The least disliked episode of TOS - season one

[BlueStuff]

This is a game that we play every two 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, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Season One -

The Man Trap
Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The Alternative Factor
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[BlueStuff]

I'll start us off by kicking out The Alternative Factor, because it's an incomprehensible, nonsensical mess. No desire to rewatch this one any time soon.

The Man Trap
Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Miri
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Marsden]

I want to participate, but you took the easy answer, Alternate Factor, away, and I have to admit, I enjoy that one. Yes it's bad but for some reason I still enjoy it when I watch it. And I'm having a reeeeeeally hard time even picking one more to be the least favorite.

I'll take Miri, I guess. I know that there are some things about this episode that aren't top notch Star Trek, but I still think it's decent overall. I think my personal biggest complaint is when the guy that runs out and knocks Bones over because of the tricycle, Jim punches him, but then the guy starts crying and Jim's "we're not going to hurt you" but he just walloped him.

The Man Trap
Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[ihno]

I remove the mantrap. It's that episode (along with Miri) I always skip when I do a rewatch. Therefore I cannot give too many details. All the others are simpy better.

Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Return of the Archons
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Mytran]

Return of the Archons. Some interesting ideas, but its basically a by-the-numbers adventure.

Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
Space Seed
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[ihno]

Return of the Archons. Some interesting ideas, but its basically a by-the-numbers adventure.

But it has Landru in it. How can you eliminate Landru?

 

[Marsden]

Return of the Archons. Some interesting ideas, but its basically a by-the-numbers adventure.

But it has Landru in it. How can you eliminate Landru?

Landru eliminates himself, for the good of the body.

 

[BillJ]

"Space Seed". An episode that really isn't very good, but whose reputation has been pumped up over the decades by The Wrath of Khan.

Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
A Taste of Armageddon
This Side of Paradise
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Noname Given]

For me (given what is remaining); it's This Side of Paradise. I didn't care for the "Spock as a Hippee" vibe; and it was already established the "The Naked Time" that Vulcans had emotions, but controlled them.

Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
Mudd's Women
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
A Taste of Armageddon
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Indysolo]

Mudd's Women

It has a good score, but beyond that it's a bore of an episode. Pacing is odd and Mudd isn't an interesting character.

Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
The Conscience of the King
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
A Taste of Armageddon
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[ihno]

The Conscience of the King... off you go. The "famous actor with a dark secret" never worked for me, so I have watched the episode only once or twice. It has Riley in it, who was a nice character but go away, boring episode!


Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
A Taste of Armageddon
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[CrazyMatt]

A Taste of Armageddon. The most clichéd episode of the entire series.

Charlie X
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Duncan MacLeod]

Charlie X - out. It's not that it's a bad episode, it's more of a meh episode, and I really don't like Robert Walker Jr. I mean I've never liked him in anything. He's always rubbed me the wrong way so his presence alone kills the episode for me.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
The Menagerie (I)
The Menagerie (II)
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[svenden]

I'm going to assassinate The Managerie. I just rewatched this recently, and it's so slow. I understand its place/purpose of reusing the original (and as yet unaired) pilot, but on its own merits, its painful. And Spock's behavior is so questionable - how is it logical to put the ship in danger or defy all those orders just for one man's emotional needs? Needs of the many?

(Not sure if I'm allowed to eliminate both parts - someone feel free to add part 2 back in if necessary)

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Tomorrow is Yesterday
Court Martial
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[telerites]

I'm glad someone finally zapped Charlie X. From what's left I'm warping out "Tomorrow is Yesterday". I thought it was one of the weaker episodes of the season. There were good moments but had some plot holes that bothered me.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
Balance of Terror
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Michael]

I'll eliminate “Balance of Terror”, which – while an okay episode – is way overrated and nowhere near the classic many fans make it out to be. The rest of those, however, I consider some of the best of the first season, if not the whole series.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
The Enemy Within
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Norsehound]

I'm removing "The Enemy Within". Of those remaining, this and "the Naked Time" feel kind of... dry. That's the best way i can explain that feeling :\ Maybe it's too many pauses, the actors are still feeling out their characters, and the episode focuses more on the concept rather than a search for the solution. Enemy Within feels more like a Twilight zone episode than a Trek episode (Apt, given that Matheson also wrote for TZ).

The rest of the season (and series) feels livelier and more interesting by comparison.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
Court Martial
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Trekkin]

Court Martial.

Because we're really picking the worst of the best here, and that one had some guest performances that were pretty laughable. I thinks it's also the least memorable from what's left.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever
Operation: Annihilate!

 

[Sir Rhosis]

Operation: Delete Operation: Annihilate. While there's some nice location work, the story is a lift from Heinlein's "The Puppet Masters," and not a very good one.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
Shore Leave
The Galileo Seven
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I'll eliminate The Galileo Seven. Not a bad episode, but it's got some plot holes (This is Spock's first command? and the surprisingly insubordinate crewmen) that keep it from truly firing on all cylinders.

Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Naked Time
What Are Little Girl's Made Of?
Dagger of the Mind
The Corbomite Maneuver
Shore Leave
The Squire of Gothos
Arena
The Devil in the Dark
Errand of Mercy
The City on the Edge of Forever