Star Trek In Considerably Fewer Seasons, Season 3: The Logic Of History

To watch all of The Star Trek franchise, it would take you nearly a month of no-sleep-marathoning. Nearly 550 hours at this point. Twenty-four days. AND THEY'RE STILL MAKING MORE. You don't have that kind of time.

I've attempted to put together a much more condensed series of Star Trek. Dividing it into eighteen 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.

We spent much of last season with Adorians, Vulcans, and Tellarites. We met Spock's family, we saw some of Kirk's die, we saw some Starfleet staff lose their minds, and we saw the crew age really quickly. So in many ways, this season will be exactly the same. Except we'll be taking a trip through an alternate dimension that will span all three series that we've explored so far in a Near Crossover, and we'll fly through the TOS movies.  Boldly going pretty much where we went last season, but with some better acting, and more refined directing.

Ok, so maybe not All the acting will be better.

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Star Trek Season 3:
The Logic Of History

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uEpisode 1: A Piece Of The Action
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Chekov)

City On The Edge Of Forever took place in New York City, during the Depression. This episode takes place on an alien world, but an alien world that has based their system of government on 1930s Chicago gangster rule. Kirk does a hilariously and probably intentionally bad gangster accent for most of the episode. This is a truly silly episode that encapsulates some of the potential that most of The Original Series aspired to but didn't quite reach.


Episode 2: Doomsday Machine
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Sulu)

After discovering several ravaged star systems, Enterprise encounters The Constellation, another Federation ship, but one that's been badly damaged. Like every Starfleet Captain they encounter, Constellation's has gone cuckoo pants. When the planet killing machine that damaged The Constellation starts to follow The Enterprise, Captain Cuckoo Pants takes over the ship before Kirk can get back on board. The planet killer is deduced to be from an alternate dimension. Wait...so...there are other Star Trek dimensions?


Episode 3: Tholian Web
(Spock, McCoy, Scott, Sulu, Uhura, Chapel, Chekov, Kirk)

The beginning of a dimension expanding saga finds The Enterprise Crew encountering The Defiant, another Starfleet ship that appears to be phasing through dimensions. When Kirk also phases, Spock decides the ship can't leave the location, even though an alien species called the Tholians are ensnaring The Enterprise in a web that could doom them to the same fate.


Episode 4 & 5: In A Mirror, Darkly
(Archer, T'Pol, Phlox, Sato, Mayweather, Reed, Forrest)

So where did The Defiant go when it phased? The Mirrorverse. An alternate dimension where good and evil are flip-flopped, and nobody behaves in a familiar way. The crew of The Mirrorverse Enterprise become embroiled in a political conundrum where they think their best chance of survival is to take The Defiant as their new ship.


Episode 6: Mirror, Mirror
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Chekov)

It's TOS's crew's turn to explore the Mirrorverse, as Kirk ends up in the topsy-turvy world where crew members must kill to be promoted. Will Spock help him return to his home dimension? I mean, he must, otherwise this would be the end of the series, right?


Episode 7: Despite Yourself
(Burnham, Saru, Tyler, Stamets, Tilly, Lorca)

Oh no! Discovery is ALSO caught in the Mirrorverse? This is crazypants. But unlike the other series, there seems to be a reason for them being here besides random chance. 


Episode 8: Vaulting Ambition
(Burnham, Saru, Tyler, Stammets, Tilly, Lorca, Georgiou)

There is Definitely a reason that Discovery ended up in The Mirror Universe, and as they try and figure their way back into the regular universe, we (the audience...not so much the crew) learn the messed up truth behind all of their adventures so far.


Episode 9: What's Past Is Prologue
(Lorca, Georgiou, Burnham, Saru, Tyler, Stammets, Tilly)

Once the crew catches up with the audience, they are even more motivated to get the hell out of the Mirrorverse. Turns out pretty much nothing is ever as it seems. I'm sure their return to the regular universe will make everything status quo again, though. Isn't that how Star Trek works?

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Episode 10 & 11: The Wrath Of Khan
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Chekov, Khan, Scott, Sulu, Uhura, Saavik)

Sure, we're back in the original dimension, but it's many years later. Kirk is an admiral, Spock's back on Vulcan, and Chekov is a commander on The Reliant. On a research mission, Chekov runs into Khan from back in the first season, and is forced into a trap intended to ensnare Kirk. But what's more important to Khan? Killing Kirk or getting his hands on The Genesis Device?


Episode 12: Brother
(Burnham, Pike, Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Sarek, Grayson, Reno, Linus)

Something major happened to Spock at the end of The Wrath Of Khan, so now we're going to go all the way back to when he was a child, and explore his relationship with Burnham. And, oh yea, Pike is now the temporary captain of The Discovery, as the ship goes off in search of the cause of the Seven Lights.


Episode 13: An Obol For Charon
(Burnham, Pike, Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Reno, Linus)

Like one of the classic episodes, an unidentified sphere takes control of Discovery, messes with its computer, and turns the whole ship higgledy-piggledy. It also triggers an illness in Saru that is fatal to his species.


Episode 14: The Sound Of Thunder
(Saru, Burnham, Pike, Tyler, Stamets, Culber, Linus)

Everything Saru knew about his species lifespan was a lie, so he decides to break The Prime Directive to set his species free. Plus, Culber is alive again, and Tyler is back on the ship. Awwwwwkwaaaaaaaaaaard.


Episode 15: Fallen Hero
(Archer, Ph'lox, T'Pol, Reed, Mayweather, Sato, Trip)

First officers having cultural identity problems occur all over the Star Trek timeline. During the Enterprise era, T'Pol must balance her loyalty to the crew with her Vulcan heritage. 


Episode 16 & 17: The Search For Spock
(Kirk, McCoy, Scott, Saavik, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, Sarek, Spock)

The Wrath Of Khan is considered by most to be The Best Star Trek movie, and I don't disagree. It sets all the rest of The Star Trek films into motion as a really cool storyarc on aging military personnel desperately clinging to power. Here, the crew of The Enterprise must defy Starfleet to rescue their missing friend. Also, Klingon bastards do Something that will incur The Wrath Of Kirk.


Episode 18: If Memory Serves
(Spock, Burnham, Pike, Saru, Stamets, Tilly, Tyler, Georgiou, Culber)

It looks like The Enterprise wasn't the only ship to find Spock. Young Spock is back with Burnham trying to get to the Discovery via Thalos IV, the planet from The Menagerie. What will his involvement due to help them discover the purpose of The Red Angel, and how will it affect Discovery's relationship with Starfleet and Section 31?


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Episode 19 &20: The Voyage Home
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Chekov, Uhura, Scott, Sulu, Sarek, Saavik, Rand)

After the events of The Search For Spock, the former Enterprise crew must journey back to 20th century Earth in an unfamiliar vessel in order to bring some whales back to Earth to keep it from being obliterated by an amok probe. It's a weird premise, and the movie is filled with more Colorful Metaphors than you'd expect in a Star Trek film. This is the most honestly funny chapter in TOS, as its humor is based on the various crew members' failure to understand 20th century culture. And it's very much a mid 1980s comedy. It's also fun to see Rand show up again, even if it's Very Briefly.