Top 20 WORST episodes

[Surefire]

As a complement to this thread:

http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=76906

What are your top 20 worst TNG episodes.

Here are mine2 (in no particular order, except for the worst of all-time IMO which I list last):

Justice (S1)
Angel One (S1)
When the Bough Breaks (S1)
We'll Always Have Paris (S1)
Code of Honor (S1)
Where Silence Has Lease(S2)
The Schizoid Man (S2)
Shades of Grey (S2)
The Royale (S2)
Time Squared (S2)
The Game (S5)
Hero Worship (S5)

Rascals (S6)
Man of the People (S6)
Aquiel (S6)
Interface (S7)
Sub Rosa (S7)
Emergence(S7)
Phantasms (S7)

And the worst TNG epsidode, IMO?
1. Masks (S7) -- complete waste of time with no redeaming quality. Felt like whoever wrote it was on acid.


General Notes:

Season 3 and Season 4 are the only seasons that didn't produce a top 20 worst for me. Every episode in Season 3 and 4 passed for me.

Season 7 ranked the highest percentage of weird episodes for me.

Season 1 ranked the most pure lousy episodes.

 

[JNG]

Wow. "Time Squared" and "Where Silence Has Lease" would be on my top 20 list.

Well, as for my worst 20, I can tell you right off the bat that "Night Terrors" would be very high (low?) on my list (Season 4).

 

[SonicRanger]

Yeah, I agree with about 3/4th of your list, Surefire, but I agree with JNG that Time Squared and Where Silence Has Lease don't belong on a worst list. I also love The Royale because it is one of the most "classic sci-fi" modern Trek episodes -- it could've been made into either a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. And when I saw them as a teen, I was amused by The Game and Rascals.

 

[Surefire]

Hmmm... I did not like Time Squared.... but I admit it is one of the better on this worst list.

Where Silence Has Lease may be a decent sci-fi episode, but I still find it creepy and hard to watch even to this day.

I will concede that both these episodes are far better than bottom of the barrel episodes such as "Masks", etc.

 

[erinanderson]

I don't know if I could come up with a worst episode. I have to say that I have a couple of worst moments. The death of Tasha Yar (utterly pointless...I also disliked it because Tasha was a character that I thought had great potential that never got exploited). I also disliked how they handled the Wesley Crusher character and his send off on the show. Now I know a lot of people disliked the Wesley character, but I don't think that he deserved such a crappy and pointless send off.

 

[ALF]

Dark Page. Just.... wow. Completely unwatchable for me. Made goofy Lwaxana bearable by comparison.

 

[cultcross]

Sub Rosa is TNG's worst episode by a galactic mile (2.6% longer than a country mile )
Any episode that can be summed up with "Beverly gets off on her grandmother's sex diary" is not one with a great deal of promise.

 

[Astraea]

S1 is the weakest overall, but I agree that Sub Rosa is the worst TNG episode ever.

And it's funny - if you look at the 1st post on the "Top 20 TNG eps" thread, "Where Silence Has Lease," "The Game," and "The Royale" are all listed on the first poster's top 20. For me, "The Game" has to go in the worst 20, and I don't think "The Royale" would make either list.

(I think that, odds are, if the word 'sex' is listed in your one-sentence summary for the episode, it probably falls on the worst-20 end of the spectrum. The Game, Sub Rosa, etc...can anyone think of a counter-example?)

 

[DeafPoet]

Sub Rosa is beyond brutal. It's frustrating though because there's actually a kernel of an interesting idea there. "Trek does gothic romance." It's unconventional and you can't say they didn't have huge brass balls for trying it.

Trouble is, it would need to be handled just right to work out. And clearly, there was nothing competent about the writing or production of the episode. So yeah, it's definitely the worst, bar none.

Masks, as mentioned, is another horrendous one. Time Squared is boring, IMO but I don't think it belongs in a "worst" list. And I flat-out love Where Silence Has Lease. One of the few bright spots in an otherwise abysmal first couple of seasons.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I may be one of the only ones...but I actually remember liking "Masks." Would I call it a TOP 20? Heck no. However, I found it much more watchable than some of the obvious train wrecks like "Royale" or DS9's "Valiant."

 

[GalaxyX]

I agree with your list except for the following exceptions:


When the Bough Breaks (S1) - Not a horrible episode, I kinda liked the idea. I think it gets hated on because of Wesley though, which is a characted I never hated.


We'll Always Have Paris (S1) - I love the sci-fi angle to this one, and the music is great and mysterious. The "time burps" are kind of fun also. The love triangle does bring it down a bit though.

Where Silence Has Lease(S2) - Creepy episode, but tons to love in it, like meeting up with the "Yamato", and Picard having the balls to blow up the ship in defiance instead of letting his crew get tortured to death. I love it.

The Royale (S2) - Fun episode, loved all of Data's scenes. Would have been a bit more interesting if they found the guy alive though.

Time Squared (S2) - Another great sci-fi episode. This clone of Picard was way creepier than Nemesis' infantile attempt. Love at the end where they don't get an explanation for what happened.

Hero Worship (S5) - This is the one with the kid that wants to be like Data right? What's wrong with this episode? It may not be action oriented, but it was nice to see Data be nice to a poor kid that lost his family.

Rascals (S6) - Fun episode. Kid Picard was great "I want my father!! I want my father, NOW NOW NOW!!" hah hah

Aquiel (S6) - It was boring as heck, however, it was the first Geordi romance that I felt actually had chemistry.

Sub Rosa (S7) - Watching Beverly have an orgasm only for that the episode is watchable lol

Emergence(S7) - I loved the imagery on the Holodeck, can't see why people didn't like this one.

Phantasms (S7) - Watching "Holier than thou" Troi get stabbed at least once was fun . Data's imagery dream was also cool.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Justice (S1)
When the Bough Breaks (S1)
Code of Honor (S1)
Too Short a Season (S1)
Loud as a Whisper (S2)
The Outrageous Okona (S2)
Shades of Grey (S2)
Evolution (S3) (Home Soil redux...why?)
Suddenly Human (S4)
Legacy (S4)
Half a Life (S4)
Imaginary Friend (S5)
The Quality of Life (S6)

Rascals (S6)
Man of the People (S6)
Interface (S7)
Homeward (S7)
Lower Decks (S7)
Emergence(S7)
Phantasms (S7)

 

[Piper]

The Last Outpost
Justice
Hide and Q
Angel One
When the Bough Breaks
The Outrageous Okona
The Royale
Up the Long Ladder
Samaritan Snare
Shades of Grey
Menage a Troi
In Theory
The Masterpiece Society
The Outcast
The Perfect Mate
Aquiel
Descent Parts One and Two

Force of Nature
​

Sub Rosa

 

[ALF]

In my opinion, Sub Rosa is watchable because it's so bad it's laughable, whereas Dark Page is not. It's a miserable episode.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I almost chose The Masterpiece Society, a lot of holier-than-thou crap from the Enterprise crew towards a society they disagree with, which is somehow okay, because they are a human culture not an alien one.

 

[ALF]

I can't stand the sight of the elephant-eared kid in The Bonding. Speaking of annoying kids episodes, Imaginary Friend and Hero Worship. That kid acting like an android. 42 minutes of cringe.

 

[Surefire]

I can't stand the sight of the elephant-eared kid in The Bonding. Speaking of annoying kids episodes, Imaginary Friend and Hero Worship. That kid acting like an android. 42 minutes of cringe.

Exactly: regarding Hero Worship. That kid was extremely annoying and cringe inducing.

Although, I thought the The Bonding was good, and Imaginary Friend to me was watchable.

 

[cabby]

When choosing the 20 worst episodes, you pretty much have to take any episode where Troi was the main focus of the episode. The only episode of her's I would exclude would be Face of the Enemy.

 

[Surefire]

When choosing the 20 worst episodes, you pretty much have to take any episode where Troi was the main focus of the episode. The only episode of her's I would exclude would be Face of the Enemy.

Yep, Face of the Enemy I rank high.

I also agree that most Troi episodes were weak.

With a few exceptions...

 

[cultcross]

Perhaps an unusual choice, but having recently viewed it, I have to put in Unification, Part II. The story is very weak (If the Romulans want to land an invasion force on Vulcan, why don't they cloak... well, the invasion force? Instead of just the accompanying warbirds?) , Sela is in it for no reason at all, the hologram gag is stupid, Spock is badly written and totally out of character, as well as appearing exactly the same as he did 80 years earlier in TUC. And his 'secret' cell are officially the worst secret society ever. They said more secret things in the soup café than in their hideout.