Elan Hasson asked in a Matrix chat group of Mastodon admins how he should go back and watch classic Star Trek. It got me thinking about a list of episodes to help jumpstart your knowledge without having to watch every Original Series episode (of which some haven't aged super well, or are confusing to new viewers in the context of modern Trek.)

Here's the list that I came up with:

• The Naked Time: Season 1, Episode 4
• Mudd's Women: Season 1, Episode 6
• The Corbomite Maneuver: Season 1, Episode 10
• The Menagerie: Season 1, Episode 11 (Part 1) and Episode 12 (Part 2)
• Balance of Terror: Season 1, Episode 14
• Arena: Season 1, Episode 18
• Tomorrow is Yesterday: Season 1, Episode 19
• Space Seed: Season 1, Episode 22
• Errand of Mercy: Season 1, Episode 26
• City on the Edge of Forever: Season 1, Episode 28
• Amok Time: Season 2, Episode 1- Mirror, Mirror: Season 2, Episode 4
• The Doomsday Machine: Season 2, Episode 6
• The Trouble with Tribbles: Season 2, Episode 15
• The Ultimate Computer: Season 2, Episode 24
• Assignment: Earth: Season 2, Episode 26
• The Enterprise Incident: Season 3, Episode 2
• The Tholian Web: Season 3, Episode 9
• Let That Be Your Last Battlefield: Season 3, Episode 15
• Turnabout Intruder: Season 3, Episode 24

I feel like that would be the core of some really good episodes, episodes that help round out some of what you see happen later in The Next Generation, Strange New Worlds, Discovery, and even Picard. As well as some just fantastic science-fiction stories, like City of the Edge of Forever.