Weakest 10 Episodes

[Qonundrum]

I like the inversion of this thread from the typical '10 best' list. I'll do mine in production order.

This is going to be good!

"Shades Of Gray" - There are FAR better clip shows in scifi.

Or any other genre. The non-clippy bits were actually pretty good and sold a real sense of threat and alienness on that planet. But once they probe Riker's thoughts... it was TNG revolutionizing bad television just before revolutionizing great television...

"The Price" - This episode just felt so flat. But what makes it terrible is it gave us "FALSE PROFITS" on VOYAGER. Unforgiveable.

I remember the good old days of 1989 when people were screaming in how nerds and geeks were being appeased with this "pornotrek". Uh... not quite and regardless of nerdery or otherwise, it's a shallow veneer of a story. The Ferengi subplot was okay, though...

"Transfigurations" - Just dreadfully boring.

It's not the best, though it made for a watchable allegory. Could have been a lot better, even despite late season 3's production problems...

"The Masterpiece Society" - Boring episode. VERY boring episode.

And so one-dimensional. A partial retread of "Pen Pals", but using a sledgehammer the size of Saturn's seashore to say "Durh, nevva interfere." The ending to make it all fail was even more contrived than the setup. Even by 1990, there was redundancy... this episode eschews it in a pallid attempt to make a point that's a point that's BS at its core too... ugh.

"Imaginary Friend" - Very boring episode.

IMHO passable, but definitely intended primarily for children. I wonder how many kids sat through it... I wonder how many fewer liked it.

"Rascals" - Ferengi with 2 outdated Klingon ships take over the Federation flagship? Not only does this sentence sound more like a joke than an actual premise, but it is the one episode that makes the crew look COMPLETELY INCOMPETANT.

No worse than "Generations" in how 1 outdated Klingon ship destroys the Federation Flagship... But at least GEN had that cool crash, transparent aluminum oversight aside...

"Aquiel" - This episode is painfully dull.

As much as there are episodes to genuinely hate, this one doesn't engender much of any emotional response, though the personal log stuff was a bit creepy. With everything else being boring, that's not the direction you want the episode to segue into...

"Force of Nature" - This episode just ended up going nowhere. It's one of the few episodes that is worse because of the existence of others. Had the warp speed limitation actually been around for more episodes, this might not be quite as bad.

Later episodes did say "you're authorized to exceed"... so many that it didn't matter. Not to mention, worsening the issue and possibly killing everyone to prevent the message from getting out sooner (much less the chance nobody would notice, or get into the anomaly then escape it to tell the tale...) Ugh...

"Sub Rosa" - Beverly has sex with a ghost? This story came from Jeri Taylor, who was the head of the writers' room in season 7. The only woman on the writing staff, and THIS is the best you can come up with for your most underutilized character of the lead cast?

It gave us this, albeit a couple decades later:

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"Bloodlines" - This story was useless. It could have been an exploration of the choices Picard made about not having kids. Instead, it's another Bok revenge story. Just terrible.


Dishonorable mentions...
"Angel One"
"Up The Long Ladder"

"Bloodlines" - yeah, Bok's revenge was done already and better. And in season 1, "The Battle" is considerably superior. Didn't "The Inner Light" also try to touch on Picard not wanting kids? Not the best story either but it did a better job too...

"Angel One" - yuck. Cheesy and by-the-numbers.

"Up It" - some great sci-fi and philosophical ideas wedged inside a plot loaded with cliches and hammy romance shtick that doesn't do much to inspire... other than laughter over Riker...

 

[Oddish]

"Angel One" - yuck. Cheesy and by-the-numbers.

At least it understood that gender equality occurs through evolution, and involves time, effort, and sometimes hardship. As opposed to the Ishka Magic Wand.

 

[Qonundrum]

At least it understood that gender equality occurs through evolution, and involves time, effort, and sometimes hardship. As opposed to the Ishka Magic Wand.

That's its one plus.

One of two; the subplot with the virus and only Data remaining - was pretty decent too.

 

[Farscape One]

Regarding "Imaginary Friend"...

I was 12 years old when it first aired, and I thought it was boring then. Further rewatches only reinforce my boredom of the episode.

(It's a clever idea, aliens getting the kids' perspective. It just bored me in the execution.)

 

[Dee1891]

Any episode in which Deanna Troi is assaulted or nearly assaulted - physically or mentally.

 

[donners22]

"Rascals" - Ferengi with 2 outdated Klingon ships take over the Federation flagship? Not only does this sentence sound more like a joke than an actual premise, but it is the one episode that makes the crew look COMPLETELY INCOMPETANT.

Not to mention that the science is nonsense, the acting and writing are horrid and the Miles/Keiko scene creeps me the hell out.

 

[Oddish]

Not to mention that the science is nonsense, the acting and writing are horrid and the Miles/Keiko scene creeps me the hell out.

I think I mentally suppressed that scene, I don't remember it. And I don't want to. That one's on my Don't Rewatch list, along with Fury, Half a Life, and Children of Time.

The part that bothered me was Picard getting bullied out of the captain's chair. Yes, the argument about possible mental effects was reasonable enough, but what I got is that they really booted him because they couldn't take him seriously.

 

[Qonundrum]

Not to mention that the science is nonsense, the acting and writing are horrid and the Miles/Keiko scene creeps me the hell out.

The actors did much with dialogue that should make anyone feel uncomfortable.

The science is... impossible to say the least...

...the rogue Ferengi taking over was naff...

...the only saving grace were the Ro/Guinan scenes,. but those don't save the episode and that episode is probably why we don't see Guinan ever again in TOS. So, yup, it's bad.

 

[Farscape One]

The only other thing "Rascals" did good was the child casting. I thought they nailed their adult counterparts.

(By the way, Guinan did appear once more after this, in "Suspicions" later that season.)

 

[JediKnightButler]

Agreed about Liasons. The "pleasure" interaction was inoffensive, the "antagonism" was pretty funny. The less said about the third, the better.

“WHY DON’T YOU LOVE IT?!”

 

[JediKnightButler]

The only other thing "Rascals" did good was the child casting. I thought they nailed their adult counterparts.

(By the way, Guinan did appear once more after this, in "Suspicions" later that season.)

Any idea why she did not appear at all during S7? And then she just pops back up in Generations

 

[Oddish]

The Schizoid Man" is the TNG equivalent to stepping on a pile of freshly dumped llama feces in your bare feet while someone pours a ladle of cold fish chowder over your head very slowly.

I'd say "Schizoid" and "Aquiel" are TNG's worst. Both make Beverly having an affair with a lamp look good.

While I actually liked "Schizoid", both those shots made me laugh, so thanks for that.

 

[Farscape One]

Any idea why she did not appear at all during S7? And then she just pops back up in Generations

I'd bet it's scheduling.

 

[dupersuper]

the only saving grace were the Ro/Guinan scenes

I also liked Riker tricking the Ferengi with nonsensical jargon and Picard throwing a tantrum and impersonating Riker's son.