Star Trek episodes/movies you agree are good but aren't your thing

[tim0122]

Do you have any Star Trek episodes/movies that you objectively think are good or great but aren't your thing so you personally don't like them?

Two of mine are This Side of Paradise and The Paradise Syndrome (ha, didn't realize they both had "paradise" in the title) from TOS. The first I find annoying because of everyone turning on Kirk. The second I hate because I LOATHE most amnesia storylines, because I find most annoying and not fun to watch. But both aren't bad episodes to me. They're just annoying to me personally.

I'm also tempted to say Turnabout Intruder, because of the crew not knowing of the bodyswitch, but they catch on pretty quick that something's up with Kirk and Spock's in the real Kirk's corner after not too long. But I still find it annoying, and I groaned when I realized what the premise was going to be for the series finale. But I'm also one of the weirdos who thinks Turnabout Intruder is objectively good.

Anyway, what are some of yours?

 

[Qonundrum]

Trying to think of episodes that were objectively perfect or nearly so, which I didn't care for, it gets a little more difficult, but - give me a moment - and I'll think of few...

Assuming "objectively" means the right amount of budget was applied, as well as plotting that is low or free of nitpicks, gimmicks, contrivances, or Treknobabble to coast on, quite a few do exist. A couple of of those include "Duet" as it is just about a perfect story, as is "Far Beyond the Stars", with neither having any plotting nitpicks, but I felt invested in those episodes, so any nitpicks that do exist in them didn't feel as detracting or seem as prominent, so they don't qualify for my list.

But, thankfully, there are plenty of other examples:

"The Trouble With Tribbles" is a TOS episode that has no nitpickery that I remember, is a fan favorite, but it's not really my thing.

Overlook how the Orb of Time gets a ship to travel thousands of light years as well, and "Trials and Tribble-ations". I vaguely recall one other possible, but small, nitpick, but objectively it's very well done in grafting in new characters without upending the original story in the process, and the effects are magnificent. But it's not really my thing.

"The Visitor", if you can roll with a little Treknobabble and how the 24th century citizens take the notion of suicidal ideation due to an episode of what could only be described in the DSM-V (at least by 2013's standards) in a very lax casual way, is an all-time great, but it's not my thing because there's nothing beyond the emotional and there's nothing really in the episode that stands up to repeated regular screenings. Let the episode simmer for several years and it'll still retain most of its power. Maybe everyone in the 24th century is so used to spatial and other anomalies that they do believe any old-age person making big claims about images he's seen that nobody else can and there's no senility or Irumodic syndrome beyond a Q conjuring trick either.

"The Inner Light" is objectively good, save for a couple of nitpicks, but those nitpicks drove me away from it in droves so here it is on my list of "not my thing". The nitpicks are mostly used to set up the plot and to close it and aren't terribly egregious, but one could argue they didn't need to be there either. Well, if I was plural then it'd be in droves and "drove" just sounds silly since I'm not a lorry. There's a mashup of definitions right there, but that doesn't make much sense and I'm straying from the real point: Fix the nitpicks and it would be one of THE best. The worst one IMHO is how the probe finds one and only one person, shoves memories into the one's brain despite not having the schematics of every brain structure in the universe, then dispenses a flute, then deactivates. Which is all lovely except the species building it wants to tell the universe how great they were. Sheesh, Jean-Luc could go back to Earth next week and get ran over by a space bus and then it's all for nothing, innit?

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

TNG's Cause and Effect bored me to tears on my rewatch recently because it's all about watching the same scenes over and over, and I'd already seen them multiple times back when it aired! I remembered the whole plot so there was no mystery there for me, and I was just waiting for the episode to end so I could get my Kelsey Grammer cameo and turn it off.

I feel like TOS's Conscience of the King is probably a good episode, but it never really held my interest either. I can't even pin down why I didn't like it, it just didn't grab me.

Also DS9 comedies like Little Green Men, Our Man Bashir and The Magnificent Ferengi didn't really work for me, though I can see why other people like them. Most of the other Ferengi comedy stories I just think are terrible.

 

[Victoria]

The Inner Light and The Visitor are both episodes where the acting is top-notch but aren't what I want from "my" Star Trek. I'm a bit dubious about The Measure of a Man too. Again great acting and a good premise but the whole legal aspect is handled really badly - in a RL situation it just wouldn't happen like that and that distracts me.

I feel I ought to dislike Far beyond The Stars too for very much the same reasons as TIL and TV but that one I do like. Possibly it is the higher involvement of the regular cast albeit in different roles, but it may be because I am not adverse to casts in which I am invested having a bit of fun occasionally.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I don't think I've ever been able to separate "I like it" and "it's good". Thus there is no "it's good, but not for me". There's only popular things I don't like, and unpopular things I do like.

 

[somebuddyX]

I've never seen "Darmok" but I wonder if I'll have that feeling.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

DS9.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

I'm like this about most of TNG's fan favorite episodes. Too many to list here. I can see why people think they're good and yeah they often are, but meh - I prefer the weird and quirky TNG episodes that either make me laugh because of unintentional hilarity or that are basically mediocre but have a cute Jean-Luc scene that makes the entire episode watchable and super enjoyable for me just to see that scene.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I don't think I've ever been able to separate "I like it" and "it's good". Thus there is no "it's good, but not for me". There's only popular things I don't like, and unpopular things I do like.

I can dislike The Beatles whilst absolutely recognizing that they were very good at doing what they did.

Same for me with DS9.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Just to clarify, @Victoria (because sad emoji… don’t feel sad, please) I don’t hate DS9. It’s a really good show. It’s arguably the best Trek of its era and contender for best of the whole bunch. It’s just, as it says in the thread title, not my kind of thing when it comes to Trek.

I can constantly dip in and out of TNG. It really doesn’t matter too much in terms of comprehending what’s going on, no matter what episode I watch.

You can’t really do that with DS9. It has dramatic moments that have the most impact when the audience has been taken on a longer journey towards them. It’s the serialised thing. I prefer the TOS/TNG/VOY/SNW approach.

DS9 is one of the all-time greats of TV Sci-fi, it’s just not my personal cup of tea.

 

[Victoria]

Just to clarify, @Victoria (because sad emoji… don’t feel sad, please) I don’t hate DS9. It’s a really good show. It’s arguably the best Trek of its era and contender for best of the whole bunch. It’s just, as it says in the thread title, not my kind of thing when it comes to Trek.

I can constantly dip in and out of TNG. It really doesn’t matter too much in terms of comprehending what’s going on, no matter what episode I watch.

You can’t really do that with DS9. It has dramatic moments that have the most impact when the audience has been taken on a longer journey towards them. It’s the serialised thing. I prefer the TOS/TNG/VOY/SNW approach.

DS9 is one of the all-time greats of TV Sci-fi, it’s just not my personal cup of tea.

This is one of the problems with emoticons - they lack nuance. I find it perfectly reasonable that other people don't like the things I like or prefer other things.

I hope other people will get out of DS9 the same pleasure that I do but, if they don't...well, we'll watch something else when you come round!

 

[Lord Garth]

"Cardassians" is a good episode of DS9. Here's description since the title is so generic: A custody case over whether or not a Cardassian child raised by Bajorans to hate his own people, and previously thought to be a War Orphan, should be returned to his biological father.

Like I said, it's a good episode, but it's NOT one I'm going to watch unless it's part of a re-watch. Watching custody battles isn't my type of thing.

On a macro-scale: Any Star Trek series that I'm not a fan of. I don't think they're bad. I'm just not into them.

 

[Oddish]

"Duet" and "In the Pale Moonlight".

Both are certainly quality work. But the grimness of the subject matter just makes them not entertaining for me. That and some stupidity related to both episodes:
Duet: Julian Bashir, 24th century doctor extraordinaire, can't treat a knife wound.
Moonlight: Why is Sisko doing the Federation's dirty work when the show JUST INTRODUCED Section 31, a purpose-built dirty work organization?

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Moonlight: Why is Sisko doing the Federation's dirty work when the show JUST INTRODUCED Section 31, a purpose-built dirty work organization?

I've actually grown to appreciate that. Section 31's whole argument is that they're necessary because Starfleet officers can't make the tough calls and their leadership has to be left out of the loop for their own protection. Then right away we get an episode where Sisko does a Starfleet-approved mission to manipulate the Romulans into the war, kicking the legs out from under Sloan's whole argument.

 

[Farscape One]

Interesting question.

While I have been known to be able to separate "good" and "what I like" (The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, for example, I like some of their songs and definitely acknowledge and respect the mark they made in music, but I'm just not a fan), it's honestly trickier for me to do the same with STAR TREK.

I'm actually going to have to think hard on this one for a bit.

Great idea for a thread!

DS9.

Farscape One, his heart saddened and frown immense.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I've actually grown to appreciate that. Section 31's whole argument is that they're necessary because Starfleet officers can't make the tough calls and their leadership has to be left out of the loop for their own protection. Then right away we get an episode where Sisko does a Starfleet-approved mission to manipulate the Romulans into the war, kicking the legs out from under Sloan's whole argument.

That might be the whole point. Perhaps that mission was their attempt to prove 31 wrong.

 

[Annorax849]

I think Measure of a Man and Tapestry are good but overrated. With Tapestry, there were really two morals/themes going on at once, and at some points they were even in conflict with eachother.

I thought Twilight was overrated when it first aired, still do a little bit, but it grew on me with repeated viewings.

I wouldn't really say Inner Light qualifies for this for me, but I do think it has some flaws. Notably the questionable morality of what the Kaatanians did, and also how they had the tech to do it. I thought both could have been resolved by having some sort of noncorporeal entity effecting Picard in an attempt to preserve Kaatan's memory, but that has issues too. Still close to a 10/10 episode for me, though I think the idea of it (and the music) are better than the episode itself.

 

[Oddish]

I've actually grown to appreciate that. Section 31's whole argument is that they're necessary because Starfleet officers can't make the tough calls and their leadership has to be left out of the loop for their own protection. Then right away we get an episode where Sisko does a Starfleet-approved mission to manipulate the Romulans into the war, kicking the legs out from under Sloan's whole argument.

It still would have worked way better if they'd flopflopped the two episodes. After Sisko's action, S31 realizes that DS9 is a major hub for intrigue and decides it needs a permanent presence there. Sisko is too visible, but Bashir is highly intelligent, enjoys playing spy, and is friendly with Garak (a useful asset, but unsuitable as S31's primary operative because of probable divided loyalties). It just flows better, narrative-wise.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Plus Bashir has a job that puts him in close quarters with people who are emotionally/physically compromised (meds, trauma) who might let things slip out or feel comfortable telling him things they wouldn't say to just anyone. Combine that with a live-in informant (Garak) and a bar where shady business is the special of the day (Quark's) and it's an intel dream come true.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

It just flows better, narrative-wise.

This to me is the correct order:

1. Section 31 does a thing
2. Section 31 is made to look like a fool.