All 755 live-action episodes ranked

[BoTWoT]

"Let He Who Is Without Sin" is the only episode I haven't watched since first run. Obviously I wasn't born yet when "And the Children Shall Lead" came out, but that's the only other episode I haven't seen as an adult.

I went through all of DS9 and VOY again (the last two seasons of VOY for the first time) in 2008. I haven't really seen them since, except for Seven-centric episodes (and every episode of TNG) in the lead-up to Picard. There's not too much difference between my late-20s and early-40s, but just enough so that I thought it might be fair to note it.

With every other episode of TOS, I never sat down and watched all of them in a row (as an adult) but, over the last two decades, I've managed to re-watch all of them -- except for "And the Children Shall Lead" -- at least once, at one point or another.

I find it very hard to believe your perceptions of something might not change in a whole third of your life. My perceptions of Trek have changed from the first watch for rankings to my second! Not trying to change your mind on any specific episodes, but I know I wouldn't try to rank something I hadn't watched for more than a decade! Though I definitely understand skipping stuff you don't like in playthroughs. I always have, until now!

 

[Lord Garth]

My opinions are less harsh than they used to be, in most cases, but the overall gist of them hasn't changed.

I preferred TOS to TNG from the beginning. I preferred Kurtzman Trek to Berman Trek from Day One. Specifics might change, but the broad strokes stay the same.

And I don't believe in hate-watching. If I don't like something, I'm avoiding it.

 

[BoTWoT]

And I don't believe in hate-watching. If I don't like something, I'm avoiding it.

Fair Enough

I preferred Kurtzman Trek to Berman Trek from Day One.

Agreed! Modern Trek also has problems, but different problems from the series that have come before it. Better production, better acting, but they don't seem to have figured out the pacing yet. Currently set to Game of Thrones.

 

[fireproof78]

My opinions are less harsh than they used to be, in most cases, but the overall gist of them hasn't changed.

For the most part the same. I'm a little more gracious to Enterprise and find TNG passable at times. But, for the most part, I prefer TOS and DS9 as well as a lot of the films and modern Trek. The rest I don't feel a need to revisit all that often.

 

[Xhiandra]

I'll watch part II later, but my reactions to part I:

755. "Shades of Gray" (TNG).

It depends what "worst" means. There are episodes that have worse writing. Not many, but a few.
So, it's not the most stupid, although it's still pretty stupid.
It is, on the other hand, the most pointless episode of Trek. It's a waste of time to watch it, it brings nothing to the viewer.
It's not even "so bad, it's good".
So, it makes a lot of sense to put as worst.


754. "And the Children Shall Lead" (TOS)

Such a terrible episode. Extremely stupid, and quite annoying.
A fitting episode for the worst "real" one.


753. "Catspaw" (TOS)

This is where I start to disagree. It's not a good episode, but there are so many worse ones, in my opinion. VOY:Threshold, DS9: The Reckoning, TNG: The Game, DS9: the soporific baseball episode (is it "Take me Out to the Holosuite"?), VOY: The Fight, DS9: Profit and Lace, much of DSC, ...

752. "Plato's Stepchildren" (TOS)

This is where I start to highly disagree. I actually like this episode, I just wish they'd toned it down.
It's quite a bit over-the-top in execution, but I still like it for the most part (the teapot scene belongs on the cutting floor, though).

 

[BoTWoT]

753. "Catspaw" (TOS)

This is where I start to disagree. It's not a good episode, but there are so many worse ones, in my opinion. VOY:Threshold, DS9: The Reckoning, TNG: The Game, DS9: the soporific baseball episode (is it "Take me Out to the Holosuite"?), VOY: The Fight, DS9: Profit and Lace, much of DSC, ...

I had no idea so many people liked a side of badly GMed Dungeon&Dragons with their Trek, but I've already got some ideas for reranking this based on others feedback. Almost everything you just mentioned you will find in the next few episodes, except Discovery. Even when it's overall arc is bad(seasons 1 and 2 apply) each episode contains something memorable, or explores something, and we won't be seeing it for a VERY long time on the list. On the flipside, you won't see much of it in the top 100 either. Thanks for watching! Love to hear everyone's thoughts!

 

[Oddish]

I personally put "Shades" above an episode like "Threshold", because while the former is a clip show comprised largely of recycled footage, it isn't a painfully ridiculous episode that...
1. Rewrites canon completely.
2. Provides a potential resolution to the show's entire dilemma (take Voyager up to Warp 10. Go home. Have the Doctor de-salamanderize everybody).
3. Wipes out a momentous event in two characters' lives (like parenthood) with the Reset Button.

 

[BoTWoT]

I personally put "Shades" above an episode like "Threshold", because while the former is a clip show comprised largely of recycled footage, it isn't a painfully ridiculous episode that...
1. Rewrites canon completely.
2. Provides a potential resolution to the show's entire dilemma (take Voyager up to Warp 10. Go home. Have the Doctor de-salamanderize everybody).
3. Wipes out a momentous event in two characters' lives (like parenthood) with the Reset Button.

What about Threshold rewrote cannon completely? You're other observations are spot on.

 

[dupersuper]

Considering there's 755 episodes, and there are layers of bad, the fact that it has not one but two messages, at all, even if done poorly, beats the bottom 100, which as a whole don't have a message at all!

I'm not commenting on the specific ranking you're debating, but in general I'll sometimes prefer a fun, low on message episode to something like Dear Doctor with a horrible message.

 

[Oddish]

Warp 10 was previously unthinkable, a velocity so high that you were effectively everywhere at once. Tom Paris not only reached it, but he did it in a modified Warp 4 trash hauler.

 

[BoTWoT]

Warp 10 was previously unthinkable, a velocity so high that you were effectively everywhere at once. Tom Paris not only reached it, but he did it in a modified Warp 4 trash hauler.

Not breaking cannon. It was in the writers room bible and the Star Trek:Encyclopedia before the episode came out exactly the same as they describe in the episode. Just explored something cannon that hadn't been seen on screen before...badly.

 

[eschaton]

Warp 10 was previously unthinkable, a velocity so high that you were effectively everywhere at once. Tom Paris not only reached it, but he did it in a modified Warp 4 trash hauler.

Wasn't there a TOS episode where they exceeded Warp 10?

 

[BoTWoT]

Wasn't there a TOS episode where they exceeded Warp 10?

Several, and in Q's alternate future, ent-D goes warp 13. What was never said on screen but had been in the writers bible since the beginning of TNG was the warp factor scale was changed between TOS and TNG. My original copy of The Star Trek Encyclopedia published after the 6th season of TNG, lists the warp chart and makes the mention that it was changed, capping the ultimate warp speed at 10.

 

[Oddish]

Wasn't there a TOS episode where they exceeded Warp 10?

Before they made Warp 10 effectively an infinite speed. They mentioned Warp 13 in "All Good Things", suggesting that they had redone the warp scale again.

 

[NCC-73515]

It makes sense to update the scale when all starships are cruising around at warp 9.9something XD

 

[BoTWoT]

Before they made Warp 10 effectively an infinite speed. They mentioned Warp 13 in "All Good Things", suggesting that they had redone the warp scale again.

Not true. Again, it hadn't been seen on screen, but The Star Trek Encyclopedia released a full year ahead of "All Good Things" says about warp 10 exactly what Voyager says 3 years later. Infinite velocity occupying all points in space simultaneously. There are some things that are cannon, that just haven't made it on screen yet. Gotta say though, as speed gets faster than warp 9.9, it's time to change that scale again, cause 9.9999 is a bit redundant.

 

[Lord Garth]

I just took it as they redefined the Warp Scale at one point. Looks like it could've been as early as TVH because when the Bounty was accelerating toward the Sun, it went "Warp 9.2! 9.3! 9.5! 9.6! 9.7! 9.8!" (what happened to 9.4?!) Never hitting Warp 10.

Then, at some point before the AGT Future, they redefined the Warp Scale again because, yeah, "Warp 9.999999999!!!!!!!" sounds ridiculous. After a certain point, you kind of have to change it, so it doesn't sound so stupid.

In "By Another Other Name" (TOS), the Kelvins modify the Enterprise to go up to Warp 14. And, in -- I think -- "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" (TOS), the ship is modified to go up to Warp 11. Spock, in one episode (I can't remember which) says an enemy ship is heading toward them at Warp 15. Could've been "Journey to Babel", but I'm not sure. Under the TNG Scale, they all would've been Warp 9-point-something.

 

[Oddish]

They should...
1. Redefine the warp scale so that it's open ended.
2. Make it go high enough that even once they gain transwarp speed, it's still easily stated. Maybe the old V = C*(w^3) from ToS.
Warp 16 is 4096 times the speed of light, or about W9.955 in the TNG scale.
Warp 30 is 27,000 times the speed of light.
And Warp 47 is about 103,000c, or fast enough to cross the galaxy in a year.
And 3. Declare that "Threshold" was a bad dream from Tom eating too much of Neelix's Borzolian bean burritos.

 

[Xhiandra]

I had no idea so many people liked a side of badly GMed Dungeon&Dragons with their Trek, but I've already got some ideas for reranking this based on others feedback. Almost everything you just mentioned you will find in the next few episodes, except Discovery. Even when it's overall arc is bad(seasons 1 and 2 apply) each episode contains something memorable, or explores something, and we won't be seeing it for a VERY long time on the list. On the flipside, you won't see much of it in the top 100 either. Thanks for watching! Love to hear everyone's thoughts!

Over the past year, I've gone back to re-watch and rate all Trek episodes... well, I've watched or rewatched all of it (except TAS, I need to watch that some time - and Short Treks, but I don't intend to watch that), but didn't rate PIC, DSC or LD.
It's hard to rate them, and although I like to play up how much I dislike DSC, in truth I do agree that not many, if any, episodes of DSC are as bad as Threshold, The Game or The Reckoning.
I'd stopped watching DSC towards the end of S1 initially, but this time I pushed through, and everytime I caught myself thinking "this series is terrible", something decent popped up. On the other hand, everytime I caught myself thinking "this series is starting to be good", something stupid popped up.

TL;DR: I agree, DSC is bad overall, but no episode is as terrible as the worst of TOS, TNG, DS9 and VOY. I'd say the worst is to be found towards the end of S1.
ENT is much the same way: the series is not great, but it has few absolute stinkers.


As for re-ranking: I'm not sure you should do it. It's your ranking and has to remain so. We're just having fun discussing different perspectives. It's interesting to see how other people think.
For instance, Greg Cox voiced that he finds boring episodes worse than ridiculous ones. It's a view held by many, and that I can respect, but absolutely do not share.
I'd rather watch episodes like TNG: New Ground, that brings little to nothing to the series/franchise and is overall quite boring over aneurysm-inducing ones like VOY: Threshold.


Anyway, parts II and III:

751: The Alternative Factor.

Undeniably a mess that makes little sense, hard to argue against it being towards the bottom of any list. I'd have ranked some of the previously-mentionned episodes lower, but that's nitpicking.

750: The Conscience of the King

Another major disagreement from me, I really do like this episode.
Your point about filler is fair, there is quite a bit of it, but I like that it's not a bombastic monster-of-the-week episode and more character-centric, I liked the Shakespearan aspects of it.
I honestly consider it a 7/10 episode.

749: The Naked Now

Justified placement, yes (well, with the usual nitpick that Threshold should be lower than it).
The Naked Time was bad (3/10), and Wesley makes the Naked Now even worse (2/10).

748: Miri

I like the premise, but the execution is indeed pretty terrible. A lot of things don't make sense. Still, it's not one of the worst. Bad, but not the worst.

747: Who Mourns for Adonais?

Another one I actually like, with the exception of one line ("we find the one quite satisfactory") that contradicts the previous line directly and undermines the whole thing.

746: Spock's Brain

This one's really stupid. No getting around it. Everything about it is stupid. If anything, it should be lower-ranked.

745: Up the Long Ladder

American stereotypes of old Ireland, and some poorly handled foray into cloning ethics. Yep, it's a bad one.

744: Spectre of the Gun

Not that bad, to be honest. Pretty average. Bad premise, but Spock's good in this.

743: That which Survives

Another pretty average one. Forgettable.

742: The Savage Curtain

Another disagreement for me. Good concept, bad execution, but the introduction of characters like Surak is pretty nice.
A lack of subtlety lets the episode down, but despite their naïvity, I still like quotes like "There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war except its ending.".

741: Justice

An episode that isn't as bad as it's rumoured to be, honestly. Plot is unsubtle, but has actual pathos from Beverly and a discussion about letter vs spirit of the law. The costuming and visuals do not do the episode much good, though.

740: Code of Honor

Racist overtones and a mess of an ending. Not much to like from this one.

739: A Piece of the Action

So much potential for a light, fun, action/humour-oriented episode, but it falls very flat. As you said, cringeworthy.

In my book, Threshold, The Reckoning, The Game and The Fight all deserve to be lower than most of these. Oh, and some others like TOS: Operation Annihilate or DS9: Rapture, but I do seem to be alone in disliking those two intensely.

 

[BoTWoT]

(except TAS, I need to watch that some time - and Short Treks, but I don't intend to watch that),

Personally I'd watch Short Trek's before TAS. There's more going on in a few short episodes than in all of TAS. There's a couple good TAS plots, and some funny moments, but there's a couple of Short Trek's I'd rank in the top 50 if I were ranking them in this list. Trek has never made me cry as hard as an episode that has basically no dialogue...

As for re-ranking: I'm not sure you should do it. It's your ranking and has to remain so. We're just having fun discussing different perspectives. It's interesting to see how other people think.
For instance, Greg Cox voiced that he finds boring episodes worse than ridiculous ones. It's a view held by many, and that I can respect, but absolutely do not share.
I'd rather watch episodes like TNG: New Ground, that brings little to nothing to the series/franchise and is overall quite boring over aneurysm-inducing ones like VOY: Threshold.

Here's the thing. Even I'm not sure I've gotten this "right" after 2 playthroughs. Manhunt, that I haven't even aired yet, definitely belonged in the first 3 episodes somewhere, as well as Fascination. As you can tell by my ending segment,"Thanks Majel", I find Miss Barret a treasure to the franchise, but man a couple of the Lwaxana Troi episodes go less than nowhere. Also, with things like Conscience of the King, I admit in the video that it has 1 act of the script that works, and despite 3 Acts that make me never want to watch it again, it's probably better than A Night In Sickbay, where at the end I can't find any redeeming quality to the episode. If you follow this thread though if I whole heatedly disagree with the entire fan community, like with Dear Doctor, I'm going to hold my ground. I've tried to be objective with this list and not just make it my personal favs and least favs, but start with existing best and worst lists, create a block of about 30 episodes I think are roughly the same, and start ranking them. When that block runs out, add the next block that feels about the same and keep going.

In my book, Threshold, The Reckoning, The Game and The Fight all deserve to be lower than most of these. Oh, and some others like TOS: Operation Annihilate or DS9: Rapture, but I do seem to be alone in disliking those two intensely.

The Reckoning? Really? Another one that's not even close to being on my radar for fan hatred. If it's a personal least favorite, so be it, but what did I miss that could possibly make an episode that advances the "Sisko is a Prophet" arc, worthy of the bottom of the barrel? Operation Annihilate is pretty terrible and just watch a few more episodes to find it. Episode 7 will be coming out in a few hours. Thanks for watching, and I love to hear where I'm wrong!

P.S.Make sure you watch the thanks Majel roll when you get to The Fight...Best thing I may ever do with that segment!