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Here is the question we put before readers several weeks ago:
J.W. in West Chester, PA, asks: What do you think is the best episode of any of the Star Trek series?
Today, it's answers involving Star Trek: The Next Generation:
P.M. in Port Angeles, WA: My pick among an amazing assemblage is "The Inner Light." In this episode, Captain Picard's brain is taken over by an alien satellite probe and he re-lives the life of a man on a dying world. This is done simply so that the life of this planet is preserved in the memory of the universe.
I found the poignancy incredibly captivating, especially with Picard's remembrance as played through a piccolo-type musical instrument. That simple melody he plays just tugged so strongly at my heartstrings.
B.J. in Arlington, MA: I can tell you my favorite Star Trek episode but I have to tell you a story first.
My wife is not a Trekkie (no one is perfect) and had basically never seen it before we met. Many years ago she happened to see a few minutes of Star Trek IV when the whales were on screen. Being an animal lover, she said she wanted to see the rest of "the whale Star Trek movie." However, also being a purist and obsessive, she insisted that if she was going to watch Star Trek at all, she had to start at the beginning and see it all in order.
So we started with ST:TOS. I am 55 and therefore a ST:TNG guy. I had seen some TOS episodes but not all of them. We got through all of season one and part of season two (this was before kids) before losing our momentum. Neither of us were enthralled. A few years after that I finally convinced her that it was okay to see the movies without finishing TOS so we watch one through four. She finally got to see the whale movie, and enjoyed it.
Fast forward about 15 years and two kids. As a TNG guy I really wanted to share it with her but I realized that with seven seasons of over 20 episodes each, not only would she not have that much interest but really I didn't want to sit through all of them again either. Instead, I made up an abridged list of the best episodes and most important plot arcs. We are now most of the way through it.
This means that, after knowing her for 25 years, she has finally seen "The Inner Light." She says she liked it, which sounds like it didn't have as much impact on her as on me. It made me tear up all over again.
J.H. in Lake Forest, CA: TNG's "The Inner Light":
Picard (as Galen): "It's me!"
Me: I burst into tears... EVERY TIME.
...and the tune on the flute.Sorry I can't write more; my eyes are filling...
R.L. in San Diego, CA: The best episode of any Star Trek series in some ways depends on how old you are. I grew up when TOS came out, but those episodes aired after my bedtime so the only way to see them was to sneak in to watch them with my older brother and sister. As a youngster, seeing Spock with his beard and the Federation's dagger logo made "Mirror Mirror" totally cool. The "Doomsday Machine" was also great. And that was all there was until the new series.
I've since watched TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, Lower Decks, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and now Starfleet Academy. As I've aged, certain episodes resonate far more than they once did. Among them: (1) "Tapestry," where a mortally wounded Picard is given a second chance to avoid the brash decisions of his youth by Q, and then seeing the outcome hits home because you realize you really are the outcome of the different stages and decisions of your life. It is also humbling to hear Q tell Picard "you really weren't that important"; (2) "The Inner Light," where in a short time Picard lives a virtual life on a long extinct world threatened by climate change, is just excellent science fiction, timeless and grounded in the realities of today. Picard gets to be a father and uses the principles of science to try to help his society.
M.B. in Menlo Park, CA: "The Best of Both Worlds," Parts 1 and 2, "Time's Arrow," parts 1 and 2, and "The Inner Light."
M.B. in San Antonio, TX: Cheating a little, because it's two episodes, including the finale of one season and the opening of the next season, but it has to be "The Best of Both Worlds," Parts 1 and 2. Captain Picard gets assimilated by the Borg, and turned into Locutus of Borg, and as such almost conquers Earth for the Borg. Some fine character development all around, by Picard of course, but also by Riker, Data, and Lt. Commander Shelby. Additionally, it has one of the best season-ending cliffhangers in television history, and one of the greatest lines to ever become ingrained in popular culture: "Resistance is futile."
J.M. in Portland, OR: I have to go with "Darmok," because for once we got an alien that was truly alien and not just a funny looking humanoid that spoke perfect English (Universal Translator... really?).
K.H. in Albuquerque, NM: The first episode that jumped to mind was "Darmok." Despite its dated special effects, its exploration of language, metaphor, and meaning was a superb concept.
I still refer to the online linguistic cheat when txt'ing certain friends. I'm sure others will have different responses to this beast at Tanagra. I look forward to their thoughts like Darmok and Jalad on the ocean.
Mirab, with sails unfurled.
S.F. in Chatham, NJ: I have seen every episode of every Star Trek series that exists at least once. The three that clearly stand out as my favorites are all from TNG: "The Offspring," "Darmok," and "The Inner Light." Each of these packs an emotional punch every single time, while making you think.
E.P. in Tillson, NY: I certainly never saw all the episodes of any series, and not much after TNG. But of all the scenes I remember, a tiny moment from the episode "The Outcast" just... sticks.
In the episode, we meet the J'naii, a species that evolved to become androgynous. But in some cases, the individuals indicate some male or female characteristics, which is then medically crushed out.
Well, one of the J'naii, named Soren, meets Riker and, having closeted female indicators, falls for the big, burly commander. Soren is found out and put on trial, and Riker shows up. The judge says something like, "You see, Commander, our people just want to be normal." And Riker yells "SHE IS!"
There is no moment on film that does more to embrace trans rights. I will not debate this.
L.H. in Chicago, IL: For me, TNG hit its stride around the middle of Season 3 and stayed there until the middle of Season 5. Almost any episode in that range is excellent. I'm also a fan of pretty much all of the two-part episodes (season cliffhanger or otherwise). But if I have to pick one, it has to be the two-part "Unification," which had an aged Spock on Romulus. That one aired shortly after Gene Roddenberry's death, and I'm not sure if he was around for the production of that episode or not, but it really culminated everything the series had led up to before that point. Romulans, Spock, Sarek, Commander Sela, as well as the exciting and suspenseful subplot involving Riker and the stolen Vulcan ships. The rest of the series seems like an epilogue after that one.
I will give an honorable mention to "The Next Phase," in which Geordi and Ensign Ro are dematerialized after exposure to a cloaking device malfunction. While the plot seems trivial next to some of the episodes more crucial to the overarching mythology of the series, the wake for the two missing crewmen is quite touching, and the suspense as Data figures out what's happening is something to behold.
R.P. in Gloucester City, NJ: I did not watch TNG when it came out. it wasn't until 1993 when I moved in with my fiancée (now my wife of 31 years). She was a real TNG lover; I was still too "loyal" to TOS. Anyhow I started watching TNG and DS9 pretty much together. The two TNG eps that stick out in my mind are: (1) "Schisms," where members of the crew are abducted by an alien race through a portal and returned within a few hours with only confused memories of the experience, first thought to be dreams. The scene where they collectively reproduce the exam tables from their dreams was really, really spooky and (2) "Remember Me," where a warp bubble accident traps Dr. Crusher. The size of the ship she is on keeps shrinking. This had real resonance with a sci-fi book classic, The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester.
"Planet of Hats" is a webcomic that recaps every single episode of TOS, TAS and TNG and a couple of the movies. Fun for remembering and funny for how it skewers the tropes.
B.W. in West Hartford, CT: My favorite episodes from The Next Generation: (1) "Remember Me" (where Beverly Crusher alone realizes that the crew is vanishing), "The Game" (Riker introduces the crew to an addictive game) and "Cause and Effect" (déjà vu while playing poker).
P.S. in Seattle, WA : I've always preferred the episodes where nobody goes to a planet because they feel more like sci-fi than a "space western." Among these episodes, Star Trek: TNG's "Cause and Effect" stands out. I love the way the story's tension keeps you engaged, although there's no real antagonist. And it was great to watch the crew evolve from cluelessness to awareness to control. They start to sense oddities (instances of déjà vu), realize they're in danger, and finally work together as a team to escape the time loop and its disastrous outcome.
P.R. in Kirksville, MO: I have a lot of favorite second generation Star Trek episodes, but I think the one that always comes to mind is "Q Who," in which Q sends the Enterprise to an unknown quadrant of the galaxy and they meet the Borg for the first time. It's an entirely new "species" and enemy for the Federation, and by the end of the episode, Picard realizes that there is no solution without Q's intervention to bring them back to safety. It's a telling moment for Picard's character when he realizes that Q is right, and that the Federation has no idea what is out there.
B.S. in Lexington, SC: I have to say that the best episode, and the one I enjoyed the most, was "Yesterday's Enterprise." It gave us an insight into how the treaty with the Klingons came about, gave us a look at what Guinan really is and gave us Tasha Yar back for an episode. I remember the chills I got when that ship passed through the wormhole and the Enterprise instantly transformed into a warship. Of course, I've always been a sucker for time travel episodes.
B.H. in Southborough, MA: The TNG episode that can have appeal to non-Trek fans is "The Inner Light," but my favorite episode is "I, Borg." It combines wonderful performances and timing by the actors, reflection on who is your true enemy and what should be done to destroy them, and the episode-stealing assumption of the Locutus persona by Picard. And in the end, even though they decide not to use the disruptive virus, Hugh's individuality casts the Borg into chaos anyway.
C.F. in Waltham, MA: My favorite is easy: "Who Watches the Watchers." It was a message we need to understand today more than ever, and I was stunned the network let Picard make a definitive and truthful statement about religion. After the professor explains religion will be rekindled and lead to horrors (examples all from our own history), Picard says "Horrifying!... millennia ago they abandoned their belief in the supernatural. Now you are asking me to sabotage that achievement to send them back into the dark ages..." I just didn't think it was possible to ever see such a clear and rational statement about why we need to find an alternative to modern day religious (irrational supernatural) beliefs!
W.C. in Chicago, IL: "Family" is just fantastic writing: The brotherly discussion of (argument over) 400 years in the future tech, illuminating the mighty Captain's Picard vulnerability, and the final scene's "Let him dream" gets me every time.
S.K. in Ardmore, PA: "Family." It tells 3 different stories (centering on Picard, Worf, and Wesley), and they all are really moving. They really knocked it out of the park with that episode.
J.D.Z. in St. Paul, MN: "Sarek." Mark Lenard reprises his role from the original series and thus unites the two crews and two series in a fuller way than DeForest Kelley's blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in the pilot. The episode is light on action, but there's a mystery to be solved, and in a touching concert scene, Captain Picard begins to figure out the issue: Sarek is falling victim to a Vulcan version of Alzheimer's Disease. This is terrible in itself, but it's made worse by the fact that Sarek is slated to negotiate a key treaty for the Federation. The solution allows for a truly epic performance by Patrick Stewart, allowing Sarek to successfully navigate the negotiations.
I first watched this episode with my father, when I was a teenager, and it was in that hour that I truly fell in love with the Star Trek universe. The story, the pathos, and the acting really caused me to notice what an amazing show it is, and I subsequently watched every episode of not only Next Generation, but other Trek series as well.
R.P.E.H. in London, England, Earth, Sector 001, Alpha Quadrant: To get right down to business: the best episode of any Trek series is "Chain of Command, Part II."
My reason for picking that one is all about the acting. Putting two wonderful actors in a room together (David Warner and Patrick Stewart) and letting them go was a brave but inspired decision; even more so when one discovers that Warner was a late replacement, didn't have time to learn his lines, and had to read everything from cards. Picard's final victory shout to Gul Madred: "There are... four lights!" and the final confession to Troi... it sends a shiver down my spine every time. Every other castmember seems to pick up their game in this one, too. There are some creaky story elements across the two parts but I still think this episode stands out as a belter.
C.B. in Hamden, CT: "The Measure of a Man." Data goes on trial to determine whether an android should be given human rights. Picard defends him, Riker is forced to act for the prosecution and the judge is a former girlfriend of Picard. It's the best filmed exploration of how far human rights should extend that I know of—better than Blade Runner, for example. It's also a beautifully constructed piece of theater: The various subplots intertwine very effectively, the pacing of the episode is perfect, and the acting is excellent (even by Jonathan Frakes). I've shown it in class when I teach science fiction, and the non-trekkies are blown away by the sophistication of the plotting, writing, and acting. In Season 2 there was still some question as to whether TNG was going to be a success—this was one of the episodes that propelled post-original Trek to iconic status.
Next week, it is Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.
There is still time to submit answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Spock's Brain"!