Rating Season 1 Episodes

[Danny99]

I finally got around to watch the last two episodes of the season, which found their way into my top three.

I didn't dislike any of the episodes strongly, but "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach" was boring with a very confusing ending, "Spock Amok" was meh and while I did finally Captain Angel somewhat engaging, the rest of "The Serene Squall" including the Spock/Chapel kiss was painful to watch.

My ranking:

1) Memento Mori
2) Quality of Life
3) All Those Who Wander
4) Ghosts of Ilyria
5) Children of the Comet
6) The Elysian Kingdom
7) Strange New World
8) The Serene Squall
9) Spock Amok
10) Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach

 

[BillJ]

10) "All Those Who Wander"
9) "The Quality of Mercy"
8) "Strange New World"
7) "Lift us..."
6) "Children of the Comet"
5) "Memento Mori"
4) "The Serene Squall"
3) "The Elysian Kingdom"
2) "Ghosts of Illyria"
1) "Spock Amok"

 

[Locutus of Bored]

It's hard for me to rank them since none of the episodes were bad or something I wouldn't enjoy rewatching, which is pretty remarkable for the first season of a Trek series.

10) The Elysian Kingdom
09) Children of the Comet
08) Ghosts of Illyria
07) Spock Amok
06) The Serene Squall
05) Strange New Worlds
04) Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach
03) Memento Mori
02) A Quality of Mercy
01) All Those Who Wander

 

[KlingonCereal]

Echoing similar sentiments that this season was all around very high quality and none of the episodes I dislike! With that said, I'd rank them as (best to "worst"):

1. The Elysian Kingdom
2. Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach
3. Children of the Comet
4. Memento Mori
5. All Those Who Wander
6. Spock Amok
7. A Quality of Mercy
8. The Serene Squall
9. Strange New Worlds
10. Ghosts of Illyria

 

[Mudd]

I probably have favorites - the first two, "A Quality of Mercy," "Spock Amok..." uh, "The Serene Squall..." and look, there's half the season already.

I like every episode too much to make ranking them reasonable.

 

[Midquest]

A very strong season. For me, there was one episode that was downright beautiful:

1. Children of the Comet

Two that nailed their genres and did meaty work with their characters while having highly compelling antagonists:

2. The Serene Squall
3. Memento Mori

Four that were very good, with quality work in all dimensions:

4. A Quality of Mercy
5. Spock Amok
6. Strange New Worlds
7. All Those Who Wander

Two that were solid, but a little flat:

8. Ghosts of Illyria
9. Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach

And one that was simply a partial misfire for me, though it does show the series' flexibility, and it was still entertaining and I'm glad the cast had a blast:

10. The Elysian Kingdom

I will add that while I'm glad the series works for many people as a throwback to older Trek, I have to say that it doesn't push any of my nostalgia buttons at all. Instead, it simply feels fresh, character-driven, creative, and rather daring in the era of television we're in. It's a great show because it takes risks.

 

[Mudd]

If I have a least-favorite, I guess it's "Ghosts of Illyria." The disease-of-week unfolded in too pat and implausible a manner, IMO, and much of the action was rote.

Rates on the lower edge of excellent.

 

[Noname Given]

Like others in this thread I can say I didn't dislike any one single episode of SNW season 1, and it's the best first season of the Star Trek franchise since TOS season 1 in 1966.

The above said if I rank them based on my overall level of enjoyment of each episode in relation to the rest, my 1 to 10 rankings are:

1) A Quality of Mercy
2) Memento Mori
3) Spock Amok
4) Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach
5) All Those Who Wander
6) The Serene Squall
7) Strange New World
8) Ghosts of Ilyria
9) Children of the Comet
10) The Elysian Kingdom

 

[bookworm8571]

I finally got around to watch the last two episodes of the season, which found their way into my top three.

I didn't dislike any of the episodes strongly, but "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach" was boring with a very confusing ending, "Spock Amok" was meh and while I did finally Captain Angel somewhat engaging, the rest of "The Serene Squall" including the Spock/Chapel kiss was painful to watch.

My ranking:

1) Memento Mori
2) Quality of Life
3) All Those Who Wander
4) Ghosts of Ilyria
5) Children of the Comet
6) The Elysian Kingdom
7) Strange New World
8) The Serene Squall
9) Spock Amok
10) Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach

In order of enjoyment:
1. Spock Amok
2. The Serene Squall
3. Memento Mori
4. All Those Who Wander
5. Children of the Comet
6. Strange New World
7. The Elysian Kingdom
8. Ghosts of Illyria
9. Quality of Mercy
10. Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach

I like the Spock-T’Pring-Chapel triangle and really enjoy all three characters. Chapel quickly became one of my favorite characters but I also really like T’Pring. I rooted for both of them with Spock. I liked the humor of the body swap and the Enterprise Bingo game played by Una and La’an and the good cop, bad cop scene with the two ensigns. I really liked the reinvention of the Gorn as the enemy, La’an’s back story and the tribute to Aliens and the episodes where they fought the Gorn. I liked Uhura and her interactions with Hemmer and especially the scene where she and Spock sang to the comet. Pike is just so likable that his ultimate fate utterly breaks my heart. In my head canon this is an alternate universe and they will still find some way to save him. I really hated the episode where they plugged the poor kid into a computer and I thought the fairy tale episode was cute but more should have been done to save M’Benga’s little girl instead of merging her with a strange alien entity.

 

[Mudd]

The episode about the child was gut-wrenching, and the sort of show Trek should do sometimes. It was quite good, and I may never watch it again.

 

[bookworm8571]

The episode about the child was gut-wrenching, and the sort of show Trek should do sometimes. It was quite good, and I may never watch it again.

I doubt I will watch it again either. I’ve seen the others more than once .

 

[FederationHistorian]

“Momento Mori” and “All Those Who Wander” would have made a great Trek movie if put together. By itself, “All Those Who Wander” would have been a great Trek movie if it was given another hour. Top episodes of the season for me by far.

“Strange New World”, “A Quality of Mercy”, “The Serene Squall” and “The Elysian Kingdom” are next. Solid episodes.

“Spock Amok” and “Lift Us Where Suffering May Not Reach” have aspects that make them worth a watch.

“Ghosts of Illyria” and “Children of the Comet” were the weakest of the season for me.

 

[BillJ]

I think how all over the place everyone’s lists are, shows that Goldsman and company are on the right track.

 

[Danny99]

I think how all over the place everyone’s lists are, shows that Goldsman and company are on the right track.

I began thinking of this when I saw the general malaise/dislike about "The Elysian Kingdom." I thought it was one of the better fluff episodes and while I thought the ending was kind of silly (and the whole idea that M'Benga kept his daughter in a transporter for some period of time), I didn't think it was as bad as some others did.

Frankly, the only episode I found boring was Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach.

 

[Mudd]

After decades of reading fan posts, I have no idea what a "fluff" episode is. It seems to just be a way of dismissing a story that doesn't grab someone.

 

[Uhura's Song]

YMMV. And, this list is relative. I liked them all to varying degrees.

1. Momento Mori
2. All Those Who Wander
3. A Quality of Mercy
-----------
4. Spock Amok
5. Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach
6. Strange New Worlds
7. Ghosts of Illyria
-----------
8. Children of the Comet
9. The Serene Squall
-------------
10. The Elysian Kingdom

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I began thinking of this when I saw the general malaise/dislike about "The Elysian Kingdom." I thought it was one of the better fluff episodes and while I thought the ending was kind of silly (and the whole idea that M'Benga kept his daughter in a transporter for some period of time), I didn't think it was as bad as some others did.

I think the general consensus has been not that it was a "bad" episode, but for those who ranked it near the bottom, one of the least good of ten good quality episodes. It was very enjoyable to watch and I'd happily watch it again because it was fun, but I had to rank it somewhere, and all the episodes were really good.

Frankly, the only episode I found boring was Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach.

It was fairly generic episode right up until they start marching the kid to the machine and Pike is desperately screaming for them not to do it. You knew things were not as they seemed throughout the episode, that Pike's ex-girlfriend was shady as hell and that the kid would be in danger, but you're primed to expect Starfleet to pull off the Hail Mary rescue at the last minute, and it was a brutal gut-wrenching change of pace to see things go all the way like that and end with the horrific torture and eventual death of a likeable child character.

Sometimes a show needs a Se7en moment where the good guys lose horribly and shockingly to keep you in suspense about future character-in-peril situations and make you wonder if they'll pull off the big rescue at the last minute or if the writers and showrunners decided to make another sacrifice. That's part of what made Game of Thrones so good before they shit the bed in the final few episodes.

So that ending, tragic and heart-wrenching as it was, pushed Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach from an average episode before the final act to one of the better ones by the end. And the silent scene with Pike grieving in his quarters with a thousand yard stare while the dramatic music swelled was a fantastic ending that said so much without saying anything, much the same way Picard staring out the window with the realization of the 11,000 Starfleet personnel his turn as Locutus had killed, and all the Borg had taken from him, at the end of BoBW Pt. 2 was brilliant and tragic as well.

 

[dupersuper]

1) Spock Amok
2) Ghosts of Ilyria
3) All Those Who Wander
4) Memento Mori
5) The Elysian Kingdom
6) Quality of Life
7) The Serene Squall
8) Strange New World
9) Children of the Comet
10) Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach

There were none that I didn't at least like.

 

[Oddish]

Some episodes, it takes me awhile to clear my head after watching them. "Lift Us Up" was such an episode. Not sure whether that puts it higher on my list or lower.

 

[Dar70]

Not gonna rank all ten episodes. But the season as a whole was not a bad start to a Trek show. It's not the best Trek overall to me, BUT the prodcuers are beginning to listen a bit to fans. While I have been very vocal about a few things that have irritated me about this show they got many things right. The one thing that I am a bit pissed me off with is the Death of Hemmer. Probably the best new character current Trek has come up with and the most underused during the season and than quickly killed off.