The Star Trek franchise, while not without its flaws, is easily the most influential television franchise of all time. The show inspired invaluable scientific and technological achievements, it has been a symbol of hope for people of every race and background, and it has been an incredible influence for televised storytelling of all kinds. While there's no question that classics like The Andy Griffith Show or M*A*S*H (just to name a few) were great, wildly influential shows, those shows didn't contribute nearly as much to the real world that Star Trek continues to do today. If Hollywood really wants to change the world, it should be putting out more things like Star Trek.
None of this is to say that Trek is the be-all end-all of television, but its contribution to the world beyond just being great pop culture is astounding. It inspired the development of MRI technology, space and air travel, multipurpose handheld devices, computer interface technology, nonlethal weapons, communications technology, moving objects with beams of light, defying the lightspeed barrier, and more. It's also predicted a number of things like cell phones, voice interaction, genetic engineering, and even hypochondriacs using WebMD to bug the crap out of doctors. Star Trek's technology seems magical at times, but given how much of that technology we have now, those devices in the show are feeling less and less like magic and more like challenges from the franchise's writers. "This is possible. Figure out a way to do it."
Every series contributed something great, even if some contributed far more than others. The Original Series (TOS) gave us a sense of charm, adventure, and teamwork. The Next Generation (TNG) found compelling drama in cerebral ethical dilemmas, unafraid to ask big questions. Deep Space Nine (DS9) doesn't get credit for it, but it's that show (and Babylon 5, which aired around the same time) that really paved the way for the serialized, morally ambiguous dramas everyone is all over today. Voyager (VOY) not only put a woman in a position of authority, but showed that female characters could be compelling without just being Bruce Willis with boobs or by being motivated by a handsome prince. Enterprise (ENT) provided an accessible bridge from today's society to the general Utopian society of TOS and beyond, while also exploring interesting ideas in its own right. Each of these series has episodes on this list. And while I'm not including The Animated Series on this list, even it contributed good things, continuing TOS's adventures through a medium allowing for even stranger new worlds and life forms.
There are over 700 episodes in the Star Trek franchise, and there are many good episodes that I won't be including in this Top 100 list. There are also some absolute failures. But now that we've already looked at the franchise's worst moments, it's time to look at the very best it has to offer. These 100 episodes aren't all perfect, but I'm a firm believer that everything can always be better, and being just "amazing" instead of "super fucking amazing" is nothing to frown on.
I'll be covering 10 at a time until we've reached the top 20. I'll then post both 20-16 and 15-11 separately, and then each episode in the Top 10 will get its own completely in-depth post. Obviously, this is going to take a while, both because there is so much to cover and because, as you can already tell, I ramble like crazy. Some episodes I'll have more to say about than others, but we'll see when we get to them. So without further ado, here's number 100-91 of what I consider to be the 100 greatest episodes of Star Trek.
