# Which Original Star Trek Eps are 'must watch'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052 "2013-05-22T18:52:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/1 "2013-05-22T18:52:11Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/2 "2013-05-22T18:56:56Z")
Charlie X The double Talos IV episodes Amok Time guilty pleasure: What are little girls made of? I’ll have to think of the actual titles… ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/3 "2013-05-22T18:59:49Z")
Cage Mantrap Space Seed City On Edge of Forever Tomorrow Is Yesterday Galileo Seven There are a few more gems here and there going into season two and eventually, ugh, three. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/4 "2013-05-22T19:00:17Z")
My 5 favorites: Balance of Terror (one dumb sub-plot is all that stands between this and finest Star Trek episode of all time award) Space Seed The Devil in the Dark The Doomsday Machine The City on the Edge of Forever Do not watch “Spock’s Brain”. If you must, watch the youtube video of “Brain and Brain! What is brain!”, but don’t watch the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/5 "2013-05-22T19:00:43Z")
_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. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/6 "2013-05-22T19:03:23Z")
Let the Nerd-War commence! 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. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/7 "2013-05-22T19:04:11Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/8 "2013-05-22T19:06:45Z")
(Why Charlie X?) “Space Seed”, only to get a little of backstory for the second Star Trek movie. “Where No Man has Gone Before”, where Kirk must sacrifice a friend. “Galileo Seven”, where Spock, apparently, exercises his first command (of an away mission). “Doomsday Weapon” was a nice little action oriented episode I always liked. Same with “Balance of Terror”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/9 "2013-05-22T19:06:46Z")
It’ll be interesting to see how opinions differ on this. Pulling episode lists off of [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060028/?ref_=sr_5). 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**. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/10 "2013-05-22T19:11:34Z")
I got my wife hooked on the absurd greatness of it all by getting her to watch the one with weird Clint Howard laughing baby. [But first, the Tronya!](http://youtu.be/JKc4Inezm3k) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/11 "2013-05-22T19:12:20Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Do not watch “Spock’s Brain”. If you must, watch the youtube video of “Brain and Brain! What is brain!”, but don’t watch the episode. For the love of Surak, do not watch “Spock’s Brain”! For that matter, you should stay away from “The Way to Eden”, and its space-hippies, as well. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/12 "2013-05-22T19:12:57Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > 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). 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. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/13 "2013-05-22T19:14:29Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I got my wife hooked on the absurd greatness of it all by getting her to watch the one with weird Clint Howard laughing baby. [But first, the Tronya!](http://youtu.be/JKc4Inezm3k) Did she relish the Tronya as much as you did? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/14 "2013-05-22T19:16:36Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I got my wife hooked on the absurd greatness of it all by getting her to watch the one with weird Clint Howard laughing baby. [But first, the Tronya!](http://youtu.be/JKc4Inezm3k) 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.” ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/15 "2013-05-22T19:18:42Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/16 "2013-05-22T19:23:05Z")
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. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/17 "2013-05-22T19:25:59Z")
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. > [@Frazzled](#): > > 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. … [QUOTE= Wikipedia] [In this episode](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spock%27s_Brain), 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] Oh. Oh I am watching this episode. Oh yes. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/18 "2013-05-22T19:28:00Z")
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 Season Three The Enterprise Incident ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/19 "2013-05-22T19:38:30Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > 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 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_… ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/20 "2013-05-22T19:40:22Z")
WAIT I HAVE ANOTHER IMPORTANT QUESTION. Which is the episode with the planet of people with half-black, half-white faces? (I assume it’s in the less-well-regarded 3rd season?) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052.md?page=2)