As a child of the 80s-90s, I have seen most of Next Gen, all of DS9, and … enough of Voyager. I’ve seen most of the original movies, and I know about the show through nerd-cultural-osmosis, but it seems like every time I’ve caught an episode of the original series, it’s either:
a) the one where Kirk fights the guy in the lizard suit and makes gunpowder out of rocks
or
b) the one with half-naked Sulu running around with a sword.
Fortunately, the whole shebang is up on Netflix, and I’d like to know which ones are really, really good. I’d also like to know which ones are really, really ridiculous, because I’m sure they are also fun to watch.
Who’s got suggestions for me? The episode summaries on Netflix are not super-helpful (one of them just says ‘Scotty gets accused of murdering a belly dancer.’ LOLWUT).
The Trouble with Tribbles is probably the all-time fan favorite Space Seed (the original Khan episode) is pretty high on the list, if only because of all that followed. Squire of Gothos is amusingly strange. City on the Edge of Forever is odd but among the very best. The Immunity Syndrome is pretty “Sixties” but has an important piece of backstory. A Private Little War is one of the better planet-dweller dramas.
Glancing over the list, I’m not sure there’s any third-season ep I can recommend. Yeck.
Most of my early-Trek watching was done with my parents, and I realize that my favorite episodes will forever be colored by the fact that I was probably about eight years old when I saw most of them. So that’s your warning.
“City on the Edge of Forever” is widely acknowledged to be one of the best episodes of the OS. You’ll hear about that one a lot. But hey, Spock in a gangster suit!
“A Taste of Armageddon” was always one of my favorites, long before I understood that it was a commentary on the senselessness of war in general.
“Mirror, Mirror,” the granddaddy of parallel-universe goatee tropes.
“The Squire of Gothos,” because it’s ridiculous. Also check out “Mudd’s Women” and “I, Mudd.”
I’ll stop now because I’m not nearly the Trekker I’m sure some others are, and I should probably be working.
The Trouble With Tribbles. IMHO, the best original ST ever. Comedy, Scotty, battle scenes, Klingons, some really good lines. If you must see only one original episode this Summer, see: The Trouble With Tribbles.
Season 1:
The Man Trap
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time (half-naked Sulu!)
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie, Parts 1 and 2
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
Space Seed (Khan’s original appearance)
The Devil in the Dark
City on the Edge of Forever
Season 2:
Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd (the “villain”, Harry Mudd, also appears in “Mudd’s Women” in Season 1, but I think this is a better episode)
Metamorphosis
Journey to Babel
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
By Any Other Name
Season 3 (not as many good ones, IMO):
The Tholian Web
All Our Yesterdays
(Edited to add “Galileo Seven” and “Mirror, Mirror” – can’t believe I missed those! Thanks, mlees and Draelin. )
Off the top of my head -
Balance of Terror - the first Romulan episode
The Enterprise Incident - the second Romulan episode, a personal favorite
City on the Edge of Forever - time travel, Harlan Ellison story.
The Trouble with Tribbles - best Trek humor ever.
Space Seed - Khan!
A Piece of the Action - another fun episode, has Kirk & Spock in prohibition era Chicago.
The Tholian Web - another personal favorite, the crew races against time to save Kirk. Has some of the best interaction between Spock & McCoy.
I got my roommate to watch it simply by making fun of it at the same time I was explaining things. “This? This is the engineering section. It’s a big empty room for Kirk to fight people in.”
The OP said he wanted to know the ridiculous episodes too so I must disagree with those who say not to watch Spock’s Brain. Absolutely watch it, it’s the worst dreck you’ve ever seen. Leonard Nimoy claimed in an interview that he was embarrassed the entire time he filmed that episode. Shatner also agrees that it’s the worst episode of the series. It’s painfully bad, but knowing that should put you in the right frame of mind to enjoy just how awful the show could be if it really really tried.
I’m not a huge Trekker, or Trekkie, by any means, but I did grow up watching the reruns on Saturday afternoons in the '70s.
The one that has always stuck with me is The Enemy Within. I think I might have been deeply affected by the incredibly over-the-top acting of William Shatner in that episode.
I can still see the close-ups of his sweaty deranged face.
I actually watched The Galileo Seven last night, just picking at random. I liked it , except for one thing: the two crewmen who were doomed to be killed on the planet Soundstagium IX by the Horrible Guys in Furry Coats With Giant Foam Rubber Spears were wearing yellow shirts, not red. My whole life is a lie.
[QUOTE= Wikipedia] In this episode, an alien female beams aboard the ship and, after incapacitating the rest of the crew, surgically removes Spock’s brain. Kirk and the crew have just hours to locate and replace it before Spock’s body dies.
[/QUOTE]
Season One
Naked Time
Mudd’s Women
What Are Little Girls Made Of?
The Corbomite Maneuver
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
Arena
Space Seed
Devil in the Dark
City on the Edge of Forever
Season Two
Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
Trouble With Tribbles
By Any Other Name
I agree that’s one worth watching. It’s important for having the first Vulcan nerve pinch, and I’m convinced it’s Shatner’s selling of it that made it become a thing.
But mostly I agree with the really popular suggestions here - Amok Time; Mirror, Mirror; City on the Edge of Forever; Balance of Terror…
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