Sfdebris.net

Simplicius wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2019 4:18 pm 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"!

Durandal_1707 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:53 pm That's gotta be the first time I've seen "Patterns of Force" or "Melora" anywhere near a "best-of" list.