Save 50 Trek Episodes

[Oddish]

Awhile back, there was a topic posted encouraging the reader to "save three Trek series". For me, it was simple; I chose the three with seven 20+ episode seasons, so I could save over 500 of the 800 Trek episodes, regardless of whether the series was the best. Lower Decks might be awesome, but am I coing to save 21 (currently) episodes of Trek or over seven times that number? But it got me thinking, what I would choose if I could only save a limited number of episodes... say, 50 episodes and three movies?

Important notes:

I. This is not an effort to list the 50 best Treks. It is simply the ones that I would save, were I going on a years-long mission into outer space with only room for 50 Star Trek episodes in the laptop they gave me for entertainment. It has nothing to do with an episode's artistic merit: I might know that "Duet" and "In the Pale Moonlight" are very good episodes, but I don't enjoy watching them.


II. I considered including movies in, but instead decided to save them seperately. Under the rules, only three of the 13 may be saved. Two-hour season or series premieres will fit into one slot. Actual two-parters take up two, but I bent this rule with the half-hour Prodigy.


III. Because there's 50 of them, I've been brief with my descriptions. Also, because my favorite era of Trek is the Berman era, there are more episodes there. Your mileage is expected to vary.

EPISODES

1. TOS - "The City on the Edge of Forever" - The look on Kirk's face as he restrains McCoy...

2. TOS - "The Trouble with Tribbles" - So good, it got an encore on DS9.
3. TNG - "11001001" - Didn't know what "sultry" meant until Minuet appeared.

4. TNG - "Where Silence has Lease" - This one really freaked me out when I was young.

5. TNG - "The Measure of a Man" - Picard and Riker are in conflict in this one... and it's awesome.

6. TNG - "Peak Performance" - This one was fun, though I wish the war game could have been played out. See "Picard and Riker in conflict..."

7. TNG - "The Offspring" - "Congratulations, Data. It's a girl."

8. TNG - "Hollow Pursuits" - Introduces Barclay, a Trek hero for those of us who don't have our s*** together.

9. TNG - "Sarek" - If people even ask why the Trek franchise needed Patrick Stewart... this is why.

10. TNG - "Best of Both Worlds Part 1" - "Mr. Worf... fire." And a long summer began.

11. TNG - "Best of Both Worlds Part 2" - Riker shows decisively why he belonged in the Big Chair.

12. TNG - "Remember Me" - I still get chills when Picard's vital signs readback suddenly stops.

13. TNG - "Reunion" - OK, it intriduces Alexander... but still a great Klingon episode.

14. TNG - "Clues" - "Who gave you that order?"..."You did."

15. TNG - "The Drumhead" - I don't know which was more devastating... Picard quoting Aaron Satie, or Adm. Henry standing up and walking out of the room without a word.

16. TNG - "Cause and Effect" - 3333 33 33333333333 333

17. TNG - "The Inner Light" - The premise is crazy... but it's so good I don't frickin' care.

18. TNG - "Schisms" - "I've been in this room before."..."We've all been here before."

19. TNG - "Phantasms" - Beverly guzzles Riker, Worf munches on Troi, and Sigmund Freud shows up.

20. TNG - "Lower Decks" - How the other half lives.

21. TNG - "All Good Things" - An inspiring send-off...

22. DS9 - "Emissary" - ...and an amazing send-on!

23. DS9 - "Whispers" - You're not paranoid if they really are out to get you.

24. DS9 - "Shadowplay" - Odo shows that heart of gold behind that gruff liquid exterior.

25. DS9 - "Defiant" - Jonathan Frakes guest stars. Nuff said.

26. DS9 - "The Way of the Warrior" - Jonathan Frakes: "I did a guest appearance on DS9, pretty cool, huh?"... Michael Dorn: "Hold my beer."

27. DS9 - "The Visitor" - You'd think it would be silly for a man in his 40's to call a dying man in his 80's "my sweet boy". But I pretty much always cry when it happens here.

28. DS9 - "Accession" - Great stuff from the whole cast, as they face assorted sudden changes in their lives.

29. DS9 - "To the Death" - Everybody welcome Weyoun, the first of several.

30. DS9 - "Trials and Tribble-ations" - Technically brilliant AND fun!

31. DS9 - "Field of Fire" - Anyone else think the defenders on AR-558 could have used a few of those "shoot through walls" rifles?

32. VOY - "Worst Case Scenario" - Mutiny on Voyager, what fun!

33. VOY - "Deadlock" - Emphasis on "dead".

34. VOY - "The Thaw" - There's nothing to fear except fear itself... unless you're Janeway. Fear itself fears her.

35. VOY - "The Q and the Gray" - Not one of the "better" episodes...but it's funny, And it has a puppy.

36. VOY - "Coda" - Imagine Groundhog Day, only you always die.

37. VOY - "Before and After" - Better character development in one episode than we got in the whole series.

38. VOY - "Scorpion Part 1" - Here come the Borg...

39. VOY - "Scorpion Part 2" - ...and here comes Seven.

40. VOY - "Bride of Chaotica" - One of the better holodeck episodes, and they didn't even have to delete any wives.

41. ENT - "Dead Stop" - Roxann Dawson not only directs, but plays a super creepy space station.

42. ENT - "Silent Enemy" - Makes me hungry for pineapple upside down cake.

43. ENT - "Regeneration" - Archer has to realize that one there's only one way to free the Borg from the collective.

44. TNG - "Hero Worship" - That kid does a dynamite Data.

45. TNG - "First Contact" - Who knows what walk among us...

46. VOY - "Resolutions" - If you ever wonder why I ship J/C, this episode is the reason.

47. PRO - "A Moral Star" - It might be a kid's show, but it's still good Trek.

48. LD - "Crisis Point" - The series hits its stride with a vengeance.

49. LD - "No Small Parts" - Shaxs gets blown up, Riker crashes a Pakled party, and Boimler's dreams come true.

50. SNW - "Strange New Worlds" - A promising start to the newest Trek series.

MOVIES

A. Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan - The starship battles are a standout.

B. Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home - "Admiral, there be whales here!"

C. Star Trek: First Contact - The TNG movie that was smart enough to use what made the shows work, even borrowing the Defiant and the EMH.

 

[Vale]

I'm going to need to give this some serious thought.

 

[Lord Garth]

Each of the 50 would have to bring something different to the table, IMO, and be a story truly worth telling. Or if it's not bringing something different, it had to have done it the best. With 800 episodes, you're looking at 6%.

Two-hour episodes are counted once and two-parters are counted twice.

1. "The Cage" (TOS) --> Fantasy vs. Reality. Pining for what you can't have. People so obsessed with illusion, they forget how to do anything practical.

2. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (TOS) --> Do you have what it takes to kill your friend to in order to save the ship?

3. "The Enemy Within" (TOS) --> Exploring the Human Condition means exploring the positive and the negative, and both have a place in our psyche.

4. "Balance of Terror" (TOS) --> Our first introduction to the Romulans. They're tactical, have a code of their own, and proud.

5. "A Taste of Armageddon" (TOS) --> Warfare is easy when nothing gets destroyed and it's treated like a video game. Are people going to be so pro-war when it has real consequences that directly affect them?

6. "The City on the Edge of Forever" (TOS) --> If you go back in time, how can small actions lead to gigantic changes?

7. "Amok Time" (TOS) --> Can we overcome the urges of our own biology? And how much do those urges blind us to all reason?

8. "The Doomsday Machine" (TOS) --> Don't listen to the Crazy Man just because he has the highest rank. Even though he's technically a Commodore, Decker is the forerunner of the "Badmiral".

9. "Journey to Babel" (TOS) --> We get to meet Spock's family, whose influence is felt long beyond his time, and this is our first real exposure to the Interstellar Politics of the Star Trek Universe. Something that would develop further later.

10. "The Ultimate Computer" (TOS) --> Addresses the very real issue of jobs becoming obsolete due to technology but also the dangers of leaving everything to machinery.

11. "Return to Tomorrow" (TOS) --> Explores the possibility of continuing life beyond death (echos of PIC) and foretells the possibility of a great catastrophe the Federation may face one day (echos of DSC), and Kirk gives The Speech about why they're aboard the Enterprise in the first place. It captures Star Trek at the time and Star Trek to come.

12. "Day of the Dove" (TOS) --> Shows a more two-sided view of the conflict between the Federation and the Klingons than "Errand of Mercy" did. And they eventually come together to stop an evil entity that benefits from them fighting each other and hating each other.

13. "The Measure of a Man" (TNG) --> Delves into whether or not Artificial Intelligence truly qualities as a Lifeform.

14-16. "Q Who?" & "The Best of Both Worlds" (TNG) --> Q shows Picard the Federation isn't as prepared to face the unknown as they think they are when he flings the Enterprise in front of a Borg Cube. Starfleet then spends the next year preparing for the Borg. Then the Borg wipe out a good amount of Starfleet after assimilating the Captain of the Federation Flagship. But the Enterprise doesn't win against the Borg through conventional battle. They win this by Data reaching through Locutus and getting to Picard. [Going out of order here, but these three episodes all go together]

17. "Yesterday's Enterprise" (TNG) --> Shows off Guinan's perceptions, gives Yar a better send-off than she had before, shows what the Federation is like when it's losing a war and facing defeat, and shows how Picard is willing to stare down death in order to protect the Enterprise-C. "Let us make sure history never forgets the name Enterprise."

18-21. "Sins of the Father", "Reunion", & "Redemption" (TNG) --> In addition to showing the saga of The House of Mogh vs. The House of Duras and Worf's character arc, we see the hypocrisy of the Klingon Empire, more Galactic Politics, how the Romulans figure in, and the aftermath of "Yesterday's Enterprise".

22. "Emissary" (DS9) --> Sisko wrestles with his past versus moving on with his life and is very much stuck in his past. He encounters The Prophets who don't exist in linear time and can't understand living in only one moment. They see a connection with Sisko because no matter what moment he's in (whatever's going on now), he's always living in one particular moment too (when his wife died). Also an introduction to Deep Space Nine and it's also the beginning showcasing life outside of the Federation on a more regular basis with characters who aren't part of it.

23. "Dax" (DS9) --> Asks the question of where you separate Jadzia Dax from Curzon Dax, and looks at where Jadzia ends and Dax begins and also where Curzon ended and Dax began. Is Jadzia Dax the same person as Curzon Dax and should she be responsible for his actions? And how much was Curzon and how much was Dax?

24. "Duet" (DS9) --> A Cardassian wants to make sure that justice is met by posing as Gul Darheel so that Gul Darheel can be made to pay for his atrocities. When it turns out he's not Gul Darheel, some people don't care. It's not so much that some Bajorans want Darheel to pay for his atrocities. They want Cardassians in general to pay for the atrocities of their race.

25. "In the Hands of the Prophets" (DS9) --> Examines the issue of religion being thought in schools, science versus religion, the value of people's beliefs, and how far they'll go to protect them. We get to see different sides and people on the same side who feel differently. Bariel and Winn are both deeply religious, but their approaches and outlooks couldn't be more different.

26-27. "The Maquis" (DS9) --> What happens to people who have to live with the treaties that the Federation makes with its enemies just to end a war. What are their lives like and was it worth it? And what do these people do when the Federation turns a blind eye to them and how does Starfleet respond?

28-29. "Past Tense" (DS9) --> Compares the 24th Century with the 21st Century. Unfortunately, their guesses about what the actual 21st Century would be like haven't been too far off.

30. "The Visitor" (DS9) --> Shows the lengths of how far Jake is willing to go to save his father.

31-32. "Homefront" & "Paradise Lost" (DS9) --> If you want an example of why the military shouldn't be running the government and how paranoia can make someone lose themself, this is it.

33. "In the Pale Moonlight" (DS9) --> Desperate times call for desperate measures and the Federation becomes so desperate for survival that Sisko is willing to go any lengths to make it possible; and Garak is there to make sure it happens if Sisko doesn't have the stomach for it he needs.

34. "Eye of the Needle" (VOY) --> Voyager is trapped in the Delta Quadrant and tries to get back to the Alpha Quadrant by reaching out to a Romulan, they get through to him, and he'll cooperate with them, and then Voyager's hopes of getting home are dashed due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. Sums up Voyager's situation to a T.

35. "Projections" (VOY) --> The head games played on The Doctor get to the point where he can't tell what's real and what isn't.

36. "Distant Origin" (VOY) --> There's a theory that holds that life on Earth might've originated from elsewhere, but it's not too often where you see a story about how life on another planet might've originated from Earth.

37. "Scientific Method" (VOY) --> It's wrong to conduct scientific experiments on life, especially sentient life, just because you can. But it's happening to the Voyager crew and they don't even know it... until Seven finds out. This episode is one of many that shows what Seven of Nine brings to the table, but this is the best example.

38. "Hope and Fear" (VOY) --> Janeway and Seven continue to butt heads and compete with each other but eventually they find common ground. And this episode shows an alternate point of view on forming alliances. Several species in the Delta Quadrant didn't want Voyager to team up with the Borg to defeat Species 8472 because they were actually rooting for Species 8472 to take care of the Borg for them. Now the Borg are still around while Voyager has left Borg Space in the dust. It's easy to see how people like Arturis would resent that.

39. "Night" (VOY) --> Everything that's happened with Voyager finally catches up to Janeway after they finally reach The Void. She looks back at the initial decision she made at the end of "Caretaker" that left them all stranded in the Delta Quadrant. That's one part of the episode. The other part is the Malon. Voyager shows them how they can improve their society with cleaner tech but Emck doesn't want that. The solutions Voyager suggests would put him out of business. He's like people who are against phasing out fossil fuel or dependence on coal because a cleaner planet would put them out of a job. They won't want to bothered to adapt. They want to keep their advantage because by the time society has to face the consequences, they'll be dead.

40. "Someone to Watch Over Me" (VOY) --> Seven of Nine is embarrassed of showing her human side (like Spock) but is encouraged to become more human (like Data), and we see that while Seven isn't fully Borg, she isn't fully Human and trying to become so makes her almost shut down. Not everyone is meant to be Human and not everyone is comfortable with it, even though they're curious about exploring it. This episode looks at the complexities of what it means to actually be Human, along with the good and the bad, that most other episodes of Star Trek don't.

41. "Critical Care" (VOY) --> Shows how messed up the healthcare system is. They needed to do an episode like this one for a long time.

42. "Lineage" (VOY) --> Torres is so worried about how her unborn baby will be perceived, being a part-Klingon, that she's willing to have the baby's DNA changed to not be Klingon. Which goes in Paris telling Torres she shouldn't be ashamed of what she is. This episode is about accepting who and what you are and what you'll pass on to your children.

43. "That Hope Is You" (DSC) --> When Burnham arrives in the 32nd Century, she discovers the Federation has fallen due to The Burn. She meets Book, who takes her to Sahil. Sahil reveals the Federation Flag in a very powerful moment. Burnham is determined to restore the Federation. She didn't fight for the future only to have it end up like this. As much as I like Discovery, this is when the series truly found its voice and began charting new territory for Star Trek. Which is why the episode is on this list.

44. "People of Earth" (DSC) --> Discovery makes first contact with a post-Federation Earth. This is new territory throughout.

45. "Stormy Weather" (DSC) --> As Discovery tries to unravel the mystery behind the origin of the DMA, it becomes trapped in an anomaly with seemingly no way out and they have to depend on Zora who increasingly has a mind of her own.

46. "But to Connect" (DSC) --> Half this episode is essentially "The Measure of a Woman" with Zora convincing Kovich that she's a lifeform and getting Stamets to stop doubting her. The other half is showing multiple races from all four quadrants of the galaxy coming together to vote on how to respond to Species 10-C. This is the galaxy coming together again to vote on how to respond to a threat from outside of it.

47. "The Galactic Barrier" (DSC) --> I think it's been over six months since this episode aired, so we're safe. Discovery travels passed the Galactic Barrier in order to reach out to Species 10-C and make peaceful contact with them before Species 10-C causes any more damage to the Milky Way.

48. "Remembrance" (PIC) --> Picard has to face the fact that he and Starfleet no longer see eye-to-eye. Picard used to be the face of Starfleet and now this Starfleet is no longer his. This is also the first episode to pick up the pieces from Nemesis and the 24th Century backstory with the Romulans from the 2009 Film. After Picard meets Dahj, and after seeing her killed by the Zhat Vash, he has a new purpose: saving Soji and finding a way to do it with or without Starfleet.

49. "Stardust City Rag" (PIC) --> While DS9 touched upon life outside the Federation, out in the rough 'n tumble, this episode really shows how gritty it can get in a way that DS9 never did. It also is the first time we get to see Picard and Seven compare notes about their experiences after being part of The Borg Collective.

50. "Penance" (PIC) --> Some people like to say the Federation has become dark. They don't know what dark is. If you want to see dark, look at the Confederation. It shows how much darker the Federation could be, without it being something like the Terran Empire from The Mirror Universe.

There. I did it.

 

[Oddish]

You sure did. Nicely thought out.

 

[brandnewfan]

In no particular order, and without any explanation:

1. Mirror, Mirror (TOS)
2. The Trouble With Tribbles (TOS)
3. Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG)
4. Remember Me (TNG)
5. The Drumhead (TNG)
6. The Outcast (TNG)
7. Chain of Command, Part I (TNG)
8. Chain of Command, Part II (TNG)
9. Parallels (TNG)
10. All Good Things... (TNG)
11. Duet (DS9)
12. Crossover (DS9)
13. The Jem'Hadar (DS9)
14. Improbable Cause (DS9)
15. The Die is Cast (DS9)
16. The Adversary (DS9)
17. The Way of the Warrior (DS9)
18. The Visitor (DS9)
19. Homefront (DS9)
20. Paradise Lost (DS9)
21. For the Cause (DS9)
22. Broken Link (DS9)
23. In Purgatory's Shadow (DS9)
24. By Inferno's Light (DS9)
25. Children of Time (DS9)
26. Call to Arms (DS9)
27. A Time to Stand (DS9)
28. Rocks and Shoals (DS9)
29. Sons and Daughters (DS9)
30. Behind the Lines (DS9)
31. Favor the Bold (DS9)
32. Sacrifice of Angels (DS9)
33. Far Beyond the Stars (DS9)
34. In the Pale Moonlight (DS9)
35. Tears of the Prophets (DS9)
36. Image in the Sand (DS9)
37. Shadows and Symbols (DS9)
38. Penumbra (DS9)
39. Til Death Do Us Part (DS9)
40. Strange Bedfellows (DS9)
41. The Changing Face of Evil (DS9)
42. When it Rains... (DS9)
43. Tacking Into the Wind (DS9)
44. Extreme Measures (DS9)
45. The Dogs of War (DS9)
46. What You Leave Behind (DS9)
47. Blink of an Eye (VOY)
48. Twilight (ENT)
49. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (MOV)
50. Star Trek: First Contact (MOV)

 

[kirk55555]

I'll list them in Series Order, but not best to worst (and not in chronological order in their season). I'm counting two parters as one episode because having one half of a single story take up one slot by itself is just silly to me, even though I know it doesn't quite match "the rules" of the topic (there are three ENT episodes that are arguably either a 2 parter or a trilogy, but I counted them as individual episodes because it made the most sense to me). I also decided that I had to have at least one episode of every Star Trek series I've seen, which is every one except Prodigy.

1. Mirror Mirror (TOS)
2. Balance of terror (TOS)
3. Trouble with Tribbles (TOS)
4. Space Seed (TOS)
5. Amok Time (TOS)
6. Journey to Babel (TOS)
7. The Enterprise Incident (TOS)
8. Yesteryear (TAS)
9. Datalore (TNG)
10. Skin of Evil (TNG)
11. Measure of a Man (TNG)
12. Deja Q (TNG)
13. Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG)
14. Redemption Parts 1 & 2 (TNG)
15. Unification Parts 1 & 2 (TNG)
16. Relics (TNG)
17. Tapestry (TNG)
18. Cause & Effect (TNG)
19. Lower Decks (TNG)
20. Parallels (TNG)
21. Sarek (TNG)
22. Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 & 2 (TNG)
23. All Good Things (TNG)
24. Duet (DS9)
25. Visitor (DS9)
26. Trials and Tribble-ations (DS9)
27. For the Uniform (DS9)
28. In the Pale Moonlight (DS9)
29. Flashback (VOY)
30. Death Wish (VOY)
31. Scorpian (VOY)
32. Latent Image (VOY)
33. Year in Hell Parts 1 & 2 (VOY)
34. Living Witness (VOY)
35. Timeless (VOY)
36. The Q and the Grey (VOY)
37. Regeneration (ENT)
38. The Andorian Incident (ENT)
39. In a Mirror Darkly Parts 1 & 2 (ENT)
40. Babel One (ENT)
41. United (ENT)
42. The Aenar (ENT)
43. If Memory Serves (DSC)
44. Rememberance (PIC)
45. The Star Gazer (PIC)
46. Veritas (LD)
47. Kayshon, His Eyes Open (LD)
48. Ghosts of Illyria (SNW)
49. Memento Mori (SNW)
50. All Those Who Wander (SNW)

 

[Lord Garth]

If I had to do movies, and only three out of 13, it would be: TWOK, TSFS, and TVH. You get a complete trilogy.

It pains me to leave out TMP, TUC, and FC, but there we are.

 

[FederationHistorian]

I counted certain two parters as one episode. The idea they take up two slots seems silly.

Since I already saved TOS, TNG, and LD in the other thread, there are no episodes from those shows listed here. Those shows were saved for a reason.

I offer a brief explanation to the episode that I think its necessary.

1. Yesteryear (TAS) - the one episode considered canon
2. Duet (DS9)
3. The Die Is Cast (DS9)
4. The Way Of The Warrior (DS9)
5. Little Green Men (DS9) - Trek's take on the Roswell incident
6. Our Man Bashir (DS9)
7-8. Homefront/Paradise Lost (DS9) - coups are a bad idea
9. Rules Of Engagement (DS9) - a good legal drama
10. Sacrifice Of Angels (DS9)
11. Who Mourns For Morn? (DS9)
12. Far Beyond The Stars (DS9)
13. One Little Ship (DS9)
14. In The Pale Moonlight (DS9)
15. Valiant (DS9)
16. The Siege Of AR-588 (DS9)
17. Field Of Fire (DS9)
18. Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (DS9)
19. Tacking into The Wind (DS9)
20. What You Leave Behind (DS9)
21. Prime Factors (VOY)
22. The Q And The Grey (VOY)
23. Scorpion (VOY) - the Borg meet their match
24. Year of Hell (VOY) – inspired an entire season of ENT
25. The Killing Game (VOY) – it’s the preferable alien nazi episode if there's going to be one in Trek
26. Timeless (VOY)
27. Bride of Chaotica! (VOY)
28. Equinox (VOY)
29. Tsunkatse (VOY) - behind the combat sport aspect is an underrated story involving Seven and her humanity
30. Drive (VOY)
31. Critical Care (VOY) – timeless message surrounding healthcare
32-35. Broken Bow, First Flight, Demons, Terra Prime (ENT) – sums up ENT's story in only 5 hours.
36. Singularity (ENT) – technically horrifying, unintentionally funny
37. In a Mirror, Darkly (ENT)
38. Magic to Make The Sanest Man Go Mad (DIS)
39. People of Earth (DIS)
40. Forget Me Not (DIS)
41. Terra Firma (DIS) - peak Discovery, imo
42. There Is A Tide… (DIS) Osyraa's moment in the sun
43-44. Remembrance/Maps And Legends (PIC) - Picard and Starfleet not seeing eye to eye
45. Stardust City Rag (PIC) - Picard and Seven share their experiences regarding the Borg
46. Nepenthe (PIC) - TNG reunion
47-48. The Star Gazer/Penance (PIC)
49. Strange New Worlds (SNW)
50. All Those Who Wander (SNW)

Movies

A) The Search for Spock
B) The Voyage Home
C) The Undiscovered Country

 

[kirk55555]

I didn't notice the "Save 3 movies" thing, so

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Not just my favorite Trek movie, my favorite movie, period.

2. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Don't have much to say, its just a great movie.

3. Star Trek Beyond - I almost put First Contact here, but honestly I think Beyond deserves more love then it seems to get, especially since its the only one of the Kelvinverse films I think is actually good.

 

[Qonundrum]

Excluding every episode of Lower Decks:

TV:

1. Where No Man Has Gone Before
2. The Naked Time
3. The Menagerie
   
4. Space Seed
5. A Taste of Armageddon
6. Doomsday Machine
7. I, Mudd
8. Immunity Syndrome
9. Enterprise Incident
10. Day of the Dove
11. Tholian Web
12. Where No One Has Gone Before
13. Datalore
14. Haven
    
15. 11001001
16. Arsenal of Freedom
17. Elementary Dear Data
18. Contagion
19. Q Who
20. Evolution
21. The Defector
22. Hollow Pursuits
23. Menage a Troi
24. BOBW1 & BOBW2
25. Nth Degree
26. First Contact
27. The Next Phase
28. The Pegasus
29. All Good Things
30. Duet
31. Paradise
32. Way of the Warrior
33. Litttle Green Men
34. Our Man Bashir
35. Let He Who Is Without Sin
    
36. For the Uniform
37. Far Beyond the Stars
38. In the Pale Moonlight
39. Valiant
40. Time's Orphan
    
41. The Sound of Her Voice
    
42. Tuvix
43. Meld
44. Worst Case Scenario
45. Scorpion 1 & Scorpion 2
46. Living Witness
    
47. Timeless
48. Year of Hell
    
49. Blink of an Eye
50. Endgame

Movies:
TMP (extended cut with all the footage, but in widescreen)
TWOK
TUC (theatrical edition intact)

Honorable mention: Star Trek Beyond - very underrated, but I can only save three

 

[Vale]

Going strictly by production order, and only for series that are complete:

TOS: "Balance of Terror"
TOS: "The Devil in the Dark"
TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever"
TOS: "The Doomsday Machine"
TOS: "Assignment: Earth"

TNG: "The Measure of a Man"
TNG: "The Defector"
TNG: "Déjà Q"
TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise"
TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I"
TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
TNG: "Family"
TNG: "Brothers"
TNG: "Redemption, Part I"
TNG: "Redemption, Part II"
TNG: "Disaster"
TNG: "The First Duty"
TNG: "The Inner Light"
TNG: "Parallels"
TNG: "Lower Decks"
TNG: "Preemptive Strike"
TNG: "All Good Things..."

DS9: "Emissary"
DS9: "Duet"
DS9: "Visionary"
DS9: "Improbable Cause"
DS9: "The Die is Cast"
DS9: "Facets"
DS9: "The Adversary"
DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"
DS9: "Little Green Men"
DS9: "Homefront"
DS9: "Paradise Lost"
DS9: "Starship Down"
DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations"
DS9: "Children of Time"
DS9: "Call to Arms"
DS9: "A Time to Stand"
DS9: "Rocks and Shoals"
DS9: "Favor the Bold"
DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels"
DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited..."
DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice"
DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight"
DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil"
DS9: "The Dogs of War"
DS9: "What You Leave Behind"

VOY: "The Year of Hell, Part I"
VOY: "The Year of Hell, Part II"
VOY: "Message in a Bottle"

Sorry Voyager and Enterprise fans, there's just a LOT more episodes from TNG and DS9 I'd much rather save.

The three movies I'd save:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: First Contact

 

[publiusr]

Doomsday Machine
Balance of Terror
Arena
The Ultimate Computer
Obsession
The Immunity Syndrome
Operation Annihilate
The Enterprise Incident
The Counterclock Incident
The Time Trap
Beyond the Farthest Star


Dead Stop
Silent Enemy
Regeneration
In a Mirror, Darkly

Datalore
11001001
Heart of Glory
Skin of Evil
Arsenal of Freedom
Q Who
Best of Both Worlds
Booby Trap
The Defector
Transfigurations
Yesterday’s Enterprise
Remember Me
Tin Man
Loud as a Whisper
Masks
The Nth Degree
Cause and Effect
Relics
Chain of Command


Duet
The Jem Hadar
The Die is Cast
The Way of the Warrior
One Little Ship
What you Leave Behind

Prototype
Dreadnought
The Thaw
Future’s End
Darkling
Drone
Warhead
Dragons Teeth
Year of hell
Prodigy episode 1

 

[Cyfa]

Aaaargh!! 50 episodes seems like a lot, but it really isn't with so many to choose from. I really should have done this before the latest episode of LDS aired then I could have kept TNG "Qpid". I've cheated a bit as I've counted "The Best of Both Worlds" parts 1 & 2 as one episode, and the same goes for ENT "In A Mirror, Darkly" 1 & 2, but to make up for it, I've sacrificed a movie.

TOS
1. "Operation -- Annihilate!" - Purely for nostalgia reasons, as this is the only episode I remember watching as a kid in the early 80s, and it scared me silly!

TNG
2. "The Offspring" - - I'm not crying, you are!
3. "The Best of Both Worlds I & II" - - Gripping and exciting!
4. "First Contact" - - A great look at one of Starfleet's primary missions.
5. "Disaster" - - Classic 'fish out of water' scenario for the whole crew (I particularly like Troi's stint in command)
6. "Cause and Effect" - - Speaking of classics...
7. "I, Borg" - The cutest and most adorable Borg ever (yes, even more so than the Borg babies from LDS "I, Excretus")! Oh, and Picard and Guinan have their minds opened.

DS9
8. "Emissary" - - Just awesome!
9. "Duet" - - This and "Second Skin" are great showcases for Kira.
10. "In the Hands of the Prophets" - - Ah, hello Vedek Winn...
11. "Whispers" - - Paranoid much? (And with good reason)
12. "Second Skin" - -
13. "Destiny" - - I love a good prophecy tale.
14. "Little Green Men" - - Ferengi on 20th century Earth - what could possibly go wrong?
15. "The Assignment" - - Another 'O'Brien Must Suffer' episode with a fabulous role for Rosalind Chao.
16. "Trials and Tribble-ations" - - Fun! (And it's practically TOS, so I don't feel bad for only saving one true TOS episode)
17. "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" - - I just want a hug from Bashir's mum
18. "In the Cards" - - Jake and Nog!!!
19. "Change of Heart" - - This is the episode that really sold me on Worf & Jadzia's relationship.
20. "Treachery, Faith and the Great River" - - Go, Nog!
21. "Badda Bing, Badda Bang" - - The whole crew coming together for some hijinks

VOY
22. "Caretaker" - - What a great start!
23. "Eye of the Needle" - - This was a real rollercoaster of hopes and those jagged rocks they're dashed against.
24. "Unity" - - An unnerving "are they/aren't they?" Borg episode centred on the oft underutilised Chakotay.
25. "Before and After" - - A look at Kes's life on Voyager with some great foreshadowing for later seasons.
26. "Hope and Fear" - - Another rollercoaster ride of dreams and disappointments, with a very sympathetic 'villain'.
27. "Bride of Chaotica" - - Janeway as Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People, need I say more?

ENT
28. "Broken Bow" - - Another fantastic series premiere
29. "The Andorian Incident" - - It's about time the Andorians returned to Trek.
30. "Dear Doctor" - - I like this for the questions it asks, and not for the rather ill-thought through resolution.
31. "Vox Sola" - - Two first contacts in one - neither of which goes swimmingly, but Hoshi (and Travis) saves the day! (And it's the first appearance of the awesome looking Kreetassans)
32. "Carbon Creek" - - T'Pol tells a story...
33. "Dead Stop" - - A creepy unmanned space station.
34. "Precious Cargo" - - A completely obvious and predictable 'odd couple' scenario, but everyone looks like they're having so much fun that it's very easy to be swept up in it. Plus, Trip gets down to his undercrackers again
35. "Future Tense" - - Tholians!!!
36. "Home" - - T'Pol gets married - but not to Trip
37. "In a Mirror, Darkly I & II" - - Although I'm not a fan of the Mirror Universe episodes, I'm including this one because it's not too over-the-top (except Archer), and the Constitution-class USS Defiant looks f***ing awesome!!!

DSC
38. "If Memory Serves" - To make up for the lack of "The Cage"

LDS
39. "Veritas" - - Tendi/The Cleaner is awesome! Oh, and: "Gorn wedding!"
40. "Crisis Point" - - Now that's a different take on therapy.
41. "No Small Parts" - - That's what happens when you underestimate Pakleds...
42. "The Spy Humongous" - - Although...
43. "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie" - - Rutherford: "Did his kingdom come?"
44. "I, Excretus" - - Yay, Boimler! 100%!!! Extra points for how Mariner gets trampled by that horse
45. "wej Duj" - - That was different. And awesome!!
46. "First First Contact" - - Cetacean Ops!!! (Hi, Kimolu and Matt!)
47. "Grounded" - - Better not say anything about 47-50 as I don't want to spoil anything.
48. "The Least Dangerous Game"

SNW
49. "Children of the Comet"
50. "Spock Amok"

Movies
The Search For Spock - - Fantastic world-building, everyone gets something to do, and it's a wonderful story - my favourite Trek film
The Voyage Home - - Pretty much the same as TSFS, but funny!

 

[JesterFace]

I need to do a TOS rewatch before answering this.