7. Alien Parasite

From: ‘Conspiracy’ (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season One)

What is it? The Next Generation capped its first season with this awesome  - and goresome – tale of parasites taking over Starfleet Admirals.

It might be a sci-fi cliché, but Trek gave it a healthy airing with nasty, head-infiltrating critters nearly taking over the Federation.

Cheesy or cool? Way cool. Case in point? The scene where Picard and co blasts the mother creature- which has been hiding within Lieutenant Commander Dexter Remmick.

The resulting effects job is one of the series’ bloodiest and best looking, despite the limited budget available during the early years.

Fact me ‘till I fart: The creature is able to send out a homing beacon before it dies, which was supposed to pre-figure the arrival of an invading, insectoid race.

But budget cuts forced the producers to change the aliens into The Borg and scrap any link with the episode.