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7 Most Rewatchable Star Trek Episodes Of All Time, Ranked (#1 Will Never Be Matched)
Star Trek has had several series throughout the years, and each of them has had some great episodes, and there are some that fans love to rewatch all the time. Star Trek is the greatest sci-fi television franchise ever made, beginning in 1966 with The Original Series and still going strong 60 years later with Starfleet Academy. Not every series has been as highly praised as the best of the best, but each one has fans, and each has great episodes that fans still love to this day. That said, it takes a very special episode for fans to want to revisit it over and over again.
Here are seven of the best Star Trek episodes that remain consistently rewatchable.
7) Trials and Tribble-ations (Deep Space Nine)
When it comes to rewatching old Star Trek television episodes, the best ones are the stories that keep viewers smiling and happy throughout. That happened in Deep Space Nine with the fifth season episode “Trials and Tribble-ations.” What made this episode so great was that it served as a tribute to The Original Series, released on the franchise’s 30th anniversary.
The episode sees Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and the USS Defiant sent back in time to the events of The Original Series episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,” one of the most entertaining of the original run. Sisko must then stop the assassination of Captain Kirk via a Klingon-created tribble booby-trap. Fans loved the Deep Space Nine crew interacting with the original crew, and it ended up with three Primetime Emmy nominations.
6) Yesterday’s Enterprise (The Next Generation)
“Yesterday’s Enterprise” remains one of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes of all time. Originally airing in 1990, this was the episode where the series finally hit its stride and became the critically-acclaimed show fans know today. The plot sees the Enterprise-D encountering the Enterprise-C, surprising since that ship was destroyed years earlier.
What resulted was a timeline change in which the Federation and the Klingon Empire were enemies involved in a long-running war, rather than allies. A pitch-perfect sci-fi episode and one of the best standalone episodes in Star Trek history, the moment the crew of Enterprise-C sacrifices themselves to restore the proper timeline remains one of the best in TNG history.
5) In The Pale Moonlight (Deep Space Nine)
The best episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the sixth season episode “In the Pale Moonlight.” What makes this episode so rewatchable is the brilliance of Captain Benjamin Sisko. With the United Federation of Planets at war with the Dominion, Sisko works with a former spy to trick the Romulans into joining their side.
What really makes this episode compelling is that it challenges what the Star Trek franchise had always focused on: optimistic views of conflict. Instead, this episode has Sisko operating in shades of grey, willing to do anything to ensure victory. This is not only the best Deep Space Nine episode, and one of the most rewatchable, but one of the best Star Trek episodes in history, hands down.
4) Endgame (Voyager)
“Endgame” is a seventh-season double-length episode that concluded the series, listed as two separate episodes when it aired. The episode takes place in the year 2404 and shows the reassembled crew of Voyager celebrating their 10th anniversary of returning to Earth with Admiral Kathryn Janeway.
However, when Admiral Janeway chooses to use time travel to reverse a decision she regretted, it creates a situation that could destroy everything Voyager accomplished from that moment on. As the series finale, it makes for a great rewatch, but the storyline and plot were also among the best in the franchise’s history. In 2017, Netflix counted down the most-watched Star Trek episodes, and “Endgame” ranked first.
3) The Inner Light (The Next Generation)
“The Inner Light” is a fifth-season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation featuring Captain Jean-Luc Picard being hit with an energy beam and experiencing the entire life of a stranger. He lives through 40 years as Kamin, a scientist on a planet threatened by its sun going nova.
The episode ends with the revelation that the planet was destroyed when its sun went nova approximately 1,000 years before the Enterprise encountered the probe.. However, there are many great moments for viewers, including the idea that Picard lived the life he had given up for his career as captain of the Enterprise. Inspired by the Beatles’ song of the same name, which was based on a verse in the Tao Te Ching, “The Inner Light” is an instantly rewatchable Star Trek episode.
2) City on the Edge of Forever (Original Series)
The best episode from Star Trek: The Original Series is “City on the Edge of Forever.” What makes this Star Trek episode so rewatchable is that it differs from any other episode in the series. Written by Harlan Ellison, the episode sees Leonard McCoy transport himself to a planet where he finds a time portal and saves a woman’s life, only to change history so the Federation of Planets no longer exists.
Captain Kirk and Mister Spock must reverse this decision, but when they realize they must sacrifice a good woman’s life to restore the timeline, it showcases the morality tales that Star Trek has always excelled at. The episode won several awards, including the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
1) The Best of Both Worlds (The Next Generation)
“The Best of Both Worlds” is arguably the best Star Trek episode of all time, regardless of series, and the most rewatchable episode in history. This two-part episode spans the third and fourth seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and features the best appearance of the Borg as villains.
The storyline sees the Borg planning an invasion of Earth, capturing and assimilating Captain Picard as their emissary. Riker, as the new captain, must save Picard while stopping the Borg. The episode features the best cliffhanger in Star Trek history between its two parts. There isn’t a Star Trek episode more rewatchable than this TNG story.
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