Top 3 episodes (all series) for a newbie
Top 3 episodes (all series) for a newbie
Hi there. A friend of mine wants to get into Star Trek (finally, yay). She asked me which series would be a good start since she loves binge watching. I honestly couldn't say. My favourites are VOY, ENT S1/S2 & SNW, but I'm a big fan of all series and watched them so many times back to back (with the exception of DIS & PIC - only once and never again). So, instead I thought we could watch the top 3 episodes of each series and then she can pick one to start watching the entire thing. Let me hear your top 3 episodes of one or several series. Just keep in mind she doesn't know any of the lore yet. I'm really looking forward to see your takes.
If I only had one chance to introduce someone to Star Trek, I'd chose the TNG double feature Chain of Command. It's simply one of the best episode(s) Star Trek has to offer.
On the flip side, don't choose any of the Ferengi episodes. They are just unnecessary comic relief in my opinion.
Both me and my gf started with entire lower decks, then snw and now ive started tng (from start, currently in s2 snd enjoying more than i thought based on all the recs to go straight to s3).. That has been a great entry for us at lesst
I think SNW is a good start for someone enterily new to Star Trek. However, I would advise against starting with Lower Decks. Maybe it's just not my cup of tea in general and the only reason I did enjoy LD quite a lot is due to tightly knitted references (i.e. Giant Spock's skeleton, prank calling Armus, and so on). It's basically like how someone here recommended TNG before DS9 because it sets the stage. It's also why I'd recommend skipping SNW's S2E7 (Those old scientists) until you are familiar with LD in general.
May I ask about your favourites of TNG S2? There are some strong standalone episodes. :)
Without getting all the references we at least found lower decks to stand very well on its own. Will rewatch once ive seen all of the tng-era shows as i think you obviously get more out of it if you also get the references, but my point was just that its not a prerequisite to enjoy it.
Im only about 4 episodes into s02 of tng so far. I was just expecting s01 and s02 to really suck based on discussions and recommendations to skip straight to s03. But ive had a good time so far and now i am really looking forward to s03 if it is so much better.
In no particular order, two-parters count as one episode.
TOS:
- Balance of Terror
- The Trouble with Tribbles
- The Doomsday Machine
TAS:
- The Infinite Vulcan
- The Slaver Weapon
- The Lorelai Signal
TNG:
- Measure of a Man
- The Inner Light
- Cause & Effect
DS9:
- Pale Moonlight
- Past Tense
- Far Beyond the Stars
VGR:
- The Killing Game
- Latent Image
- Scorpion
ENT:
- Regeneration
- A Night in Sickbay
- A Mirror Darkly
Those are the only series I’ve seen in their entirety, so I’ll leave it at that.
For Voyager, where is Year of Hell??
I’m with you on all the others, but Year of Hell is probably my favorite episode of all the Treks.
I understand.
There are so many episodes to choose from, it’s almost cruel to make a Trekkie pick just three. There are, like, ten more episodes I could have picked for TNG alone.
Year of Hell is amazing, especially since it was a prophecy from earlier in the series. But I think Killing Game and Scorpion make better two-parters because they had a lasting effect on the ship and the show. Killing Game was huge in scale and necessary to address the power balance with the Hirogen. And Scorpion gave us Seven. Year of Hell, for all it did, fell victim to the big red reset button. And to pour salt on the wound, no one even remembered what happened.
DS9 Pale Moonlight: is my second favorite startrek episode. This is like the deepest exploration into a starfleet captain and how easy it is to lose yourself to corruption and operate outside of your government even when you're working towards the same goal.
VOY The Thaw: an unironic cathartic watch. I'm ready invested in the characters and I get to see A1 star trek grade acting actually brings me back to that episode.
As an ENT fan, excellent choices 👌
That list is amazing! There are a lot of episodes I hold dear. Also thanks for adding TAS.
"Data's Day" is actually a pretty great one to get someone into TNG, it's fun, but most importantly, Data is essentially walking around introducing all of the main characters to the audience.
I typically recommend starting with TNG in general (I used to say because it was "modern" 😭) as it naturally leads into DS9 and VOY. That said if your friend doesn't typically watch older shows but is open to them, then just starting with SNW or ENT is an excellent intro to the rest of Trek.
Data is essentially walking around introducing all of the main characters to the audience.
Sounds a lot like DS9's In the Cards (525).
My friend is absolutely open to older shows. I somehow forgot about "Data's Day". I don't know how that one slipped past me, but it's truly great for beginners of Star Trek. I appreciate it!
Specifically for a new viewer who wants 3 shows that would be different and enjoyable:
TNG:
The Inner Light, Cause and Effect, Lower Decks
DS9:
Duet, The Visitor, Trials and Tribbleations
TNG and DS9 are the only two series that I really know well enough to make these recommendations for.
I would highly recommend watching TNG before DS9, even if she likes DS9 better. TNG and DS9 work best as companion shows, with TNG building up a lot of DS9 plot-lines in its latter seasons. I would also highly recommend against starting with any episodes involving Q or the Borg, or any of the series "highlights". Let those plots build, and you don't want to spoil some of the best episodes in a sampler. My go-to TNG introduction picks are:
-Cause and Effect
-Darmok
-Measure of a Man
DS9 can be harder to pick introductory episodes for. Its more serialized nature means that a lot of later episodes have a lot of spoilers. I would highly recommend against picking any episodes that highly involve the Dominion or the Dominion War, let that plot build itself up. That does however, leave us with a lot fewer options. My DS9 introduction picks are:
-Duet
-Past Tense
-Bar Association
Great picks and I fully agree with the TNG before DS9 recommendation which I will share with my friend soon. Thank you.
TNG: Drumhead, I, Borg, and Chain of command (or if you don't want a two parter, take your pick of Q who, Measure of a Man, or Yesterday's Enterprise)
DS9: In the Pale Moonlight, Inquisition, and It's Only a Paper Moon.
VOY: Living Witness, Tuvix, and Year of Hell (or again, if you don't want a two parter, go for Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy)
TOS: The Devil in the Dark, The City on the Edge of Forever, and Mirror Mirror.
ENT: Similitude, Regeneration, and In a Mirror Darkly (don't really have a good non-two parter to suggest over In a Mirror, Enterprise doesn't have a lot of great standalone episodes IMO)
Movies: if you want to use these as examples, The Wrath of Khan for TOS and First Contact for TNG.
And I don't really have a list for LD, PIC, DIS, SNW, or PRO.
Edit: for VOY, I might actually put Author, Author over Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy.