TOS' worst episode.

[mos6507]

It's boring to say this, but Spock's Brain is the worst, just because it has such a ridiculous B-Movie style premise for a show purporting to be hard-sci-fi.

A lot of the other episodes being listed here are really more a subjective dislike people may have with them, but they're not universally hated the way Spock's Brain is. For instance, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, although ham-fisted, was really one of the most memorable episodes because of the stark visual imagery. To a sophisticated 40 something that I am now, it's childish, but I first saw it as a young kid, and it made an impact, and I also really wanted the rare Mego version of the aliens. The episode also has the destruct sequence that was recycled in Star Trek III.

There really isn't much to be said in defense of Spock's Brain other than that it has some new music written for it and it gave us the meme of "Brain, Brain, what is Brain?" If you completely removed it from Trek canon, it wouldn't have left a very deep hole.

 

[ToddPence]

Ah, yes. The old Mego figures. I well remember how they tried to slap a Klingon uniform on a figure of the Lizard from Spider-Man and try to pass it off as a Gorn . . .

 

[Vger23]

It's boring to say this, but Spock's Brain is the worst, just because it has such a ridiculous B-Movie style premise for a show purporting to be hard-sci-fi.

A lot of the other episodes being listed here are really more a subjective dislike people may have with them, but they're not universally hated the way Spock's Brain is. For instance, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, although ham-fisted, was really one of the most memorable episodes because of the stark visual imagery. To a sophisticated 40 something that I am now, it's childish, but I first saw it as a young kid, and it made an impact, and I also really wanted the rare Mego version of the aliens. The episode also has the destruct sequence that was recycled in Star Trek III.

There really isn't much to be said in defense of Spock's Brain other than that it has some new music written for it and it gave us the meme of "Brain, Brain, what is Brain?" If you completely removed it from Trek canon, it wouldn't have left a very deep hole.

It's equally boring to say THIS, but it is all subjective (as you point out). If one person thinks that "Balance of Terror" is the worst and another thinks "Spock's Brain" is the worst...those are both valid points, and the message board is enriched by people posting those different thoughts.

I personally don't have "Spock's Brain" anywhere near as bad as 2-3 other episodes, despite being keenly aware that the popular opinion is that it is terrible. I also love Star Trek V and Star Trek Nemesis, though (and am not particularly fond of TVH or TUC). So, I could give a rat's bum about what everyone else thinks.

 

[Poltargyst]

Ah, yes. The old Mego figures. I well remember how they tried to slap a Klingon uniform on a figure of the Lizard from Spider-Man and try to pass it off as a Gorn . . .

Aquaman (with his pointed ears) was a good Romulan or Vulcan, The Lizard was another good Gorn, Iron Man was a good robot, The Thing was a good rock monster...

 

[BillJ]

I only find two episodes tough to keep my attention on, "And the Children Shall Lead" and "I, Mudd".

 

[Maurice]

Aquaman (with his pointed ears) was a good Romulan or Vulcan, The Lizard was another good Gorn, Iron Man was a good robot, The Thing was a good rock monster...

Aquaman doesn't have pointed ears. Or do they appear that way on the Mego figure?

 

[Poltargyst]

Aquaman doesn't have pointed ears. Or do they appear that way on the Mego figure?

My Mego Aquaman most certainly had pointed ears.

 

[Poltargyst]

And I realize it's all opinion, but I'm going to say as I've said before that there is NO WAY that Plato's Stepchildren is the worst TOS episode. With the competition it has against it for that title? No way. I don't like the humiliation scene either. Aside from that, though, it's a good story, and as I've said Alexander himself is good enough to elevate this episode.

 

[ST-321]

I only find two episodes tough to keep my attention on, "And the Children Shall Lead" and "I, Mudd".

Those are certainly worthy contenders. Personally, I'm not at all fond of "The Lights of Zetar."

 

[Maurice]

Without seeing a side-view of the doll I can't tell for for sure, but in the photos I've seen the ears look like they're partly covered by his golden locks.

 

[Ovation]

For me, The Lights of Zetar--can't take that one without some sort of "liquid courage" to make it palatable. The rest? Meh...all the usual suspects have something I can appreciate.

 

[FormerLurker]

Aquaman doesn't have pointed ears. Or do they appear that way on the Mego figure?

My Mego Aquaman most certainly had pointed ears.

From that angle he would certainly appear to. But I had three different Aquaman figures over the years (three Spider-Man figures as well), and a full side view showed rounded ears, like all the other human figures. Indeed, I remember being disappointed that I couldn't switch the lower legs off a Spock figure so he had feet instead of boots, so I could use him as the Sub-Mariner.

 

[uniderth]

Yes, it's official "The Empath" is THE worst episode. I can watch every other episode of Kirk's era, except this one. Watched a few episodes yesterday and I intentionally got up to find other things to do. That is the only episode I have that reaction to. So yep. The debate is over. "The Empath" is the worst.

 

[Warped9]

Yes, it's official "The Empath" is THE worst episode. I can watch every other episode of Kirk's era, except this one. Watched a few episodes yesterday and I intentionally got up to find other things to do. That is the only episode I have that reaction to. So yep. The debate is over. "The Empath" is the worst.

Hardly.

"And The Children Shall Lead" is what I find most trying, but even that I can get through.

It's not the stories themselves that bother me. It's certain creative decisions and lack of not thinking something through enough that get me.

Re: "The Mark Of Gideon." There is no freakin' way a planet, not even a member of the Federation, is going to exactly replicate a Starfleet starship--particularly a specific ship--so exactly as to fool its commanding officer who is intimately familiar with it. Not unless he has been drugged or manipulated mentally somehow and we see no evidence of that.

Re: "Wink Of An Eye." The human body could not withstand existing in the accelerated state as proposed in the story. And even if so there is no way someone dodges an energy beam at essentially point-blank range. Additionally how come no one on the bridge notices a phaser has been fired?

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

 

[Marsden]

Yes, it's official "The Empath" is THE worst episode. I can watch every other episode of Kirk's era, except this one. Watched a few episodes yesterday and I intentionally got up to find other things to do. That is the only episode I have that reaction to. So yep. The debate is over. "The Empath" is the worst.

Well, if it's official. Can't argue with that.

Re: "Wink Of An Eye." The human body could not withstand existing in the accelerated state as proposed in the story. And even if so there is no way someone dodges an energy beam at essentially point-blank range. Additionally how come no one on the bridge notices a phaser has been fired?

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Accelerated means faster, why wouldn't Capt. Kirk be 90+ years old when he's fixed at the end of the episode?

 

[Warped9]

^^ The human body could not function at the speeds implied in the episode. They didn't say he was aging faster. The story sets up that they move and function a lot faster than normal. And even if that were true they would still be visible when they were not moving.

 

[UnknownSample]

s3 has a lot of badness but a lot of greatness too. I think s3 is dismissed by viewers who don't like a whole lot of emotion in their stories. If there's one quality s 3 had more than other seasons, it's more emotion . Partly it was due to their having more fem ale writers that year, I think. Anyone who actually considers Empath bad probably loses all patience with all the sentiment, and might be more comfortable with more action.

Some fans let this or that logical error destroy an entire story completely for them.

 

[uniderth]

Well, if it's official. Can't argue with that.

Just like my head canon.

 

[Marsden]

^^ The human body could not function at the speeds implied in the episode. They didn't say he was aging faster. The story sets up that they move and function a lot faster than normal. And even if that were true they would still be visible when they were not moving.

Agreed.

 

[KevinGrem]

For me the worst episode is "The Way to Eden". I think it's honestly the only episode I can say I outright hate. There are a small handful of bad episodes in TOS but the space hippie episode takes the cake for actually making me angry when I watch how utterly disgraceful it is to the whole series.