Good first episodes of Trek?

[Lilgreenman]

I want to introduce a friend of mine to Star Trek. He hasn't been living under a rock, but he has never heard of the Starship Enterprise, Captain Kirk, the Borg, anything (I was surprised as you). I want to show him one TOS and one TNG episode, to introduce him to the series - which do you suggest?

[Stark]

The 2009 movie. That way, he can forever avoid the horror.

[Lord Revan]

tbh I'd start with the pilots (second pilot for TOS) as they lay most the ground work and are decent enough.

[Stark]

You're recommending someone who has never seen Star Trek watch Encounter at Farpoint in the year 2013?

Good idea - they'll never look back!

[Lord Revan]

if they're expecting a series made in the 1960s or 1990s to have same standards as today there's nothing and I mean nothing anyone could show them to make them stay.

[DaveJB]

I want to introduce a friend of mine to Star Trek. He hasn't been living under a rock, but he has never heard of the Starship Enterprise, Captain Kirk, the Borg, anything (I was surprised as you). I want to show him one TOS and one TNG episode, to introduce him to the series - which do you suggest?

Pretty much any TOS episode from the first two seasons will do, as that show's pretty much devoid of any real episode-to-episode continuity. Something like "Space Seed", "Amok Time" or "The Doomsday Machine" should entertain them while giving a good enough idea what the show's all about. The only real godawful episode from the first two seasons is "The Alternative Factor", so avoid that one.

As for TNG, I'd start with "The Measure of a Man" and/or "Q Who", the former of which is probably the first truly great TNG episode, and the latter of which introduces the Borg and also briefly summarizes Q's first two appearances.

If by any chance you want to also introduce this person to DS9, then I'd show them "Emissary", then skip the rest of Seasons 1 and 2 and go all the way to "The Jem'Hadar". Not that the first two seasons are devoid of good episodes (well, Season 1 sort of is, outside of "Emissary" and the last two episodes of the season), but doing it like that would give a better idea of what the show's about.

[seanrobertson]

Make it two episodes of each. Just one isn't enough.

TOS: "Balance of Terror" and "The City on the Edge of Forever." Honorable mention: ooo, tough one. But I'll go with "Mirror, Mirror."
TNG: "The Inner Light" and "The Defector." Honorable mention: again, very tough. "The Measure of a Man"? "Future Imperfect"? "Conundrum"? "Clues"? I can't pick.

There's nothing "horrible" about any of those and it offers a fair balance between pathos and action (or, for the nitpickers, at least some palpable tension).

I do agree with Stark about "Encounter at Farpoint," though. Even with the remastered effects, ugh, ick, gag. I wouldn't share ANY TNG season one episode with a prospective Trekkie except, and this is a big maybe, "Heart of Glory." And that's only because the people to whom I'm likely to introduce TNG are fairly young women (18- >40), and I reckon they'll find Michael Dorn attractive. After all, one of said women, my girlfriend, even says I sound a bit like Dorn

You might as well throw DS9, if not VGR and ENT, into the mix, too, Lilgreen. For DS9, "Duet" is a great start. So is, IMHO, a personal favorite, "Visionary." I wouldn't rank it as one of the best DS9 episodes by most measurable means, but I give it mad credit for a time-traveling story that actually *works*. (I'd easily suggest episodes like "Inter Arma Silent Leges," but that'd require that the viewer was familiar with more than you could probably explain in 10-15 seconds ... and I've found that, if you can't establish a good background with an explanation shorter than as much, your audience will probably not know what the fuck's going on.)

ENT: "Silent Enemy" and "Dead Stop."
VGR: "Year of Hell" and either "Scorpion" or "Living Witness," both for fun (you want more traditional Trek, check out "Tuvix"). Virginia Slims Queen Janeway's gravelly line, "This is the warship Voyager" alone bears a quick Youtube view if nothing more.

Hope that helps.
-Sean

[Batman]

Why, exactly, does it have to be an episode rather than one of the movies? Just asking.

[B5B7]

The movies aren't really Star Trek, in the normal sense. The original series was all about finding new life and new civilizations, and boldly going, etc. [ie exploration] whilst the movies, especially the newer ones, are about combating a Federation imperiling menace. This is mainly because they are aiming at a different audience. With the movies also, there is generally a need to know prior ST background; for instance, if haven't seen TOS episode 'Space Seed' the 'The Wrath of Khan' isn't as meaningful.
Similarly 'First Contact' requires prior knowledge of the Borg for full impact.

[Lilgreenman]

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. After some deliberation, I've decided to go with Balance of Terror and Q Who: Both are ensemble pieces with a relatively commonplace premise that introduce recurring villains.

[Skylon]

if haven't seen TOS episode 'Space Seed' the 'The Wrath of Khan' isn't as meaningful..

I have to disagree here. TWOK was my first Star Trek experience. I was nine. My reaction was for the next several months, when my dad did his Friday runs to Blockbuster was to first, rent the other Trek films. Then, rent TOS episodes (which the video store had about a third of, on tape...I started with "Space Seed").

The ease of watching series' on dvd, demand or Netflix has kinda engendered a perception you need to start at square one with any show. I don't see why you can become enraptured by a moment in the show, midway, then back-track. Especially something as episodic as TOS and TNG. Similarly I started watching TNG regularly, at season 5, and then caught everything before that in repeats. I am not saying TWOK is the best place to start, but if a moment in a series (or franchise in Trek's case) can entertain you, everything else has the potential to fall into place. It all depends when you catch it and the person.

A lot of TWOK's meaining isn't as derived from "Space Seed" anyway. Khan is the threat. The meaning more comes from Kirk's character evolution in the film, and the film's themes on life, death and un-winnable scenarios.

[TOSDOC]

I'm with Skylon--I remember as a kid seeing TWOK before the episodes, and Spock's death still had me and my brothers all in tears, because the friendship was so well portrayed. It's a fine stand-alone story, having enough exposition to explain both Kahn and Kirk's melancholy without having to watch anything previous (Star Trek IV might be more fun but needs more explaining).

Balance of Terror or Journey to Babel would have been my TOS picks. For TNG, I'd say Darmok, although The Best of Both Worlds was their best ensemble piece. Darmok is flawed but I thought it was a nice attempt at displaying difficulties with interspecies communication and first contact.

[Havok]

The new movies.
There aren't just one or two episodes that are going expose someone to the cultural phenomenon that Star Trek has been made into or was in the 60's when it actually tackled real social issues.

Do like I did with Doctor Who. Watched the new episodes, then I went back and watched the ones I wanted to from the old stuff. Eventually, if he likes it, he will watch all he can get his hands on of the TV shows.