The Least Disliked Episode 2023: TNG Season 1

[Farscape One]

I almost missed out on this season due to a real life issue.

Taking out "Datalore".

The music is great, cinematography is great, Spiner is awesome... but the entire plot hinges on making the command crew look stupid so Wesley can look smarter. I don't have a problem with Wesley, but this grated me about this particular episode.


Where No One Has Gone Before
The Battle
The Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy

 

[Seven of Five]

Skin of Evl isn't as bad as I remembered it from when I first watched it years ago, but it's not as strong as the ones left. The thing that bothered me last rewatch was the scene when Tasha is back on the Enterprise so Crusher can try to save her. It feels clunky, as opposed to tragic.

Where No One Has Gone Before
The Battle
The Arsenal of Freedom
Conspiracy

 

[Takeru]

Where No One Has Gone Before because like many early episodes it does the "Wesley notices something very obvious but everyone ignores him" thing.


The Battle
The Arsenal of Freedom
Conspiracy

 

[BlueStuff]

I’m ending The Battle. Not bad in concept but I’m not a fan of the execution.

The Arsenal of Freedom
Conspiracy

 

[Seven of Five]

I love them both but I think Conspiracy should win because it's a great little horror story, with rising tension!

 

[Sakonna]

I feel like these two are remarkably consistent finalists in season 1? Maybe I'm making that up, I didn't actually check.

But I love 'em! "Conspiracy" particularly, what a powerfully weird episode. No one ever forgets it.

 

[Qonundrum]

Tryla Scott made for a more interesting Captain than Walker Keel. Better-acted as well. She was compromised by the creepy-crawly crawdad delicacies*, but the twist worked. Which is sad, since seeing a show about Captain Scott would have been pretty cool.

* Though in all fairness, the crawdads were consuming the humans and vulcans...

 

[Oddish]

Conspiracy is the victor, then! Ironically, my favorite S1 episode was gone by the top 5... but this one was pretty good.

 

[Farscape One]

I love both these finalists for different reasons. That speaks to the strength of telling stories that are not arc based, because both are very, very different types of stories. You can even argue very different genres. (One is more horror, the other more action.)

 

[Takeru]

My favorite season 1 episode is 11001001 but that's what makes this game fun, all it takes is one person disliking an episode and it's gone.

 

[Sakonna]

I am also super into "11001001", but I am also super into pretty much all of these.

Honestly, if I got to keep only one season of Star Trek, would this be the one? It might.