“These are continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: To explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
60 years ago, a man named Gene Roddenberry created a neat little science fiction show called Star Trek. Taking place over 200 years into the future, Star Trek featured a universe in which mankind was united in exploring the galaxy in a government known as the United Federation of Planets. In 1966, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, and DeForest Kelley starred as the main crew of the USS Enterprise. The original series lasted only 3 years, but it left an amazing impression on the world. It was very well received by fans from all walks of life. Why was it so popular? Why was it influential? One of the most obvious answers, is that the show featured an extremely diverse cast of characters. You had Uhura, who was African-American. Povel Chekhov was Russian and Sulu was Asian-American. The show came out in a time when people were not only fighting for civil rights, but we were taking on a global threat that was Communism, which included the Russians. It was extraordinary to see such an ethnically diverse group of people unite on a ship like the Enterprise. Not only that, but Star Trek would also feature some technology that wouldn’t come into existence until the mid to late 90s. Cell phones, anybody? Gene Roddenberry was ahead of his time. He envisioned a future in which everybody came together for common cause, and such optimism was unusual in a syndicated television show.
While the cultural significance of Star Trek is very important, that’s not just what the show and subsequent franchise was about. It was about exploration. Not just the galaxy, but of ideas and philosophies; some of which are still significant. The franchise took us beyond the stars and explored what could be. After the original show ended in 1969, a decade would pass before we would see another Star Trek story. When Star Wars was released in 1977, Paramount Studios used this an opportunity to craft their own epic space saga in a full feature-length film. In 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released to audiences world-wide to an understandably mixed reaction. While people had issues with the film, it was still an important piece of Star Trek history. The game changed when Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released in 1982. This was the film that fans were hoping for and it was a smash hit. Star Trek has recently celebrated its 50th birthday with the release of the new Star Trek Beyond film. While I would make a post specifically for why I love Star Trek, I believe it would easier for me to give you examples of why I love this franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up on Star Wars, but I also grew up on Star Trek as well, so I have feet planted firmly in both camps. For this episode of The Best, I will be including not just the movies, but also some of the television series as well, since the franchise spans both TV and movies. I will be featuring specific episodes from the original series and The Next Generation on the TV side of things. This is The Best of Star Trek.
Star Trek: The Original Series:
Balance of Terror:
This is the first episode of Star Trek that featured Romulans, the off-shoot of Vulcans like Mr. Spock. While they wouldn’t get a look at the actual Romulans until about half-way through the episode, the reveal was nothing less than shocking. Featuring Mark Lenard as the captain of the Romulan warship, the episode high-lighted several concepts including bigotry in the 23rd century. When the Romulans were revealed, one of the Enterprise’s crew members accused Spock of being one of the enemy, due to the physical similarities that the Vulcans and Romulans shared. It was also a very intense episode. It was by far, one of the best episodes of Star Trek.
Space Seed
This particular episode is special to many, many fans, because it features a villain unlike any other: Khan Noonien Singh. Khan was a genetically engineered super-soldier from the 1990s(Star Trek universe, of course)lost in space. He was incredibly intelligent, fast and strong. He was also believe that he was genetically superior to the rest of humanity. Not only does Khan give Kirk a run for his money, he becomes a personal villain to Captain Kirk. Ricardo Montalban was incredible as Khan. The name of the episode is strangely prophetic as Khan would return in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. That was the first Star Trek film to be directly linked to an episode of the original series. Khan has become one of the greatest villains in cinematic history.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
After the cancellation of the original series in 1969, and the release of 5 Star Trek films, production began on a new Star Trek series that takes place a hundred years after the original series. The new show debuted in 1987 with a new cast of characters. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander Riker, Worf, Deanna Troi, Doctor Beverly Crusher and the android, Data would take the lead in the new series which lasted 7 seasons. With better visual effects, sleeker ships and a larger budget, Star Trek: The Next Generation would prove to be just as significant and amazing as the original show. While the first season was a little rough around the edges, it was still pretty good. Season 2 is where things really picked up.
Q-Who?
When a show introduces a new villain, you would expect that villain to be memorable, hopefully. In Q-Who?, the crew of the Enterprise-D is introduced to one of the Federation’s most devastating enemies: The Borg. The Borg come into play when the god-like Q flings the Enterprise 7,000 light years away from their current position and encounter a force that is pretty much unstoppable. This episode is important for a number of reasons. The Federation finally comes up against a foe that they’re not entirely certain they can defeat and one that conquers and assimilates entire civilizations. This encounter impacts the series as a whole, and it has an effect upcoming episodes.
The Best of Both Worlds Parts I and II
These episodes are by far the most significant in the entire Next Generation series. Why? Because this story arc did things that few people have seen before in television. The main hero of the series is captured and turned into one of the enemy, which was shocking for a lot of people, but The Best of Both Worlds Part I ended Season 3 on a cliff-hanger. Nobody had ever done anything like that before in television history. It was a huge risk, leaving people hanging for the conclusion, which wouldn’t happen for another few months. People had speculated and had theories on what would happen. When Season 4 opened with the conclusion of the story, it blew people away. It was important for a number of reasons. For one, it changed Captain Picard on a personal level. He was essentially violated and stripped of his humanity, and that has a lasting effect throughout the rest of the series. He HATES the Borg because of what they have done. The feature film, Star Trek: First Contact essentially brings his relationship to the Borg to a head and to a satisfying conclusion. When it comes The Next Generation, these are the two episodes that I like to watch over and over again. They’re that good, and represent some of the best of what Star Trek has to offer.
While I’m sure some of you might be disappointed that I didn’t feature any episodes from Deep Space Nine, Voyager, or Enterprise, these are the most significant Star Trek episodes for me. These are the ones that I found to be the best in the television side of the franchise. Deep Space Nine, I think, will get its own post, because their is way too much going on in that series for a single post. There will be more posts about Star Trek in the near future, so stay tuned. The adventure is just beginning.