The Least Disliked Holiday Episode

[Sakonna]

I always appreciated how frequently TNG went scary right at Halloween.

THE RULES. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. Below is a list of holiday-themed or holiday-tie-in episodes from every series (save Disco, which hasn't had one yet). 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.

WAIT THREE HOURS and leave at least TWO 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.

Much thanks to @Farscape One for vetting this list with me!

Enjoy!

TOS, Season 2: "Catspaw"
TAS, Season 1: "The Magicks Of Megas-Tu"
TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 5: "The Game"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG, Season 7: "The Pegasus"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
VOY, Season 5: "11:59"
VOY, Season 6: "Alice"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Seven of Five]

The Game was a pretty average episode so that's first for me.

TOS, Season 2: "Catspaw"
TAS, Season 1: "The Magicks Of Megas-Tu"
TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
VOY, Season 5: "11:59"
VOY, Season 6: "Alice"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Brennyren]

"11:59" committed the cardinal sins of being predictable and filled with stock characters (who weren't the main characters), and just not very interesting. To coin a phrase, "Time's up."

TOS, Season 2: "Catspaw"
TAS, Season 1: "The Magicks Of Megas-Tu"
TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
VOY, Season 6: "Alice"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Sakonna]

"The Magicks Of Megas-Tu" is a real trial to sit through. So clumsily structured -- they just kind of lurch around through weird sequences for awhile, then it ends.

TOS, Season 2: "Catspaw"
TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
VOY, Season 6: "Alice"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Finn]

How are those "holiday" episodes?

 

[Sakonna]

How are those "holiday" episodes?

They're mostly Trek versions of horror tropes or other forms of scary episode that aired at Halloween. With TNG and VOY this happened regularly enough that I always experienced it as intentional, and VOY started to explicitly advertise it. "Magicks Of Megas-Tu" is meeting a devil and visiting the Salem Witch Trials, also airing at Halloween. A Christmas sequence is at the core of "Generations", "11:59" is very explicitly Christmas & New Years the whole time, "Fascination" is the Gratitude Festival (airing right after Thanksgiving), and "Mortal Coil" is some take on "It's A Wonderful Life" for air in December.

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And "Death Wish" is probably a reach, but it's such a memorable Christmas cameo when Voyager becomes an ornament we decided to leave it on.

 

[Finn]

I'll give you 11:59 for new years eve. The others are quite a stretch

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I'm sure it's coincidental, but Once More Unto the Breach could be considered a Veterans' Day episode.

 

[Sakonna]

I'll give you 11:59 for new years eve. The others are quite a stretch

That's fine, I was obviously aware I was making a list of my perspective of what a Trek holiday episode is. I understand some viewers need the episodes to be 100% literal on the matter in order to regard them that way.

 

[1001001]

Where's The Pegasus for Captain Picard Day??



I'm calling shenanigans on that...

 

[Sakonna]

Where's The Pegasus for Captain Picard Day??



I'm calling shenanigans on that...

Ha, I love that! Early enough to add it in, reposting below...

TOS, Season 2: "Catspaw"
TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG, Season 7: "The Pegasus"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
VOY, Season 6: "Alice"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[1001001]

I remove The Pegasus. The episode was okay, but Captain Picard Day is just stupid.

TOS, Season 2: "Catspaw"
TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
VOY, Season 6: "Alice"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Brennyren]

^^^

"Alice" just didn't make a ton of sense.

TOS, Season 2: "Catspaw"
TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Seven of Five]

I always thought Catspaw was a little dull.

TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
TNG Feature: "Star Trek: Generations"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Greg Cox]

"Catspaw" definitely qualified as a holiday ep, though. It's pretty much the Star Trek Halloween Special, first airing on October 27, 1967.

 

[Farscape One]

STSR TREK: GENERATIONS goes for the way the Enterprise was destroyed. I get why the producers did it, but she deserved to go out better than the Duras sisters kiling her.

TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Scientific Method"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Sakonna]

"Scientific Method" was a bit of a letdown for me -- this is one that I recall explicitly being advertised as a Halloween ep, and then I was disappointed it wasn't sufficiently spooky.

TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
DS9, Season 3: "Fascination"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Seven of Five]

It's fun seeing the Bajoran festival underway in Fascination, but the actual episode is tripe.

TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
VOY, Season 2: "Persistence Of Vision"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Brennyren]

"Persistence of Vision" goes for Janeway's stupid holo-novel. Good lord, Kathryn, if you don't know that "dead Mommy" is actually a living madwoman in the attic, you need to brush up on your Bronte.

TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
VOY, Season 2: "Death Wish"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"

 

[Sakonna]

I have trouble getting on board with the whole premise of "Death Wish" -- I do like the way they explore the suicide issue, but it's just an impossible reach to believe Janeway could end up being the arbitrator of this momentous issue among the Q.

TNG, Season 4: "Remember Me"
TNG, Season 6: "Schisms"
TNG, Season 7: "Phantasms"
TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
VOY, Season 4: "Mortal Coil"
ENT, Season 3: "Impulse"