# Lamest single-episode Star Trek aliens **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368 "2005-10-15T16:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/21 "2005-10-15T23:33:13Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > The stupid space-hippies looking for Eden. With their cult-father alien, the guy who looked completely human except for some really ugly cauliflower ears. But they had that cool jam session with Spock! Didn’t Uhuru join in too? That was the original Space Jam. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/22 "2005-10-15T23:38:42Z")
There was that one DS9 episode with a woman from a very low gravity planet, who was all but crippled by the standard gravity on the station. I’m not saying a low gravity species is lame (although she ended up falling in luuurve with Dr. Wussy-pants, which didn’t help), but it’s lame that they were a one-episode species. If they’d included issues like dealing with species from different gravities and different atmospheres from the beginning, instead of every now and then throwing one in for an episode, that could have been interesting. Instead, it’s lame. ---
**Author:** ![Domokun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Domokun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Domokun)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/23 "2005-10-16T00:11:26Z")
Do the borg children count? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/24 "2005-10-16T00:35:03Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Of course, the [Cheronians!](http://www.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Cheronian) They should have been at the top of my list! Kirk: “Isn’t that in the southern side of the galaxy?” _ **Oy, Vey** _ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/25 "2005-10-17T18:43:25Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Kirk: “Isn’t that in the southern side of the galaxy?” _ **Oy, Vey** _ I didn’t think that was so ridiculous. I assumed it meant down near the lower “bulge” of the disk. Speaking of east, west, north, and south on the Earth itself is no less arbitrary. I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the burning piece of lava that conjured up Lincoln and the founder of Vulcan culture and logic and made the landing party fight against their evil counterparts. I can’t say I agree with a whole lot of the other aliens mentioned being lame. I always accepted the likes of Doc Sevrin and his Space Hippies for their camp value and the comic relief they offered. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/26 "2005-10-17T19:08:41Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Of course, the [Cheronians!](http://www.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php/Cheronian) They should have been at the top of my list! They were the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread. The space hippies were second. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/27 "2005-10-17T19:32:27Z")
Any intelligent blob (gas or otherwise.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/28 "2005-10-17T19:46:01Z")
Not an alien race, but I’ve always _hated_ the **Mugatu**. What sort of ecosystem has a niche for one-horned albino gorillas with poisonaous fangs? Especially in a Southern California-type climate? What in God’s name do they eat? Why do they need such bizarre defenses? Are they subject to predation by giant one-horned albino elephants? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/29 "2005-10-17T20:28:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > What in God’s name do they eat? Each other. 🙂 > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Why do they need such bizarre defenses? Are they subject to predation by giant one-horned albino elephants? You mean besides each other? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/30 "2005-10-17T20:30:55Z")
The planet of the nearly naked aerobic instructors. They tried but failed to kill Wesley Crusher. THis was, I think, the second show in in TNG and it really made me worried. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/31 "2005-10-17T21:05:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Not an alien race, but I’ve always _hated_ the **Mugatu**. What sort of ecosystem has a niche for one-horned albino gorillas with poisonaous fangs? Especially in a Southern California-type climate? What in God’s name do they eat? Why do they need such bizarre defenses? Are they subject to predation by giant one-horned albino elephants? I never missed an episode of TNG, but probably because of my physical anthropology training, the biology always bothered me. I brought this up in another thread (which I can’t find), and was immediately called on the carpet by someone who apparently had a lot at stake on the scientific consistency of Star Trek. He mentioned parallelism, convergence, and some other stuff, but I didn’t feel like getting into a flame war over Star Trek, for chrissakes, so I just let it drop. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/32 "2005-10-17T21:15:36Z")
“This is Tranya. I hope you relish it as much as I.” Clint Howard, with hair stuck on his face. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/33 "2005-10-17T21:26:59Z")
The Red-State/Blue State aliens from Star Trek: Deep Space Voyager. (Arrggh! Stupid, STUPID time machine readouts! You haven’t gotten to that series yet :smack: … I’ll repost in 11.6 years, sorry) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/34 "2005-10-17T21:28:06Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Yes. They could have depicted two people from the same planet, identical physically except for the fact that one has the right half of his face black and the left side white, while his mortal enemy has the opposite. They hate each other for this seemingly (to us) innocuous difference. I learned a real lesson about myself after seeing this, I can tell you. From that point onward I only hated races whose colors were _completely_ different from my own. I did like the part where Frank Gorshin is trying to explain to Kirk and Spock why his race is superior: Frank: I am black on the right side and he is black on the left side. (and by “right” he was referring to the “correct” side). The look that Kirk and Spock exchange is brilliant. They think he means the physical side only. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/35 "2005-10-17T21:29:15Z")
I’d like to second the Bynars… ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/36 "2005-10-17T21:46:39Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > The planet of the nearly naked aerobic instructors. They tried but failed to kill Wesley Crusher. THis was, I think, the second show in in TNG and it really made me worried. Speaking of nakedness, if Betazoids get married in the buff why were Troi and her Mom so upset at being naked on a Ferengi ship? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/37 "2005-10-17T21:47:25Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > : > > **The Tamarians** – an alien race that speaks entirely in metaphors. I suppose it’s workable when trying to convey “Let’s team up to kill that thing”, but how do you write a warp drive maintenance manual using nothing but mytho-historical allusions? And some people LOVE that episode. I just. Don’t. Get. It. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/38 "2005-10-17T22:08:49Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > There was that one DS9 episode with a woman from a very low gravity planet, who was all but crippled by the standard gravity on the station. I’m not saying a low gravity species is lame (although she ended up falling in luuurve with Dr. Wussy-pants, which didn’t help), but it’s lame that they were a one-episode species. If they’d included issues like dealing with species from different gravities and different atmospheres from the beginning, instead of every now and then throwing one in for an episode, that could have been interesting. Instead, it’s lame. Originally, that character was supposed to be a main character. But the realized the cost of doing weightless scenes all the time would be too much, so they just wrote her into one episode. > [@Zebra](#): > > The planet of the nearly naked aerobic instructors. They tried but failed to kill Wesley Crusher. THis was, I think, the second show in in TNG and it really made me worried. This is the one i was thinking of. We always called it the California Planet. Although that episode had a great line. Worf: For that I would require a Klingon woman. Human women are too {obligitory Worf paus} fragile. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/39 "2005-10-18T00:15:50Z")
Any episode in which the children are really the aging adults - you get “younger” as you get older. I think that was only used in one Star Trek episode (Voyager, with Tuvok) but the only Battletrash Gacraptica (the version from 20+ years ago) episode I ever saw used the same plot device. Mork and Mindy did a far more convincing job of it. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368/40 "2005-10-18T00:25:18Z")
> [@Mama Zappa](#): > > Any episode in which the children are really the aging adults - you get “younger” as you get older. I think that was only used in one Star Trek episode (Voyager, with Tuvok) but the only Battletrash Gacraptica (the version from 20+ years ago) episode I ever saw used the same plot device. Mork and Mindy did a far more convincing job of it. Didn’t Tuvok express emotion in that episode? I nominate Vulcans in any single episode where they express those ever so tender human emotions they’re supposed to be thoroughly suppressing for _really good reasons._ Why is Spock, half human, the only Vulcan who can convincingly suppress his emotions? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lamest-single-episode-star-trek-aliens/326368.md?page=3)