Does Star Trek have Christmas episodes?

It’s an unwritten rule in television that when you get at least a half-season order for a new series, you need to make room for the Christmas episode. Sure, some shows break this rule, but they do so at their own risk. There’s no surer way to convince new viewers to fall in love with recently introduced characters than to show them experiencing the highs and lows of the Christmas season. How valid is this approach? “The Simpsons” began with a Christmas episode in 1989 (“The Simpsons Roasting Over an Open Fire”), and is currently in its thirty-sixth season.

While some series quickly discover that Christmas episodes are a tradition that their viewers expect to celebrate at least every two years (“The Big Bang Theory” celebrated the holiday six times over 12 years), others scour the season for sentiment more economically. Basically, the longer a show or franchise runs, the more likely the writers and producers are to return to the Christmas well for seconds and thirds. So, when you deal with a 58-year-old brand like “Star Trek,” you’ll discover that there are many Christmas episodes spread across its many different series. But how often has the franchise created by Gene Roddenberry become celebratory?

There is not a single Christmas episode in the “Star Trek” television series. Was Roddenberry too big a person to be mentioned in any franchise bearing the name brand? Not real. It’s just that Christmas and Christianity in general are largely irrelevant to a future built around secular humanism (and there He is A brief Christmas scene in the 1994 film “Star Trek Generations”. This doesn’t mean you need to take a vacation from “Star Trek” over the holidays. According to StarTrek.comthere are 10 episodes from different incarnations of the franchise that express Christmas themes or at least have a Christmas vibe. They are as follows:

• “Tribbles Problem” – “Star Trek: The Original Series”
• “A New Earth” – “Star Trek: The Next Generation”
• “You are cordially invited” – “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”
• “11:59” – “Star Trek: Voyager”
• “The Silent Enemy” – “Star Trek: Enterprise”
• “Forget Me Not” – “Star Trek: Discovery”
• “Nepenthe” – “Star Trek: Picard”
• “Grounded” – “Star Trek: Lower Decks”
• “Kobayashi” – “Star Trek: Miracle”
• “Spock Amok” – “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”

As a casual “Star Trek” fan who’s had a hard time keeping up with the wave of new series (which I’m sure I’ll love when I get around to it), I can definitely vouch for this Lightness of “The Trouble with Tribbles” and the Worf-centric “New Earth” and “You’re Warmly Invited”. It turns out that everyone’s favorite Klingon is a perfect vessel in which to reinforce Christmas themes of family, friendship and tolerance.

Among the others, you can’t beat “Nepenthe” for a good cry. This is the “Star Trek: Picard” episode that brought Patrick Stewart’s eponymous character back together with Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Troy (Marina Sirtis), and it provides warmth and melancholy in equal measure. I’ll be including others on your must-see list, and I encourage you to do the same. You don’t have to celebrate Christmas explicitly to recognize what makes this season so valuable around the world.