The Least Disliked Episode 2023: TNG Season 5

[Takeru]

Unification II for trying to take over Vulcan with 2000 romulan soldiers. Sci Fi often has a tendency to throw massive numbers at the audience (like 150 mile long ships or 28 bazillion gigawatt lasers) but in this case a bigger number was really necessary if they wanted their plan to succeed.
I was also not a fan of this two parter in general, Vulcan/romulan reunification didn't make a lot of sense. Maybe they came up with the idea because of german reunification the year before the episode aired but the two german states were only separated for 4 decades and a united germany still existed in living memory of many people and the division happened under very different circumstances. Romulans are Vulcans who left their world because they explicitly did not want to live in that society and made their own and it happened a millennium or two ago.


Darmok
Ensign Ro
Unification (I)
Conundrum
Power Play
Cause and Effect
The First Duty
I, Borg
The Next Phase

 

[Sakonna]

It's hard to get past that it makes no sense for the "Conundrum" aliens to install their operative as the second-in-command. Just make your guy the captain, then you'll have no trouble executing your evil plan!

Darmok
Ensign Ro
Unification (I)
Power Play
Cause and Effect
The First Duty
I, Borg
The Next Phase

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll go with Power Play next. A fun enough episode on its own terms, but there isn't much to it.

Darmok
Ensign Ro
Unification (I)
Cause and Effect
The First Duty
I, Borg
The Next Phase

 

[Oddish]

The First Duty. What Nick Lacarno was doing was wrong, but he deserved better than to have his life totally wrecked.

Darmok
Ensign Ro
Unification (I)
Cause and Effect
I, Borg
The Next Phase

 

[Farscape One]

Great episodes left.

I will take out "I, Borg".

Great story for Guinan and Picard, but I am just tired of the Borg in general.




Darmok
Ensign Ro
Unification (I)
Cause and Effect
The Next Phase

 

[vulcancicada]

Really shocked Darmok was still on the list. I like the episode but...Hoshi could have figured that out without any bloodshed. The episode begins with 'no one knows how to speak with these people' and at no point do they ever consult a linguist.


Ensign Ro
Unification (I)
Cause and Effect
The Next Phase

 

[Seven of Five]

Unification (I) is probably the weakest one left.

Ironic that in the big return of Spock's two-parter, the part in which he didn't appear until the final scene was so much better than the second part.

Ensign Ro
Cause and Effect
The Next Phase

 

[Takeru]

I'm removing The Next Phase next, it's good but I like the other two better.


Ensign Ro
Cause and Effect

 

[Farscape One]

My final vote for season.

Great final two, but "Ensign Ro" wins because of not only Michelle Forbes and her character, but the HUGE impact this episode has on the franchise. (And is basically responsible for the creation of my favorite ST show.)

 

[Farscape One]

Oddish and Seven of Five...

I just looked at my screen, and one of you havegiven me my 10,000th like. I don't know if this is a celebration type of event, but I feel like I hit a milestone.

Just wanted to say thank you, guys.

 

[Oddish]

"Ensign Ro" is a worthy winner, though "Cause and Effect" would have been fine too. Still amazed that "The Inner Light" got put out so quickly.

 

[vulcancicada]

"Ensign Ro" is a worthy winner, though "Cause and Effect" would have been fine too. Still amazed that "The Inner Light" got put out so quickly.

I hated that episode for a long time until I got used to it after seeing it many times. It's kind of traumatic. I like it now though.

 

[Seven of Five]

Wow, 10,000 likes @Farscape One - congrats!



Ensign Ro is another surprise win again, though it's still a brilliant episode. I completely agree that it is a good episode because of all of the world-building, the introduction of a great new villain, and the awesome Michelle Forbes as Ro.

 

[steelegem]

Taking out "Imaginary Friend".

While Noley Thornton was good casting, I didn't like Isabella. She was creepy, which worked to a point, but was just... off, for some reason.

I completely agree, it's a difficult re-watch. I remember the moment I realized Shay Astar was basically playing the same annoying (but older) character in 3rd Rock.

 

[Seven of Five]

Imaginary Freind is a pretty bad episode and would have been my second vote if someone else didn't beat me to the punch.

Between Alexander, the kid from Hero Worship, and the kids in Imaginary Freind, TNG really had a knack for annoying kid characters this season.

 

[Oddish]

I actually liked the little guy from "Hero Worship". But Alexander and "New Ground" more than made up for him.

 

[Sakonna]

I've way come around on Alexander as an adult, after having to cast some child actors to work in prosthetics. I had to recast and recast and recast because they kept having meltdowns or panic attacks during their makeup tests, and going through that a few times brought me to the belief that it should be illegal for children to work in prosthetic makeup.

So now all the Alexander eps just make my heart BREAK for that kid. Those eps pack a real emotional punch for me now!

"Ensign Ro" is another one I almost eliminated earlier in the game. It has a clunky plot, but the character and the performance are so dynamic I always forget.