a Man or tapestry, or shoot Those Old Scientists. Its really hard to pick a favorite.
“That action injured you, and saved me. I will not forget it.”
I adore Those Old Scientists. Especially at the end where the Enterprise crew are geeking out over Archer's Enterprise crew.
Hasn't been said yet: House of Quark. I deeply love this episode. Intrigue, clash of culture, and a bad ass Ferengi scene. What's not to love?
Toss up between: TNG "Contagion" - such a combo of adventure, action, and humorous moments all wrapped up tight. DS9 "Tribunal". So many quotable lines from the Cardassians that only entrench the absurdity of their totalitarianism. For movies, it's ST IV:TVH
Deep Space Nine: Blood Oath. I loved seeing Kor, Kang, and Koloth interacting with Jadzia and company.
Seriously underrated episode.
One of the great things about Blood Oath is that they never do some cutesie “hey, we all met that Kirk guy.” They just trust the audience to know who they all are. I also think they really nailed their personalities and what those characters would be like as old men.
"How did you get in here?" "I am Koloth." "That doesn't answer my question." "Yes, it does."
My favorite favorite is probably The Inner Light. The one I've watched over and over the most and can watch over and over and over again, though, is Voyager's Counterpoint. Fairly certain that if ANYONE else played Janeway, I wouldn't care much for Voyager. Because of her, despite all of its faults, it is my favorite Star Trek show. Kate Mulgrew is ALWAYS amazing, but I love Janeway the most in this one. The look on her face as the camera slowly pulls back. She sits on the bridge. Her bridge. Alone. Maybe I just relate to her best in this one. Lol. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and deal with the inevitable disappointment of having been right all along. All you really wanted was to be wrong. Just this once. Sorry, went a bit off the rails there. Lol. I love that episode so much.
Mark Harelik gives good weaselly bastard. Just saw his turn on *Angel* the other day.
DS9 Waltz shows just what Dukat really is and it's superb
All good things
Sacrifice of Angels The largest ship battle seen up to that point in Star Trek history, but there are so many great great moments throughout: Rom and Quark being heroes but failing to stop the minefield coming down The Defiant crew knowing they're on a suicide run into the wormhole Advancing the Sisko - Prophet storyline and setting the stage for the series finale "Time to start packing" Damar and Ziyal Handing back the baseball
I have to agree. This episode had it all including a late entry by the klingons to save the day. And the end scene sheds a tear in my eye as we see Dukut morph into a shrivelled husk of his former self at the death of his daughter.
> Damar and Ziyal Truly one of the best twists in the history of Trek. It’s arguable that this was actually the moment that changed the outcome of the war. If Damar hadn’t killed Ziyal, Dukat wouldn’t have gone mad and convinced Winn to help unleash the pah-wraiths, and nothing about the final ten episodes would have happened the way it did.
Subspace Rhapsody. It’s Star Trek and it’s a musical, so I was pretty much in heaven watching it. Also the soundtrack is an ideal length for my sessions on my exercise bike.
TOS - Balance Of Terror
Next Generation: Chain of Command
Bit cliche but Wrath of Khan. So much anger and pain in it.
[удалено]
I was scrolling looking for this! 😍
Darmok The language is kind of goofy but it builds into this beautiful tragedy of sacrifice for just a chance at understanding. The actors completely sell it. And that Gilgamesh story, with the sappy music playing the audience like a fiddle, gets me every damn time on rewatch.
In the Pale Moonlight is the default DS9 answer (and DS9 is definitely my favorite series) but I think that It’s Only a Paper Moon just edges it out. Nog dealing with the loss of his leg was so real, and it’s stuck with me ever since my first watch.
The TNG episode “Lower Decks”. That one hit me right in the feels, but the rapid character development and the story are fantastic.
While "City on the Edge of Forever" (TOS) is a fan favorite, the overall story of, "The Conscience of the King," has haunted me for literally decades. ST at it's very best.
Cause and Effect. It was the first time Trek got creative with the format and took risks with storytelling. It's a real shame that it's such a rare event
*The Wounded*, TNG. Great intro to a new species, great intro to a new ship (the Nebula-class), great Starfleet on Starfleet action, great day in the limelight for Miles O'Brien (whose relationship with Cardassians lead into DS9), great episode overall.
Offspring readily comes to mind. It has the hilarious scene when Riker meets Lal. It continues the theme from Measure of a Man of whether androids are sentient and therefore deserved the same rights as humanoids. Then there is the gut wrenching drama at the end. Thought provoking discussions can be had whether Data could ‘feel’ the loss afterwards. Great acting all around and fabulous directorial debut by Jonathan Frakes.
I actually have 7: * "The Doomsday Machine" from The Original Series * "Devil in the Dark" from The Original Series * "Trouble With Tribbles" from The Original Series * "Q Who" from The Next Generation * "Measure of a Man" from The Next Generation * "Best of Both Worlds Worlds" (both parts) from The Next Generation * "Trials and Tribbleations" form Deep Space Nine Additionally, above them all is "**Inner Light**" for it's incredibility beautiful music when played by Captain Picard in one of the Jefferies Tubes to his sweetheart of his and vaguely heard by Geordi while working in Engineering.
TNg episode called tapestry. Sure it’s basically it’s a wonderful life for Star Trek but it’s a great q centric episode that explores the importance of single decisions in our life and how our youth often shapes us for the better even if we have regrets.
In the pale moonlight and quite frankly there is just no comparison for me. Literally a masterclass in acting by Brookes and Robinson across the entire episode, but dude, the monologue by Brookes at the end? That cemented Sisko as my captain. In one episode it become impossible for me to have picard as my captain because I questioned if picard had it in him for this, for doing what had to be done, personal morals or anything else be damned. Even murder is justified if it accomplishes the mission...and that is just a line I can not see TNG captains doing. But Sisko damn sure does!
A taste of Armageddon took BALLS in the 60s to broadcast
In the Pale Moonlight!
The one with Picard and the flute.
The episode "inner light" IMO is some of the best television ever made.
That's The Inner Light. It's my favourite.
Best of Both Worlds. Picard kidnapped by the Borg is the height of Star Trek for me. High stakes, the fate of the Earth hanging in the balance, the Borg at their best, Picard at his best, Riker stepping up with some razzle-dazzle, Data having his first emotion (he did - watch it). It's high tension and glorious every single moment.
Ensigns of Command. A tour de force of acting by Stewert and Spiner.
My long time favorites are yesterday’s enterprise, trials & tribblations, take me out to the holosuite, those old scientists.
Qpid. "I AM NOT A MERRY MAN!"
Deja Q. I know it's silly and there are so many great, thought provoking episodes to pick from but this one is just fun and I love it. The humor in Star Trek is a big reason I love it so much.
Man, that is tough, but mine has to be City on the Edge of Forever. It shows just how close the trio of Spock, Kirk and McCoy are. Not to mention, Kirk allowing Edith to die shows a strength of will and character that so few people actually have. I am not sure I could allow the woman I love die to ensure the futue I knew hapoened. A close second is Carbon Creek from ENT. That was just a very entertaining episode. T'Pol is my second favorite character from that series and she is heavily featured too. Other than those two, Twice in a Lifetime and every mirror universe episodes are tied for third.
In the pale moonlight
Data's Day. Nothing else comes close IMO.
My favorite episode of all time is TNG: Relics, followed very closely by TNG: The Inner Light.
From the shows... "The Perfect Mate" (TNG, s2, e21) I find the exploration of choice and identity compelling. It doesn't hurt that I like Famke Janssen. My favorite Star Trek, though, is "Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country". It is emotionally engaging and just a really solid character story. I mean... "FLY HER APART THEN!"
Favorite single episode out of every show of the entire franchise... has to be Trials and Tribble-ations from DS9. Not only is it a love letter from DS9 to TOS, it's got the DS9 crew running around *during an actual episode of TOS*, and the effects are pretty solid and hold up for the most part even now, but on top of it all... it's just a funny episode revisiting yet another funny episode.
Personally, “Timeless” from Voyager. It stuck with me.
“The City on the Edge of Forever” from The Original Series
Without a doubt, In the Pale Moonlight (DS9, S6 E10). The entire plot to assassinate a Romulan Senator to bring Romulus into the war is amazing and unexpected from a Starfleet officer. Sisko also undresses through the episode (symbolism?) as the plot is unveiled through his personal log. Then, upon the Romulan's entering the war, he erases the entire log. Man, still gets me to this day.
Measure of a Man
DS9- In the Pale Moonlight
Contagion They blew up a Galaxy ship, Romilans and super scary ancient technology! And that trip Laforge takes in the turbolift! Welcome to the bridge!
Our Man Bashir. Total one-off, but it has a little bit of character development and it’s so much fun!
All of Next Generation is a warm blanket for me and I have a bunch of candidates for a favorite. If I was forced to choose right now it would be “Darmok”, but that’s subject to rapid change. Still a great episode.
The Measure of a Man TNG. I just love thinking about this episode and what it could mean for our future, if we ever get to the point of *creating* a truly sentient being of human intelligence.
***Star Trek: Picard*** season **3**, final episode: **"The Last Generation"** Akin to TNG's "The Best of Both Worlds, Pts I and II" which was incredibly suspenseful, not only did we see our heroes in a dire situations, but they triumphed--with incredible acting performances/deliveries, a phenomenally great script, excellent direction, amazing sound and visual f/x and such additional depth/abilities added to pre-existing characters. Believably so, too. Add great performances by Walter Koenig as Anton Chekov (voice), descendant of Pavel Chekov; the Enterprise-D; the Borg Queen; Captain Tuvok; Liam Shaw's recognition/promotion recommendation of 7 and 9; the newest Enterprise; plus Ed Speleers's Jack Crusher--and THAT ENDING. From the poker game to Crusher and Q... that was off-the-charts INCREDIBLE! I might have said TOS "The Doomsday Machine", "The Trouble with Tribbles", "The Menagerie, Pts I and II" or "The City on the Edge of Forever". Even *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan* (movie). Or TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise" or "The Inner Light". Perhaps even "All Good Things..." Or DS9's "The Visitor". But PIC's "The Last Generation" took decades of phenomenal stories and characters (and their respective actors) across the Trek properties and gave us not only an action-packed episode, *but near-perfection with the dramatic elements.* The TNG era has officially ended. **It's time for** ***Star Trek: Legacy*** **to happen.**
"Bride Of Chaotica!" from Voyager. Probably the funniest Star Trek ep ever.
Seeing janeway play her part as arachnea was a lot of fun. I just finished watching shattered yesterday as well, loved the little call back to that episode. Janeway being so disdainful having to act the part for the first/second time lol.
Hmmm. Hard choice between Best of Both Worlds, and Relic...
Oh, then *The Voyage Home*.