# 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:** 5
**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, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/81 "2010-10-18T17:54:34Z")
> [@kasuo](#): > > 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. Oui. Even before the bit with Jadzia Dax, we saw Troi & the Suzie Plakson Klingon whose name I won’t try to spell actually drawing blood from one another. Troi was not up for that. Actually I can imagine Worf restraining himself for her sake in bed. But she would have known it, and that knowledge I think would have distressed her. Certainly it would be humiliating. ---
**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, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/82 "2010-10-18T18:05:57Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > _Genesis_ Apparently by the 24th-and-a-half century, science will have firmly established that cats evolved from iguanas. Enh, that’s not so terribly far from reality. It was the humans being descended from spiders that made me want to smash things. That, and the whole idea that if your DNA is altered, your whole physical makeup will magically change to what you would look like if you had had that DNA since the zygote stage. (They think genes are like a slide projector. Just change the slide, and bingo! A new picture.) Worst…science…ever. ---
**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, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/83 "2010-10-18T18:13:25Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > _Genesis_ Apparently by the 24th-and-a-half century, science will have firmly established that cats evolved from iguanas. [Doesn’t sound far-fetched to me](http://www.lolcats.com/view/12261/) but, yes, it was a dumb episode. Not least for the laziness of Worf turning into the mega-predator, instead of some Klingon sloth-equivalent. This strikes me as akin to a hypothetical episode in which the crew reverts to their natural cultural states and LaForge starts playing basketball and eating watermelon. TNG could be one heck of a racist show, though the races were aliens. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/84 "2010-10-18T18:24:35Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > [“Family.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)). Boldly setting forth to leave no cliche unused. And other silliness – we know that Picard is in France because everyone speaks with an English accent. :rolleyes: And mud wrestling! > > The episode was hated when it first came out, and, not surprisingly learned the wrong lesson: that fans didn’t want stories that dealt with emotional issues. No, fans had no problem with that, but they should have not been the same cliches that we’ve seen thousands of times before (dead person granting closure via a video made before his death – something they’d already done badly with Tasha Yar). Hm… I remembered liking the episode as a kid, but that doesn’t mean anything of course. Still, the wiki article you linked to says that _Family_ is typically thought of as one of the best episodes of the series. Did it get a re-evaluation from the fans after its original run? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/85 "2010-10-18T18:35:52Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > So do I. All of the Lt. Barclay episodes were fun. Did you know the actor who played Barclay is a right-wing talk show host? Like crazy right? ---
**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, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/86 "2010-10-18T18:36:49Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > 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. The king of the negro planet stole a white woman. He seriously stole a white woman. My jaw dropped. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why, yes, I am in one of those moods today in which I hate everyone. Why do you ask? I would’ve never noticed! I mean, I saw the bees, but I assumed they were a gift! ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/87 "2010-10-18T18:42:34Z")
> [@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. I’m with you. ---
**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, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/88 "2010-10-18T19:40:00Z")
To be fair, Worf was raised by humans, so he might not be completely culturally Klingon when it comes to mating practices. ---
**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, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/89 "2010-10-18T19:43:40Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > The king of the negro planet stole a white woman. He seriously stole a white woman. My jaw dropped. I’m black, and I didn’t care. In Star Trek, and particularly in TNG, _race_ means _planet of origin_. I don’t think LaForge or Uhura had any awareness of being black. In fact, Geordi might not have even understood what being called “black” meant. ETA: Note also that he didn’t abduct Yar because she was hot. He abducted her because she was a badass. ETA again: How do we know it was a “negro” planet. We saw the inhabitants of _one city_. Really just one _palace_. But that doesn’t prove much, even if you assume that it was the most populous city. Shanghai’s the largest city in the world, but that doesn’t mean that everyone on Earth is Chinese. Well, not yet. Get back to me after I finish the turn-everybody-Chinese ray. ---
**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, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/90 "2010-10-18T19:56:09Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Shanghai’s the largest city in the world Wrong, [Gazetteer breath](http://www.mongabay.com/cities_pop_01.htm). 🙂 And I’ve got one of those traps made from a Pepsi bottle and sugar water. ---
**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, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/91 "2010-10-18T19:58:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Wrong, [Gazetteer breath](http://www.mongabay.com/cities_pop_01.htm). 🙂 [I was going by the Wikipedia article on largest cities proper.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_proper_by_population) > [@](#): > > And I’ve got one of those traps made from a Pepsi bottle and sugar water. You’re not supposed to admit what your traps are made of. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/92 "2010-10-18T22:18:42Z")
Anything with Westley. Worse than Jar-Jar. ---
**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, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/93 "2010-10-18T22:23:37Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > ETA again: How do we know it was a “negro” planet. We saw the inhabitants of _one city_. Really just one _palace_. But that doesn’t prove much, even if you assume that it was the most populous city. Shanghai’s the largest city in the world, but that doesn’t mean that everyone on Earth is Chinese. > > Well, not yet. Get back to me after I finish the turn-everybody-Chinese ray. In Star Trek world, only Earth (and a few planets with a civil war) have multiculturalism. Klingon, Romulan, Vulcan, Cardassian…there’s a lot of species/civilizations with monolithic cultures. Admittedly that makes writing for them a lot easier, and writers TRIED to alleviate this in later episodes (the Klingon lawyer admonishing the warrior class on Enterprise, the introduction of the Remans in Nemesis, etc.). But still, we can infer that it is likely a planet of the blacks, and their king done gone and stole himself a white woman. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/94 "2010-10-18T22:37:14Z")
Worth noting, that had Riker taken one of the offered commands, it’s very likely he’d have died at Wolf 359 (or that his Plot Armor would have protected the ship. So he’s indirectly responsible for hundreds of deaths. Ouch.) They make a big deal of pointing out that all three commands he was offered were destroyed in that battle. As for whether or not that affects his decision to not accept those offers… I dunno. Presumably being Picard’s first officer on “The Flagship of the Federation” has a good bit of prestige all its own, but then I guess a case could be made for him earning ill-will points by not sharing the cake. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/95 "2010-10-18T22:50:49Z")
Any episode involving Alexander is pure torture, especially “New Ground.” ---
**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, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/96 "2010-10-18T22:53:22Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Worth noting, that had Riker taken one of the offered commands, it’s very likely he’d have died at Wolf 359. Your point being? ---
**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, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/97 "2010-10-18T22:54:13Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Any episode involving Alexander is pure torture, especially “New Ground.” Is that the “All you care about is your _honor_” episode? [Looking it up.] Yep. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/98 "2010-10-18T23:13:40Z")
Wasn’t _The Naked Now_ that episode where everyone caught a disease that made them act like drunk idiots? Yeah, that one sucked. However, the mental image of Data and Tasha Yar doing it was amusing and kind of helped. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/99 "2010-10-18T23:20:43Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > In Star Trek world, only Earth (and a few planets with a civil war) have multiculturalism. Klingon, Romulan, Vulcan, Cardassian…there’s a lot of species/civilizations with monolithic cultures. Admittedly that makes writing for them a lot easier, and writers TRIED to alleviate this in later episodes (the Klingon lawyer admonishing the warrior class on Enterprise, the introduction of the Remans in Nemesis, etc.). This is, perhaps, justifiable to some degree. It is likely that isolated colony worlds might well be settled by small, fairly homogeneous groups. ---
**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, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414/100 "2010-10-18T23:46:37Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > This is, perhaps, justifiable to some degree. It is likely that isolated colony worlds might well be settled by small, fairly homogeneous groups. Then how did they last?? Oh… homo_geneous…_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-tng-episode-ever/557414.md?page=6)