10 Best Star Trek Episodes

This Sunday, Trekkies everywhere will be tuning into CBS to watch the premiere episode of Star Trek: Discovery, which just so happens to be the first Star Trek series to air in over 12 years (since the conclusion of Star Trek Enterprise in 2005).

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While fans are, no doubt, excited about the prospects of this new show, don’t think for a second that we haven’t rewatched all of the different incarnations of the past shows countless times, which is why ComicBook.com thought it might be fun to rank the 10 Best Star Trek Episodes!

What’s your favorite Star Trek episode? Check out the video at the top of the article to see if it made the list, or if you fancy yourself more of a reader, simply scroll on down for the list!

10. Space Seed

This is a classic episode from the first season of the original series and really where Star Trek II begins. Most famous for being Ricardo Montaban’s lone appearance on the show, it eventually set the stage for the undisputed champion of Star Trek films, The Wrath of Khan, which was set 15 years after Kirk and the Enterprise happened upon the Botany Bay. It’s clear from the get-go that Khan Noonien Singh is superior to Kirk in every single way? But does that stop Kirk? You know the answer to that.

9. All Good Things

How could the series finale of “The Next Generation” not make the list? The way writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore wrapped up seven years worth of material and circles back around by going all the way back to the pilot of the series to reveal that everything had pretty much just been leading up to this moment — well, let’s just admit it was quite the feat and led to one of the (if not THE) best finale of all of the Star Trek shows. Ultimately, it’s a touching and deserving send-off for Picard and his crew.

8. In The Pale Moonlight

There were a lot of great episodes to come out of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but this was probably the best. The show became known for going to places (metaphorically speaking of course, not physically) that the other Star Trek series wouldn’t go, and this episode was a prime example of that. Star Trek rarely got darker than this and fans praised the angry performance of Avery Brooks whose character really struggled with the cost of war.

7. The Trouble with Tribbles

When talking about this fan favorite episode from the original series, writer David Gerrold explained, “So, I was thinking for Star Trek, not all the aliens we meet are going to be scary or ugly — some of them are going to be cute and friendly and we’re not going to recognize what kind of danger they are until it’s too late.” It was this theory that led to, not only one of funnier Star Trek episodes, but also an intertwined spin-off episode on Deep Space Nine over 29 years later.

6. The Measure of a Man

“What makes a man?” is a question that sci-fi has proposed in different mediums for a long time and this episode on The Next Generation does an outstanding job of raising those ethical questions in reference to Data’s attempt to understand humanity while his very sentience is called into question. Patrick Stewart’s closing argument is an excellent example of why so many fans love him as Captain Picard.

5. Mirror, Mirror

There are SO many reasons to love this episode from the original series – um, that Spock goatee, hello! Not enough? How about George Takei hamming it up as evil Sulu!? This was perhaps Star Trek at its most fun, with an episode that took a look at what might’ve been, going on to inspire future episodes for both Deep Space Nine and Enterprise.

4. The Balance of Terror

This classic episode right out of the original series is perhaps most famous for introducing the Romulans, but there’s so much more to it than that. Inspired by submarine warfare, “The Balance of Terror” is one of the heavier episodes the original series ever produced with dissension in the ranks as the crew questions Spock due to the common background between the Vulcans and the Romulans. The unnamed Romulan commander and Kirk also find a mutual respect before he sacrifices himself for the betterment of his Empire.

3. Yesterday’s Enterprise

Not only is this arguably The Next Generation‘s greatest singular episode, but it’s arguably one of the best sci-fi stories period, exploring what would happen if the Federation and the Klingon Empire had not made peace, but rather had been at war for years. The only upside to this whole timeline mess is that Tasha Yar would still be alive. Ultimately, it takes Enterprise-D teaming up with the Enterprise-C, whose crew selflessly sacrifice their own lives in order to restore the universe to its proper timeline.

2. The Best of Both Worlds

Now, if “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is the best single episode from The Next Generation, it’s only because “The Best of Both Worlds” is split up into two parts, the first episode being the end-of-the-third season cliffhanger which made fans believe that Picard might permanently go Borg. The story arc also introduced elements that wouldn’t be wrapped up until 1995’s Star Trek: First Contact, which most fans consider to be the best TNG Star Trek film.

1. City on the Edge of Forever

Written by sci-fi legend, Harlan Ellison (though the episode received several rewrites before it was shot – that’s another story), “City on the Edge of Forever” is not only the best episode to come out of the original series, but it is simply the best Star Trek episode of ALL TIME. That’s right, I said it, and considering that series creator Gene Roddenberry once described it as Star Trek’s “finest hour,” it’s safe in the number one spot. Captain Kirk’s destiny to always be alone has always been a recurring theme, but it’s never been displayed more beautifully than here. Let this episode be a reminder: If you’re traveling through time, never fall in love.