TOS' worst episode.

[Spock's Barber]

The absolute worst episode was "The Great Vegetable Rebellion"........oh, wait. That was Lost in Space.

The one TOS episode that really makes me cringe in agony is Plato's Stepchildren. Ugh!

 

[Spock's Barber]

I couldn't make it through "The Lights Of Zetar".

Zetar is a good episode. The scene where Scotty finds the dead technicians on Memory Alpha still freaks me out a little.

 

[TLOZ Lover]

Zetar is a good episode. The scene where Scotty finds the dead technicians on Memory Alpha still freaks me out a little.

Always delighted to find someone who else appreciates TLOZ! As I've stated elsewhere, it may not be Star Trek at its best, but it certainly is not Star Trek at its worst. Plenty of other contenders for worst episode than Zetar IMO!

Yes, Scotty's expression and reaction always struck me as strange. Like he hasn't already seen plenty of dead people/creatures in his long career? Besides, Spock had already reported on the bridge there were no life readings on Memory Alpha after the "storm" had cleared the planetoid, although why the ship's sensors didn't pick up the faint life reading of the Reidonian technician appears to be bit of a goof in the writing. If Mira had told Scotty what she saw on Memory Alpha before the landing party arrived, his reaction would have made sense because he would have realized she was indeed seeing things in advance. As it was, she doesn't tell him until after they returned to the ship.

One thing I always chuckle about is reading how freaked out people are (or were as kids) to see the faces of the technician and Mira changing colors as the Zetarians attacked. That never phased me in the least, even as a kid! Different things for different people, I guess!

 

[Spock's Barber]

Yes, before they beam down Spock says something about no life registering on Memory Alpha. So they should have been prepared to see dead bodies.

 

[Armus]

Very sorry to hear that.

I've only watched it once so it merits a revisit at some point.

 

[Spock's Barber]

I've only watched it once so it merits a revisit at some point.

It took me many years of watching TOS before I came to appreciate many of the 3rd season episodes.

"And The Children Shall Lead" is awful.

That is one episode that gets very little playtime on my DVD player.

 

[BlueshirtGuard]

To me "worst" means bad acting, bad writing, incoherent plot, annoying characters.

People seem to have a certain dislike for certain types of episodes regardless if they are actually bad or not. Menagerie is well made, well written, well acted, coherent and adds to the characters depth -- but because it contains "clips" somebody saw before -- it is "worst." --??

Assignment isn't a great episode, but it tells a story about Gary 7 and his mission. Lansing is a good actor and the plot is ok. Simply being a pilot that wasn't picked up doesn't make it worse than a terrible show like Mark of Gideon. Every type of logic is throw to the wind in that episode.
be.

Mark of Gideon was bad too I admit. Assignment Earth's story wasn't a star trek story in my opinion making it one of the worst. Gary was okay at acting but his assistant was really annoying. The plot hole (how the f did the enterprise not know what was suppose to happen that day? They have the records of all that is happening in that time but they can't look up how the missle launch is suppose to turn out) in Assignment Earth was just as bad as Gideon. There was barely any star trek in Assignment Earth. When I turn on star trek I expect a story about the crew not a dumb pilot for a whole different show. Maybe it wasn't the worst of star trek, but its lack of actually being star trek was offensive.

 

[Spock's Barber]

As others have said, AE was GR's silly attempt to use TOS as a pilot vehicle in order to a get a potential new series noticed by the network suits. It didn't work too well.

 

[Mr Awe]

After all of this talk about Lights of Zetar, I realized that I hadn't seen it in 15-20 years and better check it out. Wasn't sure how bad I thought it actually was. I watched it last night and, no, I don't think it's the worst episode of the series. It's not terrible although it's not great either. Definitely not as bad as Plato's Stepchildren and the Alternative Factor.

Mostly, it was just a tad bit boring. Most of the actors seemed a bit bored. Shatner in particular looked tired/bored. Same with Nimoy. They both just phoned this in, although Spock didn't have many good lines.The directing was flat as well. The result was that scenes which should have been intense, weren't actually intense. The scenes where the Enterprise is trying to evade the lights should have been intense and the scenes on Memory Alpha Both should have been creepy. Good old Jimmy Doohan of course gave it all but alas he's not the best actor and I found him being in love a bit annoying in the same way as it was in Who Mourns for Adonais.

The idea of Memory Alpha is a great one and could've served as an interesting back drop to the story but that angle was completely blown. The resolution was strange. Why would the combination of zero gravity and high pressure kill the lights? That wasn't really explained. I did think the lab that the scene took place in was a nice set. It had a different vibe than the rest of the ship. It look like a forerunner of the look for ST:TMP.

So, not the worst but dull and probably closer to the bottom than the middle. The problems were split between the cast, directing, and the script. At least it wasn't actively annoying. The weird vocalization from Mira and the lady on Memory Alpha creeped the shit out of me as a kid!

Mr Awe

 

[TLOZ Lover]

After all of this talk about Lights of Zetar, I realized that I hadn't seen it in 15-20 years and better check it out. Wasn't sure how bad I thought it actually was. I watched it last night and, no, I don't think it's the worst episode of the series. It's not terrible although it's not great either. Definitely not as bad as Plato's Stepchildren and the Alternative Factor.

Mostly, it was just a tad bit boring. Most of the actors seemed a bit bored. Shatner in particular looked tired/bored. Same with Nimoy. They both just phoned this in, although Spock didn't have many good lines.The directing was flat as well. The result was that scenes which should have been intense, weren't actually intense. The scenes where the Enterprise is trying to evade the lights should have been intense and the scenes on Memory Alpha Both should have been creepy. Good old Jimmy Doohan of course gave it all but alas he's not the best actor and I found him being in love a bit annoying in the same way as it was in Who Mourns for Adonais.

The idea of Memory Alpha is a great one and could've served as an interesting back drop to the story but that angle was completely blown. The resolution was strange. Why would the combination of zero gravity and high pressure kill the lights? That wasn't really explained. I did think the lab that the scene took place in was a nice set. It had a different vibe than the rest of the ship. It look like a forerunner of the look for ST:TMP.

So, not the worst but dull and probably closer to the bottom than the middle. The problems were split between the cast, directing, and the script. At least it wasn't actively annoying. The weird vocalization from Mira and the lady on Memory Alpha creeped the shit out of me as a kid!

Mr Awe

Hope you will visit my blog on this episode!

 

[johnnybear]

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".

Kathie Browne did absolutely nothing for me unfortunately! She reminded me of my aunt Florrie who I used to call old Polly! We used to get on great back in the old days too!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

The absolute worst episode was "The Great Vegetable Rebellion"........oh, wait. That was Lost in Space.

The one TOS episode that really makes me cringe in agony is Plato's Stepchildren. Ugh!

Same here! I'd read the story in the Blish paperbacks back in the late seventies and wasn't sure what to make of it but by 1982, when I first saw it I wished I hadn't! I'm no fan of torture movies or the like anyway but apart from that odourous part of it I didn't think it was that much of a story either!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

One of the dead bodies on Memory Alpha looked like The Frankenstein monster and I'm sure the other was Margaret Armen doing a cameo as Libby Erwin!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

After all of this talk about Lights of Zetar, I realized that I hadn't seen it in 15-20 years and better check it out. Wasn't sure how bad I thought it actually was. I watched it last night and, no, I don't think it's the worst episode of the series. It's not terrible although it's not great either. Definitely not as bad as Plato's Stepchildren and the Alternative Factor.

Mostly, it was just a tad bit boring. Most of the actors seemed a bit bored. Shatner in particular looked tired/bored. Same with Nimoy. They both just phoned this in, although Spock didn't have many good lines.The directing was flat as well. The result was that scenes which should have been intense, weren't actually intense. The scenes where the Enterprise is trying to evade the lights should have been intense and the scenes on Memory Alpha Both should have been creepy. Good old Jimmy Doohan of course gave it all but alas he's not the best actor and I found him being in love a bit annoying in the same way as it was in Who Mourns for Adonais.

The idea of Memory Alpha is a great one and could've served as an interesting back drop to the story but that angle was completely blown. The resolution was strange. Why would the combination of zero gravity and high pressure kill the lights? That wasn't really explained. I did think the lab that the scene took place in was a nice set. It had a different vibe than the rest of the ship. It look like a forerunner of the look for ST:TMP.

So, not the worst but dull and probably closer to the bottom than the middle. The problems were split between the cast, directing, and the script. At least it wasn't actively annoying. The weird vocalization from Mira and the lady on Memory Alpha creeped the shit out of me as a kid!

Mr Awe

As I've said many times before, TOS could be very scary to watch when you were a child!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

Even though I'm not a fan of Plato's Stepchildren I wouldn't miss it out on a replay! Like it or not...

JB

 

[1001001]

Come on, man. You know better than that.

Please use multi-quote from now on. Posting 5 times in a row is definitely too much.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Come on, man. You know better than that.

Please use multi-quote from now on. Posting 5 times in a row is definitely too much.

50,000,000 Faux-Elvis Avatars Can't Be Wrong.

 

[scotpens]

Kathie Browne did absolutely nothing for me unfortunately! She reminded me of my aunt Florrie who I used to call old Polly! We used to get on great back in the old days too!

Kathie Browne was certainly pretty, but rather bland as an actress. I'd say it was more the Bill Theiss costume that made her sexy. "Excuse me, Miss, but I think you just lost half your dress!"

 

[Nerys Myk]

Kathie Browne was certainly pretty, but rather bland as an actress. I think it was more the Bill Theiss costume that made her sexy. "Excuse me, Miss, but I think you just lost half your dress!"

Theiss's theory was to make you think "Uh oh that dress is about to fall off!"

 

[F. King Daniel]

"The Way to Eden" for the singing. Not sure I've ever managed the entire episode without using the mute button.

"The Man Trap" left me extremely underwhelmed during my last TOS watch-through (in DVD/airdate order)