Most "romance of the week" episodes stunk

[Agenda]

For every City on the Edge of Forever there were five Requiem for Methuselahs. I think romance in Star Trek worked better when it involved an exploration of long-term relationships.

 

[RyuRoots]

Only 'most'? I can't think of a good one off the top of my head.

 

[JiNX-01]

I liked Paris and Torres.

Beyond that, I got nothin'.

 

[Joshua Howard]

I think that "Lessons" is a distinct exception, and was - while being self-contained in an episode - outstanding.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Well for Kirk it really was a Babe of the Week kind of thing.

Troi and Worf's faux romance was interesting, as was Worf and K'Ehleyr's. I liked In Theory a lot.

 

[DevilEyes]

For every City on the Edge of Forever there were five Requiem for Methuselahs. I think romance in Star Trek worked better when it involved an exploration of long-term relationships.

Agreed, I hated the 'love interest of the week' routine, because it was so predictable. See my earlier thread about Trek Romances: The Good, the bad and the boring

Only 'most'? I can't think of a good one off the top of my head.

TOS:
This Side of Paradise
The City on the Edge of Forever
The Enterprise Incident
All Our Yesterdays

TNG:
The Emissary (although K'Ehleyr comes back in Reunion, and I consider her more than LIOTW, but that may be because I just like her so much)
Lessons

DS9:
Rejoined
A Simple Investigation
Chrysalis (note: this one was not a good romance, or even a romance at all, but it was a good - and very sad - story, exactly because we saw Bashir being immature and deluded and screwing it up so badly)

VOY:
Lifesigns

 

[Kegg]

I liked Paris and Torres.

Beyond that, I got nothin'.

That's not a romance of the week. A romance of the week is an episode where we have a guest star fall in love with a main character and the romance ends by the end of the episode.

"City on the Edge of Forever" works because this is actually secondary; the fact Kirk's in love with Edith Keeler is just there so his requirement to kill her is just that conflicted. It's not about the romance, it's about the subsequent dilemma.

"This Side of Paradise" likewise (one of my all-time favourite TOS episodes, probably the favourite, actually.) It's about all sorts of things and Leila Kalomi's unrequited love for Spock is one piece of the puzzle and even in that puzzle Spock's newfound ability to love openly is more important.

"Lessons", however, is a pretty good example of a good romance of the week episode which focuses on the idea and gets it to work. For a bad one, cf: most of the others. Though I sort of like "For the World Is Hollow..." because McCoy needed more action anyway.

 

[apenpaap]

I like Lessons, In Theory, Lifesigns, and Rejoined. Apart from that, they're all pretty awful.

 

[Myasishchev]

The only romance of the week episodes I can recall that worked out really well was Chrysalis, and that's kind of cheating since Sarina was technically in another episode prior to that and had an established (albeit mute) relationship with Bashir.