12 Streaming Era Star Trek Episodes We're Adding To 'The Classics'
These are the recent episodes of Star Trek that must join the leaderboard of classic stories.
If there is one thing that Star Trek has given us since 2017, it's a plethora of choices when it comes to great television. While you won't see any episodes from Starfleet Academy on this list, there is a simple reason for that - we've only seen ten episodes so far. We will happily revisit after the release of its second season.
While we wait for that, Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Short Treks, and Prodigy have all delivered fabulous episodes, many of which warrant frequent revisits. Star Trek as a whole has given us so many classic stories, cementing the franchise in the hearts of generations of viewers.
There are stand-alone episodes, two-parters, and shorter stories here. Star Trek has never wanted for powerful stories to tell, nor has it ever restricted itself to a specific time or medium. We have, as an audience, been spoiled in the last decade. With still more Star Trek to come, we may yet serve to be spoiled once again.
In what is sure to be the first of a series of lists, these picks for classics are merely some examples of what Trek can still bring to the party.
12. The Last Generation
Star Trek: Picard's finale had a tall order. Could it deliver not just three seasons' worth of buildup, but also meet the expectations of The Next Generation fans, who had been waiting for more than three decades by then? The answer was: partially.
While Picard is best viewed as three different shows, interconnected by characters and settings, the third season largely delivered the nostalgia for the fans. A disjointed threat from both the Changelings and the Borg left the crew of the Enterprise-D, now restored to some of her former glory, rushing to the aid of Starfleet in an 'analogue' vessel. Fists pumped the air as Data piloted the ship through that giant cube, while hearts skipped beats as it looked like Picard, Jack, Riker, and Worf might not be coming home for dinner.
The show may have been uneven, but The Last Generation laid the celebrations out for long-term fans. The Enterprises D and G appeared (along with blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances from Enterprises NX-01 and A), Walter Koenig cameoed as Anton Chekov, and a post-credits stinger told the audience that the trial never truly ends.
Critics and audiences both appreciated the achievements of this season and finale, teasing a continuation as it did. If this is truly the final episode set in that era of Star Trek (though we doubt this), then it went out on a high.