25 Best Episodes Of Star Trek EVER
With hundreds of hours to choose from, how do you pick the best of the best?
With the history of the franchise stretching back to the '60s, picking the best of any of the series is always going to be a tall order and it is impossible that everyone will agree with every entry on this list. However, the beauty of Star Trek is that it encourages discussion and it encourages people to come forward and discuss what they both liked and didn't like about each entry the franchise has to offer.
The following list is subjective and with time is almost certain to change. Both Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard are offering strong new entries to the canon and will both appear on a future list but for now the top 25 episodes of Star Trek belong to the first five live action series (sorry to fans of The Animated Series - next time!).
What is certain is that there are entries on this list that all fans can agree belong in the top ranking episodes of television history. From Kirk's battles with Romulans and superhumans, to Picard's trials and torture.
From Sisko's moral dilemmas and dreamlike visions, to Janeway's parental guidance and dogged belief in finding the way home and a trip to the frozen artic for Archer, these are the best of Star Trek...
25. The Wire - Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Elim Garak stands as one of the franchise best written and best acted characters. Andrew Robinson simply is Garak, taking his time to paint layer after layer on the shadowy, simple tailor. It is in this second season episode of Deep Space Nine that some of the layers begin to unravel as truths about him come to light.
He is being slowly killed by the implant he uses to make his life on the station bearable. Dr. Bashir has to sit with him while he goes through withdrawal, seeing the ugly underside of the man explode out at him while his body writhes. He confesses to many crimes and admits to helping Bajorans.
He claims he betrayed his best friend. He says he wants nothing more than to go home. Bashir has to sift through the stories before he can get to the truth, a journey that involves a trip to Cardassia and meeting Enabran Tain, Garak's former mentor. The answers he gets, while they save Garak's life, do not afford him much more understanding. He is left in the dark but their friendship becomes stronger from this point on.
Deep Space Nine, being set on a station, allowed greater development of both the main and supporting characters. A man like Garak wouldn't have survived on The Next Generation or even Voyager, but here he has a chance to life the drudgery of life and the show displays his suffering for it. His longing for a return to his homeworld would be revisited again and again but it is here that Robinson gives some of his best work and Garak slides into the audiences' minds.