Game The Most Disliked Episode From THR's 100 Greatest Star Trek Episodes, 2025 Edition

[at Quark's]

Mine would've been skin of evil too (In fact, I started that comment back on page 1). But I can live with Brothers.

And let's not forget that these are supposed to be the top 100 of 6 series of Trek, so even no. 100 would still be significantly better than your average episode. Right?

 

[Qonundrum]

Mine would've been skin of evil too (In fact, I started that comment back on page 1). But I can live with Brothers.

And let's not forget that these are supposed to be the top 100 of 6 series of Trek, zo even no. 100 would still be significantly better than your average episode. Right?

In theory...









IMHO, I'd still say that "Brothers" is fairly awful, made memorable only for Brent Spiner's triple role (which must have been hell to have endured, especially given how seamless most of the split screen/greenscreen stuff is). But the plotting and pointless return of Lore (a happenstance, for which at least we get more potential for "Descent" later on.) Early season 4 had this rubber stamp cookie cutter routine of forcing someone out of their usual environment to cope with some big bag. "Remember Me" is the only memorable one in a positive way and thankfully this is the turning point. Data is kidnapped and finds Lore, who was in the right place at the right time to be picked up by the local space taxi sign, there's this human in an interesting yet unfortunately uncompelling twist of "The Jungle Book" only Jono gets to play with sharp eating utensils, and so on. Heck, I'd put "Suddenly Human" above "Brothers" for daring to do something novel with the trope by reversing it and the story should have been better. I just looked it up and for some reason I keep thinking the first third of season 4 is devoted to that trope, when it's just 4 episodes... at least until "The Loss" when it's Troi's turn.

 

[Victoria]

Mine would've been skin of evil too (In fact, I started that comment back on page 1). But I can live with Brothers.

And let's not forget that these are supposed to be the top 100 of 6 series of Trek, so even no. 100 would still be significantly better than your average episode. Right?

It's been commented already that a number of the episodes in this "Top 100" appear regularly on "most disliked" lists so I'm not sure that this follows!

I think that "top episodes" will include a number of episodes that are "memorable" rather than objectively "good" or "enjoyable" (whatever "objectively" means in these circumstances)

 

[maneth]

So, the last one's Brothers, then?

All the chatter in this thread makes it a bit hard to keep track...

 

[Seven of Five]

Yeah Brothers won. I quite like that one but had to go to bed so couldn't wake up and save it in time.

Brent Spiner was amazing in it.

My bottom 2 was Skin of Evil and Endgame. Honourable mention to Broken Bow, which sends me to sleep during rewatch.

 

[maneth]

Yeah Brothers won. I quite like that one but had to go to bed so couldn't wake up and save it in time.

Brent Spiner was amazing in it.

My bottom 2 was Skin of Evil and Endgame. Honourable mention to Broken Bow, which sends me to sleep during rewatch.

My bottom one by quite some margin was Space Seed. I absolutely hate that episode, Khan is so slimy in it, and I feel sorry for Marla who's so affected by his charm. Goes without saying that TWOK is also my least favorite Trek movie. Oddly enough, I absolutely love the Augments trilogy on Enterprise, not least because Alec Newman is so hawt in it, but Ricardo Montalban doesn't affect me like that at all.

 

[Tallguy]

Honourable mention to Broken Bow, which sends me to sleep during rewatch.

This is really developing a love / hate following over the years. I thought it was meh in 2001 but I've seen people list it as their favorite or second favorite pilot.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

The last time I watched all the pilots I put Broken Bow right in the middle of the pack, below Caretaker, but I did enjoy it.

 

[Qonundrum]

So, the last one's Brothers, then?

Yup. I had to look up the last few posts of the thread as well, to be sure, but it is.

All the chatter in this thread makes it a bit hard to keep track...

Wouldn't it be really boring to read pages of nothing other than "I'll yoink #73 out". With 20 posts per page and 7 pages of episodes removed from a list, people are bound to give reasons that are honestly fun to read. Is that alone really the reason that these contests get so long? I will opine, that people posting at near the same time does create problems with removed entries that have reappeared, but when I see that there's another post made above that wasn't there when I started my reply, I'll update my post with the "what's left" list to reduce the chances of an episode returning to the list that shouldn't be there any longer.

 

[Seven of Five]

Broken Bow was interersting enough when I first saw it, but it hasn't aged well.

Too much nonsensical TCW, cheap tacky decon scenes, and I was fed up Klingons by ENT as well. TNG and DS9 had developed them nicely from TOS, but enough was enough.

 

[Qonundrum]

My bottom one by quite some margin was Space Seed. I absolutely hate that episode, Khan is so slimy in it, and I feel sorry for Marla who's so affected by his charm.

Ah, but that's the fun thing - we're supposed to hate Khan's antics, and Ricardo's performance really elevates the episode. We're also supposed to feel sorry for Marla for her being caught in the middle. Indeed, there is a deleted scene:

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That really adds even more ambiguity over "Is Khan using her?", which - depending on what the makers were trying to show - needed to have been cut out or retained in favor of trimming another scene for time. Either way, at the story's end, it's shown that Khan really did love Marla:

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To the credit of TWOK, Khan is shown as still caring and missing his wife when seething revenge on Kirk (despite clearly choosing the option of being abandoned than to be locked up forevermore as punishment for trying to kill everyone on the ship, by which point the rest of the Fleet would be quick to disable or destroy the ship for obvious reasons.) Now there are a bunch of clichéd plot tropes that could have been used and everyone would nod and say it fits and they'd not be wrong, but the Meyer keeping true to Khan and him being more than a 2D caricature despite 2D thinking was a plus in its favor. Two pluses, since the 2D thinking was still present in "Space Seed" by his impetuous desire to blow up the ship. Nor did Kirk and Spock say they would return, Spock makes an unofficial remark to Kirk on what might be interesting to see and only Spock would have the actual lifespan to do so, though the rhetorical answer that could most easily be inferred is that you'd have a planet full of Khans all wanting to take over and, with greater numbers, might manage to do so. The episode is out of minutes to play with this so they left it at that. Kirk's dropping of the charges in this is also akin to TSFS when he offers to save Kruge. Difference is, Khan acquiesces knowing his place and Kruge was too wound up in his hatred of Kirk/Federation.

 

[Sakonna]

My least favorite on the full list would be "A Piece Of The Action." I know that's fully blasphemy, but I can barely sit through it. I find the whole thing aggravating and it sets my teeth on edge. I just do not vibe with this episode.

Though I like "Brothers" as a winner. It doesn't do much for me. I experience it primarily as a gimmick, and a gimmick doesn't carry you that far.

I'll post the next game sometime Monday. Thanks for playing all!

 

[Sakonna]

The 2022 winner of this game was ENT: "Home" (and "Brothers" was the runner-up that year).

The 2020 winner was also "Home", so it's streak has finally been broken!

 

[Cyfa]

I'm glad that "Home" didn't come last as I rather like it. I don't know which would have been my least favourite - probably one of the TOS episodes because I find it too difficult to see past the various 60s trappings to enjoy them properly. However, I'm happy with "Brothers" being the least favourite as, like you, @Sakonna, I see it as a gimmick.

Thanks for running these games!

 

[Tallguy]

My least favorite on the full list would be "A Piece Of The Action." I know that's fully blasphemy, but I can barely sit through it.

Nah. There's people that don't like it. Me? I like it better than Tribbles. (I like it a lot.)

 

[Qonundrum]

My least favorite on the full list would be "A Piece Of The Action." I know that's fully blasphemy, but I can barely sit through it. I find the whole thing aggravating and it sets my teeth on edge. I just do not vibe with this episode.

I'll sit here and proverbially blaspheme as well, the 20sisms are on point as are the costumes, but the tone and basic plot is too much to believe. Even with Vic Tayback going all gusto and having fun with his dialogue. (If you've seen the sitcom "Alice", he's a riot as diner owner Mel... definitely is the 70s, though!)

Though I like "Brothers" as a winner. It doesn't do much for me. I experience it primarily as a gimmick, and a gimmick doesn't carry you that far.

Spiner is excellent for sure, but the prank by the kid's brother is a stretch (where were the parents in this alien planet's mall (where the plants in the aisles and corners are producing food freely for anyone to grab) since the mall's aisles have plants growing food are apparently known to be toxic to humans since not all foods are edible across all biological lifeforms which is why you don't feed Fido chocolate) and all this time, Soong's been quietly sitting in a corner, lights up a callback device, Lore was thankfully at the right spot in the empty void of space where luckily some Pakleds had a ship that had sensors that can detect something so minuscule and deem it worthwhile - it's easier to swallow coincidences if the rest of the story is robust and not just a gimmick to get Brent to do a triple-role. I can appreciate the attempt, but the script doesn't withstand a rewatch. Indeed, in 1990, my first thought was "They're already looking back to season 1 to find any old characters for new plot inspirations with? (Unlike the Borg, Lore was clearly written off, needing a more dramatic return as opposed of an indirect detour in this one.) Little would I know that Minuet would be returning as well, though her return was done in a far more compelling way with Riker's mystery and it's a terrific reveal. I think "Brothers" had potential in the Soong department, but it just fell flat. Was Lore even necessary? Nope, so neither was his shoehorning in.)

I'll post the next game sometime Monday. Thanks for playing all!

Much thanks and appreciations for all of these contests you do!!


On edit: Minor clarification to one paragraph, no content alteration made