# Worst Star Trek (TOS) episode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942 "2014-01-16T04:06:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/141 "2014-01-18T02:21:06Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Star Trek in all its incarnations is riddled with plot holes, formulaic absurds and straight-up scientific errors. One of my favorites is from _Court Martial_, where Kirk says, “When I flip this switch, all the sounds in the ship will be amplified by a factor of one to the fourth power.” The quality of the writing and plotting improved incrementally over the decades, to the point that _Enterprise_ actually started to get interesting. It had a much more believable feel than its later predecessors. I’m only guessing that the writer somehow meant ‘one to the fourth’ somehow means 1111 or maybe even 1000. Further, as most audio engineers/philes are used to measuring dynamic ranger in tens of decibels isn’t _that_ impressive. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/142 "2014-01-18T02:35:00Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > I’m only guessing that the writer somehow meant ‘one to the fourth’ somehow means 1111 or maybe even 1000. Further, as most audio engineers/philes are used to measuring dynamic ranger in tens of decibels isn’t _that_ impressive. Yes … but as Spock told Kirk in “The Immunity Syndrome,” “You, sir, are not a science specialist!” :dubious: (In other words, Kirk didn’t know what he was talking about.) ---
**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:** [January 18, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/143 "2014-01-18T03:04:27Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > And as the [Mission Log](http://www.missionlogpodcast.com/) guys note, there are 430 people on the Enterprise. Why does everyone have to go deflect the asteroid? Why not leave a detachment to search for the captain? Poetic license. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/144 "2014-01-18T05:13:28Z")
They do something similar in the ST:TNG episode with Lore and his Borg colony. Picard beams down virtually the entire crew to conduct a search on foot. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/145 "2014-01-18T05:16:14Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Star Trek in all its incarnations is riddled with plot holes, formulaic absurds and straight-up scientific errors. One of my favorites is from _Court Martial_, where Kirk says, “When I flip this switch, all the sounds in the ship will be amplified by a factor of one to the fourth power.”[…] Whoever wrote that must have been related to the _Our Gang_ episode writer who had this put on a blackboard in the episode “Come Back, Miss Pipps”: 1x1=2. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/146 "2014-01-18T08:25:46Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > And as the [Mission Log](http://www.missionlogpodcast.com/) guys note, there are 430 people on the Enterprise. Why does everyone have to go deflect the asteroid? Why not leave a detachment to search for the captain? And why does “logical” Mr Spock then commit the _Enterprise_ to a course of action which leaves it a floating wreck given that they had several months to devise an alternative plan, of which I have thought of several and posted them in CS over the years? ---
**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:** [January 18, 2014, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/147 "2014-01-18T09:10:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > They do something similar in the ST:TNG episode with Lore and his Borg colony. Picard beams down virtually the entire crew to conduct a search on foot. Yeah … and then leaves Beverly “Yes, Sir!” Crusher in command with a bridge crew fresh out of the Academy. What, there are no senior Operations officers left on board the _Enterprise_? Or all they all working down in the nursery, looking after the children? :dubious: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/148 "2014-01-18T16:33:14Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > And why does “logical” Mr Spock then commit the _Enterprise_ to a course of action which leaves it a floating wreck given that they had several months to devise an alternative plan, of which I have thought of several and posted them in CS over the years? That brings up another problem that I can’t believe I just thought of. We can only assume that Starfleet is sending someone to help because AFTER Spock deflects the asteroid and rescues Kirk…how long do they have to sit in orbit waiting for help? It took some two months to get back to Kirk, and no help had shown up. God knows how long they would have to wait after that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/149 "2014-01-18T17:09:25Z")
Wow, such hate for _The Empath_!! I’m shocked-- that is one of my favorite episodes, but maybe it’s because it was the first episode I caught when TOS was currently running in the 60s and was my introduction to the show. I can still remember watching it and being mesmerized. I thought it was just fantastic, but then again I was about 12 or 13. (It’s possible I saw this as re-run during the summer after it originally aired, if the network ran reruns of that show, but still I saw it when ST:TOS was a freshly minted TV series.) ETA: But then, I also never really cared for _The Trouble with Tribbles_. As for the worst, _Spock’s Brain_ hands down. Nothing even close to being as bad. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/150 "2014-01-18T17:24:50Z")
Either most people’s brains have erased any memory of the _Alternative Factor_ or self preservation caused them to change the channel when the episode came on. That’s the only explanation for why any other episode is mentioned in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/151 "2014-01-18T17:57:49Z")
\*\*Turnabout Intruder \*\*is the WORST episode ever. You are expected to believe that women in the 24th Century are somehow “oppressed” and that switching their bodies to those of men would in some manner “alleviate” this. Huh? That sounds more like a Lifetime Channel fantasy film than an attempt at serious sci fi. And William Shatner played a terrible woman/man. It was as if he were channel every 1960s gay stereotype in his performance. I wonder if it was a painful to act as it was to watch. \*\*Omega Glory \*\*is the second worst. Mindless nationalism disguised as episodic television. While I know that Vietnam and the civil rights movements were going on when this was filmed, it is clear that Roddenberry was making this particular episode for his present more so than any posterity. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/152 "2014-01-18T20:02:15Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > Either most people’s brains have erased any memory of the _Alternative Factor_ or self preservation caused them to change the channel when the episode came on. That’s the only explanation for why any other episode is mentioned in this thread. [I referenced it](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17024135&postcount=130). The character’s name was Lazarus. . ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/153 "2014-01-18T22:16:09Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > And why does “logical” Mr Spock then commit the _Enterprise_ to a course of action which leaves it a floating wreck given that they had several months to devise an alternative plan, of which I have thought of several and posted them in CS over the years? To give Kirk time to knock up the girl. Duh. I agree, this is a terrible episode with Spock acting out of character and boring too. Plus, even on impulse - half impulse - the Enterprise could have gotten back to the planet long before the asteroid. Hell, they could have beaten it on thrusters. Hell, Spock could have gotten out and pushed. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/154 "2014-01-18T23:01:12Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Hell, they could have beaten it on thrusters. Hell, Spock could have gotten out and pushed. Scotty actually said something like that in one or the other eps… ---
**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:** [January 18, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/155 "2014-01-18T23:02:15Z")
“Hell, I’d piss on a spark plug if I thought that would help!” (War Games) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/156 "2014-01-18T23:27:09Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > To give Kirk time to knock up the girl. Duh. > > I agree, this is a terrible episode with Spock acting out of character and boring too. > Plus, even on impulse - half impulse - the Enterprise could have gotten back to the planet long before the asteroid. Hell, they could have beaten it on thrusters. Hell, Spock could have gotten out and pushed. Yeah, the likelihood that (whatever impulse power they have) that it’s exactly that of the asteroid is beyond silly. It would require some crazy technobabble explanation like a low level deflector shield has been set up and the asteroid is literally pushing them back. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/157 "2014-01-18T23:50:17Z")
Hell, from a basic physics standpoint they could have pushed the asteroid into missing the planet by raising shields and pushing sideways on the sucker. The distance it was from the planet means the slightest nudge would make it miss. Funny Spock didn’t think of that. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/158 "2014-01-19T00:52:33Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Hell, from a basic physics standpoint they could have pushed the asteroid into missing the planet by raising shields and pushing sideways on the sucker. The distance it was from the planet means the slightest nudge would make it miss. > > Funny Spock didn’t think of that. They also could have used a shuttlecraft for that. Sacrifice one for the team. How about enveloping the asteroid in a warp field and moving it that way. It worked on Stargate.:smack: ---
**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:** [January 19, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/159 "2014-01-19T01:03:49Z")
Change the gravitational constant of the universe. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942/160 "2014-01-19T02:42:58Z")
My vote goes to _The Negron Complex_, written by Paul Kinsey. Terrible episode, but what a twist! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-star-trek-tos-episode/678942.md?page=9)