The Most Disliked Episode of TNG, Season 5: 2021 Edition...

[Qonundrum]

I repeat, Cause And Effect is a novel and successful take on the sci-fi trope of a time loop. It does start to wear out just shortly before it should, but not enough to really ding it. It's not instantly rewatchable because you've seen it all before, but this is a case where the first time matters the most by far - and it sells everything it needs to for the first viewing. No way this one should be the most disliked.


What's left, gobble gobble..
Unification I
A Matter Of Time
New Ground
Violations
The Masterpiece Society
The Outcast
Cost Of Living
The Perfect Mate
Imaginary Friend

 

[Pikirk_Janesisko]

"Violations" have its moments. The memory sequences are interesting and well done. Usually when Star Trek tries a different visual style it comes out to me very forced and out of place. Those sequences in this episode are very well done and does a good job at creating a very dreamy and disturbing ambience. The premise it's a bit silly, but it's entertaining enough to watch. The worst sin for a episode it's to be boring. I get a kick watching "Violations" to be honest.

Unification I
A Matter Of Time
New Ground
The Masterpiece Society
The Outcast
Cost Of Living
The Perfect Mate

 

[Qonundrum]

Once again about 'Imaginary Friend', I really like it but it gets so much crap here.
Am I the only one who likes it?

However, there are episodes that are loved by almost everybody and I don't like them.
'The Inner Light' comes to mind, not my thing.

I like it, believe it or not.

I started penciling in my reasoning, with my usual sardonic quips, and how one can pencil in something via keyboard-- oh well, LOL:

Up next, Imaginary Friend is saved. An incorporeal ball of energy life form that can't interface with a computer as easily as it does walking piles of mushy goo is actually quite refreshing and almost novel by even TOS standards.


In this season, there are more child-centric episodes than all the Brady and Osmond clans put together, with their pet bunnies. Stories that kids probably would snooze through because there's no pew-pew action, with the adults to join because half the issues go so far above the kids' heads that the space station would crash into them as it's the only thing in geostationary orbit... or because the wallpaper muzak could be exchanged with a lullaby and the latter would be more energetic... But it's interesting that the incorporeal ball of light entity tries to learn about humanity from the mindset of a child, rather than bopping into the brain of an adult who could provide all the answers a lot faster and thus deprive us of this stellar episode. And just one person rather than bopping about in and out of many? Are the humans speaking through a single voice? Why don't the glowing things go bug the Captain instead of all these lower decks folks?

But, and often for the season, the technical nitpicks are outweighed by something philosophical and "Imaginary Friend" is using an imaginatively new way to seek out life forms, and there is something of value in this story - even if not season 5's best. Plus, the scenes where Isabella gets all nasty and poor Clara is framed is fairly well done IMHO.

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll save Unification I this time. I quite liked the little mystery regarding Spock on Romulus, as well as seeing Sarek again.

Picard and Data on the Klingon ship are good for some laughs, as are Riker and Worf following leads on the space station.

I've also removed Imaginary Friend as Qonundrum forgot to post the updated list.

A Matter Of Time
New Ground
The Masterpiece Society
The Outcast
Cost Of Living
The Perfect Mate

 

[Qonundrum]

Mainly because of the Geordi scene, which is as powerful as it is completely out of left field, does The Masterpiece Society get saved. The guest star tells her society's reasoning strong enough and is an interesting point, but - damn - LeVar hits a home run on this, big-time:

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Poignant piquancy.

The rest of the story does feel too contrived, and doesn't always flow well, and the Troi romance is completely bonkers given their chatter with "The Prime Directive" combined with this society's demand that nobody has a backup to ensure 0 downtime and so on, but the Geordi subplot makes up for it and then some. This is one of season 5's most powerful moments by far.

What's left, start the crock pot and let these crocks simmer to get all tender and nummy when poking at them:
A Matter Of Time
New Ground
The Outcast
Cost Of Living
The Perfect Mate

 

[Qonundrum]

I'll save Unification I this time. I quite liked the little mystery regarding Spock o Romulus. Picard and Data in the Klingon ship are good for some laughs, as are Riker and Worf following leads on the space station.

I've also removed Imaginary Friend as Qonundrum forgot to post the updated list.

My bad, sorry about that! :blush: I think I started my post without refreshing the browser page, where "Imaginary Friend" got voted to safety during the interim where they mentioned it first... but looking back I didn't find that post either... weird...

 

[Sakonna]

I recently revisited "The Outcast" for the first time in forever, and it's quite a bit better than I remembered. In the larger context, it remains incredibly unfortunate that this is the sole statement TNG could manage on anything LGBTQ related, and on that basis there's no denying it disapoints.

But now that Disco has managed some franchise-repair work in this area, as it's own episode, "The Outcast" might be one of their more successful ROTW's.

A Matter Of Time
New Ground
Cost Of Living
The Perfect Mate

 

[Pikirk_Janesisko]

My bad, sorry about that! :blush: I think I started my post without refreshing the browser page, where "Imaginary Friend" got voted to safety during the interim where they mentioned it first... but looking back I didn't find that post either... weird...

Don't worry , I didn't read the whole thread. I edited my post to remove your choice.

 

[Oddish]

I'm going to save Unification II. Why? Because it's got Spock in it. I don't think we need to say any more than that.

Nope. It's Spock. 'Nuff said.

 

[Vale]

I'm going to save A Matter of Time. Honestly, I find Matt Frewer's Berlinghoff Rasmussen to be such a likeable git that I almost want him to get away with it, and knowing he's from the NX-01's time period just increases my enjoyment in retrospect. It would have been fun to have him turn up trying to pull a con on Deep Space Nine. The premise of the time traveller actually being from the past rather than the future is good, and Picard gets to do some speechifying. And just imagine if we'd actually had Robin Williams as originally intended! Honestly, I'm surprised it's still here.

New Ground
Cost Of Living
The Perfect Mate

 

[Qonundrum]

Yeah, for all its problems and misplaced allegorical parallels of which even "Encounter at Farpoint" does a better job with that, "Outcast" isn't too atrocious - heavyhandedness aside.


I started doing a write-up - glad it got saved already!


It's only a matter of time before the total turkey is revealed, but I'll still pluck A Matter Of Time. It has all of season 5's less-enthusiastic trappings, and had Robin Williams been available, I'm fairly confident it would have been a lot better. Matt Frewer is passable but there's a certain zaniness missing and it's easy to see why this episode was tailored for Williams.

Even better, there's no hidden reference/"easter egg" with any Orson or nanu-nanu, or coming from planet Mearth or anything, which wouldn't have helped either...

 

[Vale]

It's only a matter of time before the total turkey is revealed, but I'll still pluck A Matter Of Time.

Great minds...

 

[Qonundrum]

since a 6-way tie is impossible,

Cost Of Living

is the least annoying, despite being an hour of fun with Lwaxana and Alexander, with no Q to balance things out. Or better yet, Borg. This is the worst sitcom-inspired plot since The Insipid Okona episode.


The top two turkeys are:
New Ground
The Perfect Mate

 

[Oddish]

Swooping in to save Perfect Mate... it's not the best of Trek, but Worf gets growled at, which counts for something. And New Ground sets the stage for Worf as Trek's Worst Parent.

NEW GROUND LOSES!

 

[Seven of Five]

Just missed the end but I would have had Cost of Living as the worst myself. Alexander was definitely a grating character though.

 

[Orphalesion]

Worf and Alexander episodes really are the worst.

 

[Pikirk_Janesisko]

I don't know, New Ground is annoying but at least is relatable somewhat. Cost of Living is irritanting specially because of Lwaxanna Troi.

 

[Orphalesion]

I don't know, New Ground is annoying but at least is relatable somewhat. Cost of Living is irritanting specially because of Lwaxanna Troi.

See, I say the opposite; New Ground is stupid and irritating as all hell, while Cost of Living at least has Lwaxana to elevate it a little bit.

 

[Pikirk_Janesisko]

Yeah, for all its problems and misplaced allegorical parallels of which even "Encounter at Farpoint" does a better job with that, "Outcast" isn't too atrocious - heavyhandedness aside.


I started doing a write-up - glad it got saved already!


It's only a matter of time before the total turkey is revealed, but I'll still pluck A Matter Of Time. It has all of season 5's less-enthusiastic trappings, and had Robin Williams been available, I'm fairly confident it would have been a lot better. Matt Frewer is passable but there's a certain zaniness missing and it's easy to see why this episode was tailored for Williams.

Even better, there's no hidden reference/"easter egg" with any Orson or nanu-nanu, or coming from planet Mearth or anything, which wouldn't have helped either...

Well, in terms of real episodes, A Matter of Time is definitely the worst one. I don't think Robin Williams would have saved it and besides he would've been very distracting if was in it. Without him you can really see how terrible the premise is. I mean, how naive is Picard taking his historian schtick at face value? Rick Berman just threw a line that he "analised his credentials". It's just so ridiculous! The fact that the audience can predict his every step makes it look like that the characters are really stupid. Funny enough, it's probably one of the few episodes were Troi it's actually useful.

 

[Farscape One]

And we have a winner with "New Ground".

Thanks for playing season 5. I start my new job tomorrow, so it will be late in the evening when I begin season 6.