Your Top WORST Episodes!

[Soleta]

Enterprise S2 - Cogenitor
Ah Tucker, I am very disappointed in you! How could you try to free someone from slavery instead of just keeping up the status quo? Ts ts ts. I am very smart. Learn from this episode, kids, you should never try to help someone or they will off themselves. Also remember to always misgender people.

 

[Soleta]

wait shit this is the tng thread im sorry. Then its the one where they get abducted by aliens X-Files style. Why do that

 

[Quantum21]

Bad TNG episodes aren't all that bad.

There's a small number I won't rewatch at all...or hadnt in the past. Maybe a dozen? That's a pretty good ratio

 

[Quantum21]

It takes a lot for me to actually hate an episode, I think I'm pretty easy to entertain and my standards aren't high, but some of these episodes should never have seen the light of day, such as:

1. Too Short A Season
I've never been able to finish this in a single sitting in 30 years, I can only watch it in parts, (usually after I wake up). I'd say it's the most boring episode I can think of. And I'm somebody who actually likes most of the first season! But this.... this is just utterly awful. I'm amazed it was ever made, I mean, who thought it was a good idea? It looks the most low-budget from season 1 as well.

2. A Matter of Perspective
Not enjoyable in the slightest. Accusing Commander Riker of rape? Replaying the same assault about 5 times from different perspectives? Who thought this stupid idea would make for entertaining television? I'm not sure what point this episode was trying to make. Is it that All men can't be left alone with a woman? All men are cheats? Women are lying seducers? Scientists are egomaniacs? Women shouldn't marry hermit scientists? What? And as a detective story it just relies on some technobabble gimmick for the solution to the mystery. Well duh. Not only was this episode excruciating for Riker, it was also excruciating for the viewer. Just bad.

3. Half a Life.
A forced love episode, except this time it's between Lwaxna Troi and a boring scientist who has about as much charisma as my shoe. The 2nd most boring of all episode in my opinion. This is truly one of the all-time worst episodes, no doubt about it.

4. The Game
This episode really sucks, but it's saved by Ashley Judd who had to be the cutest Ensign ever. This one is both terrible and entertaining at the same time. I'm conflicted! Oh, I know why I'm conflicted, it's because the same show that came up with episodes like "Tin Man", "The Most Toys", and "Measure of a Man" comes up with drivel like this.

5. I, Borg
The only Borg plot lines I liked are from "Q Who?" on TNG, and from Voyager with 7 of 9 and her stories. I skip all the rest.

6. Frame of Mind
Total waste of an episode. I don't even know what's it's about. Riker was held captive or something. Meh. Poor story. Not much to work with.

7. Masks
Drivel, pure absolute drivel. Crap of the highest degree. Embarrassingly stupid. Boring, bland, awful.

8. Journey's End
Another episode to ruin Wesley's character, along with the terrible Academy episode where he and his classmates kill somebody in an illegal maneuver. So they follow up that crap fest with this crap fest. Now we learn that Picard's ancestors helped kill Native Americans, and now he's doing it again. Just how awful can they make an episode? There is nothing, NOTHING, good about this episode. Ruin two main characters for the price of ONE episode. What's the point?

Some of these are awesome. Well you know what they say about mileage.

I've always felt that of middle tier episodes, Too Short a Season was unjustly maligned, lots of people focus on the aging story which, to me is very secondary to the message about what was happening in the world at the time with Reagan' s dirty deals.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Here's my small list, in no particular order:

The Naked Now
The Dauphin
Who Watches the Watchers
The Most Toys
Ménage à Troi
The Host
Rascals
The Chase

 

[tharpdevenport]

The worst episodes for me (going over an episode list and remembering off hand, so not necessarily a full list):

"The Naked Now"
Lord, painful.

"Code of Honor"
Looking back quickly over old posts of mine, trying to find one where I laid out my reasoning (didn't find it), I did find posts where I called it a steaming pile of monkey shit, and that it has absolutely no redeemable qualities what so ever.
This shit should be de-canonized.

"The Outrageous Okunoa"
Oh my God, space pirate baby drama. Next up on Jerry Springer and the 24th and a Half Century...
This shit should be de-canonized.

"Rascals"
Lord.

"The Chase"
Absurdly sttupid plot with wide-reaching implications which are quickly forgotten. This shit should be de-canonized.

"Sub Rosa"
Scottish alien ghost sex. Fuck this episode.

 

[Macintosh]

"The Outrageous Okunoa"
Oh my God, space pirate baby drama. Next up on Jerry Springer and the 24th and a Half Century...
This shit should be de-canonized.

I remember the New Trek Programme Guide entry for "The Outrageous Okona" said something along the lines of: "starts badly and descends into utter gittishness after five minutes". That phrase has stuck with me since childhood...

 

[at Quark's]

Two episodes I never liked and that haven't been mentioned yet were Violations and Imaginary Friend

The first one probably isn't a bad episode, objectively speaking. It's just that I really, really, really don't like the 'rape' theme in the episode (which we see in various forms).

The second one I think is fairly substandard (even if not one of the very worst) - with a little girl who has an 'imaginary' friend, who she insists is real. Of course no adult believes her, until she shows herself with the intent of letting them all die because they were mean to Ciara. Picard gives her The Lecture about how parents protect their children and everything is set straight. The (few) times I watch this episode, I end up with a faint headache.

 

[Farscape One]

Two episodes I never liked and that haven't been mentioned yet were Violations and Imaginary Friend

The first one probably isn't a bad episode, objectively speaking. It's just that I really, really, really don't like the 'rape' theme in the episode (which we see in various forms).

The second one I think is fairly substandard (even if not one of the very worst) - with a little girl who has an 'imaginary' friend, who she insists is real. Of course no adult believes her, until she shows herself with the intent of letting them all die because they were mean to Ciara. Picard gives her The Lecture about how parents protect their children and everything is set straight. The (few) times I watch this episode, I end up with a faint headache.

I can understand your reason for hating "Violations". I thought the creepy vibe and way it was directed helped elevate it. The biggest problem of the episode is that we, the audience, already know it was Jev from the start. It was spelled out in the teaser with his creepy smile before the theme, and we see him in those mind rape visions. It didn't allow us to try to solve the mystery of which of the three did it. For me, that was what truly hurt the episode.

I agree about "Imaginary Friend". It was dull. Noley Thornton was adorable as Clara (she would also be Taya in "SHADOWPLAY" less than 2 years later, and was even better there), and 'Isabel' was creepy as hell... which I think was the point. An alien posing as a child... I can see beimg this creepy. As a horror fan, I appreciate that. Still doesn't save the episode, though.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

I actually like "The Outrageous Okona". Billy Campbell was hilarious in it, and a mostly-unknown Teri Hatcher had a small role as well.

 

[PoorSailorsAirline]

"Rascals" - two outdated Klingon ships crewed by Ferengi take over a Galaxy class ship, the flagship of the Federation. This made Riker, Worf, and everyone else look so damned incompetant that they don't deserve to serve on a freighter, much less the flagship of the Federation.

Even the writers took a cheap shot at the Ent-D crew in DS9 "Bar Association" when Odo reads Worf's security chief record to filth as casually as ordering lunch...and the one example that really sticks out is 'you let yourself get taken over by Ferengi rebels in a derelict bird-of-prey.' (Never mind that we can fast-forward to Generations where the Ent-D gets blown up by Klingon rebels in a derelict bird-of-prey...have we found the true Achilles Heel of the Galaxy-class here?)

I was 12 years old when I saw it when it aired. I didn't know anything about being the subjects, but I thought it was great. Hijackings had been in the news. I had heard about Iran taking hostages. I was excited by the preview to have an episode about "terrorism". I really loved it when I saw it.
I highly suspect if I saw it first now I wouldn't watch it. If I had been an adult who read the news in 1988 I probably wouldn't watch it either. But for a 12 y/o who barely understood the very basics of the Iran Contra hearings, Iran mining the Persian Gulf and Iraq being a US ally, and people hijaking planes, this episode was art. I loved it, and it's etched into brain cells that would probably better utilized with other things.

I've always felt that of middle tier episodes, Too Short a Season was unjustly maligned, lots of people focus on the aging story which, to me is very secondary to the message about what was happening in the world at the time with Reagan' s dirty deals.

Agreed the good concept got out-gimmicked by the fountain of youth gone wrong plot line. No one even mentions the fact that a respected, wisened Starfleet admiral literally tells his own beloved long-time wife, right to her face and with zero remorse, "I got enough of the anti-aging drug for the two of us...and I took both doses." If I was Mrs Jamieson, I'd be calling a divorce lawyer and signing up for Star Trek: The Golden Bachelor. An unreal portrayal of total betrayal, very much glossed over.

The most important--I think--part of the story that truly gets lost: if the enemy of my enemy is my friend...you better be damn sure they're still going to be your 'friend' for the long-haul. We've seen enough examples of that go wrong in the last 20-30 years or so to let that lesson go unlearned. But that's all I'll say about that real life topic outside of the Misc or Neutral Zone boards.

3. Half a Life.
A forced love episode, except this time it's between Lwaxna Troi and a boring scientist who has about as much charisma as my shoe. The 2nd most boring of all episode in my opinion. This is truly one of the all-time worst episodes, no doubt about it.

Half a Life: A planet practicing global genocide... and this episode tries to be all gooey and sympathetic about Lwaxana's lover choosing to participate. This... effort is the worst of season 4, the worst of TNG, and IMO the worst of Trek period. If I had this episode, "Threshold", and "Profit and Lace" in front of me and a Delete From Canon gun with two shots in it... I'd shoot this one and "Threshold" because I don't waste ammo.

Look, I like Lwaxana Troi. I know most people don't, but I do, and still I struggle with this episode. However, I am totally unwilling to put it on an all-time worst list. For one very, very good reason. Michelle Forbes, somehow, against all odds, was able to pull off a straight face while wearing the world's goofiest hairpiece. Just Google "Michelle Forbes Half A Life" and look at the image results. She deserves a trophy just for that.

So, my worst episode of TNG? Certainly not The Naked Now, Code of Honour, Justice, or Angel One. They've all become such caricatures that they've moved into pure comedy territory over the years; they make fun of themselves so well with no effort at all, so I can't include those.

I'll go with either The First Duty or Journey's End. It's not on purpose that they're both Wesley episodes - but it seems like Wesley had become the character the writer's room used to get a lot of their underperforming script ideas out of the way.

 

[Macintosh]

Look, I like Lwaxana Troi. I know most people don't, but I do, and still I struggle with this episode. However, I am totally unwilling to put it on an all-time worst list. For one very, very good reason. Michelle Forbes, somehow, against all odds, was able to pull off a straight face while wearing the world's goofiest hairpiece. Just Google "Michelle Forbes Half A Life" and look at the image results. She deserves a trophy just for that.

It looks like there should be fruit or something balanced in there...

 

[Farscape One]

Even the writers took a cheap shot at the Ent-D crew in DS9 "Bar Association" when Odo reads Worf's security chief record to filth as casually as ordering lunch...and the one example that really sticks out is 'you let yourself get taken over by Ferengi rebels in a derelict bird-of-prey.' (Never mind that we can fast-forward to Generations where the Ent-D gets blown up by Klingon rebels in a derelict bird-of-prey...have we found the true Achilles Heel of the Galaxy-class here?)





Agreed the good concept got out-gimmicked by the fountain of youth gone wrong plot line. No one even mentions the fact that a respected, wisened Starfleet admiral literally tells his own beloved long-time wife, right to her face and with zero remorse, "I got enough of the anti-aging drug for the two of us...and I took both doses." If I was Mrs Jamieson, I'd be calling a divorce lawyer and signing up for Star Trek: The Golden Bachelor. An unreal portrayal of total betrayal, very much glossed over.

The most important--I think--part of the story that truly gets lost: if the enemy of my enemy is my friend...you better be damn sure they're still going to be your 'friend' for the long-haul. We've seen enough examples of that go wrong in the last 20-30 years or so to let that lesson go unlearned. But that's all I'll say about that real life topic outside of the Misc or Neutral Zone boards.





Look, I like Lwaxana Troi. I know most people don't, but I do, and still I struggle with this episode. However, I am totally unwilling to put it on an all-time worst list. For one very, very good reason. Michelle Forbes, somehow, against all odds, was able to pull off a straight face while wearing the world's goofiest hairpiece. Just Google "Michelle Forbes Half A Life" and look at the image results. She deserves a trophy just for that.

So, my worst episode of TNG? Certainly not The Naked Now, Code of Honour, Justice, or Angel One. They've all become such caricatures that they've moved into pure comedy territory over the years; they make fun of themselves so well with no effort at all, so I can't include those.

I'll go with either The First Duty or Journey's End. It's not on purpose that they're both Wesley episodes - but it seems like Wesley had become the character the writer's room used to get a lot of their underperforming script ideas out of the way.

Regarding GENERATIONS...

At least that had the excuse of the Duras sisters being able to see through Geordi's visor.

 

[Uhura's Song]

Hilarious that "The Inner Light" and "I, Borg" and "Frame of Mind" show up on some lists. Those are all top end episodes for me. And the suicide episode was a good one as well. The actor was a regular on M*A*S*H.

I have not done a full re-watch in some time.

Okono, Sub Rosa, Justice, Angel One, and Code of Honor are all poor, but I am not sure about bottom 5. In fact, I don't think any would be there for me.

 

[Warp 10 (Pepperoni)]

Not the actual worst episode but one I watched recently and honestly can't stand: Samaritan Snare. The script is so poor that all of the characters act like idiots just to service it. Afterwards I read this on Memory Alpha and I agree with every point:

• This episode inspired writers Dennis Russell Bailey, David Bischoff, and Lisa Putman White to write the third season episode "Tin Man". According to Bailey:

"The point at which we became serious about trying to write a script for the show was about five minutes after watching 'Samaritan Snare,' which in my personal opinion was the most abysmal piece of Star Trek ever filmed. My objections to it were that it always resorted to idiot plotting to make the story work, and that offended me a great deal worse than some of the awful shows which were done on the original series. I thought the way in which it was plotted and the way it was dealt with was an insult to the intelligence of the people who watched the show and the actors and characters in the show. None of the plot could have happened if all of the characters hadn't suddenly became morons that week."
"Someone must have been aware of how hokey it was, because they wrote obvious questions into the script which they chose not to answer. For instance, before Geordi beams over, Worf says explicitly to Riker, 'Do we have to send them our chief engineer because they have a little problem?' and it's never answered. If you don't want to answer it, don't bring it up. Another thing that is stupid is Deanna Troi comes on the bridge and says to Riker, 'I don't sense fear or confusion. Geordi is in danger. Bring him back,' and no one even responds to that. They simply act as if it wasn't said. On the trip over to the starbase, where Picard and Wesley have this long heart to heart talk, Wesley says why would anyone use a defective heart transplant. That's a minor point. A major piece of stupidity is they send him to a medical facility where it turned out that no one was qualified to handle the operation if it went at all wrong. I can't believe they expect viewers to be so stupid as to not ask about that. The fact that the routine was repeatedly said, throughout the show, to be an absolutely routine procedure and when it went wrong, it went wrong for no reason that was mentioned, except that it had to go wrong to have the climax. Then it turns out they have to call the Enterprise to bring Pulaski over to do the operation because she's more qualified and the people there weren't." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)

 

[StarMan]

The Outrageous Okona is unarguably the worst episode of TNG.

What that Han Solo-lite cad did to my teen crush Teri Hatcher was despicable.

Frackin' Joe Piscopo and Data. Ooph.

And Wesley getting moist for Mr. Space Rogue?

UNARGUABLY, I say.

Of course, if I back away slowly for a moment, there are several episodes one could argue are worse. But no other episode triggered such visceral dislike as Okona.

 

[Farscape One]

Worse than "Sub Rosa"?

Doubtful.

 

[ananta]

It looks like there should be fruit or something balanced in there...

Love Michelle Forbes but utterly, utterly LOATHED this character. Guilt tripping her father into killing himself just because she didn’t want to look bad or because she thought he should. I know it was their culture, but she’s still a vile, selfish, cold …piece of work.

 

[ananta]

This isn’t in order of how bad they are, but just in chronological order.

1. Code of Honor. Yeesh.
2. Justice. I was rooting for the Edo to kill “the boy”. I generally like season one more than I should, but the characters are all so obnoxious here.
3. A Matter of Perspective. I just found this one incredibly boring. Having to watch the same crappy scene over and over again with only minor variations in detail. By the end I kind of wish they’d just locked everyone up.
4. The Perfect Mate. Great to see Famke Jansen in an early role but a pointless remake of “Elaan of Troyius”.
5. Imaginary Friend. Naff and boring, this has shades of THE worst TOS episode, “And the Children Shall Lead”. Trek and kids rarely mix well.
6. Aquiel. I like Levar Burton but Geordi episodes tend to suck and this is one of the most boring, flat, tepid episodes of Trek ever misconceived.
7. Birthright Part 2. I simply cannot get over Worf’s behaviour in this episode. I know he was depicted as having racist tendencies as far back as season three, but it his was a real character assassination and the message felt very un-Trekkian.
8. Descent part 2. Dreadful start to the dreadful final season. The Borg are totally ruined here, Lore is a hokey pantomime villain and the cult angle is embarrassingly poorly handled. I also couldn’t stand the annoying Ensign Tait and the smug Lt Barnaby.
9. Interface. Another incredibly boring Geordi episode. This one is like watching paint dry. It had zero emotional impact on me despite the subject matter and I can only put that down to mediocre performances and execution.
10. Force of Nature. A misconceived, ham-fisted environmental allegory that’s incredibly dull, ineffective and poorly written (featuring a pointless subplot about Data training his cat that takes up way too much airtime).
11. Homeward. That scene on the bridge where Picard makes a grand speech about how it’s a shame all those people have to die—but, hey, at least we’re following our philosophical principles, am I right? Nikolai was painted to be the asshole but he’s the only human character in the whole episode.
12. Sub Rosa. What were the writers smoking? Up there with Spock’s Brain for most ridiculous premise imaginable. Beverly getting horny over reading “particularly EROTIC” entries in her grandmother’s diary has to be seen to be believed. Have some boundaries, Bev. And “dinnae touch thaaa’ caaaandle!”
13. “Masks”. I like the creepy atmosphere but this makes not a whit of sense and Brent Spiner chews the scenery so badly it’s a wonder he didn’t choke.
14. “Bloodlines”. Poor season seven, I wish they’d called it a day in the sixth. This one is just on the list for being utterly boring and uninteresting. Even the great Patrick Stewart seems to be phoning it in.

In retrospect, I should have added “Angel One”, “Samaritan Snare” and “Up the Long Ladder”.

 

[Oddish]

Love Michelle Forbes but utterly, utterly LOATHED this character. Guilt tripping her father into killing himself just because she didn’t want to look bad or because she thought he should. I know it was their culture, but she’s still a vile, selfish, cold …piece of work.

That whole culture is vile, cold, and selfish, practicing genocide on a global scale. There's a reason why, in a world that contains "Threshold", "Profit and Lace", and "These are the Voyages", I consider this episode Trek's worst.