The Quinessential Trek Episode

[Chancellor Valium]

All right, I'll play fair. A Quintessential Trek episode? Hmm...How about that TOS one with the people with super-ESP powers, and the phaser rifle? Can't remember the name, or the TNG one which first introduces The Traveller (can't remember the title of that one either...).

As for the Trek episodes I would show to a person who had never heard of Trek first - "In the Pale Moonlight", "Far Beyond The Stars", "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges", "The Battle Of AR-558", "Duet", "The Search", and eventually all of DS9.

[Nate the Great]

"Eventually all of DS9." That's a good question. Which one series encapsulates the Trek vision more than any other. Taking TOS right out as the obvious, what's your second choice? TNG, DS9, or VOY?

ESP/phaser rifle=Where No Man Has Gone Before. Good episode, but not one of the top ten quintessential.

Traveller into=Where No One Has Gone before. Ditto.

Yeah, I hear it took some doing to keep Harry.

It is my poll, and if I did revise the ten options there still wouldn't be any ENT episodes in there. Should we revise the poll?

[Chancellor Valium]

The one truest to the Trek vision I suppose would be VOY - exploring the unknown, moral dilemmas, etc.

I chose DS9 because personally I think it is the best Trek, with some of the best episodes in all sci-fi - "Pale Moonlight", for example...

[ijdgaf]

Surprised I didn't see this earlier.

The correct answer is "The Corbomite Maneuver". I've been saying for years that it's the quintessential Trek episode. It's the prototype. So many of the trademarks of what we think of as "Star Trek" today stem from this one episode. Run the franchise through a distillery and that's what you'd get.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Shocking. I'd never have guessed, IJD.

[ijdgaf]

My opinions are factual, sir.

[Nate the Great]

You may have a point about Corbomite Maneuver. Great Trek, but I'm still a little jaded about the notion that the Romulans would buy the idea that we have a weapon thats suicidal and violates the laws of energy conservation.

[Scooter]

Originally Posted by ijdgaf

Surprised I didn't see this earlier.

The correct answer is "The Corbomite Maneuver". I've been saying for years that it's the quintessential Trek episode. It's the prototype. So many of the trademarks of what we think of as "Star Trek" today stem from this one episode. Run the franchise through a distillery and that's what you'd get.

You know, I was going to say "Amok Time" but then I saw your reply and went, "Duh." Definitely "Corbomite Maneuver." It's one of the few episodes that captures the real vastness of space, the sense of how alone and vulnerable Kirk and crew are in their tiny tin can so far from home, surrounded by so much they haven't encountered.

Maybe the Romulans wouldn't have bought it, but Clint Howard did because the humans were just as alien to him as he was to them. I think that's part of the point. It's a great name too, and yet it sounds like something Kirk would pull out of his ass.

[Felicity]

Saddly none of those episodes' titles mean anything to me. I'm terrible at associating names with actual espisodes. I tend to be like "remember that one where Janeway was running around a damaged Voyager and everyone was acting out parts in World War II..." ie. The Killing Game (I learned the title, I am so proud.)

But as for the first episode viewed by a non-trekkie, I fondly remember "Species 8472" scared me to death and was the first epsiode of Voyager (and Star Trek in general) that I ever saw. And while it didn't overview the whole series well, it didn't screw me up either.

I think I'm rambling, in fact I don't think I answered either of the questions posed. Okay so consider these comments with no real purpose.

~Felicity

[PointyHairedJedi]

I think most posts in this forum are considered that way, so you're in good company.

The only series that I can generally remember the episode titles for as well as which episode is which is Star Trek. I can remember a few from the later series, but not many - most of the time I have to look it up to jog my memory.