# Worst TNG episode ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414 "2010-10-17T05:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/61 "2010-10-18T14:54:33Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Oh, me too! I kept wanting her to fall down a turbolift shaft… > > ETA: Yes, I realize the LA Law thing happened after she was already off of TNG. It’s a joke, son… I take it that I alone liked Pulaski, then? Though I will concede that Crusher was hotter. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/62 "2010-10-18T14:59:25Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > _Deja Q_, wherein Q has his powers taken away for being suck a dick. I knew Q was kinda campy, but really… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/63 "2010-10-18T15:09:13Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I take it that I alone liked Pulaski, then? > > Though I will concede that Crusher was hotter. I don’t know if it’s you alone, but it was pretty obvious that Pulaski was an attempt to translate crusty, grumbling Dr. McCoy to the new paradigm. And also an attempt to reintroduce Diana Muldaur, who was a two-time (now three-time) Star Trek alumna, to fandom. The first was kind of annoying and lazy. The second was an okay move. If Pulaski hadn’t been such a glaring clone of McCoy, Muldaur probably would have had a better reception. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/64 "2010-10-18T15:24:18Z")
I vote for Genesis. There is a scene where Riker is sliding down the wall as he turns into a Neanderthal. In a closeup shot, Frakes gives the finger to the camera. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/65 "2010-10-18T15:24:23Z")
I hoped beyond hope that no one had mentioned Planet of the Negroes, because that’s what I opened the thread to post. Damn it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/66 "2010-10-18T15:26:53Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > I hoped beyond hope that no one had mentioned Planet of the Negroes, because that’s what I opened the thread to post. > > Damn it. What was wrong with it? If nothing else it was a nice break from a nigh-endless series of planets inhabited by white folks wearing face paint and/or nose appliances. Why, yes, I am in one of those moods today in which I hate everyone. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/67 "2010-10-18T16:05:40Z")
I plan to work “nose appliance” into a conversation today. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/68 "2010-10-18T16:22:26Z")
> [@](#): > > You mean “how about the two,” don’t you? What, you mean they actually did the Riker-turns-down-a-promotion plotline _twice_? There are obviously a lot of episodes I never saw. And by “nose appliance”, you mean “bone through the septum”, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/69 "2010-10-18T16:33:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And by “nose appliance”, you mean “bone through the septum”, right? Yes, and they’re very reliable. The Maytag nose-bone repairman is hardly ever needed. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/70 "2010-10-18T16:35:15Z")
_Genesis_ Apparently by the 24th-and-a-half century, science will have firmly established that cats evolved from iguanas. Also, Dr Crusher infects herself with the Stupid Virus. Not only does she create a disease that comes very close to destroying the ship, she decides to inspect Worf’s poison glands from very close up (“Those look like poison glands. Here, Worf, let me put my face right in front of your mouth. AAAGH!”). At the end of the episode she laughs the whole thing off despite a couple of crewmen having been killed by the protoWorf. > [@](#): > > Dear Mrs. Johnson, > > We regret to inform you that your son, Harold, was killed in the line of…well, not so much in the line of duty as…really, it’s kind of a funny story… ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/71 "2010-10-18T16:36:15Z")
How about The Naked Now? I think Wikipedia is generous in calling it a sequel of The Naked Time and not a complete remake. That’s an awful episode. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/72 "2010-10-18T16:55:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What, you mean they actually did the Riker-turns-down-a-promotion plotline _twice_? There are obviously a lot of episodes I never saw. > > And by “nose appliance”, you mean “bone through the septum”, right? He turned down his own command to become Picard’s first officer, though I had actually forgotten about that one when I wrote earlier. The second time was in the first season, when his father came on board to brief him on his new assignment; clearly both Riker Senior and Picard thought it was a plum assignment. (Picard even sounded a little envious, as it was clear that Riker would be doing actual _exploring_ and _first contact_–supposedly the real meat of Starfleet duty. And at the end of the big borg engagement, it was pretty clear that everyone expected him to be offered a ship of his own, and that he preferred to stay on Enterprise so he could look at but not touch Troi’s boobies. The above should not be taken as a criticism of Troil’s boobies. Those were very nice and I liked her in the blue dress. > [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I plan to work “nose appliance” into a conversation today. Just make sure you pay me my royalties. Or if you like I can send the monkeys over to collect. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > And by “nose appliance”, you mean “bone through the septum”, right? > > Yes, and they’re very reliable. The Maytag nose-bone repairman is hardly ever needed. But for you, bees. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/73 "2010-10-18T17:05:52Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > he preferred to stay on Enterprise so he could look at but not touch Troi’s boobies. And even worse, at the same time that Worf was presumably ravaging them. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/74 "2010-10-18T17:10:11Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > And even worse, at the same time that Worf was presumably ravaging them. I am firmly convinced that Troi & Worf had sex a maximum of 1 time. Actually, make that .33 time. And the encounter was punctuated by a Betezed screaming “You want to do **WHAT**?” ---
**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:** [October 18, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/75 "2010-10-18T17:14:27Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > How about The Naked Now? I think Wikipedia is generous in calling it a sequel of The Naked Time and not a complete remake. That’s an awful episode. They get a few brownie points for acknowledging that the log of the NCC1701 Enterprise would be available. I just assume they woke up one day after being picked up and realized they needed a script, and headed for the copier. But it was not even the worst first season episode. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/76 "2010-10-18T17:22:16Z")
Any episode in the holodeck. I wanted a show of space exploits and cool phenomena - not freakin’ “Tron”. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/77 "2010-10-18T17:40:08Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > _Genesis_ Apparently by the 24th-and-a-half century, science will have firmly established that cats evolved from iguanas. Well in Voyager, Janeway and Paris evolve at such an alarming rate that they both turn INTO iguanas. So that – Wait a bit. WAIT a BIT. Of course! Eureka! Evolution is cyclical! I knew it! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/78 "2010-10-18T17:49:33Z")
I actually liked “Sub Rosa,” as well as “Dark Page” - and actually, all the Lwaxana episodes, with the possible exception of “Manhunt.” I will echo “Code of Honor,” “Genesis,” “The Outcast,” and naturally “Shades of Gray,” and add “Liaisons,” one of the first episodes I remember hating as I was watching it on its first run. ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/79 "2010-10-18T17:51:23Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I am firmly convinced that Troi & Worf had sex a maximum of 1 time. > > Actually, make that .33 time. And the encounter was punctuated by a Betezed screaming “You want to do **WHAT**?” Yeah I agree in that I never bought that Troi and Worf had sex. All the minor details mentioned about klingon sex being something like animals beating each other up and here I’m picturing Troi complaining to Worf about there not being enough chocolate-scented candles or the right kind of sheets or how she has terrible cramps from too much telepathy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/80 "2010-10-18T17:53:08Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I am firmly convinced that Troi & Worf had sex a maximum of 1 time. > > Actually, make that .33 time. And the encounter was punctuated by a Betezed screaming “You want to do **WHAT**?” Well, that’s to be expected. Did she not follow through by hurling heavy objects? No wonder he was disappointed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414.md?page=5)