Hands down, my favourite is "Doomsday Machine."
"Tapestry" came to mind, but "Gentlemen... beam me aboard..." is just so classic.
"Tapestry" came to mind, but "Gentlemen... beam me aboard..." is just so classic.
Favourite episode from all of Televised Trek?
- Thread starter Chrisisall
- Start date
Nice choice.
"The City On The Edge Of Forever"
The Best of Both Worlds-
Not only is it the best in Trek from all five series. It is better than all the eleven films and blows most other landmark episodes of other non-Trek shows out of the water. This has withstood the test of time becoming a part of television history.
This watershed moment in tv history was one of those fortunate instances where writer Michael Piller was able to come up with a storyline that resonated on every level with the viewer. I think a large part of its appeal of course is depicting a near Armageddon by taking it as far as he could allowing the audience to believe the worst case scenario could happen. He conceived in my opinion the ideal portrayal of a doomsday-level event and thankfully its presentation came across perfectly incorporating all the necessary and desired elements one would hope to see in such a dire situation. That of course includes a worthy enemy capable of upping the stakes to epic proportions.
The Borg are just one of those instances of writers catching lightning in a bottle by creating an alien race that catches on like wildfire with the fans and that captures their imagination. I mean how many races have that kind of impact after only one brief appearance. Sure they might not be the first cybernetic race in science fiction but Hurley must be applauded for doing something original with them making them such a fascinating group with quite intriguing characteristics and unique behavior.
And I’ll always have fond memories of this episode because it made me take note of the writer and this is where my respect for Michael Piller started and why I continued to follow his work over the years. These two hours are just so wonderfully written with all the details you'd want, a fair amount of battles, tension, suspense, intelligent reflection most vivid in Guinan/Picard's Ten Forward scene, a devastating cliffhanger, a sense of fatalism never seen before on TNG that added a chilling texture, a bold act with Picard becoming the enemy all anchored by a compelling emotional story that ponders the fate of not just an entire civilization but more urgently the fate of a single individual.
It also features the most chilling torture scene I've ever witnessed. Much like in “Chain of Command”, this is a trauma that Picard must endure alone on his own and one that no one else can even begin to fathom and for which no one can take his place for him. We get the first indication that a part of the man is still alive struggling to break free, aware but trapped in his own body helpless to do anything—the Borg not even affording him an opportunity to at least fight back.
But make no mistake his torturers aren't doing this as punishment or torture but that is the effect nonetheless--which makes it all the more terrifying. They see it as nothing more than a normal part of how they exist and they can’t even begin to understand the mental torture they are inflicting upon him as they leave Picard as not much more than a neutered silent observer passively watching as he is compelled to assist the Borg in the systematic deconstructing of his humanity as he raises his arm to receive an armature or as a device implants technology into his brain and drains the color from his face.
Picard can only shed a single tear that falls from his cheek. I loved that subtle but powerful touch. This scene is so impressive because it conveys the suffering in a way that doesn’t require graphic violence or but is just as unnerving.
Michael Piller took every opportunity to keep upping the stakes and portraying events so devastating in their unpredictability realizing the Borg invasion was the one chance to really pull out all the stops.
What impresses me about the second half is the fact Michael Piller wrote it months later with very little idea how he was going to wrap up Part I yet you couldn’t tell that from watching.
This is perfection. I have yet to see anything have as profound and riveting effect as these two hours. It appeals to everyone--from action fans to drama lovers to sci-fi fans.
Not only is it the best in Trek from all five series. It is better than all the eleven films and blows most other landmark episodes of other non-Trek shows out of the water. This has withstood the test of time becoming a part of television history.
This watershed moment in tv history was one of those fortunate instances where writer Michael Piller was able to come up with a storyline that resonated on every level with the viewer. I think a large part of its appeal of course is depicting a near Armageddon by taking it as far as he could allowing the audience to believe the worst case scenario could happen. He conceived in my opinion the ideal portrayal of a doomsday-level event and thankfully its presentation came across perfectly incorporating all the necessary and desired elements one would hope to see in such a dire situation. That of course includes a worthy enemy capable of upping the stakes to epic proportions.
The Borg are just one of those instances of writers catching lightning in a bottle by creating an alien race that catches on like wildfire with the fans and that captures their imagination. I mean how many races have that kind of impact after only one brief appearance. Sure they might not be the first cybernetic race in science fiction but Hurley must be applauded for doing something original with them making them such a fascinating group with quite intriguing characteristics and unique behavior.
And I’ll always have fond memories of this episode because it made me take note of the writer and this is where my respect for Michael Piller started and why I continued to follow his work over the years. These two hours are just so wonderfully written with all the details you'd want, a fair amount of battles, tension, suspense, intelligent reflection most vivid in Guinan/Picard's Ten Forward scene, a devastating cliffhanger, a sense of fatalism never seen before on TNG that added a chilling texture, a bold act with Picard becoming the enemy all anchored by a compelling emotional story that ponders the fate of not just an entire civilization but more urgently the fate of a single individual.
It also features the most chilling torture scene I've ever witnessed. Much like in “Chain of Command”, this is a trauma that Picard must endure alone on his own and one that no one else can even begin to fathom and for which no one can take his place for him. We get the first indication that a part of the man is still alive struggling to break free, aware but trapped in his own body helpless to do anything—the Borg not even affording him an opportunity to at least fight back.
But make no mistake his torturers aren't doing this as punishment or torture but that is the effect nonetheless--which makes it all the more terrifying. They see it as nothing more than a normal part of how they exist and they can’t even begin to understand the mental torture they are inflicting upon him as they leave Picard as not much more than a neutered silent observer passively watching as he is compelled to assist the Borg in the systematic deconstructing of his humanity as he raises his arm to receive an armature or as a device implants technology into his brain and drains the color from his face.
Picard can only shed a single tear that falls from his cheek. I loved that subtle but powerful touch. This scene is so impressive because it conveys the suffering in a way that doesn’t require graphic violence or but is just as unnerving.
Michael Piller took every opportunity to keep upping the stakes and portraying events so devastating in their unpredictability realizing the Borg invasion was the one chance to really pull out all the stops.
What impresses me about the second half is the fact Michael Piller wrote it months later with very little idea how he was going to wrap up Part I yet you couldn’t tell that from watching.
This is perfection. I have yet to see anything have as profound and riveting effect as these two hours. It appeals to everyone--from action fans to drama lovers to sci-fi fans.
The Measure of a Man
Honorable mentions:
Similitude, Duet, Sacred Ground
Honorable mentions:
Similitude, Duet, Sacred Ground
In the Pale Moonlight
And I LOVE his story for Insurrection, even if I am alone in that sentiment.
Please don't forget "Family", a PERFECT coda to that event!
In light of your "Duet" pick, I'm surprised "A Private Little War" was not on your list.
Just sayin'.
Come again?
When I was younger, "The Naked Time" was my favourite ep- "The Enemy Within" (By my favourite writer Richard Matheson) was a close second. I loved the digging-beneath-the-layers-of-human-condition thing Trek was so good at.
Duet was a comment on the Holocost & Jewish persecution, I just figured that an ep commenting on the Vietnam war might figure somewhere near as prominently is all.Come again?
It's blatant hyperbole like this that makes me sometimes want to shove a pencil through my eye.
You're entitled to your opinion, of course. But I find it hard to believe you can say that with a strait face unless you:
A.) Haven't seen a lot of other television.
B.) Just don't care.
Either way, I encourage you to educate yourself in good story telling; then, take a breath and reevaluate your opinion. You might surprise yourself.
You might realize that it really isn't as prevailing as it leads on. It's bloated down by a quagmire of plot holes and contrivances that turned a potentially good villain into a blubbering mess of neurotic goo.
Just something to think about.
Oddly enough, I don't like "Duet" very much and I like all those episodes you listed (except Amok Time, until the last scene) and yet you say you would pick "Duet" over all of them.
In the Star Trek series I like, I think the following episodes are the only 'perfect' ones where the direction, writing, and acting is just spot-on from start to finish.
"Balance of Terror"
"The Best of Both Worlds"
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
"Trials and Tribble-ations"
"To the Death"
It's really hard for me to choose between them, but if I had to narrow it down to one, I would go with "The Best of Both Worlds". Usually I frown upon such hyperbolic descriptions as what startrekwatcher wrote about it, but I gotta back him up on this one. It was just scene after scene and conversation after conversation that made me think to myself, "holy crap, this is awesome" and I can still feel that way after watching it countless times.
It really was a landmark television event and something more effectively cinematic and with more consistent/better writing/storytelling and performances than a lot of the Star Trek movies.
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