Star Trek knows how to tease and deliver, even if it takes a little longer than expected.
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00:00 There are so many moments of Star Trek that might seemingly just fly under the radar for
00:04 a long time, until years later, a new writer, a new director and a new audience pick up
00:11 and create something beautiful.
00:12 I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture, and here are 10 episodes that paid off way later.
00:19 Number 10.
00:20 The Measure of a Man Coming in the next generation's second season,
00:24 The Measure of a Man is considered by many audience members, including this author, to
00:28 be the first truly great episode of the series.
00:31 It is Star Trek firing on all cylinders, a bottle show that defines not only the importance
00:35 of Data to the Enterprise, but affirms the right to life and liberty for all androids
00:39 going forward.
00:40 The episode featured several follow-ups in the next generation's run, including The
00:43 Offspring and Data's Day, but it would actually form the basis of two storylines in subsequent
00:48 series.
00:49 The first comes in Star Trek Voyager.
00:50 The seventh season episode, Author, Author, is effectively a copy and paste of this episode,
00:55 dealing instead with the Doctor's rights as an owner of his creative output.
00:59 In this case, it's a poor follow-up.
01:01 The Advocate of the Day definitively declines to rule on the Doctor's status as a sentient
01:05 being, which is both a deliberate nod to Data's trial, but a bit of a cop-out at the episode's
01:10 end.
01:11 The direct payoff, however, is Bruce Maddox's appearance in Star Trek Picard.
01:14 He was badly affected by the synthetic lifeform ban following the attack on Mars, yet he created,
01:19 with Alton Soong, a new race of androids based on Data's neurons.
01:23 The inclusion of his character makes this a bittersweet continuation, particularly as
01:27 neither Data nor Maddox live to see the ban overturned.
01:31 Number 9.
01:32 Dark Page.
01:33 The next generation's seventh season felt like something of a victory lap, as the show
01:37 was coming to the end of its run, Star Trek Generations was on the horizon, which gave
01:40 the showrunners a chance to revisit some of the recurring characters to give them a bit
01:44 of closure.
01:45 Lwaxana Troi, having been introduced back in the first season and popping up periodically,
01:48 returns in what turned out to be her most heart-wrenching story, for it is in this episode
01:53 that the audience learns that Deanna Troi was not an only child.
01:56 When she was a baby, the Trois went on a family picnic.
01:58 While there, Kestra Troi, Lwaxana's firstborn, slipped into a pond and drowned.
02:03 The event was blocked from her mind, though after years and much heavy telepathic activity,
02:07 those walls came down and the truth was revealed.
02:09 Deanna was faced with the choice to resent her mother for keeping this information from
02:13 her or to accept this and attempt to move on.
02:15 In Star Trek Picard, Nepenthe shows the return of Deanna and introduces the audience to her
02:20 daughter, Kestra.
02:21 We also learn that, like her mother, Deanna lost a child as well.
02:24 It's a bittersweet return for the character, but one heightened by the earlier revelations.
02:28 Number 8.
02:29 Sins of the Father.
02:30 Another third season episode of The Next Generation that had ramifications for years to come,
02:35 Sins of the Father introduces the audience to Kurn, the second son of Mog and Worf's
02:39 younger brother.
02:40 Played by Tony Todd in his pre-Candyman era, this Klingon warrior became the audience's
02:44 gateway into the wider machinations of the Klingon Empire.
02:47 This episode set the scene for much of what followed with the Empire, arguably only truly
02:52 coming to a close with Deep Space Nine's seventh season episode, Tacking into the Wind.
02:57 Here, Worf accepts discommendation from the Klingons, agreeing to a lie that his father,
03:02 rather than Duros' father, sold out Khitomer to the Romulans, which sets the stage for
03:06 Duros to make a bid for Chancellor.
03:08 This leads to civil war when the Duros sisters fight Gowron for leadership.
03:12 That in turn leads to the destruction of the Enterprise D as the Duros sisters manage to
03:17 overcome the Galaxy-class ship in Star Trek Generations.
03:20 Worf is then reassigned to Deep Space Nine, leading to his meeting with Martok and the
03:24 eventual fight to the death with Gowron.
03:26 The saga of the final days of this era of the Klingon Empire begins with the arrival
03:31 of Kurn.
03:32 Number 7.
03:33 The Price The Price introduces several elements to the
03:36 franchise, including the Barzan race and their wormhole, the Delta Quadrant and its extreme
03:41 distance, and of course, the characters of Aradar and Kull.
03:44 The episode itself is a relatively light fare, appearing somewhat as a love story for Deanna
03:49 Troi rather than anything else.
03:50 However, this episode would have far-reaching ramifications for the franchise.
03:54 For example, Aradar and Kull are stranded in the Delta Quadrant by the episode's end.
03:58 Star Trek Voyager would pick up on this storyline in their third season episode, "False Prophets".
04:03 Actor Dan Shore returned as Aradar, though Kull was recast, now played by Leslie Jordan.
04:08 The episode establishes the Ferengi as false gods on a pre-warped planet, using their advanced
04:13 technology to gain power.
04:14 However, that is not the only element from The Price to come back.
04:18 Star Trek Discovery in its second season introduced the character of Nan, a Barzan security officer
04:24 serving aboard the Enterprise, and later on The Discovery.
04:27 This informs us that not only had first contact between the Federation and Barzan people occurred
04:31 more than 100 years before the events of The Price, but that Nan must have impressed someone
04:36 at Starfleet, as she would have needed sponsorship to gain entry to the Academy.
04:40 Barzan was not a Federation member world by the time of The Price.
04:44 Number 6.
04:45 Elementary Deer Data
04:46 Elementary Deer Data is almost as pure a comedy episode as it's possible to get while the
04:52 ship is still in very real danger.
04:54 Daniel Davis delivers a stellar performance as Professor Moriarty, while Diana Moldauer
04:58 is excellent as Dr. Pulaski as well.
05:00 However, the best moment of the episode probably must go to Worf's sudden jump as Picard pops
05:05 his top hat.
05:06 However, this episode makes the list with the shortest payoff time, with only four seasons
05:11 between it and Ship in a Bottle, but with the largest behind-the-scenes reason for the
05:15 delay.
05:16 When this episode was in production, the producers believed that Sherlock Holmes was in the public
05:20 domain.
05:21 After the episode aired, the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got in touch to inform
05:25 them that this was not the case and they would need recompense for any future depictions
05:29 of the characters.
05:30 This killed plans for rapid sequels and left Moriarty in cybernetic limbo.
05:34 By the time that Ship in a Bottle was produced, the delay was actually noted on screen, along
05:39 with a reference to Pulaski, though not by name.
05:42 This would in fact be the final reference to her character to date.
05:45 Number 5, The Infinite Vulcan.
05:48 The animated series is, quite frankly, the bastard stepchild of Star Trek.
05:51 It will generally be found at the bottom of many rankings, though this is hardly a fair
05:55 assessment.
05:56 There are story ideas as strong as many of the original series, while it's the execution
06:01 of those ideas that probably gives the most pause.
06:04 However, Star Trek Lower Decks has been striving to bring it back into the audience's mind.
06:09 The episode "Kaishon, His Eyes Open" features the darkest callback in Star Trek Lower Decks.
06:14 The Infinite Vulcan introduces a giant cloned Spock.
06:17 He is created by the human Dr. Stavos Caniclius V, a remnant of the Eugenics Wars, who is
06:23 attempting to find the perfect specimen.
06:25 Giant Spock is left on the planet Phylos in an attempt to cure the Phylosians of their
06:29 sterility, fast forward to "Kaishon, His Eyes Open" and that same giant Spock makes
06:34 a cameo as a skeleton adorned in a ripped uniform hanging from the ceiling.
06:39 Grim.
06:40 Number 4, Space Seed.
06:41 Okay, no, this isn't JUST going to talk about Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan, although that
06:46 did come 16 years after the release of Ricardo Montalban's first appearance in Star Trek.
06:51 While Khan will generally still consistently be referred to as the greatest villain in
06:56 the franchise, it is the Eugenics Wars that are introduced in this episode that takes
07:00 point here.
07:01 The rise of the Supermen and the wars to defeat them would return many times throughout Trek
07:05 history.
07:06 In Deep Space Nine, Dr. Bashir is revealed to have undergone genetic resequencing as
07:09 a child, which leads to a tribunal and an evocation of Khan's name.
07:13 Though Bashir is spared the legal ramifications, he later helps to treat others who are like
07:18 him, yet not so fortunate.
07:19 Star Trek Enterprise would go further.
07:21 In the three-part story centering on the Augments and Arak Sun, genetic resequencing is again
07:26 brought into play.
07:27 Here though, a group of these augmented humans goes on a rampage, proving to be at least
07:32 equal to Starfleet's best along the way.
07:34 This augmentation is acquired by the Klingons, leading to a full circle moment in Star Trek.
07:39 The augmentation virus that infects the entire Klingon race erases their cranial ridges,
07:45 leading to the smooth-headed Klingons best remembered from the original series.
07:48 Though it took 40 years to get there, Khan and the events of Space Eid end up retroactively
07:53 explaining the change in the Klingons overall.
07:56 Number 3.
07:57 The Tholian Web
07:58 The Tholian Web hails from the original series' often maligned third season.
08:02 The budget for the show had been slashed as it went into its final year, with the initial
08:07 production of the Tholian Web requiring some creative ideas to make work.
08:11 A new Constitution-class model was created, rechristened the USS Defiant, and given a
08:16 green hue for all of its scenes.
08:18 As well as this, the Tholian Web spinners were introduced.
08:20 Both the Defiant and the Tholians would return in the fourth season of Star Trek Enterprise.
08:26 Here, it is explained that once the ship vanishes, it reappears in the Mirror Universe.
08:31 Captured by the Mirror Tholians, they are attempting to strip it for parts.
08:35 However, it is taken by the Terran Empire, leading to some fairly big headaches for the
08:40 Tholian assembly.
08:41 The two-parter "In a Mirror Darkly" is one of the best stories in Enterprise, coming
08:44 right at the end of its final season.
08:46 It ties a nice bow on the story of the Defiant, though it would be mentioned again in Star
08:50 Trek Discovery.
08:51 It also goes a way to explaining how the Terran Empire remained as strong as it was for so
08:57 long with the infusion of future technology.
09:00 Number 2.
09:01 The City on the Edge of Forever The Guardian of Forever was introduced at the
09:04 end of the original series' first season in the episode "The City on the Edge of
09:08 Forever".
09:09 It would return in the animated series episode "Yesteryear".
09:12 In both cases, it is a stable method of temporal travel, though it clearly has a mind of its
09:16 own.
09:17 The "Stability of the Timeline" is referred to as one of the greatest headaches for Starfleet
09:20 - or simply Tuesday for James T. Kirk.
09:23 However, this entry is less about Kirk as, ironically, it is he who ensures the stability
09:28 of the timeline after his encounter with the Defias.
09:32 Rather, it is Starfleet themselves and others who engaged in the temporal Cold War who would
09:37 come to abuse the artifact.
09:39 Star Trek Discovery's third season two-parter "Terra Firma" sees the return of the Guardian
09:44 to the franchise.
09:46 This time, it appears initially in a different form.
09:48 Karl, as it likes to be called, is presented as a man who speaks somewhat in riddles, holding
09:53 a copy of the Star Dispatch prophesying Georgiou's death.
09:56 This leads to the jaw-dropping reveal of the Guardian realised in 21st century graphics,
10:03 rendered beautifully for the modern day.
10:05 Number 1.
10:06 The Cage
10:07 Quite frankly, of all entries on this list, the Cage is the one that began paying off
10:11 from the moment it was created.
10:14 However, as it was not officially aired until 20 years after its filming, not many people
10:19 actually knew that.
10:20 The introduction of Star Trek, the Enterprise and of course, Mr. Spock cannot be overstated.
10:25 All of the ingredients for what Star Trek would become are present in this first hour.
10:29 However, it would be 2009 before Christopher Pike would be reimagined, appearing in the
10:34 J.J. Abrams film played by Bruce Greenwood.
10:37 While Sean Kenney had played the character in the Menagerie, that came at a time when
10:41 not many audience members truly understood who Pike was.
10:44 The character would return again, played this time by Anson Mount for Star Trek Discovery's
10:48 second season.
10:49 The episode "If Memory Serves" features a convention-breaking moment, opening with
10:54 clips from the original pilot showing both Geoffrey Hunter and Anson Mount one after
10:59 the other.
11:00 The episode also sees the return of Vena, played in archive footage by Susan Oliver
11:04 and new footage by Melissa George.
11:06 The successive Mount's take on the character has directly led to a new series of Star
11:11 Trek, this time called Strange New Worlds.
11:14 Sixty years later, the cage is continuing to deliver on its promise of a brighter future,
11:19 helping to greenlight more and more content for the modern audience.
11:23 That is everything for this list and I can already tell that there is so much potential
11:29 for more lists like this.
11:30 If that is something you would like to see, let us know in the comments below.
11:33 Don't forget to like, share and subscribe.
11:35 Remember that you can get in touch with us over on Twitter @TrekCulture, you can catch
11:38 myself @SeanFerric, you can also tune in to my podcast at You're On Crack Mate which
11:43 you can find on Spotify.
11:45 Until I see you again, you look after yourselves, you look after your friends and family, you
11:48 live long and prosper.