This fall I'm planning to watch the Star Trek TOS movies with some friends on discord, as well as a few episodes of TOS/TAS to introduce the characters/setting/etc. So basically I'm searching for recommendations for episodes to watch
The episodes I'm already planning :
Space Seed (since we'll be watching Wrath of Khan)
The City on the Edge of Forever
Yesteryear
If you have more episodes recommendations, I'd love to hear about them 😁
The Corbomite Maneuver
Balance of Terror
What are Little Girls Made Of?
Court Martial
The Menagerie
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
A Taste of Armageddon
Space Seed
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Season 2:
Amok Time
The Doomsday Machine
The Changeling
Mirror, Mirror
The Trouble with Tribbles
Journey to Babel
A Private Little War
A Piece of the Action
The Ultimate Computer
Assignment: Earth
Season 3:
Spectre of the Gun
The Empath
The Tholian Web
Day of the Dove
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
The Cloud Minders
Requiem for Methuselah
All Our Yesterdays
TAS:
Yesteryear
The Infinite Vulcan
The Magicks of Megas-Tu
Once Upon a Planet
How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth
I can elaborate on why these episodes are chosen but I’m afraid my comment would get too long.
Here's five of my favorites, especially because most of them provide some character lore/development that enhances watching the movies:
The Corbomite Maneuver - Kirk's captaincy style
Amok Time - Spock lore
Journey to Babel - fun, ethical dilemma episode, introduces Sarek
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - moral lesson episode, introduces the self-destruct, and I've found that modern viewers are fascinated by the fact that racism has become alien and confusing to future humans
The Galileo Seven - character drama, features Spock making survival choices that weigh the needs of the many against the needs of the few
I love TAS and believe all of its episodes are worth watching at least once.
Yesteryear is iconic and essential Spock and Guardian of Forever context but there’s a lot to take in.
TAS has some episodes that may not be the best, but definitely provide many firsts, and as such are an important bridge between TOS and TNG other later extensions of the franchise. So, here’s my list of ‘you really should see them’ episodes and why.
The Lorelei Syndrome puts Uhura in command, undoing the damage of TOS Turnabout Intruder ;
More Trouble, More Tribbles is a ‘must see’ part of the Tribbles trilogy with the TOS and DS9 a episodes;
The Time Trap - lays a foundation for the pocket universe trope;
The Slaver Weapon - it’s by Larry Niven and brings his Kzinti into the franchise, which only Starfleet Battles game upheld until they reappear in Lower Decks;
The Practical Joker introduces the Rec Room, precursor of the Holodeck, and introduces the ‘space anomaly causes Holodeck malfunction’ trope, with hijinks naturally.
The Counterclock Incident - Robert April and time running backwards, again not the best but one not to be missed.
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