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Kraetos' guide to Star Trek (the original series)

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Kraetos' guide to Star Trek

You know. 1966? 79 episodes, about 30 good ones.

Phillip J. Fry

Ah, The Original Series. Where it all started. The show was tragically cancelled after three seasons, but on the other hand, it's easy to see why: the show missed more than it hit.

This guide has two sections:

  • Complete guide. This is a list of all the episodes, sorted by production order with a quick description and it's rating, on a simple four tier scale: Engage, Just for Fun, meh, and Avoid.
  • "30 good ones." If we take Fry's comment as gospel, which thirty episodes comprise the "good ones?"

Complete Guide

Season 1

EpisodeTitleDescriptionRating
00The CageAborted pilot, didn't air until 1988. No Kirk—instead, it's Captain Pike. Rejected for being "too cerebral."Just for fun
01Where No One Has Gone BeforePilot, but didn't air until after the next two. The Enterprise leaves the galaxy and some crew members exhibit extraordinary powers.Engage!
02The Corbomite ManeuverKirk attempts to bluff his way out of a scrape with a much meaner alien ship.Engage!
03Mudd's WomenThe Enterprise encounters freighter captain Harry Mudd, who travels with three beautiful women.meh
04The Enemy WithinA transporter accident splits Kirk into two halves—a "good" one, and an "evil" one.Engage!
05The Man TrapSomething is not as it seems when the Enterprise runs into one of McCoy's old romanic interests.Just for fun
06The Naked TimeThe Enterprise crew becomes infected by a virus that has a similar effect as alcohol.Engage!
07Charlie XA human boy raised by aliens has supernatural powers—can he adapt to Federation culture?meh
08Balance of TerrorA Romulan warbird strikes against Federation border outposts. Kirk must defeat the Romulan commander.Engage!!
09What Are Little Girls Made Of?The Enterprise encounters Dr. Roger Korby, leading medical archaeologist, and Nurse Chapel's once fiancée.meh
10Dagger of the MindThe Enterprise inadvertently picks up a stowaway from a penal colony.meh
11MiriThe Enterprise investigates a planet where virus kills everyone once they reach puberty.meh
12The Conscience of the KingA mass murderer may be loose on board the Enterprise.meh
13The Galileo SevenMcCoy, Scott, Spock and four other crewmen crash land on a planet, and not everyone gets along with Mr. Spock.Engage!
14Court MartialWhen an officer (and friend) under Kirk's command dies in an ion storm, Kirk is accused of foul play.Just for fun
15The Menagerie (Part I)Spock kidnaps his former captain, Pike, and takes the Enterprise to forbidden planet Talos IV for reasons unknown.Engage!
16The Menagerie (Part II)Kirk discovers why Spock has stolen the Enterprise.Engage!
17Shore LeaveKirk orders shore leave for the Enterprise crew, but the planet they've selected seems to be fulfilling everyone's fantasies.Just for fun
18The Squire of GothosThe Enterprise is captured by Trelane, a seemingly omnipotent being.Just for fun
19ArenaThe Metrons, an advanced alien species, pit Captain Kirk against a Gorn captain in personal combat.Engage!
20The Alternative FactorThe Enterprise is sent to investigate a mad scientist after a galaxy-wide spatial disruption.Avoid
21Tomorrow is YesterdayThe Enterprise accidentally travels back to the 20th century where they destroy a US Air Force aircraft and rescue the pilot, creating a time paradox as the pilot gains foreknowledge of events to come.Engage!
22Return of the ArchonsThe Enterprise visits a planet where an Earth ship was last seen before reported missing, 200 years ago.meh
23A Taste of ArmageddonThe Enterprise discovers two civilizations fighting a computerized war—but the casualties are real.Just for fun
24Space SeedThe Enterprise rescues the SS Botany Bay without realizing the war criminal and genetic "superman" Khan is aboard.Engage!
25This Side of ParadiseThe Enterprise investigates a colony where everyone should be dead from radiation exposure, only to discover the colonists are alive.Just for Fun
26The Devil in the DarkThe Enterprise crew must find a creature that has killed more than 50 workers at a vital Federation mining colony.Engage!
27Errand of MercyWar breaks out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and Kirk is sent to fight the first battle over a planet called Organia.Engage!
28The City on the Edge of ForeverDr. McCoy changes history in a manner which prevents the Federation from even existing. Kirk and Spock must follow him back and stop him.Engage!
29Operation: Annihilate!Colonists on a distant planet are taken over by neural parasites.Just for fun

Season 2

EpisodeTitleDescriptionRating
01CatspawKirk and co. beam down to a Halloween themed planet.Avoid
02MetamorphosisThe Enterprise finds Zefram Cochrane, inventor of warp drive, on a distant planet, even though he's been believed dead for 150 years.Just for fun
03Friday's ChildKirk attempts to negotiate mining rights with a primitive, honor-bound civilization.Just for fun
04Who Mourns for Adonais?The Enterprise encounters an entity which claims to be the Greek god Apollo.meh
05Amok TimeSpock undergoes Pon Farr and must return to Vulcan to mate or he will die.Engage!
06The Doomsday MachineThe Enterprise encounters a planet killer and must stop it before it strikes again.Engage!
07Wolf in the FoldScotty is accused of murder during shore leave.Just for fun
08The ChangelingThe Enterprise encounters Nomad, a human-built probe which has been altered to have one mission: the sterilization of all life.Engage!
09The AppleA landing party explores a beautiful planet with primitive natives, before the planet begin killing redshirts.Avoid
10Mirror, MirrorA transporter accident sends Kirk, Scotty, McCoy and Uhura to the "mirror universe," where good and evil seem to be inverted.Engage!
11The Deadly YearsThe Enterprise crew becomes infected with a rapid-aging virus.Just for fun
12I, MuddThe Enterprise bumps into Harry Mudd once again after a new crewman hijacks the ship.meh
13The Trouble with TribblesThe Enterprise responds to a distress call from Space Station K7 when Klingons arrive at the station.Engage!
14Bread and CircusesThe Enterprise discovers a parallel Earth where Rome never fell.Just for fun
15Journey to BabelThe Enterprise transports Federation ambassadors to a conference on Babel. One of the Ambassadors is Sarek, Spock's father.Engage!
16A Private Little WarKirk suspects that a primitive culture may have been armed by the Klingons.Just for fun
17The Gamesters of TriskelionKirk, Uhura and Chekov are kidnapped while preparing to beam down to Gamma 2. Spock must determine where the landing party has gone.Avoid
18ObsessionA cloud creature kills a number of redshirts on an away mission—but Kirk has encountered this creature before, and is determined to kill it.Just for fun
19The Immunity SyndromeThe Enterprise investigates the loss of the Federation starship Intrepid.Just for fun
20A Piece of the ActionThe Enterprise encounters a planet where the culture is based entirely on 1920's mobsters.Just for fun
21By Any Other NameWhile investigating a distress call, the Enterprise discover survivors who need the Enterprise to get home.Just for fun
22Return to TomorrowThe Enterprise receives a distress call from a distant planet.Just for fun
23Patterns of ForceIn search of Federation historian John Gill, the Enterprise discovers a planet modeled after Nazi Germany.Just for fun
24The Ultimate ComputerKirk is ordered to test M-5, an advanced computer which can command a starship.Engage!
25The Omega GloryA Federation captain breaks the Prime Directive and arms a primitive civilization.Avoid
26Assignment: EarthThe Enterprise travels back in time to 1968 and encounters secret agent Gary Seven.Just for fun
3 comments
  • This Kraetos guy has great taste in Star Trek and I bet he's devastatingly handsome too.

  • Season 3

    EpisodeTitleDescriptionRating
    01Spectre of the GunAliens place Kirk and a landing party in the O.K. Corral.Just for fun
    02Elaan of TroyiusThe Enterprise carries the Princess of Elaan to Troyius where she will marry their ruler, when Elaan sets her sights on Kirk.meh
    03The Paradise SyndromeThe Enterprise is sent to save a planet populated by Native Americans in danger of being rendered uninhabitable by an asteroid.meh
    04The Enterprise IncidentAs Kirk's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, he orders the Enterprise to cross into Romulan space for no apparent reason.Engage!
    05And The Children Shall LeadThe Enterprise responds to a distress call from a colony to discover that all the adults have died and only children survived.meh
    06Spock's BrainA woman from an alien ship steals Spock's brain.Avoid
    07Is There No Truth In Beauty?The Enterprise transport a Medusan ambassador, a species so ugly that any human who sees them will go insane.meh
    08The EmpathThe Enterprise is dispatched to rescue a science team from a planet orbiting a dying sun.meh
    09The Tholian WebThe Enterprise is attacked by Tholians while investigating the disappearance of the Federation starship Defiant.Engage!
    10For the World Is Hollow, and I Have Touched The SkyMcCoy falls in love with an alien high priestess after becoming infected with an incurable disease.Just for fun
    11Day of the DoveThe Enterprise investigates an attack on a Federation colony when a Klingon Battlecruiser approaches and accuses the Enterprise of killing Klingons.Engage!
    12Plato's StepchildrenThe Enterprise answers a distress call from a colony modeled after the time of Greek philosophers, who want McCoy to join them.meh
    13Wink of an EyeThe Enterprise encounters beings who experience time at a greatly reduced rate, rendering them invisible to humans.Just for fun
    14That Which SurvivesA landing party beams down to a very unusual planet.Avoid
    15Let That Be Your Last BattlefieldThe Enterprise encounters an alien who is completely white on one side of his body, black on the other.Avoid
    16Whom Gods DestroyKirk and Spock are committed when delivering medicine to an insane asylum.meh
    17The Mark of GideonThe crew of the Enterprise seemingly dissapears after Kirk tries to beam down to Gideon, which claims to be a paradise.Avoid
    18The Lights of ZetarThe Enterprise detects an interstellar storm traveling faster than warp 2.Avoid
    19The Cloud MindersKirk and Spock discover a segregated cloud city.meh
    20The Way to EdenThe Enterprise encounters space hippies.Avoid
    21Requiem for MetuselahKirk, Spock and McCoy encounter a strange man who knows much about Earth history.Just for fun
    22The Savage CurtainPresident Lincoln invites the Enterprise bridge crew to visit him on a molten planet.meh
    23All Our YesterdaysThe Enterprise is sent to evacuate a planet before it's star goes supernova, but the colonists are missing.Engage!
    24Turnabout IntruderOne of Kirk's ex-girlfriends takes control of his body, jealous that she herself could not become a starship captain.meh

    The 30 good ones

    The "30 good episodes" are, in production order:

    1. Where No One Has Gone Before
    2. The Corbomite Maneuver
    3. The Enemy Within
    4. The Naked Time
    5. Balance of Terror
    6. The Galileo Seven
    7. Court Martial
    8. The Menagerie (Part I)
    9. The Menagerie (Part II)
    10. The Squire of Gothos
    11. Arena
    12. Tomorrow is Yesterday
    13. A Taste of Armageddon
    14. Space Seed
    15. Devil in the Dark
    16. Errand of Mercy
    17. The City on the Edge of Forever
    18. Amok Time
    19. The Doomsday Machine
    20. The Changeling
    21. Mirror, Mirror
    22. The Trouble with Tribbles
    23. Journey to Babel
    24. Obsession
    25. A Piece of the Action
    26. The Ultimate Computer
    27. The Enterprise Incident
    28. The Tholian Web
    29. Day of the Dove
    30. All Our Yesterdays
  • Good bot. I don't say that often.