1 episode per series to show to a Star Trek newbie

[warp5project]

So here's the deal: You get to know someone who has never seen Star Trek, or has seen only very little of it, or thinks of it as a crappy show where dudes in lame costumes do geeky stuff, or ... I think you get the point.

You want to show him/her the best episodes of each series BUT because of whatever reason you can only do this on one evening.

So there's only enough time for 1 single-hour(!) episode of each live-action series; 5 episodes altogether.
No two-parters (at least not both parts), just one episode per series.

Which would you show? These 5 episodes should not only show what Star Trek is all about, but also should be typical for the specific series. For example, Trials and Tribble-ations is IMO one of the best episodes, but it isn't exemplary for the tone of Deep Space Nine in general.



Thanks for the help (because currently I want to show someone the awesomeness of Star Trek but can't decide on the 5 episodes... )

[Takeru]

These are not necessarily the best episodes of each series, but I think they can entertain a non-fan and represent different sides of Star Trek.

TOS: Balance of Terror
TNG: The Offspring
DS9: Call to Arms
Voy: Bride of Chaotica!
Ent: I have no idea

[PsychoPere]

TOS: The Conscience of the King
TNG: The Measure of a Man
DS9: Duet
VGR: No recommendation
ENT: The Andorian Incident

[Galileo7]

TOS "Galileo Seven"
TAS "Slaver Weapon"
TNG "Yesterday's Enterprise"
DS9 "In The Pale Moonlight"
VOY "Flashback"
ENT "In A Mirror, Darkly"

[KirkPicard]

TOS: The Corbomite Maneuver
TNG: Darmok
DS9: Starship Down
VOY: The Void
ENT: Strange New World

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

TOS: City
TNG: The Inner Light
DS9: Necessary Evil
VOY: Death Wish
ENT: The Forgotten

[ChristopherPike]

ENT: North Star
TOS: The City on the Edge of Forever
TNG: Encounter at Farpoint, Part I*
DS9: Captive Pursuit
VOY: Eye of the Needle


* CBS Action (in Britain) showed this earlier today and I'd forgotten they sometimes repeated it, in two parts. The first episode holds up quite well, introducing everybody and leaving before getting too deep into the Farpoint mystery. You can leave it at McCoy's lovely little cameo and the thought Q will always be out there watching them.

Other reasonings -
O'Brien and Tosk were a great double act and highlight the Space Station nature of early DS9, diverse aliens passing through.
Voyager is exemplified by that story about the crew being led down a cul-de-sac, in the hopes of getting home. Communicating voice-only to begin with and then concocting a plan to beam everybody back to the Alpha Quadrant.
The one with Joan Collins and the Guardian of Forever is a TV classic, with optimism and tragedy going hand in hand.
From Enterprise, a literal space western to be going on with, well until Cowboys and Aliens reaches cinemas, and Archer gets to be kick ass... "Can you pour me another cup of coffee before you shoot him?"

[Green Shirt]

Takeru wrote:

---

Ent: I have no idea

Neither did they.

[MacLeod]

Not as easy at it sounds.esp with DSN and TNG

ENT: United

TOS: City on The Edge of Forever

TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise

DSN: In The Pale Moonlight

VOY: Eye of the Needle (maybe)

[Admiral Shran]

TOS: The Conscience of the King
TNG: The Defector
DS9 : In the Pale Moonlight
VOY: Good Shepherd
ENT: The Andorian Incident

[BillJ]

The Ultimate Computer(TOS)
The Survivors(TNG)
Captive Pursuit(DS9)
The 37's(VOY)
Observer Effect(ENT)

[Vasquez Rocks]

TOS: A Taste of Armageddon
TNG: The Defector
DS9: Duet
VOY: Lifesigns
ENT: The Andorian Incident

[Greg Cox]

Just off the top of my head:

TOS: "Arena"
TNG: "The Measure of a Man."
DS9: "Duet"
VOY: "Future's End" two-parter.
ENT: Maybe the Mirror Universe eps? (I don't have time to refresh my memory where ENT is concerned.)

[JiNX-01]

TOS:
Balance of Terror

TNG
Q Who

DS9
In the Pale Moonlight

VOY
Scorpion

ENT
Azati Prime

[HaventGotALife]

TOS: Where No Man Has Gone Before--it has an interesting moral dilemma for Kirk, asks how we would act with god-like powers. Contains the Spock-Kirk relationship and shows the crew working together.
TNG: The Measure of a Man--It explores Data's humanity, asks what sentience is, and has a moral stand by Picard and Guinan that rules the episodes outcome. Classic TNG.
DS9: Duet--This shows the ravages of the Occupation, a psychological effect that is an interesting twist, and displays some great acting. Probably the best you can understand because all the episodes bleed into one-another.
VOY: Prime Factors--This shows Janeway's desire to get home, has Tuvok bridging the two crew's reactions by stealing the technology, and shows Voyager's major conundrum: trying to keep the rules and still find a way to survive.
ENT: Unexpected--Shows the newness of the universe for this crew, the differences between the usual Trek series and the mistakes that can be made. And I think it's a great acting job by Trip.