Our new Desert Asteroid Episodes feature appears to be a hit, so thanks to all who have submitted their lists.

This is a great chance for fans to share their favorite episodes and movies with other fans around the world and it's easy to take part. Just tell us your favorite Star Trek episodes and movies, and, if you feel like editorializing a bit, why you chose these particular ones! As a rough guide we ask that you try and keep it to a "Top 10" format, but if you find it impossible to select 10 out of 700+ episodes and movies, we understand! (Two-part episodes can count as one.) Send your list to desert_asteroid@startrek.com

Our first letter is from a TOS fan with some, shall we say, interesting choices. And when we say interesting, we mean you may not see some of these selections on other lists! But that is the beauty of Desert Asteroid Episodes: Infinite Diversity in an Infinite Combinations of Episodes!

Love these hypothetical things! Okay, if I was stuck on the asteroid, I would take along with me:

1. ST: TOS: "The Trouble With Tribbles" - Come on, it's a classic! And a very light and humorous episode that would really cheer you up if you were in a bad mood about ... say ... being stuck on an asteroid.

2. ST: TOS: "I, Mudd" - Also a classic in my books. The scene at the end where Kirk and co. are trying to overload the android's logic circuits is hilarious — even Spock joins in! And Harry Mudd — well, what can I say? Funny guy, funny guy.

3: ST: TOS: "Mirror, Mirror" - I've always loved the idea of the Mirror Universe presented in Star Trek — the way the Federation could always have turned out to be good or evil — and, besides, enough is left to the imagination to spawn fan fiction. Great storyline and acting.

4: ST: TOS: "Turnabout Intruder" - I love William Shatner's acting in this episode. There have been many sci-fi episodes where a man has been made into a woman (take Quantum Leap, for example) and have not made it as funny or realistic as Shatner. But, not only that, I think the episode was well-acted by everyone — especially towards the end when the crew was realizing there was something seriously wrong with their captain.

5: ST: TOS: "Catspaw" - Two words: The Wig.

6: ST: DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations" - I love the way this episode was put together. Very well done ... and an excuse to revisit the original crew once again!

7: "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" - The pajamas. And the longish storyline could keep you occupied for hours -_-.

8: "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" - I don't know why I like this movie. I just do — I think it was how Ricardo nailed the part of a nearly insane Khan, and the appearence of the new red uniforms. I think I like those uniforms the best out of all of them.

9: "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" - I lot of people rubbish this movie because of the whole "God" idea, but I love the way the characters react around each other, especially Jim, Bones and Spock at the end. ;_; Very, emotional film, too.

10: ST: VOY: "Caretaker" - Best Voyager episode (and the only one I can remember right now ...) because ... well, just because, I think.

Lostoyannaya

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If I had to choose only ten stories to live with on my asteroid, they would have to be ones that reflect what Star Trek is truly about. With that in mind, I would choose:

1) "The Cage" - The original TOS pilot, this episode is the template for everything that Star Trek became later on. It laid out the framework very well.

2) "The First Duty" - An episode that is a great story and well acted. Picard lays it on the line for Wesley Crusher while exploring his own past. A great tale of Star Trek and the meaning of the truth.

3) "Star Trek: First Contact" - My favorite movie, off all movies anywhere. A primer for any Star Trek novice for what Trek's ideals are, and told in a fun and adventurous manner. "First Contact" is Star Trek, and if I had to give up any nine episodes to aliens who want my movie collection, I'd keep "First Contact."

4) "Star Trek: Insurrection" - A bold tale of one man, who has given his life to Starfleet and its ideals, who suddenly finds that the freedom of a small group of people is far more important than his career. I was truly inspired by this movie, which is also fun to watch. The scene where Picard walks up on Geordi, who is watching his first sunrise, chokes me up every time.

5) "Little Green Men" - I threw this one in for the fun of the episode. DS9 had really hit its stride by now, and it showed with this episode. Great story idea.

6) "Far Beyond the Stars" - This is an excellent episode of DS9, from the point of view of a man who envisioned it, but couldn't tell anyone about it because of his race. A very compelling 60 minutes of TV, something that can't be said often. This episode makes you think.

7) "In the Pale Moonlight" - War, a theme that was explored in depth on DS9, is encapsulated for me by this episode. What war does to decent men is frightening, and Sisko's actions in this show reveal those things in a compelling way.

8) "Tuvix" - A light hearted and serious episode of Voyager in which Tuvok and Neelix meld into one due to a transporter accident. Where does life begin? Is one life worth two? When Janeway told the Doctor to stand aside so she could bring back Neelix and Tuvok, I knew that she was a great Captain. That was a seminal moment for Janeway.

9) "Year of Hell" - The best "time” episode I have seen in any science fiction. Another great moment for Janeway, who didn't get her fair share in my opinion. Her setting of a collision course at the end of this was so much more viable than Picard's in "Nemesis" I think.

10) "Dear Doctor" - Another highlight of what Star Trek means to me. In the mess hall, when Archer asks Phlox if he has a cure and Phlox replies that he found one "several days ago,” I said "wow" out loud, not something I say a lot while watching TV. This show was what Enterprise was supposed to be about; how Starfleet and Star Trek came to be what we saw in TOS, TNG, DS9 and VOY. The idea of whether to help a less evolved species is explored greatly here. I almost chose "Stigma" here, but although that is a good episode too, I could watch "Dear Doctor" over and over again.

So there it is, my asteroid picks for Star Trek.

Anthony T., Cambridge, MD