10 Most Horrifying Star Trek Moments
It may be a show about boldy going forward, but sometimes the smart move is to simply run away.
Star Trek has, for over fifty years, painted the future as a bright and upbeat place. While certain recent series have questioned some of that, the technological advances in the franchise have ensured that at least almost everyone will never know what hunger is. The same cannot be said of fear.
Star Trek has, from time to time, managed to scare the absolute pants off the viewers. It started early - some of the Original Series episodes have some truly dark moments, not least including Wolf in the Fold, Catspaw and Devil in the Dark.
When Star Trek commits to frightening the audience, it goes all in. The movies largely avoided horror, though there are some moments that stand out. The Next Generation managed to shock more than a few audience members who weren't expecting some of the violence on show, whereas Deep Space Nine laughed off the audiences' fears and ate them with breakfast.
In the spirit of Halloween, this list breaks down some of the most frightening and disturbing moments from the franchise, dotted throughout with just enough space to lull the audience into a false sense of security, before forcing them to remind themselves: It's only a television show, it's only a television show....
10. Spider-Barclay
Genesis is an episode that, on its own two feet, is perhaps not the best narrative of any episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, between Beast-Worf and Spider-Barclay, there are scenes of pure disgust on show - ready to have the audience crawling out of their skins by episode's end.
Barclay's T-Cell virus is horrific, causing the infected to revert to earlier stages of evolution in their species. For some, this is somewhat inconvenient - Nurse Ogawa reverts to an earlier ape creature, though her unborn baby is the key to helping the crew. Troi reverts to an amphibious creature, while Riker doesn't change at all.
Sigh. Cheap shot, but here we are.
Worf, with his Klingon DNA being the gift that keeps on giving, reverts to a demonic creature that sprays acid and hunts people to consume them. Barclay's de-evolution is perhaps the most bizare.
Someone along Barclay's line must have gotten too close to a spider, as he reverts to a creature resembling a contaminated half-breed of human and arachnid. When Barclay slams against the glass in Engineering - Captain Picard was not the only one who screamed, that is for sure.