Glad The Devil In The Dark is getting so much love in the comments. It was the episode that got me into Trek. Growing up, I was a Star Wars guy. My mom was into Trek but I thought it was boring cause I was a kid. But when I was 16 I was on a plane and I tried to watch TV to kill time. I saw Trek was on and for lack of anything else I watched. It was Devil In The Dark and I got way into it. Once the plane landed, I sought out as much Trek as possible. Twelve years later and I'm a fully vetted Trekkie, every episode, every film and a huge library of the novels and comics.
Kirk buried in Tribbles, and McCoy comes running in, “Jim! Jim! I found out how to make ‘em stop reproducing. All we gotta do is stop feeding them.” “Now he tells me,” says Kirk. My favorite part!
It should be noted that 2 episodes won the Hugo award (sci-fi's equivalent of the Oscars & Emmys) for best dramatic presentation, "The Menagerie" in 1966 & "The City on the Edge of Forever" in 1967. Incidentally, "City" beat out another episode ("The Trouble with Tribbles") for 1967. By only 6 votes.
My all-time favorite episode is The Man Trap ...it was truly eerie, the kind of 60s sci fi that gave us nightmares. A creature capable of being anyone, feeding on the Enterprise crew... This should’ve been on the list
The Doomsday Machine. Norman Spinrad's script, Sol Kaplan's tone setting musical score, director Marc Daniels creative use of sets and camera angles, and William Windom's heartrending portrayal of a Star Fleet officer totally broken by the loss of his ship and crew were perfectly woven together to create an outstanding story. With the addition of modern CGI in the special effects, the visuals really pop.
On the "City at the Edge of Forever", after Kirk loses Ruby Keeler to an auto accident and they go back to the future where everything is as it should be, Kirk's last line was "Let's get the hell outta here". Don't remotely remember any other "purple" language ever uttered on TOS, but I think this line was needed to exemplify Kirks feeling toward Keeler's loss and the decision he made knowing it would happen. It impacted Kirk deeply.
I believe Kirk uttered, "What the hell is going on?", as he witnessed Commodore Decker use the Enterprise to attack the alien machine on the "Doomsday Machine" episode. That's the only other time I remember Kirk "cussin' "on the series.🤔
I always liked The Enterprise Incident as it shows a more dynamic side of Spock. I also love any episode that highlights the friendship and camaraderie between Spock and McCoy. All Our Yesterdays comes to mind as one of my favorite Spock/McCoy episodes.
My favorite episode was far and away The Doomsday Machine. The pre-Jaws musical score, excellent acting by everyone, and the special effects explosion at the end. A lot of good factors there.
Good choices - one of my favourites though is the Kirk pilot, 'Where no man has gone before'. The idea of people becoming 'gods', but losing their humanity & Kirk having to kill his former friend is entertaining & powerful.
@@kevinkingmaker7395I also like "The Empath", for that very same reason, plus I like the acting of the actress playing Gem. She did a wonderful job, without speaking a word.
The Doomsday Machine is one of my favorites, but I also liked Errand Of Mercy, where this independent civilization is fought over by both the Federation and the Klingon Empire, then at the end of the episode, a powerful entity appears and tells Kirk and Spock and the Klingons that they’re not going to fight here anymore and are forced to leave. There are many parallels with the 20th century Cold War between the USA and the USSR in this episode.
The biggest problem with "Errand of Mercy" is the end of the episode. The Organian Peace Treaty was a massive failure. Not allowing the Federation and Klingon Empire to workout their war was a mistake. If you want a better analog for the Cold War between the USA and USSR, I would go with "The Omega Glory".
Twilight Trekkie I especially loved the scene where Spock outcools Commodore Decker. McCoy became a real hothead because he thought Spock wasn’t doing anything to stop Decker from acting recklessly and jeopardizing the Enterprise crew, but he was. That was the genius of Mr. Spock.
My favorite lines from "The Doomsday Machine ": once Kirk, Bones and Scotty find Commodore Decker, and he has explained that he beamed his entire crew down to the third planet, and Kirk says, "Matt, there's no third planet!", and Decker's heartbroken response: "Don't you think I know that? There was, but not anymore!", plus the rest of Decker's dialog after that, until Decker collapses, weeping. I also love Kirk's angry astonishment, watching what's happening to the Enterprise, from the ruined hulk of the Constellation, and his later talk with Decker, who has now taken command of the Enterprise, aggressively attacking the planet-killer, with nearly disastrous results: "So, you're the lunatic who's responsible for almost destroying my ship?"
A great top ten. I kind of knew my personal favorite “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” wouldn’t be on here, but it’s my favorite. It’s a classic example of how stupid racism is and my god, Frank Gorshin was able to out ham Shatner in acting!
I know that you can only have ten but there was also "The Galileo 7", "Journey To Babel", "Squire of Gothos", "Errand of Mercy" and "Assignment: Earth".
I would replace "Galileo 7" with "Day of the Dove" and "Errand of Mercy" with "Court Martial", otherwise, I agree. Of course "Gamesters of Triskelion" was a good one too. Not sure what the top ten would be, but the ones in this video would not be them.
I would love to see the episode from the shooting draft. Roddenberry has it severely rewritten in post production. That's why there are severe consistency errors in that episode with later romulan episodes. Also some choppy edits to cut off parts of the story that was dropped after the actors filmed it.
@@zingzangspillip1 Indeed better than most of the episodes of that underwhelming season, but the cloaking shield had already been used by the Romulans as long ago as Balance of Terror (recycled?!) ~
Top nods for favorite episode title: For the world is hollow, and I have touched the sky. Can't say much for the actual episode, but I always loved that title.
Not a great episode, but I do like it for Bones getting a rare love story cooked up for him. That bit at the beginning when they’re all fighting and the last thing he sees before he collapses is the woman he’s going to fall in love with is a typically deft piece of old-style Trek stylisation- wonderful.
A Piece of The Action: Radio announcer/DJ at the radio station when Spock and McCoy were trying to contact the Enterprise: "That was the Jailbreakers with their latest recording on "Request Time." Brought to you by Bang Bang--the makers of the sweetest little Automatic in the world." Nearly as funny as "Fizzbin" and Kirk the Taxi Driver🤣
Solid top 10! Some other personal favorites are The Tholian Web, Piece of the Action and All Our Yesterdays. I have to say Balance of Terror is probably my favorite, but it's not an easy choice.
My predictions, before watching, in no particular order. 1. Devil In The Dark 2. The Naked Time 3. Arena 4. Balance Of Terror 5. A Taste Of Armageddon 6. Mirror, Mirror 7. Space Seed 8. Amok Time 9. Trouble With Tribbles 10. The City On The Edge of Forever Really wanted to get, A Piece Of The Action and Mudd's Women in there as two of the better silly episodes, but couldn't justify it. EDIT: 7/10. Not bad.
Kougaji Sciacallo OMG - great catch - I didn’t notice Sisko the 1st time I watched but I saw your comment and had to watch again😜 My favorite part of that episode was when they questioned Worf about the look of the Klingons and he said ‘it’s a long story’ etc😀
The Doomsday Machine has always been my favorite with Mirror, Mirror being a close second. I'm a fanatic though so I love them all. Yes, even the silly ones.
Space Seed's getting wayyyyy more credit in this list than it deserves just because it's the precursor to Wrath of Khan, the third best Star Trek film.
@@markreeter6227 One IMDB reviewer awhile back convinced me, the BEST part of "Space Seed" was the ending, where Kirk offers Khan a chance to do what he set out to do-- build a world. From that POV... "Wrath of Khan" THREW AWAY the potential of what could have been a magnificent sequel we never got to see, for the sake of a violent revenge story.
10. The Deadly Years 9. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield 8. The Corbomite Maneuver 7. Space Seed 6. Mirror, Mirror 5. Amok Time 4. The Trouble With Tribbles 3. Balance of Terror 2. The Doomsday Machine 1. City On the Edge of Forever Honorable mention: I really like "A Taste of Armageddon"
Good list, although there will always be differences of opinion. "City on the Edge of Forever", is emphatically the best. After all, it was written by the great Harlen Ellison.
There are more great episodes than good episodes and there are really only 2 or 3 bad ones. The worst was the one with Space Hippies, good lord wtf were they thinking?
The Doomsday Machine is one of my most favorite episodes. One of the reasons for that, which you didn't mention, is it is the only episode where a security officer actually lasts more than one or two punches!
My top twenty favorite episodes of Star Trek The Original Series 1. Mirror, Mirror 2. The Doomsday Machine 3. The Naked Time 4. The City on the Edge of Forever 5. All Our Yesterdays 6. By Any Other Name 7. The Enterprise Incident 8. The Man Trap 9. What Are Little Girls Made Of 10. The Devil in the Dark 11. This Side of Paradise 12. The Trouble with Tribbles 13. Day of the Dove 14. Where No Man Has Gone Before 15. The Tholian Web 16. Space Seed 17. Whom Gods Destroy 18. Dagger of the Mind 19. Friday's Child 20. The Gamesters of Triskelion 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. Spectre of the Gun
While I do enjoy all of those on the list, as a kid I enjoyed The Squire of Gothos. In my adult years I find Requiem for Methuselah and This Side of Paradise very good as well in terms of story and concept.
So glad you ended by mentioning our obligation to make the world a better place! Sometimes I think we forget that Star Trek's idealism is what sets it apart from so many bang-bang science fiction shows.
I was 11 when Star Trek premiered. I and my classmates always had something to talk about Friday morning after the Star Trek show on Thursday night. We drove our teachers crazy singing "I'll take you home again, Kathleen" from "The Naked Time" or being so upset about the ending of "The City on the Edge of Forever" or going over the exciting and tension-filled scenes of "Balance of Terror." In short, Star Trek that first season, especially, blew us away. Unfortunately, if you weren't alive and old enough to understand what was going on in the mid-late 1960s, I'm not sure you can really appreciate TOS for the impact it had on its earliest viewers.
That is true. We make fun of the Star Trek FX now, but back then they we great compared to Lost In Space or other SciFi of the time. And the episodes were varied or a range of topics. People complain about the episodic nature of the original Trek, but that was the way of the Television industry of the day.
"Day of the Dove"show's the power of the Klingons as true warriors. Being able to be peaceful even jovial to defeat there enemy. Not just stand-in mindless adversaries
Requiem for Methuselah, A Piece of the Action, and Balance of Terror were some of my favorite episodes from TOS though in Balance of Terror the Enterprise went into Romulan space because of a computer error and Kirk believed the Romulan commander had crossed into Federation space and confronted him.
@@Dantes74302 Fans today are impossible to please. Unless you get solid gold, you pretend it's the worst thing you've ever seen. Discovery and Picard are decent shows, nothing amazing but certainly not the worst stuff Star Trek has produced. I swear, if fans today had this same mindset, TNG would be considered a disgrace upon the franchise and would've never gotten past two seasons. Same with Star Wars. The Disney movies average out to be pretty good (certainly better than the prequels and on balance WAY better than the EU which is 90% garbage) and y'all cry and moan that they ruined the franchise.
It is a great episode, but the ending is sad and I can't rank it as my favorite for that reason. Doomsday Machine from start to finish is my favorite episode.
To me 1# will always be Balance of Terror( but that is me) and neil5978 The Devil In The Dark is one of the best Trek esp. But everyone knows THE GREAT ESP. EVER IS.... SPOCK'S BRAIN. The greatest line in TV ever is... (Kara) BRAIN & BRAIN...WHAT IS BRAIN!!!
I agree with 8 of your picks being in or near the top 10. I disagree with Amok Time and Space Seed. I would add Patterns of Force, A Piece of the Action, Errand of Mercy, The Return of the Archons & Shore Leave. I know that adds up to more than 10, but with Star Trek, it's hard to pick the 10 best.
I agree that the ten chosen are great episodes, I think the episodes like Devil in the Dark, Operation Annihilate, Patter of Force, The Enterprise Incident and lets not forget Spectre of the Gun. There was so many and few real bad NOT LIKE Discovery LOL
they werent pirates in that alternate dimension. its just that the federation had become an authoritarian and brutal regime based on assassinations and cruel actions.
Good point. The "mirror" Enterprise is referred to as the I.S.S. Enterprise, which I have always presumed to mean "Imperial Starship", which would make the Federation more like the Klingon Empire.
One thing that always bothered me about this episode When the landing party is on the planet in the trek universe the people are peaceful and non violent, so when they transport to the alternate dimension shouldn't the people on the planet been cruel and brutal to?
I love these discussions and rankings, pointless as they ultimately are. All the episodes were great in their own way... well, with a couple of notable exceptions. On my list, I had 7 of the 10 listed in the video, but I had "Journey to Babel", "Errand of Mercy", and "The Menagerie" in place of "Enemy Within", "Arena", and "Balance of Terror". I will concede my error with regard to "Balance of Terror". It was really high class television, a brilliant story, brilliantly acted. I'll sub it in for "Journey to Babel", even though "J to B" introduced us to: Spock's parents, the Tellarites, the Andorians, and the Orions. But "B of T" really was the superior episode, I have to admit. I think I'm going to have to stand firm on "Errand of Mercy" and "The Menagerie", though. "E of M" and "Arena" had a lot in common-- a bitter conflict between Starfleet and a brutal enemy cut short by the intervention of an advanced race. But I think the message of "E of M" is superior, in that Kirk had to confront his own contribution to the tendency of humanoids to opt for war as the only solution to seemingly irreconcilable differences. It's a powerful moment when the Organians force him to confront his own enthusiasm for war when he has always believed himself to be a reasonable proponent of peace. Plus, we have the prediction of friendship between the Klingons and the Federation that shaped much of The Next Generation. And I think "The Menagerie" stands a bit above "Arena" and "The Enemy Within" because of the very clever use they made of the footage from the rejected pilot. And it poses some real puzzlers-- i.e. At exactly what point was the real Commodore Mendez substituted for the Talosian illusion? Think about it. And "The Enemy Within" is spoiled a bit for me due to the gaping hole in the plot-- if the transporters aren't working, why not go pick Sulu and the guys up in a shuttlecraft? I know, of course, that the real reason they didn't do that is because "The Enemy Within" was just the 5th episode produced, and they hadn't built the Shuttlecraft or the shuttle deck miniature interior at that point. But couldn't they have beamed down a bunch of stuff that wouldn't have been too badly affected by the transporter malfunction? Like a bunch of fluffy warm blankets and some gloves and parkas? And just because one transporter was shorted out by that yellow ore that got dribbled on the pad, did it really affect every transporter on the ship? So, with the substitution of Balance of Terror for Journey to Babel, I've got my 10.
Star Trek: TOS remains the best and the original crew movies are really the only Trek worth watching. A classic entertaining space western show, basically the wild west in space. Forget the TNG era,
The fact that City is generally acclaimed to be the best episode and yet most of it doesn’t take place in space tells you a lot about the series. It’s not about the sci fi, it’s about the characters.
On The Big Bang Theory, Dr Lorvis is telling the guys that he is "Doctor to the stars urinary tracts". After surgery on Shatner, he was gifted "either a Tribble or a toupee. Either way, it's pretty cool".
Glad The Devil In The Dark is getting so much love in the comments. It was the episode that got me into Trek.
Growing up, I was a Star Wars guy. My mom was into Trek but I thought it was boring cause I was a kid. But when I was 16 I was on a plane and I tried to watch TV to kill time. I saw Trek was on and for lack of anything else I watched. It was Devil In The Dark and I got way into it. Once the plane landed, I sought out as much Trek as possible. Twelve years later and I'm a fully vetted Trekkie, every episode, every film and a huge library of the novels and comics.
NO KILL I
Not the worst episode but not one of the best either, I mean, Bones healing the creature with cement was ridiculous.
Kirk buried in Tribbles, and McCoy comes running in, “Jim! Jim! I found out how to make ‘em stop reproducing. All we gotta do is stop feeding them.”
“Now he tells me,” says Kirk. My favorite part!
It should be noted that 2 episodes won the Hugo award (sci-fi's equivalent of the Oscars & Emmys) for best dramatic presentation, "The Menagerie" in 1966 & "The City on the Edge of Forever" in 1967. Incidentally, "City" beat out another episode ("The Trouble with Tribbles") for 1967. By only 6 votes.
My all-time favorite episode is The Man Trap ...it was truly eerie, the kind of 60s sci fi that gave us nightmares. A creature capable of being anyone, feeding on the Enterprise crew... This should’ve been on the list
The Man Trap is another great episode.
The Doomsday Machine. Norman Spinrad's script, Sol Kaplan's tone setting musical score, director Marc Daniels creative use of sets and camera angles, and William Windom's heartrending portrayal of a Star Fleet officer totally broken by the loss of his ship and crew were perfectly woven together to create an outstanding story. With the addition of modern CGI in the special effects, the visuals really pop.
Note: in " Space seed" Kirk breaks the glass on Khan's cryo chamber.
In TWOK , Kirk breaks glass to free Chekov while in the Genesis cave.
On the "City at the Edge of Forever", after Kirk loses Ruby Keeler to an auto accident and they go back to the future where everything is as it should be, Kirk's last line was "Let's get the hell outta here". Don't remotely remember any other "purple" language ever uttered on TOS, but I think this line was needed to exemplify Kirks feeling toward Keeler's loss and the decision he made knowing it would happen. It impacted Kirk deeply.
It was Edith Keeler.
@@michaelgilks2065 Yeah, Ruby Keeler was a crappy tap dancer from the 1930s.
I believe Kirk uttered, "What the hell is going on?", as he witnessed Commodore Decker use the Enterprise to attack the alien machine on the "Doomsday Machine" episode. That's the only other time I remember Kirk "cussin' "on the series.🤔
@@elizabethjordan5755 , it was, " What the devil's going on."
@@johnshelton6434 I'm gonna have to turn up the volume when I watch that episode again....hmmm.🤔
I always liked The Enterprise Incident as it shows a more dynamic side of Spock. I also love any episode that highlights the friendship and camaraderie between Spock and McCoy. All Our Yesterdays comes to mind as one of my favorite Spock/McCoy episodes.
I’m ashamed I can’t remember the name of it,but the one with the space amoeba is a great example. “Doctor,you should have wished me luck.”
My favorite episode was far and away The Doomsday Machine. The pre-Jaws musical score, excellent acting by everyone, and the special effects explosion at the end. A lot of good factors there.
Can't believe The Devil In The Dark isn't on the list
Was gonna say the same thing. Afterall, its this episode that spawns Bones catchphrase of ' I'm a Doctor not a......"
That episode was my introduction to star trek.sitting on the sofa with my dad as a little boy,remember it vividly. Great call Neil
Devil in the Dark definitely deserved to replace Enemy Within on this list.
The corbomite manuver. is.the.only episode. Where Uhura wears a gold.uniform,
Another great episode. That creature wasn’t a monster. The mining company was encroaching on its territory, which is why it fought back.
Good choices - one of my favourites though is the Kirk pilot, 'Where no man has gone before'. The idea of people becoming 'gods', but losing their humanity & Kirk having to kill his former friend is entertaining & powerful.
Sad to not see Journey to Babel on this list.
The Empath, loved the character study of our trio and their single minded efforts to sacrifice for each other.
stinker
Cross between The Outer Limits.
Wow. You are definitely an outlier with that pick. Most rate the The Empath as one of the worst TOS episodes.
@@kevinkingmaker7395I also like "The Empath", for that very same reason, plus I like the acting of the actress playing Gem. She did a wonderful job, without speaking a word.
The Doomsday Machine is one of my favorites, but I also liked Errand Of Mercy, where this independent civilization is fought over by both the Federation and the Klingon Empire, then at the end of the episode, a powerful entity appears and tells Kirk and Spock and the Klingons that they’re not going to fight here anymore and are forced to leave. There are many parallels with the 20th century Cold War between the USA and the USSR in this episode.
The biggest problem with "Errand of Mercy" is the end of the episode. The Organian Peace Treaty was a massive failure. Not allowing the Federation and Klingon Empire to workout their war was a mistake. If you want a better analog for the Cold War between the USA and USSR, I would go with "The Omega Glory".
The Doomsday Machine is probably my favorite episode, I can’t even count how many times I’ve watched it lol
Twilight Trekkie I especially loved the scene where Spock outcools Commodore Decker. McCoy became a real hothead because he thought Spock wasn’t doing anything to stop Decker from acting recklessly and jeopardizing the Enterprise crew, but he was. That was the genius of Mr. Spock.
My favorite lines from "The Doomsday Machine ": once Kirk, Bones and Scotty find Commodore Decker, and he has explained that he beamed his entire crew down to the third planet, and Kirk says, "Matt, there's no third planet!", and Decker's heartbroken response: "Don't you think I know that? There was, but not anymore!", plus the rest of Decker's dialog after that, until Decker collapses, weeping.
I also love Kirk's angry astonishment, watching what's happening to the Enterprise, from the ruined hulk of the Constellation, and his later talk with Decker, who has now taken command of the Enterprise, aggressively attacking the planet-killer, with nearly disastrous results: "So, you're the lunatic who's responsible for almost destroying my ship?"
The devil in the dark was always one of my favorites . The Horta was really cool.
I would have to rank "The Menagerie" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" higher than a couple of the episodes on this list.
A great top ten. I kind of knew my personal favorite “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” wouldn’t be on here, but it’s my favorite. It’s a classic example of how stupid racism is and my god, Frank Gorshin was able to out ham Shatner in acting!
Look at their gentials in both half white and half black humans - they are biological human males!
To each his own. I consider that to be one of the worst / lamest episodes. Sorry
I know that you can only have ten but there was also "The Galileo 7", "Journey To Babel", "Squire of Gothos", "Errand of Mercy" and "Assignment: Earth".
I would replace "Galileo 7" with "Day of the Dove" and "Errand of Mercy" with "Court Martial", otherwise, I agree. Of course "Gamesters of Triskelion" was a good one too. Not sure what the top ten would be, but the ones in this video would not be them.
I bet it was a MUTHAF×CKA TO CREATE ALL THEM FURBALLS FOR THE PRODUCTION TEAM.
And THE SHANT..is a very very hilarious man.
"Errand of Mercy" is superb and belongs on this list, yes. "Galileo 7" could have deserved a spot were it not for the God awful "jokey" ending it had.
@@andrewaustin9536 "The Galileo 7" irritated me with that whiney Black dude on board, constantly pestering Spock at every turn. What a Karen!🙄
Who doesn't love Spock with a beard?
The very reason I sport a Van Dyke today.
I'm so glad that you made this channel. Keep the work up. Star Trek deserves some love and attention
Balance of Terror is hands down my favorite
I would love to see the episode from the shooting draft. Roddenberry has it severely rewritten in post production.
That's why there are severe consistency errors in that episode with later romulan episodes. Also some choppy edits to cut off parts of the story that was dropped after the actors filmed it.
My favourite will always be Requiem to Methuselah because of the final scene.
Tied with city on the edge
Good list overall, though A Piece of the Action is one of my favourites. The Menagerie could have been on the list too.
I love A Piece of the Action!
A Piece of the Action, while not very sci-fi, is probably the most charming episode of TOS just due to being fun.
I like the star-studded cast of that episode.
A piece of the action is my favorite episode. 🔫 It can either be a taxi or a hearse
Yeah, Piece of the Action should have been in this list or maybe #11 at worst.
What about the one where Spock and Kirk swerve the Romulan chick for their cloaking device?
I just watched that one last night. It's a good one.
The Enterprise Incident. It's one of the best of the third season.
@@zingzangspillip1 Indeed better than most of the episodes of that underwhelming season, but the cloaking shield had already been used by the Romulans as long ago as Balance of Terror (recycled?!) ~
The Enterprise Incident
I did - I put top number seven on my favorite list!
Top nods for favorite episode title: For the world is hollow, and I have touched the sky. Can't say much for the actual episode, but I always loved that title.
Not a great episode, but I do like it for Bones getting a rare love story cooked up for him. That bit at the beginning when they’re all fighting and the last thing he sees before he collapses is the woman he’s going to fall in love with is a typically deft piece of old-style Trek stylisation- wonderful.
Also a great post rock song.
"Who Mourns for Adonais" gets a vote from me. Michael Forest was brilliant.
As he was in the STC Episode sequel!
Pilgrim of Eternity
@@tomf3150 Indeed!
A Piece of The Action: Radio announcer/DJ at the radio station when Spock and McCoy were trying to contact the Enterprise:
"That was the Jailbreakers with their latest recording on "Request Time." Brought to you by Bang Bang--the makers of the sweetest little Automatic in the world."
Nearly as funny as "Fizzbin" and Kirk the Taxi Driver🤣
Solid top 10! Some other personal favorites are The Tholian Web, Piece of the Action and All Our Yesterdays. I have to say Balance of Terror is probably my favorite, but it's not an easy choice.
I want a good GIF of Adam walking in and doing his "blah blah blah" routine before walking back out. 🤣
My predictions, before watching, in no particular order.
1. Devil In The Dark
2. The Naked Time
3. Arena
4. Balance Of Terror
5. A Taste Of Armageddon
6. Mirror, Mirror
7. Space Seed
8. Amok Time
9. Trouble With Tribbles
10. The City On The Edge of Forever
Really wanted to get, A Piece Of The Action and Mudd's Women in there as two of the better silly episodes, but couldn't justify it.
EDIT: 7/10. Not bad.
I saw that cheeky Trials and Tribble-lations inclusion....
Kougaji Sciacallo OMG - great catch - I didn’t notice Sisko the 1st time I watched but I saw your comment and had to watch again😜
My favorite part of that episode was when they questioned Worf about the look of the Klingons and he said ‘it’s a long story’ etc😀
@@batgurrl It is one of my favorites...
Kougaji Sciacallo it was so superbly edited and it was humorous in the right places. A fine tribute to a lovable episode
It also used Moreau's scene from the end of 'Mirror, Mirror' for the Kirk/Sisko interaction.
TrekCulture didn’t know that. Thanks
Vulcans have terriblely strong emotions.
The Doomsday Machine has always been my favorite with Mirror, Mirror being a close second. I'm a fanatic though so I love them all. Yes, even the silly ones.
My favorite has always been Balance of Terror with the Corbomite Maneuver a close second.
Space Seed's getting wayyyyy more credit in this list than it deserves just because it's the precursor to Wrath of Khan, the third best Star Trek film.
Agreed - as a stand-alone TOS episode it wasn't that great. What was done later with the Kahn character was absolutely brilliant.
@@markreeter6227 One IMDB reviewer awhile back convinced me, the BEST part of "Space Seed" was the ending, where Kirk offers Khan a chance to do what he set out to do-- build a world. From that POV... "Wrath of Khan" THREW AWAY the potential of what could have been a magnificent sequel we never got to see, for the sake of a violent revenge story.
Cool video, but one error- it wasn’t a sub vs. battleship. It was a destroyer. They were in charge of sub hunting.
10. The Deadly Years
9. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
8. The Corbomite Maneuver
7. Space Seed
6. Mirror, Mirror
5. Amok Time
4. The Trouble With Tribbles
3. Balance of Terror
2. The Doomsday Machine
1. City On the Edge of Forever
Honorable mention: I really like "A Taste of Armageddon"
I always liked wolf in the fold myself, thought the acting was always really fun in that one
Good list, although there will always be differences of opinion. "City on the Edge of Forever", is emphatically the best. After all, it was written by the great Harlen Ellison.
After it was edited down. Ellison's original script was just awful.
"The Naked Time" "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
I Loved City on The Edge of Forever ? It had a real impact on me
Could you please do a top 10 best episodes for the other star trek shows i.e. tng, ds9, voyager, enterprise.
I expect no less.
"The Best of Both Worlds" (part 1 & 2) is #1 for TNG, IMHO.
“The Cage/The Menagerie” is my #1. Also, “The Devil In The Dark” was a very good episode.
There are more great episodes than good episodes and there are really only 2 or 3 bad ones. The worst was the one with Space Hippies, good lord wtf were they thinking?
I think Spock's Brain was worse.
Thought The Gallelio 7 might be in there, but still a great video, thanks!
You pretty much hit all the high points. I’d put space seed at number 1. But outside of that. Spot on.
A Piece of the Action has always been my favorite, alongside Trouble With Tribbles....
Agreed re: Piece of the Action, one of the best. Especially the Fizbin scene... can't beat that.
The Doomsday Machine is one of my most favorite episodes. One of the reasons for that, which you didn't mention, is it is the only episode where a security officer actually lasts more than one or two punches!
Hello! One of my favourites is The conscience of the King. Philosophy, horror and politics make it a compelling star trek ride.
Don't forget a mystery to be solved...
Maybe not the best but I really liked I, Mudd, The Conscience of the King and Devil in the Dark
Conscience of the King was great and Lt. Riley deserved more appearances. He could have become a great secondary character.
My top twenty favorite episodes of Star Trek The Original Series
1. Mirror, Mirror
2. The Doomsday Machine
3. The Naked Time
4. The City on the Edge of Forever
5. All Our Yesterdays
6. By Any Other Name
7. The Enterprise Incident
8. The Man Trap
9. What Are Little Girls Made Of
10. The Devil in the Dark
11. This Side of Paradise
12. The Trouble with Tribbles
13. Day of the Dove
14. Where No Man Has Gone Before
15. The Tholian Web
16. Space Seed
17. Whom Gods Destroy
18. Dagger of the Mind
19. Friday's Child
20. The Gamesters of Triskelion
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. Spectre of the Gun
No thumb up for my coment yet, and then you all are going to hell! Humans are the scourge of the universe!
My favorite was #1 on the list!!! Cheers! That video alien in "The Corbomite Maneuver" was total nightmare fuel for me as a kid.
The enemy within was the first time the Vulcan neck pinch was used.
While I do enjoy all of those on the list, as a kid I enjoyed The Squire of Gothos. In my adult years I find Requiem for Methuselah and This Side of Paradise very good as well in terms of story and concept.
I very much agree with your choices but how about The Corbomite Maneuver.
The Immunity Syndrome (2 x18) is my favorite episode from TOS
I LOVE the mirror universe in the original series as well as DS9, Enterprise, and Discovery. It maybe the best plot device in all of sci-fi.
The ultimate computer.
Amok Time at 9?! Them’s duelling words!
So glad you ended by mentioning our obligation to make the world a better place! Sometimes I think we forget that Star Trek's idealism is what sets it apart from so many bang-bang science fiction shows.
As a lifelong fan of TOS since knee-high to a married grasshopper, I heartfully agree with your presented list!
I've always hoped that someone would make a full length feature film of "Balance of Terror". Same result but really bloody Kirk's nose in it.
I was 11 when Star Trek premiered. I and my classmates always had something to talk about Friday morning after the Star Trek show on Thursday night. We drove our teachers crazy singing "I'll take you home again, Kathleen" from "The Naked Time" or being so upset about the ending of "The City on the Edge of Forever" or going over the exciting and tension-filled scenes of "Balance of Terror." In short, Star Trek that first season, especially, blew us away. Unfortunately, if you weren't alive and old enough to understand what was going on in the mid-late 1960s, I'm not sure you can really appreciate TOS for the impact it had on its earliest viewers.
That is true. We make fun of the Star Trek FX now, but back then they we great compared to Lost In Space or other SciFi of the time. And the episodes were varied or a range of topics. People complain about the episodic nature of the original Trek, but that was the way of the Television industry of the day.
I was 4 when TOS premiered. I'm pretty sure I had an early bedtime and was therefore not able to watch but I'm not sure.
I was able to watch in the early 70's when it went into syndication and it was shown locally on WROC channel 8.
"beam me out", "can't do it" "you know why"
Where's your com badge bro, may of helped you out a bit 😂
may have*
A piece of the action and Balance of Terror were my two favs. Mirror Mirror and the Mudd episodes are also fun.
Mirror Mirror is my stuff.
"Day of the Dove"show's the power of the Klingons as true warriors.
Being able to be peaceful even jovial to defeat there enemy. Not just stand-in mindless adversaries
Thank you. Someone else who likes "Day of the Dove."
Am I the only one who loves "the cage" ?
No you're not :)
@@TrekCulture The Cage was the first Star Trek movie and not a pilot episode for the series.
Problem with the original series, there were way more than 10 good episodes. How about a part 2?
I always liked "A Taste of Armageddon".
Requiem for Methuselah, A Piece of the Action, and Balance of Terror were some of my favorite episodes from TOS though in Balance of Terror the Enterprise went into Romulan space because of a computer error and Kirk believed the Romulan commander had crossed into Federation space and confronted him.
I think you are thinking of "The Enterprise Incident". Loved the Vulcan "Death Grip"
That was The Enterprise Incident. The computer error was a pretext for Kirk and Spock's undercover mission to steal the cloaking device.
" A Piece of the Action" and "Balance of Terror" are my favorite.
Underrated episodes that should be in Top 10: 'This Side of Paradise' and 'Is There in Truth No Beauty'
I hope if there had been a few honorable mentions that Miri would have been on it....
Miri kinda gave me the creeps 😰
It was creepy because it was the Halloween episode in the first season. It was a great episode though, much better than the second season’s Cat’s Paw!
Shore Leave, Miri, This Side of Paradise, seven more
the roman salute is the funniest part of the whole episode
Can we have a top ten worst from each series as well?
I would hope the Empath would be on the list, that episode just bugs me...
How would you pick the worst episodes of Picard and Discovery, they are all bad.
@@thejimg Charlie X always got on my nerves.
I don't think any TOS episode matches "Spock's Brain" for sheer badness. Some say that "Turnabout Intruder" is close, though.
@@Dantes74302 Fans today are impossible to please. Unless you get solid gold, you pretend it's the worst thing you've ever seen. Discovery and Picard are decent shows, nothing amazing but certainly not the worst stuff Star Trek has produced.
I swear, if fans today had this same mindset, TNG would be considered a disgrace upon the franchise and would've never gotten past two seasons.
Same with Star Wars. The Disney movies average out to be pretty good (certainly better than the prequels and on balance WAY better than the EU which is 90% garbage) and y'all cry and moan that they ruined the franchise.
Isn’t City on the Edge of Forever everyone’s favourite episode?
No,myself would rank it 3rd on the list. Miri and The Squire of Gothos would be my # 1 and 2.
I find it overhyped myself. It just boils down to another Kirk falls in love with a woman he ultimately can never be with.
It is a great episode, but the ending is sad and I can't rank it as my favorite for that reason. Doomsday Machine from start to finish is my favorite episode.
This is a great video! Thanks!
I am glad you included 2 of my faves in the top 10. I do not have a top 10 list but my favorite is Arena and my second is the Doomsday machine.
To complement Mirror Mirror, check out the Star trek Continues episode Fairest Of Them All.
Excellent List
Regarding the retrospect on the 'City at the Edge of Forever', no shout-out to the guest star of the episode, Joan Collins?
To me 1# will always be Balance of Terror( but that is me) and neil5978 The Devil In The Dark is one of the best Trek esp. But everyone knows THE GREAT ESP. EVER IS.... SPOCK'S BRAIN. The greatest line in TV ever is... (Kara) BRAIN & BRAIN...WHAT IS BRAIN!!!
I agree with 8 of your picks being in or near the top 10. I disagree with Amok Time and Space Seed. I would add Patterns of Force, A Piece of the Action, Errand of Mercy, The Return of the Archons & Shore Leave. I know that adds up to more than 10, but with Star Trek, it's hard to pick the 10 best.
I'm surprised A piece of the Action wasn't on this list. It is one of my favorites with laughs thought.
I agree that the ten chosen are great episodes, I think the episodes like Devil in the Dark, Operation Annihilate, Patter of Force, The Enterprise Incident and lets not forget Spectre of the Gun. There was so many and few real bad NOT LIKE Discovery LOL
The original version of Balok's ship was much more impressive than the newer one.
they werent pirates in that alternate dimension. its just that the federation had become an authoritarian and brutal regime based on assassinations and cruel actions.
Good point. The "mirror" Enterprise is referred to as the I.S.S. Enterprise, which I have always presumed to mean "Imperial Starship", which would make the Federation more like the Klingon Empire.
@@larrywt656 yeah and a much more fun way to play stellaris.
One thing that always bothered me about this episode When the landing party is on the planet in the trek universe the people are peaceful and non violent, so when they transport to the alternate dimension shouldn't the people on the planet been cruel and brutal to?
There was another time traveling series in the 60's, the short-lived Time Tunnel3
A Piece of the Action!!!
I love these discussions and rankings, pointless as they ultimately are. All the episodes were great in their own way... well, with a couple of notable exceptions. On my list, I had 7 of the 10 listed in the video, but I had "Journey to Babel", "Errand of Mercy", and "The Menagerie" in place of "Enemy Within", "Arena", and "Balance of Terror". I will concede my error with regard to "Balance of Terror". It was really high class television, a brilliant story, brilliantly acted. I'll sub it in for "Journey to Babel", even though "J to B" introduced us to: Spock's parents, the Tellarites, the Andorians, and the Orions. But "B of T" really was the superior episode, I have to admit.
I think I'm going to have to stand firm on "Errand of Mercy" and "The Menagerie", though. "E of M" and "Arena" had a lot in common-- a bitter conflict between Starfleet and a brutal enemy cut short by the intervention of an advanced race. But I think the message of "E of M" is superior, in that Kirk had to confront his own contribution to the tendency of humanoids to opt for war as the only solution to seemingly irreconcilable differences. It's a powerful moment when the Organians force him to confront his own enthusiasm for war when he has always believed himself to be a reasonable proponent of peace. Plus, we have the prediction of friendship between the Klingons and the Federation that shaped much of The Next Generation.
And I think "The Menagerie" stands a bit above "Arena" and "The Enemy Within" because of the very clever use they made of the footage from the rejected pilot. And it poses some real puzzlers-- i.e. At exactly what point was the real Commodore Mendez substituted for the Talosian illusion? Think about it. And "The Enemy Within" is spoiled a bit for me due to the gaping hole in the plot-- if the transporters aren't working, why not go pick Sulu and the guys up in a shuttlecraft? I know, of course, that the real reason they didn't do that is because "The Enemy Within" was just the 5th episode produced, and they hadn't built the Shuttlecraft or the shuttle deck miniature interior at that point. But couldn't they have beamed down a bunch of stuff that wouldn't have been too badly affected by the transporter malfunction? Like a bunch of fluffy warm blankets and some gloves and parkas? And just because one transporter was shorted out by that yellow ore that got dribbled on the pad, did it really affect every transporter on the ship?
So, with the substitution of Balance of Terror for Journey to Babel, I've got my 10.
Childhood favourite ........25yrs back .......best of space travel......series.....
I TOTALLY agree with this list 😊
Star Trek: TOS remains the best and the original crew movies are really the only Trek worth watching. A classic entertaining space western show, basically the wild west in space. Forget the TNG era,
They should do a silly video of the 10 best and worst episodes of Picard season 1.
The fact that City is generally acclaimed to be the best episode and yet most of it doesn’t take place in space tells you a lot about the series. It’s not about the sci fi, it’s about the characters.
when i first watched it it freaked me out but now I regard it as one of the best original series episodes
On The Big Bang Theory, Dr Lorvis is telling the guys that he is "Doctor to the stars urinary tracts". After surgery on Shatner, he was gifted "either a Tribble or a toupee. Either way, it's pretty cool".
Mirror mirror is my favorite
The original star trek series is still the best.👮♂️
"I'm a Doctor...Not a Bricklayer".....=))
Doomsday Machine is more like "Moby Dick" in space.