We dissect the DNA of Star Trek this week with the "Top 5 Trek Tropes," a topic we've been waiting to do for more than five years. Host Jim Moorhouse and our expert panel of Alex Perry and Jenn Tifft discuss those elements of Trek that make Star Trek, Star Trek! From storylines to production elements and from dialog to visuals, this dynamic conversation helps crystalize exactly how we all think about Star Trek.

Episode Rundown:

Diagnostic Cycle: We break down exactly what we mean by a trope, which is: a commonly used theme or device to help tell a story.

Prime Directive: Each guest on this week's panel reveals exactly how they narrowed down their list and made their final choices.

The Order of Things: All the picks are revealed with the TrekRanks' original "Five words and a hashtag" summary, along with one episode that helps frame their choice.

Secondary Systems: For a few extra picks that just missed our final list.

Regeneration Cycle: The panel recaps their picks and we get into some of the interesting statistical anomalies that arose from the discussion.

Temporal Inversion: We flashback to a previous episode of TrekRanks and relay some of the feedback received from listeners.

If you have your own picks you would like to relay to us, please hail us at 609-512-LLAP (5527) and record your own personal TrekRanks log to let us know your Top 5 Trek Tropes. (Or you can record it yourself and just DM us @TrekRanks on Twitter.) Your comments could be used as part of a Temporal Inversion on an upcoming episode (and might get you a chance to be a guest on a future episode, too).

And don't forget to check out TrekRanks.com for our entire back catalog of episodes and a detailed rundown on every episode of Star Trek ever.