11 Star Trek Episodes to Watch During the Holidays

Happy Trekmas to all who celebrate! While Star Trek isn’t known for its overt recognition of Earth holidays like Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, certain episodes truly epitomize the spirit of the holiday season, embracing themes like forgiveness, acceptance, and community.

So, in honor of the holidays, I’ve compiled a list of 11 Star Trek episodes to watch this month (and beyond). Live long and prosper, friends. Maybe even with a glass of Klingon bloodwine if the store’s out of eggnog.

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Star Trek: Voyager, “Mortal Coil” (Season 4 Episode 12)

Is it truly the holidays if one doesn’t question their religious beliefs, their purpose, and the overall meaning of life? While it’s not a particularly festive episode, Star Trek: Voyager’s “Mortal Coil” has the above in spades. In it, Neelix dies during a survey mission. After the Doctor revives him, Neelix hurtles headfirst into an existential crisis.

Thankfully, Ensign Samantha Wildman pulls him from the brink, preventing him from transporting himself into a protomatter nebula. It takes simply tucking in a child at bedtime for Neelix to realize he does have a purpose.

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Star Trek: The Original Series, “Dagger of the Mind” (Season 1 Episode 9)

Okay, this one is a bit of a stretch, so walk with me here. Star Trek: The Original Series’ “Dagger of the Mind” marks the first time the franchise mentions Christmas, which might seem strange given how far into the future said franchise takes place. In fact, the events of the episode occur after a Christmas party in the science labs.

While unorthodox and deadly mind experiments in a maximum-security penal colony don’t scream “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas,” the title is a reference to “Macbeth,” which inexplicably gives it an old-school holiday feel. Maybe Spock can use the Vulcan mind meld to fill your brain with holiday cheer…

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Star Trek: The Original Series, “Bread and Circuses” (Season 2 Episode 25)

Fun fact: “Bread and circuses” is a phrase that essentially means to keep the masses sated with entertainment and food as a ploy to prevent them from being politically active. Anyway, The Original Series’ “Bread and Circuses” sees Kirk, Spock, and McCoy trapped on a Roman Empire-esque planet with 20th-century tech. They must fight for their lives in a gladiator-style gameshow for the entertainment of the public.

What’s more holiday-like than watching TV? I’d argue that’s the point of this list. That’s certainly how I celebrate the holidays – by indulging in entertainment that puts me in the holiday spirit.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Tapestry” (Season 6 Episode 15)

Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Tapestry” might be the closest entry to something Christmas-themed on this list. Inspired by “A Christmas Carol,” the outing sees Picard die during an away mission. He meets Q in the afterlife, who offers the captain an opportunity to change the outcome of a moment from his past and prevent mistakes made in his youth. It’s giving Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past. The episode was even initially titled “A Q Carol.”

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Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Devil’s Due” (Season 4 Episode 13)

The devil is in the details. In The Next Generation’s “Devil’s Due,” the Enterprise crew meets Ardra, a mythological entity who, for all intents and purposes, is the planet Ventax II’s version of the devil. Of course, Christianity dominates Christmas, incorporating religious figures like God, Satan, Jesus, etc., into the fold.

However, Ardra turns out to be a fraud, and Picard and his crew reveal her as such, leading to her arrest. It’s a Christmas miracle!

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Star Trek: Discovery, “New Eden” (Season 2 Episode 2)

The Red Angel arc in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 is one of my favorites in the series. And nothing feels more Christmas-esque than the reverence of angels. In “New Eden,” Burnham, Pike, and Owosekun travel to a pre-warp planet. There, they take up shelter in a church, where the signal of the Red Angel originated. This key intel is courtesy of the intricate logs kept by the MIA Spock.

Perhaps it’s because said pre-warp planet feels the closest to where we are technologically, but “New Eden” definitely emits holiday vibes. You got a church with religious iconography and an “angel,” too.

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Star Trek: Enterprise, “Carbon Creek” (Season 2 Episode 2)

Could humans and Vulcans have made first contact earlier than documented? In Star Trek: Enterprise’s “Carbon Creek,” T’Pol regales Archer and Tucker with the tale of how a trio of Vulcans crash-landed on Earth in 1957, shortly following the launch of Sputnik. Her great-grandmother was among them. The Vulcans established a home for themselves in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. (Fun fact: Star Trek: Lower Decks’ “Fully Dilated” pays homage to this episodic premise.)

While it’s not blatantly holiday-themed, “Carbon Creek” digs deep into the theme of acceptance and finding community. If that’s not what the holidays embody, I don’t know what they’re for.

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Star Trek: Voyager, “Death Wish” (Season 2 Episode 18)

The Voyager becomes a Christmas tree ornament courtesy of Quinn, a member of the Q Continuum, in a bid to hide from the titular Q. Sure, the plot of Voyager’s “Death Wish” isn’t inherently holiday-esque, but it’s still an episode worth watching, if for the ornament scene alone.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Starship Mine” (Season 6 Episode 18)

If you’ve been waiting for Star Trek to honor the bona fide Christmas film that is Die Hard, look no further than The Next Generation’s “Starship Mine.” It paints Picard as the John McClane of the franchise, wherein he alone must contend with a group of thieves posing as a work crew while the Enterprise undergoes repairs.

In the immortal words of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Charles Boyle, “Yippie kayak, other buckets.”

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Once More Unto the Breach” (Season 7 Episode 7)

A vicious, war-hungry alien race perfectly encapsulates the holiday spirit! Sure, you might wonder why Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “Once More Unto the Breach” is on this list. However, General Martok learns the importance of forgiveness as he lets bygones be bygones with an aging Klingon warrior, Kor, allowing the latter to go out in a blaze of glory and honor. Forgiveness is pretty damn Christmas-like if you ask me.

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Star Trek: Voyager, “11:59” (Season 5 Episode 22)

I love a good flashback episode. Voyager’s “11:59” features an ancestor of Janeway, Shannon O’Donnell, who lived in a fictional version of Earth. The story takes place around New Year’s Eve 2000, culminating at 11:59 pm on December 31. Janeway revered Shannon as a childhood hero, believing she was part of NASA’s Mars mission. However, the truth proves to be a disappointment.

That said, Janeway learns not to derive her self-worth through the lens of her ancestor’s accomplishments (or lack thereof).

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Which Star Trek episodes are in your holiday watch rotation? Join the conversation with other Star Trek fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!