The Most Disliked Episode of PICARD, 2023 Edition - Season 1...

[Farscape One]

Welcome to our bi-yearly 'Most Disliked Episode' games! Now that the 'Least Disliked Episode' games hosted by BlueStuff (who inspired me to create these games, so thank you very much for paving the way) have concluded, we can begin the opposite side of that coin.

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 most favorite or the one you deem the 'best.' 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!

Hall of Champions (or Failures?)
2023 - "Monsters"


Season 1

"Remembrance"
"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"The Impossible Box"
"Nepenthe"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Farscape One]

I was so excited that this series was coming! A continuation of Picard's journey? I was thrilled, and surprised, that we would get Patrick Stewart back again! Even my wife was super excited and wanted to watch. (And this is the first STAR TREK series she has watched during its initial run. We watched all 3 seasons together.) I was expecting awesome things.

And then it was just... okay. There's a lot to dislike about this season, but there are some great things here, too. More insight into Romulan culture. The return of Seven of Nine. Laris and Zhaban. Picard's goodbye to Data.

Which brings me to my first save, "Remembrance".

The fact the rest of the season let me down in some ways isn't the fault of this episode, which began with seeing the Enterprise-D again, Ten Forward, and my personal scifi icon... Data. I can't express the joy I felt at seeing all of this again. If for no other reason, Picard's dream scene with Data is good enough to save this episode.


"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"The Impossible Box"
"Nepenthe"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Saving Impossible Box. The episode has incredible energy. I love the warm relationship between Picard and Hugh, Soji become more of a protagonist, and there is lots of energy.

Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"Nepenthe"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Sakonna]

"Nepenthe". I cannot defend the Hugh material, but I like everything on Nepenthe so much I just ignore everything on the cube. I don't think Troi was ever written better.

I love season 3, but one small detail I didn't care for was Riker & Troi's very meta trashing of this episode. That felt so off to me.

"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[BlueStuff]

And… all the good episodes have been saved. I think I’ll go with Maps and Legends. At this point, we were still largely oblivious as to how very mediocre the season would soon get… and we were still under the impression that great things were in store.

"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2".

While the tentacle machine coming out was ludicrous, as well as much of the rest of the episode, the final scene between Picard and Data never fails to make me cry. It was beautiful.


"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"

 

[Sakonna]

The tentacle machine is the only thing I like from that one!

I love all of the opening trilogy of episodes, so I'll save "The End Is The Beginning."

I liked the slow pacing. Until the last three episodes was like 30 episodes of story crammed in at breakneck pace. But there's no reason that nice, slow, measured beginning couldn't have paid off, if they had a less messy resolution planned.

"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"

 

[Seven of Five]

Broken Pieces is the only episode left here that sticks out. The arc was chugging along nicely at that point.

"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"

 

[Oddish]

I will save Stardust City Rag. As horrific as the opening was, I did rather enjoy Picard's cosplaying, and Seven avenging Icheb was grimly satisfying.

"Absolute Candor"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "Absolute Candor".

Good concept and great seeing another side of Romulan society.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" wins this season. I'll start season 2 shortly. Hope to see you all there.

Thank you all for playing.