My first inkling is to always tell someone to just start from the beginning with “The Cage”.
But if I have to pick something else my mind wonders to “Cause and Effect”.
this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
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That's not really they way to experience Star Trek.
Unless they are already into SciFi or Morality Tales picking one episode won't work as an introduction.
Each series and season has a different style and presentation 🙂🖖
I’m going to say any or none of the suggestions here may be right.
And some of them, like Inner Light, are awful choices simply because their impact is very dependent on having the context the rest of the series and characters.
The main thing is that Star Trek has a wide variety of tones. The way to success is to provide excellent examples of very Trekie episodes that are in the genre or tone that your brother already likes.
Don’t show them action if they like cerebral mystery. Don’t show them romance if they like action. Don’t show them intense drama if they’re into comedy. If they’re into animated comedies or anime, start with Lower Decks or Prodigy not TNG.
Examples from this perspective…
If they like psychological horror, then TNG’s ‘Schisms’ or Voyager’s ‘The Thaw’ might be best.
If they like action, Discovery’s two part pilot might be the one or even the movie Star Trek (2009).
Edit: I'm thinking of 'Frame of Mind', but both episodes are pretty scary.
I'm nearing 40 and 'Schisms' is still straight up nightmare fuel for me. Wonderful performance from Frakes.
TNG "Devil's Due"
Top notch in my opinion. The moment when Picard steps up to The Devil (Ardra) is one of my top moments of all time.
I think lots of people could identify with this episode due to it's scifi content and it's theological content.
Obviously TNG "The Inner Light" is literally one of the best television episodes ever to have been recorded, but it's too much of a side quest to really introduce someone to Star Trek.
I said the same thing to my wife last night about “the inner light”
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If you are talking TOS then for me it's "The City on the Edge of Forever".
This 100%.
It was written by Harlan Ellison, and adjusted much to his chagrin. It was such a spectacular episode that it won a Hugo award in 1968. Not many episodes from any of the other series can say the same.
Edit: Oh yes, Joan Collins was the main guest star and did a great job.
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I think the first three episodes of SNW are like made for new people with showing clearly what Star Trek should stand for.
If you are only watching one episode to hook him in you could also go with something funnier like lower decks or a ferengi episode
Or you could get confusing and take The Orville :p
The Orville might not be a bad idea. I didn’t consider it, but my brother really likes family guy.
Might be worth showing him the first episode of Lower Decks then. Or "Temporal Edict" is another strong early episode that's still fairly introductory and really gives a lot of the Star Trek vibes about being capable and ethical while still showing it as a fun time.
DS9 The Visitor is a complete story on its own and has some of the best acting in the franchise.
I agree that The Visitor is a great choice! Although depending on OP's goal I'd argue for Duet because,
- It's another excellent, self-contained story
- It keeps the story in the usual space station setting
- You get more time with the regular cast (IIRC)
- There is less hand-wavy scifi stuff going on
So it might be a simpler introduction to the rest of the show.
Those factors aside, yeah The Visitor is probably the more compelling story.
Either way, DS9 has the best character writing, and is therefore the way to go!
that one can backfire as its too good and can set the wrong expedition.
I've struggled with this question for years, and haven't been able to come up with an answer I feel good about, so the "correct" answer is probably, "consider the person's tastes and cater to them."
I do believe that it's probably not a good idea to start with the "best" episodes - they tend to break the usual format, and once you've seen them, there's nowhere to go but down.
Instead, I'm on a continuous search for the most "average" episodes - solid, enjoyable, and representative of what the series and franchise are as a whole. But I still don't have a simple answer.
TNG, “The Inner Light”
Great episode, but I'd argue it doesn't really give a new viewer much of a feel of what Star Trek is. Probably works better when you have a few episodes of TNG already under your belt.
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SNW "A Quality Of Mercy"
and then TOS "A Balance Of Terror"
The SNW episode retraces events of the famous TOS episode it is very cool.
I think it conveys the breadth, depth and love there is in the star trek fandom for the universe.
That’s a really good idea! I so far it’s this and mine to mori in the lead.
Don’t show him any of the all time greats. Then there’s nowhere to go but down.
I also wouldn’t try to hook him on a twenty or thirty out forty year old show when there’s a really good Trek series coming out right now. There’s no urgency to watching an old show, so even if he likes it he’s likely to put it off for later and forget about it.
Just hit him with SNW episode 1. It’s a decent episode, not an all time best but a good introduction to what the Federation is all about and very briefly how it grew from the present day. And if he decides to continue in his own, there’s no question of where to start - just move on to episode 2.
DS9 - In the Pale Moonlight
Hands down one of the best storylines, acting, twists, pure joy of resolution.
I disagree. I think the Dominion War context is way too important.
I've shown this as a first episode (or at least first 2-3 episodes) and it hasn't been an issue. If you're sitting with them you can explain significant items, but generally they get enough without much help.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen that. Could it be too difficult for someone with 0 trek knowledge to get?
I think the important bits are easy to pickup in context. There is a war and it's not going well. Sisko is trying to bring a powerful neutral party into the war and is willing to do very questionable things to do it.
As a Star Trek fan I had given up on DS9 during the original airing of the first season. Latter I caught Pale Moonlight by chance and it impressed me enough to watch some more. Then I went back and watched all the earlier stuff. Now it's my favorite Star Trek.
When I first saw it I knew Star Trek quit well but had no idea what was going on in DS9 and had no trouble following the story.
By series:
- TOS: City on the Edge of Forever
- TNG: Measure of a Man or Inner Light
- DS9: In the Pale Moonlight or The Visitor
- VOY: Scorpion
- SNW: 1:1 or Memento Mori
- LD: Crisis Point
Edited for formatting
Measure of a Man is one of the best single episodes of any television show ever
Holes and crap! Measure of a Man might be genius. Intellectually engaging, good acting, but boring (no offense) enough that other parts of the show can impress as well!
By 1:1, do you mean the first episode for the first season?
Yup! SNW is one of the few that has an actually good pilot episode.
Not a single ENT episode in this thread
I was thinking that as well, but someone eventually commented that carbon creek would be good.
I plan to show my mom Carbon Creek sometime soon.
@neon_nova _Tapestry_ is my favourite all time episode, but you need too much back story for it to work. _The Most Toys_ has always been in my top three.
Voyager’s “Year of Hell” is the best of any television, but admittedly, will be a difficult entry. If they are adventurous, though, it’s fully enjoyable without any Trek knowledge.
That’s really good, but maybe too hard for someone with basically 0 trek knowledge. Thanks!
I personally love DS9 and think that it has aged better than TNG. I think its S1 is not amazing, but certainly one of the better first seasons. It has plenty of good enough episodes that don’t depend heavily on the upcoming plot and leave your brother in a good place if he wants to start watching for himself.
A few suggestions would be:
- In The Hands of the Prophets: Overall an almost prophetic episode, in the most terrifying way possible. A well-done drama episode with great political commentary. A lot of the season built up to it, but it’s such an early period in the show that it’s not TOO much context
- Dax: A full helping of everything Trek, from alien trials to crew collaboration to space mysteries. It basically explains the Dax thing for you, just leaving an interesting story. Vortex: Odo-focused, but also has some “crew on space mystery” bits. Also makes a mystery of core information in the show, meaning minimal canon dependency and once again leaving your brother in a good place to watch.
- Duet: Strong Kira episode that’s also a good summary of the Bajoran-Cardassian conflict.
- Captive Pursuit: I think it’s a solid, typical Trek episode. I think the only impression issues it might give are it’s very O’Brien-centric, and it might register a bit on the “aliens who represent no particular real life ethnicity but are still kind of iffy”-o-meter. But otherwise, it’s a low-canon, medium-quality episode.
"Carbon Creek" serves as a VERY light introduction to some core Star Trek elements. It's far from "the best" but it's a heartwarming little peak into the world of Trek. You even see some Vulcan's become influenced by human compassion which is a good way of showing what makes humans special.
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