Looking at how many TOS episodes would've been done on other series

[Lord Garth]

I mentioned this in the Controversial Opinions thread, that I'd be looking at this. I'm excluding TAS, since it starred the TOS cast. I'm also excluding TNG Seasons 1-2. Season 1 because it borrowed heavily from old TOS ideas. Season 2 because someone could say "It was still more Roddenberry's show than Berman's!" So, just so there's no doubt, when we're looking at whether or not a TOS episode would've been done on TNG, I mean Seasons 3-7.

The reason I'm going with "would've" instead of "could've" is because except for DS9 and the first two seasons of PIC, all these shows take place on a Starfleet ship. So most of the TOS episodes could've happened on those series. But would they have?

Okay, let's get into it. One season at a time.

_______________________________________________________________________________

***** TOS SEASON ONE *****

0. "The Cage"
An episode where the crew encounter a race of species who use illusions would've been something I could see them doing on any of the series. The execution would be very different on the other hand. In any other series, and maybe even later on in TOS, they could've restored Vina's appearance, so she wouldn't have had to stay because of that. I also can't see Anson Mount's Pike being as brooding as Jeffrey Hunter's or filling his mind with hate. And I can't, for the life of me, picture Anson Mount's Pike ever being filled with rage. None of these Captains, including SNW's version of Pike, would've considered resigning after one mission gone bad.

TNG - Would've happened, but differently. Picard or Riker would've been kidnapped. Then later on, Beverly or Troi (depending on which one it was) would've been brought down as an alternative "specimen".

DS9 - Would've happened, but very differently. They'd have to justify why the Defiant or a Runabout is out there. Maybe a distress signal from the Gamma Quadrant.

VOY - Wouldn't have happened. The dynamic between Janeway and a potential "husband" AND in the '90s would've completely changed the entire dynamic. So it could've happened, but it would've been an inversion due to the gender swaps. But she'd NEVER consider resigning.

ENT - I can see Archer trying to fill his mind with rage. I can see him falling in love with and becoming protective of Vina. If 22nd Century technology can't retore Vina's appearance, or if Phlox won't do it... then maybe I can see "The Cage" happening on ENT.

DSC - I can see Discovery encountering a planet filled with illusion. But it would have to serve some type of greater plot. So an episode where Captain Georgiou, Lorca, SNW Pike, or Saru, or Burnham are captured for the purposes of compatibility with a mate isn't something I can see.

PIC - Not happening. Rios is more likely to be captured than Picard, who's too over the hill. And that would just hit completely differently.

SNW - Like I said above, I can't picture SNW's version of Pike being in the state of mind TOS's Pike was in during "The Cage". Jeff Hunter's version and Anson Mount's version are just too different. SNW Pike is too laid back and self-actualized, other than having to cope with what's eventually coming to him.

So, I think the non-TOS series "The Cage" would be most likely to happen in is ENT, as is. VOY would be next, for showing what would happen with opposite genders.

_______________________________________________________________________________

1. "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner become Espers when the Enterprise crosses the Galactic Barrier. They're intelligence and capabilities increase exponentially to the point of Godhood, which leads to corruption.

Unless it was Q or The Prophets, actual Gods were avoided in later series. Evolving into super-beings is something that would happen though. They just wouldn't be called Gods. And evolving was usually, if not always, shown in a positive light.

TNG - Wouldn't have happened. The idea that Humanity is constantly evolving and would always evolve towards something better is ingrained into the series. Someone effected like Gary Mitchell would become more noble. Q fills the Godlike niche and that's good enough for them.

DS9 - Wouldn't have happened. It would be a story connected to the Prophets or the Pah'Wraiths, which would've made it something else.

VOY - Wouldn't have happened. VOY shares TNG's philosophy... unless you travel up to Warp 10. And Q is a recurring character on this series too!

ENT - They didn't encounter Gods or have anyone turn Godlike. This show was made during the neo-conservative early-2000s. So, even if they did touch Gods, it never would've been done negatively.

DSC - They don't deal with Gods or superhumans in this series either.

PIC - Nope.

SNW - I can't picture this series having an episode where a member of the crew develops Godlike powers and Pike has to kill them. It just doesn't feel like this show.

So I think -- possibly controversial opinion? -- "Where No Man Has Gone Before" wouldn't have happened on any of the other series.

 

[Nerys Myk]

VOY - Wouldn't have happened. The dynamic between Janeway and a potential "husband" AND in the '90s, would've completely changed the entire dynamic. And she'd NEVER consider resigning.

TALOSIAN: Each of the two new specimens has qualities in his favor. The male you call Chakotay has the superior mind and would produce highly intelligent children. Although he seems to lack emotion, this is largely a pretense. He has often has fantasies involving you. The other new arrival has considered you unreachable but now is realizing this has changed. The factors in his favor are youth and strength, plus unusually strong male drives.

 

[Lord Garth]

2. "The Corbomite Manuever"
The Enterprise runs into a giant cube in space (not the Borg!) and it turns out they were being tested all along by Balok.

TNG - The Enterprise being tested by Balok wouldn't feel out of place. But, unless it's Barclay, no way is a bridge officer going to be as hysterical as Bailey was. Corbomite is also something Picard wouldn't have come up with. They'd have technobabbled something. So it would've happened, but it would've happened differently.

DS9 - Wouldn't have happened. Doesn't feel like a DS9 story. If there was to be an enemy, it would be For Real.

VOY - See TNG. Bailey wouldn't be in the episode at all anyway, because Paris would've been at the Helm. And there's no way Janeway would let any member of crew stay with Balok for any extended amount of time. They were on a one-way trip home.

ENT - The crew being tested by Balok is something I can see happening here. Bailey could've been a guest-character on the bridge. He can be hysterical since these are 22nd Century Humans.... but I don't think it would've happened. The conflict in the episode would've been Trip and T'Pol arguing back-and-forth about how to deal with Balok, while Archer tries to figure out what to do. So I think this would almost be a different episode.

DSC - The structure of the series wouldn't have allowed for this type of episode to happen.

PIC - See DSC.

SNW - I can see "The Corbomite Manuever" as an SNW episode, with very little changed, if anything. Number One would be the one telling Pike he promoted Bailey too fast.

SNW takes it away here.

_______________________________________________________________________________

3. "Mudd's Women"
The Enterprise encounters a space pimp (let's call it what it is) who's also a drug-dealer (let's also call it what it is) with three ladies (taking said drugs) he wants to sell as wives to miners on some colony. So lovable rogue Harry Mudd is also actually kind of a human-trafficker! It's amazing how much of a difference a performance by Roger C. Carmel can make.

I'll keep it real simple.

TNG - Nope.
DS9 - Nope. Not even Quark would do this.
VOY - Nope.
ENT - Nope.
DSC - Nope.
PIC - Nope.
SNW - Nope.

I actually don't mind this episode (Controversial Opinion!), but it's something that only would've happened in TOS.

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. "The Enemy Within"
A transporter malfunction splits Kirk in two: a good Kirk and an evil Kirk. WIthout being able to use the transporter, Sulu and the Landing Party on the planet they're orbiting risk freezing to death.

TNG - Wouldn't have happened. For one thing, it would require acknowledging the darker side of Humanity. For another thing, the Enterprise has multiple transporter rooms. And shuttle crafts are established! This wouldn't have been a problem even 10 episodes later in TOS! So some type of technobabble problem would have to keep them from being able to beam up the Away Team. Meaning the episode would focus on the cause of said technobabble.

DS9 - A show about "shades of gray" wouldn't split characters into Good and Evil, even if a point is made that both are needed. It would be more like characters have different sides to their personalities, so one version of the character would have certain traits and the other would have other traits. Which would make it a fundamentally different episode.

VOY - See DS9. The different facets, instead of "good" and "evil" happen in the aptly named "Facets", when Torres is split into a fully Human version and a fully Klingon version.

ENT - They would've sent shuttle crafts down to the planet. If technobabble prevented it from happening, the episode would've focused on the crew trying to survive the bitter cold while the NX-01 tries to figure out how to rescue them.

DSC - Disco wouldn't do an episode like this. Ash had Voq in his head, but they were physically in the same meshed-together body, so it wasn't the same as having two of them.

PIC - Wouldn't happen on here either.

SNW - I could see this episode happening here, minus the sexual assault. Technobabble would keep the Enterprise from being able to beam up the Landing Party. Evil Pike would make it not obvious he's the Evil Pike, but he'd still have some fun with being devilish.

None of these series would be an exact match, but SNW would come to the closest fit.

NOTE: I updated VOY and DSC's entries to be more specific.

_______________________________________________________________________________

5. "The Man Trap"
A salt-creature keeps a colonist alive for companionship and preys on the Enterprise crew.

TNG - The alien who killed everyone but wanted companionship is like "The Survivors". They even want the Enterprise to go away. So it would've happened, but it would've happened differently.

DS9 - Doesn't seem like a DS9 episode and it doesn't sound like something they'd send the Defiant on a mission for.

VOY - Wouldn't happen. Voyager wouldn't have a reason to check in on colonists, and there wouldn't be any in the Delta Quadrant anyway!

ENT - Hmmm. Archer's Enterprise could've checked up on a colony, there might've even been a salt creature, BUT -- and this is critical -- I don't think this would've been an episode of ENT. It goes against the idea of Archer's crew trying to prove to the Vulcans that they're enlightened. So I can't see an episode that ends with them killing anything that's the last of its kind. So there could be a salt creature, but it would have to be a completely different story.

DSC - Not really a DSC-type episode.

PIC - Unless Synthetics or the Borg become salt vampires, I'm not seeing it.

SNW - Most of the episode could happen, but I don't see the end happening. They'd defeat the salt creature without killing it, and have it face justice. Earth in ENT doesn't really seem equipped yet to fairly judge aliens. The Federation in SNW does.

So I think SNW would come the closest to doing an episode like this, with TNG being the runner-up with something along similar lines if not exactly the same.

 

[Lord Garth]

I've added bars between episodes, to make this more readable.

TALOSIAN: Each of the two new specimens has qualities in his favor. The male you call Chakotay has the superior mind and would produce highly intelligent children. Although he seems to lack emotion, this is largely a pretense. He has often has fantasies involving you. The other new arrival has considered you unreachable but now is realizing this has changed. The factors in his favor are youth and strength, plus unusually strong male drives.

I'm changing VOY's version of "The Cage" from "wouldn't have happened" to "would've happened differently." More like an inverse because of the gender swaps.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I've added bars between episodes, to make this more readable.

Good. I may need a drink.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

3. "Mudd's Women"

It's a ripe episode for LDS to murder in parody. Reverse the genders and have a Lady Mudd-type character trying to push 'handsome husbands' on colonists.

 

[Lord Garth]

Next batch.

6. "The Naked Time"
The Psi-2000 Intoxication makes the Enterprise act uninhibited, revealing their deep inner thoughts, desires, and fears. The intoxication spreads through physical contact.

TNG - Obviously they did "The Naked Now" in Season 1, but I said I was going to go by Seasons 3-7, so... the crew becoming infected by something one-by-one could've happened, but I don't think they would all act drunk. I'm thinking "The Game" is the closest parallel where the crew becomes addicted to a game Riker picked up from Risa.

DS9 - It wasn't Psi-2000, but the crew starts acting intoxicated in Season 3's "Fascination", while, in Season 1, the crew becomes infected one-by-one with the inability to speak properly in "Babel" and Bashir has to find a cure before it's too late.

VOY - I don't remember this type of episode happening on Voyager, but it wouldn't have felt out of place.

ENT - Wouldn't have felt out of place in this series either. They'd add the decontamination chamber in too.

DSC - The crew becoming infected by something one-by-one isn't something I imagine happening here. Plus, they already wear their feelings on their sleeves anyway.

PIC - It's Picard. They'll just drink hard and let it all out without any Psi-200 Intoxication. Might be a scene or two, during one of the slow parts of an episode. Nothing more.

SNW - Would've been similar to the TOS episode, except with the SNW characters.

Except for DSC and PIC, they all tie with each other here! I guess getting drunk and contagions that pass from person to person are timeless.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. "Charlie X"
A dangerous teenage boy looks to Kirk as a father figure, but how long can he keep the teenager at bay? Charlie X displays godlike powers, which wouldn't have happened in subsequent series. But about dealing with an adolescent?

TNG - In "Suddenly Human", Picard has to deal with a teenager, Jono, who's been raised away from his family and will only listen to Picard, just like Kirk had to deal with Charlie X. The major difference is that TNG deals with a child custody issue and who Jono should live with: his biological family or the family that's actually raised him. So it's less fantastical and more down to Earth. Figuratively, not literally. So TNG did this, but did it differently.

DS9 - Rugol in "Cardassians" is similar to Jono in "Suddenly Human", in that he was raised by an alien culture, in this case a Cardassian raised by a Bajoran Family to hate fellow Cardassians, but there's no similarity to "Charlie X". A better example is "The Abandoned", when Odo has to raise a Jem'Hadar solider who will only listen to him. Here the child/teenager actually is dangerous, because he's a Jem'Hadar growing rapidly to adulthood. So I'll say that "The Abandoned" is closer to "Charlie X" than "Suddenly Human" or "Cardassians", even though the Jem'Hadar here worships Gods and isn't actually like one.

VOY - Q's son is a dangerous "teen" left to Janway's supervision. So she comes the closest to dealing with an actual Charlie X. Godlike powers, inappropriate behavior, and all. This was an easy one!

ENT - Archer or Trip could take a kid under their wing for an episode, but not with Godlike powers.

DSC - This actually happens when Su'Kal, who's mentally like a child, is dangerous and only Saru can get through to him. And Su'Kal sure did cause a lot of danger. He caused The Burn!

PIC - The most dangerous we get with kids is Elnor chopping off the head of a Romulan who was about to kill Picard. Picard immediately tells him not to do it again. And that was the end of that.

SNW - Pike was made for the Surrogate Father role. They just don't do Godlike on this series. So it would probably be closer to what TNG did.

I'm giving this one to VOY.

_______________________________________________________________________________

8. "Balance of Terror"
The Romulans attack a Federation outpost along the Neutral Zone. The Enterprise is sent to confront them. Captain Kirk and the Romulan Commander turn out to be an almost even match for each other. A bride and groom are married at the beginning of the episode, and the groom dies by the end, during the battle. The navigator, Stiles, mistrusts Spock since Vulcans and Romulans have a common ancestry. Kirk tells Stiles there's no place for bigotry on the bridge.

There's a lot to this episode. Let's see how the other series would've handled it.

TNG - Once again, TNG does a story similar to this during the first season, but later on, during the third season, they built up Tomalok to be the counterpart to the Romulan Commander from "Balance of Terror". Picard and a Romulan Commander developing mutual respect for each other, despite being enemies, is something I could see happening on this series, even if it didn't happen between Picard and Tomalok. We also see a wedding in "Data's Day", which also dealt with Romulans as a subplot, but neither Keiko nor O'Brien die.

DS9 - Unlikely to be a DS9 episode. The Romulan Commander is nothing like a Vorta Commander on a Jem'Hadar ship. The Klingons don't do chesslike strategy, so there would be not cat-and-mouse between Sisko and them during the fourth or early-ffith season. Then there are the Cardassians. Either the Federation isn't at war with the Cardassians, like during the first five seasons, or they're part of the Dominion. In which case, see what I said earlier.

VOY - I can see Voyager being evenly matched against the commander of enemy ship. BUT, it would HAVE to be an enemy ship without any backup to even the odds. Possible, but unlikely. Usually if Voyager encounters an enemy, and there's no way around them, they have to punch through, and it's not evenly matched. They have to think their way out of there. So I don't think this episode would've happened here.

ENT - If this series hadn't ended when it did, and we saw the Romulan War, an episode like "Balance of Terror" could've happened and probably would've, but we have to go with the series as was. As was, nothing remotely resembling a battle of wits like in "Balance of Terror" could've happened. It would be nothing but teases.

DSC - During Season 1, see what I said about the Klingons on DS9. During Season 2, fighting Control isn't the same as fighting a conventional counterpart. The Emerald Chain in Season 3 wanted "peace" but wanted it their way. They also weren't going to fight conventionally. So something like "Balance of Terror" would've have happened there. Species 10-C from Season 4? Not the same type of thing at all. So "Balance of Terror" is no fit for Discovery.

PIC - Fighting the Romulans is something that could've happened during Season 1, but not with La Sirena.

SNW - An episode like this can only happen in a "What If?" sceario like we saw in Season 1's finale, "A Quality of Mercy".

I'm giving this one to TNG.

 

[Ovation]

Good. I may need a drink.

Bit early in the day, non?

 

[at Quark's]

6. "The Naked Time"
ENT - Wouldn't have felt out of place in this series either. They'd add the decontamination chamber in too.

<epilogue>

<Captain's log july 7th,, 2152. It seems Dr. Phlox was succesful in eliminating the alien infatuation... infection, whatever it was, by extracting some antioxidant enzyme from the saliva glands of his Kreetassan Bats, and dispersing the enzyme in nebulous form through the entire ship utilizing the life support systems. I feel like myself again. However, some doubts still linger.>

Archer: T'Pol, can we be absolutely certain we dealt with all possible sources of infection?
T'Pol: In theory, we could never know for sure. We only could know for certain we didn't if the infection showed up again.
Archer: Understood. Yet, we need to make as sure as possible. I think I'll order the entire crew to undergo a decontamination session. What do you think?'
Hoshi <interjecting> Great idea, captain! Anything to make sure!
T'Pol: A most prudent course of action, captain. I'lll prepare a schedule immediately.

<Some time later. Small groups of people are seen walking to the decontamination chamber with suspicious enthousiasm. Even T'Pol seems to go there with anticipation. Long queues are seen. The camera then briefly swings to the screen that separates us from the decon chamber itself. It's very steamy in there, so only silhouettes are seen; some faint groans are heard. A muffled voice: yes, that's the spot! Harder! Rub me harder! Faster!>

<Camera pans back. Travis and Archer are seen in the queue>
Travis: You know, captain, I'm not sure how exactly this is different from what we did when we actually were under that infection.
Archer: <with a dirty smirk on his face>Ensign, if you want to make Captain one day, you'll need to learn when to make such observations and when to keep such thoughts to yourself.
Travis: Yes, Captain.

<screen fades to black. The end.>

yeah, I suppose that could've worked

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

1. "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
Gary Mitchell and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner become Espers when the Enterprise crosses the Galactic Barrier. They're intelligence and capabilities increase exponentially to the point of Godhood, which leads to corruption.

Unless it was Q or The Prophets, actual Gods were avoided in later series. Evolving into super-beings is something that would happen though. They just wouldn't be called Gods. And evolving was usually, if not always, shown in a positive light.

TNG - Wouldn't have happened. The idea that Humanity is constantly evolving and would always evolve towards something better is ingrained into the series.

That's where the missing-the-potential-for-corruption elephant in the room would lead to disaster for post-TOS crews, as so many of the characters lived and viewed life as if they were trying to divorce themselves from the nature of humankind--including the inherent dark side--which Dehner missed (consciously or not) in arguing for the potential good of an evolved human being. Kirk gave the perfect counterpoint in reminding her that no amount of power would give Mitchell wisdom or compassion progressing with his power--that he was subject to all human personality failings. If another crew simply viewed what happened to Mitchell as purely positive just because "evolving", its likely they would have been controlled or destroyed by their version of Mitchell.

Someone effected like Gary Mitchell would become more noble.

...and that's one of the many ways Berman-Trek gutted the edge and heart from Star Trek: the false assumption that humanity will all sit high atop Arrogance Mountain with their Looking-Down-The-Nose / Prime Directive-worshiping mindset (the only thing they seem to revere to that degree), no matter what happens to an individual. There's simply no story--an increasingly dark moral dilemma if a TNG-Mitchell simply turns into...Super Picard.

Q fills the Godlike niche and that's good enough for them.

Yes, a trickster that wore out his Trelane-apeing welcome not long after the pilot, with only one nugget of potential: his "Q Who", where we were treated to a brief look at his torturous side in forcing early contact with the Borg. Making Picard admit he was living on Arrogance Mountain and humans were ill-prepared to deal with a force beyond his chattering was one of TNG's best moments.

VOY - Wouldn't have happened. VOY shares TNG's philosophy... unless you travel up to Warp 10. And Q is a recurring character on this series too!

See TNG comments.

So I think -- possibly controversial opinion? -- "Where No Man Has Gone Before" wouldn't have happened on any of the other series.

Not really controversial, but an observation about all other Trek shows being a type that would have passed on or drastically altered the episode responsible for selling Trek as a series in the first place. Speaks volumes in so many ways.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Balance of Terror

DS9 - Unlikely to be a DS9 episode. The Romulan Commander is nothing like a Vorta Commander on a Jem'Hadar ship. The Klingons don't do chesslike strategy, so there would be not cat-and-mouse between Sisko and them during the fourth or early-ffith season. Then there are the Cardassians. Either the Federation isn't at war with the Cardassians, like during the first five seasons, or they're part of the Dominion. In which case, see what I said earlier.

Arguably, Starship Down and For the Uniform are the DS9 versions of Balance of Terror. There's some back and forth, trying to outshine the opponents, but more focused on how far the main characters would go.

 

[Lord Garth]

Over the next two days, I'm going to try to make it up to "The Menagerie". There's a lot more to looking at how seven different series compare to one than someone might think. Plus balancing it out with life.

Arguably, Starship Down and For the Uniform are the DS9 versions of Balance of Terror. There's some back and forth, trying to outshine the opponents, but more focused on how far the main characters would go.

I haven't seen this episode in 15 years, but I just read the Memory Alpha description and I think you're right. It gives me a reason to re-watch it again.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm of the opinion that you can transport an episode from one show to another with minimal difficulty.

 

[Lord Garth]

9. "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
Dr. Roger Korby, an archeologist who's been missing for five years, has been living underground on a planet with Androids left behind long ago by their creators. Nurse Chapel had a romantic relationship with Dr. Korby. Korby captures Kirk, Chapel, and the rest of the Landing Party. He sends has an android copy of Kirk created so this copy can go aboard the Enterprise and retrieve information that will tell him the best location to find a colony where he can replace key people with androids. By the end, it turns out that Korby himself is in an android body.

TNG - In this series, it's made to appear that Data and Lore is as far developed as the Federation has gotten with Androids. They're also depicted as two of a kind. In fairness, Dr. Korby created his androids with alien technology, but the point remains that other types of androids seen in TOS are nowhere to be found in this series. The only way "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" would happen in TNG would be if Lore wanted to create more Soong-type androids to replace people with. It would've been a very different episode.

DS9 - Other than Vic Fontaine, DS9 doesn't explore artificial intelligence. All they have is a station computer that's really impossibly difficult sometimes. If we're talking about someone masquerading as another character, that has the Changelings written all over it, but that's not the same type of thing.

VOY - Torres was captured by an android race in "Prototype", but they were overt. These androids want Torres to give them the ability to "reproduce" and create more androids so they don't die out as a race. It turns out that the creators of these androids didn't want them to have the ability, so they wouldn't multiply and overtake their creators. They're also at war with another android race created by the enemies of their creators. So completely not the same type of episode as "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" But would VOY have an episode where there are android replacements of the crew? I think that's not outside this series' wheelhouse.

ENT - I don't think androids would be dealt with in this series.

DSC - The closest we get to an android is Airiam, but she's only heavily implanted, and she's not a copy of anyone. Control wants to destroy everything, but Control also isn't an android (even though it's AI), and the bodies it hosts can't keep up the pretense they're anything but what they are for any length of time. The structure of this series and its plots doesn't allow for anything like "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

PIC - This is an easy one. Sutra would have no problem with replacing people with androids, if she had the means. It could've furthered a Picard-style storyline.

Someone could mention Picard being put in a new body and accepted as Picard as being in direct contrast with how Korby being in new body isn't really Korby. "Dr. Korby was never here." And they might have a point, but I have a counterpoint. Picard's new body is organic, or at least syntho-organic. Korby's body is pure mechanical. I'll come back to this again when I get to "Return to Tomorrow", but I'll leave it here for now.​

SNW - The series is still young, but I'm going to go them not having an episode like "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Androids are too associated with the TNG Era now for them to want to do this in a TOS Era show. Maybe we'll see Korby but, guaranteed, the closest he'd get with AI is he does research. And maybe he has some clumsy Pre-TNG android at best, that looks intentionally primitive.

That went way longer than what I expected.

I think VOY would be the most likely to have an episode like "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", with PIC as the runner-up because having a storyline like that in its narrative wouldn't have felt out of place.

 

[Orphalesion]

It's a ripe episode for LDS to murder in parody. Reverse the genders and have a Lady Mudd-type character trying to push 'handsome husbands' on colonists.

And then when she finally finds "buyers"....they all find out that the "handsome husbands" are more interested in each other.

 

[Lord Garth]

10. "Dagger of the Mind"
The Enterprise is sent to make a supply run to the Tantalus V, a penal colony, where they eventually discover a Neural Neutralizer being used that can drive someone insane if used to a high intensity and kill someone went set to the highest intensity.

TNG - Tantalus V would still be a penal colony, but it wouldn't be a Federation penal colony.

DS9 - A misunderstanding would lead to one of the crew being captured by a species from the Gamma Quadrant, who would try to use the Neural Neutralizer on them. This has Torture O'Brien written all over it.

VOY - Voyager stops for exchange and supplies on a planet, where hard-headed aliens would come up with a reason to capture one of the crew to subject them the Neutral Neutralizer and Janeway has to figure out how to save them. Kind of like "Random Thoughts" where they wanted to do an Engrammatic Purge.

ENT - Archer getting captured and aliens want to use the Neural Neutralizer? Fits right in.

DSC - The Klingons have a mind-sifter. Not that it's used when Lorca's captured in "Choose Your Pain". Otherwise, this doesn't really fit with Disco.

PIC - See DSC.

SNW - This could happen in SNW. Although, like with the other series, it wouldn't be a Federation penal colony. They'd probably use whatever alien species this is to add in some commentary about the current justice system IRL.

TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, and SNW would all come close, but no cigar. It's easier to make it about another society than your own. So they all tie as, "Would've happened, but would've happened differently."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. "Miri"
The Enterprise encounters a planet populated by children where a disease causes them to age a month every century, which sounds like immortality, but comes at the price of dying as soon as they reach puberty.

TNG - This sounds like a shitty Season 5 episode.
DS9 - No chance.
VOY - Take how this would've been as a TNG episode and throw in lots of Neelix.
ENT - I don't see them doing this.
DSC - No way in Hell.
PIC - No way in fucking Hell.
SNW - I could see them doing this episode. Probably the same way TOS did it.

Yeah, so, the "winner" is SNW... bonk, bonk on the head.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. "The Conscience of the King"
The Enterprise hosts an acting troupe performing Shakespeare. Only to find out that one of the actors may be Kodos the Executioner, who was responsible for the genocide of half the Tarsus IV colony, where Kirk lived at one point.

TNG - TNG has shown some planets where atrocities have happened in the past. Such as "Enslgn Ro". And they do have theater plays in TNG. So it could've worked here. Especially once Picard has a mystery to solve.

DS9 - Fits like a glove. Except Kodos would be a Cardassian.

VOY - A story similar to this happened in "Remember". A more detailed description to be edited in.

ENT - On this series, Kodos would be well over 100, and some type of 21st Century war criminal from Earth, who went into hiding.

DSC - Doesn't fit the serialized nature to do an episode like this.

PIC - Doesn't fit the serialized nature to do an episode like this.

SNW - They actually might do an episode like this, during one of the token dark episodes, even if it's with different specifics. Unless they feel like they really want to push the envelope that week, it's most likely to be an alien colony. I think they like to keep Human atrocities in the 21st Century or earlier.

This episode could've happened on TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT... and then SNW. ENT is the only one that would have a Human responsible for the genocide. So, I have to give this to ENT, with DS9 and VOY tied as close seconds.

 

[Farscape One]

I'm compelled to point out that "REMEMBER" from VOY was similar, in that a genocide wasbeing covered up and one the Enarans was giving Torres the memories of her past experiences of it.

 

[Lord Garth]

I'm compelled to point out that "REMEMBER" from VOY was similar, in that a genocide wasbeing covered up and one the Enarans was giving Torres the memories of her past experiences of it.

Thanks for pointing this out. My memory's faded in some cases. As we've seen. I want this to be as accurate as possible.

 

[Nerys Myk]

TNG - Tantalus V would still be a penal colony, but it wouldn't be a Federation penal colony.

Ro was spent time in a Starfleet stockade on Jaros II.
Paris of course spent time at the New Zealand Penal Settlement.
It's possible for even the 24th Century UFP to have one for people suffering from mental illness.

TNG - Too dark for this series.

TNG has done dark. "There are four lights" The Pegasus. Kodos could the governor a colony ravaged by the war with the Cardassians. Put O'Brien in there. Or a young Riker.

 

[Lord Garth]

Ro was spent time in a Starfleet stockade on Jaros II.
Paris of course spent time at the New Zealand Penal Settlement.
It's possible for even the 24th Century UFP to have one for people suffering from mental illness.

Yes, it's possible. But I don't see someone like Dr. Adams being the head of the facility. At least not as him being a Federation administrator in a Federation facility. They'd consider the Neural Neutralizer unethical. He, having risen to the position was in, would most likely think it was unethical as well. They'd likely treat the mentally ill in an entirely different way. As it was, it seemed experimental and boundary-pushing even in "Dagger of the Mind". Like, "Something's going on here! This isn't normal!"

TNG has done dark. "There are four lights" The Pegasus.

What happened in "Chain of Command" or "Pegasus" wasn't on the level of genocide. That's a different level of dark. Although "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" makes for a strong case for extremely dark depictions.

Kodos could the governor a colony ravaged by the war with the Cardassians. Put O'Brien in there. Or a young Riker.

O'Brien possibly. A big point about "The Wounded" was that O'Brien never killed before he a killed a Cardassian during the Cardassian War. He would've been hardened before that, growing up on such a colony. But, if it did happen, then O'Brien could still have the "I don't hate you, Cardassian. I hate what I became because of you," line. It just would've happened earlier in his life.

Hmmm....

....

.... I'll go with it. There's also showing some of the mutilated Bajorans in "Ensign Ro".

EDITED TO ADD: I've made the update and included other reasons for why I made the change, upon thinking about it further.