Worst Episode of Star Trek : Season One Part One

[MoonlightSinatra]

I went:

1. The Alternative Factor

2. Operation: Annihilate

3. COURT MARTIAL, and not just to put it on the list. It's never been a favorite.
Though to be honest, except for Alternative, none of the episodes are bad, and in fact are all at least "good".
Agreed that it is the best Trek season, period.

 

[Kegek]

MoonlightSinatra said:
3. COURT MARTIAL, and not just to put it on the list.

Sure you did...

Well, I guess that cinchs it: There isn't a single episode - not one - of the first season that somebody wouldn't put on his worst three list. This doesn't surprise me, this is the TrekBBS, where there is no Trek canard so hallowed that a minority view cannot be found...

 

[Starpaul20]

It was a hard choice but I ended up going with Charlie X, Miri and The Alternative Factor.

 

[ZERO_of_ZERO]

Personally Im surprised by how many people dislike "Miri" I think this episode is great.

 

[egonbeeblebrox]

ZERO_of_ZERO said:
Personally Im surprised by how many people dislike "Miri" I think this episode is great.

Me too. It and "The Squire of Gothos" are two of my all-time favorites. Can't understand the hatred for them.

 

[cooleddie74]

"The Alternative Factor." Easily.

A supreme turkey in special effects, logical storytelling and acting chops. A real mess of a TREK episode and arguably one of the worst episodes of the entire TREK television franchise to date. Cheesy opticals...a wooden Lazarus(or is that two?)...an almost incomprehensible and goofy plot about two universes meeting at a corridor. Ugh. A mess. Even the recent CGI Remastering did nothing to make this one any better.

 

[Red Ranger]

People,

I picked "Miri," "Mudd's Women," and "The Alternative Factor" as my three least favorites, and it looks like the poll is breaking that way.

I actually like some things about "TAF" -- the idea of an antimatter universe I've always found fascinating -- but the other two eps are just ghastly. But still, even those weaker eps are better than most of VOY and ENT.

Red Ranger

 

[Basill]

I chose "Mudd's Women," "The Enemy Within," and "The Squire of Gothos." Only because they are simply my least favorite. "The Squire Of Gothos" is the least impressive on that list.

 

[chancellorjake]

I've never seen The Alternative Factor, so I can't comment on how awful it is, but I have seen the following dreck.

Charlie X
The Enemy Within
The Return of the Archons

 

[Geck]

The Alternative Factor, for making no sense.
Arena, which I have always found painfully, painfully bad.

...and it was tough to decide on a third, but I went with Mudd's Women.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

The first season of TOS is one of the best seasons of all Trek; the lightening was dynamic and interesting, the characters still trying to find their footing and not always perfect (not that they were ever "perfect" in TOS), and the stories some of the best of science-fiction.

It was a toss-up between "The Man Trap" and "The Alternative Factor." The former because it was a monster episode, but it had the potential for more; however, I choose the latter on the poll because it was a muddled mess from start to finish. The script was incoherent and the guest actor was equally horrible. At least with TMT, I could easily see it as a rather decent episode of the original The Outer Limits and the fact that I like George Clayton Johnson as a writer. TAF has nothing to redeem itself, not even the performances of Shatner and Nimoy. It's as if they knew this episode was a turd and acted accordingly.

 

[Saxman1]

Only three votes, so I can't add the sexist/idiotic "Mudd's Women." Harry Mudd was better in "I, Mudd." "Man Trap" is no beaut either with the goofy salt vampire, but the acting almost redeems it. I remember being scared to death of the vampire as a kid. My own kids think it's hilarious. How times have changed.

 

[cooleddie74]

"Miri" is a close second for me. It's just barely a STAR TREK episode in certain key elements. It's more like a rejected TWILIGHT ZONE script.

 

[Geck]

Yeah, Miri's not great, but it was the first TOS episode I ever saw, so it always wins out on sentimentality for me.

 

[cooleddie74]

It never helps that the episode tries to imply that the entire alternate Earth is full of ruins and devoid of any adults but only had the budget to show a couple of deserted city streets and alleys with some old rusted cars and tricycles lying about.

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

And it was really lucky that they beamed down to the exact location where they could find the information they needed to cure everyone.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

TigerOfDarkness said:
And it was really lucky that they beamed down to the exact location where they could find the information they needed to cure everyone.

That's only because Scotty had just installed the plot generator into the transpoter pad.

 

[Nebusj]

middyseafort said:

TigerOfDarkness said:
And it was really lucky that they beamed down to the exact location where they could find the information they needed to cure everyone.

That's only because Scotty had just installed the plot generator into the transpoter pad.

Well, actually, they beamed down to the station sending out the distress call, which is rather likely to be a government facility. And the life prolongation experiment seems to also be a government project. So what are the odds that a government records depository would have reports on a massive project?

 

[cooleddie74]

middyseafort said:

TigerOfDarkness said:
And it was really lucky that they beamed down to the exact location where they could find the information they needed to cure everyone.

That's only because Scotty had just installed the plot generator into the transpoter pad.

I also thought it was soooooooo convenient that the one group of scientists working on the cure who ALSO had access to a long-range radio transmitter just happened to be within a few city blocks of Miri.

 

[Garth Rockett]

Thank you for voting. Part Two is now up. Mods, this thread can be locked.