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.

 

[CoveTom]

"Sub Rosa" and it's not even close.

A ghost living in a candle has sex with Beverly and then reanimates her dead grandmother's corpse to try and kill her friends.

Someone discussed that in the writers room. Other people thought it was a good idea. It was actually written down on a piece of paper.

"Code of Honor" you can argue was ruined in the casting, not the script. But for "Sub Rosa," the writers all agreed it would be good for Beverly to have sex with a candle ghost who used to bang her grandmother.

 

[ananta]

I had forgotten that episode even existed!



That's probably not a good sign.

Who can forget Riker and his dad dressed as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? Such an embarrassing sequence.

 

[ananta]

"Sub Rosa" and it's not even close.

A ghost living in a candle has sex with Beverly and then reanimates her dead grandmother's corpse to try and kill her friends.

Someone discussed that in the writers room. Other people thought it was a good idea. It was actually written down on a piece of paper.

"Code of Honor" you can argue was ruined in the casting, not the script. But for "Sub Rosa," the writers all agreed it would be good for Beverly to have sex with a candle ghost who used to bang her grandmother.

This is the episode where Beverly utters the immortal line, “I was reading a particularly EROTIC entry in my grandmother’s journal…” with a big horny smirk on her face.

How on earth does a person get off on their granny’s sex life?!

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The whole episode is so deeply embarrassing, I truly felt sorry for Gates McFadden—how she managed to play it straight I have no idea.

 

[Sakonna]

Sacrilege! "Sub Rosa" is a top 5 TNG.

I can. not. wait. to get the "Sub Rosa" Beverly action figure. Obviously, the candle is one of the accessories.

 

[Oddish]

Interesting, forgetting about an episode. Sometimes you remember why you forgot about it... but sometimes it grows on you.

 

[ananta]

Sacrilege! "Sub Rosa" is a top 5 TNG.

I can. not. wait. to get the "Sub Rosa" Beverly action figure. Obviously, the candle is one of the accessories.

[Dreadful Scottish accent] “Dinnnnae liiight thaaaat caaaaahhhaaandallll!!”

 

[Vger23]

Data’s Day
The Price
Sub Rosa
Imaginary Friend
Aquiel

 

[TheFlutteringHorde]

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.

Right up until the very end I was expecting the exact opposite outcome of what we got, truly insane episode.

 

[Oddish]

I think Aquiel is one of those episodes you forget. It's not an abomination, just has little reason to exist.

 

[PatB1974]

I don't think anything is worse than "Tin Man." It's pure garbage that makes "Sub Rosa" look like a masterpiece in comparison. Worst than the guest star's performance is the terribly written story. Ugh.

Tin Man was pretty terrible.

 

[Riley]

Tin Man was pretty terrible.

It has to be the worst-written Trek episode of all time, even worse than "Sub Rosa." At least that episode has meme-ability.