What was your worst TNG episode?

[Artoo Atari]

"The Loss" was an episode that always kinda irritated me a little. The 2-D aliens were a cool idea, but good grief, Troi's whining grated on me. So she lost her empathic abilities and thinks she can't be a counselor anymore. Doesn't she have a degree in psychology?

Of course, who could blame her, I guess. Whenever the captain or crew had a problem, the writers would send them to the damn bartender.

 

[Oddish]

And had the first friendship scene of Data and Geordi.

Also a worthy Trek moment.

So she lost her empathic abilities and thinks she can't be a counselor anymore. Doesn't she have a degree in psychology?

I can understand... she relies on her empathic senses to do her job, and with them gone, she needs time to learn to get by without them. If you go blind, you don't just go on with your life like it never happened.

Of course, who could blame her, I guess. Whenever the captain or crew had a problem, the writers would send them to the damn bartender.

It's been mentioned that Guinan should have Troi's job.

The best part of "The Loss" was this exchange between Data and Riker:

DATA: "A resumption of our present course at warp six will place us in the T'lli Beta system in six days, thirteen hours, forty seven minutes."
RIKER: "What, no seconds?"
DATA: "I have discovered, sir, a certain level of impatience when I calculate a lengthy time interval to the nearest second. However, if you wish..."
RIKER: "No, no. Minutes is fine."

 

[Artoo Atari]

I can understand... she relies on her empathic senses to do her job, and with them gone, she needs time to learn to get by without them. If you go blind, you don't just go on with your life like it never happened.

A fair point.

 

[Oddish]

^ Picard should have suggested that instead of resigning, Troi consider a leave of absence instead. No guarantee she would have listened (I believe Beverly when she said therapists were the second-worst patients), but it would have made far more sense thsn just expecting her to soldier on like it never happened.

 

[DonIago]

"The Loss" was an episode that always kinda irritated me a little. The 2-D aliens were a cool idea, but good grief, Troi's whining grated on me. So she lost her empathic abilities and thinks she can't be a counselor anymore. Doesn't she have a degree in psychology?

Of course, who could blame her, I guess. Whenever the captain or crew had a problem, the writers would send them to the damn bartender.

It might have been interesting if the show had explored the long-term effects of Troi losing her empathy. I agree she's a bit grating in the episode, but I can give her some leeway given she must be traumatized.

Of course, exploring long-term effects of anything generally wasn't the TNG way... :|

 

[Starflight]

I think Sirtis' performance helps get across how genuinely terrifying it would be to suddenly have your empathic skills cut off if you were a Betazoid. The entire would would sudenly feel unreal and flat, and all the people around you like eerie mannequins.

I love the episode partly because of when Troi tells Picard to shut it, and also because I just find the idea of a bunch of 2D bastards dragging the ship toward some kind of death-void to be amusing.

 

[Sakonna]

I don't think anyone yet mentioned "The Icarus Factor"? Clearly the most vile TNG ep!

The point of the episode is that Riker is being a baby for holding a grudge over HIS FATHER ABANDONING HIM AS A CHILD, because dad was so sad about mom's death. Get over it Will! Every kid whose mother has just died should be fine with dad dumping him to survive on his own! Dad's have feelings too, and sometimes those feelings are "I have to abandon my child", and you need to respect that!

I can't think of a Trek episode that had a more obscene or grotesque message.

 

[1001001]

I don't think anyone yet mentioned "The Icarus Factor"? Clearly the most vile TNG ep!

The point of the episode is that Riker is being a baby for holding a grudge over HIS FATHER ABANDONING HIM AS A CHILD, because dad was so sad about mom's death. Get over it Will! Every kid whose mother has just died should be fine with dad dumping him to survive on his own! Dad's have feelings too, and sometimes those feelings are "I have to abandon my child", and you need to respect that!

I can't think of a Trek episode that had a more obscene or grotesque message.

I had forgotten that episode even existed!



That's probably not a good sign.