To POLLDLY POLL Where No POLL Has POLLed BePOLL: ILX Star Trek results, finally!

I've tabulated the ballots, and the results are forthcoming. Will it be worth the wait?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijxDztnFva8

D'oh, I meant to change my D/N with this thread.

Let's start with the least surprising!

RIKER: BEARD OR NO BEARD?

4. No beard (ugh) - 0 points
2T. Season 2 Riker, fresh with beard - 1 point
2T. http://i.imgur.com/rsuxb69.gif - 1 point
1. Beard - 7 points

Rikerdwi.gif

Exciting!

Thanks Jeff.

http://i.imgur.com/rsuXB69.gif

'Commander, have you seen Lieutenant Leee?' 'No sir.' 'Computer, locate Lieutenant Leee.' 'Lieutenant Leee is not on board the Enterprise.'

Cool! I didn't vote in this poll, because I've only seen all the episodes with TNG and DS9, and none of Enterprise, so I didn't feel qualified to vote; my ballot would've been all TNG/DS9, since none of the handful of TOS and Voyager episodes I've seen compare to the best of those two series.

But I'm happy to see results and be educated, maybe I'll watch TOS properly one day (probably not Voyager though, from what I remember the quality that one wasn't particularly high).

Tuomas, most of my ballot was DS9, full-stop! I mean, if you decided to sneak a ballot in, I probably won't ignore it.

We need you Tuomas.

Oh geez just saw this now! glad i didn't miss much (aside from the beard rollout, a key one imo)

Ok. I'll try to come up with a ballot, you should get it in next 30 minutes...

I object to this blatant violation of ILX poll procedures, unfairly tilting results to TNG/DS9!

ok not really

altho I do wish Tuomas ballot could be counterbalanced by an all TOS ballot from Morbz

Sent it!

I could put together a fake Morbius ballot where the first letter of every entry spells out SHRILLARY or something.

Lol

TEH CAPTINZ

9. Sulu (to hell with archer) :: 1 points :: 1 votes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgTvIg4eZWk

8. Whatshisname :: 1 points :: 1 votes
http://hotphotosfree.com/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/field/image/4d22992b615ad024b331b07bb689b520.jpg?itok=Wj93mifL

7. Pike :: 1 points :: 1 votes
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f9/ST_TheMenagerie.jpg/280px-ST_TheMenagerie.jpg

6. Zlog :: 1 points :: 1 votes
https://icantwatchisitoveryet.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/captains-log.jpg

5. Archer :: 7 points :: 5 votes
http://dogactors.com/img/porthos_dog.jpg

4. Janeway :: 34 points :: 6 votes
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/01/1c/16/011c163ba711f2ad24a594cfb52a299e.jpg

3. Sisko :: 48 points :: 7 votes
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/15577124.jpg

2. Kirk :: 60 points :: 8 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/25216824.jpg

1. Picard :: 84 points :: 8 votes :: 6 No. 1 votes
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R3OF6BKRh3A/hqdefault.jpg

https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2F3oz8xLd9DJq2l2VFtu%2Fgiphy.gif&f=1

FUIUD Shakes.

Bah, the Archer pic was of his dog Porthos, and Janeway was a cleverly captioned screencap of Red from OITNB.

i stand for kirk but now i wish i 1'd sisko, he's awesome and deserved one

Captain poll bodes well for main poll.

I was voting as a starfleet academy review board. Kirk is good tv but bad captain.

academy

can't really argue w that

otoh that's also why Picard is more of a nullity than a compelling character

Pfft that's what sour grapes sound like apparently.

Wait a minute... huh. I watched a lot of voyager (didn't vote for any though), my gf watched a lot of oitnb that i couldn't avoid, and I never made the connection.

Picard is the best captain in the franchise, though not the best main character... And he get's a lot of defining character moments and fleshing out in the series, starting from "Family". You could only call him a "nullity" if you think a character is "compelling" only if he's driven by DEEP and DRAMATIC INNER CONFLICT. (Though you get bits of that too with Picard in "Tapestry", if that's your thing.)

yes, like Tim Burton, I only consider characters compelling if they had abusive father figures

but seriously, in what way is Kirk - a far superior character imo - driven by DEEP and DRAMATIC INNER CONFLICT

I dunno, I'm not super familiar with Kirk... I just don't understand why you would call Picard a "nullity"? He gets more fleshing out, more good episodes focused on his personality and loves and fears than any other TNG character. So do you feel he's a "nullity" because he's less flawed and more morally upstanding than Kirk, or why do you say that?

Picard is the best captain in the franchise

I dunno, I'm not super familiar with Kirk...

mm hmm

tell me more

And I'm not saying inner conflicts and deep shades of gray are necessarily bad, my favourite ST character has plenty of that.. But IMO a character can be compelling without those too. Picard is kinda like Superman, he's not interesting because "just like us", but because he strives to be better than us.

(xpost)

Well, I've seen all the movies and a handful of TOS episodes, I think that's enough to form an opinion on Kirk?

picard is good but i'd still rate him 4th in the captains poll (which i forgot to vote for)

19. Jimmy brooks :: 1 points :: 1 votes
http://www.teennick.com/teennick-assets/blogs/images/degrassi/top-ten-lists/top-ten-jimmy-brooks-moments/degrassi-image-annoyed.jpg

18. Dax (if i gotta pick one, ezri) :: 1 points :: 1 votes
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/Ezri_Dax_Season_7_Promotional_Photo.jpg

omg ezri so cuet!

17. Kira Nerys :: 2 points :: 2 votes
http://www.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/kiranerys/emissary074a.jpg

16. Dukat :: 4 points :: 1 votes
https://66.media.tumblr.com/f347ddd740327f59b587b487bfe795cf/tumblr_o6i2mbPhNu1ru85zso1_500.png

15. Beverly Crusher :: 4 points :: 1 votes
http://i.imgur.com/UHHnAJR.jpg

14. Quark :: 4 points :: 1 votes
https://www.jlab.org/sites/default/files/quarks.jpg

13. Lwaxana Troi :: 6 points :: 1 votes
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/d7/3c/35/d73c353437239ddb855c3a459e05b99f.jpg

12. Odo :: 6 points :: 1 votes
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/53/a0/a4/53a0a4096bc4d2d358df8497b09c1f38.jpg

11. Seven of Nine :: 6 points :: 1 votes
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/09CeQIg0fPU/hqdefault.jpg

10. Uhura :: 7 points :: 2 votes
https://media.giphy.com/media/R0dr9dN8TKPqE/giphy-facebook_s.jpg

9. The Doctor :: 8 points :: 1 votes

8. Miles O'Brien :: 8 points :: 1 votes

7. Khan :: 9 points :: 2 votes

6. Worf :: 17 points :: 4 votes

5. Q :: 19 points :: 4 votes

4. McCoy :: 28 points :: 4 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes

3. Garak :: 33 points :: 4 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
https://imgur.com/gallery/O5pKOtZ

2. Data :: 42 points :: 5 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes

1. Spock :: 74 points :: 8 votes :: 4 No. 1 votes

lol all my precious images dammit.

I guess I should've included a character listing in my ballot, shocked that my all-time favourite Kira is so low! She should definitely rank higher than Woodface O'Brien or fucking KHAAANNN!!!

Props for the people who voted Garak so high tho! Definitely the most complelling (and funniest) supporting character.

Shatner plays Kirk much more broadly and melodramatically than Stewart's portrayal of Picard, and a large part of Kirk's appeal is rooted in this - while both characters are "Superman"-like in their essential idealization, Kirk is humanized and made both more relatable and more fun to watch by virtue of Shatner's expressiveness, commitment and charisma. Kirk gets way less backstory (or way less of a coherent backstory anyway - it does appear that he met a million people in his days at Starfleet Academy) than Picard and the viewer is given next to nothing in terms of his motivations and interior psychology, but Shatner's hamminess conveys so much about the character: his anger is palpable, his humor is infectious, etc. But Steward plays Picard with an implacable wall of reserve, always beholden to formality, protocol, maybe a dry smile here or a thin-lipped grimace of determination there but he is not particularly expressive. Which is why, even when the show brings in his ex-girlfriends or his love of horseback-riding or whatever, these feel more like extraneous details and less like lived-in, emotionally rooted characteristics. And yes, Picard *is* more of a goody-two-shoes than Kirk - he breaks the rules less, has less of a sense of humor, is not as flawed - and this only further contributes to his portrayal as that of an empty suit (or maybe a Starfleet uniform stuffed with rules and regulations + some token French culture references)

xp

And yeah, Ezri Dax was incredibly cute and Nicole de Boer was a better actor than Terry Farrell (she was great at doing chill and bemused, but not as good with drama). If only they'd done the switch a couple of seasons earlier, I think she would be much better regarded than just "the one who replaced Dax for one season". De Boer is particularly awesome in the one Mirror Universe ep she got to do, she chews the scenery HARD.

(xpost)

Steward = Stewart duh

I do like Stewart in other stuff (I Claudius, LOTR, X-Men) so it's weird to me that the character he spent the most time portraying/is most identified with (maybe?) is such a bland nothing.

xp

9. The Doctor :: 8 points :: 1 votes
http://i.imgur.com/TzMrbDo.png

8. Miles O'Brien :: 8 points :: 1 votes
http://i.imgur.com/IRSpXBz.jpg

7. Khan :: 9 points :: 2 votes
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/Khan1.jpg

6. Worf :: 17 points :: 4 votes
http://i.imgur.com/kTfdd0X.jpg

5. Q :: 19 points :: 4 votes
http://i.imgur.com/pIJtebJ.jpg

4. McCoy :: 28 points :: 4 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
http://i.imgur.com/qs7wJFG.gif

3. Garak :: 33 points :: 4 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
https://imgur.com/gallery/O5pKOtZ

2. Data :: 42 points :: 5 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
http://i.imgur.com/DFypeon.jpg

1. Spock :: 74 points :: 8 votes :: 4 No. 1 votes
http://i.imgur.com/UjCF1bl.jpg

But Steward plays Picard with an implacable wall of reserve, always beholden to formality, protocol, maybe a dry smile here or a thin-lipped grimace of determination there but he is not particularly expressive.

I'd say these are qualities of the character, not the actor, and Stewart plays him impeccably. And it's exactly because he's normally reserved and stiff that the moments (and there are many of those throughout the series) where he allows someone to get through to him romantically (like in "Lessons" or "Inner Light"), or breaks down due to trauma (like in "Family" or "Chain of Command"), or shows some self-deprecating humour (like in the "Captain Picard Day" scenes in "The Pegasus"), are so effective. I mean, it's not only melodramatic characters that can be compelling, don't you think? A space diplomat can be just as interesting as a space hero, if done well.

Also, I'm pretty sure Stewart wasn't in LOTR?

haha right sorry mixing up my X-Men/LOTR franchises

A space diplomat can be just as interesting as a space hero, if done well.

if only Picard was more like Retief

Who?

I don't remember any of those episodes you cited btw. except for the flute one, that rings a bell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jame_Retief

I don't remember any of those episodes you cited btw. except for the flute one, that rings a bell.

Well you should watch them, they might change your opinion on the character and the actor.

I'll promise to watch some good Kirk episodes in exchange, if you can name a few.

some might even place in this poll!

I'll probably use these results as a TNG watch guide for any I haven't seen

The flute episode ("Inner Light") is often regarded the best one in the entire series, and not without merit. So that one at least is definitely one to watch.

Can't believe we're having an internet argument about Kirk vs. Picard in 2016!

oh I've seen the flute episode (uh like 15+ years ago) but I mostly thought it was silly. there's others I recently re-watched that I would rate higher.

Props for the people who voted Garak so high tho! Definitely the most complelling (and funniest) supporting character.

My number 1.

ALIENS

20. Mactonites :: 1 points :: 1 votes
19. Breen :: 1 points :: 1 votes
18. Gamesters of triskelion :: 1 points :: 1 votes
17. O'briens :: 4 points :: 1 votes
16. El-aurians :: 4 points :: 1 votes
15. Orions :: 5 points :: 2 votes
14. Species 8472 :: 6 points :: 1 votes
13. Bork :: 6 points :: 1 votes
12. Ferengi :: 7 points :: 2 votes
11. Trill :: 8 points :: 1 votes
10. Romcoms :: 8 points :: 1 votes
9. Vorta :: 9 points :: 2 votes
8. Vegans :: 12 points :: 1 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
7. Olympian pantheon :: 12 points :: 1 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
6. Klingon :: 14 points :: 3 votes
5. Cardassians :: 29 points :: 4 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
4. Vulcans :: 30 points :: 4 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
3. Q :: 33 points :: 5 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
2. Romulans :: 38 points :: 5 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
1. Borg :: 50 points :: 6 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes

Note that I counted some of the translations according to this guide:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2XOLoeBPEk

13. Bork :: 6 points :: 1 votes

you don't say

https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fair.org%2Fnew%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2005%2F07%2FRobertBork.jpg&f=1

I think I voted cardassians as my number 1? Mostly because of my Garak love.

and hey, fuller is off the new star trek.

Hey, Garak played Liberace in a TV movie, whaddayaknow!

Couldn't possibly choose between Kirk and Picard but "nullity" seems a bit harsh. Love Picard. Maybe try Time Squared Οὖτις - that's a good one.

I wonder if being British helps? I mean he seems like a quintessentially British character even though he's (lol) French.

Sole proof of Frenchness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc_cGueuZoA

I like Stewart in other things but agree that Picard is the dullest of the captain (from the first four series at least, I've never really seen Enterprise)

I've been watching Stewart as Lenin in Fall of Eagles recently and kind of wish he could have played Picard like that.

So, any more results coming soon?

No way is Picard duller than Mrs Columbo

I'll try to start rolling out the episodes today, but in the meantime, here are the MOVIEFILMS:

8. Generations :: 1 points :: 1 votes
7. 2009 :: 2 points :: 2 votes
6. TSFS :: 10 points :: 2 votes
5. TUC :: 28 points :: 6 votes
4. TMP :: 30 points :: 5 votes
3. FC :: 41 points :: 7 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
2. TVH :: 71 points :: 9 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
1. TWOK :: 92 points :: 9 votes :: 6 No. 1 votes

that looks about right

Almost acceptable.

I watched TWOK recently for the first time in 20 years, and it was a bit meh... Great scenery chewing performances by Shatner and Montalban, but plot itself was fairly standard, there were few of the interesting sci-fi ideas and concepts that make ST distinctive to me. (Not that most other ST movies have those ideas either, but for some reason TWOK is still rated higher than them.) I felt TVH was better in this regard.

Spock's sacrifice is great moment, but it comes almost out of the blue, it doesn't feel like the movie leads the viewer to understand his choice beyond the generic utilitarian "needs of the many" philosophy. And the final action scene (the ship-to-ship battle) is pretty dull and static, not pulse-raising in the way they clearly wanted it to be. I don't think ST has ever managed to make space battles exhilarating the way Star Wars does, mostly because they treat them more realistically, like an actual space battle with devastating long-range weapons would be, so the only way to bring in some palpable sense of danger are those ridiculous exploding command consoles. So they shouldn't have made the climax of the movie depend on that.

they make it more like a naval battle

(and less like a WWII dogfight - which is what Star Wars does)

Yeah, I get it, but you have to have some exceptional director to make a naval battle like that look interesting and feel thrilling, and the guy who directed the movie couldn't really pull it off.

For example, you have Spock's line about Khan being limited to two-dimensional thinking, but we still don't really see the Enterprise do any crazy three-dimensional stuff, like approaching Khan's ship at a 90 degree angle or something. It's still all static and stiff.

TOP 50 EPISODES A-COMIN'.

50T. Journey To Babel (TOS) :: 34 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Journey_to_Babel_(episode)

50T. 11001001 (TNG) :: 34 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/11001001_(episode)

49. Timescape :: 36 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Timescape_(episode)

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/7/7b/Picard_experiencing_temporal_narcosis.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/614?cb=20120629132811&path-prefix=en

but we still don't really see the Enterprise do any crazy three-dimensional stuff, like approaching Khan's ship at a 90 degree angle or something

there are a bunch of shots of the Enterprise above the other ship iirc

47T. Blink Of An Eye (VOY) :: 37 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Blink_of_an_Eye

47T. Second Skin (DS9) :: 37 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Second_Skin_(episode)

47T. Past Tense (DS9) :: 37 points :: 2 votes
Part 1 Part 2

47T. The Devil In The Dark (TOS) :: 37 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Devil_in_the_Dark_(episode)

43T. Errand Of Mercy (TOS) :: 38 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Errand_of_Mercy_(episode)

43T. It's Only A Paper Moon (DS9) :: 38 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/It's_Only_a_Paper_Moon_(episode)

41T. Living Witness (VOY) :: 39 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Living_Witness_(episode)

41T. Time's Arrow (TNG) :: 39 points :: 2 votes
Part 1 Part 2

there are a bunch of shots of the Enterprise above the other ship iirc

Yeah, but both ships are still in same horizontal position compared to each other, as if they were surfing different layers that are placed on top of each other. The sort of three-dimensional thinking Spock seems to be alluding to, where you can attack your enemy from any possible angle since there's no up and down in space, isn't really in evidence. I think ST in general is pretty lazy about this, but in TWOK it's particularly evident, because the dialogue leads you to expect something more imaginative.

Wow, someone really voted for Time's Arrow? I admit that the beginning of the story is pretty amazing, with the discovery of the ancient Data head, but some of the time-travel antics feel like they belong to Back to the Future or something, they feel really really out of place in TNG.

I voted for "Second Skin" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"... The former is an intriguing character study of my favourite ST protagonist (Kira), and a great example of the sort of humanism ST excels in. And the latter manages to pull of the feat of doing a credible, touching story about wartime PTSD with a Ferengi and Rat Pack crooner hologram.

That scene up there in Timescape is truly amazing, the ne plus ultra of wtf moments.

Yeah I threw time's arrow one or two points, idk goofy fun. Mark Twain starts off well, does get really irritating though.

Spock and Sarek in Journey to Babel both claiming that Spock saving Sarek's life is merely logical... no! It depends upon having a certain value system! Logic alone is not a guide to action!

there are a bunch of shots of the Enterprise above the other ship iirc

Yeah, didn't Nicholas Meyer say somewhere he treated all this as Horatio Hornblower in space? Which explains why the ship-to-ship combat is happening slower with occasional volleys exchanged rather than treating them like fighters. Khan even threatens "when I swing around"

I was the other "Second Skin" voter, because I think Star Trek actresses in alien makeup strangely enhances their beauty.

I totally disagree about the final battle sequence not being appropriately thrilling or whatever but hey... it's tuomastown

xp

High five to the other Blink of an Eye voter.

I think it's Gene Roddenberry who originally pitched Kirk as Space Hornblower.

I was the other Time's Arrow vote! It's a good hangout episode. Lots of Whoopi, IIRC. It's the sort of episode that was built for 12-year-old me. There is one super-cringe scene in it, though, I think.

yes roddenberry knew about hornblower from the beginning. meyer mentions hornblower on twok commentary track -- i don't know if he got it from roddenberry or knew about it independently.

Timescape: did you notice that Picard's time-insanity was just an excuse for a cliffhanger into commercial, and was promptly dropped afterwards? great image tho.

Time's Arrow: should be nominated for an award for the most disappointing part II after a mysterious and promising part I (and lose to Doctor Who's "Before the Flood")

Loved Second Skin, could have made my list on another day. Considered Paper Moon, but it suffers from being amongst a lot of other DS9 episodes that I love more.

blink of an eye is fun, i don't think i was the other vote for it but it is one of the voyager eps i like

it does require you to turn off the rational part of your brain telling you that some random other planet isn't going to follow the same course of history of civilization as earth though

I was the other Blink of an Eye voter! My wife watched through Voyager last year from beginning to end, and I watched about half of it. Was pleasantly surprised at a number of good episodes, particularly in the last few seasons - it was better than I remembered. It's sort of the most purely sci-fi of all the Star Treks, with a lot of fun high-concept eps. I also voted for Living Witness (the one with the Doctor being reactivated hundreds of years after the show takes place and charged with war crimes).

"11001001" a v good #50 -- exactly as good as a star trek episode needs to be to make a list of star trek episodes, and no more

i voted journey to babel (iirc) cuz it has aliens; the diplomatic summit is the inevitable trek equivalent of the cantina

true that wrath of khan conspicuously lacks Ideas but it is the best character movie; find kirk's getting-old thing genuinely moving (and then obv khan, old himself, is an all-time sympathetic villain). the "big action scene" is a slow battlecruiser fight sure but idk what you could want from a moment of tension beyond shatner putting on his reading glasses. "balance of terror" writ large, w a lil corbomite for taste. the stuff that bores me is the stuff w kirk's kid.

Agree about Kirk's kid, he doesn't serve any real purpose in the story, except maybe to emphasize the theme of aging, but he isn't really given enough screentime (and the actor isn't memorable enough) to drive through any significant points regarding that. And then in the next movie he's killed abruptly, again for no seeming purpose, as the rest of the movie would play out pretty much the same even if he had survived. (Actually, in The Search for Spock they could've used Carol Marcus − who goes inexplicably missing after TWoK, even though you'd think she'd be extremely interested in the results of the Genesis experiment − in his stead without the plot changing a bit.) He and his death finally do serve the plot in The Undiscovered Country, but I can't imagine anyone had planned for that when making TWoK and TSfS.

In fact, I think it would've worked much better if Khan had killed Kirk Jr. in TWoK... That would've further strengthened the "it's personal" nature of their conflict (since Khan blames Kirk for the death of his wife), and would've made some of the questionable tactical choices Kirk makes in that movie more understandable.

Christopher Lloyd is a great comedy actor, but IMO he was miscast as the big bad of TSfS, so if the point of him having Kirk Jr. killed was to make the conflict between him and Kirk personal and memorable the same way it was with Khan, they kinda failed to deliver that.

Also, apparently the script for TSfS had Saavik becoming pregnant with the reborn Spock's child while she was "helping" him go through his pon farr on the Genesis planet, but that was cut from the final movie... Which I think was a really good choice, because that subplot would've been pretty wtf in more than one level, especially considering that it's made clear that Spock's mind is not in his body then.

Khan is the best movie because it the EAR WORM, obviously.

Actually I like 2, 4, and 6 pretty interchangeably, they're all peak Trek for different reasons. The Voyage Home is kind of "imperial phase", no?

11001001 is one of the weirdly few Riker/Picard stories - are there other good ones?

Agree about Kirk's kid, he doesn't serve any real purpose in the story, except maybe to emphasize the theme of aging, but he isn't really given enough screentime (and the actor isn't memorable enough)

I will not have you defaming JOHNNY SLASH. He's a totally different head. Totally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaIRqMdPHg

And then in the next movie he's killed abruptly, again for no seeming purpose.

He was killed by the Rules of Screenwriting: By using unstable protomatter in the Genesis matrix, he had Meddled in God's Domain, and therefore Must Pay the Ultimate Price. (h/t Lyz at And You Call Yourself a Scientist!)

The "HE KILLED MY SON!!" stuff in Undiscovered Country is great. Jerk Kirk is great.

39T. Time Squared (TNG) :: 40 points :: 1 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Time_Squared_(episode)

39T. Plato's Stepchildren (TOS) :: 40 points :: 1 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Plato's_Stepchildren_(episode)

37T. Trials And Tribble-ations (DS9) :: 41 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Trials_and_Tribble-ations_(episode)

37T. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (TOS) :: 41 points :: 2 votes
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Let_That_Be_Your_Last_Battlefield_(episode)

Just a FYI, many of these links don't work. Missing the trailing )

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/26400000/Trials-and-Tribble-ations-star-trek-deep-space-nine-26432680-245-179.gif

*sigh* there goes my no. 1

Yeah, sad that "Trials and Tribble-ations" came in so low.

Time Squared: an early attempt at a mindfuck episode, but the future Picard doesn't act like a human being, and I can't make any sense out of the ending.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield: oh boy, the cheese. also portrays both sides as being equally bad, and if it's a metaphor for 1960s race relations that's a bad look.

LTBYLB also has an ending where Kirk lets the ligers and tigons exterminate each other. quite dark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWIJEUm_Jl0

36. By Inferno's Light (DS9) :: 45 points :: 2 votes
Memory Alpha

weird that we can have what's essentially the second half of a two-parter in here but i get that DS9 blurs the lines on those things - anyway, this one has one of the better executed reveals in the series

also i was really annoyed that the writers pretty much completely abandoned changeling espionage for the last 2 seasons, after using it well in 'homefront'/'paradise lost' and here

35. Tapestry (TNG) :: 46 points :: 2 votes
Memory Alpha

the best Q episode imo

huh I don't remember this one

Couldn't bear the Jean Luc's Happy Days section i.e. most of it. Picard as rubbish underachiever is moderately entertaining but the whole premise is rubbish.

the best Q episode imo

Gene Luck Pickered is great but c'mon!

My big problem with Tapestry is that if Picard erased that event, he would not have learned his lesson and ended up being more reckless, not less reckless. It's an episode that works on a metaphorical level but doesn't quite make sense literally.

33T. Parallels (TNG) :: 50 points :: 2 votes
Memory Alpha

33T. The Squire Of Gothos (TOS) :: 50 points :: 2 votes
Memory Alpha

32. Remember Me (TNG) :: 51 points :: 2 votes
Memory Alpha

31. The Corbomite Maneuver (TNG) :: 51 points :: 3 votes
Memory Alpha

I watched "Corbormite Maneuver" and really don't remember a thing about it!

I think the idea is that Picard would've become less reckless with time anyway, as most people do. But in the original timeline the incident made him stop and think what he wants to do with his life, which lead him to take Starfleet Academy seriously and graduate from it with top grades. Whereas in the altered timeline he continued his careless life throughout the Academy, didn't graduate with honours, didn't get offered good positions and ended up working in middle management.

My problem with the episode is that this fate is seen as something so horrific to Picard that he'd rather risk dying than accept it, which is pretty insulting to anyone who might still enjoy their job even though they're not the big boss.

xxxx-post

Xp Never forget

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/0/07/Balok_laughing.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090302052207&path-prefix=en

"Remember Me" is the one with the super creepy ending with Dr. Crusher and the ship computer, right? That's a nice high concept episode, one of the few good Crusher-centric ones. McFadden is a good actor, but too often she wasn't given much to work with.

Yeah, all alone aboard the enterprise with the universe about to collapse in on her. Love it, only let down by excessive Wesley.

I think Gates McFadden explains a lot about my fondness for redheads.

i gotta be real, the kirk reaction to drinking tranya (see this clip, at about 1:30 in this clip) alone has given me so many laughs and at least one inside joke that lasted WAY longer than it should. this is why i ranked corbomite maneuver and i ain't even mad about it.

sadly i can't find a single gif of that reaction because it'd be great to be able to use liberally

like when someone's like "I made you a Burberry Orlando, it has fresh mint, balsamic vinegar, the bark of a yearling birch, triple sec and Canadian rye whiskey" and you're like "sounds fucked up but ok" but then you taste it and it teaches you something about flavours... tranya.gif

Voted for Remember Me, one of the best Bev eps. Wish she had gotten more chances to be the focus of an episode.

Lol Will

Whoa, almost missed this thread! Shocked at how low Journey to Babel came in. So much iconic world-building in that episode!

I also voted for Parallels which goes batshit factor 10 for the ending and has some top Riker beard action

https://boardgamegeek.com/camo/90d00a95f8b8682a8af39b90c4a76ad4f0613217/687474703a2f2f6d696d672e75676f2e636f6d2f3230313031312f312f322f332f3133323332312f637574732f77696c6c2d72696b65725f353238783239372e6a7067

30. Deja Q (TNG) :: 52 points :: 2 votes
Memory Alpha

i voted for this! it's cute and i like the way human-q's desires are a mirror of data's.

Not among my favourite Q episodes... Even though John de Lancie obviously enjoys chewing the scenery every time he appears, I find the episodes that are merely based around his antics (rather than the episodes where he's part of a bigger plot, like "Q Who" or "Tapestry") kinda tiring. An omnipotent trickster deity having a laugh on mortals is such a sci-fi/fantasy cliche these days.

29. Distant Origin (VOY) :: 52 points :: 3 votes
Memory Alpha

Deja Q is actually one of my favorite Q episodes! Q Who was profoundly boring when I rewatched it (nothing happens), while I'm vastly entertained by the campiness of DQ.

Well to be fair, at least the humanization plot brings a bit of an interesting twist into his scene-chewery, "Deja Q" is hardly as bad as that one episode where he turns the protagonists in Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

I dunno, De Lancie does the role probably as fine as anyone good, but both the writing and the particular acting style chosen for Q just makes it all into this stereotypically campy and theatrical piece of overperforming, which can be fun at first, but gets tiring and overwhelming after a while. I wish they'd tried to find a more original approach to the character.

"as anyone could"

that one episode where he turns the protagonists in Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

lol yeah this is terrible, worf's protest aside

love Distant Origin - kind of damning of the voyager cast though that one of the best episodes is one where they don't even show up for long stretches

I mean, it's fine to do an episode or two around the concept, and the idea that his "test" for the Enterprise crew bookends the entire series, starting from the first episode and ending with the last, is neat... But IMO it wasn't a good idea to make him into the most prominent recurring character. There's only so much you can do with such a character before it gets boring.

(xpost)

I'd hardly fault DQ for that, since IMO it's a terrific episode (to rewatch as well). I mean, it's the BAD Q episodes that dilute his character.

Anyway, the same dilution happens with nearly any recurring character (other obvious example being the Borg).

I was surprised at how few episodes the Borg actually appear in tbh

I dunno, I like the how they used Borg so sparingly, they must've realised the risk of them becoming diluted. The first three Borg stories all approach them from a different point of view, and they're all fine episodes. It's only the fourth and final one in TNG ("Descent") where they drop the ball and neuter the Borg, turning them from the incredibly scary force of nature seen in "Q Who" into basically just Lore's minions.

(xpost)

Eh, maybe I'm conflating Voyager's overuse of the Borg with TNG.

Descent >>> I, Borg

I had a Q novel as my beach read last summer - Q Squared by Peter David. Surprise - it's not very good! Squire of Gothos is "revealed", dun dun dun, to be part of the Q continuum - a sort of rebellious teenager Q. There's some stuff with parallel words and some slashy stuff with Bev and Jean Luc. It's vv readable but David's done better.

lol i read that book! when i was about 12. not v good probably but easily the most memorable of the dozen or so ST novels i read back then.

I read that too!

Enough nostalgia!

28. Necessary Evil (DS9) :: 54 points :: 2 votes
Memory Alpha

my favorite ds9 episode, it's the first time you get the gritty flashback scenes from the cardassian occupation and the payoff is good

27. The Thaw (VOY) :: 54 points :: 3 votes
Memory Alpha

26. The Naked Time (TOS) :: 62 points :: 3 votes
Memory Alpha

25. Lower Decks (TNG) :: 65 points :: 2 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha

24. Ship In A Bottle (TNG) :: 66 points :: 2 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha
Youtube

23. Year Of Hell (VOY) :: 67 points :: 3 votes
Part 1 Part 2

22. The Enemy Within (TOS) :: 70 points :: 2 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha

21. Chain Of Command (TNG) :: 78 points :: 4 votes
Part 1 Part 2
FOUR. LIGHTS/

I did not expect so much VOY in these results.

Lower Decks is my #1. So refreshing to get away from the bridge. also one of picard's darkest moments: in my view, he manipulates that cadet into taking the risk that leads to her death.

Yeah, "Lower Decks" is an excellent deviation from the norm, and also a brutal one, given how the ending is a massive downer compared to how TNG episodes usually end. It's also a nice piece of continuity that the cadet is the same person who was in Wesley's failed pilot crew in "First Duty", which further explains why she is so eager to prove herself.

20. Frame Of Mind (TNG) :: 79 points :: 3 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha

^ my #1, twilight zone headfuck tng at its best.

Two of my highest ranking TOS episodes there, curious - although not entirely clueless - as to what's going to beat them. Classic throwaway dialogue in The Naked Time:

Sulu: "I'll protect you, fair maiden!"
Uhura: "Sorry, neither"

love ship in a bottle

naked time overrated imo and it's weirdly timed -- an episode about acting out of character when the characters have barely been established. sulu fun obv tho not as fun as mirror sulu.

19. Hard Time (DS9) :: 80 points :: 4 votes
Memory Alpha

Love the complications of morality there, where we see that a generally decent man can be pushed to do something heinous -- Miles isn't a BAD guy afterwards, just fallible.

there was someone on the studio side of TOS who wanted Naked Time to be the first episode to air. that seems crazy to me.

ship in a bottle was my #1 of course

hard time and frame of mind are both great headfuck episodes in different ways

"Hard Time" is like a darker take on "The Inner Light" idea, and I like the little nods it makes to the latter - the prison warden is the same actress who played Picard's wife!

Glad to see "The Thaw" make it too.

Hard Time, my favorite bad things happens to O'Brien episode.

18. In The Pale Moonlight (DS9) :: 106 points :: 3 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha

Voyager had some good episodes! The main trying to get home story arc was mostly terrible, but there are some gems in the stand alone episodes.

xpost, well, there went my number 1. SHOCKED only two other people voted for it?!

Garak's stuff is good as ever in ITPM, but the attempt at realpolitik and intrigue seems so one-dimensional compared to modern-day stories.

17. Cause And Effect (TNG) :: 109 points :: 5 votes
Memory Alpha

on the greatest gen podcast, they noticed in an early episode that frakes as director put a camera up on the ceiling of the observation lounge -- a trick he reused for variety in cause and effect.

"Cause and Effect" has one of the greatest cold openings in TV history. Of course you know they're gonna reverse it somehow, but it's pretty awesome to have the pre-credit sequence end with the entire cast dying in a massive explosion.

I thought C&E was really sterile when I watched it again for this poll. :shrugs:

I'm so sorry I neglected to vote, Jeff. In The Pale Moonlight is definitely one of my faves

it's a faaaaaaake

One thing I'll say about ITPM is that it shows just how great DS9 portrays the Romulans -- they all drip with superiority and arrogance.

16. The Doomsday Machine (TOS) :: 114 points :: 4 votes
Memory Alpha

huh not sure what people think is special about this one

And I don't know what people think is special about the next one.

15. Duet (DS9) :: 115 points :: 5 votes
Memory Alpha

14. The Measure Of A Man (TNG) :: 117 points :: 6 votes
Memory Alpha

13. Space Seed (TOS) :: 133 points :: 6 votes
Memory Alpha

Ricardo Montalban is wonderful, but SS is rife with so many problematic things: chauvinism that'd modern-day MRAs would love, the brown face, etc.

12. Amok Time (TOS) :: 142 points :: 5 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha

The Doomsday Machine: it's a straight-up action episode done well enough that they never had to make another one -- in TOS, at least. also it has a great score.

11. The Inner Light (TNG) :: 150 points :: 5 votes
Memory Alpha

I'll say this right now: TIL is overrated.

never rly gotten doomsday machine either, so many shots of guy making faces. cool giant thing tho.

i enjoy the stuff w khan's admirer if i think of it as "historians amirite" rather than "girls amirite"

amok time way too low

Yep. Good idea, worthy & dull execution. Xp.

With you on TIL.

(nazi episode a good attack on historians too xps to self)

SS is rife with so many problematic things

Like the climax of the episode being a brawl. Like 90% of TOS episodes.

inner light has never really resonated with me the way that some of the other Acclaimed episodes do

measure of a man, on the other hand, is super great

11. The Inner Light (TNG) :: 150 points :: 5 votes
Memory Alpha

Whoops!

10. The Visitor (DS9):: 150 points :: 7 votes
Memory Alpha

nice

The Visitor is DS9's first foray into TIL territory, though IMO it comes a LOT closer to earning its praise for the scenes between Avery Brooks and Cirroc Lofton/Tony Todd alone. The bits that are absolutely unwatchable are with old Jake and his, ugh, ~fan~.

the visitor made me cry

It makes everyone cry~

9. Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG) :: 155 points :: 6 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha

wau @ Amok Time not even making top 10. TOS is gonna get shut out of the top 10 ennit

I was afraid that YE would fall as flat as C&E for me, but it's actually very fast-paced and energetic! Maybe too fast-paced, because I think it'd have done better to work out some of the plot/character points more, i.e. this could've been a two-parter. xp

The Visitor is DS9's first foray into TIL

TIL?

the inner light, i assume - its got the same sort of high concept entire lifetime in an episode thing

8. All Good Things... (TNG) :: 169 points :: 7 votes
Memory Alpha

Yeah, "The Visitor" : DS9 :: "The Inner Light" : TNG, except Visitor is better.

far beyond the stars also falls into that category imo and is even better

wau @ Amok Time not even making top 10. TOS is gonna get shut out of the top 10 ennit

― Οὖτις, Friday, November 4, 2016 5:27 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no chance, unless i missed a few in the rollout!

wait, this is actually the best Q episode i forgot about it somehow

oh fuck, i did miss some. my number one came and went! balance of terror is so great! it's not really "trek" but being "not trek" is one of the most trek things!

AGT -- all time favorite TNG! Just thrilling watching the three Enterprises blowing up one after the other at the end -- soooooo wistful and beautiful and exciting. Plus Patrick Stewart gets to do a little bit of mad King Lear for a third of it too.

7. Q Who (TNG) :: 175 points :: 6 votes
Memory Alpha

Rewatched, and NOTHING happens! Q slaps Enterprise into the Beta Quadrant (or whatever), they meet the Borg, get pwned by aforementioned, and Q slaps them back home.

Yeah I probably put it too high. The Borg though!

saying "meet the Borg" = nothing happens is sort of an understatement

also you guys have terrible taste and I wish Morbz had voted >:(

yeah q who is like the silmarillion of the borg stories. total snooze

Shut up you crank! ;) xp

6. Balance Of Terror (TOS) :: 176 points :: 7 votes
Memory Alpha

You were saying, Shakes?

i've actually seen this one! its pretty good

lol q who. what.

(def of shakey's camp btw)

this one is pretty good but yeah idk why it placed so high

It's TOS does "Hunt for the Red October"! Much suspense etc.

5. The Best Of Both Worlds (TNG) :: 183 points :: 6 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
Part 1 Part 2

best of both worlds is fine, i get why its a big deal but i watch trek more for the "darmok"s and "measure of a man"s than for thrills. i feel like the borg episodes just haven't aged as well as the dramas

Part 1 is great though! It's just that the Borg are conceptually so powerful that the writers have to resort to lazy, anticlimactic backdoor hacks in order for our heroes to survive.

Balance of Terror: it's TOS does "The Enemy Below", a 1957 Robert Mitchum submarine movie. i like the episode more than the movie.

It's TOS does "Hunt for the Red October"! Much suspense etc.

you know you have this backwards right

AGT is weird. Picard x3 goes to all this effort to do a thing to save humanity which is in fact the thing that would put an end to humanity so he stops doing the thing and then humanity is ok. Would have all been fine if he'd stayed back at the ranch. Or is that the point?

I don't think anti-time in AGT makes any sense. "q did it" is my best explanation.

It's TOS does "Hunt for the Red October"! Much suspense etc.

you know you have this backwards right

Humanity's inability to perceive time as anything but linear is why Q puts us on trial.

AGT is weird. Picard x3 goes to all this effort to do a thing to save humanity which is in fact the thing that would put an end to humanity so he stops doing the thing and then humanity is ok. Would have all been fine if he'd stayed back at the ranch. Or is that the point?

I think the Continuum had judged that humans were doomed, so in an effort to save his pet species, Q guided Picard into creating a paradox that would lead to the Captain's insight and the salvation of humanity.

4. Far Beyond The Stars (DS9) :: 193 points :: 6 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
Memory Alpha

Almost perfect IMO. (Would've been perfect if they'd actually decided that the entire Trek universe was in Benny's mind.)

Will always love Far Beyond the Stars but Brooks tips over into too much scenery chewing.

far beyond the stars is the best

i like balance of terror a lot (my #2) and posted in the nominations thread that while structurally it's, yes, a submarine movie, its diligent empathy for the romulan captain and the romulan viewpoint is very trek. lenard's performance is great and the ep has as much to do w the wrath of khan as space seed does.

Like the climax of the episode being a brawl. Like 90% of TOS episodes.

― quis gropes ipsos gropiuses? (ledge), Friday, November 4, 2016 11:19 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

brawl > setting the phase dampeners to a quantum frequency that resonates with the object's flux signature (but then i voted for "arena")

3. The City On The Edge Of Forever (TOS) :: 194 points :: 7 votes
Memory Alpha

Hope that tides over the TOS boys.

lol not me :(

love spock's beanie tho

brawl > setting the phase dampeners to a quantum frequency that resonates with the object's flux signature

Touché. Although the latter is arguably more fitting for a sci fi show.

Hope that tides over the TOS boys

nah, this is a mid-tier episode imo

feel like it gets overrated due to ooh famous guest star + famous sci-fi writer

2. Darmok (TNG) :: 208 points :: 7 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

the non-TOS-boy's TOS episode, apparently xp

now darmok is very good.

1. Mirror, Mirror (TOS) :: 226 points :: 9 votes
Memory Alpha

haha ok all is forgiven

love everything about this episode. mirror spock: scarier than khan. "your agonizer, please", yes, but what about when he tells sulu that if he's killed his family will feel obligated to avenge his death "and some of them... are vulcans". sulu blanches and we are invited to imagine mirror vulcans. (except that these would p much be romulans i guess? still.) and on the other side (in the mirror if u will), evil kirk, demonstrating that kirk without judgement + self-mastery is just a goofy idiot. the part where he's howling from the brig "WHAT IS IT YOU WANT, SPOCK? POWER??" and good-spock deploys a "fascinating" is my favorite single trek moment.

i even think the sexual politics are dece tbh. mirror-kirk's girlfriend is neither dumb nor irrational, and being trapped in the terran empire is a good metaphor for being trapped in a tos episode.

i guess the flaw is that everything hinges on a magic tv screen that kills anyone you can think of, that's pretty dumb altho it's almost like a fairy tale right

anyway great #1-2 imo thanks leee!

yeah the tantalus field thing is v deus ex machina (or TNG lol)

115T. Things Past :: 13 points :: 1 votes
115T. Children Of Time :: 13 points :: 1 votes
115T. Strange Bedfellows :: 13 points :: 1 votes
115T. And The Children Shall Lead :: 13 points :: 1 votes
115T. Relics :: 13 points :: 1 votes
111T. The Emissary :: 14 points :: 1 votes
111T. The Sound Of Her Voice :: 14 points :: 1 votes
111T. I, Mudd :: 14 points :: 1 votes
111T. Dagger Of The Mind :: 14 points :: 1 votes
111T. Tacking Into The Wind :: 14 points :: 1 votes
111T. Clues :: 14 points :: 1 votes
105T. Thine Own Self :: 15 points :: 1 votes
105T. Valiant :: 15 points :: 1 votes
103T. Shore Leave :: 16 points :: 1 votes
103T. The Galileo Seven :: 16 points :: 1 votes
103T. The Magnificent Ferengi :: 16 points :: 1 votes
103T. Crossover :: 16 points :: 1 votes
103T. The Gamesters Of Triskelion :: 16 points :: 1 votes
98T. I, Borg :: 17 points :: 1 votes
98T. Datalore :: 17 points :: 1 votes
98T. The Immunity Syndrome :: 17 points :: 1 votes
95T. The Trouble With Tribbles :: 18 points :: 1 votes
95T. Rapture :: 18 points :: 1 votes
95T. Miri :: 18 points :: 1 votes
95T. The Die Is Cast :: 18 points :: 1 votes
95T. A Matter Of Honour :: 18 points :: 1 votes
95T. Is There In Truth No Beauty :: 18 points :: 1 votes
95T. Phantasms :: 18 points :: 1 votes
88T. The Enterprise Incident :: 19 points :: 1 votes
88T. For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky :: 19 points :: 1 votes
88T. Half A Life :: 19 points :: 1 votes
88T. Latent Image :: 19 points :: 1 votes
88T. Broken Link :: 19 points :: 1 votes
88T. The Wire :: 19 points :: 1 votes
88T. Elementary Dear Data :: 19 points :: 1 votes
81T. A Taste Of Armageddon :: 20 points :: 1 votes
81T. A Private Little War :: 20 points :: 1 votes
81T. Rocks And Shoals :: 20 points :: 1 votes
81T. Next Phase :: 20 points :: 1 votes
77T. Sacrifice Of Angels :: 21 points :: 1 votes
77T. Future Imperfect :: 21 points :: 1 votes
77T. Who Watches The Watchers :: 21 points :: 1 votes
77T. In Purgatory's Shadow :: 21 points :: 1 votes
73T. Take Me Out To The Holosuite :: 22 points :: 1 votes
73T. Conspiracy :: 22 points :: 1 votes
73T. The Survivors :: 22 points :: 1 votes
73T. All Our Yesterdays :: 22 points :: 1 votes
73T. Family :: 22 points :: 1 votes
68T. The Drumhead :: 23 points :: 1 votes
68T. This Side Of Paradise :: 23 points :: 1 votes
67. Arena :: 24 points :: 1 votes
65T. You Are Cordially Invited :: 25 points :: 1 votes
65T. Who Mourns For Adonais :: 25 points :: 1 votes
65T. The Tholian Web :: 25 points :: 1 votes
62T. Encounter At Farpoint :: 26 points :: 1 votes
62T. Rejoined :: 26 points :: 1 votes
62T. Looking For Par'mach In All The Wrong Places :: 26 points :: 1 votes
59T. Little Green Men :: 28 points :: 1 votes
59T. Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges :: 28 points :: 1 votes
57T. The Siege Of Ar-558 :: 30 points :: 1 votes
57T. The Way To Eden :: 30 points :: 1 votes
57T. Civil Defense :: 30 points :: 1 votes
55. Ensigns Of Command :: 30 points :: 2 votes
53T. The Search, Part Ii :: 33 points :: 1 votes
53T. Call To Arms :: 33 points :: 1 votes
52. Sarek :: 33 points :: 2 votes
50T. Journey To Babel :: 34 points :: 2 votes
50T. 11001001 :: 34 points :: 2 votes
49. Timescape :: 36 points :: 2 votes
47T. Blink Of An Eye :: 37 points :: 2 votes
47T. Second Skin :: 37 points :: 2 votes
47T. Past Tense :: 37 points :: 2 votes
47T. The Devil In The Dark :: 37 points :: 2 votes
43T. Errand Of Mercy :: 38 points :: 2 votes
43T. It's Only A Paper Moon :: 38 points :: 2 votes
41T. Living Witness :: 39 points :: 2 votes
41T. Time's Arrow :: 39 points :: 2 votes
39T. Time Squared (TNG) :: 40 points :: 1 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
39T. Plato's Stepchildren (TOS) :: 40 points :: 1 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
37T. Trials And Tribble-ations (DS9) :: 41 points :: 2 votes
37T. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (TOS) :: 41 points :: 2 votes
36. By Inferno's Light (DS9) :: 45 points :: 2 votes
35. Tapestry (TNG) :: 46 points :: 2 votes
33T. Parallels (TNG) :: 50 points :: 2 votes
33T. The Squire Of Gothos (TOS) :: 50 points :: 2 votes
32. Remember Me (TNG) :: 51 points :: 2 votes
31. The Corbomite Maneuver (TNG) :: 51 points :: 3 votes
30. Deja Q (TNG) :: 52 points :: 2 votes
29. Distant Origin (VOY) :: 52 points :: 3 votes
28. Necessary Evil (DS9) :: 54 points :: 2 votes
27. The Thaw (VOY) :: 54 points :: 3 votes
26. The Naked Time (TOS) :: 62 points :: 3 votes
25. Lower Decks (TNG) :: 65 points :: 2 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
24. Ship In A Bottle (TNG) :: 66 points :: 2 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
23. Year Of Hell (VOY) :: 67 points :: 3 votes
22. The Enemy Within (TOS) :: 70 points :: 2 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
21. Chain Of Command (TNG) :: 78 points :: 4 votes
20. Frame Of Mind (TNG) :: 79 points :: 3 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
19. Hard Time (DS9) :: 80 points :: 4 votes
18. In The Pale Moonlight (DS9) :: 106 points :: 3 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
17. Cause And Effect (TNG) :: 109 points :: 5 votes
16. The Doomsday Machine (TOS) :: 114 points :: 4 votes
15. Duet (DS9) :: 115 points :: 5 votes
14. The Measure Of A Man (TNG) :: 117 points :: 6 votes
13. Space Seed (TOS) :: 133 points :: 6 votes
12. Amok Time (TOS) :: 142 points :: 5 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
11. The Inner Light (TNG) :: 150 points :: 5 votes
10. The Visitor (DS9):: 150 points :: 7 votes
9. Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG) :: 155 points :: 6 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
8. All Good Things (TNG) :: 169 points :: 7 votes
7. Q Who (TNG) :: 175 points :: 6 votes
6. Balance Of Terror (TOS) :: 176 points :: 7 votes
5. The Best Of Both Worlds (TNG) :: 183 points :: 6 votes :: 1 No. 1 votes
4. Far Beyond The Stars (DS9) :: 193 points :: 6 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
3. City On The Edge Of Forever (TOS) :: 194 points :: 7 votes
2. Darmok (TNG) :: 208 points :: 7 votes :: 2 No. 1 votes
1. Mirror, Mirror (TOS) :: 226 points :: 9 votes

stuff from earlier i missed posting about:

devil in the dark - glad this made it as i cut it from my ballot because iirc it takes place entirely in drab underground corridors, features no crew outside the core dialectic, and takes kind of a long time. but spock's mind-meld scene ("PAIN!!!") is essential.

errand of mercy - i like this one. like a day the earth stood still for 60s policy.

let that be your last battlefield - sort of annoyed this made it instead of any preachy third-tier TOS episodes i actually voted for.

the corbomite maneuver - good, indeed fundamental, kirk ep, but as almost nothing happens in it it's good the alien face is so striking and that they throw in the clint howard acid trip at the end.

lower decks - had a rly good time w the one time i saw this. patrick stewart's baldness in it is like a pun.

frame of mind - i like the being-in-a-play angle in this one.

seeing the full list there makes me wish i'd given just a few points to "sarek", my favorite Stewart Emotes! episode

a few more points, i mean; i had it at #15

so glad that voyager's scorpion got no votes. i remember that being a well-received one, but it both ruins the borg and includes a racist fable.

wait why did i think balance of terror already happened?!?!?!

WAIT ITS OVER? WHY AM I SO BAD AT ILX TONIGHT?

FUCK

did startrekman vote in this

You know, that's a pretty decent top 10. Mostly I'm happy that The Visitor beat out The Inner Light (which never resonated for me, either).

Q Who at #7 is just whaaaaaaaaaaat tho.

Q Who is great because it has that scene where the Borg is fucking with the Enterprise computer and Picard's all like "He has to be stopped! Mr. Worf!" And then Worf just goes "Ensign!" and totally passes it off to some ensign, who gets pummeled by the Borg dude. And that, kids, is how management works.

Can't help but wonder in Mirror Mirror how a universe where humans are so radically different could have developed so that at the exact moment they visit, Kirk & Spock et al find their exact counterparts in the same roles in the same organisation. Which only adds to its bonkers charm.

I enjoy thinking about that. What if every choice was the opposite but the results kept coming out the same?

Rewatching Yesterday's Enterprise for this poll, it occurred to me that it was mirror universe idea done seriously. It's lacking some of the charm.

Q Who is maybe unremarkable in retrospect but felt pretty next-level at the time.

Also it has my favourite TNG episode formula - start banal, end terrifying

My list.

http://a68.tinypic.com/4snuw6.jpg

saw the corbomite maneuver the other night and . . . it was pretty bad

apparently it was supposed to be the first non-pilot episode (although it ran later) so there's awkward character 'development', particularly of mccoy. the alien encounter had a countdown to doom that lasted forever, the payoff was absurd, the resolution lame (although it did rid us of an annoying ensign)

kirk was good tho

Did morbz vote before he was banned

― Οὖτις, Friday, October 21, 2016 12:30 AM

i have no idea why you wanted to know how an antisemite like me ranked the original Jews in Space

also i haven't watched any of this stuff in 25 years