The least disliked episode of TNG - Season Two

[BlueStuff]

This is a game that we play every couple of years, and 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, please 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 - The Best of Both Worlds I
2013 - The Measure of a Man
2015 - All Good Things...
2017 - The Best of Both Worlds I
2019 -

Season Two

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
The Outrageous Okona
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Up the Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Shades of Gray

 

[Armus]

Unnatural Selection. Sorry Pulaski fans, I find this episode to be the most tedious episode of the second season. I couldn't sit through it during my last bluray rewatch.

 

[Sakonna]

I think "The Outrageous Okona" is just agonizing. The story is so overwhelmingly about these dull guest characters, not doing anything interesting. There's no stakes in it for our characters and no convincing argument is made about why we should care about any of this. Okona's womanizing has NOT aged well. And my god, the attempts at humor in the holodeck! I've rarely seen such painfully failed comedy.

Billy Campbell looks great, though! That's something.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Up the Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Shades of Gray

 

[Starflight]

Might as well go ahead and knock out Shades of Gray, for obvious reasons. Boring clip-show.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Up the Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Brennyren]

Bye, bye, "Pen Pals"; please do forget to write. The episode that first explicated TNG's maddening interpretation of the Prime Directive: "We have no right to interfere with destiny." The senior staff, expressing an oddly mystical faith in fate and the natural order, calmly decided that the moral choice was to let a species die, even though they could save that species, and even though the species would never have to know of the Enterprise's intervention. I hated the ENT-D's officers in that episode. Thank goodness for the compassion of the emotionless android.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Up the Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[BigDaveX]

"The Child". I understand that it was written in a rush, but the end result was an utter butchery of what could have been one of Phase II's stand-out episodes had it ever gone to air.

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Up the Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Takeru]

The Dauphin is out, a completely forgettable episode with the exception of the atrocious stop motion effects, I'll never forget those. Otherwise I only remember Wesley falling in love with a boring girl. The best word to describe this episode is "meh" and that's the worst thing tv can do, bore me to death.


Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Up the Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Discofan]

This season contains a plethora of real clunkers but the one that stands out among those left is IMO "Up the Long Ladder" it's just so stupid that it's unbelievable. From the caricatural Irish people to the idea that you can just shoot your own clone without hesitation... or bully people who not only never had sexual relations but whose culture is adverse to them into... having those relations with random people!! The whole story is just one big ball of... the thing that some insects push continually...

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[NovaStar]

I'll remove the Royale. It's a fun and stupid episode but it really feels out of place compared to the rest of the episodes. It makes me laugh but it's not that good upon further viewings.

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Takeru]

The Icarus Factor, Riker refuses a command ... again. I never cared for the Riker familiy history or any of Worf's klingon issues so this episode does nothing for me.


Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
Loud as a Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Time Squared
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Starflight]

The fact that I'm having to think a little about what to remove next speaks volumes about how much better Season Two is than Season One, even if it's still pretty shaky. There's a few genuinely good episodes on that list now. I really love The Royale, but I never expected it to win, it really is a ridiculous episode.

I'll go for Loud as a Whisper. It's not bad, the alien culture is cool and the writers allow Troi to actually take part in a plot for once, but there are better episodes up there.

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
The Schizoid Man
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Time Squared
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Removing The Schizoid Man. The writing in the episode just seems kind of forced, it's not that exciting an episode, the message is fumbled and it seems dumb that Data let his guard down when he was reaching for the off button.

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Time Squared
Q Who?
Samaritan Snare
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Qonundrum]

Dang, all the juicy ones were nicked.

Samaritan Snare gets my vote. Picard's subplot in the hospital is far more annoying than the shuttle scenes, which were awkward.

The Pakleds are an interesting attempt to do a novel new enemy, one that comes across far more brutal than even the Klingons of TOS. But it's a misfire, and Troi gets one of the worst scenes in the entire show (though the same episode has one of her better moments as well.)

What be'eth left:


Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Time Squared
Q Who?
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Takeru]

I hate none of the remaining episodes, it's getting interesting.

I'm removing Time Squared because the resolution makes no sense, why does flying straight into it get you out, why does Picard have to kill his future self, he couldn't confine him to quarters or sickbay? Where did the thing even come from?


Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
A Matter of Honor
The Measure of a Man
Contagion
Q Who?
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Sakonna]

"The Measure Of A Man" I know it has a recognized classic status that the others on this list do not. But the truth is, it always felt a bit stagey for me, and I don't think it's aging well. It's just too talky, and I really don't understand how the issues of Data's personhood as it related to Starfleet were not resolved well before this point -- like when he first joined up! With all these other episodes, when that's the one I have a yen to rewatch, I rewatch the full thing (yes, even "Manhunt" -- what can I say, I have an affinity for season 2, Lwaxana, Dixon Hill, AND fish people). "Measure Of A Man" I just jump to that amazing scene of Guinan making Picard realize this is slavery, the rest of the ep I can skip.

Edited to add: heh, that felt like a real unburdening. I had forgotten this, but I came along for the first time as a fan in season 5, hardcore dived into conventions and fan magazines right away, and I already knew I was supposed to love "Measure Of A Man" when I first caught it in reruns -- and it really didn't do it for me even then, and I've been keeping my disappointment to myself ever since! After nearly two decades, I can finally speak the dark secret of my Trek fandom: I don't particularly like "Measure Of A Man."

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
A Matter of Honor
Contagion
Q Who?
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Seven of Five]

I really think Manhunt is one of the weaker episodes this season. Lwaxana's second visit is a bit too OTT.

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
A Matter of Honor
Contagion
Q Who?
The Emissary
Peak Performance

 

[Qonundrum]

^^ beat me to it with "Measure", I was going to wait a few hours but - phew! Nice to know I'm not the only one who has issues not with the execution of the story but plot content.

The Measure of a Man - the most unwittingly apocryphal episode of all time. TOS had Kirk nagging computers and androids to death all the time, Spock even admitted computers ruling all was illogical (they're tools, technology), and discussing how sentient beings should rule for themselves and not let machines tell them what to do.

Worse, season 1 already had Data (happily?!) letting himself be taken apart if need be to help Chief Engineer Socks Argyle there... maybe Data was prejudiced against anyone wearing blue shirts since they weren't engineers and thus would have no capability of insight. Or if Maddox is into cybernetics, give him a Borg drone to play with instead - nobody would have a problem with that, right?

And Engineering staff would be able to discredit the notion of sentience, sciences are comparatively theoretical and philosophical rather than stoically the mere corporeal. Which explains Maddox being a blue shirt (and to make it easier for the narrative to let Data's side win as the ultimate plot escape hatch.)

How does the JAG know what a toaster is when they've had food replicators for how many centuries? (Even TOS had a food synthesizer by season three...)

Guinan's speech about slavery is excellent, albeit somewhat misplaced as she is referring to people and not machines, nor did she make a connection saying Data was more than a machine. What she does say is that Picard was being "harsh" in his supposition, when she meant to say "inaccurate". Which might be why she isn't harping on about starships doing all the dangerous work that was otherwise too hazardous or what not as well. Ever try flying through space without disposable ships? Won't last long... Or shuttlecraft? Starfleet makes lots of those, which are often disposable instead of repaired. Or tricorders, knitters, and other equipment - medical or otherwise - having to get all dirty, bloody and icky. But to be fair, she's not putting words into his mouth either. It's Picard conjuring up any old BS to make an ostensible point because he had none until he went to get some booze since bartenders always deal with advice better than trained counselors.

The episode didn't exactly show Data having consciousness either, but the JAG admits she has no way to know.

And why design an allegedly sentient being with an on/off switch? That alone clinched it.

Worst of all, the episode goes all fluffy and skirts around everything just to say "the point of this court is to determine if Data has the right to choose", which is a lot more open-ended than the original intent of determining if he was sentient or if he could not partake in something he was almost happy to do a year earlier.



"Manhunt" was comic relief. Is fun in the right mood, but even then there are still some jokes that have not aged well in the slightest.

 

[Seven of Five]

I'm up to season 4 in my rewatch, so season 2 is fairly fresh in my head. Manhunt is the kind of episode I enjoyed more when I was younger. I don't think it's aged well.

Or I haven't.

 

[Armus]

I really think Manhunt is one of the weaker episodes this season. Lwaxana's second visit is a bit too OTT.

Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
A Matter of Honor
Contagion
Q Who?
The Emissary
Peak Performance

Manhunt is one of her worst outings although I liked the scene where Picard invited Data along to bore Lwaxanna to death. That's good writing.

 

[Seven of Five]

Also, Mr Homn is a legend in every episode.