Part 2 of the episodes I would recommend viewing of Star Trek. Find part 1 here. Part 3 here.

5. “Chain of Command”, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 6 ep 10, 11

Re-watching this I must really have a thing for Captain Picard going through just the worst things possible. Captain Picard, Dr. Crusher, and Lt . Worf are pulled into a secret mission in Cardassian space. The Federation believes they are building some sort of technobabble-heavy super weapon, and it needs sabotaged. At the same time Cardassians have amassed troops along their border after losing Bajor (DS9 shout out.) In an attempt to broker a peace deal at the same time as the espionage one Captain Jellico is placed in charge of the Enterprise. Jellico is played by Ronny Cox whom you may recognize as the head villain in every 80s science fiction movie. To say he runs a tight ship is an understatement. He’s hard nosed, rigid, and demanding to the point of breaking the crew. Sometimes struggling companies hire CEOs that are experts at turning the company around, but you wouldn’t want them around much otherwise. What the crew fails to see that this is one of those moments. They need a captain who can lead a ship into war, but definitely wouldn’t want permanently. Riker spends another episode squinty-eyed and speaking through clenched teeth before ultimately being relieved of command, and Jellico finally gets Counselor Troi out of her ridiculous outfit and into a normal uniform as well. Troi’s uniform is perhaps his greatest victory since it stays that way the rest of the series. Personally, I think Jellico is great, and could watch him yell at exasperated crew members and Cardassian negotiators all day.

Speaking of Cardassians, the super weapon was all a ruse to kidnap Picard, and it works to perfection. What follows are pretty intense scenes of torture led by Gul Madred. Gul Madred is played by guest star David Warner, a great character actor you have definitely seen a hundred times, including various other Star Trek roles. What starts as an operation of trying to get information instead turns into a personal quest for Gul Madred to break Picard. He fully admits this when the captain points out that torture is not an effective way to procure intelligence. Picard is stripped, subjected to shock

torture, regularly beaten, and dehumanized. The main game Gul Madred plays is showing the captain four lights, and trying to get Picard to say there are five lights. Picard is promised a life of leisure if he only admits he sees five lights. Luckily, when talks between Jellico and the Cardassians break down both Jellico and Riker swallow their prides, and Riker leads a mission that causes the Cardassians to withdraw and return Picard. One final confrontation between Gul Madred and Picard has the captain defiantly yelling there are four lights. However, in a quiet post-script discussion with Troi he admits that by the end not only was he going to say there were five lights, but that he actually SAW five lights. Phew, get that guy a vacation. One of the most intense, raw episodes in the series. I think it stands with Best of Both Worlds.

6. “Trials and Tribble-ations, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Season 5 ep 6

It’s almost not fair to try and single out DS9 episodes, because so many of them are dependent on previous episodes. So, while there are many great individual episodes they wouldn’t make sense in list of recommendations without context, and I’m already tired of typing. This one was pretty easy to pick, because it was an amazing one off that not only was funny, but total bald-faced fan service. Captain Sisko is visited by Temporal Investigations to explain any possible timeline issues after the Defiant is sent back in time to the time of the original Enterprise. What follows is the cast of the DS9 dressed up in the original uniforms, rubbing elbows or in the background of many scenes from the original “The Trouble with Tribbles” episode. It’s seamlessly done, and we learn that Klingons declared tribbles an enemy of the Empire by Worf. They eventually attacked the tribble home planet and wiped them out. “Another glorious chapter of Klingon history. Tell me, do they still sing songs of the great tribble hunt?” Odo then observes. Ultimately, the plot doesn’t matter. Any fan of the original series should seek this one out.

7. “Call to Arms”, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Season 5 ep 26

I’m using this episode only because saying watch all of Season 6 would be cheating.

This is the culmination of a many season slow burn of tension by a faction from the Gamma Quadrant called the Dominion and the Federation. The crew of Deep Space 9 devise a system of mines that will not allow the Dominion to cross through the wormhole into the Alpha Quadrant while they travel to their Cardassian allies. Even though tense agreements are exchanged, both sides realize a point of no return has been reached. In terms of the series itself, it definitely goes where Gene Roddenberry would not have allowed had he lived. The Federation is not supposed to declare war, and this starts off a conflict that’s scope is larger than anything that’s been attempted in the franchise. It’s totally worth it. Season 6 is the best season of any Star Trek series, and Season 7 isn’t far behind in my view.

8. “Tuvix”, Star Trek Voyager, Season 2 ep 24

In which Captain Janeway straight up murders an innocent person. The Vulcan Tuvok

and ship’s resident goof/cook/alien Neelix get merged together in a transporter accident. The resulting life form has the memories of both Tuvok and Neelix, and the result is person who exudes the best qualities of both. Smart and logical like Tuvok, with the personal skills and ability to take risks like Neelix, the crew quickly views him as an important part of the ship. (Except for Kes, who loved Neelix, but no one cares about Kes ever.) However, things go astray when The Doctor finds a way to split Tuvix back into the two former crewmen. Tuvix has decided that he does not want to die. What follows is Captain Janeway alone deciding it’s going to happen, and Tuvix pleading with someone to stop her. The rest of the crew are all cowards except for The Doctor who won’t do the procedure. Janeway then ends his life. It has to be one of the most egregious violations of the Prime Directive in the franchise. I guess what happens in the Delta Quadrant stays in the Delta Quadrant.