There are two types of Star Trek fans: those that have undying loyalty to their favorite series and those that have undying loyalty to the franchise in general. No matter what camp you fall into, you likely have an episode you love more than all the rest.
The stars of Star Trek feel the same way! Whether their favorite episode was centered on their character, or the storyline really resonated with them, it's always interesting to hear the stars' thoughts. Which Trek star do you agree with? Or do you have a different favorite? Let's discuss in the comments!
William Shatner
“City on the Edge of Forever”
“It was a beautiful story, it was lovely to act. It was well directed, shot, everything. It was one of those wonderful moments. I live my life as an actor by moments because we work in such pieces. All you can do is be truthful to the moment that you’re on the camera. My ideal work as an actor is to be in the moment all the time. To be right there.”
Leonard Nimoy
“Devil in the Dark”
“‘Devil in the Dark,’ I thought was a wonderful episode about the fear of the unknown, how we fear and even hate something that we don't know anything about. Learn who your enemy is and maybe that is no longer your enemy.”
George Takei
“Naked Time”
“Indeed I have a favorite episode. It’s the best one. From the television series, it’s titled ‘Naked Time,’ in which I strip down halfway, bare my chest, get my fencing foil, and terrorize the Enterprise crew with my swashbuckling prowess.”
Nichelle Nichols
“Charlie X”
“One of my favorite episodes from 1966 was ‘Charlie X,’ because I got to sing, which is my first love. It was a song about Spock. Now, in 2016, I recorded ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ available on iTunes as a 50th anniversary love song to my devoted fans.”
Patrick Stewart
“Inner Light”
“It was a beautiful script, which for me was almost entirely located away from the Enterprise — and it's crew! And because I was given the chance to perform what Picard would have been like if his life experience had been different. But another important reason is that I had a son in that episode who was played by my son, Daniel Stewart.”
Jonathan Frakes
“Best of Both Worlds”
“The first, obviously, was the one where I finally was able to direct, and that was ‘The Offspring,’ when Data built Lal. But I think the best TV we did was the ‘Best of Both Worlds’ two-parter, with the cliffhanger between seasons. I think that was just awesome television.”
Marina Sirtis
“Face of the Enemy”
I’m really proud of ‘Face of the Enemy,’ which was the one where I was a Romulan. That’s when they lost the big hair and the glamour makeup and the skintight spacesuit and put me into something that was really unattractive. They seemed to go, ‘Oh, wow, yeah, we hired her because she’s an actress.’ From then on, it seemed that my part got much better in terms of a variety of things. She wasn’t just decorative. She wasn’t just this nice, understanding person who was there to help everyone out when they had a problem. You saw different sides of her and, like I said, I think that episode of opened a lot of different boxes in the writers’ head,” the Deanna Troi actress said in the same video linked above.
Denise Crosby
“Yesterday’s Enterprise”
“I love ‘Yesterday’s Enterprise’ for the quality of the writing. I also think some of the first episodes in the first season are pretty special, as it was all so new then and no one had become jaded. Also, if you look closely, we’re all kind of dorky learning how to embody theses characters in a make-believe universe!”
Armin Shimerman
“Far Beyond the Stars”
“It is not just good Star Trek, but the best of science fiction, powerfully combining fantasy with social commentary. Racism is bred in the bone of American culture,” the Quark actor said.
Avery Brooks
“Far Beyond the Stars”
“We got a chance to deal with some very, very difficult subjects, as Star Trek often does. When we talk about America, we still face the inextricable connection between racism, sexism — all that is part of our landscape. So the fact that we were able to talk about it, I thought, was very important.”
Kate Mulgrew
“Counterpoint”
“I ran to work every morning I was so sorry when it ended. Every part was wonderful. Deeply satisfying work. And that, well, is everything.”
Scott Bakula
“Judgment”
“It wasn’t a big action sequence, it wasn’t a big heavy romantic episode, but there was a simplicity about ‘Judgment’ that was wonderful. It had a tremendous guest cast.”