10 Star Trek Adventures That Went Full Fantasy

Once upon a time, there was a galaxy full of scientists and starships on a mission to seek out the answers of the cosmos...until one day, they decided it was much more fun to dress up and play Dungeons & Dragons instead.

Star Trek may be science fiction (with one or two toes dipped in space opera), but it's never been afraid to dabble in fantasy. In fact, Starfleet loves to insist there's a scientific explanation for almost everything...right before taking a sharp turn into a fairytale.

When your day job involves strange new worlds and alien civilisations, who's going to say no to the occasional enchanted castle, unscrupulous wizard or suspiciously horny ghost? Especially when you have an all-powerful stalker that can just snap his fingers and drop you into any tall tale he desires.

Of course, there's already something quite whimsical about the whole thing. A found family journeying on a quest, discovering new lands, fighting for all that is fair and just. Well, most of the time.

It doesn't take much to push the merry fleeters over the edge and into a world of flight and fancy. So put away the tricorder, abandon logic and embrace Middle-earth chic as we celebrate ten Star Trek adventures that gave us magic and dragons and swords, oh my!

When Harry Kim goes missing playing Beowulf in the Holodeck, it's down to The Doctor to search for the hero inside himself and come to the damsel's rescue. Yes, somehow, Heroes and Demons manages to take a proto-fantasy masterpiece and turn it into a missing crew member investigation.

This epic has everything a good fantasy adventure needs. Shield maiden? Check. Mysterious monster? Check. Viking feasting hall? Check. A reluctant hero that's so over it all before the quest has even begun? Well, that's just The Doctor's default setting.

The Doctor's crusade doesn't exactly follow the usual 'hero's journey'. On the contrary, he ditches his sword and uses his holographic nature to avoid battle entirely. The tales of his exploits, meant to impress his new warrior friends, boil down to medical anecdotes that would make even Tuvok yawn. And his very first skirmish with the monster ends with him losing an arm. But he does get to enjoy a sweet little romance along the way...albeit with a tragic ending.

In all, Heroes and Demons is a fun, if somewhat random, twist on the Holodeck malfunction trope. Our takeaway? It's hard not to envy The Doctor's ability to instantly access and digest a literary classic along with annotations and commentaries. It would have made school so much easier.