As long-time readers of this blog know (all seven or nine), I am a bit of a Star Trek fan, as may be deduced from my manic series Crisis of Infinite Star Treks alone.
Where that series delves into fannish hand-wringing and minutiae, it did remind my of how much I enjoy Star Trek in its seemingly infinite combinations. I wanted to do something special for its official 50th anniversary, but life has intervened (quantum filaments, holodeck mishaps, Borg incursions… the usual).
So what better way to express rampant fandom while looking back at the history of Star Trek than to rate each of its 700+ episodes? Think of it as a gift of the pandemic (well, for those of us in Sector 001).
Regardless, doing a retrospective of previous TV Trek seemed appropriate before now… and by the time I was fully invested in rewatching and ranking everything, new TV series started appearing (and may never abate). Yes, Lower Decks, the next seasons, of Discovery and Picard, and who knows how many other series will all find their way into the rankings ’cause I’m as foolish as Stamets wanting to do one more jump.
Oh what I wouldn’t give for a fortuitous temporal anomaly right now.
Anyway: to the links! (Not great links, perhaps, but links none-the-less)
The Methodology
The short version? Every TV series (even the original animated one) is in. I had to make command decisions on how to judge two-parters and continuing storyline episodes, so I did. Movies are not included.
How to Rank ‘Em Yourself
Even an honest Vulcan will tell you their logic is susceptible to mortal foibles as emotions and other intangibles creep into their calculations. It could be that ranking Star Trek episodes objectively is a no-win scenario, but tell me your Kobayashi Maru solution in the comments, whether it’s the top 10, the whole list, or anything in between (be civil, please).
What if you Object, Dislike, or Outright Hate My Rankings?
No self-respecting Starfleet captain nor honorable Klingon commander would take such injustice lying down. Do something about it!
The Lists
Re-watching (and in some cases, watching) all 700+ episodes of Star Trek took an inordinate amount of time over the past few years, so there’s no way I wasn’t going to comment on everything, including both spoilers… and a certain amount of irreverence. If you’re not ready for potential spoilers and snark, stick to the links marked “episode names only.”
(As alluded above, these lists will be updated as new episodes premiere.
The lists below include all episodes for all series before July 2020)
The Whole Enchilada (All Series)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Star Trek (The Original Series or TOS)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Star Trek (The Animated Series or TAS)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only | Viewing Guide
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Star Trek: Voyager (VOY)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only | Viewing Guide
Enterprise (later Star Trek: Enterprise or ENT)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Viewing Guide
Star Trek: Discovery (DSC) – Up through the first two seasons
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Star Trek: Short Treks (ST)
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Star Trek: Picard (PIC) – Up through the first season
With Comments (includes possible spoilers & snark) | Episodes names only
Star Trek: Lower Decks (LD)
(To be added ideally before season three.)
Star Trek: Prodigy (PRO)
(Ideally, to be added in 2022)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW)
(To be added after season one completes, so… maybe 2023?)
I hope reading these lists reminds you of some of your favorites, encourages discussion, and maybe prompts you to a check out an episode –or a series– you may have overlooked.
In whatever you do, live long and prosper… unless it’s breeding tribbles. One way or another, that will probably end badly.
Beautiful! the methodology, all of it! i would never have seen enterprise otherwise. & thr are gr8 stand alones in thr.
this was a truly spectacular & worthwhile endevour. thx, & nice work.
-JC
may i inquire; was this a lockdown endeavor? marvelous either way. & thx again for all of your work. -JC
Big fan of the blog! Dying to see your rankings of SNW and the newest PICARD episodes!!!
Thanks so much! My goal is to get to seasons 2 and 3 of Picard as well as Prodigy this summer before September 8th (a natural time to debut them). I’m not sure if I’ll get to SNW as part of me will want to do season 2 which is about to warp in before we know it. The trick is actually updating the Whole Enchilada. That’s daunting and part of me feels I should do a re-sort in a few years. Argh! I’ve created a monster like the Krell from Forbidden Planet! Still, it’s fun.