Star Trek (Ranked & Reviewed)

Transcribed directly from an audio recording

Star Trek: Picard is the new Star Trek series coming out on streaming platforms in 2020. Anticipation has been building and fans are excited to see familiar faces return. Reception towards Star Trek: Discovery, which was released a couple of years ago, was tepid at best so fans are eagerly waiting to see if the new series can restore their love for the franchise. Given the anticipation for the new series, I thought this would be a great time to do a top ten list featuring the greatest Star Trek episodes of all-time.

I am a huge Star Trek fan. I’ve been watching this franchise for over thirty years. In fact, Star Trek might be my most beloved of all the series and franchises on television and in film. My mom is a huge fan of the sixties series and we both watched this series together on reruns. I also grew up on The Next Generation and watched Star Trek continually in the late eighties and nineties. I have a particular fondness for the first six films that featured the cast of The Original Series. I’m not the biggest fan of the films featuring The Next Generation cast, however. I do have an adoration for the new rebooted trilogy by J.J. Abrams. For me personally, I think that Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation and The Original Series are the best versions of Star Trek. I am not a particular fan of Voyager, Enterprise or Discovery. I found these three series to be less than desirable, probably because I was strongly influenced by the greatness of The Next Generation and The Original Series. Star Trek: Discovery is definitely my least favourite series in the franchise, and in my opinion, it’s hard to consider Discovery as part of the canon. Discovery is simply so far removed from anything we’ve come to expect and love in this franchise up to this point. When I first saw it a couple of years ago, I was extremely disappointed. Fans had been waiting several years to get another home viewed series and Discovery was a letdown, to say the least. I think it’s decent enough as a science fiction show, but it fails drastically as a Star Trek show. It’s too bad the show was linked to Star Trek. I’m sure fans would have had a better reception to it if it had been its own franchise. I hope that Star Trek: Picard can recuperate my love for this franchise and I hope the show provides audiences with something more familiar to what we’ve come to love over the past fifty or so years. So far the trailers look outstanding and it seems like things are going in the right direction. For conversation's sake, I think that The Orville and Galaxy Quest have done excellent jobs as well and these seem far more like Star Trek than Star Trek: Discovery. They both deserve credit and I know that fans of Star Trek seem to concur that they showcase the essence of Star Trek well.

I have seen every episode of The Original Series and The Next Generation multiple times over and I was also able to recently get through all one hundred and seventy-six episodes of Deep Space Nine in a month, even though I had seen them all many times before. Bottom line, I have a strong appreciation for this franchise in all of its incarnations and I know this franchise well.

Here are my rankings for the top ten most iconic episodes of Star Trek from worst to best including a quick note about each episode. For fairness, I have included episodes from Voyager, Enterprise and Discovery even though there are better episodes from other series in this franchise. I did not include The Animated Series, although this series was done quite well and is considered canon. A casual viewer should be able to watch these episodes and have a strong general sense of what Star Trek is all about. For fun, I also included my rankings of the thirteen films from worst to best as well.

Number 10 is Such Sweet Sorrow (Discovery).

As mentioned, I am not a huge fan of Discovery but given fairness, I picked the best episode of the two seasons we’ve seen so far. This two-part episode is the season finale and set Discovery on a new path for season three. This will help the series become its own and not be directly tied down with past canon or expectations. The Discovery jumps forward nine hundred and thirty years and this was the right choice made by the producers of the show. Anson Mount as Pike, Rebecca Romjin as Number One and Ethan Peck as Spock are all utilized well and it is good to see the Discovery’s version of the Enterprise including this shows version of the classic uniforms.

Number 9 is Year of Hell (Voyager).

Voyager, in my opinion, is not a great Star Trek series, but with that said, this is the best episode featured in Voyager. The plot of this episode is strong and the two-part episode is consistently ranked upon most fan’s top ten and certainly the highest of the Voyager series. It definitely should be considered on this list.

Number 8 is Demons/Terra Prime (Enterprise).

This is the strongest episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. This episode poses similar questions to those seen in The Original Series which is a nice addition to Enterprise. Peter Weller provides a solid performance in the episode and overall it’s held up quite well over the years. Even though Enterprise, in my opinion, is definitely one of the worst series in the franchise, this episode, in particular, deserves credit.

Number 7 is The Devil in the Dark (The Original Series).

This episode deals with empathy and understanding head-on. Leonard Nimoy probably provides one of his best performances as Spock in this episode. This episode is a shining example of the powerful questions raised in The Original Series and the philosophies of Star Trek. The Devil in the Dark showcases the exploration of new worlds and how to deal with situations that are not easily understood. This is also the first episode to feature “I’m a doctor, not a (blank)” which is a popular Star Trek quote.

Number 6 is Chain of Command (The Next Generation).

This is a two-part episode that features the best performance of Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard. This episode explores mental manipulation in a convincing and intriguing way. Chain of Command keeps you locked in and engaged for the duration of its runtime. Most fans regard this as an all-time favourite in The Next Generation series.

Number 5 is Far Beyond the Stars (Deep Space Nine).

This episode is a brilliant showcase of talent and emotions. Far Beyond the Stars is a prime example of a perfect Star Trek episode. Avery Brooks provides a stellar performance as Benny Russell and Captain Sisko, probably his best portrayal in Deep Space Nine. This episode features the full cast of actors from Deep Space Nine playing human characters instead of their regular alien characters. This is also a perfect example of metafiction in the Star Trek universe. The plot, setting, and acting in this episode are all in top form. Far Beyond the Stars is emotionally driven, wonderfully fulfilling and is truly is one of the best Deep Space Nine episodes.

Number 4 is The Best of Both Worlds (The Next Generation).

I saw this two-part episode in theatres upon rerelease a few years back while they were trying to promote the Blu-ray set and let me tell you, it holds up well. Many consider this the best episode of The Next Generation. Having Picard become a Borg is a bold choice. This episode is shocking and surprising. The plot is complex and extremely bold for this series, with great performances by all, especially Patrick Stewart.

Number 3 is Trials and Tribble-ations (Deep Space Nine).

This episode is simply fun. It ties up the franchise extremely well. The plot is quite clever and it’s a joy to see characters from Deep Space Nine travel back in time to the era of The Original Series. Seeing contemporary characters interact with classic characters is a complete delight. The effects are well done and hold up well to this day. There are many meta-references in this episode with even a couple of fun jabs at franchise continuity errors like the ridgeless Klingons from The Original Series. I especially like the scene with Sisko and Kirk. It’s very convincing and a nice touch to have these captains interact even though there is a gap of more than thirty years in real life between series and more than a hundred years in the fictional universe.

Number 2 is Yesterday’s Enterprise (The Next Generation).

This episode explores alternate realities and is a fan favourite, even featuring the return of Tasha Yar as portrayed by Denise Crosby. The plotline is impactful and potent. This episode features some very clever ideas and is a prime example of perfect science fiction. The climax is epic and everyone involved gives strong performances, especially Christopher McDonald as Richard Castillo, Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan and Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar. Quentin Tarantino has also mentioned this episode several times in interviews as one of his favourites.

Number 1 is The City on the Edge of Forever (The Original Series).

Fans consistently rank this episode as the greatest Star Trek episode of all-time and it’s no surprise why. This episode perfectly encapsulates the core message of Star Trek. It is a perfect example of what Star Trek is all about. The romance scenes between Joan Collins as Edith Keeler and William Shatner as James Kirk are heartfelt and potent. The Prime Directive is explored in full detail and is handled effectively. The ending of this episode is impactful and overall, this is definitely the best Star Trek episode ever.

Films

13. Star Trek: Nemesis

12. Star Trek: Insurrection

11. Star Trek Generations

10. Star Trek Into Darkness

9. Star Trek: First Contact

8. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

7. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

5. Star Trek Beyond

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

3. Star Trek

2. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan