1. I Am Locutus Of Borg
Was there any other choice for first place? Theres a reason
Best Of Both Worlds tops the list of best Star Trek episodes. Again, another two-parter with plenty of shocking moments, not least the aftermath of the battle of Wolf 359. But what this story excelled at was defining the art of a truly gob smacking season cliff-hanger. Really its about five tense minutes of action, rather then one single moment, but the revelation that Picard has been turned into a Borg is a shocking one. The crew discover, through a failed rescue attempt and then the appearance of Locutus the view screen, that their captain, the lead hero of the series, has been transformed into the villain. The Borg are essentially sci-fi zombies, the bodies of people resurrected into a terrifying killing machines. For all attempts and purposes, Picard is dead. What makes the final moment all the more tense is the realisation that the Borg are using Picards memories of the crew against them. The way Locutus refers to Riker as Number One is chilling. And then before we have a chance to react, Riker gives the order to fire a weapon that at this point we believe may have a small chance of destroying the Borg Cube. At this point you believed that this might be the end of Picard. Im fortunate to have always the two-parter close together. Im sure for the audience in 1990, the wait to discover what happened next must have been excruciating.