The Most Overrated Episodes
- Thread starter AdmiralScreed
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Different strokes for different folks and all that...
The term "overrated" to me means it was rated highly for a reason. The writing quality of "Inner Light was undeniably high in my opinion. That doesnt mean everyone has to like it though. It was drama driven show not not heavy on action and not everyone's cup of tea. I think it's possible to consider something to be top notch in quality but also admiting not likeing it's content or style.
See, with the strengths you list that right there I couldn't possibly disagree with more. I give you it's a fascinating sci fi concept, but... we barely saw anything about the sci fi side of it. We see Picard get zapped at the beginning and we see Picard wake up towards the ending. Meanwhile, we get to watch Picard watch a movie, with interspersed shots of Beverly not knowing what's going on.
The Inner Light is beautifully written, acted and had a lovely score. But it never felt like Science Fiction to me. And to me it's one of Star Trek's flimsiest attempts ever to transplant the story they're telling into a futuristic/fantastic setting.
You're right, it's not one of the most sci fi episodes of the series. But did it really need to be? There was so much technobabble and wacky science already, I think more sci fi would have interrupted the flow of this episode and interfered with the drama. This episode was really supposed to be about Picard and all of the development he went through while living with the ancient civilization. The episode already had a fascinating sci fi concept to wrap your mind around, IMO more sci fi than that would have been overkill.
Nevertheless, what could have improved the Inner Light in your eyes? In what way do you think it should have been more sci fi?
I posted this in another thread a while back, so I'll dust it off for this one.... 
5.) I Borg - I never agreed with Picard's decision in this episode. He let his own personal code get in the way of doing the greater good. Even if the plan to destroy the Borg would have ended up unsuccessful, they should have still tried. Every assimilation, everywhere, after this episode is on Picard's hands IMO.
4.) Who Watches the Watchers - So unsubtle in it's anti-religion message that it sickens me. If you're an atheist, hey more power to you. If you want to promote atheism, go right ahead and knock yourself out. But don't go and claim that all religion is backward superstition, that religious people are ignorant and that no good can come from it. If a believer tried to pull the exact same argument (that non-believers are stupid, that they don't deserve to be treated with equal respect and that atheism always produces immorality) I would be equally sickened; so why should I not be here?
3.) Lower Decks - Objectively a good episode. It's easily one of the show's better ones. But, I've seen it receive such fawning praise in some circles that I'm often left scratching my head. Yes, it's good, but not great. For one, I never felt very attached to the "lower decks" characters aside from Ogawa and Sito, and then only because we had seen them previously and had a backstory for them. Personally, I think VOY did a much better job with this concept in Good Shepherd - an episode where I actually did like the "lower decks" characters even though we had never seen them before.
2.) Yesterday's Enterprise - Okay, seriously, I simply do not get all the love for this episode. Again, it's objectively good. But it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread! It's a nice fun, episode; but that's all it is - nothing more, nothing remarkably special.
1.) The Inner Light - Once again, an objectively good episode - easily in TNG's top quarter. But, it's just so damn schmaltzy! I seriously feel like I need an insulin injection every time I watch it; it's so maddeningly sweet and sugary. Not to mention that it teaches Picard that he can have a family and kids and that there's great joy to be had in that, only for him to get back to the real-world and decide not to pursue that life in any way.
5.) I Borg - I never agreed with Picard's decision in this episode. He let his own personal code get in the way of doing the greater good. Even if the plan to destroy the Borg would have ended up unsuccessful, they should have still tried. Every assimilation, everywhere, after this episode is on Picard's hands IMO.
4.) Who Watches the Watchers - So unsubtle in it's anti-religion message that it sickens me. If you're an atheist, hey more power to you. If you want to promote atheism, go right ahead and knock yourself out. But don't go and claim that all religion is backward superstition, that religious people are ignorant and that no good can come from it. If a believer tried to pull the exact same argument (that non-believers are stupid, that they don't deserve to be treated with equal respect and that atheism always produces immorality) I would be equally sickened; so why should I not be here?
3.) Lower Decks - Objectively a good episode. It's easily one of the show's better ones. But, I've seen it receive such fawning praise in some circles that I'm often left scratching my head. Yes, it's good, but not great. For one, I never felt very attached to the "lower decks" characters aside from Ogawa and Sito, and then only because we had seen them previously and had a backstory for them. Personally, I think VOY did a much better job with this concept in Good Shepherd - an episode where I actually did like the "lower decks" characters even though we had never seen them before.
2.) Yesterday's Enterprise - Okay, seriously, I simply do not get all the love for this episode. Again, it's objectively good. But it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread! It's a nice fun, episode; but that's all it is - nothing more, nothing remarkably special.
1.) The Inner Light - Once again, an objectively good episode - easily in TNG's top quarter. But, it's just so damn schmaltzy! I seriously feel like I need an insulin injection every time I watch it; it's so maddeningly sweet and sugary. Not to mention that it teaches Picard that he can have a family and kids and that there's great joy to be had in that, only for him to get back to the real-world and decide not to pursue that life in any way.
I posted this in another thread a while back, so I'll dust it off for this one....
5.) I Borg - I never agreed with Picard's decision in this episode. He let his own personal code get in the way of doing the greater good. Even if the plan to destroy the Borg would have ended up unsuccessful, they should have still tried. Every assimilation, everywhere, after this episode is on Picard's hands IMO.
4.) Who Watches the Watchers - So unsubtle in it's anti-religion message that it sickens me. If you're an atheist, hey more power to you. If you want to promote atheism, go right ahead and knock yourself out. But don't go and claim that all religion is backward superstition, that religious people are ignorant and that no good can come from it. If a believer tried to pull the exact same argument (that non-believers are stupid, that they don't deserve to be treated with equal respect and that atheism always produces immorality) I would be equally sickened; so why should I not be here?
3.) Lower Decks - Objectively a good episode. It's easily one of the show's better ones. But, I've seen it receive such fawning praise in some circles that I'm often left scratching my head. Yes, it's good, but not great. For one, I never felt very attached to the "lower decks" characters aside from Ogawa and Sito, and then only because we had seen them previously and had a backstory for them. Personally, I think VOY did a much better job with this concept in Good Shepherd - an episode where I actually did like the "lower decks" characters even though we had never seen them before.
2.) Yesterday's Enterprise - Okay, seriously, I simply do not get all the love for this episode. Again, it's objectively good. But it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread! It's a nice fun, episode; but that's all it is - nothing more, nothing remarkably special.
1.) The Inner Light - Once again, an objectively good episode - easily in TNG's top quarter. But, it's just so damn schmaltzy! I seriously feel like I need an insulin injection every time I watch it; it's so maddeningly sweet and sugary. Not to mention that it teaches Picard that he can have a family and kids and that there's great joy to be had in that, only for him to get back to the real-world and decide not to pursue that life in any way.
regarding "I Borg," that's pretty typical of Picard. He tends to favor rigid adherence to his own abstract ethical principles over accomplishing a greater good. At least it's in character.
as for "the inner light," TNG wasn't serialized, so events that should've had a major impact on Picard for months afterward were never mentioned again.("Tapestry," "chain of command," etc.)
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Except that's clearly not the direction they wanted to go with his character.
Inner Light is good but its kind of ruined by showing us Picard lying on the bridge- way to completely ruin the mystery.
I'm not sure if Voyager's "Memorial" is that much better, but at least they didn't give away the twist at the beginning and then expect us to still love the show.
Anyway, the most overrated for me:
Booby Trap - I almost find this unwatchable, its just full of ENDLESS technobabble crap. Its awful.
Best of Both Worlds - Dark Frontier was a much better Borg 2 parter.
Darmok - wasn't that entertaining to watch for me,
Except that's clearly not the direction they wanted to go with his character.
Inner Light is good but its kind of ruined by showing us Picard lying on the bridge- way to completely ruin the mystery.
I'm not sure if Voyager's "Memorial" is that much better, but at least they didn't give away the twist at the beginning and then expect us to still love the show.
Anyway, the most overrated for me:
Booby Trap - I almost find this unwatchable, its just full of ENDLESS technobabble crap. Its awful.
Best of Both Worlds - Dark Frontier was a much better Borg 2 parter.
Darmok - wasn't that entertaining to watch for me,
is "booby trap" really a highly-rated episode among TNG fans? I've never seen it in those "top ten" fan polls they used to run, and I've barely seen it mentioned at this site. I thought it was regarded as a mediocre-decent episode.
Indeed, Picard has never been the guy who violates the rights of anybody. If Hugh had been a Starfleet officer who had volunteered for the "virus mission" it'd be a totally different issue.
I like the episode because it raised the Kodos question, are you allowed to trade-off lives? My gut reaction is to side with Nechayev, better one Borg than thousands of Starfleet officers. But if we go back to The Conscience of the King we learn something valuable: uncertainty matters. Kodos also killed in order save lives, his rationale was better half the population survives than nobody. But he ignored that there is a third option, than they can be rescued.
Same with I, Borg, the virus wasn't guaranteed to work, it was actually just a fancy idea and in the end it merely disrupted one cube.
Of course the main point of the episode was to contrast the collectivist horrors of the Borg in which every drone is expendable with the individualism and liberty of the Federation in which every life is precious.
I think most people think its decent/good but I hate it with a passion so it goes on my overrated list.
^^^^
100% agreed.
Payback for what exactly? Getting the Enterprise ready for a possible war and not taking shit while he did it.
Jerkico was a horrible captain. He ordered a change of the shift schedule in a crisis situation (!!!) not because it made sense but because he wanted to show who the boss is. Only weak leaders behave in such a pathetic fashion and Riker rightly objected to his nonsensical orders.
One of TNG's reappearing themes was that Starfleet is not an old-school military in which officers merely obey orders but one in which they think for themselves, question authority and disobey their superior officers if they behave irrationally. Like "Chain of Command" the episode "Allegiance" neatly compares different types of authority, the right one which is based on corporation and mutual respect (in "Contagion" Picard doesn't ask twice when Geordi arrives in disarray on the bridge and shouts that the probe has to be destroyed) with the fake one which is nothing but a petty power play.
One of TNG's reappearing themes was that Starfleet is not an old-school military in which officers merely obey orders but one in which they think for themselves, question authority and disobey their superior officers if they behave irrationally. Like "Chain of Command" the episode "Allegiance" neatly compares different types of authority, the right one which is based on corporation and mutual respect (in "Contagion" Picard doesn't ask twice when Geordi arrives in disarray on the bridge and shouts that the probe has to be destroyed) with the fake one which is nothing but a petty power play.
I forgot about that episode, but yes, I would also add that to my list of overrated episodes. It was way too repetitive. Not a bad episode by any means, but IMO it is no where close to being one of the best episodes of the series like many people claim it to be.
Except that none of the orders that Jellico gave were non-nonsensical. They were all designed to get the Enterprise converted from a ship of exploration into a ship of war in very short order. Even changing the shift schedule was to that end - he wanted the crew rested and having them work shorter hours would have helped that.
Yes, Jellico was a hard-ass, but everything he ordered was necessary, within reason and within the crew's capabilities. He could have been more tactful in his command style, but the ones who were really petty and non-nonsensical were the crew and especially Riker. They're whole argument was - "We don't care if we're facing a possible combat situation! This isn't how Picard did things and it butt-hurts us to do them differently!"
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