# Worst ST:TNG episode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2003, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869 "2003-02-09T10:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/41 "2003-02-09T21:32:59Z")
Mmm… Robin Lefler… ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/42 "2003-02-09T21:58:03Z")
Worf breaks his back and the only way he’ll walk again is through a risky medical procedure. Alexander has a tough time dealing with his father’s injuries. Umph. With a few minor changes, this could have just as easily been an episode of “As the World Turns” or “The Guiding Light”. Absolutely dreadful. ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/43 "2003-02-09T22:08:03Z")
Strange how half the episodes listed are those I consider tolerable, or in some cases are my favorites i.e. “Cause & Effect.” But nobody can tell me that “Schisms” is their favorite episode. An utter waste of time, except for the Ode to Spot – which is in the teaser. A teaser which ends, mind you, with Riker _falling asleep_ – and a suspenseful musical stinger! (Also bear in mind that Riker exhibits abnormal sleep patterns _before_ the ship attracts the attention of the nasty abductors.) “Schisms” wasn’t necessarily the worst TNG episode – sadly, there are at least 2 dozen that aren’t worth watching – but it’s the one that hurts me the most. ---
**Author:** ![Mrelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Mrelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrelia)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/44 "2003-02-09T22:18:00Z")
Any episode where holodeck simulations of people take over the ship or people are trapped in there. Uuuugh! That goes for DS9 and Voyager, too. (With the exception of the Doctor…but I always wanted to see an H in the middle of his forhead!) Any episode that involved a “romantic” relationship involving Riker, Troi, Wesley or Data. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/45 "2003-02-09T22:27:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > **And finally, we discover Picard grew up in France. We discover his brother grew up in France. _Why the hell do they both have English accents?_** I hate it when I hear this argument. What makes you think American English is somehow more proper than British English? I have a German friend who speaks English with a British accent. That’s just the way she learned it. British English is probably the standard in Europe. I hated “Cost of Living,” mentioned above. Horrible. I generally didn’t mind Lwaxana in other episodes, though. And Wesley never bothered me. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/46 "2003-02-09T22:36:04Z")
You know, it’s not some really bad single plot point, or a single scene that makes an episode the worst. No lone cliché or annoying guest star or _deus ex machina_ can position an episode at the peak of suckitude; it’s really an ensemble effort. The truly horrid shows we have endured suffered not only from faulty and uninteresting plots or bland acting or even lousy special effects, but from a combination of all these things and more. Seriously, anyone who thinks an episode can be truly, deeply ruined by a solitary horrid aspect like using the holodeck has no appreciation for the tapestry of wretchedness that engulfs the worst that _Star Trek_ has to offer. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/47 "2003-02-09T23:07:04Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned **“Disaster”** yet. It was the one that looked like a bad remake of _The Poseidon Adventure_, except with a bunch of annoying kids trapped in the elevator shaft with Picard. Worst of all, “Disaster” formed the basis for all of the [Marrissa Storys](http://home.netcom.com/~mblackwl/mst.htm) [sic]. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/48 "2003-02-09T23:12:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aesiron \* > **Masks - Worst. Episode. EVER.** Amen. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/49 "2003-02-10T00:37:06Z")
Another “Vote” for **The Naked Now**. :rolleyes: ---
**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 10, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/50 "2003-02-10T00:42:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vivalostwages \* > \*\*Another “Vote” for **The Naked Now**. :rolleyes: \*\* I know why _you_ voted for that. No one got naked! ;j ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/51 "2003-02-10T00:46:07Z")
Somebody knows me too well. 😉 What a rip-off, man… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/52 "2003-02-10T02:51:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Loopus \* > \*\*I hate it when I hear this argument. What makes you think American English is somehow more proper than British English? I have a German friend who speaks English with a British accent. That’s just the way she learned it. British English is probably the standard in Europe. \*\* You’re missing the point. If they grew up in France and learned French first, they should be speaking English with a _French_ accent (especially since the brother never left France). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/53 "2003-02-10T03:30:21Z")
It’s TV, Dude. I’m pissed that the Klingon’s speak with an American accent. ^:)^ ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/54 "2003-02-10T03:33:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*You’re missing the point. If they grew up in France and learned French first, they should be speaking English with a _French_ accent (especially since the brother never left France). \*\* But if they learned English at a very young age (as my German friend did) they wouldn’t have much of an accent at all, if any. I assume that by the time _Star Trek_ takes place, English has truly become the international language, so that most everyone learns it as children, as they already do in many European countries. Everyone I’ve known who has learned English at basically the same time as their first language (or as young children) has had _no_ noticable accent, aside from “British” or “American,” depending on what brand of English they learned. ---
**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 10, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/55 "2003-02-10T03:34:43Z")
But, you see, when the USA took over the world in Gulf War II, the French surrendered their accent. So, by the 24th and a halfth thentury, no Frenchy ackthenth! Sorry, Duck Dogers just showed up. ---
**Author:** ![StPaul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58f4c7/32.png) [@StPaul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StPaul)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/56 "2003-02-10T04:26:20Z")
The very first two episodes of TNG were just god-awful. Everyone had cheesy pajamas for uniforms. Every time the ship moved the theme music would swell and the crew would stiffen in their chairs and look dumbstruck. When they weren’t looking dumbstruck they were standing around looking awestruck. I think they used up half of the airtime with that ship-splits-in-two gimmick filmed in extra dull detail with the crew awestruck, dumbstruck, and deafened by the theme music. The writers them decided to finish the episode by dumping a giant bucket of self-righteousness over the whole mess. Its amazing that the show wasn’t canceled right then. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/57 "2003-02-10T04:47:01Z")
“Lower Decks” gets extra points for killing off one of the little boogers. I would nominate “The First Duty” as the worst. It’s pretty pathetic to see how Starfleet Academy is unable to successfully penetrate a conspiracy of four idiot cadets. And it’s a Wesley-centered episode, which doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/58 "2003-02-18T19:34:25Z")
I was gonna say **Masks** , but then you reminded me of **Sub Rosa** Bleah!!! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/59 "2003-02-18T19:45:04Z")
I liked Lower Decks. And Rascals. And Fistful of Datas. So nyah. I’ll have to nominate the clip show and anything with Diana Muldar in it. She’s so wooden it’s ridiculous. The one where only Troi can dream and so she has to do directed dreaming…eh. And I know it’s blasphemy, but I wouldn’t rate **Inner Light** in the top 10. I thought it was okay, but not Top 10. But then I like Fistful of Datas, so there’s no accounting for my taste. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NutWrench](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nutwrench/32/20193_2.png) [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869/60 "2003-02-18T19:46:34Z")
No one’s mentioned _Shades of Grey_ yet? The whole episode was a clip job with about 5 minutes of original material. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-st-tng-episode/153869.md?page=4)