Defend an awful Trek episode

[somebuddyX]

I don't actually have any strong feelings to Shades of Grey but I think it makes sense for a money/time expense and I think if I had seen it at the time I would probably been favourable to it because there wasn't really repeats of episodes and if you'd missed those earlier episodes you could see scenes of them here.
At least Let He Who Is Without Sin does some outdoor scenes on the beach instead of that piece of crap cave set that turned up in every other episode in Season 7.
A Night In Sickbay is pretty casual and random and I love seeing the NX-01 gym and Archer learning how to use a chainsaw and I've seen it two times which is two more times than Darmok, for whatever that's worth.
I absolutely unironically like Threshold and think it's great body horror, like Paris ripping out his own tongue. I like Robbie McNeill's acting as he goes nuts and there's that sad story about being a kid in his bedroom and crying. Before we saw Admiral Paris as some nice guy I really imagined him as some real piece of shit, maybe like one of those broken military dads who kinda psychologically torture their kids when they're little to toughen them up or whatever. I thought that was interesting idea that Tom tries to be so peppy because he's had this horrible stuff happen to him and he's overcompensating.
Star Trek Nemesis had a good crash sequence and a good space battle and a nice ending where we teamed up with the Romulans to beat the bad guy and everyone lived happily ever after. I want to see an animation of someone in that Enterprise's Ten Forward equivalent as Picard does ramming speed and they fucking leg it down the corridor.

 

[Mytran]

And once the Dominion stuff did start, it immediately dominated. I rest my case.

I'd have to double check to see if that's quantifiably true, episode for episode (there was only about 4 Dominion related episodes in Season 3, for example).
But regardless, wasn't "your case" that Move Along Home was one of the last DS9 episodes before The Dominion began to dominate?

And I don't see anything the slightest bit wrong with "Move Along Home." It was, as I recall, one of the last DS9 episodes before The Dominion began to dominate.

If you're making a new case instead, in which season did the Dominion stuff "immediately dominate"?

 

[dupersuper]

Ah
I didn't even know she did all that much. Because a lot of those are shows I didn't watch much or at all.Also I wouldn't call Tow and a Half Men a career-highlight

The only things I remember her from back in the day are Voyager, that awful Dracula 2000(2001?) movie and I think she was on OC California?

She also popped up in an episode or two of Arrow.

Checking Wikipedia, Ryan had a son born in 1994 and got divorced from her first husband in 1999. She remarried in 2007 and had a daughter in 2008. I assume TV work was more appealing to a single working parent because it's much less travel and more regular hours.

Single? She got divorced again?

Either way, I figured it was family. I remember Tony Shalhoub saying on Dinner for Five he loved working on Wings because he got to go home to his family at a decent hour every night.

Trek actors often seem to get typecast, unfortunately. Even Patrick Stewart and William Shatner seem to have had little luck on the silver screen.

Um....X-Men?

Alright, I really think Dear Doctor is a very strong episode of Enterprise. Classic Star Trek ‘no good answers’ moral quandary, brilliantly written and played by all involved…

If only any one involved knew what evolution is...

Move Along Home was the first episode of Trek I watched and I’ve been hooked ever since, it must’ve done something right - granted I was 11/12 at the time.

I'll always love the "Of course not; it's only a game!" ending.

And I don't see anything the slightest bit wrong with "Move Along Home." It was, as I recall, one of the last DS9 episodes before The Dominion began to dominate.

I'm pretty sure it was well before the Dominion stuff really kicked off.

And once the Dominion stuff did start, it immediately dominated. I rest my case.

Not really: they were a looming threat for a while. Then there was the Klingon war. The Dominion was behind that, but hardly the focus.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

We first heard of the Dominion 17 episodes after Move Along Home, we met the Jem'Hadar 36 episodes after it, and the paranoia about the Founders infiltrating the Alpha Quadrant properly began 62 episodes after it.

 

[Oddish]

Is "The Storyteller" condidered a weak episode? Because it had that scene in Odo's office, which was legitimately funny.

Odo looked pretty upset, but I guess I can understand it. How'd you like it if your bed was full of oatmeal?

 

[brandnewfan]

I remember watching Genesis when I was like 10 and it scaring my sister and I. Watching mutated Worf crawling through the Jefferies Tube after Picard was like watching a horror movie. The episode was extremely memorable for young me.

I loved it then, and it still holds a lot of nostalgia for me today even though I recognize the extreme flaws in it now.

 

[Farscape One]

Okay, I'm going to defend what I think is THE worst episode of TOS.

"AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD"
1. Kirk making the kids see their dead parents' graves retroactively gives even more meaning to his "I need my pain!" speech in ST V.

2. We see Chapel as a maternal figure briefly, which I believe was the only time in the series.


Next, I'm doing what I believe is the worst of TNG.

"Sub Rosa"
1. McFadden really gives her all here. No one can ever accuse her of half-assing a performance here.

2. Her nana's home looked really nice, cozy, and comforting.


Next, my defense of what I think is the worst DS9 episode.

"PROFIT AND LACE"
1. ALL the actors and actresses give their all. Surprising, considering the material. True professionals, they are.

2. I actually find the idea of Slug-o-cola amusing. It's the Ferengi Coke.


Next up, VOYAGER.

"FALSE PROFITS"
1. Ethan Phillips does a great job posing as a Ferengi, and not the first time I might add. See his performance in TNG's "Menage a Troi".

2. The harem was very easy on the eyes, particularly the brunette wearing the purple veil. (I know... it's superficial. Men are visual creatures, after all. And frankly, I have no other thing I like about the episode.)


And now, ENTERPRISE... what I believe is the worst episode.

"PRECIOUS CARGO" (Surprised I didn't use TATV? While TATV is horrible, I actually feel this one is actually worse.)
1. The fake trial was funny.

2. At least this episode is about a character from this show.


That's all I have for now, because it's difficult for me to separate individual episodes of DISCO and PICARD due to the arcs overlapping so much. Regarding TAS, it's been a long time since I watched any that my memory is fuzzy. And I genuinely LOVE each of the LD and SNW episodes, and I feel PRODIGY has no need to be defended.

 

[Oddish]

Um....X-Men?

Yeah, good point. Forgot about that one.

PROFIT AND LACE"
1. ALL the actors and actresses give their all. Surprising, considering the material. True professionals, they are.

2. I actually find the idea of Slug-o-cola amusing. It's the Ferengi Coke.

1. True. Considering how appalling some of these scripts were, I expect that was a necessary skill.
2. Wonder what it tastes like...

 

[Farscape One]

At the very least, it will give your teeth 'a lovely shade of green'.

 

[Mrs. Silvercrest]

I don't know if people really see these as awful.
I don't.
But I really like them and see them as great fun:
They have cheered me up many a day!
The Naked Now -Next Generation
and The Naked Time- Star Trek
Shore Leave Star Trek
Once Upon A Planet- Animated Star Trek
The Trouble with Tribbles- Star Trek
More Trouble with Tribbles- Animated Star Trek
Trials and Tribble-lations Deep Space Nine.
I just laugh and laugh because they are so silly and not like the characters.
I also really enjoy the Shore Leave one and that crazy planet again silly and fun.
I guess I like silly because it takes a break from the more seriousness of the show and the character and shows them having to deal with personal problems or hidden character traits. It just gives me another idea of what that character is all about and that they can laugh and do the unexpected! There are a few others but this is enough of a list to give you some idea what I mean. I hope this list is okay?

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm just waiting for someone to defend Catspaw - the only saving grace I can think of that episode is it was written by Robert Bloch.

I love "Catspaw" because it's the one-and-only Star Trek Halloween special, thereby combining two of my favorite things: Star Trek and Gothic horror. Two great tastes that go great together, at least for Halloween.

As a kid, I was always excited when "Catspaw" turned up in the syndicated reruns.

In addition, it gets points for not forgetting about the poor redshirt who died in the prologue. Instead of ending with everyone joking and laughing on the bridge as though nobody died, we get:

McCoy: All this, an illusion.
Kirk (grimly): No illusion. Jackson is dead.

 

[dupersuper]

Okay, I'm going to defend what I think is THE worst episode of TOS.

"AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD"
1. Kirk making the kids see their dead parents' graves retroactively gives even more meaning to his "I need my pain!" speech in ST V.

2. We see Chapel as a maternal figure briefly, which I believe was the only time in the series.


Next, I'm doing what I believe is the worst of TNG.

"Sub Rosa"
1. McFadden really gives her all here. No one can ever accuse her of half-assing a performance here.

2. Her nana's home looked really nice, cozy, and comforting.


Next, my defense of what I think is the worst DS9 episode.

"PROFIT AND LACE"
1. ALL the actors and actresses give their all. Surprising, considering the material. True professionals, they are.

2. I actually find the idea of Slug-o-cola amusing. It's the Ferengi Coke.


Next up, VOYAGER.

"FALSE PROFITS"
1. Ethan Phillips does a great job posing as a Ferengi, and not the first time I might add. See his performance in TNG's "Menage a Troi".

2. The harem was very easy on the eyes, particularly the brunette wearing the purple veil. (I know... it's superficial. Men are visual creatures, after all. And frankly, I have no other thing I like about the episode.)


And now, ENTERPRISE... what I believe is the worst episode.

"PRECIOUS CARGO" (Surprised I didn't use TATV? While TATV is horrible, I actually feel this one is actually worse.)
1. The fake trial was funny.

2. At least this episode is about a character from this show.


That's all I have for now, because it's difficult for me to separate individual episodes of DISCO and PICARD due to the arcs overlapping so much. Regarding TAS, it's been a long time since I watched any that my memory is fuzzy. And I genuinely LOVE each of the LD and SNW episodes, and I feel PRODIGY has no need to be defended.

Ooo, defending our least favourite episodes from each series? A challenge...

TOS, "AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD":
The main cast actors seem to be having fun.
Nurse Chapel does indeed get some screen time.

TAS, "BEM"
Other than the absurdly frustrating and annoying guest character, it was ok.

TNG, "HOMEWARD"
We got to see Paul Sorvino in Star Trek...

DS9: "PROFIT AND LACE"
...More Wallace Shawn?

VOY, "AUTHOR AUTHOR"
Honestly, the first 40 or so minutes of the episode. This could've been a perfectly fun episode if it wasn't for the truly disgusting ending.

ENT, "DEAR DOCTOR"
...I got nothing.

Kelvin movies, "INTO DARKNESS"
I do like the quick bit about not blasting an enemy without questions as a knee-jerk reaction to attack.
Also, the continuity with the Kelvin Trek video game was a nice touch.

I agree that Discovery and Picard run together too much with their serialized story telling for me to do this for them off the top of my head, and that Strange New Worlds, Prodigy and even Short Treks and Lower Decks (as slow as I found the latter to really hit it's stride in it's first season) have yet to have any true stinkers.

 

[Vger23]

The Omega Glory

The Enterprise encounters a mysteriously derelict sister ship, the USS Exeter only to find out too late that her crew ultimately perished from a deadly plague brought up from a nearby planet’s surface. Now Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are marooned on that planet, finding that remaining there is the key to immunity from the virus, along with the only survivor of the Exeter, Captain Ronald Tracey. But, as a deadly war nears its violent conclusion amongst the primitive inhabitants, an even deadlier revelation becomes apparent, as the Enterprise crew suspects the true evil in this situation lies within Kirk’s peer and fellow Starfleet Captain.

This is an episode that generally gets the shit knocked out of it mercilessly, but I have always liked it. Of course it’s flawed and the conclusion is ridiculous, but it has a tense and engaging story otherwise, and Morgan Woodward gives a truly menacing and compelling performance as a starship Captain who has absolutely lost their way. In fact, I find Tracy to be the most compelling and formidable villain from all of TOS.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

"Up the Long Ladder" (TNG)

Everyone needs to lighten up on this episode. We all have extended family we can't stand. Sometimes can't fucking stand. Everyone has the family drunkard. Sometimes a few of them. Sometimes that's even been me. Brenna Odell is fucking awesome. She reminds me of a few of my friends. What else? The scene with Pulaski covering for Worf is priceless. And I love when Riker mentions that if he were duplicated, it would diminish him in ways he can't even imagine; which was followed up later with just that. The scene with Worf ordering that drink on the replicator for Danilo Odell was great. And I got a kick out of whenever we saw twins, triplets, etc. on Mariposa.

I'm not doing any pretending here. It's really what I think. So this one's easy. But somehow I've been on here since 1999 and never talked about this episode. So I guess defending it isn't something I'd normally do, because all these years and I've rarely posted in the TNG Forum. And it's just never come up in the circles I've usually been in here, past or present.

I do get a giggle out of the stereotypes but at the end of the day it's a really bloody racist episode.

 

[Mojochi]

1. Gorgeous planetary setting.
2. It gave Crusher something to do beyond diagnose people.
3. I liked the closing line.
4. It explains a common unexplained phenomenon. If you ever see a ghost, it's really just an anaphasic lifeform that wants to get in your pants.

I liked the gothic nature of the episode.

It's a gorgeous looking episode, too...and it's very off-beat from the "usual" TNG fare.

So, I'll add my 2 cents here too.

The only reason this episode gets railroaded is because the premise itself is rather silly. There's a mysterious ghost haunting/possession on Star Trek. So if you can't get past that, you think it stinks, or is even dull, because of the mood they create to feature that premise (kind of like how they created a spooky mood for Schisms around alien abductions... Which while it was good is also kind of silly, because they've ALL been abducted by aliens at some point lol)

They are taking the opportunity, late in the series, to experiment with untried styles. So, they were eventually going to get around to the ghost genre at some point. That said, pretty much everything else about the episode is done well

Looking at the production quality compared to one like Hide & Q, it's almost absurdly better. The cast fields the concept well in their acting. Plus, the writing, while over the top, is still good for what it is. It's just not as bad as the condemnation would indicate inho

 

[Farscape One]

I'm just not a fan of that gothic romance stuff. And the plot had several holes in it.

 

[Dee1891]

Just for fun... take an episode that you normally wouldn't give the time of day to, and try to find something legitimately positive to say about it.

I'll start...

Shades of Gray: One, given the time and budget, it was going to be a clip show or something similar in nature. But one, they found a way to explain the clips within the episode's context (as opposed to just playing them alongside some sentimental song). Two, it had some pretty good moments with Riker facing his imminent death (the end was pretty cute too). And three, they actually picked some pretty good clips.


You turn... find an appalling episode and make everyone else want to see it!

I can't. If I don't like a particular Trek episode or movie, I just cannot see myself defending it.

 

[Tango]

The Omega Glory

The Enterprise encounters a mysteriously derelict sister ship, the USS Exeter only to find out too late that her crew ultimately perished from a deadly plague brought up from a nearby planet’s surface. Now Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are marooned on that planet, finding that remaining there is the key to immunity from the virus, along with the only survivor of the Exeter, Captain Ronald Tracey. But, as a deadly war nears its violent conclusion amongst the primitive inhabitants, an even deadlier revelation becomes apparent, as the Enterprise crew suspects the true evil in this situation lies within Kirk’s peer and fellow Starfleet Captain.

This is an episode that generally gets the shit knocked out of it mercilessly, but I have always liked it.

I agree, it is an episode that is let down by leaning into the "alternate Earth" trope too heavily and the over-the-top ending. Otherwise a solid episode with a great antagonist.

 

[Oddish]

I can have a sense of humor about Sub Rosa. Apparently, all these haunted houses, poltergeists, and midnight phantoms which periodically turn up in assorted places around the world are just horny anaphasic lifeforms.

 

[Tango]

Spock's Brain

Star Trek does a classic science-fiction trope. Who wouldn't want an RC Spock, but if they had not done that it would have helped the episode. But I guess they wanted a Spock story for the season three premiere, so he couldn't really be off-screen for too much of the episode. I also really liked the scene where they discuss the Sigma Draconis system and decide where to focus their search. Also: uniform thermostats, which partially alleviated my annoyance they never wore jackets on landing parties. Fun fact: Sigma Draconis is very close to us, less than 6 parsecs away.