Favorite episode

Television, Movies Games and Books Star Trek
#1

Being fans, we all have several favorite Star Trek episodes. But there are those that stand out. Ones that touched us personally or sparked creativity, etc.

So here goes…

TOS - “Shore Leave”
I’ve always loved this episode. The first time I saw it I would pretend I was Kirk fighting Finnegan. By the end of the week I had the timing and moves perfect. Sulu is chased by a samuri, McCoy sees a guy in a rabbit suit and dies by the hand of the Black Knight. The Yeomen gets attacked by Don Juan and bares shoulder grrrr In the end McCoy shows up with two showgirls with tribbles covering their naughty bits. What’s not to love?

TNG - “Inner Light”
Picard lives a whole life in 40 minutes. At the time I was beginning to lose my Trek high. This was some good smack. Patrick Stewart makes this episode his beeyotch. The ending brought tears to my eyes and I was a cynical 20 year old smart-ass. That’s power.

DS9 - “Duet”
I turned on the TV after an incredibly bad evening. I was depressed and inebriated. I will always remember this episode because of my state of mind and it’s plot. I felt a connection to Kira since my emotions had just been put through the ringer also.

VOY - “Message in a Bottle”
The Doctor gets put out of his element and comes through. Two words: Andy Dick. I can watch this anytime, anywhere.

ENT - “The Andorian Incident”
I remember watching this episode and getting really excited. Yea new Trek and its good. Shran is the best character in Enterprise. IMO, Enterprise never comes close to this again. The rest of the series rehatches old plots and is constantly trying to find itself. Also IMO, Star Trek is about going forward not back. It was a mistake to do a prequel. That being said and being a BSG fan, I’m not against a reimagine.

#2

TOS - Balance of Terror
TNG - Best of Both Worlds (yes I’m treating it as one episode)
DS9 - In the Pale Moonlight
VOY - Message in a Bottle
ENT - In a Mirror, Darkly

#3

TOS - City on the Edge of Forever - Kirk’s final line “Lets get the hell out of here.” First time I heard a curse word on TV, and the best usage to date.

TNG - Measure of a Man

DS9 - In the Pale Moonlight - “Computer, delete that ENTIRE log entry.”

VOY - Equinox Parts 1 & 2

ENT - Twilight - After the Earth is destroyed by the Xindi, the survivors settle on Ceti Alpha V, which we know has about another hundred years of life before Ceti Alph VI explodes, based on facts from ST: II WOK. Humanity is just screwed in that timeline all the way around.

#4

TOS: “The Menagerie” I have always been fascinated by “what might have been,” and oviously this two-parter has loads of it. The funny thing is, it wouldn’t work without knowledge and appreciation of what actually “is” (i.e., Trek as it got established) – but “The Menagerie” gives that universe a sense of history and depth it had lacked to that point; and which “The Cage,” being only what might have been, doesn’t have. So “The Menagerie” has always been favorite TOS episode.

TNG: “Best of Both Worlds” – both parts viewed as one episode. The cliffhanger gave me chills the first time I saw it, and it holds up incredibly well with repeated viewings. Frak, I wish we’d gotten Cmdr. Shelby to stick around!

DS9: Right now I have to say “Trials and Tribbleations,” even though I think the original “Tribbles” is incredibly overrated. But this episode appeals to the same sense of depth and history of the Trek universe that “The Menagerie” does. I am going to rewatch DS9 fairly soon, though, so I reserve the right to change my vote! (Ain’t that the fun of fandom!)

VOY: I honestly disliked almost everything about “Voyager,” but I guess my favorite episode was the one RDM wrote about Seven encountering former Borg drones – can’t recall the title right now. It was one of the few episodes that allowed intelligent plotting and real characterization. I think about “Voyager” as little as possible. Bleh.

ENT: Also a “sub-Trek” series for the most part in my estimation, although the first season episode in which they are freezing on a comet (I think?) came close to capturing the original series’ sense of wonder, and I did like a lot about season 4, although no favorite episode, per se. The franchise was really showing its age and the whole series showed it.

#5

Humans settled on C Alpha V in ENT? Doesn’t that directly contradict “Space Seed” – doesn’t Kirk state the planet is uninhabited? Dang, that show had no respect for continuity…

#6

no, that was alternate-timeline humans after the Xindi destroy Earth. (not really happy about being able to answer questions about Enterprise)

#7

Oh, alternate timeline. Well, okay then. :slight_smile:

#8

Would have to be DS9’s ‘The Visitor’.

#9

Currently thinking about it I would have to say “I, borg,” (TNG) is my favorite episode. i just throught it was so brilliant seeing this one borg being seperated from the collective and then the resultant actions of it’s seperations but ultimatly the sacrifice this borg makes in order to protect the enterprise is what makes this episode an absolute stellar one.

If I were to do a top ten of all the episodes I’ve seen so far (All of TNG, half of Voyager, series 1 of TOS and DS9 and the pilot of enterprise) eight or nine of the them would be from TNG, and a good five of them would be episodes that revolve around Data, especially Datalore and “The most Toys,”

Universal health warehouse

#10

yes, yes, yes!

that episode was perfection. don’t know why I didn’t think of it. Tony Todd was amazing; beautiful, haunting music. I usually hate those “never really happened” stories–this was the exception.

#11

I too normally dislike the episodes where some deus ex machina comes in and puts everything to right (i.e., Worf’s spare second ‘brain’ that allows him to survive the spinal reconstructive surgery), but this episode is different. In the end Sisko still remembers what happened to Jake in that alternate reality, and thus still leaves a heavy burden on him knowing what his loss would mean to his son. I kind of which that was played up a bit more when he choses to join the wormhole beings in the end, but it was still quite moving.

Yes, Tony Todd is amazing in just about all his appearances on Trek.

#12

hehe, this is a huge flaw in the STII plot, after all. I mean, an entire planet just explodes and they don’t realize it? They didn’t even count the planets in the system?

Hm. Personally, my favorite such story was Far Beyond the Stars.

#13

Yeah, I have always wondered that, too, how Ceti Alpha VI’s destruction went unnoticed. As I recall, Vonda McIntyre tried to fast-talk the movie’s way out of it when she wrote the novelization, but I don’t recall her explanation – I think it involved Chekov being incompetent, but that’s hardly satisfactory, either. Y’know, noting something was amiss about the star charts, but not wanting to bring it up to Captain Terrell. Oh, well. It’s like the whole question of how Khan recognized Chekov. You just have to roll with it. :slight_smile:

#14

I think that this rationalized by saying that Chekov had been aboard the Enterprise all the time, just not on the bridge, so Khan could have seen/met him somewhere in the corridors or so.

#15

Yeah, there are all sorts of rationalizations. But, as someone (I forget who) once said, if only they had put Sulu on the Reliant, it all would’ve been so much simpler! :slight_smile:

#16

TNG: Data’s Day. Beautiful, simple episode from Data’s perspective on a normal day.

#17

An interesting note is that this episode, regarded as, if not the best star trek episode, certainly the top ten, lost out on a emmy to what is widely regarded as the worst star trek episode VOY “Threshold,”

Weed

#18

This is a tough one…I’m going to stick with TOS because that’s where my strongest memories lay…it’s a toss-up between ‘The Changeling’

and ‘The Doomsday Machine’…

both very cool…and I remember taping both on a reel to reel audio recorder ('cause that’s all we had in those days!!) and listening to them over and over, and over again!!

#19

Definitely “The Visitor” (although in the DS9 category, “Duet”, “Far Beyond The Stars” and “In the Pale Moonlight” are all pretty close).

#20

What about “Balance of Terror”?
Great stuff! They’re all whispering and doing the silent running thing like IN SPACE :smiley:
But I love it, great suspense!