The Least Disliked "Alien Illusion" Episode

[Farscape One]

"ONCE UPON A PLANET" goes. It was good, but the others were more memorable.

TOS, Season 1: “Shore Leave”
TOS, Season 1: “The Squire Of Gothos”
TOS, Season 3: “Spectre Of The Gun”
TNG, Season 3: “The Survivors”
DS9, Season 2: “Shadowplay”
VOY, Season 7: “Flesh And Blood”

 

[Prax]

This is difficult. I guess the only one I don't really have any feelings for is Squire of Gothos.


TOS, Season 1: “Shore Leave”
TOS, Season 3: “Spectre Of The Gun”
TNG, Season 3: “The Survivors”
DS9, Season 2: “Shadowplay”
VOY, Season 7: “Flesh And Blood”

 

[Seven of Five]

I'm a bit late to the party. Shadowplay is a good episode, especially seeing Odo with the girl. The other episodes left a bigger impression really.

TOS, Season 1: “Shore Leave”
TOS, Season 3: “Spectre Of The Gun”
TNG, Season 3: “The Survivors”
VOY, Season 7: “Flesh And Blood”

 

[BillJ]

Can't believe “Flesh And Blood” has lasted this long.

TOS, Season 1: “Shore Leave”
TOS, Season 3: “Spectre Of The Gun”
TNG, Season 3: “The Survivors”

 

[Farscape One]

Two remaining episodes have a creepy feel to them, and I don't have the heart to eliminate them because of that.

"SHORE LEAVE" has a more fun and light hearted feel, but it only goes because I love the feel of the others better.


TOS, Season 3: “Spectre Of The Gun”
TNG, Season 3: “The Survivors”

 

[Takeru]

Spectre Of The Gun is out, never really cared for it. Western are boring.

The Survivors wins, it's a TNG classic imo. I remember being genuinely suprised by the reveal at the end.

 

[Discofan]

I don't know. I did not appreciate Marina Sirtis' overacting in this one, well the refreshing change is that for once it's not Jonathan Frakes.

 

[Sakonna]

Interesting winner! I used to love "The Survivors", but I have sort of turned on it recently via "The Greatest Generation" podcast, which I love. But they have a very long-running joke (still regularly brought up, though they've long completed TNG and are now reaching the end of DS9 season 4) about how Kevin is a perv and Rishon is basically a sex doll that he's living with forever. So, that's all I see now.

But, I did love it back in the day!

Per @Brennyren's suggestion, adding "Survivors" to a master winner's list...

ALIEN ILLUSION: TNG, Season 3: "The Survivors"
IT'S HAPPENING INSIDE MY MIND: DS9, Season 4: “Hard Time”
TIME TRAVEL/ANOMALY/LOOP: TAS, Season 1: "Yesteryear"
TRIP TO EARTH'S PAST: TOS Feature: "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
COUPLE: Sarek/Amanda
MIRROR UNIVERSE: ENT, Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part I"
HOLODECK: VOY, Season 3: "Worst Case Scenario"
Q: TNG, Season 7: "All Good Things"
SECTION 31: DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2"
MAQUIS: TNG, Season 7: "Preemptive Strike"
CARDASSIANS: DS9, Season 3: "Improbable Cause"
ROMULANS: TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror"
KLINGONS: TNG, Season 3: "Sins Of The Father"
BORG: TNG, Season 3: "Best Of Both Worlds I"
FERENGI: DS9, Season 3: "Family Business"
INTRO OF RECURRING ALIEN ANTAGONISTS: TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror"
2-HOUR/2-PARTER: DS9, Season 5: "In Purgatory's Shadow/By Inferno's Light"

There are 3 - 4 more list drafts at various stages of completion -- one of those will be posted in a day or two. As always, thanks for playing everyone, and hope to see you on the next one!

 

[Discofan]

Keep them coming!

 

[Farscape One]

I also love "The Survivors" because it really showcased Picard as a detective. He pieced it all together, but kept it rather close to the chest until the end. He definitely earned being called captain.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It’s not explicitly stated how sentient Rishon is. By Star Trek standards she might be a sentient AI.

 

[Discofan]

It’s not explicitly stated how sentient Rishon is. By Star Trek standards she might be a sentient AI.

I don't know. Are AIs sentient? It's likely that they would just simulate sentience.

 

[Sakonna]

It’s not explicitly stated how sentient Rishon is. By Star Trek standards she might be a sentient AI.

You may have just saved the episode for me!

I don't know. Are AIs sentient? It's likely that they would just simulate sentience.

I could potentially buy that Rishon has the level of sentience of Data or the Doctor. Though those characters are aware of their true natures, and Rishon is not. I could envision a whole "Measure Of A Man" case to hash out the issues with her...

Just because I was curious to see it this way, here's the winners list in show order -- I like how the TNG and DS9 winners cluster in those shows runs. And all other shows have only one winning ep each! (Though the TOS ep did win twice)

INTRO OF RECURRING ALIEN ANTAGONISTS: TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror"
ROMULANS: TOS, Season 1: "Balance Of Terror"
TIME TRAVEL/ANOMALY/LOOP: TAS, Season 1: "Yesteryear"
TRIP TO EARTH'S PAST: TOS Feature: "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
ALIEN ILLUSION: TNG, Season 3: "The Survivors"
KLINGONS: TNG, Season 3: "Sins Of The Father"
BORG: TNG, Season 3: "Best Of Both Worlds I"
MAQUIS: TNG, Season 7: "Preemptive Strike"
Q: TNG, Season 7: "All Good Things"
CARDASSIANS: DS9, Season 3: "Improbable Cause"
FERENGI: DS9, Season 3: "Family Business"
IT'S HAPPENING INSIDE MY MIND: DS9, Season 4: “Hard Time”
2-HOUR/2-PARTER: DS9, Season 5: "In Purgatory's Shadow/By Inferno's Light"
HOLODECK: VOY, Season 3: "Worst Case Scenario"
MIRROR UNIVERSE: ENT, Season 4: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part I"
SECTION 31: DIS, Season 2: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2"
COUPLE: Sarek/Amanda

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I don't know. Are AIs sentient? It's likely that they would just simulate sentience.

In the Star Trek universe the answer is 'Yes'. In the real world, it's a deeper question.

If you consider human beings to be computers made of organic equipment, it's not a huge stretch to say the same effect can be accomplished by way of inorganic equipment.

 

[Prax]

As of yet, the human brain is far more sophisticated and "advanced" than anything humans can conceive of as far as artificial intelligence goes.

 

[Discofan]

As of yet, the human brain is far more sophisticated and "advanced" than anything humans can conceive of as far as artificial intelligence goes.

True, in a sense. But everything we do, a machine does, it (eventually) does it better than us. And not just us, a plane goes faster, higher and for much longer than any animal that has ever existed. So it's not much of a stretch to conclude that the day AI will rival us in the diminishing domain where human superiority is still a fact, it will be so much better than us that... enough said.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

As of yet, the human brain is far more sophisticated and "advanced" than anything humans can conceive of as far as artificial intelligence goes.

Yeah, in 2019. This is the 2370s.

@Discofan

I would argue machines can’t do things better than us. Just much, much faster. They have to be told exactly what to do. They haven’t come close to a machine that can really generate its own goals or unique ideas.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

In other words, there’s nothing machines can do now that humans couldn’t do better if they spent a million years doing calculations.