There are many lists with recommended/must-watch episodes. But they usually just include episodes that are considered good or great.

Is there also a list with episodes that are important but not necessarily good? By important I mean episodes that introduce new concepts or new characters (or kill off important characters), or that have lasting repercussions in the overall story of the series or Star Trek as a whole, or are necessary to watch first for a pay-off way later.

For example, TNG's "Skin of Evil" shows the death of a main character but it's hardly a good episode. The same goes for DS9's "Life Support". I wouldn't exactly call ENT's "Storm Front" good either but it's important to cap off the temporal cold war. TNG's "Ménage à Troi" shows Wesley being promoted to Ensign but the rest of the episode is rather mid (except for the Picard meme) so that it wouldn't ever appear on any must-watch list. etc.

From the video description: In 1985, Star Trek's George Takei joined a group of dedicated fans to make a student film deep in the California forest-only for the footage to mysteriously vanish. Nearly 40 years later, Beam Me Up, Sulu unearths this lost film, revealing not just a piece of fan history but a broader story of representation, resilience, and the ongoing fight for inclusion in media and society.

For those who don't know: the Roddenberry Archive aims to preserve Star Trek by digitizing ... well, a lot of things. Currently you can already freeroam certain locations. Doesn't work that well on mobile devices though.

Here's a list of changes that I found so far:

• EXTENDED the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Refit from TMP. The Recreation Deck, Sickbay, Transporter Room, Engineering and Cargo Bay have been added. (wow, just wow!)
• EXTENDED the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Refit from Wrath of Khan. Sickbay, Transporter Room and Engineering have been added.
• EXTENDED the USS Enterprise-NCC-1701 from Strange New Worlds. Engineering has been added.
• EXTENDED the Enterprise NX-01 2151 and 2155. Engineering has been added in both versions.
• EXTENDED the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from 2370. Shuttlebay 2 has been added.
• NEW USS Kelvin NCC-0514 bridge has been added
• NEW USS Stargazer NCC-2893 bridge has been added
• NEW USS Defiant NX-74205 (2373), bridge, crew quarters, transporter bay have been added
• NEW exteriors: Doomsday Machine, Orbital Office Complex from Phase II, Drydock from Phase II, Drydock from TMP, the Whale Probe 🐳, Keldon Class,

Will update this post if I find more changes.

EDIT:

there's moooaaar:

• EXTENDED USS Cerritos NCC-75567 shuttlebay has been added. The bridge has also been extended. You can now enter the Captain's ready room and the briefing room.
• EXTENDED Deep Space Nine: the infirmary has been added. (I'd also like to point out my favorite easter egg: look upwards from the windows on the promenade and you'll see Voyager docked at one of the upper pylons)
• EXTENDED the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from season 1 now has crewmembers! How amazing is that!? (although I'm dissapointed that nobody is wearing a skant!)

Do the turbolifts work for anyone? I can't select a destination. There's a popup with the available decks when I press F in the turbolift, but that popup is unresponsive.

While reading I noticed that #4 and #5 connected, and then it was kinda fun "puzzling" them all together.

For those who don't know: the Roddenberry Archive aims to preserve Star Trek by digitizing ... well, a lot of things. Currently you can already freeroam certain locations. Probably only works on Desktop PCs though.

Not only did they release their short film "Unification" today, commemorating 30 years of Star Trek Generations, (more details here) but they also added a bunch of new stuff to the Archive.

Here's a list of changes that I found so far:

• new locations added:
  • bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from Star Trek: Generations (with fantastic lighting!) You can also go the the observation lounge and to Picard's ready room.
  • sickbay and holodeck of the Enterprise-D (you can even lay down on a biobed! and activate a holodeck program by pressing "F" while looking at the display on the right side of the arch)
  • bridge of the USS Franklin NX-326
  • bridge of Kruge's Bird of Prey. There's also an adjacent (torpedo?) room that you can reach by leaving the bridge through the door at the back.
  • bridge of Klaa's Bird of Prey
  • bridge of Gowron's IKS Bortas
  • bridge of the Romulan Warbird Khazara. There's also a briefing room that you can reach by leaving the bridge to the starboard side.
• other changes:
  • ships that don't have 3D locations yet are not represented by a static image of the starship anymore but it's a 3D model of the ship
  • new ships/stations added: Station K-7, Klingon D7 Class Cruiser
  • make sure to check out the new "Explore" tab in the top right corner. Information and pictures of shuttles, props and planets have been added.

I'll update this post when I find more.

The episode has been posted on the official After Midnight channel:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raq300uiea8 (intro; no guests yet)

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq3cLmKeaL8

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3oRxysCoYs (+ Rebecca Romijn)

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jt_8e4bsdM (+ Rebecca Romijn)

Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970CAaBF0cQ

Part 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YHcWTOryFs

Part 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T60hiZIrhpM

Raise your hand if you knew the answer to the final question. 🙋‍♂️

Cass 🥰

Whoever is in charge of DC's collected editions department must be an omnibus fan.

Just a throwback to one of the best teaser trailers ever. I get goosebumps every time I watch it.

IMO the only Star Trek trailer that comes reasonably close is the teaser trailer for the 2009 movie.

Excerpt:

Formula 1 says it is on track to hit its Net Zero targets by 2030 after the publication of its latest impact report that includes its carbon emissions.

The report currently includes figures from 2022 as F1 needs to await data from teams and other stakeholders from last year, but the first season that was not impacted by COVID-19 showed a 13 percent reduction in F1’s carbon footprint compared to the 2018 baseline. That’s despite the 2022 calendar featuring an extra race compared to prior to the pandemic.

The sport’s Net Zero target is a minimum of 50 percent emissions reduction versus 2018, leaving 37 percent still to be achieved by 2030.

rather than something separated from the main line [...] this will be something published in conjunction with the main line, part of a larger initiative that aims to spotlight DC's entire lineup. But there will not be a reboot or even a relaunch of the main line, that will remain intact and continuity (along with many creative teams) will continue on. 

So this is essentially a long-term Elseworlds or Earth-Whatever within the same shared universe?

For those who don't know the Roddenberry Archive: they're rebuiliding 3D modles of Starfleet bridges and other sets where you can freeroam, and sometimes even interact with consoles etc.

Last week I posted a thread about the bridges of the TMP Klingon Battle Cruiser and the USS Discovery being added. The official blog update is here.

What the blog update doesn't mention is that multiple existing locations have been extended:

• On the Enterprise XCV-330 you can now climb the ladder to another level. (I'm fairly certain this wasn't possible a few weeks ago)

• On all Enterprise NX-01 versions, the 2151 version, 2155 version and the Mirror Universe version, you can now enter the Captain's ready room.

• On Deep Space Nine you can now enter Odo's security office.

• The Disco version of the Enterprise NCC-1701 now has a briefing room that wasn't shown on screen. (leave the Bridge to the starboard side)

That showed up on their Star Trek page.

The selections for DS9 and VOY are pretty good. Even though I wouldn't call all of them "the best", they're all above average episodes.

Meanwhile, the ENT selection of best episodes includes "highlights" like Acquisition, Carbon Creek, Marauders and Carpenter Street. Oh well.