why is "let he who is without sin" so hated?

[ClayHefner]

Sorry I know this is kind of a n00bish question, but I wonder why this seems to be in everyone's worst DS9 episode's list.
Is it just the emo Worf story and how everyone forgives him in the end? Or is it the whole "evil essentialists" in-your-face plot? Vanessa Williams? Please tell.

I always thought that the great comedy in this episode lifted it above average.

 

[Jono]

There were some funny moments in the episode but the topic they were looking at didn't really work. They were going for a morality and sexuality angle but kind of missed it. The New Essentialists were on Risa as they saw it as the heart of the Federation's downward spiral in values but you get very little sense of that from the scenes, it looks like your average beach-side resort. In the end it made Worf look like a uptight stick in the mud that was been a jerk rather then someone really standing up from their sense of moral value.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

But that is Worf...he's about as much fun as a Regulan blood worm.

It wouldn't be the first time he was lead astray by paranoid jerks (TNG's THE DRUMHEAD).

 

[Loupjo]

I actually quite liked the episode... maybe I am just weird

 

[TheGodBen]

I actually quite liked the episode... maybe I am just weird

Don't worry, we wont tell anybody. Like the way doctors don't tell people about their patients with genital warts, they just laugh about it in private.

This episode fails on so many levels. It was meant to be about a planet where sexuality was pushed to extremes, the original concept was that there was so much sex going on that we would feel shocked and it would pose a legitimate moral reaction from the viewer. What we got was Jadzia making clay pots with another woman because this is Star Trek and they are not allowed to show overt sexuality on Star Trek. There is stuff going on today in our society which is much more extreme than anything we saw on Risa, but I'm not in favour of moral types trying to crack down on it now, so I'm certainly not going to side with them about what was going on on Risa. The episode lost me right away.

Directorally it doesn't know what it wants to be. Should it be serious or should it be comedy, Rene Auberjonois doesn't seem to know. The performances are way off, particularly el Fadil's (which is understandable since his kid was born during the shoot). Worf's backstory is a blatant retcon. Quark really didn't need to be in the show at all. The climax of the episode is just moronic. The musical score is just awful (although I hate all Paul Baillargeon's scores).

Worst of all, it was just boring. An interesting premise that was handled badly by every single part of the production.

 

[ClayHefner]

Thanks for the answers.
I neverhad a problem with the essentialists and Worf's bahavior per se.

I never thought the essentialists had any real message, that they were just some jerks spouting nonsense and most Feddies wouldn't even know what they are talking about.
They are just there to annoy people, their agenda is bullshit.

And there comes Worf. He is severely pissed, he's completely out of control, acting stupid to the extreme. He sides with those essentialist because he totally lost perspective.
and the environment makes it even worse. The least "controlled" environment available, and Worf thinks he's the one "true" Federation officer, an identity which he always thought he could merge with his Klingon values.

It wouldn't be the only serious flaw we encountered with Worf and his "double identity". He just allows himself too much to endulge in Klingon behiavior, even if it completely contradicts orders and adequate "Fed" thinking ("Rules of Engagement" for example). And here he already knows it won't get him in trouble, so he acts like a dick, hiding behind his Starfleet uniform and rank- and makes his own little Klingon opera.

For him, being the dude he is, in this emotional state and with this environment, it kinda made sense...and it was nice to see more of Risa than in the episode with Picard.

 

[HRHTheKING]

Personally I liked it, for the message it rightly sent that the Federation is way too comfortable and smug.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Sorry I know this is kind of a n00bish question, but I wonder why this seems to be in everyone's worst DS9 episode's list.
Is it just the emo Worf story and how everyone forgives him in the end? Or is it the whole "evil essentialists" in-your-face plot? Vanessa Williams? Please tell.

I always thought that the great comedy in this episode lifted it above average.

I think for me...it was the "evil essentialists" plot. Rather than actually letting somebody make logical objections, these guys ended up being a shallow parody of Christian fundamentalists. Straw men, basically.

Very much the opposite of a different episode that DOES make you think about how tenable the society of the Federation really is..."In the Pale Moonlight."

 

[indranee]

why? it's booooooring.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

The creators rave!

• "Must we [talk about this episode]?" --Ira Behr
• "The worst episode I ever wrote." --Robert Wolfe
• "It's a show we all wish we had a second crack at." --Ron Moore
• "It was not my happiest moment as a director." --Rene Auberjonois
• "It became a totally asexual show, and once that happened the whole thing got flushed down the toilet because none of it made sense anymore." --Behr
• "My mind wasn't on that show very much." --Alexander Siddig
• "Romance is not our strong suit." --Wolfe

I love their honesty.

(Quotes come from the DS9 Companion)

 

[2 of 10]

Until I read this thread I had TOTALLY forgot about this episode, THANKS ALOT This may just be the Spocks Brain of DS-9. However, for those of you who have never seen this "gem" it can be found on Season 5 episode 7...

BTW I still want to go to Risa

 

[ClayHefner]

The creators rave!

• "Must we [talk about this episode]?" --Ira Behr
• "The worst episode I ever wrote." --Robert Wolfe
• "It's a show we all wish we had a second crack at." --Ron Moore
• "It was not my happiest moment as a director." --Rene Auberjonois
• "It became a totally asexual show, and once that happened the whole thing got flushed down the toilet because none of it made sense anymore." --Behr
• "My mind wasn't on that show very much." --Alexander Siddig
• "Romance is not our strong suit." --Wolfe

I love their honesty.

(Quotes come from the DS9 Companion)

oh wow, it really seems they hate that episode lol.
I'm wondering how they would have beefed up the show if they had a second crack at it.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I have oftened wondered about why no one likes this episode..it wasnt great, but it was okay. I liked the bad guy, Fullerton, so much that he is a current villian in my fan-fic. He was over the top, but I think his 'back to traditions' argument was pretty good on some levels...

Rob

 

[Gojirob]

Wasn't this the second time that a 'traditionalist' (Paradise S2) was shown to be a real jerk?

 

[TheGodBen]

^^^ Star Trek is written by lefties, so that's not too surprising.

 

[LeadHead]

"My mind wasn't on that show very much." --Alexander Siddig

I I recall correctly, it was during filming of that episode he became a father. Something tells me that they could have been filming "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" and his mind wouldn't have been entirely on the episode.

 

[trekkerguy]

^^^ Star Trek is written by lefties, so that's not too surprising.

It's not too surprising that 'traditionalists' would be written that way anyways

 

[DonIago]

Personally I liked it, for the message it rightly sent that the Federation is way too comfortable and smug.

They were at a _resort_. That makes about as much sense as going to Disneyworld and protesting because people are enjoying themselves too much.

 

[Gojirob]

^^^ Star Trek is written by lefties, so that's not too surprising.

I am a leftie, and I still find these overdone caricatures annoying, especially the way that the CO on ST shows always seems to find something 'admirable' about them. Just given what we see in the ep, this is almost like Lucas's 'heroes on both sides', or Rowling's 'unity between the houses' vagueness.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

"My mind wasn't on that show very much." --Alexander Siddig

I I recall correctly, it was during filming of that episode he became a father. Something tells me that they could have been filming "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" and his mind wouldn't have been entirely on the episode.

GodBen already pointed it out upthread, which is why I didn't mention it with the quote. The Companion did confirm that he was referring to being distracted by the birth of his son.