I was going to vote for Unification I but someone beat me to it. Part 2 is much better though.
The least disliked episode of TNG - Season Five
- Thread starter BlueStuff
- Start date
Redemption II
Ensign Ro
Unification II
Hero Worship
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The First Duty
The Perfect Mate
The Perfect Mate is not perfect for me. I found the Ferengi the worst in this episode since Last Outpost and the way it presented 24th century women seemed very 1960's and 1990's.
Ensign Ro
Unification II
Hero Worship
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The First Duty
The Perfect Mate
The Perfect Mate is not perfect for me. I found the Ferengi the worst in this episode since Last Outpost and the way it presented 24th century women seemed very 1960's and 1990's.
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Unification II is out, Spock's appearance is the only interesting thing about this episode and even that wastes some potential by not having him on the Enterprise and interact with more of the cast. Working on Vulcan/Romulan reunification is weird, they are completely different societies and have pretty much nothing in common that would unite them.
Redemption II
Ensign Ro
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The First Duty
Redemption II
Ensign Ro
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The First Duty
Removing Ensign Ro. Besides introducing a great character it doesn’t have much going for it. Clumsy uninteresting writing for the actual conflict. Michelle Forbes saves it.
Redemption II
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The First Duty
Redemption II
Conundrum
Power Play
Ethics
The First Duty
Removing “Ethics”. Another whatever episode.
Redemption II
Conundrum
Power Play
The First Duty
Redemption II
Conundrum
Power Play
The First Duty
Redemption II
Power Play
The First Duty
"Conundrum" has been solved off this list. It's the weakest one left on this list, but only marginally... all of these are great episodes.
Power Play
The First Duty
"Conundrum" has been solved off this list. It's the weakest one left on this list, but only marginally... all of these are great episodes.
If I may make an observation...
Cause and Effect, The Inner Light and I, Borg were eliminated from the list before Violations.
I believe the instructions are not to do any strategic voting. There is no way on God's green Earth that anybody liked Cause and Effect less than they liked Violations. I think it might be fitting to remind people of the rules of the contest. This requires trust and good behavior, people.
You are supposed to eliminate the episode remaining on the list that you liked the least.
Cause and Effect, The Inner Light and I, Borg were eliminated from the list before Violations.
I believe the instructions are not to do any strategic voting. There is no way on God's green Earth that anybody liked Cause and Effect less than they liked Violations. I think it might be fitting to remind people of the rules of the contest. This requires trust and good behavior, people.
You are supposed to eliminate the episode remaining on the list that you liked the least.
Eliminating an episode that is generally considered to be good early does not necessarily mean it's strategic voting, with this game all it takes is one person really not liking an episode and it's out. I can tell you right now that I'm already sharpening my knives to take out "The Visitor" as soon as the DS9 season 4 thread of this game opens because I HATE it so I always give people the benefit of the doubt when they toss an episode I like, we all have some episodes we despise for reasons other people might not understand and that's what makes this game fun because it's designed to allow middle of the road episodes to get far or even to the top, usually great episodes still win but they don't have to.
Au contraire! Violations is one of my favorite episodes. It's really creepy and well directed.
Armus's Top 5 Season 5
1. Conundrum
2. Violations
3. The Next Phase
4. Power Play
5. A Matter of Time
I won't argue with you about how much you like an episode, but Violations is actually poorly directed and the script is downright awful.
I like "Violations" more than "The Inner Light." I feel like the most common ding against "Violations" is that it doesn't handle it's rape metaphor quite correctly? Which is an accurate criticism. But it's making an honest attempt at it.
Meanwhile, wouldn't Picard's experience in "Inner Light" be... deeply violating? After actually experiencing that much time in another life, how could you ever be the same again? I don't really like how this episode treats his experience as a beautiful gift, in too uncomplicated a way (also, it's the most ridiculously plot-convenient Troi absence of the series). I liked the way DS9 got at this basic concept much better with "Hard Time."
Plus, the HD conversion hasn't served "Inner Light" well -- it's one of the handful that got worse in the process, not better. The makeup & the production of the Picard-visions doesn't hold up to the harsh light of HD!
This makes a fun contrast with my top 5, which would also include "Next Phase" and "Power Play" (and "Cause & Effect, "I, Borg", and "The Game"), but "A Matter Of Time" is my personal worst episode of season 5.
Seriously, "Next Phase" is so great. I think it should be on all the best-of-series lists.
Meanwhile, wouldn't Picard's experience in "Inner Light" be... deeply violating? After actually experiencing that much time in another life, how could you ever be the same again? I don't really like how this episode treats his experience as a beautiful gift, in too uncomplicated a way (also, it's the most ridiculously plot-convenient Troi absence of the series). I liked the way DS9 got at this basic concept much better with "Hard Time."
Plus, the HD conversion hasn't served "Inner Light" well -- it's one of the handful that got worse in the process, not better. The makeup & the production of the Picard-visions doesn't hold up to the harsh light of HD!
This makes a fun contrast with my top 5, which would also include "Next Phase" and "Power Play" (and "Cause & Effect, "I, Borg", and "The Game"), but "A Matter Of Time" is my personal worst episode of season 5.
Seriously, "Next Phase" is so great. I think it should be on all the best-of-series lists.
I don't think "The Inner Light" is such a good episode. I know some people think it's almost sacrilegious to say that but that episode leaves a lot to be desired. for one thing, it's completely unbelievable. So it belongs more in the fairy tale genre than in Sci. Fi. In fact, it's even less believable that the "library" that changes unsuspecting Starship into a pit snake or precolumbian temple ruins or whatever that was. It's more believable that a so-called virus that turns Barclay into a spider but not my much.
When I state "well directed" I state that the show is produced with style, energy, and intensity. Violations has some extremely effective scenes that linger in the viewers mind. The scene where Picard shows Beverly her husbands corpse is a good example. It's creepy and dreamlike.
What's eery is to see a Picard with hair!
I am finishing up the editing for my season five review video as we type, and I make this same point. While I very much like The Inner Light, I feel like it gets way overpraised.
I have The Next Phase as #6 on my list. I agree that it is very strong. Glad to see you like The Game, because I think that is a pretty good zombie episode. Although it should have been better.
It did have some interesting dream sequences, although in my forthcoming season five review, I point out that they actually make an elementary mistake in the filming/editing of Troi's dream.
Violations has what may be the worst cut to credits in the entire series run. And its villain has no clear motivations, it relies on a contrived plot convenience to allow the son to frame the father, and they only catch him because he decided, for mysterious reasons, to attack Troi again, but this time by going to her room. There is also almost nothing at stake, because the dream, while mildly distressing, just puts you in a coma for a couple days. Then you wake up from it, don't remember the dream, and can get on with your life.
Illogical plot and complete lack of important stakes. That's bad script writing.
But I agree with you, the dream sequences are interesting in isolation.
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