I am a Next Generation baby. By which I mean, I literally do remember being a toddler and watching TNG. Every Saturday of my childhood we carried our tiny box TV upstairs to gather around and watch Captain Picard and his crew. When I was a bit older, Deep Space Nine joined the rotation and eventually became my favorite Trek.

But my dad grew up with the original series, or as we always called it in those days, classic Trek. (Because there were only two Treks!) So we watched a few of those. I was never a huge fan, though. The pacing was slow and the plots were downright weird. Also why did they keep making Spock lose his logic and kiss ladies. I never wanted to see Spock lose his logic and kiss ladies. I wanted to see him raise his eyebrow and say “Fascinating.”

But I’ve been a Trekkie for many years. I watched all the movies on their opening day until Nemesis. I watched every series, though not all of some of them for various reasons. And recently, especially after Strange New Worlds, I started thinking, you know what, it’s time. I’m going to get into TOS.

I still haven’t watched all of it. I’ve been hopping around watching various episodes I see recommended. But I have been quite surprised to find that some of them are absolutely still excellent and hold up today. It’s all too easy to get put off by the duds of the series (and there are some real duds) and miss the absolute genius of the good ones.

Even in the duds, though, the chemistry between the characters is undeniable and the banter is top notch. The power trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy bounce off each other in a great way throughout the show.

So, without further ado, here are a few episodes that are definitely worth watching if you want to get into the original series.

Balance of Terror

If you’re a Strange New Worlds fan, you should definitely watch it for the parallel with SNW 1:10, A Quality of Mercy. However, there’s a decent argument that the TOS episode is better. It’s not trying to cram in a bunch of other things, so it’s a tighter, tenser story.

It’s absolutely a Cold War era episode, heavily inspired by submarine movies (also an important fandom in my family). We have the tense, silent cat-and-mouse chase. The difficult decision to risk open warfare in the hopes of preventing it. The perspective of the Romulan ship that shows us the enemy is, in fact, like us and also wants to be at peace. The tragedy that, despite the will of everyone involved, the war goes on.

It might hit a little less well with people today, but personally I think it’s a great perspective on the time that produced it.

The City on the Edge of Forever

This one is commonly rated as the best TOS episode of them all. I didn’t list it first because it is pretty different from the rest of the show so it doesn’t give you as full of a picture. However, it’s quiet and thoughtful, showing the struggle between human sympathy and the relentlessness of time. Plus, I really enjoy Kirk and Spock in this episode. They spent two months living in a tiny room together. I imagine that would be a pivotal time in their relationship.

It’s also a good example of what I mean when I say that Kirk is not a womanizer, but a true romantic. He falls in love easy, but it is love. He genuinely cares about Edith, just as he cares for many of the other women he comes across over the course of the show.

The Naked Time

What is with these titles? Nobody actually gets naked in this episode. I am sorry to disappoint.

However, I love the episode because it manages a ton of character exposition in a short time. It’s early in the series and we haven’t yet been introduced to the main struggles of the characters. So the show helpfully gets everyone “drunk” with a weird disease that lowers their inhibitions. Boom, now we see what they’re really like.

Spock’s scene is, of course, my favorite. That moment when he confesses to Jim, “When I feel friendship for you, I feel ashamed”—it hits me where I live. If you know (as the show’s writers did not yet know, but future developments revealed) that Vulcans are telepaths and can read a bit of your thoughts when you touch hands, it gets even more meaningful. I like to think it was that contact with Jim that allowed Spock to pull himself together and move on.

This is another episode with a different version in a different series, the TNG episode The Naked Now. However, The Naked Now doesn’t so much reveal things about characters as force two near-strangers into an awkward hookup. So I’m definitely siding with TOS on this one.

Journey to Babel

This episode is essential to understanding Spock. We get to meet his parents, who definitely show us why Spock is the way he is. But we also see his conflict between his (well concealed) love for his parents and his sense of duty. What wins? Well, logic of course. It always does.

Mirror, Mirror

Come for the sexy mirrorverse outfits. Stay for the tension of trying to keep your cover while also not causing any atrocities. Also, Spock in a goatee. Who could say no to that.

The Trouble With Tribbles

An absolute classic and a very good time. After you’ve watched it, go watch DS9, Trials and Tribble-ations.

The Enterprise Incident

I love all episodes with Romulans in them; it never fails to be an interesting time. This time, Kirk is acting very out of character. It takes a while to guess why.

Amok Time

Bet you thought Vulcan culture was very civilized and sedate, right? Guess again. These guys are pretty wild when they get down to it. I adore the tension here between Spock and Kirk. If you watch this and think, “Wait. Did they mean to make it this gay?” all I can say is, they claim they didn’t but it absolutely did spawn the first slash fandom. Housewives of the 1960s took one look at that fight scene and went . . . there is no straight explanation for this. And that is why we have fanfiction today.

The Menagerie (two parts)

This is a remake of the original pilot, The Cage. If you want my advice, don’t bother watching The Cage. It doesn’t have the same characters as the rest of the show, plus all the footage is reused in The Menagerie, so you can get the full experience by watching the later episode.

There are things I absolutely dislike about this episode. I prefer to imagine a few tweaks to it that make it much more disability friendly. However, it shows a side of Spock we don’t often see. We think “logic” means “follows the rules.” That’s a critical misinterpretation that means everyone is blindsided when it turns out it is sometimes quite logical to break the rules.

Turnabout Intruder

What? I like the problematic body swap episode? Yes, I absolutely do—keeping in mind that, as an author, I mentally rewrite the bits I don’t like. As written, the villain is a “hysterical” woman who didn’t know her place and thus longs to steal a man’s body. HARD NOPE. But a few changed lines could easily transform this into a story about jealousy when one member of a couple got selected for command and the other got passed over. It doesn’t have to be about gender.

And the way Spock knows Kirk in any body, against all reason, and will stand up for him against any opposition? Yeah, we love to see it.

TOS fans, did I miss any of your favorites? Which episodes do you think are essential watching?