10. Unification I (The Next Generation)
Plot in two lines: Picard is dispatched to bring back Ambassador Spock who might have defected to Romulus.
Why Your Trek Friend Says It's Good: OMG, like, dude...it's the ultimate fanboy episode. We've waited five years for it. It's the 25th anniversary and they've got SPOCK in The Next Generation! Amazing - and there's Klingons, Romulans, Vulcans, all the classic races are here in one go. How can you not be moved by Mark Lenard's last scenes as Sarek and indeed, his last scenes in Star Trek? How can the fact that this was dedicated to Gene Roddenberry who had just passed away? It's the best memorial there could have been. Just brilliant!!!
Why It's Not Actually That Good: It's 45 minutes of buildup pure and simple. Yes, Roddenberry and Lenard will be remembered fondly for this story but it's the best example of over-hype in Star Trek ever. It's built around Spock and there's frighteningly little of him in Part One. There's a fuzzy image of Spock pre-titles and then you have to wait until the other end of the episode to see him again. OK, so it's all about that moment but by the time we get there it seems like not a lot has happened. In fact you could probably skip part one and just watch the conclusion to see the Spock Moment and all the cool homages and references to The Original Series and The Undiscovered Country.