star trek courtroom episodes

Star Trek's Trial Episodes, Ranked

Star trek 's trial episodes, ranked, sometimes boldly going involves sitting at benches, banging gavels, and giving a good speech or three..

This week Star Trek: Strange New Worlds took us on an enlightened spin on a Trek classic: the courtroom drama, where spaceships and scientific ponderings give way to our Starfleet heroes sitting down and having even more fancy chats than they usually do. It’s a format the franchise has been obsessed with since the beginning—but we’re entering our own tribunal to sort the best from the rest.

16) “Court Martial” - Star Trek

Star Trek ’s first crack at the trial format—in which Captain Kirk is accused of criminal negligence for jettisoning an occupied research pod during an emergency, only for it to emerge Kirk had history with the lost crewman—is not the most riveting take on the format, especially under the limitations that the show was never going to actually find its protagonist fallible. But it’s still an interesting bit of insight into who James T. Kirk is as a person, and his history before the Enterprise .

15) “Author, Author” - Star Trek: Voyager

Not quite as traditionally structured as other Trek trial episodes, it’s also one of the most unhinged, as Voyager ’s holographic d octor goes to copyright court to advocate for the rights of AI after creating a distinctly unflattering holographic story featuring the crew’s facsimiles. Ultimately tries to advocate that somehow the Doctor has no rights as an actual person, but still is an artist... how ???

14) “Unification III” - Star Trek: Discovery

A spiritual successor to the “Unification” episodes of Trek ’s past—about Spock’s attempts to reunite the fractured peoples of Vulcan and Romulus—sees Michael Burnham, now in a far future where her half-brother’s dreams have been achieved, face a tribunal of both races to see if she and the Federation can be trusted with valuable research data. Interesting ideas, even if the episode largely concludes that the whole thing was pointless by giving Michael exactly what she wants.

13) “The Menagerie” - Star Trek

Look, I’m not saying that this two-parter is a bad episode , but it’s not known for the courtroom framing device—where Spock is put on trial for abducting the Enterprise and its former captain, Christopher Pike. It’s merely an excuse to reuse swath s of the original Star Trek pilot, and while it won’t make it past most juries, that in and of itself is a notable twist on Trek ’s history with this format.

12) “A Matter of Perspective” - Star Trek: The Next Generation

Another one that is more interesting for its format rather than the story itself, here Riker is accused of destroying an entire space station because he is simply too much of a horndog. That alone is very funny, but fascinatingly the court is shifted to the holodeck for a series of recreations of the alleged incident, changing and replaying on the fly based on testimony, from who was standing where to how particular lines of dialogue are enunciated.

11) “Distant Origin” - Star Trek: Voyager

A rare trial episode where one of our heroes isn’t put to task for an alleged crime or violation of conduct, but more of a scientific debate—when Commander Chakotay is presented to an academic board as proof that the Voth, a powerful dinosaur-esque species from the Delta Quadrant, have evolutionary roots on Earth, contravening generations of religious dogma in their society.

10) “Devil’s Due” - Star Trek: The Next Generation

An incredibly goofy episode that feels ripped right out of original Trek despite being in TNG ’s fourth season. Picard and the crew are tasked with dealing with a planetary property dispute against the mysterious Ardra, in a wonderfully camp turn by Marta DuBois, who claims to be the literal Devil of Ventax II.

9) “Dax” - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Jadzia is put on trial for an alleged murder committed by her predecessor as the host of the Dax symbiont, Curzon. In something of a Riker-esque move, she’s proven innocent by testimony from the woman Curzon was sleeping with at the time of the incident, the murder victim’s wife. Sometimes, being a horndog works!

8) “Death Wish” - Star Trek: Voyager

Voyager becomes the center of a philosophical debate when a member of the Q continuum requests asylum—so that he, as a member of a seemingly immortal, all-powerful race, can commit suicide. While being as delicate as it can be with a particularly touching subject, being a Q episode there’s also tons of hijinks as John DeLancie’s meddling omnipotent steps in to try and stop the asylum request.

7) “Judg ment” - Star Trek: Enterprise

Captain Archer is put on trial by the Klingons for allegedly conspiring against the Empire—and finds himself defended through the Klingon’s harsh judicial system by none other than classic Trek guest star J.G. Hertzler, beloved for his DS9 turn as Klingon General Martok. Aside from getting to see Hertzler again, it’s also an interesting examination of Klingon attitudes.

6) “Rules of Engagement” - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Worf finds himself at odds with the Klingon Empire when he’s faced with an extradition request after firing on a Klingon vessel that turned out to be a civilian shuttle. This is a trial episode that also tries to be a Worf episode and a conspiracy episode, so the former part suffers a bit, but it’s still got some great performances and, uh, Worf just decking the Klingon counselor Ch’Pok mid-session. Don’t watch Star Trek for legal advice!

5) “Veritas” - Star Trek: Lower Decks

In Lower Decks style, this is a suitably silly twist for the trial episode format, when our e nsigns find themselves in an alien trial giving testimony to exonerate the Cerritos ’ bridge crew. Many hijinks and misunderstandings later, it’s actually a great story about the power imbalance between Starfleet’s officer ranks, and the fallibility of people we expect to be idealized examples.

4) “Tribunal” - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Fittingly for Deep Space Nine , this is a much darker take on Trek ’s trial format, as the audience and Chief O’Brien are exposed to the despotic and horrifying twists of the Cardassian legal system—pre-sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit, and only aided by a lawyer who wants him to confess for the good of Cardassia rather than to find the truth. It’s f ar from the first or last time this show would put poor Miles through the ringer.

3) “Ad Astra per Aspera” - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

There may be a little bit of a recency bias at work here, and as we said in our recap , the episode is largely limited in what it can do about its core allegory—the rights of genetically augmented peoples within the Federation in the wake of the Eugenics Wars—due to Strange New Worlds ’ place in the Trek timeline. But that doesn’t stop it from smartly evolving this classic Star Trek episode style by not having Starfleet turn on its own heroes, or force its way into another world’s legal system, but having an alien being—in this case the Illyrian civil rights advocate Neera (a star turn by Yetide Badaki)—come to the defense of Commander Una, herself an Illyrian, against the Federation’s laws banning genetic modifcation.

2) “The Drumhead” - Star Trek: The Next Generation

People come to Star Trek trial episodes for the speeches, and this gives us one of Picard’s finest, when the c aptain finds himself on trial for treason after Starfleet Admiral Norah Satie boards the Enterprise on an investigation that gets quickly and increasingly conspiratorial. It’s a great, tense episode, but really, you are here to watch Patrick Stewart sit in a chair and quietly act the socks off of everyone around him.

1) “The Measure of a Man” - Star Trek: The Next Generation

Look. What else would be here? In t he trial episode that all trial episodes aspire to be, Data’s rights as an android are put to task when Starfleet scientist Bruce Maddox boards the Enterprise and demands to take Data apart as part of his research. With fantastic tension when Riker is asked to prosecute his colleague, it’s an episode that tightly balances Star Trek worldbuilding and real-world legal precedents, and of course, once again Patrick Stewart acting the socks off of everyone around him. He’s mostly standing when he does it this time, though.

The Top 57 Episodes of ‘Star Trek,’ Ranked From Great to Perfect

First, let’s be clear: Ranking the best “Star Trek” episodes is a silly thing to do. To date, the longest-running American TV franchise has aired a gargantuan 890 episodes and counting, starting with the original series in 1966. Since then, at least one “Star Trek” TV show has aired (or streamed) every decade, totaling 11 so far (with more on the way ). Choosing the best episodes within such a boundless, occasionally contradictory storytelling galaxy seems about as wise as cheating when playing poker with a Klingon.

On the other hand, there may be no more time-honored tradition among “Star Trek” fans than a vigorous debate over what constitutes the best of the franchise. (Best series ? Best captains ? Best starships ? Best aliens ? Best uniforms ? They’ve all been ranked multiple times !)

In that spirit — and to commemorate the 57th anniversary of “Star Trek” on Sept. 8 —  Variety ’s resident “Trek” geeks have ranked the top 57 episodes of all time, across the franchise.

Creating our list required some deep-dish nerdiness in its own right: We compiled a long list of episodes from each series that we felt deserved to be on the final ranking. Then we created our own individual rankings — and promptly realized our taste was quite divergent. To reconcile our lists, we adopted the approach of the great movie ranking podcast, Screen Drafts : We took alternating turns placing a pick from 57 to 1, and we each had two opportunities to veto the other’s pick (which in every case was to ensure it was placed higher on the list).

Other than the short-lived “Star Trek: The Animated Series” (1973-1974), this list reflects every other iteration of “Trek” on TV: “Star Trek: The Original Series” (1966-1969); “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987-1994); “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993-1999); “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995-2001); “Star Trek: Enterprise” (2001-2005); “Star Trek: Discovery” (2017-2024); “Star Trek: Picard” (2020-2023); “Star Trek: Prodigy” (2021-2022); and the ongoing “Star Trek: Lower Decks” (2020-present) and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (2022-present).

The Way to Eden

“The Original Series” — Season 3, Episode 20

Look, this episode gets a lot of hate. But the fact is “TOS” is known (by today’s standards) for being very campy, and there is no episode campier than this one. A group of space hippies board the Enterprise on their journey to a mythical planet called Eden, where they can live happily forever. The episode memorably features Charles Napier (who would go on to a long career playing tough guys, villains, cops and the like) breaking out into song a bunch of times, including a jam session with Spock (Leonard Nimoy). —Joe Otterson Original airdate: Feb. 21, 1969

Terra Prime

“Enterprise” — Season 4, Episode 21 More than any other episode of “Enterprise,” “Terra Prime” made the most of the show’s mission to dramatize the beginnings of Starfleet, 100 years before the events of “TOS.” Just as a newfound coalition of planets begins to form on Earth (a precursor to the Federation), Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and his crew must stop a xenophobic terrorist (played to the hilt by future “Star Trek Into Darkness” villain Peter Weller) bent on forcing all aliens to leave Earth. Subtle, it ain’t, but the story feels more relevant today than it did 20 years ago, and everyone in the cast gets a moment to shine. Alas, it came too late: “Enterprise” had been canceled before this episode even went into production. —Adam B. Vary Original airdate: May 13, 2005

“Prodigy” — Season 1, Episode 6

The animated “Prodigy” was the first “Star Trek” series geared toward kids, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t things for older “Trek” fans to enjoy. In particular, “Kobayashi” perfectly embodies what makes this show a worthy entry in “Trek” canon. Dal (Brett Gray) and Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas) discover the holodeck aboard the Protostar, where they decide to go through the Kobayashi Maru, a.k.a. the “no-win scenario” that Capt. Kirk successfully beat during his time at the Academy. He gets help along the way from legendary characters like Spock, Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Odo (René Auberjonois). —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 6, 2022

Stormy Weather

“Discovery” — Season 4, Episode 6

On a mission to discover the origins of a cataclysmic gravitational anomaly, the U.S.S. Discovery enters a subspace rift and finds itself trapped inside a lethal black void that threatens to collapse in on the ship. The result is a classic race-against-time thriller (directed by “Trek” mainstay Jonathan Frakes), but what makes “Stormy Weather” stand out amid the heavily serialized episodes of “Discovery” is its emotionally resonant use of the ship’s sentient A.I. computer, Zora (Annabelle Wallis), who has to learn how to calm her mind from overwhelming stimuli in order to guide the ship out of danger. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 23, 2021

Seventeen Seconds

“Picard” — Season 3, Episode 3

“Picard” didn’t find itself until Season 3, which reunited the core cast of “The Next Generation” — and it was really Episode 3 that sealed the deal. Riker (Frakes) is forced to take command of the Titan as Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and the Shrike hunt them. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Crusher get an all-time great scene together as she reveals why she never told him about their son, Jack (Ed Speleers). Worf (Michael Dorn) makes his big return. We learn the Changelings are still intent on attacking the Federation. Riker and Picard end up at odds in a way we’ve never seen before. In short, epic. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 2, 2023

The Enemy Within

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 5

The transporter — the cause of, and solution to, so many “Star Trek” problems — accidentally splits Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) into two people: Good Kirk, who is wracked with indecision, and evil Kirk, who is a histrionic asshole. Come for a meditation on the darkness that lies tucked inside everyone’s psyche, stay for some of William Shatner’s most deliciously hammy acting — and this was just the fifth episode of the series! —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 1966

Family Business

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 3, Episode 23

The Ferengi episodes of “DS9” are always great comic relief, with this episode giving fans their first view of the home planet of Ferenginar and Ferengi culture in general. Quark (Armin Shimerman) and Rom (Max Grodénchik) must return home when their mother, Ishka (Andrea Martin), is accused of acquiring profit (gasp!), something Ferengi females are forbidden to do. Shimerman and Martin shine as they play out Quark and Ishka’s relationship, while Grodénchik really gets to put his comedic chops on display. This episode is also notable as the first appearance of Brunt (Jeffrey Combs) from the Ferengi Commerce Authority, as well as Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald), frequent love interest of Cmdr. Sisko (Avery Brooks). —J.O.

Original airdate: May 15, 1995

Blink of an Eye

“Voyager” — Season 6, Episode 12

The Voyager gets stuck in orbit around a planet where time passes far more rapidly than in the rest of space, as the episode alternates between the bemused curiosity of Capt. Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew and the awestruck preoccupation of the expeditiously progressing populace on the planet below, for whom Voyager is a sparkling, fixed constant in the night sky. At one point, the Doctor (Robert Picard) beams down to the planet to investigate, and a delay of only a few minutes on Voyager means he spends three years on its surface. He even adopts a son! One of the great, wild what if? episodes of “Star Trek.” —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Jan. 19, 2000

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 23

Mark Lenard absolutely crushed the role of Spock’s father, Sarek, in multiple episodes across multiple “Star Trek” series and movies, but this episode is perhaps his finest performance as the character. Sarek comes to the Enterprise-D on what is meant to be his final mission, only for the crew to learn he is suffering from Bendii Syndrome. The condition leaves him prone to uncharacteristic emotional outbursts while also causing him to telepathically influence the emotions of those around him. Picard saves the day by mind melding with Sarek, allowing him to finish his mission with dignity — and provide Stewart with the chance for some powerhouse acting as he channels Sarek’s volcanic emotions. —J.O.

Original airdate: May 14, 1990

“Enterprise” — Season 3, Episode 10

“Trek” loves a moral dilemma, and this one’s a doozy: After Cmdr. Tucker (Connor Trinneer) is critically injured while the Enterprise is on a deep space mission, Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) suggests growing a “mimetic symbiote” of Trip — effectively, a clone with a built-in two-week lifespan — in order to create the brain tissue needed to save Trip’s life. But that means the Enterprise crew must endure watching Trip’s clone rapidly age from a precocious kid to an adult man (played by Trinneer with eerie self-possession), who then pleads for his own right to live. Creepy and heartbreaking in equal measure. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 19, 2003

Trials and Tribble-ations

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 5, Episode 6

This episode is a love letter to the original series, with the Defiant’s crew transported back in time to the events of “The Trouble With Tribbles.” A Klingon agent is planning to use a booby-trapped tribble to assassinate James T. Kirk. Thanks to digital editing, the crew is able to interact with the original Enterprise crew and keep the timeline intact. —J.O.

Original airdate: Nov. 4, 1996

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 2, Episode 23

Mirror universe episodes of “Star Trek” are (almost) always fun, if ultimately a little silly. But this one — in which Kira (Nana Visitor) and Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) find themselves in an alternate reality in which Bajor, Cardassians and Klingons subjugate humans as slaves — comes closest to matching the spark of discovery in the original “TOS” episode. It’s especially fun to watch Visitor devour the role of Kira’s deliciously wicked mirror counterpart, the Intendant. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: May 16, 1994

Memento Mori

“Strange New Worlds” — Season 1, Episode 4

This episode proved “Strange New Worlds” — the newest “Star Trek” series — could be as action-packed as the very best of “Star Trek.” The Enterprise crew find themselves on the run from the Gorn, a savage enemy (first introduced on “TOS” and largely ignored in “Trek” canon) about which they know virtually nothing. They are forced to use every resource at their disposal to outwit and outrun the Gorn, including tapping into the subconscious of La’an (Christina Chong), the only crew member who has encountered the aliens and survived. —J.O.

Original airdate: May 26, 2022

Counterpoint

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 10

The main story is a tense, WWII allegory: Capt. Janeway and her crew hide telepathic refugees while passing through the space of the Devore, who have outlawed telepaths. But the real story is the relationship Janeway forms with the lead Devore inspector, Kashyk (Mark Harelik), who suddenly shows up alone and announces he’s defecting. As Kashyk aids Janeway in finding safe harbor for the refugees, she realizes how much he’s her intellectual equal, and she finds herself drawn to him — in spite of (or perhaps spurred on by) her continued suspicion of his motives. A great, subtle performance by Mulgrew captures both Janeway’s steely wits and her private yearning. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 16, 1998

The Drumhead

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 21

“Star Trek” has done a number of courtroom episodes, and this is one of the best. Rear admiral Norah Satie (Jean Simmons) is sent to investigate suspected sabotage aboard the Enterprise. The investigation quickly spirals into paranoia and accusations of treachery against a crew member who is revealed to have Romulan lineage. It is an excellent reminder of what can happen when persecution is dressed up as an attempt at greater security, with Picard using Satie’s father’s teachings to bring about her downfall. —J.O.

Original airdate: April 29, 1991

“The Next Generation” — Season 7, Episode 8

More thwarted romance! The seasons-long will-they/won’t-they between Picard and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) gets its best showcase, when the pair are captured by isolationist aliens and given implants that allow them to read each other’s thoughts. You get the feeling Stewart and especially McFadden had been dying to play out this dynamic on the show, so they both bring years of sublimated longing to the episode. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 8, 1993

In the Hands of the Prophets

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 20

Louise Fletcher’s performance as Vedek Winn (later Kai Winn) ranks among the best “Star Trek” villains of all time. Deeply religious to the point of fanaticism, Winn protests Keiko O’Brien (Rosalind Chao) teaching children on Deep Space Nine that the wormhole aliens are not deities, as many Bajorans believe. Winn’s words whip Bajorans on the station into a frenzy; Keiko’s school is bombed. But what Winn really desires is power, to the point she tries to get one of her followers to kill a fellow Vedek she sees as a threat. The episode sets up Winn’s role as a major antagonist throughout the series to great effect. —J.O.

Original airdate: June 21, 1993

The Trouble With Tribbles

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 15

If you’ve seen any episode of “TOS,” chances are it’s this one. While on shore leave at a space station, the Enterprise comes upon an adorably furry alien creature called a tribble, which are born pregnant, multiply exponentially, consume enormous quantities of food and react with alarm when in the presence of a Klingon. Fizzy and funny and, to this day, one of the best-known episodes of “Trek” ever. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Dec. 29, 1967

Balance of Terror

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 14

Introducing the Romulans alone makes this episode worthy of being on the list. But it’s also an epic cat-and-mouse game between Kirk and a Romulan commander played by none other than Mark Lenard, who would go on to play Sarek starting in Season 2. Kirk successfully lures the Romulan ship into a trap, leading to Lenard delivering the iconic line, “You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend.” —J.O.

Original airdate: Dec. 15, 1966

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 20

John de Lancie never disappoints when he plays Q, but this episode offered a wonderful twist on his usual appearances. Following the events of “Deja Q,” Q returns to the Enterprise saying he owes Picard a debt. Picard repeatedly tells Q he wants nothing from him, but Q notices Picard has eyes for Vash (Jennifer Hetrick), the mercenary archeologist Picard first met on Risa. Being Q, he naturally transports Picard, Vash, and the bridge crew to a Robin Hood fantasy in which Picard must rescue Vash from the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Clive Frevill). Added bonus: Worf, in scarlet tights, exclaiming in protest, “I am not a merry man!” —J.O.

Original airdate: April 22, 1991

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 18

The classic “trial by combat” episode that pitted Kirk against a Gorn captain on a barren, rocky planet (i.e. the storied filming location Vasquez Rocks ). Few images from “Star Trek” have become more iconic than the original Gorn costume, which was essentially an actor dressed as a large lizard. The ending is also an all-timer, with Kirk choosing to spare the Gorn, proving to the all-powerful Metrons that set up the trial by combat that humans are capable of more than just random violence. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 19, 1967

A Mathematically Perfect Redemption

“Lower Decks” — Season 3, Episode 7

“Star Trek’s” first pure comedy (and second animated series) often plays as a twisted love letter to the entire “Trek” franchise — like when Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue), one of the sentient Exocomp robots first introduced on “The Next Generation,” abandons the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos in a time of need. This episode tracks Peanut Hamper’s journey to redemption afterwards, which involves her encountering a seemingly primitive species called the Areore. To say anything more would spoil the fun; suffice it to say, “Trek” has rarely provoked gasps of deep laughter like this episode does. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 2022

Bar Association

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 4, Episode 15

What better episode of “Star Trek” to talk about after Hollywood’s hot labor summer? Fed up with the unfair conditions at Quark’s bar, Rom talks the other workers into forming a union and going on strike. Max Grodénchik truly shines in this episode as the would-be union leader. Once Rom successfully gets Quark to agree to all the workers’ demands, he outright quits and goes to work as a repair technician for the station, setting up some of Rom’s best moments in the episodes to come. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 19, 1996

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 26 & Season 6, Episode 1

The Voyager swoops to the rescue of the Equinox, another Federation starship stranded in the Gamma Quadrant — only this one, led by Capt. Ransom (John Savage), is a smaller ship not meant for deep space travel. With their crew whittled down to just 12 people, Ransom has resorted to murdering alien creatures to use their bio-matter to boost the Equinox’s engines — a horrific violation of everything Starfleet stands for. The discovery pushes Janeway to her own limits, as she obsessively pursues the Equinox despite the cost to her own crew and her morality. The two-parter is one of the darkest episodes of “Star Trek,” a chilling reminder of how easily good people can find themselves slipping into disgrace. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: May 26, 1999 & Sept. 22, 1999

Who Mourns for Morn?

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 12

Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd) was a “Deep Space Nine” fixture, always at Quark’s bar, but never actually speaking onscreen. But in this episode, with Morn apparently dead in an accident, everyone reveals the offscreen times they spent with him, including the revelation that he “never shuts up.” Quark inherits all of Morn’s property, which Odo relishes revealing is ultimately nothing. But as it turns out, Morn had a much more adventurous life before his time on “DS9” than anyone knew, leading his former comrades to seek him out to get a hold of the money they believed he still possessed. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 4, 1998

Species Ten-C

“Discovery” — Season 4, Episode 12

Other than the Gorn, almost all of the aliens on “Star Trek” are, essentially, humans with slightly different forehead ridges. But in its most recent season, “Discovery” embraced “Trek’s” prime directive (seeking out new life, bolding going where no one’s gone, etc.) by crafting a species that is truly alien: the Ten-C. Throughout the season, the Ten-C are presented as both a total mystery and an existential threat; when Capt. Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the Discovery finally reach them — outside the barrier of the Milky Way galaxy — they are unlike anything the show has ever encountered. Rarely has “Trek” applied more intellectual and emotional rigor to what it might actually be like to attempt first contact with extra-terrestrials, and rarely has it been this compelling. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: March 10, 2022

A Man Alone

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 4

Odo is one of the best characters in “DS9” — and in the “Star Trek” universe — in general, and this is the first episode to really establish him as a standout . A known criminal returns to the station only to die shortly after, and Odo is accused of his murder. Odo’s status as an outsider, but ultimately someone to be respected, is made crystal clear in this episode, with even his archenemy Quark acknowledging that Odo is not the type to murder someone in cold blood. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 17, 1993

Mirror, Mirror

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 4

The transporter strikes again, this time accidentally zapping Kirk, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Scotty (James Doohan) and Bones (DeForest Kelley) from their reality into a parallel universe in which the benevolent Federation has been replaced by the bloodthirsty Terran Empire, governed by brute force and fascistic exploitation — and Spock has a goatee! More silly than serious (and no less fun for it), the episode effectively spawned an entire sub-genre of parallel universe episodes of TV (from “Supernatural” to “Friends”) and gave generations of actors a chance to play wildly against type. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 6, 1967

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 2

People rave about “The Best of Both Worlds” and Picard’s assimilation by the Borg, but fewer remember this incredible follow-up episode. Picard returns to his family vineyard to put the Borg incident behind him, even briefly thinking that he will leave Starfleet. Jeremy Kemp crushes it as Picard’s brother Robert, with the two sharing a memorable (and muddy) scene in which Picard breaks down and admits how much his assimilation has shaken him. The episode is also memorable for the appearance of Worf’s adoptive parents, who come to the Enterprise to be with him following his discommendation. —J.O.

Original airdate: Oct. 1, 1990

Living Witness

“Voyager” — Season 4, Episode 23

For several minutes, “Living Witness” seems like a mirror universe episode, as a ruthless Janeway, captain of the “warship” Voyager, agrees to aid the Vaskans against the insurgent Kyrians by unleashing a biological weapon upon millions and executing the Kyrian leader. But then we realize that we’ve just witnessed a recreation at a Kyrian museum 700 years in the future, at which point a copy of the Doctor enters the story and learns, to his horror, how much the Kyrians have gotten wrong. What could have been a Rashomon-style caper instead becomes fascinating meditation on how the telling of history can be weaponized, even inadvertently, to maintain old wounds rather than heal them. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 29, 1998

Unification

“The Next Generation” — Season 5, Episode 7 & 8

Spock appeared on “The Next Generation” a month before the release of 1991’s “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” — but this time, at least, crass cross-promotion prompted some sublimely entertaining TV, as Picard and Data (Brent Spiner) aid Spock in his effort to reunify the Romulan and Vulcan peoples. [Stefon voice]: This two-parter has everything : Klingon warbirds, rude Ferengis, Tasha’s evil Romulan daughter Sela (Denise Crosby), Data and Spock philosophizing on their twin pursuits of logic and emotion, the death of Sarek, Worf singing Klingon opera with a four-armed bar pianist, and Picard and Spock mind-melding! —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Nov. 4 & 11, 1991

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 7, Episode 9

Gul Dukat is the best villain in “Star Trek.” Yes, you read that right. The writers and actor Marc Alaimo created an incredibly nuanced character that goes through a remarkable arc over the course of the series. This episode, near the end of “DS9’s” run, reminds fans that Dukat sees himself as a savior, but is ultimately a force for evil. He establishes a cult dedicated to the Pah wraiths on Empok Nor, luring a number of Bajorans to his side. But of course, he also sleeps with his female followers and tries to trick them into a mass suicide. Amazing stuff. —J.O.

Original airdate: Nov. 23, 1998

The Last Generation

“Picard” — Season 3, Episode 10

The cast of “TNG” infamously never got their swan song, after 2002’s “Star Trek: Nemesis” bombed in theaters, so this series finale serves as a gift both to them and to “TNG” fans. Every character gets their spotlight, including the resurrected Enterprise-D, as Picard, Riker, Dr. Crusher, Data, Worf, LaForge (LeVar Burton) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) all help to take down the Borg once and for all. The final scene — everyone sitting around a poker table, laughing and reminiscing — is as pure and satisfying an expression of fan service as anything “Trek” has ever done. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 20, 2023

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 13

Until this episode, Q was an enjoyably malevolent force within “TNG,” an omnipotent being who’d gleefully pop up now and again to play with the lives of the Enterprise-D crew. But here, when Q suddenly appears on the bridge, he’s been stripped of all his powers (and all of his clothes) and begs Picard for safe harbor. At first, no one believes him — even after Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) stabs him with a fork — which only fuels John de Lancie’s sparkling performance, as Q confronts life as ( shudder ) a mortal human. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Feb. 3, 1990

An Embarrassment of Dooplers

“Lower Decks” — Season 2, Episode 5

The title refers to an alien called a Doopler, who duplicate themselves whenever they get embarrassed — which, naturally, becomes an issue the moment one steps foot on the Cerritos. But really, this episode is one of those deeply enjoyable “Trek” episodes that is less about story than it is about the vibes , as the characters spend their downtime winningly contending with the central premise of the show: The bittersweet contentment of life at the bottom of the ladder. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Sept. 9, 2021

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 2, Episode 19    

The lives of the past hosts of the Dax symbiont are a recurring plot device on “DS9,” and no episode does it better than this one. A group of Klingons who knew Curzon Dax arrive at the station and enlist Jadzia’s (Terry Ferrell) help in killing their sworn enemy, a criminal known as The Albino who killed the three Klingons’ first-born sons. Jadzia ultimately honors the blood oath, as the episode explores the meaning of honor and solidarity. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 28, 1994

Where No Man Has Gone Before

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 3

The famed second pilot episode of “Star Trek” (which introduced William Shatner as Capt. Kirk) is a strange artifact today: Bones and Uhura aren’t aboard yet, Sulu (George Takei) isn’t at the helm, the Enterprise has a psychiatrist (played by Sally Kellerman), and the uniforms and sets look a bit off. But the central story — Kirk’s best friend, Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood), is zapped by an energy blast at the edge of the galaxy, and begins to exhibit extraordinary psychokinetic powers — is vintage “Trek”: Brainy, brawny, and just the right side of uncanny. And it’s fascinating now to see how well-established Kirk and Spock’s dynamic of emotion vs. logic was from the very start. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Sept. 22, 1966

The Measure of a Man

“The Next Generation” — Season 2, Episode 9

Data’s quest for humanity is at the very core of “TNG,” and this stirring episode literally puts that quest on trial — and establishes the show’s voice for the rest of its run. A Starfleet scientist wants to dismantle Data in order to create more androids, but Data refuses, setting up an intense courtroom drama — is Data merely a machine and the property of Starfleet? — with Picard representing Data while Riker is forced to represent the scientist. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 13, 1989

“The Next Generation” — Season 4, Episode 26 & Season 5, Episode 1

The Klingons started on “Trek” as a not-that-thinly-veiled metaphor for the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, but over the decades, they’ve developed their own richly detailed mythology. This two-parter (which aired just before the fall of the USSR) depicts a civil war within the Klingon Empire that leads to Worf’s decision to leave the Enterprise and join the fight. For a series that was episodic by design, this is the closest “TNG” ever got to serialized storytelling, incorporating events from several previous episodes — including the shocking introduction of Tasha’s Romulan daughter, Sela. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: June 17, 1991 & Sept. 23, 1991

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 11

It is endlessly entertaining to see Quark get what he wants as he then  learns that it’s way more trouble than he realized. This episode sums that idea up nicely, while also featuring the first of many wonderful appearances by Wallace Shawn as Ferengi leader Grand Nagus Zek. Zek unexpectedly names Quark his successor, only for Zek to die shortly after. Quark is thrilled at first, before he realizes being the Nagus puts a massive target on his back. This episode also helps build the friendship between Nog (Aron Eisenbeg) and Jake (Cirroc Lofton), with Jake secretly teaching Nog how to read. —J.O.

Original airdate: March 22, 1993

Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy

“Voyager” — Season 6, Episode 4

Yearning to grow past his programming, the Doctor allows himself the ability to daydream, in one of the flat-out funniest episodes of “Trek” ever. It opens with Robert Picardo singing opera as Tuvok (Tim Russ) undergoes pon farr (i.e. the madness to mate that consumes Vulcan males) and just gets wilder from there, up to the moment when the Doctor, who’d fantasized about taking over command of Voyager in an emergency, does it for real. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Oct. 13, 1999

“The Original Series” — Season 2, Episode 1

Speaking of pon farr, this is the “TOS” episode that first establishes it — as well as the planet Vulcan, several Vulcan customs and traditions, and the now legendary Vulcan salute (honorable mention: Spock actually smiles!). Wracked with pon farr, Spock asks for leave back on his home planet, and eventually reveals that he must meet his betrothed, T’Pring (Arlene Martel). Naturally, Kirk and Spock end up in a fight to the death in one of the most iconic battles in “Star Trek” history. —J.O.

Original airdate: Sept. 15, 1967

Year of Hell

“Voyager” — Season 4, Episode 8 & 9

The most lasting criticism of “Voyager” is that every week, no matter what happened in the previous episode, the ship and crew emerged unscathed and ready for a new adventure. As if in response, this two-parter tracks a year in which the Voyager is ravaged to the point of near ruin by repeated encounters with an aggressive alien species called the Krenim. Unbeknownst to the crew, they’re actually the victims of a Krenim scientist, Annorax (Kurtwood Smith), who developed a technology to alter the fabric of time by erasing entire species from ever existing. This is as harrowing and merciless as “Trek’s” ever been, but it’s not quite the best episode of “Voyager” due to the irony of its ending: Janeway crashes the husk of the Voyager into Annorax’s timeship — which resets the timeline completely, as if nothing that we’d seen had ever happened. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Nov. 5 & 12, 1997

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 3, Episodes 11 & 12

“Star Trek” often addresses timely societal issues, but this episode put them firmly in a 21st century context. Sisko, Bashir, and Dax accidentally wind up in San Francisco circa 2024, where poverty and oppression of the disadvantaged are running rampant (crazy how that remains timely, huh?). When a man meant to serve an important purpose in an historic riot is accidentally killed too soon, Sisko is forced to take his place. —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 2, 1995 & Jan. 9, 1995

Those Old Scientists

“Strange New Worlds” — Season 2, Episode 7

In one of the rare “Trek” crossover episodes, Ens. Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Ens. Mariner (Tawny Newsome) from “Lower Decks” find themselves zapped back to the era when Capt. Pike (Anson Mount) captained the Enterprise. Marshalled by Jonathan Frakes’ steady hand as a director , the disparate tones of “Lower Decks” and “Strange New World” somehow mesh perfectly, and hilariously, together. Packed with guffaw-worthy laughs, “Those Old Scientists” also becomes a deeply poignant expression of the impact “Trek” has had on generations of fans. Maybe it’s controversial to place one of the most recent “Trek” episodes so high on this list, but this one more than earns its spot. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: July 22, 2023

The Best of Both Worlds

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 26 & Season 4, Episode 1

This two-parter is frequently cited as the best “Next Generation” storyline of all time, mostly because it features one of the most iconic cliffhangers in all of television. The Borg attack the Federation, leading to a showdown with the Enterprise. Picard is captured and assimilated, revealing himself to his crew as Locutus of Borg. If we’re splitting Borg nano-probes, the second half doesn’t quite live up to the first, which is why, for us, it doesn’t quite rank into the Top 10. Special shoutout to this episode for setting up the incredible “Star Trek” film “First Contact.” —J.O.

Original airdate: June 18, 1990 & Sept. 24, 1990

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 1, Episode 19

When a Cardassian named Marritza (Harris Yulin) arrives on Deep Space Nine, Kira realizes he must have worked at one of the most notorious labor camps during Cardassia’s occupation of Bajor, and she arrests him as a war criminal. What follows is effectively a two-hander, as Kira’s interrogation of Marritza leads to a series of revelations that unmoor her hard-won fury at the atrocities inflicted upon her people. The conventional wisdom is that “DS9” didn’t get cooking until the Dominion War, but this early episode proves that this show was providing great, searing drama from the start. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: June 14, 1993

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 22

Ricardo Montalbán makes his debut as Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically superior dictator from Earth’s Eugenics Wars. Khan and his people have been in suspended animation for 200 years and are looking to dominate humanity once again. Naturally, Kirk is able to beat Khan in a riveting confrontation, but rather than send him and his people to a penal colony, he agrees to let them settle on the wild planet, Ceti Alpha V. The episode proved to be so good, it led to the 1982 film “Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan,” arguably the best “Trek” movie of all time. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 16, 1967

“Voyager” — Season 5, Episode 6

There’s something about time travel — and the twisty narrative paradoxes it can cause — that has engendered some of the best episodes of “Trek” ever made. That certainly includes this stunning “Voyager” episode, which opens with Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran), 15 years in the future, discovering the frozen husk of the Voyager buried inside a glacier on a barren ice planet. It turns out Kim made a critical mistake that caused the catastrophic accident, from which only he and Chakotay survived. Their unyielding fixation to right that wrong — and erase the previous 15 years from history — makes for a gripping nail-biter about regret and devotion. Not only did LeVar Burton direct, but he cameos as Capt. Geordi La Forge! —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Nov. 18, 1998

The Defector

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 10

Did a Romulan admiral really defect to the Federation, or are the Romulans perpetrating an elaborate hoax on Picard and the Enterprise crew? This wonderful episode sees the admiral in question (played by James Sloyan) claiming the Romulans are building a secret base within the Neutral Zone, forcing Picard to consider whether or not he should investigate and thus risk starting a war. It also features the excellent opening in which Picard tries to teach Data about humanity by having him act out scenes from Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” —J.O.

Original airdate: Jan. 1, 1990

Chain of Command

“The Next Generation” — Season 6, Episode 10 & 11

Lured into Cardassian territory under false pretenses, Picard is captured and systematically tortured by a ruthless interrogator, Gul Madred, in a chilling performance by David Warner. Their disturbing tête-à-tête — Picard is stripped naked and nearly broken by the end — would be enough for one of the all-time best “Trek” episodes. But this two-parter also boasts Ronny Cox as Capt. Jellico, Picard’s replacement on the Enterprise, whose prickly and demanding leadership style creates all kinds of thrilling friction among the crew. —A.B.V.

Original airdates: Dec. 14 & 21, 1992

In the Pale Moonlight

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 19

In this fantastic episode, Sisko grapples with the ethics of doing whatever it takes to get the Romulans to join the Dominion War on the Federation-Klingon side. This includes falsifying evidence and freeing a known criminal from Klingon prison with the help of master spy Garak (played by the always wonderful Andrew Robinson). Sisko (while recording a personal log) delivers a series of powerful monologues direct to camera about why he did what he did, ultimately deciding it was worth it in the end. —J.O.

Original airdate: April 13, 1998

The City on the Edge of Forever

“The Original Series” — Season 1, Episode 28

Accidentally hopped up on stimulants, a crazed Bones leaps through a time portal on an alien planet and winds up changing history so drastically that the Enterprise disappears. Kirk and Spock travel back to stop him, and land in New York City during the Great Depression, where they learn that Bones saved the life of Sister Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), a pacifist whose message resonates so strongly that the U.S. stays out of WWII, allowing the Nazis to conquer Europe. Alas, Kirk falls deeply in love with Keeler, establishing a classic “Trek” moral dilemma: How does one suppress their most profound personal feelings for the greater good? An all-timer that still resonates today. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: April 6, 1967

Far Beyond the Stars

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 6, Episode 13

In this Avery Brooks-directed episode, Sisko envisions himself as a Black science fiction writer in 1950s New York named Benny Russell. Russell dreams up a story about the crew of a space station led by a Black captain, but his publisher refuses to run it. This episode is memorable for many reasons, the biggest of which being its handling of racism, but it also allows the show’s main cast gets to appear without any prosthetics or makeup, as completely different characters, to great effect. —J.O.

Original airdate: Feb. 9, 1998

Yesterday’s Enterprise

“The Next Generation” — Season 3, Episode 15

The Enterprise-C, believed to have been destroyed over 20 years earlier, emerges from a temporal anomaly and resets history into a decades-long war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Tasha — killed off in Season 1 (after Denise Crosby wanted to leave the show) — is brought back to life, and falls for the Enterprise-C’s helmsman (Christopher McDonald), while Guinan implores Picard that something is desperately wrong with history and he must send the Enterprise-C back to certain doom. Somehow, this episode crams a movie’s worth of story into a nimble and rousing 44 minutes. Not a second is wasted. Outrageously great. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: Feb. 19, 1990

The Inner Light

“The Next Generation” — Season 5, Episode 25

When the Enterprise comes upon a mysterious probe, Picard is suddenly hit with a signal that plunges him into a different man’s life on a dying planet. There, Picard experiences half a lifetime, with a wife, children and grandchildren, all in the space of 25 minutes. When Picard realizes this was all meant as a time capsule — a way to preserve the stories of the people of the planet, which was destroyed 1,000 years earlier by an exploding star — the revelation that he lived the life he’d long forsaken as a Starfleet captain, only to have it ripped away, is almost more than he can bear. But hoo boy, does it make for stunning, deeply moving television. In fact, almost no episode of “Trek” is better. Almost. —A.B.V.

Original airdate: June 1, 1992

The Visitor

“Deep Space Nine” — Season 4, Episode 2

Don’t watch this one without tissues handy. This emotionally devastating episode gets right to the heart of what made “DS9” so special — the relationship between Sisko and his son, Jake. Told in flashbacks by an elderly Jake (Tony Todd), the episode recounts how Sisko became unstuck in time, briefly revisiting Jake over the course of his life, and how Jake is determined to bring him back. In brief, fleeting moments, Sisko tells Jake not to worry about him and to live his life to the fullest. But Jake cannot bear the thought of losing his father forever, ultimately sacrificing his own life to restore the normal flow of time. —J.O.

Original airdate: Oct. 9, 1995

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10 Greatest Star Trek Courtroom Episodes

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | All Rise: The Trials of Star Trek

Take a look at the franchise's courtroom drama episodes!

SPOILER WARNING: Discussions for Star Trek: Strange New World Season 2's second episode, "Ad Astra per Aspera"!

All rise! This week's episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds joins the honored ranks with a story that's just as powerful as it is relevant. Take a look at some of Star Trek 's best courtroom drama episodes, in this clip from the most recent segment of The Ready Room .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In addition, the series airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave in Canada and on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Central and Eastern Europe. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Court Martial (episode)

Kirk is accused of criminal negligence causing the death of one of his subordinates, Lt. Commander Benjamin Finney, and is put on trial for his murder.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production timeline
• 4.3 Cast and characters
• 4.4 Costumes
• 4.5 Props and sets
• 4.6 Effects
• 4.7 Continuity
• 4.8 Video and DVD releases
• 4.9 Remastered information
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Co-starring
• 5.4 Featuring
• 5.6 Uncredited Co-stars
• 5.7 Stunt Doubles
• 5.8.1 Awards and decorations
• 5.8.2 Starship repair references
• 5.8.3 Unreferenced materials
• 5.9 External links

Summary [ ]

The Picasso inspects the Enterprise

On the surface-based facility of Starbase 11, Commodore Stone is advising Maintenance Section 18 to reschedule their repairs to the USS Intrepid to give the USS Enterprise priority one. Captain Kirk is reading – for the third time – a copy of his sworn deposition on the events that led to the death of his Records Officer , Benjamin Finney . While waiting for Spock to arrive with an excerpt of the computer log, Kirk explains that he waited until the last possible moment but, with the ship on red alert , the ion storm got worse. Kirk had to eject the ion pod containing Finney, to his death .

Spock finally beams down ten minutes late with the computer records, which Stone takes; shortly afterward, Jame Finney enters and names Kirk as " the man who killed my father. " She shrieks at him and breaks down into tears . Stone asks Spock to escort the girl out of the room, but then accuses Kirk of committing willful perjury – the computer records show that Kirk ejected the pod before placing the ship on red alert. Stone orders Kirk to remain on Starbase 11 for an official inquiry to determine whether a general court martial is in order.

Act One [ ]

Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy walk into the M-11 Starbase Club on Starbase 11, and meet up with several members of Kirk's graduating class from the Academy , including Corrigan , Teller , Timothy , and Mike . Several claim to be concerned about how long they are staying, but Kirk realizes that all of them have already made up their minds that he was indeed responsible for Finney's death.

As Kirk leaves, Areel Shaw enters, just missing him. Dr. McCoy introduces himself, and they find they are both mutual friends of Kirk, McCoy saying of himself, " In these trying times, one of the few. " He notes that soon, Kirk will need all the friends he can get.

In Commodore Stone's office, Stone begins the inquiry. Kirk starts by describing his relationship with Finney, including the fact that he taught at Starfleet Academy when Kirk was a midshipman , and that his daughter was named after him.

But a number of years later, while they both served together on the USS Republic , Kirk says that Finney had left a circuit open to the atomic matter piles that should have been closed. In another five minutes, the Republic could have self-destructed with all hands. Kirk had closed the switch and logged the incident; Finney had had a letter of formal reprimand written into his record, and was sent to the bottom of the promotion list. Kirk says that Finney believed that Kirk's action delayed Finney's assignment to a starship and ultimately to command.

They turn to the ion storm. Kirk says he chose Finney to occupy the ion pod solely because the duty roster said it was Finney's turn. Finney entered the pod just before the Enterprise reached the leading edge of the storm. Kirk signaled yellow alert . Due to " pressure , variant stress, force seven, the works, " Kirk signaled red alert. This alerted Finney to exit the pod, and Kirk said he delayed even longer before finally ejecting the pod. Stone reminds Kirk that the logs show he ejected the pod before signaling red alert. Kirk cannot explain that, but says it is next to impossible that the computer is wrong.

Commodore Stone stops the recording, and suggests that perhaps stress and time as commanding officer of the Enterprise have worn Kirk down. Stone offers Kirk a report that will lead to a ground assignment if Kirk does admit responsibility. Stone says it would smear Starfleet if a starship captain were to be court-martialed. However, Kirk is insulted by the idea of covering up the incident, and responds, " So that's the way we do it now – sweep this whole thing under the rug, and me along with it! Not on your life. I intend to fight! " This decision angers Stone, who says in retort, " Then you draw a general court! " Kirk replies, " Draw it? I demand it! And right now, Commodore Stone; right now!"

Act Two [ ]

Prosecutor Areel Shaw

Kirk meets with his old friend, Areel Shaw, whom he has not seen in " four years , seven months, and an odd number of days, " Shaw states. She warns him that he appears to be taking the case very lightly, which he attributes to "the confidence of an innocent man". She says that the prosecution will argue "Kirk vs. the computer," on which basis he would most certainly lose.

He asks her to be his attorney, but she protests to being too busy with another case. She recommends Samuel T. Cogley . He asks her how she knows so much about what the prosecution is going to do. She reveals that she, a lieutenant in Starfleet's Legal Division, is the prosecuting officer… and that she will have to do her very best to have him broken out of the service in disgrace. She leaves the bar, abruptly.

In Kirk's temporary quarters on Starbase 11, a man has set up shop with hundreds of bound books, which he argues are "where the law is," along with the intent of its writers, not in a computer, which he has but never uses. Kirk declares with amusement that the man is either an "obsessive crackpot" or Samuel T. Cogley, Attorney-at-Law. Cogley says Kirk is right on both counts and agrees to take the captain's case. Cogley does not inspire much confidence from Kirk, however convinced he is that Shaw might have meant well.

Captain Kirk's court martial begins, with Commodore Stone presiding and with Starfleet Command representative Lindstrom , and starship Captains Krasnovsky and Chandra . Kirk does not object to the personnel, and consents to both the services of Shaw as prosecutor and Stone as President Judge of the court. After the computer lists the charges and specifications that have been formally preferred against him, Kirk formally pleads not guilty.

Shaw questions Commander Spock

Lieutenant Shaw calls Spock to the stand. After the computer reads off his service file, Shaw asks Commander Spock how much he knows about computers. Spock says, " I know all about them. " Shaw asks Spock if he knows of any malfunction that caused an inaccuracy in the Enterprise computer, and Spock says he does not. " But the computer is inaccurate, nevertheless, " he adds. Shaw clarifies that the computer reports that Kirk was reacting to an extreme emergency that did not then exist. Spock says that is impossible based on his knowledge of Kirk, which he insists is not speculation. Spock says that Kirk's characteristics are as predictable as gravity, and do not include panic or malice. Shaw finishes by getting Spock to admit that this is all his opinion. Cogley chooses not to cross-examine him.

Lieutenant Shaw then calls the personnel officer of the Enterprise (whose name is not given) to the stand. She confirms that when Kirk was an ensign on the Republic with Finney, Kirk's log entry cost Finney a promotion. Cogley has no questions for this witness, either.

Lieutenant Shaw then calls ship's surgeon Dr. Leonard McCoy to the stand. She claims that he is an expert in space psychology and the mental effects of long-term space travel; as he considers himself no such expert, he concedes in his response, " I know something about it. " She then asks McCoy if it was possible that, if Finney hated Kirk, Kirk reciprocated by hating Finney. McCoy is adamant that Kirk is not that kind of a man, but Shaw forces McCoy to admit that it is possible. Again, Cogley does not cross-examine.

Commodore Stone questions Cogley's failure to cross-examine any of the prosecution witnesses, but Cogley calls their testimony "preliminary business" and calls Kirk himself to the stand. The computer begins to list Kirk's service record and awards . Shaw tries to halt this, conceding Kirk's "inestimable record," but Cogley insists that the wheels of progress not run over his client, though he relents once a few more honors are recited.

Cogley asks Kirk if there was indeed a red alert before the pod was jettisoned, despite what the computers said. Kirk states that there was, and that he would do it again, because his actions were absolutely necessary for the safety of his ship.

Commodore Stone presides over the court martial

In cross-examination, Shaw plays the video playback from the bridge of the Enterprise on stardate 2945.7. The footage played on the courtroom's video screen shows Finney being posted to the pod, and the Enterprise going to yellow alert after encountering the ion storm. Shaw then magnifies a panel on the right side of Kirk's command chair . The video playback shows that Kirk did in fact launch the pod before signaling red alert. A shocked and horrified Kirk insists, his voice a bare whisper as he does, " But that's not the way it happened. "

Act Three [ ]

Back in Kirk's quarters on the starbase, where Kirk is again in standard uniform, Cogley suggests that maybe Kirk did have a lapse in memory, and that they can still change their plea. Kirk allows himself a moment of self-doubt, but concludes, " No! I know what I did! "

Spock contacts Kirk from the Enterprise , saying that he ran a megalite survey on the computer. Kirk guesses the results: Nothing. Kirk thanks Spock but has no further orders for him, only speculation that Spock will be able to defeat his next commanding officer at chess , and closes the channel. Spock repeats that word thoughtfully and leaves the bridge.

But just then Jame Finney enters, asking Cogley to make Kirk change his plea and take a ground assignment. Though Cogley calls Jame's change of heart unusual, Jame says she has been reading through old letters to her and her mother, in which Benjamin Finney talked about how close he was to Kirk. Kirk leaves to resume his dress uniform , while Cogley formulates an idea.

Back on the Enterprise, Spock is playing a game of three-dimensional chess with the computer in the briefing room . Dr. McCoy walks in and, irritated, calls Spock cold-blooded for playing chess while their captain's career is hanging in the balance. After thanking McCoy for the compliment, Spock adds that he has just won four games in a row against the computer. That announcement catches Dr. McCoy short and retorts that is impossible: Spock had programmed the computer himself, he himself states the best he should have been able to attain was a draw. McCoy is astounded. The two men immediately prepare to beam down to Starbase 11 with the new information that the program bank shows evidence of being tampered.

Defense Attorney Samuel T. Cogley

The court martial is back in session, and both the prosecution and defense both rest their cases. Just then, Spock and McCoy enter and whisper to Cogley and Kirk. Cogley now tells the court that he has new evidence that he cannot tell the court but must show it. Shaw objects that Cogley had rested his case and is now attempting "theatrics." Roused to anger against machines, Cogley enumerates, with passion, a long list of historical precepts which maintain that an accused man has the right to confront the witnesses against him. In this case, the most damning witness is the computer of the Enterprise. Cogley moves, and indeed demands, both in his rage and " in the name of a Humanity fading in the shadow of the machine, " that the court reconvene aboard the Enterprise, lest it elevate the computer above Humanity.

Act Four [ ]

In the briefing room, Spock testifies that he has now won five games of chess against the computer, to which he gave a knowledge of the game equal to his own and which, assuming that he commits no mistakes, should have led to a best result of successive stalemates, as the computer ordinarily cannot make a mistake. Spock concludes that someone, either accidentally or deliberately, adjusted its programming and therefore its memory banks. The only people who could have done it are Kirk, Spock himself, and the records officer, who, at the time, was Lieutenant Commander Finney.

Cogley turns to Kirk to describe the search for Finney after the storm. Kirk says it was a phase one search, a painstaking effort to find a crewman who may be unable to respond. Cogley notes that it presupposes that the crewman wishes to be found. After all, he explains, when searching for someone it is natural to assume that the someone wants to be found, and is not hiding. Kirk admits, much to Shaw's shock and horror, when Cogley asks him, that it is possible that, on a ship of this size, a man could evade such a search. Cogley declares, " Gentlemen, I submit to you that Lieutenant Commander Ben Finney is not dead! "

The court, reconvening aboard the Main Bridge, demands an explanation, and Cogley defers to Kirk to conduct an experiment. Kirk orders all but the command crew and the court to beam off the Enterprise to the surface, including Cogley, who says he has an errand of vital importance to the business of this court.

Stone hears Finney's heartbeat.

The crew leaves, the impulse engines are shut down, and the ship orbits Starbase 11 by momentum, though Kirk assures the court they will be finished long before the Enterprise 's orbit starts to decay. Spock uses the ship's auditory sensors to amplify the heartbeats of all aboard, and McCoy uses a white-sound device to mask the heartbeats of all aboard the bridge. After masking the crewman in the transporter room , a single heartbeat is still heard, coming from the B-Deck, in or near engineering . Kirk orders that area sealed and goes down with a phaser to find Finney. The Enterprise 's orbit begins to decay.

Benjamin Finney alive, but most definitely NOT well.

In main engineering , Kirk encounters a crazed Ben Finney, who explains in a rant that makes it evident that he is now suffering delusions of persecution, that the Enterprise should have been his, but that Kirk and Starfleet had conspired to rob him of his own command. He aims a phaser at Kirk, but says that Kirk's death would mean too little to the captain, losing his ship would be far worse. Finney has also tapped out the primary energy circuits and intends to destroy the ship.

" Goodbye, Jim. "

Kirk tries to reason with Finney, but they begin fighting in main engineering. Spock tells members of the court that time is running out to beam back to the planet, but Stone regards Finney as a witness that the court should finish hearing.

However, Sam Cogley's errand on the planet was to bring Jame aboard. Kirk asks Ben Finney whether he also intends to kill his daughter, and gets the upper hand. Beaten and sobbing, Finney tells Kirk where he tampered with the controls. Kirk begins attempting repairs in a Jefferies tube , and succeeds.

On the bridge, Lieutenant Uhura takes the navigation console as power returns. Lieutenant Hansen is able to have the Enterprise 's orbit stabilized and Stone rules that the court is dismissed--without findings, as they are not necessary. To this ruling, Shaw has absolutely no objections.

As the Enterprise prepares to depart, Shaw delivers a gift from Cogley to Kirk on the bridge: a book. Cogley himself is busy, now representing Finney in his own trial. Peering around the bridge, she innocently asks if her, a lieutenant, kissing a starship captain on the bridge of his ship would cause a complete breakdown of discipline. Kirk grants it and delivers a passionate kiss on the bridge, noting that nothing happens and discipline continues. Kirk wishes Shaw better luck next time, but Shaw counters that she had pretty good luck in losing the current case. Kirk returns to his chair with Spock and McCoy flanking him. " She's a very good lawyer, " Kirk says. " Obviously, " Spock replies. " Indeed she is, " McCoy adds. The Enterprise departs from Starbase 11 and resumes its mission.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2266

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Consider yourself confined to the base. An official inquiry will determine whether a general court martial is in order! "

" All of my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you. "

" So that's the way we do it now – sweep this whole thing under the rug and me along with it! Not on your life. I intend to fight. " " Then you draw a general court! " " Draw it? I demand it! And right now, Commodore Stone, right now!"

" Areel. Doctor McCoy said you were here. I should have felt it in the air, like static electricity. " " Flattery will get you everywhere. "

"This is where the law is. Not in that homogenized, pasteurized, synthesized – do you want to know the law? The ancient concepts in their own language? Learn the intent of the men who wrote them, from the Moses to the Tribunal of Alpha III ? Books. " " You have to be either an obsessive crackpot who's escaped from his keeper or Samuel T. Cogley, attorney at law. " " You're right on both counts! "

" Human beings have characteristics, just as inanimate objects do. It is impossible for Captain Kirk to act out of panic or malice. It is not his nature. "

" Mr. Spock, you're the most cold-blooded man I've ever known. " " Why, thank you, Doctor. "

" I speak of rights. A machine has none. A man must! "

" Officers and gentlemen, captains all! Except for Finney and his one mistake. A long time ago... but they don't forget! "

" She's a very good lawyer. "

Background information [ ]

Production timeline [ ].

• Story outline "Court Martial on Starbase 811" by Don M. Mankiewicz : 3 May 1966
• Revised outline: 26 June 1966
• First draft teleplay by Mankiewicz: 15 July 1966
• Revised first draft teleplay: early- August 1966
• Second draft teleplay: 6 September 1966
• First draft teleplay "Court Martial" by Steven W. Carabatsos : 19 September 1966
• Revised draft teleplay by Carabatsos: 21 September 1966 , at this point, titled "Court-martial on Starbase Eleven,"
• Staff rewrite: 23 September 1966
• Final draft teleplay by Gene L. Coon : 26 September 1966
• Additional revisions: 27 September 1966 , 29 September 1966 , 3 October 1966
• Day 1 – 3 October 1966 , Monday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Stone's office , Briefing room
• Day 2 – 4 October 1966 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Kirk's guest quarters , Engineering
• Day 3 – 5 October 1966 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Engineering , Corridors , Jefferies tube , Bridge
• Day 4 – 6 October 1966 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge
• Day 5 – 7 October 1966 , Friday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Officers' lounge , Courtroom
• Day 6 – 10 October 1966 , Monday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Courtroom
• Day 7 – 11 October 1966 , Tuesday (Half Day) – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Courtroom
• Original airdate: 2 February 1967
• First UK airdate (on BBC1 ): 6 April 1970
• First UK airdate (on ITV ): 17 January 1982
• Remastered airdate: 10 May 2008
• Producer Gene L. Coon contacted writer Don M. Mankiewicz with a proposal to write a compelling dramatic story which could be filmed using a single and easily constructed set. (For the final episode, of course, four new sets were constructed: Commodore Stone's office, Kirk's quarters on the starbase, the starbase bar, and the courtroom itself). Mankiewicz came up with the idea of a courtroom drama, and wrote "Court-martial on Starbase Eleven". The script needed to be heavily re-written, but Mankiewicz was not available further, so story editor Steven W. Carabatsos got the job. It was Carabatsos who shortened the title to "Court Martial." [1]
• The actors who portray the members of Kirk's court martial are seen in the bar before Stone even considers convening a court-martial. This incongruity is the result of the shifting of scenes from their order in the script. [2] This was done during editing, to quicken up the pace of Act One, as it was considered too slow and uneventful in its original format. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed. p. 331)
• In the shooting script, there was a scene (filmed but cut) where Jame Finney comes into the engineering room at the end of Kirk and Finney's fight. The appearance of his daughter and his wish to save her are why Finney tells Kirk where he sabotaged the Enterprise . The cut necessitated Kirk's voice-over log entry wherein he relates that a beaten and sobbing Finney tells him about the sabotage. [3]
• The changes made in the script make it less apparent as to why Jame Finney's attitude toward Kirk changes back to one of respect so quickly. In the script, she has been reading her father's old letters, and his attitude in them makes her believe that he might pull a stunt like this to get back at Kirk. (In James Blish 's prose conversion of the installment, Cogley explains, " A man suffering delusions of persecution wants to set down his complaints. " This explanation was not included in the final version's dialogue.)
• The script of this episode described the climactic scene in which Kirk, in a Jefferies tube, frantically tries to fix sabotage to the Enterprise 's energy circuits in a note stating, " Desired is same exciting effect obtained in 'The Naked Time' with Scotty in tube. "
• Several musical scores are reused in this episode, including some cues from " The Naked Time " by Alexander Courage , romantic themes by Joseph Mullendore from " The Conscience of the King ", used for Kirk and Areel Shaw, and music from " The Enemy Within " by Sol Kaplan , accompanying the fight between Kirk and Finney. ( citation needed • edit )

Cast and characters [ ]

• James Doohan ( Scott ) and George Takei ( Sulu ) do not appear in this episode. Sulu was scripted to feature in this installment, although, ultimately, his role in the episode was mostly given to Lieutenant Hansen instead (with a couple of Sulu's scripted lines spoken by Uhura in the final edit of the episode).
• Elisha Cook, Jr. had great difficulty remembering his lines. The speech of his character, Sam Cogley, was pieced together with editing. ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 37)
• Krasnovsky is the only member of the trial board to speak other than Commodore Stone. His single line is " And when the orbit begins to decay? "
• This is the third and final time Uhura takes over the navigation station. She had previously handled navigation in " The Naked Time ", which was also recycled in " The Man Trap ", and " Balance of Terror ".

Costumes [ ]

• Starfleet dress uniforms debut in this episode.
• The barkeeper wears the same costume later worn by the barkeeper on Deep Space Station K-7 in " The Trouble with Tribbles ".
• Areel Shaw sports the only female dress uniform ever shown in the series. It has gold braid on the cuffs as well as a Starfleet breast patch, which the male uniforms do not. The hemline is also somewhat lower than the usual female duty uniforms.

Props and sets [ ]

• The two-person transporter alcove seen in Stone's office is later seen on Deep Space Station K-7 in " The Trouble with Tribbles ".
• The plants in Stone's office contain pieces of those seen in " The Conscience of the King " and was later used for the spores in " This Side of Paradise ".
• The back of the bar contained recycled pieces from the interior of Balok's ship . ( citation needed • edit )
• The starbase courtroom contained the large reflective Starfleet Command insignia used here, later appears on the wall behind all of the admirals appearing on the ship's viewscreen in future episodes.
• The abstract wall decoration in Kirk's starbase quarters is composed primarily of brightly painted blocks of wood. ( citation needed • edit )
• The same bell with which Stone brings the court to order was used in TNG : " The First Duty ". ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 3rd ed., p. 197)
• The arm rest/sensor on the courtroom witness chair later shows up in the Enterprise briefing room in " Wolf in the Fold ".
• The door through which Spock and McCoy enter the courtroom is one of the few hinged doors seen in the original series.

Effects [ ]

• Stock footage from " The Naked Time " is used on the viewscreen shots as the Enterprise re-establishes its orbit around Starbase 11.
• In its original format, "Court Martial" was the last episode in which the sound of the ship's engines could be heard during fly-bys. The sound would be added to subsequent episodes in the DVD releases.
• A close-up shot of Spock on the bridge (when the Enterprise regains its orbital position) is recycled from "The Naked Time". " The Enemy Within " and " The City on the Edge of Forever " also used the same shot.

Continuity [ ]

• This is the first episode in which the names " Starfleet " and " Starfleet Command " were used.
• Commodore Stone is the highest-ranking officer portrayed by an African-Canadian actor to appear in the original series. He also commanded a starship at one time.

Ship registry list

• We get a look, for the only time in the series, at a series of registration numbers on the chart in Stone's office. Greg Jein associated them with ten names previously used in production memos which will later be assumed to be Constitution -class starships, despite the numbers ranging lower than the USS Constitution . ( The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship ) The wall chart disappears in a later scene in Stone's office. At the time of this episode, the USS Intrepid , the all- Vulcan starship, is being repaired at Starbase 11. It is later destroyed by the space amoeba in " The Immunity Syndrome ". Another ship on the list is NCC-1864, later established in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as the USS Reliant .

M-11 Starbase Club signage

• The name of the starbase's officers' lounge , M-11 Starbase Club , appeared on a nameplate on the bar counter. Though not referenced on screen, M-11 was indicated in the script to be the name of the starbase's planet.
• A character named Nensi Chandra sat in judgment of James T. Kirk in another timeline , serving on the Starfleet Academy board trying that Kirk for his actions regarding the Kobayashi Maru scenario in Star Trek . That board also included Lt. Alice Rawlings , named for the actress who played Jame Finney.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original US Betamax release: 1985
• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 8 , catalog number VHR 2258, release date unknown
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 1.5, 9 September 1996
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 7, 22 February 2000
• As part of the TOS Season 1 DVD collection
• As part of the TOS Season 1 HD DVD collection
• As part of the TOS Season 1 Blu-ray collection

Remastered information [ ]

When the episode was remastered for the TOS Season 1 HD DVD , an opening shot of the Enterprise clearly reveals the hole where the ion pod used to be.

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

Co-starring [ ]

• Percy Rodriguez as Portmaster Stone
• Elisha Cook as Cogley
• Joan Marshall as Areel Shaw

Featuring [ ]

• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Richard Webb as Finney
• Hagan Beggs as Helmsman
• Winston DeLugo as Timothy
• Alice Rawlings as Jame Finney
• Nancy Wong as Personnel Officer
• Bart Conrad as Krasnovsky
• William Meader as Board Officer
• Reginald Lal Singh as Board Officer

Uncredited Co-stars [ ]

• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice
• William Blackburn as Hadley
• Tom Curtis as Mike
• Frank da Vinci as Brent
• Ron Kinwald as Starbase 11 bar patron
• Denise Okuda as Enterprise operations crewmember (remastered)
• Enterprise crewman
• Enterprise security guard
• Enterprise security lieutenant
• Enterprise sciences crewman
• Starbase 11 bar patrons 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , and 9
• Starbase 11 bartender
• Starbase 11 clerk
• Starbase 11 waitress

Stunt Doubles [ ]

• Chuck Clow as stunt double for William Shatner
• Troy Melton as stunt double for Richard Webb

References [ ]

2250s ; 2254 ; 2262 ; ability ; accusation ; accused ; accuser ; adjournment ; advice ; affection ; Agena target vehicle ; alert status ; Alpha III ; answer ; atomic matter pile ; attorney ; attorney at law ; auditory sensor ; Axanar ; Axanar Peace Mission ; B deck ; bench ; Bible ; bishop ; " Bones "; book ; booster ; briefing room ; career ; case ; chance ; charge ; checkmate ; chess ; choice ; circuit ; client ; clerk ; Code of Hammurabi ; Code of Justinian ; cold-blooded ; command crew ; commanding officer ; computer ; computer log ; computer log extract ; computer transcript ; concept ; conclusion ; confidence ; conspiracy ; Constitution -class decks ; Constitution of the United States ; counsel ( counsel for the defense ; counsel for the prosecution ); course ; court ; court martial board ; courtroom ; crackpot ; cross-examination ; culpable negligence ; damage ; danger ; day ; death ; decapitation ; defendant ; defense ; deposition ; discipline ; disciplinary action ; doctor ; document ; duty roster ; effect ; engine crew ; error ; evidence ; experience ; experiment ; fact ; failure ; faking death ; Finney's mother ; " fire away "; first edition ; first officer ; flattery ; force seven ; framing ; friend ; friendship ; Fundamental Declarations of the Martian colonies ; Gemini 8 ; general court martial ; graduating class ; ground assignment ; guilt ; hammer ; Hammurabi ; hatred ; heartbeat ; here and now ; Human ( Humanity , Human being ); Human characteristic ; Human rights ; impulse engine ; inanimate object ; information system ; " in session "; instruction ; instructor ; Intrepid , USS ; intuition ; ion plate ; ion pod ; ion storm ; jettison button ; job ; Jones ; Judge Advocate's Office ; Justinian ; king ; kiss ; language ; law ; lawyer ; layover ; legal decision ; letter ; library ; logic ; M-11 ; M-11 Starbase Club ; M-11 sun ; machine ; Magna Carta ; magnification ; Maintenance Section Eighteen ; malfunction ; malice ; Martian colonies ; megalite survey (aka mechanical survey ); memory bank ; mental collapse ; meteorology ; midshipman ; million ; mind ; minute ; mistake ; month ; Moses ; motion ; murderer ; mystic ; name ; namesake ; nature ; neck ; objection ; obsession ; odd number ; official inquiry ( inquiry ); office ; officer of the court ; opinion ; opportunity ; orbit ; panel ; panic ; pasteurization ; pattern ; pawn ; perjury ; person ; personnel officer ; phase 1 search ; Picasso ; place ; planet ; plea ; portmaster ; positive gravity ; power ; precedent ; prejudice ; President of the Court ; pressure ; primary energy circuit ; program bank ; programming ; promotion list ; proof ; prosecution ; psychology ; records officer ; red alert ; relationship ; reprimand ; Republic , USS ; rights ; risk ; rook ; rug ; rumor ; scandal ; science officer ; search ; second ; Section 18Y ; Section 23D ; serial number ; service record ; Setar ; ship's surgeon ; sitting ; Smith ; sobbing ; sound ; space ; Space Command Representative ; space regulations ; speculation ; stalemate ; stand ; star ; Starbase 11 ; Starbase 11 sun ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Command ; statement ; static electricity ; Statutes of Alpha III ; subject ; " sweep it under the rug "; " talk shop "; testimony ; Titan II ; thing ; thousand ; three-dimensional chess ; trade ; training ; trial ; Tribunal of Alpha III ; verdict ; Vulcanians ; Vulcanian expedition ; weatherscan ; wheel ; white-sound device ; witness ; year ; yellow alert ; Yorkshire

Awards and decorations [ ]

Award of Valor ; commendation ; decoration ; Grankite Order of Tactics , class of excellence; Karagite Order of Heroism ; Legion of Honor ; Medal of Honor ; Palm Leaf of Axanar Peace Mission ; Prentares Ribbon of Commendation , classes first and second; Silver Palm with Cluster ; Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry ; Starfleet Surgeons ; Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor ;

Starship repair references [ ]

Exeter , USS ; Hood , USS ; Lexington , USS ; NCC-1685 ; NCC-1697 ; NCC-1700 ; NCC-1718 ; NCC-1831 ; Reliant , USS

Unreferenced materials [ ]

chief judge ; coffee ; conference room ; delusions ; delusions of persecution ; double red alert ; evolution ; gavel ; Holmes ; Indian ; luck ; neck ; quadrants ; Rand, Janice ; stun ; Vulcan language ; weapons room

External links [ ]

• " Court Martial " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Court Martial " at Wikipedia
• " Court Martial " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• " Court Martial " at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

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Star Trek: The Original Series

“Court Martial”

Air date: 2/2/1967 Teleplay by Don M. Mankiewicz and Steven W. Carabatsos Story by Don M. Mankiewicz

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

Review Text

In an episode of Trek courtroom drama, Kirk is accused of negligence in the death of Lt. Cmdr. Ben Finney and subsequently burdened with becoming the first Starfleet captain to face a court-martial proceeding.

This episode is a bit of a mixed bag, benefiting from some very nicely staged and acted courtroom scenes, including the use of Elisha Cook Jr. as Kirk's interesting defense lawyer Samuel T. Cogley. Watching Kirk in 100 percent "Kirk mode" (as only Shatner could play him) is entertaining, as he demands the court martial when Commodore Stone (Percy Rodriguez) recommends Kirk resign his commission to avoid bringing humiliation upon himself and the uniform. Working against the episode is the concept of why this court martial is taking place in the first place. I find it a little hard to believe that the death of an officer in this particular instance would be so much different in presumed fault than the average "red-shirt" death—at least not to the degree of perjury accusations.

I also find it hard to believe that the excessively crazy Finney (an over-the-top Richard Webb), as it turns out, staged his own death and rigged the whole episode to gain some sort of elaborate revenge upon Kirk. Too bad—it's an enjoyable view; it just doesn't bear much motivational scrutiny.

Previous episode: Tomorrow Is Yesterday Next episode: The Return of the Archons

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Comment Section

79 comments on this post.

What I like about this episode is the utter certainty that Spock and McCoy demonstrate in Kirk's character and command ability. The prosecutor can't shake them into saying that Kirk might have made a mistake--she can only get them to say that it's hypothetically possible that SOMEONE could make that mistake. Both Spock and McCoy are known to criticize Kirk's decisions frequently, but when someone else tries, they close ranks and step in front of him. That's because they have earned the right, both as proven senior officers and proven friends, to hold mirrors up to Kirk--precisely BECAUSE they respect him so much. They aren't about to let others, even an impersonal system, get away with it. However, I didn't quite get why Spock beating the computer at chess was the golden piece of evidence. How did it indicate that the computer's program banks were tampered with? Did Finney stop to alter the chess program when he altered the tapes?

Come on Jam Man, this is a four star episode. Absolutely gripping, a nice Man vs Machine subplot, Kirk is magnificent in the way he chews scenery, and the over the top flirting is totally funny. Not to mention that this is the bedrock of all other Trek Courtroom episodes.

Jammer brings up the same points I always thought as well, but.... I love this episode anyway. Mccoy using a vibrator to silence heartbeats until u hear only finneys, best part. 3+ STARS 4 me

What I liked about this episode is that except for "The Menagerie," it's the first one that gave you some sense of how this Federation works -- that it was more than one spaceship doing whatever it damn well wanted. There was a structure behind it all, and we got a brief glimpse at that.

I loved this episode, esp. the courtroom scenes, where Samuel T. Cogley is arguing the merits of man vs. machine. It reminded me of a very different courtroom scene on TNG, where Data's very status as a living being was on trial, in "The Measure of a Man". I wonder what Mr. Cogley would have thought of the JAG's ruling in that case (hell, with life spans the way they are in the 23rd and 24th centuries, he might have been alive to hear about it. Unless he's such a Luddite that he'd refuse medical assistance to stretch his lifespan). I also enjoyed the fact that the "white noise maker/silencer" is just a microphone. :p Also, that the heartbeats are amplified, but no other bodily organ/process is. We should be hearing a deafening whirr of the computer's instruments, and loud burbles of gas moving through several colons. :D 80 years later on the Enterprise D, all they'd have had to do was ask the computer, "Where is Lt. Cmdr. Finney?" or that didn't work, scan the ship for life signs and pinpoint his location that way. And you've got a point, Jammer, about why in the heck this particular officer death would be suspect at all. I guess it's because it happened on-ship, not on an alien world or due to any alien/viral influence, and because the computer logs quickly put Kirk's remembrance of the situation into question.

Chris Arturo

Nice episode with some fine scripting. Percy Rodrigues (Commodore Stone) was from Montreal, Canada, as was William Shatner. I wonder if their paths had crossed onstage previously. Some of the romantic music cues (written by Mullendore) between Kirk and his old flame Lt. Areel Shaw had been previously used in "Conscience of the King," and would be of their greatest effect in "City on the Edge of Forever," alongside some of Fred Steiner's music cues based on "Good Night, Sweetheart." It is amusing to know that Finney was played by an actor best known for portraying Captain Video---it is as if Kirk were displacing Video, showing that TV sci-fi has stepped up its game since the '50s.

Totally agree with Corey - 4 stars. I was born in '71 and caught a lot of TOS in early reruns. This one was totally riveting. The silencing of heartbeat scene is on the three or four most indelible TV moments of my childhood. Loved it. I've picked up the new blue-ray release and have been watching them with my son - he gives this one 4 stars as well. Can't argue with that.

The premise of a courtroom drama is excellent and it brings out some good acting from the Big 3 and supporting actors. Kirk's old school attorney brings a nice touch of the tradition to the legal profession. He makes a valid point about man vs. machine. Plenty of passionate shouting about beliefs and principles... It's an interesting episode but where it mostly falters for me is the lack of rigor around the trial -- I can see lawyers shaking their heads at it. The heartbeats thing is a bit ridiculous, surely nobody can hide aboard the Enterprise. The decaying orbit part where the Commodore says he won't beam off the ship because the trial is ongoing makes no sense -- Finney's already been found, so Kirk's innocent. Finney's gone bananas -- he's suicidal hiding aboard the Enterprise after he means for it to be destroyed and thus truly exact revenge against Kirk. But in the end he tells Kirk how to undo his sabotage because Kirk tells him his daughter is on board (without proof - we didn't actually see her on board). Anyhow, too many inconsistencies that ruin an excellent premise (won't be the first time for a Trek TOS episode). Overall for me 2.5/4 stars -- good, creative idea but a few holes in the plot.

I am shocked no lawyer has commented on the ludicrousness of an old romantic flame being selected as the prosecutor and not stepping down. Sliiiiiight conflict of interest!!

Klovis Mann

The cut to McCoy when Cogley first suggests that the computer may be the villain is sweet....... .......the actor that played Finney turns up in the noir classic "Out of the Past"...... .......Joan Marshall was lovely.......in a brief (and great) hollywood season, she with Hal Ashby were noted L.A. demimondains.......her fictionalized personal life formed the basis of the script for "Shampoo".......which reputedly pissed her off....... Don't get me started on Elisha Cook.......love that guy....... Top rating

Thanks to everyone for such great comments. I was 12 when the show first aired and taped (open reel) the show for playback later. Portmaster Stone must make a pressing decision to evaluate CAPT Kirk's fitness for command before sending the Enterprise off on pressing business. He accepts Shaw because she is the best available JAG counsel available (at least before Cogley and the board arrive). In any case, the decision will be appealed if it goes badly for Kirk and Stone will have a new captain on board by then. Kirk accepts because any delay would mean loss of his command. Kirk's old "buddies" clearly resent the meteoric rise of their 35 year-old classmate. Favorite lines: Dr. McCoy to Areel Shaw: "All of my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you" The death of a crewman not at the hands of the enemy would probably automatically require a review. The Enterprise log extract was worth many listens on my open reel tape deck. Certainly Ben Finney had to have everything prepared well ahead of his Ion Pod duty and would have very little ability to finesse the computer logs afterward. A well-thought out plot has a way of holding a tightly-wound obsessive together. Finney's substitute files might have dated from month's before and include Spock's old programming. Spock's chess test was improbable but entertaining. So was the "White Sound Device" and — The idea that a starship that was being repaired at the Starbase would be in a decaying orbit and out of reach of the space station was both outrageous and nearly unnoticed by a 12 year old me.

I love that during the final fight in Engineering that Finney grabs a conveniently located GIANT WRENCH to attack Kirk with. First of all, Scotty did not stow tools when done? Secondly, what the heck on a WARP DRIVE do you use such a tool for?

OK, it's "Courts" Martial. Victor, that's the warp core lock nut hexagonal calibtration device :-)

Good universe-building TOS episode that expands our view of Starfleet and strengthens the friendship of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Nice to see a serious and professional face of Starfleet here, including the no-nonsense Commodore Stone and hyper-competent JAG officer Areel Shaw as well as civilian lawyer Cogley. These characters, as well as Finney and his daughter, are well-cast and sharply drawn guest stars for Trek. I give it 3 1/2 stars. Elisha Cook is always great and his eccentric Luddite lawyer is fun to watch. The dramatic conflict of Kirk doubling down against the computer record is fun to watch as the case builds against him. The sudden appearance after the tense heartbeat scene of Finney, crazed with jealousy, is riveting to watch with Richard Webb's full-bore scenery chewing. The ex-flame prosecuting Kirk is a strong character whose sense of fairness toward a former boyfriend surpasses personal considerations, making her little kiss with Kirk at the very end especially delightful when the camera cuts back from their soft-focus closeup to reveal the amused reaction of Uhura and the others. And I love the way McCoy and Spock circle the wagons around Kirk in the trial scenes. I do think TNG, as it often did with TOS episodes in its first two seasons, cribbed from this one when it staged the brilliant "Measure of a Man" in Season 2 -- the JAG lawyer ex-girlfriend of Picard (rather strange for his character as opposed to Kirk) and man versus machine theme in "Measure" found their inspiration in this one. While "Measure" is probably a better episode because it is deeper, meriting four stars for its philosophical exploration of what makes a person a person, "Court Martial" is still a richly satisfying character study. I love the chess scene with Spock, the sharply drawn characters, and the very 1960s effort (albeit done better on "Ultimate Computer," I think) to defend human rights against mechanization adds a shade of thoughtfulness to this one. As for the accidental death of Lt. Commander Finney raising eyebrows, it didn't shock me. First of all, he's a high-ranking officer on the ship, unlike a security guard killed in action by hostiles. Second of all, and more importantly, let's remember that his death appears to be a routine matter (Kirk and Stone begin the episode mourning his death while filling out paperwork, but without any hint of a court martial) until the computer contradicts Kirk. The court martial occurs not because a man died, but because of the suspicion that his CO is lying to cover up a big mistake, and that's always a big deal in the military. In a lot of ways, this plot is similar to the movie "A Few Good Men," where the questionable circumstances surrounding a soldier's death (and the issue is that Finney should not have died in such a situation had Kirk been acting correctly) cause trial proceedings: "Did you order the Code Red?!" So yeah, I like this one too, and I think Jammer is a bit too hard on it. I especially like how it gives us a darker look at Starfleet: People still get jealous and seek revenge in the 23rd century, still hold grudges, and still lose their marbles in the encounter of human nature with incredible (especially in the future) stressors. The tragedy of Finney, who never moves past his mistake and is tellingly wearing captain's braids in his final showdown with Kirk, rings true to me -- there are many people like him.

PS -- I think it's a dead-end to try apply logic to the science on Star Trek; what the ship's sensors can and can't pick up constantly shifts throughout all of the various series. On TNG, it seems the sensors can pick up anyone, or can at least tell you many life signs and what kind are in a place. But on DS9, it's very clear that the sensors cannot detect anyone not wearing a comm badge -- whenever someone takes off their comm badge to "go rogue" in DS9, Sisko can't find that person, and it's the same situation on Voyager. Sometimes they even beam up the comm badge by itself or attached to someone else thinking it's the person they want; so the magic sensors that can tell you exactly where a given person is seem to disappear after TNG. But here's the bottom line: Whatever the TOS Enterprise sensors may or may not be able to do, Kirk points out that an officer like Finney (however the particulars of the science work in this universe) would know how to evade them, and I for one think it's a *good* thing that TOS doesn't feel the need to make up Treknobabble pseudo-scientific explanations which distract us from the human motivations in play. In many ways, it's a more human and relatable show than the later Trek series, and that makes it easier to follow than Voyager episodes where people talk for several minutes at a stretch without saying anything coherent to us viewers. As for McCoy's "white noise machine" magic mic, it's simply a dramatic story device that we must accept, believing it's the one certain way to find Finney even if he's been able to defy all of the other methods a starship has for detecting someone. But again, how is it any different when TOS asks us to accept futuristic science without explanation than when TNG/DS9/VOY explains it to death with long dialogues of nonsense words? Actually, the one difference is this: We can actually *follow* what's happening on TOS without getting derailed into analyzing the fake science involved. Arguing about science on Star Trek is like arguing about apples and oranges -- it misses the point that Trek is primarily a show about ideas and people, not about constructing a believalable scientific worldview. Yes, we expect Trek to follow the basic rules of it's own made-up universe, but we have to remember that the science serves the story/characters and not vice versa. To my mind, "Court Martial" is an example of Trek done right in that way, with the Sci-Fi gimmicks serving the human elements.

Wow, this episode was a masterpiece IMO. The remastered version with the new CGI also adds tremendously to it; with its floating starships, urban colonies and neat future sets (lots of courtrooms and bedrooms and bars in this one), you really get a quite expansive look at TOS' future world. Ironically, TNG's great courtroom episode (Measure of a Man), put forth a message opposite to TOS' "Court Martial". While TOS finds man triumphing against machine, TNG essentially gives them civil rights.

So why did Kirk have to alone go after Flynn, and make the repairs to the ship? How could Spock not notice that the Enterprise's orbit was decaying and a power loss until Kirk told him? Scotty could not make the changes to computer for the sabotage?

Not sure if mentioned earlier, but I remember this episode as one where Kirk is describing the action at the end as it occurs, not like his usual captain's log. I thought they overwrote this one, and had to cram in the climax at the end with Kirk's descriptions.

Old Trekker

I first saw this episode when originally broadcast back in the 66-67 season. Upon a recent re-viewing, a few things nagged at me: a) of the witnesses at the trial, only Spock and Kirk's names are spoken/idenfied by the computer. The Personnel Officer is not named, and neither is McCoy. b) Likewise, only Spock and Kirk seem to have Starfleet serial numbers. c) considering that the computer's audio pickup was amplified 10,000 x, how come only heartbeats are heard? d) We all know that Vulcan hearts are not in the chest, but McCoy positions the "white noise device" in front of everyone's chest (including Spock) to mask out known people on board. But then Spock is able to mask out the technician in the transporter room by pressing a few buttons on his console.

Good episode, but I wish there was a more detailed explanation about how the visual computer record was altered to show Kirk pushing the jettison button early. How do you alter something like that? Finney certainly didn’t seem to have the know how to do that.

This episode is one of the first that really made me love Kirk as a captain. I love when Spock says he's bitter, and Kirk says "that may be. But not bitter enough not to thank you for your efforts." That line, along with McCoy and Spock's testimony to Kirk's character, really made me feel for him. I thought Shatner's performance here was pretty good too! And it was fun to see Elisha Cook, Jr., who I know from the excellent Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep.

This episode contains one of the greatest "howlers" in Trek: The heartbeats are picked up by sensors whose efficiency has been increased by a factor of "one to the fourth power." That is, ONE! Arithmetic was apparently not the writer's strong suit.

First, thanks to @Random Thoughts and William B and anyone else who commented, for your encouragement in getting through TOS. So far, it's been more fun than I thought it would be, though I have gone from being retired to recently re-entering the workforce, so I have lot less time I'm afraid my comments are likely to be a lot more perfunctory - for that reason, and also because . . . it's TOS. I liked this one. The mandatory "sexy lady who's into Kirk" did make an appearance, but she was interesting and intelligent and a lawyer! Yay! The plot moved along at a good pace and held my interest. Of course I knew that Jim wasn't guilty, but I thought the mystery was handled well. I wonder what Ben's plan was for after Jim was convicted? Sneak off the Enterprise and begin a new career? Anyhow, a good ep.

Again late to the party, thanks for the review and the comments! Well, we'll never learn what exactly an 'ion pod' is and does, and why the third button from the top on the captain's chair just casually ejects a - hilariously specific - part of the ship, potentially killing the person in there. However, I agree with Trekfan that this is actually a good thing, having us accept the futuristic technology as a plot device and getting on with the story. What about Jamie though? Not only is she conveniently present on the ship in the end as someone wrote above, but why is she on that starbase in the first place? Also, Cogley seems to get his initial suspicion from her reaction, so is she in on the thing? I don't get it.

3.5/4 stars from me. I liked this episode, but the last 3-4 minutes were not all that great. The kiss, among other things. To me it looked like that one happened on the bridge, in front of the whole crew, but it would have made a lot more sense is that scene had happened in the captain's quarters or somewhere else private.

Increases the computer's hearing by 1^4. Anyone else have a problem with that line?

Sleeper Agent

Beautifully written and played out from the beginning to the end. If not 4, than definitively 3,5 Stars. PS. That giant wrench in the end was hilarious.

Super late comment, but I'm posting anyway because I just discovered this site and I want to contribute. I love how Kirk commands a room no matter where it is. When he walked into the bar on the star base and didn't shrink away even when things got uncomfortable, that set Kirk apart from other starship captains. I think that's a testament to the character but also the actor. Not everyone can pull that off. And when Kirk initially recounted to Portmaster Stone what happened on the bridge, did anyone else notice that he showed a command presence even when he's just answering questions? That's pure Shatner!

Interesting how the folks at the time could get this episode title wrong. It's "Courts-Martial"

Hear hear, Jay Marks! Kirk is THE MAN. No other Captain can just sit there and be totally commanding a scene. Shatner's focus is just outrageous. Terry Farrel mentioned when first coming to work on DS9 that she didn't think she could act next to Brooks, who had a serious gravitas and she was more of a beginner; so he had to tone it down and soften for her. I can't imagine what it would have been like to act next to Kirk; I imagine the feeling would have been like actually being in the presence of a starfleet Captain, and falling into line instinctively.

A mixed bag. Most of the acting with the exception of Richard Webb was tip-top. There were some interesting investigative scenes and the heartbeat scene was both a clever and creative reveal if nothing else. The absurdity of the legal portions makes this difficult to watch at times. It doesn't help that the music dramatizes the wrong moments in the courtroom. For example, Kirk pleads "not guilty" at the beginning of his hearing and a dramatic trumpet blares, but the teaser already made it abundantly clear Kirk was requesting the trial to prove his innocence. One shining point that deserves praise comes from Samuel T. Cogley's main argument. His speech about a person's rights to face their accuser was spot on. The position has become more relevant in modern times since today we have similar computerized accusers like red light cameras which are hotly contested on the same grounds presented for the Computer in this episode. Still, I could do without the rambling name dropping of Moses and Aristotle at the trial (without even quoting them). Jason R. wrote: "I am shocked no lawyer has commented on the ludicrousness of an old romantic flame being selected as the prosecutor and not stepping down. Sliiiiiight conflict of interest!!" Yes, that part's nutty and I'll add that it's dubious Kirk would take the stand at a trial for his own criminal negligence. I know it doesn't make for good tv, but shouldn't the defense attorney be saying what Kirk said? DS9 at least gave a nod to a Fifth Amendment-like law in its courtroom episode (Worf was just a Gomer and waived his rights). All-in-all, the basic structure of this show is sound and as someone mentioned above "The Measure of a Man" riffs on some of the same character beats. I'll give this 2 stars for that and the intriguing legal argument.

I hasten to add that, conflicts aside, Joan Marshall's portrayal of the a prosecuting attorney was quite enjoyable. It's nice to see that this show was fairly ahead of its time portraying women as very competent and formidable professionals. That might be enough to add an extra .5 stars.

Yeah, I am with Chrome on much of this one, though my final rating would be much higher. I've always been distracted by the strangeness of the court proceedings (and some of the other plot elements) every time I've watched it. As I've grown older I've come to appreciate it much more, actually, because the themes resonate more maybe, but also because I've grown used to the things in the episode that don't work for me. I like how intently this episode zeroes in on what incredible responsibility it is to be a starship captain, more than almost any other episode, and the consequences of failure, and it does the man vs. machine story in a way that does not simplistically pit Kirk against an evil computer (not that that's necessarily bad, but it happens often) but instead asks us how we define value, trustfulness, etc., in a world in which apparently infallible devices can be manipulated in ways which had been unexpected. Elisha Cook Jr.'s performance as Cogley is magnetic. But I never really stop being distracted by elements of the trial that seem strange, as Chrome mentions, nor the way in which the camera angle of the internal recording changes dramatically from moment to moment in the playback for the court, nor the way in which Kirk suggests that they will enhance the audio recorder "on the order of one to the fourth power," nor the whole premise that the audio recorder can hear everything on the ship but only is playing back heartbeats and not the loud dialogue the characters are engaging in, and so on. This stuff I just mentioned is all material that genuinely does not matter for the episode's big ideas; to enjoy this episode I should become the ship's audio sensor and automatically, without explanation, filter out all the noise but the beating, passionate heart of the show. I'm better at that now and the episode does have an impressive heart, but I still find the other noises very distracting.

Love how the heart beat is also used as tense music. That scene was very well done. Probably the best part of this episode7

Louis-Joseph Tremblay

@Chris Arturo, I had no idea that he was from Montréal, to me everything about him just shouts “Toronto” and that’s only because I knew that he’s Canadian. Anyhow, on it’s own this is an alright episode but I really enjoy it in context, particularly in light of Data and the Doctor. For me, as a biology graduate and someone interested in philosophy, the idea that a robot of any sort is life, let alone a sentient person is profoundly unsatisfactory, they are well designed copies — my sister in law is allergic is shellfish and so when I had them over for dinner the other day used surimi, imitation crab. I think that if I hadn’t prepared it and didn’t t know the truth I would think that it was real, does that mean that surimi *is* crab?

Sean J Hagins

I haven't seen this episode in years! For some reason, I falsely remembered the daughter (Jamie) being in on it. I guess it was her 180 degree turn. *(I suppose she really did just not want Kirk broken-I thought it was because the defence was getting too close, and she wanted to stop it) This WAS an enjoyable episode! I too liked how Spock and Bones defended Kirk. @Strider: Yes, Spock and Bones criticize Kirk frequently, but they never accused him of vindictiveness (to the point of murder), or of panic. Was this Jimmy Doohan's day off? Why wasn't he the one to fix the engines at the end? (Well, I guess all of Engineering was beamed away, but still!) I just wish there was a scene of Kirk's old academy classmates apologising for the cold reception they gave him earlier!

Court Martial Star Trek season 1 episode 20 "All of my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you.” - Bones 3 stars (out of 4) “Court Martial” is the ur-text for all great Star Trek courtroom dramas over the next half century. From the most famous, “Measure of a Man” in which the JAG officer is Picard’s old flame and there is even a bar scene reminiscent of this week’s episode, to the extradition of Jadzia in “Dax”, to the asylum hearing for the Q known as Quinn conducted by Captain Janeway in “Death Wish", to half-a-dozen more - not least of which is my favorite Star Trek episode of all time, “The Drumhead”. They all start here. Today the world is awash in legal dramas, from Law & Order, to the nightly news. And it’s been that way for a while. I remember being riveted in college by the impeachment hearings that were taking place in parallel with the last season of DS9. I see a few people objecting to the form of the proceedings. It’s a TV show - medical research that would ordinarily take a year or more is wrapped up in a single episode; various legal proceedings that would ordinarily take place over 3 or 4 years, are handled - as they are on Law & Order - in under 30 minutes. No one wants to watch armies of lawyers pour over hundreds of thousands of records for months on end. I mean, if you do, you can watch “Michael Clayton”. It did very well at the oscars. George Clooney at his peak. So what make’s the Star Trek genre of courtroom dramas unique? Here’s what the great orator Samuel T. Cogley, second only to Cato (I kid, or do I?) had to say: COGLEY: Now I've got something human to talk about. Rights, sir, human rights. The Bible, the Code of Hammurabi and of Justinian, Magna Carta, the Constitution of the United States, Fundamental Declarations of the Martian colonies, the Statutes of Alpha Three. Gentlemen, these documents all speak of rights. Rights of the accused to a trial by his peers, to be represented by counsel, the rights of cross-examination, but most importantly, the right to be confronted by the witnesses against him, a right to which my client has been denied. Star Trek, from the very beginning, treats your day in court as a right. It is not something to be avoided. It is something to be embraced. When, a few weeks ago, Spock needed some way to distract the Captain on the journey to Talos, he chose to undergo a Court Martial. When Commodore Stone offers to make a deal with Kirk so Kirk can avoid the ignominy of being the first Starship captain ever to face Court Martial, Kirk utters those iconic lines: STONE: It's in the transcript, and computer transcripts don't lie. I'm telling you, Captain, either you accept a permanent ground assignment, or the whole disciplinary weight of Starfleet command is going to land right on your neck. KIRK: So that's the way we do it now? Sweep it under the rug, and me along with it? Not on your life. I intend to fight. STONE: Then you draw a general court. KIRK: Draw it? I demand it. And right now, Commodore Stone. Right now. Draw it? I demand it! I jumped out of my seat cheering for Kirk when I watched the episode last night. Watch the scene yourself. https://youtu.be/uM2u1L-F7D8 Tell me that doesn’t raise the hairs on the back of your neck?! In Star Trek, there is an abiding faith in the process. That faith begins with “Court Martial,” and over the decades, we see that faith kept time and time again. When Wesley’s classmate dies in an accident in “First Duty,” the whole crew jumps at the chance for an inquiry - surely the truth will come out. And it does. And truth and justice prevail. When Bashir is found to be a genetic augment, Sisko goes to Rear Admiral Bennett, the Judge Advocate General, and Admiral Bennett comes up with a very fair solution that allows Bashir to continue to serve in Star Fleet. Truth and Justice prevail. Again and again and again, for more than 50 years, Star Trek has stood by the principles of due process, open justice, and transparency. Adversarial yes - but undertaken by all sides in good faith and with honor. Yes honor. Even when the Klingons send a lawyer to seek the extradition of Worf in "Rules of Engagement”, at a time when the klingons and the Federation are no longer allies, even then, the Klingons have absolute faith in the fairness of Federation Justice. Because Star Fleet does its best to come to the right answer no matter the cost. Picard makes the decision to give away the grandson of a Starfleet Admiral to an alien race in the highly under-rated episode “Suddenly Human", because justice demands it. Imagine the career consequences of that kind of decision - against the brass - in a system that didn’t put paramount importance on justice? The bright and shiny future of Star Trek is not aspirational just because of faster than light travel, or holodecks, or transporters, or replicators. Not merely because poverty has been eliminated, or that men satisfy ambition through constructive service instead of divisive competition. The bedrock of that society - the system that resolves disputes and secures the rights of individuals, including the rights of Starship Captains like Kirk in “Court Martial” or Picard in “Drumhead", that legal system in Star Trek… works. Isn’t that amazing!

"All of my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you." Because, of course, the two are mutually exclusive. Ah, the 1960s!

This worked far better for me when I was younger. So many headaches. * McCoy’s dramatic microphone thing, then Spock doing the transporter room guy. All with Kirk directing. In a court proceeding, I would suspect they were pulling shenanigans. This is a ridiculously melodramatic sequence. * They’re endangering the ship for this stunt? And, there are orbits that require no power. We use them for things like the moon and satellites. * Kirk’s lawyer Cogley vanishes in the final act. * Cogley’s book rant. Moses wrote in books did he? (Though kind of acceptable as the guy being eccentric) * Finney's plan is ridiculous, and he seems far too deranged to pull it off. * And, yes, 1^4==1 I think it’s a borderline failed episode. But it does do a lot of world building.

Apparently it was a troubled production: https://them0vieblog.com/2013/05/15/star-trek-court-martial-review/ It kind of seems like too many cooks, and that they were worried the court stuff would be too boring. Hence, the ship falling out of orbit microphone thing, and especially the fist fight.

carlos pascual maria zum

I love Star Trek but this episode is a mess. All the principal holes in the plot: 1) The prosecutor was a lover of Kirk!!! Clear conflict of interests! 2) The daughter of Finney reaction at first changes because of letters she found??? What?? 3) Finney could altered through the computer the record tape??? 4) The attorney Cogley is the best? His performance really is very poor and at the end he vanished 5) The way of founding by the heartbets Finney is ridiculous 6) What advantage could have Finney to make all this mess?

Apparently, the lawyer’s book rant was actually due to the capabilities of computers around the time this was shot. Computer memory was very expensive in those days and any book would be stored as some boiled down summary.

It was a VERY good episode — courtroom drama, eccentric but brilliant defence attorney, the interplay of all factions involved, the gradual emergence of positive evidence— which was completely thrown away by an absurd final scene where Kirk and Finney meet in the bowels of the ship. Just a ridiculous fist fight between the “heroic Kirk “ and the “gone mad Finney “. I was still ‘with it’ at the great scene where McCoy wields a microphone (!) to hide the heartbeat of those present, b from then on it descended into farce, and I was left feeling that a good ending would have sealed a great episode, but that’s not what we got. Just one more note: Spock beating the computer at chess was a good scene, but how did it fit with the storyline? Are we to assume that Finney was inspired to interfere with Spock’s programming, and to what purpose? Should have been 3 stars but less than 2 I’m afraid 😟

Having recently reviewed the episode with the upgraded computer-generated special effects, I noticed the damaged "ion pod" on the starboard flank of the Enterprise's engineering hull; but I haven't seen the pod or any indication of it in any other episode.

OK, I will bite: I am a retired lawyer (and also a retired judge) and I agree that the prosecutor had a conflict of interest and the trial was way faster than real life, but so what? The prosecutor was a wonderful female role model in a series that could be sexist. The trial was reasonably well scripted and realistic with regard to the questioning of witnesses, the objections at trial, and the presenting of curriculum vitae. The prosecutor was sharp and well spoken. And the old fashioned defense attorney was not atypical of attorneys I knew who were colorful characters and also effective in trial. I will add that TOS reruns were shown in our student union on Friday nights in the late 70's, with jam packed attendance by all of us law students. The 3 year series reruns helped us all survive to graduation.

Lawrence Bullock

The prosecutor loses all credibility when they ask the "Smith and Jones" possibility question. So far beyond a reasonable question that any judge sitting in a courtroom (even a military courtroom where many standard rules of the civilian court do not apply) would have stopped the proceedings and either reprimanded the prosecutor or replaced them. The fact that Bones even answered astounded me, even when I first watched this ( age 11). However, I am aware that the necessities of an hour long sci fi episode (and the time in which it was created and aired) are bound to have these kinds of absurdities. Still, I'd give the episode at least more star more.

Funny how Kirk's uniform gets torn again, and precisely the same way as it was torn in the last episode. The jettison button on Kirk's command chair was ridiculous, why would that be a thing? Do they jettison the ion pod on a regular basis? Shouldn't another officer be responsible for things like that? I love how the buttons have no covers on them either so it would be incredibly easy to accidentally hit the button and kill a crewman. The microphone was really silly too, I know the show was on a tight budget but they could at least try to make it look like something other than a common microphone. I'm also curious what Finney's plan was here; Kirk loses his command, then what. Is he going to hide in engineering for the rest of his life? Was he going to sneak off the ship without being seen somehow, a seemingly impossible feat, and then go into hiding on some uninhabited planet, abandoning his daughter, all to get back at Kirk? Granted this episode wasn't as goofy as Spock's Brain but it was still pretty ridiculous and definitely one of my least favorites.

@Alyx The Finney part was not TOS' finest hour certainly. Sadly, the Scotch tape affixed labels on the yellow alert and eject pod switches inspired no confidence and stand as pathetic testimony to the limits of ST budgets in the early days. ...something in the low two figures for many episodes. However, IMO: Samuel T. Cogley's speech about the computer as damning witness and the level of the machine being raised above that of humanity was prescient and not to be missed.

Proud Capitalist Pig

“You’re not an ordinary human. You’re a starship captain and you’ve stepped into scandal. If there’s any way they can do it, they’ll slap you down hard and permanently for the good of the service.” -- Areel That, right there, is one of the major points of “Court Martial,” and it’s appropriately chilling. The brass hats in charge are all too quick to believe their lying eyes--as Kirk’s own attorney, Samuel “No Questions” Cogley puts it, “Computers don’t lie,” even when they do. It would have been nice if Starfleet had an investigative team that could have discovered Finney’s deception themselves before they even brought Kirk to trial in the first place, rather than have this fall on the shoulders of Kirk’s lawyer and crew. I know, that would have complicated the story and the “stars” of it had to be featured prominently. But really, the lack of inquisitive zeal that is shown here, just to hang Kirk as quickly as possible, seems to be an accidental indictment of Starfleet that paints it as being full of the sort of corrupt government actors that do things like this all the time to political adversaries and whistleblowers, or to accused criminals just to get a quick conviction. Kirk is expendable, essentially. He can just as soon be replaced by another Captain, so for God’s sake let’s just lock him away with all deliberate expediency lest our benevolent organization be rocked by a scandal in the next day’s press. Like I said--it’s chilling. Also, it’s often a pointed truth that in some governments, a military court is indeed subject to an entirely different rulebook considering that they are exclusively trying defendants who have already signed some of their rights away (sometimes it isn’t even their choice to join). Oh yeah, and apparently in the Star Trek universe, it isn’t necessary for a prosecutor to recuse themselves from a case on account of having fucked the defendant in the past. I’m not judging here; this is just an observation. This particular courtroom drama is, by design, dryly procedural and no different than what we’d see in a TV show or movie set in the present day (though maybe with significantly less theatrics and speeches), with standard arguments, witness statements and cross examinations (or lack thereof in the case of Samuel “No Questions” Cogley, Esq.). What sets it up as being uniquely Star Trek is adversarial computers and high-tech shenanigans on the part of the true culprit. “Court Martial” brings up a great point about humanity being at technology’s mercy, almost caught in a vice grip. Consider Exhibit A, Cogley’s stacks of law books that he swears by. My son’s friend who was watching with us, being the Zoomer born with a silver smartphone in his mouth that he is (and as my own kids are as well), made an absolutely awesome comment -- “Kirk’s right, books take up space. There’s no difference between printed books and having them all just on the computer.” There is a whopping big difference, kiddo. On the surface, he and Kirk are correct. Think of the space you can save by having an entire library accessible on your computer. But we all know the rub here. A plain old book with printed words can’t be changed by an outside force. It can’t be amended or otherwise altered after it’s printed--a new edition would have to be printed and the old one would still remain. Not true of an “e-book.” I know this example is extreme, but e-books can be updated instantly, or simply deleted from a service. Forget the licensing issues; I’m talking about censorship. If a powerful corporation that provides e-books decides that one of those books is “offensive” or “not sufficiently Woke,” or else decides that the author of a book should be “canceled” because of some Twitter snafu, they can jettison a title as if it never existed. By contrast, the information contained in a physical tome of paper pages and hardcover binding is permanent. It can be wrong or misleading, sure. But it can’t be denied, ignored or altered by a corporation, totalitarian government or radical squad of politicians. That’s why they’re actively burned in the dystopian future world of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury--my favorite book of all time and required reading for my kids (if it wasn’t on the school reading list I’d prescribe it myself). I’m going off on a tangent here, but I think man’s relationship with technology is a worthy theme in science fiction, and “Court Martial” reminds us that machines shouldn't always be trusted. Ironically, in this case, it’s not the fault of the computer itself. It’s been reprogrammed by Finney, a bad actor in more ways than one (not to pick on Richard Webb here but his performance was indeed dreadful). Most technology starts out as beneficial and even neutral. It’s we humans who hack it. It’s we humans that reprogram it for our questionable ends, and it’s we humans who create malicious software and steal trade secrets. The burden of managing and protecting all of our cool new toys is great. Thankfully there are men like Spock, McCoy and Samuel “No Questions” Cogley who strive to keep us all honest. “Court Martial” could have easily been boring (my son was nervous about just that possibility upon learning that this was a “courtroom episode,” though I try to give the genre the benefit of the doubt as there are lots of gems out there), but it held my attention. Jammer is right, by the way--The Finney Saga of the last act, once his jig was up, was loathsomely underwhelming (though the fight was good for some laughs--it would have been even funnier had it happened in open court). At least the central investigation was interesting and it left us with a lot to consider. Best Line -- Kirk: “You have to be either an obsessive crackpot who’s escaped from his keeper or Samuel T. Cogley, attorney-at-law.” Cogley: “Right on both counts.” My Grade: C+

@Proud Capitalist Pig "Court Martial” brings up a great point about humanity being at technology’s mercy, almost caught in a vice grip. Consider Exhibit A, Cogley’s stacks of law books that he swears by. My son’s friend who was watching with us, being the Zoomer born with a silver smartphone in his mouth that he is (and as my own kids are as well), made an absolutely awesome comment -- “Kirk’s right, books take up space. There’s no difference between printed books and having them all just on the computer.” I really enjoyed reading your post on Court Martial. But: The "experience" of reading words on a physical page is actually different than reading digital copies onscreen. Books have properties such as fragrance and texture which can influence cognition. The text itself is completely trustworthy, if the edition of that book is the authoritative text. That level of version-quality cannot be guaranteed in every "text" that floats around in a digital world. The ability to digitally manipulate photographs is just too great nowadays, and OCR is far from perfect. This does not mean that "No questions" Cogley is more broadly credible. If I remember correctly, he says "I may be getting ready to be ready" and he just up and disappears from the episode! Left on the Editing Room floor perhaps?

@Sigh2000 Thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. I didn't think about the literal "fragrance" of books being part of the experience, but that's a great observation. Another point in favor of real books and against the e-books that I can file away.

DexterMorgan

Kirk literally beamed two red shirts into space in season 3, but he is being court martialed here?!?!

@ DexterMorgan "Kirk literally beamed two red shirts into space in season 3, but he is being court martialed here?!?!" LOL! Well for one thing, this is a season one episode and season three hadn't happened yet, so that's hardly the fault of this episode, but let's let that go. Your comment made my eyes bug out. Kirk actually beams two redshirts out into space in an upcoming show?! I've been jokingly advocating that form of execution/removal of villain threats since "Where No Man Has Gone Before," so that's amazing that it's actually put to use. Maybe the redshirts deserved it? I'm not at Season Three yet so I haven't seen it. But eventually I'll get to it.

It's dead. I've killed it. I tapped out your primary energy circuits.

It strikes me that TOS had almost an obsession with madness. Finney's deranged desire for revenge at all costs is the basis of (1) this episode. Off the top of my head, I can also think of (2) Dagger of the Mind, (3) Whom Gods Destroy, (4) Where No Man Has Gone Before, (5) Turnabout Intruder, (6) The Naked Time, (7) Amok Time, and (8) Is There in Truth No Beauty?. I think it could be argued that mental health issues contribute to (9) Charlie X and (10) The Squire of Gothos. "External intelligence takes over character's mind" is a kind of insanity, as seen in (11) What Are LIttle Girls Made Of?, and a similar argument could be made of the splitting of a character's mind into two distinct personalities in (12) The Enemy Within. The spores in (13) This Side of Paradise and Landru's "absorption" in (14) The Return of the Archons strip our characters of their normal personalities to give them a bland euphoria. Kirk's amnesia in (15) The Paradise Syndrome surely qualifies as a mental disorder. Much as many may hate for me to mention it, (16) Spock's Brain, anyone? I think the vivid illusions in (17) The Cage and (18) The Menagerie deserve to be counted twice. That's 18 episodes, and again, that's just off the top of my head. Out of 80 episodes, that's almost a quarter of them being based on somebody having something not right in their head. The 23rd century brain is apparently a fragile thing.

Continuing my "madness in TOS" count: (19) "Operation—Annihilate!" Lots, lots of madness.

My thanks to @Rahul for his comment on "Operation—Annihilate!" that these are not all about "insanity" in the sense of diagnosable mental illness. I would now nuance it differently as mental illness being a subset of the broader quality of being "not oneself," or at least not what a rational being should be, as in the old expression, "out of one's mind," or "not in one's right mind," which would include being "possessed" by another consciousness. Also thanks to Rahul for adding some entries. Here is my updated list of TOS episodes with a major part of the premise involving a person not being in their right mind: In no particular order: (1) Court Martial Off (2) Dagger of the Mind (3) Whom Gods Destroy (4) Where No Man Has Gone Before (5) Turnabout Intruder (6) The Naked Time (7) Amok Time (8) Is There in Truth No Beauty? (9) Charlie X (10) The Squire of Gothos (11) What Are LIttle Girls Made Of? (12) The Enemy Within (13) This Side of Paradise (14) The Return of the Archons (15) The Paradise Syndrome (16) Spock's Brain (17) The Cage (18) The Menagerie (19)Operation—Annihilate! (20) The City on the Edge of Forever (The whole thing begins because of McCoy's temporary insanity.) (21)The Doomsday Machine (Decker's suicidal mania) (22)The Ultimate Computer (Daystrom's insanity is passed on the his computer) (23)The Tholian Web (24)The Way to Eden (Sevrin's insanity) (25)The Conscience of the King (Rahul points out Lenore's murderous insanity, but perhaps Kodos the Executioner is also as much mad as evil?)

@Trish I still think the premise of being out of one's mind or not being oneself is too broad given that a great variety of stories have been told using this device and it's kind of a staple in sci-fi (especially classic sci-fi which TOS exemplified). So I think your list needs more rigour/specificity applied to make some kind of meaningful conclusion. In the extreme, it's like asking what percentage of episodes was there conflict between 2 people? I would also suspect any other Trek series would have a fair number of episodes that fall into your very broad categorization, though I also suspect TOS may have the highest percentage -- but I don't think that's saying anything noteworthy, just that TOS was more classic sci-fi than any other series. But what I did enlighten to in putting together my list is that I never really thought of actual medical insanity as being a TOS trope, but it does seem like it was.

I think we should also be dividing up episodes with goofy smiles from those with idiotic smiles. Those two should never be conflated. No, I joke :)

@Peter G. Goofy smiles and idiotic smiles are definitely important Trek tropes!

@Rahul I do think being "out of one's mind" is not nearly as standard a device in storytelling as a whole as it seems to be in Trek at least in TOS. Not by any means a rare one, but not on the order TOS displays. At any rate, now that I've started my list, I feel compelled to go on. Perhaps I am possessed by an alien influence that forces me to do it. :) The updated list, in no particular order: (1) Court Martial Off (2) Dagger of the Mind (3) Whom Gods Destroy (4) Where No Man Has Gone Before (5) Turnabout Intruder (6) The Naked Time (7) Amok Time (8) Is There in Truth No Beauty? (9) Charlie X (10) The Squire of Gothos (11) What Are LIttle Girls Made Of? (12) The Enemy Within (13) This Side of Paradise (14) The Return of the Archons (15) The Paradise Syndrome (16) Spock's Brain (17) The Cage (18) The Menagerie (19)Operation—Annihilate! (20) The City on the Edge of Forever (The whole thing begins because of McCoy's temporary insanity.) (21)The Doomsday Machine (Decker's suicidal mania) (22)The Ultimate Computer (Daystrom's insanity is passed on the his computer) (23)The Tholian Web (24)The Way to Eden (Sevrin's insanity) (25)The Conscience of the King (Rahul points out Lenore's murderous insanity, but perhaps Kodos the Executioner is also as much mad as evil?) (26)And the Children Shall Lead (How could I forget that one?)

Great episode. Commodore Stone is awesome. Lieutenant Shaw is also.

I liked this one for the overall story line and acting. I thought the court room scenes were especially good, but the ending was weak and lazy in my opinion. They had to find Finney in order to clear Kirk of the charges, but the heart beat masking device was lame. Still a thumbs up for me.

Solid episode in which I have very few quibbles to make, and yet not an episode that comes to mind when I think of my favorites. Go figure. But still I like this one, it’s pretty cool to get such a work-a-day view of the federation, with star bases and bars and workplace politics and whatnot. I have to defend this episode from a few of the criticisms above. For example, areel shaw did indeed have a conflict of interest as prosecutor/former Kirk love buddy, however we don’t know the procedural norms of the federation, and it’s possible to imagine an unseen hearing in which this issue was addressed to both sides’ satisfaction. Maybe the script should have mentioned it, but I don’t find this to be too big a deal. Also the sound isolating microphone thing is totally in-bounds for trek tech. I mean, in a universe containing transporters, universal translators, and warp speed engines, the idea of a device that can hone in on certain sound patterns isn’t that far fetched, is it? Lastly the idea that Kirk would be facing scrutiny over a crewman’s death might seem odd given the prevalence of redshirts dropping like flies onboard the enterprise, but this isn’t really a problem with this episode so much as it’s a bit of a issue with all the other episodes of all trek put together. I mean, you’d imagine that anytime a member of starfleet personnel croaks there’d be at least a little paper work to do, especially if it turned out that a salt vampire had infiltrated your ship and was killing dudes like crazy, might at least warrant an email or something. At least in this episode we get a sense that there is indeed some level of consideration towards the consequences of starship operations. A few other observations/ideas: - The closeup of Kirk’s command chair with three exposed buttons on his console is both magnificently ridiculous and strangely endearing. The idea that you could set off red alert and jettison the ion pod by a simple motion of carelessly putting a cup of coffee down, just makes me want to give TOS a big hug. I don’t know why. If ST:Picard did something like that I’d be all like “pffft, how lame.” Also, the ion pod: Whassat? - Kirk’s lawyer cogley sort of pulls a Lionel Hutz and scampers from the courtroom never to be seen again. Maybe there were production issues with that actor? Sorta weird. - Pertaining to the discussion above about TOS’ focus on insanity I think it’s worth noting that the use of “madness” as a character motivation seems to be in proportion to the real-world evolution in the understanding, or at least attempted understanding, of mental illness in general. In the mid-twentieth century to use the term “mad” to describe someone could be shrugged away and accepted in its vagueness, but now that term is wholly inadequate and as such, contemporary sci-fi has a greater burden to imbue its characters with more sophisticated mental processes. At least that would be my hypothesis for why TOS went back to drink at that particular well so often. Fun episode, 3 stars I’d say. Be careful scrubbing out your ion pods.

2 1/2?? This is one of the greats: a solid 3 at worst

On this viewing, I found that one scene had elements that didn't quite fit with the rest of the plot: The one where, after evidence has been presented at trial, young Jamie comes running into the room where Kirk and his lawyer are wallowing in pessimism and pleads with the lawyer to get Kirk to take a ground assignment. Cogley's lines, and his demeanor in delivering them, give the impression that a plot twist is coming, but not the plot twist that actually does come. He seems suspicious of her motives, as if he thinks she is in some way responsible for the trouble Kirk is in. He points out that it's strange for her to defend the man accused of causing her father's death, and by the end of the scene, he gets the funny look on his face that in a courtroom drama or a detective usually means that he has just realized the key to the entire mystery, and will be revealing it in due course. But none of that pans out. Cogley goes back into the courtroom and dejectedly rests his case, only being given the key information when Spock and McCoy rush in to tell him the ship's computer had been tampered with. Yes, the scene does emphasize that Kirk had a way out of the charges if he hadn't insisted on defending his innocence, and that he and Finney had once been very good friends, but I think both those points had already been made adequately earlier in the episode. It also lets Jamie become a likable character whose death, had she gone down with the sabotaged Enterprise, would have been more obviously regrettable, but only if the viewer accepts Kirk's view of her rather than the one Cogley seems to be working up to. It's almost as if the scene was leftover from some earlier version of the script that had the mystery play out differently. In fact, I find myself thinking it might have been a more interesting one.

Well it spoiled it for me when I read the episode was motivated by the need to produce a show with just a few cheaply built sets. Could be the first episode where dialogue and costuming usurped the sci fi, which would become common in season 3 and TNG. I don't watch much TNG but the one I'm watching now (Legacy S4-E6) seems exceptional and even hot. And I don't know what's going to happen to Data and that girl is crazy hot lol. Anyway there is a large cast in this episode with many uncredited unfamiliar crew and operations personnel, so the strategy worked this time. It seems like something in the story was lost (or seemed odd) while editing down to what could be fit in an episode. Kirk goes by himself to confront Finney, just for the requisite fight scene. Elisha Cook kind of disappears after pulling off a nice man vs machine speech. Kirk has to save the ship by yanking his own wires in the tube, 'cause they needed to conserve Scotty's and Sulu's pay for extra costumes and tight editing. Trish is right to comment so many episodes are based on some character that's insane, it's a shame that Morgan Woodward only got to do a couple of them.

@ Trish, I just watched that scene again, and I do think there's some subtle foreshadowing going on, along with a hint that's not explained. Notice how Jamie pauses when Cogley asks why she's defending Kirk, and there's a somewhat guilty look in her eye that he picks up on. She has mentioned that reading through her father's journals is what changed her mind away from anger at Kirk. She says she learned how close they were, but surely she'd have known that already. I think she learned something else that her dad wrote there, that she isn't going to reveal here. She is only going to admit to saying knows Kirk wasn't the one to blame. Cogley realizes something is up, but has no proof. In the subsequent court scene, when asked if the defense has anything else to say, he looks like he'd like to say something, but knows he can't. I think he knows Jamie knows something, but he can't say that in court. Spock and McCoy do come in to save the day. The writing here is interesting; or maybe it's the directing. They are already setting up what we're going to learn in the finale, but are giving us a couple of scenes to wonder what the surprise will be. It's not so much a surprise defense by Cogley, but a surprise by the writers. I think it works well enough.

@Peter I wonder if we are supposed to figure out that somewhere in her father's "papers" Jamie had read of his elaborate plan for revenge, perhaps years before the opportunity presented itself when he got assigned to that pod. Was she trying to prevent the crazy plan from coming to fruition? Of course, it was quite a stretch in the first place to imagine that Finney would know that someone would figure out just enough for the court proceedings to be moved to the Enterprise, so he could sabotage the ship and kill them.

@ Trish, If this was real life I would just assume that Finney wrote about his negative feelings about Kirk, feelings he never made known in person. Or if Kirk was aware of any hostility, he wasn't going to bring it up as any kind of motive because I don't think he was considering the possibility that Finney engineered this situation. If Jamie knew her dad had been developing a seething resentment and was looking for ways to sink Kirk, Jamie would have a strong interest in (a) exonerating Kirk, and (b) not having this part of her father's life brought to light. From the look on her face earlier in the scene it also looks like she did have an affection for Kirk which was shaken by this incident, and which has now returned since she knows something new.

@Trish, Peter, Perhaps her dad's journal also showed him just becoming unhinged in a more general way - even without writing about Kirk - having some kind of apparent ongoing mental breakdown that would make it seem more likely that the "accident" was his fault (even without the revenge plan).

@Peter G. @William B I think we are succeeding in writing a really cool story that would have been nice to see more of on the screen! :)

@ Trish, "I think we are succeeding in writing a really cool story that would have been nice to see more of on the screen!" Yes, I think they rushed the denouement in this one. Most of the time spent chasing Finney at the end should have been spent learning more about what's fishy about the case.

@Trish, Peter, I am sure these extra details are all there on screen, we just need to enhance/zoom by..."ON THE ORDER OF ONE TO THE FOURTH POWER"...as Kirk does with the audio sensors.

Whoa, don't you think 1^4 is overkill? Surely not a number that large...

I think we could even go to 1^5, if the equipment can handle it. We will have to consult Scotty to see.

His poor bairns...

@Peter G @Trish @William B I just watched this episode again and the whole ending sequence is a bit strange. First, Cogley does indeed seem to be ruminating on some idea that never seems to manifest itself. When Kirk asks him if he’s ready Cogley says “no, but I may be getting ready”, which sounds like he’s about to hatch some legal hijinxs. Then later, Cogley declares that he has to go run an errand for the court but he’ll return, clearly setting up some sort of strategic move on his part, which is quickly followed by a somewhat awkward voiceover by Kirk exposition-ally informing us that Cogley brought Finney’s daughter on board. However, neither Cogley or Jamie are seen again. Was there perhaps some production situation that caused certain script/scene changes?

@ Idh2023, "However, neither Cogley or Jamie are seen again. Was there perhaps some production situation that caused certain script/scene changes?" I think the mechanics of the script were designed to bring up that Cogley realized something strange was going on, but to reveal it to us through more exciting means than through a courtroom. So looking strictly at the court case, there is something missing. But if you see the court case as merely part of a larger examination of what actually happened, it sets us up for what's revealed in the scan of the ship, and finally the action sequence. They effectively transfer the drama out of the courtroom and into a fistfight.

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A Matter of Honor

• Episode aired Feb 4, 1989

Under an Officers Exchange Program, Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship, whose aging captain seeks an unwarranted bloody retaliation for suspected Enterprise treachery. Under an Officers Exchange Program, Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship, whose aging captain seeks an unwarranted bloody retaliation for suspected Enterprise treachery. Under an Officers Exchange Program, Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship, whose aging captain seeks an unwarranted bloody retaliation for suspected Enterprise treachery.

• Gene Roddenberry
• Burton Armus
• Wanda M. Haight
• Patrick Stewart
• Jonathan Frakes
• LeVar Burton
• 19 User reviews
• 10 Critic reviews

• Captain Jean-Luc Picard

• Commander William Thomas 'Will' Riker

• Lieutenant Geordi La Forge
• (credit only)

• Lieutenant Worf

• Counselor Deanna Troi

• Lieutenant Commander Data

• Wesley Crusher

• Doctor Katherine Pulaski

• Ensign Mendon
• Capt. Kargan

• Second Officer Klag

• Chief Miles O'Brien

• Tactics Officer
• (uncredited)
• Security Officer
• Command Division Officer

• Ten Forward Waiter
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Brian Thompson was hired for his role, and then let go without notice before it was filmed. When he sought out a reason why, he was told that he was too large to fit into the costume Christopher Lloyd had worn for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) . He quickly volunteered to make any necessary alterations himself.
• Goofs In Coming of Age (1988) , in which several young students fight for a place in Starfleet Academy, the Benzite Mordock gains the honor of becoming the first of his race to enter Starfleet. In this episode, less than a year later, Mendon, another Benzite, appears, not as an already graduated Starfleet ensign but as an officer from the Benzite fleet (in the same sort of exchange program as with Riker and the Klingon ship). Mendon is unfamiliar with Starfleet procedures. He instead continues to quote how it is done in his own fleet and, early on, how much better their way is, which would likely not have happened if he had attended the Academy.

Tactics Officer : [about the two female Klingons on board the Pagh] They are inquisitive. They would like to know how you would endure.

Commander William T. Riker : Endure what?

Lt. Klag : Them.

Commander William T. Riker : [looks at the women] One or both?

• Connections Featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Shades of Gray (1989)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User reviews 19

• Sep 7, 2020
• February 4, 1989 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 45 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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How To Watch All Star Trek TV Shows In Timeline Order

Every star trek movie in chronological order, to me, william shatner’s movie star trek v is great comfort food.

• Star Trek's timeline is a complex tapestry that spans over a thousand years, filled with time travel and alternate realities.
• Star Trek: Enterprise chronicles the pioneering voyages of Captain Jonathan Archer, setting the stage for the United Federation of Planets.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine continue the legacy of the original series, shaping the 24th century era.

Star Trek has been one of the premiere science fiction franchises in the world for nearly 60 years, spanning over a dozen TV series consisting of 900+ episodes, and 13 feature films with more on the way. Star Trek' s Prime Timeline now encompasses a thousand years of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet seeking out strange new worlds, and boldly going where no one has gone before in the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 32nd centuries.

Star Trek has rarely told its stories in a straight, chronological line; time travel tropes, alternate realities, and massive jumps into the future are all commonplace. Star Trek is a multiverse of myriad realities, including an alternate Mirror Universe. The Star Trek timeline is a rich tapestry of compelling characters and science fiction parables - and it's still going strong. Here is a definitive guide to Star Trek' s timeline, primarily centering on the Prime Universe's Star Trek TV series and feature films in chronological order, including the alternate Kelvin Timeline of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies where noted.

An Untitled Star Trek Origin movie reportedly set "decades before" J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) is in development, and may end up preceding this entire chronology.

The Star Trek TV franchise has existed for 57 years and consists of 12 shows (and counting). Here's how to watch them all in timeline order.

28 Star Trek: Enterprise

(2151-2155).

Star Trek: Enterprise is, chronologically, the first Star Trek series in the timeline (although technically the 6th produced) chronicling the pioneering 22nd-century voyages of Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and the NX-01 Enterprise. Archer's Enterprise is Starfleet's first Warp 5-capable starship, which allowed the NX-01 to make pivotal First Contact missions and lay the groundwork for the creation of the United Federation of Planets. Star Trek: Enterprise 's 4 seasons only depict the first few years of Archer's 10-year saga that ends with the first Captain of the Enterprise helping to found the Federation in 2161.

Star Trek: Enterprise

*Availability in US

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27 Star Trek: The Original Series - "The Cage"

"The Cage" is the original Star Trek pilot that was rejected by NBC. However, "The Cage" is a canonical story set 2 years before Star Trek: Discovery season 1 and 12 years before Star Trek: The Original Series . Set in 2254, "The Cage" sees Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and the USS Enterprise lured to Talos IV, where Pike is held captive the planet's illusion-casting inhabitants. Star Trek: The Original Series turned "The Cage" into a two-part episode titled "The Menagerie", and "The Cage" also laid the foundation for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

26 Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1 and 2

(2256-2258).

Star Trek: Discovery begins with a disastrous meeting between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire in 2256, which leads to a long, bloody war that nearly cost the Federation its soul. Centering on Commander Micheal Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), Discovery deals with the personal prices of war, as well as the themes of redemption and empathy.

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 depicted the Klingon War, while Discovery season 2 brought in USS Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). When faced with a genocidal artificial intelligence called Control, the crew of the USS Discovery realize the only way to save all organic life in the universe would be to jump to the 32nd century, permanently leaving Star Trek: Discovery' s original 23rd century era behind.

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 also ventured to the 23rd century MIrror Universe for a multi-episode arc.

Star Trek: Discovery

25 star trek, (kelvin timeline 2233/kelvin timeline 2258/2387).

Directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Trek is a reboot that spawns the alternate reality known as the Kelvin Timeline. Star Trek 's main story is set in 2258 of the parallel reality , but the film's branching timeline is made possible by the supernova of the Romulan sun in 2387 in the Prime Universe, which Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is unable to prevent.

The Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana) time travels back to 2233, and his attack on the USS Kelvin ignites an all-new reality that changes the lives of Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the USS Enterprise. After Kirk and the Enterprise defeat Nero, they set forth into the great unknown of their new reality.

In the Kelvin Timeline, Kirk and his friends become the crew of the USS Enterprise roughly 7 years before Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew take command of the Enterprise in Star Trek 's Prime Universe.

Star Trek (2009)

24 star trek into darkness, (kelvin timeline 2259).

Set a year after Star Trek 's events, Star Trek Into Darkness sees the crew of the Starship Enterprise take on Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose life has also been massively altered in the Kelvin Timeline. Rather than being discovered by the Enterprise in 2267, Khan's derelict ship was discovered much earlier by Starfleet's Section 31, led by the corrupt Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller). Marcus attempts to use Khan to militarize Starfleet and wage war with the Klingons, but Captain Kirk and the Enterprise defeat both Marcus and Khan.

Star Trek Into Darkness remakes and reverses key elements of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , which takes place 26 years later in the Prime Timeline.

Star Trek Into Darkness

With 13 entries in the Star Trek movie series from 1979-2006, there are a couple of ways to watch the films chronologically.

23 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

(2259-onward).

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds begins in 2259, months after Star Trek: Discovery season 2, with Captain Christopher Pike leading the Starship Enterprise on all-new missions of exploration. Strange New Worlds sets the stage for what will eventually become Star Trek: The Original Series , with young versions of Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush), Scotty (Martin Quinn), and even Lieutenant James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) serving on the Enterprise.

Although Pike's tragic future of being horribly disfigured is inevitable, Strange New Worlds fills in the years before Kirk takes over as Captain of the Enterprise with optimism and an anything-goes attitude. Strange New Worlds ' deftness in adapting to different genres, from comedy, to action, to Star Trek 's first musical episode , makes the episodic series the purest Star Trek show in years.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

22 star trek beyond, (kelvin timeline 2263).

Back in the alternate Kelvin Timeline and 3 years into their five-year mission of exploration , the crew of the Starship Enterprise are attacked by the mysterious Krall (Idris Elba). Krall's mechanized drone army destroys the Enterprise, stranding Captain Kirk and his captured crew on the planet Altamid. Kirk and his friends escape with the help of their new ally, Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), and they defeat Krall before he destroys Starfleet's USS Yorktown space station. At the end of Star Trek Beyond , Captain Kirk takes command of the new USS Enterprise-A.

Star Trek Beyond is dedicated to Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin, who passed away in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Star Trek Beyond

21 star trek: the original series, (2266-2269).

The Star Trek show that started it all, Star Trek: The Original Series chronicles the first three years of Captain James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise's five-year mission of exploration starting in 2266. The original Star Trek is an all-time classic, establishing the core tropes of the franchise, from starships, to beaming down to planets, to the unbreakable three-way friendship between Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Star Trek: The Original Series would not only be emulated by every other Star Trek that followed, but it would also become an enduring part of pop culture.

Star Trek: The Original Series

20 star trek: the animated series, (2269-2270).

While Star Trek: The Original Series was unceremoniously canceled after its third season, the show would go on to become a phenomenon in syndication. The first hint that Star Trek would outlive its somewhat humble beginnings was Star Trek: The Animated Series , an Emmy-winning cartoon that aimed for a family-friendly vibe without sacrificing what made the live-action original Star Trek work. Star Trek: The Animated Series is essentially the fourth season of Star Trek: The Original Series , and its status as canon has been made official by its numerous references in Star Trek on Paramount+'s shows .

Gene Roddenberry did not consider Star Trek: The Animated Series to be official canon, which made the cartoon apocryphal for decades.

19 Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the first feature film that launched Star Trek as a successful movie franchise . Set in the 2270s, years after the USS Enterprise's five-year mission ended, Admiral James T. Kirk takes command of his starship once more and reunites his crew to intercept a threat to Earth. Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunited the entire cast of Star Trek: The Original Serie s for a ponderously-paced adventure that had the virtue of dazzling visual effects . But Star Trek: The Motion Picture proved the human adventure was, indeed, just beginning.

18 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, still widely considered the gold standard of Star Trek films, picks up Admiral Kirk's saga in 2285. A sequel to the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed", Admiral Kirk faces a midlife crisis just as his old enemy, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricado Montalban) steals both the USS Reliant and the Genesis Device super weapon to seek revenge on Kirk. Star Trek II ends with the sacrifice and death of Spock, but opens the door for the Vulcan's resurrection and much more.

17 Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Set immediately after the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock finds Admiral Kirk and friends stealing the USS Enterprise in an effort to save Spock's katra - his soul - after the wily Vulcan transferred it to Dr. McCoy just before his death. The crew would eventually save Spock, but at great cost; Kirk would not only lose his son, David Marcus (Merritt Burrick) , to a Klingon attack, but the Starship Enterprise is destroyed to prevent it from falling into Klingon hands. Thankfully, Kirk succeeds in bringing back Spock.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is the first film directed by Leonard Nimoy.

16 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

(2286/1986).

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home takes place in 2286 , months after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Or, at least, the 23rd century bookends of the movie do. The bulk of Star Trek IV is set in 1986 San Francisco, where Admiral Kirk and the former crew of the USS Enterprise time travel in order to find two humpback whales to bring back to the future in order to save Earth. A delightful, fish-out-of-water, time travel romp, Star Trek IV proved a Star Trek movie doesn't need action, violence, and death to be a mainstream success.

Kirk is demoted to Captain and given command of the USS Enterprise-A at the conclusion of Star Trek IV.

15 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Directed by William Shatner, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier begins with the malfunctioning USS Enterprise-A less than a year out of space dock . But Captain Kirk and crew are still called into action when a mysterious Vulcan named Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) takes a group of diplomats hostage, demanding a starship in exchange for their release. Sybok would be revealed as Spock's half-brother who seeks God on the fabled planet Sha Ka Ree. When "God" (George Murdock) turns out to be a malevolent alien, Sybok sacrifices himself so that Kirk and Spock can destroy the false Almighty.

William Shatner's Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a comforting watch with enjoyable banter, a compelling villain in Sybok, and good intentions.

14 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is set in 2293 when the Klingon moon Praxis' explosion leaves the Klingon Empire in dire financial straits. But a conspiracy within the Federation, the Romulans, and Klingons seek to prevent peace, and Captain Kirk is framed for the assassination of Klingon High Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) . Star Trek VI is the final voyage of Captain Kirk's USS Enterprise crew, and its Klingon-centric story sets the stage for the future friendship between the Klingons and the Federation in Star Trek: The Next Generation .

13 Star Trek: Section 31

Star Trek: Section 31 , which stars Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, is Star Trek 's first movie made for streaming on Paramount+. While the story of Section 31 is top-secret, the movie is a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery, taking place after Yeoh's Emperor Philippa Georgiou exited the 32nd century . Georgiou reappears in the "lost era" of Star Trek 's early 24th century , although there could be more time travel involved in Star Trek: Section 31 as Philippa confronts the sins of her own past.

Star Trek: Section 31

12 star trek: the next generation, (2364-2370).

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the pillar and foundation of Star Trek 's popular 24th-century era . TNG follows the voyages of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Galaxy Class USS Enterprise-D. TNG is Star Trek to an entire generation of fans, and the series produced some of the greatest Star Trek episodes of all-time . Expanding the universe and canon in myriad ways, and nominated for a Best Dramatic Series Emmy, Star Trek: The Next Generation was a massive hit in first-run syndication and solidified Star Trek as an A-list franchise for most of the 1990s.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

11 star trek: deep space nine, (2369-2375).

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would break new ground for the Star Trek franchise in more ways than one. DS9 starred Avery Brooks as Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko, the first Black actor to lead a Star Trek series. Taking command of a former Cardassian space station Starfleet renamed Deep Space Nine, Sisko would interact with a vast cavalcade of characters that would deepen the Star Trek universe in countless ways. Culminating with the epic Dominion War saga that reshaped the galaxy, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a fundamentally important part of the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine began as a spinoff of Star Trek: The Next Generation and carried on in syndication after TNG jumped to feature films.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

10 star trek: voyager, (2371-2378).

Star Trek: Voyager was the flagship series of the United Paramount Network (UPN), and continues the 24th-century era of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , but with a twist: Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the USS Voyager were stranded in the uncharted Delta Quadrant. Voyager's seven-year journey home created a new generation of fans (girls and women, especially) and saw the introduction of numerous new alien species and characters, as well as the return of the Borg. Voyager ended with Janeway, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), the Doctor (Robert Picardo), and its other characters as bona fide Star Trek icons.

Star Trek: Voyager

9 star trek generations, (2371/2293).

Star Trek Generations ' main story takes place in 2371, months after the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, Star Trek Generations begins with a prologue set in 2293 where Captain James T. Kirk is believed to be killed during the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B. Kirk survives within the interdimensional Nexus, where he meets Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who is out to stop a madman named Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying the Veridian star system.

Kirk and Picard's team-up defeats Soran but results in Kirk's tragic death . Meanwhile, a Klingon plot leads to the destruction of the USS Enterprise-D. Star Trek Generations was a successful transition by TNG to feature films so that the 24th century era of Star Trek continued on television and in movie theaters.

• the wrath of khan

The Star Trek: Discovery Decision That Helped the Show “Totally rewrite the rules” Was Made to Escape the Continuity Curse

Star Trek: Discovery, which is the 7th series that encompassed the massive Star Trek franchise, debuted its first season in 2017 and is now in its 5th and final season which aired in Paramount+ on April 4, 2024. The show is a prequel that follows the crew of the starship Discovery a decade before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series.

When the series was given the greenlight, there were speculations from certain fans regarding the timeline that it was set in as they believed that prequels were becoming redundant. The show though, took a risky and bold decision regarding the time factor after two seasons that allowed them to work without the pressure of continuity while also creating a whole new narrative that could be freshly developed.

Star Trek: Discovery’s Quest For Change Led To This Bold Move

From its first season upto its final swansong which ended on the 30th of May, the response to Star Trek: Discovery has been lukewarm at best. The narrative which follows the lead character of science specialist-turned ship captain Michael Burnham played by Sonequa Martin-Green, has not been at the top of fans’ lists since it premiered in 2017.

But this is not for want of trying on the part of series producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman . When it was announced that the show would be set a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series , there were speculations from fans who experienced a ‘been there done that’ vibe regarding the concept of prequels.

“I don’t if I’m going to come back”: Every Year, Brent Spiner Planned to Quit Star Trek for the Same Reason Denise Crosby Abandoned The Next Generation

While the first two seasons followed this timeline, the production team made the decision to change up this concept from the 3rd season onwards. Completely rebooting the show, Kurtzman and team pushed the narrative forward 900 years into the future.

This then gave them the leeway to create a completely new plot line with a new set of challenges that did not have the pressure to adhere to its predecessors in terms of continuity. Speaking of the freedom that this move allowed, the showrunner told Variety ,

The idea that the crew had to jump to the furthest timeline that had ever existed in anything Star Trek would allow us to totally rewrite the rules and create a whole new set of variables that the team would suddenly have to deal with, that they were both prepared for and totally ill-prepared for.

While this helped Star Trek: Discovery to be viewed through a new lens without comparisons, the fact remained that the show did not garner as much hype as expected from an iconic franchise.

How Star Trek: Discovery Pioneered Gender Awareness

Star Trek: Discovery may not have set the television screens alight, but the show was a pioneer in many ways, especially with regards to awareness about the LGBTQ+ community , surprisingly before any of its more famous predecessors.

For starters the characters of Dr. Hugh Culber and Lt. Stamets were seen as members of the gay community while season 3 introduced Adira, a trans human played by real life non-binary actor Blu Del Barrio. The character too is seen ultimately coming out as non-binary in the show. In addition, Adira’s boyfriend Gray was played by trans actor Ian Alexander.

Speaking about the importance of representation and the significance of having a diverse cast to promote gender equality, showrunner Michelle Paradise was clear that this was a necessary step forward for the franchise (via Looper ).

Star Trek has always made a mission of giving visibility to underrepresented communities because it believes in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach.

“My reaction was no”: Patrick Stewart Revealed the Reason Behind the One Thing He Did That Made Many Star Trek Fans Hate Him

To put her statement into context, the franchise has earlier pioneered inter-racial storylines as far back as the 80s. But it was only 3 decades later through Star Trek: Discovery that the first reference to an LGBTQ+ character was defined.

All seasons of Star Trek: Discovery are streaming on Paramount Plus.