Star Trek: The Next Generation Forums

CBS (ended 1994)

Worst Episode?

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    pferreira86

    [101]Apr 9, 2012
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    BlackTulip009 wrote:


    Hmmm, worst episode....that's actually a difficult question for a show as brilliant and pretty consistently good as this. Naturally, I love certain ones more than others, but there really weren't any that made me go, "Ugh, that was just horrid!" I suppose I'd also have to take my place on the "Shades of Grey" bandwagon, as that is easily the weakest of the series. Yet, I wasn't as appalled as I thought I'd be given the terrible things I'd read before seeing it--and even that episode earns a 6.5-7 from me. Fans have quite a way with hyperbole. It flowed along and kept me engaged (ha, ha), even though in the end, the series would be just fine without it. No surprise that it's the only episode of the entire series to have a low "red" average rating on this site (as opposed to a medium yellow or high green. Of course, the vast majority of Star Trek episodes are most deservedly in the green.)
    I don't really have a problem with Shades of Gray either. It's obviously a budget episode but I've seen worse episodes of TNG than that one. My feelings on bad episodes generally is that the show towards the end was running out of steam, the excitement factor was slowing down. The writers did a good a job as they could be bothered to considering all the other Star trek projects they need to commit to at the time. It just means that the last two seasons had less attention paid to them. It's easy for a hardcore Star Trek fan to laugh at Sub Rosa but a lot of episodes from those particular seasons had those kinds of problems. I mean at least Sub Rosa had a complete plot that went from A to C, Forces of Nature can't even do that!Laughing

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    BlackTulip009

    [102]Apr 9, 2012
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    ^ Yeah, I pretty much agree! Like many people, including several of the cast members, I do wish that the series would have continued. It ends on a positive note and a touching scene, with the "senior seven" playing cards as they continue to glide through space...promising that their adventures together are far from over. For them to have gone beyond Season 7, though, they would have had to get themselves back on track a bit and recapture their audience's full attention, given how much else they had going on, which may have caused them to slip a bit. Still, I think that the worst episodes of this show are stellar when compared with average or even the best episodes of other TV series. ^^

    Edited on 04/09/2012 10:48pm
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    pferreira86

    [103]Apr 22, 2012
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    BlackTulip009 wrote:


    ^ Yeah, I pretty much agree! Like many people, including several of the cast members, I do wish that the series would have continued. It ends on a positive note and a touching scene, with the "senior seven" playing cards as they continue to glide through space...promising that their adventures together are far from over. For them to have gone beyond Season 7, though, they would have had to get themselves back on track a bit and recapture their audience's full attention, given how much else they had going on, which may have caused them to slip a bit. Still, I think that the worst episodes of this show are stellar when compared with average or even the best episodes of other TV series. ^^
    To do a Season 8 I'm not sure if it would work. By Season 7 they were already starting to run out of ideas and the whole show including the cast would need a complete overhaul in order to survive another year. Then there's escalating production costs because of cast members. In the end you have to ask whether it would be worth it. Seven years I think is a good run.

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    BlackTulip009

    [104]Apr 23, 2012
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    Well, you may be right. Guess we won't know for certain. I loved the seventh season and thought that they probably could have kept on going pretty strong, but I'm not really complaining--seven years is a very decent run, certainly. Relatively few lucky shows get that many, and no other Trek series had more (or more episodes.) Cost likely *was* one factor in the decision. I'm glad they went on to make DS9 and the other two, though. DS9 is my second favorite, after TNG (closely followed by the original.)
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    pferreira86

    [105]Apr 29, 2012
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    BlackTulip009 wrote:
    Well, you may be right. Guess we won't know for certain. I loved the seventh season and thought that they probably could have kept on going pretty strong, but I'm not really complaining--seven years is a very decent run, certainly. Relatively few lucky shows get that many, and no other Trek series had more (or more episodes.) Cost likely *was* one factor in the decision. I'm glad they went on to make DS9 and the other two, though. DS9 is my second favorite, after TNG (closely followed by the original.)
    Also based on how you interpret it they probably did do enough episodes for a Season 8. How many shows do you know get 26 episodes for a season? If a typical show season back then and now is 22 episodes that's enough extra to make a another season of stories!

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    BlackTulip009

    [106]Apr 30, 2012
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    Yeah, it does have enough episodes, that, divided differently, they could amount to 8 seasons instead (even if one wound up being shorter than the rest.) I've noticed that season tend to range from 13 (short ones) to 26 episodes. 22 does seem like the average. And 26, for whatever reason, appears to be the standard Trek length. A lot of cartoons get 26 or even a lot more, but for 45-minute live-action series, that is indeed a relatively long season. ^^
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    pferreira86

    [107]May 6, 2012
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    BlackTulip009 wrote:
    Yeah, it does have enough episodes, that, divided differently, they could amount to 8 seasons instead (even if one wound up being shorter than the rest.) I've noticed that season tend to range from 13 (short ones) to 26 episodes. 22 does seem like the average. And 26, for whatever reason, appears to be the standard Trek length. A lot of cartoons get 26 or even a lot more, but for 45-minute live-action series, that is indeed a relatively long season. ^^
    Although the rule broke for the last couple of seasons for Enterprise due to the show not doing well. 22 however is still good.

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    BlackTulip009

    [108]May 9, 2012
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    Yep, it ain't too shabby. Oh, and yeah, you're right about that...poor Enterprise did fizzle out. Still got more episodes than the original series that paved the way for all the others, though. ^^; (Of course, that series did get a whopping six movies, so at least there's that.)

    Edited on 05/13/2012 1:08am
    Edited 2 total times.
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    cale1234567

    [109]Jul 2, 2012
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    hiya just got your question


    after a long term ban


    here my review on the subject in question



    Picard gets the chance to avert his fight with the nausicans who skewered him as ensign.

    Unfortunately the central premise of the show is fataly flawed.


    This episode has you believe if picard had not fought the nausicans his life would have been
    that of an unmovivated drifter ,a 60+ junior leutentant.
    Unfortunately I DONT BUY IT
    Is this the same picard that spent his life pushing himself to get great grades at school?
    "He always won the ribbon" as his brother remembers.
    The same young man who spent his night looking at the stars and dreaming of space ships?
    The same young man who stood his girlfriend up at the eiffel tower to pursue a starfleet career?
    The same young man who won the academy marathon as a freshman.(the only fresh ever to do so ).
    And just because He Didt Get Stabbed he suddenly became a giant loser???
    not a chance Ron moore has discussed this ep
    he remebered crashing out of college and screwing up his life but it eventually put him in a position to get on star trek.


    Good for him.


    Alls well that ends well etc

    Okay buddy that your life ,not Picards

    Yes ,past mistakes and triumphs define who we are today.

    But he really should have watched an episode of star (just one) before he did this

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