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

[Seven of Five]

The Ensigns of Command is predictable in places, but has the hilarious scenes where Picard is trying to do diplomacy with the Sheliak.

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

 

[Frightscape One]

Saving "Deja Q".

I have always liked this one a lot, but my wife loves this one, so while there are a couple others I would save first, I am saving this one for her.


"The Bonding"
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The High Ground"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Starflight]

Saving "The Bonding", which I'm surprised nobody else did yet - great story for Worf, strong emotional hook, and nice bit of weird-alien-misunderstanding diplomacy.

"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"The High Ground"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Seven of Five]

The High Ground is exellent episode that had no right answers.

Sure, Picard and Crusher were rescued, but the cycle of violence would continue.

The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"
"The Most Toys"

 

[Riley]

"Tin Man" is the worst episode of TNG, period. It may be the worst episode of the original Star Trek franchise. The casting and performances are awful but the writing and concept are the worst aspects. It should never have made it beyond the script stage.

 

[Qonundrum]

So I went to take a nap, and now having returned with my glass of prune juice, I'm amazed the season hasn't been wiped out yet. I'm even more amazed that

"The Most Toys"

Wasn't saved yet all the nap-inducing ones are still there.

It's a quiet gem in the latter half of season 3, made more stressful for the cast by a guest actor suicide. On initial airing, you wouldn't have known any of the strife behind the scenes (for episode, or season...) and this one does have its mojo going, for what is a fascinating caper about abducting Commander Data, not because he has utility but because he's rare.

The ending where Data fires the phaser and then lies? I had to pinch myself because I was dreaming that was an evil version of Lore for a moment, noting that our real Lore was bad so therefore an evil version of Lore would be... something approaching good?! It's a definite headscratcher of an ending. A good ending can be a headscratcher, but this ending is a little over the top and begging too many of the wrong sort of questions.

On edit, a last-second addendum as I forgot about one scene:
Also, if this weren't late-80s first-run syndicated and all that, would we have seen a nude Data, a la Lore's parts hanging on a wall from "Datalore", had Fajo's polyester-eating spray had gone the distance? There. that's almost as bad as the filmed ending. You're welcome.


What's left:
"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"Allegiance"

 

[Frightscape One]

Saving "The Most Toys".

Saul Rubinek is always a great casting choice. (Even though he wasn't the original Fajo casting.) Good Data episode.


Never mind... I missed my choice by less than a minute.

So my final save for the season is "Allegiance".

Solid episode, and a different alien.



"The Price"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"A Matter of Perspective"

 

[Starflight]

I'm torn between "The Price" and "The Vengeance Factor" - they're both fairly similar in that they have kind of good ideas and the production feels quite lush, but the actual scripts are a mess that waste the stories.

On balance, "The Vengeance Factor" probably wins by a whisker.

"The Price"
"A Matter of Perspective"

 

[Qonundrum]

Oh joy, two clunkers, but if I were to place a bet, I'd put my money on...

"The Price"

as while it is an oddball complete with massage oil* and a change of bedsheets, it doesn't leave the Riker creepy discontunuity hanging and the Geordi/Data-vs-Ferengi wormhole subplot is pretty solid.

That, and the holodeck has no safety function that would prevent a constructed beam emitter's emissions from leaking outside the room to endanger small things like the rest of the entire ship with?!

* eww​

WINNER:
"A Matter of Perspective"
(a wonderfully ironic title given the scope of the game and everyone's perspectives toward the episodes, hehehehehe!)

 

[Frightscape One]

A first time season 3 winner: "A Matter of Perspective". As pointed out, it is all a matter of perspective.

I will start the season 4 game very shortly. Hope to see you all there!

Thank you all for playing!