If you only had one chance...

[chris32482]

...to turn a non-fan into a trekker, what series/episode would you show them and why?

I narrowed my choice down to a TNG episode because although DS9 is my favorite show, I think you have to watch more than 1 episode to really get a feel for it. And although TOS is, well, the original, most folks these days won't watch a TV show from the 60's simply because of the production quality.

As far as TNG goes, some of my favorite episodes are "Measure of a Man", "Inner Light", and "Chain of Command". But I wouldn't choose any of those because I don't think either of them are really representative of the spirit of Star Trek, if that makes sense.

Ultimately, I guess I'd go with "Relics" - it's got a fascinating and mysterious discovery, some suspense, some science, and a little tribute to TOS... I think someone watching this would really get a good idea of what Star Trek is all about.

What do you think?

 

[JNG]

I watched the birth of a fan recently right before my eyes due to her viewing of the remastered "The Enterprise Incident."

You really don't think "The Measure of a Man" is representative of the spirit of Star Trek? Heck, I'd probably put it on a short list of such episodes.

 

[NCC1968]

... I'd go with "Relics" - it's got a fascinating and mysterious discovery, some suspense, some science, and a little tribute to TOS... I think someone watching this would really get a good idea of what Star Trek is all about.

What do you think?

Pretty good choice -esp since I'm a huge Scotty fan(I know his son and have a collection of stuff...inc a Doohan signed RELICS script)

It would be hard to pick a single episode though.....maybe it would depend some on the person that I'm trying to "convert." - play on their interests.

 

[jamestyler]

I did this recently by showing someone the first two eps of DS9 season 7. It would be fa from my first choice in any normal circumstance but she found the humor in Quark appealing as well as Sisko's journey - it made her curious to find out more.

I'm waiting on new DVD's to help convert her... my list includes the Magnificent Ferengi for the fun in it and 'the Sound of her Voice' for something a little more touching, plus it could work well as a stand alone episode. It has a MASHish quality, I think, which would help.

I've tended to stick with DS9 for my conversions as the characters are more down to earth, and the outfits seem a little easier to take in for a non fan than TOS or TNG.

 

[2 of 10]

Great Idea for a Thread...

This is a hard one, the really good episodes I am considering are followup episodes, meaning that they would have become somewhat familiar with other shows defeating the one chance premise.

But what the heck. The one show I would choose would be "In the Pale Moonlight" one man's personal log. This show gives the viewer a overview of the Dominion War, Different species co-existing on a Cardassian Space Station. Lies, Murders, Bribes, Intrigue, Covert missions and assassinations
what more could you ask for. And in the end the main character gets a drink and erases the entire log entry. This is Trek at it's Best !!!!!

Resistance is Futile

 

[WillsBabe]

For me the answer to this question depends on what Trek means to you and which episodes represent that meaning. For me, it would be a toss up between City on the Edge of Forever and Measure of a Man. City because it has all the stuff about visionaries able to see something better than what's around them and working towards change for mankind. It's about friendship, love beyond the barricades and sacrifice. It's about people putting themselves secondary to others. It's about loads of good stuff that Trek does well. Measure of a Man is about a lot of those things too, but it's almost like an exploration of what happens when you have achieved, what your responsibilities are then. If I had to chose, I'd chose one of these episodes. If I could only see 2 bits of Trek again, it would be these two episodes. They embody the whole thing for me. Course, I'd never try to convert anyone to Trek. I love it, but I'm not evangelical about it.

 

[chris32482]

You really don't think "The Measure of a Man" is representative of the spirit of Star Trek? Heck, I'd probably put it on a short list of such episodes.

You're right, bad choice of words on my part.

I just meant that it doesn't capture what one would normally see when watching Star Trek. You know, space exploration and stuff..

 

[Cicero]

Deja Q would be my first choice, possibly followed by Tapestry. I've been told by a barely-Star Trek fan friend that Errand of Mercy was very enjoyable as one of her firsts (she'd only seen Darmok, which she hated, and Tapestry, which she loved, but felt cheated by allowing Picard to live after choosing almost certain death in exchange for his better life).

 

[Rÿcher]

would you be willing to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!

sorry, sometimes you just see something that reminds you of a line and you just have to...

 

[Dane_Whitman]

Some good suggestions already in this thread. But there's one episode that I think offers the complete Star Trek experience:

Darmok. It has everything from diplomacy, communication and friendship to action, ships firing upon each other, a monster and a species that seems quite alien because of their way of communication.

 

[Marie1]

If they liked in any way scifi/action, I'd go for the DS9 finale of Season 5... or Sacrifice of Angels. But I agree with an above poster- very-individual specific.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Look at it this way. If he were a science-fiction fan to begin with, he would mostly likely be into Star Trek by now, so my best bet is to reel him in with a film or a TV episode that appeals to the mainstream the most.

Thus, my choice above.

 

[Outpost4]

Arena

- It opens with great action scenes on Cestus 3, including a meaningless Red Shirt death

- It then goes into a chase of unknown aliens

- Not until 20 minutes into the episode do we get to what everyone remembers, Kirk vs. the Gorn at Vasquez Rocks

- Kirk tears his shirt

- We have Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura and Sulu back on the ship, commenting on the action and their predicament

- Kirk is the physical hero, battling the Gorn with his bare hands

- Kirk is the thinking man's hero, devising a weapon from the planet's raw materials

- Kirk is the compassionate hero, not killing the Gorn but trying to understand the situation from his opponent's point of view

- Another strange alien, the guy in a sparkly dress

Plus, if the Gorn, a man in a rubber suit, isn't an iconic Trek image, then I don't know what is. With all the latex used on Trek over the years, Paramount alone probably kept the rubber industry alive in America.

No question, Arena.

 

[JiNX-01]

I agree, this is a great idea for a discussion ... and a tough question.

The challenge is in selecting an episode that doesn't require an emotional investment in the character(s). So I would go with a story that would engage the newbie despite it being Star Trek (based on my supposition that s/he would be watching Trek already if it held interest for them).

So I would offer from among this collection:
TOS: Balance of Terror
TNG: The Inner Light
DS9: Duet
VOY: Real Life
ENT: Cogenitor

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

...to turn a non-fan into a trekker, what series/episode would you show them and why?

The Visitor.

Speaks for itself, really.

 

[The]

The Wrath of Khan. The very fact that it deals with the midlife crisis of a pop culture legend, and the death of Spock, makes this the perfect non-fan introduction piece. In fact, one of my best friends had never seen an episode of Trek in his life and always thought I was a nerd for enjoying it like I do. He was right, I was a nerd. However, he agreed to sit down with me one evening and try it out for fun. The only things we watched were 'The Augment Trilogy' (ENT), 'Space Seed'(TOS), and then 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'.

He's bought every season of every Trek series, and every movie, since then. There's something very primal about the Khan saga...

 

[Hartzilla2007]

...to turn a non-fan into a trekker, what series/episode would you show them and why?

The Visitor.

Speaks for itself, really.

Agreed. Oh and Damn beaten to the punck again.

 

[Cicero]

The Wrath of Khan. The very fact that it deals with the midlife crisis of a pop culture legend, and the death of Spock, makes this the perfect non-fan introduction piece. In fact, one of my best friends had never seen an episode of Trek in his life and always thought I was a nerd for enjoying it like I do. He was right, I was a nerd. However, he agreed to sit down with me one evening and try it out for fun. The only things we watched were 'The Augment Trilogy' (ENT), 'Space Seed'(TOS), and then 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'.

He's bought every season of every Trek series, and every movie, since then. There's something very primal about the Khan saga...

The Wrath of Khan is a good choice.

 

[WillsBabe]

I just meant that it doesn't capture what one would normally see when watching Star Trek. You know, space exploration and stuff..

This is why I think Trek's interesting. It's different stuff to different people. But we're all fans, and we all see something the same, yet slightly different in it. For me it isn't about space exploration. It's about what you find there, what happens to you while you're doing the exploring. I think a character in Measure of a Man says something like, "you're searching out new life, well there it sits..." That's why Measure of a Man really sums up Trek for me.

 

[jamestyler]

It's odd reading that... I realised that most of my favourite Trek doesn't involve what people would percieve as something Trekish.

I'm sure that sentence would have came out better if I'd slept in the past 30 hours...

It depends who you're trying to convert, but comedy always works when I'm trying to bring someone round to my TV viewing. I did the same with Stargate, y ex started to like it when I pointed out the humour in Jack and Vala. The latters hotness also helped, though...