The following is not another “best of” list ranking the absolute greatest Star Trek episodes and movies of all time. No, there are plenty of those. Instead, this is a list ranking the 60 most important Star Trek stories ever. But what, exactly, defines importance?
Briefly, this is the thinking: If any one episode changed science fiction on TV, it’s important. If a movie or book changed the history of Star Trek itself, it’s important. If a piece of fanfic changed culture at large, it’s important. There are at least 60 episodes/movies/books/games/fanfics that everyone has to experience at least once, Trekkie and casual fan alike. And this means certain underrated episodes, books, films, et al. simply matter more to individual fans. In this list, we attempted to allow a lone voice to elevate a forgotten Trek in order to prove that the Final Frontier is so much more than just all the episodes you’ve already heard of. (Remember how our heroes value “the needs of the one” over the needs of the many sometimes?)
