Game The Most Disliked Episode Written By Ronald D. Moore

[Xhiandra]

The best has been removed by now. I'll save Aquiel. It's not brilliant, but it's not bad either. It's very average and on first viewing, the mystery works.

TNG Season 4: "In Theory" (written with Joe Menosky)
TNG Season 6: "Rightful Heir" (teleplay)
TNG Season 6: "Descent, Part I" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Gambit, Part II" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 4: "Rules of Engagement" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)
DS9 Season 6: "Change of Heart" (written)
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs of War" (teleplay with René Echevarria)

 

[Qonundrum]

A lot of what's left are either completely unnerving and/or just bad as some that were saved (IMHO, as with all things it's personal taste and YMMV),

TNG Season 6: "Descent, Part I" (teleplay)​

The basic premise of the mystery of how Data has emotions -and used as means to taken over by Lore, doesn't Data have a remote override back door? And, small universe syndrome aside, his mopping up Picard's mess with this shiny new faction of Borg is surprisingly decent. Shame they were forgotten after pt II, which was the weaker episode anyway...

Though this isn't the first time Troi can sense emotions from positronic computer chips, and maybe that's why she can - something with positronics that can't be done with electronics, but that's hard to buy into. I'll just roll with it.

Nice cameo by Stephen Hawking too!

The incidental music hits an all time level of "generic" that don't do it or its themes any justice. Which is sad, because usually overly dull music and overly loud and forced music have one thing in common - showing the same problems with substance-less stories but I'm not here to whine about that show and "Descent I" had some actual potential... but by then DS9 was getting more of the time and honing for episodes, if it were to last seven years as well. But a good story can handle a lesser soundtrack whereas a nonstory has nothing except the soundtrack, which gets boring a lot faster? Descent I arguably proves that can be the case. So can season 5's "Power Play".

What's left:

TNG Season 4: "In Theory" (written with Joe Menosky)
TNG Season 6: "Rightful Heir" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Gambit, Part II" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 4: "Rules of Engagement" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)
DS9 Season 6: "Change of Heart" (written)
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs of War" (teleplay with René Echevarria)

 

[Seven of Five]

The Dogs of War took great strides in setting up the New Ferenginar, with its perfect Nagus in Rom. It also mocks Picard's speech in First Contact when Quark is complaining about the terrible changes going on.

TNG Season 4: "In Theory" (written with Joe Menosky)
TNG Season 6: "Rightful Heir" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Gambit, Part II" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 4: "Rules of Engagement" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)
DS9 Season 6: "Change of Heart" (written)

 

[Lord Garth]

I'll save "Rightful Heir" (TNG). I like its take on religion.

TNG Season 4: "In Theory" (written with Joe Menosky)
TNG Season 7: "Gambit, Part II" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 4: "Rules of Engagement" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)
DS9 Season 6: "Change of Heart" (written)

 

[Xhiandra]

Just sniped me, Garth. I was going to save it for the Gowron - Kahless fight.

Guess I'll save "In Theory". Data entering quarters and declaring "honey, I'm home" is just so surreal.

TNG Season 7: "Gambit, Part II" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 4: "Rules of Engagement" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)
DS9 Season 6: "Change of Heart" (written)

 

[Seven of Five]

Change of Heart was a good story, and I always enjoy how torn Worf is in doing his duty or going back to save Jadzia. It would have been a better death for her than the contrived way she did go out.

TNG Season 7: "Gambit, Part II" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 4: "Rules of Engagement" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)

 

[Farscape One]

What will end up being my final save is "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT".

A good look at Worf as a command officer, and having the actors look directly at the camera during the testimony was a superb trick to keep us engaged fully in a plot that can easily get dull.

(I'm pretty confident I know which will be the 'winner'...)


TNG Season 7: "Gambit, Part II" (teleplay)
TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I'll eliminate Gambit, Part II. Even though the ending is terrible, the buildup with the web of deceit and all the tricks is awesome.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)
DS9 Season 5: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (written)

 

[Syn]

I don't like the Worf part of the story, but I'll save "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places," making Journey's End the, uh, "winner." Quark trying to be klingon was a laugh. I typically don't like comedy in Star Trek but it went pretty well here.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End" (teleplay)

 

[ananta]

Justice for “Par’Mach!” I always found that a fun episode, mainly for the Quark/Grilka stuff. “Journey’s End”, however...I just don’t know what that episode was trying to be. It just didn’t come together at all.

 

[Seven of Five]

I always liked Par'\Mach as well, so Journey's End is a worthy winner. A very mediocre episode, though I always did like The Traveler.

 

[Sakonna]

A satisfying winner! One of the only eps on this list I really and truly dislike. Not a satisfactory way to wrap up Wesley's story at all, and everytime they played that "Native Americans = Space Magic" card it rankled. I basically only enjoyed Gul Evek. Otherwise, disaster!

Later tonight or early tomorrow I'll post the full winners list in this thread, and the next game, which will be a return to directors: "The Most Disliked Episode Directed By Cliff Bole"

For a minute next up was going to be episodes written by Brannon Braga, but going thru his MA page to compile them reminded me of so many gross things about that man I'd forgotten, and some things I never knew in the first place, so screw him! Not in the headspace right now for a game focusing on the collected work of an asshole.

(Though he subsequently seems to have grown up and apologized and atoned, so that's good! )

 

[Vger23]

I can't believe "Aquiel" didn't win this one. I consider it one of the weakest episodes of the entire franchise.

Interesting reading through this list, though. Moore was such a good writer, but even he isn't immune from creating stinkers.

 

[Sakonna]

Here's the winners list. Thanks again for playing all, hope to see everyone on the next one!

THIRD episode from TNG season 7 on the list...

MOST DISLIKED "WINNER"LOSERS, 2020
"HEY, THIS PLANET IS JUST LIKE EARTH!": TOS, Season 1: "Miri"
WRITER GENE RODDENBERRY: TOS, Season 2: "The Omega Glory"
WRITER D.C. FONTANA: TNG, Season 1: "Too Short A Season"
SEASON PREMIERE: TNG, Season 7: "Descent, Part II"
PRIME DIRECTIVE: TNG, Season 7: "Homeward"
WRITER RONALD D. MOORE: TNG, Season 7: "Journey's End"
LWAXANA: DS9, Season 1: "The Forsaken"
ROMANCE OF THE WEEK: DS9, Season 3: "Meridian"
FERENGI: DS9, Season 7: "The Emperor's New Cloak"
DIRECTOR WINRICH KOLBE: VOY, Season 2: "Elogium"
CARDASSIANS: VOY, Season 2: "Investigations"
HOLIDAY: VOY, Season 4: "Day Of Honor"
HOLODECK: VOY, Season 6: "Fair Haven"
DIRECTOR DAVID LIVINGSTON: VOY, Season 6: "Spirit Folk"
TIME TRAVEL/ANOMALY/LOOP: VOY, Season 6: “Fury”
MAQUIS: VOY, Season 7: "Repression"
BARCLAY: VOY, Season 7: "Inside Man"
Q: VOY, Season 7: "Q2"
LATIN TITLE: ENT, Season 1: "Terra Nova"
2-HOUR/2-PART: ENT, Season 1 & 2: "Shockwave"
VISIT TO EARTH'S "PRESENT": ENT, Season 2: "Shockwave, Part II"
KLINGONS: ENT, Season 2: "Marauders"
HALLUCINATION/ILLUSION: ENT, Season 3: "Extinction"
VISIT TO EARTH'S PAST: ENT, Season 4: "Storm Front, Part I"
THR'S 100 GREATEST TREK EPS: ENT, Season 4: "Home"
CAST CROSSOVER: ENT, Season 4: "These Are The Voyages..."
MIRROR UNIVERSE: DIS, Season 1: "What's Past Is Prologue"
INTRODUCTION OF RECURRING ALIENS: DIS, Season 2: "An Obol For Charon" (the jahSepp)
SECTION 31: DIS, Season 2: "Perpetual Infinity"
RECYCLED TITLE: ST, Season 2: "Children Of Mars"
ROMULANS: PIC, Season 1: "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"

TOTAL SHOW WINS
TAS & Movies - 0 wins
ST and PIC - 1 win each
TOS - 2 wins
DS9 and DIS - 3 wins each
TNG - 4 wins
ENT - 8 wins
VOY - 9 wins

 

[Xhiandra]

I can't believe "Aquiel" didn't win this one. I consider it one of the weakest episodes of the entire franchise.

Interesting reading through this list, though. Moore was such a good writer, but even he isn't immune from creating stinkers.

You have me to thank for that. It's not the strongest episode, but it's not stupid. Just bland/average. It's not "The Reckoning" or "Threshold".

Honestly, I thought from the start it'd be between "Journey's End" and "Valiant". Guess I was half-wrong: there's at least one person that likes "Valiant".

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Honestly, I thought from the start it'd be between "Journey's End" and "Valiant". Guess I was half-wrong: there's at least one person that likes "Valiant".

Despite a few loud voices, the reviews of Valiant are actually quite good, especially when compared to Aquiel, Journey's End, The Reckoning and Threshold.

 

[Qonundrum]

You have me to thank for that. It's not the strongest episode, but it's not stupid. Just bland/average. It's not "The Reckoning" or "Threshold".

Honestly, I thought from the start it'd be between "Journey's End" and "Valiant". Guess I was half-wrong: there's at least one person that likes "Valiant".

Despite a few loud voices, the reviews of Valiant are actually quite good, especially when compared to Aquiel, Journey's End, The Reckoning and Threshold.

In the end, it's all about personal taste. Not unlike Soylent Green, thank you Turanga Leela...

 

[Farscape One]

I enjoy "VALIANT", though it's not a personal favorite. Great ideas within, just something about it never sat right with me. Probably the way Watters was.