The Most Disliked Episode of TNG, 2023 Edition - Season 2...

[Farscape One]

Welcome to our bi-yearly 'Most Disliked Episode' games! Now that the 'Least Disliked Episode' games hosted by BlueStuff (who inspired me to create these games, so thank you very much for paving the way) have concluded, we can begin the opposite side of that coin.

Here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your most favorite or the one you deem the 'best.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Hall of Champions (or Failures?)
2011 - "Shades Of Gray"
2018 - "The Outrageous Okona"
2019 - "Code of Honor"
2021 -"Journey's End"
2023 - "Aquiel"


Season Two -

"The Child"
"Where Silence Has Lease"
"Elementary, Dear Data"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"Unnatural Selection"
"A Matter Of Honor"
"The Measure Of A Man"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"Time Squared"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Peak Performance"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Farscape One]

Seaaon 2 of TNG is far better than many people give it credit for. It truly showed just how dangerous space is... even the clip show finale illustrated this. I have a lot of episodes I love from this season, so picking my first save is difficult. But I will pick"Where Silence Has Lease" first.

This episode truly showed just how dangerous exploring space can be, and inadvertantly set the tone for much of season 2. A very creepy vibe throughout the whole episode. Despite the fact it took place almost entirely on the bridge, it was never boring. Winrich Kolbe's first directing of the franchise was outstanding, and illustrates why he kept getting called back over and over again. (He ended up doing 50 episodes, second in total only to David Livingston, who did 62.)

Great story and a wonderful villain with Nagilum, who honestly is not a bad guy... just goes about gaining knowledge in a, by our standards, sadistic way.

As a horror fan and one who loves creepy vibes, this was a standout episode.



"The Child"
"Elementary, Dear Data"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"Unnatural Selection"
"A Matter Of Honor"
"The Measure Of A Man"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"Time Squared"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Peak Performance"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Qonundrum]

Season 2 is my all-time favorite. The show found enough of its way*, and is still more sci-fi themed than the more character drama focus that would increasingly prevail, though seasons 3 and 4 still rock. But, you bet, season 2 is horrifically underrated and for reasons often taken out of context (eg. Pulaski's arc, writer's strike, "the clip show", etc.)

* with one exception, and even then (a) that's not "the clip show" and (b) even "the clip show" is underrated, but I'll get to that later...​

"Where Silence Has Lease" is a bizarre entry, but does sell the horror element extremely well. Nagillum is an interesting adversary. Even Wesley's convenient potty break didn't ruin the episode.

My first save is:
"Elementary, Dear Data"

While the Pulaski/Data issue started in "The Child", this is the first episode to really dive into and expand on it.

Daniel Davis is supreme as Moriarty and works terrific opposite Diana Muldaur, great screen chemistry.

LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner also steal the show with their double-act, in an early quest to get Dr Pulaski to accept Data as a sentient being - a recurring theme built up in season 2, which is overlooked and generally in favor of one episode. One episode that I know will be saved, but is so overrated at times...


What's left:
"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"Unnatural Selection"
"A Matter Of Honor"
"The Measure Of A Man"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"Time Squared"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Peak Performance"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Brennyren]

"The Measure of a Man" was, IMO, one of the first great TNG episodes. I was riveted by the trial, and more so by the character dynamics. It was a very good outing for Riker, and Data's expressing his gratitude to the troubled first officer was the perfect ending.

"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"Unnatural Selection"
"A Matter Of Honor"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"Time Squared"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Peak Performance"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Farscape One]

My next save is "Peak Performance", which is a true highlight of this season.

I honestly feel THIS should have been the season finale. EVERYONE got used very, very well here. There's nothing not to love about this one. (I have a soft spot for episodes that utilize the entire cast.)

I always loved David Kemper's script, and he would go on to be the big guy for FARSCAPE.

This episode busts a lot of others up.


"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"Unnatural Selection"
"A Matter Of Honor"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"Time Squared"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Sakonna]

Despite my general hatred of rapid aging stories, I love "Unnatural Selection." I think it's the only rapid aging story I love. I don't really know why, but it's always clicked with me. It has a very appealing spookiness to it, it really draws me in.

I also treasure it as really the only Pulaski-centric episode.

"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"A Matter Of Honor"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"Time Squared"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Qonundrum]

Despite my general hatred of rapid aging stories, I love "Unnatural Selection." I think it's the only rapid aging story I love. I don't really know why, but it's always clicked with me. It has a very appealing spookiness to it, it really draws me in.

I also treasure it as really the only Pulaski-centric episode.

Ditto. They took the most basic idea from "The Deadly Years" and made it feel more plausible, especially for the solution to the problem (not a magic drug). It is a great Pulaski-centric episode as well.

So many good ones, but
"Time Squared"

is my next save.

It's a neat exploration of cause and effect, very and properly haunting in its tone and feel, and Picard starting to second-guess himself, and the audience who are drawn in are guessing at the mystery. What the creature/tornado/whatever is remained unexplained, but, for all we know, it's Q - who is masking his presence from Troi as he probably did that just to flaunt himself in previous episodes anyway.


what's left:
"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"A Matter Of Honor"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Brennyren]

"A Matter of Honor" is an excellent look at the Klingons, and another good outing for Riker.

"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"Contagion"
"The Royale"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[tomalak301]

Contagion was the first season 2 episode I really liked when I was going through the DVDs. We got to see the first destruction of a Galaxy Class ship, an interesting alien in the Iconians, and while the solution is obvious, sometimes the obvious solution is the hardest to come up with.

"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"The Royale"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Q Who"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Seven of Five]

Though the Borg became overused over the years, Q Who is an excellent episode. I love watching the away team's fascination with them at first.

"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"The Royale"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "The Royale".

Another one that shows us space is dangerous, but it adds the fact that space is mysterious, too. We never find out who those aliens were that saved the astronaut, and that is something I like. Not everything should be explained by the end of the episode, just like in "Time Squared". (Another favorite.)

The creepy vibe was also great here.


"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"Loud As A Whisper"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Brennyren]

I like the concept for "Loud as a Whisper," and the way Riva's "chorus" interpreted for him. I'm not sure how plausible the resolution was, but it was clever and not entirely implausible.

"The Child"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Oddish]

"The Child" takes some guff from the supposed "violation" of Troi (committed by an alien who had no body and therefore could not understand bodily autonomy), but I think it's underrated. I liked Pulaski's debut, and was Ok with her not "getting" Data's humanity at first. It gave her room for growth.

"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Manhunt"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Sakonna]

Huge fan of Lwaxana and Dixon Hill. "Manhunt"

"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"The Emissary"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[CitadelZombies]

Most of my favourites of this season are already saved so I'll go for "The Emissary". It's a good episode that fleshes out a bit more of Worf's backstory and I think K'Ehleyr is such an awesome character.

"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Dauphin"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "The Schizoid Man".

Brent Spiner always brings it, and he does so again as Graves in Data's body. And casting W. Morgan Sheppard in anything is never a bad idea.

And the scene with Picard and Graves in engineering was excellent.

"No being is so important that he can usurp the rights of another!"

Very memorable.


"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Dauphin"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[BlueStuff]

Not completely sure where to go here. I guess I'll save The Icarus Factor for at least trying to explore Riker and his relationship with his dad. No comment on the story's resolution.

"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Dauphin"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"
"Shades Of Gray"

 

[Sakonna]

In recent years I love "Shades Of Gray." I almost saved it first, honestly. Seasons 1 and 2 of TNG might be my favorite era of Trek, a lot of times my rewatching takes the form of jumping around to favorite scenes, so it's nice to have an episode that does it for me.

It was ahead of it's time! It's a YouTube playlist on shuffle.

"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Dauphin"
"Pen Pals"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll save Pen Pals next. I love the alien makeup design, and the relationship between the young girl and Data was nicely realised.

The Outrageous Okona"
"The Dauphin"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"

 

[Qonundrum]

So there's one that's gross

...ly underrated:

"The Dauphin"

This is one of the better Wesley stories, is a mature "coming of age" issue, and is how you translate and modernize a Shakespeare tale into a fresh new format.

The episode also reminds that fiddling with equipment used for advanced space travel is risky - Salia warns Wesley about the gizmo he's carrying and how it can rip all the iron out of the body. You can't tell me TNG didn't have some creative writing going on at this point in the show.

Worf has a great moment or two with Anya as well.


What's left:
The Outrageous Okona"
"Samaritan Snare"
"Up The Long Ladder"