10. All Our Yesterdays.
I'll admit i've always been drawn to episodes were Spock acts out of character. There is something compelling about watching the cool and calculated Vulcan filled with rage or love. In this episode, while trapped in the past, Spock falls in love with the time exile Zarabeth. Also, Kirk is imprisoned for being a witch. This is also the penultimate episode of the series. And while Turnabout Intruder may be a mixed bag this episode is not. I'm clearly not the only fan of this episode as writer A.C. Crispin wrote not one but two novels that continue the story.
9. Obsession
Several times during the original series Kirk throws caution to the wind and pursues his own agenda. This is one of those episodes. Wrought with feelings of guilt Kirk is determined to hunt down and destroy the creature. Add to the mix the son of his former Captain who he failed to save. Chris Claremont featured the immediate aftermath of Lt Kirk's failure as a key sequence in the wonderful graphic novel Star Trek: Debt of Honor (which i have read so many times, my copy is falling apart).
8. Metamorphosis
Essentially, Ellie from the Andy Griffith Show merges with an energy being that has fallen in love with the inventor of warp drive. Ellie, AKA The Galactic Commissioner, is not especially likeable so you feel very little sympathy for her, or at lease i didn't. Even the actress playing her described the character as 'a mean bitch'. My favorite scene is when the merged being lifts up part of her dress which just happens to have a pattern similar to that of the energy being. She looks through the fabric and can still see Zefram as she once did. As a kid i always thought this was a really weird episode. As an adult i appreciate just how sweet but unusual this love story is.
7. Requiem for Methuselah
Being a fan of the Highlander franchise i may be predisposed to like this episode. Kirk, Spock and McCoy encounter a near immortal human who was such historical figures as Brahms and da Vinci. The idea of Kirk truly falling in love with a guest star is nothing new, you may even think Rayna is yet another in a long line of women involved with Kirk. But upon her death Kirk is so heartbroken that Spock takes it upon himself to erase her memory from his mind.
Captain Janeway would reference this episode while having her own adventure with a hologram of da Vinci. Flint would show up in several novels where he met Dr. Soong and fall in love with the android that was Data's 'mom'. Guy really had a thing for androids.
6. The Enemy Within
Much like director David Lynch i've been fascinated with the idea of doubles, evil twins or alternate versions of ourselves. I'm also a big fan of legendary writer Richard Matheson who wrote this episode. Episodes like Obsession and The Conscience of the King would peel back the layers of Kirk to show a manipulative and reckless side. This episode strips Kirk down to good and evil. I always felt the implication that the evil side is what allowed Kirk to make difficult command decisions to be extremely fascinating. This episode would figure largely in the novel Foul Deeds Will Rise, which also was somewhat of a sequel to the episode 'The Conscience of the King'.
Come back next week for the final five episodes. Will your favorites make the cut?
