The Best and Worst Episode Titles

[Jinn]

That’s . . . utterly bizarre. German dictionary says Kleinling is a particular variety of plant. They were trying to translate "onlies," and that's what they got?

Kleinling is diminutive of "klein", which means "small" (well, kinda made-up diminutive since "klein" isn't a noun) so it probably refers to the Onlies being small children and stuff. If I were to translate the title back to English I'd probably go with "Miri, a Small One" which ist still kinda stupid. Though I don't like Onlies all that much either, mostly because I always want to read uit as "online"

 

[Sakonna]

So much hate for "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky"! I have used that in the past as an example of one of the best episode titles in the entirety of the franchise, forget just TOS.

TOS was lousy with great titles. "City On The Edge Of Forever", "Whom Gods Destroy", "A Taste Of Armageddon", "That Which Survives"...

Worst title for me is "The Apple." Garden Of Eden symbolism, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

[Maurice]

As "What Are Little Girls Made Of" is a play on "sugar and spice and everything nice" and "snips and snails and puppy dog tails" it is a actually asking "what are human beings made of?" Don't be so literal about the gender.

 

[Maurice]

Kleinling is diminutive of "klein", which means "small" (well, kinda made-up diminutive since "klein" isn't a noun) so it probably refers to the Onlies being small children and stuff. If I were to translate the title back to English I'd probably go with "Miri, a Small One" which ist still kinda stupid. Though I don't like Onlies all that much either, mostly because I always want to read uit as "online"

Every language has word usage and phrases which seem bizarre to outsiders. Mausebär is a German term of affection that means "mouse bear" and Schnuckiputzihasmausierdbeertörtchen means "cutie pie bunny mouse strawberry tart" and Schnuckelschneke is "nibble snail." Likewise there are plenty of things in English which—when you really think about them—are weird or nonsensical.

 

[Kor]

I generally don't like simple titles that consist of "The _________," or "__________ of __________" or "So-and-so's something."
But they can still be quite evocative.

Kor

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

So much hate for "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky"! I have used that in the past as an example of one of the best episode titles in the entirety of the franchise, forget just TOS.

I don't hate it; I just keep hearing Jimi Hendrix going "Scuse me while I touch the sky", BAM BAM BAM, BAM BAM BAM...

 

[Marsden]

I don't hate it; I just keep hearing Jimi Hendrix going "Scuse me while I touch the sky", BAM BAM BAM, BAM BAM BAM...

That would be AWESOME!

Move over Third Stone from the Sun, (and Rover, too) Jimi's touchin' the sky!

 

[Admiral2]

"Return to Tomorrow" is a meaningless title that has nothing to do with the story. Makes it sound like a time-travel episode.

It is a time travel episode. The travelers are the souls trapped in the spheres. They went to the future the hard way, as essences suspended in the spheres. The title "Return To Tomorrow" is meant to imply that they'd been in those spheres for ages, exactly the way "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (another of my faves) is meant to imply that one day our heroes would be in their present and the next they'd be in their past.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

As "What Are Little Girls Made Of" is a play on "sugar and spice and everything nice" and "snips and snails and puppy dog tails" it is a actually asking "what are human beings made of?" Don't be so literal about the gender.

That seems right, especially as the episode seems basically about two things that look the same on the outside but are different on the inside, one nice and one nasty.

However, in terms of story, it comes down to Chapel and Corby as the two characters facing off that are examples of the rhyme, respectively the "girl" with the "nice" insides and the "boy" with the "nasty" insides.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

It is a time travel episode. The travelers are the souls trapped in the spheres. They went to the future the hard way, as essences suspended in the spheres. The title "Return To Tomorrow" is meant to imply that they'd been in those spheres for ages, exactly the way "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (another of my faves) is meant to imply that one day our heroes would be in their present and the next they'd be in their past.

From Memory Alpha [http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Return_to_Tomorrow_(episode)]:

Writer John T. Dugan wrote the original script of this episode after he had read an article about highly sophisticated robots. In his original draft, Sargon and Thalassa continue their existence as spirits without bodies, floating around the universe. However, Gene Roddenberry, who did an uncredited re-write on the script, changed the ending to the aliens fading out into oblivion. This led to Dugan using his pen name John Kingsbridge in the episode's credits. [1](The Star Trek Compendium)

Dugan (a devout Catholic) stated: "That line totally went against my philosophy and cosmology, I didn't want to be associated with it. The oblivion idea is Roddenberry's philosophy, not mine. (...) That might, be a small thing, but I have a reputation and a philosophy, and everybody who knows me knows what I stand for; I certainly don't stand for oblivion in the afterlife. (...) When you write a script, you don't expect to have your "world view" changed by a producer. The rest of Roddenberry's changes were all trivial (...); the big thing was the change in the episode's philosophy." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two, p. 529)​

I'm going to take that quote in the second paragraph with a grain of salt, given the citation, but in any case it meshes with what's characterized as the original ending in the first paragraph.

I think that "Return to Tomorrow" makes loads more sense as the title under the original ending. It would seem that "tomorrow" is metaphorical of the afterlife. The receptacles were like the afterlife for Sargon and the other survivors of Arret (as the planet is named in the script). In the original ending, it's like they are returning to the state of existing in the afterlife. Having them go into oblivion undermines that theme.

 

[Kor]

That would be AWESOME!

Move over Third Stone from the Sun, (and Rover, too) Jimi's touchin' the sky!

He was an avid sci-fi reader; it even inspired some of his music. I can't remember if he ever commented on Star Trek, though.

Kor

 

[johnnybear]

By Any Other Name is a title that hardly fits the characters in the episode either! The title is a Shakespeare reference from Romeo and Juliet! 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet', has very little to do with a Kelvan expeditionary force intent on invading the galaxy does it!
JB

 

[Maurice]

By Any Other Name is a title that hardly fits the characters in the episode either! The title is a Shakespeare reference from Romeo and Juliet! 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet', has very little to do with a Kelvan expeditionary force intent on invading the galaxy does it!
JB

A human by any other name (Kelvan) is still human. Once they take on human form they're "by any other name" human, and not the beings they were before.

 

[alchemist]

From Memory Alpha [http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Return_to_Tomorrow_(episode)]:

In his original draft, Sargon and Thalassa continue their existence as spirits without bodies, floating around the universe...​

This is erroneous. At the conclusion of Dugan's final version (November 15, 1967), Sargon insists that he, Thalassa, and Henoch be exiled in their receptacles back on Arret. And note that Henoch is still alive.

The rest of Roddenberry's changes were all trivial (...); the big thing was the change in the episode's philosophy." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two, p. 529)

This is also erroneous. There are major differences between Dugan's version and the Roddenberry rewrite. IMHO, Dugan's version is overly complex and has unbelievable elements in it.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

This is erroneous. In Dugan's final version (November 15, 1967), Sargon insists that he, Thalassa, and Henoch be exiled in their receptacles back on Arret. And note that Henoch is still alive at the end of Dugan's version.

​

This is also erroneous. There are major differences between Dugan's version and the Roddenberry rewrite. IMHO, Dugan's version is overly complex and has unbelievable elements in it.

Thank you for setting the record straight.

Perhaps someone who can cite better references should try to fix the MA page? It would be nice if this were covered in more detail online, somewhere authoritative, though I know not where.

If they're going back into their receptacles to wait until who-knows-when, then that definitely sounds like a "return to tomorrow."

 

[Phaser Two]

By Any Other Name is a title that hardly fits the characters in the episode either! The title is a Shakespeare reference from Romeo and Juliet! 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet', has very little to do with a Kelvan expeditionary force intent on invading the galaxy does it!
JB

It sort of does, JB. The line, I think, refers to the Kelvans' (initially) misleading human appearance.

 

[Desert Kris]

Is There in Truth No Beauty? drives me crazy, because for years and years (and still to this day) the words get scrambled in my head. If I only glanced at it I would read it as Is There No Truth in Beauty? or Is There No Beauty in Truth? It's awkwardly worded, and needs two commas to help phrase it correctly; and two commas for such a short phrase signals to me that something has gone wrong. Love the episode, can't stand the damn title.

I'll throw out another vote For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky. I love how poetic it is, and the imagery it conjures up is epic. I also like many of the Shakespearean titles, too. All Our Yesterdays is wonderfully evocative. I'll give a shout out to The Savage Curtain for sounding badass.

 

[arch101]

"Spock's Brain" should have been titled: "Brain! Brain! What is brain!?!"
Then the episode wouldn't have been taken seriously. Would have helped tremendously.

 

[johnnybear]

It sort of does, JB. The line, I think, refers to the Kelvans' (initially) misleading human appearance.

Okay, Phase! I can buy that explanation!
JB

 

[Spock's Barber]

"Spock's Brain" should have been titled: "Brain! Brain! What is brain!?!"
Then the episode wouldn't have been taken seriously. Would have helped tremendously.

.....or this:

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