TOS' worst episode.

[TLOZ Lover]

I need to go with Turnabout Intruder upon some further reflection. It's the series finale (even though such a concept wasn't really the same back in 69) and it really has very little "Star Trek" elements in it. But, the worst part is that in the FINAL episode...Kirk isn't even Kirk. Our hero and the star of the series has his body stolen by a lunatic ex-girlfriend.

It is God awful, isn't it? (Sorry to any TI fans out there!) What a terrible way to end the series IMO. Would have been better to have ended with 78 episodes and not even have bothered with this script. I mean Kirk/Janice ordering the execution of the senior officers including my man Scotty? Hell to the no.

 

[FormerLurker]

like something out of The Omega Man or I Am Legend..

To be pedantic, The Omega Man is I Am Legend.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

To be pedantic, The Omega Man is I Am Legend.

Well, to me, the novel I Am Legend, the movie The Omega Man, and the movie I Am Legend are three very different things. It's just that Richard Matheson got royalties for all of them, along with The Last Man on Earth (1964).

I wish I could write a novel that people would make three movies out of. That's a grand slam.

 

[T'Bonz]

It's a tie between Plato's Stepchildren and And The Children Shall Lead. Both just piss me off and I skip watching them.

Runners up: The Cloud Minders (and that vapid Droxine), The Way to Eden (groovy hippies!).

 

[johnnybear]

I don't mind And The Children, The Cloud Minders has Vana as a reward as such and Way to Eden has another look at the Tholian ship (why though?) and another excursion into Romulan space but Plato's has cringing scenes and unnecessary unpleasantness with Kirk and Spock forced to behave like animals and just because they responded to a call for help from a race of idle aliens that couldn't even put a plaster on a cut!
JB

 

[stoneroses]

'The Lights of Zeta' for me

 

[Sybok Was Wrong]

"And The Children Shall Lead".
And it's not that bad.

TOS is awesome. Totally Entertaining, from "The Cage" to "Turnabout Intruder".
Season 3 doesn't deserve the bad rap. Fred Friberger did a good job!

 

[gottacook]

As I may have written on a similar thread years ago, for me it's "The Mark of Gideon"; it's the most offensive in terms of insulting the viewer's intelligence.

We are to believe many impossible things: that the Gideons, a non-Federation member society, would be able to create a duplicate Enterprise that would fool (even temporarily) its captain, or would have room to build such a thing; that the Gideons would have been able to learn about a specific disease that Captain Kirk once had, which presumably would have been difficult even for Federation members to learn; that the vaunted crew of the Enterprise would not recognize that they'd been fed two slightly different sets of transporter coordinates; etc., etc.

Even "And the Children Shall Lead" was superior by virtue of its original George Duning score. Likewise "Plato's Stepchildren" had Michael Dunn, who was both delightful and plausible.

 

[Green]

Is every episode with a hot chick NOT eligible for the worst list? Really? Tiresome.

 

[TLOZ Lover]

'The Lights of Zeta' for me

I so so sooooo disagree with you on this one, but I respect your opinion.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Count me as another Liker of Zetar.

 

[TLOZ Lover]

I'm very thankful for each and every one. Hope you can visit my blog sometime!

 

[kkt]

As I may have written on a similar thread years ago, for me it's "The Mark of Gideon"; it's the most offensive in terms of insulting the viewer's intelligence.

We are to believe many impossible things: that the Gideons, a non-Federation member society, would be able to create a duplicate Enterprise that would fool (even temporarily) its captain, or would have room to build such a thing; that the Gideons would have been able to learn about a specific disease that Captain Kirk once had, which presumably would have been difficult even for Federation members to learn; that the vaunted crew of the Enterprise would not recognize that they'd been fed two slightly different sets of transporter coordinates; etc., etc.

Yes, you definitely have to take it on a metaphorical level, because it doesn't make any sense at all on a realistic level.

 

[Commishsleer]

Plato's Stepchildren is definitely one of my favourites. Definitely top 10. Has a lot of great interaction between the main players and even the guest star. I don't mind the "embaressing scene". Its supposed to be torture. Loved the scene with Spock crushing the statue thing with his bare hands.

I put Zetar in my bottom 10. There's nothing that bad about it. Its just a bit boring. Maybe they could have put a little bit more effort into saving the Zetarans.

 

[johnnybear]

Prefer Zetar to Plato but glad you're a fan, Sleer or do I mean Servalan? Uunngh!
JB

 

[Commishsleer]

Prefer Zetar to Plato but glad you're a fan, Sleer or do I mean Servalan? Uunngh!
JB

The last person to make public that association well they never heard of again!..

Since you're so clever I'll let you off this time.

I love every episode of TOS. There really are too few of them., I value every episode. There are good scenes in every one of them,. I suppose the episode with the least redeeming scenes for me is "And the Children Shall Lead". Spock's Brain has a few good scenes and even Cloud Minders which I really hate is mostly good.except for every scene wi9th Droxine in it.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Yes, every television series has a mixture of excellent, good and Ugh episodes. I'm just happy that TOS had 3 seasons produced. Of course, more would have been better, but....*sigh*....

 

[Armus]

Lets get into the dirt and talk about TOS' worst efforts.

I think these are poor although perhaps not outright bad:
“The Apple”
“I, Mudd”
“A Piece Of The Action”
“Spock’s Brain”
“The Mark Of Gideon”
“Turnabout Intruder”

I think these ones, well, kinda smell bad:
“And The Children Shall Lead”
“Wink Of An Eye”
“Whom Gods Destroy”


And yet each of these could have been better with a little more thought and care. It can also be said that even when "less than inspired" TOS was never boring.


Anyone else?

Just for the record, I think "Wink Of An Eye" has one of the sexiest female guest stars ever regardless of it's merits as an episode. "And The Children Shall Lead" is awful. I couldn't make it through "The Lights Of Zetar".

 

[alensatemybuick1]

For no other reason than it evokes a phrase we may hearing more and more over the next 4 years, I have to go with "The Alternative Factor".

 

[TLOZ Lover]

Just for the record, I think "Wink Of An Eye" has one of the sexiest female guest stars ever regardless of it's merits as an episode. "And The Children Shall Lead" is awful. I couldn't make it through "The Lights Of Zetar".

Very sorry to hear that.