The Most Disliked Episode of TNG, Season 3 - 2025 Edition...

[Frightscape 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?)
2011 - "Shades Of Gray"
2018 - "The Outrageous Okona"
2019 - "Code of Honor"
2021 - "Journey's End"
2023 - "Aquiel"
2025 -


Season Three -

"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Survivors"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"Booby Trap"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Defector"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
"The Offspring"
"Sins Of the Father"
"Allegiance"
"Captain's Holiday"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"
"The Best of Both Worlds"

 

[Frightscape One]

I'm going to start with a choice that is probably unexpected. (Though if you know my posting history regarding certain characters, this choice is NOT unexpected.)

"The Offspring" is my first save. I've got a list of reasons.

1. It's a great Data episode, and he will always be on my episode save list.

2. It was the first directing job for Jonathan Frakes, who turned out to be an excellent director. In turn, this opened up the doors for so many other great directors who were leads... LeVar Burton, Avery Brooks, Robert Duncan McNeill, Roxann Dawson. That makes this a landmark episode, and not just for the franchise. Each of those actors turned director made a good career out of directing once their ST shows were done, and many are still in high demand. (Roxann Dawson, for instance, has directed 7 episodes of FOUNDATION. And damned good job she did each time, too.)

3. The acting was superb throughout, from Hallie Todd as Lal to the leads, especially Brent Spiner.

4. The dialogue was great. So much of it really got me emotional, like his log entry describing how teaching Lal brought up so many things for him. And one of my favorites...

"I can give her attention, doctor. But I am incapable of giving her love." - Data
(after he left) "Now, why do I find that so hard to believe?" - Dr. Crusher

That is one of the truest statements she ever said.

5. This episode never fails to make me cry. A single man tear, at the very least. The man lost his daughter. She enriched his life so much that he transferred her memories to him... in essence, keeping her alive. I'm starting to tear up just thinking about Data and Lal's last scene and him walking onto the bridge.

(Many in my life, especially my wife, finds it a true irony and conundrum that I have such a massive distaste and hatred of machines, but I am always so moved by one. The irony is not lost on me... but Data is the reason I am a science fiction fan.)

For me, this is a VERY obvious save.


"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Survivors"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"Booby Trap"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Defector"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
"Sins Of the Father"
"Allegiance"
"Captain's Holiday"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"
"The Best of Both Worlds"

 

[Faintly Macabre]

I am going for the blindingly obvious (which I feel might also be a surprise given some of my posting history...).

Tasha Yar was my favourite character in my first watch of TNG so I really liked her return here. Whoopi Goldberg is always a plus in an episode. The episode itself gets just about everything right - high stakes, great performances and a very "Star Trek" sense of doing the right thing even if it's to your personal disadvantage.



"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Survivors"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"Booby Trap"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Defector"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Sins Of the Father"
"Allegiance"
"Captain's Holiday"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"
"The Best of Both Worlds"

 

[AntonyF]

I'll save "The Survivors".

The juxtaposition between the nice household and the innocent Rishon Uxbridge... and the crimes of Kevin wiping out an entire race. The real menace of Troi losing her mind, vs spots of humour. "Good Tea. Nice House."

A really good episode.

 

[Sakonna]

"Captain's Holiday" is such a fun time. I love how much time they spend at the beginning just trying to get him to go on the vacation.

"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"Booby Trap"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Defector"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Sins Of the Father"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"
"The Best of Both Worlds"

 

[Seven of Five]

S3 is my favourite season easily.

I'm spoilt for choice.

I'll do the obvious one and save BOBW - it's just epoic on every level, and is hands down the best cliffhanger in TNG.

Ron Jones' score adds to the ambiance.

Wow.

"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"Booby Trap"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Defector"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Sins Of the Father"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"

 

[Qonundrum]

Picard was the boob in this classic season three entry...

"Booby Trap"

And a classic season it is.

A civilization of the past, warring with another, is caught in a trap and nobody left any signs reading "Caution, there's a minefield here, in space." Enterprise traipses on in and gets caught by it, and now they have to get around it. This is a brilliant premise, and reminder that not all civilizations exist in the same here'n'now temporal plane as ours and another fun thought and if I remember my astronomy correctly and it's not my field so there , that supernova just captured by a telescope had actually happened as long ago as it took for the light to reach the telescope for us to see it. St00pid waws of fishsticks and all that...

Hmm, one brief thruster effect in the climatic escape scene is missing (in SD and HD).

Geordi relying on computhink for a little too much, he asks the thing to give a holographic recreation of Leah Brahms a personality, which will have a 9.37% margin of error, and he just swallows it all without remembering that, but that'll happen to anybody. But as classified juicy details are not included, marital status must be one of them or the computer would have thought to let him know, probably. At least he tells it that the backrub was a bit too much. It's not unlike telling a search engine what the difference is between Android phone launchers Nova Launcher and Octopi Launcher and being told in return that Octopi isn't a valid comparison because it's a sea creature you should adopt as a pet because it thinks you need companionship in your life no matter how slimy, even though the Octopi launcher has been out for quite some time now (v1.43 is the newest, so there's that...) am I digressing? Oh well, if not then I'm sure to do so later...

It's also the one score from Ron Jones where I agree that the climactic incidental music at the end just didn't work.

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Heck, yeah! (Hmmm, my speakers may need recalibrating or my ears need a hearing aid because the Yellow Alert chime isn't heard when they switch to it.)

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The original music... I'm on the fence, in a way it's cool... but it doesn't have quite the same level of suspense that the replacement music had.

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Good teaser, note the lack of music when Geordi talks about going like a bat out of hell.

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The best music cue, a la carte

What's left:
"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Defector"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Sins Of the Father"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"

 

[Frightscape One]

Season 3 REALLY was a fantastic season.

Saving "The Defector".

Great plot, tense all the way through, and just an excellent chess game being played with the twists of Jarok's loyalty being tested and the Klingons riding right behind Picard.

An easy save.


"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Sins Of the Father"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"

 

[Seven of Five]

I love the whole Duras traiter arc that started with Sins of the Fathet.

Tony Todd was also excellent as Kurn.

Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Menage a Troi"
"Transfigurations"

 

[Uncle Sock]

Saving "Menage a Troi".

15-year-old Uncle Sock couldn’t believe Wesley got a red uniform. And honestly, even now, that scene still makes me tear up. As an adult, I can see everything that was wrong with the character, and I understand why people dislike Wesley—but growing up, he was the one I connected with the most because we were the same age. So when someone my age got the red uniform and became a full-fledged ensign at the helm? That meant everything to me.

In a way, it taught me something that still feels relevant today: if you work hard, it can take you anywhere. So yeah - saved.



"Evolution"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Transfigurations"

 

[Qonundrum]

Oh no, he's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! And this time is a different type of cause of story problem!

"Evolution"

Yup! Before, Wesley was do-all-be-all-better-than-all-thou. Now he's napping all over the place and forgetting to put the cover back on the 35mm film canister sea monkey tank specimen bottle nanite container and they're scuttling all over the ship while some old guy goes on and on about baseball, like how I do on all sorts of various inane topics.

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Now THAT is how you start a season opener, with magnetism and gusto and verve. Shh, don't tell anyone that.

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Suitably eerie and note that Picard says "we mean no harm" in this and in the season 4 premiere (under a rather different context).

The style of Ron Jones, as always, is as defining to real TNG as any other.



What's left:
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Sarek"
"Transfigurations"

 

[Frightscape One]

Saving another easy one... "Sarek".

Great episode that shows the ravages of old age. Excellent performance by Mark Lenard.

But ESPECIALLY Sir Patrick Stewart, particularly that scene after the mind meld. Him never even getting an Emmy nomination is a crime.


"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"
"Transfigurations"

 

[Uncle Sock]

Saving "Transfigurations".

I really didn’t like what they did to Geordi in this one—giving him confidence only after that alien "transfusion". But overall, I actually liked the episode a lot. It’s a classic Star Trek story about liberty and self-determination. Again, one of my comfort episodes.


"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Tin Man"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Qonundrum]

It takes a lot for me to buy into organic spacecraft:

"Tin Man"

Less an exploration of a being where more questions would be raised as a result, the story is more a character piece for Tam Elbrun, a Betazoid whose proverbial radar dish is always active and he can't blot out others' thoughts, it's a great allegory in its own right as well as being intriguing adventure and exploration into Betazoids that goes above and beyond their mating habits.

The score, made by Jay Chattaway, excels in being ethereal and mysterious. Seasons 1-4 were dominated by Ron Jones, but there's a certain style that all the composers of TNG kept to during this time, elevating it all as "audio iconography" in the process, and this story is hardly an exception.

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A great scene, one of many. Also, the yellow alert noise is a bit more pronounced and there's some reuse of f/x footage from TMP (1979).


What's left:
"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Enemy"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll go with the other excellent Romulan epispde, The Enemy.

I just love seeing Geordi and the other guy strike up a camaraderie.

"The Ensigns of Command"
"Who Watchers The Watchers"
"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Uncle Sock]

Saving "Who Watches The Watchers"

Deanna’s first time with pointed ears? A “That’s what you get for snooping around on other people’s planets!” episode? Both great reasons to like this one.
Not a huge fan of the over-the-top Picard The God vibe, but hey — it was still a pretty good episode.


"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The Hunted"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Frightscape One]

A shocking twist: this is the first time that "Transfigurations" doesn't win or end up as runner up for season 3. That's why these games are so fun!

Saving "The Hunted".

Good message about treating our veterans better. And a rare time when the crew get completely outfoxed by someone.

Even better that it was done by a person who isn't actually a villain. (Really, Danar was more the hero in this episode.)



"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Uncle Sock]

I love being responsible for never-before-seen shocking twists on this forum. *does a curtsey*
And this IS a fun game!

Saving Allegiance.
Not just one, but three new alien races? How cool is that!
A Bolian with hair? Come on! What’s not to love?
And even though it felt a bit forced (no pun intended), I actually liked the forcefield scene. It really showed what “teamwork makes the dream work” is all about.




"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Frightscape One]

I love being responsible for never-before-seen shocking twists on this forum. *does a curtsey*
And this IS a fun game!

Saving Allegiance.
Not just one, but three new alien races? How cool is that!
A Bolian with hair? Come on! What’s not to love?
And even though it felt a bit forced (no pun intended), I actually liked the forcefield scene. It really showed what “teamwork makes the dream work” is all about.




"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

I'm glad you're enjoying the games.


One note: as per the listed rules of the game in the initial post, before you can eliminate another episode, two others must be done. This is to allow as many people as possible to participate in the games.

Because of this, I will need to put back "Allegiance".

But if the next person goes and does not take it out, you can, by all means, save your episode again.

"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Qonundrum]

Always eat your vegetables...

"Hollow Pursuits"

Passed on by some at the time (1989ish) as "aimed/mocking at sci-fi nerds" or something, it's a bit more of substance than that throwaway claim, Guinan is the perfect foil for characters like Barclay and Ro and others, and the occasional nerd can be of value too.

The intertwining the character drama with the sci-fi-stuff-o-the-week is nicely done. Very nicely done.

Dwight Schultz, off the "The A-Team" show, gets to show more range. Indeed, his character was so popular that he'd end up in "Star Trek Voyager" and being instrumental in getting everyone home.

Just remember to lock the holodeck door, but Geordi would override that anyway.

What's left:
"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The High Ground"
"Deja Q"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"The Most Toys"