If You Call Yourself A Star Trek Fan, You’ve Watched These 10 Episodes, Right?

As one of the most enduring and beloved franchises of all time, Star Trek has produced some episodes that everyone who calls themselves a fan should see at least once. In 1966, Star Trek: The Original Series introduced the world to Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise, and the rest is history. While TOS may be dated in some aspects, its characters and many of its storylines hold up well and remain relevant today.

With its premiere in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation continued the legacy that began with TOS, ushering in a new golden era for the Star Trek franchise. Every generation since has had its own version of Star Trek, and every Trek fan has their own ideas about what they consider the best episodes, series, and movies. But there are some episodes almost everyone can agree on, with stories that transcend the Star Trek franchise and reveal something about what it means to be human.

10"Balance Of Terror"

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 14

Not only did "Balance of Terror" introduce one of Star Trek's most enduring villains in the Romulans, but the episode also delivers a tense story with a brilliant guest star. The episode follows Captain Kirk as he engages in a strategic cat-and-mouse game with a clever Romulan Commander (Mark Lenard). The reveal of the Romulans' Vulcan-like appearance provides a nice shock for the characters, and the ensuing face-off establishes a lot about the nature of the Romulans.

Mark Lenard delivers a captivating performance as the Romulan Commander, who equals Captain Kirk in many ways. The Commander even acknowledges that he and Kirk could have been friends under different circumstances. In the end, the Commander admits defeat and sets his ship to self-destruct, but Kirk's victory is not a celebratory one. "Balance of Terror" is a classic episode of Star Trek and a great representative of TOS at its very best.

9“The City On The Edge Of Forever”

Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 28

The iconic trio of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) quickly became one of the best things about Star Trek: The Original Series. While "The City on the Edge of Forever" may focus on Kirk, it has some great moments for all three characters. When Kirk and Spock follow Dr. McCoy back in time through the Guardian of Forever portal, they must correct the timeline and restore the proper future.

While searching for Dr. McCoy, Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), the operator of a local soup kitchen. The pair develop a beautiful romance that ends in tragedy after Spock discovers that Edith must die to restore the correct timeline. Kirk can only watch in horror as Edith is killed, knowing he has saved the future but lost one of the greatest loves of his life. “The City On The Edge Of Forever” is one of Star Trek's saddest and most beautiful stories that remains just a poignant today as ever.

8“The Measure Of A Man”

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 9

After a somewhat shaky start, Star Trek: The Next Generation became just as beloved as its predecessor, introducing the world to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his Enterprise-D crew. Like TOS, TNG delivered many iconic and memorable episodes throughout its run, but none perhaps as quintessentially Star Trek as season 2's "The Measure of a Man." The episode sees the android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) put on trial for his very right to exist.

Brent Spiner's Data became one of TNG's most beloved characters, and it's easy to see why. When Dr. Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy) arrives with plans to dismantle the android, Data remains calm and professional, but his friends on the Enterprise will not let him go down without a fight. Captain Picard's speech at Data's trial remains one of TNG's most powerful moments, and the episode's discussions surrounding AI remain relevant today.

7“The Best Of Both Worlds Parts I & II”

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 26 & Season 4, Episode 1

With "The Best of Both Worlds," Star Trek: The Next Generation perfected the Star Trek two-parter and cemented the Borg as one of the franchise's best villains. When Captain Picard gets assimilated by the Borg and transformed into their mouthpiece, Locutus, his future as captain of the Enterprise hangs in the balance. Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) gets a chance to shine while in command of the Enterprise in one of the best television cliffhangers of all time.

Commander Riker and his crew save Picard and eventually find a way to thwart the Borg cube preparing to attack Earth, but not before nearly 40 ships are lost at the devastating Battle of Wolf 359. The events of "The Best of Both Worlds" continue to reverberate throughout the Star Trek franchise today in more ways than one. It's a two-part story every Star Trek fan should see, but one that can also be enjoyed by those less familiar with the franchise as well.

6"The Visitor"

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 4, Episode 2

In the wake of the success of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine debuted as a different kind of Star Trek show, focused on the crew of a strategically important space station. Like its predecessors, the best episodes of DS9 examine the show's characters and their complex relationships, and that's particularly true in "The Visitor." When Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) gets stuck outside of the flow of time, his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) struggles to cope without his father.

Jake (Tony Todd) grows up, gets married, and pursues a writing career, but he never fully moves on from his father's death. As an adult, Jake abandons his writing and marriage to find a way to rescue his father, ultimately taking his own life the next time his father appears to him. Jake's hunch works, and time reverts back to just before Sisko's original accident, giving father and son a second chance. It's a beautifully tragic episode with incredible performances from Avery Brooks and Tony Todd.

5“Far Beyond The Stars”

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 6, Episode 13

Star Trek regularly experimented with different genres and formats, often leading to some of the franchise's best episodes. In "Far Beyond the Stars," Captain Sisko has visions of himself as a Black science fiction writer named Benny Russell living in 20th-century New York. Sisko's DS9 crew members populate the magazine office where Russell works. As Russell works on a story about a space station with a Black captain, he faces racism from multiple sides.

When a young Black man named Jimmy (portrayed by Jake Sisko) is shot and killed by police, Russell protests and is beaten by the same police officers. In the end, Sisko wakes up back on Space Station Deep Space Nine, profoundly affected by his vision. “Far Beyond The Stars” may be even more painfully relevant today than it was in 1998, and it's an episode everyone should watch at least once, whether they are Star Trek fans or not.

4"Blink Of An Eye"

Star Trek: Voyager Season 6, Episode 12

When the USS Voyager investigates a strange planet, the ship gets trapped in its magnetic field. As Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew work to escape, they discover that time passes much more quickly on the planet below. While only hours pass aboard Voyager, centuries pass on the planet, and the mysterious ship in the sky becomes part of the mythology of the humanoid inhabitants.

The planet's inhabitants eventually develop the technology to send astronauts to Voyager, only one of whom survives the shock of the time difference. After meeting Voyager's crew, the alien astronaut travels back to his planet, and two ships arrive to tow Voyager out of the planet's magnetic field. With its unique take on time travel, "Blink of an Eye" tells a compelling sci-fi story that deals with classic Star Trek elements like the Prime Directive in unique ways.

3"Twilight"

Star Trek: Enterprise Season 3, Episode 8

Star Trek has done time travel stories involving memory loss before, but it's a formula that often works for the franchise, and "Twilight" is no exception. The episode opens with a bang as Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) awakens on the Enterprise NX-01 just in time to watch Earth be destroyed by the Xindi. Archer eventually learns that he was infected by subspace parasites that prevent him from forming long-term memories.

Archer's condition led Commander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) to take command of the Enterprise, but she and her crew failed to prevent the Xindi from destroying Earth. Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) eventually engineers a cure, and he, T'Pol, and Archer find a way to kill the parasites and resit the timeline. It's always fascinating seeing Star Trek's characters deal with apocalyptic alternate realities, and "Twilight" offers a particularly interesting character study of Archer and T'Pol.

2“Those Old Scientists”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 7

In one of the most fun episodes of the Star Trek on Paramount+ era, Ensigns Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) of Star Trek: Lower Decks make the jump to live action. As Quaid's character geeks out over meeting heroes like Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Boimler inadvertently reveals hints about the future. After Mariner arrives, even she can not hide her excitement about meeting Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding).

Boimler and Mariner's enthusiasm is infectious and completely understandable for any Star Trek fan (who wouldn't geek out over meeting Captain Pike?). "Those Old Scientists" contains shout-outs to numerous Star Trek eras and truly acts as a love letter to the franchise as a whole. Every Star Trek fan will likely find something to like in this episode, which manages to be hilarious and full of heart while still delivering Star Trek's trademark message of acceptance.

1"Fissure Quest"

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 9

In Star Trek: Lower Decks' penultimate episode on Paramount+, the animated series delivers a crossover of epic proportions. Thanks to the season's multiverse storyline, characters pop up from across Trek series and timelines, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Garak (Andrew J. Robinson) and Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Star Trek: Enterprise's T'Pol. It's a thrill for any Star Trek fan to see all of these characters again, but "Fissure Quest" doesn't stop there.

As Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) leads his crew of "interdimensional castaways," he encounters Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard), whose quantum reality drive has been inadvertently creating rifts in spacetime. This reveal feels like classic Star Trek in the best way, as does Sloane's speech about her crew's mission. "Fissure Quest" is an incredibly fun and ambitious episode of Star Trek that will surely delight even casual fans of the franchise.