Star Trek: 15 Greatest Ever Time Travel Episodes

Two Picards! Twice the fun!

Time Squared was not only The Next Generation's first - inevitable - foray into time travel storytelling, it's also one of the best. It's effectively a ticking time bomb episode, with a future Picard (from six hours ahead) being rescued by the past version and telling everyone about the Enterprise exploding in a giant vortex. Because he's not the kind of Captain to go down with his ship, obviously.

Rather brilliantly, the past Picard turns into a bit of a dick in the face of his apparently deserting future self and shouts at him in a semi-comatose state, horrified more at his abandonment than everyone else's death. That's only the start of the episode's topsy turvy thinking, as Picard kills his future self (just because) and then overcomes danger by literally flying even more into it. Who needs explanations when the drama is this good, even if it makes you pretty sure Picard is a secret psycho killer?!

And Time Squared also scores added points for a Come Dine With Me opening, featuring the most awkward dinner party of all time. The idea that Riker thinks it's absolutely fine to serve bad omelette as his meal of choice is just brilliant.