Boil Trek Down to 50 Episodes or Less

[JonnyQuest037]

"...You know. 1966? 79 episodes, about 30 good ones?"

Inspired by something @CorporalClegg said in the "Episodes that are considered 'good' that you actively dislike" thread, this thread is exactly what it says on the tin: Picking 50, and no more than 50, episodes of Star Trek. Choosing fewer is okay if you want. Any series. To make things a bit simpler, let's leave the movies out of it.

Cream of the crop only, folks! Your 50 Best episodes out of 741, no ifs, ands, or buts. No ties or honorable mentions. If you think an episode is just fair to middling, out it goes! Will this be really easy, or really hard? Let's find out! I'll put my choices in a separate comment.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

OK, my prejudices up front: I'm a TOS guy, so my list is going to be heavily-skewed towards The Original Series. But there are episodes of TNG and DS9 I love, too. VOY I wasn't too nuts about overall, and I went back & forth on ENT as a series. I still haven't seen DSC yet, so it won't be represented on my list (Nothing against it, I just haven't seen it yet). I'll be listing the episodes in chronological order, so this is not a ranking. And let's say that two-parters count as one episode, okay?

1) TOS: Where No Man Has Gone Before
2) TOS: The Corbomite Maneuver
3) TOS: The Enemy Within
4) TOS: Balance of Terror
5) TOS: The Menagerie, Parts 1 & 2
6) TOS: Shore Leave
7) TOS: Arena
8) TOS: Tomorrow is Yesterday
9) TOS: A Taste of Armageddon
10) TOS: Space Seed
11) TOS: The Devil in the Dark
12) TOS: Errand of Mercy
13) TOS: The City on the Edge of Forever
14) TOS: Metamorphosis
15) TOS: Amok Time
16) TOS: The Doomsday Machine
17) TOS: Mirror, Mirror
18) TOS: I, Mudd
19) TOS: The Trouble With Tribbles
20) TOS: Journey to Babel
21) TOS: A Piece of the Action
22) TOS: The Ultimate Computer
23) TNG: The Big Goodbye
24) TNG: 1001001
25) TNG: Elementary, Dear Data
26) TNG: The Measure of a Man
27) TNG: Who Watches the Watchers?
28) TNG: Deja Q
29) TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise
30) TNG: Hollow Pursuits
31) TNG: Sarek
32) TNG: Best of Both Worlds, Parts 1 & 2
33) TNG: Family
34) TNG: The First Duty
35) TNG: Relics
36) TNG: Tapestry
37) TNG: Parallels
38) TNG: The Pegasus
39) TNG: All Good Things (2-hour episode)
40) DS9: Emissary (2-hour episode)
41) DS9: Duet
42) DS9: Blood Oath
43) DS9: Crossover
44) DS9: The Visitor
45) DS9: Our Man Bashir
46) DS9: Trials and Tribble-ations
47) DS9: Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
48) DS9: Far Beyond the Stars
49) ENT: In a Mirror, Darkly, Parts 1 & 2
50) ENT: Demons / Terra Prime (2-part episode)

Hmm. Not quite as tough as I was expecting, but fun. My initial list was 53 episodes long (My final eliminations were TOS: The Tholian Web, TNG: Future Imperfect, TNG: Q Who, FYI). I tended to just go for the episodes I found the most fun, dramatic, or memorable. The ones with high rewatch value. DS9 and ENT's heavy serialization worked against them, as it becomes tougher for one episode to stand out above the others when they're all tied together. And I'm sure there are some episodes of VOY that I would like enough to put on my list, but honestly... I haven't watched most of them since the '90s, and my memories of what I did watch are rather hazy at this point. Nothing against the show. If you want to do a VOY or DSC heavy list, go nuts!

 

[CorporalClegg]

Well, since I inspired it, I suppose I should post in it. A little harder than I expected, but I kind of went in with the idea that the episode should be both good and easy to follow (for the most part) for a newbie -- and should be something for them to enjoy.

*I basically took a sort of SNES Classic approach.

A Piece of the Action
All Good Things...
Amok Time
Arena
Assignment: Earth
Balance of Terror
The Best of Both Worlds
Blink of an Eye
The Cage
Cause and Effect
The City on the Edge of Forever
The Corbomite Maneuver
Day of the Dove
The Devil in the Dark
Deadlock
Despite Yourself
The Doomsday Machine
Duet
The Enemy Within
The Enterprise Incident
Errand of Mercy
The Galileo Seven
Improbable Cause
In a Mirror, Darkly
In the Pale Moonlight
Infinite Regress
Journey to Babel
Little Green Men
The Man Trap
The Measure of a Man
Mirror, Mirror
The Naked Time
Q Who
Redemption
Regeneration
Relativity
Scorpion
Shockwave
Space Seed
The Tholian Web
Tomorrow Is Yesterday
Trials and Tribble-ations
The Trouble with Tribbles
Twilight
The Ultimate Computer
The Visitor
What's Past is Prologue
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Wire
Yesterday's Enterprise

 

[Lord Garth]

This was tough... I had to make some painful cuts from this list.

1. The Cage (TOS)
2. Where No Man Has Gone Before (TOS)
3. The Enemy Within (TOS)
4. Court Martial (TOS)
5. Shore Leave (TOS)
6. Tomorrow Is Yesterday (TOS)
7. This Side of Paradise (TOS)
8. City on the Edge of Forever (TOS)
9. Amok Time (TOS)
10. The Doomsday Machine (TOS)
11. Mirror, Mirror (TOS)
12. The Trouble With Tribbles (TOS)
13. Return to Tomorrow (TOS)
14. The Enterprise Incident (TOS)
15. The Empath (TOS)
16. Day of the Dove (TOS)
17. 11001001 (TNG)
18. Conspiracy (TNG)
19. The Measure of a Man (TNG)
20. Q Who (TNG)
21. The Defector (TNG)
22. Yesterday’s Enterprise (TNG)
23. The Best of Both Worlds, Part I (TNG)
24. Reunion (TNG)
25. The Drumhead (TNG)
26. Tapestry (TNG)
27. Lessons (TNG)
28. Lower Decks (TNG)
29. All Good Things (TNG)
30. Duet (DS9)
31. In the Hands of the Prophets (DS9)
32. The Way of the Warrior (DS9)
33. The Visitor (DS9)
34. Shattered Mirror (DS9)
35. Call to Arms (DS9)
36. Rocks and Shoals (DS9)
37. Waltz (DS9)
38. Far Beyond the Stars (DS9)
39. In the Pale Moonlight (DS9)
40. The Changing Face of Evil (DS9)
41. Eye of the Needle (VOY)
42. Projections (VOY)
43. Distant Origin (VOY)
44. Year of Hell, Part I (VOY)
45. Message in a Bottle (VOY)
46. Counterpoint (VOY)
47. Lineage (VOY)
48. Lethe (DSC)
49. Into the Forest I Go (DSC)
50. Vaulting Ambition (DSC)

A third of my list is TOS. Half of my list is from 1991 or earlier. It'll be interesting to see how my Top 50 will change over the next few years to accommodate DSC. I can guarantee you it won't be the TOS Episodes that get chopped out.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

OK, I tried my best to tell the story of Star Trek in fifty episodes. Some I really like didn't make the cut. Every season is represented, save Discovery (which I've only watched a few episodes).

The Conscience of the King
the Menagerie
Errand of Mercy
Amok Time
Doomsday Machine
The Enterprise Incident

The Battle
Q Who
The Measure of a Man
Sins of the Father
Yesterday's Enterprise
Family
The Wounded
The Drumhead
Darmok
Ethics
Chain of Command
All Good Things

Emissary
Duet
Necessary Evil
The Wire
The Abandoned
Past Tense
The Visitor
The Quickening
Trials and Tribble-ations
Call to Arms
Rocks and Shoals
In the Pale Moonlight
Taking into the Wind

Heroes and Demons
Faces
Alliances
Death Wish
Worst Case Scenario
Year of Hell
Drone
Course Oblivion
Relativity
Survival Instinct
Workforce
Author, Author

Andorian Incident
Civilization
Future Tense
The Expanse
Twilight
Proving Ground
Babel One-United-Aenar

 

[Mudd]

I don't think I can come up with fifty.

 

[lurok]

Choosing 50 or less is no problem. Whether they reflect best or worst of Trek I just don't know...

 

[Tai]

You know, I always thought having a 50 episode "essentials" list would be a great way to introduce someone to Star Trek. They can't watch the episodes, know the bones of the show and then watch episodes later on after they were caught up with the newest series... but looking at the lists posted here... and these are GREAT episodes... I think it's impossible. I'm thinking you'd need at least 25 episodes from each series--maybe 15 from Enterprise.

 

[BillJ]

Just give me TOS. You can flush the rest if it comes right down to it.

 

[Vger23]

So...my methodology on this is simple: List may favorite non-TOS episodes first, and then back TOS in from there. So TOS is going to dominate this list.

TNG:
Encounter at Farpoint
Where No One Has Gone
11001001
Conspiracy
Contagion
Q Who
The Defector
BOBW 1&2
Family
The Wounded
Darmok
Inner Light
All Good Things

DS9:
Emissary
The Die Is Cast
Way of the Warrior
The Visitor
Homefront
Paradise Lost
Children of Time
Pale Moonlight

VOY:
Flashback
Year of Hell 1&2

ENT:
The Expanse
Azati Prime
Mirror Darkly 1&2

DSC:
Into the Forrest
Lethe

TOS:
WNMHGB
Naked Time
Enemy Within
Corbomite Maneuver
Managerie 1&2
Balance of Terror
Arena
Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
COTEOF
Amok Time
Mirror Mirror
Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
Obsession
Trouble With Tribbles
Ultimate Computer
Enterprise Incident
Specter of the Gun
Day of the Dove
Tholian Web
All Our Yesterdays

 

[1001001]

Okay, I have given this some careful thought, and I have come up with the definitive list. A list that is, objectively, correct.

Enjoy!

Where No Man Has Gone Before
Balance of Terror
Space Seed
City of the Edge of Forever
Mirror Mirror
The Doomsday Machine

Q Who
Who Watches the Watchers
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Best of Both Worlds I&II
Data's Day
Disaster
The Inner Light
Chain of Command I&II
Tapestry
The Pegasus
All Good Things... I&II

Duet
The Visitor
Civil Defense
Hard Time
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
In the Pale Moonlight
The Siege of AR-558
Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

Death Wish
Deadlock
Year of Hell I&II
Living Witness
Drone
Timeless
Counterpoint
Relativity
One Small Step
Blink of an Eye
Shattered

Broken Bow I&II
The Andorian Incident
Shadows of P'Jem
Shockwave I&II
Dead Stop
The Expanse
Twilight
Azati Prime
In a Mirror Darkly I&II
Terra Prime

Context is for Kings
Into the Forest I Go
Despite Yourself

 

[Qonundrum]

1-19:
TOS: Mudd's Women
TOS: Balance of Terror
TOS: A Taste of Armageddon
TOS: Space Seed
TOS: The Devil in the Dark
TOS: Errand of Mercy
TOS: The Doomsday Machine
TOS: Mirror, Mirror
TOS: I, Mudd
TOS: Journey to Babel
TOS: The Gamesters of Triskeleon
TOS: The Immunity Syndrome
TOS: The Ultimate Computer
TOS The Enterprise Incident
TOS: The Paradise Syndrome
TOS: Is There in Truth No Beauty
TOS: The Day of the Dove
TOS: The Cloud Minders
TOS: All Our Yesterdays

20-38:
TNG: 1001001
TNG: Too Short a Season
TNG: Home Soil
TNG: The Arsenal of Freedom
TNG: Conspiracy
TNG: Elementary, Dear Data
TNG: Unnatural Selection
TNG: Contagion
TNG: Time Squared
TNG: Pen Pals
TNG: Peak Performance
TNG: The Enemy
TNG: The Defector
TNG: Hollow Pursuits
TNG: Best of Both Worlds
TNG: Power Play
TNG: The Next Phase
TNG: The Pegasus
TNG: All Good Things

39-48:
DS9: Emissary
DS9: Dax
DS9: Move Along Home
DS9: The Search
DS9: The Maquis
DS9: The Way of the Warrior
DS9: Little Green Men
DS9: Our Man Bashir
DS9: For The Uniform
DS9: In The Pale Moonlight

49-50 :
VOY: Scorpion
VOY: The Void