# 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:** 13
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/241 "2015-05-27T16:40:34Z")
Since everyone is knocking themselves out to come up with the great and the awful, I’m going to suggest an absolutely middle of the road episode. . . one that the fans watch out of loyalty rather than excitement; that has all the features of both the best and worst of Star Trek. [Return to Tomorrow](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708445/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) **The Good** A great guest star ([the young Diana Muldaur](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AUfAZKy6dPs/Tm0dc5zMk8I/AAAAAAAAAFA/C5m4zAW5HOM/s1600/muld.jpg)) Evil Spock - although he doesn’t have a goatee this time Plot twists **The Bad** [Special effects on a budget](http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200303/tos-051-the-long-lived-sargon/320x240.jpg) [Shatner. GIVES A. speech.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFEzc_gsuw) Once you’ve seen it, there’s really no reason to watch it again (unless you’re a fan of Diana Muldaur!) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/242 "2015-05-27T18:13:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Mostly true, but the remastered Doomsday Machine is far better than the awesomely great original. You see stuff that they just mention in the first version - like the Enterprise just about to be sucked into the maw of the machine. There are fragments of rock floating around from the smashed planet. And the final explosion is much better. If you only watch one remastered episode, this is the one to watch. _If_ you can watch it on DVD (and I don’t know about Netflix). The remastered version for broadcast shows some nice special effects (although the doomsday device still looks like ass - that’s a problem with the original design, not with the special effects per se), but it does so at the expense of cutting out some of the best, most iconic ST dialogue ever. For instance: “Vulcans never bluff.” “No. No, I don’t suppose that they do. Very well, Mr. Spock, the bridge is yours” is missing from the 48 minute remastered version. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/243 "2015-05-27T19:40:17Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Not accidental. In the writers guide from TOS Roddenberry specifically mentions the British Navy as a model, especially in the being out of communication sense. That worked best in Balance of Terror (a must watch episode) where Kirk asks for guidance and gets some after the whole thing is resolved - do what you think best. The show: A Wagon Train To the Stars! The Captain: A Horatio Hornblower type … (interesting combination) ((so were my parents)) Those were things I recall seeing in certain guides and books way back in the 70s at Trek-a-thons ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/244 "2015-05-27T20:12:27Z")
Five pages, and not one mention (unless I skimmed past it) of my own personal favorite, _The Changeling_, and least favorite, _The Lights of Zetar_ (written by [children’s show host Shari Lewis and her husband, LSD advocate Jeremy Tarcher](https://digitalseance.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/shari-lewis-jeremy-tarcher-lsd-the-universe-and-me/)). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/245 "2015-05-27T23:01:42Z")
> [@bup](#): > > _If_ you can watch it on DVD (and I don’t know about Netflix). > > The remastered version for broadcast shows some nice special effects (although the doomsday device still looks like ass - that’s a problem with the original design, not with the special effects per se), but it does so at the expense of cutting out some of the best, most iconic ST dialogue ever. > > For instance: > > “Vulcans never bluff.” > “No. No, I don’t suppose that they do. Very well, Mr. Spock, the bridge is yours” > > is missing from the 48 minute remastered version. I watched it on Netflix streaming, and I’m sure those lines were in there. Some of my favorites. Especially the look William Windom gives Nimoy. I thiink they were cut from the syndicated version. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/246 "2015-05-27T23:03:26Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > The show: A Wagon Train To the Stars! > > The Captain: A Horatio Hornblower type … > > (interesting combination) > > ((so were my parents)) > > Those were things I recall seeing in certain guides and books way back in the 70s at Trek-a-thons Yes, he definitely mentioned Wagon Train in there somewhere. I have the writers guide ordered directly from them during the run of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/247 "2015-05-28T00:48:34Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Mostly true, but the remastered Doomsday Machine is far better than the awesomely great original. You see stuff that they just mention in the first version - like the Enterprise just about to be sucked into the maw of the machine. There are fragments of rock floating around from the smashed planet. And the final explosion is much better. If you only watch one remastered episode, this is the one to watch. Plus, the Constellation actually wobbles in flight. The damage to the ship is shown in great detail - it almost looks like a cut away model. None of that “AMT model kit modified by a flick of the Bic” from the original. For other good eps, did Court martial get mentioned? A pretty good ep. In the remastered, you can see the damaged port where the ion pod came from, down by the shuttlecraft hangar. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/248 "2015-05-28T01:11:38Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Five pages, and not one mention (unless I skimmed past it) of my own personal favorite, _The Changeling_, and least favorite, _The Lights of Zetar_ (written by [children’s show host Shari Lewis and her husband, LSD advocate Jeremy Tarcher](https://digitalseance.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/shari-lewis-jeremy-tarcher-lsd-the-universe-and-me/)). Nomad was mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/249 "2015-05-28T01:33:43Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > It would definitely have been too rough on the identical costumes worn by both combatants in the James Blish adaptation: tunics and sandals, IIRC. It seemed like a logical plot device, more so than each one having his normal clothes on as in the TV episode. If they’d been more faithful to the original Frederic Brown short story, Kirk would’ve been butt-nekkid. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/250 "2015-05-28T01:34:36Z")
There are episodes that are better, I guess, than “The Trouble With Tribbles”. But it’s still my favorite of TOS. Scotty in the bar, trying to ignore the Klingon insults, and keep the junior officers from brawling, throws the first punch in the glorious barfight. Smashing bottles, throwing chairs, bodies flying over the bar counter, it’s still my favorite scene in all of the Trek series. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/251 "2015-05-28T10:40:11Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Five pages, and not one mention (unless I skimmed past it) of my own personal favorite, _The Changeling_. “The Changeling” was a good episode overall, but so many computers had been tricked into self-destruction by then… :rolleyes: Also, they “reducated” Uhura pretty damned fast. Funny that her Swahili wasn’t erased along with her English. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/252 "2015-05-28T10:48:12Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Once you’ve seen it, there’s really no reason to watch it again (unless you’re a fan of Diana Muldaur!) Once you’ve seen it, go to the blooper reels on YouTube and watch Kirk say “Have no fear … SARGON is here!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/253 "2015-05-28T20:54:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “The Changeling” was a good episode overall, but so many computers had been tricked into self-destruction by then… :rolleyes: > > Also, they “reducated” Uhura pretty damned fast. Funny that her Swahili wasn’t erased along with her English. :dubious: It had one of the best closing jokes. “What a doctor it would have made. My son, the doctor. Kind of gets you right here.” It’s obvious that Shatner is Jewish from that line. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/254 "2015-05-28T21:09:37Z")
In _The Changeling_, a space probe launched from Earth designed to seek out and communicate with alien life forms collided with an alien probe programmed to gather and sterilize soil samples. The alien probe’s repair mechanism accidentally incorporated some of the Earth probe’s programming, resulting in an ultra-powerful mechanism programmed to sterilize planets of imperfect life forms. Many years ago I made a comic strip parody of this episode, in which the leftover pieces coalesced into a device programmed to seek out and communicate with soil samples. Then it found Harry Mudd… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/255 "2015-05-28T22:54:30Z")
> [@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 dont get it, that link is to:“Tornado Victim Finds Cat During Interview”😕 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/256 "2015-05-28T23:01:44Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In the DS9 episode, “Trials and Tribble-ations”, they go back in time to the original Tribbles incident. Over the course of the episode, Sisko is debriefed by two officers from the Federation Department of Temporal Investigations: > > 😃 Actually, the 8th or so, with seven US Navy versions and that other Prequel. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/257 "2015-05-28T23:05:51Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Barbara Babcock was also in the last episode of season 2, “Assignment: Earth”. > > With Robert Lansing and a young Teri Garr. > > [Assignment: Earth - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assignment:_Earth) It was supposed to be a spin off. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/258 "2015-05-29T06:32:39Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Paradise Syndrome is one of the few episodes I’ll turn off. (The Empath is another.) First, I hate amnesia plots. Second, the Enterprise sub plot is stupid. > A: Why not call a tow truck. They aren’t that far away, and it is not like Star Fleet doesn’t know where they are. Second, even if warp is broken they have impulse - they could have gotten to the planet a lot faster than the damn asteroid. Third, I don’t buy that Spock would have screwed up like that. The only reason for them to meander along with the asteroid is for Kirk to have time in his little Indian wonderland. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Actually, there was a recurring theme here. Kirk is away or indisposed and Spock is in command. Spock conspicuously uses pure logic to make command decisions, against the intuitions of Scotty and everyone else, and he fucks up. The same thing happened in _The Galileo Seven_ as well, up until the end when Spock finally makes a move of desperation that saves them all. In contrast, Scotty is seen in command in a few episodes. He makes cool rational but sometimes intuitive decisions, not so totally “logic bound” as Spock, and it always works out right. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/259 "2015-05-29T17:33:46Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Actually, there was a recurring theme here. Kirk is away or indisposed and Spock is in command. Spock conspicuously uses pure logic to make command decisions, against the intuitions of Scotty and everyone else, and he fucks up. The same thing happened in _The Galileo Seven_ as well, up until the end when Spock finally makes a move of desperation that saves them all. > > In contrast, Scotty is seen in command in a few episodes. He makes cool rational but sometimes intuitive decisions, not so totally “logic bound” as Spock, and it always works out right. When the show aired, there were quite a few people who said that Kirk should hand over command to Spock, who was clearly smarter. Galileo Seven showed why this would be a bad idea. I’m not aware of any evidence that Spock ever does get his own command (in our universe, that is) even after he has been promoted to Captain. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/260 "2015-05-29T18:03:11Z")
One of the absolute dumbest was the one where intruders were on the ship, but you couldn’t see them because they were too fast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052.md?page=14)