What were your three least favorite episodes of TNG Season Seven? Cheat sheet below:

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6 responses to “What were your three least favorite episodes of TNG Season Seven? Cheat sheet below:”

1. 

   Kevin Black

   July 10, 2017

   I’m making this hard by limiting it to three. Add dishonorable mentions if you must….

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2. 

   Kevin Black

   July 10, 2017

   This looks bad. I rated 15 of this season’s 25 episodes as 2 stars or below, out of a minimum of 1. No five star episodes. My reviews include phrases like “Uggggggggh!” (7.5, “Gambit, Part I”), “This is one of the worst episodes of the series” (7.9, “Forces of Nature”), “This may be the first TNG episode I have ever considered turning off partway” (7.19, “Genesis”), and “Selecting the bottom five episodes is going to be challenging this season” (7.20, “Journey’s End”). I”m going to have to make some choices.

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3. 

   Kevin Black

   July 10, 2017

   Here goes:

   “Gambit, Part I” — I can’t fully summon anymore what caused me to start my review with “Worst. Episode. In. Ages.” This was back in December, over half a year ago. But I think, in retrospect, this was where the writers clearly announced they were bored with the series, bored with the characters, and so screw it, it’s the last season anyway.

   Force of Nature — In retrospect, can this be one of the worst? I select it to honor my 1 rating and because it’s emblematic of the way potentially worthwhile premises this season (addressing global warming) were undermined by sheer apathy and failure of deep analysis.

   TIE: “Homeward” and “Phantasms”

   Homeward is the Worf’s brother episode that displays the writers’ painful lack of inspiration and utter disdain for Worf. Phantasms is a big mess of an episode about nothing that can’t even make dream sequences visually interesting.

   Dishonorable mentions: “Genesis” (an embarrassment redeemed only by Michael Westmore’s heroic makeup design); “Masks” (an embarrassment redeemed partially by Brent Spiner); “Sub Rosa”; and “Journey’s End.” This lineup would likely overrun the worst episode list of any other season.

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4. 

   Randi Cohen

   July 24, 2017

   I’d just like to point out that Journey’s End gets honorable mention for worst episode yet also is on your list of 5 best episodes, Kev! I guess at least it was memorable.

   Phantasms: Cringe-worthy. “Cellular peptide cake.” I think this was the one with the random suit of armor on the train. And Troi gets stabbed, also literally turned into cake and eaten. Just no.

   (Actually, the random suit of armor on the train was “Emergence”… which gets an honorable mention since it was only forgettable and not actively horrifying.)

   Sub Rosa: UGH. I just can’t even. Is there any lower you can drag your female characters, TNG? I just want to unsee this episode, especially including any parts that involve Bev randomly making sexual faces or waiting by a candle like an excited schoolgirl. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more ridiculous, they animate poor grandma’s corpse? Charlotte Bronte and Gene Roddenberry are both rolling in their graves… these two genres are not meant to be combined, or at least not like this.

   Genesis: Barclay as giant spider. I just can’t even go on. It’s so bad it’s not even horrifying. And bonus points on the badness scale for victimizing Troi and Crusher in the same episode. Is this a first for the series? Like an opposite Bechdel test?

   Honorable Mention also to Eye of the Beholder, for just not making any sense whatsoever.

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5. 

   Kevin Black

   July 24, 2017

   My best of was for All Good Things, not Journey’s End! Journey’s End is the Wesley Crusher episode with the Native American cultural appropriation.

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6. 

   Randi Cohen

   July 24, 2017

   Oops, sorry! I forgot Journey’s End existed! Augh, that one was so very horrible too!!!! I’d like to add it to my “Worst” list. I don’t mind bringing other cultures into a plot if you do it in an interesting or thought-provoking way, but having Wesley act like an even bigger brat than normal (and The Traveller encourages it!) was just so very annoying.

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