You are introducing someone to Trek for the first time -- which episode do you show them?

[Sakonna]

So I was talking TV with a friend recently, and my crazy Trek fan side came up for the first time. She told me she's never seen an episode of any of the shows. We watch TV together occasionally, next time she wants me to pick an ep to stream.

Which is a tough choice! Out of this vast universe of content, what's the ONE episode of Star Trek you pick as an introduction?

My mind goes right to TNG or DS9... TOS just feels too dated for a newbie in 2017, and I just don't know the VOY or ENT high points that well.

I find it hard to think of an episode that is both fantastic, and also works well as an introduction to the world. So many of the classics are distinguished by being twists on what Trek usually does (Inner Light, In the Pale Moonlight, Lower Decks, Far Beyond The Stars), so they don't make good introductory shows. Many others get their power from referencing past events (Yesterday's Enterprise, Best Of Both Worlds, Call To Arms, Trials And Tribble-ations, All Good Things, Way Of The Warrior), so if you don't know about the past events, they lose something essential.

Weirdly, I keep coming back to "Timescape" or "The Next Phase" -- I don't normally think of either as best-of-series eps, but they're both strong sci-fi-y premises, with exciting execution and fabulous character work.

Or if I go DS9 I keep wondering... "Duet"? "The Visitor"? "Rocks & Shoals"?

If you held a gun to my head right now, I think I'd say -- "The Next Phase." I think? It's a tough call!

So I was wondering how others would answer this question. Your friend wants you to introduce them to the Trek mythos with one episode, and you really want to hook them. Which episode do you choose?

 

[GNDN18]

I've shown "Balance of Terror" to good effect more than once. Its plot is basic: kill or be killed and the acting is cool and understated. The conflict between Stiles and … well, everybody allows the other characters to rally behind Spock while being obviously uncomfortable with his otherness. And the ending is just boffo and then a real gut punch.

 

[TheAdmiralty]

Not an episode, but I would say Wrath of Khan. For an episode, maybe Space Seed by extension? Arena is my favorite TOS episode, but the Gorn costume may turn some people off these days. The City on the Edge of Forever seems to go over well with non-fans too. Where No Man Has Gone Before could work.

 

[INACTIVEUSS Einstein]

I know you ain't looking for TOS, but I was thinking about this the other day, and I thought to myself that one episode covers what Star Trek is about more than any other:

"The Devil in the Dark"

People warned me not to actually show this episode, saying the alien looks bad, but it demonstrates where Star Trek differs from most sci-fi - the creature turns out to be the real victim, where in most sci-fi it would be an unambiguous enemy simply for looking different, and the Federation comes to peaceful terms with it. Reason is used - the creature isn't evil, just defending it's nest like any other life form - there is no inherent maliciousness in nature, no Dark Lords, just things that need food and shelter - hunger isn't a crime. Star Trek's enlightenment humanism, pure and simple.

 

[MacLeod]

Well in theory I would pick an episode that tells the type of stories they like. But for a few examples

TOS - "Balance of Terror"

It's basically ST equivlant of the old WWII films of the destroyer (The Enterprise) hunting an enemy sub (The Romulans)

TNG - "The Measure of a Man" or "The Best of Both Worlds"

TWo very different episodes I know

DSN - "Duet" or "The Way of the Warrior"

DSN is a little tricker due to it's more serialised format as some episodes whilst good you might have needed to see a weaker episode first to get the best out of the episode

VOY - "Timeless"

I could have picked "The Thaw" but that seems to be one of those episdoes that splits opinion.

ENT - I really wouldn't introduce some to the world of ST with this series

 

[cultcross]

An excellent question.

Although you're right that TOS is very retro as an introduction for audiences, The Devil in the Dark or The Corbomite Manoeuvre are excellent introductions to Star Trek in my eye. And I think it has dated much better than many contemporary rivals.

TNG has almost dated worse, I think - it's so stiff and pompous sometimes that audiences used to modern TV may be put off. It's got possibilities though - Darmok, Who Watches the Watchers, The Wounded, could all serve as standalone episodes with strong Star Trek roots. The Inner Light is pretty standalone, and fantastic, but perhaps I wouldn't start with a show that takes place almost entirely off ship.

DS9 is probably the closest to a modern show of all five series to date so I'd probably naturally look there for an introduction. The problem of course lies with the fact that DS9 is more reliant on background knowledge. However, Duet would be a great introduction, and The Way of the Warrior is explicitly written to introduce new viewers to the show.

Nothing from Voyager or ENT would be on my list to show first timers. Having said that, my experience is that those who aren't Trek fans tend to associate most with Voyager, bizarrely. I think it's standalone nature and lack of necessary backstory can be helpful to the casual viewer.

Overall, I think I would pick Duet. If I could persuade them to stay for one more, Darmok.

 

[DamarsKanar]

The first episode of TNG I was shown (I had already watched some episodes of TOS) was 'Darmok'. I found it VERY effective in luring me into the inventive, intelligent, conceptual storytelling that Star Trek cold provide. I was hooked from that episode so I would probably show that to someone else.

Other ideas...DS9 definitely feels the least dated of any of them, so it would appeal to a modern uninitiated viewer the most. But it also does rely on a lot of prior knowledge. Maybe an episode like The Visitor? I would also echo the recommendation for Duet. That was the episode that made me fall in love with DS9 like crazy, and I can't imagine even a newcomer not enjoying it - aliens and all, it's such a fantastic script/such great performances.

 

[Nyotarules]

'Turnabout Intruder' and 'Spock's brain' I would say to them, this is the worse it will get.

 

[USS Firefly]

I started with DS9 "way of the warrior" with two friends who then became DS9 fans.
With my wife I started with Q Who and BOBW. She was a Voyager fan, but after we watched DS9 together it became her favorite star trek show, we even used the theme remix at our wedding

 

[Qonundrum]

TOS = "Balance of Terror", "The Doomsday Machine". Maybe "Space Seed" after coaching a couple items.

TNG = "Contagion", "Q Who", "Evolution" (TNG's refining starts out immediately and strongly in season 3, though season 2 has a number of strong entries... by season 5, yeah, things get a bit too pompous and contrived in spots and I wasn't keen on that back in 1991 - depends on the episode...)

DS9 = "The Way of the Warrior", "The Visitor" (pretty much the first nine of season 4 in a row would go by with ease)

VOY = "Year of Hell", "Scorpion", or "The Void". I'd have to rewatch them to see which is best. Honorable mention for 'Hope and Fear" but it helps to have a couple other VOY eps seen first...

ENT = tried watching seasons 1 and 3, never got into it, might consider the season 4 mirror 2-parter after the other Trek series (Manny Coto came in too late, unfortunately, the show did improve)

 

[Qonundrum]

I know you ain't looking for TOS, but I was thinking about this the other day, and I thought to myself that one episode covers what Star Trek is about more than any other:

"The Devil in the Dark"

People warned me not to actually show this episode, saying the alien looks bad, but it demonstrates where Star Trek differs from most sci-fi - the creature turns out to be the real victim, where in most sci-fi it would be an unambiguous enemy simply for looking different, and the Federation comes to peaceful terms with it. Reason is used - the creature isn't evil, just defending it's nest like any other life form - there is no inherent maliciousness in nature, no Dark Lords, just things that need food and shelter - hunger isn't a crime. Star Trek's enlightenment humanism, pure and simple.

Great episode! Nothing wrong with the Horta appearance, either.

"The Man Trap" had a similar theme as well; the "monster" of the piece wasn't a monster but an intelligent being that acted out of base survival instinct. And didn't want to reveal its true self, thank Mr. Crater's paranoia feeding into that, but one would have thought he would have told the creature not to kill the Federation people that arrived in the first place. Which is unfortunate, had it be done so then the creature wouldn't have been killed at the end in wanting to attack everybody. I'd have to watch the episode again and I'm keen on doing so... will write a separate post on it...

 

[Trek Survivor]

Definitely something from TNG; start with the best :-)

 

[MacLeod]

Definitely something from TNG; start with the best :-)

Unfortunantly ST fans can't really even agree on which was the best show never mind the best episode(s)

 

[Paul Weaver]

'Turnabout Intruder' and 'Spock's brain' I would say to them, this is the worse it will get.

Congratulations. I was going to push Threshold.


How about shades of grey - as. Clip show it means plenty of different episodes from the classic tng season 1 and 2....

Oh.



Remember that they don't know the characters. I'd go for Broken Bow to be honest, production values still hold up, has that "let's see what's out there" feeling too. Just skip the decontamination gel.

 

[Prax]

These are the Voyages. Tell her it's really good. Then afterwards you'll be able to find out if she's a good friend or not.

 

[Sgt_G]

"Spock's Brain". And then tell them that no matter what else they see, everything else will be better.

 

[Trekfan12]

Doomsday Machine, I like the edge of your seat action in this ep.

 

[Mojochi]

I think Darmok works well. Night Terrors or Disaster work well too. You don't want the franchise's best. You want the most approachable. The meat & potatoes of the series

 

[Sakonna]

I think Darmok works well. Night Terrors or Disaster work well too. You don't want the franchise's best. You want the most approachable. The meat & potatoes of the series

Totally! That is sort of what I was thinking also. Along those lines I was also wondering about "Civil Defense" on DS9.

I wonder if anyone thinks "Improbable Cause"/"The Die Is Cast" would make a good intro? I feel maybe with three sentences of setup before it starts. The writing in that one is just so sharp.

It's hard to pick a sub-genre that I think would be particularly suited for my friend -- she has really diverse taste. She's recently had her first kid so I thought the parent/child story of "The Visitor" could resonate well with that. But I once showed "The Visitor" to someone as like their 5th Trek episode and they couldn't handle it -- without the understanding of what basic show format it would have to revert back to at the end, it was almost too tragic for them to take.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far! I am loving them.

Also

Doomsday Machine, I like the edge of your seat action in this ep.

Shameful admission: I've seen most TOS, but I think I've somehow always missed this one. Obviously I need to put that on my own personal to-watch list...

 

[Balok's Decoy]

Honestly, when I first tried getting my sister into TOS (she's a VOY diehard) I showed her Journey to Babel. It's fun, it's colorful, it's got a great supporting cast, cool story, and action that still holds up. It is TOS though, so depending on your friends sensibilities its merits may be for naught.

I agree with others that The Way of the Warrior is an excellent introduction. This is what I would choose if someone wanted to get into Trek but was resistant to older styles. If they were curious about TNG, I'd also want to show them Darmok.