The Best and Worst Episode Titles

[Spock's Barber]

Pick your favorite and least favorite TOS episode titles with a brief explanation of why...

Best - Doomsday Machine. Tells me Kirk and Crew are in for a battle.
Worst - City on the Edge of Forever. It's a great episode, but the title bugs me.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky. Very poetical.

Spock's Brain. 'nuff said.

 

[Commishsleer]

Worst: "Return of the Archons" because it wasn't really much about the Archons at all.
Best: There really are quite a lot of good titles - "The Trouble With Tribbles" maybe for the alliteration.

 

[Sareesataka]

Best: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

Worst: Spock's Brain

 

[johnnybear]

Arena=good
Immunity Syndrome=eh?
JB

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Best: "A Private Little War"
That perfectly encapsulates the understated tragedy of the situation.

Worst: "The Deadly Years"
It's very schlocky and completely inapplicable.

 

[Delta Vega]

Best "Where No Man Has Gone Before" just because
Worst "For The World Is Hollow And I have Touched The Sky" ffs

 

[Phaser Two]

The worst is "The Alternative Factor." Perhaps someone has a great explanation as to why it's a terrific, catchy title. I am prepared to be educated.

Not-so-great ones include the phone-in, whoops-we-need-a-title jobs such as "Assignment: Earth," "Operation: Annihilate," and "The Enterprise Incident."

There are many, many good ones. For me, the best TV episode titles are ones that make you think, evoking imagery and feelings that really bring home the themes of the show while conveying ideas that last well beyond its running time. "City on the Edge of Forever" is a fantastic, fantastic title and may be the best even though I don't find the episode itself to be among my personal ten best, let alone the best of TOS. The Shakespearean titles are good, particularly "Dagger of the Mind" and "All Our Yesterdays," with the same play as the source, no less. "Dagger of the Mind" gets extra points because it's not an exact quote. Then there are those that sound Shakespearean, but aren't, like "The Savage Curtain."

Upon reflection, the best, for me, is probably "The Devil in the Dark."

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

I can't decide on a best title, but the worst is probably "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky." It sounds like a Jimi Hendrix song title.

 

[johnnybear]

Is it the Al-ter-nay-tive Factor or the Al-ter-na-tive Factor in the pronunciation?
JB

 

[Admiral2]

Worst "For The World Is Hollow And I have Touched The Sky" ffs

Another vote for this as worst.

My favorite titles are the ones that are just to the left of "on the nose." My favorites are "Balance of Terror" and "The Savage Curtain."

 

[Spock's Barber]

Is it the Al-ter-nay-tive Factor or the Al-ter-na-tive Factor in the pronunciation?
JB

...or as Chekov would pronounce it 'Ze Alllll-turrrrrn-ah-teeeve Fak-Torrrrrr"

 

[Greg Cox]

I prefer the more florid, poetic titles like "For the World is Hollow ... ", "City on the Edge of Forever," "Is There in Truth in No Beauty?" and so on to something dull and generic like "Return to Tomorrow"," "The Ultimate Computer," or (forgive me) "Space Seed."

 

[Kilana2]

I like The Squire of Gothos. The German title is 'Tödliche Spiele auf Gothos' which translates as Deadly Games on Gothos. I prefer the original title.

 

[Phaser Two]

I like The Squire of Gothos. The German title is 'Tödliche Spiele auf Gothos' which translates as Deadly Games on Gothos. I prefer the original title.

Goodness, me too. I seem to remember that the Germans renamed most of the episodes. I have no idea why, particularly since they don't seem to have put much thought into them. I'm no German expert but I bet they have a term that approximates "squire."

 

[Kilana2]

Goodness, me too. I seem to remember that the Germans renamed most of the episodes. I have no idea why, particularly since they don't seem to have put much thought into them. I'm no German expert but I bet they have a term that approximates "squire."

Jep. Squire translates as Knappe, Kavalier, Gutsbesitzer, Edelknabe or Junker. I did some research and found out via Pons that it is obviously also a legal term: Friedensrichter (honorable title for judge). Trelane was disguised as judge. I will ask my German fellows @The Xandarian Worldmind and @StefanM which translation they would prefer. Trelane had something mischievous. Kirk would call him scoundrel.

 

[StefanM]

"Der Junker von Gothos" should be right. "Tödliche Spiele auf Gothos" (Deadly games on Gothos) sounds much more dramatic, so ist really okay for me.

"Der verirrte Planet" for "For the world is hollow....." is MUCH worse. Something like "the lost planet". Whether it's a planet, nor is it lost.

 

[Kilana2]

"Der Junker von Gothos" should be right. "Tödliche Spiele auf Gothos" (Deadly games on Gothos) sounds much more dramatic, so ist really okay for me.

"Der verirrte Planet" for "For the world is hollow....." is MUCH worse. Something like "the lost planet". Whether it's a planet, nor is it lost.

Trelane wasn't really a Kavalier. He just pretended to be one and failed. Like Q.

 

[Phaser Two]

Jep. Squire translates as Knappe, Kavalier, Gutsbesitzer, Edelknabe or Junker. I did some research and found out via Pons that it is obviously also a legal term: Friedensrichter (honorable title for judge). Trelane was disguised as judge. I will ask my German fellows @The Xandarian Worldmind and @StefanM which translation they would prefer. Trelane had something mischievous. Kirk would call him scoundrel.

I like Der Kavalier von Gothos.

 

[Kilana2]

The Corbomite Maneuver was renamed into Pokerspiele (Poker Games). Das Corbomit Manöver would be totally acceptable.
I really like the title The Conscience of the King. In German it was simply Kodos der Henker (the Executioner). Too revealing for my liking.