The Least Disliked Episode 2025: TNG Season 1

[BlueStuff]

Our addictive biyearly game of rapid elimination returns - now with more shows than ever. It's generally a lot of fun, providing a chance to mentally revisit those episodes you may not have thought about in a while. With that in mind, why not play again?

So, here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your least favourite or the one you deem the 'worst.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode just because you feel it would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Hall of Champions
2011 - The Best of Both Worlds (I)
2013 - The Measure of a Man
2015 - All Good Things…
2017 - The Best of Both Worlds (I)
2019 - Yesterday’s Enterprise
2021 - Q Who
2023 - Q Who
2025 -

Season 1
Encounter at Farpoint
The Naked Now
Code of Honor
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Justice
The Battle
Hide and Q
Haven
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
Angel One
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy
The Neutral Zone

 

[Qonundrum]

The worst of this list, at the time of writing, right here, right now, is this:

Justice

Others come close, but the character assassination of Yar and Riker overcomes some of the dippiness of another infamous episode, for which even one of the cast in it came out in an interview defending it. But more on that one later.

A shame that the bridge scene at the start, discussing the very character assassinations, could not be found.

So sorry, I just found it:

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Crusher: "Sounds wonderful for the children"
Yar: "I've listed all the laws, just common sense fluff" (Riker later states something similar, dullardifying him as a result)
LaForge: "they make love at the drop of a hat"
(scene cuts so we can't see the bridge crew's reactions, fortunately...)

It's utterly cringeworthy as to what gets jammed into two minutes. But then there's this:

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For some refreshment, try these:

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I refuse to post the clip I saw that almost gives this episode a hint of justice, and TNG would do it far better even by season 2.

If I got my logic circuit inverted and I was supposed to save what I felt was THE BEST of the season based on titles left, let me know and I will delete this post haste.

And now, I bet 50 quatloos on what will be picked from the list like a booger next:
Encounter at Farpoint
The Naked Now
Code of Honor
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Battle
Hide and Q
Haven
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
Angel One
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy
The Neutral Zone

 

[BlueStuff]

I’m going to take out The Neutral Zone a little earlier than it usually goes - but it’s a bad episode. The crew’s attitudes were appalling; they acted as though the unfrozen people were subhuman scum. “Sigh, well they’re here now; we’ll have to treat them like living human beings.”

I also have a major problem with Crusher’s pompous lecturing about these dark-age simpletons. “In the old days, people were scared of dying. It terrified them.” Oh? If dying doesn’t matter, why is she a doctor?

Data also makes the strange claim that baseball is a television show (a medium that didn’t last much beyond 2040, apparently).

Encounter at Farpoint
The Naked Now
Code of Honor
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Battle
Hide and Q
Haven
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
Angel One
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Qonundrum]

I’m going to take out The Neutral Zone a little earlier than it usually goes - but it’s a bad episode. The crew’s attitudes were appalling; they acted as though the unfrozen people were subhuman scum. “Sigh, well they’re here now; we’ll have to treat them like living human beings.”

You do realize I just lost 50 quatloos?

I also have a major problem with Crusher’s pompous lecturing about these dark-age simpletons. “In the old days, people were scared of dying. It terrified them.” Oh? If dying doesn’t matter, why is she a doctor?

The wonderfulness of season one hubris. "We humans are so perfect now and we act up-nosed at what came before." is definitely a sign that TOS this ain't.

Why a doctor would heal the sick despite not being afraid of death. Total headscratcher, even "Generations" did a better job at tackling mortality.

Data also makes the strange claim that baseball is a television show (a medium that didn’t last much beyond 2040, apparently).

15 years left to go. I wonder what will replace it. Vintage video games circa 1987? Blackjack dealers? Strip poker? Nobody knows...

 

[Artoo Atari]

Hmmm... okay, I'll bite. Code of Honor.. Surprise, surprise. Do I really need to explain about an eposode regarded by the actors as "the worst episode we did" and a "piece of $#!t"?

Encounter at Farpoint
The Naked Now
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Battle
Hide and Q
Haven
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
Angel One
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Qonundrum]

TNG was sorta in a weird time. Sci-fi tried to explore the trope many times in the past, but this one misses the mark - unlike 'The Lorelai Signal' (which DOES work).

Angel One

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Well, they say "moments", but they sure aren't the best ones.

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Now there's the O-word, as eloquently stated by Data.

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The teaser does hint at some great camerawork, and that pesky cooties going around the ship that should ratchet up the urgency of it all, yet somehow doesn't... on Staaaaaaar Trek The Dumb Episode. Season 1 had much better.


What's left:
Encounter at Farpoint
The Naked Now
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Battle
Hide and Q
Haven
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Qonundrum]

Hmmm... okay, I'll bite. Code of Honor.. Surprise, surprise. Do I really need to explain about an eposode regarded by the actors as "the worst episode we did" and a "piece of $#!t"?

The usual arguments are there, like if the Ligonians were to be all white, or if "Justice" - the planet of the even more primitive, blue-eyed blonds () is somehow any better. Season 1's low points are still low, but "Justice" definitely edges out for those reasons.

Now a reason why CoH is not the worst is arguably hidden in plain sight:

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The action scene, once it starts, is pretty well choreographed, and it's nice that it's not Kirk fighting for once. Yar vs Yareena (despite the name for Yar's opponent being on-the-nose) are both strong figures in their own ways (Yar is chief of security, Yareena's position is greater than Lutan's), and it's grounded - no superpowers are involved. The other twist is Dr Crusher saving Yareena is decent, which leads to the denouement for Lutan.

And no silly wigs were needed for this episode either.

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Great interview, worthy of a whole watch.

 

[Artoo Atari]

The usual arguments are there, like if the Ligonians were to be all white, or if "Justice" - the planet of the even more primitive, blue-eyed blonds () is somehow any better. Season 1's low points are still low, but "Justice" definitely edges out for those reasons.

No, I agree actually. I don't think it's necessarily the worst episode either, but there are better on the list. "Angel One" and "Justice" are episodes where you just have to feel bad for the actors. The things they had to do and wear to earn a check...

 

[Farscape One]

Putting clothes back on "The Naked Now".

It was obviously a ripoff of TOS' "THE NAKED TIME". But that isn't my issue with it.

The goal was to 'bring the secret desires of the crew to the front'. And that makes sense... once you know who these people are first. Directly after the pilot is NOT the time to do that, when there has been literally no time to really get to know these characters.

This is a situation where placement of an episode in a season or series really does make or break an episode.



Encounter at Farpoint
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Battle
Hide and Q
Haven
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Brennyren]

I had to be told "Haven" was a comedy. Also, seriously, nobody (except Riker, who had his own motivations) questioned the idea that Troi would have to give up the career she'd earned to marry a man her parents had picked for her. And who wanted a blonde. Wow. Welcome to the enlightened 24th century?


Encounter at Farpoint
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Battle
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I have to pick "The Battle", as during my TNG rewatch it actually sent me to sleep. I dozed right off in my chair.

Encounter at Farpoint
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Too Short a Season
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Farscape One]

And who wanted a blonde. Wow. Welcome to the enlightened 24th century?

Certainly not me.


"Too Short A Season" is now a season gone.

The story was decent, but the casting for Admiral Jameson was really off. He brought down the episode, really.


Encounter at Farpoint
The Last Outpost
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Airin]

I also have a major problem with Crusher’s pompous lecturing about these dark-age simpletons. “In the old days, people were scared of dying. It terrified them.” Oh? If dying doesn’t matter, why is she a doctor?

Not to mention the patronizing "drugs are bad, kids; if you use drugs then you're a coward who hates life."

Eliminating "The Last Outpost". I found the story boring, the Ferengi were extra ridiculous, and everything gets solved because Riker discussed philosophy with the Guardian??

Encounter at Farpoint
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Seven of Five]

As good as Q was here, Encounter at Farpoint is a difficult rewatch.

Bad acting, and the episode drags.

Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Symbiosis
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Brennyren]

Not to mention the patronizing "drugs are bad, kids; if you use drugs then you're a coward who hates life."

Speaking of that -- I think "Symbiosis" has been in this game long enough. Picard's use of Prime Directive rule-fu was clever, but that bit of posturing preaching was just insufferable.

Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
When the Bough Breaks
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[Sakonna]

Season 1 of TNG is some of my favorite Trek. Aside from "Code Of Honor", there are no bad episodes.

But of what remains, "When The Bough Breaks" is the least fun to rewatch. Sad kids are a downer.

Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
We'll Always Have Paris
Conspiracy

 

[BlueStuff]

And We'll Always Have Paris is a snoozer; that one's the next to go.

Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil
Conspiracy

 

[Seven of Five]

I've always had a problem with the execution of Yar's death in Skin of Evil.

Aside from the funeral scene at the end, I didn't feel anything for it.

Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
Hide and Q
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Conspiracy

 

[Qonundrum]

Arguably the least effective of what's left,

Hide and Q

The ideas feel underexplored when not overly hokey at times. Even as a fan of Q, this is his weakest episode and there's little to really enjoy.

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(Snarf snarf, Riker studied "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and aped Gary Mitchell. You 'member Gary Mitchell, right? At least Q is qool. )

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(Hey look, the Stargazer looks like the NCC-1701-Refit for... reasons! It's a reference eastie egg! Eastie eggs ihz kewl!! Oh wait, there's supposed to be a strong after-sk00l drama scene somewhere in this. The follow-up scene, with Data flinging heavy stone as if it's paper (sound effects perfectly timed as well) reveals the cliché of a widdle giwl in amongst the dead 'dults, with Neverly's violins on q. Quick, cry on cue! Or is that "Cry on q"? Okay, that's a bit much -- the episode was genuinely trying and that scene is one of the better ones, but I really wanted to do the dumb wordplay. Especially for Beverly, recalling some of the guff she got to say in season five...)

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(DeLancie steals the show, regardless of the script surrounding everyone. At least Geordi gets a terrific double entendre before being given full sight, in one of the episode's few terrific moments. A terrific moment surrounded by treacle.)

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(Because... why not, everyone thinks it's a great scene with all the undeserved pottymouth because, unconsciously, you know that half 'of em were cheering the bayonetting on...)

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(This is THE best scene of the episode. Nice direction with Q on the left of the screen, opposite dual moons. There is a certain charm, with both content and visual flair in this. But the episode could if not should have been better.)



What's left:
Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Home Soil
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Conspiracy

 

[Sakonna]

"Home Soil" would be a lot better if it had a cooler sci-fi voice for the lifeform.

(Though even the Borg have a lousy voice in their first time out! I guess it's a hard thing to get the hang of)

Where No One Has Gone Before
Lonely Among Us
The Big Goodbye
Datalore
11001001
Coming of Age
Heart of Glory
The Arsenal of Freedom
Conspiracy