most controversial star trek episodes

Star Trek: The 20 Most Controversial Episodes from the Franchise

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Created by Gene Roddenberry, the iconic space opera franchise Star Trek has a track record of packing quite a punch and boldly handling thought-provoking topics like bioweapons, xenophobia, mental health, and fundamentalism; influencing other productions and pop culture ; and even predicting future events and inventions such as automatic doors, touchscreen monitors, 3D printing, tablets, autonomous drones, and virtual reality.

For all its daring, reformist, and inclusive content though (and sometimes because of it), the franchise spawned scenes and even entire episodes that either wouldn’t fly today or were not considered a glowing decision, displaying systematic racism, sexism, nudity, extreme violence, and more.

Here is a selection of 20 episodes spanning five shows: The Original Series ( TOS ), The Next Generation ( TNG ), Deep Space Nine ( DS9 ), Voyager ( VOY ), and Enterprise ( ENT ), that either caused public backlash when they aired, were censored or banned, witnessed behind-the-scenes drama, or are still divisive and debated today for their controversial content or approach to certain sensitive topics.

20 Wolf in the Fold — TOS, Season 2, Episode 7

Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelly), and Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (James Doohan) of the starship USS Enterprise travel to the hedonistic planet of Argelius II for a much-needed shore leave. Unfortunately, Scotty is caught vaguely amnesiac near the body of the dancer he left the nightclub with, and is accused of being the serial killer who has recently been targeting women in the dead of night.

Then, a female lieutenant from the ship and the wife of the planet’s prefect are also murdered, in a way that puts even more suspicion on Scotty. An investigation and a séance will eventually reveal that “Redjac” (one of the many nicknames given to the notorious Whitechapel killer, Jack the Ripper ) is an alien entity who can possess bodies and feed on the fear of females, regardless of species.

Alien Jack the Ripper and Sexism

When "Wolf in the Fold" aired in 1967, it was thought to be a shocking, albeit intriguing take on a real-life mystery that has puzzled the public since 1888. Why only target women though, and what are Redjack’s motives? The answer lies in Science Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy)’s casually "logical" statement:

“Women are more easily and more deeply terrified, generating more sheer horror than the male of the species.”

Save for Nichelle Nichols’ Lieutenant Uhura, women in TOS are severely underdeveloped, only defined by their relationships with men, and easily disposable and forgotten. It is even inferred that the crew returns to Argelius II to partake in more casual encounters, completely blacking out the murdered officer.

That episode is definitely not the progressive franchise’s most shining moment; as Trek Movie puts it , “If you’re planning on introducing your feminist girlfriend to Star Trek , 'Wolf in the Fold' might not be the best starter episode.”

19 Code of Honor — TNG, Season 1, Episode 3

Airing in 1987, "Code of Honor" brought the crew to the planet Ligon II to acquire a vaccine, where they meet the leader, Lutan (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson), who takes a particular interest in the Enterprise -D and strongly comes on to Security Officer Natasha Yar (Denise Crosby), much to his wife Yareena’s offense and anger.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Misogyny, sexism, and racism.

The Ligonians are depicted as aggressively primitive, backwards, and exclusively Black humanoids who don tribal attire (including turbans), carry lances, and treat women like property and objects of lust, to the point of kidnapping Yar, a blonde. As such, this episode is often considered by fans as one of the franchise’s worst for its clichés — it even features a fight scene between Yar and Yareena with poisoned spikes.

The show also made both the crew and cast uncomfortable: Roddenberry fired director Russ Mayberry because he opposed the casting choice for the Ligonians; Michael Dorn, (the Klingon Worf) referred to it as “the worst episode of Star Trek ever filmed” at the 2013 Toronto Comic Con’s panel; and Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker) has often stated it should be removed from home videos and reruns — though it hasn't yet.

18 In the Pale Moonlight — DS9, Season 6, Episode 19

Much of DS9 takes place on the titular space station located near the planet Bajor, which was once occupied and enslaved by the power-hungry Cardassians. The space station sits on the threshold of a wormhole that leads to a far-away section of the galaxy controlled by the Dominion/Changelings, a race of shapeshifters with genetically enhanced soldiers .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

An honorable captain stoops low to save the alpha quadrant.

"In the Pale Moonlight" is one of the franchise’s most memorable, thought-provoking, and emotionally charged episodes, because it features the honorable Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) uncharacteristically falsifying information, tricking the Romulan force into joining Starfleet, and tasking the station’s only Cardassian resident, Garak, with murdering a Romulan dignitary in order to save the Quadrant in general, and the Federation in particular. Which begs the much-debated question: does the end really justify the means?

“I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. And if I had to do it all over again — I would. Garak was right about one thing: a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant.”

– Sisko

17 Conspiracy — TNG, Season 1, Episode 24

"Conspiracy" is the penultimate episode of TNG ’s first season. It aired in 1988, and features a parasitic alien race attempting to take over Starfleet’s strategic section and invade the United Federation of Planets by killing and possessing the bodies of high-ranking officers.

Related: The Mirror Universe in Star Trek Television, Explained

Banned and Censored for Gore

Because the episode featured a particularly graphic scene of a possessed officer exploding and melting, it required a warning before airing in Canada, and was banned by the BBC in the United Kingdom, making its way in a censored version on BBC Two. The most violent and unsettling scenes were so convincing that they earned the show the Best Makeup vote at the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards.

16 Harbinger — ENT, Season 3, Episode 15

ENT generally holds the title of least-favorite Star Trek show and captain , although it demonstrated a lot of potential. In "Harbringer," the Enterprise finds a pod with a decaying scaled alien, and Chief Engineer Trip (Connor Trinneer) performs a Vulcan neuro-pressure technique on private Amanda Cole (Noa Tishby), triggering the Vulcan Science Officer T’Pol’s (model and actress Jolene Blalock) jealousy.

Star Trek: Enterprise

The first-ever female nude scene.

T’Pol decides to take the attraction she feels for Trip a step further by completely undressing in his private quarters for the “exploration of human sexuality.” It was the franchise’s first female nude scene, airing in 2004; Blalock’s bare bottom was cropped on the United Paramount Network, but was broadcast uncensored on Canadian television.

15 The Paradise Syndrome — TOS, Season 3, Episode 3

In "The Paradise Syndrome," while he is visiting an Earth-like planet featuring a settlement of Northwestern Native American descendants, Captain Kirk experiences amnesia and develops a relationship with and marries Miramanee (Sabrina Scharf), the priestess.

Noble Savage Trope and Lack of Inclusivity

The episode completely capitalizes on the noble savage trope, picturing the tribe as peaceful, primitive, and literally frolicking in a paradisiacal setting, who viewed the white man who came upon their settlement as godlike. Ironically, no Native American actor was actually cast, not even Scharf, who made heads turn as a Playboy Bunny in 1962.

14 These Are the Voyages... — ENT, Season 4, episode 22

ENT ’s rocky journey concluded in "These Are the Voyages…" with Riker and Counselor Troy (Marina Sirtis) from TNG popping into the holodeck to recreate and recall the crucial and painful events that followed Starfleet’s first deep-space journey and established the foundation of the United Federation of Planets.

Disappointing Finale and Unnecessary Death

The TNG enclosure did ENT and its declining ratings a great disservice, according to the cast, critics, and fans, because it robbed them of a proper send-off, prompting Blalock to label it as “appalling,” and Sci Fi Weekly to write about ENT ’s cast: “It reduces them to the status of lab rats, and Riker’s supercilious observation is condescending: at one point, he even plants a kiss on a frozen holographic T’Pol’s cheek!”

Not to mention that Trip sacrificed himself towards the end while on a rescue mission, which was perceived by Trekkies as forced and needless, as well as unnecessarily heartbreaking for both Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and T’Pol, who had already suffered enough.

13 Turnabout Intruder — TOS, season 3, Episode 24

"Turnabout Intruder" explores the vindictiveness and revenge plan of Kirk’s former lover Dr. Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), who uses an alien machine to trap and paralyze him, then switch bodies with him. The new “Kirk” then starts to display uncharacteristically shocking behavior, to the point of condemning protesting officers to death.

Sexism and Irrational Female Emotions

“I’ve seen the captain feverish, sick, drunk, delirious, terrified, overjoyed, boiling mad... but up to now, I have never seen him red-faced with hysteria.” – Scott

Not only do Dr. Lester’s unhinged behavior and actions corroborate her earlier protest that she hadn’t been promoted to captain because she was a woman, but they also further the jealous and spiteful female trope. It is strongly implied that female ambition can only lead to insanity, and that woman are incapable of leadership.

12 Similitude — ENT, Season 3, Episode 10

Star Trek is no stranger to exploring cloning and artificial lifeforms, whether accidental or deliberate, and in "Similitude" (directed by LeVar Burton), Trip, while attempting to increase the ship’s warp speed, falls into a near-fatal coma. Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) then has no choice but to grow a symbiote clone to be used as his neurological donor.

Is Cloning Unethical or Life-Saving?

Audiences watched the clone, labeled Sim, grow freakishly fast from a child to an inquisitive teenager to a fully developed Trip clone, with all his memories intact. Adult Sim even developed feelings for T’Pol, which made Archer and Phlox’s ultimate decision to terminate him in order to save the comatose patient all the more controversial.

T’Pol: Symbiots are living, conscious entities. We’ll be growing a sentient being for the sole purpose of harvesting tissue. Archer: I’m aware of the ethical implications. If we weren’t in the Expanse, maybe my decision would be different. But we’ve got to complete this mission. Earth needs Enterprise. Enterprise needs Trip. It’s as simple as that.

11 Mudd’s Women — TOS, Season 1, Episode 6

In "Mudd’s Women," the Enterprise rescues the captain of a cargo vessel from an asteroid belt, Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel), an interstellar con artist and smuggler who uses beautiful enchantresses in all his crimes and schemes.

Sexism and Human Trafficking

Mudd is nothing less than a pimp with scantily clad sex slaves, drugging them to replenish their youth and appearance, and tasking them with subduing and marrying male victims for profit. At one point, lithium crystal miners even offer to trade for them, as though they were mere commodities.

Kirk: Is this your crew, Captain? Mudd: Well, no, Captain. This is my cargo.

Per The Movie Blog , “The episode never stops treating Mudd as a charming snake oil salesman. It isn’t just Harry’s behavior towards the women that suggests sexism, but everybody’s conduct towards them.”

10 Rejoined — DS9, Season 4, Episode 5

DS9 explores the Trill alien species at length via a main character, the space station’s Chief Science Officer Jadzia (Terry Farrell), who happens to be the 8th host of the Dax symbiont. Every year, 300 Trills are carefully chosen to host a symbiont, thus allowing the latter to lead multiple lifetimes in different bodies and genders, incorporating the cumulative knowledge and skills of each and every host. In "Rejoined," Dax encounters Lenara Kahn (Susanna Thompson), a past wife who is now in a female body, and they briefly rekindle their flame.

Gender Fluidity and the Franchise’s First Same-Sex Kiss

"Rejoined" is considered one of the franchise’s most controversial and bold episodes. It was broadcast in 1995 and generated a strong negative reaction from many viewers, who phoned in to protest the lack of parental guidance warning. Per the reference book Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , a production assistant received a call from a father who complained, “You're ruining my kids by making them watch two women kiss like that.”

On the other hand, others wrote to commend the production crew for their refreshing approach to same-sex relationships and tactful handling of the concept of gender fluidity.

9 Whom Gods Destroy — TOS, Season 3, Episode 14

Airing in 1969, "Whom Gods Destroy" follows Kirk and Spock as they are imprisoned on the planet Elba II by Garth of Izar (Steve Ihnat), a former starship captain with shape-shifting abilities. They are then locked in a mental facility overrun by its patients. Garth is determined to take over the Enterprise and eventually the universe as Kirk, all the while the sultry Orion inmate, Marta (Yvonne Craig, Batgirl in the Batman series) attempts to seduce and kill Kirk.

Sadism, Violence, and Simplistic Portrayal of Mental Illness

There were at least four problematic scenes: Marta’s provocative dance, considered unsuitable for young viewers; when Kirk is subjected to torture; when Garth ascertains his power and control by nonchalantly murdering Marta with an explosive; and finally, when the patients are magically cured of their mental illnesses with a simply generic pill. Therefore, the BBC refrained from airing the episode for its “sadistic plot elements,” and German television didn’t broadcast it until 1988.

8 Chain of Command, Part II — TNG, Season 6, Episode 11

Assigned on a covert mission to dispose of a Cardassian biological weapon installation, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) is lured to the Cardassian border, on the planet Celtris III, where he is captured and interrogated by Gul Madred (David Warner).

Realistic and Raw Torture

Madred ruthlessly tortures Picard in every possible manner, stripping him naked, hanging him from the ceiling, starving and dehydrating him, bombarding him with extremely bright lights, inflicting physical pain, and especially, trying to break him mentally.

For maximum impact and credibility, writer Frank Abatemarco consulted Amnesty International’s archives and resources on actual psychological and physical methods of torture. Stewart and Warner were both praised for their compelling performances, but naturally, many viewers complained about the disturbing graphic torture scenes, wishing there had been a disclaimer.

7 The Enemy Within — TOS, Season 1, Episode 4

The franchise is chock-full of disasters caused by a transporter malfunction, and " The Enemy Within" is one of its earliest examples, featuring Kirk splitting into two personalities: a well-meaning but weak captain, and an evil version who is particularly nasty to Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney).

An Assault Hitting Too Close to Home

The episode portrays a normally honorable and sociable captain insulting and assaulting a tearful Rand in her own quarters. She is a subordinate who has always had a crush on him, and that scene was particularly unpleasant for Whitney, who wrote in her book The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy that Shatner hit her across the face so that she would convey the right emotion, but also that she was abused by a production executive. Following her dismissal from the show, the actress grappled with depression and addiction.

6 Miri — TOS, Season 1, Episode 8

Miri is an early TOS episode and one of the franchise’s most memorable and shocking chapters. It follows the crew of the Enterprise as they land on a retro, Earth-like planet that is only inhabited by children who age one month every century. This is due to a past life-extension experiment that went horribly wrong and killed all the adults, threatening anyone who would reach puberty in the same way.

Sadistic Children

Left to fend for themselves for centuries and without any adult supervision and affection, it’s not surprising that those children know nothing but hatred, extreme violence, and chaos, and lack emotional maturity. At some point, they even injure Kirk and kidnap Rand. When the episode aired on the BBC in 1970, complaints poured in about the portrayal of minors in such a sadistic light, and it was banned for years.

5 Up the Long Ladder — TNG, Season 2, Episode 18

In "Up the Long Ladder," the crew members of the Enterprise save a primitive human colony that settled on the planet Bringloid V from solar flares. They also meet another colony, which is much more advanced and favors cloning over biological reproduction.

Irish Clichés, Cloning, and Pro-Choice Stance

The episode title is taken from a famous Irish anti-Protestant rhyme and was meant to denounce intolerance, but the execution fell short. The first colony is basically an untamed Irish bunch with a strong penchant for alcohol, led by a drunken man named Danilo Odell (Barrie Ingham) and his feisty daughter, thus reinforcing Irish stereotypes like laziness, inebriety, promiscuity, and aggressivity.

As for the other settlers, they kidnap Riker and Dr. Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) to steal their DNA, and after their rescue, Riker makes sure to destroy their illicitly cloned embryos — a firm pro-choice stance that didn’t sit well with many viewers.

4 The High Ground — TNG, Season 3, Episode 12

In "The High Ground," the crew is on a mercy mission on Rutia IV, a Federation-affiliated war-town planet; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) tends to the wounded and is taken hostage by a separatist terrorist faction.

References to the Irish Unification

When citing an example of cases wherein terrorism was effective, Commander Data (Brent Spiner) cites the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Reunification of Ireland in 2024. Although fictive, the reference and extreme violence got the episode banned in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It wasn’t until 2006 that it was broadcast on the satellite channel Sky One, with the line in question edited out.

3 Patterns of Force — TOS, Season 2, Episode 21

Speaking of controversial military and political episodes, TOS ’s "Patterns of Force" airing in 1968 was a prime example. Kirk and Scott beam down to the planet Ekos, which is disturbingly modeled after Nazi society — Führer, torture chambers, resistance, and propaganda included.

Nazism and Brutalized Characters

The episode is riddled with Nazi uniforms, mannerisms, and insignia, and actual footage of Hitler in a car from the infamous propaganda film Triumph of the Will was included. Consequently, it was banned on German television until 1996. On another note, the BBC cut down the scene in which Kirk and Spock were brutally whipped.

2 Plato’s Stepchildren — TOS, Season 3, Episode 12

"Plato’s Stepchildren" follows Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Uhura on a planet ruled by the Platonians, a race of sadistic, arrogant, hedonistic, cruel, manipulative, and immortal humanoids with telekinetic abilities, who toy with them and control their actions as they please.

Related: 12 Surprising Facts About Star Trek: The Original Series

Sadism and Interracial Kiss

The BBC banned the episode for “unpleasant content,” citing torture and sadism, rather than the actual controversy. Jadzia kissing another woman in DS9 may have caused major uproar, but it certainly wasn’t as memorable or referenced as the passionate embrace shared by Kirk and Uhura, a Black woman. Though it was forced by the Platonians and wasn't related to any romantic feelings between the characters, it will forever be remembered as one of the first interracial kisses on television.

Most notably, according to Nichols' autobiography , Wiliam Shatner sabotaged every other take where they didn't kiss, forcing the network to air the then-controversial scene in what may be the best thing he ever did as Captain Kirk.

1 Tuvix — VOY, Season 2, Episode 24

In VOY ’s episode "Tuvix," a transporter malfunction (what a problematic invention!) accidentally merges two crew members, the Vulcan Tuvok (Tim Russ) and the Talaxian Neelix (Ethan Phillips), into one sentient being who combines their looks and abilities: Tuvix (Tom Wright).

Star Trek: Voyager

Should an accidental lifeform be destroyed.

Considered an aberration, Tuvix ended up growing on the crew, but Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) needed Neelix and Tuvok to resume their respective functions, and gave the green light to have their DNA separated again.

“I don’t want to die.” – Tuvix

With these simple, poignant words, the individual in question raises an ethical conundrum: should an accidental but sentient being be killed to bring back loved and familiar people? This episode often comes up in interviews and convention panels, dividing fans, cast, and critics.

10 Most Controversial Star Trek: Discovery Episodes, Ranked

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Star Trek: Discovery has ended its successful five-year run that saw it change the face of the franchise forever. When it arrived in 2017, Star Trek's continuation was very much in doubt, with the Kelvinverse movies more or less finishing their run and the previous television series more than a decade in the rearview mirror. Discovery kicked it all to a higher level, overcoming serious early issues behind the scenes and launching a new renaissance with multiple streaming series following in its wake. Current projects now in development point to a very bright future for the franchise, which simply wouldn't have happened without it.

Like the previous series that came before it, Discovery has generated its share of controversy along the way. Any franchise with the longevity of Star Trek needs to adjust its formula to better fit the times, which always entails a fair amount of discussion. The trend goes all the way back to Star Trek: The Next Generation and will likely be with the franchise for as long as it continues. Discovery's bold storylines and efforts to shake up the formula – an absolute necessity considering the state of the franchise when it premiered – have come with an expected amount of controversy. Here are ten of their most hot-button episodes, along with the reasons they set fans' tongues wagging.

10 'That Hope Is You, Part 2' Reveals a Lingering Problem with Orions

Discovery: why doctor kovich's real name has major star trek implications.

In the series finale of Star Trek: Discovery, Dr. Kovich revealed his real name, which establishes his deep connection to Star Trek's canon history.

Orions – particularly Orion women – have been a hot-button topic for Star Trek ever since the original pilot "The Cage," which presented the species as enslaved "animal women" who could drive men to be their worst selves with their pheromones. Various halting efforts at course correction – including an infamous episode of Star Trek: Enterprise – largely compounded the problem, leaving Orions as an uncomfortable artifact of The Original Series .

As with a number of Star Trek issues, Discovery gave the concept a good shake-up in Season 3 with its central villain, Osyraa: ruthless leader of a criminal empire in the 32nd century where the Federation has collapsed. The character is brilliant, and one of the scariest baddies the franchise has produced. However, the show runners couldn't resist bringing the pheromones back into it, which Osyraa uses to secure the loyalty of her doubting minion . D'Vana Tendi was already starting the Orions' proper rehabilitation in Star Trek: Lower Decks , leaving Osyraa's manipulativeness a final, distasteful reminder of how much still needed to be overcome.

9 'That Hope Is You, Part 1' Finds a Galaxy without The Federation

Before Discovery' s third season, Star Trek remained firmly ensconced in the 23rd and 24th centuries, with the Federation in its prime and humanity enjoying a seemingly endless golden age. Star Trek: Enterprise covered the foundation of the United Federation of Planets , but otherwise, the near-utopia is one of the foundations of Star Trek . It also left a staggering amount of canon content that Discovery had to navigate during its first two seasons.

It performed admirably in the face of some very daunting challenges, but sooner or later, it was going to get hit. It responded by leapfrogging forward all the way to the 32nd century, free of anything the franchise had established so far and reflecting Discovery's early conception as a Star Trek anthology series. It also revealed a decimated Federation that Captain Michael Burnham and her crew needed to restore , which is something that hasn't always sat well with segments of the fan base.

8 'Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad' Brings Back Harry Mudd in the Weirdest Way

Harcourt Fenton Mudd stole the show in a pair of Original Series episodes as a charming scoundrel who gives Captain Kirk all he can handle, and it speaks volumes that he returned a second time in a series resolutely dedicated to stand-alone episodes. An old-school flimflam artist, he alternates between reluctant ally and conniving backstabber, making him an apt representative for the more regrettable parts of human nature that even the utopian Federation can't overcome.

Mudd returns to the franchise with a pair of episodes in Discovery , played by Rainn Wilson as a more sinister incarnation of what was originally just a clever rascal. "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad" has him attempting to sabotage the Discovery in order to claim the spore drive, triggering a time loop that Michael Burnham and the crew need to untangle. A solid episode and a strong performance from Wilson can't escape the changes to the character, nor the continuity issues that arise when Kirk's first meeting with the character in The Original Series makes no mention of his previous encounters with Starfleet .

7 'Choose to Live' Hand-Waves Adira and Gray's Reunion

“that was a really hard episode to film” blu del barrio talks about their star trek: discovery journey.

In an interview with CBR, Star Trek: Discovery star Blu del Barrio reflects on Adira's evolution in the series and their growing role in Starfleet.

Along with Paul Stamets and Dr. Culber, Adira and Gray Tal formed a family unit onboard the Discovery in the latter three seasons. It was another of the show's big steps forward in LGBT+ representation. The pair are young lovers, whose passion for each other forms a beautiful counterweight to the more seasoned relationship of their surrogate parents. They're also bound by a shared Trill symbiote, which Adira saves when Gray is killed and who facilitates the latter's eventual resurrection. Therein lies the issue.

Having already dodged a bullet with Culber's death and resurrection earlier in the series that drew accusations of the "Bury Your Gays" trope, the show promptly doubles down on the same formula. While Culber's resurrection entails carefully thought-out justification, Gray receives a bit of hand-waving with an organic robot body lifted directly from an earlier episode of Star Trek: Picard . Fans took notice, and Gray and Adira both deserve a little more thought put into the effort.

6 'Choose Your Pain' Highlights Discovery's Controversial Spore Drive

The Discovery has a unique mode of transport known as a "spore drive" developed by Paul Stamets that permits the vessel to instantly travel anywhere in the universe. "The mycelial network" – a subspace domain comprising a fungal web that connects all points in space at once – becomes the ship's one-stop destination. It also threatened to upend everything the franchise had established about how faster-than-light travel works.

Because the show's first two seasons take place before the start of The Original Series , it raised big continuity issues . As usual, the series overcame them by establishing the ship as a one-off, requiring a singular source (Stamets himself) to operate. The secrecy surrounding Control in Season 2, followed by the Discovery's departure to the 32nd century, mitigates the logic holes. It still left the Star Trek faithful scratching their heads, and some still view it as a step too far for the series.

5 'The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry' Compares Elon Musk to the Wright Brothers

"Controversial" is, perhaps, an understatement when describing billionaire Elon Musk, whose business practices and personal indulges are routinely scrutinized by people. In many ways, he embodies everything Star Trek stands against, namely the idea of unskilled narcissists who routinely spread hateful misinformation while locked in a bubble of privilege that seems to inoculate them from anything resembling the real world.

Musk's reputation was far less shabby in 2017, and his knack for self-promotion had many convinced that he was truly the genius he projected to the world. That led to a seemingly throwaway line in "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry," in which Captain Lorca mentions Musk in the same context as Zephram Cochrane and the Wright Brothers . Granted, Lorca is a native of Star Trek's Mirror Universe , a place where the evil counterparts of Star Trek's heroic characters reside. This gives the franchise some cover, but even so, it left a blemish that the franchise has yet to live down.

4 'The Vulcan Hello' Makes Drastic Changes to the Klingons

The Klingons are one of Star Trek's original adversaries , with several memorable appearances in The Original Series that cemented them as staples in the franchise. They received a massive change in their visual appearance for Star Trek: The Motion Picture : giving them their signature forehead ridges and distancing them from the loose racial stereotyping they initially embodied. They remained that way for decades, as the Klingons evolved from implacable foes to stalwart (if hot-tempered) allies.

In that time, however, familiarity removed their ability to truly intimidate -- a fact that Discovery had to grapple with as it explored the events of the Federation-Klingon War in the 23rd century. That called for a radical redesign of the species (something that Star Trek: Into Darkness had already experimented with), which sent fans into an uproar when they first appeared in the series premiere . The franchise backed off, and by the time Star Trek: Strange New Worlds came along, they had reverted to their more familiar physiology.

3 'Battle at the Binary Stars' Makes Michael Burnham a Criminal

Every Star Trek series before Discovery opened with a captain (or in the case of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , a captain-to-be) taking command of their new crew. Discovery broke from that tradition in a big way with Michael Burnham, who was introduced as the first officer of the USS Shenzhou, with a captain's chair seemingly guaranteed in her future.

"Battle at the Binary Stars" takes a hard right when Burnham fires on a Klingon vessel in an effort to prevent a war, and is blamed instead for starting the Federation-Klingon War . The shocking turn of events sets her on a long, slow journey back to the captain's chair, reflecting in part the challenges and obstacles minorities face in real life. However, it was almost unthinkable to open a Star Trek series on such a grim and downbeat note. It constituted a sea change for the franchise, generating no end of opinions on the matter.

2 'Context Is for Kings' Gives Spock Another Unknown Sibling

In perhaps Discovery's greatest act of narrative daring, Michael Burnham is posited as being the adoptive daughter of Sarek and Amanda Grayson, making her Spock's sister with a long history between them . This despite the fact that neither he nor Star Trek has ever made mention of it before. Even more ominous, the franchise had pulled the trick once before with Spock's half-brother Sybok in the benighted Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . Fans were thus dubious about a repeat of that debacle.

As with a number of controversial decisions, Discovery pulled it off. Michael's time on Vulcan is an integral part of her character, and her reconciliation with Spock is vital to the show's second season. The crew's departure to the far future at the end of Season 2 – and the need for secrecy surrounding the rogue AI Control – neatly explained why Spock never mentioned her. Even so, it took some time before the audience relaxed its guard on that front.

1 'Despite Yourself' Appears to Fulfill the Bury Your Gays Trope

Star trek: discovery star reveals han solo inspiration for jett reno.

Comedian Tig Notaro reveals the inspiration for the Star Trek: Discovery’s commander.

"Bury Your Gays" is an acknowledged pop culture trope in which LGBT+ characters are killed with far more frequency than cishet characters, implying that they're more expendable. Discovery struggled with the trope throughout its run, as all five of its recurring LGBT+ characters have either been killed or widowed, even if two of those dead characters did come back. However, no Discovery episode highlighted this problem more strongly than in "Despite Yourself."

Having established a beautiful relationship between ship's doctor Hugh Culber and spore drive genius Paul Stamets throughout most of the first season, Discovery threw a huge monkey wrench into the equation when stealth Klingon Ash Tyler broke his neck at the end of the episode . The outcry was so palpable that actor Wilson Cruz had to perform damage control in the wake of it, assuring outraged fans that the story wasn't finished yet.

Thankfully, it was all part of a larger story line, with Culber was restored to life in Season 2, and reunited with Stamets after a brief estrangement. Star Trek has a penchant for resurrection, and when seen in its entirety, the plot arc works quite well. In some ways, however, the series was never quite able to un-ring that bell.

All five seasons of Star Trek: Discovery are currently streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

You need to watch the most controversial sci-fi show on Netflix before it leaves next week

Here’s the only five episodes you really need to see.

The boldest and most controversial Star Trek series of all time debuted 20 years ago on September 26, 2001. Since 2011, all four seasons of the show have been streaming on Netflix, but, along with The Original Series and Voyager , the earliest voyages of Starfleet will leave Netflix on September 30, 2021. Maybe forever.

Before Discovery and before the J.J. Abrams reboot, there was Star Trek: Enterprise , the rough and tumble adventures of the 22nd-century ship. If you’ve never watched Enterprise , here’s why you should, and the best five episodes to binge while you still can. (Extremely mild spoilers for Star Trek: Enterprise ahead. You’ve been warned.)

What is Star Trek: Enterprise ?

A good amount of Trekkie dogma will tell you that Enterprise — a retroactive prequel set before The Original Series — is the worst of all the post- Next Generation shows. While there’s a certain amount of been-there-done-that to many of Enterprise’s plots, its overall quality right out of the gate was, arguably, higher than TNG and Voyager .

In an attempt to tell the story of what Starfleet was like 100 years before The Original Series , the show not only ran into a lot of canon problems, but long-term, created a huge amount of foundational continuity that the rest of the franchise still relies upon.

Enterprise is kind of like The Phantom Menace of the Trek canon.

The plot of Star Trek Beyond is a direct outgrowth of everything that happened on Enterprise , and, tonally and aesthetically, Discovery’s first season is as much a direct sequel to Enterprise as it is a prequel to TOS. In short, Enterprise is kind of like The Phantom Menace of the Trek canon. It caught a lot of flack at the time it was released, but over time, you have to just accept that it exists.

But, in addition to the canon connections and world-building , Enterprise also contains a few stand-out, utterly thrilling episodes. After Enterprise leaves Netflix, the series will, of course, still be streaming on Paramount+, along with the rest of the Trek shows. But if you’re looking for a minimalist approach to the show, the following five episodes are your best bet.

5. “Broken Bow” (Season 1, Episode 1)

Broke: Klingons in space. Woke: Klingons on the farm!

A farmer shoots an alien running through his field — and it’s a Klingon! The first episode of Enterprise starts things off by trying to ground the world of Earth we know today with a projection of only 100 years in the future. The plot is a bit wonky, and the shape-shifting enemies, the Suliban, won’t necessarily make a whole lot of sense later, but the vibe of this episode is great. If you can’t handle Captain Archer’s (Scott Bakula) “NX-01” baseball cap and the syrupy theme song, you’re not gonna like the rest of the show. Strap in! It’s gonna be a long (short?) road.

4. “Dear Doctor” (Season 1, Episode 12)

Hoshi and Cutler help Dr. Phlox investigate a mysterious virus.

A bizarrely prescient episode focused on ethical dilemmas amid a planet-wide disease outbreak, this episode is one of the best examples of how Star Trek’s famous “Prime Directive” of non-interference doesn’t always have easy answers. And at this point in the timeline, Starfleet doesn’t even have the Prime Directive yet, making some of the ethical problems faced by Archer and Dr. Pholox (John Billingsley) messier than anything Picard or Kirk ever faced.

“Dear Doctor” also begins an interesting Enterprise tradition: leaving the audience unsure if the crew even did the right thing. Enterprise might not look gritty, but its ethics are much messier than TNG and Voyager . For most fans, this was the first episode of the show that proved it was real Star Trek, unafraid to ask hard questions.

3. “Impulse” (Season 3, Episode 5)

Vulcan zombies don’t raise their eyebrows...or drag their feet.

Vulcan zombies! In Enterprise Season 3, the crew spends most of their time trying to deal with a hostile multi-species alien culture called the Xindi in an area of space called “the expanse.” (No connection to the contemporary sci-fi series of the same name.) But, in the expanse, the wild final frontier of this early Trek prequel gets a little wilder.

In this episode, Enterprise encounters a Vulcan ship in distress, only to learn that a specific substance, called "trellium-D" has turned all the Vulcans into insane murderers. This episode is one of the best examples of Trek doing a horror story well, and the events have far-ranging impacts on the rest of the show.

But, perhaps most important, “Impulse” is one of the episodes of Enterprise that sports a writing credit from Terry Matalas, the new showrunner for the forthcoming second season of Star Trek: Picard . (Matalas also has a story credit on the Enterprise episode “Stratagem,” which is worth watching as well.)

2. “Damage” (Season 3, Episode 19)

T’Pol has a secret.

This is a great follow-up to “Impulse” and an episode that doubles down on the fractured Starfleet ethics that pervades much of the series. While T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) grapples with addiction issues, Archer has to figure out how to fix the warp drive of Enterprise without extra parts.

Will Starfleet resort to piracy just to keep its mission going? This episode does not care if you think Starfleet officers can’t act like this. It’s a hardcore, compelling story, and one of the most underrated episodes of the Enterprise, and Star Trek in general.

1. “Demons” and “Terra Prime” (Season 4, Episodes 20 and 21)

These folks will phase you if you cross them.

The crowning achievement of Enterprise , this two-part story is technically two episodes, but you have to watch both. Many hardcore fans consider this to be the true series finale, and not the actual last episode, “These Are the Voyages...”

The plot focuses on an extremist xenophobic group that takes hold on Earth. This group wants Earth for humans only and is going to great lengths to make it happen. The only thing standing between this conspiracy and total chaos is the crew of the Starship Enterprise .

Had Enterprise continued for a fifth season, the events of this epic two-parter would have certainly created several new plot points. But, as it stands, it's easily the finest hour of this underrated Trek series.

Enterprise is on Netflix until September 30 and on Paramount+ for the foreseeable future.

Check out two great streaming recs you should also add to your queue:

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Published Apr 15, 2023

'In the Pale Moonlight' Tackles the Finer Points of Morality

What conclusion would you draw from this classic Deep Space Nine episode?

StarTrek.com

“ In the Pale Moonlight ” holds a history of being one of the most controversial, most celebrated, and most critically acclaimed in all of Star Trek .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine tested the limits of Gene Rodenberry’s vision by framing it in the climate of war, and “In the Pale Moonlight” is considered one of the darkest results from that evaluation. The writers set out to create an episode where one of our heroes is at the center of a political controversy, and the resulting story was executed brilliantly.

Star Trek History: In the Pale Moonlight

In searching for an answer, we look beyond the script. We will touch on in-universe lore and history, seek insights from what we have been told on the script’s development, and consider words from the show’s creators. Overall, we will try to determine where these elements place our beloved captain along the spectrum of Machiavellianism.

Machiavellianism is rarely associated with positive virtue. For instance, ‘psychological Machiavellianism’ is a dark triad trait coupled with narcissism and psychopathy; ‘political Machiavellianism’ is the use of deceit towards self-interest.

In the realm of philosophy, there have been arguments on whether Machiavellianism should have moral weight attached to it. Those who say it should argue that the approach indicates immoral lines of thinking, and its use undermines the essence of democratic choice. Those who say it should not argue that Machiavelli intended to set out a utilitarian methodology, applicable in cases where acting outside of moral boundaries could lead to an outcome — an effectual truth — that avoids the loss which would be suffered if choosing to stay within those moral boundaries.

What framework can we use to evaluate which form of Machiavellianism would apply? If considering Machiavellianism as a method , it could fit within an emerging definition for the word technology . For instance, economist W. Brian Arthur defines technology as “a means to fulfill a purpose via a device, method, or process.”

As a technology, Kranzberg’s Laws, set out by historian Melvin Kranzberg, also apply. Specifically, the often quoted “technology is neither good nor bad (in and of itself); nor is it neutral (in the context behind its use, and in the consequences that follow).”

Thus, if following this framework, while use of Machiavellian methods would not immediately signify an immoral line of thinking, we still must explore the context and consequence surrounding its use before arriving at any conclusion, being mindful of whether evidence of the negative definitions might be discovered.

Contextually, we need to look at what we know of Sisko as a whole. Sisko has demonstrated the use of Machiavellian methods before, when facing against his former security chief Michael Eddington in " For the Uniform ." But two instances alone are not enough to point to psychological Machiavellianism on the part of Sisko. It could be just as apt to say that he has had the misfortune of having to consider Machiavellian methods more than once. Beyond that, the circumstances in that episode merit a separate evaluation of their own.

Politically, by virtue of his command, when the chips are down Sisko’s loyalties are to Starfleet the organization. This is suggested in the working title for this episode, "Patriot." As Michael Taylor notes in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , “Sisko makes the kind of decisions that have to be made in war. They’re for the greater good.” Sisko’s motivations are beyond relatively trivial notions of gaining a promotion or more power for himself. Having to distinguish between upholding values and preserving the organization is certainly beyond the scope of self-interest.

With respect to morality, what can we discern from Sisko overall? In his What We Left Behind documentary, series' executive producer and showrunner Ira Steven Behr, reflecting on Avery Brooks’ performance, put it this way, “Avery played Sisko as a man who cared deeply about keeping his people alive in very, very dangerous circumstances.” Consider the beginning of this episode, when Sisko reflects on the weekly casualty lists. Loss of life in war weighs heavily on him; we have seen this in " The Ship ," and will see it later in " The Siege of AR-558 ."

Sisko also makes every effort to protect his people’s livelihoods. An omitted scene from "In the Pale Moonlight" takes place during the time that Vreenak was examining the data rod. Dax enters Sisko’s office and proposes that they manufacture evidence of a Dominion plan to attack Romulus. She has no knowledge of the plan already being carried out.

Sisko tries to dissuade her adamantly before saying, “I’ll think about it.” Perhaps with a lighter conscience, Dax says, “I suppose it's one thing to come up with an idea like this... and another to put it into motion.” Sisko replies, “That's why they put these on my collar, old man.”

To Sisko, part of his charge is to protect the integrity of those who serve under him. We saw this in " Rules of Engagement " and " Inquisition ." This deleted scene, though not technically canon, demonstrates how Sisko’s charge would apply in this scenario. Overall, it would be hard-pressed to consider motivations of preserving the life and livelihood of others as immoral.

Consequentially, the outcome did have a positive effectual truth for the Alliance — the Romulans entered the war — ;but the collateral damage incurred goes beyond the conceptual. There is the ‘substantial truth’ of murders involved. Sisko did not directly authorize Garak’s assassination of Senator Vreenak or the murder of Grathon Tolar, but he does not dispute it when Garak says, “You knew I could do the things you weren't capable of doing yourself.” In being privy to Sisko’s deleted log, he declares his culpability when he says, “I was an accessory to murder.”

We should also consider that Sisko’s gamble involves more than the Dominion; it involves deceiving a group that is not a participant in the war, to have them place millions of their lives fiercely on the line. No matter how strong any projections might have been with respect to the Romulans eventually joining the war, there is now doubt on whether they would have come to that choice on their own.

The unfortunate thing is that although we may have arrived at a means to separate Sisko from most of the negative connotations of Machiavellianism, on the element of consequence, we cannot find a complete moral absolution for the Machiavellian plot as a whole, and by extension, Sisko’s part in it. For a Starfleet officer, this is where Starfleet ideas and notions cannot help but take hold.

Yet at the same time, such is his sacrifice. Notwithstanding the Romulan part of the equation, as a commanding officer, Sisko’s people are Starfleet officers, and by extension, the Alliance. As viewers, for the most part, we identify with that Alliance. We still keep him on the side of good because his efforts are intended to keep us alive, to keep us believing in Federation values towards peaceful coexistence, in spite of himself.

A dark thing to consider is that Sisko’s actions might not be considered a complete deviation from the totality of Starfleet values. Looking at the Alpha Quadrant as a whole, "Statistical Probabilities" projected Dominion War casualties at 900 billion. One of Starfleet’s most celebrated figures, Spock said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” In less volatile times, one can afford to ride by Kirk’s reversal, that “the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.” But the Dominion War is not one of those times.

At his own expense, and for what it is worth, Sisko admits, “Garak was right about one thing – a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant.”

Sisko has been regarded as one of the most compelling anti-heroes in fiction. The appeal is not found in his gamble, but in how his storyline measures context and consequence. In the climate of the Dominion War, the scale in which that can be explored is mind-boggling. In this episode, when examining where he might rest between sincere belief and justification, Sisko draws a line between the two and judges himself on the side with a bigger burden to his soul. Though the log is erased, effectual truth will not erase the substantial truth he knows to exist.

"In the Pale Moonlight" leaves it on that note. For all the discussion and reflection that comes after, the episode stands among the best that Star Trek has to offer.

This article was originally published on April 15, 2021.

Jon Encarnacion (he/him) is a freelance writer whose previous work includes interviews with comic book creatives, features on how fiction relates to real-world science, and coverage of events such as the Toronto International Film Festival. The inclusive world of Star Trek has been a constant inspiration in career paths outside of his writing life.

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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 how ‘star trek: deep space nine’ crafted one of its more controversial episodes.

Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor look back on the pressures of "In the Pale Moonlight,' which turned 25 this month.

By Phil Pirrello

Phil Pirrello

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One of Star Trek : Deep Space Nine’ s defining episodes owes a key part of its success to one late night drink.

The controversial and acclaimed hour “In the Pale Moonlight,” which turned 25 this month, finds Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) struggling to justify the moral and ethical compromises he made to trick the Romulans into joining Starfleet in their war against the Changeling-led Dominion.

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According to DS9 writer Ronald D. Moore , a night of drinking inspired his uncredited rewrite of Michael Taylor’s original teleplay, which weaves Sisko’s confessionals around a riveting conspiracy sparked by our hero. In doing so, one of Star Trek’ s most compelling hours was born.

For “Pale Moonlight’s” 25th anniversary, Moore and Taylor joined The Hollywood Reporter for an interview about the making of this classic episode, the differences in Taylor’s initial story, and the episode’s controversial ending.

“We were all sort of flummoxed on what to do with the story,” Taylor tells THR . The scribe, who would later go on to work on Moore’s Battlestar Galactica reboot, was then a freelance writer assigned to this episode. A fan of history and spy literature in general, Taylor did some research and unlocked a core piece of the story.

“The Zimmerman Telegram was something sent that helped get [the United States] into World War I,” Taylor explains. “It was a coded telegram sent by the Germans to Mexico offering an alliance, in case the U.S. entered the war.” But Taylor had a twist on the idea: “What if this message was faked to get us into the war? What if Sisko did something similar and was behind a concocted forgery?”

Taylor’s initial story — like his previous DS9 script, the classic episode “The Visitor” — centered on Sisko’s son, Jake (Cirroc Lofton), who was a burgeoning reporter for the Federation News Service.

“It was going to be about how Jake would find out his dad is up to something with Garak, and father and son would be at odds,” Moore recalls. “And [the writers] felt that it was false to have those two in conflict. We were so deep into the Dominion War at that point, and putting Jake in the center of it, as I recall, just felt like the wrong impulse.”

Before that, the original premise — which was inspired by the Gulf of Tonkin incident that brought the U.S. into the Vietnam War — also centered on Jake. This version saw Jake “Watergating” a highly regarded Bajoran figure, First Minister Shakaar. If Jake exposed the secret about Shakaar’s past, it would upend all of Bajor — so Ben Sisko would step in to stop his son from sharing it. But the DS9 writers room, led by showrunner Ira Steven Behr, was unable to crack that version as well.

Eventually, the team focused on Sisko luring one of the Federation’s greatest enemies into the fray.

“I think [‘Pale Moonlight’] did kind of slip between the cracks in terms of there being a lot of focus on Voyager ,” Moore remembers.

The writers opted to rebreak the story, putting the focus on Sisko. Scripting duties landed on Moore.

“We were struggling with it because it wasn’t quite clear what the show was, or what was working,” Moore says.

In this new draft, Moore knew he wanted Sisko working with Garak on a plot to bring the Romulans to the front line. Moore would then thread a series of escalating compromises that Sisko would make in his efforts to save the galaxy by way of continued warfare.

The beats where Sisko narrates his recollection of the events directly at the camera were Moore’s addition, as was a scene where Sisko and his science officer and trusted friend, Dax (Terry Farrell), role-played a hypothetical debate between the Federation and Romulans. Here, Sisko takes the side of Starfleet, Dax the Romulans, as the two discuss the barriers to the “what if” scenario Sisko was contemplating, one that he was willing to put into action — based on a lie — if it meant lessening the amount of Federation causality reports.

From there, Sisko sets his plan into motion and it’s a series of clandestine deals with individuals like the station’s most nefarious resident, Quark (Armin Shimerman), that require the captain to peel away layers of his moral armor. By the end of the episode, Sisko has shed most of his uniform in the process of baring his soul. That choice, Moore recalls, came out of that night of drinking.

“It came in the same kind of epiphany of ‘let’s do it all in flashback.’ Because once I had that frame, it kind of then defines everything within the [episode’s] structure. So the whole business about him taking off the clothes, I don’t remember where that came up, but it was a great metaphor for the whole thing,” says Moore. “And as I set through the script in that framework, I knew that each scene was a step to hell for Benjamin Sisko in the past, because he was already in hell at the beginning.”

Sisko’s personal hell only gets deeper when the Romulan politician Sisko seeks out, the icy Vreenak (Stephen McHattie), arrives at DS9 in a cloaked shuttle. The special miniature effects employed to depict Vreenak’s arrival were a memorable part of the episode for Moore.

“That shot wasn’t a cost-saving thing or anything like that, it was intended to be just a cool effect to see a ship decloak in the landing bay.”

“There were some small scenes that were cut for time and budget that had more to do with the Romulan shuttle and its explosion. I think I’d written some scenes that were actually on the shuttle, and you saw more of how the plot played out. I think I realized in a conversation with Ira that actually, you didn’t need it at all. And he was right.”

Following Vreenak’s death, Sisko confronts Garak in his tailor shop with a couple of punches — which Moore saw being filmed when he went down to set. By episode’s end, Sisko gets his wish — the Romulans align with Starfleet in battle — and the beleaguered captain admits to camera that he “can live with it.” Moore recalls that he was prepared to have a major battle with Berman over that very un-Roddenberry ending.

“That was the thing I was the most worried about having big fights with Rick about. I knew this was a dark journey into the soul for our leading man. If there was any kind of argument about it, it was fairly low key and it just blew over. And I don’t even think there was much of an argument. I think [Rick] didn’t like it. I don’t think it’s his favorite episode, by any stretch. But, to me, that was what it was all about.”

Sisko actor Brooks was also apparently onboard with the places this atypical episode took his iconic character.

“I think he embraced the complexity of it,” Moore says. “I think he appreciated really stretching and pushing the character.”

“I remember watching it for the first time, in a hotel room, on some trip — and it just really had that dark, noirish sense,” Taylor says. “It epitomized one aspect of Deep Space Nine for me — as both a fan and as a casual freelance contributor — which was an ability and willingness to do stories in a way that were more realistic. … now we’re seeing the outgrowth of that in a way on Star Trek: Picard [season three]. I really enjoy watching it, and I don’t know if you ever would have seen that kind of storytelling without Deep Space Nine , or without this episode helping take that first step.”

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Why a controversial star trek: tng season 3 episode was banned in the uk.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation's 34-Year-Old Take On Gender Identity Was Surprisingly Progressive

Why denise crosby quit star trek: tng before season 1 was over, why star trek: the next generation's enterprise had a rarely-seen second bridge.

One episode from Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3 was banned in the UK and not shown on the BBC until 15 years after its intended air date. In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 12, "The High Ground", originally broadcast in the US in 1990, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates Mc Fadden) is kidnapped by a terrorist cell on non-Federation planet Rutia IV. The cell's leader, Kyril Finn (Richard Cox), explains that his people need the USS Enterprise-D's Chief Medical Officer to treat the injuries sustained from using an inverter as a transporter. Crusher finds herself sympathizing with Finn as a person , despite disagreeing with his methods.

Of course, Star Trek has a history of tackling current social issues through the lens of allegory since its earliest days, and some of those earlier Star Trek episodes were also controversial to the point of being prohibited by UK broadcasters . Several episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, including "The Empath", "Whom Gods Destroy", "Miri", and "Plato's Stepchildren", were all banned in the UK until the 1990s, with the latter causing controversy in the United States for featuring Star Trek 's first interracial kiss , between Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols).

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3's "The High Ground" Was Originally Banned In The UK

"the high ground" was not-so-secretly about the then-ongoing irish troubles.

Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 12, "The High Ground", was originally banned in the UK for its depictions of terrorism. In particular, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) has a line in "The High Ground" that references the Unification of Ireland in 2024. Data cites the Irish Unification as a time when terrorist methods were effective. At the time of production, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were still engaged in The Troubles, which lasted from the 1960s until 1998. Violent guerrilla attacks sparked retaliatory action and escalated into civil disobedience and riots. This deadly ongoing conflict was understandably a sensitive topic for UK audiences.

2024 is a big year for the history of Star Trek 's future, since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episodes 11 & 12, "Past Tense" depicts San Francisco's Bell Riots taking place in the first week of September 2024.

With one line, Star Trek predicted the future . The Troubles ended within viewers' lifetimes, with victory for Irish Nationalists who wanted to see Northern Ireland secede from the United Kingdom and join the Republic of Ireland as a single country. Some satellite and cable UK broadcasts screen "The High Ground", but edit out Data's line referencing the 2024 Unification of Ireland. The BBC opted out of showing "The High Ground" until 2007 , and the episode has never aired on RTÉ in the Republic of Ireland. Home video releases, on the other hand, aren't directly sponsored by governments, so they're able to include an uncut version of "The High Ground".

Another Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Caused Controversy With UK Broadcasters

Before "The High Ground" was banned by UK broadcasters, Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 25 , "Conspiracy" caused controversy because of its uncharacteristic gore. In "Conspiracy," several high-ranking Starfleet officers are found to be influenced by parasitic aliens. In an unusually violent turn of events, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) turn their phasers on the parasites' leader, Lt. Commander Dexter Remmick (Robert Schenkkan). Phasers don't generally make people's heads explode, but that's the unfortunate fate that befalls Remmick before the parasite emerges from his body.

"Conspiracy" features a level of gore atypical of Star Trek .

While "The High Ground" was banned for its political themes, "Conspiracy" was found to be too violent by broadcasters and Star Trek: The Next Generation 's writers alike, since neither the parasites nor the gross-out style of violence in "Conspiracy" were ever seen again in Star Trek 's canon. The Canadian broadcast of "Conspiracy" comes with a title card warning about violence, since "Conspiracy" features a level of gore that's atypical of Star Trek . When the BBC did eventually broadcast "Conspiracy", it did so with Remmick's explosive death scene edited out of Star Trek: The Next Generation , just like Lt. Commander Data's line about Irish Unification in "The High Ground".

Star Trek: The Next Generation

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The Top 57 Episodes of ‘Star Trek,’ Ranked From Great to Perfect

First, let’s be clear: Ranking the best “Star Trek” episodes is a silly thing to do. To date, the longest-running American TV franchise has aired a gargantuan 890 episodes and counting, starting with the original series in 1966. Since then, at least one “Star Trek” TV show has aired (or streamed) every decade, totaling 11 so far (with more on the way ). Choosing the best episodes within such a boundless, occasionally contradictory storytelling galaxy seems about as wise as cheating when playing poker with a Klingon.

On the other hand, there may be no more time-honored tradition among “Star Trek” fans than a vigorous debate over what constitutes the best of the franchise. (Best series ? Best captains ? Best starships ? Best aliens ? Best uniforms ? They’ve all been ranked multiple times !)

In that spirit — and to commemorate the 57th anniversary of “Star Trek” on Sept. 8 —  Variety ’s resident “Trek” geeks have ranked the top 57 episodes of all time, across the franchise.

Creating our list required some deep-dish nerdiness in its own right: We compiled a long list of episodes from each series that we felt deserved to be on the final ranking. Then we created our own individual rankings — and promptly realized our taste was quite divergent. To reconcile our lists, we adopted the approach of the great movie ranking podcast, Screen Drafts : We took alternating turns placing a pick from 57 to 1, and we each had two opportunities to veto the other’s pick (which in every case was to ensure it was placed higher on the list).

Other than the short-lived “Star Trek: The Animated Series” (1973-1974), this list reflects every other iteration of “Trek” on TV: “Star Trek: The Original Series” (1966-1969); “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987-1994); “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993-1999); “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995-2001); “Star Trek: Enterprise” (2001-2005); “Star Trek: Discovery” (2017-2024); “Star Trek: Picard” (2020-2023); “Star Trek: Prodigy” (2021-2022); and the ongoing “Star Trek: Lower Decks” (2020-present) and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (2022-present).

The Way to Eden

“The Original Series” — Season 3, Episode 20

Look, this episode gets a lot of hate. But the fact is “TOS” is known (by today’s standards) for being very campy, and there is no episode campier than this one. A group of space hippies board the Enterprise on their journey to a mythical planet called Eden, where they can live happily forever. The episode memorably features Charles Napier (who would go on to a long career playing tough guys, villains, cops and the like) breaking out into song a bunch of times, including a jam session with Spock (Leonard Nimoy). —Joe Otterson Original airdate: Feb. 21, 1969

Terra Prime

“Enterprise” — Season 4, Episode 21 More than any other episode of “Enterprise,” “Terra Prime” made the most of the show’s mission to dramatize the beginnings of Starfleet, 100 years before the events of “TOS.” Just as a newfound coalition of planets begins to form on Earth (a precursor to the Federation), Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew must stop a xenophobic terrorist (played to the hilt by future “Star Trek Into Darkness” villain Peter Weller) bent on forcing all aliens to leave Earth. Subtle, it ain’t, but the story feels more relevant today than it did 20 years ago, and everyone in the cast gets a moment to shine. Alas, it came too late: “Enterprise” had been canceled before this episode even went into production. —Adam B. Vary Original airdate: May 13, 2005

“Prodigy” — Season 1, Episode 6

The animated “Prodigy” was the first “Star Trek” series geared toward kids, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t things for older “Trek” fans to enjoy. In particular, “Kobayashi” perfectly embodies what makes this show a worthy entry in “Trek” canon. Dal (Brett Gray) and Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) discover the holodeck aboard the Protostar, where they decide to go through the Kobayashi Maru, a.k.a. the “no-win scenario” that Capt. Kirk successfully beat during his time at the Academy. He gets help along the way from legendary characters like Spock, Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Odo (René Auberjonois). —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 6, 2022

Stormy Weather

“Discovery” — Season 4, Episode 6

On a mission to discover the origins of a cataclysmic gravitational anomaly, the U.S.S. Discovery enters a subspace rift and finds itself trapped inside a lethal black void that threatens to collapse in on the ship. The result is a classic race-against-time thriller (directed by “Trek” mainstay Jonathan Frakes), but what makes “Stormy Weather” stand out amid the heavily serialized episodes of “Discovery” is its emotionally resonant use of the ship’s sentient A.I. computer, Zora (Annabelle Wallis), who has to learn how to calm her mind from overwhelming stimuli in order to guide the ship out of danger. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 23, 2021

Seventeen Seconds

“Picard” — Season 3, Episode 3

“Picard” didn’t find itself until Season 3, which reunited the core cast of “The Next Generation” — and it was really Episode 3 that sealed the deal. Riker (Frakes) is forced to take command of the Titan as Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and the Shrike hunt them. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Crusher get an all-time great scene together as she reveals why she never told him about their son, Jack (Ed Speleers). Worf (Michael Dorn) makes his big return. We learn the Changelings are still intent on attacking the Federation. Riker and Picard end up at odds in a way we’ve never seen before. In short, epic. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 2, 2023

The Enemy Within

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 5

The transporter — the cause of, and solution to, so many “Star Trek” problems — accidentally splits Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) into two people: Good Kirk, who is wracked with indecision, and evil Kirk, who is a histrionic asshole. Come for a meditation on the darkness that lies tucked inside everyone’s psyche, stay for some of William Shatner’s most deliciously hammy acting — and this was just the fifth episode of the series! —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 1966

Family Business

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 3, Episode 23

The Ferengi episodes of “DS9” are always great comic relief, with this episode giving fans their first view of the home planet of Ferenginar and Ferengi culture in general. Quark (Armin Shimerman) and Rom (Max Grodénchik) must return home when their mother, Ishka (Andrea Martin), is accused of acquiring profit (gasp!), something Ferengi females are forbidden to do. Shimerman and Martin shine as they play out Quark and Ishka’s relationship, while Grodénchik really gets to put his comedic chops on display. This episode is also notable as the first appearance of Brunt (Jeffrey Combs) from the Ferengi Commerce Authority, as well as Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald), frequent love interest of Cmdr. Sisko (Avery Brooks). —J.O.

Original airdate: May 15, 1995

Blink of an Eye

“Voyager” — Season 6, Episode 12

The Voyager gets stuck in orbit around a planet where time passes far more rapidly than in the rest of space, as the episode alternates between the bemused curiosity of Capt. Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew and the awestruck preoccupation of the expeditiously progressing populace on the planet below, for whom Voyager is a sparkling, fixed constant in the night sky. At one point, the Doctor (Robert Picard) beams down to the planet to investigate, and a delay of only a few minutes on Voyager means he spends three years on its surface. He even adopts a son! One of the great, wild what if? episodes of “Star Trek.” —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Jan. 19, 2000

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 23

Mark Lenard absolutely crushed the role of Spock’s father, Sarek, in multiple episodes across multiple “Star Trek” series and movies, but this episode is perhaps his finest performance as the character. Sarek comes to the Enterprise-D on what is meant to be his final mission, only for the crew to learn he is suffering from Bendii Syndrome. The condition leaves him prone to uncharacteristic emotional outbursts while also causing him to telepathically influence the emotions of those around him. Picard saves the day by mind melding with Sarek, allowing him to finish his mission with dignity — and provide Stewart with the chance for some powerhouse acting as he channels Sarek’s volcanic emotions. —J.O.

Original airdate: May 14, 1990

“Enterprise” — Season 3, Episode 10

“Trek” loves a moral dilemma, and this one’s a doozy: After Cmdr. Tucker (Connor Trinneer) is critically injured while the Enterprise is on a deep space mission, Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) suggests growing a “mimetic symbiote” of Trip — effectively, a clone with a built-in two-week lifespan — in order to create the brain tissue needed to save Trip’s life. But that means the Enterprise crew must endure watching Trip’s clone rapidly age from a precocious kid to an adult man (played by Trinneer with eerie self-possession), who then pleads for his own right to live. Creepy and heartbreaking in equal measure. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 19, 2003

Trials and Tribble-ations

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 5, Episode 6

This episode is a love letter to the original series, with the Defiant’s crew transported back in time to the events of “The Trouble With Tribbles.” A Klingon agent is planning to use a booby-trapped tribble to assassinate James T. Kirk. Thanks to digital editing, the crew is able to interact with the original Enterprise crew and keep the timeline intact. —J.O.

Original airdate: Nov. 4, 1996

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 2, Episode 23

Mirror universe episodes of “Star Trek” are (almost) always fun, if ultimately a little silly. But this one — in which Kira (Nana Visitor) and Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) find themselves in an alternate reality in which Bajor, Cardassians and Klingons subjugate humans as slaves — comes closest to matching the spark of discovery in the original “TOS” episode. It’s especially fun to watch Visitor devour the role of Kira’s deliciously wicked mirror counterpart, the Intendant. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: May 16, 1994

Memento Mori

“Strange New Worlds” — Season 1, Episode 4

This episode proved “Strange New Worlds” — the newest “Star Trek” series — could be as action-packed as the very best of “Star Trek.” The Enterprise crew find themselves on the run from the Gorn, a savage enemy (first introduced on “TOS” and largely ignored in “Trek” canon) about which they know virtually nothing. They are forced to use every resource at their disposal to outwit and outrun the Gorn, including tapping into the subconscious of La’an (Christina Chong), the only crew member who has encountered the aliens and survived. —J.O.

Original airdate: May 26, 2022

Counterpoint

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 10

The main story is a tense, WWII allegory: Capt. Janeway and her crew hide telepathic refugees while passing through the space of the Devore, who have outlawed telepaths. But the real story is the relationship Janeway forms with the lead Devore inspector, Kashyk (Mark Harelik), who suddenly shows up alone and announces he’s defecting. As Kashyk aids Janeway in finding safe harbor for the refugees, she realizes how much he’s her intellectual equal, and she finds herself drawn to him — in spite of (or perhaps spurred on by) her continued suspicion of his motives. A great, subtle performance by Mulgrew captures both Janeway’s steely wits and her private yearning. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 16, 1998

The Drumhead

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 21

“Star Trek” has done a number of courtroom episodes, and this is one of the best. Rear admiral Norah Satie (Jean Simmons) is sent to investigate suspected sabotage aboard the Enterprise. The investigation quickly spirals into paranoia and accusations of treachery against a crew member who is revealed to have Romulan lineage. It is an excellent reminder of what can happen when persecution is dressed up as an attempt at greater security, with Picard using Satie’s father’s teachings to bring about her downfall. —J.O.

Original airdate: April 29, 1991

“The Next Generation” — Season 7, Episode 8

More thwarted romance! The seasons-long will-they/won’t-they between Picard and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) gets its best showcase, when the pair are captured by isolationist aliens and given implants that allow them to read each other’s thoughts. You get the feeling Stewart and especially McFadden had been dying to play out this dynamic on the show, so they both bring years of sublimated longing to the episode. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 8, 1993

In the Hands of the Prophets

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 20

Louise Fletcher’s performance as Vedek Winn (later Kai Winn) ranks among the best “Star Trek” villains of all time. Deeply religious to the point of fanaticism, Winn protests Keiko O’Brien (Rosalind Chao) teaching children on Deep Space Nine that the wormhole aliens are not deities, as many Bajorans believe. Winn’s words whip Bajorans on the station into a frenzy; Keiko’s school is bombed. But what Winn really desires is power, to the point she tries to get one of her followers to kill a fellow Vedek she sees as a threat. The episode sets up Winn’s role as a major antagonist throughout the series to great effect. —J.O.

Original airdate: June 21, 1993

The Trouble With Tribbles

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 15

If you’ve seen any episode of “TOS,” chances are it’s this one. While on shore leave at a space station, the Enterprise comes upon an adorably furry alien creature called a tribble, which are born pregnant, multiply exponentially, consume enormous quantities of food and react with alarm when in the presence of a Klingon. Fizzy and funny and, to this day, one of the best-known episodes of “Trek” ever. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 29, 1967

Balance of Terror

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 14

Introducing the Romulans alone makes this episode worthy of being on the list. But it’s also an epic cat-and-mouse game between Kirk and a Romulan commander played by none other than Mark Lenard, who would go on to play Sarek starting in Season 2. Kirk successfully lures the Romulan ship into a trap, leading to Lenard delivering the iconic line, “You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend.” —J.O.

Original airdate: Dec. 15, 1966

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 20

John de Lancie never disappoints when he plays Q, but this episode offered a wonderful twist on his usual appearances. Following the events of “Deja Q,” Q returns to the Enterprise saying he owes Picard a debt. Picard repeatedly tells Q he wants nothing from him, but Q notices Picard has eyes for Vash (Jennifer Hetrick), the mercenary archeologist Picard first met on Risa. Being Q, he naturally transports Picard, Vash, and the bridge crew to a Robin Hood fantasy in which Picard must rescue Vash from the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Clive Frevill). Added bonus: Worf, in scarlet tights, exclaiming in protest, “I am not a merry man!” —J.O.

Original airdate: April 22, 1991

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 18

The classic “trial by combat” episode that pitted Kirk against a Gorn captain on a barren, rocky planet (i.e. the storied filming location Vasquez Rocks ). Few images from “Star Trek” have become more iconic than the original Gorn costume, which was essentially an actor dressed as a large lizard. The ending is also an all-timer, with Kirk choosing to spare the Gorn, proving to the all-powerful Metrons that set up the trial by combat that humans are capable of more than just random violence. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 19, 1967

A Mathematically Perfect Redemption

“Lower Decks” — Season 3, Episode 7

“Star Trek’s” first pure comedy (and second animated series) often plays as a twisted love letter to the entire “Trek” franchise — like when Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue), one of the sentient Exocomp robots first introduced on “The Next Generation,” abandons the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos in a time of need. This episode tracks Peanut Hamper’s journey to redemption afterwards, which involves her encountering a seemingly primitive species called the Areore. To say anything more would spoil the fun; suffice it to say, “Trek” has rarely provoked gasps of deep laughter like this episode does. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 2022

Bar Association

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 4, Episode 15

What better episode of “Star Trek” to talk about after Hollywood’s hot labor summer? Fed up with the unfair conditions at Quark’s bar, Rom talks the other workers into forming a union and going on strike. Max Grodénchik truly shines in this episode as the would-be union leader. Once Rom successfully gets Quark to agree to all the workers’ demands, he outright quits and goes to work as a repair technician for the station, setting up some of Rom’s best moments in the episodes to come. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 19, 1996

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 26 & Season 6, Episode 1

The Voyager swoops to the rescue of the Equinox, another Federation starship stranded in the Gamma Quadrant — only this one, led by Capt. Ransom (John Savage), is a smaller ship not meant for deep space travel. With their crew whittled down to just 12 people, Ransom has resorted to murdering alien creatures to use their bio-matter to boost the Equinox’s engines — a horrific violation of everything Starfleet stands for. The discovery pushes Janeway to her own limits, as she obsessively pursues the Equinox despite the cost to her own crew and her morality. The two-parter is one of the darkest episodes of “Star Trek,” a chilling reminder of how easily good people can find themselves slipping into disgrace. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: May 26, 1999 & Sept. 22, 1999

Who Mourns for Morn?

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 12

Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd) was a “Deep Space Nine” fixture, always at Quark’s bar, but never actually speaking onscreen. But in this episode, with Morn apparently dead in an accident, everyone reveals the offscreen times they spent with him, including the revelation that he “never shuts up.” Quark inherits all of Morn’s property, which Odo relishes revealing is ultimately nothing. But as it turns out, Morn had a much more adventurous life before his time on “DS9” than anyone knew, leading his former comrades to seek him out to get a hold of the money they believed he still possessed. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 4, 1998

Species Ten-C

“Discovery” — Season 4, Episode 12

Other than the Gorn, almost all of the aliens on “Star Trek” are, essentially, humans with slightly different forehead ridges. But in its most recent season, “Discovery” embraced “Trek’s” prime directive (seeking out new life, bolding going where no one’s gone, etc.) by crafting a species that is truly alien: the Ten-C. Throughout the season, the Ten-C are presented as both a total mystery and an existential threat; when Capt. Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the Discovery finally reach them — outside the barrier of the Milky Way galaxy — they are unlike anything the show has ever encountered. Rarely has “Trek” applied more intellectual and emotional rigor to what it might actually be like to attempt first contact with extra-terrestrials, and rarely has it been this compelling. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: March 10, 2022

A Man Alone

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 4

Odo is one of the best characters in “DS9” — and in the “Star Trek” universe — in general, and this is the first episode to really establish him as a standout . A known criminal returns to the station only to die shortly after, and Odo is accused of his murder. Odo’s status as an outsider, but ultimately someone to be respected, is made crystal clear in this episode, with even his archenemy Quark acknowledging that Odo is not the type to murder someone in cold blood. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 17, 1993

Mirror, Mirror

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 4

The transporter strikes again, this time accidentally zapping Kirk, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Scotty (James Doohan) and Bones (DeForest Kelley) from their reality into a parallel universe in which the benevolent Federation has been replaced by the bloodthirsty Terran Empire, governed by brute force and fascistic exploitation — and Spock has a goatee! More silly than serious (and no less fun for it), the episode effectively spawned an entire sub-genre of parallel universe episodes of TV (from “Supernatural” to “Friends”) and gave generations of actors a chance to play wildly against type. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 1967

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 2

People rave about “The Best of Both Worlds” and Picard’s assimilation by the Borg, but fewer remember this incredible follow-up episode. Picard returns to his family vineyard to put the Borg incident behind him, even briefly thinking that he will leave Starfleet. Jeremy Kemp crushes it as Picard’s brother Robert, with the two sharing a memorable (and muddy) scene in which Picard breaks down and admits how much his assimilation has shaken him. The episode is also memorable for the appearance of Worf’s adoptive parents, who come to the Enterprise to be with him following his discommendation. —J.O.

Original airdate: Oct. 1, 1990

Living Witness

“Voyager” — Season 4, Episode 23

For several minutes, “Living Witness” seems like a mirror universe episode, as a ruthless Janeway, captain of the “warship” Voyager, agrees to aid the Vaskans against the insurgent Kyrians by unleashing a biological weapon upon millions and executing the Kyrian leader. But then we realize that we’ve just witnessed a recreation at a Kyrian museum 700 years in the future, at which point a copy of the Doctor enters the story and learns, to his horror, how much the Kyrians have gotten wrong. What could have been a Rashomon-style caper instead becomes fascinating meditation on how the telling of history can be weaponized, even inadvertently, to maintain old wounds rather than heal them. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 29, 1998

Unification

“The Next Generation” — Season 5, Episode 7 & 8

Spock appeared on “The Next Generation” a month before the release of 1991’s “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” — but this time, at least, crass cross-promotion prompted some sublimely entertaining TV, as Picard and Data (Brent Spiner) aid Spock in his effort to reunify the Romulan and Vulcan peoples. [Stefon voice]: This two-parter has everything : Klingon warbirds, rude Ferengis, Tasha’s evil Romulan daughter Sela (Denise Crosby), Data and Spock philosophizing on their twin pursuits of logic and emotion, the death of Sarek, Worf singing Klingon opera with a four-armed bar pianist, and Picard and Spock mind-melding! —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Nov. 4 & 11, 1991

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 7, Episode 9

Gul Dukat is the best villain in “Star Trek.” Yes, you read that right. The writers and actor Marc Alaimo created an incredibly nuanced character that goes through a remarkable arc over the course of the series. This episode, near the end of “DS9’s” run, reminds fans that Dukat sees himself as a savior, but is ultimately a force for evil. He establishes a cult dedicated to the Pah wraiths on Empok Nor, luring a number of Bajorans to his side. But of course, he also sleeps with his female followers and tries to trick them into a mass suicide. Amazing stuff. —J.O.

Original airdate: Nov. 23, 1998

The Last Generation

“Picard” — Season 3, Episode 10

The cast of “TNG” infamously never got their swan song, after 2002’s “Star Trek: Nemesis” bombed in theaters, so this series finale serves as a gift both to them and to “TNG” fans. Every character gets their spotlight, including the resurrected Enterprise-D, as Picard, Riker, Dr. Crusher, Data, Worf, LaForge (LeVar Burton) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) all help to take down the Borg once and for all. The final scene — everyone sitting around a poker table, laughing and reminiscing — is as pure and satisfying an expression of fan service as anything “Trek” has ever done. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 20, 2023

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 13

Until this episode, Q was an enjoyably malevolent force within “TNG,” an omnipotent being who’d gleefully pop up now and again to play with the lives of the Enterprise-D crew. But here, when Q suddenly appears on the bridge, he’s been stripped of all his powers (and all of his clothes) and begs Picard for safe harbor. At first, no one believes him — even after Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) stabs him with a fork — which only fuels John de Lancie’s sparkling performance, as Q confronts life as ( shudder ) a mortal human. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Feb. 3, 1990

An Embarrassment of Dooplers

“Lower Decks” — Season 2, Episode 5

The title refers to an alien called a Doopler, who duplicate themselves whenever they get embarrassed — which, naturally, becomes an issue the moment one steps foot on the Cerritos. But really, this episode is one of those deeply enjoyable “Trek” episodes that is less about story than it is about the vibes , as the characters spend their downtime winningly contending with the central premise of the show: The bittersweet contentment of life at the bottom of the ladder. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Sept. 9, 2021

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 2, Episode 19    

The lives of the past hosts of the Dax symbiont are a recurring plot device on “DS9,” and no episode does it better than this one. A group of Klingons who knew Curzon Dax arrive at the station and enlist Jadzia’s (Terry Ferrell) help in killing their sworn enemy, a criminal known as The Albino who killed the three Klingons’ first-born sons. Jadzia ultimately honors the blood oath, as the episode explores the meaning of honor and solidarity. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 28, 1994

Where No Man Has Gone Before

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 3

The famed second pilot episode of “Star Trek” (which introduced William Shatner as Capt. Kirk) is a strange artifact today: Bones and Uhura aren’t aboard yet, Sulu (George Takei) isn’t at the helm, the Enterprise has a psychiatrist (played by Sally Kellerman), and the uniforms and sets look a bit off. But the central story — Kirk’s best friend, Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood), is zapped by an energy blast at the edge of the galaxy, and begins to exhibit extraordinary psychokinetic powers — is vintage “Trek”: Brainy, brawny, and just the right side of uncanny. And it’s fascinating now to see how well-established Kirk and Spock’s dynamic of emotion vs. logic was from the very start. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Sept. 22, 1966

The Measure of a Man

“The Next Generation” — Season 2, Episode 9

Data’s quest for humanity is at the very core of “TNG,” and this stirring episode literally puts that quest on trial — and establishes the show’s voice for the rest of its run. A Starfleet scientist wants to dismantle Data in order to create more androids, but Data refuses, setting up an intense courtroom drama — is Data merely a machine and the property of Starfleet? — with Picard representing Data while Riker is forced to represent the scientist. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 13, 1989

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 26 & Season 5, Episode 1

The Klingons started on “Trek” as a not-that-thinly-veiled metaphor for the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, but over the decades, they’ve developed their own richly detailed mythology. This two-parter (which aired just before the fall of the USSR) depicts a civil war within the Klingon Empire that leads to Worf’s decision to leave the Enterprise and join the fight. For a series that was episodic by design, this is the closest “TNG” ever got to serialized storytelling, incorporating events from several previous episodes — including the shocking introduction of Tasha’s Romulan daughter, Sela. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: June 17, 1991 & Sept. 23, 1991

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 11

It is endlessly entertaining to see Quark get what he wants as he then  learns that it’s way more trouble than he realized. This episode sums that idea up nicely, while also featuring the first of many wonderful appearances by Wallace Shawn as Ferengi leader Grand Nagus Zek. Zek unexpectedly names Quark his successor, only for Zek to die shortly after. Quark is thrilled at first, before he realizes being the Nagus puts a massive target on his back. This episode also helps build the friendship between Nog (Aron Eisenbeg) and Jake (Cirroc Lofton), with Jake secretly teaching Nog how to read. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 22, 1993

Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy

“Voyager” — Season 6, Episode 4

Yearning to grow past his programming, the Doctor allows himself the ability to daydream, in one of the flat-out funniest episodes of “Trek” ever. It opens with Robert Picardo singing opera as Tuvok (Tim Russ) undergoes pon farr (i.e. the madness to mate that consumes Vulcan males) and just gets wilder from there, up to the moment when the Doctor, who’d fantasized about taking over command of Voyager in an emergency, does it for real. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 13, 1999

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 1

Speaking of pon farr, this is the “TOS” episode that first establishes it — as well as the planet Vulcan, several Vulcan customs and traditions, and the now legendary Vulcan salute (honorable mention: Spock actually smiles!). Wracked with pon farr, Spock asks for leave back on his home planet, and eventually reveals that he must meet his betrothed, T’Pring (Arlene Martel). Naturally, Kirk and Spock end up in a fight to the death in one of the most iconic battles in “Star Trek” history. —J.O.

Original airdate: Sept. 15, 1967

Year of Hell

“Voyager” — Season 4, Episode 8 & 9

The most lasting criticism of “Voyager” is that every week, no matter what happened in the previous episode, the ship and crew emerged unscathed and ready for a new adventure. As if in response, this two-parter tracks a year in which the Voyager is ravaged to the point of near ruin by repeated encounters with an aggressive alien species called the Krenim. Unbeknownst to the crew, they’re actually the victims of a Krenim scientist, Annorax (Kurtwood Smith), who developed a technology to alter the fabric of time by erasing entire species from ever existing. This is as harrowing and merciless as “Trek’s” ever been, but it’s not quite the best episode of “Voyager” due to the irony of its ending: Janeway crashes the husk of the Voyager into Annorax’s timeship — which resets the timeline completely, as if nothing that we’d seen had ever happened. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Nov. 5 & 12, 1997

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 3, Episodes 11 & 12

“Star Trek” often addresses timely societal issues, but this episode put them firmly in a 21st century context. Sisko, Bashir, and Dax accidentally wind up in San Francisco circa 2024, where poverty and oppression of the disadvantaged are running rampant (crazy how that remains timely, huh?). When a man meant to serve an important purpose in an historic riot is accidentally killed too soon, Sisko is forced to take his place. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 2, 1995 & Jan. 9, 1995

Those Old Scientists

“Strange New Worlds” — Season 2, Episode 7

In one of the rare “Trek” crossover episodes, Ens. Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Ens. Mariner (Tawny Newsome) from “Lower Decks” find themselves zapped back to the era when Capt. Pike (Anson Mount) captained the Enterprise. Marshalled by Jonathan Frakes’ steady hand as a director , the disparate tones of “Lower Decks” and “Strange New World” somehow mesh perfectly, and hilariously, together. Packed with guffaw-worthy laughs, “Those Old Scientists” also becomes a deeply poignant expression of the impact “Trek” has had on generations of fans. Maybe it’s controversial to place one of the most recent “Trek” episodes so high on this list, but this one more than earns its spot. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: July 22, 2023

The Best of Both Worlds

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 26 & Season 4, Episode 1

This two-parter is frequently cited as the best “Next Generation” storyline of all time, mostly because it features one of the most iconic cliffhangers in all of television. The Borg attack the Federation, leading to a showdown with the Enterprise. Picard is captured and assimilated, revealing himself to his crew as Locutus of Borg. If we’re splitting Borg nano-probes, the second half doesn’t quite live up to the first, which is why, for us, it doesn’t quite rank into the Top 10. Special shoutout to this episode for setting up the incredible “Star Trek” film “First Contact.” —J.O.

Original airdate: June 18, 1990 & Sept. 24, 1990

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 19

When a Cardassian named Marritza (Harris Yulin) arrives on Deep Space Nine, Kira realizes he must have worked at one of the most notorious labor camps during Cardassia’s occupation of Bajor, and she arrests him as a war criminal. What follows is effectively a two-hander, as Kira’s interrogation of Marritza leads to a series of revelations that unmoor her hard-won fury at the atrocities inflicted upon her people. The conventional wisdom is that “DS9” didn’t get cooking until the Dominion War, but this early episode proves that this show was providing great, searing drama from the start. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: June 14, 1993

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 22

Ricardo Montalbán makes his debut as Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically superior dictator from Earth’s Eugenics Wars. Khan and his people have been in suspended animation for 200 years and are looking to dominate humanity once again. Naturally, Kirk is able to beat Khan in a riveting confrontation, but rather than send him and his people to a penal colony, he agrees to let them settle on the wild planet, Ceti Alpha V. The episode proved to be so good, it led to the 1982 film “Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan,” arguably the best “Trek” movie of all time. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 16, 1967

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 6

There’s something about time travel — and the twisty narrative paradoxes it can cause — that has engendered some of the best episodes of “Trek” ever made. That certainly includes this stunning “Voyager” episode, which opens with Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran), 15 years in the future, discovering the frozen husk of the Voyager buried inside a glacier on a barren ice planet. It turns out Kim made a critical mistake that caused the catastrophic accident, from which only he and Chakotay survived. Their unyielding fixation to right that wrong — and erase the previous 15 years from history — makes for a gripping nail-biter about regret and devotion. Not only did LeVar Burton direct, but he cameos as Capt. Geordi La Forge! —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 18, 1998

The Defector

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 10

Did a Romulan admiral really defect to the Federation, or are the Romulans perpetrating an elaborate hoax on Picard and the Enterprise crew? This wonderful episode sees the admiral in question (played by James Sloyan) claiming the Romulans are building a secret base within the Neutral Zone, forcing Picard to consider whether or not he should investigate and thus risk starting a war. It also features the excellent opening in which Picard tries to teach Data about humanity by having him act out scenes from Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 1, 1990

Chain of Command

“The Next Generation” — Season 6, Episode 10 & 11

Lured into Cardassian territory under false pretenses, Picard is captured and systematically tortured by a ruthless interrogator, Gul Madred, in a chilling performance by David Warner. Their disturbing tête-à-tête — Picard is stripped naked and nearly broken by the end — would be enough for one of the all-time best “Trek” episodes. But this two-parter also boasts Ronny Cox as Capt. Jellico, Picard’s replacement on the Enterprise, whose prickly and demanding leadership style creates all kinds of thrilling friction among the crew. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Dec. 14 & 21, 1992

In the Pale Moonlight

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 19

In this fantastic episode, Sisko grapples with the ethics of doing whatever it takes to get the Romulans to join the Dominion War on the Federation-Klingon side. This includes falsifying evidence and freeing a known criminal from Klingon prison with the help of master spy Garak (played by the always wonderful Andrew Robinson). Sisko (while recording a personal log) delivers a series of powerful monologues direct to camera about why he did what he did, ultimately deciding it was worth it in the end. —J.O.

Original airdate: April 13, 1998

The City on the Edge of Forever

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 28

Accidentally hopped up on stimulants, a crazed Bones leaps through a time portal on an alien planet and winds up changing history so drastically that the Enterprise disappears. Kirk and Spock travel back to stop him, and land in New York City during the Great Depression, where they learn that Bones saved the life of Sister Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), a pacifist whose message resonates so strongly that the U.S. stays out of WWII, allowing the Nazis to conquer Europe. Alas, Kirk falls deeply in love with Keeler, establishing a classic “Trek” moral dilemma: How does one suppress their most profound personal feelings for the greater good? An all-timer that still resonates today. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 6, 1967

Far Beyond the Stars

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 13

In this Avery Brooks-directed episode, Sisko envisions himself as a Black science fiction writer in 1950s New York named Benny Russell. Russell dreams up a story about the crew of a space station led by a Black captain, but his publisher refuses to run it. This episode is memorable for many reasons, the biggest of which being its handling of racism, but it also allows the show’s main cast gets to appear without any prosthetics or makeup, as completely different characters, to great effect. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 9, 1998

Yesterday’s Enterprise

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 15

The Enterprise-C, believed to have been destroyed over 20 years earlier, emerges from a temporal anomaly and resets history into a decades-long war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Tasha — killed off in Season 1 (after Denise Crosby wanted to leave the show) — is brought back to life, and falls for the Enterprise-C’s helmsman (Christopher McDonald), while Guinan implores Picard that something is desperately wrong with history and he must send the Enterprise-C back to certain doom. Somehow, this episode crams a movie’s worth of story into a nimble and rousing 44 minutes. Not a second is wasted. Outrageously great. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Feb. 19, 1990

The Inner Light

“The Next Generation” — Season 5, Episode 25

When the Enterprise comes upon a mysterious probe, Picard is suddenly hit with a signal that plunges him into a different man’s life on a dying planet. There, Picard experiences half a lifetime, with a wife, children and grandchildren, all in the space of 25 minutes. When Picard realizes this was all meant as a time capsule — a way to preserve the stories of the people of the planet, which was destroyed 1,000 years earlier by an exploding star — the revelation that he lived the life he’d long forsaken as a Starfleet captain, only to have it ripped away, is almost more than he can bear. But hoo boy, does it make for stunning, deeply moving television. In fact, almost no episode of “Trek” is better. Almost. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: June 1, 1992

The Visitor

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 4, Episode 2

Don’t watch this one without tissues handy. This emotionally devastating episode gets right to the heart of what made “DS9” so special — the relationship between Sisko and his son, Jake. Told in flashbacks by an elderly Jake (Tony Todd), the episode recounts how Sisko became unstuck in time, briefly revisiting Jake over the course of his life, and how Jake is determined to bring him back. In brief, fleeting moments, Sisko tells Jake not to worry about him and to live his life to the fullest. But Jake cannot bear the thought of losing his father forever, ultimately sacrificing his own life to restore the normal flow of time. —J.O.

Original airdate: Oct. 9, 1995

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The 5 Worst Episodes Of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Ranked

In the eyes of Trekkies,  "Star Trek: The Next Generation" may be the greatest TV series of all time . No other show — not "The Sopranos," not "M*A*S*H," not "Manimal" — has come close to the high quality and rich premise of the adventures of the Enterprise-D in the 24th century. Famously, creator Gene Roddenberry took core concepts from his 1966 "Star Trek" series and enhanced them for "The Next Generation," creating an even more aggressively utopian world that was even more forthright about its anticapitalist, anticolonialist intentions. He even instigated a rule among the show's writers that no two characters were allowed to bicker, and no stories could stem from interpersonal conflicts. In Roddenberry's vision, everyone got along at all times.

Writers, naturally hated this idea, as they felt conflict is the best way to create drama. For the first two seasons, Roddenberry, writers, and lawyers all butted heads over the series. It's no wonder that most of the show's worst episodes come from those first two seasons.

Of course, "The Next Generation" had its fair share of stinkers, producing some horribly written, contrived, sexist, racist, or just plain obnoxious episodes. The bad episodes, especially after season 2, are few and far between, but they are certainly not absent. In many cases, one can practically picture the show's writers banging their heads against the wall, trying to come up with something filmable under a deadline.

And we Trekkies always noticed when it was crunch time. As much as we love "Star Trek," we also tend to be its harshest critics, happy to point out plot errors, canonical inconsistencies, or bad character choices to anyone willing to listen. In that spirit, here are the five worst episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," ranked from least-worst to, er, most-worst.

5. Sub Rosa

In "Sub Rosa" (January 31, 1994), Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) goes to the planet Caldos IV to attend her grandmother's funeral. Her grandmother, Felisa (Ellen Albertini Dow), lived in a quaint Irish cabin with, Crusher is shocked to learn, a 34-year-old live-in lover named Ronin (Duncan Regehr). Ronin, however, is said to be a ghost (!) who can only appear to corporeal beings if someone lights an ancient candle. Dr. Crusher, acting under Ronin's ghostly influence, lights the candle and a man from the cover of a Harlequin romance novel appears. He says he's in love with Dr. Crusher and implores that she leave the Enterprise.

There are multiple scenes in "Sub Rosa" wherein McFadden, possessed by a green ghostly cloud, writhes around in sexual ecstasy. There is also a scene later in the episode wherein Geordi (LeVar Burton) and Data (Brent Spiner) exhume Felisa's corpse, only to witness her springing back to life and attacking them with green lightning. The idea of haunted candles, sex ghosts, and lighting-imbued gramma corpses would have been fine elements to include in a Full Moon horror movie from 1986, but in "Star Trek," it feels absurd and odd The episode then tries to use sci-fi to explain all the weird haunting crap by stating that Ronin was an anaphasic alien and that the candle was his energy recepticle. Um ... okay.

"Sub Rosa" is also bad because the ordinarily stalwart Dr. Crusher is so easily manipulated by a man in a leather vest. Dr. Crusher can pursue whatever sex life she wants, but one would hope she'd be wiser than to boink a creepy candle ghost.

4. Angel One

Also known as "the sexist one," the episode "Angel One" (January 25, 1988) takes place mostly on the titular planet, which, it is explained, is a matriarchal society. The women occupy the seats of power, whereas men — physically smaller and weaker in this species — tend to serve in servant positions. The leader of Angel One is Beata (Karen Montgomery), who is stingy with the Enterprise-D's requests to search her planet for a crashed ship. Beata eventually agrees to some investigations. However, she demands to canoodle with Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in exchange.

The idea of "Angel One," I think, was to depict a society in which women were in charge, and reveal that it was better run than any ol' patriarchy we might have here on Earth. Or perhaps it was meant as a topsy-turvy metaphor for the mistreatment of women by flipping the script on traditional gender oppression. The problem is that Beata is depicted as horny and unwise, while Angel One's matriarchy is intolerant of traditional marriages and men's rights. It feels gross, self-pitying, and ultimately, yes, sexist.

"Angel One" also reeks of Gene Roddenberry's tendency to create male porno scenarios in space . A planet of sexually assertive women who want to pluck and devour the men of their choice? One can grasp how Roddenberry might see that as self-insert fiction.

There is also a subplot about a rampant virus on board the Enterprise, but who cares? I forgot that subplot was part of "Angel One" and I've seen the episode multiple times.

3. Cost of Living

Also known as the "Auntie Mame" episode, "Cost of Living" (April 20, 1992) looks away from the show's main characters to focus on the relationship between Deanna Troi's mother Lwaxana (Majel Barrett) and Worf's son Alexander (Brian Bonsall). Lwaxana is there to marry a stuffed-shirt diplomat she doesn't care about, and keeps eschewing her own wedding prep to spend time with an eight-year-old boy. She takes him into the holodeck where they watch jugglers and bathe in mud (which looks unsettlingly like pudding). The multicolored head in a bubble is played by Dustin Diamond.

Alexander loves spending time with Lwaxana, as she encourages him to break rules and live for the moment. This is horrible advice, given that Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) has been working very hard with Worf (Michael Dorn) and Alexander to develop a mutual respect, discipline, and a healthy father/son regard. Lwaxana's advice, for however fun it might sound, is undoing all that.

Lwaxana may be a force of nature in "Star Trek," but here, she's more annoying than anything. One can see her not listening to or giving practical advice, and brushing off her own daughter in favor of ludicrous Cirque du Soleil shows. The episode meanders through a miasma of bad parenting and ultimately says that it's okay to loosen up sometimes, parenting be damned. Then there are the multiple scenes of Lwaxana in a mud bath with Alexander, which are simply unpleasant. In the future, it seems, the ultimate luxury is to sit around in a vat of oobleck.

2. Code of Honor

Also known as "the racist one,"  the episode "Code of Honor" (October 12, 1987) was misguided from the start. In the episode, the Enterprise visits the planet of Ligon II looking for a vaccine, only to encounter a culture devoted to, well, a strict code of honor. They respect physical strength and fighting prowess, and have complex customs devoted to exchanging respect. In early versions of the script, the "Star Trek" writers envisioned the Ligonians as reptilian beings that abide by the rules of feudal Japan. When the episode was finally shot, the Ligonians were all played by Black actors and dressed in a sci-fi version of 1940s tribal African garb.

The visuals and ideas were a throwback to dated Hollywood tropes, and even some of the showrunners hated how it was turning out. The episode's original director was fired partway through production, perhaps because of his decision to make the Ligonians into dated caricatures. "Star Trek," as mentioned, frequently aspires to be anticolonialist, but the old-fashioned costumes force audiences to think of painful depictions of "darkest Africa" in colonialism-forward Hollywood movies from generations ago. Congratulations, "Star Trek," you did the opposite of what you should have been doing.

Additionally, the titular code of honor is based on old notions of sexism, while the plot featured the kidnapping of Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) because she's pretty. Yar and a Ligonian name Yareena (Karole Selmon) eventually have to fight to the death in a risible cage match that had been seen in multiple episodes of the original "Star Trek." In addition to everything else, "Code of Honor" is a snore.

1. Shades of Gray

"Shades of Gray" (July 17, 1989) served as the "Next Generation" season 2 finale, by which point the show had run out of money. A writers' strike had shortened production on the season , forcing it to top off at 22 episodes instead of the usual 26. Because of this, a lot of the season's scripts suffered and the finale had to find a way to cut some corners.

The solution was that most insulting of endeavors: a clip show. I understand that in the days before streaming, reruns were catch-as-catch-can, and many viewers may not have seen every single episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Nevertheless, trying to pad out an episode with clips from previous episodes still felt cheap. What's more, when scenes were presented out of context like in "Shades of Gray," they wouldn't make sense to the casual viewer anyway. It was misguided and desperate.

The premise of the episode is fine enough: Riker is scratched by an alien planet that gives him a strange virus. He falls into a coma, so Dr. Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) has to stimulate his cerebral activity to keep the virus from reaching his brain. She inserts needles into Riker's skull, causing him to have flashbacks to earlier scenes from the series.

"Shades of Gray" is notorious for its cheapness and it frequently tops lists of the worst "Next Generation" episodes. Having rewatched it recently, it doesn't emerge any better than it did in 1989. It's still just a clip show. What's more, the acting is terrible, with every character playing up every scene to the extreme, forcing the episode into a melodramatic territory that almost feels like parody. This is nobody's favorite episode for one basic reason: it sucks.