Movies - TV
The 21 Best Star Trek Original Series Episodes, Ranked
By MAURICE MOLYNEAUX
21. A Piece of the Action
While humorous moments abound throughout the original “Star Trek,” the second season’s seventeenth episode, “A Piece of the Action,” is genuinely funny. The episode is a spoof on the Star Trek schtick of “strange new worlds,” but it places last because it's almost irredeemably dumb, even if it’s dumb fun.
20. Space Seed
While this episode ranks on many fans’ top ten lists, it is simply a good episode that is propelled to greatness by Ricardo Montalbán’s performance as Khan Noonien Singh. Without Montalbán, the storyline is generally weak but is propelled along by its brisk pace, good performances, and memorable dialogue.
19. The Conscience of the King
With plots ranging from psychological drama to commentary on the cold war, the shape-shifting nature of Star Trek is what gives the series its power. The thirteenth episode of Season 1 goes in a different direction, mirroring Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and while the premise gives the episode a theatrical flair, it doesn’t earn it a spot near the top.
18. The Immunity Syndrome
“The Immunity Syndrome” features a sister ship annihilated by an alien organism that endangers life throughout the galaxy, but the episode gets personal when Kirk has to make a heartbreaking decision to send a crew member on what will likely be a suicide mission to study the alien. Plus, "Immunity" features fabulously weird visual effects.
17. Day of the Dove
“Day of the Dove” has action, character conflict, and a shrewd enemy starship commander, Kang, who makes an honorable antithesis to Kirk. With a plot that can be read as a commentary on the military-industrial complex, it’s the best the third season has to offer, but can’t compete with the great episodes of earlier seasons.