Spoiler Warning: Beware of minor spoilers for some of the episodes on this list.
In celebration of Star Trek’s imminent sixtieth anniversary, I want to make a list of some great episodes! And I know what you’re thinking: “Dennis, you’ve done this before.” True. But this list is slightly different – I’m going to exclusively focus on episodes that I think are “hidden gems;” episodes you might overlook, episodes you might skip if you’re going back for your sixtieth re-watch of a box set, and episodes that basically no Trekkie is recommending as a starting point for new viewers of the franchise!
So that raises an obvious question, right? How do we determine what is and is not a “hidden gem?” I’m glad you asked!
Last year, I used IMDB’s episode review scores to put together two lists: the “top five” and “bottom five” episodes from each of the pre-Discovery shows. And I’m taking IMDB’s rankings as a starting point again. In short: if an episode is either in the top ten most highly-rated episodes, or the bottom ten most-disliked episodes from a series, I’m excluding it. That also applies if one half of a two-part story is in either the top- or bottom-ten. But the rules don’t end there!
I’m also going to exclude stories that are – in my *subjective opinion*, of course – well-remembered, “iconic,” or that have otherwise crossed over to become part of pop culture. In brief: episodes everyone remembers, stories with clips or scenes that have been meme-ified, and really any episode that I think an average non-Trekkie might look at and say “oh, I remember that.” I think that definition *has* to include series premieres and finales, which introduce characters and wrap up key storylines. And finally, I’m going to exclude crossover episodes, which I think are pretty memorable by default.
So that’s how we’re reaching our conclusion for what is and is not a hidden gem! Partly based on review scores from IMDB, and partly based on how subjectively “iconic,” easily-recognised, or memed on an episode might be.
Does that sound fair? I hope so, because that’s what we’re going with!
What’s the point of this? Well, I want to celebrate the franchise’s sixtieth anniversary, but I think there are gonna be a ton of “bEzT sTaR tReK ePiSoDeZ eVaRrR!!1!” list-icles all over the internet this week, and many of them are gonna just pick the same fan-favourites: City on the Edge of Forever, The Best of Both Worlds, and so on. And likewise, some folks are gonna ironically recommend the likes of Spock’s Brain or Shades of Gray.
I just thought it could be fun to pick out a few episodes that might fly under the radar; genuinely good, enjoyable stories that might’ve been eclipsed by stronger episodes, or that just didn’t catch fire in the way some others did.
I’m not putting any other limitations on my selections. Episodes will come from right across the franchise, and as long as they aren’t in the top- or bottom-ten from their respective shows, and don’t have iconic moments, famous memes, or other such things… they’ll be entered into consideration! I hope this’ll be a bit of fun, and maybe you’ll be inspired to return to a story you haven’t seen in a while, or even try out something brand-new.
I’ve picked fifteen episodes for this list… and hey, if you’re looking for a playlist for your sixtieth anniversary Star Trek marathon? Here ya go!
With all of that out of the way, let’s get into the episodes!
Episode #1:
The Star Gazer
Picard Season 2, Episode 1
Star Trek: Picard is awkward for this list, because at only thirty episodes in total, two-thirds of the entire series is excluded by default! But of the ten episodes in the middle, The Star Gazer leapt out at me. In my review of the episode from back in 2022, I described it as “one of the best episodes of live-action Star Trek that I’ve seen in a long time,” and I stand by that… with a caveat or two! After a disappointing end to Season 1, The Star Gazer took Picard and his new friends back to Starfleet in a big way, and not only that, but it reintroduced a villainous faction by giving them a truly terrifying new look.
After that, though… well, Season 2 kinda went off the rails! And as the first chapter of a ten-episode story, The Star Gazer isn’t gonna be the easiest thing to watch in isolation. The subsequent nine episodes put a pretty big downer on it, and that’s just unavoidable. If you can enjoy it on its own merits, though, I think there’s a lot to love here. A new version of an iconic starship, Picard seemingly back to his old self, and an updated take on one of the franchise’s biggest baddies that, at the time, I found to be genuinely shocking and quite frightening.
Episode #2:
The Maquis, Parts I-II
Deep Space Nine Season 2, Episodes 20-21
DS9 has a ton of classic episodes, particularly involving Sisko, Garak, the Dominion War, and more. But if we’re looking for the real hidden gems, I want to pick out The Maquis. I think it’s an important episode – but one that’s easily overlooked both within DS9 itself and within the broader category of stories featuring the titular faction.
This was the episode that first introduced us to the Maquis – a faction that would reappear in DS9 as well as in The Next Generation and, of course, in Voyager. But being the first to establish an important faction is meaningless if the story isn’t good – and for me, at least, The Maquis has a solid, enjoyable story that really calls into question some of the Federation’s lofty ideals, and puts Sisko to the test. Star Trek has always done stories with big moral questions, and The Maquis absolutely fits in with the best of them.
Episode #3:
Off-Hour
Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 6
Call this “recency bias” all you want, but Off-Hour is a solid and very “Star Trekky” episode in a season that, to be honest, has had more misses than hits. So I’m glad to be able to recommend at least one episode from Strange New Worlds’ fourth season, which, at time of writing, hasn’t yet concluded! Off-Hour is kind of an updated take on The Next Generation’s Disaster, putting the ship and crew into a dangerous situation and forcing several characters to work miracles to keep everyone alive.
The episode gave most of the show’s main characters something to do, meaning it feels more of an ensemble piece than a lot of modern Star Trek stories. Its core premise was suitably tense – even if that tension, for me, could’ve been dialled back a notch or two! And after quite a few Strange New Worlds episodes have notoriously taken “big swings” into a variety of different genre parodies and spoofs… it was just nice to get an episode that felt very much like Star Trek. If you dipped out of Strange New Worlds after the musical or the puppet episode… come back for one more try! I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Episode #4:
The Ultimate Computer
The Original Series Season 2, Episode 24
I had a hard time with TOS! So many episodes are either flat-out iconic in their own rights, or else they have incredibly memorable scenes or clips that I think would disqualify them from this list! But of all the episodes outside of the top-ten, The Ultimate Computer really stands out to me. What’s more, I think its core message and theming is *incredibly* relevant in 2026, some fifty-eight years after its original broadcast, as the world struggles with the rise of advanced A.I. systems and large-language models.
The Ultimate Computer is a “man versus machine” story, and a tale of how overreliance on technology can go horribly wrong. TOS made many “predictions” that have since come to pass: technologies like mobile phones, video calling, computer libraries storing all of human knowledge, wireless technology, iPads, real-time translation… the list goes on! But this depiction of a rogue A.I. feels like a timeless warning from the past, and given where we are today… it’s uncanny.
Episode #5:
Face the Strange
Discovery Season 5, Episode 4
I did not care for Discovery’s fifth and final season, on the whole. But one real hidden gem amidst a generally disappointing story is Face the Strange, which sees Burnham and her new XO – Commander Rayner – forced to work together in the face of a weird time travel plot. Time travel is *also* not one of my favourite parts of Star Trek, usually, but I’m making an exception for the creative way it was utilised in Face the Strange.
Face the Strange feels like a bit of a diversion from the season’s bland and uninspired main storyline, which perhaps helps it stand out just a little bit more. I also enjoy the way Rayner comes across in this episode – as a relatively late addition to Discovery’s cast, Rayner needed the extra screen time that an episode like Face the Strange granted him. Again, an episode to try out if you had already checked out of Discovery before the fifth season.
Episode #6:
The Royale
The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 12
This is, admittedly, pure bias on my part: The Royale is the first episode of Star Trek that I can remember watching, all the way back in 1991! But hey, if this is the episode that turned me into a Trekkie, it can’t be that bad, right? I like the episode’s away mission plot, I like that this kind of sci-fi mystery is something silly and weird that only a Star Trek show would dare attempt, and I like the way the episode handles the characters on the planet and back on the ship. Is it purely a nostalgic pick for me? Maybe. But that doesn’t make it bad!
The Royale uses its setting well, and although the characters on the planet feel like cardboard cut-outs for the most part, the episode explains why this is – and even has time to consider the idea of a very different kind of alien life trying to make sense of humanity through our literature and art. There are some genuinely fun moments for the away team, as they explore a weird, almost surreal 20th Century setting that they weren’t expecting to find, and back on the ship, Picard and the crew work hard to help them. A solid, enjoyable, and easily-overlooked episode.
Episode #7:
Macrocosm
Voyager Season 3, Episode 12
Macrocosm sees Janeway and the Doctor fighting giant single-celled viruses that have taken over the ship! Cool, right? After an away mission goes awry and the ship is infected, it’s up to Janeway to save the day in what is genuinely one of the best action-packed storylines she gets across the show’s entire run. It’s a nice, self-contained story featuring a one-off alien race, a one-off antagonist, and a silly premise that has just enough of a basis in real science to make the technobabble seem believable!
There’s enough of a threat to Voyager that everyone feels in real danger, and while I will admit that the CGI macro-viruses probably haven’t aged especially well, there can be a charm to this kind of thing! I like when Star Trek depicts alien races that aren’t just part of the “nose and forehead brigade,” and these flying mega-viruses definitely fit the bill. A great episode if you want to see Janeway running around with a phaser, and the Doctor gets a moment to shine, too.
Episode #8:
Where Pleasant Fountains Lie
Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 7
I really need to get caught up on Lower Decks. Maybe you think this ruins my standing as a Trekkie, but I’ve only seen up to partway through Season 3 at time of writing! But of the episodes I’ve seen (that meet the criteria for this list), Where Pleasant Fountains Lie was the one I wanted to highlight the most.
I read part of the episode’s story – involving the USS Cerritos’ chief engineer, Andy Billups – as a metaphor for asexuality. Doing what Star Trek has always done, Lower Decks uses a sci-fi lens to shine a light on a real-world situation, and puts Billups in a difficult situation as he struggles with “fitting in” with his people. There’s plenty of comedy, and I think it’s also an interesting take on how some human societies exist outside of the Federation, which adds a bit of depth to the world of Star Trek. But it’s really that core message that I find the most interesting and relatable.
Episode #9:
The Catwalk
Enterprise Season 2, Episode 12
Few episodes really manage to convey the dangers of pushing the frontiers of space travel in this 22nd Century era quite as well as The Catwalk. Because the NX-01 is a less-powerful ship than her namesakes further along the timeline, she’s less well-shielded and armoured, and that means that, when a dangerous interstellar phenomenon approaches, the crew has to take refuge in the only part of the ship that can keep them safe from the radiation: the nacelles.
There’s something weirdly almost “cozy” about that setup that I’ve always really appreciated. A community coming together, riding out a storm in a safe space… it just gives me the warm fuzzies, I guess! Of course, there’s more to the episode than that – and, naturally, things don’t go to plan. This is another episode with a one-off alien adversary who we haven’t seen return, and despite the uniqueness of its core premise, I think it’s one a lot of folks will have just scrolled past, especially on repeat viewings.
Episode #10:
How Sharper Than A Serpent’s Tooth
The Animated Series Season 2, Episode 5
I’m cheating a tiny bit with this one; at a mere twenty-two episodes in total, it was too difficult to exclude both the top-ten and bottom-ten from The Animated Series! But ranked roughly in the middle – and, I would argue, easily overlooked – is How Sharper Than A Serpent’s Tooth, which is a fun story that sees Kirk and co. facing off against an ancient alien who once visited Earth.
The Animated Series was “officially non-canon” for a while, and it was only when I bought the DVD box set that I watched it in full. The animation work is definitely a product of its time (and something modern Star Trek has even parodied, with a miniseries called Very Short Treks) but for me, there are some great episodes in this oft-neglected series. How Sharper Than A Serpent’s Tooth was also the episode selected when The Animated Series won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1975 – so it has pedigree. And I think its core story is very “Star Trekky,” if you can look past the deficiencies in its animation.
Episode #11:
The Wounded
The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 12
When you think of classic Cardassian episodes, I bet you don’t go to The Wounded first and foremost! Even in TNG, episodes like Chain of Command are much more likely to be memorable or draw your attention. But The Wounded marks the Cardassians’ first-ever appearance, and as such, it started the process of setting the stage for The Next Generation’s first spin-off: Deep Space Nine. We also see that through this episode’s massive expansion of Chief O’Brien’s role – O’Brien would go on to play a major role on DS9, of course.
The episode is also noteworthy for its introduction of Gul Macet – played by Marc Alaimo. Alaimo is best known for another Cardassian character: DS9′s Dukat. And you can kind of consider Macet a “proto-Gul Dukat,” I think! The Wounded is a kind of “Apocalypse Now” story, following O’Brien and Picard as they have to work *with* the Cardassians to stop a rogue Starfleet captain. It’s a great episode in its own right, and well worth a watch.
Episode #12:
Terrarium
Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 9
I’ll be honest: I was surprised to see Terrarium ranked so low amongst Strange New Worlds episodes! For me, this is probably the best individual episode of Season 3, with a strong focus on Lieutenant Erica Ortegas and the lingering after-effects of the Federation’s conflict with the Gorn. In my review of the episode last year, I said that it was “intense, dramatic, emotional, and just fantastic,” and that really encapsulates how I feel. After having not spent that much time with Ortegas across the show’s first three seasons, her first real spotlight was genuinely exceptional.
However, I guess I can see why some fans might overlook it or choose to scroll past. When compared to the likes of Memento Mori or the two parts of Hegemony – episodes which also feature the Gorn – it’s not as action-packed or explosive. It’s also a character piece and a bit of a slow burn, in places. But as viewers and as Trekkies, I think we should be able to appreciate stories that aren’t just mindless action and fighting all the time, and slower, more introspective pieces about bridging a cultural divide and working together in the name of survival can be just as compelling and engaging.
Episode #13:
The Magnificent Ferengi
Deep Space Nine Season 6, Episode 10
Of all the episodes from DS9′s fantastic Dominion War arc, be honest: how many of you would’ve picked The Magnificent Ferengi for a re-watch? The episode is genuinely very funny, playing on DS9′s sillier and more light-hearted take on the Ferengi. It’s a great episode for recurring characters Rom, Brunt, and Nog in particular, as they join a mission of Quark’s to rescue Ishka (Quark and Rom’s mother) from Dominion captivity.
Naturally, nothing goes to plan for the Ferengi; the episode is almost a comedy of errors! But that’s what makes it so fun, and a guest-starring role for musician Iggy Pop was also a blast. The Magnificent Ferengi makes great use of DS9′s expansive secondary cast, ties into the sixth season’s Dominion War storyline in a new and unexpected way, and is a great example of how Star Trek can be hilarious when it embraces comedy and even slapstick. The Ferengi are indeed magnificent!
Episode #14:
Night
Voyager Season 5, Episode 1
Night is an episode of two halves. One side of the story explores something that few other Voyager episodes – or Star Trek episodes in general, come to think of it – really ever did: what does the crew do when there’s nothing to do and no planets to explore? We catch a glimpse of what life is like for the crew as they navigate a starless expanse with no interesting phenomena, alien spacecraft, or planets to crash-land on. And it really is fascinating!
But then the episode introduces one of Voyager’s lesser-remembered recurring aliens: the Malon. The Malon are another example of Star Trek shining a light on real-world issues through the lens of sci-fi: in this case, the financial incentives companies have to keep polluting, or to keep burning fossil fuels, despite knowing the harm it causes. It’s a great idea for a story: Starfleet shows up, offers an alien society a better, safer, cleaner technology… only to be turned down because of what it would mean for corporate profits. If only there was a modern-day industry that could benefit from this kind of metaphor, eh?
Episode #15:
Assignment: Earth
The Original Series Season 2, Episode 26
TOS has a lot of iconic moments, doesn’t it? But would you say Assignment: Earth or Gary Seven are among them? For me, this is an episode I will openly admit to regularly scrolling past when I re-watch The Original Series; I’m just not wild about time travel stories, as I think I’ve already mentioned. But that’s part of why it deserves a place on this list: Assignment: Earth is the definition of a hidden gem; an overlooked episode that has a lot of great qualities.
Firstly, it’s fun to see Gary Seven and catch a glimpse of a new faction that subsequent Star Trek stories did nothing with for half a century! But it’s also neat to see Kirk and co. in the 1960s, dealing with NASA. Remember that this episode aired shortly *before* the first moon landing, at a time when interest in NASA and space exploration was at its height. It’s another great example of Star Trek telling a “morality play;” in this case, an explicit warning against the use of nuclear weapons at a moment when the Cold War was raging.
Bonus Film:
The Motion Picture
I wanted to put one feature film on this list, and for me, no film quite embodies the “hidden gem” idea better than The Motion Picture. Fans tend to overlook Star Trek’s first film in favour of The Wrath of Khan, as well as other action-packed entries like The Undiscovered Country and First Contact. But for me, no film quite matches the tone of The Motion Picture, which has an ethereal sci-fi story that plays out like an extended episode of The Original Series.
This film is also where much of the aesthetic of Star Trek was created. Klingons with armour and forehead ridges, angled starship hallways, the warp core as a glowing upright tube, even metal Starfleet insignia on uniforms… so many things created for The Motion Picture have gone on to become inseperable from Star Trek, defining its visual language and identity. The film’s story is one of seeking out new life – even if that form of life is almost incomprehensibly different from anything Starfleet or humanity had previously encountered. Moreover, The Motion Picture brought Star Trek back and re-established it for a new decade – a decade which would eventually lead to more films and a return to the small screen.
So that’s it!
Happy sixtieth anniversary, Star Trek! I hope this selection of “hidden gems” has given you an idea or two if you’re planning a Star Trek marathon to mark the franchise’s birthday. I know that’s what I’ll be doing on Tuesday!
As I said above, I really wanted to put together a selection of episodes that I don’t think will be featured on a lot of similar list-icles. Star Trek has almost 1,000 episodes and films to choose from, but fans tend to gravitate to certain ones more than others. Some episodes aren’t great or are just padding, sure, but there are some really fun stories that tend to get overlooked or overshadowed by more popular or better-remembered contemporaries. And I wanted to highlight a few of them this time.
I hope you’ll join me on the 8th for an article all about Star Trek and its sixtieth anniversary! And if you missed them earlier in the year, I have a few other celebratory pieces I’d like to recommend to you.
In May, I got to meet William Shatner – Captain Kirk himself – at an event here in the UK. I reviewed Starfleet Academy’s first season, the video game Across The Unknown, and I’ve been writing up individual episode reviews for Strange New Worlds’ fourth season, too. I wrote up another batch of my “what-if” scenarios, I took at look at some wild and wacky fan theories, I talked about some truly terrible things that Star Trek characters have done, I shared more of my “hot takes” on the franchise, and I even considered the potential benefits for the franchise if a hiatus is on the cards.
I’ve also been writing up episode re-watches over the past year, including Where No Man Has Gone Before, which was TOS’ second pilot, the iconic Arena from TOS’ first season, The Andorian Incident from Enterprise, and Skin of Evil, The First Duty, and The Royale – all from The Next Generation.
Click or tap any of those links to check out those pieces.
So I hope you enjoyed this list! It was fun to go back to these episodes, and it was also interesting to see just how many stories, characters, aliens, and more than I consider to be “too iconic” for a list like this one! I excluded quite a few episodes that would’ve been fun to discuss simply because I felt their status was a little too high, or else they had moments that crossed over into pop culture for one reason or another.
Thanks again for joining me on this exploration of a few “hidden gems” from the Star Trek franchise. There’s more Star Trek content to come here on the website; more Strange New Worlds reviews, more episode re-watches, more commentary, and who knows what else. But until then… Live Long and Prosper, friends!
Most episodes and films discussed above are available to stream now on Paramount+ in countries and territories where the platform is available, and may also be available on DVD and/or Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including all films, TV shows, and properties discussed above – is the copyright of the Skydance-Paramount Corporation. Still frames from Deep Space Nine and Voyager were upscaled using A.I. tools. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Trekking with Dennis 