Star Trek: Enterprise Top 10 List

 

 

 

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

 

 

I will admit that I have not seen even half of Star Trek: Enterprise. This list, therefore, is probably the most prone to changes when I do eventually watch every episode for my reviews. I did however watch all of season one, and parts of season 4, with the occasional episode here and there in between. Voyager and Enterprise were the only Trek’s I actually watched when they were originally airing and was usually a good diversion from high school and college.

 

I can’t quite put my finger on what actually made me just up and stop watching Star Trek altogether. Looking back in my life, I believe it occurred shortly after Season 1 of Enterprise, back in 2002. That is the year I eventually went to college, so undoubtedly, that had a large part to it. Reinventing myself from the cliché teenager who enjoys Star Trek into a college student was at the top of my priorities at the time. But, I think it was something more than that. I never truly disowned Star Trek as some others might have. In fact I found most students at the college I went to actually had a working interest in Star Trek and usually did not consider it nerdy or dorky. It was also at this time that I found my love of DVD collections.

 

I think I was just so disenchanted by the entire thing that I was really put off. Voyager never reached its potential as a series and time and time again failed to produce any of the groundbreaking story lines and arcs that DS9 seemed to convey or the Shakespearean drama that the Original series and TNG seemed to utilize so much. It was a slow tumble during that year, what probably was the preverbal nail in t he coffin was the release of Star Trek: Nemesis and the death of Data. Data was one of my favorite characters and it just made me mad that not only would the kill the one character that could theoretically live forever, but that the actor portraying him would welcome it so openly. Stuart Baird should never have been given anything even remotely to do with Star Trek and that failure really showed in the movie.

 

I never really went back to Trek until quite recently, when I had a chance to watch Star Trek: Enterprise on the Sci-Fi channel. There were a few episodes which were glaringly poor, but a number of the episodes I saw in Season 4 really showed what Enterprise could have been: A prequel to the entire universe that we all hold so dear. But then, it was canceled and the world has been without Star Trek ever since. This new incarnation from J. J. Abrams has me somewhat worried since Star Trek has seemingly gone down hill for years. But, I also have some hope due to the mass hype that seems to be surrounding it and what it may mean that Leonard Nimoy actually came out of retirement. 

 

It is too bad Enteprise was canceled though. As the Sci-Fi channel has been reshowing the series, I have a deep sense of nostalgia. Sure, Enterprise had its faults and failed to keep a lot of the core Star Trek fans that had been with the first four series, but there was something there that seemed to work. Perhaps many people were hating it so much as it first came out, being so disillusioned by Voyager that they really didn’t give it a chance. The Xindi arc was horrible, in my opinion and the temporal cold war should have been replaced by anything else, but it seems the rest of it really worked.

 

 

Top 10 Episodes

 

 

First Flight

Season 2, Episode 24

 

Enterprise really showed us what it was like for humans to be living in between our time and the more utopian vision of life in the 23^rd and 24^th century. First Flight seems to really capture this. As a flashback story, as with all flashback episodes, one has to tread carefully. It can be so easy to fall into the trap of easy plot twists and turns or completely ignore something from the “present” as Voyager’s episode Flashback seemed to have done. This one, really shows us how Archer matured as a person and as an officer and really shows the human side of the early days of space exploration.

 

Broken Bow

Season 1, Episode 1

Season 1, Episode 2

 

It seems pilots of Star Trek either worked or didn’t. As stand alone episodes, I believe all of them worked well and really were well written episodes. But, as pilots go, they usually showcase certain aspects of the setting and/or the characters that end up either being ignored or being minor points later. In Voyager’s pilot “Caretaker” I always wondered whether or not Kim and B’lanna would eventually get together, as they seemed like so many opposite, which ended up not being the case as B’lanna and Paris got together in a surprising and welcoming twist. Enterprise’s pilot seemed to really showcase most of what would eventually be major plots throughout the series. Although this episode also showcases some of the faults and continuity errors in Star Trek, I really enjoyed this one. It really captured the sense of excitement in being the first humans to venture so far into space.

 

The Andorian Incident

Season 1, Episode 7

 

I really wish the other series of Star Trek besides TOS would have used the Andorians more often. As founding members of Starfleet, they and the Tellarites were usually absent in most historical events. One would think they would have become a part of Starfleet by the 24^th century. This incident showcased the Androians for the first time since the Original Series and added much to the mythos of their culture and gave a great, but underused, conflict between them and the Vulcans.

 

Civilization

Season 1, Episode 9

 

It always seemed odd to me that Starfleet wouldn’t encounter more pre-industrial species or at least species that have never known aliens before. While they did encounter numerous planets, some of the stories seemed clichéd and boring. It is a delicate thing, for the Federation to study a species before they even know about aliens and this episode of Enterprise shows what could happen when two space faring forces duke it out on a planet that are unaware of their presence. An interesting look at the concept of a shadow history and how even the slightest interference, whether it be to save the species or to destroy it, could have lasting effects. Perhaps, we aren’t all alone in the universe after all.

 

Two Days and Two Nights

Season 1, Episode 25

 

Risa was always a fascinating place in the Star Trek universe. A planet and a species whose sole purpose is to provide physical pleasures is very appealing, especially given the strange morals of the Federation. I felt this episode, more so than all the others that showcased Risa, seemed to capture that feeling.  And the increasingly funny Tucker and Reed relationship takes a new twist as they attempt to find love on a planet full of lovers, only to have the luck to run into some more interesting people.

 

Borderland/Cold Station/The Augments

Season 4, Episode 4

Season 4, Episode 5

Season 4, Episode 6

 

Although this story arc cold be considered problematic to the overall continuity of Star Trek, I really felt this was a great way to finally explain the problem with the Klingons and their bloody forehead. It was a unique, well thought and well executed storyline that was sadly missing in the previous first years of star trek. Season 4 is what Star Trek: Enterprise should have been. Although this is the only three part trilogy I have seen, (as noticed by the absence of the others in my top ten), I know that I would enjoy them as well.

 

Dear Doctor

Season 1, Episode 13

 

Stories that have a letter as the narration of the story may be corny, but I thoroughly enjoy them for some reason. Perhaps they seem more innocent in nature as other episodes, or perhaps it is because they allow for a greater ebb and flow of the storyline. Regardless, this episode is an exemplary example of this.  Coupled with some great characterization by Phlox, we see the effects that helping a species that is destined to die may have on the human crew and the morale dilemma posed by such an overarching problem.

 

The Catwalk

Season 2, episode 12

 

This episode evoked a strong sense of enclosement and claustrophobia that is missing on Enterprise. As the first starship to venture out into space, creature comforts would undoubtedly be lacking in some way or another. This episode sees all the crew of the Enterprise, about 80 or so, being forced to weather out an neutronic storm in one of the nacelles on the ship.

 

Fight or Flight

Season 1, Episode 3

 

A great and intriguing episode that showcases humanity’s strengths and weaknesses as they venture off into space for the first time. When the crew discover an abandoned space craft filled with dead crewmembers, they investigate and find the crewmembers are being used for some kind of experiment. What do humans do, should they investigate or should they leave?

 

Regeneration

Season 2, Episode 23

 

Now, I know, the Borg being in Enterprise is like Washington sporting an AK-47 during the Revolutionary War, but this episode was done well, I believe, with little impact on continuity. It showcases an interest predestination paradox that seems to connect the entire mythos of the Borg together in one fellow swoop. It would explain Seven of Nine’s offhanded comment in “Year of Hell” and explain why the Borg, who usually reside on the other side of the galaxy, would be so near Earth by Picard’s time. Although there are certain qualms, it is a great dark episode that I really enjoyed.

 

 

Honorable Mention

 

 

Shuttlepod One

Season 1, Episode 16

 

Trip and Reed were some of my favorite characters on Enterprise and to see them in such an interesting way, near the edge of death, really brought them into focus for me. I am the type of person that believes the true test of a character is at his or her darkest times. You can definitely see that with these two as they attempt to survive on a damaged shuttlepod, with little chance of ever getting back to the Enterprise.

 

Acquisition

Season 1, Episode 19

 

The Ferengi were supposed to be the major threat to the Enterprise-D as the Klingon’s were to Kirks era. That is a very interesting comment, especially considering how comical the Ferengi were even in their debut. It’s no wonder then, that they became, in most cases, the comic relief and this episode is no exception. Although contact with the Ferengi was definitely established as being with the great Bald One, this show really just was fun to watch. I could oversee the many continuity errors and the problems because of the great acting by the Ferengi crewmembers and the humorous way they were duped. I suppose the Ferengi will never learn to stop messing with humans.

 

Star Trek: Voyager Top 10 Episodes

 

 

 

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 

 

When Star Trek: The Next Generation was finishing its run, I had just recently become a fan of all things Star Trek. I spent a number of those first years exploring the galaxy with Picard and company on board the Enterprise-D. I had quickly discovered Deep Space Nine, but during those early years of my trekdom, I found it too complicated and too much of a commitment to watch. I enjoyed the episodic nature of TNG at the time and relished with delight in the small continuities that continued to show up as I watched the show in syndication. It took a number of years, then, for me to discovery Voyager. When Voyager finally arrived in my viewing area, I began watching it with anticipation, but I quickly found it derivative and full of explosions. Certainly people said (and still do) about TNG, as well as DS9 when compared to Babylon 5 and I certainly don’t blame them. There were a number of striking similarities with some of the first shows of TNG’s season one as well as what I have seen on Babylon 5 having just purchased the entire series.

 

I have not seen all of Voyager, but I have watched enough where I believe I can be judgmental about the show overall as well as to specific episodes. Voyager is perhaps my least favorite series, but has some amazing episodes that are certainly some of my favorites. My favorite overall episode was perhaps Critical Care and its criticism of the American health system. While it is not first on my list, as I believe Caretaker shows us what Voyager could have been like, Critical Care remains one of my favorite episodes. If some of your favorites are not on here, it might be perhaps that I have not watched them. Netflix certainly is my friend at the moment, so I will be watching them soon. How could I call myself a Trekkie if I haven’t watched every episode?

 

I had a friend in college whose favorite series was Voyager. Voyager was pretty decent science fiction and I dare say decent storytelling overall. I can understand those who do like it. There is an appeal there that is not in other series and the debates I had with this friend does suggest perhaps everyone’s favorites may be the one they grew up with.

 

But I personally don’t think Voyager made for great Trek. The first three incarnations set the bar so high in their own unique way and Voyager was poised to do that with their own plot, but it never achieved it. Perhaps my biggest frustration is the opportunity that was squandered with this series. Voyager was lost in space and had to travel through an entire galaxy that was completely unknown to human beings. The potential there was astounding thinking what kind of beings and adventures Voyager could have gotten into. The philosophical ramifications of being cut off from the rest of humanity, struggling to stay alive and keep the views and opinions what you hold dear, and always waving on that line could have made for a great series. The stories of the Equinox or Year in Hell were great, and showed what it could have been great, but it should have been part of the entire series rather than just two episodes. There is a suspension of disbelief in watching any show, especially science fiction, but Voyager seemed to go beyond that. I could not understand watching Voyager stay in pristine condition episode after episode, but they probably were attacked more than any ship in the Federations history, and it was only in 7 years!

 

 

Top 10 Episodes 

 

 

Caretaker

Season 1, Episode 1

Season 1, Episode 2

 

This is what Voyager should have been throughout its entire series. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the story and the way the crews of the Federation ship as well as the Maquis ship were forced together if they ever wanted to get home. A great pilot and one I have to say was much more dramatic and interesting than Encounter at Farpoint. It brought the immediate conclusion of the plot, but left open a wide range of things that I anticipated, the problems with an alien race, an alliance with a race that only exists on one planet, and thus, not very practical in teams of survival and the possibility of continued interpersonal conflict between crews, something sadly missing on the Enterprise-D.

 

Critical Care

Season 7, Episode 5

 

I have not seen this episode for quite some time, but I remember vividly the stark contrast it showed between the various classes of the planet and how hard it was for the working class to function. People were judged on the basis of their worth to society and sometimes their likelihood of surviving if it is an complicated and risky surgery. I may be wrong on this now, but when I watched this, it seemed like it was the most blatant social criticism of any Star Trek since the original series.

 

Eye of the Needle

Season 1, Episode 7

 

Romulans in a Voyager episode? Nuh uh! Well, Voyager certainly did have contact with the Romulan Star Empire. Voyager encounters a micro wormhole that leads to the Alpha Quadrant and is disappointed that it is not large enough to send the crew home. It was a great episode, with a great appearance by Vaughn Armstrong as the Romulan Dr. Telek R’mor. Oh, and there is a great twist at the end that I never saw coming.  

 

Scorpion

Season 3, Episode 26

Season 4, Episode 1

 

Although the Voyager series would reuse the Borg to death, when Voyager first encountered the Borg Collective, it was perhaps one of the scariest depictions of them in Stark Trek. 15 Borg Cubes, making full speed towards Voyager had to have been one of the craziest and most exhilarating moments in Star Trek History. The Enterprise had a hard enough time just dealing with one ship and only lucked out when they encountered them. How would Voyager survive? Well, obviously make a deal with them…

 

Year of Hell

Season 4, Episode 8

Season 4, Episode 9

 

Well, as reset buttons go, this one has to be a doozy. Usually referred to as a “Bad Dream” episode, this one proved that no one would remember the events of nearly an entire year, which saw the death of numerous main characters and the eventually and most sweet destruction of the Voyager by a self-sacrificing Janeway. An entire year goes by where the ship was constantly bombarded by the Krenim Imperium.

 

Pathfinder

Season 6, Episode 10

 

It may be odd that one of my favorite episodes actually doesn’t take place on Voyager itself, but it does include the Voyager crew, at least 36 minutes into the episode. Barclay always fascinated me.  I can’t understand why so many people would really look down upon him for his social insecurities. Given how enlightened the 24^th century Federation is supposed to be, one would think that people would attempt to help him. I mean, the Federation is a Post-Scarcity society that can give its population relatively anything for relatively no cost! Ironic that the most distant humans would strike some connection with Barclay, yet people in the next room wouldn’t.

 

Living Witness

Season 4, Episode 23

 

The Doctor was above all, my favorite character on Deep Space Nine. After starting out as merely a mechanical oddity with a penchant for sarcasm, he developed into one of the richest characters on Voyager. This particular episode is set 700 years into the future, where the Voyager crew are looked upon as villains by an alien population and the history it records shows something much different than what we have been used to. The Doctor and a museum curator of surviving Voyager artifacts attempt to find the truth rather than what is political best. A wonderful Doctor episode and an interesting look at what I call “Parallel crews” (Similar to the Next Gen episode Parallells)

 

Friendship One

Season 7, Episode 21

 

This episode has one of my most hated things about Voyager. The death of Joe Carey a character we hadn’t seen for seasons, only to be brought back to be killed for no particular reason. It does show the effects of alien contact and how even the most benign thing could have devastating consequences, a theme that is always welcome but never used enough.

 

Future’s End

Season 3, Episode 8

Season 3, Episode 9

 

Another episode taking place in our “present” 20^th century! Woo hoo! Now, by this time, it seems to have become a cliché, especially considering how Voyager was actually stuck across the galaxy, but the execution of the story really did make it seem plausible given the time ship from the future. In this episode, the doctor gets his 29^th century mobile emitter, allowing him to leave the confines of the sickbay, a brilliant little addition that would go on to become a major part of the rest of the series.

 

Message in a Bottle

Season 4, Episode 14

 

Another doctor episode, this one sees him transferred to the Beta Quadrant through an ancient alien relay system that still seems to function. We get to see an awesome and powerful starship called the USS Prometheus that can split into not two, but three separate parts in order to conduct battle with an enemy. It seems ever since the Borg started causing mischief with the bald one, Starfleet has been really trying to develop new technologies. More importantly, Voyager is able to contact Starfleet and lets them know they are still alive and out there.

 

 

Honorable Mention 

 

 

The Haunting of Deck Twelve

Season 6, Episode 25

 

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I really enjoyed this episode. Perhaps because it takes the form of a story within a story or perhaps it’s somewhat of a ghost story that the Borg children eventually don’t believe but actually did happen. Regardless, it is a really fun episode that shows just how far Janeway will go to protect her family that is the Voyager crew.

 

Remember

Season 3, Episode 6

 

I cannot quite put my finger on it, but B’lanna Torres always frustrated me. I never really did like her character. It wasn’t the actress or anything, I think it had something to do with the way her character was written and how gruff she seemed to be. One would think that by season 7, she’d have more or less acclimated to life with humans and with the Voyager crew. This episode, is one that I really enjoyed, and really showed just how emotional B’lanna could be when she takes her emotions to the maximum level, well besides angry. It was endearing to see this other side of her, one that wasn’t so conflicted between her Klingon and Human sides.

 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Top 10 Episodes

 

 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 

 

During my senior year of college, I watched every single Deep Space Nine Episode straight through, from “The Emissary” to “What You Leave Behind” in only a matter of a few months. I had not seen many episodes when it aired and was very curious about the series. I had seen a number of episodes when it was airing, but the stations in my area had them on at odd times, changing them regularly. And the episodes I had seen were a smattering from all the series, and as a series that really has a beginning and middle and end that connect to each other, I was left confused by some things. My top episodes, listed in order below, seem to change all the time, when I start watching the series again when I do critical reviews of each episode, I’m sure everything will be different.

 

That senior year was a binge, of sorts, on all things Deep Space Nine. I bought a number of books, including numerous novels and the convoluted Technical Manuel, and read with diligence. Now, I am and always will be, a big fan of TNG and the Original Series and really do feel those are great series, especially as compared to Voyager and Enterprise. This series, though, was by far the best and most well written of any of them. The characters seemed at once real, and a vision of Roddenbery. They were complex, dreamy, dreary eyed explorers and wonderers who were at the edge of the frontier, in a backwater station. Sisko, a nearly washed-out commander who was slowly becoming stagnant in his career (no thanks to telling a great captain like Picard to stuff himself, became one of the most influential and multifaceted character of the series. As other Star Trek incarnations, DS9 pushed the envelope once again and showed us the best of what Trek and Science Fiction as a whole could be.

 

 

The Visitor

Season 4, Episode 3

 

This is THE best episode of Star Trek, hands down. I cried throughout. The heartfelt love between father and son went so far that Jake Sisko was willing to sacrifice his lifetime as well as his life in the hopes that he could HOPE to save his father. He knew things could be worse, you could see it in Old Jake’s eyes, but he knew that it was more than enough. Practically flawless in its showing, The Visitor is by far my favorite Star Trek episode.

 

Duet

Season 1, Episode 19

 

When a Cardassian arrives at the station, Kira, the Bajoran second-in-command of the station, finds evidence that he has been at a labor camp during the Cardassian occupation, a brutal concentration camp during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. This story revolves, mainly, around the interaction between Kira and this Cardassian and through a brilliant twist that I did not see coming, it shows brilliantly the charged and emotional state of the post-Bajor Occupation.

 

Homefront/Paradise Lost

Season 4, Episode 11

Season 4, Episode 12

 

These two episodes show just how easily the Dominion, a bunch of shapeshifters from another part of the galaxy, can infiltrate and disrupt one of the most secure planets in space, Earth. With only a handful of operatives there were able to cause rampant paranoia through Starfleet that led to the establishment of martial law and the near overthrow of the current Federation administration. It is unfortunate that these two episodes were not developed more, especially considering the odd and out of place short Klingon incident that happened early in the season. The paranoia and deception in this episode really echoes the current state of the USA.

 

Past Tense

Season 3, Episode 11

Season 3, Episode 12

 

Yet another time travel episode, but this time, one that goes into the twenty-first century. We see for the first, and almost only time, the first half of the century that would lead up to World War III and a nuclear holocaust. Society has gotten so low by this time period that they have hearded the homeless and immigrants into ghettos called “Sanctuary District”. This is a brilliant social criticism of where we might be heading and an ominous sign of things to come, considering the politically charged nature of immigration here in the United States.

 

Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

Season 7, Episode 16

 

The Federation at Romulus, legally. This must have been one of the first instances of a Federation ship actually visiting Romulus in the entire series of Star Trek. The only other one I can think of is the visit by the Enterprise-E in Nemesis. A political intrigue episode that deals with an assassination, a clandestine organization within the Federation and the Romulan Empire and Bashir, the doctor, in the thick of everything.

 

Trials and Tribble-ations

Season 5, Episode 6

 

This episode was a tribute to TOS for the 30^th anniversary of Star Trek. A great episode that was able to fuse footage from the Trouble with Tribbles episode with Deep Space Nine characters. A remarkable feat of technology and creativity, this episode is a great one. I just don’t understand how it was beaten for a Hugo by a Babylon 5 episode, and an Emmy by the Voyager episode “Fair Trade”, fair indeed…

 

Far Beyond the Stars

Season 6, Episode 13

 

An absolutely fantastic episode. Another episode nominated for awards that did not receive any, Far Beyond the Stars is truly a Benjamin Sisko episode. It showed what the 1950s were like and what effect it had on people who weren’t in the majority, which included basically everyone. Avery was at his height in this episode and easily makes my top 10.

 

In the Pale Moonlight

Season 6, Episode 19

 

This episode was very controversial as it depicted Ben Sisko and the federation itself as something less than perfect. In the episode, it is suggested that the Dominion are continuing their advances into the Alpha Quadrant and some top brass think things may only continue to get worse. Without any more major support, the Alpha Quadrant may be doomed. Only in persuading the Romulans into war does the Quadrant face a fighting chance. It means, however, that morality may need to be overlooked. Do the needs of the many truly outweigh the needs of the one?

 

The Homecoming/The Circle/The Siege

Season 2, Episode 1

Season 2, Episode 2

Season 2, Episode 3

 

I love politics and political intrigue and this is mainly why I enjoyed this episode. I really liked all the Bajoran political and social storylines DS9 had. I really wish they would have developed them more, though, as the Bajoran people and the planet were a real asset to the creative elements of DS9. This was the first three part arc in star trek and one that sadly was not used as often as it should have been (Enterprise finally picked up on it in its fourth and final season much too late).

 

Prodigal Daughter

Season 7, Episode 11

 

For some reason, I really enjoyed this episode. It certainly isn’t in most peoples top episodes and barely makes mine. I think it was the atmosphere of the episode. It seemed refreshing in a way, very realistic. I absolutely loved the setting and the set architecture, most notably Norvo’s room. Ezri is somewhat of an annoying character and I really felt that the entire Ezri-Worf relationship should have gone differently, but in this episode she begins to come to her own and we see a new and exciting character emerging who has real issues and real problems.

 

Move Along Home

Season 1, Episode 10

 

A fun episode which includes the first official contact from the other side of the Bajoran wormhole, this story deals with a game so complex that it actually looks and feels as if someone is really there, as if it was a holodeck game. But for the four Starfleet crewmembers that get sucked into this game, they feel it is real as do the gameplayers playing it, which include the lovable Quark and the stern yet humorous Odo. To anyone watching, notice the subtle Dominion reference in this episode.

 

Distant Voices

Season 3, Episode 10

 

Another reality bending episode, this story deals with a pysionic attack on Julian Bashir, the doctor for the space station, who seems to undergo age advancement. Apparently, this psyionic attack attempts to shut down the person’s brain. An interesting episode that gives us a number of interesting glimpses into Bashir’s personality.

 

Star Trek: The Next Generation Top 10 Episodes

 

  

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

 

Star Trek: TNG was the first Star Trek that I ever watched regularly. I was 10 to 12 when that occurred when I watched my first episode “Violations”. I was attempting to find a replacement for Quantum Leap, which aired at the same time, which was syndicated every Monday through Friday. I like to think that my enjoyment of Quantum Leap helped open the way toward my enjoyment of Star Trek. In making this list, I found it exceedingly difficult to choose my top episodes. Perhaps it is because I am biased towards TNG (although they had some real duds too) I could say almost all these could have been my top episode. Many more episodes I really enjoy didn’t get to make the cut. TNG for me, really shows a potential human existence, that is at once better than who we are but still struggling to find a real balance in life.

 

Star Trek: TNG was more than just living, it showed me what we could become as a species. Star Trek: TOS did this too when first started watching it and something that, in my opinion, did not show up in the subsequent series of Voyager and Enterprise. I felt comfortable watching, thinking that I too was part of the crew and that the Enterprise was my home. Other than the Original Enterprise, I never really had those feelings for any Star Trek. Perhaps that is what separates these two series with the rest of the series. Voyager, my most hated Trek, had so much potential for that comfort level, but fell to being nothing more than mere battle after battle. I know others who had similar feelings with Voyager as I have with TNG so I know that element existed, but I was expecting the same kind of comfort level as I did on the Enterprise.

 

Here are, in order, my top 10 Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes:

 

Top 10 Episodes

 

The Inner Light

Season 5, Episode 25

 

This is my favorite episode of Star Trek, period. I literally cried the first time I watched this and I still get teary eyed every time I watch it. It is one of the profound and emotional episodes they made. When Riker brings the Ressikan flute, the flute he learned how to play during his “life” on Kataan, was the most poignant scene  of this episode The flute, and with it some of the emotion of this episode in a later one called “Lessons” where he shares his experiences in this episode and his love of the flute music with a woman he loves.

 

Time’s Arrow

Season 5, Episode 26

Season 6, Episode 1

 

By far my favorite Time Travel Episode, even beating such awe-inspiring episodes and movies like “Star Trek IV”, this story deals with the apparently fate and death of Data some time in Earth’s 19^th century. As an English major and a lover of books, I found the subtle reference to Jack London as a bell boy in San Francisco and the acting and personality of Mark Twain to be refreshing and an added bonus to an already great episode.  Oh, can’t forget a clever but younger (by like centuries) Guinan and her and Picard’s first true meeting…sweet

 

The Drumhead

Season 4, Episode 21

 

For some reason, which others may not understand, I always enjoyed the court/legal episodes of Star Trek: TNG. Perhaps it was the way the main characters of the Enterprise played their part in the court dramas that I really liked. Suffice to say, these episodes spoke volumes to me. This episode in particular shows us how the desire for security may cause fear and suspicion to become part of a society. Something we can ALL learn to appreciate given the current Bush administration. This has a great quote, spoken by Picard concerning this very subject: “‘With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.’ Those words were uttered by Judge Aareon Satie, as wisdom and warning. The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we are all damaged.”

 

Tapestry

Season 6, Episode 15

 

I’m sure most people have wondered what life would have been like if we could go back, change one event and see how things have changed. Picard gets to do just that when Q offers him a gift after he is shot and is about to die. He changes an event that happens in his past, when he was just an ensign, but this change leads to a life much less fulfilling and more boring than he ever would have wanted. Q gives him a chance to correct this and time is put back to normal (unless it was all just a Q fantasy). But the smile on Picard’s face when he is stabbed through the heart is priceless. Like “It’s a Wonderful Life”, it’s better to have lived a good life and die, than to continue living a menial existence.

 

Yesterday’s Enterprise

Season 3, Episode 15

 

Oooh, the first woman captain of the Enterprise-C, the return of Yar of sorts, and Worf’s introduction to Prune Juice, and an alternate universe were the Klingon’s are whopping some serious Federation butt make this episode very memorable. From the mood in the parallel universe, the lighting and sounds, to the different mannerisms of the crew and finally the sacrifice of many Enterprise-D crew to return to Enterprise-C back to its original time line all make this a priceless and great episode.

 

Timescape

Season 6, Episode 25

 

Yet another time-altering episode (notice a pattern? ) Picard, Troi, Data, and La Forge are returning from a conference in a runabout when they suddenly hit a time bubble. In these bubbles, time is moving at different rates; some are moving very rapidly while others are at a near standstill. It is in one of these latter kinds that the Enterprise is in and the four crewmembers must save the Enterprise from being destroyed while figuring out what has happened to the Time/Space Continuum.

 

The Best of Both Worlds

Season 3, Episode 26

Season 4, Episode 1

 

As one can see, this two-part episode is somewhat low on this list. But all these episodes, in my opinion, could have easily made it as my number one (no, Riker, not this time). Making this list was perhaps the most difficult. The most stellar cliff-hanger in modern television history dealt with Riker’s order to fire on a Borg Cube that had Picard kidnapped and turned into Locutus. A very well done episode that made the Borg deserving of one of the most feared species in SF-dom.

 

All Good Things…

Season 7, Episode 25

Season 7, Episode 26

 

This is the last episode of Star Trek: TNG and perhaps should have been the first Next Generation movie. Q returns to put humanity back on trial, since it never really concluded from the First Episode, “Encounter at Farpoint”. We see Picard and all the rest of the crew as they might look like in 2395, decades into the future as well as an even cooler looking Enterprise and an interesting looking Medical Ship. This in of itself makes this episode in the top ten, but there’s so much to this two-parter that it was hard to place.

 

Parallels

Season 7, Episode 11

 

Wow, over 100, 000 Enterprise-D’s and still counting! It’s too bad with the closure of the Quantum Filament (or whatever it was called) sent all those ships back into the past. It was eerie seeing the Enterprise-D in the universe where the Borg have overrun the galaxy and it was truly sad when the one universe had to destroy it. A fun episode where Worf almost went crazy wondering what was happening to his universe. Perhaps reality is more than just the mere senses we preceive.

 

Darmock

Season 5, Episode 2

 

I always wondered, through the course of Star Trek, what it would be like if the crew had difficulty with their universal translators. Although the reason why most species speak English is for the obvious fact to make plot easier in a script, I still wondered what would happen otherwise. This episode showed the problems when two species who cannot communicate with each other attempt to work through their differences and figure out what each other mean. A brilliantly acted episode from both Dathon and Picard and a wonderful reference to the Epic of Gilgamesh.  

 

 

Honorable Mention

 

 

Data’s Day

Season 4, Episode 11

 

This is a purely Data episode but also serves to show a number of continuity points through the rest of the Stark Trek universe. This story, like Enterprise’s “Dear Doctor” is shown as a narrative to a person off the ship, in this case, to Commander Bruce Maddox, who in an earlier episode attempted to get Data deactivated. The plot centers around the wedding of Chief O’Brien and Keiko and shows Data’s trials and tribulations with human emotion and social graces. It also centers around the discovery of a Romulan Spy and another instance where the Federation almost went to war with the Romulan Empire.

 

Where No One Has Gone Before

Season 1, Episode 6

 

What if one’s reality seemed to break down and dreams seemed as real as everything else? This episode shows us that humans perhaps are not quite ready to travel to the edge of the universe. This is a fun story but very serious at the same time and shows us that humanity is still a species that has a lot to learn, despite Star Trek’s very optimistic look on existence.

 

Star Trek: The Original Series Top 10 Episodes

 

 

 

 

Star Trek (1964, 1966-1969)

 

 

Star Trek the Original Series is the one that started it all. From the very, very first episode, “The Cage”, the first pilot created in 1964, to the latest installment currently in development by J.J. Abrams, the first Enterprise remains in the hearts and minds of many. It is this series that is remembered FRIST when one mentions Star Trek to the general layman who does not consider themselves a Trekkie or Trekker.

 

It is strange, then, to have to admit that I have not seen every episode of this series. I know – one who has been in love with Trek ever since that first fateful day in the mid 1990s has not actually viewed all the episodes of the best and most influential series. It is also true that I have not seen some of the episodes on this list I have created in possibly years. In my review section, however, I will watch and analyze each story in detail beforehand. Despite not having watched all these episodes in a while, it was not difficult to choose my favorites. I have watched enough TOS to be able to gauge what my own favorite stories are and the ones I believe best exemplify the characters, settings and the series itself. Here are, in order from top to bottom, my favorite episodes:

 

Top 10 Episodes

 

City on the Edge of Forever

Season 1, Episode 28

 

By far the best Star Trek: TOS and one in Star Trek ever created, “The City on the Edge of Forever” shows how far one man may go to save the woman he loves.

 

The Trouble With Tribbles

Season 2, Episode 13

 

Perhaps the most fun episode to watch out of all series to date (even some of those pesky but lovable Ferengi episodes), “The Trouble with Tribbles” is the polar opposite in tone and scope of “The City on the Edge of Forever”. Some things that make this episode so memorable are the Klingons, bar fights, and furry little alien animals that replicate like rabbits…er..like tribbles, well nothing really replicates like Tribbles!

 

The Cloud Minders

Season 3, Episode 19

 

Although certainly not on everyone’s favorite list, this is one of the first Star Trek episodes I ever watched and one of my favorites. This story deals with the cause and effects of a pure hierarchical society where the upper class live luxuriously in a city literally in the clouds, while the working class live in the surface in less than stellar conditions. It is a criticism of the current world class system and one I found really challenged the crew of the Enterprise.

 

The Menagerie/The Cage

Season 1, Episode 14

Season 0, Episode 1

 

A classic in its own right, the Menagerie was a Two-Part episode that took much from the actual first pilot, the failed pilot called “The Cage”. Made up of an entirely different crew, it showed the events of a fateful trip to a planet whose inhabitants can create illusions just by thinking about it.

 

Errand of Mercy

Season 1, Episode 27

 

I really enjoyed this episode, since it dealt with human’s misconceptions about society and technology. War begins between the Klingons and Federation and they both attempt to strong-arm this apparent primitive society to their own views. It turns out these primitive Organians are in fact the most advanced species either species has encountered, able to stop all instruments on the ships with nary a whim. The war is effectively put to and end and both the Enterprise and the Klingons, under the command of Kor, must go back home.

 

The Enterprise Incident

Season 3, Episode 24

 

Who could forget that famous episode that saw Captain Kirk with Romulan ears, the lovely female Romulan Commander who was pwned by Spock, and the apparent violation of numerous interstellar laws when the Enterprise attempts to steal a Romulan Cloaking Device. This marked the second and final appearance of the Romulans in Star Trek in the TOS but it wouldn’t be the last time we would see them.

 

Mirror, Mirror

Season 2, Episode 10

 

Another universe, a mirror of our own, where good is evil, up is down, and Furby’s still attempt to spy on American children. “Mirror, Mirror” showed us the iconic image of Spock in a goatee, even skimpier uniforms (which seemed all but impossible, given the short skirt lengths in our own universe’s Enterprise), and woman I would never, ever want to cross…go Tantalus Field!

 

Space Seed

Season 1, Episode 24

 

Khaaaaaaaaaan! Need I saw more. Badass all the way, Khan was the perfect bad guy in Star Trek, so much so that he would eventually get his very own movie and a chance go to out in full glory. Not to mention action for perhaps one of the most boring positions on a Starship, local historian.

 

 

Tomorrow is Yesterday

Season 1, Episode 21

 

I always enjoy episodes of TOS where the Enterprise found its way to the twentieth century. It seems absurd that they would attempt to see what humanity was like at the height of the Cold War, but considering what the 21^st century was like in the Stark Trek Mythos, perhaps studying what led to the Eugenics War and World War III isn’t such a crazy thing after all. This episode deals with what would happen if one inadvertently faced a conundrum with time travel, one very well done in this episode.

 

All Our Yesterdays

Season 3, Episode 23

 

Another time travel episode, this story centers on a planet that is dying and the Enterprise attempts to warn their inhabitants that their sun is about to go nova.  Kirk, Spock and McCoy find only a series of similar looking Androids and a guy named Atoz (A to Z? hmmm) who is a mysterious and cryptic caretaker of a library, only that it is not just a library, but a time machine as well. Crazy antics ensue which sees Kirk arrested for witchcraft in a medieval time period and Spock getting horny with a woman in the ice ages, and of course, McCoy as annoyed as ever.

 

 

Honorable Mentions

 

 

Where No Man Has Gone Before

Season 1, Episode 3 

 

This is the Second Pilot of TOS and one that surprisingly aired third in its series run. Things are somewhat different in this episode, including Spock in a yellow uniform and a smirk that says “Vulcans with emotions!” ah! Although it would continue to violate canon, this story was an interesting foray into some more esoteric ideas in Star Trek.

 

Patterns of Force

Season 2, Episode 23

 

Although it soon became a cliché in the Star Trek universe, this episode is a startling look into repeating the mistakes of history. In this episode, a cultural observer from Earth apparently brought the ideas of Nazism to an alien planet in order to bring them out of a disastrous dark age. This plan, although helped them advance immensely, backfired and the negative aspects of the Nazi party asserted itself, including a staunch militarism and racism. This episodes shows that although one can have good intentions, things may not be the best thing to do.

 

Star Trek: To Boldly Go

 

Star Trek holds a special place in my heart. Now that it has been a number of years since the last scene played, with the end of Enterprise in 2005, my interest in Star Trek has waned somewhat. With the horrible disaster that was Voyager and the disappointment of Enterprise, two shows that had such great potential, but seemed to squander it for a variety of reasons, it left me feeing bitter and betrayed by the powers that be. I do not think it was just one person, or in many instances two people (Berman and Braga) who were solely responsible for the demise of Trek. While it is true that they contributed, I cannot overlook some of the gems they have created. They worked on some of my favorite episodes, but at the same time they created some of the worst stories and ideas, and, in my opinion, contributed greatly in the decline in Star Trek. When I heard a rumor, however, that much of the creative staff of Star Trek: Voyager wanted to do more character driven stories but were denied by the guys and gals in suits, who wanted more action oriented stories, I knew that was the beginning of the end. It’s the reason why Voyager as a whole failed when it had the potential to, dare I say, be even bigger and better than the Next Generation. Rather than long story arcs, they created simple battles, unrealistic science fiction plots catered towards adolescent boys leading ultimately to the addition of a female borg in spandex suit to the crew of Voyager who took all the spotlight from other, more deserving crewmembers (One has to wonder why ever show she has ever been on seems to fail before its time…).

 

Fans of the show can debate, into eternity, what killed off the show. It was Berman, Braga, the execs, the fans; seemingly and endless sea of people. In the end though, I think it was a number of factors that all added up that eventually saw its downfall. Personally, I think one of the big events that helped was the Star Trek: Generations, the first movie of the Next Generation run that saw an incompetent and too new captain take over the Enterprise (in this case the “B”), the death of the legend that was Kirk, the destruction of the Enterprise-D at the hands of renegade Klingons in an old space ship in a horribly contrived plot, and the clichéd death of a bad guy who showed promise but never lived up to the bad-guy persona. Generations, in my mind, was the first stone to fall, so to speak, in the eventual death and decline of Star Trek.  It seemed to have lost direction. Once Next Generation ended, a number of ideas seemed to go in strange tangents, including a very strange and short lived war with the Klingons. Deep Space Nine, as well, pulled the creative elements that made Next Generation great and could have made Voyager great. Despite this, DS9 is the best written of the series and the one that seemed to get it right for the majority of its run. Although there are problems in this series as well, most notably the short war with Klingons and the entire Worf situation, this series began to show that Star Trek could travel in directions Roddenberry never could dream off, but at the same time, still keep some part of his dream of the future alive and bright.  

 

With the possibility of a Star Trek Reboot with J. J. Abrams vision of Star Trek, Star Trek may live again. It will certainly be different than any previous installment of Star Trek and even though I continue to have my doubts about this new series, Star Trek will always have a place in my heart. This blog, then, will showcase my love of Star Trek, and will express my views and thoughts on this series that surpasses merely television and movies. All Star Trek, even the ones I criticize the most, are still very near and dear to me and will be featured here. It is my desire to begin a review of all episodes and movies of Star Trek, starting with my favorite, The Next Generation. There are a number of reasons why it is my first, but the most important was that it was my first introduction into Star Trek and its meta-verse. I began watching shortly after it was off the air, when the local stations out of South Bend began showing it at 4 pm. I was in middle school at the time, and was thirsty for more wonderful adventures. Quantum Leap, another favorite show, had just stopped being shown on television where I live and it too was shown at 4 pm, an optimal time after school and before I would have to have dinner. I remember one day, flipping through the stations looking for something else to watch, now that Quantum Leap was not showing, when I stopped on one station, where a soothing voice was talking about a cup and an old memory of a grandmother. It was the episode “Violations” from the Next Generation, and the scene that eventually got me hooked was dealing with a group of telepathic aliens who help recover the memories of others. Although, by far from one of the great Star Trek Episodes, “Violations” kept me enthralled enough to continue watching; my fate as a Star Trek fan was sealed. I begin then, with a list of my top ten episodes from all the series as well as the movies and will then soon start reviewing episodes of each series, starting with The Next Generation.