You know, Okona is really just Poochie. Maybe he died on the way back to his home planet.
Weakest TNG
- Thread starter Vger23
- Start date
I think that 'honor' goes to "Shades Of Gray".
In terms of sheer offensiveness I think Code of Honor would be the worst. The title of worst episode (overall) would perhaps still go to Shades of Gray as far as I'm concerned.
I still prefer shades of gray over Okona. The writing in Okona was pathetic. Why would you think Okona was cool? Because all the characters were gushing over the guy without even knowing him for 10 minutes. He did nothing that would make me think he was nothing but a dirtbag who flew a crappy little ship back and forth. All the females on the Enterprise just couldn't help but throw themselves on him even though he wasn't even on the ship long enough to talk to anyone and the ones who did converse with him were given cheesy pick up lines. The story was awful.
The episode would have been much better had it been set in the mirror universe with the TNG crew setting his ship on fire or something like that.
Shades of gray was awful too but didn't seem as bad.
The episode would have been much better had it been set in the mirror universe with the TNG crew setting his ship on fire or something like that.
Shades of gray was awful too but didn't seem as bad.
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Shades of Gray is hands down the worst TNG episode, but I think it should get a pass purely because they seem to have been more or less compelled to put together a crappy clip show due to overspending on other episodes. IMO, you just can’t hold it to the usual standards.
An episode can the weakest (or worst) in several different ways, of course. Not going to rack my brain trying to come up with 30 of them though.
Shades of Grey - this one is the worst in that it's not even an attempt at writing a decent episode, IMHO. All the others supposedly were, even if they horribly failed in some aspects. That's why this one takes top spot overall, IMHO.
The last outpost - The cheesiest, even though it's really only the last part (on the planet). The first part (on the ship) is quite decent.
Code of honor - The worst in being an offensive episode in terms of racial stereotyping.
Symbiosis - The worst in being preachy. Drugs are bad, kids!
Angel one - The worst in feeling very forced (to me) in attempting the tired 'what if women were as dominant as men used to be and behaved like it' trope.
Datalore - The worst in being so explicitly targeted at (pre-)teens only. Dumbs down the crew to an incredible degree, only to make Wesley the 'hero' who is the only one that sees the moustache twirling Lore for who he is. Lore inadvertently showing his 'advanced' knowledge by spouting Pythagoras. And so on. Ugh.
The outrageous Okona - Worst 'humor'.
Sub Rosa - Worst softporn attempt, and that genre generally doesn't mix well with storytelling. Also the idea that Beverley, otherwise a highly intelligent and capable medical officer, is so easily swayed, but OK, in that respect it's really no different from many other 'alien influence' episodes.
Then, there's those episodes that aren't outstandlingly bad per se, but that I still hate watching, for some reason. Amongst those are Dark Page, Imaginary Friend and Violations. When they're over I breathe a sigh of relief.
Shades of Grey - this one is the worst in that it's not even an attempt at writing a decent episode, IMHO. All the others supposedly were, even if they horribly failed in some aspects. That's why this one takes top spot overall, IMHO.
The last outpost - The cheesiest, even though it's really only the last part (on the planet). The first part (on the ship) is quite decent.
Code of honor - The worst in being an offensive episode in terms of racial stereotyping.
Symbiosis - The worst in being preachy. Drugs are bad, kids!
Angel one - The worst in feeling very forced (to me) in attempting the tired 'what if women were as dominant as men used to be and behaved like it' trope.
Datalore - The worst in being so explicitly targeted at (pre-)teens only. Dumbs down the crew to an incredible degree, only to make Wesley the 'hero' who is the only one that sees the moustache twirling Lore for who he is. Lore inadvertently showing his 'advanced' knowledge by spouting Pythagoras. And so on. Ugh.
The outrageous Okona - Worst 'humor'.
Sub Rosa - Worst softporn attempt, and that genre generally doesn't mix well with storytelling. Also the idea that Beverley, otherwise a highly intelligent and capable medical officer, is so easily swayed, but OK, in that respect it's really no different from many other 'alien influence' episodes.
Then, there's those episodes that aren't outstandlingly bad per se, but that I still hate watching, for some reason. Amongst those are Dark Page, Imaginary Friend and Violations. When they're over I breathe a sigh of relief.
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Don't know why Symbiosis gets the bad rap it does. The "Just say no" stuff is a 90 second conversation between Wes and Yar. The rest of the story basically predicts the opioid crisis's prescription drug abuse fostered by a corporate conspiracy. Picard makes a really good call that obeys the PD and satisfies Bev's moral qualms at the same time. 8/10 for me.
I've come to appreciate "Symbiosis" more in the recent years. My opinion was marred for years by the "Just Say No" stuff. But the episode does seem 100% more relevant with the opioid prescription crisis.
To me, it's not just that scene, it's the entire set-up of the episode. You know when you see the inhabitants of an entire world addicted to a substance that inhabitants of another world profit off that you're in for a very heavy-handed - well, I wanted to say analogy but it isn't even an analogy- (and exposition) on drugs use. (The Jem' Hadar are different in that respect, they were made dependent by design).
In a way, I do like the Picard solution, though. Solving it by not solving it, and even appealing to fundamental principles as the PD for that, even if that will cause a lot of short-term pain.
What you’re describing is planet-of-hats sci-fi, which is the entirety of Star Trek. I don’t know if you were there in the 80s, but Reganite say-no-ism was the idea that “bad hombres” were infiltrating suburbs and getting your little blonde daughter on crack at the playground. That’s not what this is. It’s a savvy finger point at for-profit drug producers hiding the effects of their products story that somehow miraculously doesn’t cast doubts on modern medicine.
The Jem’hadar are just a riff on the drug controlled 21st century soldiers in Encounter at Farpoint. In that case, again, we’re looking at corporo-fascist imposed addiction, not some silly personal responsibility narrative.
^ I did watch Star Trek in the 80's, but from continental Europe, where that say-no-ism and for-profit-drug producers of course exist(ed) too, but I don't think quite as pronounced as in the US. Hence my different associations with an episode such as this one.
Not sure the entirety of Star Trek is 'planet of hats' but a large portion certainly is.
Not sure the entirety of Star Trek is 'planet of hats' but a large portion certainly is.
With Okona, really the worst part of it is the fashion sense of the aliens which are soooooooo 80’s! That one guy reminds me of Corey Hart! The fashion reminds me of TOS’s The Way To Eden that has all the hippy “flower power” fashion,
While I think Okona definitely deserves to be on any list of "30 Weakest," it at least has some redeeming qualities. It's fun in a bad, outdated sort of way...and at least that counts for something.
On the other hand, there are truly objectionable episodes that have virtually zero redeeming qualities that are way ahead in this category, in my opinion. Examples would be:
Datalore
Angel One
Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
The Price
Violations
Imaginary Friend
Aquiel
Suspicions
Dark Page
Ugh....I shudder just thinking about some of these.
LOL
I would argue there is some on those episodes you listed. I can defend them without much trouble...
“Okona” I actually don’t find the story to be weak. As I said it’s mostly the fashion choices that have not aged well.
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