Greetings, Manic Fans. Les here to finish our list of top 50 Star Trek episodes with my good friend RichB.
Hmm…again, he’s not here yet. I wonder what amazing entrance he’ll make today…
*Without warning, and with a goofy sound effect, a geometric object and a device appear with a note. Les reads it*
LES: It says, hit the switch and aim the buckle at the object….alright.
*Les hits the switch, and with the same goofy sound effect, the object changes into RichB
LES: AW DAMN!…are the Kelvans back in town?…Better go reinforce my scotch supply….
RichB: I swear…it was nothing…I lost a
bet…ahem! Ok, let’s get back to the list. I can’t wait I gotta see what
our last twenty great episodes are!!
WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AND ADVENTURES IN THE DELTA QUADRANT AND THE 22ND CENTURY AHEAD…
Let me start with an episode which is split down the middle….
#10. ”Extreme Risk”
This episode is right up my alley.
Oddly it’s another Torres episode (I didn’t think I liked her that
much). This takes place after she has been told that the members of the
Marquis still in the Alpha Quadrant have been slaughtered. We see her
trying to do all sort of dangerous stunts at, well, extreme risk. Why is
she doing this? It’s very psychological as she is trying to feel pain
because she feels nothing at all. This is a perfectly valid thing that
can happen to people sort of like denial only deeper. It’ called self
Harm and is a real thing that happens to depressed people especially
women. So yeah the B story is kind of lame about a space race (and the
introduction of The Delta Flyer) but I love the A story. And the scene
where Chakotay forces Torres to confront her feelings is grade.
LES: Yeah, episodes like this are the
reason why Torres is such a great character. This concept has been done
on other shows(Commander Sinclair did something similar on season one of
Babylon 5, for instance) but this story told it better. OK, last 10
eps, huh? ALRIGHT!
#10. “Pathfinder”
Here’s the episode that gave a great
story and purpose to Lt Cmdr Reginald Barclay(Dwight Shultz) as he
strives to open communications with the Starship Voyager in the Delta
Quadrant….yes, THAT Reg Barclay(The socially awkward crewmember of the
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D who had an unhealthy addiction to holodecks…).
He’s a man obsessed with succeeding and has even created a holoprogram
where he’s friends with the crew of the Voyager. I’m not going to spoil
this one, but trust me….the suspense is fantastic in this one.
RichB:The best part is how little we
see of the real Voyager crew in this one. It has a great cameo by Troi
(yes THAT Troi) too. The show would keep using her even when it made no
sense, but here it works. And the ending is a real bittersweet moment
for all the characters……but as Les said you really gotta see it to
appreciate this one.
#9. “Blink of an Eye”
This is an unusual episode in some
ways. Voyager gets trapped in orbit over a planet that exist at a
different rate of time than the rest of the universe. But the unusual
part is that the episode spends a good deal of time showing the effects
of Voyager’s arrival (they are causing seismic disruptions on the
planet) is having on the people who live there. It’s a real change of
pace to now have the episode squarely placed on Voyager’s crew. The
episode needs a full recap to do it justice so let’s just say that it’s
quirky but fun.
LES: Yeah, this one was very well written and realized in the production. ALRIGHT! my final episode of Voyager on this list is…
#9. “Endgame”
This one really gives ”All Good Things”
a run for its money for great final episodes of a series-giving the win
to TNG simply because their episode had Q in it…but Voyager had the
Borg in theirs, so it’s still an awesome episode. Time
travel…disregarding the prime directive…Janeway arguing with
herself-literally…and an ending so suspenseful, you’ll be on the edge of
your seat. THAT’S how you end a show, my friend.
RichB:Ah yes, I did a whole article
trying to defend this as a good episode since many fans were displeased.
Mostly because we didn’t see what happened when the crew returned to
Earth, even though when the series began we barely got a glance at their
lives before Voyager. No I think the ending was fitting and book ended
things nicely. And yes that final scene where they return is one of my
favorite moments EVER. Now before we leave Voyager, there is one more
episode I need to discuss…
#8. “Shattered”
It was the final season and it seems
pretty clear to me this episode was designed as an homage to the series.
It was meant just for fun, and that’s exactly what it feels like. The
ship is split into time zones and only Chakotay can travel through them.
We see Voyager at all sorts of different points including just before
the pilot, when Seven first joined, and even the future. We even get a
re-appearance of badass villainess Seska. In fact, one of my favorite
moments comes when a very borgified Seven comes in and kicks Seska’s
ass. I love it! If you’re a fan of this show you will love this episode.
LES: YEP! I loved that episode too..and
yeah, Seska bit off more than she could chew with her evil plan…GO
SEVEN! WOOT! So….the franchise begged for another Trek show…what did
they come up with?
“Enterprise”-The tale of the first Warp-5 capable Starfleet
vessel, the NX-1 USS Enterprise and all the events leading up to the
formation of the United Federation of Planets. Taking place about 100
years before TOS, this show had a lot of establishing to accomplish to
show the direction history took to bring about the Federation Starship
technology and Kirk’s Starfleet.
And so, I start my favorite Enterprise episodes with:
#8. “Broken Bow”
The premiere of the new series was a
2-parter…and a pretty damned good one too. All the characters are
introduced and given backstory, and first Starship Captain, Jonathan
Archer(Scott Bakula) leads his new crew on a dire mission to return a
wounded Klingon to Q’onos…but have him kidnapped by a mysterious race
called the Suliban who are waging a temporal ”Time” war with the
Federation. With help from reluctant Vulcan officer T’Pol, they track
him down and fight to get him back to save the mission…not to mention
peace with the Klingons. This episode was interesting and whet my
appetite to see more of this show.
RichB: Yes, after three great TV
series the hype was huge for Enterprise. It is so hard to give this show
praise because it did so many thing badly. But fair is fair and some
episodes were pretty decent, including the pilot as you mentioned. It
was a good pilot, better than Voyager’s, but sadly the show seemed to
not have any idea what to do afterwards. So I tried hard to come up with
some good episodes, there have to be some right?
#7. “Dear Doctor”
The only Season One episode I could
think of. This is another medical ethics episode and to be honest I
don’t remember much about it. The reason it’s on here is because of that
final speech by Archer. He talks about some day they will create
document, a prime directive if you will, outlining what they can and
can’t do out here. Until that day they have to remind themselves that
they are explorers, and are not out here to play god. It’s an example of
what a prequel can do, a nice moral dilemma which wouldn’t be in the
other series where The Prime Directive is in force.
LES: That is one thing this show gets
right…and that’s laying the foundation for things we know are coming(I
particularly love the episode where the whole crew gets infected and
becomes obsessive, and Lt. Reed creates the ”Reed” Alert(Red Alert).
Alright, for my #7, I’m going with:
#7. “Acquisition”
This episode does break continuity a
bit since TNG starts out with the ”first” contact with the Ferengi.
However, this is a really fun episode where a band of Ferengi attempt to
steal everything in the ship and Archer, Tucker and T’Pol have to
outsmart them.
RichB: This episode isn’t so bad, and
it makes sense that they ran into the Ferengi in some was before we met
them in TNG. I mean they were familiar with them at least a little in
the pilot. It was a good episode and at least the creators tried to
respect continuity.
#6. “Dead Stop”
This episode should be stupid. It pulls
the cliche of having a crewman killed only to find out he wasn’t really
dead after all. Yeah that’s been done to death in all five series. The
Enterprise docks at a strange space station for repairs. The station is
run by a computer mind. Where does the station get the energy to run? It
kidnaps people and uses their very neural energy. Now there’s a power
source I’ve never heard from before. The way they beat the computer is
pretty cool too and you gotta love the crew admiring the far off
technology that is common in the TNG era. By the way, the voice of the
computer and director of this episode? Roxanne Dawson, yep B’Elanna
Torres herself. I think I really like her.
LES: Yeah, that one was really good, and are you kidding? LOVE B’Elanna, my friend LOL! #6 time?
#6. “Stigma”
Here’s Star Trek doing what they do the
best: Addressing social injustice without specifically naming them by
using an alien equivalent. T’Pol, having been violated by a Vulcan
mind-melder a few episodes back has contracted a mind disease that gets
her labeled a ”sinner” for partaking in the mind meld(which in this time
is considered immoral) Dr. Phlox and Captain Archer both make appeals
to the Vulcans to see how wrong it is. A great episode in any century.
RichB: I can’t lie….I have no memory of
this episode. I probably never saw it. Sound interesting going to have
to put it on my list of episodes to check out.
#5. “Singularity”
This is a disease episode, which I
notice we kind of ignored here, but this one is a little better than
most. Radiation form a black hole is making the crew obsess with trivial
things, and ignore their actual jobs. There is also some commentary in
the episode about how easy it is for people from different cultures to
have misunderstandings. As you already alluded to I also like the
foreshadowing of what would become the red alert in the other shows.
LES: YEP! I loved that one. Personally,
I think they should’ve kept referring to it as the ”Reed” Alert LOL!
For my #5, I’m going with…
#5. “Canamar”
It’s a classic tale….Starfleet
personnel in the wrong place at the wrong time are mistaken for
criminals and put on a prison transport to carry out a sentence. Enter
Archer and Trip. Pretty straightforward…THEN one of the other prisoners
engineers a breakout and the Enterprise 2 have to try and survive the
aftermath and try and save the rest of the prisoners. Think ”Con-Air”
except done well….
RichB: That sounds awesome, again not
sure if I saw that one. I think I was a more loyal DS9 fan. But my next
episode was one I was worried since it seemed to be a huge mistake right
from the start!
#4. “Regeneration”
I can’t lie, when I heard about this
episode I was worried. They got away with The Ferengi, but The Borg? In
Enterprise? Violating every single thing ever established about them????
But, to be honest, it’s a good episode. Oh sure you could still nitpick
how come there was no record of this, but I think it’s possible Picard
took Q at his word in ”Q Who?” and never looked into it. And this was
two hundred years earlier, it’s not as if it was fresh in people’s
minds. Anyway, I am getting off track. This episode serves as a sequel
to First Contact which makes sense really. Yes it’s The Borg and as much
I wanted to hate it, I just couldn’t. Especially the end and the
foreshadowing to the events of ”The Best of Both World’s”.
LES: Yeah, that’s pretty much it. I
also like how Dr. Phlox manages to beat the nanoprobes he’s injected
with. So, Episode 4? I’m going with…
#4. “The Expanse”
This is the episode that starts the
Xindi story arc and, like the Dominion War in DS9, it’s hardcore
intense. Enterprise is upgraded with better shields and weapons and an
elite fighting force known as ”MAKOS” are dispatched to her for
additional security and a fighting force on the ground. This episode
represents a major shift in the show and it’s pretty cool.
RichB: This episode is really
interesting, not only do you have the obvious 9/11 parallels but it was
almost as if the creators just freely admitting the last year sucked, so
they were changing the whole premise! It was a good episode.
#3. “Similitude”
This was one of the more interesting
episodes to come from the Expanse arc. They kind of go the way of
Voyager’s ”Tuvix” but without the controversial ending. Yeah we didn’t
cover that episode, subject for another article. To save Tripp’s life a
clone is created. What better person to get a transfer from than
yourself? The clone ends up enjoying living and the episode basically
gets into a right to life argument. Should the clone, called Sim, give
up his life so Tripp can live? I am probably not doing the episode
justice, but it truly is one of Enterprise’s stronger episodes. Very
well written and acted.
LES: It really was an exceptional
episode. Enterprise kept getting better and better….I wish they’d been
given the chance to go 7 seasons like the other shows did. I really
think they were getting their traction in the 3rd and 4th
season…SIGH!….oh well….time for #3
#3. “Twilight”
When the Captain gets infected with
temporal parasites….he wakes up ten years later having made no further
long term memories as a result of the infection(Think 50 first dates….).
The Xindi have annihilated Earth and only a handful of survivors have
settled on Ceti Alpha 5(Yeah, the same one Khan ended up on….). T’Pol
takes care of him while Trip readies the Enterprise for one more
mission…to attempt to eliminate the parasites and put the timeline back
on track. This one plays a lot like ”All good things,” in the way the
climax is achieved. Great episode.
RichB:This is easily my favorite
episode of the series. It takes a cliche concept, I hate that reset
button!, but does a great job with it. Again, because it focuses on the
characters especially Archer and T’Pol. And it has probably the best
teaser in any episode except for maybe TNG’s Cause and Effect! I could
talk about this one all day!
#2. “Observer Effect”
Remember the Organians in ”Errand of
Mercy”? Well before Kirk and Spock made contact with them, they were
secretly observing the crew in this clever episode. As you know I am a
sucker for bottle episodes and this is very much one. It also gives the
actors a chance to go out of character as the aliens possess the crew to
interact and converse with each other.
LES: Oh, definitely. I really love how that one gets solved too. Great pick. Hooo….last 2 episodes? OK.
#2. “Doctor’s Orders”
Borrowing a bit from the episode ”One”
from Voyager, this one has the Enterprise going through a dangerous part
of space that requires the crew to be sedated leaving the ship to be
run by Doctor Phlox who develops paranoia and hallucinations. Like ”One”
this episode is smartly shot and really well acted.
RichB:Stop me if you’ve heard this, I
don’t remember this one. I think I should really go back and re watch
these, as we have discussed there have been some good episodes. But my
#1 episode is by far the coolest.
#1. “Carpenter Street”
Yeah I know this was Season Three but I
had given up on Season 4, though the Brent Spiner episodes were good.
This was a time travel episode that many don’t seem to like. I think it
was cool though, the way Archer and T’Pol observed the culture and
defeated the Xindi. I don’t know, I like this episode especially the end
when the Detroit PD swarm in and arrest the sleazebag villain. I
already talked about this at length so I don’t need to ramble on. Fact
is I enjoyed this one and for Enterprise that is high praise! Alright
Les, what is your #1?
LES: I love your pick, and the whole
foil the plot to ruin the foe by going back in time to make changes is a
trite concept…but one they found a fresh way to tackle. Great choice.
My #1 episode of Enterprise?…It couldn’t be anything else…
#1. “In a mirror darkly”
What makes this episode so great is the
concept alone. In a show about the pre-history of the Federation….we
get an episode about the pre-history of the mirror universe seen in
”Mirror Mirror”(TOS), and it’s so well done, I almost wanted them to do a
5th series based on this one episode going forward with more episodes.
As I know RichB wants to elaborate on this further….I turn it over to
him….
RichB: What a perfect way to end this
discussion of favorite episodes by talking about the episode that
directly ties back to the Original Series. This was a prequel to Mirror,
Mirror and a sequel to The Tholian Web at the same time! We even see a
Constitution ship, of course this is The Defiant but so what? That
first scene on the classic Bridge still takes my breath away! The smart
writers knew they couldn’t do a mirror universe story where the two
crews met, so this episode is fully contained in the mirror universe.
And everything, from the characterizations right down to the awesome
alternate opening credits, is fantastic! I really need a whole article
to talk about all the awesomeness in his one!
Well Les, I think we’ve run out of slots. This has been a blast doing this with you!
LES: Agreed. It’s always a lot of fun to work with you, my friend. Let’s do this again soon.
And for those of you who’d like the full list….I’ll list our
respective top 50 episodes. They’re listed chronologically, not worst to
best.
No comments:
Post a Comment