The Most Underrated Episodes

[AdmiralScreed]

What episodes do you consider to be the most underrated of TNG? Here are some of my choices (in chronological order for the most part):

Datalore
Coming of Age
The Neutral Zone
Loud as a Whisper
The Outrageous Okona
The Royale
The High Ground
The Most Toys
Family
The Drumhead
First Contact
Silicon Avatar
Darmok
Frame of Mind
Face of the Enemy
Thine Own Self
Preemptive Strike
Gambit Part 1/2

I rarely ever see any of these episodes on people's top ten lists, with the exception of a few episodes that come up occasionally.

So, what are everyone else's picks for the most underrated episodes of TNG?

 

[Dr. Crusher]

Probably mine would be "Disaster" and "The Next Phase."

 

[Supernuke]

The Outcast always get mixed reviews if not terrible reviews but I liked it. I also liked Masks, Devil's Due, Conspiracy, and Liaisons. The last is one of the best of Season 7 IMO.

 

[BillJ]

Too Short a Season

 

[RAMA]

Masks
The Chase
Datalore
Last Outpost
Homesoil
Clues
First Contact
Peak Performance
Evolution

 

[Dr. Crusher]

I agree with "The Chase." It was a very creative idea.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

The Arsenal of Freedom
Where Silence Has Lease
Contagion
The Bonding
The Hunted
Final Mission
Rightful Heir
Masks
Emergence

 

[lisa]

Thanks guys! Watching masks as we speak!

 

[Josie]

Disaster
Timescape
Peak Performance
Arsenal of Freedom
Ensign Ro
Identity Crisis
Eye of the Beholder
Lessons
Symbiosis
Code of Honour
The Survivors
The Loss
Suspicions

 

[Trek Survivor]

The Outrageous Okona

There's a reason that's never in anyone's top 10! Seriously, if an episode is just plain bad, it doesn't mean it's under-rated, more like "appropriately rated"

I agree with you about "Loud As A Whisper" though.

"The Royale" has got a lot of love round these parts last time this topic came up, otherwise I'd have agreed.

"The Drumhead" is often in people's top 10 - it's always in mine, I love that ep!

Some of mine I feel are underrated:

"Where Silence Has Lease"
"Time Squared"
"Peak Performance"
(I tend to feel - as I've said around here before - that season 2 as a whole is very underrated; people often group it with season 1 and pithily comment "the show only got good in season 3". It may have got more CONSISTENTLY good with season 3, but that certainly doesn't mean season 2 didn't have some real gems)
"Family"
"Night Terrors"
"The Quality of Life"

 

[AdmiralScreed]

I don't think The Outrageous Okona deserves to be on a top ten list (it certainly wouldn't be on mine), but I did enjoy it quite a bit. I thought Okona was a really funny character, and Data learning about comedy was also a lot of fun.
Anyway, just my opinion. I like a lot of episodes that other people dislike (Emergence and Sub Rosa, to name a couple).

 

[Dr. Crusher]

^"Night Terrors" (mentioned two posts above) is definitely one of those episodes! I'd like to add "Face of the Enemy" because I will never forget my own shock at the opening of that episode when I saw it for the first time.

 

[Balrog]

I always thought "The Drumhead" was considered one of TNG's finest. The same with "Family".

I liked "The Gambit". I thought the writers told a very interesting story why Vulcans turned to logic and work to shed emotion. It would have been interesting had they pursued that in ENT.

 

[AdmiralScreed]

What I liked most about Gambit was the interplay between Picard, Riker, and the main villain (can't remember his name). Picard acting like a cocky rogue, Riker pretending to defect from the Federation, and all of the uncertainty over whether or not the villain would discover the truth about them made for a really fun and exciting episode. Of all the episodes I listed, I consider Gambit to be one of the most underrated episodes of them all.
As for The Drumhead and Family, I know most people like those episodes, but I rarely ever see them on people's top ten lists, so that's why I included them here. Family is my third favorite episode of all time, and Drumhead is around #7.

 

[Admiral Shran]

The Most Toys
Clues
Ensign Ro
Rascals
Ship in a Bottle
Starship Mine
Gambit I and II
Masks

 

[Balrog]

^Re: Yes! I agree. I also like the twist of Robin Curtis' character at the end.

I think Drumhead an Family don't get their due is because most Top 10 lists are populated by some of the great yet usual suspects - BOBW, Inner Light, Yesterday's Enterprise, Q Who, Sins of the Father and the like.

 

[AdmiralScreed]

@ Admiral Shran: Good choices! With the exception of Masks, I like all of the episodes on your list, and I do not feel that they get their due.

@ Lloyd Dobler: I almost feel like people fill their top ten lists up with those episodes out of pressure, as if going against the crowd would somehow cause them to lose their credibility (which is completely ridiculous). While some of those episodes are absolutely terrific (my favorite of all time being The Inner Light), I feel like some of those other episodes are just popular because they're significant, not necessarily because they're the best told stories. Take TBOBW for example; the Borg take on the Federation and Picard is assimilated. That's pretty significant and time-line altering, but does that mean it is the best story around? IMO, it's a fine two parter, but it's no better than most above average TNG episodes. If I were to rank the entire series, TBOBW would probably just fall in the 20-30 range (from the top).
Anyway, just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.
And I know it's a little off topic, but just to explain to you what I mean by all this, here is my top ten list:

1. The Inner Light (on most top ten lists)
2. Tapestry (on some top ten lists)
3. Family (on some top ten lists)
4. Darmok (on some top ten lists)
5. Hollow Pursuits (rarely on top ten lists)
6. Frame of Mind (rarely on top ten lists)
7. The Drumhead (rarely on top ten lists)
8. The Measure of a Man (on most top ten lists)
9. All Good Things (on most top ten lists)
10. Gambit (rarely on top ten lists)

From what I've observed, only 3 out of those 10 episodes regularly appear on top ten lists. The rest appear only occasionally or rarely at all. Keep in mind my list regularly changes, but there has never been a time when my list has been dominated by overrated episodes like Yesterday's Enterprise.

Anyway, sorry to go off on a tangent like that. I just wanted to comment on top ten lists and how a lot of terrific, yet underrated episodes never seem to get their due.

 

[tomalak301]

I'll do underrated episode by season:

Season 1: The Arsenal of Freedom
Season 2: Contagion
Season 3: The Ensigns of Command
Season 4: The Nth Degree
Season 5: The Perfect Mate
Season 6: Ship in a Bottle
Season 7: Thine Own Self

 

[byron lomax]

"The Survivors" - it gets acclaim from some, but a lot of reviews state it's a middling episode. It's a lot better than that. The revelations at the end were genuinely jaw-dropping, for me at least.

"Loud as a Whisper" - another solid ep that's overlooked.

"Time Squared" - really eerie and unsettling, plus it contains the great Captain's Log entry from Picard: "We have encountered...... something." Too bad the writer's original intentions were shot down by Roddenberry.

 

[WillsBabe]

Powerplay never seems to get much of a mention. I like it and I think it has a lot to offer. The combination of "O'Brien", "Data" and "Troi" as the protaganists for an episode is pretty unique. I don't think these three carry the show in any other episode. It's always nice to see Brent Spiner act out of Data-character, which he does here. I think that Marina Sirtis acting here is consistently overlooked. I think she does an awesome job of Bryce Shumar, a really very excellent turn adopting another personality in the way she speaks and moves. Colm Meany is chilling in his role, particularly when interacting with Kekio. I think the production crew create a moody, foreboding atmosphere from the moment the episode starts. It could all have gone horribly wrong for the Federation folk in this epiosde and they manage to save the day by the skin of their teeth. I really like this episode, I think it's an often overlooked gem.

I rest my case!