10 Best Episodes

I've always thought City on the Edge of Forever is very overrated. It's certainly not a bad episode, but I've just never seen it as an outstanding episode.

My main beef with it is that I can't believe that Kirk would fall in love with Edith Keeler in such a very short time with so much (the entire future he has lived) riding on his actions and decisions. The episode is a stand-out for the Kirk-Spock relationship, and it's fun to watch every now and again, but I remain convinced that it is far from being one of the best episodes.

It wouldn't make mine but I also enjoy watching Spectre of the Gun, one of my favorites from season three. I've also come to like Last Battlefield much more than when I first watched it.

Love to see Spectre of the Gun mentioned! It’s a solid episode, and also pretty eerie at times.

Here's why I could never really take "The Changeling" too seriously:
1) the amount of firepower in such a small probe destroyed my suspension of disbelief,
2) the death and resurrection of Scotty, and
3) the mind-wipe of Uhura.

I would describe "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" as entertaining, but not one of the greats, especially when one considers that the entire premise is supposed to be a metaphor for 20th century race relations.

Interesting to see "The Mark of Gideon" on your list. The mystery of Kirk and Odona on the empty Enterprise is kinda fun and involving, as is Spock and McCoy’s attempts to find out what happened to their missing captain; it’s the absurd explanation of the mystery that ruins the episode (for me). Apparently the Gideons created an exact duplicate of the Enterprise and schemed to get Kirk & Odona aboard so Kirk would infect Odona with a deadly disease that would subsequently spread across Gideon and solve their overpopulation problem. This bizarre scheme raises a slew of questions: 1. How could the Gideons possibly construct “an exact duplicate of the Enterprise,” as Spock calls it — so perfect, in fact, that it completely fools Captain Kirk, the man who’s basically married to the ship? Kirk notes that he is familiar with “every sound that this ship might make.” How were the Gideons able to duplicate the very sounds of the vessel well enough to fool Kirk? 2. Why would the Gideons go through the monumental trouble of building an exact duplicate of the Enterprise in the first place? Why not just have Kirk beamed down to an empty building? Kirk could just as successfully infect Odona there, right? 3. If Gideon is so incredibly overpopulated that people “would kill in order to find a place alone,” as Odona states, where would they find the space to build a vessel as massive as the Enterprise? Keep in mind that Odona plainly says that there is “no mountain that is not filled with people.” 4. Apparently, part of Hodin’s plan was that Kirk would fall so hopelessly in love with Odona that he would freely stay on Gideon. Hey, I realize Odona’s beautiful and all, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s dressed in one of Bill Theiss’ infamous costumes, but — c’mon — beautiful women aren’t that rare in the Star Trek universe (particularly on the Enterprise) and Kirk certainly never had a problem attracting them.

Thank you for your thoughts on the 10 episodes I chose.

I've always liked Metamorphosis as it features the original series' most interesting love story. The Immunity Syndrome features the whole cast at their best in a tense situation. Both of these episodes also highlight the value of self-sacrifice.

When I first saw Assignment: Earth, I hated it, as it was obviously a back-door pilot for another show. Over time, I've grown to love it. A really fascinating world and premise was created, and it best captures the series as a 1960's phenomenon.

You could have replied to any previous post and still get the bump.

Overall, I like your list but still would have added City on the Edge of Forever somewhere. I'd have to think which one I would bump off to fit it in.