Game The Most Disliked Episode Directed By Cliff Bole

[Sakonna]

I'll next save "Cold Fire" -- Kes was a huge favorite of mine and every story for her was a winner for me. (I even kind of like "Elogium". And I do haaaaaaate "Darkling" overall, but because I can't stand the Doctor story. The Kes plot is it's only saving grace)

TNG Season 1: "Hide and Q"
TNG Season 3: "The Ensigns of Command"
TNG Season 5: "Unification II"
TNG Season 6: "Aquiel"
TNG Season 7: "Liaisons"
TNG Season 7: "Emergence"

 

[Oddish]

While the Reset Button ending is a letdown, "Emergence" has a fascinating concept: what might happen if the Enterprise itself actually became sentient.

TNG Season 1: "Hide and Q"
TNG Season 3: "The Ensigns of Command"
TNG Season 5: "Unification II"
TNG Season 6: "Aquiel"
TNG Season 7: "Liaisons"

 

[Seven of Five]

Unication II has the great scene between Data and Spock, where they are both striving to be more like each other.

TNG Season 1: "Hide and Q"
TNG Season 3: "The Ensigns of Command"
TNG Season 6: "Aquiel"
TNG Season 7: "Liaisons"

 

[Summer Solstice]

I'll next save "Cold Fire" -- Kes was a huge favorite of mine and every story for her was a winner for me. (I even kind of like "Elogium". And I do haaaaaaate "Darkling" overall, but because I can't stand the Doctor story. The Kes plot is it's only saving grace)

"Cold Fire" would have been my next save. I like that they found Suspiria. I think the episode could have been a good season 1 finale because "Caketaker" and "Cold Fire" would work as bookends for the first season. And I like the directing in this episode. I agree with you about "Darkling" - it starts out looking like it's going to be interesting character development for Kes (and with more modern storytelling Kes and her new boyfriend might have spent a few episodes travelling together before meeting up with Voyager again).

I'm saving "Aquiel". I think the shapeshifting alien predator is a cool idea. Unlike the Founders it doesn't seem to be sentient.

TNG Season 1: "Hide and Q"
TNG Season 3: "The Ensigns of Command"
TNG Season 7: "Liaisons"

 

[Farscape One]

My final vote for this game is "The Ensigns of Command".

Because Data.


TNG Season 1: "Hide and Q"
TNG Season 7: "Liaisons"

 

[at Quark's]

I'll save TNG Season 1: "Hide and Q" then.

Moralistic and turgid and "humanity, f... yeah!" as the story may be with a pontificating Picard, I still feel that at least this story has a point, with Riker learning that accepting the power of Q does have consequences. Its still better, imho, than the silly and rather pointless 'oh, we set this all up because we wanted to experience x human condition!, was that wrong?' plot 'resolution' .

 

[Seven of Five]

I'm glad Liaisons won. Aside from the amiable Worf plot, the stuff on the planet with Picard and the woman was so repetitive.

Love me! Sorry, Liaisons, I don't.

 

[Oddish]

While the ending of Hide and Q made me nauseous, while Liasons (the A-plot anyway) was just lame, others may feel otherwise. Liasons is a worthy "winner".

 

[Qonundrum]

I'll save TNG Season 1: "Hide and Q" then.

Moralistic and turgid as the story may be with a pontificating Picard, I still feel that at least this story has a point, with Riker learning that accepting the power of Q does have consequences. Its still better, imho, than the silly and rather pointless 'oh, we set this all up because we wanted to experience x human condition!, was that wrong?' plot 'resolution' .

Total agreement about "the point"; temptation can lead to all the nasty stuff and so on.

The story isn't exactly perfect, and that "penalty box" scene was way too sophomoric and soppy (B+ for effort, but selling the idea of being blinked into non-existence is not easy, and already done far better in "Charlie X" as it relied on threat and execution rather than scenes of gobsmackingly awful "WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" that do a better job at putting out the intended feel as well as a waterfall can put out a freshly-lit match stick), but the time-old trope of temptation (Riker) was handled really well. And, as always, DeLancie elevates even the lamest of the dialogue with panache and sincerity, which helps a lot.

And if the ship had never been stopped, why does the commercial break end with the ship coming back to power as if it had? (With f/x proving it, it wasn't just a dream sequence from the crew's mental perspective. Just a nitpick.)

 

[Qonundrum]

While the ending of Hide and Q made me nauseous, while Liasons (the A-plot anyway) was just lame, others may feel otherwise. Liasons is a worthy "winner".

If it's the scene that I think I think you're thinking I'm hoping you're thinking: Where the crew get their wildest dreams made true? It's a mixed bag for me. Geordi had the best moment where the visceral nature of the scene was executed and written perfectly, Worf's was typical 80s "Porky's schlock" (thankfully, Michael Dorn finds a way to make it better than what's on the script's paper, though), robbing Wesley of a decade just to make him look like a football player wouldn't have amounted to anything whatsoever (at least Beverly's overactive begging raises it a tad -- granted, Geordi unwittingly reveals he's bi ("Hey Wes, not bad!") and Gates McFadden does deliver on the concern factor with "Pleeeeeeease, no!" and she's right and as a parent, seeing your kid go through age acceleration (either to death or, worse, drinking and/or voting age) is bound to be cruel on a psychological level... But either which way, Wesley just stands there in typical Wonderboy style no matter what the age...)

That, and Geordi gets another great line in the episode:

LAFORGE: I don't think so, sir. The price is a little high for me, and I don't like who I would have to thank. Make me the way I was. Please!

Decent scripted bit, acted to perfection.

 

[Sakonna]

I would have saved "Hide & Q" as well. It's terrible, but fun terrible. There's so much delightful weirdness in this one. "Worf, is this your idea of sex?" Future Wesley. Q as a three-headed serpent. Animal things. Penalty box. That planet set.

"Liaisons" is fine, I've never really had strong feelings about it either way.

"Aquiel" was the 2020 winner of this game.

Next one will go up tomorrow. Probably a departure from saving episodes -- "The Most Disliked Season Finale Villain." Unless I don't have time to totally resolve that one before tomorrow, then it'll be "The Most Disliked Episode With A Female Director" (after running so many lists of male directors, I went looking for the most prolific female director, and there isn't one, you have to combine all the women together to have enough for a game -- and it is a GREAT assemblage of episodes between them). Hope to see you all on the next one!
(edit: it'll be up Friday or Saturday -- apologies, got unexpectedly busy on Thursday)

MOST DISLIKED WINNERS, 2022
MAJEL BARRETT APPEARANCE: TOS, Season 3: "And The Children Shall Lead"
'HEY, THIS PLANET IS JUST LIKE EARTH!': TOS, Season 3: "Plato's Stepchildren"
ROMULAN: TAS, Season 2: "The Practical Joker"
DIRECTOR WINRICH KOLBE: TNG, Season 5: "The Masterpiece Society"
ROMANCE-OF-THE-WEEK: TNG, Season 6: "Aquiel"
KLINGON: TNG, Season 6: "Birthright, Part II"
DIRECTOR CLIFF BOLE: TNG, Season 7: "Liaisons"
DIRECTOR LES LANDAU: TNG, Season 7: "Dark Page"
WRITER RONALD D. MOORE: TNG, Season 7: "Journey's End"
7TH SEASON: TNG, Season 7: "Firstborn"
HOLIDAY: DS9, Season 3: "Meridian"
CARDASSIAN: DS9, Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
MIRROR UNIVERSE: DS9, Season 6: "Resurrection"
FERENGI: DS9, Season 6: "Profit And Lace"
COMEDIC/LIGHT-HEARTED: DS9, Season 6: "Profit And Lace"
JEFFREY COMBS APPEARANCE: DS9, Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
HOLODECK: VOY, Season 6: "Spirit Folk"
MAQUIS: VOY, Season 7: "Repression"
BARCLAY: VOY, Season 7: "Inside Man"
2-PART/DOUBLE EPISODE: VOY, Season 7: "Flesh And Blood"
RECYCLED TITLE: ENT, Season 1: "Terra Nova"
DIRECTOR DAVID LIVINGSTON: ENT, Season 3: "Harbinger"
SEASON PREMIERE: ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part I"
EVERY 47TH RELEASE: ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part I"
VISIT TO EARTH'S PAST: ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part II"
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER'S 100 BEST EPS: ENT, Season 4: "Home"
TIME TRAVEL/TRAVELER/LOOP/ANOMALY: DIS, Season 2: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIRECTOR JONATHAN FRAKES: DIS, Season 3: "There Is A Tide..."
47TH EPISODES: DIS, Season 4: "The Examples"
4TH SEASON: DIS, Season 4: "The Galactic Barrier"
4TH & 7TH EPISODES: ST, Season 2: "Ask Not"
TREK NOIR: PIC, "Broken Pieces"
CAST CROSSOVER: PIC, "Et In Arcardia Ego, Part 1"
GUINAN: PIC, "Monsters"
BORG/XB: PIC, "Mercy"
Q: PIC, "Mercy"
COUPLE: LD, Carol Freeman/Admiral Husband
REGULAR CHARACTER: PRO, Drednok

TOTAL SHOW WINS
SNW & Movies: 0 wins
TAS, ST, LD & PRO: 1 win each
TOS: 2 wins
VOY & DIS: 4 wins each
PIC: 5 wins
DS9 & ENT: 6 wins each
TNG: 7 wins