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_Operation- Annihilate!_ has always been one of my favorite episodes of _TOS._ Particularly of the Spock-centric episodes since he was always my favorite character! In this episode, we’re introduced (albeit briefly) to Jim Kirk’s brother, George Samuel Kirk- Jim being the only person to call him by his middle name- as well as a pretty cool looking single celled organism which attaches itself to the backs of its victims. Said organism leaves Kirk’s brother dead, his nephew Peter comatose and his best friend Spock fighting for his life! 🖖😯🖖😯
There aren’t to many TV shows from the late 1960’s that still hold entertainment value today but in my humble opinion Star Trek is one of the few. Truly timeless!
Twilight zone and early gun smoke hold up well for B&W of the early 60s. Aside from campy comedies star trek is probably the only show that will be remembered and rewatched when television first went to color.
And even fewer TV shows have had so many spinoffs. ST:TNG, Voyager, DS9, Enterprise, Star Trek Picard, Star Trek Academy and Strange New Worlds (so far).
My personal number one will always be Doomsday Machine. Obviously William Windom was phenomenal, but a fantastic story as well, with the last 5 minutes being some of the best Trek tension ever made for television. The editors needed to win all the awards. Not to mention the brilliant score composed by Saul Kaplan. This theme would eventually inspire John Williams to write the theme for Jaws.
"The Doomsday Machine" IS the best episode! I then like "Mirror, Mirror." Who doesn't like seeing the very sexy Barbara Luna? "Court Martial" is really good from the 1st Season.
I became a fan of "Star Trek" through the original series and the films that had followed later on. My two favorite classic Trek episodes are "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Space Seed" which would feature the late, great Ricardo Montalban as "Khan", who would resurface later in "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" (1982).
Great list! The only questionable one for me is "Day of the Dove." Admittedly, it's hard to choose a 3rd season episode to make it into the top 20 episodes, but I'd go with "The Enterprise Incident" as perhaps a bit more adult. It's cliche to place "City on the Edge" at number 1. But it's cliche for a reason; it really is the finest hour in all of TOS. Artistically, it's sublime. TOS will always be my favorite Trek!
Star Trek the original series is one of my favorite shows of all time. For a couple years I watched it on a local channel every night and after several repeats I still loved it. 😊
The Squire of Gothos (which may have been a template for Q) and Who Mourns for Adonis are worth a mention, as is 'The Enterprise Incident' from Season 3
Totally agree. Gothos was a great episode and loved William O. Campbell strutting around. "Enterprise Incident" was a great show, especially in the sad-sack Season 3, but whatever happened to the lovely captured Romulan Commander?
I can't believe that "Day of the Dove" made your list, the only third season episode to do so, when "The Enterprise Incident" is a far better, and the best, of the third season shows.
Honestly, the only reason I ever watched “The Day of the Dove” was because the evil red entity was used again brilliantly in the “Beta Canon” Star Trek Prometheus trilogy of books (shame the title starship that could separate into three sections never made a reappearance in main canon again, she was a real beauty to watch in action). I hadn’t seen the episode before I’d listened to the audiobook versions of the trilogy.
I got my start with The Original series in 1990 via reruns recorded onto VHS. I’ve been a Trekkie since. Although, as an old school Trekkie, I’m not too keen on New Trek. In 1995 at the age of 9, as I wouldn’t turn 10 until December 27th, I was quite literally the only 9 year old in Flower Mound Texas, who could use MS-DOS and played one of the best Star Trek games ever made, Star Trek The Next Generation: A Final Unity
I would include The Galileo Seven, which is a fantastic Spock story. A couple more from the oft overlooked season 3 are recommended too, in particular The Enterprise Incident, The Tholian Web, and All Our Yesterdays.
So many episodes that I love that you didn't include - The Cage, The Man Trap, The Squire of Gothos, Errand of Mercy, I Mudd, Who Mourns for Adonis and The Return of the Archons. My favourites are probably Doomsday Machine, Devil in the Dark and Arena. Big soft spot for the Immunity Syndrome too.
At age 73, I know most of these by rote. This was so much fun. Laughed and laughed. My god, what we remember sixty years hence. Thanks for the memories. :) PS Corbomite makes a tasty dessert topping too.
A very good list. Glad there were some less commonly recognized episodes on this list like The Menagerie and Where No Man Has Gone Before. Please do lists for TNG and DS9!
🖖😎👍Very cool and very nicely well done and executed and informatively explained in every detail way shape and form provided on this format and subject matter on the various Top 20 original Startrek series episodes indeed!, A job very wonderfully well done Young Lady!👌.
I was a “Latchkey kid”. This meant from age 10-18, I had a key around my neck, and was home alone, until my mom came home this was the start of franchised episodes, which was just forming. There were several shows that were featured after school, with Star Trek being one of them. My mom was in agreement with Star Trek’s values, having already teaching me of these values. Star Trek just reinforced them. Coming home everyday, and watching them after school, was kind of a ritual every day. I got to a point where, within seconds, I knew which episode it was. I, of course, remembered every episode you presented within seconds. Another one I loved, was when the Enterprise, encountered two races on a planet, and they had continually been at war for long time. Kirk first comes across one of of the aliens, whose face was White on one side, with Black on the other side. Kirk & the ship, encounters one of these races, and they are able to convince Kirk that the other is from a horrific race, which repeatedly stands with holding the other group. As it turns out, that both have Black on one side, with White on the opposite side of their face. Kirk finally encounters the “enemy” race, and realizes the argument is regarding which side of their faces featured the differences. This was broadcast during the Civil Rights movement, and was extremely relevant for the time. There is a poignant part of the of the story, where choices are made, and the story’s explanation is revealed. Gene Roddenberry was an extremely progressive storyteller, with the moral of the story, is being revealed. Thank you so much for showing this episode. I really appreciate it.
Some excellent choices, I must admit I did skip to number one to see what it was - and it was what I expected! Which just goes to show how great an episode it is and how universally appreciated it is (it's one we've covered too in our group, Shatner really shines in it).
I confess to being suprised when Amok Time came in at #5, as its often hailed as one of the 2 best episodes along with City, but I can't argue with the other 3 you put ahead of it (Tribbles, Space Seed and Terror) either. It's a pretty good list. The Squire of Gothos, Errand of Mercy and The Empath could also have made the list.
Finally some Shore Leave appreciation! One of the funniest episodes! I have to say, I love Star Trek, but sometimes I feel a bit lonely being a 22yo female fan of Star Trek TOS because none of my friends watch this. Even my parents watched TNG, not this. That aside, I truly think this is one of the best tv-series ever made 🖖🏻
I also think it's one of the best tv series ever made too. Glad you like this old tv show,I first watched it in 1978/79 during syndication in Philly and have LOVED it since.But,I also LOVE and have watched TNG,DS9 and Voyager. Have you watched any other Star Trek tv series ???
There are so many great episodes on Star Trek the original series it would be impossible to place them in any kind of order. I think your picks are pretty good.
Although the novels are not considered canon (at least I don’t _think_ they are), I thoroughly enjoyed reading TNG’s _Vendetta!_ This book reveals that The Doomsday Machine was constructed by Guinan’s enigmatic species in a failed attempt to destroy The Borg.
Three episodes: 'Conscience of the King'. Fantastic piece of writing and provides some interesting backstory for Kirk. 'Errand of Mercy': Introduces the Klingons with the fantastic John Colicos as Commander Kor. 'The Galileo Seven': Spock's reliance on logic sometimes fail. Great acting and writing and a great showcase of using conflict to tell a story.
@@ericdelong4227 Well, I didn't really notice any bad quality of the makeups for both "Bele" and "Lokai" after all. They looked fine to me and they were done pretty well anyway.
The next list needs to be about the Top XX Star Trek Original Series episodes whose social commentary is just as relevant today as it was when it originally aired.
This list only put *ONE* season three episode on it, and they seriously chose “Day of the Dove” over “The Empath”? Were these Watch Mojo writers really big fans of the Star Trek Prometheus book trilogy or something? Because by season three, evil energy god/entity episodes were starting to get a bit old, and I’m not sure it had enough to mark it as being better than “the Squire of Gothos”.
"The Empath" was boring and failed to grab my attention. I found it implausible and really a waste of my time. But that's my opinion. I liked "The Savage Curtain" a lot, but most people don't like that one.
City on the edge of forever is a great episode. It was never considered the number one episode until the program dynasty with Joan Collins in it then it was associated with her, and it became known as the greatest thing ever produced.
@@deeesher Personally, after having read David's novel, I was NOT impressed with the idea of "Trelane" being a member of the "Q" continuum at all. IF "Trelane" had made a comeback on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in any of its episodes involving "Q," I think the writing would have better conceived based on what the TOS writers had come up with in regards to the two characters anyway.
The City on the Edge of Forever is written by one of my favourite authors Harlan Ellison. He also wrote an episode on Outer Limits that James Cameron ripped off when he wrote The Terminator.
Miri was one of my favorites and the one when a shuttle craft smashed on the planet and white monsters with spears kept killing the crew and the one with Abe Lincoln was great as well.
Thanks for this list, Ms. Rebecca! The Original Star Trek series remains the one to beat. It may not have the cutting edge CGI effects of its successor series, but it more than made up for it with character driven stories. Nice to see The Doomsday Machine at #9; its my all time fave Star Trek episode- the scene where Capt. Kirk invoked his Executive Privelege as Captain of the Enterprise to have Mr. Spock back in command over Commodore Decker was my fave scene. One episode that should've been added was Tomorrow is Yesterday where the Enterprise is accidentally sent back to the year 1966.
00:17 The Enemy Within 1:25 The Devil in the Dark 2:25 The Ultimate Computer 3:20 Shore Leve 4:06 A Taste of Armageddon 5:10 This Side of Paradise 6:10 Day of the Dove 7:07 The Menagerie 8:10 Where no Man has Gone Before 8:52 The Corbomite Maneuver 9:41 The Naked Time 10:19 The Doomsday Machine 11:17 Arena 11:49 Mirror Mirror 12:31 Journey to Babel 13:16 Amok Time 14:21 The Trouble with Tribles 14:53 Space Seed 15:26 Balance of Terror 16:40 The City on The Edge of Forever
20, a wise and touching lesson about learning to accept both our light and dark sides. Reminds me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 19, reminds me of an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation, where the heroes encounter a strange jelly fish like creature that can turn into a city. 5, I remember watching an episode of Dexter's Laboratory where Dexter was in a Star Trek like episode and had to fight a woman with the same kind of weapons from Amok Time. I use to wonder where they got that idea from in which Star Trek episode, now I finally know where.
Spock’s Brain should be #2!!!!! And don’t forget “gonna click my heels and jump for joy, I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy!” That episode pissed James Doohan off to no end…
One of my favourite episodes has always been Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. An absolute brilliant episode showing the stupidly of racism and prejudice.
"The Doomsday Machine" should be higher up. Best episode ever, and it has been my favorite ever since I was little. I loved every episode but I never understood why "The City on the Edge of Forever" was everyone's favorite.
City always seems to get number one on Trek TOS countdowns, but not many mention how much writer Harlan Ellison hated it. He routinely had some bad things to say about Roddenberry and felt he destroyed his script. If you want to compare, Ellison released a book where he tells the whole story, as well as reprinting his original version. There's also a graphic novel that has his original version as well. I personally think both have good elements, but I don't know which I'd prefer.
I never fell for this episode even as a kid. I knew she had to die. This was 60s television. But...shh...she didn't have to die, really, and it would have been fine. Think about a scenario where that would be possible. Because it was. All you have to do is treat Edith Keeler as an adult.
Very Good Video & Very Good List. While I'm Not Disagreeing With The List, My 3 Favorites Are Balance Of Terror, The City On The Edge Of Forever & A Piece Of The Action (Chicago 1920s Gangster Planet) & The Ultimate Computer (William Marshall As Daystrum, Without A Moustache That He Would Have For His Iconic Blacula Role).
It's apples and oranges really. Other than both being in space and having aliens and lasers, they really are quite different (or at least they should be). Star Trek was conceptually about exploration and making you think. Star Wars is more of a fantasy... which is fine, but you can shut off your brain more. Star Trek makes you really think. And we definitely need more of that.
@14:51 yes we got "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", but he still deserved MUCH better. If TOS ran longer maybe he could have come back (grew up with and prefer Next Generation myself though). Honorable mentions: "A Piece of the Action"? "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"?
It’s hard to believe,that this show was made in the late ⏰ 1960”s.This was the growing up year’s,back in the late ⏰ 1960”s for me.Star Trek,and amazing 😻 series to behold!And fifty years ogo that it was on!Wow!Half my life has gone by!😊
While Harlan Ellison's masterpiece was always going to be #1, the complete omission of my personal #2 is surprising. Season one's Errand of Mercy was a joy from start to finish. In fact, I'd argue that John Colicos' glorious scene chewing was never bettered by any guest star.
One of my favorite episodes was "The Squire of Gothos." The actor William Campbell was so brilliant as Trelane. His childish behavior and self rightousness was so well done.
Glad to see Day of the Dove on this list. Space Seed belongs nowhere near this list. Should have considered the one with the longest title in all of Trek - For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.
When haters, purists and gatekeepers -- who have often shown they couldn't tell the difference between the USS Enterprise and the Millennium Falcon -- complain how spinoffs like Discovery are so dark, they neglected to realize one of the darkest episodes of all Star Trek was, "City On The Edge of Forever." Kirk having to let the woman he fell in love with die to save the future. And when you look at the definition of a dark story, "A story is considered dark if it tackles the stuff that would make most people uncomfortable," then Star Trek easily fits the bill, even when they sugar coat it for the 1960s. Especially when you have gruesome murders, torture, humiliation, fights to the death for entertainment, even rape as there were 3 attempted rapes on Star Trek. - Janice Rand on, "The Enemy Within," - Yeoman Barrows on, "Shore Leave," - Uhura on, "The Gamesters of Triskelion." I say attempted as SNW and the Kelvin timeline Uhura is showing to be more of a badass, but that wouldn't stop a thrall from trying, even if he may have ended up like Jack Ransom on, "Strange Energies," with multiple kicks to the groin.
I really like Plato’s Stepchildren, but mostly for its plot. It’s a story about disability that actually uses a disabled actor. It also dunks on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave which I absolutely love to dunk on.
Did we miss a great episode of this original series? Set your phasers on stun and shoot us a comment down below.
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Don't forget to play our Live Trivia (www.watchmojo.com/play) games at 3pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!
Love your content 😊😊😊
_Operation- Annihilate!_ has always been one of my favorite episodes of _TOS._ Particularly of the Spock-centric episodes since he was always my favorite character!
In this episode, we’re introduced (albeit briefly) to Jim Kirk’s brother, George Samuel Kirk- Jim being the only person to call him by his middle name- as well as a pretty cool looking single celled organism which attaches itself to the backs of its victims.
Said organism leaves Kirk’s brother dead, his nephew Peter comatose and his best friend Spock fighting for his life!
🖖😯🖖😯
You should do a best-of with the sequel TV show: The Next Generation!
Love It WatchMojo.
Can you do a video for Top 20 Murder, She Wrote episodes?
There aren’t to many TV shows from the late 1960’s that still hold entertainment value today but in my humble opinion Star Trek is one of the few. Truly timeless!
Twilight zone and early gun smoke hold up well for B&W of the early 60s. Aside from campy comedies star trek is probably the only show that will be remembered and rewatched when television first went to color.
Oh I concur with your statement 😊❤!
On the contrary I would take almost ANY show from the 60's than the crap now!
And even fewer TV shows have had so many spinoffs. ST:TNG, Voyager, DS9, Enterprise, Star Trek Picard, Star Trek Academy and Strange New Worlds (so far).
Mirror Mirror episode, the best.
Star Trek The Original Series was one of the best classics.
Gene Roddenberry, The Master.
@@XZITT The Great Bird of the Galaxy.
My personal number one will always be Doomsday Machine. Obviously William Windom was phenomenal, but a fantastic story as well, with the last 5 minutes being some of the best Trek tension ever made for television. The editors needed to win all the awards. Not to mention the brilliant score composed by Saul Kaplan. This theme would eventually inspire John Williams to write the theme for Jaws.
"The Doomsday Machine" IS the best episode! I then like "Mirror, Mirror." Who doesn't like seeing the very sexy Barbara Luna? "Court Martial" is really good from the 1st Season.
My personal favorites: Devil in the dark, City on the edge of forever, Mirror, mirror and Amok time.
I became a fan of "Star Trek" through the original series and the films that had followed later on. My two favorite classic Trek episodes are "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Space Seed" which would feature the late, great Ricardo Montalban as "Khan", who would resurface later in "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" (1982).
Great list! The only questionable one for me is "Day of the Dove." Admittedly, it's hard to choose a 3rd season episode to make it into the top 20 episodes, but I'd go with "The Enterprise Incident" as perhaps a bit more adult. It's cliche to place "City on the Edge" at number 1. But it's cliche for a reason; it really is the finest hour in all of TOS. Artistically, it's sublime.
TOS will always be my favorite Trek!
What about "The Tholian Web?"
Star Trek the original series is one of my favorite shows of all time. For a couple years I watched it on a local channel every night and after several repeats I still loved it. 😊
I still love the Original Series. Been watching since September of 66.
The Squire of Gothos (which may have been a template for Q) and Who Mourns for Adonis are worth a mention, as is 'The Enterprise Incident' from Season 3
Read the book Q Squared by Peter David. He brilliantly combines the two characters.
We never miss Squire of Gothos. Trelane was such a great character, and William Campbell played him brilliantly.
Totally agree. Gothos was a great episode and loved William O. Campbell strutting around. "Enterprise Incident" was a great show, especially in the sad-sack Season 3, but whatever happened to the lovely captured Romulan Commander?
@@ericdelong4227 I believe it's stated that she was repatriated shortly thereafter-wards.
What about "The Tholian Web?"
The "Doomsday Machine" and "The Balance of Terror" are my favorite Star Trek episodes❤
Balance of Terror, Space Seed, and The City on the Edge of Forever are some of my favorites.
I love "The Gallileo Seven". It's a perfect episode that pits Spock and Bones against each other. That, the "The Empath".
Omega Glory: “In a battle between good and evil I’ve found that evil usually triumphs - unless good is very, very careful.” Dr. McCoy
I love that quote.
I can't believe that "Day of the Dove" made your list, the only third season episode to do so, when "The Enterprise Incident" is a far better, and the best, of the third season shows.
Soooooo agreed! Terrific performances, particularly by Linville.
Honestly, the only reason I ever watched “The Day of the Dove” was because the evil red entity was used again brilliantly in the “Beta Canon” Star Trek Prometheus trilogy of books (shame the title starship that could separate into three sections never made a reappearance in main canon again, she was a real beauty to watch in action). I hadn’t seen the episode before I’d listened to the audiobook versions of the trilogy.
Agreed, Enterprise Incident is excellent. For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky is another 3rd season episode that's very good.
I got my start with The Original series in 1990 via reruns recorded onto VHS. I’ve been a Trekkie since.
Although, as an old school Trekkie, I’m not too keen on New Trek. In 1995 at the age of 9, as I wouldn’t turn 10 until December 27th, I was quite literally the only 9 year old in Flower Mound Texas, who could use MS-DOS and played one of the best Star Trek games ever made, Star Trek The Next Generation: A Final Unity
I would include The Galileo Seven, which is a fantastic Spock story. A couple more from the oft overlooked season 3 are recommended too, in particular The Enterprise Incident, The Tholian Web, and All Our Yesterdays.
So many episodes that I love that you didn't include - The Cage, The Man Trap, The Squire of Gothos, Errand of Mercy, I Mudd, Who Mourns for Adonis and The Return of the Archons. My favourites are probably Doomsday Machine, Devil in the Dark and Arena. Big soft spot for the Immunity Syndrome too.
“A Piece of the Action” & “The Conscience of the King” are a some of my personal favorites
A piece of the Action was amazing.....And the one with the Tombstone theme......Those are both Top 10
‘Spectre of the Gun’ is the Tombstone episode you’re thinking of.
At age 73, I know most of these by rote. This was so much fun. Laughed and laughed. My god, what we remember sixty years hence. Thanks for the memories. :)
PS Corbomite makes a tasty dessert topping too.
Also goes well with Tranya. ;)
I thought it was a floor wax! ;-) (Or am I being too obscure here?)
A very good list. Glad there were some less commonly recognized episodes on this list like The Menagerie and Where No Man Has Gone Before. Please do lists for TNG and DS9!
I usually have some sort of beef with your lists, but not this one. It hit the nail on the head. Great job!
The OG series will always the best. The Ultimate Computer, The Devil in the Dark, Tribbles, and Space Seed are my favorites.
Mirror, Mirror had the best Kirk monologue to finish the episode. Ranks #2 IMO. Agree with #1
Hope this continues, the Star Trek lists are long overdue for a redux.
🖖😎👍Very cool and very nicely well done and executed and informatively explained in every detail way shape and form provided on this format and subject matter on the various Top 20 original Startrek series episodes indeed!, A job very wonderfully well done Young Lady!👌.
I was a “Latchkey kid”. This meant from age 10-18, I had a key around my neck, and was home alone, until my mom came home this was the start of franchised episodes, which was just forming. There were several shows that were featured after school, with Star Trek being one of them. My mom was in agreement with Star Trek’s values, having already teaching me of these values. Star Trek just reinforced them. Coming home everyday, and watching them after school, was kind of a ritual every day. I got to a point where, within seconds, I knew which episode it was.
I, of course, remembered every episode you presented within seconds. Another one I loved, was when the Enterprise, encountered two races on a planet, and they had continually been at war for long time. Kirk first comes across one of of the aliens, whose face was White on one side, with Black on the other side.
Kirk & the ship, encounters one of these races, and they are able to convince Kirk that the other is from a horrific race, which repeatedly stands with holding the other group. As it turns out, that both have Black on one side, with White on the opposite side of their face. Kirk finally encounters the “enemy” race, and realizes the argument is regarding which side of their faces featured the differences. This was broadcast during the Civil Rights movement, and was extremely relevant for the time. There is a poignant part of the of the story, where choices are made, and the story’s explanation is revealed. Gene Roddenberry was an extremely progressive storyteller, with the moral of the story, is being revealed. Thank you so much for showing this episode. I really appreciate it.
Mirror Mirror Evil Spock with a beard was classic 🖖
Some excellent choices, I must admit I did skip to number one to see what it was - and it was what I expected! Which just goes to show how great an episode it is and how universally appreciated it is (it's one we've covered too in our group, Shatner really shines in it).
I confess to being suprised when Amok Time came in at #5, as its often hailed as one of the 2 best episodes along with City, but I can't argue with the other 3 you put ahead of it (Tribbles, Space Seed and Terror) either. It's a pretty good list. The Squire of Gothos, Errand of Mercy and The Empath could also have made the list.
I have seen every episode on this list a dozen times each. It is a very good list, quite logical. :)
Finally some Shore Leave appreciation! One of the funniest episodes! I have to say, I love Star Trek, but sometimes I feel a bit lonely being a 22yo female fan of Star Trek TOS because none of my friends watch this. Even my parents watched TNG, not this. That aside, I truly think this is one of the best tv-series ever made 🖖🏻
I also think it's one of the best tv series ever made too. Glad you like this old tv show,I first watched it in 1978/79 during syndication in Philly and have LOVED it since.But,I also LOVE and have watched TNG,DS9 and Voyager. Have you watched any other Star Trek tv series ???
It needs to be mentioned that Star Trek created the modern world as we know it today.
That is true. Automatic doors, cell phones, and even the theory of warp speed.
This show is just a lot of fun to watch. Probably because I've watched it all my life. 😂
There are so many great episodes on Star Trek the original series it would be impossible to place them in any kind of order. I think your picks are pretty good.
To me the number one episode of the orignal series of Star Trek will always be: THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE.
Although the novels are not considered canon (at least I don’t _think_ they are), I thoroughly enjoyed reading TNG’s _Vendetta!_
This book reveals that The Doomsday Machine was constructed by Guinan’s enigmatic species in a failed attempt to destroy The Borg.
I totally agree!!
I totally agree!!
Love Shore Leave, Amok time and Errand of mercy. This is a good list
The city on the edge of forever was my dads favorite episode.
Mine too and I've been watching since 1966.
*thumbnail*
Captain Kirk: "Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation."
Some of my favorites not mentioned. Tomorrow is Yesterday, Assignment Earth, The Immunity Syndrome among others.
Not a bad list. Third season episodes "IsThere in Truth No Beauty?" and "All Our Yesterdays" are beautiful as is "Metamorphosis" (Second season).
Piece Of The Action is my favourite
I also love that one! It introduced the "game" of Fizzbin. (I wonder if Fizzbin is Antarean for "bullshit"?)
Three episodes:
'Conscience of the King'. Fantastic piece of writing and provides some interesting backstory for Kirk.
'Errand of Mercy': Introduces the Klingons with the fantastic John Colicos as Commander Kor.
'The Galileo Seven': Spock's reliance on logic sometimes fail. Great acting and writing and a great showcase of using conflict to tell a story.
And the Children Shall Lead: "Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth." "Or by misleading the innocent." Spock and McCoy
This is an unpopular choice. Many hate that episode. However, to each their own. I personally like The Way to Eden even though many hate that episode.
The Enterprise incident, Let that be your last battlefield, Tomorrow is yesterday?
I never could get into "Battlefield" due to the poor makeup quality on Bele and Lokai.
@@ericdelong4227 Well, I didn't really notice any bad quality of the makeups for both "Bele" and "Lokai" after all. They looked fine to me and they were done pretty well anyway.
Love your content, WatchMojo!
leave "Let That Be Our Last Battlefield" out of this list is borderline criminal ...
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"?
@@adrianbooth438 sorry, The time is wrong, not the future, but now, corrected now ;-)
The next list needs to be about the Top XX Star Trek Original Series episodes whose social commentary is just as relevant today as it was when it originally aired.
What about "The Empath"? It was so well acted and its storyline was so well written. It really showcased the talent of everyone in it.
Wasn't this episode and Miri banned from the UK until recently?
They botched this list
This list only put *ONE* season three episode on it, and they seriously chose “Day of the Dove” over “The Empath”? Were these Watch Mojo writers really big fans of the Star Trek Prometheus book trilogy or something? Because by season three, evil energy god/entity episodes were starting to get a bit old, and I’m not sure it had enough to mark it as being better than “the Squire of Gothos”.
"The Empath" was boring and failed to grab my attention. I found it implausible and really a waste of my time. But that's my opinion. I liked "The Savage Curtain" a lot, but most people don't like that one.
@@Popcultureguy3000 I'm wondering what series they're watching... Fully agree.
"All our yesterdays" was a brilliant concept, even if the episode itself wasn't too exciting
City on the edge of forever is a great episode. It was never considered the number one episode until the program dynasty with Joan Collins in it then it was associated with her, and it became known as the greatest thing ever produced.
That is completely untrue.
0:27 Good Kirk: "Prepare for trouble!"
Evil Kirk: "And make it double!"
To protect the galaxy from devastation!
To unite all peoples within our Federation!
HM: "Squire of Gothos", featuring a godlike character that bears a similar personality to that of Q from TNG.
Read the book Q Squared by Peter David. He brilliantly combines the two characters.
@@deeesher Personally, after having read David's novel, I was NOT impressed with the idea of "Trelane" being a member of the "Q" continuum at all. IF "Trelane" had made a comeback on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in any of its episodes involving "Q," I think the writing would have better conceived based on what the TOS writers had come up with in regards to the two characters anyway.
The City on the Edge of Forever is written by one of my favourite authors Harlan Ellison. He also wrote an episode on Outer Limits that James Cameron ripped off when he wrote The Terminator.
Miri was one of my favorites and the one when a shuttle craft smashed on the planet and white monsters with spears kept killing the crew and the one with Abe Lincoln was great as well.
Thanks for this list, Ms. Rebecca!
The Original Star Trek series remains the one to beat. It may not have the cutting edge CGI effects of its successor series, but it more than made up for it with character driven stories.
Nice to see The Doomsday Machine at #9; its my all time fave Star Trek episode- the scene where Capt. Kirk invoked his Executive Privelege as Captain of the Enterprise to have Mr. Spock back in command over Commodore Decker was my fave scene.
One episode that should've been added was Tomorrow is Yesterday where the Enterprise is accidentally sent back to the year 1966.
"The Trouble With Tribbles" and the Star Trek Deep Space Nine crossover story ..... MY FAVOURITE ..... 😀
I would have added "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."
"Spock's Father is a Romulan spy!" My remark after first seeing Journey To Babel at the age of nine.
While many Star Trek actors had to develop their characters over time, Shatner had Kirk down pat from day one in 'Where no Man has gone Before.'
At least you guys mentioned "APiece of the Action", and "The Squire of Gothos" set up the future appearance of "Q"
The Cloud Minders. An underestimated one from season 3
The second season's 'The Ultimate Computer' was a memorable episode. A stand out performance by mad computer scientist William Marshall, aka Blacula.
Balance of Terror is perhaps the greatest episode of television drama ever created.
Yes, City on the Edge of Forever is the best, but Metamorphosis is a solid second best. Plus introducing Zefram Cochrane!!
I like the Trouble With Tribbles episode. Especially with all those adorable furballs that multiply.
00:17 The Enemy Within
1:25 The Devil in the Dark
2:25 The Ultimate Computer
3:20 Shore Leve
4:06 A Taste of Armageddon
5:10 This Side of Paradise
6:10 Day of the Dove
7:07 The Menagerie
8:10 Where no Man has Gone Before
8:52 The Corbomite Maneuver
9:41 The Naked Time
10:19 The Doomsday Machine
11:17 Arena
11:49 Mirror Mirror
12:31 Journey to Babel
13:16 Amok Time
14:21 The Trouble with Tribles
14:53 Space Seed
15:26 Balance of Terror
16:40 The City on The Edge of Forever
Just a casual reminder the TOS & TNG are the reasons behind many of the inventions we as a society have used over the last 2+ decades.
20, a wise and touching lesson about learning to accept both our light and dark sides. Reminds me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
19, reminds me of an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation, where the heroes encounter a strange jelly fish like creature that can turn into a city.
5, I remember watching an episode of Dexter's Laboratory where Dexter was in a Star Trek like episode and had to fight a woman with the same kind of weapons from Amok Time. I use to wonder where they got that idea from in which Star Trek episode, now I finally know where.
Spock’s Brain should be #2!!!!! And don’t forget “gonna click my heels and jump for joy, I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy!” That episode pissed James Doohan off to no end…
One of my favourite episodes has always been Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. An absolute brilliant episode showing the stupidly of racism and prejudice.
"The Doomsday Machine" should be higher up. Best episode ever, and it has been my favorite ever since I was little. I loved every episode but I never understood why "The City on the Edge of Forever" was everyone's favorite.
One fact you forgot to mention is that "The Naked Time" was the source of the plot of ST:TNG episode "The Naked Now."
William Shatner: "When did Star Trek become so political?"
Fans: "You were LITERALLY there!"
City always seems to get number one on Trek TOS countdowns, but not many mention how much writer Harlan Ellison hated it. He routinely had some bad things to say about Roddenberry and felt he destroyed his script. If you want to compare, Ellison released a book where he tells the whole story, as well as reprinting his original version. There's also a graphic novel that has his original version as well. I personally think both have good elements, but I don't know which I'd prefer.
We know about how Harlan Elisson felt about it. He has mentioned it many times.
I never fell for this episode even as a kid. I knew she had to die. This was 60s television. But...shh...she didn't have to die, really, and it would have been fine. Think about a scenario where that would be possible. Because it was. All you have to do is treat Edith Keeler as an adult.
@@marysheeran519 she had to die or else the guardian wouldn't have released them.
@@sureshmukhi2316Unless you're an Ellison fan, most Star Trek fans I've seen comments from were unaware of his feelings about the episode.
@@deeesher i am a Star Trek fan and have known about Ellison's rants for decades. He is very vocal about it.
Very Good Video & Very Good List. While I'm Not Disagreeing With The List, My 3 Favorites Are Balance Of Terror, The City On The Edge Of Forever & A Piece Of The Action (Chicago 1920s Gangster Planet) & The Ultimate Computer (William Marshall As Daystrum, Without A Moustache That He Would Have For His Iconic Blacula Role).
I thought for a moment there you were going to say Number 1, Spock's Brain .... Only kidding.
As a small Star Wars fan, i REALLY need to start this series frm the beginning frfr😢😮
Yes you do, then you'll know why Star Trek is the superior "Star". 😉
It's apples and oranges really. Other than both being in space and having aliens and lasers, they really are quite different (or at least they should be). Star Trek was conceptually about exploration and making you think. Star Wars is more of a fantasy... which is fine, but you can shut off your brain more. Star Trek makes you really think. And we definitely need more of that.
@@deeesher Star Trek is set in the future. Star Wars is history. "A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away." 😁
@@sureshmukhi2316Yup, that sums it up. You nailed it 🤦♂️
Balance of Terror is my number One.
I always have a piece of the action.:)
You must hold a Royal Fizbin!
Spock: Captain, I am pleased to see you're still alive.
Kirk: Yes, I'm rather pleased myself! 😂
It is awesome to watch Star Trek on television
@14:51 yes we got "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", but he still deserved MUCH better. If TOS ran longer maybe he could have come back (grew up with and prefer Next Generation myself though). Honorable mentions: "A Piece of the Action"? "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"?
Doomsday Machine should be in the top 3.
It’s hard to believe,that this show was made in the late ⏰ 1960”s.This was the growing up year’s,back in the late ⏰ 1960”s for me.Star Trek,and amazing 😻 series to behold!And fifty years ogo that it was on!Wow!Half my life has gone by!😊
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (S3E15) was also a strong contender.
The other episode of TOS about the Romulans should also be in the top 5.
Trail - blazing TV series not just for Sci Fi , but storyline as well , with better production values this show would've run for another 3 years
While Harlan Ellison's masterpiece was always going to be #1, the complete omission of my personal #2 is surprising.
Season one's Errand of Mercy was a joy from start to finish. In fact, I'd argue that John Colicos' glorious scene chewing was never bettered by any guest star.
Good choice of top 20 episodes of Star Trek the original series 😊
One of my favorite episodes was "The Squire of Gothos." The actor William Campbell was so brilliant as Trelane. His childish behavior and self rightousness was so well done.
Glad to see Day of the Dove on this list. Space Seed belongs nowhere near this list. Should have considered the one with the longest title in all of Trek - For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.
When haters, purists and gatekeepers -- who have often shown they couldn't tell the difference between the USS Enterprise and the Millennium Falcon -- complain how spinoffs like Discovery are so dark, they neglected to realize one of the darkest episodes of all Star Trek was, "City On The Edge of Forever."
Kirk having to let the woman he fell in love with die to save the future.
And when you look at the definition of a dark story, "A story is considered dark if it tackles the stuff that would make most people uncomfortable," then Star Trek easily fits the bill, even when they sugar coat it for the 1960s.
Especially when you have gruesome murders, torture, humiliation, fights to the death for entertainment, even rape as there were 3 attempted rapes on Star Trek.
- Janice Rand on, "The Enemy Within,"
- Yeoman Barrows on, "Shore Leave,"
- Uhura on, "The Gamesters of Triskelion."
I say attempted as SNW and the Kelvin timeline Uhura is showing to be more of a badass, but that wouldn't stop a thrall from trying, even if he may have ended up like Jack Ransom on, "Strange Energies," with multiple kicks to the groin.
I really like Plato’s Stepchildren, but mostly for its plot. It’s a story about disability that actually uses a disabled actor. It also dunks on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave which I absolutely love to dunk on.
My matrix class last year, and the Big Bang theory got me to watch and sort of like Star Trek
"City on the Edge of Forever" has been my favorite since I was in Junior High. Very closely followed by "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield"
The Trouble with Tribbles has always been my personal favorite.
It also helps to watch the Original Series according to production number and not air date.
iirc Mirror Mirror was the basis for Transformers: Shattered Glass
The title of the episode is Amok time