Star Trek

10608 readers

84 users here now

r/startrek: The Next Generation

Star Trek news and discussion. No slash fic...

Maybe a little slash fic.

New to Star Trek and wondering where to start?

Rules

1 Be constructive

All posts/comments must be thoughtful and balanced.

2 Be welcoming

It is important that everyone from newbies to OG Trekkers feel welcome, no matter their gender, sexual orientation, religion or race.

3 Be truthful

All posts/comments must be factually accurate and verifiable. We are not a place for gossip, rumors, or manipulative or misleading content.

4 Be nice

If a polite way cannot be found to phrase what it is you want to say, don't say anything at all. Insulting or disparaging remarks about any human being are expressly not allowed.

5 Spoilers

Utilize the spoiler system for any and all spoilers relating to the most recently-aired episodes, as well as previews for upcoming episodes. There is no formal spoiler protection for episodes/films after they have been available for approximately one week.

6 Keep on-topic

All submissions must be directly about the Star Trek franchise (the shows, movies, books etc.). Off-topic discussions are welcome at c/quarks.

7 Meta

Questions and concerns about moderator actions should be brought forward via DM.

Upcoming Episodes

Date	Episode	Title
11-21	LD 5x06	"Of Gods and Angles"
11-28	LD 5x07	"Fully Dilated"
12-05	LD 5x08	"Upper Decks"
12-12	LD 5x09	"Fissue Quest"
12-19	LD 5x10	"The New Next Generation"

Episode Discussion Archive

In Production

Strange New Worlds (2025)

Section 31 (2025-01-24)

Starfleet Academy (TBA)

In Development

Untitled comedy series

Wondering where to stream a series? Check here.

Allied Discord Server

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

ValueSubtracted@startrek.website

USSBurritoTruck@startrek.website

OpticalData@startrek.website

Searching for the "most representative" Star Trek episode (startrek.website)

submitted 6 months ago by ValueSubtracted@startrek.website to c/startrek@startrek.website

36 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Whenever I see a conversation along the lines of "what episode should I show my friend/partner/etc. to get them hooked on Star Trek," the suggestions are pretty predictable - your "best" episodes that are regarded to represent the franchise at its peak.

I like to take a different approach, trying to find episodes that I feel are most representative of the series - the "average" Star Trek episode. If you show someone the "best," there's nowhere to go but down, and it can set someone up for disappointment.

In the case of Star Trek, I actually find this pretty difficult, and I don't think I've come up with any that I feel are really good answers, so I'm taking it to the crowd: what are the most representative episodes of Star Trek.

To me, these are the boxes that probably need to be ticked:

Enjoyable (obviously).
A conventional structure that doesn't deviate from the norm too much - this is a flexible concept, but I think it excludes things like "Darmok," or "Tapestry," or "In the Pale Moonlight," which are not really conventional.
Any series is fair game.

What do you think? What are some "normal" Star Trek episodes that would serve as good representation of what the franchise usually is?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, same. I felt bad recommending it as "average" episode, but it checks all the other boxes. Still, it's a fun, easy episode to just drop into without needing any background info besides "They're on a long journey home, and then this happens".

"The Void" is definitely a solid choice, too. Teamwork and Federation principles save the day, a little action, and a first contact.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 5 points 6 months ago

I think we need to move past the idea that "average" equates to "bad" - by definition, most episodes are going to be pretty average, and that's okay!