Worst Star Trek Ever: The Next Generation Episodes

Ahh, Best of Lists. Don’t you love em? How many variations can we come up with to breathe new life into those venerable savory samples?

How about WORST of Lists?

Why worst? Why not? Selecting the worst – or at least the weak from the top of the crop, can be fun. Not only does it leave what’s behind that much better looking, but spotlights where – here a beloved television show – went occasionally wrong.

Star Trek: The Next Generation picked up – 80 years in show time & 18 years in real time – where original Star Trek left off. It won a Peabody Award for the episode, “The Big Goodbye”, numerous accolades for cutting edge FX and in its last season snagged a Best Drama Emmy nomination – first ever for a syndicated television program. However, all those adventures sometimes weren’t anything to write home to Earth about.

Here’s five of the dopiest, clumsiest or just plain silly of the 179 episodes of that usually superb sci-fi TV show.

1. Angel One – First Season

Commander Riker is “feminized” – nuff said?

Enterprise journeys to planet Angel One – where women rule society. While, it’s laudable exploring such a social construct, the episode is forced and plays comic when it tries to be socially experimental or relevant. Perhaps it’s a case of good idea, bad execution, because it doesn’t work for me. At one point, Jonathan Frakes must don a frilly nightgown to fit in with the more feminine males of the culture. Co-stars must have ribbed him for months afterwards!

2. The Dauphin – Second Season

Wesley falls for a “creature” – so bad it’s almost good!

The Enterprise takes a future ruler of an alien race back home. She’s a beautiful young human looking girl in all respects. But don’t let that fool you! In reality she’s, well she’s everything! Her race shape shifts, so the beauty whom Wesley meets is just one of many forms she can assume. There are loads of unintentional laughable moments, especially the doe eyed looks Wesley flashes his alien love, along with a helium voiced morphin Granny Nanny who must be seen to be believed!

3. Hero Worship – Fifth Season

Boy worships Data after all die on his ship, but himself.

It’s as touchy feely annoying as it sounds. What may have been a poignant exploration of a child’s loss and an android’s necessary nurturing of a wounded boy plays stilted and just boring. Upon a recent viewing I gave it a chance to redeem itself, but alas it wasn’t to be. I feel the flat acting from the boy guest star is at least partially to blame.

4. Quality of Life – Sixth Season

Data rescues cybernetic probes from death, because “They’re alive! ALIVE!”

A “life where we least expect it” episode that’s Star Trek’s trademark. This may have been a fascinating cerebral exercise about sentient life, exploring an intelligence apart from humanity, instead it absolutely flops. Maybe the clunky design of the “exocomps” – robotic probes which exhibit life signs is one reason it’s bad. Look closely at cast members, including the nearly always marvelous Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard. His facial expressions in certain scenes display a “What garbage this is!” An episode I immediately flick off when I stumble upon it on TV.

5. Force Of Nature – Seventh Season

Global Warming is proven now, but this metaphor still blows bad wind on us all.

An alien brother and sister scientist team claim warp drive engine outputs from Starships “injure the fabric of space.” OK. So the very reason why many love Star Trek and science fiction – advanced ships traveling faster than light is now off limits? I’ll buy that for a dollar! Seriously, the green themed, environmentally conscious story isn’t lost on me, and it’s laudable for that, however the story it hinges upon is pedestrian at best and totally forgettable at worst. Maybe, Starfleet should invest in StarGates? Hey! What about Hyper Drive which Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon uses?

Thanks to Tom Lobascio for his invaluable contribution to this article.