"Darmok" is Not About Linguistics
When it comes to television shows, even more than choosing a personal favorite episode, I enjoy trying to determine a show's quintessential episode. Which episode would you show to someone who has never seen the show? – if you want to make a fun game out of it. Although that question doesn't work as well with serialized shows, since you usually need to start at the beginning to have proper context. So, I prefer to think in terms of defining the episode that best represents the show: its Platonic ideal. Maybe a better question is, If you could only keep one episode to watch forever, to remind you what made you a fan in the first place, which would it be? My first fandom was Star Trek, which has by now had many series. I could choose a quintessential episode for each one, but a while back I decided to think hard about the entire history of the franchise to come up with one ideal Star Trek episode, both for a new viewer to get an idea of the show at its best, as well as one I pe...