"A Taste Of Armageddon" is probably the most blatant example of Kirk ignoring the "prime directive." It's not his job to totally disrupt two civilizations because he finds their method of warfare personally distasteful. Once he was in a position to evacuate his landing party, that's exactly what he should have done. When word of his actions got back to Starfleet Command, there's every reason to believe he would have been stripped of his command and court-martialed. (Spock too, for being an active participant in destroying that planet's main computer.) Either the prime directive means something or it doesn't. Personally, I think it was stupid of the show's creators to come up with the so called prime directive in the first place. Especially if they were going to end up breaking the rule, to one degree or another, so often.
City on the Edge of Forever really blew me away when I first saw it. The sci-if time travel aspect is cool but it’s the heart and characters that really stuck with me.
Small note that may or may not be interesting: during the course of shooting Squire, William Campbell slipped and dislocated one of his shoulders, and I can't see that it affected his performance in any way. The man was a true professional.
I would definitely replace one of these with City on the Edge of Forever, given its examination of time travel, American intervention vs isolationism, pacifism vs more militant values and a far deeper unrequited love interest then we see Shatner often given. It's one of the best reflective episodes of the original series out there
Although great, I don't give the episode that much credit, but definitely deserved to be there, along with Mirror Mirror, Corbomite Maneuver, and Dagger of the MInd. Come to think of, aside from the top 4 the list in the video terrible lol
I would have to add The Devil in the Dark. It was my first episode of Star Trek I ever saw, and I feel it captures the adventure, horror, and sci-fi elements of Star Trek while embodying the empathy at the core of Starfleet values. It contrasts one of my favorite films, Starship Troopers, in terms of how humanity can treat the unknown.
I'm with you, Empathetic Rambo, I'm partial to Devil in the Dark as well. I'm not sure if I would put it in my Top Ten list, but I'm glued to the set every time the episode airs.
Fully agree! The episode is the vision of Star Trek in a nutshell, overcoming our fear of the unknown, and trying to bridge the differences between intelligent species.
I completely agree, Doomsday Machine is my absolute favorite. It is tense, dramatic, and thought provoking while the conflict in the episode is kept tight and focused. Honestly I think the whole episode really shows an amazing space battle through and through
And William Wyndham makes it totally believable. I saw this episode as a young boy and I am always almost traumatised by the power of his acting as he is swallowed up by the titular machine. An incredible performance.
Hi Rowan. One I would consider is “journey to Babel”. In the episode, we see the Spock family dynamic. We also see Kirk concerned Spock is conflicted regarding his family. I really like this episode as unique, and I love Kirk saves the day for the ship, and Spock saves his Dad
I'm happy you included Spectre of the Gun. I feel like when I talk about that episode with older Trekkies they give me the side-eye because it's a season three episode, whereas for me it's a brilliant original first contact situation where an alien intelligence can only communicate (until the end) through surreal dream logic, which feels right to me.
Absolutely! Spock's monologue where he describes the nature of the situation and the false nature of the reality they are trapped within, prior to the final confrontation is still one of my favorites! "We judge reality by the response of our senses. Once we are convinced of the reality of a given situation, we abide by it's rules"...
I like this episode a great deal. I tend to like character-driven fiction, so my favorite epis work the relationships among the characters. Oddly, one of the aspects I like is one that resulted from budget cuts. The set was minimalistic. Buildings were implied instead of shown. This minimalistic design added to the surreal atmosphere, which made the idea that it was spectral graphic.
The Savage Curtain is similar -- an alien species of living rock, trying to understand humanity's concept of good and evil by pitting historical figures against each other.
My list would be 1. City on the Edge of Forever 2. The Doomsday Machine 3. Mirror, Mirror 4. Galileo Seven 5. Balance of Terror 6. The Trouble With Tribbles 7. The Enterprise Incident 8. Amok Time 9. The Tholian Web 10. Squire of Gothos But I can completely see why your list is what it is.
I agree with your list considerably more than I do with Coleman's, though I would probably replace The Enterprise Incident with Where No Man Has Gone Before, and Squire of Gothos with The Man Trap (the very first episode I ever saw) in my own list. Maybe Devil in the Dark in place of Tholian Web as well. Hard to say; the first and second seasons had some really great episodes.
@@Enevan1968 Except that the first one could have been in a western like - ironically enough - Wagon Train, with Kodos a fugitive Confederate prison commandant who killed a lot of Union prisoners, and it would have worked just the same as there were few if any real scifi elements integral to the story. In fact, I strongly suspect that is precisely how the script first developed, and modified for Star Trek later on. Wold in the Fold is at least a touch more original.
This will be an unpopular take but I don’t think “City” is a top ten episode. 20 for sure. While I love The Guardian of Forever and that ending, damn - Shatner sells that beautifully. But the episode as a whole (to me) feels a bit empty in the middle.
Nicely done. I agree regarding, "The Doomsday Machine". I'd like to add one other element that makes it so good, Sol Kaplan's music. For me it adds a layer of thrill and dread to the story. Have a good evening.
The editing of the last five minutes was a master class in how to get viewers to feel the rising level of tension. "Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard." Transporter pad explodes with a puff of smoke and sparks.
So glad Balance of Terror was on the list! I truly believe that episode deserves to be on the objective best episodes list, whatever that may be. And if anything, it's recent callback in SNW's finale cements that for me.
I just rewatched Arena right before this and I really love that episode. It's gritty, brutal and thoughtful while having campy fun, thanks to Shatner Fu. Just so fun as an episode.
I’ve always found that the ep By Any Other Name to be one of the most rewatchable and entertaining episodes, I like the way the primary crew members work together to provoke emotional responses from the Kelvins as their plan.
Hey someone else who also rates "A Taste of Armageddon". I've always found it to be a great episode with some timeless themes and I never hear anyone talking about it (maybe I'm just not in the right places).
I find this episode to be one of the ones I return to again and again. Kirk just being the ultimate badass as he informs Anon 7, HE will be stopping their war is just somehow emotionally satisfying. Perhaps not the epitome of StarFleet code of conduct, it still seems fitting the Eminians get shown the real horrors of war and in the process find a reason to stop it.
I'm surprised you didn't include "The Enterprise Incident" on this list. In my opinion, it's the best episode of that third season and provides the first excellent exploration of Romulan culture. Add in some fine acting from Shatner and you got a primo Sci-fi adventure.
Kind of shocked Errand of Mercy didn't make the list. It was a gutsy anti-Imperialism episode to air in the middle of the Vietnam War, as it had the termarity to show Kirk as a flawed character and show the dangers of being disrespectful and ignorant of other cultures and the price these cultures end up paying by being used as puppets in a proxy war. And that's before you even get to the fact that the episode introduces the Klingons on top of all that.
Indeed! I have always appreciated this episode for it's more metaphysical concepts, as well as it's allusions to the Vietnam War. It was a great showcase again, of Shatner's acting talent as well. Portraying him as a flawed but dedicated supporter of Star Fleet's ideals. The fact that it is directed by John Newland of "One Step Beyond" is for me a bonus!
Errand of Mercy isn't bad, but it's one of a handful of episodes where the main characters ultimately have zero agency. Nothing Kirk and Spock do actually matters. You can argue whether it's necessary for characters to have agency, but for an hour long TV adventure drama- yeah, I think it's a requirement.
@@nehukybis Kirk is the driving force of the plot. He escalates the conflict on the peaceful planet of Organia to the point the Organias can't bare it anymore. Had Kirk done nothing, the Organians would have just accepted Klingon occupation and went about their day, it was Kirk's reckless disregard for the Organias and their requests that resulted in the Federation being policed by them.
My top ten favorites: 10. I, Mudd 9. The Devil in the Dark 8. Return to Tomorrow 7. The Tholian Web 6. Miri 5. The Trouble With Tribbles 4. Amok Time 3. Charlie X 2. Journey to Babel 1. By Any Other Name
The City on the Edge of Forever (not sure how you missed this one), Trouble with Tribbles, Mirror, Mirror, Devil in the Dark, Space Seed... and one of these best episodes that truly showed the brilliance of Star Trek, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield starring Frank Gorshin is one of the shows that made Star Trek, Star Trek. Right in front of the Hollywood network censors was an episode directly about racism. A subject that would NEVER be allowed on TV or Film at the time, but it was right there, right in your face of everyone. I was very young when Star Trek FIRST showed up in reruns...when I was watching Star Trek, there were only 3 channels...So I probably saw this episode for the first time around 1972, I was 9 years old. The impact on me was profound... you see, I lived on "the wrong side of the tracks" in my small town, a white family who didn't have a lot of money. My next door neighbor was a black lady who watched after me, after school, both my parents worked, Mama Beverly I called her, her son was a bit older than me...she treated me like her own son, I loved that woman. The unfortunate thing is, I saw some racism at a young age, and remember my parents explaining it was wrong. At the end of Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, the big revelation was that the two men who each were black on one side and white on the other.. had their colors on the opposite sides... I NEVER SAW IT...the absolute SHOCK to my little brain at this reveal has stuck with me to this day. The ignorance and stupidity of how someone looks, has anything to do with who a person is. A LONG comment, I apologize, but I have been a Star Trek fan for over 50 years now...this story has really stuck with me, I thought I would share it, that's the POWER of Star Trek.
I'll often throw on "A Taste of Armageddon" when I just want some background noise. It does a nice job of showing how the banality of evil can fester and Kirk's speech at the end is just so damn satisfying. Scotty and Fox butting heads back on the Enterprise is also fun to watch. I'd personally put "By Any Other Name" and "City on the Edge of Forever" on my list, but yours is a solid one as well. We all like what we like...
I have always placed a high value on “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”. The concept of showing the destructive power and senselessness of racism is on full display in this story. When the two find out that Charon has been destroyed because of the stupid war and they still can’t give it up always felt like a real gut punch and a fitting way to end the story. Watching Star Trek as a kid, it was this episode that really drove home how dumb racism really is.
The message "racism is bad" is ridiculously smashed over the head of the viewers. I doubt very much that if Roddenberry were still in charge this episode would have ever been filmed.
One episode I love that rarely appears on top episode lists is "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield." I know some people think it's too on-the-nose, it was clearly made on the cheap with the 'invisible' alien ships, but the reveal at the end blew my mind when I saw it as a kid in the pre-internet age. When you know what's coming it can be a bit meh, but when you don't.. wow. Also in a totally unrelated observation, the wedding speech Kirk gives at the beginning of "Balance of Terror" was lifted basically verbatim for the last Orville episode "Future Unknown".
Wow, my man, no Trouble With Tribbles? No Devil In The Dark? No City on the Edge of Forever even? Bold choices. However, Doomsday Machine at number 1 I cannot disagree with.
Love it Rowan! You've got a lot of very good picks! I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the other new top 10 episode lists for the other Star Trek shows will be like now!
And since Rowan asked, I'd go for: 1.Balance Of Terror 2.Doomsday Machine 3.City On The Edge Of Forever 4.Mirror, Mirror 5.Arena 6.Court Martial 7.Tomorrow Is Yesterday 8.Trouble With Tribbles 9.A Piece Of The Action 10.The Devil In The Dark Man, it was harder coming up with this list than I thought. There are so many outstanding episodes to choose from.
Great list, i too would have put Mirror, Mirror, Trouble With Tribbles and Tomorrow is Yesterday on there. But it's incredibly difficult because i also agree with Rowan's list completely. I'd probably have to cheat and add a bunch of honorable mentions lol
William Windom, Ricardo Montalban and Gary Lockwood. Made Star Trek vastly more watchable with each adding to the shows legitimacy due to their past acting careers. Many people don't realize that Lockwood played Frank Poole in "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Killed by his best friend on an alien planet ins Star Trek; murdered by his ship's computer in 2001...Perhaps "spaceman" wasn't a good career choice for our boy Gary.
My personal list would be something like this: 1) The City on the Edge of Forever 2) Balance of Terror 3)The Devil in the Dark 4) Errand of Mercy 5) The Cloud Minders 6) Journey to Babel 7) Day of the Dove 8) Space Seed 9) The Corbomite Maneuver 10) A Taste of Armageddon
@@nunyabizness6595 Cloud Minders is one of those perennial favorites of mine that hardly ever makes it onto anyone else's list - but I love it's use of the Plato's Cave allegory to a "subversive" end. Doomsday Machine is definitely a serious contender - I need to rewatch it soon :)
You'd be hard pressed to find an episode of Star Trek I didn't like in *some* way, though there are certainly some episodes that are worse than others and since there are SO MANY episodes to choose from, it's vanishingly unlikely that two fans will have a similar Top Ten list... ... that said, I wasn't expecting to disagree with your rankings as completely as I do! It's nice to hear other people talking so passionately about episodes that I didn't personally rank too high. When it comes to opinions on art, there are no objective answers and there are no wrong answers.
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who ranks The Doomsday Machine at number one. Great video. Rowan, you have an amazing voice that seems made for voiceover work.
Look up "The Virginian" with Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley in some episodes. They're very familiar with that era. Kelley played a cowboy on film before Trek.
I just love studying Shatner's 'lace' toupee in the 'OK Coral' episode. The way it holds up in all the wind is remarkable! You can really see the benefits of having an expensive custom 'hair system' paid for by the production, compared to what these guys would sometimes be forced to wear in their private lives then they were paying the bill... I read in some behind the scenes documentaries that memos had been sent out regarding how many of the 'hair pieces' for various cast members always 'went missing' at the end of seasons and needed to be found or replaced, at significant expense ;) And not JUST the men! I think Nichelle might have occasionally borrowed some extensions
For a cool point of interest, look up the TV series, "The Virginian." You'll see Shatner, Kelley and Nimoy all played parts on occasional episodes. One in particular, had Nimoy and Kelley are together in one episode. Even Ricardo Montalban was in two episodes of the series. One added bonus, Harrison Ford played a bad guy with John Saxon in one episode.
My favorite Star Trek episode is;The doomsday machine,what are little girl’s made of(like the poem that we grew up with).Little girls are made of;sugar and spice,and everything nice,that’s what little girl’s are made of.The deadly year’s🎭🚀🛸is another episode that I enjoy,because,it give’s Star ⭐️ Trek a;human side to the story!
@@Max-qi3hg LOL. Yes. Shatner was wearing a toupee even in the VERY FIRST season of the Star Trek TV show... The studio would pay for very high quality 'LACE' toupees' that were able to emulate an extremely natural looking hairline. You can tell the difference in his 'hair quality' when the show ended and he had to buy his own 'appliances', which is when he adopted the less fragile 'curly hair' look. And same thing with Sean Connery, who wore a 'wig' in EVERY James Bond movie, going all the way back to Doctor No. It was a bit sad learning that two of my biggest male role models while growing up were actually wearing a piece. lol.
@@Max-qi3hg Then you know how quality can vary DRAMATICALLY! lol The 'lace' systems can emulate a 'natural' hairline with individual folicles. Compared to a more traditional 'wig', that tends to hide the actual hairline with curls or bangs. And I believe many of the guys on Trek were actually wearing some sort of appliance. Like Walter Koenig (Chekov), and James Doohan (Scotty). Although I'm not certain if Koenig had a bad wig, or just a bad comb over :). Funny thing is that Leonard Nimoy who had arguably the worst haircut, might also have been the only guy with all of his own hair! lol But yeah, there are photos of Shatner acting in plays prior to Star Trek where he already had visible bald spots. Not that it's a problem, just surprising that two famous symbols of masculinity (Kirk & Bond) both wore wigs!
I agree about Doomsday Machine, a perfect episode from all angles. A personal favourite is Who Mourns for Adonais, due to its clear Roddenberry secular themes. Of course Squire of Gothos is much admired, but I don't buy that spin that Trelane was Q. I think leaving out Errand of Mercy was a mistake. Great episode, opening up a bigger reality than our own limited self importance. If anything the powerful beings posing as people in that episode are like Q, maybe a hive of Q living peacefully away from the Continuum and its troubles. Odd you left out City on the Edge of Forever, generally regarded as the most emotional of the original series. Balance of Terror is a gem. It's great that ST SNW picked up on it recently and really well too. And without Space Seed, there would have no Khan, Wrath of Khan and so on. These are my favourites.
Here are my top ten favorite episodes of Star Trek: TOS 1. Mirror, Mirror (Season 2, Ep. 4) 2. The Doomsday Machine (Season 2, Ep. 6) 3. The Naked Time (Season 1, Ep. 4) 4. The City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1, Ep. 28) 5. All Our Yesterdays (Season 3, Ep. 23) 6. By Any Other Name (Season 2, Ep. 22) 7. The Enterprise Incident (Season 3, Ep. 2) 8. The Man Trap (Season 1, Ep. 1) 9. What Are Little Girls Made Of (Season 1, Ep. 7) 10. The Devil in the Dark (Season 1, Ep. 25) Here are my top worst five episodes of Star Trek: TOS My top five worst episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series 1. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield 2. The Alternative Factor 3. Miri 4. The Ultimate Computer 5. The Spectre of the Gun Here are my top favorite six babes of Star Trek: TOS 1. Lieutenant Marlena Moreau (Barbara Luna) - Mirror, Mirror (Season 2, Episode 39) 2. Marta (Yvonne Craig) - Whom Gods Destroy (Season 3, Episode 71) 3. Edith Keeler (Joan Collin) - The City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1, Episode 28) 4. Dr. Helen Noel (Marianna Hill) - Dagger of the Mind (Season 1, Episode 11) 5. Andrea (Sherry Jackson) - What Are Little Girls Made Of (Season 1, Episode 10) 6. Zarabeth (Mariette Hartley) - All Our Yesterdays (Season 3, Episode 78)
Great list Rowan- it's unlike anything we've encountered before. PS: I binged on your Star Trek Retrospectives over the weekend (13 hours in one sitting I might add). Absolutely amazing work and thank you so much for putting them together. Live long and prosper 🖖
Glad you included Spectre of the Gun. My number one. The bits and pieces of Tombstone and orange lighting establishes that the landing party is experiencing one of Kirk's memories. And I love Taos Lightning almost as much as Scotty does.
I am absolutely shocked to find other Star Trek fans who think Doomsday Machine is the best episode. I thought I was the only one. :) Excellent presentation as always, Rowan.
Balance of terror is so good that it got remade/remixed in Stranger New Worlds 56 years after its original airing. Naval standoffs in space are sci-fi adventures mainstays, and this one is the OG stuff.
Your list is pretty much the same as mine, BUT---you knew it was coming lol---switch Balance of Terror and The Doomsday Machine, and throw Journey to Babel, The Menagerie, and City on the Edge of Forever in there somewhere and you've got my list. Edit: Reading through the other comments, I realize I forgot about Mirror, Mirror and The Enterprise Incident---this is harder than it looks lol.🤔🤨
I would put "The Conscience of the King" somewhere on my list. When I was younger I didn't think much of it, but in recent-ish rewatch I was surprised by just how damn good it was.
I llove Conscience too, and I think the reason I love it is why a lot of people hate it. It really shows Kirk in a perspective that doesn't match the pop culture stereotype of him. He's 1) A holocaust survivor and 2) he can be a manipulative bastard if he needs to be. He doesn't seduce the girl because he can't keep it in his pants; he's manipulating her in order to draw out her father.
I think i remember that Harlan Ellison took Oliver Crawford to task for Galileo 7 for basically recycling the movie Flight of the Phoenix. Never saw that movie. Sorry, sir. Galileo 7 is a great episode.
Great video! I'll include my top 10 favorites here as well. 10. Assignment: Earth 9. The Enterprise Incident 8. Arena 7. Court Martial 6. The Trouble With Tribbles 5. Where No Man Has Gone Before 4. Space Seed 3. Amok Time 2. The Doomsday Machine 1. The City on the Edge of Forever
Dude I am so glad you showed some love for The Galileo Seven. It is my favorite episode of the whole series, and extremely underrated. The Doomsday Machine has also gotta be my 2nd favorite, great list you made🖖🏻
10. The Galileo Seven 9. Obsession 8. The Doomsday Machine 7. The Trouble With Tribbles 6. Space Seed 5. The Immunity Syndrome 4. The Devil In The Dark 3. Arena 2. The Man Trap 1. A Private Little War
Definately would have replaced Spectre and Tholian with either City and Corbomite or Mirror Mirror. The tragedy is the third season is almost unrecognizable from season 1.😂😂😂
Doomsday Machine is PERFECTLY slotted at #1 Rowan. And I LOVE This Side of Paradise as well. I can remember as a kid getting into Star Trek in the mid 70's via syndication. I didn't quite understand the whole "stunt double" idea. So when Kirk is CLEARLY swapped out for a stuntman after angering Spock in the transporter room to break the spell of the flower, I thought I was losing my mind upon the first viewing. Glad you included that bit of hilarity in the edit.
Great rundown of some of the best TOS episodes! I agree, The Doomsday Machine is one of classic Trek's best episodes. William Windom's performance really captured the tragic escence of a competent and capable commander truly broken by the loss of his crew and his self-perceived failure of leadership. I consider it one of his all-time best performances! "Where No Man has Gone Before" is indeed a great showcase of Kirk's rapport with Gary Mitchell, and really reveals the greater depths of Shatner's acting abilities. It carries with it a deep sadness of a friendship destroyed by the exigencies of command, and circumstances unforseen and unexpected. Nicely done sir! 👍
‘City on the Edge of Forever,’ ‘Mirror, Mirror,’ and ‘Doomsday Machine’ are my favorites, by far-I find myself watching them again and again. I was shocked but pleased you had ‘Doomsday…’ no. 1, as almost no one does that. The stories behind the two you didn’t choose are just so strong. If you haven’t seen the UA-cam video where the composer of ‘Doomsday…’ goes through how he scored that episode, you really need to see it-it’s remarkable. Thanks for putting up your list!
My favorite is “Mirror, Mirror” due to the constant jeopardy experienced by the away team. And while we get to see, if only briefly, what a tyrannical murderous Kirk looks like, it is Spock’s coldly logical counterpart who steals the show. A great episode.
" Charlie X" was Good, But my Favorite episode was the Dual Realities episode, With Evil Spock and Evil Chekhov Trying to Kill Who he thought was Evil Kirk!! Evil Spock Grew Quite Suspicious of Kirk's Perceived " Lack of instant Vengeance upon Chekhov's Failed attempt to move up in rank by Killing Kirk.
Loved "Charlie X" for the interaction of Spock and Uhura, particularly her beautiful ad-libbed singing about Spock and the sadly cut short singing about Charlie.
I found myself very comfortable with your choices The episodes utilizing the original style (clothes, big clunky phasers) may of been first time a series had this sense of history
I like Spectre of the Gun too. It's a lot of fun, and i like when Star Trek does weird stuff like that. I wouldn't mind more episodes like that in the future. Maybe in Strange New Worlds season two since it's easily the best of the current era Trek shows. The Squire of Gothos is an awesome episode too. I love the (is is extended universe or expanded universe?) story Q-Squared. Especially in the way it parallels Yesterday's Enterprise.
I'm not sure. SNW has a massive budget and less time to fill, Spectre was a product of having relatively little money and a lot of time to fill on a deadline. Those conditions can breed creativity.
"Spectre of the Gun" shows how sometimes they could make the reduced budget work in their favor. If they had just shot on a Western soundstage (as they originally planned), it wouldn't have been nearly as effective.
6:17 I share the sentiments. This was the first episode of the show I ever saw. I always loved seeing Scotty in command and thought he was much more capable than the rather taskmaster method Spock took when he was in the center seat. I also think that was the only time we saw the senior cast members in scenes together without Shatner or Nimoy around. They had great chemistry as well.
These are all good to great episodes IMO and I don’t disagree with your various analyses of the eps but my rankings are obviously different. James Doohan said that The Doomsday Machine was his personal favorite, so it’s good to see how great minds think alike huh! What always bugged me about The Galileo Seven was the insistence that this away team mission was Spock’s “first command,” which is patently absurd as no one earns an advanced command rank without having been in command. It’s not a mortal injury to the story, but it seriously wounds it. I am greatly pleased to see Spectre of the Gun get your respect. It’s always been one of my favorites, and not just because I was born in Arizona. Looking forward to what you have in mind next.
My Favorite Top 10 Episodes from The Original Series are Number 10: The Tholian Web Number 09: Amok Time Number 08: The Corbomite Manuver Number 07: Dagger Of The Mind Number 06: The Ultimate Computer Number 05: Balance Of Terror Number 04: The Doomsday Machine Number 03: Trouble With Tribbles Number 02: The Enterprise Incident Number 01: Mirror, Mirror
Refreshing to see a somewhat unique list! Here’s my top 10: 10. Day of the Dove 9. Tomorrow is Yesterday 8. Balance of Terror 7. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield 6. Mirror, Mirror 5. Where No Man Has Gone Before 4. Space Seed 3. Shore Leave 2. The Doomsday Machine 1. The Trouble with Tribbles
City on the Edge of Forever, Miri, Charlie X, The Corbomite Maneuver, and The Devil in the Dark. Agree with your number one. Whenever I want to introduce a newbie to Star Trek, that's my go-to episode. I still tear up when Decker says, "Not any more." Balance of Terror isn't quite as high, mainly because it's a copy of that submarine movie, even to putting a corpse of a friend into a torpedo tube and sending it out as a ruse. Nicely executed, and we get the first real villains in the Romulans. It would just be outside my top 10, if not just in it at 10.
Can't argue too much about the list, except for the inclusion of the seriously shallow offering of This Side of Paradise. Don't believe that one deserves to be near any top 10. 1. Balance of Terror 2. Amok Time 3. City on the Edge of Forever 4. Arena 5. Enterprise Incident 6. Friday's Child 7. Day of the Dove 8. Operation: Annihilate! 9. Doomsday Machine 10. A Private Little War There are a few other strong ones I had a hard time keeping off the list (Corbomite, Babel, Errand). Of 79 episodes, I would call about 30 or so very good in some sense, depending on what you enjoy watching.
Number 10: The Galileo Seven Number 09: Amok Time Number 08: The Corbomite Manuver Number 07: Charlie X Number 06: A Taste Of Armageddon Number 05: Balance Of Terror Number 04: The Changeling Number 03: Space Seed Number 02: The Doomsday Machine Number 01: City of the Edge of Forever
No love for The Ultimate Computer? You remember - the M5 Incident? Captain Dunsel? William Marshall's portrayal as Dr. Richard Daystrom was amazing. His line... "Building on my work!" What a moment of drama. Remember - back then the concept of The Terminator was just a splinter in our mind's eye, so to speak. The Ultimate Computer was what James Cameron surely leveraged for his own success. Balance of Terror is my #1. A Taste of Armageddon #2. The Ultimate Computer #3. But really, any of them could be #1. It is always difficult to pick a Top-Ten for ST:ToS as there are so many well-written episodes. We need to remember that back then popular television required good writing to succeed because we simply did not have good CG yet. Well Done RJ. Well done.
Couldn’t agree more re ultimate computer, surely the first ever exportation of AI out of control.. I love the look Sulu and Chekov exchange when commodore Wesley hits Kirk with the captain dunsel burn!..
'A taste of Armageddon' is definitely one of my favorite Original Series episodes. The "War-and-Death-at-Arm's-Length" twist becomes more pertinent in modern day as they try to have drones take peacekeeping roles.
I don't agree with your whole list, but I agree 100% with your number 1 choice. Doomsday machine is a complete masterpiece. Acting, score, writing...it's perfect.
Great video. Coincidentally, I just happened to watch your older video earlier today, so it was interesting to see the changes here. All the eps here are great, but I'm specifically glad that "A Taste of Armageddon" still made it in, because I quite like that episode and think it might be a bit underrated on the whole. To echo some other comments, my favourite ep is probably "The City on the Edge of Forever" not just for the great character work, but I am just a sucker for good time travel stories.
Click here for a HUGE discount on a 3 year membership with AtlasVPN: get.atlasvpn.com/Rowan
"A Taste Of Armageddon" is probably the most blatant example of Kirk ignoring the "prime directive." It's not his job to totally disrupt two civilizations because he finds their method of warfare personally distasteful. Once he was in a position to evacuate his landing party, that's exactly what he should have done.
When word of his actions got back to Starfleet Command, there's every reason to believe he would have been stripped of his command and court-martialed. (Spock too, for being an active participant in destroying that planet's main computer.) Either the prime directive means something or it doesn't.
Personally, I think it was stupid of the show's creators to come up with the so called prime directive in the first place. Especially if they were going to end up breaking the rule, to one degree or another, so often.
City on the Edge of Forever really blew me away when I first saw it. The sci-if time travel aspect is cool but it’s the heart and characters that really stuck with me.
Small note that may or may not be interesting: during the course of shooting Squire, William Campbell slipped and dislocated one of his shoulders, and I can't see that it affected his performance in any way. The man was a true professional.
I would definitely replace one of these with City on the Edge of Forever, given its examination of time travel, American intervention vs isolationism, pacifism vs more militant values and a far deeper unrequited love interest then we see Shatner often given. It's one of the best reflective episodes of the original series out there
Yep one of my faves just great science fiction. And loved seeing the 3 main characters doing their thing.
I would add 'Mirror, Mirror'.
Although great, I don't give the episode that much credit, but definitely deserved to be there, along with Mirror Mirror, Corbomite Maneuver, and Dagger of the MInd. Come to think of, aside from the top 4 the list in the video terrible lol
I would have to add The Devil in the Dark. It was my first episode of Star Trek I ever saw, and I feel it captures the adventure, horror, and sci-fi elements of Star Trek while embodying the empathy at the core of Starfleet values. It contrasts one of my favorite films, Starship Troopers, in terms of how humanity can treat the unknown.
I'm with you, Empathetic Rambo, I'm partial to Devil in the Dark as well. I'm not sure if I would put it in my Top Ten list, but I'm glued to the set every time the episode airs.
Absolutely agree. That episode would have made my list. "NO KILL I."
Such a great episode. It subverts our usual expectations of who is right and wrong, and shows a truly alien alien
Fully agree! The episode is the vision of Star Trek in a nutshell, overcoming our fear of the unknown, and trying to bridge the differences between intelligent species.
@@R0ssMM absolutely agree, and a well executed morality tale
It’s a spot on list … honorable mentions must go to Space Seed, Mirror, Mirror and The City on the Edge of Forever
I completely agree, Doomsday Machine is my absolute favorite. It is tense, dramatic, and thought provoking while the conflict in the episode is kept tight and focused. Honestly I think the whole episode really shows an amazing space battle through and through
And William Wyndham makes it totally believable. I saw this episode as a young boy and I am always almost traumatised by the power of his acting as he is swallowed up by the titular machine. An incredible performance.
I like Balance of Terror for the same reason. The cat and mouse game between Kirk and the Romulan commander was really tense.
I had a cat for 17 years who was my soul mate. She was an Oriental Shorthair with sharp cheekbones and large very pointed ears. Her name was T'Pring.
Hi Rowan. One I would consider is “journey to Babel”. In the episode, we see the Spock family dynamic. We also see Kirk concerned Spock is conflicted regarding his family. I really like this episode as unique, and I love Kirk saves the day for the ship, and Spock saves his Dad
I'm happy you included Spectre of the Gun. I feel like when I talk about that episode with older Trekkies they give me the side-eye because it's a season three episode, whereas for me it's a brilliant original first contact situation where an alien intelligence can only communicate (until the end) through surreal dream logic, which feels right to me.
That's also one of Lewis 'Linkara' Lovhaug's favourite Star Trek episodes.
Absolutely! Spock's monologue where he describes the nature of the situation and the false nature of the reality they are trapped within, prior to the final confrontation is still one of my favorites!
"We judge reality by the response of our senses. Once we are convinced of the reality of a given situation, we abide by it's rules"...
I like this episode a great deal. I tend to like character-driven fiction, so my favorite epis work the relationships among the characters. Oddly, one of the aspects I like is one that resulted from budget cuts. The set was minimalistic. Buildings were implied instead of shown. This minimalistic design added to the surreal atmosphere, which made the idea that it was spectral graphic.
The Savage Curtain is similar -- an alien species of living rock, trying to understand humanity's concept of good and evil by pitting historical figures against each other.
My list would be 1. City on the Edge of Forever
2. The Doomsday Machine
3. Mirror, Mirror
4. Galileo Seven
5. Balance of Terror
6. The Trouble With Tribbles
7. The Enterprise Incident
8. Amok Time
9. The Tholian Web
10. Squire of Gothos
But I can completely see why your list is what it is.
I agree with your list considerably more than I do with Coleman's, though I would probably replace The Enterprise Incident with Where No Man Has Gone Before, and Squire of Gothos with The Man Trap (the very first episode I ever saw) in my own list. Maybe Devil in the Dark in place of Tholian Web as well. Hard to say; the first and second seasons had some really great episodes.
I'd go for Conscience of the King and Wolf in the Fold. It would make for a good top 20.
@@Enevan1968 Except that the first one could have been in a western like - ironically enough - Wagon Train, with Kodos a fugitive Confederate prison commandant who killed a lot of Union prisoners, and it would have worked just the same as there were few if any real scifi elements integral to the story. In fact, I strongly suspect that is precisely how the script first developed, and modified for Star Trek later on. Wold in the Fold is at least a touch more original.
This will be an unpopular take but I don’t think “City” is a top ten episode. 20 for sure. While I love The Guardian of Forever and that ending, damn - Shatner sells that beautifully. But the episode as a whole (to me) feels a bit empty in the middle.
I would say that The Menagerie needs to be a Top 10
Nicely done. I agree regarding, "The Doomsday Machine". I'd like to add one other element that makes it so good, Sol Kaplan's music. For me it adds a layer of thrill and dread to the story. Have a good evening.
That episode made such an impression on seven-year-old me that the "bah-duh-bah-duh-bah-duh-BAH-DUH" became my countdown music for all future events.
Concur. Some of the best music of the original series.
Agreed! The score for "Doomsday Machine" was in fact quite excellent!
Agreed. I especially loved the introduction of the "Doomsday Theme" with the brass instrument triplets throughout. Simply brilliant!
The editing of the last five minutes was a master class in how to get viewers to feel the rising level of tension.
"Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard."
Transporter pad explodes with a puff of smoke and sparks.
So glad Balance of Terror was on the list! I truly believe that episode deserves to be on the objective best episodes list, whatever that may be. And if anything, it's recent callback in SNW's finale cements that for me.
I just rewatched Arena right before this and I really love that episode. It's gritty, brutal and thoughtful while having campy fun, thanks to Shatner Fu. Just so fun as an episode.
spectre of the gun is an absolute gem of an episode very twilight zone
I’ve always found that the ep By Any Other Name to be one of the most rewatchable and entertaining episodes, I like the way the primary crew members work together to provoke emotional responses from the Kelvins as their plan.
Scotty is wonderful in that epi. James Doohan was a delight when his role became even slightly humorous.
The Ultimate Computer and Day of the Dove....need to get some recognition.
I feel like Mirror Mirror & City on the Edge of Forever should be on this list.
Hey someone else who also rates "A Taste of Armageddon". I've always found it to be a great episode with some timeless themes and I never hear anyone talking about it (maybe I'm just not in the right places).
That's why we need a "Best 20 episodes" list. There were far more excellent episodes than just 10.
I find this episode to be one of the ones I return to again and again. Kirk just being the ultimate badass as he informs Anon 7, HE will be stopping their war is just somehow emotionally satisfying. Perhaps not the epitome of StarFleet code of conduct, it still seems fitting the Eminians get shown the real horrors of war and in the process find a reason to stop it.
I'm surprised you didn't include "The Enterprise Incident" on this list. In my opinion, it's the best episode of that third season and provides the first excellent exploration of Romulan culture. Add in some fine acting from Shatner and you got a primo Sci-fi adventure.
Kind of shocked Errand of Mercy didn't make the list. It was a gutsy anti-Imperialism episode to air in the middle of the Vietnam War, as it had the termarity to show Kirk as a flawed character and show the dangers of being disrespectful and ignorant of other cultures and the price these cultures end up paying by being used as puppets in a proxy war. And that's before you even get to the fact that the episode introduces the Klingons on top of all that.
Indeed! I have always appreciated this episode for it's more metaphysical concepts, as well as it's allusions to the Vietnam War. It was a great showcase again, of Shatner's acting talent as well. Portraying him as a flawed but dedicated supporter of Star Fleet's ideals.
The fact that it is directed by John Newland of "One Step Beyond" is for me a bonus!
Errand of Mercy isn't bad, but it's one of a handful of episodes where the main characters ultimately have zero agency. Nothing Kirk and Spock do actually matters. You can argue whether it's necessary for characters to have agency, but for an hour long TV adventure drama- yeah, I think it's a requirement.
@@nehukybis Kirk is the driving force of the plot. He escalates the conflict on the peaceful planet of Organia to the point the Organias can't bare it anymore. Had Kirk done nothing, the Organians would have just accepted Klingon occupation and went about their day, it was Kirk's reckless disregard for the Organias and their requests that resulted in the Federation being policed by them.
Spock throwing the switch on Galileo 7 is one of my fav moments in all of Trek - I often think of that scene when I decide to just 'go for it'
My top ten favorites:
10. I, Mudd
9. The Devil in the Dark
8. Return to Tomorrow
7. The Tholian Web
6. Miri
5. The Trouble With Tribbles
4. Amok Time
3. Charlie X
2. Journey to Babel
1. By Any Other Name
The City on the Edge of Forever (not sure how you missed this one), Trouble with Tribbles, Mirror, Mirror, Devil in the Dark, Space Seed... and one of these best episodes that truly showed the brilliance of Star Trek, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield starring Frank Gorshin is one of the shows that made Star Trek, Star Trek. Right in front of the Hollywood network censors was an episode directly about racism. A subject that would NEVER be allowed on TV or Film at the time, but it was right there, right in your face of everyone.
I was very young when Star Trek FIRST showed up in reruns...when I was watching Star Trek, there were only 3 channels...So I probably saw this episode for the first time around 1972, I was 9 years old. The impact on me was profound... you see, I lived on "the wrong side of the tracks" in my small town, a white family who didn't have a lot of money. My next door neighbor was a black lady who watched after me, after school, both my parents worked, Mama Beverly I called her, her son was a bit older than me...she treated me like her own son, I loved that woman. The unfortunate thing is, I saw some racism at a young age, and remember my parents explaining it was wrong.
At the end of Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, the big revelation was that the two men who each were black on one side and white on the other.. had their colors on the opposite sides... I NEVER SAW IT...the absolute SHOCK to my little brain at this reveal has stuck with me to this day. The ignorance and stupidity of how someone looks, has anything to do with who a person is. A LONG comment, I apologize, but I have been a Star Trek fan for over 50 years now...this story has really stuck with me, I thought I would share it, that's the POWER of Star Trek.
All of the episodes you listed would be in my top 10, too
Always brings a smile when I see one on your videos pop up always love hearing your opinions on Trek.
I'll often throw on "A Taste of Armageddon" when I just want some background noise. It does a nice job of showing how the banality of evil can fester and Kirk's speech at the end is just so damn satisfying. Scotty and Fox butting heads back on the Enterprise is also fun to watch.
I'd personally put "By Any Other Name" and "City on the Edge of Forever" on my list, but yours is a solid one as well. We all like what we like...
I love Scotty sticking it to Fox who honestly seems way too naive to be a diplomat.
I agree, a taste of Armageddon is highly rewatchable..
I have always placed a high value on “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”. The concept of showing the destructive power and senselessness of racism is on full display in this story. When the two find out that Charon has been destroyed because of the stupid war and they still can’t give it up always felt like a real gut punch and a fitting way to end the story. Watching Star Trek as a kid, it was this episode that really drove home how dumb racism really is.
Best for the self destruct sequence.
The message "racism is bad" is ridiculously smashed over the head of the viewers. I doubt very much that if Roddenberry were still in charge this episode would have ever been filmed.
One episode I love that rarely appears on top episode lists is "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield." I know some people think it's too on-the-nose, it was clearly made on the cheap with the 'invisible' alien ships, but the reveal at the end blew my mind when I saw it as a kid in the pre-internet age. When you know what's coming it can be a bit meh, but when you don't.. wow.
Also in a totally unrelated observation, the wedding speech Kirk gives at the beginning of "Balance of Terror" was lifted basically verbatim for the last Orville episode "Future Unknown".
I agree with the ending. It was haunting when I first saw it as a teenager
And the ENTIRE episode was lifted for the season end of Strange New Worlds. Cringe!
Wow, my man, no Trouble With Tribbles? No Devil In The Dark? No City on the Edge of Forever even? Bold choices. However, Doomsday Machine at number 1 I cannot disagree with.
Love it Rowan! You've got a lot of very good picks! I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the other new top 10 episode lists for the other Star Trek shows will be like now!
And since Rowan asked, I'd go for:
1.Balance Of Terror
2.Doomsday Machine
3.City On The Edge Of Forever
4.Mirror, Mirror
5.Arena
6.Court Martial
7.Tomorrow Is Yesterday
8.Trouble With Tribbles
9.A Piece Of The Action
10.The Devil In The Dark
Man, it was harder coming up with this list than I thought. There are so many outstanding episodes to choose from.
Great list, i too would have put Mirror, Mirror, Trouble With Tribbles and Tomorrow is Yesterday on there. But it's incredibly difficult because i also agree with Rowan's list completely. I'd probably have to cheat and add a bunch of honorable mentions lol
Thank you! Devil in the Dark definitely deserves a slot.
Tomorrow is Yesterday is one of my favorites too.
William Windom, Ricardo Montalban and Gary Lockwood. Made Star Trek vastly more watchable with each adding to the shows legitimacy due to their past acting careers.
Many people don't realize that Lockwood played Frank Poole in "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Killed by his best friend on an alien planet ins Star Trek; murdered by his ship's computer in 2001...Perhaps "spaceman" wasn't a good career choice for our boy Gary.
My personal list would be something like this:
1) The City on the Edge of Forever
2) Balance of Terror
3)The Devil in the Dark
4) Errand of Mercy
5) The Cloud Minders
6) Journey to Babel
7) Day of the Dove
8) Space Seed
9) The Corbomite Maneuver
10) A Taste of Armageddon
Would have swapped out cloud minders for doomsday machine.
@@nunyabizness6595 Cloud Minders is one of those perennial favorites of mine that hardly ever makes it onto anyone else's list - but I love it's use of the Plato's Cave allegory to a "subversive" end.
Doomsday Machine is definitely a serious contender - I need to rewatch it soon :)
Actually, so many excellent episodes. Great themes. Wouldn't it have been nice to have a full five years of TOS?
You'd be hard pressed to find an episode of Star Trek I didn't like in *some* way, though there are certainly some episodes that are worse than others and since there are SO MANY episodes to choose from, it's vanishingly unlikely that two fans will have a similar Top Ten list...
... that said, I wasn't expecting to disagree with your rankings as completely as I do!
It's nice to hear other people talking so passionately about episodes that I didn't personally rank too high.
When it comes to opinions on art, there are no objective answers and there are no wrong answers.
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who ranks The Doomsday Machine at number one.
Great video. Rowan, you have an amazing voice that seems made for voiceover work.
It's surprising to hear that Spectre Of The Gun is not more widely liked by fans, I always found the premise rather fun and clever!
Look up "The Virginian" with Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley in some episodes. They're very familiar with that era.
Kelley played a cowboy on film before Trek.
I just love studying Shatner's 'lace' toupee in the 'OK Coral' episode. The way it holds up in all the wind is remarkable!
You can really see the benefits of having an expensive custom 'hair system' paid for by the production, compared to what these guys would sometimes be forced to wear in their private lives then they were paying the bill...
I read in some behind the scenes documentaries that memos had been sent out regarding how many of the 'hair pieces' for various cast members always 'went missing' at the end of seasons and needed to be found or replaced, at significant expense ;)
And not JUST the men! I think Nichelle might have occasionally borrowed some extensions
For a cool point of interest, look up the TV series, "The Virginian." You'll see Shatner, Kelley and Nimoy all played parts on occasional episodes. One in particular, had Nimoy and Kelley are together in one episode. Even Ricardo Montalban was in two episodes of the series. One added bonus, Harrison Ford played a bad guy with John Saxon in one episode.
Has his tupe ever shown up on Ebay ? Would bring a pretty penny.
My favorite Star Trek episode is;The doomsday machine,what are little girl’s made of(like the poem that we grew up with).Little girls are made of;sugar and spice,and everything nice,that’s what little girl’s are made of.The deadly year’s🎭🚀🛸is another episode that I enjoy,because,it give’s Star ⭐️ Trek a;human side to the story!
@@Max-qi3hg LOL. Yes. Shatner was wearing a toupee even in the VERY FIRST season of the Star Trek TV show... The studio would pay for very high quality 'LACE' toupees' that were able to emulate an extremely natural looking hairline. You can tell the difference in his 'hair quality' when the show ended and he had to buy his own 'appliances', which is when he adopted the less fragile 'curly hair' look.
And same thing with Sean Connery, who wore a 'wig' in EVERY James Bond movie, going all the way back to Doctor No.
It was a bit sad learning that two of my biggest male role models while growing up were actually wearing a piece. lol.
@@Max-qi3hg Then you know how quality can vary DRAMATICALLY! lol
The 'lace' systems can emulate a 'natural' hairline with individual folicles. Compared to a more traditional 'wig', that tends to hide the actual hairline with curls or bangs.
And I believe many of the guys on Trek were actually wearing some sort of appliance. Like Walter Koenig (Chekov), and James Doohan (Scotty). Although I'm not certain if Koenig had a bad wig, or just a bad comb over :).
Funny thing is that Leonard Nimoy who had arguably the worst haircut, might also have been the only guy with all of his own hair! lol
But yeah, there are photos of Shatner acting in plays prior to Star Trek where he already had visible bald spots.
Not that it's a problem, just surprising that two famous symbols of masculinity (Kirk & Bond) both wore wigs!
The backround music alone makes your vids great! Thx again for giving me the source of the music! Awesome vid as usual!
Have to say these are top notch picks. Many of these are the episodes that made me fall in love with Star Trek and perhaps with scifi in general!
I agree about Doomsday Machine, a perfect episode from all angles. A personal favourite is Who Mourns for Adonais, due to its clear Roddenberry secular themes. Of course Squire of Gothos is much admired, but I don't buy that spin that Trelane was Q. I think leaving out Errand of Mercy was a mistake. Great episode, opening up a bigger reality than our own limited self importance. If anything the powerful beings posing as people in that episode are like Q, maybe a hive of Q living peacefully away from the Continuum and its troubles. Odd you left out City on the Edge of Forever, generally regarded as the most emotional of the original series. Balance of Terror is a gem. It's great that ST SNW picked up on it recently and really well too. And without Space Seed, there would have no Khan, Wrath of Khan and so on. These are my favourites.
You should substitute City on the Edge of Forever for This Side of Paradise.
I can't believe "Mirror, Mirror" isn't on this list. That's a pretty huge oversight.
No room for "City on the Edge of Forever"?
Bold choice... 😀
Here are my top ten favorite episodes of Star Trek: TOS
1. Mirror, Mirror (Season 2, Ep. 4)
2. The Doomsday Machine (Season 2, Ep. 6)
3. The Naked Time (Season 1, Ep. 4)
4. The City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1, Ep. 28)
5. All Our Yesterdays (Season 3, Ep. 23)
6. By Any Other Name (Season 2, Ep. 22)
7. The Enterprise Incident (Season 3, Ep. 2)
8. The Man Trap (Season 1, Ep. 1)
9. What Are Little Girls Made Of (Season 1, Ep. 7)
10. The Devil in the Dark (Season 1, Ep. 25)
Here are my top worst five episodes of Star Trek: TOS
My top five worst episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series
1. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
2. The Alternative Factor
3. Miri
4. The Ultimate Computer
5. The Spectre of the Gun
Here are my top favorite six babes of Star Trek: TOS
1. Lieutenant Marlena Moreau (Barbara Luna) - Mirror, Mirror (Season 2, Episode 39)
2. Marta (Yvonne Craig) - Whom Gods Destroy (Season 3, Episode 71)
3. Edith Keeler (Joan Collin) - The City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1, Episode 28)
4. Dr. Helen Noel (Marianna Hill) - Dagger of the Mind (Season 1, Episode 11)
5. Andrea (Sherry Jackson) - What Are Little Girls Made Of (Season 1, Episode 10)
6. Zarabeth (Mariette Hartley) - All Our Yesterdays (Season 3, Episode 78)
I appreciate you including Spectre of a Gun on your list, always been one of my favorites that I don't think is discussed a lot
Great list Rowan- it's unlike anything we've encountered before.
PS: I binged on your Star Trek Retrospectives over the weekend (13 hours in one sitting I might add). Absolutely amazing work and thank you so much for putting them together.
Live long and prosper 🖖
Glad you included Spectre of the Gun. My number one.
The bits and pieces of Tombstone and orange lighting establishes that the landing party is experiencing one of Kirk's memories.
And I love Taos Lightning almost as much as Scotty does.
I am absolutely shocked to find other Star Trek fans who think Doomsday Machine is the best episode. I thought I was the only one. :)
Excellent presentation as always, Rowan.
Balance of terror is so good that it got remade/remixed in Stranger New Worlds 56 years after its original airing. Naval standoffs in space are sci-fi adventures mainstays, and this one is the OG stuff.
Interesting that City on the Edge of Forever didn’t make the list. Although I’m betting it would get an honorable mention. Good stuff! Thanks!!!
Your list is pretty much the same as mine, BUT---you knew it was coming lol---switch Balance of Terror and The Doomsday Machine, and throw Journey to Babel, The Menagerie, and City on the Edge of Forever in there somewhere and you've got my list.
Edit: Reading through the other comments, I realize I forgot about Mirror, Mirror and The Enterprise Incident---this is harder than it looks lol.🤔🤨
I would put "The Conscience of the King" somewhere on my list. When I was younger I didn't think much of it, but in recent-ish rewatch I was surprised by just how damn good it was.
I llove Conscience too, and I think the reason I love it is why a lot of people hate it. It really shows Kirk in a perspective that doesn't match the pop culture stereotype of him. He's 1) A holocaust survivor and 2) he can be a manipulative bastard if he needs to be. He doesn't seduce the girl because he can't keep it in his pants; he's manipulating her in order to draw out her father.
Spectre of the Gun is fantastic! Always gave me really cool Matrix vibes, with the mind over matter finale
Thanks! Appreciate your ST and BSG videos.
They are very well done!
So, we're just pretending City on the Edge of Forever doesn't exist now?
Fun fact: Here in Germany they made a mistake in translating the Titel of the Galileo 7 Episode. It was called "Crashlanding on planet Galileo 7"
lol.
I think i remember that Harlan Ellison took Oliver Crawford to task for Galileo 7 for basically recycling the movie Flight of the Phoenix. Never saw that movie. Sorry, sir. Galileo 7 is a great episode.
Great video! I'll include my top 10 favorites here as well.
10. Assignment: Earth
9. The Enterprise Incident
8. Arena
7. Court Martial
6. The Trouble With Tribbles
5. Where No Man Has Gone Before
4. Space Seed
3. Amok Time
2. The Doomsday Machine
1. The City on the Edge of Forever
Dude I am so glad you showed some love for The Galileo Seven. It is my favorite episode of the whole series, and extremely underrated. The Doomsday Machine has also gotta be my 2nd favorite, great list you made🖖🏻
Doomsday Machine is my favourite. "Scotty, you've just earned your pay for the week." I also love The Omegs Glory.
10. The Galileo Seven
9. Obsession
8. The Doomsday Machine
7. The Trouble With Tribbles
6. Space Seed
5. The Immunity Syndrome
4. The Devil In The Dark
3. Arena
2. The Man Trap
1. A Private Little War
Definately would have replaced Spectre and Tholian with either City and Corbomite or Mirror Mirror. The tragedy is the third season is almost unrecognizable from season 1.😂😂😂
Doomsday Machine is PERFECTLY slotted at #1 Rowan. And I LOVE This Side of Paradise as well. I can remember as a kid getting into Star Trek in the mid 70's via syndication. I didn't quite understand the whole "stunt double" idea. So when Kirk is CLEARLY swapped out for a stuntman after angering Spock in the transporter room to break the spell of the flower, I thought I was losing my mind upon the first viewing. Glad you included that bit of hilarity in the edit.
Great rundown of some of the best TOS episodes!
I agree, The Doomsday Machine is one of classic Trek's best episodes. William Windom's performance really captured the tragic escence of a competent and capable commander truly broken by the loss of his crew and his self-perceived failure of leadership. I consider it one of his all-time best performances!
"Where No Man has Gone Before" is indeed a great showcase of Kirk's rapport with Gary Mitchell, and really reveals the greater depths of Shatner's acting abilities. It carries with it a deep sadness of a friendship destroyed by the exigencies of command, and circumstances unforseen and unexpected.
Nicely done sir! 👍
Another great episode. Thanks for the entertainment.
‘City on the Edge of Forever,’ ‘Mirror, Mirror,’ and ‘Doomsday Machine’ are my favorites, by far-I find myself watching them again and again. I was shocked but pleased you had ‘Doomsday…’ no. 1, as almost no one does that. The stories behind the two you didn’t choose are just so strong. If you haven’t seen the UA-cam video where the composer of ‘Doomsday…’ goes through how he scored that episode, you really need to see it-it’s remarkable. Thanks for putting up your list!
My favorite is “Mirror, Mirror” due to the constant jeopardy experienced by the away team. And while we get to see, if only briefly, what a tyrannical murderous Kirk looks like, it is Spock’s coldly logical counterpart who steals the show. A great episode.
" Charlie X" was Good, But my Favorite episode was the Dual Realities episode, With Evil Spock and Evil Chekhov Trying to Kill Who he thought was Evil Kirk!! Evil Spock Grew Quite Suspicious of Kirk's Perceived " Lack of instant Vengeance upon Chekhov's Failed attempt to move up in rank by Killing Kirk.
Loved "Charlie X" for the interaction of Spock and Uhura, particularly her beautiful ad-libbed singing about Spock and the sadly cut short singing about Charlie.
@@texan-american200 Yes, sadly We lost The Lovely Nichelle Nichols this past week.🙏 My condolences to Her Family, Friends and many fans.
These 10 eps are my some of my most rewatched eps. Devil in the dark and city on the edge of forever are on my list also.
Thanks for sharing your list and as times passes it will change I AM SURE
For me, City on the edge of forever HAS to be in the top ten.
“He knows, Doctor. He knows.” And then the mournful, empty wind on the Guardian planet. Haunting and unforgettable every time I watch.
@@haysgoodman8068 that! Timeless indeed.
The City on the Edge of Forever is #1
Definitely agree on the 1 spot. Doomsday machine is also my favorite. Great Top 10.
I found myself very comfortable with your choices
The episodes utilizing the original style (clothes, big clunky phasers) may of been first time a series had this sense of history
The most underrated episode of all time is (By Any Other Name) This episode has it all! Including hilarious moments and excellent crew teamwork.
I like Spectre of the Gun too. It's a lot of fun, and i like when Star Trek does weird stuff like that. I wouldn't mind more episodes like that in the future. Maybe in Strange New Worlds season two since it's easily the best of the current era Trek shows. The Squire of Gothos is an awesome episode too. I love the (is is extended universe or expanded universe?) story Q-Squared. Especially in the way it parallels Yesterday's Enterprise.
I'm not sure. SNW has a massive budget and less time to fill, Spectre was a product of having relatively little money and a lot of time to fill on a deadline. Those conditions can breed creativity.
"Spectre of the Gun" shows how sometimes they could make the reduced budget work in their favor. If they had just shot on a Western soundstage (as they originally planned), it wouldn't have been nearly as effective.
6:17 I share the sentiments. This was the first episode of the show I ever saw. I always loved seeing Scotty in command and thought he was much more capable than the rather taskmaster method Spock took when he was in the center seat. I also think that was the only time we saw the senior cast members in scenes together without Shatner or Nimoy around. They had great chemistry as well.
Great list, but seriously dude where is City on the Edge of Forever?
The effects of the Galileo 7 are hilarious, I’ve rarely laughed so hard.
These are all good to great episodes IMO and I don’t disagree with your various analyses of the eps but my rankings are obviously different. James Doohan said that The Doomsday Machine was his personal favorite, so it’s good to see how great minds think alike huh! What always bugged me about The Galileo Seven was the insistence that this away team mission was Spock’s “first command,” which is patently absurd as no one earns an advanced command rank without having been in command. It’s not a mortal injury to the story, but it seriously wounds it. I am greatly pleased to see Spectre of the Gun get your respect. It’s always been one of my favorites, and not just because I was born in Arizona. Looking forward to what you have in mind next.
Don’t necessarily agree with your choices (no Trouble with Tribbles, City on the Edge of Forever?) but enjoyed your take.
My Favorite Top 10 Episodes from The Original Series are
Number 10: The Tholian Web
Number 09: Amok Time
Number 08: The Corbomite Manuver
Number 07: Dagger Of The Mind
Number 06: The Ultimate Computer
Number 05: Balance Of Terror
Number 04: The Doomsday Machine
Number 03: Trouble With Tribbles
Number 02: The Enterprise Incident
Number 01: Mirror, Mirror
Our numbers 1, 3 and 5 are the same😋
Refreshing to see a somewhat unique list! Here’s my top 10:
10. Day of the Dove
9. Tomorrow is Yesterday
8. Balance of Terror
7. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
6. Mirror, Mirror
5. Where No Man Has Gone Before
4. Space Seed
3. Shore Leave
2. The Doomsday Machine
1. The Trouble with Tribbles
City on the Edge of Forever, Miri, Charlie X, The Corbomite Maneuver, and The Devil in the Dark.
Agree with your number one. Whenever I want to introduce a newbie to Star Trek, that's my go-to episode. I still tear up when Decker says, "Not any more."
Balance of Terror isn't quite as high, mainly because it's a copy of that submarine movie, even to putting a corpse of a friend into a torpedo tube and sending it out as a ruse. Nicely executed, and we get the first real villains in the Romulans. It would just be outside my top 10, if not just in it at 10.
🎉I agree except where is City on the Edge of Forever "?
Can't argue too much about the list, except for the inclusion of the seriously shallow offering of This Side of Paradise. Don't believe that one deserves to be near any top 10.
1. Balance of Terror
2. Amok Time
3. City on the Edge of Forever
4. Arena
5. Enterprise Incident
6. Friday's Child
7. Day of the Dove
8. Operation: Annihilate!
9. Doomsday Machine
10. A Private Little War
There are a few other strong ones I had a hard time keeping off the list (Corbomite, Babel, Errand). Of 79 episodes, I would call about 30 or so very good in some sense, depending on what you enjoy watching.
I really don't know how you left "City on the Edge of Forever" off this list
Great ranking. The dooms day machine and Balance of Terror on the top 3.. very nice
Shout out to Captain kirk.And beam me up Scotty♐️👍👍👍👍👍
Number 10: The Galileo Seven
Number 09: Amok Time
Number 08: The Corbomite Manuver
Number 07: Charlie X
Number 06: A Taste Of Armageddon
Number 05: Balance Of Terror
Number 04: The Changeling
Number 03: Space Seed
Number 02: The Doomsday Machine
Number 01: City of the Edge of Forever
Why does "Doomsday Machine" appear TWICE on your personal ranking?!
@@bonghunezhou5051 fixed
Finally, one list that has Doomsday Machine as number 1. My favorite episode just by City On The Edge Of Forever
My #1 is Journey to Babel
so many of course, but omitting 'city on the edge of forever' is bold!
This list is much better than your old, Top 10, list.
great list well done
I feel compelled to cast a vote for Journey to Babel. Excellent character and relationship development combined with action.
No love for The Ultimate Computer? You remember - the M5 Incident? Captain Dunsel?
William Marshall's portrayal as Dr. Richard Daystrom was amazing. His line... "Building on my work!" What a moment of drama.
Remember - back then the concept of The Terminator was just a splinter in our mind's eye, so to speak. The Ultimate Computer was what James Cameron surely leveraged for his own success.
Balance of Terror is my #1. A Taste of Armageddon #2. The Ultimate Computer #3. But really, any of them could be #1.
It is always difficult to pick a Top-Ten for ST:ToS as there are so many well-written episodes. We need to remember that back then popular television required good writing to succeed because we simply did not have good CG yet.
Well Done RJ. Well done.
Couldn’t agree more re ultimate computer, surely the first ever exportation of AI out of control..
I love the look Sulu and Chekov exchange when commodore Wesley hits Kirk with the captain dunsel burn!..
no City on Edge of Forever...my goodness man...
'A taste of Armageddon' is definitely one of my favorite Original Series episodes. The "War-and-Death-at-Arm's-Length" twist becomes more pertinent in modern day as they try to have drones take peacekeeping roles.
I don't agree with your whole list, but I agree 100% with your number 1 choice.
Doomsday machine is a complete masterpiece. Acting, score, writing...it's perfect.
Great video. Coincidentally, I just happened to watch your older video earlier today, so it was interesting to see the changes here. All the eps here are great, but I'm specifically glad that "A Taste of Armageddon" still made it in, because I quite like that episode and think it might be a bit underrated on the whole. To echo some other comments, my favourite ep is probably "The City on the Edge of Forever" not just for the great character work, but I am just a sucker for good time travel stories.