Sometimes, the best Star Trek movies are the ones that pull directly from episodes. For example, The Wrath of Khan continued the events of the episode “Space Seed,” bringing back Khan as Kirk’s most formidable foe in ship-to-ship combat. Likewise, First Contact played well off Picard’s previous encounters with the Borg, making for an exciting Trek adventure based around trauma and revenge.
Given how revered those films have been, it’d be a good idea to consider other Star Trek episodes. Returning to the shows that made the franchise great would be ideal for giving fans something familiar and getting newcomers interested in queuing up Trek’s greatest hits.
‘Subspace Rhapsody’
‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2, Episode 9
Staying true to the show’s title, Strange New Worlds steered Star Trek into new territory with the musical episode “Subspace Rhapsody.” The Enterprise crew encounters a strange quantum probability field that traps everybody it engulfs in song. As the Federation and Klingons are stricken with an inability to sing and dance in their communications, the only way to stop this condition is to deliver a grand finale. The episode is loaded with musical numbers and continues the ongoing arcs, with Chapel and Spock breaking up in song.
Although the episode could make for a solid stage musical, which is still being considered, a theatrical Star Trek musical would be an energetic change of pace. A sing-song space opera was new for a Trek show and would be even more unique for a Star Trek movie. Bringing back the quantum probability field for more Trek factions and characters to perform their way out of this condition for showmanship could be a lot of fun. The mind boggles at what type of musical number the Borg would perform.
‘Crisis Point’
‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Season 1, Episode 9
“Crisis Point” would make for a great Star Trek movie because, well, it is more or less a movie. When Mariner struggles with her frustration toward her mother, she tries therapy on the holodeck. That therapy involves staging an adventure as bombastic and action-oriented as the Star Trek movies, embracing all the tropes of daring fights and crew members dying.
The premise behind “Crisis Point” is brilliant, mixing character growth with Mariner while parodying familiar Star Trek movie beats. A feature-length Lower Decks film that tinkers further with this concept could make for a great spoof of everything moviegoers have come to know about Star Trek. The holodeck setting can allow anything to transpire, even beyond the boundless potential of animation. Aside from the prospect of indulging in fan-favorite nostalgia, the scrutinizing nature of Lower Deck’s humor could make this the Star Trek comedy movie audiences never knew they wanted, given that Lower Decks is a good entry point for new fans.
‘City on the Edge of Forever’
‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ Season 1, Episode 28
There were plenty of Star Trek episodes that dealt with time travel, but none were more profound and theatrical than “City on the Edge of Forever.” When a disoriented McCoy goes missing through a time-travel portal, Kirk and Spock try to rescue him from the Great Depression in New York City. The adventure soon leads to a doomed romance, where one person must die to save the future.
Regarded as one of the best episodes of The Original Series, there’s real drama in coming to terms with saving a timeline at the cost of a nurse’s life. Someone like Spock might make the tough call easily, but the romantic Kirk finds it harder to agree on her death, even with the threat of Nazis winning World War II. Since we’ve already had a comical time-travel Star Trek adventure with The Voyage Home, it might be time to see what can be done with a more dramatic approach, with a darker dip into history.
‘Chain of Command’
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Season 6, Episodes 10 and 11
Captain Picard faced off against the hideous fascism of the Cardassians in the two-parter “Chain of Command.” When captured during a covert mission regarding biological weapons, Picard is tortured by Gul Madred, a Cardassian aiming to trap the Captain. Imprisoned, Picard is tortured in various ways to have his will broken. The most notable of these tortures is the infliction of pain unless Picard admits the lies of five lights when there are only four.
For an episode involving espionage and torture, “Chain of Command” was a fantastic Next Generation episode for more than the stellar performance by the refined David Warner as Gul Madred. Within Picard’s torture chamber, the very nature of aggressive authoritarian assertion is divulged through the pain inflicted upon him. There’s some incredible writing in this episode, where Picard’s reaction to Madred showing off a brainwashed child is to remark, “When children learn to devalue others, they can devalue anyone, including their parents.” It’s a profoundly poignant episode, and Star Trek movies could use more of that political heft instead of more starships that go boom.
‘The Doomsday Machine’
‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ Season 2, Episode 6
The Starship Enterprise faced off against its largest threat with “The Doomsday Machine.” An ancient and massive planet-killing machine, looking like a mecha sandworm from Dune, threatens to wipe out all life in a galaxy. Though the Enterprise succeeds in damaging the machine via an exploding ship, there is still the chilling possibility of more Doomsday Machines existing somewhere in the universe.
“The Doomsday Machine” presented an antagonist so massive that it’s shocking there’s never been a movie about this gargantuan threat. The space weapon so huge it could eat the Enterprise whole would look impressive on the big screen. Its destructive nature would also work well for Trek movies that favor plenty of action, as with Star Trek Into Darkness. Galaxy-ending threats don’t get more dangerous than a Doomsday Machine, and it’d be exciting to see another Federation crew take a whack at this enemy.
‘In the Pale Moonlight’
‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ Season 6, Episode 19
The Dominion War was one of the most thrilling arcs in all of Star Trek, let alone Deep Space Nine, and arguably the most compelling episode of that run was “In the Pale Moonlight.” With the Federation losing ground in its fight against the Dominion, Sisko needs to get the Romulans into this fight. Doing so will require getting the Romulans to believe the Dominion has plans to invade Romulus. The Cardassian Garak tries to find some proof of this invasion, but with nothing to go on, he recommends faking the evidence. It’s a moral dilemma that Sisko still grapples with by the end of the episode, despite taking Garak’s advice.
“In the Pale Moonlight” presents a dilemma with no easy answers, where doubt still looms about manipulating the Romulans. It’s a plot that involves forgery, sabotage, explosives, murder, and cover-ups, all in the name of defending the Alpha Quadrant. Although the story seems more akin to a political thriller than a sci-fi adventure, highlighting Star Trek’s more ambitious stories of preludes to war would be a friendly reminder that the franchise has more to offer than big ships and pointy ears.
‘Year of Hell’
‘Star Trek: Voyager’ Season 4, Episodes 8 and 9
The starship Voyager encountered the most destructive of time-altering forces in the Star Trek: Voyager arc, “Year of Hell.” The Krenim are trying to save their people by using a timeship to alter the timeline, with Kurtwood Smith as their leader. When the Voyager intervenes, they’re thrown into months of combat with the entire Kremin Imperium, with the ship and crew enduring much damage. What follows is a battle of time incursions and temporal erasure, where the only way to win is to make the ultimate sacrifice.
There was so much material in the two-parter “Year of Hell” that writers almost considered making an entire season-long arc, boasting an incredible performance by Kate Mulgrew. With so much potential, expanding the Kremin’s fight for preservation while altering the shape of the universe would make for an intense movie. The enduring war against the pursuing Kremin was brutal, with real stakes, and the crew was all battered and bruised from the never-ending conflict. “Year of Hell” would make for a fantastic film, with the Voyager crew and ship pushed to the absolute limit of destruction while considering the consequences for the species and timelines.
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