10 Greatest Star Trek Bottle Episodes

5. Magic To Make The Sanest Man Go Mad

Star Trek Discovery Magic to Make The Sanest Man Go Mad
CBS Media Ventures

This one, according to producer Aaron Harberts, was designed to save money - let there be no doubt about that! The time loop was a handy way to keep all of the action in a set amount of spaces, without having to consistently add new locales. This also allowed the episode to play with the form.

In a move similar to The Next Generation's Cause And Effect, this episode locks the characters into a time loop, gradually becoming aware, or at least having Stamets retain his knowledge, along with Rainn Wilson's returning Harry Mudd.

The episode, for all of its cost-saving, ends up being one of the more enjoyable - and certainly one of the more silly - episodes in Discovery's first season. Hindsight adds a slightly savage satisfaction in seeing Lorca bumped off the mortal coil again and again, but to expand there would venture into spoiler territory.

Anthony Rapp commented that the episode was a frantic one to film, with many moving parts. The party scene took four days to complete, so even with the show sitting firmly in the 'bottle show' camp, it wasn't necessarily the quickest turnaround of a script in Star Trek history.

 
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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"