10 Best Star Trek Cold Opens
1. A Warrior's Drink (Yesterday's Enterprise)
Yesterday's Enterprise is an episode that has been covered so many times on this channel that there is a danger of everything having been already said. However, indulge me a moment - because the cold open is a masterclass in building tension.
Worf's conversation with Guinan is so innocuous, while also setting up his lifelong prune juice addiction, that it could easily be from any light episode in the series. Then the singularity appears outside Ten Forward's windows, leading Worf to report quickly to the bridge, while Guinan's extra senses cause her to exclaim 'no!'
She was right to be concerned, at least when it comes to Worf. He observes a ship coming through the rift, then everything shimmers. The bridge is darker, the uniforms are a different cut, and everybody's favourite Klingon is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a familiar blonde officer stands in his place.
The return of Tasha Yar would have been material enough for any cold open to shock the audience, however the fact that it builds again to that great reveal of the Ambassador-class Enterprise-C? This is easily one of the greatest openings to a Star Trek episode, while also making a decent argument for being one of the greatest openings in television history.