The Most Disliked Episode of TNG, Season 6: 2021 Edition...

[Farscape One]

This is a twist on a game that is played here, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

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 most favorite or the one you deem the 'best.' 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 because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Hall of Champions (or Failures?)
2011 - "Shades Of Gray"
2018 - "The Outrageous Okona"
2019 - "Code of Honor"
2021 - "Journey's End"


Season Six -

Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Relics
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
A Fistful of Datas
The Quality Of Life
Chain Of Command, Part I
Chain Of Command, Part II
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Face Of The Enemy
Tapestry
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Frame Of Mind
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Farscape One]

This was a really, really good season. Hard to pick my first. I'm tempted to go with an obvious Picard episode.

But given my love of horror and creepiness, I have to start with "Frame of Mind". This might be Frakes' best performance as Will Riker. No matter what anyone says about him, you have to give Frakes credit for always going all in on a concept or episode. He totally nailed the madness he was feeling. Plus there's always something unsettling about an asylum.

Not to mention this is Brannon Braga at his best. His script was excellent. I found no flaws with it. Couple that with the always excellent James L. Conway as the director, and this ends up as one of the best episodes of TNG.


Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Relics
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
A Fistful of Datas
The Quality Of Life
Chain Of Command, Part I
Chain Of Command, Part II
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Face Of The Enemy
Tapestry
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Seven of Five]

I'm spoilt for choice with what to go for first. Tapestry is a great look at an alternative life for Picard if he'd had a less cocky youth. Seeing Picard in his pomp was a delight, as was Q for having some funny comments about Picard's past.

Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Relics
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
A Fistful of Datas
The Quality Of Life
Chain Of Command, Part I
Chain Of Command, Part II
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Face Of The Enemy
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Sakonna]

"Face Of The Enemy" -- a high point for Troi. And for the Romulans too, come to think of it.

Thank god they had the sense to give Troi a female antagonist in this one so Carolyn Seymour could play it. It's so easy to imagine the version where they decided the Romulan captain needed to be the same boring, late-middle-aged white man type that they chose for so many other key guest roles over the years.

Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Relics
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
A Fistful of Datas
The Quality Of Life
Chain Of Command, Part I
Chain Of Command, Part II
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Saving Chain Of Command Part 3. What, you say there are two parts? I don’t know how you could be so mistaken. (Torture)

Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Relics
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
A Fistful of Datas
The Quality Of Life
Chain Of Command, Part I
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll save Relics next. Scotty is a legend, so seeing the poor man struggling to fit into the 24th century was bittersweet. There are lots of fun TOS references as well as the awesome Enterprise scene on the holodeck.

Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
A Fistful of Datas
The Quality Of Life
Chain Of Command, Part I
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Vger23]

Saving Chain of Command Pt 1

CoC1 and 2 are always great for a good "Is Jellico a dick or not" debate...and a good "Is Riker insubordinate or not" debate...so for that reason alone it deserves to be saved. It's also a really great episode and shakes things up nicely. Ronny Cox is the man.

Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
A Fistful of Datas
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Sakonna]

"A Fistful Of Datas" is a sentimental favorite. You can tell the actors are having a great time and it's just a fun vibe in this one.

Time's Arrow, Part II
Realm Of Fear
Man Of The People
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Brobdingnag]

Saving "Realm Of Fear". I just love the Barclay's episodes and this is a good one.

Time's Arrow, Part II
Man Of The People
Schisms
True Q
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Vger23]

I'm going to save "Schisms." It harkens back to some of the earlier episodes of the series that were very moody and did a great job showing the danger and mystery of exploring deep space.


Time's Arrow, Part II
Man Of The People
True Q
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Sakonna]

I saved Part I in the season 5 game, now I will save "Time's Arrow, Part II." I just think this is a tremendously fun episode, there's so many scenes in it I never get tired of. The momentum falters a bit once we're back in that damnable cave set, but outside of that I have no complaints.

And it's the final episode of the series that has a truly substantial role for Guinan!

Man Of The People
True Q
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Qonundrum]

So many that are bad... so many with ununused or underdeveloped potential... but True Q gets my vote because there's a great allegory that doesn't require sledgehammers to get a cross, unless you consider the (shameless and little-altered?) plot inspiration from that little story about the little girl from the little state of Kansas who got whisked up in a tornado and her mom (whose name is unofficially "Beverly" and is like evil and stuff) was turned into her little barking dog... which may have been intentional after the giant and overrated mess known as "The Outcast" was, and I'd wager it's so much the better for doing so...

It honestly is such an underrated story ("True Q") that I've always had an attachment to it. Plus, the effects of them on the outer hull of the ship is almost as much of a must-see as what Q does to Dr Crusher... Plus, the allegory doesn't not fit either, and not in the same way "Encounter at Farpoint" has since the same (yes, unintentional) allegory is focused on the humans as a whole (Picard says the immortal line about being damned and all) and not individual Amanda. Especially when both Q and the humans try to be mentors for her, with Q also juggling that with an undertone of menace regarding an option he seems to have ambivalence over... definitely a bit of an underrated, multifaceted gem, this one...


What's left:
Man Of The People
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Timescape
Descent

 

[Qonundrum]

I'll save Relics next. Scotty is a legend, so seeing the poor man struggling to fit into the 24th century was bittersweet. There are lots of fun TOS references as well as the awesome Enterprise scene on the holodeck.

I adored it back in the day, right down to the homage scene of "It is green". Looking back, despite trying to let Scotty win at the end of the day, so much reeks of (unintentional) ageism just for the sake of making Scotty look bad - would he really "look with his fingers" despite his being shown enough times in the past that he reads the actual manuals? (Granted, the episode does address this, but it's so oddly downbeat in a way. But everyone expects the return of heroes to be some sort of grand stereotype as well, so the episode should get kudos for trying to be different... )

And, yup, the holodeck scene not only started a trend of melding characters with old sets with genuine affection, it's the best scene in the story and if James Doohan didn't show any range prior to "the scene", he definitely does here:

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Doohan truly steals the show here, something he'd never be allowed to do in TOS. Definitely a highly underrated actor and makes me wish he got more to do... (And, unlike back in the day, one gets a bigger emotional punch now.)

An episode definitely worth saving, it is bittersweet, melancholy, not perfect but nowhere near a mess, etc... I like it far better than I do "Unification".

 

[Vale]

I think it's going to have to be Timescape. I could have watched a whole episode of Picard, Data, LaForge and Troi gossiping in the back of a runabout.

Man Of The People
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part I
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Descent

 

[Qonundrum]

Saving "Realm Of Fear". I just love the Barclay's episodes and this is a good one.

Barclay episodes in TNG tend to be above average, well-crafted and well-acted. I just finished watching this one too. The story surrounding and use of Barclay is fairly strong and deftly handled. The wallpaper muzak is there but is thankfully limited in use, which allows the other elements to shine through that much more.

 

[Farscape One]

I am saving "Birthright, Part I" next. I like how Worf realizes he has no room in his heart for shame, but the real meat of this one Data's story. One of my favorite conversations of TNG is here with him and Picard, with Picard reminding Data that he is a culture... a culture of one. And no less important than a culture of a billion. Those two always had great scenes together, from season 1 of TNG all the way to their final scene in PICARD.


Man Of The People
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
The Chase
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Descent

 

[Vger23]

I'm saving "The Chase." It suffers from the same ailment as S1's "Conspiracy," which I also love, however....and that is that it spends WAAAAAY too much time on the set-up. And, that issue is compounded due to the fact that both "The Chase" and "Conspiracy" could have easily been multi-part stories.

In fact, I've often said that you could steal the general idea of "The Chase" and do a feature film or an entire season of DSC or SNW built around that concept.

Man Of The People
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part II
Starship Mine
Lessons
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Descent

There are a couple of good ones left still...but man S6 is filled with meh.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Saving Starship Mine. It's just an all around fun Die Hard episode.

Man Of The People
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Ship In A Bottle
Aquiel
Birthright, Part II
Lessons
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Descent

 

[Qonundrum]

Well, Ship In A Bottle is my next pick. While the script goes out of its way to pretend "sentient" Moriarty doesn't remember the old curly-hair Doctor he had a thing for (which makes for a perfectly suitable luurve triangle with the Countess), and has one tiny logic gaffe about the simulation-in-a-simulation, it's still charming enough and Daniel Davis continues to steal the show.

What's left:
Man Of The People
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Aquiel
Birthright, Part II
Lessons
Suspicions
Rightful Heir
Second Chances
Descent

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "Rightful Heir" next. It was nice to delve into Worf's personal beliefs.


Man Of The People
Rascals
The Quality Of Life
Aquiel
Birthright, Part II
Lessons
Suspicions
Second Chances
Descent