Star Trek 50th Anniversary Soon, But First...

[kham]

Why don't we have a little exploration of the other end of the scale, mmm?

Now, when Chuck originally did this, it was in 3 parts , plus an introduction. It literally WAS almost longer than the actual episode.

So here it is, the Worst Voyager Episode, EVER. And as Chuck says, very likely the worst TREK episode ever. Sadly, there is another, just like the Skywalkers... but at the time , Enterprise hadn't been conceived...
So buckle up, here we go
Threshold

please, weigh in. I wouldn't want to rant alone

[Mynock]

What sent Trek into the downward spiral it's been in since DS9 is the convoluted ongoing plots that make no sense if you miss an episode. They need get back to the magic formula of " At the end of the day, everything went back to normal" episodes to appeal to a wider audience and not just nerdgasming fanboys.

TNG will always be my fav because I can randomly fire up an episode and be like "Oh ya this is the one where the thing happened and they fixed it by rewiring the dynawhatsit to colloidal boobajoob".

[kham]

Treknobabble...
It's mentioned in this review, as mostly nonsensical bullshit - which is what it always was - filling in for actual writing
The entire concept is bad enough that multiple other series's used it as a foil or joke (SG-1 in particular, with a steel-toed boot right to Trek's face with no fake names, either )
The entire-weekend day-by day marathon is on now on Canadian Space Channel, starting with Enterprise (finding 10 best there must have been a chore.... but I digress...) DS9 goes tomorrow, and wondering what they have lined up for their 10. Since the one I think should be up there is also the most hated and most brilliant ep (depending on view) they ever made. And DS9, the poor sister, DID have some good ones.

[PM2K]

Should be interesting....

I watched ST religiously up to DS9, then gave up on it. Never got into Voyageur and Enterprise left me cold from ep. 1. I always thought DS9 would have been a lot stronger if they never got into that mystic emissary nonsense...

The endless intrigues and political crises kept me entertained throughout the run of the series. Plus a couple of spectacular fleet-on-fleet scraps which were pretty cool on a TV budget.

[kham]

It is no small irony, that the series was canceled shortly after the ep that was just on, the #2 Fan favourite, "Through a Mirror Darkly" which was set in the ALTERNATE Universe, and really had Paramount punch themselves repeatedly in the face like some asshole asking "why are you hitting me?" since it showcased an Old TOS-era Connie, the USS Defiant (the original one, not Sisko's Pimp hand....) lost in interspace. Not only did she kick ass, she looked GREAT with modern effects. Which pretty much slit the throat of all the "can't do a series unless it's the Enterprise" dumbasses. You could have picked any other Connie in the fleet, and used the same 'verse. Refer to the big-E in some situations, but since they off doing other things you never see them. But nooooo. That would involve some thinking, and listening to the fans.

[DangerGirl]

Honestly, and I'm somewhat ashamed to say it even though it's the truth, but the best thing that happened to post-TOS Trek was when Roddenberry was no longer in the creative picture. His refusal to allow any conflict between the characters was choking the life out of TNG. Things got a lot more interesting once the characters were allowed to be human (et al).

Regarding "Through a Mirror Darkly," with its alternate opening credit sequence, it hit me that they could have done a really entertaining and intriguing series set entirely in the Mirror Universe. The problem with "Enterprise" was that they started the whole series off with that stupid temporal cold war story arc. ST:E should have been episodic, like the original series, and just concentrated on humanity getting its feet wet and interacting (and occasionally fighting) with the other future members of the Federation. I adored the Andorians as portrayed in the series, especially as rivals to the Vulcans. Sadly, it took four seasons for the show to really get rolling, and then it was over. Don't even talk to me about that series finale.

DS9 remains my favorite of all the post-TOS shows. Which DS9 episode are you talking about, Kham? I'm kind of guessing either "The Visitor" or "In the Pale Moonlight," based on your description, both of which are personal favorites of mine.

[kham]

X100 Everything DG just said

Gene was NOT a genius, or for that matter, a very nice guy. And for someone who had been in uniform, had a retarded view of the military. S1 of TNG was the atrocity it was mostly because of Gene. The whole peace-at-all-costs thing really grated. If that was the case, why mount phaser banks and photon launchers on your starships? Yeah...


Some commentary today, on the Alt-Verse, suggested that they actually wanted to leave it hanging whether Alt-Archer was dead or not, in case they wanted to come back to it. A series in that verse WOULD have been interesting as hell. And something in the TOS era just not -Enterprise would have been equally good. That era, the Federation ACTUALLY meant something and kicked major ass when it needed to, and didn't wring their hands over a cup of tea

DS9, they were playing coy earlier only listing the sched for the first bunch of episodes. The early ones, led off by "Duet" then "The Way of the Warrior" and then "The Visitor" - a lovely triplet to kick things off. "Duet" was the first DS9 ep I watched that actually got my interest, a really good look at the atrocities of the occupation -- and how not all Carassian's were evil monsters. The fact that it was a show in a bottle for Kira, only made it better. Worf, yeah sure. And it was a good 2-parter bringing him into the show, with enough 'splosions that nearly killed the budget And "The Visitor" brilliant . Just brilliant. Jake Sisko spending his entire LIFE to bring back his dad. This one makes you misty even if if hard boiled. Great work by the cast, especially Brooks and Todd were standout.
And now, it looks like the #1 voted one is indeed "In the Pale Moonlight" probably the single most controversial episode of any of them. Either the most magnificent story every put on film , or the greatest atrocity ever to Roddenberry's verse ever. Again, two great actors teamed up for two characters who don't normally interact much (Garak and Sisko) literally plotting to save the Federation by tricking the Romulans into declaring war on the Dominion. I think Chuck gave this one a 10 rating in his reviews. And there extra videos discussing the finer points. Everyone seems to forget, even Jim Kirk committed literal espionage, impersonating a Romulan and STOLE a cloaking device. BTW, guess who Sisko's hero is?

[Boggy Man]

BTW, guess who Sisko's hero is?

The relevant episode is season 5, episode 6, "Trials And Tribble-ations", where they go back in time to behind the scenes of TOS's "The Trouble With Tribbles" to thwart an assassination plot against Captain Kirk. At the end, Sisko gets Captain Kirk's autograph by posing as a junior officer handing over a report for him to sign.

[Mynock]

Huh.....and here I thought you guys didn't like alternate universes.

[kham]

Normally, no
But Enterprise achieved such high levels of suck, that an episode set in it, and using an idea from TOS was one of the best ones they ever did. It speaks more about how much a collection of assholes the writers were, and what a lost opportunity the entire series was