The least disliked episode 2021 - TOS Season One

Our addictive biyearly game of rapid elimination returns - now able to include Disco's third season as well as the debut years of Picard and Lower Decks. It's generally a lot of fun, providing a chance to mentally revisit those episodes you may not have thought about in a while. With that in mind, why not play again?

So, here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your least favorite or the one you deem the 'worst.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode just because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Hall of Champions
2011 - Mirror, Mirror
2013 - Balance of Terror
2015 - Mirror, Mirror
2017 - Journey to Babel
2019 - The Doomsday Machine
2021 -

Season One

The Man Trap
Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The Alternative Factor
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

The Man Trap is out, I really don't like this episode. There's a creature who at the end of the day is just trying to survive, killing it and wiping out its species feels like it goes against everything Star Trek stands for, obviously it was very early days for the show and very little had been established but it just doesn't feel right to start the series with a message like this. Going by this episode's logic the Horta should have been killed too ...


Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The Alternative Factor
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

Tomorrow is Yesterday
Time travel episodes are awful. I can't stand them. Please do original stuff.
Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena

Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The Alternative Factor
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

Taking out "THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR". This episode was just a mess, I'm not sure where to begin. I'm surprised it wasn't eliminated first.



Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

Another vote for the Alternative Factor. Really the only Season 1 episode I don’t care for.

The Man Trap
Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy

The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

I actually don't mind the Alternative Factor, but there are a lot of strong episodes in season 1.

 

Miri gets whacked, with extreme prejudice. Bonk, bonk on the head! If I have insomnia, this episode will cure it....fast, FAST, FAST!!



Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena

Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The Alternative Factor
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

Charlie X. This has an incredible, iconic scene — where Charlie erases the crewwoman’s face — but Charlie is offputting and Robert Walker was way too old for the part. Even as a kid this one rubbed me the wrong way.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

Yeah, season one ranges from pretty good to amazingly great. Even the lesser ones I’ve watched over and over.

 

Taking out "MUDD'S WOMEN".

Definitely the weakest of what is left on the list. While Harry Mudd was an interesting rogue and Eve's character was good, it just didn't feel like a good enough episode.


Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

Each successive poster eliminates one episode. Copy and paste the list from the poster above, then remove your choice with a short explanation.

 

Deleting The Galileo Seven with prejudice. Like the prejudice that the elite crew of a Federation starship, which the writers and producers otherwise (mostly) labored throughout S1 to show to be among the most enlightened sentient beings in the galaxy, displayed toward Spock. Never mind the fact that Spock was either a brevet commander or a full commander in Starfleet and that questioning his command decisions was not only insubordinate but jeopardised the crew's very survival, and never mind that the writers ALSO made sure to throw in a few moments of extreme emotionlessness for Spock in a failed attempt to sell the bigotry. McCoy, Boma, and Gaetano (had he survived) should have been court-martialed. The BWAH HA HA wrapup scene on the bridge when McCoy and Boma should be in a cell is jarring. Additionally, I doubt it was his fault as much as the director's, but the Ferris actor, no offense meant, has some really poor line readings and his blocking is all wrong in many scenes. (We should have seen him apologizing to Kirk, too.)

Other than those huge flaws, this episode actually has a lot going for it. Scott is awesome and, as (almost) always, is immune to the disease of the week, in this case xenophobia. The action on the surface is pretty well done, the rescue sequence is quite tense even on many many rewatches and Sulu and Uhura are very good. Shatner's delivery of "I know all about your authority" is terrific, and that was a perfect Kirk line. Kelowitz was a nice addition.

Unfortunately, the sickening racism and insubordination of McCoy, Boma and Gaetano cannot be overcome.


Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave

The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

Eliminating Return of the Archons. Six thousand years of dealing the people on that planet but Kirk can talk it to death in 5 minutes?

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial

Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

"OPERATION -- ANNIHILATE!" is... annihilated from the list.

Those creatures just looked too cartoonish to be taken seriously. I know it seems a rather absurd reason given the era it was produced, and I can forgive A LOT on shows and movies from long ago, but that was just stretching my suspension of disbelief too far.

(Despite seeing other examples in the episode, the only way we really feel how dangerous those things are is how it affects Spock. If not for him, I wouldn't have been convinced at all. A testament to not just his character, but Nimoy himself.)

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever

 

What are Little Girls Made Of?
While I like the line where Kirk makes sure to talk about Spock being a half breed, another episode where Kirk somehow gets a computer/robot to go crazy.
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within

Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever

 

Sorry — misread as a 2 vote requirement for elimination.

 

Removing The Enemy Within for Spock's weird "interesting qualities" comment at the end.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever

 

Dagger of the Mind.

An episode I rarely watch. Strangely, I prefer the overt, in-yer-face madness of Whom Gods Destroy over this. That episode, whilst having major flaws, seems to hit harder on mental insanity. I find it pretty predictable that Dr Adams is behind it all. Mad scientist etc. This is despite an excellent performance from Morgan Woodward.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever

 

Dropping COURT MARTIAL for the strange voice over that shows up that isn't quite a captain's log.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever

 

Dropping the second pilot because it is still missing McCoy and some off base characterizations from the crew.

The Naked Time
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever

 

"Arena", because (just as with "The Savage Curtain") I don't need to see the bridge crew watching TV and commenting on the action (to say nothing of Spock's ability to identify potassium nitrate just from an image).

The Naked Time
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever