The MOST Disliked Episode of TNG - Season Two...

[Farscape One]

This is a twist on a game that is played here, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I am very curious to see the results.

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, wait six hours and 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"

Season Two -

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter Of Honor
The Measure Of A Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Q Who
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Shades of Gray

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Eliminating Q Who, one of the best episodes in the series.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter Of Honor
The Measure Of A Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Peak Performance
Shades of Gray

 

[Farscape One]

I will save "Peak Performance". It is a solid story, has great character development, utilizes the entire cast very well, and was just all out fun to watch. This was a true gem of the season, and personal favorite of the entire series.

Interesting note... David Kemper wrote it. He eventually went to become head writer and overall excellent one for FARSCAPE.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter Of Honor
The Measure Of A Man
The Dauphin
Contagion
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[BigDaveX]

My first save for this season will be Contagion. Opens with a nice wham punch, keeps up the suspense throughout, and adds in an important bit of lore with the Iconians.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter Of Honor
The Measure Of A Man
The Dauphin
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[cosmic mouse]

The Measure Of A Man is spared... I am currently up to season 3 episode 4 of this ST series and TMOAM is probably my favorite episode thus far. Data rocks... but the entire ep was excellent imho.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
Elementary, Dear Data
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter Of Honor
The Dauphin
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[Takeru]

Elementary, Dear Data is saved. I liked Daniel Davies performance as Moriarty, he was an interestimg villain.

The Child
Where Silence Has Lease
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter Of Honor
The Dauphin
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[bigglesworth]

Rescuing "Where Silence Has Lease". Genuinely creepy episode. Nagilum was a cool villain, who wasn't really a villain in the sense that he wanted to be bad, he's simply a sociopath who didn't care about humans. We got to see Enterprise-D's sister ship, the Yamato, plus who can forget "One Riker, One Bridge!"...

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
Unnatural Selection
A Matter Of Honor
The Dauphin
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[Sakonna]

Huge pileup of continuity problems aside, I've always had a soft spot for "Unnatural Selection." It's a strong showcase for Pulaski, and a good use of the lonely-deep-space vibe these first two seasons had.

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
Loud As A Whisper
The Schizoid Man
A Matter Of Honor
The Dauphin
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[dstyer]

Saving "Loud as a Whisper". I've always had a soft spot for this episode and it (to me) had one of the most unique methods of communicating prior to "Darmok"

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
A Matter Of Honor
The Dauphin
The Royale
Time Squared
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[BigDaveX]

Time Squared. Certainly a very weird concept, but the mood and atmosphere manage to make it work.

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
A Matter Of Honor
The Dauphin
The Royale
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[Qonundrum]

From what's left, the one most worth protecting is the clip show The Dauphin. There are other stories easily selectable if not more so depending on criteria, but I doubt they will end up being the MOST disliked and the story I'd chosen -- well, here's why:

"The Dauphin" is an impressive coming of age/first crush/puberty story. Which also happened to be made in the day and age of not-for-kids movies like "Porkys". Here's TNG doing something in a remarkably mature manner while keeping in sci-fi themes and mores going. Especially after the "mid-80s raunch" in some of season 1's fare (ditto for Okona and the one that inspired Herman's Head, "Loud as a Whisper" - a largely good story, IMHO). There's some great acting and some marvelous special effects as well. And, yeah, who couldn't feel bad for Wesley by the end?

It's also a lot better than season 5's "The Perfect Mate", which feels more a throwback to TOS whereas "Dauphin" feels unique to TNG.

What's left:
The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
A Matter Of Honor
The Royale
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Removing The Royale. I think it's one of the most successful attempts at comedy in the series. Love the parody of a terrible novel come to life.

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
A Matter Of Honor
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
The Emissary
Shades of Gray

 

[Garth Rockett]

I think there's a lot of good episodes in season two. I'm going to cast my vote for "The Emissary", one of the earliest important Worf episodes, and an episode whose repercussions are felt throughout the series and DS9.

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
A Matter Of Honor
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
Shades of Gray

 

[Farscape One]

I am going to save "A Matter Of Honor". It was a great episode, and a good Riker showcase. I loved the whole idea of the Officer Exchange Program, and wished it was done more often.

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
The Icarus Factor
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
Shades of Gray

 

[tharpdevenport]

I'm removing "Pen Pals" because of the kind of touching story about the fate of a girl and her planet that Data doesn't let go of.

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
The Icarus Factor
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt
Shades of Gray

 

[Orac]

I have removed Shades of Grey, Data's line at the end was the perfect way to end the season.

Here's the line in context with the final scenes dialogue which I copy+pasted from chakoteya.net

PULASKI: There may be some residual memory loss. I just want to be sure you still know who you are.
(Data and Picard have entered and are now at his bedside. Riker looks straight at them)
RIKER: Of course I know who I am. I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise.
(cue Original Series comedy sequence music)
PICARD: I'm delighted that you're feeling better, Captain. The Admiral and I were worried about you.
DATA: Captain, I do not believe you have the authority to promote me to the rank of Admiral.



The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
The Icarus Factor
Samaritan Snare
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt

 

[Qonundrum]

^^ yeah, the non-clipshow parts aren't exactly bad... without the writers' strike clobbering the season, I wonder what might have been instead.

But Samaritan Snare is now rescued off the island. Gilligan is upset. Now, there's some ropey biobabble with the guest surgeon, the Picard/Wesley scenes feel off-kilter (intentional since Wes is an adolescent and Picard just hates all kids?), but the Pulaski scenes at the end, nobody figuring out beforehand what Troi figured out about the Pakleds being more than what they seemed, along with the Pakleds being remarkably cruel despite apparent shortcomings, still added some surprisingly effective tension. It's a mixed bag of a story, but somehow ends up being more than the sum of its parts.

What's left:
The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Schizoid Man
The Icarus Factor
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt

 

[Paradise City]

I'll certainly rescue The Schizoid Man.

I'm a big fan of the Morgan Shepard growl. Got to see the illusive Dr. Selar. And the crew (albeit briefly) got impaled into a wall and the Data/Graves speech at Graves funeral is the kinda rosy oratory I want as part of my send off.

"I can safely say, that to know him, was to love him. And to love him, was to know him...
Those who knew him, loved him, while those who did not know him, loved him from afar."


The Child
The Outrageous Okona
The Icarus Factor
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt

 

[BlueStuff]

Let's not forget the six hour limit between votes, people.

The Icarus Factor was goofy but I'll save it for the sheer entertaining insanity of Riker and his Dad resolving their issues through a bout of Space Gladiators. This was also the one where Worf is willingly prodded with pain-sticks and yells "YAARGGGH!!!!" over and over.


The Child
The Outrageous Okona
Up The Long Ladder
Manhunt

 

[Sakonna]

Saving "Manhunt." I'm one of the vanishingly small contingent of fans who enjoy Lwaxana, I properly like this one. It's fun! Fish people! More Dixon Hill! And I looooooove Lwaxana's casual outing of the terrorist plot at the end.

The Child
The Outrageous Okona
Up The Long Ladder