ST:DS9's Most Overated Episodes:
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Far Beyond the Stars--Avery Brooks' acting was painful, I didn't like the contrived way they brought about the story and it really was never clear the point of why the Prophets would design this little holodeck-ish adventure and I doubt the Prophets would feel the need to teach Sisko a lesson on race since it had nothing to do with a war.
Rocks and Shoals--a fair episode but nothing screams classic to me--nothing you wouldn't see in any war film.
The Ship--disappointing twist at the end and all the bitching at each other esp Jadzia got old real fast. I also could have cared less about Enrique so any attempt to milk an emotional response from me failed. The only thing I liked was how this ship comes into play in later episodes.
Rocks and Shoals--a fair episode but nothing screams classic to me--nothing you wouldn't see in any war film.
The Ship--disappointing twist at the end and all the bitching at each other esp Jadzia got old real fast. I also could have cared less about Enrique so any attempt to milk an emotional response from me failed. The only thing I liked was how this ship comes into play in later episodes.
In The Pale Moonlight
it works as sort of a "caper" episode, as Garak's scheme is actually pretty clever, but Sisko's agonizing is way over the top and unrealistic considering the stakes and the relatively small costs of what he did. He did way worse when he was pursuing Eddington, and that was just because he felt personally betrayed by him.
This time the future of the AQ was at stake.
so while the episode is of course a decent one, it's not the "shattering, shocking" one that it(and many in DS9 fandom) so obviously want it to be.
it works as sort of a "caper" episode, as Garak's scheme is actually pretty clever, but Sisko's agonizing is way over the top and unrealistic considering the stakes and the relatively small costs of what he did. He did way worse when he was pursuing Eddington, and that was just because he felt personally betrayed by him.
This time the future of the AQ was at stake.
so while the episode is of course a decent one, it's not the "shattering, shocking" one that it(and many in DS9 fandom) so obviously want it to be.
I always thought "Crossover" to be very over rated,
to me it seems like a unimagonitive episode, they couldn't think of a neet story so they shoved everyone in an alternitive realiy, how many times has this been done now?
you had kirk and his evil double, Riker and his duplicate, who once again reappeared in DS9... :/
to me it seems like a unimagonitive episode, they couldn't think of a neet story so they shoved everyone in an alternitive realiy, how many times has this been done now?
you had kirk and his evil double, Riker and his duplicate, who once again reappeared in DS9... :/
Rocks and Shoals is magnificent in my view, but this description is exactly how I feel about The Siege of AR-558. Total cliched war movie snoozefest.
I have never been able to see what others do in R&S--was Jadzia's fate ever in doubt, Keevan behave like you would expect and so do the Jem'Hadar--they were bred to be self sacrificing killing machines. The Jem'Hadar character they used to let us invest in wasn't that compelling.
The B story took a long way to get where it was going--the end result was good not great but to have to sit through everything to get there was kinda boring.
No way is "Whispers" overrated. That was the first episode where DS9 truly achieved greatness and proved it was willing to go to dark, disturbing places TNG never would. And I'm not saying it's just good because it was different...it was very, very smart and suspenseful.
I agree.
I used to think "In the Pale Moonlight" was overrated because I got sick of people endlessly praising it here, but after the last time I watched it, I had to jump on the bandwagon. It was just so intense and exciting.
I do agree that Avery Brooks is way too over-the-top in it, though. His strained facial expressions and excessive enunciation as he emphasizes words for dramatic effect irritated me and made me cringe at times.
As for my choice, the number one most overrated episode has to be "Duet". The whole first season is mostly awful ("Dax", "Dramatis Personae", and "Captive Pursuit" were the only episodes I liked), and this episode isn't much better than the rest of it. I probably would have forgotten about it if people here didn't get so worked up about it.
Upon re-watching it out of curiosity due to the rabid following it has here, I realized that it does have one special thing going for it- a great performance by its guest star, Harris Yulin. He brings enthralling conviction to his role. The rest of the episode is the usual season 1 garbage, though.
It's a dull, lifeless, plodding story, with Kira at her most shrill, whiny, and grating. The episode perks up in the scenes with Yulin. The rest stinks. How can one of the best episodes of the series be one where the only good thing in it is an actor who doesn't appear in any other?
I agree.
I used to think "In the Pale Moonlight" was overrated because I got sick of people endlessly praising it here, but after the last time I watched it, I had to jump on the bandwagon. It was just so intense and exciting.
I do agree that Avery Brooks is way too over-the-top in it, though. His strained facial expressions and excessive enunciation as he emphasizes words for dramatic effect irritated me and made me cringe at times.
As for my choice, the number one most overrated episode has to be "Duet". The whole first season is mostly awful ("Dax", "Dramatis Personae", and "Captive Pursuit" were the only episodes I liked), and this episode isn't much better than the rest of it. I probably would have forgotten about it if people here didn't get so worked up about it.
Upon re-watching it out of curiosity due to the rabid following it has here, I realized that it does have one special thing going for it- a great performance by its guest star, Harris Yulin. He brings enthralling conviction to his role. The rest of the episode is the usual season 1 garbage, though.
It's a dull, lifeless, plodding story, with Kira at her most shrill, whiny, and grating. The episode perks up in the scenes with Yulin. The rest stinks. How can one of the best episodes of the series be one where the only good thing in it is an actor who doesn't appear in any other?
Several I find really overrated...
"Far Beyond the Stars" - Just bores me and has no real Trek connection whatsoever...
"In the Pale Moonlight" - I really don't like the loss of Trek idealism here.
"The Visitor" - Also dull and uninteresting to me, IMO.
"Crossover" - Way to undo the excellent TOS episode, "Mirror, Mirror." Really don't like.
"Hard Time" - Just not enjoyable at all.
"Nor to Battle the Strong" - I hate the style of this episode.
"The Siege of AR-588" - This is needlessly nihilistic and depressing, and way out of touch with the Trek feel. And, hello, wide angle stun? Fire from orbit? HELLO!
"Waltz" - I was much more interested of seeing an episode with characters we know on the Nebula-class ship...the rest is forgettable.
"Far Beyond the Stars" - Just bores me and has no real Trek connection whatsoever...
"In the Pale Moonlight" - I really don't like the loss of Trek idealism here.
"The Visitor" - Also dull and uninteresting to me, IMO.
"Crossover" - Way to undo the excellent TOS episode, "Mirror, Mirror." Really don't like.
"Hard Time" - Just not enjoyable at all.
"Nor to Battle the Strong" - I hate the style of this episode.
"The Siege of AR-588" - This is needlessly nihilistic and depressing, and way out of touch with the Trek feel. And, hello, wide angle stun? Fire from orbit? HELLO!
"Waltz" - I was much more interested of seeing an episode with characters we know on the Nebula-class ship...the rest is forgettable.
1. Way of the Warrior - what a plodding chore of an episode(s) that is not at all helped by its unnecessarily bloated length or budget.
2. Every season 3 episode involving Changelings, Vorta or the Jem Hadar up to Improbable Cause. Okay, The Search Pt 1 had its moment but the rest were uniformly terrible. Some people say season 3 was where DS9 started to get good - I actually think all things considered it's the worst season of the show's run.
2. Every season 3 episode involving Changelings, Vorta or the Jem Hadar up to Improbable Cause. Okay, The Search Pt 1 had its moment but the rest were uniformly terrible. Some people say season 3 was where DS9 started to get good - I actually think all things considered it's the worst season of the show's run.
Dare I say "Trials and Tribble-ations"?
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVED it, but I, personally, don't rank it up there with what I consider to be the best of the series.
Is "Past Tense" overrated? That one was my favorite.
"Way of the Warrior" is definitely overrated. It's a good show, but like "Trials," not one of my favorites.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVED it, but I, personally, don't rank it up there with what I consider to be the best of the series.
Is "Past Tense" overrated? That one was my favorite.
"Way of the Warrior" is definitely overrated. It's a good show, but like "Trials," not one of my favorites.
I agree heartily, I just re-watched Whispers the other week having not seen it for years and forgotten how it ended, and it seriously blew me away. Very dark, brave, and genuinely disturbing and upsetting.
For me, it's probably Past Tense. Very good episode, but I don't think it achieves much outside of its own specific. It doesn't strike a chord with me or do something impressive/exciting/new with the show.
"Siege of AR 558" is higly overrated imo. Weird future combat, DS9 cave syndrome, cliched
"Accession" too. Sure any Emissary episode is good to have, but too little Bajor and too much station, Prophets are AGAIN just the DS9 bridge crew... what a wasted opportunity. Could have been much more and seems dated now.
also "Who mourns for Morn". Too harmless.
"Accession" too. Sure any Emissary episode is good to have, but too little Bajor and too much station, Prophets are AGAIN just the DS9 bridge crew... what a wasted opportunity. Could have been much more and seems dated now.
also "Who mourns for Morn". Too harmless.
Considering how these are often cited by fans as great DS9 eps, seems a little perverse. But I'd agree with you re: The Visitor (can see why people like, but not for me; find a bit sappy) and AR-588 (good ep but a bit war cliche; however, for Trek was a major breakthrough re: reality of war).
Feel at disadvantage as only seen series through once (and think is the best Trek series) and not sure what are considered the 'rated' episodes. I think FBTS is an exceptional piece of TV drama whatever the genre, full stop. Is there a definitive list of top Trek episodes somewhere on net? At least then I think I'd have something Trek fans consider 'rated' to argue against...
FBTS would be a one of the best episodes ever except for the overacting. still darn fine.
Rock and shoals is good, but not in my top ten list.
Of course, there is another way to look at overrated.
"Profit and Lace" is by far the most overrated episode, as words cannot describe how truly horrific it is in a otherwise great show.
Rock and shoals is good, but not in my top ten list.
Of course, there is another way to look at overrated.
"Profit and Lace" is by far the most overrated episode, as words cannot describe how truly horrific it is in a otherwise great show.
Far Beyond the Stars - It's got some massive over-acting from Avery Brooks and some downright weird acting from Armin Shimerman. It is a good "message" show, but ultimately I don't think it was needed. Did we really need another Trek episode devoted entirely to saying that "racism is bad"? On top of that, it has almost no connection to the rest of DS9 (aside from the Benny subplot that was later picked up). What was it that Sisko experienced? A vision from the Prophets? It's never made clear. If it was a vision from the Prophets, what were they trying to teach him? Simply to fight the good fight? Again, it's not clear.
Valiant - I simply cannot understand the appeal of this episode. 1.) The cadets are nothing if not annoying. There's no way to sympathize with them at all. 2.) Since Nog so easily goes along with their ridiculous plan, he comes off looking like a complete idiot. 3.) It makes absolutely no sense for Nog to be so taken in by them, since he is a genuine officer and they're still cadets. Nog, in fact, outranks all of them. 4.) What exactly were TPTB trying to do with this episode? Get us to agree with Red Squad or disagree with them? It's too vague.
Valiant - I simply cannot understand the appeal of this episode. 1.) The cadets are nothing if not annoying. There's no way to sympathize with them at all. 2.) Since Nog so easily goes along with their ridiculous plan, he comes off looking like a complete idiot. 3.) It makes absolutely no sense for Nog to be so taken in by them, since he is a genuine officer and they're still cadets. Nog, in fact, outranks all of them. 4.) What exactly were TPTB trying to do with this episode? Get us to agree with Red Squad or disagree with them? It's too vague.
I guess I am new here, but people think Valiant is a good episode?
Guess that goes in my overrated list.
I don't know, but every time I've tried to say that I don't like it, there have been a lot of people who come to it's defense. 
So, I guess it's highly thought of, at least in some circles.
So, I guess it's highly thought of, at least in some circles.
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