Which episode of each series do you think captures it the most?

[Riker'sMailbox]

Love this topic!
TNG: Darmok. TNG was about exploration and diplomacy and communication and relationships and Darmok did it all, beautifully.

DS9: In the Pale Moonlight, what set this series apart from the earlier series is that it got rid of the perfect human nonsense. DS9 was grittier and darker than any other series and this episode showcases that.

VOY: Year of Hell, Part II, the heart and soul of the show, to me, was a steadfast captain that will do what she has to do to get her crew home and ramming her ship into the Krenim ship was badass. More to it than this, but I don't want to get wordy.

ENT: The Forge. So mcuh of the show was about the interplay between humans and Vulcans and the conflicts between them, but they both wanted to understand the other.

 

[Jedman67]

I don't agree with Darmok. I'd like to say Best of Both Worlds, but really AGT nails it at its core.

 

[ScottJ85]

Personally, I thought "The Doomsday Machine" captured what I liked the most about TOS. Out of the box thinking saves the day.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

What episodes do you think of each series are best representative of the series being that series?

Or most representative, even?

If I were even just picking the most representative episodes of the best qualities of each series, my list would would be completely different from the one I posted upthread. Ditto, if I were picking the best representative episodes of each series, not to mention best episodes of each series.

I feel like "The Devil in the Dark," "Balance of Terror," and "The Corbomite Maneuver" hew too close to the best for me to consider them representative. "The Doomsday Machine" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" are, I think, the two best TOS episodes, so it would make no sense to pick them.

Same for "Darmok," which is my favorite TNG episode, and "The Best of Both Worlds."

 

[Greg Cox]

Or most representative, even?

If I were even just picking the most representative episodes of the best qualities of each series, my list would would be completely different from the one I posted upthread. Ditto, if I were picking the best representative episodes of each series, not to mention best episodes of each series.

I feel like "The Devil in the Dark," "Balance of Terror," and "The Corbomite Maneuver" hew too close to the best for me to consider them representative. "The Doomsday Machine" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" are, I think, the two best TOS episodes, so it would make no sense to pick them.

Same for "Darmok," which is my favorite TNG episode, and "The Best of Both Worlds."

I don't think that "representative" in this context means average in terms of quality. Just means that it's not an unusual, change of pace episode like, say, "The Inner Light." The issue with "The Inner Light," in this context, is not that it's too good to be representative, but that most of the episode doesn't involve the usual cast, has Picard living a completely different life as a different person, etc.

 

[suarezguy]

I really like this topic and have thought a lot about it.

Original: probably "The Gamesters of Triskellion", trying to be philosophical drama or at least pretty serious themes but also with action, titillation and some goofiness, the series overall also mixing and shifting between those elements. Also the tendency of the series post-season 1 for Kirk to be somewhere else and Spock & McCoy interacting with each other without him.

TNG: Probably "Clues" or "Suddenly Human", a lot more focus on drama and ethical dilemmas, uncertainty, subverting audience expectations and very much an ensemble. I would say "Suddenly Human", especially for its antiwar stance, except the episodes usually had at least a little more sci-fi/technobabble or "The Bonding" except the extent of it's ending was pretty atypical.

Deep Space Nine: Probably the one I'm least clear about. Probably "For the Uniform" or "Blaze of Glory" pretty much rejecting the TNG idealism and feeling pretty good vs. evil but also with the villains somewhat appealing and the heroes morally questionable. The series got even darker and more arc-y in the last two years (but even then mostly not super-arc-y) but I think those earlier/middle section episodes are much more the level of darkness and continuity the series generally and overall had. OTOH it could be "The Abandoned" except the series overall, though more from the latter half, had so much more focus on Sisko.

Voyager: Probably "Scientific Method" (ensemble but with considerable focus on Janeway and Seven, Janeway being a great hero and Seven distant from the crew but not very much, the Paris/Torres relationship more focused on than usual but it was a recurring element of the whole series), some focus on action/survival drama but not dominated by it, or "Drone" (kind of ensemble but with pretty heavy focus on Seven, very high-concept and single episode-y), both pretty reminiscent of TNG.

 

[Lord Garth]

I think "By Any Other Name" is archetypal TOS. Aliens who change themselves into Humans turn most of the crew into cubes, Kirk makes the moves on one of the Kelvan women, Scotty gets drunk, Kirk convinces the Kelvans who are learning about Humanity to explore another path. Spock uses his mental powers at the beginning of the episode.

"Waking Moments" is archetypal VOY. The crew all experience the same dream and end up in a shared state of sleep thanks to some alien who wants to defeat them keeping them asleep forever. It plays with reality and The Doctor is the crew's only link beyond the dreams.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

I really like this topic and have thought a lot about it.

Me too. I don't, personally agree on most of your choices, but that's one of the things I am finding most interesting about the thread. The variety in what people consider the quintessential qualities of each series.

I've already posted my TOS and 24th century Trek choices, very much struggling with my choice for Disco because there is still so little of it for there to be an archetype in my mind.

I'm also struggling with Enterprise, but I might actually say These Are the Voyages. Not because I think Enterprise is terrible, but because it encapsulates a lot of what Enterprise was doing. Lots of call backs (forwards?) to previous shows and often making in jokes in that vain. Enterprise seemed to be at it's most comfortable when it was doing these things throughout and under utilising characters. Always afraid to be it's own thing. TATV just takes these things to the more extreme.

 

[suarezguy]

On more thought, maybe for TNG "Evolution" though "Clues" is close, both really and strongly urging outreach and compromise, and I think a great aspect of TNG was the high variety in its tone but those I think are closest to the average of its tone (and the "Clues" ending isn't very atypical but a bit so). A few people have picked "Darmok" but I think that was getting both a little too high-concept and directly message-y (and also guest star-focused) and those were aspects of the series but I think more from its latter years and even then not very much.

Edit: Although with "Evolution" Wesley (and others) rarely messed up as he did in that episode.

 

[suarezguy]

And for Deep Space Nine, with the ending of "For the Uniform" a little too extreme and the whole of "Blaze of Glory" a bit too mild (and low-budget, the series usually looking not high-budget but also not low-budget), now thinking more "Waltz", the episode really trying to deal with grey themes, at least strong disagreements, but ending up keeping and declaring its villain, the opponent of the hero, decidedly evil, also crazy and the bad guy.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

The reason I picked Rocks and Shoals for DS9 is because I think it captures the inner politics of the Dominion perfectly and highlights the kind of moral vs emotional vs war necessity considerations underpinning the whole thesis of the series.

 

[Greg Cox]

Which was the DS9 ep where Sisko has his "It's easy to be a saint in Paradise" speech? I've always kinda thought of that as the show's mission statement.

 

[LeadHead]

Which was the DS9 ep where Sisko has his "It's easy to be a saint in Paradise" speech? I've always kinda thought of that as the show's mission statement.

That was "The Maquis, Part II."

 

[Jayson1]

TOS=Requiem of Methsuem=Lot's of Kirk/Spock/McCoy banter. A sexy woman for KIrk to fall for who is also a computer he destroys. A villian who kind not all that bad and also connected to earth's past. Fake rock setting that gives way to TOS style interior sets. Ship is danger and is major crisis but really isn't important to the story. Spock at the end shows how deep he cares for KIrk after McCoy sort if disses him for not understand human emotions.

TNG="Second Chances" A high concept gimmick used as a excuse to explore two of your characters while the jeapordy plot means nothing including the fake danger at the end. Then it's pushes the reset button at the end that is sort of addressed again in other episode only on DS9.

DS9=The Maquis part 1 and 2. A war type of story that deals with polltics and has Sisko and Dukat having to confront each other. A moral dilenima with Sisko having to face off against his old friend in Hudson and ends in a space battle. Also has something negative to say about the Federation and creates a ongoing change in Trek that doesn't just go away with the Maquis still being around and used in later episodes.

VOyager=Year of Hell part 1 and 2=HIgh concept story that has fun with having the characters be kind of different or undergo changes that will be erased at the end with a rest button. Involves time travel and the ship getting to destroyed and blown up without having to worry about showing it in future episodes.

"Enterprise"=The first Andorian episode. Uses conflict between humans and vulcans. Vulcans seem kind of out of character like usual in this show. See cool TOS nod with revamped Andorian and introduces someone who would become fan favorite in Shran. Also a heavy focus on Archer,T'Pol and Trip and naturally a hostage situation. This show had a love for hostage situations or characters being held against their will by the baddies.

Jason

 

[Delta Vega]

Off the top of my head
TOS "The Corbomite Maneuver"
VOY "Year Of Hell"
ENT "The Andorian Incident"
All the rest, too many to consider from memory

 

[Nerys Myk]

TOS: Corbomite Maneuver and Devil In the Dark
Others, no clue.

 

[Lord Garth]

I was able to crack TOS, VOY, and DSC... TNG and DS9 are tougher for me to do. I haven't seen most of TNG in a very, very long time. How long? I was still using Aqua Net. That's how long.

"The Ensigns of Command". Data has to try to get colonists to evacuate a colony and has to figure out how to get humans to respond to him. A woman is affectionate to Data and she helps him to learn how to interact with the colonists. Picard is stuck with a diplomatic situation where the Sheliak want to destroy the colony if it's not evacuated and so Picard has to find a bureaucratic way to stall them. At the beginning of the episode, there's a classical concert. At the end, Picard comments on how Data wasn't emulating others but was able to be creative.

What the heck, I'll throw in ENT too. "Fight or Flight". Sato doesn't have her space legs and when another ship encounters the NX-01, they're totally out of their league and have to struggle to figure out how to communicate with them. Bear in mind it's the one Star Trek show I couldn't get into, but everything we normally take for granted with Star Trek or Starfleet Officers isn't there yet, and that to me is what ENT is about.

So all that leaves now is DS9. I still need more time to think about that one.

 

[Vger23]

I was able to crack TOS, VOY, and DSC... TNG and DS9 are tougher for me to do. I haven't seen most of TNG in a very, very long time. How long? I was still using Aqua Net. That's how long.

"The Ensigns of Command". Data has to try to get colonists to evacuate a colony and has to figure out how to get humans to respond to him. A woman is affectionate to Data and she helps him to learn how to interact with the colonists. Picard is stuck with a diplomatic situation where the Sheliak want to destroy the colony if it's not evacuated and so Picard has to find a bureaucratic way to stall them. At the beginning of the episode, there's a classical concert. At the end, Picard comments on how Data wasn't emulating others but was able to be creative.

What the heck, I'll throw in ENT too. "Fight or Flight". Sato doesn't have her space legs and when another ship encounters the NX-01, they're totally out of their league and have to struggle to figure out how to communicate with them. Bear in mind it's the one Star Trek show I couldn't get into, but everything we normally take for granted with Star Trek or Starfleet Officers isn't there yet, and that to me is what ENT is about.

So all that leaves now is DS9. I still need more time to think about that one.

It's funny you say this. There's a thread in the TNG forum about the most generic TNG episode. Ensigns of Command easily would have my vote.

 

[Lord Garth]

DS9's tough to crack because you have the Bajorans, Cardassians, Maquis, Dominion, Klingons, the Prophets, all the primary characters, all the secondary characters, all the tertiary characters... and if I pick an episode that has ALL of them, then it's a Major Episode and not necessarily more normal, representative episode.

So, I have to do another angle. I can't pick an episode that incorporates everything, but I can pick an episode that gets down to the basics. What are the basics? The nuts and bolts politics. The story and the story behind the story. Starfleet's role on the station and how it's not as safe out on the frontier on DS9 as it would be on the Enterprise. Maybe the Federation's relationship to Bajor and Sisko's relationship to them as the Emissary.

That's still a lot to boil down. Let me see if I can get more basic than that. Politics. Sisko's unique position. Doing the normal Starfleet routine doesn't work as well out here. Kira's fired up about something. Odo is suspicious of Quark.

"The Homecoming". It has everything. The Bajorans need to find a new Kai. Sisko has to balance his role as the Emissary with being a Starfleet Officer. Kira has to rescue Li Nalas, a Bajoran hero, from a Cardassian prison camp. Dukat's his usual full-of-shit self. O'Brien backs Kira up about how horrible Cardassian prisons are. Li Nalas can't stand the thought of being seen as a hero and just wants to live a normal life. The man and the myth are two different things. And not everything is wrapped up at the end of the episode. This one has it all.

 

[Vger23]

TOS: "Corbomite Maneuver" It's amazing how the first produced "regular" episode basically completely captures everything about Trek in one 50-min adventure. Mystery/conflict in space, a legit exploring mission, Kirk/McCoy relationship, aliens testing the crew, Kirk being fucking brilliant, sending a rescue party to the "enemy" ship, and lots of discussion about the mission of the Enterprise. Boom!

TNG: "Ensigns of Command" Human colony, too much Data, lots of talking, debate, and arguments about what to do, Picard being diplomatic, monolithic alien antagonists, Riker being curt, this is TNG to a tee.

DS9: "In The Pale Moonlight" Moral and ethical questions, political maneuvering, Garak being Garak, big stakes and big consequences, Dominion War...yep.

VOY: I haven't seen all of VOY, so I can't really comment

ENT: Tough to say, because the show changed tone and approach quite a bit. I'll say "Dead Stop" for now. Just because, I guess.

DSC: Too early to say, but I'll go with "Butcher's Knife." Klingon War stuff, Lorca being a dick, moral / ethical grey areas around the tardigrade, cannibalism, lots of subtitles, holo-Cornwell issuing orders, spore drive, even Georgeau makes an appearance...all pretty standard DSC fare!