6 Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 Episodes You Can Completely Skip

Star Trek: The Original Series season 1 got off to a strong start, but that doesn't mean you have to watch every single episode. With its premiere in 1966, Star Trek introduced the world to Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his Enterprise crew, launching what would become a massive and beloved franchise. Due to the episodic nature of television in the 1960s, every episode of TOS can be enjoyed on its own as a standalone story. This also means that episodes can be skipped without causing confusion.

While the best episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series have withstood the test of time, others seem incredibly dated by today's standards. Many of the TOS episodes worth skipping contain the show's worst examples of the casual sexism of the 1960s, as well as other similarly outdated views. Part of Star Trek's charm comes from its ability to deliver profound social commentary one week and goofy space hijinks the next. While many episodes of TOS season 1 are too good to miss out on, you won't miss much by skipping the following six episodes.

6"Charlie X"

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 2

When the USS Enterprise picks up Charlie Evans (Robert Walker), the sole survivor from a crashed transport ship, the teenage boy soon begins displaying incredible powers. Charlie develops an inappropriate obsession with Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney), making her disappear when she rejects his advances. The powerful Thasians eventually return to take Charlie back, as they realize the abilities they granted him make him too dangerous to live among humans.

"Charlie X" has some genuinely disturbing moments, including Charlie's eventual fate, but the episode doesn't reveal much about Star Trek's main characters. Plus, "Charlie X" marks the first instance of the show's poor treatment of Janice Rand, which unfortunately becomes a recurring theme in Star Trek's earliest episodes. Aside from a charming scene of Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) singing, "Charlie X" mostly feels unnecessary, especially considering the sheer number of god-like beings Kirk and his crew will encounter over the years.

5"Mudd's Women"

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 6

In "Mudd's Women," the Starship Enterprise rescues the occupants of an unregistered cargo ship captained by a con man known as Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel). Mudd, who has an extensive criminal record, is accompanied by three stunningly beautiful women. Captain Kirk discovers that Mudd has been giving the women the Venus drug to make them irresistible to men. The three women eventually decide to remain with a group of miners on the planet Rigel XII.

Harry Mudd is an entertaining character, but that's about all "Mudd's Women" has going for it. The entire premise of this Star Trek episode centers on human trafficking, which is problematic enough, but the Venus drug makes the whole thing even worse. "Mudd's Women" is rife with sexism, as the three women live only to serve men, and the women among the Enterprise crew are conspicuously absent for much of the episode. Harry Mudd will return in the significantly better "I, Mudd" in Star Trek season 2, making this episode one to skip.

4"Miri"

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 8

When the USS Enterprise encounters a planet that just happens to be nearly identical to Earth, they find a group of children as the only surviving inhabitants. One of the oldest children, a girl named Miri (Kim Darby), reveals that the planet's adults all died from a mysterious plague. The members of the landing party, excluding Spock (Leonard Nimoy), are soon infected by the disease, and Kirk eventually convinces Miri and the other children to help him find a cure.

Like "Charlie X," "Miri" has some unsettling moments, and most of the child actors do an admirable job, but the story mostly falls flat. Captain Kirk uses his charms to convince Miri to take him to the rest of the children, which feels inappropriate considering she's a teenager. Yeoman Rand gets poorly used again, this time kidnapped and tied up by a group of feral children. Plus, the episode offers no explanation for the planet's similarity to Earth. Overall, "Miri" doesn't have much to offer and can easily be skipped.

3"The Return Of The Archons"

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 21

"The Return of the Archons" follows Captain Kirk and his crew as they investigate an Earth-like planet with a stagnant culture ruled over by a dictator named Landru. Cloaked "lawgivers" patrol the planet seeking out anyone who is not under Landru's control. Meanwhile, heat beams from the planet are targeting the Enterprise and will force the ship to crash if they are not turned off. Kirk eventually discovers Landru to be an ancient computer system, and he talks the computer into destroying itself, thereby freeing the planet's people.

The premise at the heart of "The Return of the Archons" has potential, but this Star Trek episode never quite coalesces into a solid story. The planet's people have a recurring "Festival" where they allow violence and destruction, but the episode mostly forgets about this plotline after its first act. Over the course of TOS, Kirk will talk three more computers into destroying themselves, all in better episodes than this one. Star Trek will also deliver stronger episodes in future seasons that better deal with issues of war and peace and personal freedom, so "The Return of the Archons" is one you can skip.

2"The Alternative Factor"

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 27

"The Alternative Factor" is often cited as one of Star Trek's worst episodes, and it certainly lives up to that reputation. The story follows two different men named Lazarus (Robert Brown), one from our "matter" universe and one from the "antimatter" universe. The two beings keep blinking in and out of existence as they travel between universes, and if they ever come in contact with one another, it will destroy both universes entirely. In the end, the two Lazaruses end up trapped between dimensions while Captain Kirk vaporizes the ship that connects the two universes.

While Star Trek has certainly told some nonsensical stories over the years, nothing about "The Alternative Factor" makes any sense. The story itself is unnecessarily confusing, and the matter/antimatter explosion premise does not track with what we know about the Enterprise (the warp engine is powered by a matter/antimatter reaction, after all). Plus, the entire universe winks in and out of existence multiple times, which is not taken nearly as seriously as it should be. Overall, the less said about this episode, the better, making it one of the easiest to skip.

1"Operation: Annihilate!"

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 29

Star Trek: The Original Series season 1's finale is the lackluster "Operation: Annihilate!." When the Enterprise visits the planet Deneva, Captain Kirk finds most of the planet's inhabitants, including his brother Sam (William Shatner), have been killed or seriously injured by flying parasites. Kirk finds Sam's wife, Aurelan (Joan Swift), and their son, Peter (Craig Hundley), still alive, but Aurelan soon dies. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy eventually figure out that ultraviolet light will kill the parasites, and they save the remaining survivors and thwart any further attacks.

As the television shows of the 1960s did not have traditional season finales, "Operation: Annihilate!" cannot be faulted for that reason, but it can be faulted for not being a very good episode of Star Trek. The episode is notable for the death of Kirk's brother, but Sam has only been mentioned in dialogue once before, and Kirk doesn't seem all that bothered by his death. Also, Spock goes temporarily blind (but we know he won't stay that way), we never learn what happened to Peter, and the flying parasite aliens look bad even for 1960s standards.