I started writing short reactions/reviews of Star Trek episodes during season five of my watching of Star Trek: The Next Generation for the following reasons:

1. I am a slow TV watcher. It takes me forever to get through a full series of anything. I’m not a binge watcher, I take breaks, watch other stuff, lose interest, regain interest, fall asleep and have to re-watch episodes, etc. By the time I got to season five of TNG, it had been some years since the early seasons and I couldn’t remember details that would have enriched my viewing.
2. I have been writing for most of my life but have been pretty bad about the actual “producing stuff” part on any kind of regular basis.
3. I believe that any writing practice is good, even if it’s writing short review & reaction pieces of decades-old TV shows.
4. Trek lends itself well to review writing: across the various series, the episodes are a mixed bag of good and bad writing, acting, and production values. Watching the show critically can help a mediocre writer like me identify storytelling that works, and contrast it with an over-reliance on tropes or special effects.
5. Has anyone even actually written about Star Trek on the internet??

At first I was just writing a few sentences to recap and rate the episodes, which I thought would help me remember them, but they evolved into in-depth discussions that have increased both word counts and skepticism of their value. Sometimes I basically just recap, sometimes the episode reminds me of something else and I roll with it. Full refund on your purchase price if you are not fully satisfied.

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Star Trek: The Original Series

Summary post

Season 1
Episode	Title	My Rating*
1-1	The Man Trap	3
1-2	Charlie X	4
1-3	Where No Man Has Gone Before	3
1-4	The Naked Time	5
1-5	The Enemy Within	4
1-6	Mudd’s Women	2
1-7	What Are Little Girls Made Of?	4
1-8	Miri	4
1-9	Dagger of the Mind	4
1-10	The Corbomite Maneuver	3
1-11/12	The Menagerie (1 & 2)	5
1-13	The Conscience of the King	5
1-14	Balance of Terror	5
1-15	Shore Leave	4
1-16	The Galileo Seven	4
1-17	The Squire of Gothos	2
1-18	Arena	5
1-19	Tomorrow is Yesterday	3
1-20	Court Martial	4
1-21	The Return of the Archons	n/a
1-22	Space Seed	5
1-23	A Taste of Armageddon	3
1-24	This Side of Paradise	4
1-25	The Devil in the Dark	5
1-26	Errand of Mercy	1
1-27	The Alternative Factor	3
1-28	The City on the Edge of Forever	5
1-29	Operation: Annihilate!	4
Season 2
Episode	Title	My Rating*
2-1	Amok Time	5
2-2	Who Mourns for Adonais?	2
2-3	The Changeling	5
2-4	Mirror, Mirror	5
2-5	The Apple	3
2-6	The Doomsday Machine	4
2-7	Catspaw	2
2-8	I, Mudd	4
2-9	Metamorphosis	4
2-10	Journey to Babel	4
2-11	Friday’s Child	3
2-12	The Deadly Years	2
2-13	Obsession	4
2-14	Wolf in the Fold	2
2-15	The Trouble with Tribbles	5
2-16	The Gamesters of Triskelion	4
2-17	A Piece of the Action	1
2-18	The Immunity Syndrome	2
2-19	A Private Little War	2
2-20	Return to Tomorrow	5
2-21	Patterns of Force	3
2-22	By Any Other Name	4
2-23	The Omega Glory	1
2-24	The Ultimate Computer	4
2-25	Bread and Circuses	3
2-26	Assignment: Earth	4
Season 3
Episode	Title	My Rating*
3-1	Spock’s Brain	0
3-2	The Enterprise Incident	5
3-3	The Paradise Syndrome	2
3-4	And the Children Shall Lead	2
3-5	Is There in Truth No Beauty?	4
3-6	Spectre of the Gun	4
3-7	Day of the Dove	4
3-8	For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky	4
3-9	The Tholian Web	3
3-10	Plato’s Stepchildren	2
3-11	Wink of an Eye	5
3-12	The Empath	4
3-13	Elaan of Troyius	4
3-14	Whom Gods Destroy	3
3-15	Let That Be Your Last Battlefield	2
3-16	The Mark of Gideon	4
3-17	That Which Survives	3
3-18	The Lights of Zetar	1
3-19	Requiem for Methuselah	5
3-20	The Way to Eden (Special bonus material)	2
3-21	The Cloud Minders	4
3-22	The Savage Curtain	2
3-23	All Our Yesterdays	3
3-24	Turnabout Intruder	4

 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation

I didn’t start writing about these until well into season 5. This was back on the ol’ LiveJournal, so I’m linking there. I’m sure I’ll watch the show again someday, and maybe update these.

Season 5
Episode	Title	My Rating*
5-17	The Outcast	3
5-18	Cause and Effect	5
5-19	The First Duty	4
5-20	Cost of Living	1
5-21	The Perfect Mate	3
5-22	Imaginary Friend	2
5-23	I, Borg	4
5-24	The Next Phase	4
5-25	The Inner Light	5
5-26	Time’s Arrow (1)	4
Season 6
Episode	Title	My Rating*
6-1	Time’s Arrow (2)	4
6-2	Realm of Fear	3
6-3	Man of the People	3
6-4	Relics	5
6-5	Schisms	3
6-6	True Q	4
6-7	Rascals	2
6-8	A Fistful of Datas	2
6-9	The Quality of Life	4
6-10	Chain of Command (1)	4
6-11	Chain of Command (2)	4
6-12	Ship in a Bottle	5
6-13	Aquiel	3
6-14	Face of the Enemy	2
6-15	Tapestry	5
6-16	Birthright (1)	4
6-17	Birthright (2)	4
6-18	Starship Mine	1
6-19	Lessons	5
6-20	The Chase	5
6-21	Frame of Mind	4
6-22	Suspicions	3
6-23	Rightful Heir	5
6-24	Second Chances	5
6-25	Timescape	4
6-26	Descent (1)	2
Season 7
Episode	Title	My Rating*
7-1	Descent (2)	2
7-2	Liaisons	4
7-3	Interface	3
7-4/5	Gambit (1 & 2)	3
7-6	Phantasms	4
7-7	Dark Page	3
7-8	Attached	4
7-9	Force of Nature	2
7-10	Inheritance	4
7-11	Parallels	5
7-12	The Pegasus	3
7-13	Homeward	4
7-14	Sub Rosa	1
7-15	Lower Decks	5
7-16	Thine Own Self	4
7-17	Masks	1
7-18	Eye of the Beholder	3
7-19	Genesis	0
7-20	Journey’s End	4
7-21	Firstborn	5
7-22	Bloodlines	4
7-23	Emergence	1
7-24	Preemptive Strike	5
7-25/26	All Good Things… (1 & 2)	5

 

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Deep Space Nine

 

Season 1
Episode	Title	My Rating*
1-1 & 1-2	Emissary	n/a
1-3	Past Prologue	n/a
1-4	A Man Alone	n/a
1-5	Babel	n/a
1-6	Captive Pursuit	n/a
1-7	Q-Less	3
1-8	Dax	4
1-9	The Passenger	4
1-10	Move Along Home	2
1-11	The Nagus	5
1-12	Vortex	5
1-13	Battle Lines	2
1-14	The Storyteller	4
1-15	Progress	5
1-16	If Wishes Were Horses	1
1-17	The Forsaken	3
1-18	Dramatis Personae	2
1-19	Duet	5
1-20	In the Hands of the Prophets	2
Season 2
Episode	Title	My Rating*
2-1	The Homecoming (1)	3
2-2	The Circle (2)	3
2-3	The Siege (3)	3
2-4	Invasive Procedures	3
2-5	Cardassians	4
2-6	Melora	4
2-7	Rules of Acquisition	5
2-8	Necessary Evil	5
2-9	Second Sight	3
2-10	Sanctuary	1
2-11	Rivals	3
2-12	The Alternate	2
2-13	Armageddon Game	4
2-14	Whispers	5
2-15	Paradise	4
2-16	Shadowplay	5
2-17	Playing God	2
2-18	Profit and Loss	3
2-19	Blood Oath	5
2-20/21	The Maquis (parts 1 & 2)	4
2-22	The Wire	5
2-23	Crossover	4
2-24	The Collaborator	4
2-25	Tribunal	3
2-26	The Jem’Hadar	4
Season 3
Episode	Title	My Rating*
3-1/2	The Search (1 & 2)	5
3-3	The House of Quark	5
3-4	Equilibrium	3
3-5	Second Skin	4
3-6	The Abandoned	3
3-7	Civil Defense	4
3-8	Meridian	0
3-9	Defiant	5
3-10	Fascination	4
3-11/12	Past Tense (1 & 2)	5
3-13	Life Support	2
3-14	Heart of Stone	4
3-15	Destiny	3
3-16	Prophet Motive	4
3-17	Visionary	4
3-18	Distant Voices	4
3-19	Through the Looking Glass	5
3-20	Improbable Cause (1)	4
3-21	The Die is Cast (2)	4
3-22	Explorers	4
3-23	Family Business	4
3-24	Shakaar	4
3-25	Facets	5
3-26	The Adversary	3
Season 4
Episode	Title	My Rating*
4-1	The Way of the Warrior (1)	3
4-2	The Way of the Warrior (2)	3
4-3	The Visitor	3
4-4	Hippocratic Oath	5
4-5	Indiscretion	3
4-6	Rejoined	5
4-7	Starship Down	1
4-8	Little Green Men	5
4-9	The Sword of Kahless	4
4-10	Our Man Bashir	2
4-11/12	Homefront/Paradise Lost	4
4-13	Crossfire	4
4-14	Return to Grace	3
4-15	Sons of Mogh	5
4-16	Bar Association	4
4-17	Accession	4
4-18	Rules of Engagement	2
4-19	Hard Time	4
4-20	Shattered Mirror	4
4-21	The Muse	3
4-22	For the Cause	5
4-23	To the Death	3
4-24	The Quickening	4
4-25	Body Parts	5
4-26	Broken Link	4
Season 5
Episode	Title	My Rating*
5-1	Apocalypse Rising	4
5-2	The Ship	3
5-3	Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places	5
5-4	…Nor the Battle to the Strong	4
5-5	The Assignment	4
5-6	Trials and Tribble-ations (Early bonus review)	5
5-7	Let He Who is Without Sin…	2
5-8	Things Past	4
5-9	The Ascent	4
5-10	Rapture	3
5-11	The Darkness and the Light	3
5-12	The Begotten	4
5-13	For the Uniform	4
5-14	In Purgatory’s Shadow (1)	5
5-15	By Inferno’s Light (2)	5
5-16	Doctor Bashir, I Presume?	4
5-17	A Simple Investigation	4
5-18	Business as Usual	3
5-19	Ties of Blood and Water	3
5-20	Ferengi Love Songs	4
5-21	Soldiers of the Empire	4
5-22	Children of Time	5
5-23	Blaze of Glory	4
5-24	Empok Nor	1
5-25	In the Cards	5
5-26	Call to Arms	4
Season 6
Episode	Title	My Rating*
6-1	A Time to Stand	4
6-2	Rocks and Shoals	5
6-3	Sons and Daughters	3
6-4	Behind the Lines	4
6-5/6	Favor the Bold/Sacrifice of Angels	4
6-7	You Are Cordially Invited	5
6-8	Resurrection	3
6-9	Statistical Probabilities	5
6-10	The Magnificent Ferengi	4
6-11	Waltz	3
6-12	Who Mourns for Morn?	4
6-13	Far Beyond the Stars	5
6-14	One Little Ship	2
6-15	Honor Among Thieves	3
6-16	Change of Heart	4
6-17	Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night	3
6-18	Inquisition	5
6-19	In the Pale Moonlight	5
6-20	His Way	4
6-21	The Reckoning	2
6-22	Valiant	3
6-23	Profit and Lace	0
6-24	Time’s Orphan	2
6-25	The Sound of Her Voice	4
6-26	Tears of the Prophets (1)	4
Season 7
Episode	Title	My Rating*
7-1	Image in the Sand (2)	4
7-2	Shadows and Symbols (3)	4
7-3	Afterimage	4
7-4	Take Me Out to the Holosuite	5
7-5	Chrysalis	5
7-6	Treachery, Faith and the Great River	5
7-7	Once More Unto the Breach	4
7-8	The Siege of AR-558	4
7-9	Covenant	2
7-10	It’s Only a Paper Moon	5
7-11	Prodigal Daughter	4
7-12	The Emperor’s New Cloak	3
7-13	Field of Fire	3
7-14	Chimera	5
7-15	Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang	4
7-16	Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges	3
7-17	Penumbra	4
7-18	‘Til Death Do Us Part	4
7-19	Strange Bedfellows	5
7-20	The Changing Face of Evil	3
7-21	When It Rains…	5
7-22	Tacking Into the Wind	5
7-23	Extreme Measures	3
7-24	The Dogs of War	4
7-25/26	What You Leave Behind	5

 

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*Rating notes:

On a scale of 1-5. (Yep, there are some zeroes.) Occasionally I have a “n/a” rating because I decided not to give it a rating. If there is no rating at all, I just haven’t watched it yet.