To watch all of The Star Trek franchise, it would take you over a month of no-sleep-marathoning. Nearly 800 hours at this point. And there are currently five different series still in production.  You don't have time to watch All the Star Trek content.

I've attempted to put together a much more condensed series of Star Trek. Dividing it into twenty episode seasons. For the most part, these are My Favorite Episodes. I've left out some that are historically important episodes, in favor of things that I found fun to watch. If you're a Trekkie or Trekker, or just consider yourself a fan, I may have left off your favorite episode. Sorry. But this is more a list for people like me, who had seen an episode here and there, were interested in seeing more, but don't want to invest in the whole 530+ hours. I'm doing it, so others don't have to.

Unlike the previous unstructured season, we return to an arc based season. From aging to death & the afterlife to the mistakes of our youth coming back to haunt us. This season also has The Next Generation spinning off into Deep Space Nine.​

Episode 1: First Duty
(Wesley, Picard, Crusher, Riker, Troi)

Wesley is back. And he has Fucked Up. In "Tapestry", we saw how Picard fucked up when he was in Starfleet Academy. Now he gets to go back there and help Wesley from ruining his life.


Episode 2: Data's Day
(Data, O'Brien, Picard, Keiko, Crusher, Troi)

See the ship through Data's eyes, and meet O'Brien's future wife, Keiko. See how Data nearly ruins a wedding but also saves the ship. Also, a cat.


Episode 3: Pegasus
(Riker, Picard, Worf, Data, Troi, Laforge)

Riker went to Starfleet once, too! And after he graduated, he served on a ship called Pegasus where Bad Shit Went Down. He and the Captain, another tropey incompetent Starfleet Asshole (a younger John Locke from Lost!) were the only two who escaped. But what did they escape from, and why are the Romulans interested? DUN DUN-DUNNNNN.


Episode 4: The Are The Voyages
(Riker, Archer, T'Pol, Trip, Shran, Soto, Troi, Mayweather, Reed, Phlox, Data)

This is one of the most hated episodes of Star Trek. But more for its context than its content. It was aired as the final episode of Enterprise, which was a slap in the face to the cast of Enterprise, because it's actually a TNG episode. During the events of "Pegasus", Riker goes to the holodeck to examine his problem from multiple angles. To do so, he recreates The Enterprise from Enterprise (I know, I know), and acts as cook, talking with each crew member about different decisions they've made during their Starfleet Career. It would have probably been liked or loved if it had been in the middle of the season instead of the end. I like it as a non-canon chance for Enterprise and TNG to crossover. Because we're going to come back to Enterprise at least once more, and nothing that happens in this episode will have ever happened to them, but it has helped Riker make a difficult decision during "Pegasus".


Serial 1: Time's Arrow
(Data, Picard, Gainan, Riker, Crusher, Laforge, Troi) 

An ancient artifact discovered on Earth turns out to be Data's head. Time travel shenanigans ensue featuring Samuel Clemens, a resourceful bellhop, card sharks, and everyone's favorite Enterprise bartender.


Episode 7: The Inner Light
(Picard, Crusher, Riker, Data, Laforge, Troi)

A probe seeks information from Picard, and to get it, makes him live an entire lifetime where his new family and friends convince him that his life on The Enterprise was a dream.


Episode 8: Timescape
(Picard, Data, Troi, Laforge, Crusher, Riker, Worf)

While several key officers are on an away mission, The Enterprise attempts to rescue some Romulans and everything goes wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey. The away team thinks they've figured out a way to overcome the time problems, but can they fix The Enterprise or the Romulan vessel before either or both of them explode?


Serial 2: Chain Of Command
(Picard, Worf, Crusher, Riker, Troi, Laforge, Data)

There are FOUR lights, and they all point to a war with the Cardassians on the horizon.


Serial 3: Emissary
(Sisko, Picard, O'Brien, Kira, Odo, Jake, Quark, Dax, Bashir, Keiko, Nog, Gul Dukat)

Way back in Season Five of this continuity, Capt. Picard became a borg named Locutus who blew up a bunch of Federation ships on his course to destroy Earth (which he failed to do). One of the ships he blew up contained Benjamin Sisko who is now traveling with Picard to an abandoned Cardassian space station called Deep Space Nine. Picard totally killed this guy's wife, so he is Not Pleased with him or the assignment, but he and his son decide to join the crew of Deep Space Nine, anyway, and are joined by Enterprise transporter engineer O'Brien, and his wife, Enterprise botanist Keiko. Plus a ragtag crew of Bajorans, Ferenghi, Trill, and whatever the hell Odo is.


Episode 13: Past Prologue
(Kira, Sisko, Bashir, Garak, Odo, O'Brien, Dax, Keiko)

Much of this season focuses on Cardassian and Bajoran war criminals, and how to keep the peace after all the terrible things they did to one another during the war. Deep Space Nine's first officer, Kira, was once a member of a Bajoran underground movement that the Cardassians consider terrorists. When one of her old cohorts shows up, the newly assembled crew needs to figure out how much they can trust each other, and how much they can trust The Cardassians. And what the hell are the sisters of Duras from Redemption doing on Deep Space Nine?


Episode 14: Man Alone
(Odo, Sisko, Dax, O'Brien, Keiko, Bashir, Nog, Jake, Quark)

Deep Space Nine's security officer, Odo, has held the post since the station was run by Cardassians, and while some of the Bajorans trust him, everyone is put on edge when a criminal he sent to prison shows up on board and is swiftly murdered.


Episode 15: Babel
(Bashir, O'Brien, Sisko, Quark, Odo, Kira, Jake, Dax)

More a companion to Darmok than Journey To Babel or Babel One, the episode focuses on the effects of a Cardassian engineered virus that causes aphasia in its victims. And then they die, of course, unable to express what they're going through.


Episode 16: The Nagus
(Quark, Sisko, Kira, Odo, Nagus, Bashir, Jake, O'Brien, Dax,  Rom, Nog, Zek)

It's time to learn about Ferenghi culture with the station's favorite bartender, and a slew of strangers who may be important down the line. Also, O'Brien is substitute teacher for his wife's school.


Episode 17: The Chase
(Picard, Riker, Worf, Crusher, Troi, Data, Laforge)

It's all about unity when the Federation, The Klingons, The Romulans, and The Cardassians chase down an ancient artifact on a strange planet.


Episode 18: Duet
(Kira, Sisko, Bashir, Odo, Gul Dukat, Dax, Quark)

Someone who appears to be a Cardassian war criminal with ties to Kira's past shows up on Deep Space Nine. Kira wants him tried on Bajor, Gul Dukat wants him returned to the Cardassians.  Despite a moderately weak and predictable ending, most of this episode is a very interesting look at the guilt of not-necessarily-innocent bystanders during acts of war.


Serial 5: The Homecoming/The Circle/The Seige
(Kira, O'Brien, Sisko, Odo, Bashir, Dax, Quark, Rom, Keiko)

A Bajoran resistance group called The Splinter comes to play in the war with The Cardassians. Their plans to rise to power include eliminating all alien life on Bajor, including the non-Bajoran staff on Deep Space Nine.

If you want the complete mainstream Meatloaf experience, you can simply listen to the original versions of Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out Of Hell 2. That was really it for radio's love affair with Meat Loaf. He was great in the late 1970s, he disappeared for the 80s, and emerged triumphantly in the 90s for an encore. Sure, VH1 played some videos from a couple of albums after Bat Out Of Hell 2, but that was about it.

But Meat Loaf put out a dozen albums, not including live albums and a greatest hits collection. Surely there were things on those albums worth listening to. And, let's be real, neither of the first two Bat Out Of Hell albums were flawless. The first one was intriguing rock opera from the 1970s. Very Paul Williams. Very Rocky Horror. But do I want to listen to all of those songs? Not really.

So here is a condensed discography of the songs that I enjoy listening to from the nearly 50 year career of Mr. Loaf.

1. This album is all about bombast and cheese and musical theater singalongs. So even though the title track is the basis of Meatloaf's career, I'm not including it. It's pretty much a sin that the original album didn't start with the completely ridiculous dialogue from the intro to You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth. I'd be shocked to find out that this isn't in the top ten most performed duets in karaoke history. It's a hit from the stilted intro all the way to the hand clap fade out.

2. I'll be jumping around Meatloaf's 80s albums (and the real Bat Out Of Hell) because thy all tend to suffer from a sameness of sound. Each one has a particular drone where even the ballads and bangers tend to sound indistinguishable after a while. I don't think it's true of his whole discography, so I'm going to go from 77 to 88 to 83, etc. Burning Down is a synth and saxaphone track, which is about as 80s as you can get. It's got a hint of Miami Vice to it, and the choir who sings the chorus is vintage musical theater.

3. From synths and saxaphones to a country-esque foot stomper. Midnight At The Lost & Found is just silly and fun.

4. Meat Loaf has claimed that Jim Steinman wrote Air Supply's "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" for him, but gave it to them during a time when there was a financial dispute between them. If that's true, it seems like Cheatin' In Your Dreams is his revenge, as it seems very 80s soft rock. He eventually gets to his usual belty vocals, but it's very soft and smooth for the first half of the song. It ends like a lost track from Little Shop Of Horrors.

5. Back to the hits from the first album! Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad  is a classic piano crooner with some of the cheesiest lyrics commited to paper. 

6. Given how they share a songwriter, it's a pity that Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler didn't work together. But Meat Loaf did work with Cher on Dead Ringer For Love, which definitely sounds like an outtake from either the original Bat Out Of Hell or maybe Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

7. The low end of the piano bangs in through the end of "Dead Ringer For Love" before it gets layered into a very 80s build-a-ballad. It's a weird conceit, I'm Going To Love Her For Both Of Us talks about how he wants an abusive boyfriend to let him date his partner because Meat Loaf will treat her right. He's not singing to her that he's going to rescue her, he's singing to the abusive boyfriend that he needs to do the right thing and let Meat Loaf have the relationship with her so that everyone can be happy. 

8. Before recording his own albums, Meat Loaf was a touring member of Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar and, or course, The Rocky Horror Show. If You Really Want To is a weird little nugget of a love song that, much like some tracks from the first two of those musicals, seems to be building to a belting verse that never comes. It's a rhythmic rock lullaby. It's not a ballad, it's just got a very repetitive bass and rhythm. I get drawn in at the beginning, and then I'm trapped there for the rest of the song. 

9. Some times, I see two track titles, and think "I hope those fit together." Thus we fllow up "If You Really Want To" with the ballady Everything Is Permitted. It soars. Something about Loaf's vocals sound vaguely sour, though. Like a mediocre opera singer. It's still better than most rock musicians, but it's certainly not of the caliber of the Bat Out Of Hell albums.

10. Getting Away With Murder could be any 80s soundtrack song. I can't even place who it sounds like because it just sounds like upbeat 80s soundtrack rock track #4.  It's catchy and inoffensive, despite the title. You can almost see him wearing Raybans, and a white suit with a Hawaiian shirt under the blazer.

11.We knock it back down a notch for a little John Cougar Mellancampy blue collar work song. Piece Of The Action is like barely pre-Bon Jovi narrative rock about how it's tough to have a job, and how you've got to dream big, baby.

12. Another of the original hits, Paradise By The Dashboard Light fits in perfectly here. You can see the co-leads doing a little Fosse as the background singers ooo-bop-bop in the background.

13. While I feel like a lot of 80s Meat Loaf songs do go Nowhere Fast, this particular rocker is a fun little stand-in for "Hot Patootie".  If you stripped the vocal tracks away, this could be a cool Nintendo theme song. Probably Ice Man or Cut Man from the original Mega Man game.

14. Despite namedropping Virginia and California at the beginning of the song, The Promised Land sounds like Alabama or The Oak Ridge Boys  might have recorded this very American song about moving from city to city and state to state.

15. "Promised Land" blends right into Bad Attitude, Meat Loaf's song about how the old squares hated his freedom, man. The guitars are very Queen, but they're sadly buried in the mix. 

16. One More Kiss (Night Of The Soft Parade)  is a spare piano ballad for soft rock radio. There's a lot of whispery singing to kick this song off. It does eventually build to belting with a set of female background singers to levitate his pleas.

17. From pleas to threats we go, as I'll Kill You If You Don't Come Back​ has some of the worst, cheesiest lyrics on this album (which is a high bar). How do you abuse me/ Let me count the ways is so Roger Rabbit that it makes me laugh.

18. If you've ever wondered what a Huey Lewis & The News song would sound like if it had a chorus of female vocalists, wonder no more. Blind Before I Stop has a touch of Robert Palmer, and a touch of generic 80s girl rock band. 

19. We close off the album with what should have been the closing ballad for the real Bat Out Of Hell, Heaven Can Wait. It's a pleasant unwind.