PLAY Your favorite Star Trek franchise and episodes

Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
I was talking to MzK on the AI thread, and we got around to talking about Star Trek Next Gen (particularly Commander Data.) This got me to thinking about Star Trek franchises and various episodes from them. So I thought I’d post this thread. I’m going to give some thought to my own answer before I post it, but I’d love to hear all yours.
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
I am a fan of the original Star Trek. A lot of it was hokey, but back then it was THE program everybody loved -- well, that and Twilight Zone. I still laugh at the Trouble With Tribbles episode. I do like Next Gen and the one with the woman captain, but after that kind of lost interest. I also liked the episode where Captain Pike and his lady love are reunited in the cosmos, sort of.

:)
 
Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
My answer will go in this post, but I’ll be making several revisions because for me at least, the answer is complex. That being said:

I started out as a hardcore TOS (the original series) fan. When TNG (the next generation) came along, and once the very shaky first couple seasons had gone by, I gained a real appreciation for Picard’s personality over Kirk. Where Kirk was basically a “cowboy,” Picard tried to use diplomacy and guile to gain the upper hand in conflicts. In the end, TNG won out over TOS, but it was a long, tough sell. TNG ended up being my second favorite franchise, with TOS being number 3.

When DS9 (deep space nine) was in first run, I only watched it a couple times. I felt that the storylines were weak and the characters wishy-washy. Further, Dr. Bashir pissed me off regularly because A) he was a womanizer, and B) he NEVER SHUT THE HELL UP. I felt that Captain Sisko wasn’t a strong commander. In sindication, I learned to moderately enjoy the series, but honestly, only a very few eps were worth it to me. That opinion remains to this day: DS9 is my least favorite.

Next is VOY (Voyager) with Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway. During first run, I watch two eps and refused to watch it again. It was painfully bad IMO. First, Mulgrew’s voice sounded like someone who’d smoked for 40 years. I actually couldn’t stand to hear her speak. Then there’s Tuvoc, a BLACK Vulcan (spare me.) Then Nelix the Talaxian, who was a manipulator and liar in the beginning. And the outrageously annoying doctor! I hated his arrogant ass with a purple passion. The list goes on. Anyway, one time YEARS later, I had nothing to do one weekend, so I started binge watching it. Shockingly, I found myself enjoying it, and eventually really liked it. I even got past Mulgrew’s voice. Voyager became my favorite franchise.

When ENT (Enterprise) aired (it’s a prequel series to TOS), I watched a few eps then quit. I couldn’t get used to Scott Bakula being the lead. I can only place him in Quantum Leap, a show that I found refreshingly different, and in which his performances were great. I never felt the cast gelled together the way they did in the other franchises. The biggest single turnoff for me was Bakula’s Captain Archer was always sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong, or where he wasn’t wanted. He was arrogant and smugly superior. And he didn’t get better as the series went on. I always wanted to reach into the TV, grab him by the collar, and bitch-slap him. ENT is my 4th in rank of the franchises. I ended up watching the entire franchise in fits and starts.

Now I’ll try to figure out my favorite episodes. I’ll edit this post as I come up with them.


Favorite episodes

TOS

Mudd’s Women
Dagger Of The Mind
Balance Of Terror
Shore Leave
A Taste Of Armageddon
Errand Of Mercy
City On The Edge Of Forever
Amok Time
A Piece Of The Action
Who Mourns For Adonais
Spectre Of The Gun
Wink Of An Eye
Elian Of Troyius
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield


TNG:

The Perfect Mate
Darmok
Tapestry
11001001
The Neutral Zone
Elementary Dear Data
Q Who (the first “Qpisode”)
Deja Q
Remember Me
Data’s Day
Qpid (this is the Sherwood Forest one)
Hero Worship
Cause and Effect (very good ep)
The Perfect Mate (Famke Janssen’s debut in film)
I, Borg
The Inner Light (voted best TNG episode)
Time’s Arrow (perhaps my fav)
Relics (James Doohan is in this one)
A Fistful of Datas
Chain of Command
Ship In A Bottle (companion episode to Elementary Dear Data)
Tapestry (also a huge fav)
Thine Own Self

VOY

The 37’s
Twisted
Lifesigns
The Thaw
Tuvix
Future’s End (Ed Begley Jr. is in this one)
Distant Origin
Year Of Hell (Kurtwood Smith is in this one)
Mortal Coil
Message In A Bottle
Demon
Living Witness
In The Flesh
Course: Oblivion (companion to Demon)
One Small Step
Fair Haven (this ep was critically panned, but I loved it)
Blink Of An Eye
Spirit Folk (companion to Fair Haven)
The
Haunting Of Deck 12
Shattered

DS9

The House Of Quark
Destiny
Little Green Men
Trials And Tribble-ations
The Magnificent Ferengi
Waltz
Honor Among Thieves
In The Pale Moonlight
His Way
It’s Only A Paper Moon
Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang
Extreme Measures
What You Leave Behind, part 2

ENT

None
 
Last edited:
Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
BornFree said:
Are we allowed to talk about Q on this thread?
Click to expand...
Trek’s Q, of course

Which brings up an opportunity for me to discuss the two recurring part-time characters. They are: John de Lancie as Q, an uber-arrogant omnipotent being from the Q continuum who repeatedly pesters the Enterprise crew, and Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg (please keep anti-Goldberg and/or political comments off this thread.) Goldberg played the bartender in Ten Forward, the off-duty gathering place for much of the crew.

de Lancie’s episodes were almost always hilarious. In one of them, he whisks the core crew back to Sherwood Forest, where Picard is Robin Hood. Lt. Worf (played so well by Michael Dorn) is a surly Klingon. When he realizes where they are, he says, “Captain, I protest! I an NOT a Merry Man!!” Coupled with his charater’s personality, that statement is hilarious.

Anyway, back to my musings.
 
Last edited:
Henry Bowman

Henry Bowman

Veteran Member
Boy I am split between TNG and Voyager.

I think TNG edges it out just by a hair.

All of the Q episodes are my favorite but the bitter sweet " All good things" is I think my very favorite...at least this month LOL
 
coalcracker

coalcracker

Veteran Member
I love the original series. I, like many of you, grew up watching it in syndication during my entire youth.
Love the thread, Dennis.

Favorite episodes:

“Shore Leave” and “A Piece of the Action” for playful fun.

“The Doomsday Machine” was my favorite as a kid because that damn thing was so big and scary, and the suspense in that episode was spine-tingling.

I’d also include “Balance of Terror” because of the Romulans knocking out those Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone and how it stoked my love of doom.
 
naegling62

naegling62

Veteran Member
My favorite is the TOS. Of that, I really find the original pilot interesting and there's also an unaired pilot that I can't find anymore and was really interesting. Of the movies I prefer The Next Generation series and the new ones but not a fan of #3. Start trek the motion picture redo in 4k really was impressive.

Of the new ones on Paramount+, not a fan of Discovery but it does have good special effects. The actors do their job well but I don't like the social conditioning going on so I stopped watching. I think Michelle Yeoh is one of the best actors to don the uniform. I'm about to start Strange New Worlds.
 
F

fi103r

Veteran Member
TOS ‘Shore Leave’ would love a week or so on that planet
Neuiport 11, Mustang (or a run in a A36 Apache)
and a looong overwater in a Grumman Goose.
great shore leave
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
coalcracker said:
I love the original series. I, like many of you, grew up watching it in syndication during my entire youth.
Love the thread, Dennis.

Favorite episodes:

“Shore Leave” and “A Piece of the Action” for playful fun.

“The Doomsday Machine” was my favorite as a kid because that damn thing was so big and scary, and the suspense in that episode was spine-tingling.

I’d also include “Balance of Terror” because of the Romulans knocking out those Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone and how it stoked my love of doom.
Click to expand...

OMG, the Doomsday Machine !! How could I forget? It scared the hell out of me !!

1658624773071.png
 
BornFree

BornFree

Came This Far
Last edited:
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
I'm not sure why deep space 9 got trashed. The character interchanges were outstanding. I loved Quark and Odo. The plot lines were deep and covered vast moral issues between the cardasians and bajorans.
To each his own, but for me deep space 9 will always be the best.

I watched the original series as an 11 year old kid and it was no big deal. People should realize the first series was a commerical failure and only became famous in the 1970's in syndication.
Kate Mulgrew was a bitch and scott was horribly miscast in my opinion.
TNG always struck me as blatant pc propaganda with an obnoxious preachy vibe. Data had show after show about him becoming human etc and I just got tired of one plot line beaten into your head year after year. :vik:
 
Walrus Whisperer

Walrus Whisperer

Hope in chains...
mzkitty said:
I am a fan of the original Star Trek. A lot of it was hokey, but back then it was THE program everybody loved -- well, that and Twilight Zone. I still laugh at the Trouble With Tribbles episode. I do like Next Gen and the one with the woman captain, but after that kind of lost interest. I also liked the episode where Captain Pike and his lady love are reunited in the cosmos, sort of.

:)
Click to expand...
Did you ever like any of the knock offs like deep space 9 or the like? I did! I liked all I could get to watch of them.
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
Walrus Whisperer said:
Did you ever like any of the knock offs like deep space 9 or the like? I did! I liked all I could get to watch of them.
Click to expand...

No, I really didn't get to watch a lot of them. I think that's around the time my son and I got our first PC's, so that started taking up more time than watching TV.
 
energy_wave

energy_wave

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Back in the late 70's early 80's my brother was enrolled at Fredonia State University. Roddenberry came to King Consert Hall to show the original pilots and blooper films. I was one of the few who got tickets via my brother and cousin. After it was over, we went to Marks Restaurant along Lake Erie in Dunkirk and who the hell shows up and sits two tables away was Gene himself. My cousin went over the got his autograph.
 
Namsgrls

Namsgrls

Veteran Member
TNG is the best, imo. So many good characters and episodes, but “Cause and Effect” is my favorite episode.
 
B

bassgirl

Veteran Member
TOS. The Tribbles episode.

WS- Cap Kirk was a classic. His overacting was infamous. But you can’t beat the chemistry of Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Scotty— “ I am givin it all she‘s got Captain! “
 
cyberiot

cyberiot

Rimtas žmogus
I was 10 when TOS debuted, and very much enjoyed the show.

I didn't follow TNG when it first aired, but happened to catch I, Borg [S5, E23], which pressed all my Ayn Rand buttons and securely hooked me. My favorite episode is The Inner Light [S5, E25]. I haven't seen much from the other franchises, mostly because I don't watch a lot of TV. I do, however, have a serious crush on Jean-Luc Picard.

1658631204410.png

DD caught every episode of TNG growing up. Now at 33, she is a wall-to-wall, top-to-bottom Trekophile. I done good!
 
day late

day late

money? whats that?
Funny this should come up. Star Trek TOS is just coming on here locally, and it has one of their better episodes. "Space Seed" which is the episode where Khan makes his first appearance in any of the series or movies. Pardon me but I'm going to go watch it, again.
 
Creedmoor

Creedmoor

Tempus Fugit
TOS for me and Memory Alpha as best episode. My wife (5 years older than me) loves TNG and her fav episode is Inner Light. Deep Space 9 is my second favorite. Never dug Voyager or Enterprise.
 
dioptase

dioptase

Veteran Member
I watched TOS as a teen. I loved Spock, and liked McCoy, Scotty, the other crew members. Very much had mixed feelings about Kirk.

I mostly loved TNG. As a captain, I favor Picard over Kirk. I very much liked Data (and his desire to be human), and I liked Deanna, Riker, and Worf. I did NOT like Beverly Crusher, nor did I much care for Wesley. I despised the female head of security Tasha Yar (?) (who thankfully got killed off), but I liked the actress when she came back later as her half-Romulan daughter. Some of my favorite episodes were those with Q, and those involving the Klingon Empire (where of course Worf featured prominently). I also liked the Borg and the time travel episodes. I'll have to look at your list, Dennis, but having seen the description, I agree that 'The Inner Light' was a very good/sad episode.

I don't understand the hate on DS9. For reasons I can't recall, I missed most of the last season, so I'll have to go back and look at that. I definitely did NOT like Odo, but I liked Benjamin Sisko, and found Quark and the Ferengi and their "religion" of profit amusing. As the series got further on, I liked the darker/espionage aspects with the tailor (whose name escapes me). I found the whole thing about the "Prophets" and the wormhole fascinating.

I watched part of the Voyager series. I didn't care for Kate Mulgrew. I didn't care for most of the crew, really.

I never watched the ENT series, and (having seen various comments on it) have no reason to start now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top