My brother said that he will watch an episode of Trek with me when I visit my family in October.
I am wonder what the best single episode to show him is. He has not seen anything Trek before.
I am thinking something that is newer, but not necessarily.
Anyway, what do you think would be good?
@neon_nova it comes down to either 1. The Drumhead 2. Code of Honor
Might be a bit off beat to say this, but maybe the first episode of Prodigy?
It’s very much intended as an entry point into Star Trek for those unexposed to Star Trek.
I love Prodigy, but I’ve seen people struggle to get past the first episode. If someone’s coming in reluctantly it’s not where I’d start.
I kind of feel like Prodigy struggles the first half of the first season… as a Prodigy lover, I’ll say it certainly gets there, but even then, let’s say it wasn’t until season 2 that Jankom Pog no longer made me want to find out what Tellarite carnitas taste like…
That’s not really they way to experience Star Trek.
Unless they are already into SciFi or Morality Tales picking one episode won’t work as an introduction.
Each series and season has a different style and presentation 🙂🖖
I personally love DS9 and think that it has aged better than TNG. I think its S1 is not amazing, but certainly one of the better first seasons. It has plenty of good enough episodes that don’t depend heavily on the upcoming plot and leave your brother in a good place if he wants to start watching for himself.
A few suggestions would be:
- In The Hands of the Prophets: Overall an almost prophetic episode, in the most terrifying way possible. A well-done drama episode with great political commentary. A lot of the season built up to it, but it’s such an early period in the show that it’s not TOO much context
- Dax: A full helping of everything Trek, from alien trials to crew collaboration to space mysteries. It basically explains the Dax thing for you, just leaving an interesting story. Vortex: Odo-focused, but also has some “crew on space mystery” bits. Also makes a mystery of core information in the show, meaning minimal canon dependency and once again leaving your brother in a good place to watch.
- Duet: Strong Kira episode that’s also a good summary of the Bajoran-Cardassian conflict.
- Captive Pursuit: I think it’s a solid, typical Trek episode. I think the only impression issues it might give are it’s very O’Brien-centric, and it might register a bit on the “aliens who represent no particular real life ethnicity but are still kind of iffy”-o-meter. But otherwise, it’s a low-canon, medium-quality episode.
Don’t show him any of the all time greats. Then there’s nowhere to go but down.
I also wouldn’t try to hook him on a twenty or thirty out forty year old show when there’s a really good Trek series coming out right now. There’s no urgency to watching an old show, so even if he likes it he’s likely to put it off for later and forget about it.
Just hit him with SNW episode 1. It’s a decent episode, not an all time best but a good introduction to what the Federation is all about and very briefly how it grew from the present day. And if he decides to continue in his own, there’s no question of where to start - just move on to episode 2.
Darmok
That’s a really interesting choice. Ok it’s in my top 3
I have shown this to people as their first. It works. It’s a highly unusual story so some people may or may not “get it” but there isn’t any issue with it being a first entree into the franchise.
I think it does a good job of showing the Star Trek approach to science fiction.
You have a human on the planet interacting with an unusual alien. There is some action, but the primary problem of the episode is not solved by violence. The audience is taken along with Picard in the process of figuring out communication with the alien captain.
Its main weakness is that you don’t get much ship-based stuff in this particular episode. There is a little, but…
It’s got some good hooks too because once you watch it with someone you can run around saying “Shaka, when the walls fell,” and they will feel like they are now in on the joke.
I think the first three episodes of SNW are like made for new people with showing clearly what Star Trek should stand for.
If you are only watching one episode to hook him in you could also go with something funnier like lower decks or a ferengi episodeOr you could get confusing and take The Orville :p
The Orville might not be a bad idea. I didn’t consider it, but my brother really likes family guy.
Might be worth showing him the first episode of Lower Decks then. Or “Temporal Edict” is another strong early episode that’s still fairly introductory and really gives a lot of the Star Trek vibes about being capable and ethical while still showing it as a fun time.
If you are talking TOS then for me it’s “The City on the Edge of Forever”.
This 100%.
It was written by Harlan Ellison, and adjusted much to his chagrin. It was such a spectacular episode that it won a Hugo award in 1968. Not many episodes from any of the other series can say the same.
Edit: Oh yes, Joan Collins was the main guest star and did a spectacular job.
I think TOS is too difficult to be someone’s first trek experience.
I must disagree. ToS was where it all started. It was many people’s first trek experience. It was not “too difficult”. It was exceptional. The stories were interesting, easy to follow, and they were not dumbed down or used “big words” like TNG did to make it seem more intelligent. In my humble opinion, ToS is the best place for people new to Star Trek to venture forth. Thanks for reading.
I think the pacing of the episodes has not held up well. I admit that there were good episodes, but it can be hard to really enjoy if you’re not prepared for it.
Not a single ENT episode in this thread
I was thinking that as well, but someone eventually commented that carbon creek would be good.
I plan to show my mom Carbon Creek sometime soon.
Also “Duet” from S1 of DS9. Incredible acting.
There is some back story needed with that one… but maybe it’s tangential enough to make the viewer want to know more?
That was basically my thought as well, but I still say it plays well as a stand-alone story to give someone a taste of Trek. They may be confused at the beginning of the episode but I feel it’s self contained and focused enough that most people can pick up the major beats from context (Cardassians = occupiers, Bajorans = formerly occupied). And then hopefully the acting, the mystery, and the twist ending are enough to, like you said, make the viewer want to learn more.
My first inkling is to always tell someone to just start from the beginning with “The Cage”.
But if I have to pick something else my mind wonders to “Cause and Effect”.
“Carbon Creek” serves as a VERY light introduction to some core Star Trek elements. It’s far from “the best” but it’s a heartwarming little peak into the world of Trek. You even see some Vulcan’s become influenced by human compassion which is a good way of showing what makes humans special.
TNG “Devil’s Due”
Top notch in my opinion. The moment when Picard steps up to The Devil (Ardra) is one of my top moments of all time.
I think lots of people could identify with this episode due to it’s scifi content and it’s theological content.
Obviously TNG “The Inner Light” is literally one of the best television episodes ever to have been recorded, but it’s too much of a side quest to really introduce someone to Star Trek.
Devil’s Due
If this was the only episode of Star Trek I’d ever seen I’d have no interest in continuing 😅
I actually think “Inner Light” is a good option for OP because is a “side quest” that doesn’t require much backstory, while still being thematically aligned with what to expect with TNG.
Yeah but are we trying to get people into Trek or specifically into TNG?
TNG is the gateway drug
@neon_nova _Tapestry_ is my favourite all time episode, but you need too much back story for it to work. _The Most Toys_ has always been in my top three.
TNG, “The Inner Light”
Great episode, but I’d argue it doesn’t really give a new viewer much of a feel of what Star Trek is. Probably works better when you have a few episodes of TNG already under your belt.
