Favorite But Unpopular Episodes

[Vger23]

As a spin in the popular topics right now of "top 5" and "bottom 5" episodes...what are your favorite "unpopular" episodes? In other words, let's come clean about the ones we really love that everyone else seems to crap all over.

For me:

The Royale
Encounter at Farpoint
Time Squared
The Last Outpost
Emergence
Masks

 

[Vger23]

Mods- if you can, would it be possible to correct the thread title? "The Last Outpost" should not be part of it.

Sorry!

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

Mods- if you can, would it be possible to correct the thread title? "The Last Outpost" should not be part of it.

Sorry!

Done. No problem. Punishment only begins with the second offense.

 

[Tosk]

I don't know if I'd say any of the low-rated eps are my faves, but I definitely have a soft spot for certain "lesser" episodes. On the other hand, without a list of how people 'round here rate each ep it's hard to say which ones are which.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Definitely "Masks". So bloody weird I loved it.

 

[at Quark's]

Another vote for 'masks'. Loved the weirdness of it.

 

[RedAlert]

Well ... "In Theory" fits in this thread, I love the calm of the Patrick Stewart direction, and the color tones in this one.
"The Royale" as well ...I think of this as the resolve of the Dave Bowman mistery sort of thing.
"Unnatural selection" ... think of this and i'd would love to see more of the Lantree story. I like to see an old fashioned Miranda class starship back again.

 

[at Quark's]

Briefly skipped over to the bottom 5 thread for inspiration. I actually like those:

A Matter Of Time

I'll agree that it is in fact a pretty mediocre, convoluted episode that leaves lots of questions (I've asked some of those myself on the forum in the past), but I liked this one the first time I saw it as a teenager ('cool! Time travel and an even more advanced future!') and somehow that like has persisted, even though I have no good rational reason for it anymore.

Force of nature

I suppose this one is disliked mainly because it's such a blatant, heavyhanded analogy to our contemporary environment issues. I dislike it for that myself, too. But if I forget about that for a moment and only look at the episode for its own merits, there's actually not much I can find wrong with it - except perhaps with that handtying solution of warp 5 max, that of course was very quickly handwaved after that by just ignoring it or postulating that a new, less damaging version of warp drive was developed almost instantaneously.

 

[Markonian]

Saw “Masks” as a child and found the D’Arsay fascinating.

My favorite Trek movie is Insurrection. Love the leisurely feel, lower stakes and music.

 

[JesterFace]

There are two episodes that usually get crushed, but I like them, for two different reasons...

Aquiel
This was the first episode I was able to get in the 90s on VHS, so it has a special sentimental feeling.
And it's not a bad episode, quite good actually.

Imaginary Friend
This one hasn't got similar sentimental attachement as Aquiel. I simply like it and don't understand the hate it gets.

 

[Herbert]

Another vote for Masks. It's batshit crazy but fun.

I also enjoy The Royale and The Inner Light.

 

[Vger23]

I seem to remember that there are some pretty split opinions on "Where Silence Has Lease"...but that's one of my sleeper favorites.

"ONE BRIDGE....ONE RIKER!!!! AREGGHTRHG MELEGHGHFHTHHH!!!!"

 

[tomswift2002]

I like “Masks” as well (not to be confused with the TNG novel “Masks” which was also great).

I also enjoy “Emergence”. Data holding off the 1930’s car while trying to access the ODN conduit.

 

[Farscape One]

"Masks" has been a favorite episode of mine since it first ran in 1994. I love mythology, and the entire episode was chock full of it. This was a big reason why Joe Menosky has been a favorite STAR TREK writer of mine... he has a tendency to bring mythology in some fashion to his scripts.

 

[Qonundrum]

Pretty much anything from season 2, even the non-clips parts of the clip show.

 

[tomalak301]

Masks and Emergence for me.

Heck, before I joined these boards I really thought Season 7 was one of TNG's best seasons. I've mellowed on that over the years but there was still some good stuff that final year that didn't start with a P.

 

[Mojochi]

Home Soil
Night Terrors
Disaster
Rascals
Time's Arrow

I never hear much good about any of those, but they're always on my rewatch list

 

[tomalak301]

Home Soil
Night Terrors
Disaster
Rascals
Time's Arrow

I never hear much good about any of those, but they're always on my rewatch list

If it weren't for Mark Twain, Times Arrow would have been great. All they had to do was not make him so annoying.

 

[Herbert]

Much like Masks, Emergence has plenty of weirdness about it. A different flavor of weirdness but it's there. I like it.

Where Silence Has Lease is pretty cool too.

I understand Night Terrors is considered not very good but I love that episode and watch it every time it's on. They could have toned down Troi floating through dream space but the episode is creepy as hell. When Riker hears the creak of the floor in his quarters and the corpses sit up in the morgue, it gets me every time

The Last Outpost suffers from silly ferengi and even sillier ferengi energy whips. It could have been so much better. Still, I like it. Why? I think it's because of the T'Kon Empire stuff. I'm a sucker for ancient defunct empires.

 

[Sakonna]

Oh God, so many. For one, I had no idea so many people hated "I, Borg", that's among my series highpoints. "Time's Arrow" is another one of those -- I love it so much and always have, I was baffled that the consensus view of it is so negative.

And then there's a great guilty pleasure category of episode, where I completely recognize all the things wrong with it, but love it regardless. Those are:

The Royale
The Game
Unification
Rascals
Sub Rosa
Genesis

 

[Pondwater]

The Royale

Elementary, Dear Data

Ship in a Bottle

Masks

Genesis