Doesn’t it only seem like a short warp five trip across the Alpha Quadrant since we celebrated Star Trek’s 50th birthday? Well, believe it or not, the legendary science fiction universe is 60 this year, the first episode of the Original Series having been broadcast on NBC on September 8 1966.

After six decades of innovative and bold storytelling, Trek is in an uncertain place heading into its next chapter. Thankfully, we’ll always have the past 60 years of TV and film to keep us going. Here, we take a look at 60 years worth of Enterprising highlights from across the pantheon of Starfleet.

But just what is the Greatest Star Trek moment of all time?

60. The Gorn arrive - All Those Who Wander

Every Trek fan will be familiar with Kirk’s infamous trial by combat against a Gorn captain in the season 1 episode ‘Arena’. We’re so familiar with the wonderfully low-tech costume design that it was even more shocking when the Gorn made their triumphant return in Strange New Worlds, reimagined as a vicious hegemony set on expanding across the galaxy.

In the season 1 episode ‘All Those Who Wander’, the Gorn are redesigned and revitalised as one of the most terrifying opponents Starfleet has ever faced. The new Gorn of Strange New Worlds have more in common with the Xenomorph from Alien than the reptilians we meet in TOS. Add to that security officer La’an’s history with the Gorn leading into this episode and their return is easily one of the standout moments in the last decade of Trek history -

59. Kirk the father - The Griffin Incident

One of the most recent entries on this list sees Kirk, Spock and La’an discovering the long lost USS Griffin on the way back from a Future Federation Leaders retreat after picking up a distress call. Of course, as Trek fans, we know that nothing good can come from attending a retreat OR following up on a distress call, which is why it comes as no surprise that the trio face a new kind of enemy on the seemingly abandoned ship.

While the episode as a whole is full of fun (and horrific) moments, the standout moment comes at its climax. We see a possessed La’an, under the influence of the ship, telling Kirk that his infant son David will one day die, "at the end of a blade, bleeding out in a dark corner of space." Throughout the episode we’ve seen Kirk struggle with how to reconcile his role in Starfleet with his duties as a father only for him to hear his worst fears realised in this final confrontation. Add to that the fact we know David’s fate thanks to Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and the moment feels both eerie and tragic. Knowing that he will never be the father he knows he should be complicates Kirk in a way that we haven’t seen before -

58. 'Riker!' - Those Old Scientists

Lower Decks is one of the best Trek series. Which is why, when they announced that it would crossover with Strange New Worlds during the latter show's second season I was particularly excited. The episode, titled ‘Those Old Scientists’, sees Boimler and Mariner pulled through a portal and into the SNW timeline. Both characters get their time to shine in live-action but one particular moment felt so wonderfully in-keeping with the tone of Lower Decks that I had to include it.

I am, of course, referring to Boimler hopping onto the saddle in Pike’s quarters by pulling a ‘Riker’ and swinging his leg over in that quintessentially cool way we saw so often in The Next Generation. Knowing how much Boimler idolises Riker and the legendary captains that came before him gives this moment a bit of weight beyond it just being a funny in joke for longtime Trek fans. But mainly it's just a cool way to sit on a chair -

57. Old School - The Last Generation

While I will always prefer my Star Trek in an episodic format, Picard season 3 recalled the best serialised storytelling we’d seen from Trek up to that point. The whole season brought back multiple members of The Next Generation cast for one last fight against an old foe, living up to the promise that the show's first two seasons failed to meet.

One of the best moments from season 3 has to be the return to the bridge of the Enterprise-D complete with the beige wall panels, LCARS UI and carpeted floors. I love a shiny starship as much as the next Trek fan but seeing Picard, Riker, Worf, Data, Geordi and Dr. Crusher all reassemble on the original bridge was as exciting as anything Trek has produced in its 60 years. That the season built to this moment slowly gave it a real sense of weight in the narrative beyond just nostalgia making the long road well worth taking -

56. One last hand - The Last Generation

Sticking with Picard season 3, the final moments of the series finale see the original crew sitting down for one final game of poker. Data deals each of the classic characters a hand as they discuss their final adventure together and the legacy they leave behind. It caps off a fantastic season of Star Trek and gives us just the right balance of nostalgia and reverence without tipping into just retreading already worn narrative ground.

Even if we never get to see them return in the movie that the cast clearly want or the heavily rumoured Star Trek: Legacy series fans have been clamouring for, this makes for a fitting ending for these characters that have helped to define Star Trek for generations -

55. Janeway returns - Lost and Found

Star Trek: Prodigy is one of the more criminally underrated shows in the past 60 years of Trek history. A wonderfully rich and vibrant entry point for anyone who wishes to board the hopeful and exciting future the Star Trek universe offers. It also brought back the best captain, Kathryn Janeway, as a holographic mentor to a ragtag crew of misfits who take charge of a recently unearthed starship.

The fact that it's taken so long to bring back Kate Mulgrew’s wonderfully measured and thoughtful captain is wild but the way that Prodigy honours her legacy by making her the guide for both the crew of the USS Protostar and new audiences made the wait worth it. Prodigy is more than just a Star Trek show for kids, its a new and exciting exploration of the ideas of diversity and exploration that make Trek so special. Janeway’s return serves to not only harken back to the shows long history, offering fans new and old a new way to experience the beloved captains charismatic personality, it also faithfully bridges the gap between the Trek of old and the future. Now we just need a season 3... -

54. Boimler’s journey to Paris - We’ll Always Have Tom Paris

Lower Decks fans will know all about Boimler’s love for Tom Paris. Which is why the journey he goes on to meet the Voyager’s roguish pilot is so funny. All Boimler wants is to meet Paris and get him to sign his limited edition Tom Paris Voyager plate. Is that too much to ask?

In true Lower Decks fashion, Boimler’s journey to Paris is fraught with danger. One particular standout moment sees an exasperated yet determined Boimler venturing through a Jeffries Tube on the Cerritos where he hallucinates the Tom Paris on his plate talking to him and encouraging him to continue on his quest. Eventually Boimler crashes through the bridge ceiling and is immediately beaten up by Paris who thinks he is an intruder, a wonderful and fittingly Lower Decks end to Boimler’s journey -

53. We are Borg - The Last Generation

From their early appearances in The Next Generation and Voyager’s uneasy alliance in the two-parter Scorpion to their cinematic debut in First Contact, the Borg have made a name for themselves as Starfleet’s most deadly foes.

Which is why, after several episodes facing off against the sinister Vadic, the appearance of a Borg cube in the clouds of Jupiter in the opening moments of the finale of Picard season 3 feels all the more satisfying. Beyond just being a cool image, the slow reveal that the real enemy Picard has been facing this season has been the Borg serves to wonderfully weave together many of the show's internal and external conflicts on the way to giving the Enterprise-D crew a fitting ending -

52. Young Khan and La’an - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

One of the standout episodes of Strange New Worlds, ‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’, sees La’an team up with an alternate Kirk for a time travel adventure to stop a Romulan assassin from killing a young Khan and preventing the coming Eugenics Wars that would lead to the formation of the Federation.

The whole episode is fantastic from start to finish but the final moments where La’an, Kirk and Sera face-off just feet away from the room where the young Khan is being held are riveting. Not only do we get fantastic chemistry between both Kirk and La’an and further exploration of La’an’s complicated relationship with her family lineage, the episode's final moment also gives us one of those classic Trek moral quandaries. Should they kill Khan to prevent a war even though that war is what led humanity to peace and unity? -

51. Spock sings - Subspace Rhapsody

Ah, space. Your many mysteries offer us pathways into all manner of strangeness. Maybe a transporter incident merges two crew members. Or a planet's atmosphere makes the crew hallucinate and party deep into the night. Or maybe an improbability field in the far reaches of space makes everyone’s favourite human/Vulcan science officer burst into song.

‘Subspace Rhapsody’ is a delightful slice of musical madness but the highlight of the episode has to be Spock’s solo, ‘I am the X’, during which he sings about his complicated relationship with Nurse Chapel all the while seeming entirely confused about why he’s expressing these emotions through the medium of song. Come for the subspace strangeness. Stay for the singing Spock -

50. Remmick explodes - Conspiracy

TNG’s first season was hardly its finest hour, but the high point came with this edgy Body Snatchers-style thriller. The visceral sight of Lieutenant Commander Dexter Remmick being torn apart by a neural parasite being targeted by Picard and Riker’s phasers proved too strong for the BBC, who took the editing shears to the episode when it was originally broadcast -

49. The Ferengis in Roswell – Little Green Men

Just when you thought all time-travel plotlines had been exhausted, along comes this bonkers comedy escapade in which Quark, Rom and Nog crash land in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Yes, the greatest UFO myth of the 20^th century can now be explained away by a trio of Ferengis. The scene where the US military try to communicate by mimicking the Ferengis's head-slapping is just one of the many highlights -

48. Sabotage - Star Trek Beyond

It’s a divisive moment for fans, but the sight (and sound) of Kirk obliterating Krall’s drones with the use of the Beastie Boys is truly significant. The reason why it makes the list is because it’s the first real instance of the ‘Kelvin timeline’ stepping out from behind the shadow of the Original Series. By referencing their own mythology (ie Kirk playing Sabotage as a child in the ’09 movie), Chris Pine and co became a legitimate Starfleet force in their own right, no longer reliant on the mythology created by TOS -

47. The Doctor sings La Donna e Mobile – Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy

A comedy tour de force from Robert Picardo as the Doctor is forced to adapt his performance of La Donna e Mobile to suit an emergency in the mess hall. As a volatile Tuvok starts to lash out thanks to a chemical imbalance in the brain (Pon Farr to those in the know), the Doctor calls on Tom Paris for help: "Paris, please find a way, to load a hypospray, I will give you the sign, just aim for his behind." Genius -

46. "I am not a merry man" – Qpid

Of all Picard’s senior officers, the most unhappy to be transported by Q to a recreation of Sherwood Forest was most definitely Worf. After protesting about being garbed as Will Scarlet, the Klingon security officer then set about smashing Geordi’s lute. Come on, Worf – why get so mad about a little bit of Robin Hood cosplay? -

45. Earth is attacked - The Expanse

By the end of its second season, lacklustre prequel spin-off Enterprise was in dire need of a shot in the arm. From a lacklustre crew to that godawful theme music, it seemed like Captain Archer wasn't boldly going anywhere memorable. Then came a cliffhanger episode that began with a devastating sight: an alien probe cutting a swathe of destruction across Earth. Seven million die - and Enterprise gets a new season-long story arc that finally introduced some jeopardy thanks to new foe, the Xindi -

44. Garak tries root beer – The Way of the Warrior

DS9 is the Paradise Lost of Star Trek – the series in which Starfleet’s utopian ideals came to be tested in the midst of a bloody war. Here, Quark and Garak discuss their attitude towards the Federation (and root beer) in a conversation that you feel would have been verboten in Gene Roddenberry’s day. "It’s so bubbly, cloying and happy," says Quark of the Earth drink. To which Garak replies: "Just like the Federation." But as the pair admit, the more you drink, the more you like it. "It’s insidious," they agree -

43. George Kirk dies – Star Trek

If proof was needed that this wasn’t your daddy’s Star Trek, JJ Abrams provides it with this opening space battle in which James T Kirk is born mid-conflict and his father George (Chris Hemsworth) sacrifices himself for the sake of his family and his ship. Edgy, disorientating and suffused with a realism that we’d not witnessed before in Star Trek’s history, this really did bring the franchise bang up to date. Even though nearly every scene that followed seemed to then climax with an unnecessary punch-up -

42. "Mr President, I stand with my shipmates" - Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home

At the climax of a three-movie arc that has seen Spock die, Spock resurrected and Earth saved thanks to the actions of Kirk et al, the Enterprise crew have their fate decided after stealing (and destroying) the ship. Touchingly, Spock - loyal to the last - stands with his shipmates despite not having played a part in their 'crime'. And don't go telling me that logic had anything to do with his decision! -

41. Picard wakes up with Q - Tapestry

Know-it-all Q is always a royal pain in the rump for Picard, but here he teaches the good captain a valuable lesson: that it's his willingness to take risks that has made him who he is. One of those risks being to share a bed with an omnipotent being. "Good morning, darling..." -

40. The Klingons attack – The Way of the Warrior

Some real pep was put in DS9’s step at the start of the fourth season thanks to Worf’s introduction and the end of the alliance between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. It all comes crashing down in this brutal encounter as the Klingons invade – bat’leths fly, phaser fire streaks across the screen and the once static TNG spin-off finally recovers some momentum. As a result of this showdown, life aboard the station would never be the same again -

39. Life goes on - What You Leave Behind

The likes of Breaking Bad and House get a lot of credit for introducing America to serialised stories on TV, but DS9 was there a decade before with a tale that took years in the telling. At its climax, Kira has had to say a tearful farewell to Odo, while Sisko has become a non-corporeal entity. Finally, Sisko’s son Jake is joined by Kira at a window on the upper Promenade for a melancholy, bittersweet but ultimately hopeful final scene that’s unlike any other send-off in the Trek canon -

38. Q’s Mariachi Band – Deja Q

Q celebrates his re-admittance to the Continuum by turning up on the bridge with sombreros, trumpets and cigars for Picard and Riker. Now, everyone remembers the moment when Q gives Data the gift of laughter, but the stand-out highlight is definitely Riker’s reaction when two bikini-clad ladies suddenly appear by his side. "I don’t need your fantasy women," he protests, having already seduced his way across the galaxy. "You’re so stolid," chastises Q. "You weren’t like that before the beard" -

37. Spock v the punk - Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home

Nothing sums up the time travel/culture clash comedy of this movie more than seeing Spock nerve-pinch a punk inflicting his ‘I Hate You’ song on a bus of San Francisco citizens. Just the very '80s-ness of it remains hilarious: the bird-flipping, the ghetto blaster, those "colourful metaphors"….And trivia fans may get a kick out of knowing that said punk is played by the movie’s associate producer Kirk Thatcher, who also wrote the song’s lyrics -

36. "Time’s Up" – Year of Hell

A couple of great spectacles here: the sight of a filthy, vest-clad Janeway facing certain death and the image of a heavily damaged Voyager ramming the enemy Krenim ship. "This is one year I’d like to forget," says our bold captain as she tries to set a mangled timeline straight, but this high-stakes season four two-parter lingers long in our memories -

35. Kirk and Scotty inspect the Enterprise – Star Trek: the Motion Picture

OK, so it’s a long scene. In fact, it’s a REALLY long scene. Of just two people cruising past a starship. But when you think that this was the first time campaigning fans had seen live-action Star Trek in 13 years, then you can perhaps understand the indulgence of Kirk taking six minutes to be reunited with his beloved Enterprise. And let’s face it, the ship has never looked so sleek and awe-inspiring either before or since -

34. "Target that explosion and fire!" – Star Trek VI: the Undiscovered Country

Sulu went from helmsman to captain in the original crew’s final outing, taking command of the Excelsior. And what a battle he got to experience – coming to the aid of Kirk as they faced down the unthinkable: a Klingon bird of prey that could fire when cloaked. With a Shakespeare-quoting Christopher Plummer chewing the bulkheads and firing off torpedoes as traitorous Klingon Chang, it’s left to Kirk and Sulu to join forces and defeat their enemy. The resulting explosion is so good that they reused the SFX in the next movie, Generations -

33. The Two Spocks Meet – Star Trek

A charming moment of quiet contemplation in a movie that rarely stops to pause for breath. Yes, it’s the scene where Zachary Quinto’s Spock comes face to face with Leonard Nimoy’s Spock – the former getting a peek at how his future might turn out, the latter getting hope that his race will continue following the destruction of the Vulcan home world. And we also get a priceless sign-off from Nimoy, when he says, with typically sly humour: "Since my customary farewell would appear oddly self-serving, I shall simply say [shows Vulcan hand salute] good luck" -

Data’s never-ending quest to discover what it meant to be human takes a grisly turn when the Borg Queen grafts skin onto his circuitry. By turns revolting and seductive, it’s a scene that makes you genuinely fear that Data’s loyalties could shift from Picard to the Borg (and also makes us wonder whether we, as viewers, should be finding the Borg Queen quite so sexy…) -

31. Stealing the Enterprise - Star Trek III: the Search for Spock

The third big-screen outing did more to solidify the image of the Enterprise crew as family than any previous tale, particularly in the scene where they worked as a team to nick their ship out of Spacedock. Special mention must go to Hill Street Blues’s James B Sikking who, as Captain Styles of the Excelsior, plays the perfect adversary for Kirk. And who’d have thought that Scotty would be able to disable the Enterprise’s pursuer by removing a few nuts and bolts? -

30. Voyager returns home - Endgame

The soap opera elements of Voyager's seven-year quest to make it to the Alpha Quadrant come to the fore in the series finale as B'Elanna gives birth, Barclay is on hand to welcome the ship back and Alice Krige reprises the role of the Borg Queen. "Set a course... for home," says a triumphant Janeway, echoing the words she used at the start of the crew's journey. (PS: for those that want more, try the continuation novels by Christie Golden and Kirsten Beyer) -

29. The Enterprise is destroyed – Star Trek III: the Search for Spock

These days, it seems we can’t move for big-screen adventures in which the Enterprise blows up. But back in 1984, it really did seem like the unthinkable had happened when Kirk hit self-destruct in order to "turn death into a fighting chance to live". As the hull splinters, shatters and disintegrates, it feels like a massive turning point in the lives of the original series crew. (Little did they know that Starfleet would seemingly hurry the Enterprise-A into production straight away) -

28. Tasha Yar is killed - Skin of Evil

In a universe where nameless red shirts are routinely bumped off by merciless enemies, it comes as a real shock when security officer Tasha Yar is killed by the tar-like Armus mid-way through TNG's first season. Usually, all of Trek's senior officers make it through each adventure in each piece (save for Spock in Wrath of Khan, of course). But actress Denise Crosby's disillusionment with the series ("I was miserable. I couldn't wait to get off that show. I was dying") gave show bosses the chance to make an impact with Tasha's murder -

27. Sisko erases his personal log - In the Pale Moonlight

Sisko gives up his principles as he sets in motion a plan to draw the Romulans into the Dominion War and have them fight on the Federation's side. In a coda that would have been unthinkable in Gene Roddenberry's day, Sisko admits, "I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But the most damning thing of all...I think I can live with it." And then he wipes his log! It's almost the exact opposite of how you'd predict a Star Trek episode would end, but is perfect for a show as morally complex as DS9 -

26. Marritza dies - Duet

Yes, it's about as heavy and bleak as Trek gets. But for a pitch-perfect allegory on genocide and the Holocaust, you won't find much better than this season one DS9er. Universal themes of desperation and forgiveness are explored in a sci-fi setting - it's basically what the genre was invented for. And in the space of 45 minutes, you will definitely end up viewing the show's villains (the Cardassians) and its heroes (the Bajorans) in a completely new light -

25. Kirk and Uhura kiss - Plato's Stepchildren

There are many memorable sights in this third-season episode: Spock dancing around Kirk's prone form, Kirk on all fours braying like a horse and Spock's rendition of Maiden Wine. But it's the moment when the telekinetic Platonians compel Kirk and Uhura to kiss each other that has gone down in history.

It might not have been the first interracial kiss on TV (that honour goes to You in Your Small Corner from 1962), but the clinch gave NBC execs a headache as to what the reaction would be in the Deep South. But as actress Nichelle Nichols explains: "We received one of the largest batches of fan mail ever, all of it very positive, with many addressed to me from girls wondering how it felt to kiss Captain Kirk, and many to him from guys wondering the same thing about me. However, almost no one found the kiss offensive." -

24. Vina's true appearance is revealed - The Cage

A beautiful, melancholy moment as Vina explains that she can't leave Talos IV because her seeming good health is down to the Talosians' illusions. After being badly injured in a crash, Vina is revealed to have been saved by the inhabitants of the planet, who had no understanding of human physiology or aesthetics. Although The Cage is very much a product of its time, there's still a haunting sadness to Pike and Vina's parting. Especially when the aliens show Pike that Vina sees an image of the two of them sharing a life together... -

23. "Tasha, you're not supposed to be here" - Yesterday's Enterprise

The senselessness of Tasha Yar's death (see No 28) is revisited in this alt-universe story in which the ill-fated security officer grows ever determined to have a death with meaning. All right, so it's an episode that rewards long-time fans rather than newbies just switching on for an hour of sci-fi action. But, hey, even those not familiar with the Yar backstory get a pretty impressive space battle to savour -

22. "Guess who's coming to dinner?" - Star Trek VI: the Undiscovered Country

It's a sight we thought we'd never see: the Klingons aboard the Enterprise dining with Kirk's crew. But this turns out to be a warts-and-all meal - Kirk's prejudices are soon rising to the surface, while Azetbur brands the Federation "a homo sapiens only club". A controversial scene in many ways, but a timely one, coming as it did around the time of perestroika and glasnost. And the bristling animosity between Kirk and Chang is a joy to witness -

21. "For you - and for the boy that I was" - The Visitor

A freak accident in the Defiant's engine room appears to claim Sisko's life and Jake lives out his own existence in an endless quest to locate his dad. The father-and-son relationship between Ben and Jake is a lynchpin of DS9 and here we get to see it pushed to its emotional limits - the tender moment when the adult Jake (played by Tony Todd) wakes to find his dad watching over him is just one of the many highlights -

20. "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" - Darmok

It's quintessential Star Trek: two captains learning to work together despite a massive communications barrier. OK, so it's best not to dwell too hard on the feasibility of the Tamarians being able to construct a language based entirely upon metaphor. Instead, just revel in the joy of seeing Picard and Dathon trying to find a path through the confusion and build trust and understanding between their two races -

Picard's hatred for the Borg is at its most vehement here - all the personal disgust he feels at being violated and made to act against his will coming to the surface in one angry outburst. But is his obsession clouding his judgement? It takes wise counsel from 21st century engineer Lily Sloane to set him on the right path... -

18. "No bloody A, B, C or D" - Relics

TNG had many callbacks to the Original Series (Bones in Encounter at Farpoint, Spock in Unification etc) but none were as effective as James Doohan poignantly playing Scotty as a man who feared he'd outlived his usefulness. Adjusting to life in the 24th century where miracle working was the job of a new generation, Scotty seeks refuge in a Holodeck recreation of HIS Enterprise, giving the audience chills up the spine as he sits himself in the captain's chair -

17. "Pinocchio is broken" - The Measure of a Man

The issue of sentience comes under scrutiny in this powerful Data-centric story, as he's ordered to serve under Captain Bruce Maddox, who wishes to disassemble and study him so that more androids can be made for Starfleet use. The franchise is at its philosophising best as we see a grim-faced Riker prosecute the case while Picard champions Data's self-awareness -

16. The Ceti eels – Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan

It’s the moment that a deranged Khan proves that he means business: in order to get control over Chekov and Terrell, he inserts burrowing eel larvae into the ears of the two Starfleet officers. Eels that wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex to leave the victim susceptible to outside suggestion. As Chekov screams, the audience cowers, wishing that Khan had just decided to master basic hypnotism instead -

15. Spock fights Kirk - Amok Time

What's not to love about Amok Time? We get to see the Vulcan home world, plus Spock has his first infliction of the pon farr (the Vulcan biological mating urge) and is forced to battle his captain with a lirpa. But it's the pay-off that provides the biggest emotional high: wracked with guilt after killing Kirk, Spock ultimately finds that his best friend is alive, having merely been tranquillised by Bones. Is that a smile playing around your lips, Mr Spock? We think it is -

14. The Enterprise lowers the Reliant’s shields – Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan

Wrath of Khan is essentially Battleships in Space featuring two opposing foes who never actually come face to face. Despite the onset of age (and the addition of reading glasses), Kirk still proves himself a force to be reckoned with when – after being seemingly cornered by Khan – he turns the tables and manages to lower the Reliant’s shields before launching a surprise counter-attack. Everything, from the palpable tension to the effects by way of James Horner’s score, works to full effect here -

13. Tribbles v Kirk - The Trouble with Tribbles

Trek does attract flak for some of its lighter episodes, but the peerless Tribble infestation brings so many laughs: the bar fight, Spock’s calculations about breeding rates and – of course – Kirk’s encounter with a fur-ball mountain. Remember, without The Trouble with Tribbles, it’s doubtful that there’d be any Gremlins. And, if you’re a fan of the little critters, see the Animated Series' More Trouble, More Tribbles and DS9’s Trials and Tribble-ations for further fun -

12. “I’m Captain Kirk!” – The Enemy Within

William Shatner has often been accused of hamming it up a storm, but there’s no denying that he completely carries this early first season episode in which Kirk is split into two people (one good, one evil) following a transporter malfunction. Evil Kirk sets about attacking Yeoman Rand before ranting that he is the true captain of the Enterprise. It’s a genuinely scary performance…if you can get past Evil Kirk’s unexplained use of eyeliner -

11. "There are four lights!" – Chain of Command

The Trek universe would be a poorer place without David Warner, who has played the louche St John Talbot in Star Trek V, Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI and – perhaps most memorably – Cardassian torturer Gul Madred in this TNG sixth season two-parter. His coercion of Picard ("how many lights are there?") feels chillingly Orwellian, while the Captain’s refusal to buckle in the face of this psychological nightmare brings out the best in actor Patrick Stewart -

10. "I wasn’t strong enough" – Family

An underrated episode in which Picard recuperates from his ordeal with the Borg while on a visit to his brother’s family in France. Haunted by what’s happened to him, Picard sobs to sibling Robert: "I tried so hard but I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t good enough." We’re not really used to seeing our Starfleet leaders break down in this way, especially with our previous frame of reference being the gung-ho Kirk. So it must have been a risk on the part of the writers to have their series lead cry. But witnessing Picard in pieces definitely ends up making him more of a credible captain. It’s a bold move from TNG that really pays off -

9. Spock mind melds with the Horta – The Devil in the Dark

“Pain! !” Yes, it’s the iconic scene where Spock learns that the rock-like, destructive Horta is merely trying to protect its silicon-based offspring from a team of Federation miners. Here, we get an early exploration of those key Star Trek themes of communication and the overcoming of differences between species - twin concerns that would be re-examined on many more occasions down the decades -

8. "The Sky’s the limit…" – All Good Things

After having glimpsed a future in which his crew has drifted apart, Picard does something he’s never done before – he joins the rest of the senior officers for their regular poker game. Expressing regret that he’s never played before, Troi tells him that he was always welcome. As the camera pans away, Picard tells them that "the sky’s the limit" and we end our weekly voyages with the Next Generation team on an incredibly touching note – the remote, sometimes austere captain of the show’s first season now a distant memory -

7. Kirk battles the Gorn – Arena

Rubbery, rubbishy monster hides are turned into the very stuff of TV sci-fi as a weaponless Kirk gets locked in mortal combat against a reptilian captain. The Vasquez rocks in southern California – where the showdown was filmed – has since become a quintessential Star Trek location, while Kirk’s Captain’s Log entries couldn’t be more Shatner-esque if they tried. The best in a heady mix being, "an incredible fortune in stones, yet I would trade them all for a hand phaser or a good, solid club…" -

6. Picard plays the Ressikan Flute – The Inner Light

The sacrifices Picard has made to become Starfleet’s most revered captain are brought into sharp focus when he falls unconscious and is implanted with the memories of a man with a rich family to love and cherish. Twenty-five minutes pass on the bridge of the Enterprise, while Picard lives out a lifetime as Kamin. And after Picard is revived, he is later seen in his quarters, playing a mournful melody on the flute he mastered while in his other life. Never has the dutiful captain looked so lonely -

Zefram Cochrane’s first warp flight attracts the attention of some passing Vulcans thanks to the hard work of a time-travelling Riker, Geordi and Troi. As Jerry Goldsmith’s suitably momentous score swells, the human race expands its horizons in an encounter that sums up the very ethos of Trek (PS: for the flip side of this meeting, watch the Enterprise episode In a Mirror Darkly. It’s a, erm, blast) -

4. Edith Keeler dies – The City on the Edge of Forever

After the Enterprise discovers a portal through space and time, Bones accidentally alters history and Kirk is forced to let his love interest – pacifist Edith Keeler, played by Joan Collins – die, so that events can play out as previously ordained. "I could have saved her," yells McCoy as Kirk holds him back, just as Keeler is hit by an oncoming truck. "He knows, Doctor. He knows," comments Spock as Kirk – and we, as viewers – are left heartbroken -

3. The sign-off - Star Trek VI: the Undiscovered Country

Director Nicholas Meyer does it again with his wonderful marking of the 25^th anniversary: that Peter Pan quote (showing that Kirk will, despite his advancing years, remain forever young), the shift from "no man" to "no one" in the closing speech and – most memorably – the signatures of the original series cast arcing across the screen as they make their exits (well, until Kirk, Scotty and Chekov return in the next movie, anyway) -

2. "I am Locutus of Borg" – The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1

The franchise’s best-ever end-of-season cliffhanger as Riker is forced to fire upon his own captain after Picard is kidnapped and transformed into a Borg. Patrick Stewart revealed that one family yelled, "you ruined our summer!" at him after being made to wait months to find out whether the Enterprise crew would get Picard back. Of course, they would eventually succeed, but Picard would be mentally scarred forever -

1. Spock dies – Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan

Kirk spends the entire movie finding novel ways to cheat death, only to be faced with the loss of his best friend at its climax. Spock sacrifices himself for the sake of his crew ("the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few") and keeps his poise to the end by straightening his uniform and asking Kirk for what he makes of his solution to a no-win scenario.

Having somewhat smugly congratulated himself in the past for keeping the grim reaper at bay, Kirk is left aghast by this cruel twist. Never has a Trek death had this much impact before -

With thanks to Jeremy Aspinall, Mark Braxton, Jamie Healy, David Hodges, Rory John, Paul Jones, Alex Lamb, Bruno MacDonald, Sonia MacDonald, Gareth McLean, Siobhan O'Neill, Ben Stephenson and Mark Taylor

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