Most overrated/underrated Trek episodes

[TalkieToaster]

What Trek episodes do you consider to be the most overrated or underrated (just in the personal, subjective sense of "I like this more/less than most people")?

My choice for most overrated is "The City on the Edge of Forever." I kinda get why it's considered a classic, what with the epic/tragic elements in the story, but it's not one of my favorite TOS episodes.

On the other side, my favorite episode of DS9 is "Hard Time," which I don't hear mentioned much as a classic, but which I consider a very powerful episode. Also, one episode that a lot of people hate but I like is "A Night in Sickbay."

 

[heavylids]

I agree that "The City on the Edge of Forever" is overrated, but I still think it's a good episode. As far as TOS, it's hard to say what is overrated and underrated. I haven't been on this board very long, but I haven't seen too much discussion over the episode "Devil in the Dark". That is probably my favorite TOS episode and I couldn't even begin to tell you why. If this is actually fairly enjoyed then please correct my perception.

I really think that "The Best of Both Worlds" two-part episode in TNG is a little overrated. I do find myself skipping these when watching this series. I do watch it on occasion, but it's never been one of my favorites. I really enjoy the episode "Schisms". I think it's kind of an ode to current speculation over alien abduction theories. It's also just an interesting sci-fi story. Like I stated earlier, I'm really unaware if "Schisms" is well liked.

I don't think there are any bad DS9 episodes. They're all great.

I haven't seen every VOY or ENT episode so I'm not going to make premature judgments.

 

[BillJ]

The Most Toys (TNG) is vastly underrated.

 

[Saito S]

I agree that "The City on the Edge of Forever" is overrated, but I still think it's a good episode. As far as TOS, it's hard to say what is overrated and underrated. I haven't been on this board very long, but I haven't seen too much discussion over the episode "Devil in the Dark". That is probably my favorite TOS episode and I couldn't even begin to tell you why. If this is actually fairly enjoyed then please correct my perception.

I do think "City..." is one of the top TOS eps, but I wouldn't say I like it any more than my other top TOS eps, which include "Devil in the Dark", so I agree with you there.

I really think that "The Best of Both Worlds" two-part episode in TNG is a little overrated. I do find myself skipping these when watching this series. I do watch it on occasion, but it's never been one of my favorites. I really enjoy the episode "Schisms". I think it's kind of an ode to current speculation over alien abduction theories. It's also just an interesting sci-fi story. Like I stated earlier, I'm really unaware if "Schisms" is well liked.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I think "Schisms" is fantastic. I don't think it's generally considered one of the "classics" of TNG with BoBW or "The Inner Light", etc., but I can't recall seeing very many people say it was subpar, either.

I don't think there are any bad DS9 episodes. They're all great.

Have to disagree with you here... DS9 is my favorite series, but "The Storyteller", "Let He Who Is Without Sin," and "Profit and Lace" are all terrible.

TOS: Overrated: "Space Seed". It seems to be hailed as one of TOS' classics, generally, but I found it to be mediocre-to-bad.
Underrated: I don't spend much time in the TOS forum, so I may simply be re-stating what is already a popular opinion, but I've always thought "Balance of Terror" was one of the greats.

TNG: Overrated: I like "The Inner Light." I think it's a good ep. I don't think it's this series-defining masterpiece that I have very often seen it categorized as, and it wouldn't make my personal top 10.
Underrated: I think "Conundrum" is superb, and definitely underrated. It probably WOULD make my personal top 10 for TNG.

DS9: Overrated: "The Visitor" - as with "The Inner Light", I certainly think this is a good ep, but that's all it is to me. It's not a benchmark/watershed/what have you, and again, wouldn't make my top 10 DS9.
Underrated: I've always really liked "Body Parts." It presents interesting character developments for Quark, while at the same time being a really fun ep with a lot of really hilarious moments (Quark and Garak in the holosuite come to mind).

VOY: This is tougher, in a way; I'm not sure there is as much "consensus" on what the good and bad VOY eps really are, apart from a few standouts. So, I'll take a stab, but I may be way off here...
Overrated: "Maneuvers". I've seen this mentioned often as one of Kenneth Biller's better eps; personally, I think it's a subpar ep that demonstrates why I don't think much of Biller as a writer.
Underrated: "Vis a Vis." I don't see this ep being discussed much at all (positively or negatively), and I like it for some reason. It's not AMAZING, but I think it's fun with an interesting premise.

Don't know or care enough about Enterprise to include it.

 

[Eris]

Have to second Best of Both Worlds as overrated and The Most Toys as underrated.

Way of the Warrior is also overrated, and The Adversary underrated, imo.

 

[Trek4Ever]

Overrated: Don't know how it's regarded these days but I think Voy's Caretaker received over the top praise when it aired. I found it to be underwhelming and a sign of how the show would turn out.

Underrated: Nor the Battle to the Strong DS9 season five, a brutal, gritty (for Trek) anti war episode about the pointlessness of conflict and baptism of fire for Jake Sisko (an underused and underrated character)

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

It's been way too long for me to say much of TOS.

TNG:
Overrated: "The Inner Light" is a good episode but although I recognize that Patrick Stewart did a terrific performance in it, the episode itself leaves me feeling a bit cold compared to the general fan consensus it receives.

Underrated: I don't know... "A Fistful of Datas", I guess? It's merely a decent episode, but I see it so often blasted for being a terrible one and apart from a horrible joke at the end of the hour, I'm not entirely sure why.

DS9:
Overrated: "The Visitor" is at times hailed as the series' most emotional hour, whereas I can cite a good twenty episodes I have a stronger connection with. Like my TNG example, this is definitely an episode I can get behind, it's just that I don't love its every minute like some do.

Underrated: I actually think "What You Leave Behind" is criminally underrated despite its pretty good stature overall. More people than not consider it a good finisher but it's heavily criticized by some vocal fans for issues I mostly didn't have a problem with. It's my third-favorite episode in the series, actually.

VOY:
Overrated: "Scorpion" -- once again, not because it's by any means bad, but because I don't think it's half as good as its biggest benefactors. It's a fun romp with high production values, some very memorable scenes and a good score but it's nowhere to be found on my top ten list and it's relentlessly cited as the best thing the show ever did.

Underrated: "Revulsion"; an episode I don't see talked about too much and maybe it's just because the last time I saw this I was eleven, but I still to this day recall some fragments of the psychotic hologram's dialogue and they make my skin crawl. There's a very claustrophobic feel to this episode and while I'm not usually the biggest fan of these stories, this one did me quite well as a kid.

ENT:
Overrated: "Affliction/Divergence" is a two-parter I just don't have much love for. I know it isn't overly well-received in general compared to the mostly-great fourth season, but I think I like it a lot less than a lot of other fans. The Klingon forehead issue is something I would have vastly preferred had been left with Worf's amusingly cryptic comment in DS9, Tucker's will-he-or-won't-he-leave-the-ship arc feels terribly shallow since we already knew the show was ending at this point and all in all, I just would have preferred about anything else for a final Klingon outing on Enterprise.

Underrated: I honestly don't believe "These Are The Voyages..." is half as bad as they say. That is to say, it's a two-star episode, through and through, but it ain't dirt.

 

[sonak]

overrated TNG: All Good Things, The Inner Light -

overrated DS9: In the pale moonlight, trials and tribbleations -I've always thought Sisko's guilt in this episode is a bit over the top considering the war situation. As for trials and tribbleations, mildly amusing but gimmicky and not the classic folks seem to think it is


underrated DS9: Most of season 1 and season 2

underrated TNG: Clues, Cause and Effect, Frame of Mind

 

[Admiral Shran]

TOS
Over-rated - The City on the Edge of Forever, for reasons already stated.

Under-rated - The Conscience of the King. An amazing episode that I hardly see any discussion of.

TNG
Over-rated - The Inner Light, again for reasons already stated. It's not the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Under-rated - The Most Toys. Data goes through more character development in this one episode than in all of his other appearances combined.

DS9
Over-rated - Far Beyond the Stars. It's got some massive over-acting from Avery Brooks, some downright weird acting from Armin Shimerman and little to no connection with the main arc of the show. Seriously, what was it that Sisko experienced? A vision sent from the Prophets? It's never explained clearly. If it was a vision from the Prophets, what were they trying to teach him? To fight the good fight? The episode just seems to me to be a chance for the franchise to do yet another "Bigotry is wrong" message show.

Under-rated - The Magnificent Ferengi. I think this one often gets dismissed simply because it's a Ferengi episode, and they don't have the best reputation, some deservedly so. However, this one is an excellent show. It has good action, good adventure, good humor, etc... What more could you ask for?

VOY
Over-rated - Living Witness. Another example of Star Trek having an episode with little to no connection to the the rest of the series just so they could tell us that "Bigotry is wrong" again.

Under-rated - Good Shepherd. One of my favorite episodes of the series, and probably of the whole franchise. Yet I see little discussion of it anywhere.

ENT
Over-rated - Cogenitor. So, Archer suddenly becomes an opportunist who will willfully let a sentient being be condemned to a life of sexual slavery (even after he/she/it has requested asylum), just so Humans can have a new ally with some nice, shiny, new gadgets. And there's the fact that he reprimands Trip (going so far as to blame him for the Cogenitor's suicide) for doing EXACTLY what he would have done in earlier episodes. And we're supposed to side with Archer?

Under-rated - Regeneration. It gets a lot of criticism for having the Borg on ENT and therefore, supposedly, completely crapping continuity down the toilet. However, once given a chance, it turns out that continuity is not violated. On top of that, it does something that VOY was often unable to do after Scorpion - it makes the Borg scary again.

 

[Trek Survivor]

I think the DS9 pilot "Emissary" is under-rated. Actually, most of seasons 1-2 are. People tend to say inane things like "blech, wannabe TNG-stuff, didn't get good until the Dominion etc etc". There are some real gems in those first two seasons, and "Emissary" is a classic. Never has Trek had such an assured, quality debut.

Over-rated... I agree with "City on the Edge of Forever", but my choice has to go to TNG and "The Inner Light". Honestly, the way people talk about it... I'm all for touching, emotional Trek, but when it's been deliberately targetted to be as schmaltsy as possible... yeah, "Inner Light" definitely over-rated. Oh, and "All Good Things" as well. I was really disappointed they fell on the comfortable crux of Q and time travel for the last ever episode. A series that was once innovative and creative (ie. seasons 2-4) deserved better.

Oh, and the movie "Nemesis" is also under-rated (mostly due to bandwagon jumpers). There, I said it!

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

My take on DS9's earlier years is that with a few beautiful exceptions, the first season was pretty damn uneven, but season two is the third-strongest season of all. I love season two; it has an alarmingly lengthy mid-year rut of forgettable episodes but both before and after this notable weak point there are several terrific outings.

 

[The Wormhole]

TOS
Overrated: The City on the Edge of Forever - Really, I'm just not into love stories, which is largely what this is.
Underrated: Arena - Too often I see this slagged as "that campy/cheesy one where Kirk fights a man in a cheap lizard suit." But damn, this is one excellent episode.

TNG
Overrated: The Best of Both Worlds - Okay, I only say this because I have seen it so often compared to any other episode of Trek that I truly am sick of it.
Underrated: Seventh season - The entire year is often considered the point when TNG began losing steam, but look at some of the great episode you have: the Gambit two parter, The Pegasus, Lower Decks, and of course All Good Things. Even the subpar episode from this season have a certain charm to them that makes me sit through them.

DS9
Overrated: Trials and Tribble-Ations - Yeah, it's a fun episode and I do like it, but it is not the best DS9 has to offer.
Underrated: The Homecoming/The Circle/The Siege - Season 2's opening arc is pure awesome, but it is frequently overlooked by everyone who feels nothing of any relevance happened until the Dominion showed up.

Voyager
Overrated: Scorpion - Voyager's problem with its two parters is that often they did an awesome part 1 setting up the story, and a subpar part 2 hastily resolving everything, and this one is no different. Why it's considered the best of the series when it is no different than a lot of the others in the series, I don't get.
Underrated: Threshold - Let go of your scientific beliefs and you'll discover how fun this episode is.

Enterprise
Overrated: Similitude - Seriously, never got what was supposed to so great about this episode. Hell, this is the episode that helped make Manny Coto showrunner in season 4. While Coto eventually proved himself, this episode is not an example of his talent.
Underrated: Shadows of P'Jem - It's actually a pretty good action show. If Enterprise had focused more on relations between the Vulcans and Andorians in the early years, it may not have been necessary to introduce the Xindi to mix things up.

Movies:
Overated: XI - It's just a flashy summer blockbuster to me.
Underrated: Nemesis - This is a pretty good movie. Granted at times you have to turn your brain off, but otherwise it's pretty damn good and doesn't deserve to be considered Trek's lowest point.

 

[Xerxes1979]

Darmok is overrated.

 

[Gaith]

^ A little, yeah.

Also overrated: "Demons/Terra Prime", "Endgame" (because some people say some nice things about it) and, perhaps most of all, "In the Pale Moonlight". A good story gets buried in an avalanche of pedantic narration and over-the-top Brooks ranting while staring into the camera. From Michelle Erica Green's review:

I must say that I think the flashback-via-diary structure for this episode was a mistake, because I had a really hard time not laughing at Avery Brooks' earnest, emotional monologues in Sisko's personal logs... [And] if he was really feeling guilty about the dead enemy agent and the man the Klingons were going to execute anyway, his skin isn't nearly tough enough for him to be a captain during wartime.

 

[Navaros]

Overrated:

The Cage
The Menagerie
Space Seed
The City on the Edge of Forever
Emissary
Duet
The Visitor
Trials and Tribble-ations
Best of Both Worlds
What You Leave Behind
The Caretaker

Underrated:

Way too many too list, but Trek has hundreds of episodes that are much better than all of the aforementioned titles.

 

[RandyS]

Most over-rated:

TOS: City on the Edge of Forever.
TNG: The Inner Light.

Both shit.

Most under-rated:

TOS: The Alternative Factor. A fun episode dealing with (loosely anyway) contact with a parrallel universe (my personal favorite type of sci-fi story there is, Star Trek or otherwise). This one is always dumped on by the fans, and nobody has ever been able to tell me why.

 

[sonak]

Well, I can give you reasons: it's boring, stupid, and often incoherent. Whatever kernel of an interesting concept they might have had is buried in an avalanche of incompetent execution.

 

[RandyS]

Well, I can give you reasons: it's boring, stupid, and often incoherent. Whatever kernel of an interesting concept they might have had is buried in an avalanche of incompetent execution.

Alright, that's one opinion.

Next?

 

[Canadave]

Well, I can give you reasons: it's boring, stupid, and often incoherent. Whatever kernel of an interesting concept they might have had is buried in an avalanche of incompetent execution.

Alright, that's one opinion.

Next?

Pretty much what sonak said. The premise is interesting, but the execution is incoherent and confusing. It's just a mess, IMO.

Underrated: The Homecoming/The Circle/The Siege - Season 2's opening arc is pure awesome, but it is frequently overlooked by everyone who feels nothing of any relevance happened until the Dominion showed up.

Very much agreed, and I think the opening becomes even stronger when you consider how well it ties in with "In The Hands of the Prophets." A lot of people complain about the Bajorans when discussing DS9, but some damn good stories came from them in season 1 and 2.

 

[Greg Cox]

Well, I can give you reasons: it's boring, stupid, and often incoherent. Whatever kernel of an interesting concept they might have had is buried in an avalanche of incompetent execution.

Alright, that's one opinion.

Next?

"Incoherent" pretty much sums it up.