Best Trek episode

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Across all the franchises.

Tough question, I know.

[Kinky Vorlon]

Good topic.

TOS: City of the Edge of Forever
TNG: If we can include two parters, Chain of Command or Best of Both Worlds are tied
DS9: Duet
Voy: Year of Hell I guess.

Haven't watched the newer series.

[Yukaphile]

I guess if we're saying just "single episodes," then for me, "The Devil in the Dark." I can't include TNG or DS9 or even Voyager because... it's always a two-parter for me.

[Mecha82]

Well Balance of Terror (TOS) and Best of Both Worlds (TNG) come to my mind as some of best ST episodes. Both episodes had things that carried over to other episodes and had impact on ST universe.

[Simplicius]

The Original Series: "Balance of Terror"
I have a soft spot for "Patterns of Force" and "Journey to Babel" and I'm a fan of "The Cage" but I don't think anything comes close to "Balance of Terror".

The Next Generation: "The Defector" / "Q Who"
I really can't decide between those two. I prefer "The Defector" in terms of its self-contained story but "Q Who" was such a great introduction to the Borg and a wonderful tension builder and reveal (speaking as someone who liked "The Neutral Zone" - I know a lot of people don't). Other great episodes are; "Conspiracy" and Lower Decks".

Epsiodes I like but see glaring flaws in are; "The Drumhead", "Darmok" and "The Best of Both Worlds" (taken as a two-part episode).

Deep Space Nine: "In the Pale Moonlight"
DS9 was a great show with loads of real goodies but a lot of the episodes I also like don't come across as well when watched out of context (like "The Die is Cast", "By Inferno's Light" and "Call to Arms"), whereas "In Pale Moonlight" works as a great self-contained story with a really dark and interesting premise and also as an important piece of character-work and plot development within the wider arc.

Other episodes I like are; "Trials and Tribble-ations", "Melora", "The Alternate" and "Ties of Blood and Water".

Voyager: "Eye of the Needle"
I also thought this episode was the best Voyager had to offer, which is damning the show with faint praise considering it's so early in the show's lifespan. So many of the big episodes like "Scorpion" are detestable to me and others (like "Protoype" - which I do actually like - are fucked over by the production in some way). The only other episode that comes close, for me, is "Distant Origin" but that's primarily based on the excellent performances because the plot has serious issues.

Others I find enjoyable: "Basics", "Nothing Human", "Lifesigns", "Learning Curve", "Alliances", "Year of Hell", "Message in a Bottle", "Worst Case Scenario" and "Think Tank".

I haven't watched any other Trek series enough times (or even all the way through in the case of Enterprise and Discovery - not that I have any plans to continue with the latter), to have a definite favourite episode.

The single best episode of Star Trek in my opinion is ... *drumroll* ... "In the Pale Moonlight"!

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Did anybody notice that the OP is a haiku?

[Darth Wedgius]

TOS: City on the Edge of Forever
TNG: Best of Both Worlds
DS9: The Visitor
VOY: Living Witness
ENT: Damaged
TAS: Yesteryear
STD: Brother

Overall: Best of Both Worlds. It has its flaws, serious ones, but I think it was the high point for the franchise. A good atmosphere of dread, good character stuff for Picard and Riker, even some of the better use of Troi, and Trek's best villain.

[PerrySimm]

Haiku is a forgiving art form, but if you don't have 17 syllables you at least need to attempt to use three phrases...

Code: Select all

In all of Star Trek
the greatest episode was
The Best of Both Worlds

[Durandal_1707]

The Original Series: "Balance of Terror"
I have a soft spot for "Patterns of Force" and "Journey to Babel" and I'm a fan of "The Cage" but I don't think anything comes close to "Balance of Terror".

The Next Generation: "The Defector" / "Q Who"
I really can't decide between those two. I prefer "The Defector" in terms of its self-contained story but "Q Who" was such a great introduction to the Borg and a wonderful tension builder and reveal (speaking as someone who liked "The Neutral Zone" - I know a lot of people don't). Other great episodes are; "Conspiracy" and Lower Decks".

Epsiodes I like but see glaring flaws in are; "The Drumhead", "Darmok" and "The Best of Both Worlds" (taken as a two-part episode).

Deep Space Nine: "In the Pale Moonlight"
DS9 was a great show with loads of real goodies but a lot of the episodes I also like don't come across as well when watched out of context (like "The Die is Cast", "By Inferno's Light" and "Call to Arms"), whereas "In Pale Moonlight" works as a great self-contained story with a really dark and interesting premise and also as an important piece of character-work and plot development within the wider arc.

Other episodes I like are; "Trials and Tribble-ations", "Melora", "The Alternate" and "Ties of Blood and Water".

Voyager: "Eye of the Needle"
I also thought this episode was the best Voyager had to offer, which is damning the show with faint praise considering it's so early in the show's lifespan. So many of the big episodes like "Scorpion" are detestable to me and others (like "Protoype" - which I do actually like - are fucked over by the production in some way). The only other episode that comes close, for me, is "Distant Origin" but that's primarily based on the excellent performances because the plot has serious issues.

Others I find enjoyable: "Basics", "Nothing Human", "Lifesigns", "Learning Curve", "Alliances", "Year of Hell", "Message in a Bottle", "Worst Case Scenario" and "Think Tank".

I haven't watched any other Trek series enough times (or even all the way through in the case of Enterprise and Discovery - not that I have any plans to continue with the latter), to have a definite favourite episode.

The single best episode of Star Trek in my opinion is ... *drumroll* ... "In the Pale Moonlight"!

That's gotta be the first time I've seen "Patterns of Force" or "Melora" anywhere near a "best-of" list.

[Simplicius]

That's gotta be the first time I've seen "Patterns of Force" or "Melora" anywhere near a "best-of" list.

Well, it's more a product of my thought-processes. I mentioned "Patterns of Force" just because I have a nostalgic soft spot for it, whereas obviously I don't consider it a serious contender.

As I explained, for Deep Space Nine, most of the great episodes, in my opinion, are the key movers during the Dominion War arc and, so, have a habit of blending together in one's recollection and aren't necessarily that great as stand alone stories.

So, the others I mentioned are some of the early morality plays (Tribbles notwithstanding - a really fun bit of ... fun) that I enjoyed but, again, none I'd consider genuine contenders for "best episode". I do imagine I rate "Melora" quite a bit higher than most, however.