The Least Disliked Episode 2023: TNG Season 3

[BlueStuff]

Our addictive biyearly game of rapid elimination returns - now with more shows than ever. 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 favourite 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 it would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Hall of Champions
2011 - The Best of Both Worlds (I)
2013 - The Measure of a Man
2015 - All Good Things…
2017 - The Best of Both Worlds (I)
2019 - Yesterday’s Enterprise
2021 - Q Who
2023 -

Season 3

Evolution
The Ensigns of Command
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
Booby Trap
The Enemy
The Price
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
A Matter of Perspective
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Allegiance
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
Menage a Troi
Transfigurations
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Farscape One]

Taking out "Transfigurations".

It's more boring than bad, but it's the weakest of the season to me. It goes first.


Evolution
The Ensigns of Command
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
Booby Trap
The Enemy
The Price
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
A Matter of Perspective
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Allegiance
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
Menage a Troi
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Sakonna]

Well, great season, but my first one is easy -- "The Price"! Jesus, these "romantic" scenes between Troi and Devinoni Ral, so repulsive and rape-y. Flesh crawlingly gross.

So interesting that Disco picked up this thread and gave us an awesome Barzan character.

Evolution
The Ensigns of Command
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
Booby Trap
The Enemy
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
A Matter of Perspective
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Allegiance
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
Menage a Troi
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Summer Solstice]

There are a few episodes I really don't like from this season but I tend to skip them so I can't remember them that well. Out of the others, "Booby Trap" is the one I like the least - the way Geordi behaves is a bit creepy.


Evolution
The Ensigns of Command
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
A Matter of Perspective
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Allegiance
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
Menage a Troi
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Seven of Five]

My fave season! I think Menage a Troi is a poor use of Lwaxana Troi, and the use of the Ferengi in their 'comedy' mode is grating.

Evolution
The Ensigns of Command
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
A Matter of Perspective
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Allegiance
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Farscape One]

Season 3 TNG was definitely among the most consistently food seasons, right behind season 4.

I'll take out "A Matter of Perspective".

While it is a great use of the holodeck, and it proves all sides are just a version of the truth (Ambassador Kosh of B5 would remind us), and Frakes delivers his most soap opera line ever... it's in the lower half of the season for me.

(Which is not a dig, considering that the worst of this season is still better than some shows best of some seasons.)


Evolution
The Ensigns of Command
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Allegiance
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Brennyren]

I just didn't think "Allegiance" was very interesting. And I still can't figure out how Picard communicated such precise directions to his bridge crew (to capture the baddies) with basically a nod and a wink. That was a pretty damn specific nod-and-wink, methinks.

Evolution
The Ensigns of Command
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Sakonna]

I love the Sheliak and the story's not bad, but the overdubbing of the guest lead in "The Ensigns Of Command" is a real problem. Just totally deflates all those scenes.

Evolution
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Vengeance Factor
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Seven of Five]

The Vengeance Factor is a bit of an incoherent mess and is towards the bottom of the pile.

Evolution
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Most Toys
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Summer Solstice]

"The Most Toys" - the crew believed that Data was dead a bit too quickly to be believable for me.

Evolution
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Qonundrum]

So many good ones, even the clunkers can be watchable, but...

The Offspring​

Tries to bask in the awesomeness of "The Measure of a Man". Every time TNG goes back into paddling in this wading pool of "Data's just like us" it gets more and more risible. Even more than the warp core breach trope, which is all amazing considering Troi has never been more syrupy than in this one.

That said, Hallie Todd is wonderful as Lol, and she was Blanche's relative in "The Golden Girls". Monte Markham was her brother as well and he gets a role in DS9 too. Small television syndrome, hehe...


What's left:
Evolution
The Survivors
Who Watchers the Watchers?
The Bonding
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Qonundrum]

My fave season! I think Menage a Troi is a poor use of Lwaxana Troi, and the use of the Ferengi in their 'comedy' mode is grating.

Ethan Phillips steals the show as the Ferengi scientist/medical guy, but the rest of it is a bit of a mixed bag.

Worse, do not read up on the plant that Riker was nibbling on. It was cringeworthy enough when Roddenberry wanted Troi to have four... um... boobies... but he wasn't even trying to be sci-fi with the plant that had veins and- thank goodness for Memory Alpha:

Oskoid | Memory Alpha | Fandom

I'm not sure that's not quite the best marketing gimmick since the IDIC pendant... but I'll buy two...

Season 3 TNG was definitely among the most consistently food seasons, right behind season 4.

I'll take out "A Matter of Perspective".

While it is a great use of the holodeck, and it proves all sides are just a version of the truth (Ambassador Kosh of B5 would remind us), and Frakes delivers his most soap opera line ever... it's in the lower half of the season for me.

(Which is not a dig, considering that the worst of this season is still better than some shows best of some seasons.)

The biggest plot hole is that Riker's potentially guilty of sexual assault and the plot doesn't even address it. That alone has even the Okona story at a higher ranking, and most if not all the other clunkers up to this point too...

 

[Brennyren]

"On the Enterprise, no one is alone," Picard says, and then promptly leaves the orphaned Jeremy Aster alone. Worf adopts the kid into his family, and then never mentions him again. The Enterprise-D crew are really kind of crap at comforting traumatized little kids, aren't they? And so "The Bonding" falls flat.

Evolution
The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Farscape One]

Taking out "Evolution".

I just don't like machines.



The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
Sarek
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Qonundrum]

For if no other reason, just watch the clips below and it'll probably make sense:

Sarek

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

(or any Springer fight scene, they're all the same!)

If it makes sense to you, let me know because it still doesn't for me...

Other honorable mention clips might include:

a) Welsey verbally slamming Geordi as to who can get a date without using the holodeck
(unable to find clip, sorry )

b) Beverly doing what everyone else, especially Geordi in the same episode, managed to do and slap him silly. Why not, here it is:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

What's left:
The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
Hollow Pursuits
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Sakonna]

I guess "Hollow Pursuits"? I like it intellectually, but somehow this one doesn't grab me. The other eps here are all more emotionally involving for me.

The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sins of the Father
Captain's Holiday
Tin Man
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Farscape One]

Still a very strong list.

I'll remove "Captain's Holiday". While a fun episode, the Vorgons can try and try again to get the tox utaht. The ending makes it almost seem like what they went through was meaningless.


The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The Hunted
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sins of the Father
Tin Man
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Seven of Five]

Not The Offrping and Sarek! Though obviously, that's the fun of this game as everyone is different.

The Hunted is probably the weakest episode left. It's a well-told story, but it doesn't grab me as the others left.

The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sins of the Father
Tin Man
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Takeru]

This is tough, not a single episode left I truly dislike so I'm getting rid of Sins of the Father, I was never a fan of Klingons and this one pretty much started the klingon arc on TNG which I could have done without.


The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
Tin Man
The Best of Both Worlds (I)

 

[Farscape One]

Very strong list.

I'll take out "Tin Man" only because Tam Elbrun was a bit of a douche. Understandable, given his background... but he did grate on me at times.


The Survivors
Who Watches the Watchers?
The Enemy
The Defector
The High Ground
Deja Q
Yesterday's Enterprise
The Best of Both Worlds (I)