It might be better to focus on the best scripts and then worry about skippable ones later. (BK613 wrote it first, am editing this message to reflect that.
) Some one would deem unworthy might be liked (for whatever reason(s)) by another. Even though fan consensus isn't right 100% of the time over what the best episodes are as well...
It's true that there are episodes I've "seen enough" after 50 years. I tune in most nights to see what's on H&I. I'll skip:
Gamesters of Triskillion
Squire of Gothos
Children Shall Lead
Alternative factor
Plato's Stepchildren
Way to Eden
A few others that are just too ridiculous to watch any more.
Liked your post! I do want to do a rebuttal for some of them:
Alternative factor - none needed. This one has a generic sci-fi background, that's a little too oversimplified, and is as bland as anything can get. It's more bland than pure dihydrogen monoxide...
Gamesters of Triskillion - I'd watch this for the both the McCoy/Spock interplay, and the overall themes. A couple scenes are hokey (about Kirk and loooooooooooooooooove) but on each rewatch I find more to like. And it's where the censor-bypassing "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" originated. It ranks up there with "Go find that in you're Funk'n'Wagnall's." coined by Laugh-In a year later, though Star Trek's is a bit more clever - especially as the double entendre was a greater stroke of creative genius for the McCoy/Spock feuds...
Squire of Gothos - Proto-Q aside, I'll agree that it's skippable and - what - 3 weeks earlier they had the same glowing balls of incorporeal light for Charlie X's parents too.
Children Shall Lead - cringey in spots, but had a couple nice moments of pure horror. Proto-late-80s horror genre.
Plato's Stepchildren - I originally disliked it, but a rewatch had me appreciating the high concept mind-control and it becomes an interesting if not even effective piece of horror and absolute brutality. Kirk has a wonderful speech to Alexander as well that is primo Trek.
Way to Eden - it had potential but didn't really use it, the big sons toward the end is rather good but not enough to recommend the episode, and DS9 did the episode's tropes much better with "Paradise".
I would nominate:
a piece of the action - gangster world wasn't my thing.
the omega glory - has a great start but descends into silliness and has the worst "parallel earth" plot twist that has zero explanation. Memory Alpha has a fanon definition included. Read its article and that might help but there will be spoilers.
patterns of force - 50/50 for me. It has some eye candy and the fact the dude who plays Dr Sevrin in the Eden story plays Malakon here, but all they did was raid the wardrobe of "Hogan's Heroes" to stretch a dwindling budget.
the empath - has a script that's even more generic than "Alternative Factor", hard to believe but true.
mark of gideon - (spoiler alert) interesting ideas, extremely absurd, hackneyed, and heavyhanded presentation to begin to roll with. Too many double entendres also distract due to the poor scripting, which make the audience think "Kirk has cooties so he's being forced to give everyone a lethal STD?!" being the main takeaway, never mind the most basic scientific issues. Even for 1969 this one is weak. Then again there are people nowadays who think the whole of the human race (each person being 0.1 sq/m) can live inside the space accorded a large city without any issues or nuances whatsoever and critics were railing on those back then too... this episode should have been a farce-driven sitcom like the tribbles one...
turnabout intruder - 50/50. Has some great acting but the script simply cannot make up its mind if Dr Lester is insane or if there's a sociological statement to make (and there is).
iscovery and it's been making me want to watch TOS (I've only seen little bits here and there)
