Beloved Star Trek Episodes That I Hate

[@bluejane6358]

"Fuck you, Archer. Fuck you. You should have helped this person." I appreciate how straight and to the point this is.

[@M_M_ODonnell]

The Cogenitor episode goes into the Narrative Hall of Shame for "decisions about oppressed people and peoples shall be made based on whatever provides the most revealing character moments for the non-oppressed main characters making the Tough Choices." It is, unfortunately, a very crowded Hall.

[@Pentarax]

The bit that still bugs me about "The Inner Light" is that this race was able to create a highly sophisticated orbital probe that could endure centuries and had sufficient technology to fully entrap a person's mind for what would feel like a lifetime... But basic ship technology was beyond them? PS: Sub Rosa is also responsible for one of my favorite Valentine's Day rhymes. "Roses are Red I cannot handle That Beverly banged That stupid green candle."

[@STSWB5SG1FAN]

How would you evacuate the entire planet? Who would you chose to go?

[@Torlik11]

@@STSWB5SG1FAN that's no reason to do nothing and wait for death.

[@EmeralBookwise]

True, but hardly a single unique to this episode. Star Trek has a bad habits of showcasing species with very lopsided mixes of both primitive and ludicrously advanced technologies.

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

Dude? Women ride candles all the time. It's safer than using veggies. And sometimes there isn't a proper toy handy. Hardly the weirdest thing about that episode.

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

@@EmeralBookwise The problem isn't that they could make such a probe...it's that the other warp-capable races apparently couldn't. Building a probe that can survive a long damned time isn't really all that difficult, technologically speaking. We could do it right now, if we put effort to it. We could also probably construct an SSD capable of holding the compressed data of many individuals' memories, and whatnot. And we could probably work out some kind of transmission system into another brain. Now, it probably still wouldn't work quite right...because, alien brain...but it might at least get the point across. All of that would be vastly easier than building even a single ship capable of carrying enough colonists to actually preserve the species. It would take decades for them to construct a sufficient ship, or fleet of ships, to save even a few thousand people, and they'd have to be sleeper ships or generational ships. Because it would take them far longer to develop warp drive and a ship that could survive using it. I know...Cochrane...except that bullshit will never happen. IF we start focusing massive resources and effort on research right now, we MIGHT be able to make something out of Alcubierre's (and others') work in a century or so...and even then, that will only be lightspeed at best, and what results won't even vaguely resemble what they currently expect. Given more time, we might be able to adapt the technology to form permanent wormholes between systems, allowing for seemingly FTL travel between connected systems. That's at least a solid two centuries away, if any of it is even possible, which it's probably not. Even assuming all that quasi-magical tech, it still won't ever develop as fast as it seemed to in Star Trek. Never gonna happen. The people of that doomed world in question, could never have developed, designed, and constructed even a single appropriate ship, in a single lifetime.

[@Jemini4228]

What I hate about the Enemy Within is the treatment of Janice Rand. She gets attacked by what appears to be her male boss and is subsequently interrogated and told her perception must be false by the 3 most important men on the ship who are all standing around her, including the man who she thinks hurt her. I mean that is traumatizing! I also dislike the implication that we need a part of ourselves that attacks unprovoked just because we want something. Sure we might need impulse and the ability to use force to defend but sheer brutality?

[@eddieprice1965]

Great Video! I especially appreciated your take on Cogenitor. It always bothered me how at the end of that episode Archer lays into Trip while taking no responsibility for the fact that Archer ultimately made the decision to force the cogenitor to return back to they're abusers. I also got the impression that Archer's decision was influenced by his desire to form a better relationship with that species in order for Humanity to gain access to they're technology.

[@sleepinbelle9627]

The only thing that makes the Prime Directive interesting is the fact that it doesn't apply to all situations. It's an overly-simple rule meant to set in place a principle, not a law to be followed religiously. It's meant to prevent that one dude from turning a planet into nazis (buckwild episode) not to stop a doctor from treating an illness because the aliens didn't put enough points into their medicine skill. There's a grim cowardice to any story that concludes that the best course of action is to follow the rules without question, that puts conformity over kindness. Kirk wins the no-win scenario by breaking rules that everyone else followed without question, and that's basically the thesis of that movie. The idea of the Federation, essentially a utopia, handing out a commendation for breaking rules in a way that results in a better outcome is really refreshing. I like the idea that even in the best version of society, human judgement and especially human compassion is necessary.

[@scarline02]

Hugh dying pissed me off. If anyone deserved a happy ending is Hugh

[@T1hitsTheHighestNote]

hate how they brought this particular character back, just to kill him off.

[@eireannbullimore7763]

I like the prime directive but it always frustrated me when they came across species who were able to ask for help. It's not really intruding on the development of a culture to grant some people asylum or cure a worldwide plague or avoid a natural disaster. The prime directive isn't even relevant to the last two at all if you can do it without being detected. If they are developed enough to reach out then they're developed enough to continue building their culture despite any other cultural influences the federation might have introduced. There's always a traditionalist after all.

[@ginsengaddict]

Indeed. Asking for help has always been an exemption to the PD; even when the PD was invoked in 'Pen Pals' (TNG), the crew could not ignore the girl's plea.

[@Xondar11223344]

The purpose of the Prime Directive was to prevent people who's technology is indistinguishable from magic from using that technology to colonize and exploit other cultures, not to prevent them from "interfering with the natural evolution" (whatever that means) of a culture. Is curing a global plague colonizing and exploiting? Absolutely not.

[@CmdrKing]

Thanks for putting Cogenitor in this list because *god damn* it is such a frustrating episode. I think it’s like… the episode that sold me on Trip as a character, yeah he’s not the most cultured guy and yeah he’s kinda caught up in his own way of thinking but his heart is just always in the right place. Like, he gets all sorts of things wrong with the cogenitor in this episode but he always puts their well being front and center and then the last ten minutes just pissed all over it! And a lot of early enterprise has this problem but Cogenitor and Dear Doctor exemplify it.

[@empressadria7009]

Especially Archer essentially calling Trip a murderer by blaming him for the suicide of the cogenitor. In any other setting what Archer did there is a fireable HR offense!

[@susanscott8653]

I used to think that Trip behaved out of character in this episode, but Trip was always impulsive and led with his heart, so that can't be the problem. It does seem quite contrived in some ways (though all stories are contrived by their nature). The fact that this species has a third gender who is necessary to their reproductive process and they are rare (IIRC) and they don't respect and care for them properly doesn't make a lot of sense to me for a culture from a logical stand point. Maybe Archer could have pointed out that to them. 🤨

[@lizan2678]

One of the things I think is really gross about the episode is the way it brushes aside Archer's own biases. Like, the episode WANTS me to judge Trip, but I'm just looking at Archer and thinking, "Why aren't we looking at this from the perspective that Archer is so elated by this alien world he's WILLFULLY IGNORING the abuses that take place there? Why is he painted as the objective one?" And seriously. THEY are asking you for help, Archer. Not Trip. THEY are. Making a decision. For themselves.

[@DonWan47]

Am I the only person who sees the value of non interference? Trip should have minded his own business instead of forcing our values on another species. Human values allowed us to force our “principles” on the Native Americans, on Australian Aborigines, on New Zealand Māori’s, on Africans. We need to learn to leave others alone. Only our arrogance means we think our values are better.

[@CmdrKing]

@@DonWan47 1) this isn’t a presumption of superiority, but something the subjugated person themselves felt was intolerable. The course of action taken in this episode would be much closer to allowing southern succession in the American civil war than the genocide of native peoples. 2) all of those comparisons are gibberish because no one is advocating Enterprise go in guns blazing to liberate the Cogenitors. They’re advocating granting asylum to one person and hoping that fact causes societal reevaluation in this culture

[@stapler942]

The one saving grace of "The Enemy Within" was that it gave us the space dog. The episode should have been about the space dog.

[@ermixonscraziesttheories]

Hey, I'm not nonbinary and I still have always HATED "Cogenitor." It and "Dear Doctor" both fall into the category of episodes which piss me off. Usually for me those are the episodes which come off as morally gross or hopeless and mean spirited.

[@meuspeus5483]

Yes. "Dear Doctor" is even worse than "Shades of Gray" - often cited as the wrost ST episode. But that's just utterly boring, while "Dear Doctor" is so morally offensive (and it's so pseudoscientific (naturalistic fallacy)).

[@dm121984]

@@meuspeus5483 Yeah, Dear Doctor isn't boring, its just morally awful and insulting as they try and claim 'evolution justifies it and if you think this is wrong, you are denying the fact of evolution'. Which is bullshit, because evolution isn't some 'predefined path', its an emergent and iterative process that does not and can not define a moral position on what 'should' be.

[@davidwheatley9058]

I remember feeling very frustrated over not only Hugh's death, but Icheb's as well earlier on in series 1. He was treated with little importance dying in a very early scene in the episode (iirc I haven't rewatched it since it aired). That and the fact that all XB got killed apart from Seven seems to indicate how little they're valued as individuals. It does relate in a bury your gays type way given the gay codeness of the speaking XB. So that was a sour note for the whole show at that point.

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

Icheb's death was body horror along with being tragic. I was not expecting that kind of thing in Trek.

[@ginsengaddict]

Especially since XBs were explicitly stated to be victims and the whole project on this cube was ostensibly about getting them therapy.

[@anduinelungoldagnir7766]

Thank you. Killing off another pre-established xB character to give Seven more screentime would have been redundant if they'd done it twice in two seasons, and PIC S1 they did it twice in three episodes! And at least, as manipulative and unnecessarily cruel as Icheb's death was, at least it served some purpose re: Seven's development. Hugh's death didn't even act as any kind of development or passing of the torch to anyone who interacted with him. It was a throwaway, shock-value death. The cruelty was literally the point, on screen and behind the scenes, and I hate that for Star Trek.

[@AmaranthOriginal]

I find it ironic that when Voyager introduced him, everyone wanted Icheb to die. Now they're all mad that it happened. What is it about nostalgia that rescues characters from the Scrappy Heap?

[@anduinelungoldagnir7766]

@@AmaranthOriginal I wasn't watching VOY as it aired, so I can't speak to that. I wasn't even hugely fond of Icheb; his death doesn't grate on me the way Hugh's does. But I'd guess probably it's down to there being a difference for some viewers between "I wish this character would get written off" and "I want to see this character die in horrific, bloody-soaked agony."

[@godminnette2]

"This isn't me saying I hate these episodes" Title: "It isn't?"

[@elim_inator]

I'm watching Enterprise for the first time right now and Cogenitor made me SO ANGRY, I had to quit binging the show and do something else. The fact that Archer has the audacity to not only turn down someone's plea for asylum, but that he blames *the only person who ever was a friend or even an ally* to a person from a gender minority for that person's suicide was outrageous. It reminded me too much of TERFs' way of saying shit like "trans kids are more likely to commit suicide, so we shouldn't allow for kids to be trans", like that way of treating them isn't the root cause for that far too high number. That episode honestly triggered me in a way very few episodes of any show ever did before. I loved the episode up to the point where Archer tells the cogenitor that he can't (= doesn't want to) help them, but I think I'll have to skip it on eventual rewatches because GOD DAMN IT'S INFURIATING!

[@bryanabbott6169]

Hugh was my favourite characters that was on Star Trek: Picard. If the Execs ever decided to greenlight a Star Trek: Stargazer series, Hugh would have been a great addition to the cast/crew (esp. with the Borg tech that was used in the ship). But, of course, he was killed off in a very Lt. Tasha Yar vs. the evil tar goo monster kind of way.

[@alanpennie8013]

A real WTF moment. Hugh really had potential.

[@Silverhawk100]

Well, there's also Icheb oh wait... never mind. Bury your Borgs?

[@gapsule2326]

Hugh was so good. Stupid deaths ruined Picard for me. They shouldve held off on the deaths so the ending had more impact.

[@bryanabbott6169]

Icheb, Dr. Bruce Maddox, and Hugh. After those deaths, I was expecting Will and Deanna to be killed off (not in any anticipation, but as in 'get it over with') because of the norm the previous deaths caused.

[@Lia-uf1ir]

The problem of the Prime Directive is that it becomes dogma over the course of the franchise and dogma is never good! One can't generalize the various situations from multiple planets. I get that the idea was to avoid a colonial outcome and that the Federation is prohibited to become that but the very nature of the Federation (at least in theory) should negate that point, right? Because the motive for the historic colonisation isn't present anymore in the Federation, they actually do want to help if they can and in many cases they can (like on Nibiru in Star trek: Into Darkness, or here in Dear Doctor). So what the Prime Directive should always consider is not WHETHER you interfere but WHY and can this why justify proceeding with interfering.

[@alanpennie8013]

I'm afraid you're wrong about The Federation being untempted by colonialism. See, Insurrection.

[@oddish4352]

I'm SO glad someone besides me actually understands that Trip WASN'T the one most responsible for Charles the cogenitor's death. Archer turned his face away from a person who had begged him for help and condemned them to a life of hell. The Vissian engineer and his wife were the ones who made Charles's life hell in the first place. But a distressing number of people declare that Archer made the right call and excuse the couple as "just acting within their culture"; they blame Trip. At the end of this one, Trip tells Archer "you're not responsible", but we can see from Archer's face that he knows he is. Sadly, the chief engineer and his wife probably marched cluelessly on, believing that they were the ones who had been victimized. 😡

[@dm121984]

Yeah, I hate the 'but its their culture' excuse - female genital mutilation is the culture of several countries and we condemn it (rightly so) as being painful, unnecessary and leaving permanent damage to the girls in question - whilst I can't say we know a universal set of morales for humans, nevermind all aliens, there are some things that we know are wrong.

[@jamessatter7418]

I completely agree with you about Cogenitor. I remember thinking it was so regressive, intentionally taking on a complicated topic only to land on such a dismissive, lassez-faire note.

[@KariIzumi1]

Even apart from the reasons Jessie mentioned, Archer’s speech at the end is entirely hypocritical, given how often he interfered with other cultures. Trip rightfully pointed out he took his cues from Archer and he basically goes “Nope,don’t remember, didn’t happen.”

[@celebro469]

The Inner Light brought a memory of my childhood. Imagine a 10 year old waking up, mother goes to his bed, he's looking left and right. This 10 year old looks at his mom confused and asks "where's my wife and kids?" That was me. I had such a vivid dream where I had a wife and daughters. Mom was hugging me with this confused look. You could say I may have visited the future or maybe a past life. I remember dying in that dream and waking up as me and really missing that dream family. That's what I thought when I saw that episode.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Reincarnation. ;)

[@ooooneeee]

😲 Do you have a wife and kids now?

[@oddish4352]

Now I want an "Inner Light" type story about something similar happening to a preteen kid, going through adolescence, youth, adulthood... then getting zapped back to childhood. Wouldn't wish such an experience on anyone for real, obviously.

[@peterk7931]

I don't have the time to watch this right now, but I want to say how much I LOVE that this conversation in happening. Too often fans refuse to criticize their beloved works. Thanks, Jessie.

[@MichaelHaneline]

I HATED "Dear Doctor" and "Cogenitor" and have had so many people online tell me I'm over-reacting or misinterpreting it 9_9 These are the two episodes that make me categorize Archer as the "most villainious protagonist captain in Trek".

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

My take on the Prime Directive is that it came out of Roddenberry's feelings toward Korea and Vietnam. WW2 was The Good War, a clear case of taking up arms against an enemy that could be opposed in no other way (this is not my political judgment speaking, this is talking about general cultural perception), but in Korea and Vietnam we fucked around uninvited and found out some things (and I think we are far more haunted by Vietnam than by WW2, where we were the cavalry riding to the rescue, again, that's the popular narrative. Anyway (so many parentheses!), I think the Prime Directive was Gene saying, "We have no business in Vietnam, we have no business in all those little South American countries the CIA will fuck with twenty years from now, we are not always the cavalry and we're not the Father who knows best".

[@richardarriaga6271]

The North Koreans invaded South Korea with Stalin's blessing. It was the only invasion where a UN security force opposed the inavsion due to USSR's boycott of the UN at the time. The US and other countries prevented Korea from becoming a selfdom state of the Kim family. South Korea would not have become democratic if North Korea was unopposed.

[@itsaUSBline]

@@richardarriaga6271 Yeah I think you can reasonably make that argument in regard to Korea, but it's hard to argue that our involvement in Vietnam was anything but an utter disaster for all parties involved.

[@VonWenk]

I thought Gene L. Coon created the Prime Directive.

[@gtc9966]

My biggest problem with ‘The Inner Light’ is that the alien ‘culture’ is so bland and boring that they’re simply not worth remembering…all that effort and trauma for what?

[@guineaporg4292]

Great list, and I agree with you entirely. I hope it’s okay if I rant about “The Enemy Within”, because I watched it for the first time as an adult maybe five years ago, and the experience actively haunts me to this day. To my mind, it is - hands down - the most terrifying episode in the franchise. (CW for all the same things you discuss about that episode.) I was shocked and appalled by everything they put Rand through. Like, I know the assault in that episode was interrupted relatively quickly, but the lead-up to that interruption was so intense that part of me can’t help thinking, “This was broadcast television in the 1960s; contemporary audiences knew they couldn’t show everything, and that you had to read between the lines.” And it sends a shiver down my spine every time. And you’re right (of course) about the gaslighting during the interrogation later. But it’s worse than that. He’s not only her interrogator, but also her immediate supervisor, and the ultimate authority on this particular tin can that’s probably weeks away from the nearest star base or other opportunity for escape. She’s full-on trapped with him. Agreeing that it never happened is as much a survival strategy as it is a product of gaslighting. This is a short-form horror film, and Spock’s comment at the close of the episode is a twist-the-knife moment that I cannot abide. Might as well throw “THE END…?” up on the screen. How people can praise this episode is beyond me.

[@posindustries]

I've never in my life heard anyone say that "Dear Doctor" and "Cogenitor" were good, much less among ENT's best, but I do agree with the common opinion that "Nepenthe" is the best episode of Picard S1, which is less a compliment to "Nepenthe" as it is a stern condemnation of Picard S1.

[@johnpotts8308]

"Dear Doctor" also suffers from Trek Genetics (also prevalent in episodes like ST-TNG's "The Chase" and "Genesis") - that Evolution has a direction and a plan. This may be the case in Trek, but it's not how Darwinian Evolution works. Evolution doesn't have an objective (be it salamander like aliens, bipedal humanoids or anything else), but mutations that are fitter will produce more offspring and ultimately outbreed those without such a mutation.

[@Seal0626]

There's a disturbing number of people who think that Cogenitor is great.

[@m.e.3862]

Nepenthe aka return of the galaxy's blandest couple 😛

[@Shelsight]

@@m.e.3862 they were the best & most authentic couple - not the blandest. Their arc as a couple was genuine, not forced, and took its time, as many first love and/or work relationships do.

[@Undydamon]

I cannot even put into words how angry "Cogenitor" made me when I first saw it. Never wanted to punch Archer in the face so badly

[@Arakhor]

The thing that gets me with Archer's speech at the end of Cogenitor is that he said that he might agree if it was Florida or Singapore. He *might* agree if it was on Earth, not "would", but "might". That gives the distinct impression that he's not chewing out Trip for not having jurisdiction or them being a wholly separate culture, but because he simply doesn't agree with him in the first place.

[@jamessatter7418]

What I never understood about Inner Light is that it is unclear if the people he meets are literal people who lived 1,000 years ago or hypothetical people (historical fiction), since Picard seems to be making his own decisions and not just stepping in to someone else's life.

[@MsVickster12]

Ack - I didn't notice your comment until after I wrote mine - which is the same thing you said. It is what takes me out of the story. I wonder if the writer knew the answer and it got lost in production, or if they never thought it out.

[@tmryns]

I assumed they are like holodeck programs based on real people. Like a diary that records personality and lifestyle but not exact events.

[@Cdr2002]

I find the Enemy Within as problematic as the next person but my personal read of the episode is Kirk attempting to reassure Janice that she can still trust him, since he is her captain and the idea of a crew member believing him capable of something so vile shakes him more deeply than I think the episode makes us fully see. However emphasis on ATTEMPTING. I wouldn’t characterize Kirk as intentionally gaslighting Janice, but I do see how it falls down that path. It was truly an awful episode. Made no better by TNG repeating some of its mistakes in that one Riker episode. Kirk should have offered to step out of the room at the very least. There are episodes of the original series where he’s tried to relieve himself of command for less. That’s the Kirk we should’ve seen here, and the Kirk that Janice needed.

[@MalzraAirwynn]

Inner Light definitely feels a bit morally odd when you look at a similar concept in DS9's Hard time played for trauma. Obviously what they do to PIcard isn't like the mental torture they put Miles through, but there's still that aspect of having someone go through a 'life' of sorts that doesn't really happen and then just being left to deal with that afterwards.

[@arstropica]

Cogenitor is one of several times that Trek tries to be politically aware and just ends up mangling a morally complex issue for the sake of ramming the PD down our throats. Add to that, Symbiosis, The Outcast, Homeward, ...

[@stiofanmacamhalghaidhau765]

yep. exactly. the story was about consent and asylum, but was treated as a hypothetical scenario about non-interference, which led them to a problematic conclusion... not the one in the story, but the one that they could tell the story in this way and it doesn't really matter... because (surprise!) tv shows have audiences who live real lives with real experiences, and they relate what they see on tv to their own experiences and vice versa. 'most people want this so your needs don't matter, and if you want out, go sui*' is a shitty message for members of any minority or marginalised group to receive from their 'entertainment,' especially when delivered by a white male cis-het coded authority figure.

[@Stephen5000]

I remember multiple episodes of TNG where people requested and were granted asylum, despite potential negative consequences. It felt like Picard didn’t really have the choice to refuse in those cases. (for reference, I’m thinking of “the Masterpiece Society” and “First Contact”)

[@madisonballington1358]

It feels like most of the problems with Enemy Within could be easily fixed by just having evil kirk beat the shit out of someone for no reason instead

[@localhearthian2387]

I always thought the Prime Directive was just something the Vulcans came up with. That probably would have fit better than the dilemma in Dear Doctor.

[@federicomarintuc]

Vulcans: "Statistically 50.1 percent of the situations where we do intervene turn into a fuck, therefore we won't intervene anymore" Archer: "Fuck you, I'll take the appropriate action in each situation based in the individual circumstances. I'm a fucking captain of the flagship, not a moron. My people trusted me with a weapon of mass destruction and I'll not follow a manual about ethics" Also Archer: fucks up in the first space motel they found

[@Politics_from]

In retrospect, just having several episodes like that, without any mention of rules or directives. Just have the Enterprise/Archer and Crew, keep making morally grey and questionable decisions over and over again. Thus, Starfleet (Or Earth beforehand) feels necessary to intervene and provide some guidance. This is how things are in RL anyway. When a group has no clear parameters, at first it may work. But after a couple screw ups management steps in. This way the Prime Directive is organic and built out of necessity.

[@kbrickley82]

@@Politics_from I think the series Stargate addressed the dangers of operating without a "prime directive" successfully in multiple episodes as well. The episodes The First Commandment where the SG team becomes Gods on a primitive planet and The Other Side where SG1 gets involved in a genocidal war both stand out. I agree with you that a Prime Directive would likely come into existence organically due to all the bad situations that would result from no rule at all.

[@GrannyGamer1]

The last episode of TOS literally 'caused me huge psychological damage as a. 13 year old child, struggling with gender identity, sexual orientation in the late '60s, inside a white bread suburb, trapped inside a fundamentalist church. I was already becoming sue is side all, and this piled on. From Star Trek, of all places, my only cultural reference to an alternative to the hellscape in which I was suffocated.

[@Cdr2002]

I’m so sorry to hear and I’m glad you’re ok now

[@Abrakadabro666]

White bread suburb sounds cunningly racist.

[@empressadria7009]

@@Abrakadabro666 Yet accurate. Remember how unwelcome families of color were in suburbia in the late 1960s. Those communities are still very much "white bread".

[@GrannyGamer1]

@@Abrakadabro666 wow! How weird! It was a post WWII housing development, built for returning GIs, from the first, if poorly, desegregated US military! My neighbors were Japanese, African, Latin and many other hyphenates of American (as this was in Los Angeles, with the greatest populations of people outside their own countries ). Many were Jews, a few Muslim, a smattering Buddhist, etc. They all subscribed to the white bread ideal of assimilationism, though. Perhaps your ear is so damaged by dog whistles, you're incapable of hearing what real people are saying. Sounds ignorant and gullible.

[@GrannyGamer1]

@@Cdr2002 did I say I'm OK now?

[@deanhirasawa1414]

Agree with you RE the Spock Rand interaction at the end of the Enemy Within. It suggests that Rand in some minor way, liked what happened to her with Evil Kirk. I am a little surprised they continue to include that clip in the episode, but I am sure SOME fans would cry cancel culture if they cut it. (NOTE: Previously I erroroneously also used the term woke). Actually, (as some have suggested), in some ways, it is actually good to include it because it reflects the 1960s attitude that many (dare I sadly say most) had 60 years ago and the 2nd class citizen status women held in society back then.

[@Qq-xs1fz]

It absolutely should not be cut! It is important to see what was acceptable not so long ago. The lworst part to me is how she basically apologies for coming forward with the accusation, it's still so real...

[@frunobulaxthepoodle5334]

It's far from the only questionable treatment of women in TOS. I love the original series; it's the one I grew up on, but it had some definite blind spots.

[@Kolossus03]

You people need to stop using woke as some form of derogatory speech.

[@ermixonscraziesttheories]

If you look closely, she played it as that remark making her uncomfortable. I like to think that she filed a report to Starfleet and Kirk, Spock and McCoy all had to take sensitivity training.

[@mazoku112]

Personally I think that censoring the past doesn't allow us to learn from it and confront it. I get it though it's hard to watch some of those stuff with what we have learned. Plus it's a good cultural study of that time.

[@Rex_Crackerz]

I saw Inner Light in the thumbnail and I clicked because I totally agree. This episode has a deep-seated horror to it like the movie Midsommar. These people are so convinced they are doing the right thing that they can't understand the harm they're causing. The disconnect is what makes it scary.

[@jamesk234]

Cogenitor was an absolutely horrible episode... I still can't get over Archer not helping, then blaming Trip

[@TheLiberalNerd]

I should have really waited with commenting... I absolutely agree 100% with your comments on Cogenitor. Respecting other cultures is good and well, but it can never justify to not help someone escaping from institutionalised sex slavery. I mean I even kind of dispise Trip for just staying there and taking it instead of just resigning or at least punch some sense into Archer. Also I don't think what Trip did was wrong and I would probably do the same, even knowing the outcome. He allowed this person to live as a person, to persue their own wishes and dreams, even if it was for just a few days or even hours. That's nothing to be ever sorry about.

[@fisheyenomiko]

Jessie, the KZbinr Allison Pregler has a whole episode about her feelings on "The Inner Light". It's called "The Inner Light is Bad, Actually", and it's 17 minutes of her ripping into the episode.

[@jamessatter7418]

You are spot on about the sexism in Enemy Within and the oversimplification of the duality between the two sides of Kirk. As for Spock's insensitive comment at the end, I see the remark as psychological projection: evidence of Spock's own sexual attraction to Kirk.

[@MattMcIrvin]

I saw someone point out a while ago that, for whatever reason, Spock *often* gets the most sexist lines on the show; usually he's expressing frustration about the baffling illogicality of Woman. I suppose that's just 1960s gender stereotypes--that valuing logic over emotion as Spock does is an inherently masculine characteristic, though of course that completely contradicts what we actually see on the show of Vulcan society, where the women are as devoted to logic as the men.

[@MattMcIrvin]

...Come to think of it, you could probably justify the sexism as a quirk of Spock due to his mom being his human parent. Spock's trying to go all-in on being a Vulcan, and for him personally, that entails rejecting his mother's way of thinking.

[@jamessatter7418]

​ @Matt McIrvin Interesting points about Spock having a female mother and that contributing to his sexism, she was human and he rejects sexism. To get Jungian, his mom (and by extrapolation human women) represent his shadow side.

[@rocketdave719]

I listened to an episode of the Women at Warp podcast in which they discussed "Cogenitor," and while they were definitely highly critical of the episode, I was frustrated that they focused almost exclusively on the writers' apparent lack of awareness of genders beyond male and female, which I think is a misconception a lot more of us had back when Enterprise was on the air. I was certainly fairly ignorant of this stuff until relatively recently. I just think that Archer refusing to help the cogenitor and then blaming Trip for that character's suicide was way worse than the fact that the dialogue treated sex and gender as synonymous.

[@Seal0626]

And the episode doesn't even acknowledge that the reason Archer refuses to grant asylum is purely selfish - he would rather be friends with powerful people and turn a blind eye to the terrible things they do than stick to what is(judging from the way Trip assumes asylum will be granted) a standard practice born of decency and compassion.

[@JanetDax]

I think The Enemy Within takes on a different character for me when I realize the actress was an assault victim. Not saying sexual assault shouldn't be mentioned, but yes, the assault in the episode was trivialized. Spock's comment was inexcusable.

[@Corbomite_Meatballs]

So, I think we the commenters are missing our mark in a way - while Jesse pointed out where we could see the hand of the writer in a forced wrap-out of an ENT episode, we're blaming Spock, the character, for the comment he made. No, that comment shouldn't have come out of anyone's mouth towards a sexual assault victims ears - I think some of the responsibility for the line should be put at the typewriter of Richard Matheson, the writer of "The Enemy Within" (if it wasn't changed in re-writes after he turned it in, that is), along with having Spock say it.

[@JanetDax]

@@Corbomite_Meatballs Indeed. The line seemed to suggest Rand liked being assaulted. Why would they have Spock say this? Sounds offensive to me. This is what men who assault women do. They claim their victim enjoyed it.

[@VonWenk]

I would put Spock "uncharacteristic" comment in the same category as "Where are the shuttles?"

[@thebitterfig9903]

As a big Babylon 5 fan, Cogenitor really got my hopes up. The episode opens with an unseen but familiar voice. A thrilling possibility. Is it… I know he did a bunch of Star Trek too… and then I see, yes, indeed it is Andreas Katsulas. I’m as excited as G’Kar singing to his pig head supper. But then… oh… so that’s where they’re going with the A plot. Um. That is indeed a take. Didn’t even feel like there was a “this is unjust and I don’t like it either, but it’s not our place” sentiment from Archer. Why oh why couldn’t the solid B-plot with Archer and Andreas piloting a ship have been in a better episode? By way of coincidence, I saw the episode for the first time and later that evening was listening to the Jumpgate podcast episode where Cogenitor was discussed.

[@capXstar]

The Inner Light I hated as a kid and now that I'm an adult I HATE IT EVEN MORE. Those aliens are having one slow jerk across the galaxy with that probe. While it's treated as an enlightening experience it only works on someone who'd appreciate that. Klingons would hate it. Obrien got to try something similar in Jail and that's a far better episode.

[@Qq-xs1fz]

I've always simply assumed the probe only "enlighted" those, who would appreciate it.

[@TrismegistusMx]

Have you considered that you're not respecting their culture? They see the probe as a good thing, and do not see the harm in it. Ultimately the only real consequence was doubling Picard's subjective lifespan.

[@M_M_ODonnell]

In a parallel universe there's a version of The Inner Light where the probe comes with a message about what it does and won't activate until someone willingly chooses to enter the "simulation." Then there's a whole episode with people trying to figure out whether this is something that they personally will be able to go through with, who is well-placed to understand the culture that sent the probe, etc. I don't know if it would be better if we then see the experience of the person who finally activates the probe, or if it's left as a mystery because only that one person experiences it and then has to describe all of it.

[@capXstar]

@@Qq-xs1fz its funny to imagine an ensign passed out in a jefferies tube experiencing the same as picard

[@Qq-xs1fz]

@@capXstar Would make a great "Lower Decks " episode:).

[@petekwando]

Right there with you on "Dear Doctor" and "Cogenitor," but I would argue they do share a common thread: writers who could have really benefited from taking a basic philosophy course at some point in their lives.

[@BrianGeers]

I used to like Enemy Within just for the trope of Shatner fighting an evil twin that was obviously a stunt double, but the casual sexual assault lands a lot differently these days. There were a couple of Voyager episodes in my recent viewing of the series that felt similarly “gaslight-ey” by merit of the purported “predator” being a main cast member. “Of course the victim is lying, because the attacker’s name is in the opening credits.”

[@lucideandre]

Congenitor isn’t even a good application of the Prime Directive. The Federation, when it has that directive, would still grand asylum to someone asking for it to escape persecution. There’s no way, say, Picard, or Sisko, or even Janeway or Kirk, would refuse it. And Archer’s position at the end is that Trip shouldn’t have given the queer person the ability to understand they could be equal, because doing so caused a disruption?! Yeah…I agree. Screw you, Archer

[@michaelsuttkus6975]

Dear Doctor is SO MUCH WORSE if you have a decent understanding of how evolution works. Ugh. I spent the whole episode wanting to yell at the screen in my best Morbo-voice, "EVOLUTION DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!" It would certainly be on the list of top ten episodes I hate. I'll spare everyone the lecture. Another one I hate that everyone loves is The Galileo 7. The episode wants us to see how Spock's logic fails, but he's so utterly irrational that it makes no sense! Why does he assume that the alien species will behave logically? He knows most species in the universe don't, so this is a stupid assumption. Why does he assume that doing the same thing that failed before will somehow start working? That's the opposite of logic! And then, at the end of the episode, when he dumps the fuel to make a flare, everyone treats it like he gave in to desperation when it was simply the most logical move, since they weren't going to survive long if they returned to the surface anyway. This episode is one massive strawman that should be set on fire.

[@quiestinliteris]

Enemy Within suffered from some conceptual wibbling, too. It tried to be a Jekyll/Hyde episode, but explicitly assigning "moral good" to equivocating executive dysfunction and "moral evil" to assertive/aggressive knowing what you want and doing it... was just kind of weird. I mean, the "gentleness is weak/confidence is cruelty" thing is an old and familiar trope, but they lumped together gentleness/weakness/equivocation/fear/self-doubt/empathy/decision paralysis, and those really don't naturally lump together. It would have been much clearer storytelling if they had picked ONE dichotomy to play to its logical extremes, and I say that as someone who loathes forcing dichotomies for black-and-white narratives.

[@benw9949]

I don't recall enough of the novelization (by James Blish, I think) of the Enemy Within episode. I'm also not sure of whether there was discussion in the Making of Star Trek or World of Star Trek books from the 1970's, too long since I last read them. -- I think I recall reading to the effect that there was supposed to be more than a shallow good versus evil there, that the intent was to split Kirk's personality into Ego and Id, or somehow into gentle versus aggressive traits, both halves as the basic parts of his personality that made him who he was as a whole person, so that neither side ws inherently so good or bad. But the episode on-screen had trouble achieving that, although it did talk about it. some. -- All that said, Jessie's critique of the whole subplot around Yeoman Janice Rand is accurate. When I've rewatched the episode as an adult, I don't quite know how my child and teen self thought of it growing up watching the reruns. But looking at it as an adult, modern day, yeah, it doesn't hold up well. I think they thought at the time that they were making some sort of clear distinction, but it just doesn't hold up these days. There are some worthwhile things in the episode for the other things it has to say, but it doesn't handle Rand's situation well at all. Why didn't they know better? -- I don't recall what, if anything, my mom and dad had to say about the episode, but I got a better idea of women's rights than the episode. -- In hindsight, I think the writer was trying for something better, but had too many unrelated things combined into one, without dealing with those well enough, plus the whole plot line involving Yeoman Rand should have been handled differently, or omitted altogether in favor of some other, better way to show the two sides of Kirk's personality, to make the points the episode was trying to get across. -- When I was a kid and teen, even as a young adult, I guess I just dismissed it because I'd grown up watching the reruns so much. But as an adult rewatching through an adult, present-day viewpoint, yeah, the episode has that as its main problem, with the other points needing some work too. It still has things to say that are worthwhile, but it deserves a big caveat of discussion as problematic. Oh, one other source for critiquing or history would be the Star Trek Compendium by Allan Asherman, which I wish I still had. That was from (I think) the 1980's, a summary and history and critique of TOS, pretty well done.

[@MattMcIrvin]

I always thought of "Kirk needs his evil side to decide and command" as an interesting idea but not one I necessarily bought.

[@forschungstorte]

I actually like Threshold for the campy silliness (peperoni pizza!) and the moments in the end when Paris has some learning moments. And Sub Rosa is actually a brilliant silly Trek episode for Halloween. Yet about The Inner Light, what additionally creeps me out in the beginning, is Picard's wife character looking so much younger than him. Just casting an age appropriate woman to play that role would have been better. But those were the days...

[@janmelantu7490]

Threshold is very silly, but it’s still a coherent episode.

[@russellharrell2747]

My one big problem is the stupid ‘revelation’ at the end that Paris was rapidly evolving into what humanity will become in millions of years. If Paris had been mutated like The Fly because flying at warp 10 causes you to be everywhere at once merged him with some other species I would have totally bought it, especially with his weird obsession with creating another creature like himself. Perhaps the other species preys on other civilizations that travel at trans warp. Anything is better that claiming humans would turn into salamanders despite zero environmental pressures to do so.

[@Stephen-Fox]

Threshold is fun... But speaking as someone who doesn't particularly care about the accuracy of the science in Trek, it's take on evolution is actively painful.

[@CaptainEnglehorn]

in real life, Patrick Stewart's wife is around 30 years younger than him. art imitating life?

[@Inscriptions37]

"Cogenitor" is beloved? I remember being really invested in that episode right up until the end and then being thoroughly pissed off, especially when Archer gives his "you should have known better than to have empathy for another living being and actually it's YOUR fault that this person committed suicide after I insisted we return them to sex slavery" speech. Few episodes in the entire franchise leave a more sour taste in my mouth than that one (although "The Enemy Within" is a contender), to the point that in my head canon it either didn't happen or, at the very least, the final scene between Archer and Tripp played out differently. And I totally forgot that "Nepenthe" was the episode where Hugh died. He was one of the show's most interesting characters and had so much storytelling potential left. It seems like the writers thought the XBs just weren't interesting enough to keep more than two of them (Seven and Picard) around any longer, as if Hugh and Icheb weren't unique enough on their own to merit a fictional existence beyond the bare minimum necessary to move Seven and Picard's arcs forward, which baffles me given how different they each were in terms of the specific circumstances of their assimilations and subsequent liberations from the Borg. So I guess the other half of "Nepenthe" is the best HALF of an episode of Picard; Seeing what Marina Sirtis could do when written by people who actually gave a damn about fully characterizing her will always be a franchise highlight for me, even if it's surrounded by... whatever exactly you'd call Picard at this point. My hot(-ish) takes: I don't love the arc in season 4 of Enterprise about the Augments; It's not bad, but I had a hard time getting fully invested in it. There's a TNG episode called "Clues" iirc that is one of my favorites (the ending is an absolute mindf**k) but I never seem to hear anyone talking about it, and the same goes for "The Chute" from season 3 of Voyager. And finally, I think "The Magnificent Ferengi" is one of DS9's best episodes; The jokes and the actors' performances make me cackle like a maniac no matter how many times I rewatch it and the ending sequence is a dark comedy masterclass, plus it showcases well-earned character growth on the parts of Quark and Nog in particular.

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

Regarding "Cogenitor", Jessie, did you ever see Alien Nation, which had one season in the '90s? The alien species in that show had a third gender that appeared masculine to humans and was required in order for the m/f couple to reproduce. Since they were fewer in number than the males and females, they were highly honored and lived a quasi-monastic lifestyle in community so that they could be available to help couples conceive.

[@russellharrell2747]

The Tenctonese on alien nation were a slave race to another unknown species. The third sex might have been engineered by that other species to control the Tenctonese, who were much more intelligent and strong compared to humans. The fact they were also vulnerable to salt water also points to a more artificial origin for their species. Oh let’s not forget the part of the gestation where the fetus is transferred to the male (who has a marsupial-like sac in the abdomen) to carry to term.

[@benw9949]

IIRC, they were called "binnams" or "binnoms." The character called Albert is a very quiet, unassuming janitor at the police station where Sykes (played by Gary Graham, Soval in ENT), and Sam Francisco (the Newcomer) work, is revealed to be one of these monks, a binnam, needed for Sam and his wife to conceive their child. The Binnams were "catalysts," which is what they contributed to the union for conception. I think there was also something about the males carrying the egg produced by the females. (Note: seahorses, the males carry the offspring.) Exactly how the binnams contribute their catalyst wasn't stated, but was (apparently?) separate from the male and female getting together, and (if I remember right) had to take place before that. Wow, I haven't thought of that in years; I'm not sure where the old TV series is available these days for streaming. It used to be on Apple iTunes, I know. -- It only lasted one season, but it was pretty good, cancelled too soon. The show tackled a few social issues, but also had some wonky episodes, I think. mid-1980's or early 1990's, maybe? Worth a few nights for a binge watch, with some popcorn. :D

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

@@benw9949 yes, I think they spelled it "binnaum". I had the show on DVD for a while, and I think it's streaming but not free on Amazon. I loved that show and wish it had had more seasons. Gary Graham and co-star Eric Pierpont have both done Trek, as did the actress who played George's wife Susan, and Andreas Katsulas of B5 was in one or two eps. Sorry, this is how my brain works. As I recall from the episode, the binnaum has to couple with the aspiring mother before she has sex with the male. This is done in a ritual setting, with the triad surrounded by a circle of friends and family who face away from the sacred act. Sykes takes a peek, however, and sees Albert and Susan together. Then Susan and George hurry upstairs while the party continues. The really cool thing is that exposure to this religious sex stuff motivates Sykes, a lapsed Catholic, to go back to church, which is where the episode ends. Sex and religion, two great tastes that taste great together.

[@Seal0626]

Yes - they actually made it part of an interesting and engaging plot, that wouldn't have been just as easy to do with two genders!

[@adrenalynn1015]

The Cogenitor episode also seems to play into people's fears that our loved ones might die by suicide because trying to help them will push them over the edge, therefore best not to even try. Ignore cries for help in case we make it worse. It's already so hard to know how to help people in desperate situations & this doesn't help. We need a new Star Trek show where they go back to problematic episodes from all the different series and consciously revisit those planets or whatever and first of all apologize to survivors/victims families and then show a better way to proceed. They can rewrite the dreaded Prime Directive as they go along lol

[@carolineartley2703]

Cogenitor shows a lot of the biggest problems with Enterprise. It *could* have been a great story, on Trip's end it was a good one, and it's possible to interpret Archer's meltdown as being more directed at himself than Trip (at least trying to convince himself that *he* wasn't in the wrong). Had future episodes followed up, showing that Archer holds some shame for dooming a completely innocent person just because he was having fun with a fascist and does everything possible to never let that happen again, it could have been the start to a decent character arc. Unfortunately, it stays completely isolated to this episode, and forgotten entirely, just like so many other bad morality tales and undeveloped character arcs. Also, Inner Light terrified me as a child. The idea of being stolen away from my own life to one that's markedly worse in every way and not even being given an explanation until decades later was more horrifying than anything I had seen up until that point, and I couldn't understand how the episode could empathize with the people doing it.

[@AzaleaJane]

Thanks for calling out The Enemy Within for the awful sexual politics. That kind of thing should be pointed out early and often. The outdated "bad/good" dichotomy/binary here really deserves a takedown too, which I hadn't thought about as much. TOS has its moments, but it's SUCH a cringe-fest throughout, partially because 60s TV itself was a cringe-fest. I haven't even watched them all yet because honestly, they're often hard to get through, with the cheesy music and stiff pacing/blocking. I grew up watching the TOS movies, but not TOS itself, so I don't have the nostalgia factor like I do for TNG, which also had many cringe moments. Have you seen Allison Pregler's takedown of The Inner Light? It's AMAZING. Go watch her Trek content, it's golden. Also, Patrick Stewart's makeup in this episode is horrible. He looks like a burn victim. (Nothing wrong with being a burn victim, but it doesn't look the same as being old.) Nepenthe has Troi's BEST writing in all of Trek. I feel strongly about this because my girl got done dirty for decades. But I'd forgotten that Hugh got fridged in this ep too. I AM SO MAD ABOUT THAT. Like they temporarily fridged Elnor in season 2. Effing Picard is such a mixed bag! Season 3 better be fire.

[@lily-xj3hv]

agree 100% about nepenthe. something about traumatised characters who have been through hell getting brutally murdered and getting little to no acknowledgment of it from the characters does Not sit right with me. it was just for shock value it didnt forward the plot in any way

[@federicomarintuc]

The Inner Light suffered the episodic format of TNG. This should have been one of the first episodes of the season and Picard should have suffered the consequences during at least 10 epispdes. Same with Hard Time

[@Renegade2786]

The consequences of *The Inner Light* is shown in two episodes of the next season. 1. The prologue to the episode *Fistful of Datas* where he plays the same flute. 2. In the episode *Lessons* where plays a duet with his love interest with fluke and mat piano. But at least the episode *Journey Ends* didn't suffer from an episodic format as it set up events in DS9 and set up the next Star Trek series (Voyager).

[@federicomarintuc]

@@Renegade2786 the flute tune is also brought back in Picard, but in all these cases is used more as an Easter Egg than a consequence or repercussion

[@thefuppits]

TNG didn't "suffer" from it's episodic format. It soared because of it. Same with TOS. Same with Voyager. If you don't like the episodic format in general, that's one thing. To say any Star Trek "suffered" from it, it just speaks to your bias against episodic content. See, episodic shows don't have to service the fanboy threads, that keep so many fanboys firmly sucking on the serialized teet. You guys are more into the ongoing sprawling dramas and concocted permutations of duplicitous characters and baggage carts of lore, not so much about the weekly adventure, the one off unknowns, the self-contained morality play, the unencumbered magic, that episodic shows excel in.

[@thefuppits]

@@federicomarintuc that's because the only thing that says "Star Trek" in CBS Trek, are the truckloads of "Easter eggs" the entire current franchise hangs itself on as it's claim to being Star Trek. Other than that, it's just crappy sci-fi written by essentially, child-minds.

[@adrianvanleeuwen]

I agree with most of your selections these episodes are controversial. The Co-genitor was one that really got me going. Archer was chewing out Trip for tampering with the customs on the alien society when Archer was clearly in the wrong, as he did not understand the girl was essentially a "sex-slave surrogate" without a name, that Trip was trying to save and free. This shows Captains can be fallible and not always be on the right side of morality, when blinded with their own logic. Star Trek should change the prime directive to the "morally right directive" which could certainly help to decide many difficult situations. Throughout different Trek series, following the prime direction has led to some classic moments that were problematic. The prime directive needs an overhaul, with plenty of exceptions to rule (especially ones with humanitarian reasons like saving a society or person from harm).

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

Why did you have to remind me of Hugh's death? [cries]

[@gailseatonhumbert]

The TOS episode I hate is the one Turnabout Intruder where Kirk and a woman switch bodies and his smug last comment - "she could have had a life as full as any woman's". Yes as full as one of those inferior beings that men could always wins physical fight with needed to stay in her place. The Enemy Within I saw first run and at that time (in the late 60s) it was upsetting then too. The only possibly different interpretation from a 60s perspective is Spock's ending comment is about the attraction both Kirk and Rand have for each while ignoring the assault entirely. Yes it is incredibly male tone deaf but that was the culture at the time and it was not fun to live in hence the women's rights movement at that time.

[@Scuzzbopper.]

Have you seen the fan-made Filmation-style version of "Threshold"? They took "Threshold" and made it good.

[@merri-toddwebster2473]

I think "The Enemy Within" had some important things to say in its time, but yeah, the last time I watched it I was shocked by how Rand is treated, more so by Spock's behavior than Kirk's. Of course Kirk should not be interrogating his accuser, but it is ridiculous that Spock doesn't figure out what is going on. Logic, my dude, where was it in this ep?

[@facelesswoman6975]

I was at first surprised you put "The Inner Light" on your list but you made me consider the morality of Picard being essentially brainwashed by the probe to think he was living another reality and then having to deal with the PTSD of finding himself back on The Enterprise after what he subjectively experienced as decades living another man's life. I did always think TNG failed in not addressing this PTSD at all the way it at least addressed it after his being assimilated by The Borg. I never saw "Dear Doctor" but I agree with you about all the other shows you listed.

[@langleymneely]

I love this video! I actually love hearing “hot takes” on ‘universally beloved’ parts of the franchise. Im so glad you are doing this! Hope you are doing well post surgery!❤️

[@thefollowingisatest4579]

The idea that someone would put Dear Doctor on a best of list is wild even for the wacky shit us Trek fans often argue about. Your summary of its issues is very good, and its worth nothing that strange treatment of the natural world as dogma is not limited to Trek (Ian Malcom has entered the chat) or even fiction itself.

[@FailSonOfAnarchy]

One thing I dislike about Cogenitor is it uses a tired plot device Str Trek leans on too often: The society that's highly advances, but very regressive in one specific aspect. See "A Taste Of Armageddon" and TNG episode "Justice".

[@Flexor35]

I think one of the things I liked about Hu in Picard, was how he was helping other people find their individuality and independence from the Borg, like how he was helped by the members of the Picard's crew on the Enterprise, back he found himself disconnected from the Borg and not knowing what to do. His death, felt like a possible future for those people was cut short. ... Also because of my Grandparents, I will NEVER be unable to hear people mispronouncing pizza. It's pizza not pitza. ... THERE IS NO T IN PIZZA. Please excuse me while I pull out my hair, for something my grandparents drilled into me. And that is the one the other painful thing about that episode. At least for me.

[@Wilmm.]

As soon as you said one episode on this list was genuinely bad I immediately guessed The Enemy Within. I remember watching it for the first time and thinking 'oh this is the episode where the iconic 'I'm Captain Kirk' line takes place, this should be fun' then watching in horror at the Yeoman Rand scenes. Great video as always and it was nice to know I'm not the only one who had issues with all of these episodes for various reasons. Looking at all of them as a whole they all kind of represent various pitfalls Star Trek falls into a lot. Most of the Prime Directive episodes fall prey to similar issues that you mentioned. As far as the unfortunate depictions of sexual assault, I don't think Star Trek has ever had an episode that's discussed or depicted that topic in an appropriate way. And finally the New Trek Shows have a big problem with unnecessary deaths for seemingly just shock value. I can't think of a single death on the new shows that wasn't met with some kind of backlash. It's totally fine to have character deaths but for me personally and seemingly a lot of fans, the current way they are doing character deaths in New Trek is not working. The deaths of Hugh, Culber, and Hemmer all really hurt for me as a disabled queer person. Death of 'main' characters used to be really rare in the older shows but now it seems like we get at least one per season. Overall a great video that I think brings up some really good points about repeated pitfalls Star Trek has had on occasion.

[@boricuaheeb]

Thank you!! I have never understood why "The Inner Light" gets so much play! Like you, I haven't hated this episode per se, but it really bugs me that this one-off character study is seen as the best TNG can do. Love Patrick Stewart as I do, for me this ep is always a reminder that Picard, Data, and Worf got to be fully developed, complex characters while Geordi, Troi, and Crusher were written flat af.

[@ProspectorofWonder]

Great analysis! You made me rethink some of the episodes I love and realize how they could have been sooo much better! The Inner Light (s5e25) for instance could have had Picard analyzing an artifact in his quarters, perhaps with an invitation of some sorts that no explorer or anthropologist could resist. A captivating takeover, rather then a violent one, would have made it more beautiful, a true captain’s holiday episode.

[@travishiltz4750]

Fun episode. You should do a companion episode, called 'It's not that bad' about "Bad" Trek episodes you like.

[@skyyswaggstudios2934]

The inner light sounds exactly like that classic Alan Moore Superman story, “for the man who has everything”, I wouldn’t be surprised if the writer for that episode was a fan of that book

[@coreyhonkonen7670]

Well, you managed to put Vale's all time favorite TNG episode on your list... But as for the ENT episodes you highlighted, at least in my experience those are more divisive than beloved. Certainly could be that I have a smaller sample size to work with, but I know more people who hate Dear Doctor and Cogenitor than love them.

[@KariIzumi1]

TrekBBS still somehow has the original grading thread for Congenitor from the week it aired, and that episode got glowing praise at the time, with only a handful of people pointing out how fucked up it was that Charles was the only one who faced the consequences of Archer’s decision. It’s only been in recent years that this divisiveness has shown up in discourse as people gain more awareness of nonbinary people and the depictions of queer people in media in general.

[@Tuaron]

Another neat video. Definitely agree that the cuts to the bridge hurt "Inner Light" (I know it's tough to sell an episode with only 1 main cast member, but it would've been for the best), while "Dear Doctor" has the common Trek issue of "great concept, some great arguments, but fumbles the discussion/fails to address the implications" (along with the bad "foreshadowing" of the Prime Directive). I *am* shocked you didn't like Nepenthe, as I thought it was a nice episode and rather enjoyed it on a few levels. I was sad about Hugh's death, but I wasn't as unhappy about it - it was just another time of unused potential for the show (further demonstrated by Seven connecting to the local Borg soon after), though I can also understand the problems as outlined in this video (I don't pay nearly as much attention to behind-the-scenes stuff, so this was the first I'd heard about the way the character was portrayed)

[@Torlik11]

what makes "Cogenitor" even worse for me is that we've seen many other episodes about the prime directive where someone asking for help is what allow them to do something.

[@Seal0626]

Penpals springs to mind.

[@briantaulbee5744]

I completely agree about The Inner Light, and I think (of all things) Rick and Morty very successfully pointed out one of the huge problems with it, when Rick hooks Morty up to the arcade game that does effectively exactly the same thing as the probe. It's sort of played for laughs, but there's a definite undercurrent of horror there; a young boy was just forced to live an entire life and had to come to terms with things that were way beyond him. I think people love this episode because Patrick Stewart sells the hell out of it, but on reflection it's kind of horrifying. That said, one of my favorite TNG episodes is Masks, so what the fuck do I know?

[@KassMcCormack]

Wait! People actually LIKE Cogenitor? That was the episode that made me rage quit Enterprise! How could anyone like an episode that is so clearly an excuse to be a bigot and to intentionally other an entire chunk of the Star Trek fanbase?

[@trekkiejunk]

As a whole, this was a wonderful video. I've loved your content for a couple years now, but rarely watched it because you tended to be very repetitive throughout each of your videos. But this was great. Succinct, to the point, and didn't explain the same concept over and over again. I would love to see more of these 20-30 minute videos, and less of the hour-long ones. You are so smart, and have such great observations, i would love to see you organize your thoughts on future videos as well as you did this one. Both your channels deserve a lot more subs!

[@camillemontano7196]

Honestly considering the themes of these episodes it would be really cool to see a colonialism and Star Trek episode. It might be a controversial video but as someone who cares a lot about that subject and Star Trek I would love to see that examined

[@utkarshed]

My hot take episode is The City on the Edge of Forever. Did *not* like that one at all. It's a general thing I have with sci-fi, I'm not a fan of stories which argue you can't do something unequivocally good, like saving a life, because it will lead to a timeline different from yours. Especially bad in this case because we don't actually know for sure that timeline would be much worse, since we don't know all the different things these characters could've done to mitigate the bad consequences they feared would occur. Basically, the episode was too willing to submit to utilitarian fatalistic thinking, where a better episode like The Doomsday Machine took a nuanced position on utilitarianism.

[@danboyle7165]

I agree. I think City On The Edge of Forever is a good episode, but IMO it does NOT deserve the number #1 slot most people seem to give it. I also NEVER understood all the hype about "Edith Keeler was Kirk's one true love!!!" Did Kirk ever even HAVE one true love??? One girl one week, another one the next. His Narcissistic tendencies paired with his womanizing has ALWAYS made him the ONE CHARACTER on TOS whom I sometimes HATE, & other times feel ASHAMED for liking. Kirk is an enigma whom I will NEVER understand as a character, & I am not sure I even want to.

[@utkarshed]

Oh I forgot to mention, but I also did not buy into the time travel mechanics here. The episode didn't succeed at making me suspend my disbelief with certain events. Just Bones going into the past shouldn't lead to the same car accident showdown as all three of them going. Yes, I realise this is a nitpick 😅

[@Mrhullsie2]

I have not watched The Enemy Within for some time, I am sorry to say when I did see it I didn't really notice the points you raise about Yeoman Rand and I am a rather ashamed that I didn't. The main issue I recall having with this episode was this took William Shatners over acting up to 11.

[@VonWenk]

I think one of Shatner's best performances is playing the woman impersonating Kirk in "The Intruder Within."

[@mkang8782]

1) I think there's a discussion to be had about the ethics at play in "Dear Doctor". The "rising" species was subjugated by the species that was "on its way out", so I am generally in agreement with Dr. Phlox. I also don't take away that it's a "will of God" motivation/justification, but can see how someone may. 2) "Move Along Home" gets way more flak and vitriol than it deserves. On its surface it's a silly one-off, but it also helps the audience get a somewhat deeper look into the primary cast.

[@VonWenk]

I remember liking the camerawork in "Move Along Home."

[@francescosmith7859]

Good video. Yeah, I always was bothered how Archer gives Trip that lecture at the end of Cogenitor. I also enjoy Enterprise but that episode always rubbed me the wrong way.

[@1monki]

I think defusing the twist in "The Inner Light" was to the episode's benefit. Because the story shouldn't be about solving a sci-fi twist, it's about the emotional reaction to a civilization living its last years. And the viewer gets to focus on that

[@thetrainhopper8992]

I mentioned this on the Orville review, but I always disliked TNG because of the Prime Directive. I watched Stargate first, so I do have a different perspective on this since SG-1 and Atlantis were the first series I watched through, effects how I see science fiction. Humans in TNG are evolved, they have evolved justifications and religion, but never discuss it. The PD is religion, or is at least used as a religion to allow humans to cope with making bad decisions. And it never really is deeply explored in TNG. I always liked the ethical and moral discussions in Stargate instead of TNG just writing off their decisions as correct because of the PD.

[@r0bw00d]

Picard discusses in an early episode of TNG (probably first season--he was wearing the jumpsuit uniform, but I doubt they would have waited until the second season to present this exposition) with Dr. Crusher that the reason why the Prime Directive was established was because every time humans interfered with a race's development, no matter how well intentioned, it always ended in disaster. It's a regulation, not a religious text.

[@gunroswell2706]

Great vid, then again, not expecting anyting less from you dear Jessie😀 And absolutely amen on the points you made on the episodes. I remember screaming my head off to the screen of the characters doing the wrong thing in not saving those who needed it. Plust the MAJOR WASTER OF HUGH! Loved the ex-Borg! Thanks again and keep up the great work for us mere mortals watching this channel!

[@trouty606]

Really interesting list Jessie! I definitely understand where you're coming from on that critique of The Inner Light where the probe is essentially forcibly traumatizing the recipient with the visions. I'm always torn on that myself, I absolutely love the episode but the way it goes about initiating its shared history leaves a lot to be desired. I guess I see it as the last act of desperation of a dying people to ensure something of their culture will be remembered. They could send a probe with information stored on a data bank to it, but would anyone read it? And if they did, would they ever care or view them as anything but a minor historic curiosity to be quickly forgotten? Taking away Picard's choice in the matter is a real ethical landmine of how to go about it of course and I know it's hand wavey to say I don't condone it, but I understand it. They know they can't save any of their people, so the last hope they have is to let part of them live on in the heart of someone out there in the future. It still always ends up in my personal top 10 list though, the emotional impact it has only ever gets topped for me in TNG in the sort of spiritual sequel episode, Lessons, that plays off what The Inner Light establishes. That shot of Picard closing the Ressikan flute box when he thinks that Nella has died just destroys me every time. Definitely with you on Cogenitor. It's really galling that it has Archer say that it's not their place to step in to intervene in alien society when that's all the Federation is trying to do here by making alliances. Yeah, that's super great, let's be friends with the race that oppresses an entire subjugated class of its citizens and makes them abused sex slaves, but don't you dare criticize them or save this person begging you to help them out of bondage! Starfleet values! -_-

[@misterdarwin]

My controversial take: Space Seed hasn't aged well. Sure, we all know Turnabout Intruder has very dated sexual politics, but in Space Seed we have Lt. McGivers tossing her career (and I'm guessing her knickers) away because she falls in love with Space Hitler. Hell, the whole Enterprise crew seems enamored with Space Hitler, to the extent that they give him access to the ship's schematics. What could go wrong? I get that these were made in the 60s and reflect the era, and I grew up with them and I love them, but this is one of the episodes that time has not treated well.

[@MattMcIrvin]

I find myself really sympathizing with Spock when he thinks all the other dudes on the ship have lost their minds for having this giant bro-crush on manly, manly Khan. "Female crew member we haven't seen before falls for obvious asshole enemy of the week" was something they did more than once. There was the one in "Who Mourns for Adonais?" at least.

[@misterdarwin]

@@MattMcIrvin At least that was a freaking God!

[@lucideandre]

The parallel of good but apathetic, contrasted with ambition/confidence but evil, with the idea that good can’t actually benefit anyone without that drive, and that the drive uninformed by morals ends up causing harm, is interesting. But there are other stories that do that much better. Star Wars, with The Force, I think implies that. But my favorite version of it will always be the Skeksis and Mystics in Dark Crystal. Which actually has much the same idea as what they did with Kirk, but they do it much better

[@shexec32]

Please make a video on the converse list: "Bad Star Trek Episodes I Love" I want to hear all your opinions on Sub Rosa, and other "bad" Star Trek episodes like Move Along Home, Magnificent Ferengi, Bride of Chaotica, Storm Front, Cupid's Errant Arrow, maybe even Spock's Brain?

[@jessiegenderafterdark5287]

Ohhh good one! Wait, Cupid's Errant Arrow is considered bad?

[@enhydralutra]

Them cutting back to the Enterprise in Inner Light absolutely takes away from the episode, it's one of my biggest criticisms of it. I've always had the headcannon, though, that the probe wasn't designed to interact the way it did with Picard. The equipment was old, they based it off only their physiology, and they didn't actually intend for it to be so traumatic.

[@fredrika27]

I also have a love-hate relationship with Nepenthe! It was great to see Riker and Troi and be introduced to their daughter Kestra. However, it fell into the trope of the grieving mother who was played excellently by Marina Sirtis. I was just so disappointed that Riker got all the good lines with Picard while Troi was once again in the background and barely had a decent dialogue with Picard. I'm just so disappointed in Jonathan and Patrick to not even think that Marina needed something to do with her time. Jonathan as a director could have pulled a few strings for his Imzadi to at least get a promotion to captain while in the backwater town! If not that, show her being elected as the next president of Betazed or as ambassador. Think about how audiences would have reacted if Troi showed up as captain of the He! Yes, they would have complained about where the Titan was, but hey, they would have NEVER forgotten that scene! As a mother and divorcee whose ex died from Lou Gehrig's disease, leaving a grieving distraught teenage behind, I can tell you that I did not hang around to live in the house of death. There were too many things to do so that my son could relaunch his life after the double whammy of death and divorce. I don't know any women that have lost a spouse, child, parent or loved one who didn't get up and try to live their best lives after such a tragedy. Corona didn't allow us to feel sorry for ourselves. Instead many of us were trying to keep the roofs over our heads and the tuition paid with $.72 on every dollar wage we are paid in comparison to men. We picked up our careers--no matter how crappy they were--and soldiered on for the good of our families. Why couldn't they have written Troi in this way? It's like they didn't care about her personal development in Nepenthe--just like they didn't care in TNG. For that, I really have an ax to grind with the writers and producers because they always do this with the supporting cast of most of the series. When we left Troi, she had taken the bridge officers exam. When we saw her in Nepenthe, it was like it never happened and Riker's career was more important that Troi's. Ask the women (and men) who are left behind how significant their careers and financial contributions to the household become after a death. Most people will freely admit the mothers, grandmothers, aunties and sisters who sacrificed themselves so that the family could get back on track. Another missed opportunity.

[@danieleatwell7757]

A lot of the time the Prime Directive just feels like an excuse to not do anything or get involved because it would be too difficult or messy!

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

Okay... I have to get this off my chest. Feel free to skip the following essay. It's just so frustrating that I have to get this out I hate The Inner Light. I know this is practically unheard of but I was so bored by it that all I could focus on were the fact that it's probably the ugliest episode (including season one) and the ridiculous premise making no sense Picard gets his brain Shanghaied by some rando aliens who have a civilization that can build psychic probes somehow and apparently consists of a single village that was somehow able to destroy the planet, I guess. And then he's the only one who remembers it. There's no surviving record. No recordings. No writing. No artifacts other than the flute that somehow appeared completely unnoticed. And he doesn't remember the whole civilization or the history of the world. He remembers a handful of people. He experienced the life of one guy. One. What? What is the point of any of this? And the writing itself. My god. How are people so enthralled with this? How is this actually entertaining to anybody? We get to see Picard's beige life of perpetual mediocrity, on the beige planet with the silly clothes and terrible old people makeup, which includes such exciting activities as... Eating soup. Playing the flute. Making vegetable stew. Looking at the sky with his fake family. Wow. Exciting I know everybody disagrees with me but this episode is terrible. There's no profound insight, nothing interesting happens, it's ugly and unpleasant to look at, the acting is wooden and unconvincing, and it makes no sense. I'm sorry. This episode sucks. It's so bad and yet nobody else can see that. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I just hate it and it blows my mind that I seem to be the only one. What do you find exciting or compelling about awkwardly eating soup and phoned in speeches about atmospheric condensers? Patrick Stewart was practically sleepwalking through half of these scenes. What is interesting about any of this? Okay. That's enough for now. I could write an actual essay about this episode. Anyway... Carry on. I feel better now

[@musclebound05]

I did a series watch of Enterprise when Lorerunner began doing his ruminations on the series. I'd seen a few episodes up to that point but this was the first time I really watched every episode. I was very upset when I saw Cogenitor, because it seemed like the writers were morally coding the episode exactly backwards

[@jaimebabb9968]

My list would include "Dark Frontier" on Voyager, "Inquisition" on Deep Space Nine, and every TNG episode with Lore in it.

[@minbyc]

I ALSO HATE LORE EPISODES! I don’t know why, I just hate it. I do love inquisition though- mainly because I absolutely adore Sloan. The same actor played Dr Sumner in Fringe and he just plays the pseudo-benevolent bad guy SO well

[@michaelbrostrom439]

I fully understand AND respect your views of The Enemy Within. Please chalk it up to 'the times' and prevailing sexist attitudes that prevailed. Too many of us (especially men like me) have no clue till the Me too movement. I never got The Inner light. I thoroughly disagree about Dear Doctor, this is why the prime directive needs to be created. It is hard to work through. I do agree with you about Congenator. Your objections to Nepenthe are valid. to me this part and most of Picard is a forced AI/Borg debate, with the exception of Stardust City Rag of course. I also thought the inclusion of Riker and Troi was forced, still watchable.

[@EmeralBookwise]

The weird thing about Inner Light is that I can completely take your point about the gaslighting, and yet I just can't be bothered by it. Maybe it's because the basic premise of it, of just waking up one day to find myself in an entirely new life, in an entirely new world, and maybe even as an entirely new person is a recurrent fantasy of mine. I can fully admit that reality of such a scenario might be terrifying, and yet part of me still longs for the pure fantasy aspect.

[@Morinaka25]

I have strong opinions (essay level comment incoming) on "Dear Doctor" and consider it to be the single worst written episode in any trek series, purely for the things it promotes based on an false dichotomy. There's no reason they can't save the Valakians and do something to help the Menk. The Menk are dependent on the Valakians and they state as much in the episode. A sudden Valakian extinction would probably be about as bad for the Menk as a sudden human extinction would be for other beings that rely on us. Phlox even notes that the Menk are treated well, albeit far from ideal (please don't read this as a good slave master thing, it's not meant that way). It's hardly like they are rounding up the Menk and brutally experimenting on them for a cure since they are immune. Even if we buy into Phlox's notion of "potential", maybe once the planet isn't facing a fatal pandemic the Menk can be taken more seriously based on his observations, he could even make it a condition of giving them the cure (morally dubious, but still better than allowing billions to die in agony). Perhaps they will reach the same level of development Phlox predicts while co-existing, social changes can happen fast, a myriad of possibilities, he's talking millennia here, a lot can happen in that time he can't possibly predict, look at our own history for evidence of that, particularly in regards to rights. While i've seen some say "well there you go, since we can't predict what will happen let's do nothing instead", but when faced with the reality, given the choice between billions dying in agony vs. peaceful co-existence with a possibly, slightly, less developed Menk, i'm betting any sane medical doctor (or anyone with a sense of compassion) would opt for the latter. Even Picard in TNG A Matter Of Time gets frustrated with the logic of temporal non-interference when facing a real situation: "PICARD: Yes, Professor, I know. What if one of those lives I save down there is a child who grows up to be the next Adolf Hitler or Khan Singh? Every first year philosophy student have been asked that question ever since the earliest wormholes were discovered. But this is not a class in temporal logic. It's not theoretical, it's not hypothetical, it's real. Surely you see that?" A proto-PD episode is a decent enough premise, but my main issue is that years of bad writing around notions of evolutionary determinism and a fundamental misunderstanding of evolution in general, means any time they even touch the subject it leads to cringe inducing stuff, like a medical doctor letting billions die (when he could cure them) because genetic diseases are fate, and who cares since i think my favourite race will win out in the end. This is straight up genocide justified with eugenics. Which becomes even more dubious when we learn in later episodes that Phlox's whole race do genetic engineering, so probably have some interesting thoughts about eugenics. It's wild to me this even made it to air, and that the actor who plays Phlox considers it his favourite episode of the show. I really have to wonder at what personal views the writer(s) of this episode have, because i really hope it's a case of incompetence and not some personal belief in genetic superiority and eugenics. I could probably write this more coherently, but i think the thoughts are there.