Game The Most Disliked Second Season Episode

[Qonundrum]

The following episode has a lot of outrageous stuff in it:

TOS: "Patterns Of Force"​

Another parallel development planet, only this time it's because Captain Gill, first name "John", had beamed on down with a book on nazis and the locals managed to read it and then remodel all the nasty stuff, as near-verbatim as possible. I've heard of "high-concept", but this one requires way too many substances to ingest, inject, and/or inhale.

If the episode didn't do such a literal translation* of that, could it have been a better exploration or "efficiency and order vs chaos" and every other issue that this episode wasn't digging into? Needless to say, this episode didn't rub me the right way...

* done so that way because it's cheaper to reuse props and costumes, in a show that was expensive to make and had an episode quota to meet​

Skip Homier, who plays Melakon, is also cult leader Dr Sevrin in the hippie episode.

If you can handle the premise, and it's admittedly not easy, there is some great acting afoot - and there are a couple individual scenes. There's also a solid climax/denouement** that tries hard to put a better perception on an episode that was probably made to pad out the season and script writing with all its deadlines and direct and indirect constraints (e.g. props and costumes) all factor into this, but it's still not the best-handled. It'd be a hard thing to even try.

** save for the music, which is the cue for "hey audience, have a warm fuzzy giggle right now".​

>>> VGER ninja'd me.

 

[Qonundrum]

The following episode is more outrageous than the ingredients list on the 24oz box of cereal I bought on Friday but had completely devoured by this morning:

TOS: "The Apple"​

Watching that episode once per day would drive ya crazy.

At first it's got some interesting stuff - volatile rocks, killer plants, crew getting killed by both, a big machine creature that looks like a snake in case the audience doesn't get every other religious reference told, and an out-of-place peaceful village in a state of equilibrium just loaded with Adams and Eves... then comes the ship, the cause of the equilibrium starts to drain it of energy and now we have a plot.

The village huts look like they were originally constructed for "Gilligan's Island".

The people of Va'al are nice and innocent, and are just as chilling as the leader teaches everyone dispassionately and with less emotion than Spock on Valium on how to smash and split the strangers' heads. Suitably creepy a scene, the only one better is when Spock and McCoy have the obligatory bickering.

Chekov gets the love interest.

There's a great fight scene and there's no sexism showing the female redshirt running; she's holding her own.

Kirk gets to teach the locals about love making and kids, and how they'll find out on their own. This scene still isn't as bad as when Kirk courted Shahna then ditched her the moment he beat the Providers in the "Triskeleon" episode.

All nitpicks aside, and there's a lot that makes this episode go to my "skip list", there's still a good line - if not slightly glossy:

KIRK: You'll learn to care for yourselves, with our help. And there's no trick to putting fruit on trees. You might enjoy it. You'll learn to build for yourselves, think for yourselves, work for yourselves, and what you create is yours. That's what we call freedom. You'll like it, a lot. And you'll learn something about men and women, the way they're supposed to be: Caring for each other, being happy with each other, being good to each other. That's what we call love. You'll like that, too, a lot. You and your children.

This show was originally sold as "adult sci-fi" but that scene reads as if it's aimed at kids...?

What's left:
TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
DS9: "Melora"
VOY: "Non Sequitur"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "Dawn"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
ENT: "The Breach"
ENT: "The Expanse"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "Light And Shadows"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
ST: "The Girl Who Made The Stars"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Farscape One]

This may seem like an outrageous choice, but I will outrageously choose to save...

"MELORA", because of the Quark story. It was funny to see every attempt he made to please Kot was all for nothing.

Again, this may seem... outrageous.


TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Non Sequitur"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "Dawn"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
ENT: "The Breach"
ENT: "The Expanse"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "Light And Shadows"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
ST: "The Girl Who Made The Stars"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Oddish]

The only really bad thing about "The Expanse" was that it was the episode where Starfleet adopted the same "phasers and photon(ic) torpedoes" armament combo that it still used 200 years later, which was pretty dumb. Beyond that, it was actually pretty decent, with one hell of an opening scene.

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Non Sequitur"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "Dawn"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
ENT: "The Breach"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "Light And Shadows"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
ST: "The Girl Who Made The Stars"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Richard S. Ta]

ST: The Girl Who Made The Stars.

For Star Trek, it’s a uniquely animated tale with a gorgeous message that’s just long enough to not outstay it’s welcome.

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Non Sequitur"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "Dawn"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
ENT: "The Breach"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "Light And Shadows"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "DAWN".

Despite it being a complete ripoff of ENEMY MINE, it was a good version that showcased Tucker well.


TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Non Sequitur"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
ENT: "The Breach"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "Light And Shadows"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Captain's Coffee]

"Non Sequitur" a decent Harry Kim episode.

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
ENT: "The Breach"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "Light And Shadows"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Cyfa]

ENT: "The Breach" - Getting to see more Denobulans is always a delight even if they're not as awesome as Phlox!

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "Light And Shadows"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Sakonna]

Not a traditionally good episode by any means, but, if you're in the right mood for noise and incident and no logic, "Light And Shadows" can be fun-stupid.

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "The Crossing"
ENT: "Judgment"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "JUDGMENT".

Nice nod to ST VI, and casting Hertzler as another honorable Klingon is never a bad choice.


TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TAS: "Bem"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Seven of Five]

I quite like Bem, so that's next for me. It was fun seeing a member of the crew who was a Native American, and the character Brm was intriguing.

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"
PIC: "Mercy"

 

[Sakonna]

"Mercy" is definitely the worst episode of Picard season 2, but I still like the overall story quite a bit, so that connection elevates it above all the rest of these for me.

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Communicator"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "THE COMMUNICATOR".

Of what's left on the list, I feel this one at least tried to be more than it became.


TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "Brother"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"

 

[Seven of Five]

Brother was a pretty strong opener for season two of DIS, so I'll save it. The mystery over where Spock was, and the arrival of Pike helped to ensure that I was invested in the story.

TAS: "The Pirates Of Orion"
TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"

 

[Brennyren]

"The Pirates of Orion" are making a hasty escape from the list. I'm a sucker for any episode in which either McCoy or Spock actually admit they care about the other (in this case it was McCoy doing the admitting). Also, this episode is one of the few to contain a reference to the starship Potemkin, which was the name of a fan club I belonged to in the 1990s.

TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
VOY: "Tattoo"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"

 

[Captain's Coffee]

Tattoo Because of what’s left that I’ve watched, I find it the least bad. The Doctor infecting himself with a holo virus was kind of fun.

TNG: "The Icarus Factor"
ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"

 

[Seven of Five]

I quite like The Icarus Factor, though I probably enjoy the Worf part of the episode more than the Riker bit. Though I did like finding out more about Riker's family.

ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "The Red Angel"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"

 

[Vger23]

Hmmm....some interesting choices left...

I will go with DSC "The Red Angel." Lots of interesting revelations which propelled the arc forward, and the funeral for Lt. Cmdr. Ariam was touching.

ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Q&A"
ST: "Ask Not"

 

[Vger23]

"Mercy" is definitely the worst episode of Picard season 2,

"The Watcher" would like a word with you...............

 

[Farscape One]

Probably my last vote since I am at work now, but saving "Q & A". It's fun to see Spock and Number One together.


ENT: "Shockwave, Part II"
ENT: "The Crossing"
DIS: "Perpetual Infinity"
DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1"
ST: "Ask Not"