10 Greatest Star Trek Bottle Episodes

7. The Doomsday Machine

Star Trek The Doomsday Machine
CBS Media Ventures

The Doomsday Machine is a slight outlier on this list, as it features new sets that debut, yet all of the action takes place - bar effects - on board the two ships Enterprise and Constellation, with a few key moments featuring a shuttlecraft as well.

So much of the story revolves around Decker's fallout from the Planet Killer's consumption of his crew, as well as Kirk's attempts to retake his ship from afar, that it finds itself here. Saying that the redesigned Engineering set appears for the first time here, as does the ante-chamber where Kirk spends much of the episode.

The Doomsday Machine is iconic for its depiction of the huge space sock sucking up planets and repelling phaser fire, but the core of the story centres on Decker's descent into madness, battling with Spock as he goes. Kirk displays his calm as he pilots the Constellation into the maw of the machine - all of this, of course, takes place on either the standing set of the Enterprise bridge, or this new chamber.

 
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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"