The Least Disliked Episode 2025 - TOS Season 2

[BlueStuff]

Our addictive biyearly game of rapid elimination returns - and the content keeps coming. 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 favorite 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 Original Series
Hall of Champions
2011 - Mirror, Mirror
2013 - Balance of Terror
2015 - Mirror, Mirror
2017 - Journey to Babel
2019 - The Doomsday Machine
2021 - The Doomsday Machine
2023 - Balance of Terror
2025 -

Season 2
Amok Time
Who Mourns for Adonais?
The Changeling
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Metamorphosis
Journey to Babel
Friday's Child
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
Patterns of Force
By Any Other Name
The Omega Glory
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses
Assignment: Earth

 

[Farscape One]

Another solid season.

I'll take off "THE OMEGA GLORY".

It had its moments, and I love the horror aspect of what happened to the Exeter crew, but it was definitely a very flawed episode.


Amok Time
Who Mourns for Adonais?
The Changeling
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Metamorphosis
Journey to Babel
Friday's Child
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
Patterns of Force
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses
Assignment: Earth

 

[Qonundrum]

Most other episodes I find redeeming to some level, but even as the one salvageable thing it's still utter mulm (aka "fish shit"):

The Changeling

It's so bloody awful that it feels like someone who watched it said "this is crap, let's do it again but do it right this time - and in the form of a major motion picture!" So witness what TMP doesn't have that this fishy episode does have:


The raging sexism!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Good gravy, that's hideous. No worries, they can accelerate Uhura's re-education in the span of one week, what otherwise normally takes dozen years for people as kids!!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

There's Spock mindmelding a technological construct because... well, he just can. Just this once. Just to move the plot along out of plot corner and convenience than to have it mean a dang thing (apart from token exposition that could have been done anywhere in the episode for any other reason). To compare with TMP, Spock merely senses something in a large alien artifact that appears to be far more than machine, and it's all integral TO the plot as well as making Kirk and the gang wonder if Spock is there for ulterior motives in a neat little subplot. Never mind that there is minor precedent, since Spock could feel the deaths of fellow Vulcans on the Intrepid and that wasn't a boatload of computers... (Spoiler: He kinda is there for an ulterior motive, but the movie's setups and even explanations for handling it all are light years better than this episode...)

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

There's Kirk nagging the computer to death! What fun! And for the second, third, or tenth time by now! And oh look, Nomad is bouncing up and down repeatedly! Is he preparing a milkshake latte? Or mating with the warp engine pod to make a bunch of little Nomads with?! Inquiring minds don't want to know, so here's more!


There's corny non-deaths for draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaama! Sadly, nobody on the youtubeverse felt that either the scene where Nomad kills Scotty, or the scene where Nomad resurrects him, was deemed entertaining and/or worthy enough.


There's that opening attack scene!! With 90 photon torpedoes causing pre-credits whiz-bang but then a mild tap afterward because the script overestimated itself. Also, and of greater interest, on the youtubeverse felt that it was worthy of being on display either, imagine that...


Sheesh, even the most cringe-inducing scene in TMP doesn't come close to any of those moments, and are easier to explain/accept.

ON EDIT:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

There's nothing fishy about that!


What's left:
Amok Time
Who Mourns for Adonais?
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Metamorphosis
Journey to Babel
Friday's Child
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
Patterns of Force
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses
Assignment: Earth

 

[Sakonna]

Do I hate the memory erasue of Uhura in "The Changeling." That probably would have been my first elimination.

The only thing I can ever clearly remember about "Friday's Child" is that I struggle to sit through it.

Amok Time
Who Mourns for Adonais?
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Metamorphosis
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
Patterns of Force
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses
Assignment: Earth

 

[Victoria]

"Who Mourns for Adonis" involves one of the tropes that I dislike most - a (generally) female crew member meets a MAN and becomes so infatuated in 30 seconds (or a very short period) as to be prepared to give up everything for them. Not fond of omnipotent beings either. In fairness, Palamas does behave like a Starfleet officer in the end - but only because of the intervention of another MAN in the form of Kirk emotionally manipulating her.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Metamorphosis
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
Patterns of Force
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses
Assignment: Earth

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

On my latest rewatch I ended up putting Metamorphosis right at the bottom of my ranking, as it's entirely focused on the mystery of the energy creature and what they're going to do about it. When I came into it with all the answers to its questions there was nothing else there to interest me.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
Patterns of Force
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses
Assignment: Earth

 

[I am not Herbert]

Assignment: Earth, because it's not a Star Trek episode, and its last ten minutes is so excruciatingly slow it makes the ship fly-by scene in TMP look like sonic the hedgehog, with Roberta Lincoln saying "gee whiz" or something similar approximately ten times the viewer's only succor

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
Patterns of Force
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[BillJ]

“Patterns of Force”

Nazi episode that just doesn’t work.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
Wolf in the Fold
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Farscape One]

Taking out the "WOLF IN THE FOLD".

Not a bad episode, but it dealt with mysticism a bit more than I'd like. I'm not really a seance guy.


Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
Catspaw
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Airin]

Taking out "Catspaw". One of the many episodes about super-powerful aliens that can create illusions from the characters' minds. And the representation of fears is too Halloween cliché to be believable. Much better done in Spectre of the Gun.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
Return to Tomorrow
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I'm taking away Return to Tomorrow as it takes forever to get going and when it does it sidelines the series two lead characters.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Apple
The Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Brennyren]

Even for the 1960s, the special effects for "The Apple" were...unimpressive. And the story was a bit on-the-nose.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
A Piece of the Action
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Sakonna]

I can't stand "A Piece Of The Action." The whole thing is just nails-on-a-chalkboard to me. I don't get the appeal at all. I find the episode shrill and nearly impossible to get through.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Victoria]

"Obsession" is pretty much the same problem as with the Salt Vampire. At least Kirk turns out to have a flaw.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
I, Mudd
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[carcinoGeneticist]

I didn't like I, Mudd. I found it weird and not really in a good way, at least from what I remember of it. I didn't really like any of the episodes with Mudd.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
Obsession
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
The Immunity Syndrome
A Private Little War
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Henoch]

Not a fan of A Private Little War. Kirk supports a simplest view of the Vietnam War where supplying weapons to kill the "bad" guys is the only solution; plus the "good" guy side is led by a moron. The story (and solution) needed to be more clever. I'm even torn with Nancy Kovack's sexy Nona but in a bad black wig?

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
The Deadly Years
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
The Immunity Syndrome
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[BlueStuff]

The Deadly Years is a goner. Everyone's ageing rapidly; now's the perfect time to have a long, long competency hearing when time is quite literally running out.

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
The Immunity Syndrome
By Any Other Name
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Farscape One]

All good ones left here, but I'll take out "BY ANY OTHER NAME".

Really only because I like it just a little bit less than what remains.


Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Gamesters of Triskelion
The Immunity Syndrome
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Airin]

Bye, "Gamesters"! An entertaining episode, but a bit too campy and ridiculous when compared with the ones left. Also, after Lenore, Miri, Sylvia, Marlena and Andrea, this is the SIXTH time Kirk uses seduction as a tactic.
Don't they teach other abilities at Command school?

Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Immunity Syndrome
The Ultimate Computer
Bread and Circuses

 

[Phaser Two]

One of these eps is not like the other . . . "Bread and Circuses" is not as good as these others. It's fine, Kirk is awesome, Scotty saves the day, and we get that great jail cell convo . . . but it's not in my top half of this season.


Amok Time
Mirror, Mirror
The Doomsday Machine
Journey to Babel
The Trouble With Tribbles
The Immunity Syndrome
The Ultimate Computer