star trek battle theme

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Music for Klingons, part one: Jerry Goldsmith

The track titles on Giacchino’s scores tend to be a little punny, and the newest score is no exception, as one of the tracks from his latest Star Trek score is called ‘The Kronos Wartet’. This is an amusing reference to the four-piece string quartet known as The Kronos Quartet , but it is also a reference to the Klingon home planet Qo’noS , the name of which is apparently spelled “Kronos” in this film.

Before I comment on the sample itself, I’d like to take a step back to look at how the Klingons have been treated musically in previous films, going all the way back to the very first film in the franchise, Star Trek: The Motion Picture , released in 1979.

The Klingons had often antagonized Kirk and company during the original TV series (1966-1969), but in the first film, the Klingons make no contact with our heroes; instead, three Klingon battle cruisers encounter a mysterious entity called V’Ger , and, after firing some torpedoes at it, they are quickly destroyed by it. But even though the Klingons were not the villains of this particular film, Goldsmith made it clear in an interview that he wrote the Klingon music with “bad guys” in mind.

From the liner notes to the three-disc soundtrack album released last year:

Goldsmith provides one of his most exciting pieces of music for “Klingon Battle.” Suggestions of the primary theme for V’Ger swell while crackling stings from the blaster beam accentuate the V’Ger cloud and its attacking energy bolts. But the fiery Klingon material dominates the cue with ferocious energy and avant garde, rhythmic strings. “The Klingon thing was instinctual,” Goldsmith revealed. “I knew that there was a barbaric quality about them, a primitive quality, and they were the aggressors…I did want to get that into the music, and that was the sum of the intellectual rationalization. I guessed they were the bad guys and they were attacking, so I figured we needed a battle cry for them.” Goldsmith’s repeating open-fifth figure for the Klingons revived an idea he had utilized in many scores over his career. With an accompaniment of plucked and col legno strings and angklungs, Goldsmith’s Klingon theme (played first by oboes, English horn, bassoons and tenor saxophone, and later by brass) establishes an aggressive, tribal atmosphere for the warlike characters. Goldsmith’s Starfleet motive pumps busily underneath swirling glissandi and chirping synthesizer effects to characterize the Epsilon Nine communications array before the climactic bursts of Klingon music — the overpowering blasts of the beam and a burst of chaotic material underscoring the “digitization” of the remaining Klingon ship.

Note how the Klingons were perceived at this time as “barbaric”, “primitive”, “tribal” and “warlike”. Consider also that this film marked the first time that the Klingons were depicted as the hairy, ridge-browed creatures that we now know and love; prior to this, the Klingons had been devious schemers, but were basically human to all outward appearances (so much so that one Klingon even went undercover as a human in ‘The Trouble with Tribbles’). So the film’s make-up department pushed the Klingons in a more animalistic direction, and the music followed suit.

Goldsmith did not score another Star Trek movie until William Shatner hired him for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) ten years later — and since one of the film’s main subplots involved a Klingon named Klaa who wants to kill Kirk for fame and glory, Goldsmith was able to use the Klingon theme again in a more action-oriented mode. Here is the music that ushered the Klingons into that film:

And here is how the liner notes to the two-disc soundtrack album released a few years ago describe this track:

Goldsmith’s “turbine” glissando and a blast of the Klingon theme play under the image of a decloaking Klingon bird-of-prey . As Captain Klaa (Todd Bryant) and his first officer Vixis (Spice Williams) discuss using the Pioneer 10 probe from Earth for target practice, bells and various other forms of percussion (including anklungs, and knuckles striking the bottom of a piano) pulse against the Klingon theme on brass.

The Klingon theme pops up a few more times during the action sequences, but one of my favorite uses of it here — because it is so brief and subtle — comes at the 3:44 mark during the track below. For the most part, this track concerns the journey that Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Sybok make towards Sha Ka Ree, the “God planet” — so the music has a sort of mystical-yearning quality — but the Klingon theme comes up very briefly when Klaa’s bird-of-prey shows up on a monitor that goes unnoticed by the Enterprise bridge crew, all of whom are watching Kirk’s journey on the viewscreen:

So, since a Klingon is out to get Kirk in this film, that must mean the Klingons are the “bad guys” again, right? Sort of. But this film was made two years after the premiere of The Next Generation , which took place roughly 80 years after the events of this film and established that the Klingons and the Federation would one day be allies, and indeed that a Klingon would one day serve on the bridge of the Enterprise itself. And so, by the end of this film, Spock persuades a disgraced Klingon general to assert his authority over Klaa, and to use Klaa’s bird-of-prey to save Kirk.

And thus, the Klingon theme appears again, in a very triumphant register (starting at the 0:37 mark in the track below), when the bird-of-prey destroys the “God” alien that has been pursuing Kirk. At this point, Kirk doesn’t think the Klingons have “saved” him, per se ; instead, he thinks the Klingons want him for their own trophy. But once Kirk is beamed aboard the ship, the Klingon general forces Klaa to apologize to Kirk, and, as the liner notes put it, “a martial take on the Klingon theme . . . yields to a lyrical, quasi-Americana variation” (starting at the 1:36 mark):

So the Klingon theme that was meant to sound so “barbaric” and “primitive” when it signified “bad guys” now takes on a “quasi-Americana” tone when the Klingons turn out to be on the side of the good guys. No doubt there’s a thesis in there, regarding the cultural stereotypes that music can sometimes perpetuate.

Several years would pass before Goldsmith scored his next Star Trek movie, but when he did, the old generation had given way to the next generation, and the Klingons — as personified by Worf — were now definitely on the side of the good guys.

And so, in Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Goldsmith brought out the Klingon theme several times as Worf helps Captain Picard and others to battle the Borg, beginning with the track below, which uses the Klingon motif when we cut to the inside of the Defiant and find Worf in the captain’s chair (starting at the 0:44 mark):

The Klingon theme makes its final, climactic appearance when Picard and a few of his crew defeat some Borg who are trying to plant some communications equipment on the Enterprise ’s deflector dish; when the dish is separated from the ship, it drifts into space, with some Borg still attached, and Worf blasts it with his rifle and a triumphant “Assimilate this !” (starting at the 6:02 mark in the track below):

So the music still signifies the “aggression” that the Klingons are capable of, but now, the aggression is no longer a sign of their “bad guy” status; instead, it is something that the viewer is fully encouraged to identify with, certainly in contrast to the eerily passive and methodical aggression of the mechanized Borg.

Goldsmith went on to score the next two films — Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) — as well, and he used the Klingon theme to accompany one of Worf’s kick-ass moments on at least one occasion that I can remember, in Insurrection . But he didn’t really do anything new with it on a musical level; he just wove it into an action sequence the way he did in First Contact .

Still, it is fascinating to chart the evolution of Goldsmith’s Klingon theme — and what it represents — over the two decades or so that he scored these films. As the Klingons were increasingly humanized within the Star Trek franchise, the music that once relied on exotic instruments and avant-garde otherness to signify their “bad guy” status eventually came to be nothing more than a sort of ethnic marker that identified the Klingons as just one culture among many: this music is what they sound like, and it can signify Klingon heroism just as easily as it can signify Klingon villainy.

Goldsmith wasn’t the only composer to create music for the Klingons, of course. Two other significant contributors come to mind: James Horner, who scored Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), and Cliff Eidelman, who scored Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). But I’ll say more about them in a later post.

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The Warrior's Anthem

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" The Warrior's Anthem " was a traditional piece of music sung by Klingon warriors on their way into battle. The song was typically initiated by someone rapping their hands on an available surface to the rhythm of the song, shortly followed up by them or another Klingon beginning to sing with others nearby being encouraged to join in.

The crew of the IKS Rotarran sang the song on a mission to locate the IKS B'Moth in 2373 . ( DS9 : " Soldiers of the Empire ")

• Listen to "The Warrior's Anthem"  file info
• 1 Klingon lyrics
• 2.1 Original Lyrics
• 2.2 Literal translation
• 3.1 Background information
• 3.2 Apocrypha
• 3.3 External link

Klingon lyrics [ ]

English translation [ ].

English language

Original Lyrics [ ]

Literal translation [ ], appendices [ ], background information [ ].

The "Warrior's Anthem" was originally created for the Star Trek: Klingon CD-ROM computer game . The English version was originally written by Hilary Bader and translated to Klingon by Marc Okrand , and the music was written by Keith Halper .

Apocrypha [ ]

The "Warrior's Anthem" is sung by the character K'Valk in the Star Trek Online mission " The Doomsday Device ", and is referenced in the TNG novel Diplomatic Implausibility .

External link [ ]

• Warrior's Anthem at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

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Published Jun 21, 2023

10 Favorite Star Trek Musical Pieces

For World Music Day, let's look at how music played an intrinsic part of Star Trek's enduring legacy.

StarTrek.com / Rob DeHart

From the first notes of Alexander Courage’s theme for The Original Series up through Michael Giacchino’s soaring scores for the most recent films, and everything in between, music has been an intrinsic part of Star Trek’ s enduring legacy.

Music plays a big part in helping me with my writing. Classical, film scores, and pretty much anything else without actual lyrics, is a candidate for helping me “get in the zone” as I push words. When it comes to writing Star Trek , you might guess that I listen to a lot of music from the different episodes or films, and you’d be right. To be honest, though, it isn’t only a tool for working. I also just simply enjoy it as a fan. I own the scores for all of the feature films, as well as the complete soundtrack collection from The Original Series and a smattering of selections from each of the other television series. I even have a suite of music from The Animated Series . Hey, it’s for work, people.

"The Way to Eden"

StarTrek.com

Naturally, I have my favorite pieces and cues. Doesn’t everybody? I could write for days about the music of Star Trek and how it inspires my writing, or how it’s just something I enjoy listening to during long drives. Given my “Ten for Ward” format, I’d only be scratching the surface so far as compiling a list of music from any of the series or films, so I’m hoping folks will chime in with their own favorites.

Still, I’m going to be cheating a bit here and there, rather than just trying to limit my selections to ten individual pieces of music. This isn’t intended to be a definitive or “best of” list, and I’m not citing each television series’ standard opening or closing music, as those are easy picks, but otherwise? Here’s a list to get the discussion started.

“The Doomsday Machine,"  Star Trek

"The Doomsday Machine"

To tell you the truth, I could fill up several lists just with music from The Original Series before I even thought about moving on to anything else. I forced myself to pick one example, and I think it’s a doozy. How many films of the era wish they could’ve had a musical arrangement as compelling as the one created by composer Sol Kaplan for this fan-favorite episode?

It’s space opera at its finest as Kaplan punctuates the tragedy of Commodore Matt Decker and the torment inflicted upon him by the mammoth automaton that has destroyed his ship, the U.S.S. Constellation . Likewise, the cues servicing the battle between the machine and the Enterprise are first-rate, and the entire score is a high water mark for a series where music was already one of its defining strengths.

“Stealing the Enterprise, ”  Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

James Horner had already hit it out of the park with his score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , and he comports himself well with this follow-up. However, the original release of the third film ’s soundtrack was something of a disservice to him, as it omitted many of the pieces that set this movie’s music apart from the previous film.

The 2010 “Complete Score” release corrects that oversight, even though my favorite cue appeared on the original vinyl album. While borrowing and reworking some elements from his Star Trek II music, Horner still offers an exhilarating piece that highlights the hijacking of the Enterprise from space dock by Admiral Kirk and his command crew.

“Life Is A Dream (End Credits),”  Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

It’s impossible to overstate the importance and lasting appeal of Jerry Goldsmith’s musical contributions to Star Trek . His score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture holds a permanent spot on my personal “Top 10 Film Scores Ever” list.

However, his end theme for the fifth movie is my favorite variation of the end credits theme he created for the first film. There’s a little more pomp and flourish in the now-familiar notes, and Goldsmith does a masterful job weaving other themes from the film, including a new take on his familiar “Klingon” music, as well as Alexander Courage’s iconic “ Star Trek fanfare.”

“Borg Engaged” and “Captain Borg,”  Star Trek: The Next Generation

"The Best of Both Worlds, Part I"

Star Trek: The Next Generation 's third season ending cliffhanger, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I," deserved its own score worthy of the silver screen, and Ron Jones delivers in fine fashion for this episode as well as the next season’s “Part II.”

The ominous image of the massive Borg cube on the Enterprise ’s viewscreen and — later — the shock of seeing Jean-Luc Picard assimilated by the Borg Collective is rammed home by Jones’ haunting themes, which are just two highlights from a superb score written for one of The Next Generation ’s most memorable episodes.

“Sign Off,”  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Kirk bids farewell to Captain Sulu and the Excelsior , before the entire Original Series cast says goodbye to us after 25 years of bold adventures in the final frontier. This moving piece by composer Cliff Eidelman, accompanying Captain Kirk’s final log entry along with William Shatner and the rest of the cast affixing their signatures to the end of the film, perfectly underscores the melancholy felt by so many longtime fans as we realized that “our” Star Trek had finally come to a close.

“Overture,”  Star Trek Generations

Star Trek Generations

Despite its name, this is actually the end credits theme for the first film to feature the cast of The Next Generation . The stirring theme incorporates music from other cues that Dennis McCarthy crafted to give weight to scenes set in the Nexus as well as defining the courage of our heroes, including Captain Kirk’s valiant acts at both ends of the film. Capping off the whole thing is an emotive rendition of the classic “Star Trek fanfare” that acts as a true passing of the baton from one generation to the next.

“Flight of the Phoenix ,” Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact

The score for Captain Picard and the Enterprise -E’s second film outing is an underrated effort by Jerry Goldsmith, who once again succeeds at combining familiar themes with new pieces that give each Star Trek film its own musical identity.

For this piece, the legendary composer’s son, Joel Goldsmith, brings vitality, hope, and triumph to what in one respect is the “birth” of the Star Trek universe to come as Zefram Cochrane (with the help of Riker and La Forge) pilots the fragile Phoenix spacecraft on humanity’s first warp speed flight.

“Bride of Chaotica,”  Star Trek: Voyager

"Bride of Chaotica!"

David Bell’s unrestrained musical homage to Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers is an utter treat on all counts. Though the episode also includes cues more consistent with Voyager ’s usual lower-key offerings, the “Captain Proton” pieces are delightfully loud and bombastic, in keeping with the 1930s science fiction movie serials to which they’re paying loving tribute.

“In A Mirror, Darkly,”  Star Trek: Enterprise

"In A Mirror, Darkly, Part I"

What begins as a beautiful callback to Jerry Goldsmith’s themes from Star Trek VIII: First Contact takes on a sinister twist as Dennis McCarthy plunges us headlong into the cruelty of the “Mirror Universe.” The score for this landmark two-part episode includes a new theme to accompany an alternate take on the series’ opening credits sequence, preserving the effect of the entire storyline taking place in the parallel universe with no connection to our own. McCarthy goes all-out as he accentuates all of the backstabbing and scheming weaving around the story’s action sequences, including a foreboding final cue as Hoshi Sato declares herself “Empress.”

“Enterprising Young Men,”  Star Trek  (2009)

Star Trek (2009)

While fans debate the merits of the most recent Star Trek movies, few take issue with the effort composer Michael Giacchino channeled into his musical scores . Nowhere is that more evident than this signature piece from the first film, which encapsulates in rousing fashion the energy of these “new” Star Trek voyages as well as the journey of this modern, bold incarnation of our beloved heroes.

Okay, that’s my 10, and that was playing fast and loose with my own rules. Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite piece of Star Trek music? Let us know on Social!

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This article was originally published on May 29, 2015.

Dayton Ward (he/him) is a New York Times bestselling author or co-author of numerous novels and short stories including a whole bunch of stuff set in the Star Trek universe, and often collaborating with friend and co-writer Kevin Dilmore. As he’s still a big ol' geek at heart, Dayton is known to wax nostalgic about all manner of Star Trek topics over on his own blog, The Fog of Ward .

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Beginning with the now-famous monologue by William Shatner, “Space: the final frontier”, the opening notes of Star Trek’s theme song have become ingrained in the minds of fans around the world.

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Deja Vu: Comparing the Klingon theme in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: The Motion Picture has had a bad reputation for years, and some of it is rightfully deserved. The pacing is way off (compared to the later films), the acting is…less than ideal at some points, and the mysterious V’Ger is so large as to border on the absurd (in the original version, the size was given as being larger than our own solar system (80 AUs, it was later dubbed over to 8, which is still very massive).

But one component of the film that I will defend to the death is Jerry Goldsmith’s score. Goldsmith introduced musical themes that have remained with the series (at least in the prime universe) ever since. One such theme is the “Klingon theme” that is heard at the beginning of the film when three Klingon ships move in to attack the mysterious cloud passing through their territory. (The theme begins around 0:09 seconds, listen for the brass)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture “Klingon Battle”

This theme set the tone for the Klingons as they would now appear in the Star Trek film universe (this is also the first time we see “proper” Klingons with the distinctive ridges on their foreheads). Brass, horns and trumpets in particular, have long been associated with war and other martial endeavors (as that is where those instruments evolved) and by utilizing them, Goldsmith is reminding the listener that Klingons are a martial race, they always attack first, ask questions later.

Fast forward almost twenty years to 1996 and the events of Star Trek: First Contact . The Federation’s ultimate nemesis, the Borg, are making another attempt to conquer and assimilate the human race, and all resources are being pulled together to stop this menace. In the midst of the battle, we come across the Defiant (the starship from Deep Space 9) commanded by everyone’s favorite Klingon, Worf (Michael Dorn joined Deep Space 9 after Next Generation went off the air). No sooner does Worf pop up, and the music heard is definitely the same Klingon theme played in The Motion Picture back in 1979 (considerably sped up, but the same theme regardless). The theme begins around 2:25.

Star Trek: First Contact “Klingon Theme”

I will always love how composers reuse musical themes from one film to the next (I also can’t believe it took me as many years as it did to catch this particular example).

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6 thoughts on “ Deja Vu: Comparing the Klingon theme in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: First Contact ”

I know it’s painful, but you’re going to have to re-watch (or at least listen to) movie 5 (Final Frontier, 1989). JG’s 1979 Klingon theme was all over that movie (for the “Yuppie Klingons’ ” scenes), albeit with extra goose-honk brass effects.

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lol, i admit I had completely pushed that film from my mind, thank you for reminding me, I’ll re-edit this weekend to include it, because right now I’ve completely forgotten which scenes include it 🙂

You do realize that Goldsmith did all three films referenced? TMP, TFF, & FC.

yes I do, at the time I wrote this piece I was just fascinated by the concept of musical ideas reappearing in different films 🙂

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Awesome Music / Star Trek: The TV Series

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• The tense music in the closing moments of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Doomsday Machine" is kickass, as is the swirling arrangement of the main theme used at the beginning of the teaser.
• Gerald Fried's brooding cello theme first heard in "Amok Time" (also played on electric guitar) does as much as anything else in defining the character of Spock. The iconic "Kirk Fight Music" (real title "Ancient Battle") was composed for the same episode and is probably the second most famous music cue for the series, after the main theme itself, having popped up in numerous other media.
• Any episode scored by George Duning (e.g. "The Empath"). In fact, it can be argued that what salvages the generally weak third season is the lush, mystical music contributed both by Duning and primary composer Fred Steiner (whose eerie score for "Spock's Brain" is so much better than the episode itself ).
• The two contributions by Sol Kaplan (the sinister "The Enemy Within" and the thrilling "The Doomsday Machine") stand as some of the finest music ever composed for Star Trek . Both scores were constantly reused in later episodes, such was their potency and effectiveness.
• The triumphant reprise of the TNG theme that plays when Starfleet warps in to stop the Romulan assault on Coppelius. It sets the stage perfectly for the shot that follows: Captain William T. Riker in the center seat of the USS Zheng He , commanding the fleet and ready to kick some treacherous Tal Shiar ass.

Alternative Title(s): Star Trek The Series

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Welcome to Netrek

This is the official home page. Netrek is a multi-player battle simulation with a Star Trek theme. As a player, you captain starships to engage enemy vessels, bomb armies and invade planets in order to expand your team's space empire. The ultimate goal is to genocide the enemy race, but the carnage of battles along the way is ruthlessly fast paced and a lot of fun! It's a team-oriented game with realtime dogfighting but involving a lot of ongoing strategy. It costs no money to play, there are no ads, and it's open source.

Then, read Netrek in one paragraph or the full Newbie Guide and start playing.

New utility: netrek game on, everything else, communicate, clue guides. further reading, leagues and clue games, the first internet team game.

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10 Best Star Trek Battles, Ranked According to IMDB

Most people think Star Trek is just a silly sci-fi show, but those who know understand that the franchise isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty. The battles across the many TV shows have been bloody, violent, and often left a mark that went even beyond the series in which they took place and there’s a reason Star Trek battles pack such a mighty punch.

In this tier list, we evaluated the battles of each Star Trek show using IMDb ratings. The higher the rating, the lower the episode’s place on the list. With that being said, let’s get into the top 10 best Star Trek battles.

The 10 Best Star Trek Battles, Ranked

Note: this list doesn’t reflect the highly particular tastes of all Trekkies. I doubt anything could really capture anything as wide and varied. But this list does reflect the opinions of those who got so excited about these episodes that they ran to IMDb to share them.

10. “Such Sweet Sorrow Part II” (8.2)

While Discovery has a reputation for presenting the highest stakes of the Star Trek shows, sometimes this comes in handy. Control was the threat assessment system created by the spy organization Section 31 to prevent war. Ironically, the system found itself at the center of it when its sentience became a problem for the entire galaxy. In season 2, episode 14, “Such Sweet Sorrow Part II”, Starfleet found itself going toe-to-toe with Control in an Age of Ultron -style battle.

In a dazzling show of graphics, command ships from all over the galaxy gather to take on their ally-turned-foe. Meanwhile, Officer Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her adopted brother Spock (Ethan Peck) quickly realize she has to sacrifice her life by becoming the Red Angel who leads the USS Discovery to safety. The episode kept us on the edge of our seats and managed to score an 8.2 rating on IMDb.

9. “Zero Hour” (8.5)

When Earth finds itself the next target of a planet-destroying alien weapon, it’s up to Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) and the crew of Star Trek: Enterprise to save the day. It doesn’t hurt that the captain gets one of those awesome scenes in which he runs off in slow motion with bombs exploding behind him. It’s also one of the first episodes where Andorians are allowed to show up to save the day for once.

Enterprise isn’t the most popular Star Trek series. In fact, most fans of the franchise would argue that the series isn’t even all that good. Even its introduction of important events like First Contact between Humans and Vulcans hasn’t been enough to gain the favor of even the most avid Trekkie. According to the episode’s 8.5 IMDb rating, however, season 3, episode 24, “Zero Hour” has one of the best battle sequences.

8. “The Doomsday Machine” (8.7)

Star Trek: The Original Series usually took a more philosophical approach to its many dilemmas. Can sentient robots replace humans? Does Starfleet represent scientific exploration or militaristic domination? How can a booger monster who lives in a cave be the real villain when she is just protecting her children? Sometimes, though, it dropped us into the middle of chaos and disaster.

Season 2, episode 6, “The Doomsday Machine” did exactly that by having the crew of the Enterprise fight its first space whale. Contact with Commodore Decker (William Windom) quickly goes awry when he reveals himself to be driven mad with grief over the loss of his crew. The battle graphics are dated, but the close calls and Captain Kirk’s (William Shatner) self-sacrificing antics make the episode worth watching. No wonder it has an 8.7 rating on IMDb.

7. “Scorpion Part II” (8.8)

When Star Trek: Voyager fans first meet Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), she’s little more than a brainwashed drone in a tyrannical machine. She’s also the best chance Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Chief Security Officer Tuvok (Tim Russ) have of surviving their contact with the Borg without being assimilated. After Janeway strikes with the Borg for survival in season 4, episode 1, “Scorpion Part II”, she must rely on her wits to get her and the crew out of harm’s way.

The final battle ends up being more of an existential one between First Officer Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and the yet unnamed Seven of Nine. However, a bunch of superpowered Borg cubes bearing down on the Voyager leaves the crew thinking fast and smart. It’s this mounting tension that earns the season 4 premiere an 8.8 rating on IMDb.

6. “Balance of Terror” (8.8)

Star Trek: The Original Series had a surprising knack for hitting on serious issues and season 1, episode 8, “Balance of Terror” is a prime example. The episode begins with two crew members getting married and ends with one of them being tragically killed during a surprise battle with an enemy ship. Captain Kirk (Shatner) finds himself locked in a battle of wills with the Romulan Commander (Mark Lenard). While the Enterprise crew eventually wins, their morals are tested and their casualties are high.

It leaves them wondering along with viewers: Was it worth it? At the same time, Captain Kirk ends up having to check one of the crew members for giving Spock (Leonard Nimoy) the stink eye after finding out Vulcans are biologically related to Romulans. The episode earns an 8.8 rating on IMDb, and rightly so for striking a balance (get it?) between hard-hitting action and deep discussions.

Related : The Best Star Trek TV Shows, Ranked

5. “Scorpion” (8.9)

Before Captain Janeway (Mulgrew) hopped into the fire, Star Trek: Voyager dropped her into the frying pan to fight something much worse. The Borg calls this mysterious creature Species 8472 and describes it as the “apex of biological evolution”. That’s high praise for a species of beings who’ve deemed it their job to cleanse the galaxy of all they see as inferior (which is pretty much everything).

It’s also horrifying to see the Borg cubes in season 3, episode 26, “Scorpion” being punked by what looks like a knock-off version of the mother creature from Aliens . It attacks several crew members aboard the USS Voyager, including Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), before Captain Janeway strikes a deal with the Borg to subdue it. The battle between Starfleet officers and Species 8472 leaves Kim fighting for his life, but it also earns the episode an 8.9 IMDb rating.

4. “What You Leave Behind” (8.9)

The finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is not without its trials and tribble-lations (see what I did there!). Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) is in the throes of madness as she releases the evil Pah-Wraith in the hopes of becoming all-powerful. Starfleet leaves Deep Space Nine for its final confrontation with the Dominion forces on Cardassia. Season 7, episodes 25 & 26, “What You Leave Behind” is full of final moments that keep viewers holding their breath in anticipation.

The series finale ends with the Dominion forces waving the white flag in the final battle. Turns out, all that’s needed to beat evil Changelings, lizard soldiers, and Jeffrey Combs while earning an 8.9 rating on IMDb is the unexpected partnership between the United Federation of Planets and their long-standing enemies the Klingons. Well, that and an even more shocking allegiance between Bajoran and Cardassian forces.

3. “Sacrifice of Angels” (9)

However, things must always get worse in any given Star Trek series before they can get better and Deep Space Nine keeps to tradition in season 6, episode 6, “Sacrifice of Angels”. Before the Cardassians fully understood how living under Dominion rule would impact their society, they literally stood shoulder to shoulder with the Changelings and their allies while facing off against Starfleet.

So, Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) devised a plan using the USS Defiant to make the Cardassians break formation. Their prime mission? Stopping the Dominion from destroying the wormhole that the Bajorans call the home of the Prophets whom they’ve worshipped for centuries. The episode has a 9 rating on IMDb, but it’s gone down in history as the battle that turned the tide in the Dominion War.

2. “Yesterday’s Enterprise” (9.2)

The most Star Trek trope of all is time travel. Whether members of the crew are going forward or backward in time, it’s always a wild time for the fans watching them encounter all manner of hijinks. Unfortunately, though, the time-temporal rift experienced by Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and crew in season 3, episode 15, “Yesterday’s Enterprise” of The Next Generation wasn’t anything to laugh about.

Chief Security Officer Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) makes a shocking return in place of Worf (Michael Dorn) and it’s not the only drastic change. The crew faces a complete overhaul of its members after the ship is thrust 20 years into the future. Worse, they arrive amid a decades-long battle with the Klingons. Talk about bad timing. The action-packed fight sequences and “what if” exploration of the timeline easily earn this episode a 9.2 rating on IMDb.

1. “The Best of Both Worlds Part II” (9.2)

When the crew members go down, it’s sad but expected. When the leader goes down, however, it feels like the end of the world. Captain Picard (Stewart) earned a reputation in Star Trek: The Next Generation as being a no-nonsense commander always looking to negotiate but ever willing to fight. Then in season 4, episode 1, “The Best of Both Worlds Part II” he found himself fully assimilated by the Borg.

If there was ever a worst-case scenario, that was it. Captain Picard eventually found his way back home. But the damage was done. The Battle of Wolf 359 claimed the lives of many Starfleet officers — including Jennifer Sisko (Felecia M. Bell), the mother of Jake (Cirroc Lofton), and the wife of Benjamin (Brooks). It was the tensest episode with perhaps the most at stake and that’s why it takes the cake with an IMDb rating of 9.2.

Catch up with all things Star Trek on Paramount Plus.

Screen Rant

Star wars: the bad batch remixes the clone theme as a thrilling hint of what's to come.

The end credits of Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, episode 14 provide a remix of the classic clone theme, offering hints at what is to come.

• The remixed clone theme in The Bad Batch hints at a thrilling culmination of the story, sparking excitement among fans.
• The treatment of clones as second-class citizens sets the stage for a possible clone uprising against the Empire.
• Theories suggest the clone uprising may be explored in another animated Star Wars spin-off, led by Rex and Echo.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, episode 14 features a remix of the classic clone theme, hinting at a thrilling culmination of the story. Initially, the Bad Batch was introduced in The Clone Wars season 7. As an extension of Star Wars: The Clone Wars' timelin e, The Bad Batch became an essential spin-off of the show. This was solidified by the inclusion of Echo as a Bad Batch member , with the clone theme from The Clone Wars being heard in The Bad Batch season 3, episode 14 only furthering this.

As pointed out by Twitter/X user, maditano , The Bad Batch season 3, episode 14's credits make a notable change. Usually, The Bad Batch 's credits are accompanied by the main theme for the show. However, in season 3, episode 14, an interesting remix of the clone theme from The Clone Wars can be heard. This implies a thrilling future for the show, as Star Wars: The Bad Batch comes to an end.

The Bad Batch Season 3's Ending Was Spoiled 5 Years Ago... In Rise Of Skywalker

The clone theme is surely hinting at a clone uprising, the clone theme cannot be a mere coincidence in the bad batch..

A commonly held theory since Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 began is that the Empire would eventually face a clone uprising. Clones have been shown as second-class citizens since the beginning of The Bad Batch , having their rights revoked as soon as the war they were created for ended. This culminated in the Stormtrooper program being passed by Emperor Palpatine, consigning the clones to become tools for Hemlock as he experiments on Star Wars' Project Necromancer .

This treatment of the clones has led many to believe they will eventually fight back against the Empire. These theories have only grown stronger in The Bad Batch season 3 due to the involvement of Rex and Clone Force 99's dedication to breaking the imprisoned clones out of Mount Tantiss. While Star Wars' timeline proves a clone uprising will likely result in Imperial victory, many have wished to see the theorized storyline play out, something that the remixed clone theme in The Bad Batch season 3, episode 14 could confirm is soon at hand.

Will The Clone Uprising Happen In The Finale... Or In Another Show?

This has led to another theory that the clone uprising will be another show...

With The Bad Batch season 3, episode 15 being the final episode of the show, the question of when the clone uprising could occur remains. It could be the case that the finale of the show depicts the clone uprising , though it is hard to imagine this being explored fully with The Bad Batch season 3's other storylines still needing closure. Omega's imprisonment, the other Force-sensitive children, Hemlock's true plans, and the Batch's escape from Tantiss all need to be explored before the show ends, leaving little time for a proper clone uprising to receive the attention it deserves.

This has led to another theory that the clone uprising will be another show. Rex and Echo have been absent for much of The Bad Batch season 3, leading to speculation that their fight could serve as the basis for another animated Star Wars spin-off. As an upcoming Star Wars TV show , the story of a true clone uprising led by Echo and Rex has a lot of potential. This would allow Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3's finale to properly conclude the plot threads of the show, while setting the stage for a bigger story to come.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

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Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an action-adventure animated series set after the events of The Clone Wars, following Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. the Bad Batch.) Finding themselves immune to the brainwashing effects of Order 66, the Bad Batch become mercenaries for hire while outrunning the empire, now seeing them as fugitives of the law.

Source: Maditano