10 Most Unique Star Trek Episodes

On the surface, Pathfinder shares some similarities with Course: Oblivion, in that the Voyager crew seen for the most part aren't actually the regular characters, but merely copies - this time, holograms. However, Pathfinder stands out for its use of Lt. Barclay and Deanna Troi. In a way, this episode of Voyager serves as something of a side-episode of The Next Generation, post-First Contact.

Though Reg had appeared on Voyager before, this was his first big focus episode, as the audience follows him and his struggle to get the MIDAS array to work. We see him dashing through the standing sets/holographic recreations of the ship, while the others at Starfleet Command are rapidly losing patience with him.

Though Troi attempts to placate him and aid him to escape work for a while, the episode truly serves as an obsession, by a character from a previous Star Trek iteration, attempting to meet his heroes. That ending, featuring some of the most affecting moments in Star Trek's history, are both a true punch-the-air moment and a bursting into floods of tears moment as well. Janeway's last cry to Starfleet, asking them to keep a docking bay open for them, combined with Admiral Paris telling his son he loves him, breaks even the stoniest of hearts.

For an episode that features the main cast for all of five minutes, it's one of the most powerful, stand-out episodes of the lot.