Best Trek episode of 1966! What is YOUR choice?

[Neopeius]

Our group just read Yandro 168, a fanzine that came out in March '67, as prelude to tonight's episode of Star Trek ("Errand of Mercy" -- aired 3-23-67). One of the articles discussed all of the episodes that had aired in 1966. Why did it stop with "Shore Leave"? Because only episodes that aired in 1966 were eligible for the 1967 Hugo.

These are they, in air order:

The Man Trap
Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What are Little Girls Made of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
Corbomite Manuever
The Menagerie
Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave

Juanita Coulson and Kay Anderson strongly endorsed "The Corbomite Maneuver", followed by "The Naked Time". We polled the folks who came tonight (14 just at the Eastern Time viewing!) and came up with:

"The Naked Time": 4
"Balance of Terror": 3
"The Menagerie": 1
"The Enemy Within": 1

So, your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to choose which episode you would have chosen for the NyCon's Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation (or if not a Trek episode... what?)

 

[comsol]

Corbomite Maneuver - TOS hit it out of the park with it's first production episode.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Shore Leave. Always one of my favorite episodes. Yeoman Barrows should have been a regular character.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Balance of Terror. The quintessential Star Trek episode. Corbomite Maneuver is a close second.

 

[Neopeius]

In the second batch of watchers (about 17 in Pacific time!), we had eight votes:

Naked Time: 4
Menagerie: 3
Man Trap: 1

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Everyone has a different answer. Too much good stuff on there. I'm going to go with What Are Little Girls Made Of?

 

[Neopeius]

Everyone has a different answer. Too much good stuff on there. I'm going to go with What Are Little Girls Made Of?

There's a minority opinion! What appeals to you so?

This was one of the two Juanita Coulson singled out for scorn. On the other hand, Erica and Lorelei on our team liked it, though it was not their favorite.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

There's a minority opinion! What appeals to you so?

This was one of the two Juanita Coulson singled out for scorn. On the other hand, Erica and Lorelei on our team liked it, though it was not their favorite.

It's exciting, wears it's 1950s B-Movie ancestry proudly on its' sleeve and Sherry Jackson is gorgeous!

It's not as smart or some of the others, but this episode is a perennial favourite of mine.

A minority opinion as you say, but what would we be without diversity?

 

[Henoch]

My two fav's are Corbomite Maneuver and Balance of Terror, but I gave the nod to CM since its story is more original while BOT's story is a copy of Enemy Below, so, not original enough. Voting against Sherry Jackson and Marianna Hill was tough.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

"Where No Man Has Gone Before, of course. Introduced a charismatic captain, who had to deal with very believable tragedy in the transformation of his best friend, while proving why he's a great leader. The very best elements of the ST concept are in that episode, and its no wonder it sold the series.

 

[fireproof78]

Balance of Terror, with Corbomite Maneuver a close second. I think the secondary cast performances in BoT are stronger, and I think the more sorrowful ending rather than triumphant over the enemy style ending suits the purpose of Trek better.

 

[BillJ]

“Corbomite”, but there are a lot of very good episodes there.

 

[Vger23]

This is a tough one. I want to say "Where No Man Has Gone Before," because that's a personal favorite of mine...but I really think "The Corbomite Maneuver" is one of Trek's best ever offerings.

 

[Falconer]

So many greats, but for me it would have to be Corbomite Maneuver followed by Balance of Terror.

 

[Push The Button]

So many greats, but for me it would have to be Corbomite Maneuver followed by Balance of Terror.

A tale of two navigators, one thoughtful but emotionally unstable, the other competent but bigoted.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

"Where No Man Has Gone Before."

 

[Noname Given]

I've said it before on this board many times and I'll say it again:

The Corbomite Maneuver

And for me it's not just the best episode of 1966 oh, it's the best episode of the Star Trek franchise hands down. Everything that cgood Star Trek is, is encapsulated in that 55 minute episode.

They did really good for the first regular episode filmed right out of the gate, even though it was not the first episode actually aired.

 

[Falconer]

Yes! As I like to say, Star Trek is many things, but The Corbomite Maneuver is the Trekkiest thing ever. It’s always the first episode I show people when I want to introduce them to the series, because it really establishes the unique premise of Star Trek like nothing else. Everything else in Star Trek is painted against that backdrop.

 

[1001001]

Balance of Terror.

My favorite episode of the entire series.

 

[dupersuper]

I went with Corbomite Manuever, but from those listed Where no Man has Gone Before, The Naked Time, The Enemy Within, Conscience of the King or Balance of Terror would all be great, and most of the others would be fine.