Star Trek: 15 Unintentionally Hilarious Moments

15 The almighty power to make you slap yourself.

Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself.

In season 3, episode 10 of the original series, the crew encounters aliens that are able to control their behavior. Overall, that seems pretty scary, but out of all the ways they could’ve gone with it, Kirk and Spock helplessly and hilariously slap themselves silly.

14 A rock and a hard place.

Season 1, episode 7, ”What Are Little Girls Made Of" is an overall pretty weird episode, but when Kirk finds himself menaced by a hulking android named Ruk, he grabs a big ol’ rock with a pretty distinctive shape.

Maybe this was a personal Easter egg for somebody in the props department, and maybe we all just have dirty minds, but it snaps the audience out of the suspense to ask, “is that what I think it is?”

13 Get the cheese to sickbay.

It’s a blink-and-you-might-miss-it line, and they move on so quickly, but we just can’t.

The deadpan line delivery makes it seem so important. The cheese just has to get there… Now.

12 The area of penetration.

Again, were people just more mature in the 60s?

In season 2, episode 18, “The Immunity Syndrome”, Spock’s line, “Brace yourself. The area of penetration will no doubt be sensitive” is just… Is just funny.

11 Where did his brain go?

Tune in next week to find Spock’s brain.

It was episode 1 of season 3, so they kicked that season off right. This entire scene feels like a couple kids in a treehouse making up a make-believe plot on the spot.

“His brain... is gone!"

10 Gorn.

This fight scene singlehandedly birthed the entire fight choreography industry.

Kirk’s fight scene with Gorn may be the most infamous of Star Trek’s unintentional comedies. The original series episode, “Arena” had a stuntman in a less-than common worthy costume and fight choreography that has kept viewers giggling to this day.

Fun fact: The episode was the first broadcast on the BBC in colour (color with a u, cus it’s Britain).

9 Rock the “Catspaw”.

The seventh episode of season 2, “Catspaw”, aired near Halloween back in 1967, and it uses plenty of classic supernatural elements to put the Enterprise crew in danger.

The show as a whole rarely gets funnier than the climactic battle that pits Kirk against a... cat. A cat that is also occasionally a woman who tries to have sex with him, because, you know, 60s Star Trek, baby.

8 Sexy capital punishment.

Different places have very different rules.

TNG’s eighth episode, “Justice”, follows the crew to a seemingly idyllic planet full of underdressed, over-tanned locals.

Wesley is almost killed for messing up a greenhouse, and although it’s a laughable attempt at addressing capital punishment, the bigger laughs come from the acting itself.

7 Masks

Like a hilarious prequel to Split.

The TNG episode, “Masks” is frequently singled out as one of the worst, most incomprehensible episodes in the series.

One of Data’s multiple personalities prompts the all-time great line, “Masaka is waking”. A statement that should have been epically creepy and sinister was impossible to take seriously.

6 “Naked Time” for “Nike Now”.

TNG’s "The Naked Now" is a direct sequel to the original series episode, "The Naked Time," with the same plot revolving around a strange infection that amps up the sex appeal.

In some disturbing attempt to seduce Data, Lieutenant Yar talks about being abandoned at five years old, and narrowly avoiding rape gangs in this sultry voice. This somehow works, because Data starts offering up that he is "programmed in multiple techniques… A broad variety of pleasuring,” and gives this dumb, “oh, I’m about to get lucky” smile.

5 David is dead.

In the 1984 movie, The Search for Spock, the death of David Marcuss, Kirk’s estranged son, was clearly meant to be a pivotal emotional moment in the film, but Lt. Saavik’s legendary utterance of “David is dead” sounds much more robotic than Vulcan.

Kirk stumbles to the ground and delivers, “You Klingon bastard!” And that may have been epic, if it weren’t for that, “David is dead” delivery.

4 The horned beast.

In the original series, ”The Enemy Within" that "strange space creature" is literally just somebody's dog with a fake horn tied to its head.

Fans and critics have compared the dog to Max’ single antler from How the Grinch Stole Christmas and we’re very okay with that reference. Spot on.

3 Ohhh, it’s was him the whole time.

That ol’ transporter accident again.

Trying to amp up the drama, as if taking off his sideburns would cause an “Oh my god, it’s Thomas Riker” reaction from fans, this episode reduces a would-be suspenseful moment to unintentional comedy.

Especially when the split happened in a previous episode, so many fans were like, “wait why is he wearing fake sideburns for no reason?”

2 Grandma’s erotic past.

In the TNG episode, “Sub Rosa”, Bev describes a very sensual encounter with a “presence” that "knew exactly how she liked to be touched.”

"The sensations were very real... and extremely arousing.” Troi is very engaged (and envious), but then the would-be sexy scene climaxes with Bev admitting, "I did fall asleep reading a particularly erotic chapter in my grandmother's journal.”

1 My chicken sandwich and coffee.

Get these motherf*ckin’ Furbies off this motherf*ckin’ ship!

In season 2, episode 15 of the original series, cute little fury animals called the Tribbles have multiplied all over the ship.

When Kirk finds some in his chicken sandwich and coffee, he’s had enough, and declares, “I want these things off the ship, I don’t care if it takes every man we’ve got.”

The subtle frustration is so funny.

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Top Image: Desilu Productions & Paramount Television