Shivers down your spine, lingering long afterwards.
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I've always found "THERE..ARE...FOUR...LIGHTS" to be very chilling, even more so when at the very end he admits that they had broken him.
Yes, that was indeed a very powerful moment.
Would have broken him, if they had more time. And yet, it was the minutes he was begging for just to get him to capitulate - "Tell me- how many lights you see? This is your last chance, the guard coming..."
I'm not sure if Picard's admittance was as chilling to be on this list. Because we saw it through all the way, so it wasn't or shouldn't be surprising. If anything, Picard freaking out after drawing a smile face in the smoke plume of the Enterprise's warp core breach in Timescape, to me was quite chilling.
@@HeadlessChickenTO That's one of the few moments I really vividly remember watching for the first time as a kid. There was something primal about the freakout he has afterwards that really got to me.
I'd say the torture was the truly chilling thing. And it's debatable if he actually broke. He was on the cusp, no doubt. But he clawed back with everything he had to deliver those four words upon his being released from the torment. Yes, it was brutal. But it was a triumph. It was his victory cry.
Jean Luc clutching his Resican flute at the very end of Inner Light was and still is one of the most soul wrenching moments in all of Trek for me.
It's such a sad moment. The entire life that he lived there was gone and the only thing he had left to remember it was that flute. The crushing feeling that must have left him with.
I remember how impactful that ending was for me, I really felt it. I’ve heard critics panned it, I can’t imagine why, it was so original and one of my favorites
It also makes it weird that so many times after that episode they bring up that Picard doesn’t know what it’s like to have a family/children
Best TNG episode (in my opinion)
I found myself profoundly happy after that episode, knowing that Sir Patrick does actually have a family. Not only that, but that his son played his son in "Inner Light". The Resican Flute is my alarm clock sound.
'What we got back, didn't live long, fortunately...' that's a moment which always gives me chills. We knew a transporter mishap could be deadly, we just didn't know it could be as terrible as that!
And less than five minutes later they laugh at how Doctor McCoy still doesn't like using the transporter.
If you ever get the chance, read the novelization's take on that scene. It goes into quite a bit more detail about what's happening.
@@Freddles279 Oh please no. The film account was bad enough, for me.
@@HarvestMoonHowl in brief during transport their organs were outside their body, part of me would like seeing that year be horrified vy it. In the movie that scream was terrifying
@@vintvarner16 I love the original Star Trek movies, especially the first three. But to say that some scenes were visceral would be a slight understatement.
Nimoy’s trembling delivery of “She does not know”, showing that he was experiencing her pain with her, always gets me.
I always figured he was so shaken because he realized the gravity of his mistake at that moment. he took it upon himself to forcibly attack a fellow officer on assumptions that proved to be false and he did it on the bridge in full view of his Captain and crew and not one person thought to stop him. Even if she was guilty, there were so many things wrong with the way he handled that situation.
@@dellytancyl524 I disagree. It is established since the first episode in which it appeared that Vulcan mind melding is not one mind entering into other, but a *melding,* two minds becoming one. There are a bunch of episodes in which a meld went wrong, most remarkably when Tuvok melded with Lon Suder and became a psychopath. Leonard Nimoy knew very well the character he created. Spock knew he was bringing suffering to himself by forcing a mind meld on another Vulcan, *but it was necessary,* as many other unethical/self-destructive decisions other officers have made through the franchise.
@@MariaMartinez-researcher choosing to hurt yourself is not the same as forcing that hurt onto others. the fact is, he should never have forced the meld between them. The meld between Tuvok and Suder was mutually agreed, both men agreed to the exchange - whatever the aftermath, the exchange was mutual. Saavik did not agree to melding with Spock, he forced her. He grabbed her and forcibly initiated a meld to extract information, and when he didn't find it, he dug deeper and deeper inflicting pain on them both. it's even more appalling that no one tried to stop him. He assaulted a fellow officer, plain and simple.
@@dellytancyl524 that is Valeris, not Saavik.
@@dellytancyl524 Here we are not discussing the ethics of the action. Everybody knows that forcing a mind meld is unethical. What we were discussing was the first commentary, about Leonard Nimoy's performance. You said it was the expression of ethical concerns. I disagreed with you, noting that mind-melding makes both participants share everything, information and emotions and sensations, and can leave lasting consequences, as happened to Tuvok, no matter whether there was consent or not. Now it appears you agree with the first commentary and with me, as you acknowledge that Spock experienced suffering while forcing the mind meld, which we all could see through Nimoy's performance. Very well. About the ethical aspects and the other officers' inaction, please remember, Valeris betrayed the Federation. She had become the enemy. Everybody on the bridge was aware of the action's gravity; Uhura was horrified. Yet nobody stopped Spock because they *needed* the information to prevent a *greater* evil.
I would have included ST: TNG season two in Q Who? Where Guinan says of the Borg "since they are aware of your existence...." And Picards face drops and answers "They will be coming". Gets me everytime. You can feel the fear and dread in that one moment.
Aye, Q should get a fork through the hand for that. 🤘😸
@Erich Schipper Q did them a favor. They were complacent and overconfident. He snapped them back to the reality of what they faced out there.
That entire episode fills me with a sense of impending doom. The eerie score adds to this. When the single Borg beams aboard and ignores everyone while doing it's thing is chilling. The fact that the enterprise is helpless against the Borg is another terrifying moment. It was the time you really felt there was no getting out of this situation. I've seen it many times and the feeling remain the same. Another chilling moment is at the end of The Mind's Eye, when Geordi realises that he can't trust his memories.
"Matt, where's your crew?... "On the third planet"... "THERE IS NO THIRD PLANET !"... "There was, but not anymore... they called me, they begged me for help...400 of them...I couldn't, I couldn't...." That one gets me every time too... EXCELLENT acting by the late William Windom...
i remember seeing this first as a kid... its almost made me cry
Another one would be the episode with the YANGS and the KOOMMSS where they bring in old glory at the end... chilling but of a good way
That was excellent
The Measure of a Man, "Pinocchio's strings have been cut" always hit me. Terrifying that a person could just be "turned off" and recognizing that most of us couldn't be turned back on
Spot on!
Well she did say if I think for one moment your not trying I'll end it.
@@davidfrederick6003 Very true. It stands as one of my favourite TNG episodes no matter what people think of season 2.
Frakes was perfect in that scene, totally nailed it.
@@SteveFoerster Riker's forced lack of expression as he sits down after switching off Data brilliantly shows the pain he felt doing it.
How on earth does Garak torturing Odo not make this list?
Because it wasn't out of character? Just a thought. Doesn't mean I'm dismissing it - I was running a list of DS9 episodes thorough my head too. Like when Sisko poisoned the atmosphere of the Maquis planet just to get Eddington.
@@ltcmdrstamets 😢 rip René Auberjonois
i would say, that scene qualifies more as upsetting then chilling.
Comedy Gold 🤣
Given what we knew of Garak already, and the clear reticence he has to harm Odo even as he's doing so paired with his relief when it's over take away from the scene if you're looking for chilling. It's a phenomenal scene and one that has stayed me since the first time I saw it, but the closest it comes to chilling is in Odo's truth more than anything, and it wasn't chilling. It made sense and plenty of fans saw it as just confirming Odo's feelings of isolation from his own kind.
Honorable mention for Picard's admission of being broken by torture, and Kirk's devastated feeling of letting Edith die.
"Let's get the hell out of here!!" Hurts every time!
@@sarahfullerton6894 Also:"He knows, Doctor...He knows."
"He knows doctor. He knows."
@@willmfrank That line hits me super hard
The episode "Night Terrors" from TNG was one of the most chilling episodes in television history. The scene where Dr Crusher is in the morgue when suddenly all the corpses of the crew of the U.S.S Britain are sitting up is like something from Silent Hill....how the hell did THAT not make this list!?!?!?
That is the ONE scene that I expected to see in this video.
@@digijock223 ikr!?!? To this day that scene is still so chilling 😳😨
That scene is creepy.
That’s the one that got me. Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud.
Most chilling moment in all of Star Trek...
Shaw's monologue was absolutely chilling. The look on his face. just.... 🥶. damn
Even as an audience member, I feel cornered like the main characters are by scenes like that. That one and the one with Pike in this list are similar. Neither the character nor the audience know what to say, and it feels awkward, but clever, and so enjoyable (and memorable).
It was a mic drop moment. And even after Shaw's delivery of his rant, he still apologized to everyone left in the room for ruining the mood. He had enough pain meds to losen his tongue, but not his conscience.
What's always noteworthy to me is that even Shaw and Sisko, for that matter, recognize that Picard, while assimilated, wasn't truly responsible for his actions at Wolf 359. They also know that they could've just as easily been assimilated by the Borg and forced to kill. But emotionally they can't help hating Picard for their losses. At best, Picard will always be a living reminder.
@@radicalross7700 my thought as well...even though they both still gave him the business due to that being a dark day for both of them...Sisko became a widower that day and Shaw lost all his "Jack Crusher's"...one of the best moments of the series IMO
That scene is really cool, and Shaw is my favourite of the newly introduced characters in Star Trek Picard.
The correlation between Shaw’s Wolf 359 speech and Quint’s USS Indianapolis survivor speech was spot on!!
Chain of Command always got under my skin, seeing Picard, our hero on the edge of being broken yet again ... Also Family, again with Picard letting his sheilds down to his brother and admitting his pain of what the borg did to him, his frailty and humanity... Patrick Stewart knocking it out of the park yet again.
Shakespeare'ean level actors almost always bring the goods.
What about the scenes both when picard finds out and when he explains his family's death in generations?
The one I'm surprised was left out was the holodeck scene in Schisms (TNG), where several of the crew are trying to figure out their shared deja vu. Slowly reconstructing hidden memories, building the sinister looking table, the alien sounds around them, the darker creepy atmosphere, and finishing with the dawning realization, "We've all been in this room before". Nicely done, and a good chilling moment.
That part had an uncomfortable vibe to it!
I'm not sure if that scene creeped me out or the one in Night Terrors (S4 E17), where Dr. Crusher is alone in the morgue with 20 covered corpses. She hears a rustling behind her, turns around, hears it behind her again, turns again, _and every single one is sitting upright._ It's _really_ creepy. But the four of them recreating their nightmare was pretty bad, too.
I still remember, it was Geordi who said, "I've been in this room before" gave me the chills!
That still haunts me. "I've been in this room." "We all have."
That scene alone makes that episode a must watch in my opinion. It was masterfully done.
“He knows Doctor… he knows”. That one always gets me. And then Kirk’s final line “let’s get the hell out here”.
One moment that always gives me chills is in the 3rd season TNG episode, The Survivors. After the male survivor reveals himself to be an omnipotent being, he then tells Picard and crew that the colony was destroyed by an aggressive species called the Husnock. He then admits that, in revenge, he kills every last Husnock in existence- billions of them. This alone is pretty shocking, but what follows is what gives me chills- Picard's response: We are not qualified to be your judges. We have no law to fit your crime. Another moment is the ending of the TNG episode, the Most Toys. After the collector Fajo is imprisoned for his crimes, Data visits him in jail. Fajo asks Data if it gives him great pleasure to see all of Fajo's collection confiscated and returned. Data's response is epic: No, sir, it does not. I do not feel pleasure. I am only an android.
".. all Husnock... everywhere." Just the phrasing and delivery gave me chills.
@@andrewschwarz3405 Yeah, I liked that actor in that role.
Read the follow-up book!!!
Genocide?
Picard: We have no record of any species called the Husnock. Dr. Uxbridge: Oh, I see. All righty, then. Glad to meet new friends. Come back any time. That went well. I am OFF THE HOOK!
That "Haunted" moment ... Way back at the time of BOBW Part II's first airing, somebody who'd watched the episode told me something which stuck with me. They basically said "What if the Borg left something behind in Picard, which could not be detected by a standard medical scan? And what if his walking towards the window was him responding to a test signal?" It's been a long while since we talked, but if that friend from the '90s is reading this comment ... damn, you were right, old friend. You were SO right.
it was clear by first contact that was the case already when he was able to hear the borg. I hope you have seen that movie and realized that before s3 picard lol
Damnit! Test Signal. I should have known. I will still be perplexed tomorrow afternoon. Good call for sure.
I thought that, too. But what was more chilling was when Picard met Hugh in "I, Borg" and pretended to still be in the collective. Until he broke character, I was convinced and thought he had been a Borg "sleeper agent" for the past two seasons.
@@clark85 Indeed it was clear from that film the lasting effect the Borg had on Picard, from his dream of the implant bursting out of his face and his sensing of the Borg to his ruthlessness in dealing with assimilated crewmembers - "You'll be doing them a favour". Quite chilling.
@@clark85 Not really. In First Contact Picard's reaction was just a side effect of previous assimilation, not something intentionally left there by the Borg. The idea of Picard being a sleeper agent is only created when they wrote Picard S3.
“In the Pale Moonlight” is my favorite episode of DS9 and one of the episodes that sets it apart as my favorite Trek series. Sisko is a different kind of captain, and that moment in particular sent chills down my spine the first time I saw it.
I love the final delivery of "because I can live with it... I CAN live with it!"
I especially love that after Sisko says "I can live with it!" he starts the motion to drink from his glass, hesitates, and then puts it down, implying the "but..." statement we're all expecting: "I CAN live with it... but I will not drink (celebrate) to it."
All it cost was the life of a romulan and the self respect of one Starfleet officer
@@NeilCWCampbell and one criminal. Has to be one of the best episodes ever. Bringing the darkness of what war will make people do to achieve victory.
what gets me about this episode is Avery Brooks delivery of every line. Its delivered with a full rage and damning of a lawyer who is both prosecuting and defending a client.
The way Enabran Tain treats Garak during "In Purgatory's Shadow" and prior episodes is chilling for any of us with similarly strained parental relationships.
"I was very proud of you, that day"
@@w1987g always conditional acceptance.
@@w1987g The way he paused slightly before saying "that day..." A terrible way of taking one last shot at Garak before dying. Letting him know he thought nothing of him the rest of the time.
There are two moments that always send a shiver down my spine whenever I watch them. Voyager's first encounter with the Borg at the end of Blood Fever and Odo saying "You're too late, we're everywhere" in The Adversary.
Captain Picard mind melding with the emotionally troubled Sarek... where he's channeling the raw gut wrenching emotion that Sarek is feeling so that Sarek could be calm and collected in negotiations. Picard can hardly contain himself. The overwhelming anguish almost made him go insane. You can't help but feel your heart sink at the sight of it. I'll never forget that moment.
When Lal died and the admiral comes out explaining how Data tried to save her, when HE, the admiral, was the cause of her death is pretty chilling.
He wasn't the cause of her death. She was "dying" the moment she was born, because her matrix was flawed. The admiral was just ("just") there to take her away to be studied. The fact that she broke down at that moment was a coincidence. I enjoyed the scene with the admiral coming out like a surgeon to describe what had gone wrong, because his whole reason for being there was to seize Lal as non-sapient property, and in the end he implicitly admits that he'd come to see both Lal and Data as self aware beings deserving of respect. His emotion while he describes watching Data work sold me on the character and the scene. Well acted, IMO.
@@jasonwalker9471 No, until he announced his intent to take her away from Data she was stable.
@@dreadcthulhu5 That was just the trigger in the moment. If it hadn't been that, it would have been a boy turning her down for a date, or even a strong positive experience like finding the exact flavour of ice cream that she was most delighted by. Either way, she'd have destabilized and died in the next few hours regardless. She had an unstable matrix. She was not going to survive. That's why Data didn't just try again. He couldn't solve the instability problem. (A challenge that also plagued his father, of course.)
What was chilling for me in that scene was the apparent desperation of Data moving as fast as he could to get ahead of Lal's cascading failing circuitry like a father desperately trying to save his daughter. Did Data experience Pride and Love when raising Lal?
@@vgernyc I think so. Data had emotions all along and didn't need the emotion chip. Data was a character defined by a desire to be human, and unemotional beings do not desire or aspire.
The ending of Nemesis always got me. Data so easily sacrificed himself to save everyone else and then his soft "Goodbye".
That scene in TOS episode Charlie X, when Charlie finally goes berserk and takes away a female crewmember's face because she and her friends were laughing too loud almost traumatized me as a child.
That was a pretty nightmarish image for a kid, as was the Salt Creature finally showing it's true face and attacking Kirk with those weird-ass sucker hands.
@@ortizmo, yeah, how did thise not make the list?
I think that’s the episode that made me claustrophobic 🫢
I do love that the "I'm afraid//I know" exchange is so iconic, SFDebris uses it in almost EVERY Voyager review outro...
"Drat!"
Why were they afraid of their own Voyager reviews?
@@GabePuratekuta SFDebris has a running joke that Janeway is a complete psychopath, often using out of context clips of her to justify it, or doing a bad voiceover of her doing something like dangling a promotion over Harry Kim only to yank it away with a cruel laugh. Of course, some times the clips aren't out of context, and Janeway really is scary as hell. Like the time she met Fear and scared him to death, haha.
That's honestly one of the most metal things to happen in Trek.
That was baller as Hell
From The Siege of AR-558 and the subsequent episode of Nog dealing with his amputated leg, to Sisko giving the order to fire on a Maquis planet and poisoning it, Deep Space Nine showed that the Federation and Starfleet was far from the utopia it tried to portray itself as. You could probably make 50 lists of bone chilling moments from DS9 alone, half of them involving Garak.
Only half?? 🤣
The scene where the Romulan commander goes "it's a faaaake" was one of them!
@@edgarwalk5637 I'd like to say that falls under the umbrella of the whole damn episode.
you can safely ignore virtually all bad things in DS9 since bucking what star fleet was was a deliberate intention. It writers for DS9 reveled in deconstructing starfleet in the most pedantic asinine ways you can imagine. Quark likening the federation to soda pop and being cloying is spot on though but Quark's perspective is understandable. The critiques of the federation coming from ALL sides made DS9 tiring after a while.
@@mattshuey1 and yet it's the one series that holds up the best.
A chilling moment for me, is the realization that Captain Picard was indeed, for all these years broken by what the Borg did to him. "..and I will make them pay for what they've done." Even thinking about it, gets me a bit emotional.
You realize from that film that when he kills crewmembers being assimilated, he truly believes he's doing them a favor because he wishes he too had not survived assimilation.
These might not "chilling" moments, but more gut-wrenching. The City on the Edge of Forever, where Spock tells Capt. Kirk that Edith Keeler must die. You almost feel the instant when the car hits her, and the reaction of Kirk. The second example is the entire episode of TNG, "The Inner Light". Just seeing Picard's emotional reaction at the passing of his wife, and his reaction to the flute in his hands, there were tears flowing for sure.
I love the moment when O'brian tells the Cardassian in "The Wounded" "It's not you I hate, Cardassian. I hate what I became because of you." It implies so much for the character and gets even darker with DS9. We know/learn what horrible crimes Cardassians deem as "good" military behaivior so attributing legendary status to O'Brian only lets us speculate how ruthless he realy can be and how much he hates it
I've always LOVED the Voyager episode: Tuvix when Tuvok and Neelix merge Into one living being entity called Tuvix. Then he began to develop his own personality and identity for himself as he begins to get to know and get along with some of the crew. But in the end, Captain Janeway forces Tuvix into a medical procedure that basically terminates him to bring back Tuvok and Neelix
That was another moment that showed that Janeway would do pretty much anything to complete her mission of getting home.
Him literally begging people he considered to be friends to let him live, and the defeat when no one comes to his aid, no one is willing to give him any support at all (save the Doctor), is brutal.
@@TheForeverRanger This isn't the triumph of character I feel you're pitching.
@@cryofpaine It was a painful decision, but I agreed with the consensus. Put simply, two lives are worth more than one. The crew needed Neelix and Tuvok more than they needed Tuvix.
@@jennat776 Did they? The point of that episode was that Tuvix was MORE than the sum of his parts... I find myself agreeing with both ForeverRanger91 and CK. NO consensus can be absolute justification IMHO. We might all accept something as right or "for the best" but I'm not sure that justifies anything. Is slavery OK when everyone, including the slaves, find it acceptably normal? ...or is it not?. Are two lives really "worth" more than one just for being lives/identities? Shit happens. Everyday. I can meddle in shit to "fix things", but if I will never be called to account for that, then perhaps I shouldn't. Because I'm being arrogant in doing so when fixing shit on behalf of others for their own good. "One man's meat is another man's poison" goes both ways This episode should have been close to the number one pick for this list.
Re:Spock's aggressive mind meld...if you read the novelization of the film (it's been several years so I apologize if I don't get all the details exactly), it describes the inner confrontation that occurred during that event. Instead of brutally tearing though her defenses, the author describes Spock as completely opening himself up to her, leaving him totally vulnerable and defenseless. He then tries to persuade her to help him. Her cry is not one of pain but rather overwhelming emotion at his selflessness and vulnerability in throwing himself at her mercy. Of course the movie could not have effectively portrayed this and so we're left with the mistaken impression of spock's brutality.
You mean his mind meld with Valeris in “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country?”
The whole scene is rendered even worse when you know that Valeris was originally supposed to be Saavik.
@@darthkurland Yes...that's it.
Good thing i scrolled down, I was going to write that.
Interesting! I was under the impression this was a sign of underlying volatile Vulcan emotions barely under control, so I bought it in the theater, and so masterfully played by Nimoy!
There were definitely moments that gave me a sinking feeling. How about when Data reasoned that killing Fajo, the collector, would save more lives and actually starts to discharge his phaser before he is beamed back onto the enterprise? I thought that was a powerful scene because the decision to kill now became a part of Data's quest to become human. Pretty dark!! Dismantling his brother Lore was pretty dark too but he had it coming.
Good example! Data's careful use of the word "perhaps" kept him in honest character.
Not only that, but Data lied when he was asked about it
Captain, allow me to beam back down. I was demonstrating to Fajo how this weapon works when you interrupted.
@@aqdrobertwould have been great!
TNG had some really chilling moments. Schisms, Frame of Mind, and Identity Crisis all come to mind.
and Night Terrors
Schisms is one of my all time favorites. That was during the time that the X-Files was getting huge, so I’m sure it influenced the episode. The clicking from the Elachi was chilling.
*click click click* Faster *clickclickclickclick* Gives me the heebie jeebies
Trip's reaction to the Xindi attack on Earth, finding out 3 million people died, including his sister.
When Sisko was saying "I can live with it." over and over, I always believed he was both telling us and convincing himself, as well as stating that this was the only way he could literally stay alive because the Dominion would absolutely have executed him if they won.
Tuvok suddenly looking like Aunt Esther from the ‘70s sitcom “Sanford & Son” was definitely a chilling moment! 😉
Well you can't blame him, he is over 100 years old (120 maybe).
Heathen! 😝
@@RegBeta 136 or 137, according to Memory Alpha, depending on when he was born in 2264 and just when Federation Day takes place.
@@johnhall3570 😲
Well the man was pushing about 150 - let's see how good you look in another 20 years.
I am actually very surprised that the TNG episode "Night Terrors" when Dr. Crusher's corpses in the cargo bay sat up didn't even get a mention. That STILL gives me goosebumps, and is one of the most terrifying scenes I've ever seen in a made for tv show. A glaring oversight on your writer's part.
As a Star Trek fan from the first day of release way back in the 1960's, I cannot argue with a single choice on this list. At the start, I instantly had a shortlist of about 5 episodes, and you included them all. Well done.
He is the chosen one
Pale Moonlight was incredible
Sisko did what he had to do to save the Federation & defeat the Dominion. No different from WWII.
Picard being captured by the cardassians and tortured was pretty chilling!
There are 4 lights
What caused most of the chills for me in the scene where Seven confronts the changeling posing as Tuvok is when he switches over to Riker. (That smile didn't help warming that scene up, though...)
One of the main reasons I still love Star Trek after 36 years now, is because of the darker sides of the shows. Those points in time where it makes you question, everything. And a friend of mine that has only been into Trek for about 3 years now has been blown away at how dark these shows can get.
Todd Stashwick's monologue in Episode 4 about Wolf 359 is one of my favorite speeches is all of Star Trek. Being retired Military, it hits right in the feels.
I liked the bit where he mentions that the Lieutenant didn't point to herself. Expected, yes (it was a narrative imperative), but I appreciate informed self sacrifice, even when it's fictional. Because this may have been fictional, but real people have done the exact same thing she did and we should appreciate them. This wasn't running out from a secured position in a frontal assault and hoping that you're one of the ones who makes it, this was a deliberate choice to save someone else at your own expense.
My favorite chilling moment in the pantheon thus far is Prime Spock's speech to Alt Spock regarding Khan. The tone of his voice with that spooky violin pang when he says "That being said..." and begins to reveal information that he knows he likely shouldn't as it could impact the timeline, but feels duty-bound to warn his other self about is just terrific. You can tell it's such a considered decision and it's always just gotten me.
"Star Trek's grunge phase" Nice. As for #1, I remember the first time I saw Undiscovered Country. When Valeris tried to pull away, and Spock yanked her back... I gave out an audible "Oh nooo". That being said, watching Shaw and in fact the entire Picard season 3 is working on redefining how I think of these shows and the characters. Nice work.
Kes's declaration of a showdown/war of psychic dominance against the despot who had possessed her, fulminating in "I'll be relentless and merciless, just... like... you!" Jennifer's portrayal of raw will in that scene struck to the core of what it means to be alive and have intention to survive. Coming from the usually bubbly Kes, it showed the potential darkness of one who truly understands life and mind.
The aftermath of Pike's vision on Borath needed to be here, too. The visceral scream of pain, of denial... you can tell there are times actors just... go for it, sell out for the scene, and I think that was one of them. Anson sold out for that scene and it makes it all the more powerful, compelling and horrifying.
"The only Borg so deadly they gave him a name!"
I wished they'd done more with Seven and Picard resolving their issues together as Locutus and Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01. They should've remembered each other quite clearly, and It would've been interesting to see more discomfort between them as they work to resolve their memories of each other and their new experiences. Maybe have her slip once in a while and call him Locutus in stressful situations where she's distracted.
@@DoremiFasolatido1979 I wish they hadn't killed off Shaw. He was a great character.
@@NavarinoDC That too. Hated him at first, but he grew on me. Especially after his story about Wolf 359. He was always a bit too "by the book" for me, and seemingly a bit of a chickenshit. But it was all for good reason, and when shit hit the fan, he still knew when to throw out the book and do the crazy solution.
I've always felt the most chilling scene in Star Trek was in Season 2 Episode 16 "Meld". At the end, Tuvok loses the ability to control his emotions. In this scene, every emotion that Tuvok has suppressed as a Vulcan, is laid bare. His facial expressions (snares, laughs and chilling analysis of human weaknesses) makes you very glad we didn't have to meet the ancient ancestors of the modern Vulcans!
I think similarly of the TNG episode 'Sarek' where Picard endures the emotional turmoil of Sarek's failing mind, via a mind meld, to enable Sarek to carry out his diplomatic mission.
An absolutely fantastic (and brutal) list. When Spock forces himself in what (as we learn in Enterprise) was once considered deviant behavior, he basically mind-rapes her to get the information. His grasp and her stifled cry in terror is chilling enough, even more so when its a beloved character performing the act. I can easily see why the director had misgivings.
Harry Kim almost killing Tom Paris in "The Chute". Charlie Evans taking away the faces of various crewmembers to stop them from laughing, leaving them without eyes, nose or mouth to see or speak or breathe through in "Charlie X". The death scream of the partially materialized Commander Sonak and the other ill-fated person beaming alongside him in The Motion Picture. And of course, Picard's entire torture and near-breaking at the hands of Gul Madred in "Chain of Command, Part II"
I just mentioned Chain of Command myself
What about Lt Echob and 7 of 9 scene ?
The Fear episode was always my favorite episode of Voyager. It's like the Twilight Zone in a lot of ways and it still gives me goosebumps as the simulation turns to darkness and Fear is afraid as Janeway whispers "I know". Incredibly spooky.
When Data goes to kill that guy at the end of "The Most Toys". He says"I cannot allow this to continue", goes to shoot his phaser but it's discharged in the transporter beam. Then there's that scene with him and the dude in the brig. Brutal.
For my on of the most chilling and memorable episodes was Visitor from ds9, Tony Todd's performance was quite...moving
"because they WERE clean!" is easily the most chilling line in all of trek. The implication is enough to make your spine shiver, but the performance of the delivery was captivating.
Yep. Harris Yulin is one of the great guest actors ever to appear in any franchise.
Fear is Afraid ending has always given me the chills, has lived in my memory ever since I saw the episode as a kid and still gives me the goosebumps
I am surprised you did not include STNG Chain of Command, part 2 when Picard was about to say there was 5 lights instead of 4 after his torture
I totally agree with your ten choices. If I were to add one it would be the shock in seeing the Galaxy class starship Odyssey destroyed in a suicide run by the Jem’Hadar.
Shocking I'll give, but I wouldn't define that particular episode as "chilling".
"There... are... FOUR... lights!!!" ALWAYS gets me when I watch that episode. Wish it would have made the list.
Tuvix telling Janeway he just wants to live was chilling...then Janeway murders him. 😢
The look on her face as she walks away is bleak AF. In later novels she reveals she never truly got over that decision. It haunted her the rest of her life.
My most chilling moment was Ichabs torture and death on Picard, and Seven of Nine putting out of his misery...the scene caught me off guard...great video
Me too, but I'm glad his character was killed. IRL the actor is an ahole.
Voyager episode Course Oblivion.... Having the crew desperately trying to have some memory of them left all to die just before the real Voyager appears. It was heart wrenching
Thank you! I came to mention that episode
I always thought Archer putting the guy in the DeCon chamber was pretty disturbing due to the nature of Archer's character up to that point in the series.
Airlock, Archer put him in an airlock. Not Decon chamber 😉
Hard agree. "Duet" is one hell of a mission statement regarding DS9's tone. 😌
you missed lot of scenes. Nogs break down in the holo deck at the end of the episode after he lost his leg. For me this is the very best episode of all of Star Trek and the character arc Aaron Eisenberg (RIP) describes here and how he performed it is nothing else but breathtaking. Janeway orders the killing of Tuvix oder Neevok (tbh I have forgotten how they named the Tuvok/Neelix transporter accident) The DS9 episode where Sisko, O'Brian and "red shirt" travelled with a shuttle into the Gamma Quadrant and have been shot down by the Dominion - but took them with them. And the red shirt slooooowly bleeds out and O'Brian was completely helpless and needed to watch and stand by.
It was Tuvix
@@Cdr2002 thx, mate
Great point, I forgot that episode of DS9 with the unfortunate red shirt. That was a dark episode. I remember one scene in particular near the end, when they are all stressed out and O'Brien and Worf start fighting and Sisko breaks it up with extreme captain authority, and also chastises Dax for making a joke, and then orders them all to work. Extremely emotional moment and extra development for Sisko being clutch under pressure.
@@jonrwert true. Unfortunately no other ST-Series has such deep characters like DS9 - for me still the very best thing Star Trek ever made - but Lower Decks is quite close, but different 🙂
I love the part near the end of Voyager: Random Thoughts when Tuvok mind melds with the guy participating in the black market for violent thoughts and shows him lots of violent thoughts before completely dominating him and talking about "I know the nature of violence," then bringing the guy into custody!
The episode where he reverts to his primal Vulcan state also shows us some "Dark Tuvok" - The scene where he threatens the Doctor with the line "You are not invulnerable hologram" was proper chilling. The delivery was absolutely dripping with menace and contempt. Tuvok is probably my favourite Voyager character. Tim Russ did a great job with him IMO.
Locutus' first communication with the Enterprise at the end of Best of Both Worlds pt 1. Also, TNG season 4:24, The Minds Eye; after being stopped in his assassination attempt and learning that he had been captured and "conditioned" by the Romulans. Geordi is talking with Troi at the end and telling her about his trip to Risa that never happened and starts to get confused by the fake memories that had been implanted. I would also include Picard season 3:9, the moment the totality of the Borg/Changling conspiracy is realised.
I would say Satie's monologue in the Drumhead. Such a fantastic reflection of true nature and belief on opposing sides. No one is wrong, they're just all broken
That “Fear” episode of Voyager is a masterpiece. I love the way it highlighted Janeway’s “psychological skills”, and I really love the scene when Fear has Kim on the operating table and is about to cut him open, when The Doctor calmly grabs his hand and instructs him on the proper way to hold the scalpel. That was so smooth. 😁
DS9 Duet was an absolutely amazing episode. One of the best episodes of the entire franchise.
Amazing to think that the episode is the way it is because they needed to save money on the episode (nearly all of it takes place in the station's jail). No big flashy effects, but a COMMAND performance from Nana Visitor and Harris Yulin! (Chef kiss of pure GREATNESS!!!)
Kirk stopping McCoy from saving Edith Keeler. The pain involved in that scene
Can't believe Icheb's death with Seven mourning, and the transporter accident from TMP didnt make the list. Truly chilling stuff.
I thought both Icheb and Hugo's deaths in Picard S3 were terrible and undeserved ways to end such promising and powerful characters.
Michael McKean is great in everything. I grew up watching him on Laverne and Shirley and This is Spinal Tap. Just excellent.
Didn't he play a Q on TNG and a creepy Clown or something on Voyager ?
"Ernesto?????"
@@funfact8660 Yes the clown episode was referred to in this video. Q was played by John Delancie. "Q2" was played by Keagan DeLancie. The only other Q's with any prominent role in Voyager were Q's wife (one episode), and the one that wanted to commit suicide (one episode).
A very good selection. Personally, I think DS9 4x02 "The Visitor" had some incredibly chilling moments, too.
The moment Sisko realized what old Jake had done. "Jake, no!"
That episode ALWAYS made me tear up a bit. Especially once my father passed away and I became a father myself both at nearly the same time. I feel this episode deep inside from both the aspect of Jake giving his live to save his father and his father wishing he could do anything to save his child from that sacrifice.
The title of this video made me instantly think of the scene in the TNG episode "Schisms" when the abductees are on the holodeck. Piece by piece they recreate the room they'd each been taken to and experimented on until finally they're in the dark, standing around a freakish metal table with unearthly clicking sounds all around them. "I've been in this room before." "We all have," says Riker. That was one of the most chilling scenes that has stuck with me all these years. Not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed it wasn't on this list.
I'm surprised "Conspiracy" didn't make this list...Voyager's "Coda" as well. Janeway's living her life knowing that, when it ends, that thing is waiting for her. Talk about chills down the spine.
oof Coda certainly applies to this list.
I am "sorry" but for what boundaries that ST have pushed, DS9 truly brings the concept of "War" to the masses. Man, that series brought so many logical/moral debate(s) into "What is war" and "Do you lie to win and have less death". Kudos. As always peace, out.
I think the Valeris/Spock moment was unfortunately a justified one, given the circumstances. To the film's credit, the moment was not treated lightly. This was clearly not an act Spock enjoyed participating in, but it was a necessary one. That said, I wonder if his great disappointment in her played a role, as well -- thinking back to when he aggressively slapped the phaser out of her hand when she sprung the trap in sickbay, exposing her as the conspirator. He was hurt... betrayed, even. (Such a great film, with all the nuance and delicious character moments.)
Anything can be justified. It’s still wrong just because it’s justifiable.
and remember Spock is half HUMAN. It goes to reason some emotion surfaces at times.
The list of things missed is endless. The entire universe of Trek has so many levels and depths it is not possible to ever speak of them all.
I'm surprised none of Enterprise's episodes made this list; with Archer's single-mindedness drive to prevent the Zindi attack - stealing another ship's warp coil leaving them stranded, or sacrificing Trip's clone to harvest tissue to save the original Trip...
Yeah, the warp coil one should've definitely made it here. He effectively condemned everyone on that ship to their deaths
PIC may be over, but now we get to put it in the lists and lore videos. A worthy tradeoff. Finally expanding the LEGACY of Trek
Honestly the #3 should've been either #2 or #1 IMO, did not see that ending coming. Plus I think Sean said that episode was based on a forgotten script by Gene Roddenberry, talk about reaching from beyond the grave.😮
Hopefully the new Enterprise crew with Captain 7 of 9 will run into a few other familiar faces, and perhaps a stop at DS-9 ?
Hopefully we find out what happened with Elim Garak
Ah yes DS9 Writers "What day do we traumatized Chief O'Brien?" Also DS9 Writers "The ones that end in Y".
Lol, every Thursday night at 7 and 11pm!
*Goo-Vok*. Come on people. It was right there. :D (great video)
*chef's kiss*
I still take the time to wath DS9 - Duet every year. The premise, the acting, the script, are so amazing. Still gives me shivers after all these years. To think that it was filmed during a shows first year is just mindblowing and impressive. Television history.
I found modern Tuvok’s ears rather good comedy compared to his more understated ones in Voyager! Perhaps he caught them in a mechanical rice-picker?! 😂
One short scene I haven't seen mentioned yet. In Voyager Harry Kim is attacked bu a member of Species 8472. Back in sickbay the Doctor is telling Janeway that he is basically being eaten alive. The camera switches to Kim and we can see his terror with a lone tear rolling down his face. Who knows what he was feeling at the time and add to the fact that they couldn't sedate him so he was conscious the whole time.
Honestly, this list is a handful out of the thousands of moments Trek really pushed the boundaries of sanity and horror.
The smirk on Tuvok-changeling at the end is chilling!
Nice list as always Sean, For me it's when the bug creatures are killed but we find out they did send out a message to their kind who may come back one day. And the episode of Voyager where Janeway meets the (and I couldn't think of another way to name this) "death demon" who reminds her that while she's beaten him now, he will still come for her at the time of her real death. Honorable mentions go to the Jack the Ripper entity and Gul Dukhat when he's stranded with Sisko after their runabout crashes. The latter having serious Hannibal Lecter vibes. Great job as always to the wonderful lad Kris who puts his heart and soul into editing these for us. Thank you sir.🌟
yes! we want peaceful coexistence --- that 1 got my attention the death and they NEVER did anything with it..... so annoyed
if you know anything about trauma and ptsd then the episode where Picard goes home to France to see his brother has a monstrous impact, Picard the paragon of virtue and stoic nature is brought down to tears of a man crushed by what the borg did to him. although not chilling technically it brings me to tears even 25 years later.
One of my favorite chilling episodes was "Memorial". Season 6 Episode 14 of the Voyager series. A war memorial with failing power, plants memories of a horrible battle in people nearby, leaving them to believe they were part of the war and did those horrible things to innocent people. Because the power is failing, the memories are fragmented which adds to the confusion among those affected, leading them to believe these are repressed memories trying to resurface.
I have a couple of voyager entries that missed the list - course oblivion that last scene where there’s only debris left by the time Voyager gets there. Tuvix of course, and let’s not forget what powered captain Ransoms ship. But the ending of course oblivion that gets me every time.
Yep, Course Oblivion kept me awake at night. 😳
I would have also included the final few minutes of "Azati Prime", Archer is beaten and bloodied and then told his ship is under attack and soon to be destroyed, the look on his face is awful, then we cut to the Enterprise, fighting valiantly but outmatched and outgunned and then eventually weapons and hull plating go offline, hull breaches occur and we see crewmembers flung into space, T'pol staring off into the distance knowing she's about to die and the final shot of the Enterprise drifting, Xindi ships swarming around it utterly defeated, and then the end credits roll, No reset button, no time travel to reverse it. Then in the next episode we find out over 20 people died in the battle.
Literally came looking through the comments until i found it. I dont know how it wasnt on the list. Shit was absolutely brutal and it was Enterprise as well so you know theres no quick fix. The gravity of seeing the crew mates in that corridor, people that signed on to EXPLORE stumbling in an attempt to carry one of their own out, see an explosion next to them and then the hard cut outside to see them being sucked into space was like kicking someone in the face when theyre trying to get up off the ground. Unreal stuff and then ship just drifts, the lights go out and theyre STILL being attacked. That entire season was a masterclass in writing long from Trek. With the romulan war so close, ENT had the potential to be one of the best. I wish Voyager had followed a similar lasting impact approach to their stories.
I ALWAYS enjoy bad ass Captain Jayneway. Too bad ‘times up’ from the end of Year of Hell, part II wasn’t included too. Great list tho❤️
The end speech from In the Pale Moonlight will always be one of my favourite moments in the entire franchise. It's not just Sisko admitting that he can live with such damnation, but that little questioning of it afterwards that brings the pain of the scene. "Because I can live with it. I can live with it..." The best told lies are the ones that we convince even ourselves that it's the truth. That last line just lets that hint of doubt into it, as if even he cannot believe such a huge lie.
Great video! The most chilling part of the "Best of Both Worlds" ending for me was when Riker asks Picard what he remembers and Picard responds, "Everything"
Duet has to be one of the best episodes of television Ive ever seen.
It's superb 👍
The ending of the first season TNG episode "Conspiracy" where Data confirms that Lt. Commander Remmick was sending a homing signal to an unknown region of space. As the episode ends, the Enterprise passes off screen and we hear what sounds like a transmission being sent to deep space. We're left with the question of did Picard and Riker actually stop Remmick in time? Also, just thought about the 4th Season TNG episode "The Mind's Eye" where Geordi is brainwashed by the Romulans to assassinate a Klingon governor. Especially at the end when Deanna Troi is in the process of deprogramming Geordi and has just pointed out the false memories in Geordi's head. He's unsettled, as are we.
I honestly thought that's where Picard season 3 was headed, since they had basically done the Borg in the previous 2 seasons.
"Let's get the hell out of here." The viewer understanding what has happened... Spock responding to Scottie: "We were successful." in such a heart-wrenching way. Then, the dead cold set-up of the Guardian saying: "Many such journeys are possible, let me be your gateway..." and Kirk saying the line and when this episode aired... still gives me chills.
This cold fade at the end of "The Thaw" never fails to leave me feeling empty and kind of adrift as it is just so different and calm.