10 Greatest Star Trek Cliffhanger Episodes

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And with baited breath, Star Trek will make you wait until the next episode to fix this mess.

BY JACK KIELY
APRIL 15TH, 2023

We all know that the best cliffhanger in Star Trek was 'written' by Spaceman First Class, Protector of Earth, Scourge of Intergalactic Evil, Captain 'Tom Paris' Proton. "The End… ?" Mwhahahaha!

That really would be stretching credibility further than The Doctor donning his suit as President of Earth. Nevertheless, the faux suspense of the question mark in Star Trek: Voyager's Bride of Chaotica! does raise an interesting point about the origins of the cliffhanger. Though the use of the dangling conclusion can be found in ancient Greek and early Middle Eastern literature, it is the Victorians who are thought to have popularized the serial, leave the reader 'hanging,' form via the likes of Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. The first recorded usage of the term 'cliffhanger' itself comes from a 1931 Variety magazine article – the decade in which The Adventures of Captain Proton holonovel is set.

Star Trek has given us some of the greatest, most jaw-dropping reasons to tune in next week, starting all the way back in The Original Series OG two-parter The Menagerie and getting a Borg upgrade in The Next Generation. These are the moments of anticipation that often punctuated our summers.

When the franchise has blessed us with dozens of examples, choosing amongst them is also a difficult, and ultimately subjective, exercise: one person's great is another's Threshold, Move Along Home, and Masks. With that in mind, here are 10 of the best episodes from Star Trek that left us desperately waiting for more.