Star Trek’s 15 Best Time Travel Episodes, Ranked

One of many greatest recurring tropes in “Star Trek” is using time journey, one thing that is existed because the earliest days of the franchise. By way of the technological developments obtainable sooner or later, the primary characters have traveled into the previous, future, and alternate realities and timelines in various capacities. The franchise has inventively used this narrative mechanic over time, creating a few of the biggest plot twists that we never saw coming. In lots of circumstances a number of the greatest “Star Trek” tales of all time closely contain using time journey.

Merely put, we find it irresistible when “Star Trek” bends the foundations of space-time, with its fan-favorite characters touring by means of the timestream. This will contain extra standard time journey or the characters being caught in temporal loops and anomalies as they discover the cosmos. Whereas we actually love “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Residence” and “Star Trek: First Contact,” we’re sticking with the franchise’s time journey tales on tv. 

With that in thoughts, listed here are “Star Trek’s” 15 greatest time journey episodes, ranked and prepared for followers to take a look at.

The best “Star Trek: Enterprise” episode ever is the third season installment “Twilight,” set on the peak of the Xindi Battle. Whereas rescuing T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) from a spatial anomaly, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) endures a grievous damage and is contaminated by mysterious parasites. These parasites severely inhibit Archer’s long-term recollections, forcing him to be relieved from his command, paving the best way for the Xindi to overcome humanity. However 12 years later, Physician Phlox (John Billingsley) discovers a remedy for Archer’s situation, which is able to retroactively right the timeline and stop Earth’s defeat from going down.

“Twilight” captures the hazard and darkness that “Enterprise” grew to become recognized for in its later seasons, delving into humanity’s precarious early interactions with new worlds and new civilizations. The episode not solely highlights how necessary Archer’s well being is to the integrity of the timeline, however affords an ingenious method to avert historical past from being irrevocably altered. A time-bending story of how the devotion that Archer evokes from his crew saves the day, “Twilight” is “Enterprise” at its greatest.

The sequence finale for “Star Trek: Voyager,” the two-parter “Endgame,” revolves completely round using time journey. The episode opens with the surviving members of the USS Voyager celebrating their return to Earth 10 years prior, regardless of struggling grave private losses and a 23-year trek. Decided to alter the destiny of her crew, an older Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) travels again in time with superior expertise to assist her youthful self lead Voyager dwelling sooner. This entails the Voyager touring by means of a area dominated by the Borg Collective, culminating within the time-traveling Janeway confronting the Borg Queen (Alice Krige).

“Endgame” offers an exhilarating, cinematic ending for “Star Trek: Voyager” and a contented ending from the jaws of sure tragedy. The Borg had already established themselves as a significant presence in “Voyager” and had been additionally no strangers to time journey tales. This all coalesces into an epic finale, with Admiral Janeway impressed by her outdated crew on one final journey. A becoming finale for “Voyager” and its arduous journey, “Endgame” affords a satisfying story facilitated by a time-traveling Janeway.

“Star Trek: The Subsequent Era” featured loads of memorable episodes coping with temporal shenanigans throughout its seven-season run, together with the sixth season installment “Timescape.” Whereas returning to the Enterprise in a runabout, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and a small touchdown celebration discover the starship and a Romulan warbird frozen in time. Creating makeshift units to stop themselves from being affected by the temporal disruptions, the crew investigates what is going on occurring to the 2 vessels. Greater than only a potential hazard to each ships and their respective crews, Picard and his unaffected associates notice there’s something extra sinister at work.

With its frozen in time visuals and the story’s overarching sense of thriller, “Timescape” is an efficient, problem-solving oriented story. When it comes to time journey mechanics, the timestream across the Enterprise is not simply frozen however advances and resets at numerous factors of the story. This creates some surprises as the story unfolds whereas enjoying with the visible results that assist the episode stand out. An essential “Next Generation” episode that everyone should watch, “Timespace” blends sci-fi spectacle with a charming thriller of the unknown.

The “Voyager” episode that’s the most time-travel intensive, when it comes to temporal mechanics, is the fifth season installment “Relativity.” Seven of 9 (Jeri Ryan) is plucked from the timestream by a twenty ninth century Starfleet vessel moments earlier than Voyager is destroyed by a bomb, inflicting a time paradox. Seven is distributed to completely different factors of Voyager’s existence, together with earlier than it was misplaced within the Delta Quadrant as a part of her investigation. Teaming up with Janeway throughout her visits, Seven identifies the wrongdoer and stops the ship’s destruction to rectify the timeline.

With a very pronounced time-bending premise, “Relativity” is an episode that asks its viewers’ full consideration to comply with alongside. Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew do a fantastic job of enjoying completely different variations of their characters at completely different factors within the timeline, highlighting their rapport. The episode itself performs out like a cosmic homicide thriller, with a stunning wrongdoer in its last twist. A strong time journey story that makes nice use of Ryan’s Seven, “Relativity” has enjoyable with its premise, even when its wider implications do not make that a lot sense.

Of all the “Deep House 9” essential forged, Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) stood because the crew’s unassuming everyman. The third season episode “Visionary” thrust O’Brien in the course of a time journey journey involving his personal potential demise. Affected by radiation publicity, O’Brien quickly beneficial properties the power to glimpse 5 hours into the long run at a time. When it turns into clear that all the area station is at risk, the O’Brien of 1 timeline sacrifices himself to warn his future self about what’s coming.

With steadily mounting stakes throughout every subsequent look into the long run, “Visionary” affords a fantastic showcase for Meaney. O’Brien was all the time one thing of an unsung hero for the sequence, not less than till “Lower Decks” made him the most important man in “Star Trek” history. “Visionary” is prime proof about why that distinction is well-earned, albeit in a extra understated method than most explosive “DS9” episodes. A fantastic character-centric story for Miles O’Brien, “Visionary” is a largely underrated episode within the sequence.

Although maybe higher recognized for Kelsey Grammer’s “Star Trek” cameo, the “Subsequent Era” episode “Trigger and Impact” is without doubt one of the sequence’ greatest. The Enterprise is caught in a temporal loop with the USS Bozeman, a Starfleet vessel lacking for over 90 years, leading to each ships’ destruction. With time resetting after each destruction, the crew begins to develop a heightened sense of déjà vu whereas Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) detects audio indicators from previous loops. Utilizing his distinctive positronic mind, Information (Brent Spiner) packages a clue into himself in a future loop for the right way to avert the ships from repeating their collision.

With its temporal loop mechanics extra successfully staged than realized, “Cause and Effect” had TV stations flooded with confused calls from viewers. Kicking off issues with an explosion, the episode actually captures the viewers’s consideration from bounce earlier than progressively constructing out its thriller. That sense of repetition that the crew begins to steadily expertise spreads to the viewers, fueling a common unease earlier than an answer is found. A solidly crafted looping narrative, “Trigger and Impact” showcases “TNG” firing on all cylinders.

One of the memorable tales in “Voyager” was the fourth season two-parter “Yr of Hell.” After taking a shortcut by means of hostile territory, Voyager is severely broken by a temporal disruption, making them targets of enemies within the area. The episode chronicles the starship persevering with their journey for the next 12 months, struggling additional damages and heavy casualties alongside the best way. Throughout this grueling trek, the ship encounters a mysterious time-traveling vessel linked to the temporal disruptions.

Early on, “Yr of Hell” was thought-about to last for an entire season of “Star Trek: Voyager” earlier than it was condensed into two episodes. The choice to streamline the story works for the most effective, offering simply sufficient time for the Voyager to endure its disastrous detour earlier than revealing its time-traveling stakes. This additionally helps the conclusion of the story have a robust payoff, with its glad ending a reduction given the harrowing highway to achieve that time. Simply one of many best “Voyager” episodes, “Yr of Hell” encapsulates the determined tone when the present was at its greatest.

“Star Trek: The Animated Sequence” is without doubt one of the most underrated reveals within the franchise or, on the very least, is a forgotten spin-off worth revisiting. Among the many highlights from the two-season sequence is the episode “Yesteryear,” putting Spock (Leonard Nimoy) on an journey into his personal historical past. Whereas present process temporal analysis by means of the Guardian of Without end, Spock’s place within the timeline is inadvertently threatened. This forces Spock to return to Vulcan throughout his personal childhood to make sure that his future will likely be restored and preserved.

“Yesteryear” is certainly one of the best “Star Trek” Spock episodes no matter sequence or period for the franchise. The story offers invaluable perception on Spock’s background, together with the unhappier parts of his upbringing on Vulcan. The episode additionally exemplifies what “TAS” was all about, utilizing the probabilities of animation to ship thought-provoking tales on par with “The Authentic Sequence.” If there’s any single episode of “Star Trek: The Animated Sequence” to look at, “Yesteryear” stands out because the strongest contender.

The “Voyager” episode “Blink of an Eye” would not take care of standard time journey a lot as revolve its total story round time dilation. The Voyager turns into trapped within the magnetic subject of a planet enveloped in a tachyon subject that impacts how time passes on its floor. Whereas the crew develops a method to proceed their journey, time on the planet passes 58 days for each minute on the ship. With the ship seen from the planet’s floor, the indigenous inhabitants tries to contact or destroy the ship to cease its dangerous results to their setting.

“Blink of an Eye” affords a novel tackle “Star Trek” characters inadvertently contaminating native cultures with their presence. The time dilation mechanics present an intriguing instructions for the story, particularly as soon as the Voyager crew realizes the implications of their affect on the planet. The episode additionally incorporates a memorable guest-starring look from Daniel Dae Kim as an astronaut from the planet who endures a go to to the Voyager, unpacking the story’s penalties. A strong sci-fi story with an fascinating idea at its core, “Blink of an Eye” weaves a time-bending story as solely “Star Trek” can.

Not all of “Deep House 9” is doom and gloom ensuing from the tense Dominion War storyline dominating its later seasons. One in every of the best “Deep Space Nine” episodes veers closely into time-traveling comedy, with the fifth season’s “Trials and Tribble-ations.” A celebration of the franchise’s thirtieth anniversary, the episode has the DS9 crew journey again in time to the occasions of the “TOS” story “The Hassle with Tribbles.” Sisko and his crew forestall a time-traveling Arne Darvin (Charlie Brill) from assassinating Captain Kirk and altering historical past.

“Trials and Tribble-ations” lets the “DS9” forged showcase their comedic chops and they don’t disappoint in that regard. The crossover retains all of the comical attraction of its “TOS” supply materials whereas including a recent time journey twist to the story. Seeing the characters attempt to match into this basic period by no means outstays its welcome proper right down to its closing scene. “Trials and Tribble-ations” is a robust reminder that not each time journey story, or “DS9” episode, must be so self-serious on a regular basis.

One other efficient intra-franchise crossover is “These Previous Scientists,” bringing collectively “Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds” and “Star Trek: Decrease Decks.” Whereas investigating an historical portal, Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) are by chance transported again to the twenty third century. Picked up by the Enterprise whereas it is captained by Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Boimler and Mariner are stunned by how the crew seems in comparison with historical past. The 2 characters seek for a method to return to their very own time whereas attempting to not contaminate the timeline and cope with a hostile Orion vessel.

“These Previous Scientists” is a beautiful and hilarious tribute to “Star Trek” fandom delivered to life by two fan-favorite casts. Quaid and Newsome make the transition to live-action with their animated characters seamlessly, with “Decrease Decks'” model of humor becoming into “Unusual New Worlds.” Furthermore, the time journey story bringing each reveals collectively feels natural to the broader “SNW” story being advised in its second season. A spotlight within the “Star Trek” resurgence on Paramount+, “These Previous Scientists” celebrates the franchise because it charts a brand new future.

Arguably probably the most emotionally devastating episodes from “Deep House 9,” the fourth season episode “The Customer” facilities its concentrate on father and son. A subspace accident leaves Sisko drifting by means of time, periodically reuniting along with his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) for temporary intervals. Jake turns into obsessive about discovering a method to rescue his father from his ethereal destiny, even at immense price to his private life. This culminates in a surprising sacrifice from an older Jake (Tony Todd) completely fueled by his deep love for his father.

“The Customer” is so highly effective and has linked with followers on such a profound degree that the “Deep Space Nine” episode changed Tony Todd’s life. After watching the episode, it is simple to see why, with its time-bending twist leaving viewers as shattered as Sisko. The entire story solely works if we consider the lengths Jake will go to avoid wasting his father and each Lofton and Todd ship that high quality in full. An absolute heartbreaker with a novel time-travel hook, “The Customer” stands as the saddest moment in the “Star Trek” franchise.

One of the enigmatic figures in “The Subsequent Era” is Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), who will get a significant position within the third season episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” The episode opens with the Enterprise-D, the sequence’ essential starship, encountering the long-lost Enterprise-C in a mysterious time rift. This adjustments the timeline radically, with solely Guinan conscious that actuality has been altered round her on the Enterprise-D. Working with the previously deceased bridge officer Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), Guinan should persuade the Enterprise-C to return to its personal time and restore historical past.

With rewrites to the script and a good manufacturing schedule, “Yesterday’s Enterprise” was certainly one of the series’ hardest episodes to produce. There’s a lot that is occurring on this episode, from the reappearance of a misplaced starship to the sudden return of Tasha in a darker imaginative and prescient of the twenty fourth century. However the episode balances all these plot traces and parts nicely, whereas presenting among the finest time journey tales within the franchise. A time journey episode with penalties resurfacing later within the sequence, “Yesterday’s Enterprise” demonstrates “The Subsequent Era” at its best possible.

Simply as “The Subsequent Era” started with the all-powerful Q (John de Lancie) testing Picard to see whether or not humanity is worthy of existence, its finale continues this trial. In his newest problem to Picard, Q whisks the starship captain to 3 completely different factors in his life, together with his first day on the Enterprise and his twilight years. Picard should resolve the thriller tying all three temporal factors collectively in an effort to impress Q. The long run timeline entails Picard having to reunite along with his outdated crew, at the same time as they stand divided by circumstances since their time collectively on the Enterprise.

The best “Star Trek” series finale so far, “All Good Issues…” celebrates the present’s historical past whereas peering into its potential future. The episode successfully recreates the aesthetics from the sequence premiere whereas providing fascinating potential futures for its acquainted characters. In having Q function the engine for the story, the finale affords an exquisite parallel to the present’s very first episode. An ideal bookend tying collectively Q’s best moments across the franchise, “All Good Issues..” offers “The Subsequent Era” the sendoff it deserves.

“Star Trek” followers most likely guessed that “The Metropolis on the Fringe of Without end” was going to high this listing, and that is for good purpose. An episode that towers above the remainder of “The Authentic Sequence,” the story clearly establishes the emotional and ethical depths the franchise is able to. The episode has a quickly crazed Physician McCoy (DeForest Kelley) journey again to America within the Nineteen Thirties and by chance change historical past. Kirk and Spock pursue their time-displaced good friend, with Kirk falling in love with native social employee Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) solely to appreciate the long run rests in her grim destiny.

Given its vaunted repute, it ought to go with out saying, however “The Metropolis on the Fringe of Without end” is an essential “Original Series” episode everyone should watch not less than as soon as. In comparison with the campier tales within the sequence, the episode delivers a grounded story with real stakes and palpable emotional fallout. William Shatner was not often in finer type along with his efficiency as a morally conflicted Kirk right here, evident proper right down to its somber ending scene. The story about sacrifices wanted for the higher good, particularly with the space-time continuum at stake, “The Metropolis on the Fringe of Without end” is “Star Trek” at its best possible.