# Worst epsisode of star trek **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964 "2016-02-12T20:27:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/101 "2016-02-15T17:08:36Z")
> [@bup](#): > > And I’ll fight anyone who says there’s a worse TNG episode than _Shades of Gray_. _Rascals_. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/102 "2016-02-15T17:24:13Z")
> [@bup](#): > > And I’ll fight anyone who says there’s a worse TNG episode than _Shades of Gray_. It isn’t even the [worst ep](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19099758&postcount=65) of season 2. But it is close… ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/103 "2016-02-15T19:37:02Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > _And the Children Shall Lead_. It’s the horrible neener, neener, neener episode. This episode is so much worse than Spock’s Brain - it makes Spock’s Brain seem like an Emmy Award nominee. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/104 "2016-02-15T19:45:15Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > They needed Kirk’s space seed. Wasn’t that the one where they actually showed him getting dressed after sex?\* :dubious: \*“Wink of an Eye.” ---
**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:** [February 15, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/105 "2016-02-15T19:54:44Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > This episode is so much worse than Spock’s Brain - it makes Spock’s Brain seem like an Emmy Award nominee. My favorite moment: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/106 "2016-02-15T21:41:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Wasn’t that the one where they actually showed him getting dressed after sex?\* :dubious: > > \*“Wink of an Eye.” Yep. The pun still fits any number of eps, tho. Including movies. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/107 "2016-02-16T01:33:52Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Heck, we’d seen that Kirk’s predecessor had a female first officer who _of course_ takes command when the male captain _of course_ gets captured while leading an away-team landing party: she’s calm and efficient, good at deductive reasoning and knows how to handle a raygun, gets briefed by experts but ultimately decides which orders to issue while outranking everyone on the Enterprise; she’s Spock before Spock was Spock. That was originally from the rejected first pilot _The Cage_, and one of the things the network specifically rejected was the idea of a female first officer (it was the early 60s). > [@DWMarch](#): > > Enterprise’s These Are The Voyages was the worst in my opinion because it was so unnecessary. The cast felt the same way. Jolene Blalock was specifically quoted as calling that finale, _“Appalling…”_ ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/108 "2016-02-16T01:38:39Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > That was originally from the rejected first pilot _The Cage_, and one of the things the network specifically rejected was the idea of a female first officer (it was the early 60s). According to Justman and Solow, the network was also not pleased with Roddenberry casting his mistress in the role (or writing it specifically for her). :eek: ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/109 "2016-02-16T01:41:32Z")
> [@btcg](#): > > Can’t recall the name… again, original series… the schtick is an exact duplicate of Kirk (the ‘evil’ as opposed to the original ‘good’ captain) is created. It’s a horrible episode. It was their version of the Jekyll-and-Hyde story, just like “Doomsday Machine” (one of my favorite episodes) was their retelling of _ **Moby Dick** _. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/110 "2016-02-16T01:45:15Z")
:smack: > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > That was originally from the rejected first pilot _The Cage_, and one of the things the network specifically rejected was the idea of a female first officer (it was the early 60s). But those scenes still got aired in _The Menagerie_, is what I figure was relevant. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/111 "2016-02-16T01:53:17Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > That was originally from the rejected first pilot _The Cage_, and one of the things the network specifically rejected was the idea of a female first officer (it was the early 60s). The original story was that the character (and not the actress) fared poorly with test audiences. This may well have been true, but it would only have added to the network’s objections over Majel Barrett. From what I’ve read, NBC had no particular problem with either females or racial minorities in leading roles; in fact, the programmers were encouraging such things to give their mid-60s shows more diversity. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/112 "2016-02-16T01:56:59Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > :smack: > > But those scenes still got aired in _The Menagerie_, is what I figure was relevant. Since “The Cage” (as it was originally known) formed the envelope for “The Menagerie,” and since Number One could hardly have been cut from it, it would seem they had little choice. The two-parter was desperately needed to fill a hole in the production schedule, which had fallen terribly behind. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/113 "2016-02-16T02:59:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Since “The Cage” (as it was originally known) formed the envelope for “The Menagerie,” and since Number One could hardly have been cut from it, it would seem they had little choice. > > The two-parter was desperately needed to fill a hole in the production schedule, which had fallen terribly behind. But how is that relevant? Regardless of _why_ they aired it, air it they _did_. I’m not sure why they cast a black actor as the Commodore who outranks Kirk in “Court Martial”; I doubt it was because he worked cheap and happened to be free that week, but it could’ve been. All I know is, they helpfully established for the viewers at home that a black guy could be a Starfleet flag officer; and they established that a woman could serve as a first officer, commanding the ship in the captain’s absence. Folks watching the episode wouldn’t know about the budget woes. They wouldn’t know whether Roddenberry had been told _“yeah, okay, but lose the second-in-command chick or the demonic-looking alien.”_ They wouldn’t know whether Roddenberry had been told _“actually, a female XO who orders the men around is fine by us, so long as you hire a better actress; how about Lee Meriwether? I hear Lee Meriwether is available.”_ They’d only know what they saw: that, when Christopher Pike got himself captured, a brainy woman started calling the shots on the Enterprise, and everyone else in uniform acted like it was the most natural thing in the world. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/114 "2016-02-16T04:11:03Z")
Uhhhh … okay. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/115 "2016-02-16T04:36:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The original story was that the character (and not the actress) fared poorly with test audiences. This may well have been true, but it would only have added to the network’s objections over Majel Barrett. > > From what I’ve read, NBC had no particular problem with either females or racial minorities in leading roles; in fact, the programmers were encouraging such things to give their mid-60s shows more diversity. I’m going from a 40-year-old memory of an article I read in \*Starlog \*magazine. It may have even been from the very first issue which featured an episode guide to TOS (the first episode guide of \*any \*TV show I’d ever seen). I think it was with Majel Barret herself, but they definitely said the network didn’t think audiences would accept a female first office. They also didn’t like the Spock character, they were afraid religious groups would find him too ‘satanic’ looking(!) Roddenberry fought to keep him though. Ok, I looked it up, it was indeed from _Starlog_ #1 and it is [pretty much as I remember it.](https://archive.org/stream/starlog_magazine-001/001#page/n21/mode/2up) ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/116 "2016-02-16T10:38:55Z")
Again quoting Justman and Solow (as best I can remember): “The network wouldn’t have minded a female first officer. They just didn’t want Majel.” Whether it’s true or not, it’s easy to understand why “the network didn’t think anyone would believe a female first officer” is the version that’s most often quoted. It places the blame squarely on NBC. As for Spock, I didn’t particularly care for him in the first pilot either. Blasphemy, I know. Shame on me! ☹ ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/117 "2016-02-16T11:04:22Z")
This book: > **[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story: Solow, Herbert F., Justman, Robert H.:...](https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Star-Trek-Real-Story/dp/0671896288)** > > Inside Star Trek: The Real Story \[Solow, Herbert F., Justman, Robert H.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Inside Star Trek: The Real Story Can’t cite the page number for the above quote, since I don’t have my copy with me at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/118 "2016-02-16T16:54:08Z")
> [@bup](#): > > And I’ll fight anyone who says there’s a worse TNG episode than _Shades of Gray_. This. With the writers on strike, I guess they handed the pen to someone who totally didn’t give a shit, and we got a Riker Clip Show. I wish they’d just steered into the skid and done a Very Special Episode, or perhaps a Jetsons crossover. ETA: Not counting no-added-value clip shows, TNG’s Sub Rosa (the “ghost sex” episode), is probably tied with most of the Laxwanna Troi episodes for second worst. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/119 "2016-02-16T17:43:07Z")
Its been a while since I watched ST but I remember that when it was on, one of my most hated episodes was one that a lot of people liked. I hated [Darmok](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Darmok_%28episode%29) because I was a kid and didn’t get the whole metaphor thing, it was boring and uninteresting to me. Plus we had a monster but it was fucking invisible, so I don’t even get that visual as a payoff. And I hated the alien captain because he had huge vertical nostrils and I couldn’t help but think how much boogers would be in there. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964/120 "2016-02-16T21:51:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > As for Spock, I didn’t particularly care for him in the first pilot either. Blasphemy, I know. Shame on me! ☹ Leonard Nimoy was still figuring the character out so Spock acts very oddly in those early episodes. He smiles broadly (nearly laughing) and shouts commands a lot. Again, fans have come up with more retcon explanations like he was still trying to fit in with humans and ‘experimenting’ with mild emotions etc. _Get a life, will you people!_ 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-epsisode-of-star-trek/745964.md?page=7)