# Terrible episodes of great shows. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934 "2020-03-04T18:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/21 "2020-03-04T21:15:44Z")
Almost any of the shows from _ **Big Bang Theory** _’s last six seasons. I quit watching long before the finale. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/22 "2020-03-04T21:28:40Z")
The second Tony Soprano dream epi from S5 iirc. The epi from the original Hawaii 5-0 when McGarrett was involved with some photographer. Jack Lord was very good as McGarrett but every scene he performed with a female was very awkward. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/23 "2020-03-04T21:33:14Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I still agree with my nominations from [the last time this topic came up](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=719852): I just want to point out that \*\*MaxTheVool \*\*said something hilarious in that thread in retrospect: > [@](#): > > There are no bad episodes of The Wire, Breaking Bad or\*\*\* Game of Thrones.\*\*\* As for me, I think the one I think was worst was that ST:TNG episode with the goofy Space Irish. That was awful. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/24 "2020-03-04T21:39:20Z")
> [@bump](#): > > As for me, I think the one I think was worst was that ST:TNG episode with the goofy Space Irish. That was awful. [I refute your argument thusly](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Brenna_Odell). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/25 "2020-03-04T21:44:59Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Any time a long running sitcom did a clip show. _The Wonder Years_ was a good show, but when I was rewatching it on Netflix and got to the clip show episode I was just like “Why al I watching this? I just saw this stuff not that long ago.” OTOH, **Community** did an excellent [clip show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigms_of_Human_Memory). ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/26 "2020-03-04T21:45:37Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I can’t believe this thread is this long without mentioning Breaking Bad’s “The Fly.” > > Yeah yeah, “budgetary restrictions”, “symbolism”, whatever. It sucked to watch it. I came here to post that one. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/27 "2020-03-04T21:50:18Z")
> [@bump](#): > > As for me, I think the one I think was worst was that ST:TNG episode with the goofy Space Irish. That was awful. Let’s be honest here and just admit that \*\*\*TNG \*\*\*was overall a sucky show that just happened to have a few outstanding episodes. The same can be said for _ **TOS** _. To paraphrase Fry in _ **Futurama** _, it had around 80 episodes, 30 of which were good. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/28 "2020-03-04T21:54:18Z")
The Jump the Shark episode from X-files. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/29 "2020-03-04T21:56:30Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > _Remington Steele_: “Illustrated Steele,” the one with the daily comic strip artist. That was one of my favorites. That, and the one based on _ **The Producers** _. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/30 "2020-03-04T21:56:32Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I still agree with my nominations from [the last time this topic came up](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=719852): I just want to point out that \*\*MaxTheVool \*\*said something hilarious in that thread in retrospect: > [@](#): > > There are no bad episodes of The Wire, Breaking Bad or\*\*\* Game of Thrones.\*\*\* As for me, I think the one I think was worst was that ST:TNG episode with the goofy Space Irish. That was awful. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/31 "2020-03-04T21:59:41Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > As I sit here watching The Next Generation Star Trek, I would have to say ANY episode that uses the Holodeck. I cannot remember a single one that made a good use of the program. > > It was as if the holodeck allowed the writers to abandon the “where no one has gone before” about, you know, actual space stuff, and just make shit up. I could never suspend my belief enough to accept that Federation technology made it “appear” that multiple people on that small holodeck were miles apart. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/32 "2020-03-04T22:19:00Z")
Any flashback episode where they just show a ton of flashbacks from previous episodes is just the worst. Total crap lazy filler. Many TV shows do this from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/33 "2020-03-04T22:19:24Z")
IMO shows tend to make terrible episodes if they grab a passing fad and try to force the characters into it. Like “TKO” in Babylon 5 where they had an Thai kickboxing fighting tournament just because it was popular at the time, threw in a heavily recycled plot, and seasoned it with an alien abjudicating the tournament who sounds like a standard “oriental villain”. I’m not sure that clip shows qualify as ‘terrible’ in the same way as some of the others here - they worked when the primary way of seeing shows was broadcast or syndication. In a modern show they are terrible because people will generally have access to streaming if they want old episodes, but in the old days they worked pretty well. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > I’ll start with Code of Honor from TNG. Everything, from the racist undertones thanks to the baffling decision to make the actors playing a primitive alien race who lust after strong women black to the terrible fight scene makes me wonder how anybody involved thought this episode was a good idea. What I’ve read about the episode is that the aliens were originally based around Samurai and that making them black was decided purely on aesthetics by someone fairly far down the food chain, so no one had a chance to say ‘wait, this plot REALLY comes off bad if we make the aliens look like black people’ until they had already started filming the episode. Still would have been better to change it, but the cause was a screw up and lack of communication combined with ‘lets just get this out on deadline’ instead of someone trying to put in a racist message. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/34 "2020-03-04T22:23:48Z")
**Spock’s Brain.** An alien female beams aboard, incapacitates the crew, and steal’s Spock’s brain. Kirk & McCoy go get it and put it back in, taking a robotically-controlled Spock’s body along for the ride. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/35 "2020-03-04T23:10:12Z")
“The Anniversary” episode of _Fawlty Towers_. After 4 decades, I still think Fawlty Towers is the best sitcom ever produced. There are 11 half hours of exquisite comedy and one absolute stinker. The episode recycles the even-at-the-time worn out trope of a character getting upset at being ignored/forgotten, but in reality the other characters are planning a surprise party. Even Cleese and Booth couldn’t come up with a way to breath fresh life into that setup, instead having Basil acting more idiotic than usual. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/36 "2020-03-04T23:20:40Z")
Some here may argue whether **Friends** was a great show or not, but IMO it was funny much more often than not, with consistently excellent writing. Except for “The One With Mindy and Barry’s Wedding.” Even for a sitcom, this episode stretches the bounaries of plausibilty to the breaking point. Just the fact that Rachel would, in any universe, agree to be maid of honor at the wedding of her ex-fiancee and the woman he cheated on her with is ridiculous. Add the clownish bridesmaid dress she is forced to wear, the reprehensible behavior of the rest of the bridal party, and Rachel’s own spotlight-stealing antics, and nearly everything about this episode is cringeworthy. I’ll give one point for the much better B plot about Monica and Richard breaking up. However, it’s never really explained why they were invited to Mindy and Barry’s wedding in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/37 "2020-03-04T23:24:41Z")
I’d say “Interdimensional Cable 2” is the weakest\* Rick and Morty\* episode to date. I realize the Interdimensional Cable bits are just a way to insert gags that the writers can’t integrate into a story organically, but these all felt like uninspired padding, like the voice actors improvising didn’t care what they came up with so long as they got the show up to 22 minutes. The Jerry penis transplant storyline was much funnier, especially Werner Herzog’s guest alien explaining Earth culture. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/38 "2020-03-05T00:15:42Z")
‘The Fly’ and ‘Fartbook’ were taken so I’ll add: The Office se9ep17 ‘The Farm’. Structured as a spinoff pilot, so there’s that, but the idea was really dumb to begin with and is easily the most out of place episode of the entire show. House se3ep12 ‘One Day, One Room’. The dialogue was so painfully contrived, the ‘tension’ so false, it just hurt so much to watch I still remember it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/39 "2020-03-05T00:16:48Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > What I’ve read about the episode is that the aliens were originally based around Samurai and that making them black was decided purely on aesthetics by someone fairly far down the food chain, so no one had a chance to say ‘wait, this plot REALLY comes off bad if we make the aliens look like black people’ until they had already started filming the episode. Still would have been better to change it, but the cause was a screw up and lack of communication combined with ‘lets just get this out on deadline’ instead of someone trying to put in a racist message. Right. Every planet in the Galaxy should have an all-white population (with or without latex appliances). :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/40 "2020-03-05T00:28:51Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Any flashback episode where they just show a ton of flashbacks from previous episodes is just the worst. Total crap lazy filler. Many TV shows do this from time to time. The only good two flashback episodes I’ve seen of TV shows are ones that actually use it for comedic purposes. The Clerks Animated Series had a flashback/clip show episode in the second episode, so the first half is constant out-of-context clips from the first episode acting as if people had already forgotten it, then the second half starts flashing back to episodes that never actually happened but acting as if the audience is already familiar with those “episodes”. The Simpsons had many clip shows, but “The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular” stands on its own for being framed with Troy McClure acting like it’s a “behind-the-scenes” documentary and peppering the episode with clips that while technically are old footage are all unseen to the audience, with outtakes and deleted scenes. Plus the actually newly drawn scenes are still hilarious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934.md?page=3)