Game The Most Disliked Romance-Of-The-Week Episode

[eschaton]

Okay, lots of garbage left. I'm going to save Voyager's Ashes to Ashes next though. I'm saving it for one reason, and one reason only - Kim Rhodes did an absolutely fantastic job as "Ensign Lyndsay Ballard." Her portrayal was so well done that although she was the guest star of the show, it structurally felt as if the show was from her POV - yet it totally worked. Unfortunately, the episode itself didn't work due to logistical/continuity issues - and they made the choice to pair her with Kim, who she outshone in every scene they had together. Still, she was captivating while onscreen, and honestly the episode helped break the dull monotony of much of Season 6.

TOS, Season 3: "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky"
TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 1: “We’ll Always Have Paris”
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 3: “The Vengeance Factor”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
TNG, Season 6: "Birthright"
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 2: "Non Sequitur"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6: "Ashes To Ashes"
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”
ENT, Season 1: “Civilization”

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "CIVILIZATION" as we know it.

It was a nice touch, using the extinct people from "THE CHANGELING" as the villains. And Archer's first chamce at 'Kirking' was not that bad. Decent episode.

TOS, Season 3: "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky"
TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 1: “We’ll Always Have Paris”
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 3: “The Vengeance Factor”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
TNG, Season 6: "Birthright"
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 2: "Non Sequitur"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Farscape One]

Okay, lots of garbage left. I'm going to save Voyager's Ashes to Ashes next though. I'm saving it for one reason, and one reason only - Kim Rhodes did an absolutely fantastic job as "Ensign Lyndsay Ballard." Her portrayal was so well done that although she was the guest star of the show, it structurally felt as if the show was from her POV - yet it totally worked. Unfortunately, the episode itself didn't work due to logistical/continuity issues - and they made the choice to pair her with Kim, who she outshone in every scene they had together. Still, she was captivating while onscreen, and honestly the episode helped break the dull monotony of much of Season 6.

TOS, Season 3: "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky"
TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 1: “We’ll Always Have Paris”
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 3: “The Vengeance Factor”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
TNG, Season 6: "Birthright"
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 2: "Non Sequitur"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6: "Ashes To Ashes"
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”
ENT, Season 1: “Civilization”

I met Kim Rhodes at the last DragonCon. Super nice lady. I told her she outshined the cast in that episode, and she told me she never did single camera work before and Kate Mulgrew helped her a lot. If memory serves me, she said her first scenes were the dinner with Janeway... she got real nervous, but Kate helped her out big time. She said she owed most of her performance to her in that episode, and as much as Kate is great, I told Kim she had it in her anyway. Always love seeing her on SUPERNATURAL as Jody.

 

[Seven of Five]

I think anything on this list could quite easily win now.

I'll go with We'll Always Have Paris. A somewhat ropey episode, but I did kind of enjoy the three Datas ending. It was interesting finding out about Picard's past, it's just a shame there wasn't really much chemistry between Stewart and Michelle Phillips. I think it was written in a bit of a rush leading up to the writer's strike in 1988, which explains some of the oddities in the episode.

TOS, Season 3: "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky"
TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 3: “The Vengeance Factor”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
TNG, Season 6: "Birthright"
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 2: "Non Sequitur"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Brennyren]

Because the world is hollow and my man McCoy did not get the girl nearly often enough, the "asteroid" Yonada and its people are hereby saved, soap-opera aspects and all. Kate Woodville's scenes with De Kelley had some real warmth.

TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 3: “The Vengeance Factor”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
TNG, Season 6: "Birthright"
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 2: "Non Sequitur"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[eschaton]

I'm going to knock out Birthright. Not due to the romance - or even Worf's whole subplot, which I wasn't a big fan of. But the whole "Data's dream" B plot in the first episode of the two parter was very enjoyable.

TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 3: “The Vengeance Factor”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 2: "Non Sequitur"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Farscape One]

"The Vengeance Factor" is saved. It's honestly the best of what's left. Not saying a lot, unfortunately.

TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 2: "Non Sequitur"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Brennyren]

"Non Sequitur" doesn't make a ton of sense, and Harry's relationship with Libby isn't especially believable. Saved anyway, for alternate Paris -- whose scenes are well-written and well-played -- and the connection between him and Harry.

TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"
TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Qonundrum]

TNG, Season 3: “The Vengeance Factor”​

It's sad when most of the stories from page 3 onward become exponentially clunky. Riker is just filler, the stick figure token love interest. In an episode already surfeit with numerous characters, without much of a balance, despite having more material to work with.

What's left:
(on edit: it got saved.)


TOS, Season 3: "The Lights Of Zetar"

The Zerarians are an interesting idea and as a horror flick it has some moments. But it's also less than the sum of its parts. Especially the contrived romance. Mira and Scotty have zero chemistry on paper, never mind the actors not selling it.

What's left:

TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 4: “The Host”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Sakonna]

I will next save "The Host", which is quite bad, but at least introduces one of the most intriguing aliens of the Trekverse... despite the fact that they subsequently revised nearly everything about them in DS9.

And the romance is in some respects more plausible than usual, in that we start with the affair already up-and-running and Odan seemingly have been on the ship for weeks. TNG was so bad at romantic build up, so I appreciate this ep was smart enough to say to the audience "all that stuff happened right before you all showed up."

"The Outcast" meant something to me when I was younger, for speaking to issues about gender, sexuality, and acceptance. Looking back I can see that, even for its time, its approach was not very bold, but still....

I have really fond feelings towards "The Outcast" as well, despite not actually caring much for the actual episode. I give them real points for effort. Everytime I see "Angel One", I wish they'd cast the super-femme Angel One men as the j'Naii. THAT is how "The Outcast" would have really been daring. (I wonder if some streaming Trek will ever pick up the thread of the j'Naii. They'd be able to do justice to those aliens now)

an excellent character piece for Bashir. It’s amazing that such a massive character revelation comes this late in the series but it actually makes a great deal of sense and helps explain and contextualise so many things about the character that rankled or didn’t quite make sense earlier in the run.

I've always been amazed at how perfectly the Bashir revelations fit with, and even enhance/patch plot holes, in earlier episodes... with the one HUGE notable exception of "Distant Voices", which doesn't make a scrap of sense in retrospect. But "Dr. Bashir, I Presume" is better than "Distant Voices", so I'll accept the trade.

Saving "CIVILIZATION" as we know it. It was a nice touch, using the extinct people from "THE CHANGELING" as the villains.

I never realized that connection before! Possibly because I hate both episodes...

TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian”
DS9, Season 7: “Chrysalis”
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll save Chrysalis, mostly for the lovely song where Sarina is trying to get used to talking again. It's a shame the Bashir comes across as unprofessional (even a little creepy!) in this episode after deciding to pursue her, though at least he did have a new doctor assigned to her.

TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
VOY, Season 6/7: "Unimatrix Zero"
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Brennyren]

"Unimatrix Zero" doesn't make a lot of sense (it feels to me like I'm using that phrase a lot in this thread....), but it's well-paced and doesn't lack for boldness. Voluntary assimilation as a tactic is straight-up whack, but I won't pretend it's not memorable, so, props for audacity.

Also, most of the rest of this list is offensive in one way or another. This ep, not so much.

TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”
ENT, Season 1: “Unexpected”

 

[Sakonna]

My next save is "Unexpected", which I don't TOTALLY hate. It has cool alien design, lots of Trip, a Bakula zero gravity shower scene, there are some redeeming elements mixed in there.

TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”

 

[Cyfa]

During original air, "Precious Cargo" is the episode I gave up on Enterprise, and the decisive moment was during that ending, when I thought "Trip is wrestling in wet underwear, and even THAT'S not holding my attention!" If knew if that wasn't going to get me, nothing would!

Dear gods! You must have thought it absolutely atrocious!

Speaking of atrocious... What to chose out of the remaining horrible lot?
Well, sticking with a theme, I've got little choice but to save "Unexpected". Corny and ridiculous it may be, but I seem to remember some nice little moments between Trip and Ah'Len, plus T'Pol's disbelief that Trip kept his hands (and other extremities) to himself - a nice bit of foreshadowing (probably unintentional) to their relationship.

TNG, Season 3: “The Price”
TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”

EDIT: Ninja-ed by @Sakonna! I don't know if I can bring myself to choose another??

 

[Qonundrum]

Since we can't remove stories twice and I'd pay good money to do Menage a Troi , which was about a love triangle with a 4th person (Picard) added at the end and Ethan Phillips being a great villain actor - but I digress...

TNG, Season 3: “The Price”​

Only because there's a plot connection with Troi and Creepazoid Ral, cheesy and cliche as it is. His making them all sick didn't help. The Ferengi subplot was far more gravitas-laden. Yes, for 1989 this episode was supposed to have been a big thing. It wasn't. Even the teaser is laughably bad:

Next time, on Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar Trek The Next Generation:

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What's left:

TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”
VOY, Season 6: “Fair Haven”

 

[eschaton]

My next save is "Unexpected", which I don't TOTALLY hate. It has cool alien design, lots of Trip, a Bakula zero gravity shower scene, there are some redeeming elements mixed in there.

It's an episode based upon rape being funny if it happens to a guy! Possibly not the worst episode on the list, but clearly the most morally reprehensible.

 

[eschaton]

I'll eliminate Fair Haven. It wasn't my favorite episode by any means, but I think it's remembered as worse than it is because of the awful sequel, Spirit Folk. And I actually enjoyed getting a glimpse into Janeway's sexual desire. It's one of the few times in Trek history women have been portrayed as the subject rather than the object.

TNG, Season 6: “Aquiel”
DS9, Season 3: “Meridian"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”

 

[Brennyren]

"Aquiel" was stupid but inoffensive (except to Geordi). That's really what I'm reduced to at this point. Next person gets to put this contest out of its misery.

DS9, Season 3: “Meridian"
VOY, Season 4: “Unforgettable”

 

[Sakonna]

I will save "Unforgettable" on the basis of a top-shelf guest star, and make "Meridian" the winner!

 

[Sakonna]

It's an episode based upon rape being funny if it happens to a guy! Possibly not the worst episode on the list, but clearly the most morally reprehensible.

I'd say it's an overstatement to contend "Unexpected" portrays any version of male rape. Trip fully consents to all the actual acts, he just doesn't grasp the ramifications of them. The closest real world analogy would probably be having unprotected sex with someone who claims to be on birth control/have had a vasectomy/etc.

But it's hard to have a solid real-world analogy, because they (wisely) make the Xyrillian reproduction process so alien they don't correspond to any human sexual acts. (Though there's probably some fetish out there involving bowls of pebbles that I'm just unaware of...)

Something else I (abstractly) appreciate about "Unexpected" (which is a bad episode, to be clear) is that it takes a rape-y trope that is usually the province of sci-fi women (suddenly mysteriously impregnated!), and puts a man through it for a change, but removing the rapiness along the way by having the character eagerly opt-in to the impregnating act. As opposed to something like the glowing light crawling under sleeping Troi's covers in "The Child."

There is a laughing-at-male-rape in Trek instance that I do always wince at, that scene in "Metamorphosis" where Cochrane realizes the Companion is a lady. "I've been letting something as alien as that crawl around inside me?!?" To which Kirk smirkingly responds: "What are you complaining about?" Quite a troubling response from our hero!