Best Star Trek episode: the original series

[Ichneumon]

So, this is a very simple question. What do you think were the best episodes of the original series of Star Trek? Also, what do you think are the most iconic must-see episodes? Not necessarily the same questions, but give your top-ten, top-five or how much you feel like.

[Tirian]

I think the only two must-see episodes are The Trouble With Tribbles and The City On The Edge Of Forever. Nearly everything else in ToS is white noise.

[Dacia Brabant]

Don't forget Space Seed, the episode introducing us to KHAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!

It's not great TV or anything but it's definitely a must-see as much as Star Trek II itself is.

[TheEmerged]

I think the only two must-see episodes are The Trouble With Tribbles and The City On The Edge Of Forever. Nearly everything else in ToS is white noise.

Add "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" to that short list and I'd agree with you.

[Ichneumon]

Personally I really liked "Balance of Terror", "The Devil in the Dark", and "A Piece of the Action". I too agree that you should have seen "Mirror, Mirror" and "Space Seed", but I found both episodes to be laking. "Mirror, Mirror" had great potential, but there is only so much they could have done within 1 episode.

I too liked "The City On The Edge Of Forever" and "Trouble with Tribbles", although I wouldn't call them one of the best. I also liked "The Enterprise Incident".

I'd say this is my top 5 of "Must see" episodes, either because they are iconic (such as "Mirror, Mirror") or just one of the best.

1. "The Devil in the Dark"
2. "Balance of Terror"
3. "Mirror, Mirror"
4. "This Side of Paradise"
5. "A Piece of the Action"

[Mordar]

So, this is a very simple question. What do you think were the best episodes of the original series of Star Trek? Also, what do you think are the most iconic must-see episodes? Not necessarily the same questions, but give your top-ten, top-five or how much you feel like.

You'll forgive, I hope, that I'm not good at remembering the episode names. In terms of iconic or must-see, I think there are several key Trek episodes, including:


The first televised interracial kiss;
The alternate universe and development of the "evil twin", preferably with beard, exemplified in our very own Elan and Nale;
Not-so-subtle philisophical statements on racism and eugenics (two separate episodes/sets come to mind);
Hot green, blue, and greenish-blue women!


Okay, so #4 is a little humor...but Kirk/Uhura kissing ("Plato's Stepchildren" - I looked up the episode names to provide reference), Spock-with-a-Beard ("The Alternative Factor" and "Mirror, Mirror") and the array of episodes decrying racism (the black/white "race" fighting the white/black "race", for instance) and genetic control (KHAAAAAAANNNNNNN!) are all seminal TV episodes, in my opinon.

None of this is meant to imply that Roddenberry was the first to broach the subjects...but that to couch them in semi-mainstream TV and reach a broad audience (even if it was only later, via reruns) was kind of a big deal, I think.

- M

PS: Oh, my favorites include the episode where Kirk makes the homemade gun in the mano-a-alieno fight, and the one with the lavamonster-looking thing that Spock mindmelds

[Ichneumon]

PS: Oh, my favorites include the episode where Kirk makes the homemade gun in the mano-a-alieno fight, and the one with the lavamonster-looking thing that Spock mindmelds

Kirk versus the lizard-man (Gorn) was the episode "Arena". I liked that one too, personally I didn't care much for the fake fight scenes. I rather liked them, but I know some people thought them to be too bizar.

The other episode is "Devil in the Dark", that's actually my favorite too.

[The Big Dice]

In no particular order: Devil in the Dark; Mirror, Mirror; Balance of Terror, Wolf in the Fold and The Trouble With Tribbles.

The problem I have with TOS is, it's very much a product of its time. Like all TV. The problem is, the late 60s weren't a time of subtle storytelling. Or subdued colour pallettes. Instead, we get formulaic moster of the week/Shatner vehicle episodes, with the odd bit of gold buried among the garbage.

[Tirian]

The problem I have with TOS is, it's very much a product of its time. Like all TV. The problem is, the late 60s weren't a time of subtle storytelling. Or subdued colour pallettes. Instead, we get formulaic moster of the week/Shatner vehicle episodes, with the odd bit of gold buried among the garbage.

That's my problem with recommending too many iconic episodes. Even as crappy camp, you can make better choices in sixties television. And the best episodes are only slightly better than the average episode of The Twilight Zone.

[JonestheSpy]

Ah, REAL Star Trek...

I think my fave is one of the first I saw, "The Tholian Web". It was just creepy - the ghost ship, Kirk turned into a phantom, the web slowly closing around them...Really drives home the eeriness and fear of going 'where no one has gone before'.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

The best STtOS episode is "The Cage" of course!

[factotum]

Spock's Brain! :smallwink:

Nah, only kidding, although that one would probably rank highly in the list of WORST episodes of Star Trek (or any other SF series) ever...

[Ichneumon]

Spock's Brain! :smallwink:

Nah, only kidding, although that one would probably rank highly in the list of WORST episodes of Star Trek (or any other SF series) ever...

I actually liked the concept of "Spock's Brain", but it was executed very very poorly indeed.

[Athaniar]

While I don't rank most episodes of the Original Series very highly, there are several which I like (though not as much as the other series), such as Balance of Terror, Space Seed, Mirror, Mirror, The Tholian Web, The Devil in the Dark, and The Trouble with Tribbles.

[Yulian]

Spock's Brain! :smallwink:

Nah, only kidding, although that one would probably rank highly in the list of WORST episodes of Star Trek (or any other SF series) ever...

"Brain and brain! What is brain?!"

Hmm...for the best that were not ham-handed (Black and white on different sides? GET IT EVERYONE?!" I've got a few.

"Devil in the Dark". A simple message, yet also an episode that showed how much humanity has truly matured in the ST universe. The miners were appalled by what they had done and sought to make amends once they understood that the Horta was sapient and what they had been doing. No denial, no shifting the blame. They understood that they had made a mistake and took responsibility. It's very hopeful.

"City on the Edge of Forever". Fate, love, destiny. A great exploration of the concepts, and of the sacrifices people must sometimes make for the greater good.

"Balance of Terror" was a gripping, WWII-style yarn about enemies that barely understand each other upon contact, then ends on a deeply tragic note and wonders at the reasons for war.

"The Trouble with Tribbles" is a comedy classic. Pure fun.

- Yulian

[hamishspence]

What about The Doomsday Machine?

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

What about The Doomsday Machine?

That one was actually pretty good, I forgot to add that.

[doliest]

Has A Piece of the Aciton and Patterns of Force been recommended.

Really, I love TOS for several reason's, but one reason I list it above TNG and DS9 is that even at it's worst, it was never really bad. It was stupid and campy with alot of ham, but never really bad. Or boring. Unless you count V. :smallsigh:

[Lord Seth]

That's my problem with recommending too many iconic episodes. Even as crappy camp, you can make better choices in sixties television. And the best episodes are only slightly better than the average episode of The Twilight Zone.I'm going to harshly disagree there. I'll take my favorite Star Trek episodes over my favorite Twilight Zone episodes any day, and I never hated any episode of TOS even half as much as I hated certain episodes of The Twilight Zone.

Incidentally, the best episodes of TOS for me were A Taste of Armageddon, Balance of Terror, The City on the Edge of Forever, The Trouble With Tribbles, and Mirror, Mirror.

[chiasaur11]

I'm going to harshly disagree there. I'll take my favorite Star Trek episodes over my favorite Twilight Zone episodes any day, and I never hated any episode of TOS even half as much as I hated certain episodes of The Twilight Zone.

Incidentally, the best episodes of TOS for me were A Taste of Armageddon, Balance of Terror, The City on the Edge of Forever, The Trouble With Tribbles, and Mirror, Mirror.

No Devil in the Dark?

[Lord Seth]

No Devil in the Dark?That was a good enough episode, but nothing really stood out to me as making it particularly great.

[Ichneumon]

I don't know why, but for me TOS is Star Trek. I haven't watched all series, but what I did watch from TNG, DS9 and Voyager, I liked less than TOS. The thing is, there are a lot of "lesser" episodes in all series of Star Trek, but I still enjoyed the lesser episodes of TOS, while the lesser episodes of TNG made me (almost) stop watching.

[doliest]

I don't know why, but for me TOS is Star Trek. I haven't watched all series, but what I did watch from TNG, DS9 and Voyager, I liked less than TOS. The thing is, there are a lot of "lesser" episodes in all series of Star Trek, but I still enjoyed the lesser episodes of TOS, while the lesser episodes of TNG made me (almost) stop watching.

And that's not even bringing up Voyager and Enterprise, in which even the good episodes could still have that effect.

[Ichneumon]

The thing is, TOS had the right amount of cheesyness to it that makes it fun to watch, even if the plot is a bit less and watchfetched, the characters make it worthwhile to watch the episodes.

[Ravens_cry]

Its what I grew up with, so my heart is still with the bald knight.

[Ichneumon]

Its what I grew up with, so my heart is still with the bald knight.

I guess it is what you saw first. I mean, I saw TOS first, even though it was only like 4 years ago.

[Tirian]

I guess it is what you saw first. I mean, I saw TOS first, even though it was only like 4 years ago.

Not for me. I grew up between TOS and TNG and thought that the former was profoundly lame (and the first movie certainly didn't help). I mean, a guy is wandering around the galaxy having affairs and starting fistfights in Starfleet's flagship? By contrast, once TNG settled down in the middle of the second season, I was very hooked. And I might have liked DS9 even better, except that life kept me from watching it when it hit its stride.

[factotum]

I guess it is what you saw first. I mean, I saw TOS first, even though it was only like 4 years ago.

Not really. I was 17 when Star Trek: TNG launched, so I'd had plenty of opportunities to see TOS before it--and on balance I still prefer TNG. I think the original series was very much a product of its era, cheesy dialog and mini-skirts all round!

Of course, Babylon 5 and Blake's 7 beat both TOS and TNG, but that's an argument for another thread. :smallwink:

[Ichneumon]

I have to confess, the first episode of Star Trek to ever made me cry was The Bonding, which is a TNG episode.

[Ravens_cry]

The episode that made me cry was The Inner Light. The music, the story, everything.

[thompur]

The episode that made me cry was The Inner Light. The music, the story, everything.

I love TOS! I became a fan as a kid in the early/mid 70's watching the reruns, and falling in love with Lt. Uhura and Yeoman Rand. The strength of the show, for me, was the relationships and conflicts between the three main characters(Kirk, Spock, and McCoy). TNG, for me, was too much like 'the Getalong Gang in Space'. Also, my brother and sister and I used to recite entire scenes of dialogue along with the characters.(yes, we were ST geeks ;-)) My favorite eps, in no particular order are:


The Trouble With Tribbles
A Piece of the Action
The Squire of Gothos(we loved it when they would use actors more than once for different characters. In this case, William Campbell as Trellaine and as the Klingon, Capt. Koloth in TWT).
Shore Leave
Balance of Terror
Errand of Mercy
Whom Gods Destroy
The City on the Edge of Forever
The Menagerie
Court Martial
Mirror, Mirror
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Mudd's Women/I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
Friday's Child

We also delighted in seeing actors who were guest stars, appearing in other shows or movies.

[Lord Seth]

Not for me. I grew up between TOS and TNG and thought that the former was profoundly lame (and the first movie certainly didn't help). I mean, a guy is wandering around the galaxy having affairs and starting fistfights in Starfleet's flagship? By contrast, once TNG settled down in the middle of the second season, I was very hooked. And I might have liked DS9 even better, except that life kept me from watching it when it hit its stride.Well, I watched TOS first (practically the entire series) before watching TNG, and I liked TNG a lot better, even in its weak earlier seasons. DS9 was also great, and it's a tough call for me between the two as to which I liked more.