10 Greatest Star Trek Cliffhanger Episodes

In an Orwellian two-parter of Star Trek: The Next Generation that has as many lights as it does a new number of shift rotations (Jellicooooo!), or does it (?), Captain Picard is promptly relieved of command of the Enterprise. The Cardassians are up to no good, and he must go on a mission (something about theta-band expertise) with Doctor Crusher and Worf to stop some metagenic madness. Alas, it's all an elaborate ruse to capture Picard, and by the end of Part I he's the prisoner of the (un)illuminated Gul Madred. If the Gul isn't satisfied with the answers he gets, Picard will die. Still, getting to wear those awesome undercover outfits was totally worth it!

Chain of Command continues to rank among the greats for several reasons, not least for the tour-de-force performances from the legendary David Warner and his old colleague Patrick Stewart in the second half. The introduction of Ronny Cox's no-nonsense, get-it-done Captain Jellico was also a masterstroke. In spite of his axiomatically… different approach to command than the keeper of fish, we warmed to the character, and it was a delight to see him return in Star Trek: Prodigy.

The cliffhanger capture of Captain Picard nearly didn't come to be, however. The episode was split into two only for budgetary reasons – to save money on the second half with the Picard-Madred one-on-one scenes. Released, although not filmed, before Emissary, Chain of Command also set up aspects of the plot for the fledgling Deep Space Nine in that, as Admiral Nechayev stated, Cardassian forces had recently been withdrawn from "the Bajoran sector".

Oh, and, at one point in the episode, Crusher, Picard, and Worf do actually hang over a cliff! I rest my case.