Star Trek's first female showrunner, screenwriter and producer Jeri Taylor made many significant contributions to the franchise, including writing classic episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. Taylor's Star Trek career began in 1990 when she joined the writing staff of TNG during the show's fourth season. Taylor penned several notable TNG episodes before becoming co-executive producer for the show's final season, alongside Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Jeri Taylor passed away on October 23, 2024, at the age of 86.
In her most significant contribution to Star Trek, Jeri Taylor helped develop Star Trek: Voyager and served as an executive producer and showrunner. The first Star Trek show to center on a female starship captain, Voyager followed the adventures of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) as she led the USS Voyager and its crew through the unexplored Delta Quadrant. Jeri Taylor had a hand in creating the character of Captain Janeway and made sure the women of Voyager always had a voice. Here are Jeri Taylor's finest episodes of Star Trek.
8 "Final Mission"
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 9
In his last episode as a series regular Star Trek: The Next Generation cast member, Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) accompanies Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) on one final mission before he leaves to attend Starfleet Academy. When Picard and Wesley's shuttle crash lands on a desert planet, they set out in search of shelter and water. After they find a cave, Picard is severely injured in a rockslide and Wesley must keep him alive until help arrives.
Jeri Taylor's story allows Wes to prove why he deserves a place at Starfleet Academy.
Wesley eventually figures out how to disable the force field that surrounds the fountain in the cave, allowing him to access the water and save Picard's life. Before long, the Enterprise locates Picard and Wesley in the cave and rescues them. Wesley did not always work as a character in TNG's early episodes, but he's at his best in "Final Mission." Jeri Taylor's story allows Wes to prove why he deserves a place at Starfleet Academy without making any of the senior officers look incompetent.
7 "The Wounded"
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 12
Notable for introducing the Cardassians, "The Wounded" follows Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew as they pursue a Starfleet vessel that has been attacking Cardassian outposts. Captain Benjamin Maxwell (Bob Gunton) of the USS Phoenix believes that the Cardassians are conducting secret military operations. Maxwell orders the destruction of a Cardassian warship and a freighter, killing over 650 Cardassians.
Having previously served under Maxwell during the Cardassian war, Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meany) eventually convinces his former captain to stand down. Still, both Maxwell and O'Brien harbor clear resentment toward the Cardassians which, in O'Brien's case, will be further explored on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Jeri Taylor helped seed the Cardassians themselves as major Star Trek villains, and "The Wounded" helps establish their cunning and militaristic nature.
6 "Night Terrors"
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 17
In one of Star Trek's most frightening episodes, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) begins having bizarre dreams just before the Enterprise gets trapped within a spatial phenomenon known as a Tyken's Rift. When other crew members start behaving strangely, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) determines that no one on the ship besides Troi has been achieving REM sleep. This revelation prompts Captain Picard to put Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) — who doesn't sleep — in command of the Enterprise.
Data and Troi work together and eventually find a way out of the rift when Troi realizes her dreams contain a message. "Night Terrors" may not be a perfect episode of Star Trek, but it has an interesting premise and some genuinely unsettling visuals. In Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, Jeri Taylor noted that this episode was a particularly difficult one to write and required several rewrites.
5 "The Drumhead"
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 21
In one of Star Trek's best courtroom episodes, retired Admiral Norah Satie (Jean Simmons) investigates an apparent act of sabotage on the USS Enterprise-D. After an explosion in main engineering, Captain Picard and Admiral Satie work to uncover the truth of the incident. The investigation reveals that a Klingon exchange officer had been collaborating with the Romulans, but he insists he knows nothing about the explosion.
According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, the script for "The Drumhead" was the one Jeri Taylor was proudest to have written.
Data and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) eventually determine that the explosion was an accident, but Satie continues to search for traitors. Satie gets caught up in her own paranoia, even putting Picard on trial and questioning him about his time as Locutus of Borg. Ultimately, Picard calls out Satie's fanaticism, pointing out how dangerous it could become to continue a trial like this. Patrick Stewart and Jean Simmons deliver powerful performances, elevating an already solid script and making "The Drumhead" an instant classic.
4 "Caretaker"
Star Trek: Voyager Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2
Star Trek: Voyager's creators, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor all worked on the feature-length premiere episode, "Caretaker," which set up everything that followed. The story follows Captain Janeway of the USS Voyager as she sets out to locate a missing Maquis ship. A group of rebel freedom fighters, the Maquis have a contentious relationship with Starfleet. One of Janeway's officers, Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ), had been serving undercover aboard the missing Maquis vessel.
When Voyager reaches the Maquis ship's last known location, they are pulled into the Delta Quadrant by a being known as the Caretaker. Janeway locates the Maquis crew and they are eventually integrated into Voyager's crew. The Caretaker soon dies, leaving Voyager trapped in the Delta Quadrant. Janeway then begins the long journey home, with Delta Quadrant natives Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and Kes (Jennifer Lien) joining the crew as guides.
3 "Eye of the Needle"
Star Trek: Voyager Season 1, Episode 7
When the USS Voyager investigates a small wormhole, they make contact with a Romulan vessel in the Alpha Quadrant. Voyager sends a probe through the wormhole and eventually convinces the Romulans to transport a message to Starfleet. Although the wormhole is much too small for Voyager to pass through, Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) discovers a way to transport the crew members through the wormhole.
"Eye of the Needle" remains one of the best episodes of Star Trek: Voyager's early seasons.
However, when the Romulan Captain Telek R'Mor (Vaughn Armstrong) transports over to Voyager as a test, they discover that he is from 20 years in the past. Voyager's crew cannot travel through to the past for fear of disrupting the timeline, but Telek agrees to deliver their messages in 20 years' time. With a compelling guest star and a devastating, but clever twist, "Eye of the Needle" remains one of the best episodes of Star Trek: Voyager's early seasons.
2 "Resolutions"
Star Trek: Voyager Season 2, Episode 25
When Captain Janeway and Chakotay (Robert Beltran) contract a deadly virus, they must remain on the planet where they contracted it to stay alive. Janeway orders Tuvok to take over command of Voyager and continue the ship's journey home. While stranded on the planet, Janeway and Chakotay grow closer. Although "Resolutions" hints that the pair embark on a romantic relationship, it never goes beyond this episode.
Meanwhile, Voyager's crew members never stop looking for a cure and they eventually get one from the Vidiians. By this time, Janeway and Chakotay have begun to settle into their life on the planet, but they go back to being professional colleagues upon returning to Voyager. With a beautifully written story, "Resolutions" allowed Voyager to explore a potential romance between Janeway and Chakotay without disrupting the show's continuity.
1 "Coda"
Star Trek: Voyager Season 3, Episode 15
Traveling back to Voyager in a shuttle, Janeway and Chakotay crash land on a nearby planet and soon find themselves trapped in a classic Star Trek time loop. When an injured Janeway activates their homing signal, the Vidiians find them and kill them both. Janeway and Chakotay then wake up back in the shuttle and the previous events start over again. After dying at least two more times, Janeway encounters a vision of her father. Janeway's father offers to help her transfer to the next world, but she senses that something isn't right.
Jeri Taylor expanded on Captain Janway's backstory in her novel, Mosaic, and some of the details from the book made their way into the show.
In the end, Captain Janeway realizes that she is still on the surface of the planet, with Chakotay and the Doctor (Robert Picardo) fighting to save her. Her "father" is actually a non-corporeal being who wants to feed off of her soul, but Janeway refuses to go with him and is revived by her crew mates. With some genuinely scary moments, "Coda" remains one of Star Trek: Voyager's most memorable episodes, helping to cement Jeri Taylor as one of Star Trek's greats.
