Most disappointing original Trek episode....

[Warped9]

So we have our finalists for most disappointing TOS and TAS episodes.

Season 1: "The Alternative Factor"
Season 2: "I, Mudd"
Season 3: "And The Children Shall lead"
TAS: "The Infinite Vulcan"


Speaking for myself I'll have to go with "And The Children Shall Lead" as the most disappointing of all TOS and TAS episodes. If we had gotten a different choice from TAS I likely would have voted differently, but thats not the case.

"The Alternative Factor" is sloppy, but I don't really consider it outright bad. It still has something of that Season 1 aura to it that salvages it for me.

"I, Mudd" is nuts. The return of Harry Mudd offers up some smirks, but the depiction of the androids is so B-movie grade it's painful, particularly when compared to the decent portrayal of androids in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Requiem For Methuselah." The whole thing is ridiculous. Sadly Mudd would return again in TAS' "Mudd's Passion" and that was even more ridiculous.

"The Infinite Vulcan" is a decent story, in my opinion, It is marred only upon seeing oversized clones of Keniclius 5 and Spock. But if one pays attention to details of the story then the oversized clones are (somewhat) rationalized. Another issue with "The Infinite Vulcan" is it's simply too brief. It would have been nice to have more story, but that is a common issue with pretty much all the TAS episodes. All things considered I simply can't see this as the most disappointing of episodes.

If TAS' "The Practical Joker" had been chosen as most disappointing TAS episode then I would nominate it as most disappointing overall. "And The Children Shall Lead" would have escaped complete dishonour simply by being live-action rather than animated. But such wasn't the case and in all candor I think "And The Children Shall Lead" is far more disappointing than "The Infinite Vulcan." Hell, I think "I, Mudd" is more disappointing than "The Infinite Vulcan."

"And The Children Shall Lead" is disappointing on a number of levels. It actually has the basics (and some moments) of a genuinely decent horror style story, but it's undermined by overacting, annoying kids and a poorly conceived villian. The whole thing is cringe-inducing, particularly when Shatner wigs out (although he's not the only one to overdo it).

 

[The Old Mixer]

Since I'm not overly familiar with TAS, I'm left to choose between the live action episodes, and "The Alternative Factor" is the only one of the three that I've consistently had a hard time getting through. "I, Mudd" is just goofy fun, and "Children" borders on "so bad it's good" territory for me.

 

[Harvey]

Since I'm not overly familiar with TAS, I'm left to choose between the live action episodes, and "The Alternative Factor" is the only one of the three that I've consistently had a hard time getting through. "I, Mudd" is just goofy fun, and "Children" borders on "so bad it's good" territory for me.

I agree with this assessment.

 

[Corylea]

If the question were which is the WORST episode, I'd choose "And the Children Shall Lead," but since it's most DISAPPOINTING, I've picked "The Alternative Factor." I thought there were some interesting science fictional ideas in "The Alternative Factor," but they were undermined by a lot of what was going on in the background.

First they decided to eliminate the romance between Charlene Masters and Lazarus, so they had to pad out the running time with endless scenes of Lazarus fighting himself. Then John Barrymore didn't show, so they had to get a replacement actor who didn't seem to completely understand what was going on. Then the make-up team was inconsistent in putting on Lazarus' fake beard, so sometimes it looked as if he was Lazarus A, but actually he was Lazarus B, adding confusion to an episode that already wasn't as clear as it could have been.

I think if they'd had time to do a real re-write on the script, after they decided to take out the romance subplot -- rather than just padding it out with more Lazarus-fighting-Lazarus -- and if they'd gotten an actor who'd had time to digest the script and to figure out how to play each alternate in a consistent way, this could have been turned into an interesting episode. As it is, I actually find it boring, the only TOS episode I can say that about. Even "And the Children Shall Lead" -- which I think is the worst TOS episode -- isn't actually boring, since we have Shatner chewing on the scenery to liven things up. :-)

 

[Warped9]

"Robert Brown" could deserve to be cut some slack given he was brought in at practically the last minute.

I used the word "disappointing," but I coukd just as easily have used the word "worst" and meant the same thing.

 

[Corylea]

"Robert Brown" could deserve to be cut some slack given he was brought in at practically the last minute.

I did say that he didn't have time to digest the script. That's not calling his acting ability into question, that's assigning blame where it belongs -- on his being "brought in at practically the last minute." I think we're in violent agreement here. :-)

I used the word "disappointing," but I coukd just as easily have used the word "worst" and meant the same thing.

Ah, but the two words do mean different things, and I think a discussion of disappointing episodes might be more interesting than a discussion of worst episodes. There've been a lot of "worst of" lists, but disappointing episodes might be different.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I didn't vote for the TAS because my expectations are just lower there. I went with my long-standing pick for the "80th Best Episode" of Star Trek, "And the Children."

 

[Warped9]

the "80th Best Episode" of Star Trek

 

[Marsden]

I voted for AtCSL, too.

Now if they could have thrown Melvin Beli off a cliff a few times, couldn't have hurt.

 

[HarryM]

AtCSL, a truly horrible episode. Other "bad" episodes I can still watch and get some enjoyment from, this one is like nails on a chalkboard.

 

[Albertese]

Yeah, TAF is pretty boring and confusing, and I don't really enjoy it. I actually do enjoy "I, Mudd" for its wackiness. And for me TIV is in a three-way tie for worst TAS episode alongside "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" and "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" (Trek has done Chariots of the Gods type stories elsewhere that don't bug me but something about this one really gets my goat.)

But for me, the "80th best episode" award (thanks for that ZapBrannigan) goes to AtCSL. The only cool parts of this episode are the little UFP pennant and one more view of the third season Rec Room/Arboretum set. This is the one episode I most consistently skip during a rewatch. I really really hate this one.

--Alex

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I recall hating AtCSL even as a kid, because I felt misrepresented by it. Kids aren't that horribly uncool and annoying, and they don't wear such stupid-looking clothes! It was the furthest thing from how I wanted to see myself.

If that's how Star Trek saw kids, then it was better to leave kids out of it and let Kirk and Spock be our audience representatives, the way God intended.

 

[BillJ]

Star Trek's biggest turd? "And the Children Shall Lead".

 

[Indysolo]

Three of the episodes on this list are coherent. The Alternative Factor isn't. Thus, it is the worst and most disappointing.

Neil

 

[Kor]

"And the Children Shall Lead" was an irredeemable disaster from start to finish.

Kor

 

[Gary Mitchell]

And the Children Shall Lead.... a big pile of donkey dookie.

 

[A beaker full of death]

Hail, Hail, Fire and Snow!

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For some reason this guy really reminds me of Shatner!

 

[Marsden]

And the Children Shall Lead.... a big pile of donkey dookie.

Well, at least you can fertilize your garden with that. I still want one of you creative types to make a video of Melvin Beli being thrown off a cliff, mu mu and all.

 

[UnknownSample]

Did they write Belli in, in a parody of lawyers, and how they re-arrange our priorities to increase their power? He's really just a great big lawyer in a mumu.

 

[johnnybear]

I voted I Mudd but would rather have voted for either Whom Gods Destroy or Plato's Stepchildren to be honest as they are a lot worse than I Mudd!
JB