# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/81 "2020-03-05T16:28:20Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Then can I vote for _The Brady Bunch_ episode that’s about a completely different family? Hey, if you liked everything about the Brady Bunch except for those darn Bradys, then the Kelly’s Kids episode was perfect for you. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/82 "2020-03-05T16:32:35Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’m not nearly as harsh on clip shows as others are. Back in the days before TiVo and online, you got basically 2 chances to see a show, once it its original airing and then once in a summer repeat. Seasons were longer then so it made sense so it made sense to have a low budget clip episode, especially during a low ratings period. Another thing is that in pre-youtube days, people didn’t just casually make their own ‘highlight’ episodes that you could watch on your own phone. Today I have gotten into several shows because I watched a video or series of clips and liked what I saw, back in the day video editing and splicing clips together was much rarer, as was sharing them. “Clip show” episodes were a good way for someone to check out the show and see if they like the feel of it. Also, pre-2000s shows were written to be way more episodic than most shows running now. Most people watching a series like “Moonlighting” or “Family Ties” today would start at episode 1 and go to the end, while I remember starting somewhere in the middle, catching some reruns in syndication, and missing current seaon episodes if I was busy on the day that it aired. So today having a clip episode seems like a huge waste because you’re burning 10% of a season of tightly (by old standards) plotted shows, while back in the day it would likely show you something you hadn’t seen, and probably wasn’t taking the place of a ‘proper’ episode anyway. So they’re ‘terrible’ in the sense that they don’t serve a purpose when you’re binge-watching the series on DVR or streaming and catching highlights on youtube when you want them, but back in the last millennium they served a useful purpose for the show, might have even been what got someone interested in the first place, and didn’t really cut down the amount of ‘real’ episodes that you got. If a series like Better Call Saul now ran a clip show episode for one of it’s 10 episodes per season, yeah I’d call it terrible. But if AMC strings together a dozen of their 3-minute teaser scenes into a ‘best of BCS’ video on their website, I wouldn’t call it a terrible idea, and that’s really what older ‘clip show’ episodes are. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/83 "2020-03-05T16:34:42Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Dang. That’s easily one of my favorites. [Hell, it made #1](https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/2018s-20-best-tv-episodes-from-bojack-horsemans-free-churro-to-westworlds-kikusaya-5806851.html) on this list of best episodes of any TV series in 2018. The idea that it is a terrible episode is definitely a minority opinion. ETA: [And #2](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls041240257/) in an IMDB ranking of all Bojack Horseman episodes, with a rating of 9.8 (which is the same as the #1 episode, “Time’s Arrow”, so it may well be tied for #1.) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/84 "2020-03-05T17:03:01Z")
The _Seinfeld_ finale. Maybe it was that it just failed to live up to expectations. Or maybe it was that is was not funny. The point of view episode of M_A_S\*H. Many will disagree, but I thought it got boring quickly. POV is ok for short stretches only. The \*Planet of the Spiders \* episode of Classic Doctor Who, the final episode with Jon Pertwee. Starts out OK, but just goes on and on and on for no real reason. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/85 "2020-03-05T18:13:51Z")
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but the episodes where the aliens dream for the first time on _3rd Rock_. The whole story arc was interesting, and Dick and Sally stoned on Valium (or whatever it was) while Harry and Tommy try to run things was pretty funny, but I thought the dream sequences themselves went on way too long. When I watch the show now, I FF through the dreams. Harry’s is especially annoying, and I’m annoyed at myself for being annoyed, because French Stewart is so good in it-- the whole concept is just stupid. Sally’s isn’t much better. Yes, all the references to old films are fun, down to the _Freaks_ one, but I swear, it seems like it goes on for 45 minutes. I get the comment on “Aftershock” for L&O:TOS, but I think that the writers and producers did what they meant to do, and really, it was all just a setup to put Claire Kincaid on a bus. I didn’t like it either, but I don’t think is was actually bad in and of itself. Maybe a misreading of what the audience would want, but the acting was good, and the filming and everything came together. The episode of L&O that I think didn’t come off at all, and was bad in any context, was “Castoff,” (season 8) their “ripped from the headlines” take on the Andrew Cunanan story. It was flat, uninspired, the actor in the Cunanan part was miscast, and it was badly edited, so it was a little confusing. Something I hate in general is crossover episodes. There are a couple of L&O crossovers for which pt. II is a _Homicide_ episode, so if you see pt. I in a rerun, you have to go hunting for someone running _Homicide_. There’s an _L&O: SUV_ that crosses over with _L&O: Trial by Jury_, which is nowhere. Not Netflix, not Hulu, not Amazon, no torrents, nothing. And it doesn’t seem ever to have been released on DVD-- not surprising, since I’m not even sure it completed two seasons. But damn-- the SUV ep is interesting, and I’ve never seen the TBJ ep. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/86 "2020-03-05T18:19:36Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > The point of view episode of M_A_S\*H. Many will disagree, but I thought it got boring quickly. POV is ok for short stretches only. I didn’t like it because I thought it was crappy. I thought the idea was good, but the filming looked like some high school kid’s project. Wagging the camera up and down to show someone nodding his head is amateur. That’s not what it looks like when you nod your head, fer cripes’ sake. Nod your head. You keep your eyes focused forward. The whole thing was like that. Made me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/87 "2020-03-05T18:20:52Z")
_Doctor Who_ has had a number of stinkers. “Kill The Moon” is the one I hear most often cited as the worst, most stupid episode. The Moon is actually a big egg, and gives birth to creepy spider-like boogums, with legs and teeth and other body parts, that are still somehow unicellular creatures. Umm, whut? > [@RealityChuck](#): > > “Family” from _Next Generation_. Cliche upon cliche. Worf’s Jewish parents are a tired stereotype and the Wesley’s father being all noble and nonsensical. > > But Picard was the worst. The estrangement with his brother was by the book and the mud wrestling resolution just ludicrous. The fact that Picard had a British accent while his brother had a French one needed an explanation, at least. > > The production team wanted to try doing an episode without space battles and “Family” was so derided that they decided they needed to always include a space battle or the like. But they drew the wrong conclusion: I think the fans would have accepted more interpersonal drama (despite the fact that ST:TNG wasn’t supposed to have any), but it had to be more compelling than a soap opera plotline. Was that the episode where Picard goes home to France, and briefly contemplates retiring from Starfleet and taking a job as an engineer on a seafloor farming project? If so, I liked that one for showing him dealing with the aftermath of what the Borg did to him. Back then, PTSD was not as widely acknowledged, and I appreciated the producers acknowledging his trauma, and that it wasn’t something he could simply shrug off. YMMV, of course. > [@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. > > (snip) I can think of one that was good – Troi was taking a test for bridge command, and the Holodeck was simulating an engineering crisis that threatened the ship. She could not find a solution, so she finally had to order Geordi LaForge to perform an external repair that would almost certainly cost him his life. Which was, of course, the real test – could she deliberately send a shipmate to his death, to save the rest? That was using the Holodeck for a legitimate, valid purpose, both in universe as a training aid, and to tell the story and deepen Troi’s characterization. ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/88 "2020-03-05T19:01:36Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I can think of one that was good – Troi was taking a test for bridge command, and the Holodeck was simulating an engineering crisis that threatened the ship. She could not find a solution, so she finally had to order Geordi LaForge to perform an external repair that would almost certainly cost him his life. Which was, of course, the real test – could she deliberately send a shipmate to his death, to save the rest? > > That was using the Holodeck for a legitimate, valid purpose, both in universe as a training aid, and to tell the story and deepen Troi’s characterization. This whole holodeck discussion has reminded me of “Schisms”, which had an overall kinda cheesy pulpy plot (although it did give us “Ode to Spot,” so there’s that). But it did have a brief holodeck scene where Riker, La Forge, Worf, and Ensign Ricky all kind of collaboratively build a holographic representation of a room where they keep getting abducted to while sleeping and subsequently having their memories (imperfectly, I guess) erased. I thought the alien abduction plot was kinda dumb but that scene was pretty cool. To the thread topic, most of the first season of TNG would qualify, although “Code of Honor” is certainly, as has been mentioned, a standout. And Breaking Bad’s “Fly”, put me in the minority of those who liked that episode. For a show that has so many scenes in wide open deserts, the claustrophobia of this episode is really something. I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/89 "2020-03-05T19:30:13Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Suck, suck, and sucks, every holodeck episode. Yes, most every holodeck episodes sucked, and I would add every Q episode. > [@LLCoolL](#): > > A few terrible episodes of **Seinfeld** : > [ul] > [li]“The Chinese Restaurant” - waiting for a table in a restaurant the entire episode. It’s a critical favorite, but I can’t stand it.[/li][li]“The Puerto Rican Day” - stuck in a traffic jam.[/li][li]Series finale - maybe not a bottom 10 episode, but a huge disappointment. Of course, series finales are notoriously tough to pull off well.[/li][/ul] “The Chinese Restaurant” and “The Parking Garage” are two of my favorite Seinfeld episodes. All in one basic location, simple plot, just the characters doing the banter that makes people love Seinfeld. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/90 "2020-03-05T20:24:12Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Futurama is possibly my favorite show of all time. But it has definitely had its share of clunkers, and the one that stands out to me the most is “A Pharaoh To Remember”, which is basically just 22 minutes of Bender being a jerk to everyone else (he’s usually one, but the other cast members are generally given more to do than just take it), with a veneer of “ancient Egypt” laid on top of it. True, but it had one great scene, where the Egyptian guy at the funeral says “We commend the body of Hammentotep to the abode of the damned. The damned good looking! Pharoah commanded me to tell that joke at his funeral.” The look on his face after telling the joke was [great](https://comb.io/Gc29r9). ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/91 "2020-03-05T20:36:18Z")
Any episode where the characters sing the dialogue. I was reminded of this when I recently caught the several episodes of _ **Northern Exposure** _ where Shelly is pregnant and (inexplicably) starts singing her thoughts and dialogue. I can only guess that producers eventually have to give in to the whining of cast members about how they are multi-talented and would love to show off their abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/92 "2020-03-05T20:41:37Z")
> [@BorgHunter](#): > > This whole holodeck discussion has reminded me of “Schisms”, which had an overall kinda cheesy pulpy plot (although it did give us “Ode to Spot,” so there’s that). But it did have a brief holodeck scene where Riker, La Forge, Worf, and Ensign Ricky all kind of collaboratively build a holographic representation of a room where they keep getting abducted to while sleeping and subsequently having their memories (imperfectly, I guess) erased. I thought the alien abduction plot was kinda dumb but that scene was pretty cool. Yeah, that scene was both a decent use of the holodeck and effectively creepy. Failed uses of the holodeck - too many to mention, but one that stands out is when Picard is studying for a diplomatic mission (he has an important speech to give) and takes a holodeck break (naturally enough he gets stuck there for a while). Wouldn’t it make more sense to practice the speech in the holodeck (where he could simulate an audience) and take a relaxation break in his quarters? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/93 "2020-03-06T00:30:13Z")
Another bad episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation is “Sub Rosa”–which is the one where Dr. Crusher is haunted by a “ghost” from her past. As for Futurama i think the worst is probably “Decision 3012” in which Leela becomes a campaign manager for a presidential candidate whose birth certificate is missing. Frankly the episodes of the original run on FOX from 1999 to 2003 are lot better than the episodes from its revival on Comedy Central from 2008 to 2013. I honestly don’t think Law & Order has had a bad episode. And yes I have watched all twenty seasons. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/94 "2020-03-06T05:11:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Many would argue that it is one of the best, at least for that season. (Okay, _I_ would argue.) I’ve also seen reviewers arguing that “Fly” is one of the best episodes of Breaking Bad, but it looks like I’m not alone in not liking it (judging by this thread). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/95 "2020-03-06T05:32:02Z")
Does _11001001_ count as a holodeck episode of NextGen? That’s the one where aliens program the holodeck with a jazz club and a sultry woman to keep Riker distracted while they steal the Enterprise. Always thought it was clever of them to use Riker’s horndog tendencies against him. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > For me **Twilight Zone’s** worst episode was **The Bewitchin’ Pool** , followed closely by any that starred Jack Klugman. My favorite episode of The Twilight Zone is _A Game of Pool_ with Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/96 "2020-03-06T06:14:29Z")
Any _Magnum P.I._ episode that had anything to do with his ‘wife’ Michelle. What Dreck. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/97 "2020-03-06T08:50:27Z")
**Grace Under Fire** sure probed a lot of uncomfortable grey-area topics. I just looked at the episode guide and there was apparently one more season that I never saw. I vaguely recall an episode where Quentin accidentally shoots Wade and may have quit watching mid-episode. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/98 "2020-03-06T14:23:58Z")
The X-Files did succeed in having their craptacular series finale also be a craptacular clip show, so, really, it’s the obvious winner here. Also, on a personal level, I absolutely detested the Buffy episode where it was postulated that Buffy was a girl in an insane asylum who was imagining the whole Buffyverse. Now while I get that none of the shit in fiction is real, if you want me to be involved, it _must be real within the context of the work_. I was, to be honest, a bit offended that the writers would even pull that sort of idiocy - “haha, you’re watching a show which isn’t even real _in the show itself_, so joke’s on you! You like Willow? She doesn’t even exist! Anya? A figment of some girl’s imagination” and etc. Ugh. I probably would’ve been equally pissed seeing Bobby Ewing in the shower, had I followed Dallas. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/99 "2020-03-06T14:52:09Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Also, pre-2000s shows were written to be way more episodic than most shows running now. Most people watching a series like “Moonlighting” or “Family Ties” today would start at episode 1 and go to the end, while I remember starting somewhere in the middle, catching some reruns in syndication, and missing current seaon episodes if I was busy on the day that it aired. So today having a clip episode seems like a huge waste because you’re burning 10% of a season of tightly (by old standards) plotted shows, while back in the day it would likely show you something you hadn’t seen, and probably wasn’t taking the place of a ‘proper’ episode anyway. There was also the fact that while the show was in its main run on TV, you might get re-runs of the _current season_, but if you were in say… the show’s sixth season, the other 5 seasons were unobtainable ancient history. So if something interesting was going to happen story wise, they’d gin up a clip show to fill the newer viewers in on what’s going on. To use a modern example (don’t recall if they actually did this or not), in the Big Bang Theory, when Sheldon and Amy got married in Season 11, it would have made sense to have a clip show at some time during that season before the actual weddign detailing how they met each other, and how their relationship developed, etc… Also outside of clip shows, the more episodic and less accessible style of TV viewing meant that there were always going to be some “fluff” episodes with less than stellar plots that were used primarily to fill the schedule and to develop the characters. It’s only now in the age of tightly scripted story arc shows that we expect every episode to have some kind of point and to lead somewhere else. But… some of them were just godawful. Count me in the group that thought the vast majority of the holodeck-centric episodes on ST:TNG were atrocious. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934/100 "2020-03-06T15:10:35Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Also, on a personal level, I absolutely detested the Buffy episode where it was postulated that Buffy was a girl in an insane asylum who was imagining the whole Buffyverse. Now while I get that none of the shit in fiction is real, if you want me to be involved, it _must be real within the context of the work_. I was, to be honest, a bit offended that the writers would even pull that sort of idiocy - “haha, you’re watching a show which isn’t even real _in the show itself_, so joke’s on you! You like Willow? She doesn’t even exist! Anya? A figment of some girl’s imagination” and etc. There was an episode of _Red Dwarf_ where the characters were trapped under water and attacked by a giant squid. They were all killed and woke up to discover that they’d been playing an immersive virtual-reality game, and not very well. Their real identities are complete opposites of their game personae; the cat, rather than suave and debonaire, is awkward and geeky, etc. After being appalled at their real selves, they decide to commit suicide. [spoiler alert]The “real” world they woke up to turns out to be an hallucination. The squid ink contained a chemical that caused people such despair that they would kill themselves. It was a brilliant mind fuck for most of the episode, and didn’t do anything to diminish how much I cared about the characters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-episodes-of-great-shows/848934.md?page=6)