# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/141 "2013-05-27T23:20:09Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > _Operation ANNIHILATE!_ Thanks 😃 ---
**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 27, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/142 "2013-05-27T23:35:43Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > Well, that sure sounds like it should be bumped up the list … You’d think so, but you’d be wrong. ---
**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 28, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/143 "2013-05-28T05:04:29Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You’d think so, but you’d be wrong. There are flying space jellyfish. Your argument is invalid. ---
**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, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/144 "2013-05-28T05:37:47Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The animated series should be considered canon. It provides much better continuity than most of the loopy material that’s been generated by fans over the years. (I detest the vast majority of the _ **Trek** _ novels I’ve managed to slog through.) TAS has kzinti. Thanks, Larry Niven. But I agree better than the novels. As for sneaking in an author’s universe, James Blish snuck in a reference to the Vegan Tyranny (from the Cities in Flight series) in his writeup of Tomorrow is Yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/145 "2013-05-28T06:14:46Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Was _The Doomsday Machine_ the one with the immense flying cigar/turd? That thing was revisited in a 1990s _ST:TNG_ novel. They somehow figured out that the thing was a weapon created centuries earlier by victims of the Borg. It had theoretically been built and then basically just launched in a straight line for the Borg homeworld (apparently they had backtracked its trajectory to figure out where it came from, and found a dead civilization that showed clear signs of having been destroyed centuries earlier by the Borg). Or something like that. > > What was the name of the episode that had the gelatinous face-sucker things? That was an episode I only saw once, as a child, but it stuck in my memory. Not face-suckers, though - they’d stick to the victim’s back and then be absorbed inside. The Giant Space Carrot also featured in a New Voyages episode called “In Harm’s Way”. Not a bad story, though made by fans for fans and expected you to pick up on all the references to the original series, of which there were many. And it showed you that things could get worse, because the Doomsday Machine was able to make another Doomsday Machine, and so on… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/146 "2013-05-28T12:31:48Z")
> [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](#): > > There are flying space jellyfish. And William Shatner with a mustache. ---
**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, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/147 "2013-05-28T12:34:15Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > And William Shatner with a mustache. As George Samuel Kirk ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/148 "2013-05-28T12:38:57Z")
Yes. It’s unlucky to be the _Enterprise_ captain’s brother. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/149 "2013-05-28T13:36:13Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Those suits clearly weren’t sealed; if they had been, the guy from the landing party wouldn’t have gotten dosed and the episode would have been rather boring. IIRC, the suits were sealed, however the guy took his glove off and put his hand on the wall or table. Why he did something so stupid is never explained. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/150 "2013-05-28T13:46:28Z")
On a similar note, whenever Trek fans are parodied on tv, episodes are always referred to as “season 2, episode 7” or some such. What’s up with that? Everyone knows that a true Trekkie knows each episode by name. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/151 "2013-05-28T13:59:46Z")
I was gifted with a full set of the DVDs of seasons 2 and 3 for my birthday last year. My SO and I were looking through them when I found to my total astonishment an episode that I had never seen before, _Return to Tomorrow_. Spock fans will be especially appreciative of the way Mr. Nimoy handles his role. Recommended. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/152 "2013-05-28T14:06:03Z")
“flying space jellyfish” Um. I’m one of those dinosaurs who actually saw the show on first run. I was a very young child, and not at all demanding about special effects and the like. And even I thought the monsters looked like those fake rubber ‘vomit puddles’ that Spencer Gifts used to sell. Hanging from a fishing rod. Be warned. ---
**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, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/153 "2013-05-28T15:22:22Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > IIRC, the suits were sealed, however the guy took his glove off and put his hand on the wall or table. > > Why he did something so stupid is never explained. See post 109. He was able to reach up and scratch his nose because there was no seal between the hood and the rest of the suit. ---
**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, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/154 "2013-05-28T15:27:26Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I was gifted with a full set of the DVDs of seasons 2 and 3 for my birthday last year. My SO and I were looking through them when I found to my total astonishment an episode that I had never seen before, _Return to Tomorrow_. > > Spock fans will be especially appreciative of the way Mr. Nimoy handles his role. > > Recommended. This episode is worth watching for two reasons: (1) Nimoy’s performance and (2) so you can say you’ve seen it once. It was cranked out by the writing staff to fill a gap in their production schedule, hence the writer’s credit: “John Kingsbridge,” the one and only script ever to bear that name. It also provided one of the Blooper Reel’s best moments: Shatner’s “Have no fear … SARGON is here!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/155 "2013-05-28T17:57:53Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > See post 109. > > He was able to reach up and scratch his nose because there was no seal between the hood and the rest of the suit. What do you expect from a suit made of shower curtains? ---
**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, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/156 "2013-05-28T20:17:08Z")
Poor guy. He wasn’t born Irish. ---
**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 28, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/157 "2013-05-28T23:30:41Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > And even I thought the monsters looked like those fake rubber ‘vomit puddles’ that Spencer Gifts used to sell. Hanging from a fishing rod. > > Be warned. You know, you’re not wrong, but I still didn’t think the episode was half bad. Even if Kirk has a bunch of dead family that he never mentions again. And whoever wrote the episode apparently had a limited understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum (you try heat and you try radiation, and you … just skip over UV? WHY??). Maybe I was drunk. > [@terentii](#): > > It also provided one of the Blooper Reel’s best moments: Shatner’s “Have no fear … SARGON is here!” 😃 Oh, I really hope that’s on Youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/158 "2013-05-28T23:56:12Z")
I’m pretty sure Operation – Annihilate! is considered one of the better episodes of TOS - [a quick google bears that out](http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-city-on-the-edge-of-forever-operationannihilat,27102/)… (Also, the aliens _were_ plastic vomit. With an inflatable bladder put around them. And they’re still far from the dodgiest looking aliens in the series. Freaking salt vampire…) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/159 "2013-05-29T20:19:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > 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. 😛 Don’t listen to **kenobi**. “The Way To Eden” is a must-watch just for the camp entertainment value of beatniks in space. ---
**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 29, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052/160 "2013-05-29T20:25:01Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Don’t listen to **kenobi**. “The Way To Eden” is a must-watch just for the camp entertainment value of beatniks in space. We reach! Also need to see the overweight spaceghost leading the kiddoes astray in And The Children Shall Lead [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-original-star-trek-eps-are-must-watch/659052.md?page=9)