Star Trek: Every Two-Parter Ranked From WORST To BEST

21. Past Tense, Part I, Past Tense, Part II

The past of Past Tense has caught up with us. The Bell Riots were last year. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's third season two-parter was as much a bold allegory of homelessness in mid-'90s America as it was a projection towards the future should things continue along the same path.

That Past Tense, Parts I & II don’t feature higher on this list is because they are, at times, a little ham-fisted in their social commentary, most notably in the dialogue between the more historically savvy Sisko and the less well-apprised Bashir. Often, he states what we are meant to feel.

It was also always a bit of a cheat to return to 'great man' and 'big events' theory as the true impetus for social and historical change. In reality, only the tireless work at a grassroots level, not a singular occurrence stamped in time, will make the 21st century a safer place for all to live in across the globe. To think otherwise is to let oneself off the hook.