Worst Season 1 episode....

[Botany Bay]

Collectively, these are the forum's bottom five from the first season from the Episode of the Week threads :
"The Return of the Archons" 6.95
"The Man Trap" 6.89
"Miri" 5.59
"Mudd's Women" 5.30
"The Alternative Factor" 3.12

 

[UnknownSample]

I'm SO glad they ran out of $ for Op Annihilate. What they intended sounds awful.

Miri is a parallel Earth to make it a cautionary tale. They destroyed their Earth using 1960s technology... so could we. It also explains the Earth sets and clothing. It's a great ep for mood. I actually like the less-than-totally-necessary parallel Earth thing here-- why, because as a semi-random element, it seems more believable, and less like just a convenient gimmick. To explain Romans or something.

 

[johnnybear]

Wonder if the federation really did send teachers there to spoil the paradise and make the immortal children grow up in the good old Earthian way?
JB

 

[3D ChessMaster]

Presumably the kids would still live for about 300 years till they hit puberty and then can be given McCoy's cure for the adult symptoms.
I feel Miri was an important episode for raising issues about the risks of biological and genetic modification which are still issues today.

 

[johnnybear]

Wouldn't be long before the Federation would move in on the cities and establish their way of life upon the onlies though would it!
JB

 

[scotpens]

Miri is a parallel Earth to make it a cautionary tale. They destroyed their Earth using 1960s technology... so could we. It also explains the Earth sets and clothing.

Does it explain why they still had cars from the 1930s?

 

[Warped9]

Does it explain why they still had cars from the 1930s?

Retro design was big before the end times.

 

[The Old Mixer]

First thought: Do we really need another thread about "The Alternative Factor"?

After all this criticism I am quite interested now in giving ALternative Factor a look.

Say hi to Morpheus for me.

I'm the only one who voted for "The Enemy Within."

And you're dead to me as a result.

 

[UnknownSample]

Would a 1986 car need a special explanation now? I don't know. Anyway, I have wondered how duplicate Earths are treated later by the Federation. The Fed might claim that by being earths, they're already under Earth jurisdiction, and just absorb them...

 

[The Toddler]

I love The Enemy Within. It does what Star Trek does best, explore the human condition.

It also has great music.

Neil

This.

And you're dead to me as a result.

I rewatched "The Enemy Within" again since it had been awhile. I agree with all of you that there's a good message in there, as has all Star Trek when it's at its best. But that's about it. Shatner is at his hammiest; the explanation for how the transporter could produce not only a twin, but an evil twin, is barely there; and to top it all off, the episode ends with Spock saying to Rand, "[Your attempted rapist] had some interesting qualities, wouldn't you say, yeoman?" This is the episode people are defending?

 

[Indysolo]

I will never defend that last line. The show doesn't have to explain the technology behind the transporter malfunction.

I've always thought Shatner was fine in this episode.

Neil

 

[BillJ]

...the explanation for how the transporter could produce not only a twin, but an evil twin, is barely there...

Any explanation would've been bolognium and picked apart by any third-grader that paid attention in science class. One of the things I love about TOS was the lack of explanation.

 

[The Old Mixer]

The Shat's hamfest is the best part!

 

[Warped9]

This poll will be closing in a couple of days (although commentary can continue as long as there is interest). I don't see how there could be any dramatic shifts from "The Alternative Factor" at over 60 percent disapproval.

 

[johnnybear]

Maybe petrol ran out on Miri's earth long before the people died out or they weren't so obsessed with change like their earth counterparts?
JB

 

[KevinGrem]

The Alternative Factor is way, way better than "The Man Trap", "Mudd's Women", or "The Enemy Within". I'll never understand the overwhelming dislike people have for TAF.

 

[Warped9]

Well, "The Alternative Factor" wins (loses?) with 62.5 percent of the vote. TAF will be in the final round.

"Mudd's Women" also had a strong showing at 19.6 percent, but that was still only about a third of the votes TAF got.

I do find it a bit surprising that usually acclaimed episodes such as "The Enemy Within," "Shore Leave" and "Space Seed" each garned a vote by someone as being the most disappointing of the season. And although it was not voted for here I know in another "worst of" thread someone nominated "The City On The Edge Of Forever," one of the most well regarded episodes of the entire franchise let alone TOS.

 

[Marsden]

Well, obviously there are different opinions about things. No matter how acclaimed something is, someone won't like it. I don't want to spread baseless rumors, but I've heard that not everyone... likes.... Star Trek, there I said it even though I can't believe it. I have to wash my keyboard out with soap now.

No really, I'm too silly sometimes, but I can sort of see why someone doesn't like COTEF. Maybe they don't like Joan Collins, or that Edith MUST die instead of some alternative, or lovey dovey Captain Kirk, you name it, there are reasons.

 

[Warped9]

^^ You're quite right. For example some folks like their SF more action oriented and most anything else outside of that could be seen as boring.

 

[The Toddler]

I do find it a bit surprising that usually acclaimed episodes such as "The Enemy Within," "Shore Leave" and "Space Seed" each garned a vote by someone as being the most disappointing of the season.

Well, this poll said "least liked," so it's very subjective. As discussed above, I was the one who voted for "The Enemy Within," but I also don't single it out as being especially worse than some of the other lower-rated first season episodes. In fact, I'd probably rather watch this episode than "Charlie X" if given a choice. It's just that certain aspects of certain episodes strike you the wrong way even if they have qualities that other fans value highly.