Star Trek is my favorite. I can't do five. Here's twenty.
20. VOY: "Timeless"
Harry Kim has had it rough. For twenty-odd years, he's regretted the mistake that caused Voyager to crash (in a spectacular VFX display) down into an icy world. Now, he and Chakotay are going to make it right, no matter the cost. Voyager had so many good "what if?" scenarios, and "Timeless" was its best.
19. TNG: "All Good Things..."
Although it gets a touch too technobabbly in a couple of scenes, there's no mistaking TNG's finale for anything less than powerful. A terrific send-off to the best crew of any Enterprise.
18. TNG: "The Inner Light"
Come on, now. Essays have been written on this one.
17. TOS: "Mirror, Mirror"
Doubles! Evil doubles! Oh no! And yet, "Mirror" is a phenomenal case study in divergent societies and how easy it can be to take too many steps in shady directions.
16. DS9: "Waltz"
A stunning performance from an insane, self-righteous Dukat pivots Marc Alaimo even higher into the stratosphere of Trek's best actors and further secures his character's status as the best villain in the franchise.
15. DS9: "The Wire"
Garak's mental state unravels, leaving Bashir to learn the truth -- after a fashion -- about his friend. Three separate stories are told, each with facets of the man's past, each embellished out of insecurity.
14. ENT: "Azati Prime"
The damaged NX-01 and her beleaguered crew finally reach the Xindi homeworld in this tense chapter of a remarkably gritty serialized stretch. Alliances are forged, betrayals erupt, and the action doesn't let up.
13. VOY: "Someone to Watch Over Me"
Seven and The Doctor play sing-along together in a profoundly moving episode about two characters exploring their humanity at the edge of the final frontier.
12. TNG: "Redemption"
The Klingon Civil War erupts, testing Worf, Picard, and audiences everywhere.
11. VOY: "Living Witness"
The Doctor awakens hundreds of years into a planner's future, and quickly discovers they have the wrong idea about Voyager's crew. The misinterpretations are both funny and unsettling, and Doc's bid to set the record straight turns into a fascinating morality play.
10. ENT: "Kir'Shara"
Enterprise's best episode is the conclusion to the Vulcan reformation trilogy. Archer and T'Pol uncover an artifact that will change the storied world, as a Romulan agent scrambles to stop them.
09. TOS: "Journey to Babel"
Speaking of Vulcan, my favorite TOS episode is responsible for expanding the world's lore in a plethora of ways.
08. DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels"
The occupation arc was a seven-parter. Nowadays, this might not sound so special, but in 1997-98, it was nothing short of sensational. Especially if you were like me -- a kid of ten who couldn't get any closer to the TV when Trek was on if his life depended on it. The arc's success helped usher in "The Final Chapter", the ten-hour finale arc, a year later. "Sacrifice" is the climax to the occupation arc, and it's a damned good one.
07. VOY: "Year of Hell"
The crew go up against the time-shifting Krenim, taking heavy losses and uniting with various races in a war-torn sector. A year passes, and drama ensues. Despite the reset button ending, "Year of Hell" is prime Voyager. (Or perhaps it is prime Voyager because of it.)
06. DS9: "Take Me Out to the Holosuite"
Trek's best comedy. The DS9 crew exchange their uniforms for jerseys in a baseball match against an old school-days rival of Sisko's. The well-oiled ensemble cast delivers a pitch-perfect dose of cast chemistry the whole way through.
05. TNG: "Chain of Command"
Picard is kidnapped by a Cardassian with a terrifying sense of torture. Even without the ties to my favorite television series, "Chain" would win me over big-time; the atmosphere is outstanding from start to finish.
04. DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind"
Worf's eleven-year arc comes to a head as he challenges Gowron and reshapes Klingon history; Kira's full-circle alliance with old enemies takes a sharp, desperate turn. "The Final Chapter" was DS9 on all cylinders, and "Tacking" is objectively the best segment.
03. DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight"
Sisko's framing device is among the best media's ever achieved. The tension is palpable as one man learns to live with his own broken conscience. Desperate times, desperate measures. All's fair in war.
02. TNG: "The Offspring"
Data creates a daughter, Lal. Her actress brilliantly plays the young woman's earnest naivety, and the ending sends tears streaming down my face every time, without fail.
01. DS9: "What You Leave Behind"
It isn't flawless, but DS9's series finale wins me on all fronts thanks to an intensely effective barrage of emotionally resonant scenes. The montage, Odo in a suit, Kassidy and Ben in the Prophets' realm. Kira and Jake and the final camera fade. I shake just thinking about it. Sure, they kind of botched some spots, but the catharsis is real.
Sub Rosa is terrible.
